Fic: The Colour of Sand
Apr. 24th, 2011 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starsandseaTitle: The Colour of Sand
Rating: PG
Characters: Clark, Bruce
Word Count: 2726
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Continuity: AU
Author's Note:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ilovetobefree won my auction thread at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
help_japan and we would both like to dedicate this story to mithen, rai_daydreamer and everyone from Japan who is reading this. Our thoughts are with you all. Unbetaed, so point and I shall correct.
The dark horse galloped across the dull golden sands. The sea was pewter, capped with white foam. The sky was dull grey, threatening a new downpour of rain at any moment. The wind blew in sharp off the sea, making the looser sand fly. Gulls wove and danced in the air, calling out their song, sometimes harshly, sometimes mournfully.
Clark watched the rider and horse from his vantage point on the high dunes. They were galloping away from the the castle that stood on one of the cliffs and toward the point of land that stretched out into the sea.
The rider’s dark cloak flew out behind him, but his face was low, hidden by the horse’s long mane that was flying with its speed, as he bent in the saddle, urging the horse on. There seemed to almost be a desperation to him, as if he was trying to outrun something. But he was the only one upon the breach, so he could not be.
The horse slowed slightly as it splashed through a stream that cut the beach almost exactly in half. Then they galloped on, swiftly becoming a small speck.
Clark glanced down at Krypto, who looked up at him, head cocked, tail wagging a little. Clark eased his hold on his collar. He hadn’t wanted Krypto to go bounding off toward the horse to ‘play’. He did not know how the rider would have reacted, and if he was from the castle...
Clark frowned, then stood from the crouch he had fallen into. “Come on, boy. Lets go check the rock pools.”
An excited woof, and Krypto was already streaking down the dune, his white coat bright against the golden sand.
*****
It was sunny this morning, would be a warm Spring day. Clark paused atop the dunes, Krypto sitting beside him, tongue hanging out as he panted. As he had come to expect he heard the sound of hoof beats; thuds against the sand.
From behind the cliff the black horse appeared, as they had every day for almost a fortnight, now. As he had stood here every day, waiting for them. Watching them. He felt an odd connection to the rider, though they had never spoken together. Maybe it was just because they were the only two upon the beach.
Clark sighed. Was he really so lonely that he thought things like that? After everything that had happened, though... It would be nice to have someone to talk to, besides his Ma and Pa. He loved his parents dearly, but he always felt guilty; they had given up so much for him...
Clark sighed again. Why would anyone from the castle want to talk to him? The black horse had already crossed the stream. Krypto looked up at him hopefully. Clark smiled now, putting his thoughts away. “All right, boy. Lets go.”
They walked down the dune together - well, he walked, Krypto ran and slid and rolled, then turned left, toward the high cliffs that seemed to cut into the sky. Where they met the sands there were many rock pools and they would hunt for crabs there. It was not much, but it was enough.
They had the farm, of course, but it had been a bad Summer, last year. And they had to give so much of their crops, as levy, to the local Lord, Luthor...
Krypto ran on ahead, barking at some of the gulls that had ventured up this way. They quickly took to the sky, squawking indigently. Krypto rolled in the still damp sands, his tongue hanging out. Clark sighed; Krypto loved getting messy but hated having to be cleaned, later.
He reached the bottom of the cliff, then started to scramble over the rocks, Krypto loyally following him. There were muscles in several of the pools. Clark took some, careful not to take too many. It looked like there would be no crabs, today. His lips thinned. It would be a time, yet, before the first crops...
Maybe his Pa should get that boat he was talking about. Though anyone in the castle would be able to see them, in the sea, and then a levy of fish would be demanded too... And the sea here was dangerous. He wasn’t sure if he could face his Ma’s worried face, even though he couldn’t be hurt...
A noise, and Clark looked up, startled. Krypto barked, once, before leaping off the rocks. The black horse shied, but his rider swiftly steadied him. And Clark found himself looking into the most beautiful and saddest blue eyes he had ever seen.
*****
His name was Bruce. He was staying at the castle, for a time, but he did not owe his allegiance to Luthor. Who he did owe his allegiance to, he did not say. Luthor had invited him here to impress him with a display of wealth, so that he could ‘educate’ him in how a Holding was properly run.
