FIC: The Jewel in the Lotus (4/8)
Title: The Jewel in the Lotus 4/8
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Bruce
Notes: "Music of the Spheres" is a series set in the combined universes of "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns." Other stories and notes on the series here.
Rating: R
Summary: Superman feels uneasy about Bruce's new screensaver and gets a chance to make out with his biggest fan.
Word Count: 1000
"What's that flower?"
Kal's voice behind him was only mildly curious, but Bruce moved hastily to jog the cave's computer out of sleep mode. The white-petaled lotus disappeared. "Oh, it's one of the flowers that went extinct in Sumatra," Bruce said. He had set the photo as his screen saver after meeting with Lavender Lee for the first time ten days ago. It evoked strangely contradictory feelings in him when he saw it glimmer into existence on his computer screen: it was a goad and a comfort at the same time, a reminder of his failures and a promise of redemption.
Sometimes he would sit and watch it shimmering on the screen, lost in contemplation, time slipping by. It was beautiful, and it mocked him with its lost beauty, its ethereal light.
He had begun to dream of it, now and then. White petals, curving, just out of reach.
Bruce turned to find Superman gazing at him, his eyes concerned. "You torment yourself with that."
Bruce shrugged. He had written Lavender Lee another check today, bigger than the last two. It would help for a while. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll try to worry about it less."
He was trying. It was just that nothing seemed to help for long.
But he was feeling better today, so it wasn't hard to smile at Kal and grab his hand, bring it to his lips. "I promise, Kal."
Kal smiled. "Have you got a few hours before going out on patrol? The Monarchs are on tv."
"You're no fun to watch baseball with," Bruce complained. "You don't care about sports enough. You'll just get distracted and start suggesting we make out."
"Hey, sounds fun to me," Kal said with a leer, and Bruce was privately forced to admit that it was more fun than watching baseball, most of the time.
Okay, all of the time.
Bruce shrugged. "I've got a couple of hours."
"I'll change--" Kal started, but Bruce cut him off.
"No, stay in uniform. I'm in the mood to make out with Superman today," he said.
The dark, elegant brows lifted. "Why Mr. Wayne, you fanboy."
Bruce bit his lip slightly. "Just Bruce tonight."
Superman put a hand out to tilt Bruce's face up slightly, smiling the confident little half-smile that always drove Bruce crazy. "If you say so...Bruce."
Bruce ran a languid hand from the neck of Superman's costume down to the scarlet shorts, hooking his hands into the fabric and pulling him close. "Can I show you around my humble abode, Superman? We can watch some baseball, and I can show you how much your biggest fan appreciates you," he drawled.
As he dragged Superman up the stairs, still murmuring inanities and innuendos, Bruce caught sight of the screen saver glimmering back into life, surfacing from the darkness of oblivion: white petals as pure as hope, as shining as salvation. Lost forever.
His heart ached suddenly, and he closed his eyes and focused on kissing his lover until they both almost fell down the stairs.
Lost forever.
: : :
It was the third inning, and Superman had one hand slipped inside Bruce's pants. Bruce was pretending to still watch the game, but his breath was short and his eyes focused inward rather than on the screen. "Oh, Bruce," Kal murmured, shifting his grip, "You weren't exaggerating when you said you were my biggest fan."
A breathy chuckle. "Do you often do comparison checks, Superman?"
Kal kept his voice low and resonant, his public voice. "Only of the most handsome and alluring of my many, many fans."
Bruce's eyes were drifting shut. "I'm so glad you--you approve, my hero." He shifted his hips and groaned slightly. "I'd do anything for you, you know. Anything. My hero."
Kal stared at Bruce's flushed cheeks and lax mouth. This version of the game--"The Hero and the Playboy," Bruce had dubbed it--always amazed Kal. Watching Bruce luxuriating in his civilian role, his eyes shining with a hero-worship that might even be, at the deepest heart of it, a tiny bit sincere--it filled Kal with wondering lust. "I do appreciate a devoted fan," he murmured.
"Devoted," Bruce agreed with a gasp. "So very--yes--"
"Are you ready to prove it?" Superman asked. Bruce said something inaudible, thrusting against his hand. "Are you going to suck my cock, Bruce?"
Bruce twisted, his face going rigid, and came hard against Superman's hand with a long moan. The moan resolved itself into something of a sheepish chuckle as Bruce relaxed luxuriously against Kal. "I'm sorry," Bruce said after a moment. "I simply cannot take Superman talking dirty. It completely unhinges me." He kicked his pants off with a fluid motion and was kneeling between Superman's blue-clad legs an instant later, pulling at the cloth. "Let me prove my devotion," he said huskily. "Tell me what a wonderful fan I am, how skilled, how loyal and ardent."
Superman told him, told him over and over until driven beyond words and into nothing but panting desire.
Half-naked and entwined on the couch, they watched the game move into its seventh inning. Kal nuzzled Bruce's neck sleepily, letting the commercials wash over him. He felt Bruce's body tense underneath him, very slightly. "Is it really? I guess it is..." Bruce said thoughtfully.
"Is what?"
"Father's Day. Tomorrow." Bruce's voice was casual, but Kal could hear a thread of tension underneath it. "I hadn't noticed." Kal ran a hand through Bruce's hair and waited. "Do you know what the last Father's Day present I got my father was?"
"No, what?"
"I don't remember either. Probably some tie or mug. I didn't put much thought into it. I wish it had been something special. But I don't remember."
There was a long silence, in which Kal listened to Bruce's breath, the long even breaths of a person struggling not to show their emotion too much. After a while, the breaths slowly evened out into sleep, Bruce's hands twitching slightly as he slipped under. Kal knew he should probably wake his lover for patrol, but somehow he couldn't bear to. Let him have a moment's rest.
