The House of the Earth Part 4 (4/8): Promises Yet to Keep
Title: Chapter Four: Promises Yet to Keep
Pairing/Characters: Kal/Bruce, Zor-El, Alura, Alfred Pennyworth
Notes: " The House of the Earth" is an AU in which a few thousand Kryptonians escaped the destruction of Krypton to flee to Earth and conquer its people.
Warnings: None needed
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1700
Summary: Kal and Bruce say goodbye to their respective families and make their way to Cheyenne Mountain to prepare for the final showdown.
Zor-El frowned down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Syra sends her best wishes and farewells and passes on ownership of her two personal slaves to you?"
Kal-El nodded and took a sip of water. Hope and Mercy had been escorted to the kitchen, where Alfred was probably presenting them with platters of food as they spoke.
Kal's uncle raised his eyebrows. "Three personal slaves. Kal, you're on your way to having a busy household."
"I thought Diana would appreciate them as her attendants. As a princess, I'm sure she's used to being waited on." As Zor chuckled and Alura smiled indulgently, Kal went on, "That's the other thing I've come to ask permission about, Uncle. Princess Diana has invited me to Themyscira to meet her family."
"I thought men were not allowed to set foot upon their island?"
Kal radiated offense. "Uncle! A Kryptonian never sets foot upon ground that has never seen the light of Rao. Thus the problem is solved."
"Clever boy," said Alura, smiling.
"Of course you may go," Zor said. "When do you leave?"
"As soon as possible. Today, if that's all right." Kal felt urgency blazing along his nerve endings, the need to get to Cheyenne Mountain and copy the schematics he'd stolen last night. But he schooled his voice to mildness. "I'll be there a couple of weeks."
"What a shame you'll miss the trial of that slave girl of ours they caught robbing the archives," Alura pointed out. "Can't you put off the trip just a little?"
"And risk insulting my fiancee? I have a duty to further ties between the Amazons and our people, after all. No, I'll watch the recordings when I get back," Kal said.
Zor-El gazed a long moment at his nephew, and Kal felt his stomach clenching; had his uncle seen through his deception? Then Zor nodded, standing to clap him on the back, his eyes warm. "Kal, you've changed since you returned to Earth. You've become a man who understands his responsibilities, who understands how important family is. Your handling of the Amazons, and now this business with that escaped slave--you've truly become worthy of being the heir of the House of El. I'm very proud of you, and I think your parents would be as well."
Kal stood, looking at the aunt and uncle who had raised him to be a good Kryptonian, at the portrait of his parents behind them, smiling down on him.
One way or another, he would never be returning to his family home.
"I hope they would," he said softly, kissing his aunt on the cheek and shaking his uncle's hand.
: : :
In the hall outside the kitchen, he paused as he heard voices from the pantry: Bruce and Alfred, speaking quietly. He started to move into the kitchen and then stopped. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but hearing Bruce speak to Alfred, his voice free of the reserve and restraint that always lurked under his conversations with Kal...it was beautiful, Kal thought suddenly. He wanted to hear more of it.
"--wish I had something I could give you, something I could leave with you as a reminder," Bruce's voice was saying. "To have found you again after so many years...but there's nothing, it's all been lost, I have nothing that truly belongs to me anymore."
"I beg to disagree," Alfred responded, his voice dry. "But as that cannot be given, I shall suggest this instead." There was a silence, a tiny snick of metal, and then Alfred continued: "If someone comes across it, it will be impossible to confirm it as from your head. But we shall not be separated long, Master Bruce."
"Alfred..." Bruce's voice was suddenly hoarse, uncertain. He cleared his throat. "It's risky, Alfred."
"I did not say you would not face death," Alfred replied gently. "But if you fail--and the only way you will fail will be if you die in the effort--then my hopes and all of humanity's die with you. And if that happens--" There was a brief pause, the slightest hitch of breath, "--then we shall not be separated long."
There was a longer pause. When Alfred spoke again his voice was collected and efficient once more, if kind. "Good luck in your endeavors. And Master Bruce--" This time Kal could hear a faint smile in his tone, "--if you could find some time in your rather busy schedule to be a little happy, I would be very pleased indeed."
Bruce snorted. "I'll...I promise I'll try. Take care, my old friend," he said, his voice thick. Kal heard the pantry door swing open and closed again and came to himself with a start, mortified to catch himself eavesdropping on private conversations. Squaring his shoulders, he floated into the kitchen.
