Bun of Steel 2: Superdad

Clark and child futurefic
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to or are based on characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.

"Want a cape."

"A cape? Oh, I don't think that would be a nice costume. I thought you could go for Halloween dressed as a bunny, since that's your name..."

"No. Don't want ears. Want a cape."

"But sweetheart, look at the long pink bunny ears..."

"Daddy. Want to be Supergirl. That costume, right there."

"Look how fuzzy they are..."

"Cape!"

"Um... okay, no bunny ears. But I'd rather you didn't wear a cape, Bunny. You might, uh, trip over it. I wouldn't want you to trip when you're out trick or treating. What else would you like to be?"

"Supergirl!"

"Sweetheart..."

"SUPERGIRL!!!"

"Okay, Bunny, that's enough. No foot stomping. Remember? We talked about that. You're going to put a hole in the floor again."

"Want... CAPE!!!"

"All right, sweetheart. I guess this isn't worth arguing about. If you really want to be Supergirl for Halloween, then we'll get you a Supergirl costume."

"Gonna fly to houses!"

"No, Bunny. No flying. No floating. You have to use your feet... and I don't mean for stomping. You have to walk."

"No flying?"

"No flying. Sorry, sweetheart. Maybe when you're older."

"But..."

"Hey, look how long this cape is. I bet you'll look pretty in it, Bunny."

"It's just like yours, Daddy."

"Um... mine, sweetie? Daddy doesn't have a cape..."

"Yes, you do. In the closet. I seed it through the wall."

"Oh. That. That's just, uh, an old Halloween costume."

"You can be Superman for Halloween, Daddy."

"Maybe. But I thought I'd just be a daddy who walked his little girl around the neighborhood for candy."

"That's boring."

"Sometimes boring is good, sweetheart. Anyway, grownups don't wear costumes. Costumes are for kids."

"Then why do you have a costume?"

"Oh, it's just left over from a party I went to a long time ago."

"But I seed you putting it back in the closet yesterday..."

"Bunny. I really don't want to go trick or treating wearing a cape, okay? I'm just going to walk you around the neighborhood dressed as your boring old dad."

"Okay, Daddy. You can just go as... Superdad."

-The End-

Angel Among Us

Chloe/child angst
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Manip by writrgurl, used with the permission of the artist. Story prompted by writrgurl's manip.

Once upon a time, Metropolis had its very own angel, named Superman.

That was Daddy, right, Mommy?

Right, sweetheart. That was Daddy. Anyway, Superman flew over the city, protecting everyone. He was Metropolis' guardian angel. Whenever anyone needed help, whenever anyone called out in pain or fear... Superman was there.

Because he had stuporspeed!

Superspeed, honey. And just like an angel, he could fly.

Only he didn't have wings!

No, he didn't have wings. He had a long red cape that rippled behind him. Whenever you were in trouble, you knew you could look up into the sky and see a red and blue streak, coming your way.

But now he's gone.

Yes, sweetheart. He died a couple of years ago, saving us all. I don't suppose you remember him very well...

I remember he had dark hair and glasses, Mommy. I don't remember the cape.

That's because Superman was his secret identity. You weren't supposed to know about it.

You never would have told me if I hadn't found the suit, huh?

No, I wouldn't have. It's a secret, honey. You can't tell anyone. Not even your bestest, bestest friend. Okay?

Okay, Mommy. But what happened to Metropolis when Superman died?

You live here, sweetheart. What do you think happened?

I guess maybe people started to get hurt again.

Well, you might think that. But the truth is that when Superman--your daddy-- died, people rallied together--

What does rallied mean?

I mean, people started trying harder to help each other. Because they remembered Superman, and everything he did for the city, and they wanted to keep the city safe, just like he did. Everyone has worked very, very hard to keep Metropolis safe. So even though Daddy is gone, the city still has the lowest crime rate in the country.

All because they remember Daddy?

All because they remember Daddy.

I guess maybe Daddy is a real angel now, and he still helps people. Only now he's got wings instead of a cape!

I think you're right, sweetheart. I really do. Anyway, that's the end of the story. Sweet dreams, darling.

Night, Mommy. Can I have the red blanket? It looks like Daddy's cape.

So it does. Are you going to imagine you're helping keep Metropolis safe?

Yes, Mommy.

That's nice. But just remember, you don't need a red cape to help protect the city. You don't even need wings. You just need to care about people.

Just like Daddy did.

Yes, sweetheart. Just like Daddy did.

-The End-

Bun of Steel

Clark/Chloe futurefic
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Based on a prompt by jlvsclrk.

"Clark... I've got something to tell you."

