AN: Anyone who has read any of my Superman's Little Angels fics will know i haven't updated in a LONG time, far too long and i feel terrible about it, but real life happened to get in the way when i began my University course two years ago, and i never got the chance to go back and add to it.
But enough of excuses, here is a little something to make up for it all i hope. For those who haven't read SLA, all you need to know is that Clark and Chloe are married and have four children, Connor (24), John and Lara (Twins 19) and little Sky (7). For those who have read it, this is set around five years ahead of SLA.
ENJOY!
Designs of Heritage
Tired but keen eyes peered over the edge of a purposefully subtle pair of rimless glasses as sure hands, despite their age, worked away on a project the crafter never thought to be possible, let alone the fourth of its kind, give or take a few repairs over the years.
Not that she would ever complain.
She hummed to herself as she worked, years of practice meaning no extra concentration was needed for her to make her first attempt no less than perfect, only the occasional mis-stitch nothing more than a nuisance due to occasional drifts in and out of her own thoughts when imagining all the possibilities of her newest creation. The very reality of some causing a sudden uneasiness in her stomach, something she had felt long before and will for many more years to come it would seem.
The small price for being the Mother of the world's saviour and the Grandmother of said saviour's children.
This thought puts a smile on the aged woman's face, not the usual full smile that would light up her features when greeted by her much adored and cherished grandchildren, but one she saved for when she was alone, with nothing but her thoughts and her task to keep her busy.
It was a smile that felt pride but sadness all in one tilt of a lip, it showed exactly how proud she was to have watched those grandchildren grow and learn, to have allowed her this honour, but of course it didn't come without its anxieties. Darker thoughts she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on for too long when alone.
Thankful for the distraction of her task she set her mind to counting her stitches, fragile but hard worked hands delicately tracing the contours of the material in her lap, the bright colours reflected in wet eyes as her emotions get the better of a proud Grandparent.
Satisfied with another job well done, she lifts the fabric from the pile it had been sitting in and held it out in front of her for a final inspection.
Despite the close familiarity Martha felt with the powerful symbol staring back at her, even after all these years its impact was still strong enough to take her breath away in rare moments like these, when all of a sudden she is reminded that the profuse amounts of inspiration this simple design invokes isn't just a symbol, but her family.
It is these sudden reminders that often turn her stomach, when the reality of her family, her Son and her darling Grandchildren wearing this symbol to inspire hope for a better future doesn't come without risking their own in the process.
She can hear excited footsteps bounding up the barn stairs and so places the material back onto her lap and blinks away her tears, as those she was only just thinking about rounded the banister, white smiles on both their faces.
"Are they ready?" The first to appear asked before she had even taken the last step, brushing fallen blonde strands of hair from her eyes as she nearly tripped over her own feet to get the first look.
"You cheated!"
"Suck it up John, I beat you fair and square, not my fault I'm faster."
Martha laughed quietly to herself from her seat, always with the sibling rivalry with those two. "Lara, you may be quick, but even I know you're fond of a little foul play with your brother." Wise words stilled the bickering teenage twins.
"Ah huh, thanks Grams." John added as he shoved his way past his sister.
"But, yes they are done, waiting and ready for you to try on." Martha stood, carefully stretching the kinks from her back before holding up the final design of the material she had been working on. "What do you think?"
Lara was speechless as she took in all in, her very own. "Grams, it's, it's perfect." She took the last few steps towards her Grandmother and pulled the fabric in between her fingers, it was so soft.
"Good, not sure my fingers would take making another one, not just yet anyway." Martha's eye's closed slightly as she smiled lovingly at Lara, her Granddaughter's eyes bright with excitement.
"No way is Dad going to let you wear that." John stated matter-of-factly, arms crossed over his chest in a way Lara could tell he didn't exactly approve of the costume either, or lack thereof it would appear.
Annoyance flared up inside of her, but she couldn't keep the blush from forming on her cheeks at her brother's concerns. "I'll have you know that I can chose to wear whatever I please, and he didn't have a problem with the one Grams made for Aunt Kara." Lara bit back, her face set in stoic determination, her shoulder's pulled back a little straighter for emphasis, in what she had often thought to herself as her 'Superman pose'.
John dipped his head to his chest to muffle his laughter, "Fine, your funeral."
"Alright, enough banter you two. Lara I've already spoken to both your parents and they both approved of our final designs, of course your father did need a little more persuading, but Chloe it seems was well up to the task." Martha said this with such amusement both teens cringed in embarrassment at the thought of just how their mother had persuaded their father.
"Too much information there, Grams." John groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face in an attempt to banish the images forming in his mind, there were some things kids just didn't need to imagine their parents doing.
