six_word_stories | (no subject)

Seriously? No Lois tonight?

Do you want an out or not, Barry?

[It actually takes an hour before there's a knock on Clark's door along with the smell of pizza. Or a dozen pizzas, to be precise.]

[ Clark comes to the door, opens it up, and moves out of the way so that Barry can put the pizza down before something went tumbling. ]

Lois is in Mumbai, interviewing the leader of a women's collective.

[ Sigh. ]

You didn't need to bring all this, Barry.

Joe always said that you never show up at a friend's house empty handed.

Well, thank you, then.

[ He can't help it. Barry's hard to be frustrated with. ]

So.

[What does one do when one needed to explain himself before the man that embodies truth, justice, and the American way? Stuff his face full of pizza, of course]

So.

How'd it go?

I told her that she was great but I'm just too busy to date right now.

Good man.

[ Lookit that, Barry. He's proud of you. You're even getting a shoulder squeeze offered here. ]

Any of this stack here vegetarian?

Uh...yeah. Sure.

[He looks through them and produces the last box]

This one is. I didn't know you were a vegetarian.

[It's still nice to have Clark around. Big brother archetypes are a little lacking in his life]

It's a preference, not a hard and fast rule.

[ And since there was Lots Of Pizza, he figured it was worth a shot. ]

Thank you. It looks very good.

How do you do it? With everything we do, saving the world, having a regular job. I could try but...maybe I need to try harder because even Joe is saying that I need to get a move on from Iris.

That sounds like about three different questions.

[ He detaches a piece of from the pie and looks around for a plate to eat it off of. Ma Kent trained him well. ]

Which one are you really looking for the answer to?

[He's already moved onto his fourth pie.]

The one where a meteor shows up and I can just say I'm busy?

So what you're really asking is... how do I face the fact that I can't make everyone happy, no matter how fast or how strong or how brave or how smart or how wise I am.

[ He takes another bite. ]

Or perhaps 'how do I face them'?

That sound about right?

That's a lot more words than I used. Oh hey, I didn't pick up beers for us to go with the pizza. Did you want some?

[Barry? Avoid things? Nah!]

Good thing I've got beer in the fridge. IPA, stout, or Budweiser?

[That's what they've got at the moment, not that Lois fails to make faces at the Budweiser. ]

...I’ll take the IPA.

It’s more for taste than anything.

IPA it is.

[ He gets a Bud for himself and pops the top off both before passing Barry's to him. ]

Same here.

Thanks. So. Meteor?

I'm still waiting for my answer.

[There's some pensive chewing before he answers]

Can I make everyone happy?

[ He shakes his head. ]

No, Barry, you can't. I can't.

And honestly, we shouldn't.

[He doesn't like that answer and picks up another pizza]

I want Iris to be happy. And Joe. And all of my friends. Is that too much to ask?