Music of the Spheres Interlude: Sandcastles
Title: Sandcastles
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Bruce
Disclaimer: The boys belong to DC and to each other, but not to me.
Notes: A stand-alone story in the series "Music of the Spheres." Other stories and notes on the series here. For the birthday of the talented and wonderful
summonercat! *hugs*
Rating: PG
Summary: Clark and Bruce take a brief vacation on a private island.
Word Count: 800
The light off the white sand was nearly blinding--though not as blinding as Clark Kent's bathing suit. Hot pink with neon yellow squiggles, the baggy suit reached almost to his knees. Bruce wasn't sure why his lover was covering so much of himself up since there would be no one else on the island. Coral Cay was part of the Wayne Foundation's ecological research work, and there was absolutely no one there but the two of them.
Of course, Clark was also currently sporting a nose covered with hot pink zinc oxide, despite the fact that Bruce knew for a fact his lover was incapable of sunburn. But then, Clark reveled in his dorky guise and seemed to be under the impression Bruce Wayne somehow found it cute. Which wasn't true, Bruce mused.
"Hot as hell" would be perhaps a more accurate term.
Bruce pulled himself out of the improbably clear water and sat on the sand, enjoying the silence broken only by the sound of the waves and the piping of the gulls. He, of course, was clad in very tight and flattering Speedos. It was nice, he thought idly, to be somewhere where he didn't have to worry about his scars showing.
He slipped on a pair of sunglasses against the glare and glanced over at Clark. The Kryptonian was piling up sand into a base for a sandcastle. Bruce watched for a while, then frowned and got to his feet to get closer to the castle. "Those merlons you're putting on there are completely impractical if the enemy has cannon," he noted. "And this looks like a motte-and-bailey construction, which means you really should build the motte higher for the best lay of the land. Let me get you some sticks to use as a palisade, unless you're going to add some curtain walls as extra defense."
He was scanning the beach for likely palisade material when Clark said a bit huffily, "I wasn't building this to withstand a siege, Bruce."
Bruce moved his sunglasses down his nose to glare at Clark. "If you're not going to do it well, why do it at all?"
"For the fun of it?" Clark's dimples were annoyingly charming.
"Doing it well is the fun of it," Bruce growled, but sat down next to Clark to start building his own version.
He became entirely absorbed in making sure to use the proper crenellation-pattern for the era he'd chosen and getting the concentric layout right, adding some nice machicolations and embrasures for good measure. See if the invaders from County Kent enjoyed having hot oil dumped on their heads as they attempted to breach the defenses of Wayne Keep.
He was finishing digging a nice deep moat when he looked over and saw Clark's castle, all airy spires and ridiculously impractical fluting towers. "Very...pretty," he said.
"Well, yours is quite...practical," Clark replied, sounding like he hoped it would sound like a compliment.
Bruce was opening his mouth to explain why he'd chosen the lower-profile style of the later Medieval period when Clark gave a startled yelp. A wave crashed up the shore and around the base of his fairy-tale castle; one of the towers crumbled into the sea.
Bruce gestured at his castle, where the wave had poured harmlessly into the moat and left his castle untouched. "You see? Careful attention to defensive structure can--"
A second wave rushed up and breached the moat; Bruce's palisade sticks floated off into the tide and his meticulous crenellations began to collapse. Two waves later and all that was left of both castles was smoothed heaps of sand.
Bruce stared at the wet, gleaming sand, feeling ridiculously bereft. Had he thought the tide wouldn't come in? He had lost himself in the pleasure of the work and forgotten--he kicked angrily at the white sand, knowing it was a small and petulant gesture. "Damn," he muttered. "Damn it."
Clark's arms were around him, wrapping him up from behind. "It was beautiful," his lover's voice whispered in his ear, barely audible over the incoming tide. "I'm sure the people in it were very safe and very happy."
Bruce slipped off his sunglasses. "Sun's so bright, even these don't do a bit of good," he grumbled, wiping at his eyes. He rested his hands on Clark's arms. "Yours was glorious," he said.
"We can build new ones," whispered Clark.
Bruce twisted in Clark's arms to face him. "Maybe tomorrow," he said softly. "For now..." He tangled sandy hands in Clark's hair and pulled him close. "I say we get back to the cabin and enjoy our evening together to the fullest."
Clark smiled. With a swift movement, he scooped Bruce up into his arms like a bride, ignoring his indignant sputtering. "Sounds good to me," he said cheerfully, setting off across the beach at a comfortable trot.
After they were gone, the sun set and the tide rose against the sand without them, smoothing their footprints away.