By now Lara had whisked the two piece ensemble from Martha's hands and was stood in front of her father's antique of a mirror still balanced against his old book shelf in what he still considers his 'human Fortress of Solitude' of a barn. What his appeal to the smell of soggy hay and years old birdseeds she would never understand, but the quiet of the barn was something even she had enjoyed in moments of wanted peace over the years.
"I love it! I can't wait to show Aunt Kara, I hope she likes the changes I made." Lara smiled at her reflection, the flimsy material balanced against her chest as she turned this way and that, admiring her Grandmother's handiwork of the first clothing design she had dreamt of making since she had developed the first of their Father's abilities.
"Yeah, yeah, let's wait and see how persuasive Mom really was when Dad see's just how perfect your designs are in the flesh!" John muttered as he moved towards Martha, eager to see what his twin had helped their Grandmother come up with for his own costume, he was suddenly very nervous. "Dare I even ask what mine looks like?"
"Don't get smart young man." Martha scolded lightly, but all was forgiven at the sheepish grin he sent back as he swallowed any rebuke he had planned by the look on his Grandmother's face. "I think Lara done an extraordinary job with her designs, you should be very proud of your sister," Martha moved to the table near the open window and picked up a bundle of blue and red material, brushed off some nonexistent dust and handed it over to her Grandson. "Do you approve?"
John was about to make some sarcastic remark about his sister's shoddy designing skills but in truth he couldn't find anything to criticize. "It's, well sis, it's actually pretty good."
"Of course it is, you sure you like the chest design, I wasn't sure that you would want anything too similar to Connor's…" Lara explained in hope her brother wasn't too disappointed at the change in design to that of their Father and Brother's costume. In fact, it was completely different; she had obviously taken into account every detail of her Brother's personality, as it wasn't what he had been expecting at all.
John held the folded mass of fabric in his hands, only then did he notice that it wasn't in fact a suit at all, but an outfit. "It's great Lara, it's perfect." John said more to himself.
His eyes began tracing the shapes on the chest piece, which he quickly realised was a zip-up leather jacket, strangely pleased at it's stark difference to that of his Brother's costume in every way possible, not minding at all that the sacred family crest wasn't plastered front and centre, or as he always thought of it as showing off, but reduced to that more of a badge of honour, a medal if you like, positioned discreetly on the left breast, just smaller than the palm of his hand.
"Well what are you two waiting for, go put them on, I need to see if I need to make any adjustments." Martha broke the silence, gesturing Lara towards the back of the barn to change.
Lara obviously had been desperate to hear such words, as she needn't be told twice and was back in front of her Grams in a matter of seconds, the costume fully in place, fitting perfectly, their measurements had been spot on.
Turning on the spot Lara beamed back at Martha. "Isn't it great, thank you so much Grams, I couldn't have done it without you." Lara rushed over to Martha's side and enveloped her in a loving hug.
She stepped back and went over to the full-length mirror to take a better look. It fitted perfectly; the top half hugged her figure in all the right places but was still reserved enough to meet her parent's approval. It was based directly from her Aunt Kara's original costume, which she had upgraded from a few years ago; of course Lara had taken some artistic licenses with the original design and made it her own. The scooped neckline was now shaped into a more stylized 'V', cutting into the family insignia on the chest, where the very crest followed through and into the red material of the impressive cape falling with such grace down her slender back. Blue sleeves accentuating toned arms and Kara's old blue skirt sitting satisfyingly on her hips.
"My very own." Lara spoke under her breath, all of a sudden emotional, she had waited years for this day, this point in her life where she no longer had to sit by and watch her Brother and Father inspire such hope, but she could join them, as a family to make this world a better and safer place for all those she cared about.
"You look amazing, Lor-El." Lara looked up at her Brother's use of her Kryptonian name and smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Van-El."
John shifted from foot to foot as he realised he had just complimented his sister, suddenly feeling very exposed. "Well, let's see if this actually fits." John sped from sight and returned an instant later now wearing his full ensemble.
"The fit looks just right, you look very handsome and heroic, of course." Martha added as she straightened up the front of his jacket affectionately.
"How does it feel? Not too tight?" Lara asked, her designers' eyes inspecting every seam for signs of mis-fitting through her measurements.
John lifted his arms up and down, testing his movement. "Nope, fits like a glove."
He strode over to the mirror, allowing Lara to move away as he stepped around her to take a look. He almost didn't recognise himself, he looked…older, more mature, a hero.