"What's that, sweetheart?"

"I'm, um, sort of, well..."

"Spit it out, Chlo. Whatever it is, I can take it."

"I, uh, well, I can't..."

"You're leaving me, aren't you?"

"Oh, stop with the big eyes, farmboy. Of course I'm not. It's nothing like that, you silly man. It's just that I... well, I've got a bun in the oven."

"!!!!!"

"Clark, for heaven's sake, put me down and stop spinning me around. That is such a cliche."

"What's wrong with cliches?"

"Well, for one thing, I have morning sickness, and I'm about to puke all over your shoulders."

"Okay. Putting you down now and backing far, far away..."

"Thank you. Look, Clark, I'm happy about this, but..."

"But??! What's not to be happy about?"

"Well, I'm human, and the baby is half Kryptonian. What if it's, you know, superstrong?"

"Um. Well. I got stronger as I got older. When my parents found me, I wasn't all that strong..."

"Didn't Martha tell me you flipped over their truck?"

"Well, yeah, but you know, it was just a pickup. I couldn't have flipped over a tractor trailer or anything..."

"How reassuring. Except not so much. The thing is, Clark, I'm just a normal human, and my body is... fragile. Suppose the Bun of Steel kicks me too hard?"

"I don't think it'll be extra-strong till it's born, Chloe. No direct exposure to sunlight."

"Hmmm. You could be right. But what if you're not?"

"I have to be right, Chlo. Because as much as I want to have a baby with you, I can't bear the thought of losing you, so you have got to come through this okay. Anyway, I get my strength from sunlight, so the baby should, too."

"It's not just strength. What if the baby develops heat vision and uses it on me?"

"I didn't get heat vision till I was fifteen..."

"Still. Just imagine how painful that would be. Or superbreath..."

"Which I didn't develop till I was an adult. Don't borrow trouble, Chloe. Our bun in the oven will probably be just like everyone else's, with no special abilities at first."

"I hope you're right."

"So do I, sweetheart. So do I."

*****

"Clark? I think I'm in labor."

"Oh, my God. I'm coming... uh, Chloe? Where are you?"

"Look up."

"Um... when did you learn to float, Chlo?"

"It's not me. I guess it's the Bun of Steel."

"So our baby didn't develop superstrength or heat vision or any of that stuff, but it's already floating?"

"And taking me along for the ride, apparently. Good thing we were inside the house. Otherwise I might just have floated off into the sky like a balloon and never been seen again."

"Maybe we should start calling it the Bun of Helium. When did this start?"

"With the first contraction. I guess the baby doesn't like the squeezing."

"Okay. Let's get to the hospital."

"Clark... I can't float into the maternity ward."

"True. Give me your hand and I'll hold you down."

*****

"Look at her beautiful little toes."

"They're cute, all right. But she's not floating any more."

"Good thing, too. If she was floating all the time, I'd be worried about losing her. Unlike you, I can't fly."

"It must have been a labor thing."

"Well, if she did it once, she'll probably do it again, sooner or later. We'll probably have to deal with all sorts of unusual abilities manifesting themselves eventually. But I'm glad the only ability we had to deal with during pregnancy was floating, and not superstrength or heat vision."

"Me too, sweetheart. I'm glad you and the baby both came through it all right."

"You know, we can't keep calling her the baby, Clark."

"True. So what are we calling her?"

"I don't know. We've been referring to her as the Bun of Steel for so long, I guess I forgot she'd have to have a real name."

"We could name her after you. Call her Chloe."

"I'm not sure the world can take two of me, Clark."

"Good point."

"What about calling her Martha, after your mom?"

"Mom would like that. But won't that get confusing?"

"Nah. Because she'll have a nickname."

"Marty?"

"Heck, no. We'll call her... Bunny."

-The End-

Read the sequel here.

A Few Precious Things

Clark
Rating: G
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Screencap by writrgurl.

It's hard to explain how a few precious things
Seem to follow throughout all our lives
After all's said and done I was watching my son
Sleeping there with my bear by his side
So I tucked him in, I kissed him and as I was going
I swear that old bear whispered "Boy welcome home"

Believe me if you can
I've finally come back
To the house at Pooh Corner by one
What do you know
There's so much to be done
Count all the bees in the hive
Chase all the clouds from the sky
Back to the days of Christopher Robin
Back to the ways of Christopher Robin
Back to the days of Pooh
-Kenny Loggins, "Return to Pooh Corner"

October 1989

He was afraid.

He had been trapped in the darkness for a long, long time, but the darkness had talked to him, showing him pictures, singing to him, telling him stories. He had grown to understand some of what the darkness said, had come to grasp at least some of the meaning of the stories.