Bruce looked up at his arrival, his stance deferential and polite. "I have finished preparing some food for your journey, master."
They moved together through the kitchens, their voices pitched to be overheard. "Are you ready to be taken to Metropolis to be left in my cousin's care?" Kal asked.
"Indeed, I am always ready to be left in your cousin's capable hands," Bruce replied, a faint hint of a smirk in his voice, and Kal heard a couple of the kitchen staff snicker appreciatively; apparently Bruce had been playing up his status as Kara's favorite toy. He swallowed bitter bile at the idea of people assuming he and Kara handed Bruce back and forth like a shared bauble, but choked down the emotion, letting it turn his expression supercilious and disdainful.
An hour later, Bruce was aloft in the El family car and Kal was nominally on his way to Themiscyra. The fields blurred below him, the scarlet iao starting to wane toward its autumn bronze shades. He veered from the proper route and headed for the outskirts of Metropolis, toward the rendezvous point. Soon he spotted the dark figure waiting under a tree on the edge of the fields, his face turned warily to the sky. The wariness abated somewhat as Kal landed in front of him. "Let's go--the sooner we get somewhere safe and you can get transcribing those schemata, the happier we'll all be." He stood, waiting, and his expression started to shade toward the impatient. "What are you waiting for?"
"I'm...going to have to carry you." He'd be flying as low as possible, sometimes keeping to the ground and running to avoid detection, but Kal abruptly realized he'd never quite figured out how exactly he was going to get Bruce there with him. He gestured rather helplessly. "Do you want to, uh, get on my back?"
Bruce made an inelegant snorting sound, close to a laugh, and Kal felt himself flush. "I haven't exactly had time to figure out the logistics," he said defensively. "Should I..." He reached out and hooked his hands gingerly under Bruce's armpits, keeping him at a decent distance, and Bruce made that exasperated sound again.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," he said, and stepped forward to put his arms around Kal's neck. His body was warm and seemed to fit against Kal's alarmingly well, pressing close in all the right places. His breath tickled Kal's ear. "Just pick me up and let's fly."
Kal lifted him, putting one arm under his knees and cradling him. He expected Bruce to stiffen and put some distance between them, but instead he stayed close, his head on Kal's shoulder. "Are you comfortable?" Kal asked, hoping he didn't sound too nervous as he lifted slightly into the air.
"It's fine." Bruce's voice was slightly muffled against his shoulder; a moment later he stifled a yawn. "Sorry. I've been so busy planning, I'm a little worn out."
Kal started to move forward carefully. "See if you can rest a bit. It'll take a couple of hours since I can't exactly go at top speed." He felt Bruce's head move against his robes in a nod as he picked up speed, skimming over the treetops as low as possible, sometimes passing under them, trying to stay out of sight of anyone who might be watching the skies. Bruce's body was warm in his arms, and he tried not to think about it too much.
He didn't do very well.
The sun was setting as they arrived at the door of the base, alighting just outside. The air smelled of frost and pine. As his feet touched the ground again Kal realized for the first time that Bruce's body was completely relaxed, the muscles heavy with sleep, his head lolling against Kal's shoulder. Kal peered down at his face, lit by the rich gold of the setting sun. Bruce's mouth was slightly open, his expression relaxed, but even in sleep there was a sharp line between his eyebrows, an incipient frown. Kal stood there for a moment and tried to imagine that face in full repose, in some world where Bruce had no worries, where he was the loved and pampered child of doting and wealthy parents, the world the Kryptonians had taken away from him.
He couldn't do it. He simply couldn't imagine Bruce's face not filled with restless energy, not thinking and scheming and planning. In any world, Bruce Wayne would never have been a restful man.
Kal resisted an impulse to press his lips to that precious crease between Bruce's brows. "We're there," he murmured instead.
He had expected Bruce would wake cat-sudden and alert, as he always did. Instead, he stretched slowly in Kal's arms, curling around Kal's torso lazily. "Mmmm," he said, and for a moment he smiled at Kal, his eyes half-closed, and Kal almost dropped him in the surge of startled reaction.
Then he was uncoiling from Kal's grip, catlike and independent again, swinging himself to the ground. "Sorry," he said, his voice anything but apologetic. "I was just...imagining for a moment that I could fulfill a promise I made to Alfred."
