Ethan

by watercrystals

A week before Clark graduates High School, his life is changed forever when a mysterious girl gives him sole custody of the infant son he never knew existed. Clark/Lois. AU. More information inside.

10. Hard Lessons

Author's Notes: To all of my reviewers, you guys are super awesome! Thanks for reminding me why I write this story, and giving me the motivation I need to continue it by sharing your thoughts and theories. I want to give a special thank you to Shezz05 for everything she has done to help, motivate, and inspire me in the past few days. Without her, I think I would still be staring at my computer screen and trying to make parts of this chapter work, instead of progressing with confidence and therefore updating.

There is something important to the story I need to point out. When I started this story I knew when Ethan's birthday was, and I have to stick by that for many reasons. However, it does bring a major inconsistency. When Clark graduated High School, it would have been around May, however I did not realise this beforehand. I recently did some research into American school terms and all that (since I live in Australia) and saying Ethan was six months old when Clark graduated would actually be very false. And now, with Ethan starting school, the issue continues. Therefore, in the interest of ease of writing and plot flow, I am going to leech the fact that this is an AU story. For the sake of this story, regardless of how realistic I wanted to keep the facts and such, we're going to pretend a school year starts in late January and finishes around November. This does not at all comply to the American schedule, but I'm overlooking that because it's easier for me to write without losing track and having to check each time, and more effective story-wise. I apologise to anyone who may be confused in the future by this, yet it's a choice I had to make. I rarely make references to specific months or days, with the exception of this chapter, so hopefully it won't be too confusing for those who live in places where the school terms are very different.

This chapter was supposed to be more centered on Ethan, but other characters ended up being focused on and therefore next chapter I will dedicate a bit more to Ethan. I will also include a few requests made regarding scenes for Lois/Martha + Lois/Jonathan interactions in the next chapter as they didn't really fit for this one. I also want to let you know this story will also include the pairing of Tess/Emil. Okay, that's enough from me...enjoy!

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~ Hard Lessons ~

Jonathan pushed open the screen door and walked into the house, exhaling as he headed for the sink to get a glass of water. He relished the break from the hard work he'd been doing on the farm for most of the day, but wondered where his wife and grandson were. Jonathan glanced over at the table and realised the sight he had returned to was identical to the one he'd left behind early that morning. Putting the empty glass on the counter, Jonathan walked closer to the seated boy, and began to worry.

'Hey, sweetheart.' Martha smiled at him as she came down the stairs, her arms weighted with a laundry basket. 'Jonathan?'

He was leaning against a post near the kitchen, with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Ethan. His face expressed his strong concern, though he didn't answer her. Martha followed his gaze to the table, where Ethan was seated in apparent unawareness of his company.

'He's been sitting there for hours.' She told Jonathan, after she'd walked over to stand beside her husband.

The pair watched their grandson, who was in clear view from where he sat at the table with his head bent to focus on his piece of paper. They couldn't see his face, and for a moment they were lost in their memories of Clark when he'd been younger, except he'd never had much interest in art.

Ethan's new crayons were already significantly shorter than they'd been when the boy received them from Emil at Christmas. Papers littered the table, each showing an array of colours and shapes. The boy had barely spoken to anyone since the end of December, and was still upset over the approaching school term he wouldn't be a part of.

Jonathan, knowing he had to do something about the situation, had an idea. He walked over to Ethan and placed a hand on the child's shoulder to get his attention.

'Hi, grandpa.' Ethan looked up at him.

'There's a fence in the field that needs replacing. I could sure use a helper.' Jonathan suggested.

'I'll help you, grandpa.' Ethan said.

He dropped his blue crayon onto the table and hopped off the chair. The boy gathered his crayons into their box, but left them behind as he hurried up the stairs to get his new cowboy hat from his bedroom. His momentary departure gave Jonathan and Martha a moment to see what the child had been obsessively drawing for the most part of the day.

'Oh my god.' Martha whispered.

Her gaze was fixated on three Kryptonian symbols Ethan had been sketching over and over on his pieces of paper. She reached to touch them, tracing a blue line with her fingers as she wondered what they meant.

'Did Clark teach him this?'

Jonathan looked over at the stairs where Ethan had vanished to, then returned his focus to the papers, and shook his head in answer to Martha's question. He firmly doubted Clark would be educating five-year-old Ethan in the Kryptonian language before the child knew the truth about his father being from another planet.

'I'm ready.' Ethan said as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and looked over at his grandparents, with his brown cowboy hat sitting securely on his head.

Martha and Jonathan shared a glance, each wondering the same thing, but silently decided they wouldn't ask the boy about his drawings. Martha offered Ethan a smile, and Jonathan moved forward to lead their grandson outside so the boy could help with the fence as intended.

Jonathan constantly glanced over at Ethan as the pair climbed over a fence with mirrored actions and crossed the field to the damaged fence, which had several planks of wood resting against it and their necessary tools sitting beside it in preparation of their task.

Ethan wasn't necessarily depressed, which Jonathan noticed as the boy smiled when Shelby followed them and had stopped to give the dog a quick hug before he'd rejoined Jonathan's side, but the boy was still not entirely himself. Ethan was quieter and less energetic than usual since December when he'd been told his dream of attending school wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Jonathan exhaled as he looked down at the boy staring back at him, waiting for his instructions, and once again noticed how much the child looked like Clark. The same hunched shoulders when he wasn't happy, the same narrowed eyebrows when he was thinking about something serious, and the general appearance of his hair only added to the ease in highlighting the features Ethan had undoubtedly inherited from his Kryptonian father.

And it wasn't all he had inherited through those other-worldly genes, Jonathan knew.

'In the right situations, you can use your abilities at home.' Jonathan said. 'But you do need to practise control. I'll be lifting the planks of wood, and you'll be in charge of hammering the nails.'

'I don't need a hammer.' Ethan stated.

He'd watched his father use only his thumb to push nails into pieces of wood, and had since learned to mimic the action. He didn't tell his grandfather about the bruises he often got in the process, because the boy was determined to be just like his dad. He might not be too happy with his father recently, with his dashed hopes of going to school when he wanted to, but Ethan still idolised Clark and aspired to be as great as he was.

'But other boys your age do.' Jonathan reminded him and gave the stubborn child his hammer.

Ethan huffed and accepted the object. He stepped back to watch his grandfather put the plank of wood in place, and listened when he was told where he was supposed to hammer in the nail.

'Not too hard.' Jonathan cautioned, hoping his slab wood wasn't about to be snapped in half along with another part of the fence.

He remembered when Clark was younger and had swung the hammer too loosely in his hand, causing it to rocket through the air and took out another fence many feet away.

'I know.' Ethan nodded.

He hesitantly raised the hammer and wondered why his grandparents gave him more cautionary warnings than his dad or Oliver did. They were always reminding him to be extra careful, and it made the boy nervous something might go wrong. Ethan stuck his tongue out in concentration when he placed the nail tip against the wood, and used the hammer to hit it into place.

Smiling with pride towards his success, Ethan reached for another nail, but halted. Frowning, he turned around and saw Tess approaching them. He wasn't sure how he'd known she was there, though the boy was sure he'd heard her footsteps on the ground. He assumed it was just another one of his unexplainable instinctual feelings.

'Hi, Aunt Tess.' Ethan waved to her. 'Are you here to help us make a fence?'

'Absolutely not.' Tess tried to hide her smile, in full awareness that she had no useful skills in regards to any aspect of farming.

It was far beyond her comfort zone as well, so she certainly had no intention to get involved with their task.

'I came to ask you something very important.' Tess told Ethan. 'Mr Kent, if you don't mind?'

'Go ahead.' Jonathan nodded.

He tried to appear calm for Ethan's sake, whereas inside he was worried something was wrong. He hardly knew anything about Tess, other than her status as a businesswoman who worked with Oliver. And, of course, she was a very good friend of both Ethan and Clark.

'Okay.' Ethan also agreed and lowered his hammer to hear what Tess had to say.

'I'm sure you remember what your father said about lying to me or Emil?' Tess checked, making sure the boy understood she was going to ask him something that required him to tell her the complete truth.

'Yeah.' Ethan looked away with resurfaced guilt.

He recalled several lectures he'd received in the past, until he'd learned to listen to them. He knew now that what Emil and Tess did at Watchtower was very important, and lying to them could really hurt a lot of people. Ethan had come close to causing something terrible in the past, and while his dad had stopped it in time, Ethan would never forget the lessons he'd learned that day.

'Good, because I need you to trust me right now.' Tess said gently as she crouched in front of the boy. 'Can you do that, Ethan?

'I trust you, Aunt Tess.' Ethan nodded without constraint.

'What's this about?' Jonathan asked. He wished he wasn't so in the dark about Tess. She was essentially a stranger, and therefore Jonathan was unable to trust her as readily as Ethan.

'There's isn't enough time for me to explain, Mr Kent.' Tess said, though hinted he would get his answers later on. 'Ethan, have you had any headaches lately? Or dizziness?'

'Sometimes.' Ethan admitted. 'Just for a little bit, then it was gone. I thought it was because I had a nightmare.'

'Okay. And have your abilities gotten stronger all of the sudden?' Tess continued. 'Like your strength or speed being more than usual?'

'I can do a lot of stuff daddy can.' Ethan nodded again. 'I picked up the tractor yesterday. It was hard at first, but then it was easy. And I was really careful!'

Tess sighed and straightened, her expression showing the concern she felt she was able to deal with. The information was unsettling, but Tess had been anticipating it and prepared accordingly. She reached into the pocket of her dark jacket and lifted out a syringe, which already contained a small amount of lime green liquid.

'I need to take a sample of your blood.' Tess told the boy.

'Whoa, now just hold a minute.' Jonathan stepped in. 'What is that stuff?'

'Is it medicine?' Ethan wondered, showing no sign of distrust or unease. 'Or vitamins?'

'No, Ethan.' Tess answered the boy first, then turned to Jonathan with a displeased expression to show how offended she was by his implications. 'I have earned Clark's trust and respect, Mr Kent. I don't expect it from you, not this soon, but you should know that I would never do anything to hurt Ethan. But you need to remember that Ethan is not Clark.'

