(FIC) In Bloom (J'onn, Kal, PG-13)
For icarus_chained, a belated gift fic for her birthday! I have been watching JLAnimated again and I love J'onn's uncertainty, his alienness and his gentle manners... and, you know, how much ass he kicks in the field. Yay J'onn! He has such a wonderfully warm dynamic with Clark in the show, I love it :3
Title: In Bloom
Rating: PG-13
Characters: J'onn J'onnz, Kal-El
Word Count: 700+
Summary: Conflicting desires are not beyond Martians, but compromises can be made.
Walking down the empty hallway, J’onn tried to reconcile the desires tugging at his heart. He wanted -needed- to be alone. Life on Earth was taxing and loud. Too many minds without a nexus, too many ideas without a start or an end. Too much grief and fear, the petty anger almost drowning love and joy with their strangling cacophony. And yet… he wanted -needed- to make contact. To belong. Life on Earth was colorful, exciting, full of laughter and warmth.
It was terrifying, more so because of how tempting it was.
He didn’t want to grieve another family, another home. He didn’t want to forget the one he had lost. He didn’t want to insult the memory of his loved ones by isolating himself and shunning life. It seemed like life was a constant conflict, hope and guilt overriding each other in cycles of uncertainty.
He could hide in the Watchtower. He had done so before, retreating to this man-made fortress in space, keeping himself away from the world. It was safe and quiet, without any of the spastic outbursts of men. Mankind was so young, spoiled children sometimes, but so vibrant, lives fleeting like shooting stars. He could watch, from here, he could look at life unfold, and it was…
Lonely, sometimes.
He walked past the Watchtower’s hydroponic garden and stopped. Music was coming from inside the room. He had thought himself to be the only occupant of the satellite.
The doors opened and the room’s sound system greeted him -// And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain / Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders//- along with the sight of his friend tending the plants. He turned to him and smiled, a smile that could unburden the heaviest of hearts. J’onn tentatively smiled back, unsure if he was interrupting -he would never want to impose, knowing as he did how little time for respite they had sometimes- but Kal didn’t seem to mind him, turning back to the lush flower bed before him, his lips moving as he quietly sang along.
“I did not know there were flower beds in here,” J’onn said, puzzled. He had been to the hydroponic gardens dozens of times, the lively green and fragrant air a perfect compromise between solitude and a connection with Earth, and he had never seen the colorful patches his friend was tending to.
“’Ask and you shall receive’," Clark said, his smile fond.
J’onn raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Batman. That’s what he said. If I didn’t know better I would say there is no logic to his concessions. He doesn’t even like gardening.”
“But you do,” J’onn said, looking at his skilled hands as he pruned dry leaves.
“Well, yes. They are beautiful.” He looked at his handiwork with a critical eye for a moment before going on. “I like the way you can feel them growing if you pay attention, the way life flows through them. Nurturing them until they bloom.” He turned to J’onn and offered him the shears. “Would you like to help?”
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know where to start, Kal-El. I’m not familiar with the species.”
He looked like he was about to press on, try to convince him, but he turned back to the flower patch. “Tending to them is actually a lot of work. Sometimes it all goes to hell anyway. A plague, or root rot. Or just bad luck. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, super senses or not.”
J’onn nodded slowly. “I see.”
“J’onn.”
“Yes?”
He pushed his glasses up his nose, looking uncertain for a moment. “Would you…” He paused, then chuckled, shaking his head. “My Ma, she asked me about you. She hasn’t seen you since Christmas. Maybe… would you want to visit Smallville with me? Next weekend?”
J’onn looked at the flowers. He could feel hope and anxiety radiating from his friend, and something else, bubbling like laughter but secret like a hidden creek. He allowed the feeling to steal a smile from his heart. Kal’s happiness was contagious. “Who will tend to the garden then?”
Kal laughed, his eyes wrinkling as the music entangled with his joy. Bubbling like a fountain, a spring of hope. “I think they’ll be fine without us.”