Kal stared after him for a moment as he disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels beneath Cheyenne Mountain. Then he hurried after.
Pairing/Characters: Kal/Bruce, Zor-El, Alura, Alfred Pennyworth
Notes: " The House of the Earth" is an AU in which a few thousand Kryptonians escaped the destruction of Krypton to flee to Earth and conquer its people.
Warnings: None needed
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1700
Summary: Kal and Bruce say goodbye to their respective families and make their way to Cheyenne Mountain to prepare for the final showdown.
Zor-El frowned down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Syra sends her best wishes and farewells and passes on ownership of her two personal slaves to you?"
Kal-El nodded and took a sip of water. Hope and Mercy had been escorted to the kitchen, where Alfred was probably presenting them with platters of food as they spoke.
Kal's uncle raised his eyebrows. "Three personal slaves. Kal, you're on your way to having a busy household."
"I thought Diana would appreciate them as her attendants. As a princess, I'm sure she's used to being waited on." As Zor chuckled and Alura smiled indulgently, Kal went on, "That's the other thing I've come to ask permission about, Uncle. Princess Diana has invited me to Themyscira to meet her family."
"I thought men were not allowed to set foot upon their island?"
Kal radiated offense. "Uncle! A Kryptonian never sets foot upon ground that has never seen the light of Rao. Thus the problem is solved."
"Clever boy," said Alura, smiling.
"Of course you may go," Zor said. "When do you leave?"
"As soon as possible. Today, if that's all right." Kal felt urgency blazing along his nerve endings, the need to get to Cheyenne Mountain and copy the schematics he'd stolen last night. But he schooled his voice to mildness. "I'll be there a couple of weeks."
"What a shame you'll miss the trial of that slave girl of ours they caught robbing the archives," Alura pointed out. "Can't you put off the trip just a little?"
"And risk insulting my fiancee? I have a duty to further ties between the Amazons and our people, after all. No, I'll watch the recordings when I get back," Kal said.
Zor-El gazed a long moment at his nephew, and Kal felt his stomach clenching; had his uncle seen through his deception? Then Zor nodded, standing to clap him on the back, his eyes warm. "Kal, you've changed since you returned to Earth. You've become a man who understands his responsibilities, who understands how important family is. Your handling of the Amazons, and now this business with that escaped slave--you've truly become worthy of being the heir of the House of El. I'm very proud of you, and I think your parents would be as well."
Kal stood, looking at the aunt and uncle who had raised him to be a good Kryptonian, at the portrait of his parents behind them, smiling down on him.
One way or another, he would never be returning to his family home.
"I hope they would," he said softly, kissing his aunt on the cheek and shaking his uncle's hand.
: : :
In the hall outside the kitchen, he paused as he heard voices from the pantry: Bruce and Alfred, speaking quietly. He started to move into the kitchen and then stopped. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but hearing Bruce speak to Alfred, his voice free of the reserve and restraint that always lurked under his conversations with Kal...it was beautiful, Kal thought suddenly. He wanted to hear more of it.
"--wish I had something I could give you, something I could leave with you as a reminder," Bruce's voice was saying. "To have found you again after so many years...but there's nothing, it's all been lost, I have nothing that truly belongs to me anymore."
"I beg to disagree," Alfred responded, his voice dry. "But as that cannot be given, I shall suggest this instead." There was a silence, a tiny snick of metal, and then Alfred continued: "If someone comes across it, it will be impossible to confirm it as from your head. But we shall not be separated long, Master Bruce."
"Alfred..." Bruce's voice was suddenly hoarse, uncertain. He cleared his throat. "It's risky, Alfred."
"I did not say you would not face death," Alfred replied gently. "But if you fail--and the only way you will fail will be if you die in the effort--then my hopes and all of humanity's die with you. And if that happens--" There was a brief pause, the slightest hitch of breath, "--then we shall not be separated long."
There was a longer pause. When Alfred spoke again his voice was collected and efficient once more, if kind. "Good luck in your endeavors. And Master Bruce--" This time Kal could hear a faint smile in his tone, "--if you could find some time in your rather busy schedule to be a little happy, I would be very pleased indeed."
Bruce snorted. "I'll...I promise I'll try. Take care, my old friend," he said, his voice thick. Kal heard the pantry door swing open and closed again and came to himself with a start, mortified to catch himself eavesdropping on private conversations. Squaring his shoulders, he floated into the kitchen.
