Superman Returns: Convergent Dreams, Chapter 18: 86-90: Day to Day
Date written: November 30, 2006
Rating: R
Word count: Each prompt response is 200 words, 1,000 total.
Author’s Note: *runs around room happily* I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do to end this, but I have one idea that I may use. But either way... yay! This is muchly fun and really a great way to take a break from homework :) All chapters are indexed at The Little Damn Table.
Chapter 18: 86-90: Day to Day
086. Choices
“Jason, sweetie, go get your stuff.” She gave Kal a tight smile, tapping her fingers nervously at her side.
He didn’t have to stare to see the quick glances, the way her lips twitched as if she wanted to speak but didn’t know where to start. He could make up an excuse about going to help Jason, but instead, he straightened, plunging ahead.
“Would you like to do an interview sometime?” He put his hands out quickly, “Only if you want, I mean.”
She relaxed fractionally, eyes sparking. “Exclusive?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
She smiled back. “I’ll think about it.”
* * * * *
“I’m happy for you, boy,” Perry said, slapping him hard enough to tip his balance.
“Thanks. So did you want me to take that draft or…?”
Perry continued on as if Richard hadn’t spoken. “Clark’s a good fellow. And it looks like Lois is finally coming around, eh?”
Richard shrugged. “It’s not easy, but we’re managing.”
Perry leaned a little closer, dropping his voice. “If you three need some space, just say the word. Assignments can be juggled. Three wives later, trust me, I understand.”
“Thanks for the offer, Perry. I appreciate it. But… I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
087. Life
A typical Saturday.
They woke up at ten a.m., out of bed around eleven-thirty, pajamas disheveled and with two competing cases of bedhead that they documented with Richard’s favorite new toy, a Sony Rebel digital camera. Over breakfast a pancake fight erupted and by the time Richard cleaned Kal up, he was sick to his stomach with batter.
To settle his stomach, he popped in Night of the Living Dead and hardly watched a minute because Kal’s toes wouldn’t behave and it was awfully hard to focus with the apartment overpowered by the aroma of cookies baking.
The cookies and the DVD did the trick, and while Kal made his rounds, Richard worked on dinner, and they washed from head to toe before eating, lingering and using up all the hot water, but it would be worth the surcharge and then some.
They read in bed, two Stephen King novels that Richard swore were the best; Kal was still skeptical but gave it a shot anyway. He pronounced it too gory for his taste and set to distracting Richard from his reading; Richard put up a good fight, but in the end, gracefully surrendered.
With Kal, there was no losing.
088. School
“Jason!” He hollered, grabbing the paper bag off the seat, but Jason was inside. Stomach churning, he followed.
“Jason’s lunch,” he explained to the teacher, glancing at his son, already playing outside.
“I’ll be sure he gets it, Mr…?”
“Kent. Clark Kent.”
“Mr. Kent! Oh, I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Um,” He flushed, shrugging, “Well, I’m no one special.”
She came around the desk, evaluating him thoughtfully. “I’ve seen a real improvement in Jason these past few months. Amazing, really. I suspect you might be a little more special than you think.” She looked outside, smiling. “Just like him.”
* * * * *
“Ten years,” he groaned, “I cannot believe it.”
“What?”
“My college reunion. So much has happened since the last one… it’ll be interesting, at the very least.” He handed the invitation to Kal who was standing behind him, undoing his tie and loosening the top buttons of his shirt.
“‘Open bar and DJ playing all night.’ Sounds like a winning combination.”
Richard turned, putting his hands on Kal’s waist. “Would you care to be my escort, Mr. Kent? I promise I won’t flaunt you too much.”
Kal pulled Richard against him, grinning. “Just try and keep me away, Mr. White.”
089. Work
Perched on the tree and dressed all in black, he looked as suspicious as the man he was watching, one Oliver Andrews. Only the pale angles of his face showed in the moonless dark behind the curtain of his hair.
When went Andrews to pick up the phone he narrowed in on the man’s voice, listening more closely.
“Angela, baby, don’t be like that, of course I was gonna call you-”
Frowning, he tuned out, making another round of the neighborhood, but it was as before: suburban, quiet, harmless.
