Ch. 36

Clark sat on the couch in the loft, his feet planted firmly on the wooden floorboards as he laced his fingers together nervously. Lois was waiting, a look of wonder and excitement clearly etched on her face as she sat beside him. He should have been looking at her, but he was too nervous.

Lois, seeing his tension, crawled over from the other side of the couch. She had sat opposite him because he had asked her too, but she could tell that he needed comfort. "It's okay Clark. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

He shook his head softly and turned his eyes towards her. Her smile lit up his morning. It washed away his guilt, his pain, and most of all his nervousness. "I love you." He stammered suddenly, obviously surprising her.

Lois almost let go of his hands in shock. She had to blink a few times to fully comprehend what he had just said. "You what?" She asked with wide eyes.

Clark felt his heart begin to tear asunder, her reply not being what he thought it would be. He had been building his confidence on the way up the stairs of the barn, but now everything was crumbling in front of him. When she continued to stare at him, he knew he had been too forthright.

When she saw his eyes sadden and his bottom lip tremble slightly, she leaned over and surprised him with a kiss. "I love you too." She replied against his lips, her hand still wrapped in his meaty hooks.

"I'll understand if you don't." Clark said. "I know you hesitated and I don't want you to feel obligated to have to say it back. Just let me say that the last couple days, no matter how strange they've been, have been the best of my life, and I could spend the rest of eternity alone knowing that I got the chance to know what love really was."

He was doubting himself as usual, his insecurities and nerves coming to the forefront. Smiling, she pushed her lips up against his again to reaffirm her conviction. "There is no obligation Smallville, I love you, and you should never doubt that." When he looked to the floor, she grabbed his ears and pulled his head upwards. With her eyes staring right into his she said. "It may have only been a few days, but they have been the best of my life too, but unlike you, I could never be happy with that. I want you for so much longer."

Her smirk cut into him, his own smile showing as he kissed her this time. The simple fact that she loved him was all he needed. It was the only thing in the world that mattered to him at the moment. With a tight smile, he gently brought her hand from his head and held them in his lap. "Now, with that out of the way, there is something else I need to tell you.

Lois looked at him pleadingly, but couldn't discern the weird and frightened look in his eyes. "Is this about what happened last night?" She asked tenderly.

Sighing, Clark nodded. "Yes, but there is so much more to it." When she continued to stare at him lovingly, he felt the overwhelming need to gush everything at once, but he began slowly. "You know that I'm adopted right?"

"Yes, but what has that to do with anything?" She asked.

Clark almost laughed. "It has everything to do with everything."

"Are you going to tell me you're Canadian or something?"

Clark smiled at her silly joke and tightly smiled. "No, I'm not Canadian Lois."

She smiled even wider as she sat on the couch, her right foot placed underneath her bottom. "Then what is it?"

He took a deep breath. "Has Chloe ever said anything about my birth parents?"

Frowning suddenly, she shook her head. "No, but is there something I should know about them." With a flash of her former grin, she said. "You're not a long lost prince are you?" Her mocking laughter cut through the roof beams, her eyes sparkling majestically under her brown eyebrows.

Again he smiled. It was going to be more difficult to tell her if she was going to be cracking jokes the whole time.

Seeing him harden, she let go of his hands and interlaced her fingers together. "I'm the one needing answers, and you're the one asking questions."

He nodded and began. "My birth parents weren't from Kansas; they were from very far away." His eyes got hard as he continued to stare at her. When she nodded for him to continue, he did. "I'm not really sure how to put this Lois, I've never told anyone this before."

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, realizing she was almost a scared as he was. His pausing and anxiousness was rubbing off on her and it was unsettling.

"My parents know, and Chloe."

"Chloe?" Lois asked in surprise, her eyes scanning his for any sign of regret. "Please explain some more Clark. This evasive conversation is getting on my nerves."

He nodded and stood up suddenly. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he walked to the barn window and peered outside. "Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to have sex with an alien?" He asked. He would take a different route. It was a serious moment, but Lois seemed to be in a playful mood.