Bruce looked up at his arrival, his stance deferential and polite. "I have finished preparing some food for your journey, master."
They moved together through the kitchens, their voices pitched to be overheard. "Are you ready to be taken to Metropolis to be left in my cousin's care?" Kal asked.
"Indeed, I am always ready to be left in your cousin's capable hands," Bruce replied, a faint hint of a smirk in his voice, and Kal heard a couple of the kitchen staff snicker appreciatively; apparently Bruce had been playing up his status as Kara's favorite toy. He swallowed bitter bile at the idea of people assuming he and Kara handed Bruce back and forth like a shared bauble, but choked down the emotion, letting it turn his expression supercilious and disdainful.
An hour later, Bruce was aloft in the El family car and Kal was nominally on his way to Themiscyra. The fields blurred below him, the scarlet iao starting to wane toward its autumn bronze shades. He veered from the proper route and headed for the outskirts of Metropolis, toward the rendezvous point. Soon he spotted the dark figure waiting under a tree on the edge of the fields, his face turned warily to the sky. The wariness abated somewhat as Kal landed in front of him. "Let's go--the sooner we get somewhere safe and you can get transcribing those schemata, the happier we'll all be." He stood, waiting, and his expression started to shade toward the impatient. "What are you waiting for?"
"I'm...going to have to carry you." He'd be flying as low as possible, sometimes keeping to the ground and running to avoid detection, but Kal abruptly realized he'd never quite figured out how exactly he was going to get Bruce there with him. He gestured rather helplessly. "Do you want to, uh, get on my back?"
Bruce made an inelegant snorting sound, close to a laugh, and Kal felt himself flush. "I haven't exactly had time to figure out the logistics," he said defensively. "Should I..." He reached out and hooked his hands gingerly under Bruce's armpits, keeping him at a decent distance, and Bruce made that exasperated sound again.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," he said, and stepped forward to put his arms around Kal's neck. His body was warm and seemed to fit against Kal's alarmingly well, pressing close in all the right places. His breath tickled Kal's ear. "Just pick me up and let's fly."
Kal lifted him, putting one arm under his knees and cradling him. He expected Bruce to stiffen and put some distance between them, but instead he stayed close, his head on Kal's shoulder. "Are you comfortable?" Kal asked, hoping he didn't sound too nervous as he lifted slightly into the air.
"It's fine." Bruce's voice was slightly muffled against his shoulder; a moment later he stifled a yawn. "Sorry. I've been so busy planning, I'm a little worn out."
Kal started to move forward carefully. "See if you can rest a bit. It'll take a couple of hours since I can't exactly go at top speed." He felt Bruce's head move against his robes in a nod as he picked up speed, skimming over the treetops as low as possible, sometimes passing under them, trying to stay out of sight of anyone who might be watching the skies. Bruce's body was warm in his arms, and he tried not to think about it too much.
He didn't do very well.
The sun was setting as they arrived at the door of the base, alighting just outside. The air smelled of frost and pine. As his feet touched the ground again Kal realized for the first time that Bruce's body was completely relaxed, the muscles heavy with sleep, his head lolling against Kal's shoulder. Kal peered down at his face, lit by the rich gold of the setting sun. Bruce's mouth was slightly open, his expression relaxed, but even in sleep there was a sharp line between his eyebrows, an incipient frown. Kal stood there for a moment and tried to imagine that face in full repose, in some world where Bruce had no worries, where he was the loved and pampered child of doting and wealthy parents, the world the Kryptonians had taken away from him.
He couldn't do it. He simply couldn't imagine Bruce's face not filled with restless energy, not thinking and scheming and planning. In any world, Bruce Wayne would never have been a restful man.
Kal resisted an impulse to press his lips to that precious crease between Bruce's brows. "We're there," he murmured instead.
He had expected Bruce would wake cat-sudden and alert, as he always did. Instead, he stretched slowly in Kal's arms, curling around Kal's torso lazily. "Mmmm," he said, and for a moment he smiled at Kal, his eyes half-closed, and Kal almost dropped him in the surge of startled reaction.
Then he was uncoiling from Kal's grip, catlike and independent again, swinging himself to the ground. "Sorry," he said, his voice anything but apologetic. "I was just...imagining for a moment that I could fulfill a promise I made to Alfred."
Kal stared after him for a moment as he disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels beneath Cheyenne Mountain. Then he hurried after.