I was lucky, my prompt was for one of my favorite old, classic movies, An Affair to Remember (1957). Cheesy or not at times, it's a timeless romance that I've never gotten tired of watching over the years.
My prompt was the quote 'Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... And we've already missed the spring!' and my location was a boat deck. I already knew I wanted to do Clark and Lex, as I started writing it, the story decided it wanted to go AU on me so I let it.
The story opens on the deck of the ship. I had a Lex who grew up in a loving household, grieving the recent loss of the father he loved. And I had a Clark who'd also lost his dad and was working off continued grief over the damage his coming to Earth had caused. Who didn't know much about his origins and was still trying to figure out his place in the world.
I wanted to weave aspects of the movie into the story but still keep it unique. I decided to go with the less obvious choice of Clark being the one with the lasting injuries. That meant using a foe that could really hurt him. I went with the Doomsday battle, making it a battle between an unstoppable force and a fledgling superhero.
The Planet seemed to be the best stand-in for the Empire State building. It's Lex however who's left waiting for his love who never shows. I even managed to work in the subplot of the painting and the treasured object that Clark is gifted with.
Well, that's it. I hope that you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thanks!