This is my first Superman story, I'm not a very experienced fanfiction writer, more of an avid reader! Hope you enjoy it, please review! Thank you!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, no copyright violation intended, this is all for recreational purposes…
*****
Lois sighed dejectedly as she took in the contents of the storage closet she had somehow managed to avoid like the plague for the last four years. Sensing her agitation, five year old eyes turned from the jumble of boxes to look up at her with confusion.
"Mommy, I thought you said we were going to START packing…"
"I know baby." Lois kissed the top of Jason's head and pulled him closer against her. "This is just all the stuff that Mommy didn't unpack when we moved here." She followed his gaze back to the mess in the closet and shuddered. She had stood in this very spot staring at it the night before too, but had abandoned the idea of tackling it in favour of some slightly less scary packing. It was almost as if the dusty piles of old cardboard boxes and random bits and pieces of abandoned paraphernalia were staring back at her, mocking her. This is going to be one hell of a sneeze fest. Punishment for all my numerous transgressions I suppose… God, I need a cigarette…
"Do we have to unpack it? Can't we just pack all the other stuff, and then unpack everything at the apartment?"
"Well, Mommy still needs to take the boxes out of the closet and sort through all the other junk. Looks like its going to be a lot of fun huh munchkin?" Jason frowned, wrinkling his nose with disgust at the prospect. The look on his face was so familiar, like some blurred photograph in a long forgotten album. That's another thing he must get from father, because I sure as hell don't do that quite so… like that. She felt the urge to laugh washing over her state of frustration as he let out a long-suffering sigh. Nope, definitely not the Lane genes. She chuckled at his mopey expression, and was, for what seemed to be the zillionth time, struck by the strange familiarity of it. Pretty sure I've never seen HIM brood though...
With a quick glance at her watch, Lois realised that they had been packing for four hours straight. No wonder Jason was fussing; even a kid who sees everything as some kind of adventure has his limits. "I'll tell you what kiddo, let's go get some dinner then you can play until bedtime okay?"
"Burritos! Pizza! Scrambled eggs!" Jason scampered ahead of her to the kitchen.
"We can't have all three munchkin, pick one." Lois tickled him, remembering the days when he was allergic to eggs and most pizza ingredients. Thank goodness he was growing out of it. If one could call it 'growing out' of it, that is.
"Okay, okay! Mommy! Stop tickling me!" She let him go and he hopped onto a barstool. "I pick… pizza! With extra cheese!" Queue the goofy, pleading expression was (almost) always her undoing. "Pleeease?"
"Hmm… alright, but you have to have fresh fruit for dessert," she countered firmly.
"I'll eat all my veggies tomorrow too, I promise!"
"There you go baby, that's the spirit!" She ruffled his hair and turned to pick up the phone, turning back to find him giggling. "What, what is it? What did I do? Is there something in my teeth?"
"Hehe, no Mommy… Daddy says that too!"
"What? Richard hardly ever says 'there you go'?"
"No Mommy, my real Daddy!" He grinned conspiratorially
"Wha-really?" Lois almost jumped out of her skin. Jason had never acknowledged out loud that the Man of Steel was his father, not since she and Richard had sat him down two months ago and explained his Kryptonian heritage. When did he become "Daddy"?
"Yeah, all the time, just like you just did!" Jason giggled again, putting on a deep voice. "There you go scout! There you go, that's the spirit!"
Lois glanced out of the kitchen window at the wintry night sky, inadvertently searching for that familiar flash of primary colour. Superman says "there you go"? Hmm… guess I can picture that… sounds more like something Clark would say in between "Swell" and "Gee golly whiz"… She grinned, shaking her head at that last thought.
"Okay munchkin, let's order us a pizza and watch The Incredibles, huh?" It was his new favourite. The rest of the packing (particularly the stuff in the storage closet) could wait till tomorrow. Tonight, she was going to spend some quality time with her baby, something she hadn't done enough of recently. Particularly since she and Richard broke their engagement and he took an assignment in Beijing for two years.
"Do you think Daddy will come tonight, Mommy? Will he watch The Incredibles with us?" Jason looked up at her hopefully.
"I don't know baby, you know how busy he can get sometimes… but I'm sure he'll try to visit, and he might watch with us if he has time."
"Will he like it?"
"Of course he will, munchkin."
*****
Clark leant back in his chair and sighed. For a Friday afternoon, things were surprisingly quiet at the Planet, and apparently elsewhere too. He welcomed the relative peace; it had been a fairly overcast day, he was tired and his back felt sore. It had been a long 48 hours. Fires, landslides, robberies, a plane crash and a drugs bust, plus chasing several leads around the city had kept him busy, plus a few incidents in Gotham and Star City that had required his… collaboration.