'What is that supposed to mean?' Jonathan frowned, not understanding what she was accusing him of or otherwise referring to.

'Ethan's abilities are not supposed to be entirely like Clark's. At least, not at his age.' Tess explained in a blunt, yet not unkind, voice. 'We've suspected for a while now that something has been altered that shouldn't have. It started when you were attacked in the barn months ago. The person responsible left behind a residue of kryptonite particles. Not just any kryptonite – this particular variety has a strange lead colouring and minor characteristics.'

'Is it dangerous?' Jonathan wanted to know, disliking that Tess currently knew more about his family than he seemed to.

He also didn't like the sound of any type of kryptonite he wasn't familiar with.

'What's kiptomite?' Ethan wondered.

'Yes. To Ethan.' Tess answered Jonathan, too focused on the seriousness of the situation to answer the boy's question. 'Clark wasn't infected because he has matured and his abilities have already advanced to the final stages. Ethan, however, is still growing and developing. I need a sample of Ethan's blood to see how much damage has been done, so we can reverse the infection and destroy the foreign cells causing his imbalance.' She said and held up the syringe again, waiting for the boy to let her take a sample of his blood.

'Will it make me better?' Ethan guessed and held out his arm 'Will it hurt?'

'The fluid is not for you, Ethan.' Tess assured him. 'And it won't hurt. You'll only feel a slight pinch.'

Jonathan remained hesitant, as he crossed his arms over his chest, and made no move to stop Tess from completing her task. He merely stood there to watch, as Ethan shut his eyes with dread and waited for the foretold pinch. Jonathan was a bit surprised when Tess easily jabbed the needle into the boy's skin, and extracted a small amount of blood through the syringe, without any difficulty.

Jonathan dropped his arms by his side and realised he'd been making a mistake, which Tess had already pointed out, in her own words, a moment earlier. The child resembled Clark profoundly, and his Kryptonian side only added to Jonathan simply forgetting how different Ethan and Clark were from each other, despite the endless things they had in common. Tess was right to remind him Ethan had something Clark didn't. The boy wasn't entirely Kryptonian – he was part human too.

It meant Ethan wasn't going to fling a tractor over his head by accident or end up halfway across the state if he ran too fast.

He was stronger and faster than most children, but Jonathan knew he had to always remember Ethan was still more normal than the boy's father had ever been. And yet, with what he'd heard from Tess, Jonathan knew not to assume the situation with Ethan going to be any calmer or smoother than Clark's.

When Tess had the right amount of blood mixing with the substance already in the syringe, she withdrew the needle and watched the mingling liquids with concentrated curiosity.

Ethan, however, carefully peered at his arm and was fascinated to observe the tiny hole instantly vanish when it was touched by sunlight. He looked up to watch his blood turn darker as it swirled on its own inside the syringe. It brightened, until it almost glowing in an odd pinkish shade, then settled.

'Is that supposed to happen?' Ethan asked.

'No.' Tess frowned at it. 'This is good news. The effects are wearing off on their own. It's in the earliest stages, possibly very recent.'

'I feel the same.' Ethan frowned and looked himself over, thinking that if something about himself had been altered then he'd be able to see it.

'You probably won't notice most of the changes.' Tess commented. 'After a few more days, you might even forget you have powers.' She noticed Jonathan's relieved expression and felt she had to continue.

When Tess had arrived at the farm moments ago, she hadn't expected to have to explain so much - luckily, she'd paid attention to Emil when he'd gone over the specifics with her earlier.

'It's not what you think.' She told Jonathan. 'While his blood was infected, his abilities were becoming more constant, and almost too much for his young body to maintain. Now it will be irregular again, though they will always emerge in moments of high emotion. However, because he has been rapidly put through the pressure of these enhanced abilities in the last couple of months, making them almost the same as Clark's for that time, his body has formed new connections and expanded its limits.' Tess paused and looked over at Ethan, who stared back at her with a scrunched face of confusion.

'His body will not forget.' Tess finished. 'I guess you could say he will be between how he used to be, and how Clark is now.'

'I don't understand.' Ethan told Tess.

She put away the sealed syringe, as Emil wanted to examine it closely later to make sure they were right, and looked down at the boy. Tess tried to work out how to phrase the scientific complexities to a five-year-old. Even if Ethan was exceptionally smart for his age, she still doubted he would be able to comprehend the truth unless she put it into shorter and simpler terms.

'Ethan, your abilities are still developing. They're new and you haven't learned to control them yet. Because of this, tiny pieces of dust created from a very strange greyish meteor rock can confuse your body into thinking it can do more than it's ready for.' Tess explained. 'It can be very dangerous, but somehow your body has begun to fix itself.'

She didn't mention it was the one part that baffled her, because it should be impossible for the little boy's body to begin to repair itself without an outer influence to jump-start the curing process.

'Will I still be different, after I'm fixed?' Ethan asked.

'Yes.' Tess nodded. 'You will always be different, Ethan. But things should soon be back to how they used to be when you lived in Metropolis.'

'I was always breaking stuff there.' The boy frowned.

'That will change as you learn control.' Tess said and looked towards the house. 'You have a lot of people who care about you, and every one of us want to help you. Don't ever be afraid to ask, okay?'

'Okay, Aunt Tess.' Ethan nodded. 'Are you sure you don't want to help us make a fence?'

'I'm sure.' Tess chuckled. 'I'll talk to you soon. I need to find out where Oliver has snuck off to.' She muttered the last part and turned to head back in the direction of the house.

Jonathan and Ethan watched her walk away in her business attire, complete with heels and a knee-length skirt, which were certainly not designed for crossing a farming field. Jonathan still wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the situation, but they had work to do and he intended to get it done.

'This fence won't build itself.' Jonathan reminded to boy and resumed their task, which Ethan hurried back over to help him with.

It was a good idea to get Ethan out of the house after the boy had been cooped up for most part of each day, since the start of January. Even so, Jonathan wasn't the only one who missed the energetic and chatting side of his grandson, which was a side of the boy that was still lacking.

~ E ~

Tess reached the house, and looked towards the counter where Martha was making a jug of lemonade.

'I hope I'm not intruding?' Tess said to Martha out of politeness, since she'd stepped inside without first being invited.

'Of course not.' Martha offered the other girl a smile. 'You're always welcome here.' She nodded.

'Thank you, Mrs Kent.'

Tess was surprised by the warmth she continued to receive from Martha. Even Jonathan was quite accommodating, though he remained cautious in a way she could understand. They didn't know her, and yet they were trying - likely because she was close to Ethan and Clark.

And Martha was trying.

She'd waved to the girl when she'd seen her car pull up outside, but still didn't know Tess very well. She had only seen her three or four times, and only the duration over Christmas had been more than a moment of professional politeness. Martha wanted to get to know Clark's new friends, so she was musing on ways to spend time with Tess, Emil, and Oliver sometime in the future. A chance was presented to her now, as Tess made her way to the counter and sat on a stool.

However, the women had no chance to strike up a conversation when the other door opened, and Clark joined them.

'Hey, mum.' Clark walked to the kitchen and occupied the seat beside Tess, not looking too surprised to see her there. 'Where's Ethan?'

'Out in the fields helping your father build a fence.' Martha answered. 'Clark, have a look at the table.'

Clark turned to see the scattered red and blue themed shapes clearly done by his son. Narrowing his eyes with recognition, Clark walked over to them and picked one up, his face showing concern as there was no mistaking what he saw. Tess watched him and was curious, but decided not to say anything as she felt awkward enough to be where she was. While Tess was extremely used to having Clark or Ethan around, it was strange for her to be inside the Kent farm because it was so unfamiliar to her in a very homey sort of way.

'What does it say?' Martha wondered.

'Nothing, really.' Clark answered. 'Just the first three letters of the alphabet. I had no idea...how could he know these?'

'Maybe it was caused by whatever happened to him in the barn that day?' Martha was relieved to hear the symbols were merely letters, not a sign of some impending doom like they'd seen in the past. 'He's been drawing them all morning and barely left the table until your father took him outside. Ethan's still upset.'

Clark didn't answer as he continued to look over the papers, making sure it was the same three symbols the child had drawn. A dozen reasons went through his mind, but Clark didn't consider it to be something to worry about at the moment. There were bigger issues than his son somehow learning a few Kryptonian letters.

His mother seemed to sense this, as she dropped the subject and returned to her task of squeezing lemons.

'You're back early.' Martha commented after a moment. 'Slow news day?'

'We finished sooner than expected, and I needed a break.' Clark said. 'I also need to talk to Ethan, and he comes first.'

'Of course.' Martha agreed, then looked at her son with curiosity. 'I haven't seen Lois around as much lately. Did something happen?'

'Uh, maybe.' Clark fidgeted with embarrassment, which Tess reacted to by innocently hiding her interest. 'We sort of...kissed. I think I scared her off.'

'Smallville!' Lois' loud and demanding voice was heard from outside, accompanied by the slamming of a car door. 'I hope for your sake you interviewed the witness before she decided to take off for Peru!'

'You're right, Clark.' Tess commented with amusement and sarcasm. 'She sounds terrified.'

Clark huffed and quickly gathered the papers into a pile, before speeding upstairs to conceal them inside a desk draw. When he returned to the kitchen, Lois marched through the door with a frown on her face and a slightly crumpled newspaper under her arm.

'Who goes to Peru after seeing some old guy hang himself, anyway?' Lois added. 'Hi, Mrs Kent. Tess.'

'Lois.' Tess nodded back. 'Excuse me.' She added and walked to the living room to answer her ringing phone.

'Hello, Lois.' Martha greeted the girl with a smile. 'Would you like some lemonade?'

'Not unless it's full of caffeine, because I am reaching a dangerously low level.' Lois exhaled and stared expectantly at Clark. 'Well?'

'Yes, I got the interview.' Clark rolled his eyes. 'And half of her family lives in Peru.'