Clark guessed that he was a nobleman’s son, maybe even a Lord in his own right. He didn’t seem to like Luthor very much, and Clark found himself liking him all the more for that. And there was something else about him, too...
He asked Clark questions about himself, where he lived, what he was doing, and Clark found himself answering almost truthfully - careful to keep certain facts a secret. He spoke of how his Ma and Pa had moved here from the their old farm in the middle of nowhere because things had... changed.
Metropolis, they had heard, was the greatest place of them all, so they had come here. The reality was far different. Hardly a city at all, only a glorified land holding. And the Lord, Luthor... Clark was careful not to say too much - even thinking a bad word about Luthor was perilous.
Sometimes, he thought, it would have been better if they had stayed in Smallville, even with... But then an image of fire and flame would appear before his eyes. Lana’s horrified eyes and Pete’s terrified face...
Bruce was looking at him closely - had he heard about Smallville, and what had happened there? But he hadn’t said that he was from Smallville, Clark remembered. Bruce hadn’t said where he was from, either, but he spoke of home with such longing and love in his eyes it made Clark feel a little uncomfortable, that he should see something so... intimate.
The sun had arced in the sky by the time they finally parted. “Will you be here, tomorrow?” Bruce asked, mounting his great black horse. It was probably just the light off the sea shining in his eyes that made them seem hopeful.
Clark nodded. “I come here every morning.”
Bruce smiled, then, and Clark felt his breath catch. “I will see you tomorrow, then.” And then Bruce rode away, leaving Clark standing, with Krypto loyally by his side.
*****
They met each other every day, after that. Each morning Bruce would cross the beach on his great black horse, toward Clark. Sometimes he helped Clark with his search for food. Sometimes he brought his own dog, Ace, and he and Krypto were soon fast friends, playing together while he and Bruce talked, though Ace was not so exuberant as Krypto.
Clark told Bruce about his families worries and the harsh levies imposed on them, simply by living where they did. That made Bruce frown and mutter something that he did not catch. “Why don’t you leave? Other places - my home - are not like that. You would have welcome there.”
But Clark shifted and looked away. How could he describe it - explain it - to Bruce? The things he could do, how his parents had told him that he had come from a fallen star... And besides, for all that it was, Metropolis was home. He felt at home here. When he tried to explain that, frustrated at how he could not put it into words, Bruce cut him off. But he was smiling and looking across the sea at something he couldn’t see, his blue eyes shining.
Clark found himself almost feeling jealous, as he did so, as the cold truth hit him. Bruce wasn’t staying. He was only visiting, though he had never said how long. Clark sighed, and turned back to the rocks.
So he missed the look on Bruce’s face, in his eyes, as he returned his gaze to him.
*****
Bruce didn’t come the next morning. Or the morning after that. Clark looked, somewhat anxiously, across the beach, hoping to hear the sound of hoof beats. But there were none. Clark sighed and bowed his head. Served him right for getting his hopes up. But... Bruce wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye, would he?
Krypto whined, looking up at him, and Clark stroked his head, feeling the coarse hair, then his soft ears. “Come on, boy.”
They started down the dune and he cast a look out at the sea. It was grey today, mirroring the sky above. Gulls weaved and called, and Krypto set about chasing those that were on the beach. Despite himself, Clark found himself smiling.
He walked along the tide line, occasionally stooping to pick up a shell for his Ma, or a piece of wood or rope that would be useful.
It was Krypto who first saw them. He darted off to the cliff, woofing excitedly. There was an answering woof, and a whiny, and Clark looked up, startled. Under the shadow of the cliff were three patches of darkness. Ace, Bruce’s horse and Bruce himself.
“Bruce!”
He nodded at him, but did not rise. Clark rushed over to him - by now Krypto and Ace were playing together. Clark was grinning, but found it fading as Bruce did not respond, as he merely studied him, blue eyes serious, and a little wary. Clark swallowed, coming to a halt, feeling fear start to thud through his heart.
“Clark.” Bruce greeted him, but showed no other reaction.
Clark slowly sat, wondering if he should run. He knew he could outrun a horse, but that would give him away... He opened his mouth to say something banal - look, Krypto has a new collar! - but Bruce spoke before he could.
“I’ve heard some strange things about this place, Clark. How there are often miracles wrought here. That’s part of the reason why I came here, to see if there was truth to them. I’ve never believed Lex’s claims that he was blessed, that they were his doing, his making, at how wonderful a Lord and Master he is... I did not believe them at all. Until I saw the barn.”
