Raven's Nest

“Um… It's very good, thank you. I'm just… I'm not feeling well today.” You reply as you shakily take a bite of the warm meal in front of you. He had cut up all of it into bite sized morsels for you earlier.

He sighed and set down his fork, giving you a disappointed look. He knew that you were having trouble living with him. Humans tend to have great difficulties with change. He had saved your town from a meteor and had simply decided to take you back to Stalingrad with him. He simply couldn't resist your cute little face and he felt so alone so often. He didn't think that it was a bad thing to keep you. You were a much better companion than Brainiac and besides, if some people had to die for the sake of improving the lives of the general population, it wouldn't be wrong to keep one to dote on as payment for his work to save the world. It wasn't like he was treating you poorly. You were pampered beyond belief in his eyes!

“Little one, the doctors have assured me that you are as healthy as possible and I can see that there isn't anything about your health that's changed. I know that your heart rate has increased. You know the rules. No lying to Papa, especially at the dinner table. Now, tell me what is actually wrong.” He said slightly more firmly, his Russian accent becoming more pronounced as he scolded you.

You winced. You always forgot that he could tell when you were lying and he found it exceptionally cute every time.

“It's… I'm still having a hard time with getting used to living here, Papa. It's very different.” You said more quietly.

Finally, some honesty. Superman smiled warmly at you before speeding to your side. He always felt more comfortable behaving in ways that were more instinctual to him when it was just you and him. You jumped a bit but quickly settled as he dabbed at the corners of your mouth with his napkin.

“I understand but you must also understand that your home is here, with me, radost maya. I cannot have my child running off to do who knows what. It is dangerous. Now, eat your meal. The chefs worked hard to cook it and the farmers worked hard to grow it. We don't want all of their time and effort to be wasted, now do we?” He cooed, carefully taking your fork from you.

Once he had fed you a sufficient amount and you had told him that you were all done, he decided that it was time to bond again. He had become very fond of holding you midair so that you would cling to him. He remembered how you held so desperately to his suit as he flew you home for the first time and it always made his heart warm when he thought about it. He effortlessly held you as he floated three stories up in his preferred ballroom for parties, gently rocking you as you clung to him like a baby koala. He would spend hours like this with you on his bad days. 

He enjoyed being your Papa. He loved giving you books, soft toys, and all of the love and attention that you could ever want or need. You were perfect to him, from your sweet little mind to your entirely endearing appearance to your precious little heart. He nuzzled your hair and smelled you, enjoying the way that you practically reeked of him at all times. He knew that you couldn't smell it and none of the other humans could either but it made him feel better. It made him feel like you were his. He thought over his day and how you were so sweet as you entertained yourself while he worked. Nothing in his home had any lead to obstruct his view for when he would check on you.

He hummed softly to you as he continued to hold and rock you. It was an old Russian lullaby that always made him remember the good parts of his childhood. He planted a kiss on the top of your head as he began to purr, nuzzling against you yet again. He felt very warm against you and despite your fear of him, it seemed that you couldn't help but feel a little comforted by the warmth and sound. It was obvious that Superman noticed as his purrs became as loud as his usual speaking voice.

He gently tucked his cape around you as he swayed in the air, keeping you even warmer as he brought you towards the chandelier so that you could look. He enjoyed the look on your sleepy face as you looked at the shiny cut glass and the light that danced within each piece. He knew that his purrs made you sleepy. He knew that it had something to do with how purring cats soothe humans, which suited him perfectly fine. He loved how you rested your head against his chest as you began to doze off.

You woke up that night in your bed to the uncomfortably familiar shine of Superman's eyes in the dark. You didn't know much about what kind of alien he was but you knew that he could see much better than you in the dark. You barely had time to react before he was picking you up and carrying you off to his room, which was adjoined to yours. You didn’t know why he bothered to give you a separate room with how much time you spent in his. He carefully set you down in his bed before beginning to bundle you in as many blankets as he could. You knew not to fight it by now. It would only bring you trouble.

“Oh, it's okay, sladkaya. You must have missed Papa in your sleep, huh? Your cute little subconscious knows that I'll always keep you safe and warm and cozy. It knows that you're supposed to find me when something's wrong.” He murmured as he fussed over the blankets, only stopping once you were cocooned in them with only your face peaking out.

You closed your eyes as he cuddled up to you, purring yet again. You were used to it with how often he did this. You settled in, resigned to being snuggled for the rest of the night. He watched you fall asleep fairly quickly as he held you. You woke up again to him humming as he carried the outfit that he picked out for you for the day into the room. He was already fully awake and dressed in his suit, like he usually was. He kissed the top of your head and handed you the clothing, sending you off to change in your bathroom. You met him in the sun room, just like you always did for breakfast. You had the illusion of freedom of movement. You were allowed to go anywhere in his massive house that rivaled a palace. You knew that you were expected to follow his schedule though. You didn’t want to upset him enough that he would be willing to reprogram you with one of his awful surgeries. You just listened and let him treat you like a child in his strange, alien way.

When it was time for breakfast, Superman's tastes were a bit… Eccentric. While he made sure that you had fruit, tea, and blini, he tended to have whatever sheet metal or crystal he was craving and tea to wash it down. He preferred to eat breakfast in the sun room instead of the dining room, claiming that it was better for you. He liked keeping you both there even after breakfast to read together. 

“It is good that you sit in the sun. It is healthy. It will keep you strong.” He said warmly as he read through some paperwork and reports, still snacking on a bowl of steel bolts.

You nodded and continued to just sit in your chair in the sunlight. He had given you a book to read while you sat and while it was interesting, you could really go for something that wasn't all about the benefits of communism for once. You weren't allowed to read anything with royalty in it after he lectured you about how the existence of royalty implies that some people are born superior to others. You weren't allowed to read any stories about anything that even remotely glorified capitalism either. Superman worried too much about you becoming upset by harmful ideas.

He watched over you as you began doodling a picture of the Stalingrad skyline in a notebook that he had given you and smiled. He promised himself when he brought you to your new home that he would keep you happy and comfortable. Your very presence gave him life. You were so precious to him. You were his solnishko, his little sun, even more effective than the golden sun in the sky.

Radost maya = my happiness or my joy