'Yeah, well...whatever.' Lois dismissed and dropped the newspaper onto the counter, then moved to sit on the stool one over from where Tess had been seated. 'Have you heard from Oliver? I left him like four messages and he never got back to me.'

'Uh, why?' Clark looked away, which caught Lois' attention.

'What, he'll answer your calls but not mine?' She frowned. 'Is this another one of those weird brotherhood things? I will not be ignored just because I have-'

'Lois.' Clark quickly interrupted, not wanting to hear such details of her rant. 'I just know he's busy. I'm sure Oliver will call you when he has time.'

'He better.' Lois said in a threatening tone, as though Oliver's lack of communication was entirely Clark's fault. 'Where's the kid? Have you told him yet?'

'He's outside, helping my dad with a fence.' Clark provided. 'He doesn't know yet. Lois, you really don't have to be here. I can handle this.'

'Don't even try, Smallville.' Lois said firmly. 'I'm not going anywhere. On second thought, Mrs K, I think I will have some lemonade.'

'Really?' Clark was surprised by Lois' insisting to stick around, since she'd basically fled town for a few days after they'd kissed.

They hadn't talked about it yet, despite the passing time, and Lois seemed quite determined to pretend it never happened. Clark would have been worried, except she dropped odd hints occasionally to let him know she didn't regret it happening, which gave him hope that she wasn't going to avoid it forever.

Deep in his thoughts, Clark didn't take much notice of the conversation between Lois and Martha. He only glanced up when Tess rejoined them and resumed her place at the counter. Clark had expected her company when he'd headed home for the day, as he'd spoken to her on the phone when she was on her way to Smallville almost two hours ago.

'Have you heard from Oliver?' Lois asked, watching Tess sit beside Clark.

He became acutely aware of having one woman on either side of him and decided not to talk unless he had to, with Lois being in one of her moods and Tess having spent long hours working in Watchtower the previous night without her usual amount of rest.

'No, why?' Tess wondered casually with practised ease while sipping the glass of lemonade she'd been offered by Martha.

'He's not answering any of my calls.' Lois frowned. 'Though apparently he answers Clark's.'

'I'm not surprised.' Tess admitted. 'He's Oliver, after all.'

'Is it unusual not to hear from him?' Martha normally kept out of shared conversations if she wasn't directly involved, but her curiosity was higher today and she really wanted to know Clark's friends.

They were part of the circle of family he'd formed for himself over the past five years, and it was strange for Martha to know that and yet see those people as strangers. She'd always known the people closest to her son in the past, like Chloe, Pete, and Lana. Now the others were a mystery, and that worried her. Martha had to know who Clark trusted the most, and their overall intentions, in case a situation should arise and Clark wasn't around for her to consult.

'Not really.' Tess replied. 'Oliver likes to refer to himself as a free spirit.'

'In other words, a billionaire playboy.' Lois scoffed.

'Oliver's more than that, Lois.' Clark instantly defended. 'He's probably working.'

He glanced at Tess, knowing she would realise he meant in relation to Watchtower. Lois didn't know about Watchtower, so she was less able to see how Oliver could be avoiding them to "work" when Oliver so frequently acted as though he hated such an activity. A phone call from a friend would surely have been more welcome than a pile of papers needing his attention.

'How do you know he's not drinking in a club somewhere?' Lois wasn't in a great mood today, and was not going to forgive Oliver or cut him any slack until he answered one of her calls so she could ask him a few simple questions. Her words were much more judgemental than usual - she knew Oliver wouldn't be sitting at a bar and simply ignoring them, but Lois was too irritated to care.

She didn't realise her words were lowering the opinions Martha had of Oliver. The comments worried the other woman further, as Oliver was not the sort of person she'd have expected Clark to be especially close to, after everything that happened with Lex in the past. Though her son had always believed in giving people a chance, and Martha hoped the situation with Oliver was much different than she feared.

It wasn't just Clark at sake anymore, as there was also a five-year-old child to protect as well.

'I know Oliver.' Clark insisted while Martha watched him carefully.

'Fine.' Lois narrowed her eyes at Clark. 'Then give your brother a call and tell him to answer his damn phone.'

'You really want to talk to Oliver.' Tess commented. 'Why is that?'

'Brother?' Martha repeated quietly.

She knew Clark and Oliver got along very well, which had made her quite nervous at first when Oliver Queen reminded her a lot of Lex Luthor in terms of their upbringing and silver platters, and yet to hear just how close the pair were...it was alarming. She realised Ethan really meant it when he called Oliver his "uncle". Martha looked to Tess and wondered if it was the same for her, being an "aunt" to the boy. Chloe and Emil had such titles as well, but Martha had already worked out they weren't quite as close as the others, likely more to do with the fact Clark and Ethan didn't see them as often as Tess or Oliver.

The realisation also brought a strange string of thoughts to Martha's mind. If Oliver, and possibly Tess, were like a sibling to Clark then they were, in a weird way, a bigger part of the Kent family than Martha had been prepared for. It only increased her desire to know them better, because she didn't like the idea of having close family she knew almost nothing about.

'Lois!' Ethan hurried inside and grinned when he saw her standing there. 'Hi, daddy.' The boy said a little less enthusiastically. He ducked his head in memory of the crushed dream of going to school and sighed, then walked over to give Lois a hug.

'Hey, kiddo.' Lois greeted him and returned the gesture.

'Would you like some lemonade?' Martha offered the child and then her husband, who followed suit.

'Yes, please.' Ethan nodded and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. 'Grandpa let me help him make a fence.' He told Lois, becoming more like his usual self than he'd been in a while.

'That sounds like hard work.' Lois commented, and was partially serious as she could not imagine herself standing out there in the field hammering away at wood for any period of time.

Tess smirked behind her glass, as she'd been thinking the same thing earlier. Of course, either of them were capable of it if they had enough determination, but the pair preferred the busyness of the big city than the small town lifestyle.

'It was okay. Thanks, grandma.' Ethan accepted the lemonade and gulped it down.

As he drank, the boy looked around and his eyes reflected his curiosity as to why Clark and Lois were home early, and why Tess was still there. He didn't consider either of those things to be bad, as he missed them when they weren't around. The boy was just disappointed Oliver wasn't there with them as well, as he often was in the past.

'Ethan.' Clark exhaled and walked over to his son. 'I think it's time we had a little talk. How about we go to the loft?'

Ethan nodded and placed the empty glass on the counter, which Martha reached for and put into the sink. He went to follow his dad, but paused in the doorway and looked back towards the counter.

'Don't worry.' Lois told him, knowing he hoped she and Tess wouldn't leave while he was in the barn. 'We'll be here when you get back.'

'Absolutely.' Tess added with a nod.

Ethan smiled shortly, then hurried to catch up with his father. Worrying he'd done something wrong, Ethan took his time to ascend each of the steps leading up to the loft. Clark sat on the sofa, and his son climbed on beside him, watching and waiting to hear what his dad wanted to tell him.

'I know you're not very happy with me right now.' Clark said sadly. 'You have to understand, that as your father I have to do what's best for you. Sometimes, it's not the happier choice.' He said, watching as the boy emotionally lowered his head.

'I know.' Ethan whispered. 'But I really, really want to go to school.' The boy sniffled.

'I understand now how important that is to you.' Clark continued, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. 'And I'm going to help you get there. If you promise to listen to what I have to say and practise every day through next week until I am convinced you have enough control...'

'I can go to school?' Ethan's head jerked up as he stared at his dad with wide, hopeful brown eyes.

'Yes.' Clark smiled. 'If you're willing to work for it.'

'Yes, daddy!' Ethan jumped onto Clark's lap and hugged him. 'I will, I promise!'

'That's my boy.' Clark hugged him back while explaining the details. 'In a few days we're going to meet with the principal of a nice school in Metropolis. Oliver will be coming with us, as he's helping to pay for your tuition. After school, every day, you'll come to the Daily Planet until it's time to go home.'

'Okay.' Ethan said, barely hearing his dad as his entire body flooded with excitement and utter joy. 'I'm going to school! Oh, daddy, you're the best!'

Clark laughed at his son's words, and was relieved the boy wasn't keeping his distance anymore. He stood by his previous decision that Ethan might not be ready to attend school yet in regards to the boy's abilities, but what was he teaching his son if he told the boy to give up on a dream because it was hard or might end badly?

Sometimes Clark was convinced he learned more from his son than he taught in return.

'Daddy?' Ethan wondered as he leaned back. 'What's kiptomite?'

Clark, unsure what to say, glanced over when he heard footsteps nearby. Ethan noticed his distraction and turned to look as well, smiling when he saw Lois standing there. He saw only Lois, but Clark noticed her posture and the expression of someone who was unsure. Lois was always so strong and independent, but Clark never forgot that even she was only human and needed someone as much as everyone else.

He could tell something was on her mind, but made no move to correct his son's innocent belief that everything was okay.

'Lois!' Ethan ran to her. 'I'm going to school! Daddy said so.'

'That's great.' Lois answered the boy. 'Hey, Ethan, why don't you go tell Aunt Tess and your grandmother the good news? I'd like to talk to your dad for a moment, if that's okay.'

'Okay!' Ethan nodded and prepared to run to the house.

Lois recognised the high emotions the boy had bubbling to the surface and realised if he ran he might use an unnatural amount of speed. It would be hard to cover her knowledge about the boy's secret if she witnessed it happening right in front of Clark.

'Whoa, kiddo.' Lois grabbed the boy's shoulder. 'No need to rush.' She said.

'Sorry.' Ethan answered and descended the steps.

He made it out of the barn and their sight, before he couldn't contain his excitement any longer and sped into the house with a blurred motion.

'Look, I get it.' Lois spoke instantly after Ethan had left the barn, and slowly approached Clark. 'We haven't exactly talked about what happened. Or anything, really. I know, it's my fault.'

'I figured you just needed some space.' Clark said, feeling a little unsettled when he realised they were suddenly talking about the kiss they'd shared on New Years.