His sister definitely knew him well, well enough to have not given him an outfit made of spandex, and he thanked his lucky stars for that. He admired his boots, a deep shade of red, which his sister would probably kill him for not knowing the name of, made into a pair of biker style boots, straps buckled around the leather up to his calf. Where his legs were clad in dark denim, a little tighter than he would have chosen for himself but none-the-less he didn't think they looked all that bad, finally he pulled the matching deep – maroon, that was it! Coloured leather jacket tighter around his chest, his eye going to the family emblem over his left breast, finished with a black t-shirt underneath.
"Badass, Sis, I'm impressed!" John laughed whole-heartedly.
"Thanks, shall we take'em for a test run?" Lara suggested, a look of mischief in her eye.
"Hell yeah!"
Martha cleared her throat, reminding the twin teens she was still in the room with them. "So you both expect to leave me to clean up, is that right?"
John and Lara shared a glance before mirroring each other's grin. Martha didn't see what was coming until her hair was falling back into place over her face as the draft settled and her Grandchildren stood before her brushing their hands off. "All done Grams, now please can we go out for a while, we promise to stay local and above the cloud banks." Lara pleaded with well practice puppy-dog eyes.
"Alright, so long as your Fathe -"
"He said yes, Mom too, he heard everything." Lara assured.
"Ok, off you go, not too long though, dinner will be ready in an hour." Martha reminded offhandedly, as she knew they were eager to head for the skies.
"Oh, wait, I nearly forgot, I made us some masks." Lara jumped into motion, speeding off back her room John imagined and was back holding two objects in her hand, one red and one blue.
"Masks? I'm not wearing a mask!" John scoffed.
"We have to John, how do you expect to lead a normal life if everyone knows who you are? We don't have secret identities like Dad and Uncle Bruce yet, we need to keep our faces covered until we can come up with something solid." Lara didn't wait for a response; she handed the deep maroon eye mask to her brother and fitted the blue one over her own eyes.
John looked at the mask in his hands expecting it to bite him, but when he caught the look in Lara's eye's he pushed it onto his face quickly and looked over at himself in the mirror, he hated to admit it, but she was right, you couldn't tell who he was with the mask on.
"Good, let's go, thanks Grams, you're the best." Lara said kissing her on the cheek and then began to follow her brother towards the barn window, feet hovering just inches above the floor in preparation of her ascent.
Martha watched them soar up and out of the window, taking to the skies in a single bound. "You're welcome dears." Just then she felt a sturdy weight fall into her side and wrap little arms tight around her waist.
"What are you looking at, Grams?" Sky, the youngest of her Grandchildren asked, looking up at her through long lashes with piercing, familiar cerulean blue eyes.
"My little angels who have all grown up," Returning the warm smile, Martha caught the look of confusion in the ten year olds face. "Don't worry dear, I'm just getting sentimental in my years." Martha led the young girl down the barn stairs and begun to make their way back to the house.
"Grams?" Sky spoke up as she tugged on her Grandmother's hand.
"Hmm?"
"Can I have a pink cape when I'm grown up like Daddy?"
Martha couldn't help but laugh, losing her breath slightly at the notion from her little angel. "My dear, you can have whatever colour cape you like. So long as your sister approves I suppose."
Sky seemed appeased with Grams' answer and her whole face lit up with excitement of the years to come. "Pink hair too?" sky asked testing her luck.
"I'm not sure about pink hair dear, I don't think your Mother would approve, do you?" Martha questioned with light amusement in her voice.
"Guess not." Sky groaned, her face lighting up again, Martha couldn't keep up with her fast changing moods sometimes. "Maybe Lara will sit and draw a costume for me when she gets back, we can make it all pink!"
Martha held the faded yellow door open for the young girl as she tried her best not to laugh as she imagined Lara's reaction to her little sister's insistence of the colour pink. "Perhaps she will, you will have to ask. But right now, you know what I think might persuade her to say yes?"
Sky shook her head, eyes gleaming.
"A fresh batch of hot cookies ready for after dinner, what do you say, you want to help your Grams bake some cookies?" Martha was already pulling her old cooking apron over her head, Sky's smaller one at the ready in the drawer besides her.
"Can I have the biggest?" Sky asked as Martha pushed the smaller apron over her ponytail.
"I won't tell them if you don't." Martha held up her little finger, which Sky linked with her own immediately agreeing to their secret mission, both giggling.
Sky was suddenly across the other side of the kitchen pulling open the fridge before Martha even realised she had moved.
"Do you have any pink chocolate Grams?" Sky looked on puzzled as she watched her Grandma put her face into her hands and laugh, what did she find so funny?
Hope you liked it! Reviews would be much appreciated!
I hope i have made up for not updating in a while, so sorry if my writing was a little rusty.