Clark stared, his mouth hanging open, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Krypto came over to him and stood beside him, tense. “I...” He remembered the barn. Only four days ago. An errant flame and soon the whole building was ablaze. There had been a little girl inside, hiding from her family after an argument. He had heard her screams. How could he have done anything else? He had rushed in, feeling the flames licking at him, but not hurting, and pulled the girl from the burning building. The chain of buckets of water hadn’t been doing anything, so he had made it rain...
Bruce was looking at him steadily, and Clark swallowed again, fear and hope mingling sharply.
“I had heard another story, before I came here. About a being that some called a demon and some an angel, who had been seen one night in a place called Smallville, just after there was a fire in the village.”
Clark swallowed, hard. He was frozen, he did not know what to do, what to say...
“You and your parents left Smallville a week after that night.” Bruce’s voice was still calm. “Clark.”
He slowly looked up, looked into Bruce’s eyes. And saw the relief and hope there.
“Clark,” Bruce repeated, wonder starting to make its way into his eyes. “It is you, isn’t it?”
Clark found his mouth opening and closing still. His heart felt tight in his chest; if he was anyone else he would be worried that he was having a heart attack. “Please don’t tell anyone,” he whispered at last, hardly heard over the sound of the waves and the wind.
But Bruce actually smiled, something like incredulous joy and hope in his eyes. “Clark...” He leaned forward. Clark still sat frozen. “Clark,” Bruce repeated, licking his lips. “You know why I really came here?”
Clark shook his head numbly.
“I wanted to meet this miracle maker and speak to him, because I... I want to do the things that he does. I can’t... Do some of those things, in the stories, I have heard, how fire can come from his eyes... But I want to help people, like he does. Clark.”
Bruce was looking at him with such an intense look upon his face... Clark found himself blushing, he wasn't quite sure why. But it was impossible, under the force of that stare, to deny Bruce anything.
*****
He wasn’t sure how long they just sat and talked. He was too distracted by just how much of a relief it was to be able to talk about it all. And Bruce’s own eagerness, how he talked about his own plans, what he wanted to do, how he wanted to make his Gotham a better place, so no one had to suffer the way that he had.
They spoke, then, of Luthor, and what he was doing to the people, how they would not be able to survive much longer, under his harsh rules. Bruce said he had a plan, but he would need Clark’s help.
Clark had been nervous, then - it was one thing to help anonymously, another to reveal himself completely. But when he went back home, to his Ma and Pa, he spoke to them, and his Ma, somewhat hesitantly, gave him some red and blue cloth, like he had never seen before; blue leggings and a tunic that had a strange yellow and red device upon it, and a red cloak.
They had come with him, from the fallen star, she explained, tears in her eyes. She had always known that this day would come, she said; he wasn't made to hide in the shadows.
A week later, Lord Luthor got the shock of his life when an angel-demon, eyes ablaze with light, flew to his castle and coldly told him that he had been watching him and he didn’t like the way he had been treating his people. And a true demon, all in black, with horns upon its head whispered dire threats in his ear...
The next morning, the levies were substantially reduced.
*****
Clark met Bruce on the beach, still wondering at what he had done. What they had done, together. But something was different, Bruce had far more packed on his horse than usual, and Clark felt his heart sink.
“I have to go. Gotham is calling me home.”
Clark nodded, even as pain swept through his heart, felt tears stinging at his eyes. Bruce... “You must miss it,” he whispered, looking down.
“I will miss Metropolis, too.” Clark looked up and Bruce smiled slightly. “You can fly, Clark. And Gotham is just across the water.” He jerked his thumb across the sea and Clark startled a little - he had often glimpsed hills across the sea, but he never thought- “You can visit whenever you like. Here.” Bruce took off his glove, then removed a silver ring from his finger, that had a stylized ‘W’ etched upon it. “My House ring. You can give it back to me when you visit.”
Clark took it, found himself smiling. “I will visit soon,” he promised.
Bruce looked at him a long moment, before smiling again. “Good. I am sure there are many other things we can work on together.”
Clark felt his breath catch, but Bruce had already mounted his horse, was turning away. “I’ll... I’ll see you soon!” Clark called out, and Bruce waved his hand in a salute.
