Even after the bustling sounds of the noisy city on which she thrived, this was still one of her favorite places on Earth.
The wide open space. The faint orange streaks drawn perfectly across the bright pink sky. The quiet, which used to unnerve her, bringing a sense of calm that she didn't often feel these days. The scruffy head in her lap, causing her to sniffle and sneeze every once in a while as she ruffled it gently.
Yes, to Lois Lane, the Kent Farm had become somewhat of a haven over the years. The first place she'd felt part of a family, even if they weren't technically hers, they were hers in all the ways that counted. It was the place she could come to any hour of the day or night, and know the light would be on and the door would be open and she would be welcome.
And while, sure, her feelings for a certain farmboy had moved way past familial, she still felt comfortable here. Safe. Secure.
Home.
So what better place to celebrate her front page interview of the Red Blue Blur that had run in today's early edition of the Planet?
Clark had offered to cook her a celebratory dinner, which, aside from being a typically sweet Clark gesture, served only to confuse her more. Of course, he'd told her to be there at six and, here it was, almost seven and he had yet to show up. Which, wasn't atypical lately. His chronic lateness had gotten worse the last few months.
She couldn't figure him out.
Distant one minute, overly attentive the next. She could swear she'd seen the Clark Kent puppy-dog eyes directed at her on more than one occasion. Of course, he'd quickly divert his attention elsewhere the minute she looked his way, catching him. Then there was what she could only classify as death stares towards any unsuspecting male intern or reporter who stopped by her desk to chat.
What was that about?
He hadn't shown up that night, months ago, when she'd asked him for coffee. To clear the air, to decide what was going on between them. She'd said she would understand what it meant if he didn't show. And she did.
But the mixed signals he was sending her way jumbled everything up. See, she'd told herself that she would get over him. Okay, it would take time, but she would. She wouldn't hold it against him, after all, it wasn't his fault that he didn't feel the same way. It was just the way it was.
That was her plan. Of course, these things are easier said than done. Getting over a guy as sweet, charming, funny, smart, caring, and lest it be forgotten, devastatingly gorgeous as Clark Kent was no easy feat in and of itself.
Especially if he wasn't helping matters by confusing the issue every other minute.
Still, she wasn't a quitter. She followed a tried-and-true formula.
Bury her heartache in her job.
If that work happened to revolve around a mysterious superhero who'd dedicated his life to the people of Metropolis? All the better.
And more confusing.
The Red-Blue Blur was open with her, confided in her, reached out to her.
He needed her.
It was nice to be needed.
He looked out for her, kept an eye on her in a way that she was pretty sure he didn't for just anyone in Metropolis.
And he'd trusted her. With the biggest secret of all.
"You
wanna run that by me again?" He chuckled a bit on his end,
the voice changer causing it to sound a little more mechanical than
she was sure really was. "Krypton. That's the name of my
home planet."
It wasn't often that Lois Lane was stunned into speechlessness. But finding out that the city's primary-colored hero was an alien from a long dead planet had pretty much done it.
The thing was, she wasn't sure what she was more stunned by. The fact that he was, as he'd put it, an intergalactic traveler, or the fact that she couldn't have cared less.
"Wow." It
had been almost two whole minutes of silence as she'd processed the
information, standing in the phone booth that had become their
predetermined meeting place for their nighttime phone calls. "I'm
sorry," she'd continued quietly. "For what?" "You
lost your family, your whole planet. I can't even imagine what that
must feel like." This time, the silence came from his end of
the phone. Nervously, she'd breathed out, closing her eyes briefly
and cursing herself for her words. "And I probably just made
you feel a thousand times worse. In case you haven't figured it out
by now, I don't really have an internal edit function." "No,
you didn't…it's just…" "What?" "I knew
you'd say that," he responded, his voice almost a mechanical
whisper. "How?" "Because that's who you are,
Lois," he said cryptically. "You care about people, how they
feel, how things affect them. Even an alien from Krypton." "You
think you know me that well, huh?" she teased lightly. "Let's
just say I've…imagined this conversation." "And I'm
living up to your expectations?" He chuckled. "Always." She
smiled in response, leaning against the cool glass of the phone
booth. "So…is it hard?" He was quiet for a
moment, before uttering a soft, "Sometimes." "Because
not only do you have abilities that others don't have, but you're
also from a completely different planet." "Yeah. I don't
really feel like I belong a lot of the time." "You have to
find someone who can make you feel like you "It's not that easy." "Why, because
you're not technically human and yet you're surrounded by
them?" "Something like that." "A sense of
belonging doesn't have to come from biology. I mean, you must have
some connections you've made since you've been here." "I
do but…" "So hold on to those. Look, I know it's not
nearly the same thing, but my family is kind of…well, spread out
all over the world would be sort of an understatement. And even when
we were in the same place, we never really did the whole family
thing. Belonging to any kind of family unit was not something I'd
ever really experienced, until a few years ago. I ended up in
Smallville and this family, they took me in and …for the first time
I felt like I belonged. They weren't related to me, but they gave
me a family, a connection. Biology didn't matter. So, the people
you've connected to, they She could hear the soft sound of his
breathing, altered by the device he was using to cover his voice, as
he took in her words. "This family," he said quietly,
"they're lucky to have you." "Well, I did bring a lot
of excitement into their lives," she quipped. "No doubt,"
he responded. "And Lois?" "Yeah?" "These
people…that I've connected to? You're definitely on that
list."