// Remember to let her under your skin / Then you’ll begin to make it / Better//
J’onn ran his fingers down the petals of a flower, humming to himself.
Title: In Bloom
Rating: PG-13
Characters: J'onn J'onnz, Kal-El
Word Count: 700+
Summary: Conflicting desires are not beyond Martians, but compromises can be made.
Walking down the empty hallway, J’onn tried to reconcile the desires tugging at his heart. He wanted -needed- to be alone. Life on Earth was taxing and loud. Too many minds without a nexus, too many ideas without a start or an end. Too much grief and fear, the petty anger almost drowning love and joy with their strangling cacophony. And yet… he wanted -needed- to make contact. To belong. Life on Earth was colorful, exciting, full of laughter and warmth.
It was terrifying, more so because of how tempting it was.
He didn’t want to grieve another family, another home. He didn’t want to forget the one he had lost. He didn’t want to insult the memory of his loved ones by isolating himself and shunning life. It seemed like life was a constant conflict, hope and guilt overriding each other in cycles of uncertainty.
He could hide in the Watchtower. He had done so before, retreating to this man-made fortress in space, keeping himself away from the world. It was safe and quiet, without any of the spastic outbursts of men. Mankind was so young, spoiled children sometimes, but so vibrant, lives fleeting like shooting stars. He could watch, from here, he could look at life unfold, and it was…
Lonely, sometimes.
He walked past the Watchtower’s hydroponic garden and stopped. Music was coming from inside the room. He had thought himself to be the only occupant of the satellite.
The doors opened and the room’s sound system greeted him -// And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain / Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders//- along with the sight of his friend tending the plants. He turned to him and smiled, a smile that could unburden the heaviest of hearts. J’onn tentatively smiled back, unsure if he was interrupting -he would never want to impose, knowing as he did how little time for respite they had sometimes- but Kal didn’t seem to mind him, turning back to the lush flower bed before him, his lips moving as he quietly sang along.
“I did not know there were flower beds in here,” J’onn said, puzzled. He had been to the hydroponic gardens dozens of times, the lively green and fragrant air a perfect compromise between solitude and a connection with Earth, and he had never seen the colorful patches his friend was tending to.
“’Ask and you shall receive’," Clark said, his smile fond.
J’onn raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Batman. That’s what he said. If I didn’t know better I would say there is no logic to his concessions. He doesn’t even like gardening.”
“But you do,” J’onn said, looking at his skilled hands as he pruned dry leaves.
“Well, yes. They are beautiful.” He looked at his handiwork with a critical eye for a moment before going on. “I like the way you can feel them growing if you pay attention, the way life flows through them. Nurturing them until they bloom.” He turned to J’onn and offered him the shears. “Would you like to help?”
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know where to start, Kal-El. I’m not familiar with the species.”
He looked like he was about to press on, try to convince him, but he turned back to the flower patch. “Tending to them is actually a lot of work. Sometimes it all goes to hell anyway. A plague, or root rot. Or just bad luck. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, super senses or not.”
J’onn nodded slowly. “I see.”
“J’onn.”
“Yes?”
He pushed his glasses up his nose, looking uncertain for a moment. “Would you…” He paused, then chuckled, shaking his head. “My Ma, she asked me about you. She hasn’t seen you since Christmas. Maybe… would you want to visit Smallville with me? Next weekend?”
J’onn looked at the flowers. He could feel hope and anxiety radiating from his friend, and something else, bubbling like laughter but secret like a hidden creek. He allowed the feeling to steal a smile from his heart. Kal’s happiness was contagious. “Who will tend to the garden then?”
Kal laughed, his eyes wrinkling as the music entangled with his joy. Bubbling like a fountain, a spring of hope. “I think they’ll be fine without us.”
// Remember to let her under your skin / Then you’ll begin to make it / Better//
J’onn ran his fingers down the petals of a flower, humming to himself.