Nothing here. He checked his watch.
On to the next.
* * * * *
The alarm buzzed; he took the file from the top, reading out the information in a slow cadence.
“Dennis ‘Adonis’ Phillips, 576 Yerba Buena, apartment 22. They ran some petty schemes ten years ago, never caught or proven guilty, but definitely seen together. The cops’ve been watching this guy for years. Mostly a thief with a few charges of assault.”
Back to the computer to research the next one on the stack. He’d called in so many favors that he was three overextended to get ahold of these, but it didn’t matter.
Catching Luthor would be more than worth it.
090. Home
The stars dropped while the clouds faded. Kal put his arm around Martha’s shoulders and they talked about the first snow, how it was coming heavy in the air. Richard and Lois nervously supervised Jason’s attempts to play ball with Shelby, twice his size and a very enthusiastic thirteen.
They ate dinner around the fire, Martha graciously foregoing the china in favor of paper plates and picnic-style marshmallow roasting. Jason entertained them all with stories of school, dragons, and monsters and when the fire sank lower, Richard told a ghost story that kept Jason up an hour past his bedtime.
He finally slept in front of the fire, curled up with Shelby. Richard and Kal sipped their cocoa, talking in low voices; Martha and Lois had tea on the porch, counting the shooting stars and getting to know each other through Jason. When the full moon rose, they all watched it hang high in the sky, fingers clasped tightly around their mugs and breath coming out in expansive puffs, a sense of winter wonder.
They retired with contented yawns, Jason protesting that he wasn’t sleepy in Lois’s arms, hugs exchanged, and soon enough, they all slept, at peace, at home.
<-- Previous Chapter
| 01: Places | 02: Time | 03: Colors | 04: Colors (2) | 05: Relationships |
| 06: Relationships and Events | 07: Events and Feelings | 08: The Senses | 09: Shapes | 10: Shapes (2) |
| 11: The Elements | 12: Sustenance | 13: Transitions | 14: Weather | 15: States and Illumination |
| 16: Questions | 17: Connectors | 18: Day to Day | 19: Marked Days | 20: Prompts 96-100: Epilogue |
Next Chapter -->
The Little Damn Table
Rating: R
Word count: Each prompt response is 200 words, 1,000 total.
Author’s Note: *runs around room happily* I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do to end this, but I have one idea that I may use. But either way... yay! This is muchly fun and really a great way to take a break from homework :) All chapters are indexed at The Little Damn Table.
Chapter 18: 86-90: Day to Day
086. Choices
“Jason, sweetie, go get your stuff.” She gave Kal a tight smile, tapping her fingers nervously at her side.
He didn’t have to stare to see the quick glances, the way her lips twitched as if she wanted to speak but didn’t know where to start. He could make up an excuse about going to help Jason, but instead, he straightened, plunging ahead.
“Would you like to do an interview sometime?” He put his hands out quickly, “Only if you want, I mean.”
She relaxed fractionally, eyes sparking. “Exclusive?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
She smiled back. “I’ll think about it.”
* * * * *
“I’m happy for you, boy,” Perry said, slapping him hard enough to tip his balance.
“Thanks. So did you want me to take that draft or…?”
Perry continued on as if Richard hadn’t spoken. “Clark’s a good fellow. And it looks like Lois is finally coming around, eh?”
Richard shrugged. “It’s not easy, but we’re managing.”
Perry leaned a little closer, dropping his voice. “If you three need some space, just say the word. Assignments can be juggled. Three wives later, trust me, I understand.”
“Thanks for the offer, Perry. I appreciate it. But… I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
087. Life
A typical Saturday.
They woke up at ten a.m., out of bed around eleven-thirty, pajamas disheveled and with two competing cases of bedhead that they documented with Richard’s favorite new toy, a Sony Rebel digital camera. Over breakfast a pancake fight erupted and by the time Richard cleaned Kal up, he was sick to his stomach with batter.
To settle his stomach, he popped in Night of the Living Dead and hardly watched a minute because Kal’s toes wouldn’t behave and it was awfully hard to focus with the apartment overpowered by the aroma of cookies baking.