Scratching behind Shelby's ear, she smiled at the memory, a slight flush taking over her cheeks just as it had when he'd uttered those words.
So, yeah. Confusion reigned. Mild-mannered, charming, generous farmboy turned reporter in one corner. Courageous, selfless superhero in the other.
Not that she was in love with the Blur. After all, at this point, despite their many conversations, he was a mysterious blur, which didn't lend itself so much to the whole dating thing.
But she was drawn to him. She couldn't deny that.
The night before last had been the longest conversation they'd had, as she'd conducted the interview that currently sat above the fold on the Planet's front page.
And she was proud to say that it was the best piece she'd written in her young career. Even Clark had thought so, and, though she rarely admitted it out loud to him, his opinion held more weight with her than anyone else's.
Her one disappointment? She hadn't been able to come up with a better name prior to the interview going to print.
"Why am I so blocked on this, huh Shelbs?" she muttered to the dog, accompanied by a sniffle. "It's not like I haven't named a superhero before. This should be a piece of cake for me."
But it wasn't. It was stumping her. And she had to come up with one. He'd pretty much given her that job the first night they'd spoken. She didn't want to let him down.
Not to mention, the Red-Blue Blur was a mouthful.
Closing her eyes, she willed herself to empty her mind, convinced if she did, the perfect name would just pop in there. After a few frustrating moments, she growled, "The Green Arrow was so much easier."
"Easier than what?"
Clark's voice snapped her out of her reverie. She opened her eyes, Shelby's head lifting off her lap as he spotted his owner, though he made no attempt to move from Lois' side.
Fixing him with a smirk, she said, "Nice of you to show up."
"Yeah," he said, eyes shifting toward the door as he absently petting Shelby's back. "Sorry, got tied up helping Chloe with something."
"Well just so you know, I not only expect dinner but dessert now, too. And it had better be something chocolate."
"Something like my mom's triple fudge brownies?"
Her eyes widened. "Really? Don't tell me they've been in there this whole time. Why didn't you tell me before she sent you some?"
"Because I knew if I was a little late getting home they'd be gone," he retorted, his eyes sparkling knowingly at her.
"Just for that, I'm not only eating a whole bunch of them, I'm taking some home," she huffed, a teasing smirk on her lips.
"Don't worry, she sent specific instructions that at least half of them were to go home with you."
"Have I told you lately how awesome your mom is?"
"You don't have to tell me," he agreed, before heading inside. "Dinner will be ready soon, I just have to bake the lasagna."
"You made me lasagna Smallville? I'm impressed. And starved. It better be as good as your mom's."
"It's her recipe."
"Smart man."
"Why mess with perfection? So, wanna tell me what you were mumbling about?"
"Just my frustration at my inability to come up with a better name for Metropolis' red and blue superdude. Oh wait… "Superdude"! Hmm…that might work."
"Yeah, I don't think so Lo," he called through the screen door.
"What do you know? You couldn't even come up with a cool name for your dog. Once again, Martha Kent to the rescue," she giggled, before a small sneeze escaped her. Ruffling Shelby's fur, she leaned down, whispering to him, "You lucked out Shelbs."
"I had some good suggestions," he shot back, and she could hear plates being set down on the kitchen table.
"Please, Smallville, what was it you wanted to name him? It was weird, which wasn't surprising, considering the source. Oh wait, I remember. Krypto!"
She laughed loudly, shaking her head. "I mean, what was that? Krypto? What kind of name was that for a dog?"
Her laughter subsided a bit and she rubbed Shelby's nose.
"Talk about your near misses, huh Shelbs? You could have been Krypto," she said, leaning back. "Krypto…" she muttered softly to herself.
A memory nagged at her brain.
Krypto….she'd heard that…something like it. Recently.
"Krypto," she whispered, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
And then she sat straight up, jarring Shelby's head slightly out of her lap.
Krypton.
She blinked quickly, feeling her heartbeat begin to thud sharply in her chest. Hazel eyes darted to the dog cuddled in her lap, then flew to the screen door, where Clark Kent was on the other side, the clanging sounds of dishes and pans seeming to have ceased and an all-too-quiet silence had taken its place.
Swallowing hard, she looked back at Shelby.
It couldn't be.
Could it?
The screen door creaked open, then closed with a dull thud. Exhaling slowly, her head turned toward him, her gaze travelling slowly over him before finally resting on his handsome face, his full lips turned up into a small yet slightly anxious grin.
"So…I guess dinner can wait huh?"
Nodding slowly, a soft smile formed on her lips, the confusion she'd felt over the last few weeks suddenly, almost inexplicably, melting away.
"Dinner can wait."