He grinned remembering Oliver's chagrin when he realised that Clark had been on his way to see Jason when he called him. Oliver and Bruce were the only people he confided in about Jason's heritage, aside from his mother of course. Mom... I should call her. He picked up the phone and dialled the farm.
"Hello?" Martha answered five rings later, sounding slightly breathless.
"Hey Mom, you okay? You're out of breath."
"I'm fine sweetheart, just had to run to answer your call, I was outside."
"I wanted to check on you last night but I was… er, busy..."
"Oh, that's okay Clark, don't worry about me, just try to get some rest, you sound exhausted! You need to get more sleep. Is your back feeling better?" Here comes 'worry-mode'…
"It's healing, and Mom, I called to check on you." He shook his head, an amused smile on his face.
"Have you eaten today?"
"Ma-"
"Don't you 'Ma' me Clark Kent, did you have lunch? Or breakfast for that matter?" He could almost sense her pacing around the kitchen, shaking a dishtowel at the immaculate counter in front of her as if he was actually standing there, leaning against it.
"I had time for a couple of cheese sandwiches this morning, then I had two cups of coffee at work, and Jimmy gave me a cookie."
"A speedy sandwich and a cookie at work are not going to keep you going, Clark! You're still recovering, you need to eat properly!"
"It was a big cookie!" he chuckled, knowing there was no chance of getting himself out of this one.
"Clark, sweetheart, please listen to me, you need to take better care of yourself or you'll run yourself to the ground. Come home this weekend, I'll bake some pies and…"
His attention shifted for a moment as Lois and Jason entered the bullpen, heading quickly towards him. Lois walked past him with a smile (which he returned with his usual dorky wave), talking a mile a minute on her cell phone as she settled down at her desk, but Jason pulled away from her and made a beeline for him. A wave of emotion hit Clark as he realised how much he had missed his son in the last two days. He grinned at his son, who grinned back and climbed on to his lap, staring curiously as Clark tried to get a word in edgeways while his mother continued to talk his ear off.
"Mom… M-Mom, really… no, Mom, you don't have to make me frozen dinners… I-I'm fine, Mom…"
"Sweetheart, it's just a few pies and some other little things you can heat up when you're hungry." Jason giggled as Clark rolled his eyes at this. "You really should… Is someone with you Clark?"
"Yeah, Jason's here."
"Oh Clark, what are you talking to me for, go be with your son." He could hear her getting mushy. "Give him a hug for me, and tell him I'm baking him cookies for the weekend. I'll send you both some. He's not allergic to chocolate chip anymore is he?"
"N-no, not anymore, just peanut butter. Thanks Mom, I'll tell him."
"I love you sweetheart. Call me later if you can."
"I will Mom, I love you too, take care."
"And you Clark, you be safe."
"Yes Mom. T-try not to worry too much, okay? Talk to you later. Bye."
"Bye sweetheart."
Clark smiled as he hung up. She was never going to stop worrying. Looking down to meet the rapt gaze of his five year-old son, he smiled widened. Suddenly, he completely understood his mother.
"Hi Da- uh, Uncle Clark!" He was quick to cover his slip-up.
"Hey there kiddo." Clark gave Jason a hug.
"I missed you, Daddy" Jason whispered in Clark's ear. Clark smiled at the new title, Jason had only just begun to call him Daddy.
"I missed you too, scout." Clark squeezed him a little tighter before letting go, before eyebrows were raised and suspicions were aroused. Not that anyone would really be suspicious, because they all knew that in the three months since Superman had come back and especially over the last couple of months since Richard left for Beijing, Clark had become Jason's new best friend. And Lois's next 'thing', according to the bullpen gossip. He ignored the rumours and focussed on his family. With Richard gone, moving underway and Christmas just around the corner, they needed him now more than ever. "I'm sorry I couldn't come see you yesterday, things got a little crazy", he said softly.
"It's okay… was that Grandma on the phone?" Jason continued in hushed tones.
"Yes it was, and she's making us cookies for the weekend!" Clark whispered back conspiratorially. "How was you last day of school?"
"It was alright. I drew a picture!" He hopped off Clark's lap and rummaged in his bag, pulling out a drawing of the two of them and Lois holding hands as they stood in what appeared to be the park, each with a slightly larger-than-life hotdog and a wide smile. "My teacher said to draw the most fun thing we did this week. I had my most funnest time this week when we went to the park on Wednesday, especially 'cause Mommy let me have a hotdog and M&Ms!" He climbed back on Clark's lap, putting the drawing in Clark's hands. "It's for you."
"Thank you Jason, it's beautiful." Clark's heart skipped a beat as he took in the finer details of the picture.
In typical Jason style, the figures were labelled Mommy, Uncle Clark, and Me. On the right, the Me figure, bundled up in a blue coat and red hat and matching scarf, was holding a hotdog in one hand and an bag of M&Ms in the other, and appeared to be skipping. On the left, the Mommy figure, with long curly hair, was smiling happily with a hotdog in one hand while the other seemed to be wrapped around the arm of the tall figure in the middle labelled Uncle Clark.