Clark watched him, then looked down at the ring in his hand, and knew that this was not an end, only a beginning.
Rating: PG
Characters: Clark, Bruce
Word Count: 2726
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Continuity: AU
Author's Note:
ilovetobefree won my auction thread at help_japan and we would both like to dedicate this story to mithen, rai_daydreamer and everyone from Japan who is reading this. Our thoughts are with you all. Unbetaed, so point and I shall correct.The dark horse galloped across the dull golden sands. The sea was pewter, capped with white foam. The sky was dull grey, threatening a new downpour of rain at any moment. The wind blew in sharp off the sea, making the looser sand fly. Gulls wove and danced in the air, calling out their song, sometimes harshly, sometimes mournfully.
Clark watched the rider and horse from his vantage point on the high dunes. They were galloping away from the the castle that stood on one of the cliffs and toward the point of land that stretched out into the sea.
The rider’s dark cloak flew out behind him, but his face was low, hidden by the horse’s long mane that was flying with its speed, as he bent in the saddle, urging the horse on. There seemed to almost be a desperation to him, as if he was trying to outrun something. But he was the only one upon the breach, so he could not be.
The horse slowed slightly as it splashed through a stream that cut the beach almost exactly in half. Then they galloped on, swiftly becoming a small speck.
Clark glanced down at Krypto, who looked up at him, head cocked, tail wagging a little. Clark eased his hold on his collar. He hadn’t wanted Krypto to go bounding off toward the horse to ‘play’. He did not know how the rider would have reacted, and if he was from the castle...
Clark frowned, then stood from the crouch he had fallen into. “Come on, boy. Lets go check the rock pools.”
An excited woof, and Krypto was already streaking down the dune, his white coat bright against the golden sand.
*****
It was sunny this morning, would be a warm Spring day. Clark paused atop the dunes, Krypto sitting beside him, tongue hanging out as he panted. As he had come to expect he heard the sound of hoof beats; thuds against the sand.
From behind the cliff the black horse appeared, as they had every day for almost a fortnight, now. As he had stood here every day, waiting for them. Watching them. He felt an odd connection to the rider, though they had never spoken together. Maybe it was just because they were the only two upon the beach.
Clark sighed. Was he really so lonely that he thought things like that? After everything that had happened, though... It would be nice to have someone to talk to, besides his Ma and Pa. He loved his parents dearly, but he always felt guilty; they had given up so much for him...
Clark sighed again. Why would anyone from the castle want to talk to him? The black horse had already crossed the stream. Krypto looked up at him hopefully. Clark smiled now, putting his thoughts away. “All right, boy. Lets go.”
They walked down the dune together - well, he walked, Krypto ran and slid and rolled, then turned left, toward the high cliffs that seemed to cut into the sky. Where they met the sands there were many rock pools and they would hunt for crabs there. It was not much, but it was enough.
They had the farm, of course, but it had been a bad Summer, last year. And they had to give so much of their crops, as levy, to the local Lord, Luthor...
Krypto ran on ahead, barking at some of the gulls that had ventured up this way. They quickly took to the sky, squawking indigently. Krypto rolled in the still damp sands, his tongue hanging out. Clark sighed; Krypto loved getting messy but hated having to be cleaned, later.
He reached the bottom of the cliff, then started to scramble over the rocks, Krypto loyally following him. There were muscles in several of the pools. Clark took some, careful not to take too many. It looked like there would be no crabs, today. His lips thinned. It would be a time, yet, before the first crops...
Maybe his Pa should get that boat he was talking about. Though anyone in the castle would be able to see them, in the sea, and then a levy of fish would be demanded too... And the sea here was dangerous. He wasn’t sure if he could face his Ma’s worried face, even though he couldn’t be hurt...
A noise, and Clark looked up, startled. Krypto barked, once, before leaping off the rocks. The black horse shied, but his rider swiftly steadied him. And Clark found himself looking into the most beautiful and saddest blue eyes he had ever seen.
*****
His name was Bruce. He was staying at the castle, for a time, but he did not owe his allegiance to Luthor. Who he did owe his allegiance to, he did not say. Luthor had invited him here to impress him with a display of wealth, so that he could ‘educate’ him in how a Holding was properly run.
Clark guessed that he was a nobleman’s son, maybe even a Lord in his own right. He didn’t seem to like Luthor very much, and Clark found himself liking him all the more for that. And there was something else about him, too...