He glanced downwards and realised they were standing accurately on the spot where the incident had happened. Lois noticed too, when she followed his gaze, and quickly looked upwards.

'No, I needed faith.' Lois told him quietly, unable to meet his gaze. 'I needed something, somewhere, to tell me what I'm feeling isn't a mistake.'

'Lois, I don't understand.'

'How can something so right, feel wrong?' Lois continued. 'That night was perfect, but everything else told me run. I was afraid. I still am. I'm afraid somewhere along the line, I'm going to mess it up.'

She bit her lip and winced, knowing her emotions were going to overtake her if she didn't remain aware of them.

'And when I do, not only will I hurt you, but Ethan as well. I'll let you down.' Lois knew her eyes were watering, but she did her best to ignore it.

'Lois, you can never let us down.' Clark stood in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. 'We can take this slow. We will get it right this time.'

'And if we don't?' Lois asked. 'If we realise too late that our future doesn't include this – us – together?'

'Lois.' Clark shook his head and inhaled a breath. 'I can't predict the future, but if you're no longer in my life...I don't know what I'd do. Ethan loves you. I...' Clark paused and smiled shyly. 'I am willing to do anything to make this work. But if you think-'

'No.' Lois interrupted, seeing his insecurity forming, and his doubts. 'The kiss was amazing.' She smiled and softly placed a hand on his cheek. 'I want this relationship, I do. This...'

She had so few words to describe it, so she leaned forward and kissed him instead.

Clark pulled her closer and returned the affection, until he quickly backed away when he heard a movement nearby. Turning, Clark blushed awkwardly, just before Tess reached the top step. Looking at the way Lois and Clark avoided making eye contact, Tess tried not to smirk as she was very aware of what she might have walked in on.

'Oh, don't let me stop you.' Tess joked.

'Tess.' Lois said sarcastically. 'Always a pleasure seeing you.'

'Clark.' Tess looked to him. 'I need to you. I should be heading back to Metropolis, but there's something you have to know first.'

'Uh, sure.' Clark nodded. 'I'll be right back.' He told Lois and followed Tess away from the loft, guessing she was going to tell him about Ethan's well-being and if he was infected by the engineered kryptonite particles or not.

Lois watched them walk away and felt the bliss, caused by their recent kiss, begin to fade.

She reminded herself why she lacked the faith in the relationship she'd wanted for so long. Lois knew Clark's secret, and he still hadn't trusted her with it. As she looked over at Tess and Clark, wishing she could eavesdrop, Lois realised she may be the last person to know. His parents knew, and there was no doubt Oliver did because he was closer to Clark than the Kents were. As she observed the conversation with Tess, Lois had a feeling she knew as well. And Emil, because he was involved every time Ethan got sick or something was going on.

Lois looked down at the spot they'd stood in on New Years, and wondered if she was investing too much into a single hope for a future. Chloe probably knew too, which meant every single person who was close to Clark was aware of his secret.

Everyone, but Lois.

'Is everything okay?' Lois asked Clark as casually as she could when he rejoined her.

'Tess just...it's nothing.' Clark sighed. 'Lois, if we're going to do this, for real, then there's something you need to know-'

'Daddy!'

Lois mentally cursed the boy in her mind and turned to frown at him, as the five-year-old came running up the stairs and wrapped his arms around his dad's legs.

'What is it, Ethan?' Clark exhaled to contain his own irritation.

'Aunt Tess called Uncle Ollie and Grandma asked him to stay with us for a few days.' Ethan grinned up at his father, completely unaware he had just interrupted a potentially important moment. 'He's gonna come tomorrow!'

'That's great.' Clark nodded, wondering what Oliver really thought about the invite he had likely been convinced to accept by Tess.

'Okay, that does it!' Lois exclaimed. 'If Oliver does not answer my call, he's going to need someone especially super to save him or else I'm taking him out.'

'Out?' Ethan wondered. 'Are you going to dinner with Uncle Ollie?'

'No.' Lois huffed, a habit she'd picked up from the pair standing across from her. 'But he will be served.'

'I'm confused, daddy.' Ethan said.

Clark chuckled as he got his phone out of his pocket and typed a text message to Oliver, warning him to call Lois before they all suffered the consequences. He make sure to remind his best friend that if he would be staying at the farm for a few days, then he'd have to face Lois eventually anyway.

'What are you doing?' Lois watched him suspiciously.

'Nothing.' Clark shrugged. 'Come on, Ethan. I want to tell you and your grandparents about the school you'll be going to.'

Lois opened her mouth to object, but was hindered by the ringing of her phone. She flipped it open and read the caller ID, narrowing her eyes when she saw Oliver's name. Lois prepared to answer the call without any mercy, not pleased it had taken him that long to respond.

'Lois looks different.' Was the last thing she heard as the pair walked away.

She paused to hear what Ethan was saying, wondering what gave him such an idea.

'Did you give her those flowers, daddy? I wanted to help.'

'No, Ethan.' Clark answered. 'She's just being Lois. Don't worry, everything will be fine.'

'Can we give her flowers anyway?' Ethan added. 'Just in case?'

---

Chloe sat at the desk with her chin against her hands, glaring at the computer screen in front of her. The rows of code and red words of "access denied" was not a sight she wanted to be staring at after hours of typing and fact-checking.

No one was able to figure out why their satellite remained faulty. Oliver had since activated a replacement, but Chloe wasn't willing to give up on the previous one because expensive satellites don't just stop working for no apparent reason. With a sigh of temporary defeat, she rose from her chair and walked to the railing to look down over the main room of the Watchtower headquarters.

She saw Emil and Tess sitting on the sofa together near the brightly lit, round stain-glass window. It was near the end of their lunch break, though their mugs didn't get as much attention as the conversation they were amused by. It was still a bit odd to see Tess and Emil so relaxed and laughing when the world around them was still filled with dangerous complicated they, and the team, were responsible for solving.

Chloe looked over towards the closed main double doors to where Oliver's desk was located. She rolled her eyes the moment see saw the blonde-haired hero slowly swinging his wheeled chair side to side in notable procrastination. Chloe thought he looked more like a bored high school student forced to sit through his worse subject than a multi-billionaire who was a superhero by night. Oliver had been there all morning, and it was clear to her that he was still putting off the inevitable for as long as possible.

Chloe went to the curved stairs and walked down them, heading over to Oliver with an expression of teasing. He noticed her approach and straightened in his seat, but tried to act as though he wasn't aware of her presence.

'It's almost one.' Chloe pointed out after she'd glanced at the time. 'Shouldn't you be in Smallville by now?'

'I have work to do.' Oliver lied and shuffled some of the papers on his desk for added effect.

'Right.' Chloe chuckled. 'Oliver, are you that afraid of Lois?'

'Lois?' Oliver scoffed and looked at her. 'Not really. Lois I can handle.'

'So it's the Kents?' Chloe tried not to laugh. 'You're scared of Martha and Jonathan Kent?'

'No, not scared.' Oliver frowned. 'Just...I don't know them. I think they've made it pretty clear what they think of me. Sure, they try to be nice because of Clark and Ethan, but I see the way they look at me. Count on Lex Luthor to ruin yet another thing for me.'

'So go there and show them who you are.' Chloe reasoned. 'They just don't know you like we do. You're a stranger, where all they know is your general background. And the fact you're a masked hero who happens to be close to their son and grandson.'

'I know.' Oliver whined. 'I get that. But when I woke up this morning and realised I have no idea what to do on a farm for three days, it sort of put the whole trip into a very unfortunate perspective. Really, am I supposed to walk around in plaid and talk about cows, or fix a tractor?'

'You, fix a tractor?' Chloe laughed. 'Oliver, do you even know what a tractor does?'

'Uh, it has something to do with fields and crops, right?' Oliver winced. 'That's exactly my point! I'm basically going to a hostile alien world where my only defence will be my sense of style and good looks.'

'Okay, calm down.' Chloe advised. 'It's not like you're going to be locked alone in a barn with a pair of farmers carrying pitchforks. Clark and Ethan will be there too, and Lois. I'm sure you'll find something to talk about. So go, milk a few cows and breathe in that charming country air.'

'Country air?' Oliver raised his eyebrow at her. 'If you mean cow crap and hay, then sure.'

'It's three days, Oliver.' Chloe sighed. 'There are plenty of worse things you could be doing.'

'No. No, I'm pretty sure this is the worse.' Oliver said stubbornly. 'Have you heard Lois talk about those damn roosters? There's a reason I'm leaving my arrows here, or we'd be having roast bird every night.'

'Go on.' Chloe nudged him until he stood up. 'Oh, but if you really want to show the Kents the true Oliver Queen - I wouldn't show up in a limo while wearing an expensive suit.'

'Great.' Oliver complained. 'I can feel the fun already. If you don't hear from me in a few days, send out a search party.' He muttered and headed to the doors, taking his time to work out how he could to change his plans to fit with Chloe's advice.

He stepped outside onto the streets and looked around at the city he felt he was going to miss.

'Why did you have to go back to Smallville, Clark?' Oliver uttered.

He wasn't that against the farm life, and did doubt it would be anything like being stranded alone on an island for three years. Even so, he was nervous about getting to know Clark's parents and spending time in such a small homey household. If the Jonathan and Martha were merely friends of Clark, it would be no big deal, but they weren't. They were parents. And that was what Oliver was truly inexperienced with. He didn't know how to talk to parents, or even remember much of what it was like having them around. He didn't once realise the fact he almost thought of them as his "other parents" in a way, because he and Clark had long ago convinced each other they were indeed "as close to being brothers as two people can get without being related".

Therefore, parents were very scary to Oliver in that moment, as he made plans to re-pack and hire a car in preparation to venture into a place of near-complete unknown.

~ E ~

Oliver was no less anxious, three hours later, when he finally arrived at the farm.

He could already hear Chloe's teasing comments about not knowing he even had a driver's license, or Tess' mocking that he should try horseback riding while he was there. As Oliver stepped out of the car, in his pricey black slacks and a slightly unbuttoned white long-sleeved shirt, he instantly wanted to get back into the vehicle and leave.