In his sleep, in Kal's sheltering arms, Bruce murmured something about light.
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Bruce
Notes: "Music of the Spheres" is a series set in the combined universes of "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns." Other stories and notes on the series here.
Rating: R
Summary: Superman feels uneasy about Bruce's new screensaver and gets a chance to make out with his biggest fan.
Word Count: 1000
"What's that flower?"
Kal's voice behind him was only mildly curious, but Bruce moved hastily to jog the cave's computer out of sleep mode. The white-petaled lotus disappeared. "Oh, it's one of the flowers that went extinct in Sumatra," Bruce said. He had set the photo as his screen saver after meeting with Lavender Lee for the first time ten days ago. It evoked strangely contradictory feelings in him when he saw it glimmer into existence on his computer screen: it was a goad and a comfort at the same time, a reminder of his failures and a promise of redemption.
Sometimes he would sit and watch it shimmering on the screen, lost in contemplation, time slipping by. It was beautiful, and it mocked him with its lost beauty, its ethereal light.
He had begun to dream of it, now and then. White petals, curving, just out of reach.
Bruce turned to find Superman gazing at him, his eyes concerned. "You torment yourself with that."
Bruce shrugged. He had written Lavender Lee another check today, bigger than the last two. It would help for a while. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll try to worry about it less."
He was trying. It was just that nothing seemed to help for long.
But he was feeling better today, so it wasn't hard to smile at Kal and grab his hand, bring it to his lips. "I promise, Kal."
Kal smiled. "Have you got a few hours before going out on patrol? The Monarchs are on tv."
"You're no fun to watch baseball with," Bruce complained. "You don't care about sports enough. You'll just get distracted and start suggesting we make out."
"Hey, sounds fun to me," Kal said with a leer, and Bruce was privately forced to admit that it was more fun than watching baseball, most of the time.
Okay, all of the time.
Bruce shrugged. "I've got a couple of hours."
"I'll change--" Kal started, but Bruce cut him off.
"No, stay in uniform. I'm in the mood to make out with Superman today," he said.
The dark, elegant brows lifted. "Why Mr. Wayne, you fanboy."
Bruce bit his lip slightly. "Just Bruce tonight."
Superman put a hand out to tilt Bruce's face up slightly, smiling the confident little half-smile that always drove Bruce crazy. "If you say so...Bruce."
Bruce ran a languid hand from the neck of Superman's costume down to the scarlet shorts, hooking his hands into the fabric and pulling him close. "Can I show you around my humble abode, Superman? We can watch some baseball, and I can show you how much your biggest fan appreciates you," he drawled.
As he dragged Superman up the stairs, still murmuring inanities and innuendos, Bruce caught sight of the screen saver glimmering back into life, surfacing from the darkness of oblivion: white petals as pure as hope, as shining as salvation. Lost forever.
His heart ached suddenly, and he closed his eyes and focused on kissing his lover until they both almost fell down the stairs.
Lost forever.
: : :
It was the third inning, and Superman had one hand slipped inside Bruce's pants. Bruce was pretending to still watch the game, but his breath was short and his eyes focused inward rather than on the screen. "Oh, Bruce," Kal murmured, shifting his grip, "You weren't exaggerating when you said you were my biggest fan."
A breathy chuckle. "Do you often do comparison checks, Superman?"
Kal kept his voice low and resonant, his public voice. "Only of the most handsome and alluring of my many, many fans."
Bruce's eyes were drifting shut. "I'm so glad you--you approve, my hero." He shifted his hips and groaned slightly. "I'd do anything for you, you know. Anything. My hero."
Kal stared at Bruce's flushed cheeks and lax mouth. This version of the game--"The Hero and the Playboy," Bruce had dubbed it--always amazed Kal. Watching Bruce luxuriating in his civilian role, his eyes shining with a hero-worship that might even be, at the deepest heart of it, a tiny bit sincere--it filled Kal with wondering lust. "I do appreciate a devoted fan," he murmured.
"Devoted," Bruce agreed with a gasp. "So very--yes--"
"Are you ready to prove it?" Superman asked. Bruce said something inaudible, thrusting against his hand. "Are you going to suck my cock, Bruce?"
Bruce twisted, his face going rigid, and came hard against Superman's hand with a long moan. The moan resolved itself into something of a sheepish chuckle as Bruce relaxed luxuriously against Kal. "I'm sorry," Bruce said after a moment. "I simply cannot take Superman talking dirty. It completely unhinges me." He kicked his pants off with a fluid motion and was kneeling between Superman's blue-clad legs an instant later, pulling at the cloth. "Let me prove my devotion," he said huskily. "Tell me what a wonderful fan I am, how skilled, how loyal and ardent."
Superman told him, told him over and over until driven beyond words and into nothing but panting desire.
Half-naked and entwined on the couch, they watched the game move into its seventh inning. Kal nuzzled Bruce's neck sleepily, letting the commercials wash over him. He felt Bruce's body tense underneath him, very slightly. "Is it really? I guess it is..." Bruce said thoughtfully.
"Is what?"
"Father's Day. Tomorrow." Bruce's voice was casual, but Kal could hear a thread of tension underneath it. "I hadn't noticed." Kal ran a hand through Bruce's hair and waited. "Do you know what the last Father's Day present I got my father was?"
"No, what?"
"I don't remember either. Probably some tie or mug. I didn't put much thought into it. I wish it had been something special. But I don't remember."
There was a long silence, in which Kal listened to Bruce's breath, the long even breaths of a person struggling not to show their emotion too much. After a while, the breaths slowly evened out into sleep, Bruce's hands twitching slightly as he slipped under. Kal knew he should probably wake his lover for patrol, but somehow he couldn't bear to. Let him have a moment's rest.
In his sleep, in Kal's sheltering arms, Bruce murmured something about light.