riverviewlogs | ( open ) turns into gold in the sunlight

who: lois lane + various
what: a tough as nails journalist gets bitten by a firefly or two and becomes very affectionate
when: saturday, april 29th
where: the park and a bar
warnings: adults in love ("gross" — jon kent)

✘ for jon (closed)

[ there are probably better and healthier means of bonding with a child than taking them out for ice cream once a week, but this is something that lois already knows works and she's still at a loss on how to feel about jonathan kent. he's her son, but he isn't her son, not really. she isn't ready for children and doesn't know if she'll ever be. just because some version of her in another universe had a child at some point in her life doesn't mean that lois ever will, she knows that.

it doesn't really matter, though. she's the adult here and jon's so quick to call her mom, he obviously misses his mother and admires his father endlessly and lois isn't going to fail him just because she never counted on having children. besides, spending time with him is not exactly a hardship. he's cute, generally easy-going, he hasn't thrown any tantrums or anything — the other her probably did a pretty good job raising him. or he just got all that from clark.

so she invites him out for ice cream again and they walk through the park with it. lois has managed to escape the fireflies so far, though she's heard about them. it isn't really the time of day she expects them to be out, though, and so she isn't paying attention — until she feels one bite her in the arm. ]

Damn. [ she probably shouldn't swear around a minor, should she? ]

✘ for taako (closed)

[ lois thinks clark is out exploring, and she's not quite willing to just go back to the housing that she still refuses to call a home. so she texts someone she hadn't been sure she'd contact again instead, someone she's pretty sure will listen and get a kick out of it without making a fuss about it later.

she might have been skeptical about his magic, but she'd like to think that she got a good read on who he is as a person despite that and he'd seemed, well, nice. she really needs more people to drink with, to spend time with outside of work.

that's an odd thought; work has always been everything to lois.

once at the bar, it isn't difficult at all to spot taako. ] Thanks for meeting me. [ she says with a grin that's a lot softer than any expression she's worn during their previous meeting. ]

✘ for peggy (closed)

[ at some point, lois leaves taako alone at their table for a while to freshen up in the restrooms and to get more drinks. leaning against the bar, she meets the gaze of a woman with dark hair in beautiful rolls, immaculate lipstick, a glass of some dark amber liquid in front of her. ]

Scotch? [ lois asks, and ] Can you recommend it?

✘ open

[ between spending time with jon and meeting taako for drinks, lois can be found on a park bench with a soppy grin on her face, ready to tell just about anyone about how great a partner clark kent is.

alternatively, come chat with her in the bar while taako's on a bathroom break or getting more drinks. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe training could help?

[ His shoulders slump. ]

I don't think training's gonna help.

Why not? [ he looks sad; it seems only natural to reach out and squeeze his shoulder. ]

Because it has nothing to do with training and stuff. I'm the first human and Kryptonian kid. No one knows what's going on.

[ And it scares his father. It scares Batman (maybe. Jon assumes it does). It probably scares his mom too. ]

[ it probably should scare lois, but - she's too stubborn. which may well be why she insists: ] If you don't try, it can't help. And even if it doesn't, you might learn a thing or two about what it means to be who you are.

[ there's a conveniently placed park bench, and lois nudges jon toward it and sits down with him. a little more quiet, less stubborn and more worried: ] Are you all right?

M'fine.

[ He climbs onto the bench, swinging his legs quietly. ]

It's not a big deal. I mean, it'll come to me right? I'm sure dad made mistakes too.

Everyone makes mistakes. Your dad, I bet even Batman. Me, too.

Yeah, but normal people mistakes aren't the same as . . . [ Jon gestures, waving his hands as if to say "super mistakes" ]

Normal people can make mistakes that cost lives, too. It's not the same, but it isn't that different, either.

[ Jon hesitates. ]

Really?

Really. Someone driving a car and losing control of it because they were distracted can cause an accident that kills people. That's a normal person mistake, but it's pretty bad.

And that isn't even talking about normal people in the military making mistakes.

[ Jon fidgets. ]

It doesn't — feel the same.

I know. Our own mistakes always feel worse somehow than those of other people, at least when we only see those from a distance.

[ Tentatively, Jon reaches for his mother's hand. ]

I did something bad with my powers once. I thought — I thought dad was gonna send me away.

[ it's easy, right now, to wrap her fingers around jon's and hold on. ]

He wouldn't.

Yeah, I know that.

[ Neither one of his parents would let anything happen to him. Jon knows that and believes it completely. ]

But it was scary at the start.

Do you want to tell me what you did?

[ His expression turns hesitant but Jon nods. ]

We were playing in the field. And Goldie, your — mom's cat was outside. A hawk was going after her and I was trying to stop it but my eyes burned and —

[ He turns to look away. ]

Edited 2017-05-28 09:52 (UTC)

Ah. [ she can fill in the blanks.

lois doesn't have a cat, so there's no loss involved in hearing this. in fact, the first question coming to her mind is "did i really name a cat goldie?", but she doesn't ask that. instead, she squeezes jon's hand. ]

You were trying to rescue it, weren't you? Sometimes, good intentions aren't enough, but they count for something.

I killed her, mom.

[ The pain is raw, even though this happened months ago. He still remembers how angry Damian was with him. His powers are hard to control. No matter how much he trains with his father, Jon can't help the sick pit of certainty that it'll always be out of reach. That he's too strange, even for his strange family and strange life.

He wipes his face. ]

[ lois lets go of his hand, but only so that she can wrap her arm around him instead. she has no real idea how to comfort a child, even if its her own from another world. "it was just a cat" doesn't seem very helpful. ]

Yeah, you did. [ no point sugarcoating something that happened. ] I guess the question is what you're going to do about it in the future. How you'll handle it so that it doesn't happen again.

I'll get better

[ It's muffled as Jon wraps his arms around his mother. ]

Promise.

I'm sure Clark will want to help. And I'm here, too. [ for all the good it'll do. she doesn't really know or understand his powers.

but she can hold him for a while and card her fingers through his hair comfortingly. ]

[ Slowly, Jon finds himself loosening up, the weight of the secret slowly fading away. Jon may look up to his father, but his mother grounded him. She never lied, she never purposefully led him astray and she always helped Jon find perspective. ]

Thanks, mom. Someday, I'll be the best superhero.

You don't even have to be the best. But I bet you'll do great things. [ there's only gentle conviction in her voice now. ]

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