The only thing that made everything seem okay, was when Ethan burst through the front door of the house with a huge grin on his face, and ran over to greet his favourite uncle.

'You're here!' Ethan shouted as he jumped at Oliver and hugged him.

'Yeah.' Oliver pat the boy's back and realised there had been no need to brace himself for the impact. 'Wow, you're making good progress in controlling your powers. All that extra practise must be paying off, huh?' He commented.

'Yup.' Ethan nodded and stepped back. 'Daddy said I had to, if I want to go to school. He's been teaching me a lot, and even more than...'

The boy stopped suddenly, thinking of Lois' lessons, and instantly looked away.

'Can I help? I can carry a bag for you.' The child offered.

'Uh, sure.' Oliver nodded and went around to open the trunk of his silver SUV.

He lifted out one of his suitcases and placed it on the ground. Oliver watched with a smile when Ethan circled the suitcase and the boy titled his head to examine it, then carefully lifted it and leaned back as though it was an effort to carry. Oliver knew the bag probably wasn't too heavy for the child, especially when it mostly contained clothes, and yet Ethan was completely stubborn in being as normal as possible.

If Oliver didn't know better, he'd say it was a trait the boy had gotten from Lois rather than Clark.

'You're late.' Clark remarked with amusement when Oliver followed the boy inside.

'Yeah, traffic was terrible.' Oliver smirked.

'I'm sure it was.' Clark said under his breath, also grinning as he knew Oliver was bluntly lying to him.

'Where is everyone?' Oliver wondered, dropping his suitcase in the living room beside the one Ethan had deliberately dragged across the wooden floor.

'Lois is upstairs using all of our hot water, again.' Clark answered. 'Mum's on the porch watering a new flower pot Isabelle gave her, and Dad's out feeding the cows.'

'Right.' Oliver exhaled and rocked on his heels in awkwardness, wondering what he was supposed to do now.

'Don't worry, it's not going to be much different than the time you stayed with us before Christmas.' Clark pointed out. 'You'll be fine.'

'Hello, Oliver.' Martha said as she entered the house and went to wash her hands in the kitchen sink.

'Hey, Mrs Kent.' Oliver said politely, remaining somewhat hopeful that the friendliness he'd received from Clark's mother would continue.

He saw her smile and it was genuine enough, though her gaze did observe his clothes for a brief second before she turned away. He wished it was still Christmas, because things had been much more relaxed and the context was very generalised. Oliver never thought there'd be a day when he could feel so nervous around two people who had invited him to over just to get to know him a bit better.

Where was his over-confident bravado now?

'Uncle Ollie, come watch me ride my bike!' Ethan grabbed Oliver's hand and tugged, with the right amount of strength but not too much. 'I'm getting really good!'

'Yeah, let's do that.' Oliver nodded and followed the boy outside.

'Mum.' Clark stated when the door closed.

'What?' Martha looked at him. 'I said hello.'

He was surprised his mother hadn't put more efforts into talking to Oliver. He was anxious about his dad meeting Oliver probably, as past interactions didn't truly count, but he was surprised when his mother didn't immediately give him a chance like she often did when Clark introduced her to a friend or someone he trusted. She had faith in people, which was something Clark had gotten from her from early on in his childhood, and yet it was somewhat lacking now.

'He's nervous, mum.' Clark told her. 'And he's nothing like Lex. The fact that Oliver is five hours late shows how anxious he is, and it's hard to make him nervous like that about anything. This farm - it's a whole new world for him. Here there's cows, space, and...parents.'

Martha softened at his words, looking through the window to see Oliver clapping in praise to Ethan riding circles around him. She didn't have anything against Oliver, yet Martha had been unsure and cautious just the same. Hearing Clark talk about him now, she knew her son had every possible reason to trust Oliver. They were as close as brothers, like she'd heard other say, and Martha realised that in her own anxiety she hadn't been as welcoming as she'd intended to.

'Is that a roast I smell? I'm starving!' Lois declared as she came down the stairs in a pair of jeans and one of Clark's shirts, which Martha instantly noticed.

'It will be ready soon.' Martha said, though she knew Lois wouldn't be around long enough to sit down at dinner with them.

'Oh, Oliver finally showed his face?' Lois noticed the suitcases. 'Where is he? You have him doing chores already, Smallville?'

'No, he's watching Ethan ride his bike.' Clark answered calmly, though his eyes were vacant of amusement.

Lois walked to the door and looked though it to glance the scene outside.

'Huh. That kid is circling him like a vulture. Are you sure you don't want to rush out there and save him?'

'Oliver's fine.' Clark sighed. 'You're not going out dressed like that, are you?'

'Who are you, the General?' Lois rolled her eyes. 'It's just Chloe's apartment.'

'That's my shirt.' Clark frowned as he looked her over. 'You're stealing my shirt!'

'Borrowing.' Lois corrected. 'It's just a shirt. What's the big deal? It's not like you don't have almost an entire closet full of flannel.' She said and walked to the door with the intention of saying goodbye to Ethan before she left.

Clark watched her walk away and didn't tell her that while he enjoyed seeing her in his shirt, it would carry her scent afterwards and drive him crazy. After two interrupted kisses, Clark did not need to be distracted so easily because they'd agreed to take things slow. With Lois counting their public displays of affection and making sure no one at the farm knew yet that they were a couple, Clark wondered just how slow things were meant to be. He awaited the time when it would feel more like a relationship, where he could kiss her when he wanted to without interference.

While thinking those things, his gaze still fixated on the vacant doorway, Clark was oblivious to the look he received from his mother. Martha smiled and didn't say anything, but she was now quite aware of how much closer Clark and Lois had become.

~ E ~

It wasn't until later that night, when Clark helped his mother place food on the table for dinner, that he realised how tense the situation was. He'd had such hope for the event, thinking after a few icebreakers his parents would see Oliver similar to how Clark did.

That didn't happen at all.

Jonathan sat at one of the table, with Martha moving to sit at his right and Clark on his left. Oliver had chosen the chair beside Clark, whereas Ethan insisted on being across from his uncle and therefore to Martha's right. However, the boy finished his meal faster than anyone else and got up once he was done, venturing to the living room so he could watch cartoons on the TV.

A particular silence continued at the table, apart from the abnormally loud clattering of cutlery against plates.

Towards the end of the meal, it was Jonathan who finished first and looked across at their guest. Oliver and Clark kept their attention on the remainder of their food, but each could almost hear Jonathan taking notice of Oliver's demonstration of impeccable manners and respectful posture. The boys glanced sideways at each other like two schoolboys caught sticking chewing gum into the locks on the toilet doors. Clark looked away first, while Martha watched him carefully in observation of his behaviour around his friend, and Jonathan turned to Oliver to start a conversation.

'Clark tells us you grew up in Star City?' Jonathan began, facing Oliver with a firm gaze yet spoke as casually as he could muster.

'Uh, yeah.' He answered while serving himself some more mashed potatoes, feeling a bit insecure about how polite he was being.

He'd been scrutinised a hundred times before and knew he only felt the pressure of it this time because he was keen to impress the Kents, but realised that wasn't going to happen via his usual methods.

'And you moved to Metropolis around the same time Clark did?'

'Dad.' Clark frowned.

'It's okay.' Oliver told Clark, as he had expected the questions, then looked over at Jonathan to answer. 'I did. I met Clark about a month later. When I found out about Ethan, I figured Clark had made a lot of mistakes and I thought the worst of him for a while. Until he told me the full story. But we were friends early on. And since then we've had our fair share of saving each other when we mess up.'

'How long have you known about Clark?' Martha asked, wondering about Clark's secret and how Oliver was involved with it.

She spoke in a warmer tone than her husband, because Martha refused to forget it was meat to be a moment to get to know Oliver rather than to pass premature judgements. Though she didn't approve of Jonathan's sternness, Martha did understand it. She thought could have been avoided if Oliver hadn't shown up in a polished, expensive car and equally groomed clothes. But Martha knew that was who Oliver was and respected the fact he'd come to be himself, not just to dazzle them.

She looked across at her son, and saw how extremely uncomfortable he seemed. Martha began to wonder if Oliver truly knew Clark better than they did lately, because she had the feeling Clark was hiding something from them that Oliver was fully aware of.

'I'd only known him, what, a week?' Oliver glanced at Clark for confirmation, who nodded. 'Yeah. We knew each other's secret around the same time. Of course, he wasn't wearing a mask like I was, but he figured it out soon enough.'

'And you were okay with it?' Jonathan checked, relaxing a bit when he spotted the honesty Oliver shared, and the unguarded way he answered the questions.

More than anything, Jonathan did gain respect for Oliver when he knew he'd known Clark's secret for five years and had kept it. Perhaps it had been something Oliver could relate to, since he had a double identity of his own? Either way, Jonathan was less concerned than he had been once he comprehended those facts.

'Honestly?' Oliver shrugged. 'What I would've given for some powers like that...' He chuckled. 'But why wouldn't I be okay with it? I had already started rounding up others like us, who wanted to make a difference, and as far as I saw it – Clark was just another hero I was lucky to have on my side.'

'We often patrol together.' Clark added.

He was determined to boost his parent's impression of Oliver, and didn't want his parent to think he'd collected Clark to build an army of allies or something similarly incorrect.

'We're a great team. Making Oliver Ethan's godfather was one of the best choices I ever made.'

'Yeah, look...' Oliver sighed and placed his cutlery against his mostly empty plate. 'Let's cut to the chase, shall we? I now Clark's befriended a millionaire playboy before and it ended awful. But that's Lex Luthor, and he is bad news. I know, I went to school with him.' He told them.

'Oliver...'

'No, Clark.' Oliver insisted. 'They need to hear this.' He glanced back at the Kents, though mostly Jonathan, as he continued. 'I am not buying anything I can get my hands on for the heck of it, or trying to take over something that's perfectly fine on its own.' Oliver said. 'I want to make a real difference, for the right reasons. I am not going to make excuses for the way I was raised, or the things I might have done in the past.'

