Moments of Serenity

It took him a lot of effort to control his strength around Fuzzball, so that his gentle touches wouldn't accidentally hurt the kitten.

Fuzzball had been his best friend during his childhood, a priceless gift from Smallville.

His childhood had been less lonely because of Fuzzball.

Hearing this, Soren thought to himself: No, you don't understand at all.

He called himself the Mighty Cat of Kansas back then!

He couldn't help but smile a little, remembering those times when, as a kitten, he accompanied the young Kryptonian.

A kitten to cuddle, a home, food to eat... that had been the happiest time of his life.

"So, will you dance with me?" Clark asked once again.

Soren turned around, looking up at Clark's strong, handsome face.

His heart skipped a beat, and he found himself nodding.

In the soft moonlight, they took each other's hands and slowly began to dance to the faint sound of the music that was drifting up from below, marking the end of their middle school years.

It was strange.

Their steps moved in perfect harmony, each footfall landing exactly in time, as if they had rehearsed this dance countless times in their souls.

The soft scent of the pink rose on Soren's chest floated between them.

Clark's broad, solid chest was right before him, and if Soren just lifted his head a little, he could see Clark's deep blue Kryptonian eyes gazing down at him under the starry sky.

The stars and moonlight softly spilled over their heads.

Deep within the dream, someone didn't realize it was a dream.

Soren suddenly remembered that the meaning of a pink rose was eternal love and first love.

...

Four years later.

Metropolis.

Metropolis felt more like a description than just a city's name.

The word represented a city of tomorrow, a place of the future.

Its tall skyscrapers weren't what made it truly special.

The real charm of Metropolis lay in the friendliness of its streets, the sense of order everywhere, and an innocence that felt as if it were safely enclosed in a glass dome.

Clark thought that Metropolis and Gotham that was separated only by a river, were like two complete opposites.

Gotham stood for chaos, disorder, and crime.

But Metropolis symbolized order, peace, and goodness.

Clark naturally loved Metropolis.

He had a strong desire to protect the city.

Every weekday morning, he would bring a sandwich with him, sitting on top of the tallest building in the city, enjoying his breakfast while watching Metropolis slowly come to life.

His bright Kryptonian blue eyes gleamed with happiness and contentment.

In a simple apartment.

Clark who is wearing an apron, skillfully turned on the kitchen stove and took out a frozen steak from the small fridge to thaw.

His phone that was sitting on the counter is still lit up, showing the latest message he had sent: "Do you want creamy mushroom soup with black pepper for dinner?"

He put the steak into warm water, and the sound of keys turning in the lock came from the door.

Clark smiled softly, wiping his hands as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Did you avoid traffic on the way back today?"

Clark asked the blonde boy who was taking off his coat at the entryway.

At the door, Soren, who had just slipped his arm out of the right sleeve of his coat, turned his head with a cheerful smile and said, "Nope, I took a shortcut."

By "shortcut," he meant that after finishing his tasks at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion Headquarters, he flew back to the small apartment in his Angemon form straight through the stratosphere.

Soren took off his dark blue S.T.A.R. Labs coat and carefully smoothing it before hanging it on the rack.

He then picked up a paper bag from the floor and handed it to Clark with a proud grin, "Clark, look what I got! Your favorite banana cream pudding!"

Clark smiled as he accepted the bag, "Perfect! We'll have it for dessert after dinner. Now go watch TV, I already set the channel for you. The second episode of Nikita starts in three minutes."

Soren happily hopped to the couch and bouncing slightly on the old, stiff second-hand sofa before settling into a cross-legged position.

His baby blue eyes sparkled as he remembered to answer Clark's earlier message, "Oh, and make sure to add extra cream to the black pepper mushroom soup, Clark~"

Clark chuckled and glanced at him.

Though Soren had grown taller since their high school days, he was still slender.

His sharp shoulders rested against the couch, and his golden wavy hair gleamed like a beautiful yellow tulip.

Just looking at him filled Clark with a sense of contentment and joy.

"Don't worry, I know what you like," he said, heading back into the kitchen.

Clark's cooking skills were almost like a perfect copy of the recipe tutorials.

He could measure out every spice with precision.

After spending some time in the kitchen, he brought out two plates of steak and two bowls of creamy soup, "Dinner's ready, Soren."

"It's coming, it's coming!" Soren tossed aside the remote and rushed to the table, not holding back his praise, "It smells so good! Your cream soup is always the best!"

Clark pulled out a chair for him, "Better start eating. I could hear your stomach growling from the kitchen."

Soren, a little embarrassed, covered his stomach and quickly came up with a story, "The lab was very busy today, I didn't even have time to eat the strawberry cake you packed for me!"

—In reality, that sweet, fluffy strawberry cake had already been eaten by Tony Stark at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

No matter how much Soren tried he protest, he couldn't save even a crumb from the cake.

The billionaire that has part time job as Iron Man laughed at him, saying that a big alien didn't need to eat Earth's desserts.