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Bruce
Disclaimer: The boys belong to DC and to each other, but not to me.
Notes: A stand-alone story in the series "Music of the Spheres." Other stories and notes on the series here. For the birthday of the talented and wonderful
summonercat! *hugs*
Rating: PG
Summary: Clark and Bruce take a brief vacation on a private island.
Word Count: 800
The light off the white sand was nearly blinding--though not as blinding as Clark Kent's bathing suit. Hot pink with neon yellow squiggles, the baggy suit reached almost to his knees. Bruce wasn't sure why his lover was covering so much of himself up since there would be no one else on the island. Coral Cay was part of the Wayne Foundation's ecological research work, and there was absolutely no one there but the two of them.
Of course, Clark was also currently sporting a nose covered with hot pink zinc oxide, despite the fact that Bruce knew for a fact his lover was incapable of sunburn. But then, Clark reveled in his dorky guise and seemed to be under the impression Bruce Wayne somehow found it cute. Which wasn't true, Bruce mused.
"Hot as hell" would be perhaps a more accurate term.
Bruce pulled himself out of the improbably clear water and sat on the sand, enjoying the silence broken only by the sound of the waves and the piping of the gulls. He, of course, was clad in very tight and flattering Speedos. It was nice, he thought idly, to be somewhere where he didn't have to worry about his scars showing.
He slipped on a pair of sunglasses against the glare and glanced over at Clark. The Kryptonian was piling up sand into a base for a sandcastle. Bruce watched for a while, then frowned and got to his feet to get closer to the castle. "Those merlons you're putting on there are completely impractical if the enemy has cannon," he noted. "And this looks like a motte-and-bailey construction, which means you really should build the motte higher for the best lay of the land. Let me get you some sticks to use as a palisade, unless you're going to add some curtain walls as extra defense."
He was scanning the beach for likely palisade material when Clark said a bit huffily, "I wasn't building this to withstand a siege, Bruce."
Bruce moved his sunglasses down his nose to glare at Clark. "If you're not going to do it well, why do it at all?"
"For the fun of it?" Clark's dimples were annoyingly charming.
"Doing it well is the fun of it," Bruce growled, but sat down next to Clark to start building his own version.
He became entirely absorbed in making sure to use the proper crenellation-pattern for the era he'd chosen and getting the concentric layout right, adding some nice machicolations and embrasures for good measure. See if the invaders from County Kent enjoyed having hot oil dumped on their heads as they attempted to breach the defenses of Wayne Keep.
He was finishing digging a nice deep moat when he looked over and saw Clark's castle, all airy spires and ridiculously impractical fluting towers. "Very...pretty," he said.
"Well, yours is quite...practical," Clark replied, sounding like he hoped it would sound like a compliment.
Bruce was opening his mouth to explain why he'd chosen the lower-profile style of the later Medieval period when Clark gave a startled yelp. A wave crashed up the shore and around the base of his fairy-tale castle; one of the towers crumbled into the sea.
Bruce gestured at his castle, where the wave had poured harmlessly into the moat and left his castle untouched. "You see? Careful attention to defensive structure can--"
A second wave rushed up and breached the moat; Bruce's palisade sticks floated off into the tide and his meticulous crenellations began to collapse. Two waves later and all that was left of both castles was smoothed heaps of sand.
Bruce stared at the wet, gleaming sand, feeling ridiculously bereft. Had he thought the tide wouldn't come in? He had lost himself in the pleasure of the work and forgotten--he kicked angrily at the white sand, knowing it was a small and petulant gesture. "Damn," he muttered. "Damn it."
Clark's arms were around him, wrapping him up from behind. "It was beautiful," his lover's voice whispered in his ear, barely audible over the incoming tide. "I'm sure the people in it were very safe and very happy."
Bruce slipped off his sunglasses. "Sun's so bright, even these don't do a bit of good," he grumbled, wiping at his eyes. He rested his hands on Clark's arms. "Yours was glorious," he said.
"We can build new ones," whispered Clark.
Bruce twisted in Clark's arms to face him. "Maybe tomorrow," he said softly. "For now..." He tangled sandy hands in Clark's hair and pulled him close. "I say we get back to the cabin and enjoy our evening together to the fullest."
Clark smiled. With a swift movement, he scooped Bruce up into his arms like a bride, ignoring his indignant sputtering. "Sounds good to me," he said cheerfully, setting off across the beach at a comfortable trot.
After they were gone, the sun set and the tide rose against the sand without them, smoothing their footprints away.