He asked Clark questions about himself, where he lived, what he was doing, and Clark found himself answering almost truthfully - careful to keep certain facts a secret. He spoke of how his Ma and Pa had moved here from the their old farm in the middle of nowhere because things had... changed.
Metropolis, they had heard, was the greatest place of them all, so they had come here. The reality was far different. Hardly a city at all, only a glorified land holding. And the Lord, Luthor... Clark was careful not to say too much - even thinking a bad word about Luthor was perilous.
Sometimes, he thought, it would have been better if they had stayed in Smallville, even with... But then an image of fire and flame would appear before his eyes. Lana’s horrified eyes and Pete’s terrified face...
Bruce was looking at him closely - had he heard about Smallville, and what had happened there? But he hadn’t said that he was from Smallville, Clark remembered. Bruce hadn’t said where he was from, either, but he spoke of home with such longing and love in his eyes it made Clark feel a little uncomfortable, that he should see something so... intimate.
The sun had arced in the sky by the time they finally parted. “Will you be here, tomorrow?” Bruce asked, mounting his great black horse. It was probably just the light off the sea shining in his eyes that made them seem hopeful.
Clark nodded. “I come here every morning.”
Bruce smiled, then, and Clark felt his breath catch. “I will see you tomorrow, then.” And then Bruce rode away, leaving Clark standing, with Krypto loyally by his side.
*****
They met each other every day, after that. Each morning Bruce would cross the beach on his great black horse, toward Clark. Sometimes he helped Clark with his search for food. Sometimes he brought his own dog, Ace, and he and Krypto were soon fast friends, playing together while he and Bruce talked, though Ace was not so exuberant as Krypto.
Clark told Bruce about his families worries and the harsh levies imposed on them, simply by living where they did. That made Bruce frown and mutter something that he did not catch. “Why don’t you leave? Other places - my home - are not like that. You would have welcome there.”
But Clark shifted and looked away. How could he describe it - explain it - to Bruce? The things he could do, how his parents had told him that he had come from a fallen star... And besides, for all that it was, Metropolis was home. He felt at home here. When he tried to explain that, frustrated at how he could not put it into words, Bruce cut him off. But he was smiling and looking across the sea at something he couldn’t see, his blue eyes shining.
Clark found himself almost feeling jealous, as he did so, as the cold truth hit him. Bruce wasn’t staying. He was only visiting, though he had never said how long. Clark sighed, and turned back to the rocks.
So he missed the look on Bruce’s face, in his eyes, as he returned his gaze to him.
*****
Bruce didn’t come the next morning. Or the morning after that. Clark looked, somewhat anxiously, across the beach, hoping to hear the sound of hoof beats. But there were none. Clark sighed and bowed his head. Served him right for getting his hopes up. But... Bruce wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye, would he?
Krypto whined, looking up at him, and Clark stroked his head, feeling the coarse hair, then his soft ears. “Come on, boy.”
They started down the dune and he cast a look out at the sea. It was grey today, mirroring the sky above. Gulls weaved and called, and Krypto set about chasing those that were on the beach. Despite himself, Clark found himself smiling.
He walked along the tide line, occasionally stooping to pick up a shell for his Ma, or a piece of wood or rope that would be useful.
It was Krypto who first saw them. He darted off to the cliff, woofing excitedly. There was an answering woof, and a whiny, and Clark looked up, startled. Under the shadow of the cliff were three patches of darkness. Ace, Bruce’s horse and Bruce himself.
“Bruce!”
He nodded at him, but did not rise. Clark rushed over to him - by now Krypto and Ace were playing together. Clark was grinning, but found it fading as Bruce did not respond, as he merely studied him, blue eyes serious, and a little wary. Clark swallowed, coming to a halt, feeling fear start to thud through his heart.
“Clark.” Bruce greeted him, but showed no other reaction.
Clark slowly sat, wondering if he should run. He knew he could outrun a horse, but that would give him away... He opened his mouth to say something banal - look, Krypto has a new collar! - but Bruce spoke before he could.
“I’ve heard some strange things about this place, Clark. How there are often miracles wrought here. That’s part of the reason why I came here, to see if there was truth to them. I’ve never believed Lex’s claims that he was blessed, that they were his doing, his making, at how wonderful a Lord and Master he is... I did not believe them at all. Until I saw the barn.”