He leaned back and sighed, no longer interested in his dinner as Oliver wished he could read the Kents better. He'd always said Clark was a terrible liar and couldn't last five minutes in a game of poker, but looking over at the Kents, Oliver wondered how that was possible because they each seemed friendly enough and yet he had no idea what they could be thinking.

'Clark is a brother to me. He, Ethan, Tess...everyone at Watchtower, they're the closest I've had to a real family.' Oliver added. 'You want to know something about who I am? I'll tell you. While you were still welcoming Clark into your family, I was saying goodbye to mine. Lionel Luthor murdered my parents, and so if you think I'd ever want to be anything like him or his son, then you've clearly got the wrong idea.'

With his parting statement, Oliver got up from the table and walked right outside. He let the door shut soundly behind him, and disappeared from view.

'We didn't say anything about Lex.' Martha commented, surprised by the sudden exit.

'You were both watching him like you were waiting for him to show some dormant dark side or shady intentions.' Clark frowned. 'Things were fine until today. Why couldn't you just give him a chance?'

Clark stood and walked out the house as well, hitting the door open hard enough for it to rebound into place. His parents looked at each other, completely baffled by what just happened.

'I thought the whole idea was to get to know him?' Jonathan asked his wife.

'It was.' Martha looked towards the door, thinking something else was going on and they were missing a crucial piece of information.

And she was right, as Clark glanced over to where Oliver was casually sitting on the porch railing and looking up at the night sky. The blonde looked almost peaceful and nothing like he'd been when he had left the table.

'Dramatic, much?' Clark asked with a slight smirk.

'I was making a point.' Oliver shrugged. 'I don't think I made a very good impression, but I wasn't lying.'

'I know.' Clark sighed.

He rested his hands on the porch railing and also looked up at the night sky shining with countless stars. The pair spent a lot of time outdoors, and when a silence came over them it had become a natural reaction to look upwards until they had something to say.

'I don't know why they're being like this.' Clark said. 'They were nice enough before.'

'It must be a parent thing.' Oliver answered. 'For most of your life they protected you and your secret, knowing something bad could happen to you if someone found out and tried to use you. You become a father and ran away to the city, then came back with a whole lot of people who know about you. Maybe they just need time to adjust?'

'I didn't run away.' Clark muttered.

'Disappearing without warning and leaving behind nothing more than a note?' Oliver rolled his eyes. 'I hate to say it, man, but that's the exact definition of running away. How long should I stay out here?'

'Until Ethan notices we're gone.' Clark said without missing a beat. 'Why did Lois want to talk to you so badly? You never told me. Or was it something that's not really my business?'

'Yeah, I sort of can't tell you.' Oliver winced. 'I know we have almost no secrets, Clark, but I'm not a girl. If I were to repeat Lois' rant I'd have to braid your hair and suggest we break out the ice cream.'

'Are you sure we're talking about the same Lois?' Clark snorted. 'Lois Lane?'

'Okay, so I exaggerated. Lois was mostly complaining that I'm annoying and then saying she had to ask me something about you.' Oliver rolled his eyes. 'I never found out what, because she hung up on me. There was no way I was calling her back.'

'Lois has been acting strange in the lately.'

'Yeah, well. She's your girlfriend, wouldn't you know?' Oliver said, then reconsidered his words. 'Don't answer that.'

'She's not...I mean, we're not...' Clark stuttered and huffed with annoyance. 'I don't know. It's complicated.'

'You do realise that Lois is practically the only person who doesn't know your secret, right?' Oliver pointed out. 'You almost told her like a dozen times last year. Now you're finally with her, and she still doesn't know? Maybe that's the problem.'

'And she almost died because of it.' Clark added seriously. 'She ended up in hospital for a week because she defended the Blur. She put herself in harms way out of loyalty to him, and it almost got us all killed. I can't take that kind of risk again.'

'She's Lois Lane.' Oliver reasoned. 'She's always going to end up in trouble. Don't you think she'd be better equipped to deal with it if she knew? What's your real reason, Clark?'

'Sometimes I think you know me too well.' Clark complained. 'If I tell Lois the truth, I am going to lose her. Telling her my secret means telling her about Ethan too. She has already made a point of letting me know she thinks of him as her son. In a way, she always was.' Clark shared.

'Yeah, so?'

'If Lois realised how vulnerable Ethan was and what he will have to face...' Clark sighed. 'I'm worried how far she'll go to keep him safe.'

'Right.' Oliver looked away, knowing there was a very real possibility behind Clark's fears as he too remembered moments in the past. 'Like the time someone called him a nasty name and she nearly got shot in retaliation. But what happens if she finds out on her own? When that time comes, Lois will know you trusted everyone but her. We've all done stupid, reckless things to save Ethan or protect your secret, Clark. It's a choice we make.'

'I'm not going to let someone else die because of it.' Clark insisted.

'Clark, if you want to be with her, but not tell Lois the truth about you...' Oliver said plainly. 'You'll lose her anyway.'

'I want to tell her.' Clark admitted. 'More than anything. I will never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me or my secret. But I know, after nearly losing her so many times before, that I would regret it even more if I didn't tell her. And Ethan can't have a mother who doesn't truly know her son.'

'If you're so sure, then why are we having this conversation?' Oliver wondered, now confused.

'I needed to hear the truth from someone else.' Clark glanced to his left at Oliver. 'And you said it. I will tell her, but not yet. I need to be sure.'

'Sure of what?'

'Daddy, uncle Ollie!' Ethan joined them, pushing open the door with both hands. 'Where'd you go? Wow!' He stared up at the starry night sky with adoring eyes.

Clark picked the boy up to sit him on the railing between where Oliver stand and he stood. They each pointed out constellations to Ethan, but while Clark was accurate, Oliver treated it like a game. Clark soon gave up, when Oliver's description of the stars made Ethan laugh, and decided he'd rather let his son enjoy the moment as it was good to see the child smiling again. Unable to help himself, Clark soon joined in and couldn't stop grinning. Ethan stood on the railing without fear, though he gripped his father's shirt just in case.

It was a natural occurrence they were used to, however their onlookers watched the scene with a sense of being left out.

'Clark is a stranger to us.' Martha said to her husband, as they stood by the window and watched the group laughing together.

'He's still our son.' Jonathan told her. 'Clark's a man now, Martha, but he's still Clark. We forgot how much time had passed. Oliver, Tess, Emil...those people are his family now as much as we are.'

'We don't know them.' Martha stressed.

'That's why Oliver's here. To change that.' Jonathan insisted.

It had taken him a while, but Jonathan realised the truth now. They'd been looking at the situation all wrong, and he wanted to fix that. It wasn't about Clark's secret or Ethan's safety – it was only about family, and the ones they didn't know so well yet. If Clark trusted them with his secret and his son's life, then the Kents knew it was only matter of time before they would do the same. They'd been a bit rough on Oliver at first, but they were each convinced that things were going to change now they understood what they have previously missed.

~ E ~

When the sun rose the next morning, things at the farm were already different, though in ways no one had been expecting. It was a new day, and a new chance to make things right, yet Jonathan took his time getting up as he still wasn't entirely sure how he was going to handle the situation. He rose not long after the roosters, and had a drink of milk from the bottle before he headed outside to start his morning chores.

Yawning, as he'd had a somewhat restless night trying to wrap his mind around the things he'd had to come into terms with, Jonathan looked towards the barn and frowned. He saw the parked truck already had a decent pile of hay bales on the back, and knew he wasn't the only one up. Jonathan assumed Clark had gotten up earlier than him, which had been happening quite a lot lately, and walked towards the truck. As he neared it, Jonathan halted with surprise to see Oliver half-dragging a bale of hay from the barn.

'Morning, Mr Kent.' He said after dumping the hay. 'I was awake, so I thought I'd make myself useful.' Oliver explained.

'Did the rooster wake you up?' Jonathan asked.

He looked Oliver over, startled by the dramatic change in appearance that a simple pair of jeans, and a pale blue singlet could do to someone like Oliver Queen. He was also interested to know how Oliver knew exactly how to do the morning tasks - until Jonathan noticed the redness of Clark's shirt, which stood out in a nearby paddock.

'No.' Oliver answered the question about the rooster. 'It woke Lois up, who in turn woke us all up.' He grumbled.

'I couldn't believe it when Ethan got up, though. He's never been a morning person, but I guess he's used to getting up at dawn around here.' Oliver commented while wiped some sweat from his brow.

'Some days more than others.' Clark contentedly said after he'd sped over to them. 'Morning, dad.'

'Morning, son.' Jonathan replied.

He was still unsure how he was supposed to react to the scene playing out in front of him. Clark and Oliver shared a quick glance and seemed to be waited for him to say something, and give some sort of indication to his mood and renewed judgements of Oliver. Jonathan looked the blonde man over again and sighed heavily, looking away as his opinions had already been completely overturned.

'You boys seemed to have it covered.' Jonathan remarked. 'Did you leave any chores for the rest of us?'

'Uh...' Oliver exhaled as he straightened and looked around. 'Not really. We've just got to feed the cows, and fix the barn door out the back.'

'What happened to the barn door?' Jonathan knew it had been fine the day before, with nothing out of place or broken.

'Nothing.' Clark and Oliver said rather quickly.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, then walked into the barn to see what trouble the pair had presumably caused. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that one door had been pulled from its hinges, whereas the other had holes through it and a scorch mark along the side.

Looking over at the pair he deemed responsible for the incident, Jonathan had to hide a smile with how easily he could've been fooled into thinking Oliver and Clark were indeed brothers. They hurriedly whispered to each other, and pointed to the doors in an accusing manner, likely trying to work out who was more to blame for it.

'You're not going to ground us, are you?' Oliver joked, though he said it with an expression of pending doom in case Jonathan wasn't at all amused.

'Oliver, don't give him ideas.' Clark played along without any concern. He reached to grab the last hay bale from the floor of the barn and effortlessly tossed it into the truck.

'Do you have to do that?' Oliver frowned.

'Do what?' Clark asked.

'Show off.' Oliver said.