Completely astounded with his question, she stared at his back as he peered out to the countryside. It took her a few moments to get over the initial shock of his question, but once she did, she was incredibly intrigued. "I don't know." She began. "I don't even know if aliens exist."

Clark smiled as he continued to peer out the loft window, his eyes scanning the farm. "They do Lois. I promise you they do."

His words once again astounded her. His voice was filled with conviction and wherewithal. He seemed so confident about it, as if he knew it for a fact. "How could you know that Clark? My father is a general and he's told me there's no such thing."

Shrugging his shoulders, he said. "How big do you think the universe is Lois? Do you honestly believe that out there lies nothing but emptiness and gaseous planets" Can you truthfully tell yourself that there isn't some sort of extraterrestrial intelligence out there?"

Mightily confused, she got up to her feet and walked up beside him. "What's with all the questions Clark, are you trying to tell me something important or are you just playing with me?"

Looking over at her, he smiled softly, trying desperately to relieve the butterflies in his stomach. "What if I told you have had sex with an intelligent being from another planet, how would you react?"

Lois frowned at him again, but thought of an answer. It seemed oddly rhetorical, but she indulged in his strange game. "First I'd wonder how he got me into bed in the first place."

"What if I told you he had you in a car?" He asked with a soft smile. He could see by the knit of her brow that she wasn't quite sure where he was going.

"A car?" Lois asked softly, looking at him with large eyes. "How would that happen?"

"He admitted he had feelings for you and you jumped him." A small grin split his lips as he saw her struggle back and forth from intrigue to confusion. He knew that inside her head she was having trouble grasping his questions. If she would have stopped for one second she would have caught on to where he was going, but it was Lois, she never thought things out. She was one to grasp for answers left and right, thinking her best chances at solving a mystery were going outside the box for them.

Lois had no idea where he was going, but she was caught up in his questions. They pulled at her mind like nothing else, their weight have bore down on her and confusing her like never before. "Okay, if I did that, what would happen next?"

"You'd get caught by the sheriff, but given only a warning because you're cuter than a button." He bopped her on the nose with his thumb, making sure she understood. If she didn't get it, he would begin having second thoughts about just how smart he thought she was.

It took a second, but her eyes suddenly went wide in realization. Her mouth hung agape as she stared up at him. Her tongue threatened to fall back into her throat, but she tilted her head to the side to keep herself from falling unconscious. "You mean? You're an-Oh my god!" She exclaimed.

"That's right Lois, you had sex with a person from another galaxy." His words came out soft and rushed, but he felt the butterflies in his stomach slowly begin to disappear. Even with telling Lois the truth, he knew she could handle it. Well, by her wide eyes he couldn't be sure at the moment, but he knew she would eventually.

Lois looked right at him, her eyes drifting up and down his body to try and find anything wrong with him. Her boyfriend was an alien, and the shock had her looking for green tentacles and big bug eyes. "So, you're not really from around here?" She asked softly, her eyes finally falling on his as he smiled weakly.

"No." He replied helplessly, his attention keenly transfixed on her hazel-blue orbs.

With a shaky hand, she reached out and grabbed one of his large hands, lifting it. She stared at it for a second and said. "But you can't be Clark, you look so human."

"I know."

"Then you're not an Alien." She said suddenly.

"What?" He asked, blinking and shaking his head in confusion. "I just told you that I was from another planet, and you're telling me you don't think I'm an alien? I'm the definition of alien."

She shook her head and let go of his hand. "No Clark. You're not an alien. An alien is green and looks like an oversized bug. You, you look completely human."

"But I'm not." He said.

"Yes you are Smallville. An alien doesn't know what human emotions are, nor do they know how to speak our language. You do, and that makes you human."

Clark, still confused by her explanation, frowned. "I'm not understanding."

"It's like this." She began. "You're from another planet, but you look human. It comes down to the definition of what human is. I really hate having to explain this." She said seriously.

Clark smiled weakly and nodded. "I think I know what you mean." He said.

She lifted her head and smiled. "You do?"

