FICLET: Lullaby (Kara + Kon)
Title: Lullaby
Pairing/Characters: Kara Zor-El, Kon-El
Rating: G
Warnings: None needed
Summary: Kon finds himself quarantined in the Fortress with Kara taking care of him.
Word Count: 680
Notes: For shardsofblu . Mood: sick. Prompt:"How did I get here?"
Conner opened his eyes and then wished he hadn’t. Incandescent sparkles hazed his vision, all his joints hurt, and he was shaking uncontrollably. He tried to sit up and a wave of nausea rattled through him, leaving him doubled over. “Wh--Where--”
There was a cool hand on his forehead, strong arms easing him back down. A girl’s voice said, “It’s okay, Conner.” It took him a moment to place it--Kara. Supergirl. His sort-of-cousin. “You’re at the Fortress.”
“How did I--How did I get here?” He wanted to look around, but his vision was blurred and all he had was a vague impression of crystalline light.
“You’ve got a bad case of the Winathian Flu, and I wanted to make sure it didn’t spread to any of the humans. It’s just an inconvenience to us, but it can be fatal to them.”
“Are you--you--” His teeth were chattering and he couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.
She touched his forehead again and made a tsking sound. “I had Winathian Flu as a kid, I’m immune. You’ll be okay, Conner. Just rest. The Fortress and I will take care of you.”
Sleep reached up like a dark hand and seized him before she was done speaking.
: : :
He drifted back into consciousness to the sound of music, eerie and inhuman, beautiful. Standing up on shaky legs, he made his way toward the sound to find Kara before a bank of crystals, playing them like a theremin, her hands outlining graceful curves, shaping music. She was rapt in the melody and he didn’t want to interrupt her, so he waited and listened to the crystal notes fill the air with a mournful, silvery keen.
Kara finally let her hands drift downward to her sides and the last strains faded away. She sighed, then turned and caught sight of Conner. “Oh!” she exclaimed, soaring to his side, “You shouldn’t be up yet, I’m so sorry I woke you--”
“--That’s okay,” he said. “It was beautiful.”
She shook her head, her cheeks pink. “I haven’t played the shazinarrl in years, I’m so out of practice.” She looked him up and down, clinically. “You seem to be feeling better.”
“I am. Thanks for taking care of me.”
She laughed, sadness threaded through the sound. “Family has to stick together.”
Conner looked around the room. “I’ve never really gotten much chance to look around the Fortress.”
“Really?”
“You know,” Conner waved a hand. “Always some crisis or another.”
“Oh, I know,” Kara said ruefully. She hooked an arm through his--subtly supporting his trembling legs. “Let me show you around.”
In the Great Hall, Conner stared up at the massive statues of Jor-El and Lara, holding a replica of Krypton between them. His grandparents. He wondered suddenly what they would have thought of him, their half-human clone grandchild. “They look pretty serious,” he said.
Kara snorted. “Kal has a tendency to make them way too mythical. I understand it, but to me they’re just...Uncle Jor and Aunt Lara, you know? They laughed a lot. They made mistakes. They were just people, nothing epic.” She glanced at Conner, who was still staring upward. “They would have loved you very much,” she said. She tightened her arm, tugging him closer. “Now, you need to lie back down. You want me to get you anything? I know a place in New York that makes the best matzo ball soup, I can get you some in a jif.”
“You know what I’d like?” Conner said. “I’d like to hear more of your music on that shiznit thing.”
“Shazinarrl,” she corrected him, smiling.
“Yeah, that. It was really nice.”
Soon Conner was wrapped in light silvery blankets, the lights dimmed to keep the sparkling down. His trembling began to ease, his muscles relaxing as the first notes of music lifted into the air, as pale and shining as mist. He drifted off to sleep on waves of shimmering Kryptonian melody, a crystal lullaby that touched his dreams with sadness and hope and love.
Pairing/Characters: Kara Zor-El, Kon-El
Rating: G
Warnings: None needed
Summary: Kon finds himself quarantined in the Fortress with Kara taking care of him.
Word Count: 680
Notes: For shardsofblu . Mood: sick. Prompt:"How did I get here?"
Conner opened his eyes and then wished he hadn’t. Incandescent sparkles hazed his vision, all his joints hurt, and he was shaking uncontrollably. He tried to sit up and a wave of nausea rattled through him, leaving him doubled over. “Wh--Where--”
There was a cool hand on his forehead, strong arms easing him back down. A girl’s voice said, “It’s okay, Conner.” It took him a moment to place it--Kara. Supergirl. His sort-of-cousin. “You’re at the Fortress.”
“How did I--How did I get here?” He wanted to look around, but his vision was blurred and all he had was a vague impression of crystalline light.
“You’ve got a bad case of the Winathian Flu, and I wanted to make sure it didn’t spread to any of the humans. It’s just an inconvenience to us, but it can be fatal to them.”
“Are you--you--” His teeth were chattering and he couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.
She touched his forehead again and made a tsking sound. “I had Winathian Flu as a kid, I’m immune. You’ll be okay, Conner. Just rest. The Fortress and I will take care of you.”
Sleep reached up like a dark hand and seized him before she was done speaking.
: : :
He drifted back into consciousness to the sound of music, eerie and inhuman, beautiful. Standing up on shaky legs, he made his way toward the sound to find Kara before a bank of crystals, playing them like a theremin, her hands outlining graceful curves, shaping music. She was rapt in the melody and he didn’t want to interrupt her, so he waited and listened to the crystal notes fill the air with a mournful, silvery keen.
Kara finally let her hands drift downward to her sides and the last strains faded away. She sighed, then turned and caught sight of Conner. “Oh!” she exclaimed, soaring to his side, “You shouldn’t be up yet, I’m so sorry I woke you--”
“--That’s okay,” he said. “It was beautiful.”
She shook her head, her cheeks pink. “I haven’t played the shazinarrl in years, I’m so out of practice.” She looked him up and down, clinically. “You seem to be feeling better.”
“I am. Thanks for taking care of me.”
She laughed, sadness threaded through the sound. “Family has to stick together.”
Conner looked around the room. “I’ve never really gotten much chance to look around the Fortress.”
“Really?”
“You know,” Conner waved a hand. “Always some crisis or another.”
“Oh, I know,” Kara said ruefully. She hooked an arm through his--subtly supporting his trembling legs. “Let me show you around.”
In the Great Hall, Conner stared up at the massive statues of Jor-El and Lara, holding a replica of Krypton between them. His grandparents. He wondered suddenly what they would have thought of him, their half-human clone grandchild. “They look pretty serious,” he said.
Kara snorted. “Kal has a tendency to make them way too mythical. I understand it, but to me they’re just...Uncle Jor and Aunt Lara, you know? They laughed a lot. They made mistakes. They were just people, nothing epic.” She glanced at Conner, who was still staring upward. “They would have loved you very much,” she said. She tightened her arm, tugging him closer. “Now, you need to lie back down. You want me to get you anything? I know a place in New York that makes the best matzo ball soup, I can get you some in a jif.”
“You know what I’d like?” Conner said. “I’d like to hear more of your music on that shiznit thing.”
“Shazinarrl,” she corrected him, smiling.
“Yeah, that. It was really nice.”
Soon Conner was wrapped in light silvery blankets, the lights dimmed to keep the sparkling down. His trembling began to ease, his muscles relaxing as the first notes of music lifted into the air, as pale and shining as mist. He drifted off to sleep on waves of shimmering Kryptonian melody, a crystal lullaby that touched his dreams with sadness and hope and love.