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pebbleinalake) wrote2024-10-07 09:20 am
pebbleinalake) wrote2024-10-07 09:20 am
Entry tags:
Fic: Autumn Memories [Superfamily]
Title: Autumn Memories
Fandom: Superman (Comics)
Characters: Clark, Martha, Kon, Kenan, Jon, Otho, Osul (other members of the Superfamily are mentioned but less prominent)
Pairings: background Clark/Lois and Jon/Jay
Rating: G
Words: 1,016
Notes: Octoberfics challenge #5. Prompts filled: Flufftober "Favorite scent" | Sweet & Spooky Halloween "Pumpkin Carving" | Cozytober "Carving pumpkins" & "Decorating for Halloween"
“Clark, you don’t have to do that right this minute,” Martha chided gently.
Her son, who’d been in the process of filling the sink with soapy water, glanced back over his shoulder at her. “Since when are you okay with leaving dishes in the sink?” he joked.
“Since I got old enough to understand that sometimes you have to slow down and enjoy life a little. Now here, help me get these supplies out to the kids before war breaks out.”
Clark dried his hands off and obediently scooped up one of the boxes she had been carrying, following her out onto the wraparound porch of the Kent family’s farmhouse. He was instantly hit with the combined scent of freshly cut hay, sun-warmed pumpkins, and the embers in the barbecue pit slowly cooling down. It reminded him so much of childhood autumns on the farm. Not for the first time, Clark was grateful that his own kids were able to create similar memories here.
As they descended the porch steps to the yard, Clark exchanged a fond smile with Lois, who was relaxing on the porch swing with Jonathan. Kara and Natasha were sitting on one end of the wide porch steps. Everyone else was currently gathered around the big wooden picnic table in the yard, where most of the noise and chaos was currently coming from.
“I think we managed to find everything,” Martha said, dropping her box on one end of the table.
Clark set his own box on the other end, pulling open the flaps to reveal the supplies inside.
“Ooh, what is all of this?” Otho asked, quickly helping Clark unload the various carving tools, plastic scoops, and washable paints.
“We’re going to use the scoops to empty out the inside of the pumpkins,” Clark said. “Then everyone gets to decorate their pumpkin however they want, using any of the stuff in these boxes. You can carve a face into it, or pretty much anything else you can think of. Afterwards, we’ll line them up along the porch railing and light candles in them.”
Osul frowned, his expression equal parts confusion and fascination. “Why?” he wondered.
“Because,” Kon chimed in from the other end of the table, “displaying what looks like the glowing heads of conquered monsters on your porch will keep away any spooks that want to come after you.”
Jon whacked him on the arm before contributing the much more accurate explanation, “Because it’s fun to do.”
Martha sat down on one of the benches next to Otho, so she could assist her granddaughter in the initial carving part of the process. Clark did the same for Osul, even though the boy stubbornly insisted that he didn’t need help.
“I bet I finish mine first,” Kenan challenged Kon.
Kon grinned. “Oh, you are so on.”
“No super speed,” Clark warned the two teens. “The goal is to have fun, not make a mess.”
“I thought the goal was to have fun and make a mess,” Kon shot back.
Clark, who was more than used to his little brother’s teasing at this point, merely shook his head and returned his focus to Osul’s pumpkin. “In that case,” he said calmly, “let’s add some stakes. The loser has to clean up the mess.”
“Deal!” Kon agreed instantly.
Kenan grinned. “I’m in, too.”
Before long, the heavy scent of pumpkin was being added to the chilly fall air. Clark closed his eyes and breathed it in. The hay, the dying fire, the fresh pumpkin… The only thing that made the memories attached to those smells even sweeter was opening his eyes and being able to see the updated version playing out before him. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have his family all together here, after everything they’d been through over the years. That they were still able to make new memories together.
“You’re falling behind, Dad,” Jon called over, stirring Clark from his thoughts.
He glanced up to see most of the pumpkins already emptied and in the early stages of being carved and painted. Finishing scooping out the last of Osul’s pumpkin, Clark handed it back over and set to work on his own.
It quickly became obvious that both Kenan and Kon had made a severe tactical error. In their competitiveness, they’d both grabbed the biggest pumpkins they could find, thus giving themselves the largest surfaces to have to carve and decorate. It backfired pretty spectacularly, as they ended up being the last to finish.
In the end, Jon and Jay won — though there was some debate as to whether they should qualify, considering they’d had two people working on a single pumpkin. The final results ended up being meaningless, anyway, as everyone happily jumped in to help with the clean up.
By the time the table was cleared, the sun was quickly disappearing over the horizon. In the fading light of dusk, they all gathered on the porch to show off their jack-o-lanterns to the rest of the family.
“Otho made the best one,” Kara said.
Otho grinned proudly and held her pumpkin higher to show it off. She’d carved out the El family crest in the center of it and hand-painted all their names around the edges of the shield.
“It’s beautiful,” Lois agreed, giving her daughter a tight hug. “You kids ready to light these?”
Martha carried over the box of candles and they quickly got them distributed. The pumpkins were placed in a row along the porch railing, with Otho’s taking the center spot by unanimous agreement. Natasha went down the line, lighting all the wicks.
Clark sat down on the porch bench, Lois immediately tucking in against his side. He smiled at the row of warmly glowing jack-o-lanterns. The variety in designs ended up being a perfect representation of their perfectly mismatched little family. Then his gaze drifted over the kids and teens, sprawled around on every other surface of the porch, and his smile deepened.