'Oh, I'm showing off?' Clark retorted. 'It wasn't my arrows that made those holes in the door.'

'Yeah? Well, last time I checked, I don't have heat vision.' Oliver answered.

An abrupt sound caused them both to pause and turn quickly to look at Jonathan, who had started laughing.

'Dad?' Clark was stunned, especially after the events of the previous night. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine Clark.' Jonathan nodded. 'Are you two going to feed the cows or not?'

Oliver and Clark watched Jonathan walk into the barn towards the tractor, then stared at each other with confusion. They weren't entirely sure what caused the odd change in Jonathan, as they had no idea of the recent realisations he'd made. Shrugging, they headed to the truck and got in. Clark shook his head and chuckled, which only annoyed Oliver because he had no idea what was so amusing.

Parking the truck, Clark got out and answered Oliver's confusion without waiting until he was questioned about it.

'I think you've just been made an honorary Kent.' Clark smirked at him. 'Guess you earned yourself some parents.'

'Great.' Oliver muttered.

Through his sarcastic tone, he was able to hide how unsure yet honoured he felt about Clark's words.

'I'm just glad I'm legal.' Oliver commented. 'Can you imagine telling them all the trouble we've gotten into in the past year alone?'

'Yeah.' Clark nodded with a sly smile. 'Let's keep those things between us. I still have to live here.'

'Think you can teach me how to milk a cow?' Oliver added as they fed the cattle. 'I'd love to see Chloe's face when I get back and tell her I milked a cow.'

~ E ~

Chloe had been right when she'd told Oliver things at the farm wasn't going to be too bad. After helping Jonathan with chores, Oliver and Clark then spent most of the day tossing a football around with Ethan while the Kents and Lois sat on the porch to cheer them on. Ethan had the most fun that day, and couldn't stop laughing after Lois decided she was going to join in and helped the five-year-old team up against the boys.

And suddenly, after their somewhat rocky start, three days passed by rather quickly.

On the morning of Oliver's final day, they had moved on from cows and farm-work, as both Oliver and Clark stood in the living room to wait for Ethan. They were dressed nicely enough to impress while still looking almost casual. They were preparing to head to Metropolis, where in a few hours they would be meeting with the principal of Ethan's first school. It had taken them most part of the previous night to talk Lois out of going with them, and she only allowed it after insisting she could get the boy ready that morning.

Looking to the stairs when he heard his son's footsteps, Clark smiled at how adorable his boy was in the new black pants, and his nicest blue flannel shirt. He'd had a haircut, though it was still long enough to reach around his ears, and had been brushed out of his face. Lois followed behind Ethan and was just as proud, though still made it clear she wanted to go with them.

'I'll see you later.' Lois said and kissed Ethan's cheek for encouragement. 'Mind your manners, and sit up straight.'

'Okay, Lois.' Ethan nodded. 'When I come home with daddy, can we have a movie night? We haven't had one in forever!'

'Uh...' Lois looked over at Clark, wondering if he would take the time off from being a superhero to watch a movie with them.

He'd spent a lot of time at the farm over the past few days, and Lois had kept an eye on any reports of the new Blur's saves, which had also decreased. She had seen Clark pause sometimes, almost as though he was listening to something far away, wearing a calculating expression. The idea that he could hear the sounds of the city from the farm had been a bit bizarre at first, but the more Lois thought about it, the more sense it began to make to her. She firmly believed if someone had a dire need to be saved, than Clark would have made some half-baked excuse to do so. She knew Oliver was the Green Arrow, so with them both in Smallville Lois thought Metropolis would be further vulnerable, until she remembered they weren't working alone. Oliver had hinted as much, saying the "others" would handle it.

Even so, Lois could not be sure if a movie really compared to the people calling out for help. Staring at Clark, awaiting his answer, Lois wondered how hard it might be for Clark to switch off his capacity to be the greatest hero the world has ever known.

'Sure.' Clark nodded to his son. 'We can rent a DVD on the way home.'

'Are you sure?' Lois asked, her eyes filled with emotion as she stared at Clark. 'You don't have other things to do?'

'No.' Clark shook his head. 'I'd rather be here.'

'That's great.' Oliver commented dryly as he glanced back and forth between the pair. 'But we really need to go or we'll be late.'

'Bye.' Ethan waved to Lois, then followed his dad and uncle out to the silver SUV.

He got into the back-seat and sighed, turning around to wave to Lois as they drove away. Settling back in his seat, Ethan looked downwards and thought about how nervous he was to meet the man in charge of his new school. In a few days, Ethan would be there officially, with a uniform and schoolbag, to attend his first day of real school. He was excited, but the anxiety of facing the unknown was what took priority on the drive to the city.

He wanted to make a good impression on the principal, Gordon Trappe, but Ethan was speechless when he stepped out of the car and looked up at the big building. With a sharp intake of breath, the boy wasn't sure he wanted to go to school anymore. It looked terrifying, and Ethan stepped back in fear of getting lost in inside.

'It's okay.' Clark was by his side in an instant, offering his hand for the small boy to accept. 'All new challenges are scary at first.' He gave the boy a comforting smile.

Ethan looked up at his dad and felt his nerves calm. He reached to grasp his father's hand and allowed himself to be led inside the intimidating building of aged dark grey stone overgrown with vines. It was a prestigious private school, which Clark only agreed to send his son to after Oliver had insisted it had the best educational program in the city and provided a lot of security involving student privacy. He also donated a lot of money to it, so Oliver could easily get Ethan a place in time for Monday.

Clark would previously have never considered his five-year-old boy would go to a place like Darlton's Private Elementary School, and certainly wouldn't let someone else pay for everything, but Oliver hadn't taken "no" for an answer. Clark was reluctant only because it was the sort of place he knew people like the Luthors would send their kids to, but he had decided to give it a try. He trusted Oliver and was willing to have faith in him even in moments of doubt regarding his son's education.

Ethan needed a school that would help him advance - he was an exceptionally fast learner and had a lot of potential, which was spurred on by his Kryptonian side.

As they walked through the wide corridors and up a vast staircase, Ethan's mind raced with things he wanted to tell the principal. He wanted to say how he could count to three hundred and twenty six before he got distracted, and he could name all the parts of a cow without having to ask his dad to correct him. Ethan halted in front of the door stretching far above his head, and had the nameplate of "Headmaster Trappe" written in gold on the front. Inside was the dark-skinned man who would be deciding if Ethan could attend the big, fancy school, and the boy wished he was as calm as his uncle and father looked.

Gulping, Ethan pressed his hands over his shirt to make sure it was neat, then combed his hair with his fingers.

Oliver and Clark watched him with smiles of amusement, waiting until the boy was ready before they knocked on the door.

They weren't too concerned, (though Oliver was much more confident than Clark), because everyone loved Ethan. The boy had missed out on attending Kindergarten, but Oliver had a way around that too as he had made sure the boy wasn't behind other kids his age. They were certain the boy would be accepted into Dalton's Private Elementary, and in a few days Clark would be dropping his son off in front of its gates for his first day of school.

---

On Saturday night, the Kent household was quiet despite the fact it wasn't late in the evening.

Jonathan and Martha had gone to Metropolis for a romantic dinner, leaving the three at home to enjoy their movie night together. Lois and Clark were seated at the table, each looking over to where Ethan sat on the floor in the living room to go over the DVDs Clark had rented for the night.

'I can't believe this is finally happening.' Lois spoke first, though she kept her tone low so the boy wouldn't overhear her.

'I know.' Clark sighed. 'He was just a baby, and now he'll be starting school on Monday.' He shook his head, surprised by how fast time felt to have gone – even by his standards.

'Can we watch the Wizard of Oz?' Ethan looked over at them, holding up the DVD case to show them his selection.

'Sure, buddy.' Clark nodded and rose from his chair to get the popcorn.

Lois sighed and headed into the living room, seating herself comfortably at one end as Ethan wanted to sit in the middle. The boy had planned the entire event, and even picked out which snacks he wanted. The coffee table in front of them soon filled with a large bowl of popcorn, glasses of pineapple juice, and a plate of coconut-coated biscuits. Clark and Lois were very accommodating to what Ethan wanted for their movie night. They knew he really missed the time they used to share together, back when it had just been the three of them, and the patterns the boy had become used to for years.

Seeing less of Oliver and the others at Watchtower had been a difficult adjustment already, but taking away the movie nights and special little family time they had together was bound to have a heavy impact on the five-year-old boy. And once Ethan started school, everything was going to change again, and he'd see his parents even less. Having the movie night to remember was something Clark and Lois were confident was going to help somewhere down the road. And they never passed up a moment to enjoy one of their movie nights because it always included the cosiness of being cuddled on the couch and the delight of an all-out popcorn war.

As the movie progressed, Lois and Clark were kept entertained by Ethan's questions and reactions the entire duration. The only exception was whenever the boy saw the wicked witch and became angry at her for trying to hurt someone, or scared she was going to succeed.

'No!' Ethan yelped and buried his face against Lois so he didn't have to watch. 'Daddy, make her stop.' He grumbled, convinced as he was that his dad could save anyone from anything.

Clark only laughed, while Lois rubbed the boy's back and smiled at his innocence. With his recent haircut showing more of his face, Lois took a moment to chuckle at how adorable the boy was, trying to hide from a fictional villain on a TV screen. He was getting a bit upset by the scene, however, so Lois knew she had to intervene. Poking his ribs, Lois watched him squirm in effort to ignore her. She did it again until he shrieked with a contained laugh.

'No!' Ethan squealed with laughter as Lois dove at him and kissed his cheek over and over until he yelled for his father to "save him from the kissing monster".

'Are you sure?' Clark played along, then reached towards them and scooped up his son, soaring him through the air before he put him back onto the couch.

Lois watched them with a smile, while Ethan snuggled between them again and returned his gaze to the TV to find out what happened.

