riverviewlogs | (no subject)

who: Clark, Lois, and Jon.
what: Family meeting.
when: The day Jon arrives.
where: Communal housing.
warnings: None.

( continued from here )

[ On the way back to the communal housing building with Jon, Clark sends Lois a quick text message to say they need to talk and it can't wait. He had been on his way into the forest to practice with his abilities and she'd been planning to explore the city and meet some local contacts. Now, they have a ten year old son neither of them ever dreamed could exist. Clark's still reeling. This isn't like meeting Dick, who's a friend. Jon's his own flesh and blood.

He leaves Jon upstairs on the sixth floor with Taako. It's still in range of Jon's super-hearing but Clark trusts he won't eavesdrop. Taako will keep him busy.

Clark makes a beeline for her. He knocks before he enters the room she's in. ]

Lois.

[ He reaches out to take her hand. Now that he's not in front of Jon, he can finally frown in worry. ]

You're not going to believe what just happened.

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[ Clark's reluctant to be out of her space but he lets her go. He ruffles Jon's hair. ]

Nice try.

[ Jon grins, not the least bit perturbed. ]

It was worth a shot.

[ Clark smiles back. ]

Do you mind going back upstairs before dinner, Jon? I'd like to talk to Lois.

[ Is that code for mushy stuff?? Jon squints at his dad and mom briefly before coming to a decision. Neatly leaping off the couch, he heads upstairs. He still wanted to play with his communicator and he's more than willing to miss out on the mush.

And he can always listen to it from a distance. ]

[ it might be code for mushy stuff, but also code for Adult Talk. lois doesn't really think of the possibility of jon listening in, not that used yet to being surrounded by individuals with superpowers. she waves a little when he leaps off the couch and goes upstairs, but remains sitting, watching jon disappear and then turning to clark again.

she has no idea where to start, what to say. ]

So. [ an eloquent beginning. ]

[ Clark waits until he can hear Taako talking to Jon. ]

So.

[ He sits next to her, his shoulder brushing hers. ]

What do you think?

[ lois reaches for clark's hand again, tangling their fingers together in a gesture that feels natural already. ] He's a sweet kid. [ she takes a deep breath, reaching for the coffee she'd made with her free hand. ]

I meant what I told him. He can always come to us. To me. [ even if there isn't a them. but that's probably something they should figure out, isn't it? and while it makes her heart beat in her throat, lois doesn't beat around the bush. ] Is there an us?

[ He answers it like he too has been doing it for years. ]

Yes.

[ It's not because of Jon. Clark understands that clearly now. This is about them and who they are, not who they might become. ]

I want that.

[ She's initiated their kisses so far. Once in Metropolis. The second when they looked over Riverview at night, flying together. Clark doesn't mind her taking the lead. He fumbles with this.

This time he'd like to beat her to it: he leans in and kisses her. ]

[ who they are to jon is a different question from who they are to each other and while they have time to figure out the latter one, the former means lois feels they should figure out at least some of it. and clark says yes without thinking, immediate and certain.

he's beautiful and extraordinary and lois wants to protect him, to learn more about who he is even though she's already sure of his core. she wants to know his favourite food and whether he leaves his socks out, whether he'll drink wine with her or soak in the tub. she wants a favourite take-away place with him and to go flying again and a million other things that boil down to wanting to try, to see where it leads them, what the future might hold for them together.

he leans in and kisses her and lois smiles into the kiss until her smile melts away under his lips to let her kiss him back properly, a slow slide of her mouth against his, her hands tangling in his hair.

she pulls back all too soon, but—he's given her an answer. she hasn't given him one, even if he hasn't asked. ] I want that, too. [ it's a confession, almost. lois lane doesn't compromise for anyone, but she wants to make it work with him. ]

[ He can say yes without thinking. The consequences of mistakes here are so different. They're much lighter. This world doesn't need Superman and isn't going to tie itself into knots worrying about what he can do or if he should act. There are other superheroes to do that job.

Clark cants his head to her fingers in his hair. She did pull back too soon. He can look at her, though, and smile at her. ]

It'll be different from home.

[ He sighs quietly. ]

You don't have to make it work if it can't.

[ They're both used to being immoveable and unstoppable, depending on the circumstance. That won't change because they're choosing to be together. It will make him more willing to listen and learn about who she is down to every little detail she's thinking of. ]

[ lois doesn't know this place well enough yet to realise how different it is for him, how different it might be for her as well, beyond the obvious things of being in a different city, a different universe, building a new life. ]

I know I don't have to. [ she leans in, not to kiss him but to brush her nose with it, the gesture somewhere between playful and chiding. ] But I want to.

[ she won't stop being immoveable, unstoppable; it's who she is as a person. at her core, if she believes in something, she won't stop. she doesn't want to stop this before they've had a chance to explore it. maybe not ever, though she's too cautious about matters of the heart to promise that right away.

she pulled back too soon before. this time, when she leans in again, it's to kiss him, and she takes her time with it, a slow exploration. it's unlike the adrenaline-fuelled kiss they'd shared after he'd caught her. ]

We want to.

[ He squeezes her hand and sinks into the kiss. She won't mind but it feels clumsy to him. Clark hasn't had a lot of experience and there's been no one he wants to hold on to like Lois. She was there when he learnt his own name and that of his planet. He can't have expected she wouldn't try to see it through. ]

[ he's right: she doesn't mind. lois has kissed men who were far more experienced than clark kent, whose kisses were smoother, who knew all the right things to say and all the right places to put their hands, and none of them made lois' heart beat as fast as clark does, none of them made her smile as much as he does. she really doesn't mind, even if she angles her head a little further to the side, leading without any immediate goal in mind. ]

[ Her heart is going as fast as his own. Clark follows where she goes without hesitation. His nose knocks hers or they bump teeth innocently, and he pulls away to laugh. ]

What happens now? Do I call you my girlfriend?

[ Clark leans in at her side, touching her cheek gently. ]

[ lois can't help but laugh as well, tipping her head into his touch. ]

I'm not really a girl anymore. [ she doesn't like the term, the thought behind it is fine by her. ] What about partner? Or significant other.

[ He traces over her cheekbone. Clark could see the muscles moving underneath and sense the heat rising in her cheeks. ]

I like partner. [ They work together. ] Let's go with that?

[ lois has always thought that women who giggled or swooned when a man so much as looked at them the right way were just silly — but now, there's heat in her cheeks and her eyes are fluttering closed at his touch.

she forces them open again, lips still pulled into a smile even after the laughter from before has faded. ] Yeah, let's.