Clark stared, his mouth hanging open, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Krypto came over to him and stood beside him, tense. “I...” He remembered the barn. Only four days ago. An errant flame and soon the whole building was ablaze. There had been a little girl inside, hiding from her family after an argument. He had heard her screams. How could he have done anything else? He had rushed in, feeling the flames licking at him, but not hurting, and pulled the girl from the burning building. The chain of buckets of water hadn’t been doing anything, so he had made it rain...
Bruce was looking at him steadily, and Clark swallowed again, fear and hope mingling sharply.
“I had heard another story, before I came here. About a being that some called a demon and some an angel, who had been seen one night in a place called Smallville, just after there was a fire in the village.”
Clark swallowed, hard. He was frozen, he did not know what to do, what to say...
“You and your parents left Smallville a week after that night.” Bruce’s voice was still calm. “Clark.”
He slowly looked up, looked into Bruce’s eyes. And saw the relief and hope there.
“Clark,” Bruce repeated, wonder starting to make its way into his eyes. “It is you, isn’t it?”
Clark found his mouth opening and closing still. His heart felt tight in his chest; if he was anyone else he would be worried that he was having a heart attack. “Please don’t tell anyone,” he whispered at last, hardly heard over the sound of the waves and the wind.
But Bruce actually smiled, something like incredulous joy and hope in his eyes. “Clark...” He leaned forward. Clark still sat frozen. “Clark,” Bruce repeated, licking his lips. “You know why I really came here?”
Clark shook his head numbly.
“I wanted to meet this miracle maker and speak to him, because I... I want to do the things that he does. I can’t... Do some of those things, in the stories, I have heard, how fire can come from his eyes... But I want to help people, like he does. Clark.”
Bruce was looking at him with such an intense look upon his face... Clark found himself blushing, he wasn't quite sure why. But it was impossible, under the force of that stare, to deny Bruce anything.
*****
He wasn’t sure how long they just sat and talked. He was too distracted by just how much of a relief it was to be able to talk about it all. And Bruce’s own eagerness, how he talked about his own plans, what he wanted to do, how he wanted to make his Gotham a better place, so no one had to suffer the way that he had.
They spoke, then, of Luthor, and what he was doing to the people, how they would not be able to survive much longer, under his harsh rules. Bruce said he had a plan, but he would need Clark’s help.
Clark had been nervous, then - it was one thing to help anonymously, another to reveal himself completely. But when he went back home, to his Ma and Pa, he spoke to them, and his Ma, somewhat hesitantly, gave him some red and blue cloth, like he had never seen before; blue leggings and a tunic that had a strange yellow and red device upon it, and a red cloak.
They had come with him, from the fallen star, she explained, tears in her eyes. She had always known that this day would come, she said; he wasn't made to hide in the shadows.
A week later, Lord Luthor got the shock of his life when an angel-demon, eyes ablaze with light, flew to his castle and coldly told him that he had been watching him and he didn’t like the way he had been treating his people. And a true demon, all in black, with horns upon its head whispered dire threats in his ear...
The next morning, the levies were substantially reduced.
*****
Clark met Bruce on the beach, still wondering at what he had done. What they had done, together. But something was different, Bruce had far more packed on his horse than usual, and Clark felt his heart sink.
“I have to go. Gotham is calling me home.”
Clark nodded, even as pain swept through his heart, felt tears stinging at his eyes. Bruce... “You must miss it,” he whispered, looking down.
“I will miss Metropolis, too.” Clark looked up and Bruce smiled slightly. “You can fly, Clark. And Gotham is just across the water.” He jerked his thumb across the sea and Clark startled a little - he had often glimpsed hills across the sea, but he never thought- “You can visit whenever you like. Here.” Bruce took off his glove, then removed a silver ring from his finger, that had a stylized ‘W’ etched upon it. “My House ring. You can give it back to me when you visit.”
Clark took it, found himself smiling. “I will visit soon,” he promised.
Bruce looked at him a long moment, before smiling again. “Good. I am sure there are many other things we can work on together.”
Clark felt his breath catch, but Bruce had already mounted his horse, was turning away. “I’ll... I’ll see you soon!” Clark called out, and Bruce waved his hand in a salute.
Clark watched him, then looked down at the ring in his hand, and knew that this was not an end, only a beginning.