He was pretty sure warm pumpkins and fresh cut hay was the best scent in the world.
Fandom: Superman (Comics)
Characters: Clark, Martha, Kon, Kenan, Jon, Otho, Osul (other members of the Superfamily are mentioned but less prominent)
Pairings: background Clark/Lois and Jon/Jay
Rating: G
Words: 1,016
Notes: Octoberfics challenge #5. Prompts filled: Flufftober "Favorite scent" | Sweet & Spooky Halloween "Pumpkin Carving" | Cozytober "Carving pumpkins" & "Decorating for Halloween"
“Clark, you don’t have to do that right this minute,” Martha chided gently.
Her son, who’d been in the process of filling the sink with soapy water, glanced back over his shoulder at her. “Since when are you okay with leaving dishes in the sink?” he joked.
“Since I got old enough to understand that sometimes you have to slow down and enjoy life a little. Now here, help me get these supplies out to the kids before war breaks out.”
Clark dried his hands off and obediently scooped up one of the boxes she had been carrying, following her out onto the wraparound porch of the Kent family’s farmhouse. He was instantly hit with the combined scent of freshly cut hay, sun-warmed pumpkins, and the embers in the barbecue pit slowly cooling down. It reminded him so much of childhood autumns on the farm. Not for the first time, Clark was grateful that his own kids were able to create similar memories here.
As they descended the porch steps to the yard, Clark exchanged a fond smile with Lois, who was relaxing on the porch swing with Jonathan. Kara and Natasha were sitting on one end of the wide porch steps. Everyone else was currently gathered around the big wooden picnic table in the yard, where most of the noise and chaos was currently coming from.
“I think we managed to find everything,” Martha said, dropping her box on one end of the table.
Clark set his own box on the other end, pulling open the flaps to reveal the supplies inside.
“Ooh, what is all of this?” Otho asked, quickly helping Clark unload the various carving tools, plastic scoops, and washable paints.
“We’re going to use the scoops to empty out the inside of the pumpkins,” Clark said. “Then everyone gets to decorate their pumpkin however they want, using any of the stuff in these boxes. You can carve a face into it, or pretty much anything else you can think of. Afterwards, we’ll line them up along the porch railing and light candles in them.”
Osul frowned, his expression equal parts confusion and fascination. “Why?” he wondered.
“Because,” Kon chimed in from the other end of the table, “displaying what looks like the glowing heads of conquered monsters on your porch will keep away any spooks that want to come after you.”
Jon whacked him on the arm before contributing the much more accurate explanation, “Because it’s fun to do.”
Martha sat down on one of the benches next to Otho, so she could assist her granddaughter in the initial carving part of the process. Clark did the same for Osul, even though the boy stubbornly insisted that he didn’t need help.
“I bet I finish mine first,” Kenan challenged Kon.
Kon grinned. “Oh, you are so on.”
“No super speed,” Clark warned the two teens. “The goal is to have fun, not make a mess.”
“I thought the goal was to have fun and make a mess,” Kon shot back.
Clark, who was more than used to his little brother’s teasing at this point, merely shook his head and returned his focus to Osul’s pumpkin. “In that case,” he said calmly, “let’s add some stakes. The loser has to clean up the mess.”
“Deal!” Kon agreed instantly.
Kenan grinned. “I’m in, too.”
Before long, the heavy scent of pumpkin was being added to the chilly fall air. Clark closed his eyes and breathed it in. The hay, the dying fire, the fresh pumpkin… The only thing that made the memories attached to those smells even sweeter was opening his eyes and being able to see the updated version playing out before him. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have his family all together here, after everything they’d been through over the years. That they were still able to make new memories together.
“You’re falling behind, Dad,” Jon called over, stirring Clark from his thoughts.
He glanced up to see most of the pumpkins already emptied and in the early stages of being carved and painted. Finishing scooping out the last of Osul’s pumpkin, Clark handed it back over and set to work on his own.
It quickly became obvious that both Kenan and Kon had made a severe tactical error. In their competitiveness, they’d both grabbed the biggest pumpkins they could find, thus giving themselves the largest surfaces to have to carve and decorate. It backfired pretty spectacularly, as they ended up being the last to finish.
In the end, Jon and Jay won — though there was some debate as to whether they should qualify, considering they’d had two people working on a single pumpkin. The final results ended up being meaningless, anyway, as everyone happily jumped in to help with the clean up.
By the time the table was cleared, the sun was quickly disappearing over the horizon. In the fading light of dusk, they all gathered on the porch to show off their jack-o-lanterns to the rest of the family.
“Otho made the best one,” Kara said.
Otho grinned proudly and held her pumpkin higher to show it off. She’d carved out the El family crest in the center of it and hand-painted all their names around the edges of the shield.
“It’s beautiful,” Lois agreed, giving her daughter a tight hug. “You kids ready to light these?”
Martha carried over the box of candles and they quickly got them distributed. The pumpkins were placed in a row along the porch railing, with Otho’s taking the center spot by unanimous agreement. Natasha went down the line, lighting all the wicks.
Clark sat down on the porch bench, Lois immediately tucking in against his side. He smiled at the row of warmly glowing jack-o-lanterns. The variety in designs ended up being a perfect representation of their perfectly mismatched little family. Then his gaze drifted over the kids and teens, sprawled around on every other surface of the porch, and his smile deepened.
He was pretty sure warm pumpkins and fresh cut hay was the best scent in the world.