But here he understood absolutely nothing.

The man and woman had spoken to him, in long, liquid sentences that made no sense to him. They had brought him here, given him food, dressed him in cloth, and smiled at him.

He liked them. He particularly liked the woman, whose hair shone red like the sun in the stories. He had enjoyed being with her, seeing her smiles, listening to the sound of her voice.

But when the darkness had fallen outside, she had placed him in this soft place and turned off the light that shone from above, and now he was all alone in the dark, with no voice to keep him company, no songs, and no pictures to light the darkness.

The room was very, very dark and very, very quiet, and he was frightened.

He called out the name of the other woman, whom he barely remembered. She'd had golden hair, like the sun on this world, and she had smiled at him too. He'd spent years calling for her, but she had never answered, and he had no reason to believe she would answer now.

But in his fear, it was her name that sprang to his lips.

"Laraaaaa!"

A moment later, the door opened, and the woman with sun-red hair smiled in. Light flooded in around her, and he relaxed, just a little.

"It's all right, Clark," she whispered. "You need to go to sleep."

He looked back at her, his hands clutching the blanket anxiously. He wanted to tell her how much the dark frightened him, how much this whole strange world frightened him, but he didn't have the words. Even in the language of the storybooks, he couldn't have articulated his concerns.

So he simply gripped the blanket and stared at her.

Her gaze dropped to his hands, and she smiled a bit. "Just a minute," she said softly. She disappeared, somewhat to his terror, but a moment later she was back, something yellow and red in her hands. She walked across the room and held it out to him.

He reached out a trembling hand and took it. It was soft, and its face smiled at him, inanimate and unchanging, and yet strangely reassuring. Up close, he could see that it was an animal of some sort, but it bore no strong resemblance to any of the animals the storybooks had shown him.

But it smiled at him. It was a friend.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around it and held it close to his chest. It was soft and cuddly, and he let his body curl around it.

She pulled the blanket over him again, whispering more words he couldn't understand, and then her voice began to sing him a lullaby. It didn't sound anything like the lullabies the darkness had sung to him, but it was gentle and sweet, and his eyelids grew heavy.

He clung to the soft animal and listened to her singing, and sleep fell over him like a warm blanket.

*****

Twenty-five years later

"Daddy? Daddy!"

He'd awakened with a start, the faint but unpleasant remnants of a nightmare filling his head. Mommy had tucked him in, but it wasn't Mommy he called for when he had a bad dream. He wanted Daddy. Daddy was big and strong, and it was Daddy he turned to when he was frightened.

There was a whoosh, a sound he'd grown to identify with Daddy, and then Daddy's dark head peered into the room.

"Hey, kiddo," he said softly. "It's late. You should be asleep."

"Bad dream."

"I'm sorry." Daddy came into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking his hair and smiling down at him. One of his hands was held behind him. "It was only a dream, though."

He pouted. "Bad."

Daddy nodded in understanding. Sometimes Mommy got frustrated with him, got annoyed when he threw himself to the ground, kicking and screaming, or howled because she wouldn't let him watch another episode of SpongeBob Squarepants, but Daddy always understood.

"Sometimes dreams can be scary," he agreed.

He looked up at his big, strong father, and wondered. "You get scared, Daddy?"

"Of course I get scared, Jon." Daddy smiled down at him. "When I was just about your age, my parents adopted me and took me to their house. I was scared of my new bedroom for weeks. But do you know what my mom did?"

He shook his head, wordlessly intrigued by this glimpse back into the ancient past.

"She gave me... this." Daddy pulled out something from behind his back. It was yellow and red, and rather shabby, but he recognized it instantly.

"Pooh Bear!" he crowed, delighted.

Daddy smiled. "Pooh Bear was my friend when I was your age. He got me through a lot of bad dreams. I bet he can do the same for you... if you want him."

Of course he wanted him. Pooh's smiling face made all his fears drift away, forgotten. He reached for the bear and cradled it against his chest.

"Pooh Bear," he whispered, hugging Pooh to him.

Daddy smiled and pulled the blanket over him and Pooh, and then he began to sing a lullaby. It was a very special lullaby that no one else knew. Even Mommy couldn't sing it. It had strange words he didn't understand, but which were somehow very beautiful, and he knew instinctively that it belonged to no one else anywhere in the world. Just him and Daddy.

And now it belonged to Pooh Bear, too.

He clung to the stuffed bear, and Daddy's voice rolled over him like a comforting tide.

He drifted off to sleep, safe and sound, Pooh Bear clutched in his arms.

-The End-