He gasped with shock towards the end when the wizard was revealed, and babbled about it to Clark while Lois tried not to laugh. Yawning, the boy sank lower on the couch and held Lois' hand as he continued to focus on the movie. Lois slid downwards as well, and leaned her forehead to his with a tenderness only a mother could provide. Clark shuffled closer and wrapped his arm over the couch, which soon lowered to rest across Ethan's shoulders and over Lois' back.

When the final scene concluded, the pair noticed a lack of commentary from the boy, and were instead greeted with a level of peaceful silence. Looking at the child cuddled comfortably against them, Clark and Lois smiled at Ethan's sleeping form. Lois got up first and carefully unlinked herself from the child's hold, but instantly missed having him in her arms.

His pending first day of school reminded Lois that he was growing up, and it only made her wish he could be her little boy forever.

Clark bent to place his arms under Ethan's knees and neck to pick him up, and carried the boy towards the stairs. Lois followed behind him, watching as Clark placed the child in his bed with the teddy bear, Kip. Lois took off Ethan's socks and stepped back when Clark pulled the covers up to the boy's chin. Smiling at the little boy for a moment longer, Clark walked to Lois and wrapped an arm around her waist to lead her from the room.

They turned off the light and left the door partially ajar, then returned to the living room to clean up after their successful movie night.

'Ethan's not the only one who missed this.' Lois said. 'And he could use with some normalcy in his life.'

'Normalcy?' Clark wondered.

'Yeah, you know?' Lois looked at him. 'The things he's used to, like movie nights and spending a day with Oliver. He's adjusting well, considering the change, but we can't ask too much of him.'

'I know.' Clark agreed. 'I can't believe how much he's grown already.' He sighed and sat back on the couch, looking across the room at nothing in particular. 'He's already starting school, and he'll be six soon...'

'He's still got a long way to go before he'll be slamming doors in our faces and telling us to go to Hell.' Lois joked, thinking of Ethan's teen years.

She sat on the couch beside him, folding her feet underneath her legs as she leaned against his side. Clark shifted to place an arm around her and smiled at being able to be close to her in ways they weren't before.

The pair didn't say much else, as they cuddled on the couch and thought about their son.

When Jonathan and Martha arrived home several hours later, they were especially careful not to wake anyone as it was just after midnight. They saw the house looked clean enough, though a few stray pieces of popcorn could still be found on the floor and furniture. But it was what they saw on the couch that caught their attention the most.

'I suspected.' Martha whispered, as she smiled at the scene, and Jonathan joined her.

Clark was lying slightly sloped on the couch, with Lois still wrapped in his arms and using his chest as a pillow. The pair were asleep, so the Kents decided to leave them in peace and headed upstairs to get ready for bed themselves.

~ E ~

The level of calmness on Saturday night had vanished by Monday morning.

The residences of the Kent farm rushed around the house just after dawn, multi-tasking to make sure they had breakfast and got ready for the big day. Ethan hadn't wanted to get out of bed at first, but Clark had sternly motivated him to get up and dressed before he risked being late for his first day of school. The boy rushed through his morning meal and tried to catch everything Lois was telling him. He was too hyper and nervous to pay much attention, and hoped nothing she'd said was important enough for him to need it later.

'Come here.' Lois instructed when Ethan placed his empty bowl of cereal on the counter.

The boy walked to her and let her fold the collar his new navy blue uniform. The clothing felt awkward to Ethan at first, but he knew it was something he was going to have to get used to. The uniform was complete with slacks, a white button-up shirt, an open jacket bearing a golden shield crest, and a striped gold/blue tie. Looking down at his shiny new black shoes, Ethan fidgeted again and let Lois aligned the tie she'd tied herself, and brushed some hair from his face.

'You look so grown up.' Lois smiled at him.

Ethan looked at her and straightened to make himself look taller, feeling a bit more confident at her words. He didn't say anything, as he accepted her hug and wrapped his arms around her neck to cuddle her close.

'It's time to go.' Clark said from the doorway.

'Have a great day at school.' Martha told Ethan when he gave her a quick hug of goodbye.

'You'll be fine, just keep your chin up.' Jonathan added, also getting a hug from the boy when he passed on the way to the door.

'Thanks.' Ethan said. 'Bye grandma and grandpa.' He waved to them and walked outside.

He was careful to avoid Shelby, for the first time, as he didn't want to go to school smelling like a dog - it was something Lois had made him quite paranoid about.

Getting into the back seat of Lois' car, Ethan jumped when Clark reopened the door to put his forgotten school bag onto the space of seat next to him. Blushing, Ethan offered his dad a sheepish smile and pulled the bag closer. He traced the shoulder straps, as the car pulled out of the driveway, and wondered what school was going to be like. He was excited, though unsure, and hoped he was going to make a friend his age for the first time in his life.

'Are you excited?' Lois asked from the driver's seat.

'Yeah.' Ethan nodded. 'I'm a bit scared, though.' He admitted.

'That's okay.' Clark told him, looking at his son through the mirror. 'The first day is always the scariest, but it'll get better once you get used to the place and your classmates.'

'I hope so.' Ethan said. 'What if no one likes me?'

'That's not even possible.' Lois snorted. 'And even if some don't, then that's their problem not yours.'

'Just be friendly, and learn your way around.' Clark advised. 'And remember only to use your communicator for emergencies.'

'Okay.' Ethan scrunched up the sleeve over his left arm to see the new child-appropriate blue watch on his wrist.

It showed the time and look like any general kid's watch, except there was a tiny red button on the side. It was only to be pushed if something bad happened, like a moment when his powers got out of control, or similar. Once pressed, it would send an alarm straight to Watchtower.

Everyone, especially Ethan, hoped he would never have to use it.

Releasing his sleeve, Ethan exhaled and leaned back in his seat, turning his head to the right to look out the window. He let his thoughts wander as he daydreamed about what school was going to be like, and ways he could try to make friends or remember where everything was. He'd been given a very brief tour from Principal Trappe, but the place was still too big for Ethan to absorb it all.

He was quiet most of the way to the city, wishing it didn't take so long to get to Metropolis, but was considerably calmer when they arrived at the school than when he'd left the farm. Ethan looked at the towering aged building through his window, then opened the door and stepped out of the car. He walked through the main gates and turned around hesitantly, waiting for Lois and Clark to join him.

Ethan strapped the red and black bag over his shoulders, and bit his lip nervously. He was excited, but didn't want to leave Lois or Clark behind to venture into what was essentially a world of unknown.

'It's Monday, so I'll be picking you up this afternoon.' Clark reminded him.

He had worked out a schedule for the week, with him picking Ethan up from school on Monday and Thursday, while Lois would take over on Tuesday and Friday. Each of those days, Ethan would go to the Daily Planet with them until it was time to leave. On Wednesday, however, Oliver would pick the boy up and take him either to his office or Watchtower until Clark came to get Ethan to take him home.

'Okay, daddy,' Ethan said and looked over at the school again.

He watched the kids, all wearing the same uniform he wore, running up the stone steps and into the building with excited chatter and haste.

'Are you ready?' Clark asked him.

'Yeah.' Ethan nodded. 'I am.'

'Alright, kiddo.' Lois gave him a quick hug. 'Have a good day.'

'I will.' Ethan said and turned to his dad. 'Bye.'

'Bye, son.' Clark pat his shoulder. 'I'll see you later this afternoon.'

As Clark and Lois stood emotionally by the gates of Dalton's Private Elementary School and watched their son walk away from them to start a new stage in his life, the boy felt his fears beginning to fade as enthusiasm grew. Walking up the steps, Ethan paused at the main doors and looked back to wave at his parents, who waved back with smiles on their faces.

Sighing, Ethan adjusted his bag and stepped through the wide doors to glance along the enormous corridor. Reaching into his pocket for the map he'd been given by the principal, he checked it over before walked to his classroom, 1B.

Ethan hung his bag on the rack inside the room, right beside the door, and looked around for somewhere to sit. There were at least twenty other children his age seated at desks all around the room, while a firm-looking female teacher stood at the front to read over a piece of paper in her hands.

Ethan walked to a desk in the middle of the second row, and glanced to either side of him. He lowered himself into the chair as he looked back and forth at the two he sat between - a boy with dark curls, and a girl with sleek blond hair. Ethan felt something poke him in the back and flinched accordingly.

He turned around to see a brown-haired boy smirking at him, from the desk he had leaned across to jab Ethan with his ruler.

'Hi.' The boy said with a sly glint in his green eyes. 'I'm Adam.'

'Ethan.' He answered, trying to hide his delight that someone was already talking to him.

The boy had lived a relatively sheltered life for the past five years, but he was determined to embrace what school had to offer him. However, Ethan had no suspicions that the other boy might have ulterior motives for talking to him, other than just to gain his friendship or socialise with another classmate.

While he sat at his desk and wondered why Adam seemed to watch him as though there was a joke he was missing, Ethan had no way of knowing what troubles existed outside of his school. Such as the fact that only three blocks away, Sylance was brutally murdering a woman who was unable to scream out for the Blur to save her. Or that Lex Luthor had just hung up on a very important businessman with an expression of smug accomplishment, which came with knowing an ambitious plan was going well and on schedule.

The boy was oblivious to it all, as the five-year-old immersed himself in his new world of classmates and elementary education.

'Quiet down!' The blonde-haired woman at the front of the room commanded with a tone and expression of authority. 'I'm your teacher, Miss Stevens.'

She introduced herself and gave a brief speech about the rules, before she called the role from her clipboard.

'Ethan Kent?' She looked up when she'd reached his name, as she had for each of the children so far.

'I'm here.' Ethan raised his hand and smiled, pride filling him as he was able to announce he was there.

And he was, finally, there inside a classroom and surrounded by other students his age. He was where he wanted to be, and Ethan was determined to make it last. He was prepared to do whatever he felt he had to in order to keep his secret exactly that, because if he couldn't then his dream of attending school would be taken away.

Ethan wasn't going to let that happen, not when he believed he'd finally found a place to belong.

---

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading, and please take a moment to send me your feedback, thoughts, or otherwise regarding the moments in this chapter or any other aspect of the story. If you have any requests for Ethan's time at school, or anything else, please let me know.