Jason's depiction of him seemed, like the hotdogs, a little larger-than-life, but it didn't end there. The Uncle Clark figure told a story full of secrets. Its face, inclined slightly towards the lady on its left, sported the widest smile of all. There was a very familiar curl hidden right in the centre amidst the messy hair, which nobody would really notice, unless they were really looking. The eyes behind the glasses were a bright blue, the exact same blue as those of the little boy.
Oh boy.
And of course, Lois chose that very moment to end her call and come over to his desk.
"Are you sure he's not bothering you Clark?" She bent down to pick up a book and a Superman action figure that had fallen out of Jason's bag in his hurry to find his drawing. While her attention was averted, Clark hurriedly pinned said drawing on his notice board in a way that it was slightly hidden by the computer screen amongst some of Jason's older artwork. "Sweetie, why don't you come and play at Mommy's desk for a while, Uncle Clark probably has a lot of work to do."
"Aw gee Lois, he's no bother at all, you know I love having him around" Clark smiled as Jason's arms tightened around him. "I haven't got all that much to get done, don't worry."
"You always say that, then end up leaving even later than I do! Really Clark-"
"I'll be good Mommy I promise! I won't disturb him!" Jason interrupted, still holding on to him with a grip that Clark realised would have anyone else gasping for breath.
"It's ok scout," Clark pacified him in a soft tone, rubbing his back gently. "How about you help me write my article?"
Lois watched their exchange, her gut twisting as she realised what a rock Clark had been for both Jason and her. Clark's soothing words felt so right, so oddly familiar. How is it that when he talks to Jason's it's like he steps out of his bumbling-reporter shell and becomes so… just… infuriatingly like CLARK? Not Mr. Mild-Mannered but Clark, Smallville… Er, ok, mental note: don't go there, don't even think about it. It was a long time ago. He's not that Clark anymore. And I'm soooo not that Lois anymore. That ship has sailed. But he's being an incredible father figure for Jason… he'd make an incredible father… a great husband too I'll bet… Urgh, Lois, get a grip! But seriously-
"MOMMY!" Jason had climb down off Clark's knee and was pulling on her hand, giggling as Clark blushed and looked sheepishly at her. "Mommy, why are you making weird faces at Uncle Clark?"
Lois shook herself. "I was? I'm sorry Clark, just blanked there for a second…"
"Uh, gee Lois, d-don't even worry about it." Clark was still blushing. But for the first time in what felt like eons, his obvious discomfiture only thinly veiled a fire in his eyes that she had almost forgotten he possessed. She tried valiantly to stamp out the flurry of butterflies inside her.
"Mommy, can Uncle Clark have dinner with us tonight? Please?" Jason pleaded up at her.
"Er, sure… if you're not busy?" There was a touch of nervousness in her gaze, Clark noted. After all these years, she was more transparent to him than she realised. Of course, she put up a better guard against Superman. "About 6.30, 7?"
"Sure!" He grinned at Jason. "I'd love to have dinner with both of you."
"Great. I'm going to head home in an hour or so, I'm almost done with my article and I want to get some more packing done before dinner." Lois ruffled Jason's hair. "You gonna come with Mommy or stay with Uncle Clark?"
"Can I stay with Uncle Clark?"
"Okay." She kissed the top of his head. "Be good. Thanks Clark." She gave Clark's shoulder a light squeeze as she turned to go back to her own desk, unaware of his silent intake of breath at her touch.
Jason however was very aware of it as he scrambled back onto his father's lap. He waited until his mother was out of earshot before whispering his next question.
"Daddy, do you love Mommy?" Clark nearly jumped out of his skin at that one, but didn't have the heart to change the subject when he saw the earnest look on his son's face.
"Yes I do scout." Clark's voice was husky with emotion.
"Are you going to come and live with us?"
"Well, let's see if we can get through tonight shall we?" Jason's face fell just a little and Clark was compelled to go on. "Jason, I love your mommy, but I don't know if she's ready to understand everything about… er, who I am, or for that matter, if she can forgive me for leaving you both for such a long time."
"But… if you tell her that you're sorry and you love her, won't she be happy?"
"I don't know son. It might be a little bit more complicated than that… but I promise I'll try my best, okay?" Jason nodded solemnly. "Okay then, how about you help me type up my article huh?"
He covered Jason's hands with his own and guided them over the keys as he glanced over at Lois who was watching them with an indecipherable look on her face, but turned away when her eyes met his.
As she murmured under her breath, "Oh Clark… what have I done to deserve you?" she had no idea that her every word echoed in his Kryptonian ears and left him with a desperate ache in his entirely too un-invulnerable heart.
*****
Any good? Part 2 coming up, reviews are much appreciated!