The cookies and the DVD did the trick, and while Kal made his rounds, Richard worked on dinner, and they washed from head to toe before eating, lingering and using up all the hot water, but it would be worth the surcharge and then some.
They read in bed, two Stephen King novels that Richard swore were the best; Kal was still skeptical but gave it a shot anyway. He pronounced it too gory for his taste and set to distracting Richard from his reading; Richard put up a good fight, but in the end, gracefully surrendered.
With Kal, there was no losing.
088. School
“Jason!” He hollered, grabbing the paper bag off the seat, but Jason was inside. Stomach churning, he followed.
“Jason’s lunch,” he explained to the teacher, glancing at his son, already playing outside.
“I’ll be sure he gets it, Mr…?”
“Kent. Clark Kent.”
“Mr. Kent! Oh, I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Um,” He flushed, shrugging, “Well, I’m no one special.”
She came around the desk, evaluating him thoughtfully. “I’ve seen a real improvement in Jason these past few months. Amazing, really. I suspect you might be a little more special than you think.” She looked outside, smiling. “Just like him.”
* * * * *
“Ten years,” he groaned, “I cannot believe it.”
“What?”
“My college reunion. So much has happened since the last one… it’ll be interesting, at the very least.” He handed the invitation to Kal who was standing behind him, undoing his tie and loosening the top buttons of his shirt.
“‘Open bar and DJ playing all night.’ Sounds like a winning combination.”
Richard turned, putting his hands on Kal’s waist. “Would you care to be my escort, Mr. Kent? I promise I won’t flaunt you too much.”
Kal pulled Richard against him, grinning. “Just try and keep me away, Mr. White.”
089. Work
Perched on the tree and dressed all in black, he looked as suspicious as the man he was watching, one Oliver Andrews. Only the pale angles of his face showed in the moonless dark behind the curtain of his hair.
When went Andrews to pick up the phone he narrowed in on the man’s voice, listening more closely.
“Angela, baby, don’t be like that, of course I was gonna call you-”
Frowning, he tuned out, making another round of the neighborhood, but it was as before: suburban, quiet, harmless.
Nothing here. He checked his watch.
On to the next.
* * * * *
The alarm buzzed; he took the file from the top, reading out the information in a slow cadence.
“Dennis ‘Adonis’ Phillips, 576 Yerba Buena, apartment 22. They ran some petty schemes ten years ago, never caught or proven guilty, but definitely seen together. The cops’ve been watching this guy for years. Mostly a thief with a few charges of assault.”
Back to the computer to research the next one on the stack. He’d called in so many favors that he was three overextended to get ahold of these, but it didn’t matter.
Catching Luthor would be more than worth it.
090. Home
The stars dropped while the clouds faded. Kal put his arm around Martha’s shoulders and they talked about the first snow, how it was coming heavy in the air. Richard and Lois nervously supervised Jason’s attempts to play ball with Shelby, twice his size and a very enthusiastic thirteen.
They ate dinner around the fire, Martha graciously foregoing the china in favor of paper plates and picnic-style marshmallow roasting. Jason entertained them all with stories of school, dragons, and monsters and when the fire sank lower, Richard told a ghost story that kept Jason up an hour past his bedtime.
He finally slept in front of the fire, curled up with Shelby. Richard and Kal sipped their cocoa, talking in low voices; Martha and Lois had tea on the porch, counting the shooting stars and getting to know each other through Jason. When the full moon rose, they all watched it hang high in the sky, fingers clasped tightly around their mugs and breath coming out in expansive puffs, a sense of winter wonder.
They retired with contented yawns, Jason protesting that he wasn’t sleepy in Lois’s arms, hugs exchanged, and soon enough, they all slept, at peace, at home.
<-- Previous Chapter
| 01: Places | 02: Time | 03: Colors | 04: Colors (2) | 05: Relationships |
| 06: Relationships and Events | 07: Events and Feelings | 08: The Senses | 09: Shapes | 10: Shapes (2) |
| 11: The Elements | 12: Sustenance | 13: Transitions | 14: Weather | 15: States and Illumination |
| 16: Questions | 17: Connectors | 18: Day to Day | 19: Marked Days | 20: Prompts 96-100: Epilogue |
Next Chapter -->
The Little Damn Table