"No." He replied, laughing. When she smiled at him even wider, he melted. "I may not understand it, but I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. Well, with what all my extraterrestrial heart can handle. I don't really know the specifics, but I guess I am capable of love-."

He was babbling, and she was tired of it. She interrupted him with a hard kiss. Breaking apart, she smiled as she leaned her forehead against his nose. ""You're capable of it, probably even more so than any other person on this earth."

"Oh I don't know." He said back with a sarcastic tone. "I think I've met someone who has a heart just as big as mine." He deftly swept her into a tight hug, his fears and petty thoughts of rejection finally disappearing like the early morning fog.

"Do you know where you're from?" She asked against his chest, her ear placed tight up against his heart.

"Krypton." He replied. When she pulled away from his embrace and looked at him oddly, he asked. "What?"

"That's a strange word, but I think Chloe said something like it earlier. Krypto-night I believe?"

He smiled and nodded. "It's Kryptonite." He supplied.

"What is it?"

"The green meteor rocks are Kryptonite. They are pieces of my home world that came with me during the meteor shower." His smile evaporated as he spoke of his only weakness.

"You came with the meteor shower?" She asked in surprise. When he nodded, she continued. "So that means you had a spaceship?"

Clark nodded, but said. "I did, but it was destroyed a few years ago."

There was something painful that passed across his eyes as he spoke. She was about to prod further, but what she saw held her mouth shut. After a few moments of silent staring, she finally managed to say something else. "So, does being from another planet have any other advantages? I know this is Smallville, home of the weird, and since this kryptonite changes people, that means there has to be something different about you too."

He swallowed hard at her presumption. Lois wasn't stupid; she was quite intelligent when she needed to be. "Yes, but unlike so many of the people affected by them, they make me sick."

"How do you mean?"

He turned back to the window and sighed, resting his hands on the edge. "They are lethal to me. I don't really know why, but if I'm around them they make me sick, and can eventually kill me if I'm exposed to them for too long."

"Wow." She answered.

"Indeed. But that's not all." When she looked at him, he smiled weakly and turned his back against the opening of the window. Softly, he sat down on the edge and said. "Push me out the window."

"W-what?" She asked in absolute confusion.

"Push me."

She was about to say something about how stupid he was, but the glinting humor in his eye told her something. "You're not going to get hurt, are you?" She asked, her eyes going wide.

Clark shrugged and smiled. "You'll have to push me to see for yourself."

A Lane never backed down from a challenge, even if it was to voluntarily push a lover over a window and to the ground three stories below. "Okay, but if you die, I'm spiting you forever."

"Deal." He grinned.

With a small laugh, she nudged him. Her head peaked out and down from the window as she watched him fall to the earth, his grin still firmly in place. A hand went to her mouth just in case she would be surprised, but as she expected, he landed firmly on his back and made a large dent in the ground. Smiling, she looked down, but he had disappeared from view. "Wha-?"

"Looking for me?" Clark asked.

She turned around in shock. He was sitting on the couch again; an ankle draped over one knee as he grinned wildly. "Fast too?" She got out a second later, still gaping at him.

He nodded and smiled innocently. "Among other things."

She walked over towards him.

Clark picked up on the sway of her hips and the sultry look in her eyes. Whatever pride he had felt a second ago had disappeared as soon as she made her way towards him. He may have had special abilities, but she could take them away with nothing but her stare. He gulped loudly as he let his foot drop off his knee.

Lois gently sat herself on one of his knees and slid down its angle shape. She came to a rest on his lap, her right knee planted firmly against his groin. A smile split her lips as she felt him harden.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"What's it look like?"

Clark picked up on the passion in her voice, the pure seduction that seemed to be radiating off of her. "It's not even noon yet." He stammered.

"So?" She asked, leaning forward and kissing his neck tenderly.

"What about what I just told you?"

"What about it?" She asked. Trailing her lips up to his chin, she felt him moan in her mouth as she captured his lips.

"Don't you find it frightening? Are you not scared that I might hurt you?"

She pulled back from him for a second to say. "I love you Clark, that's what matters."

She went towards his lips again, but he pushed her away. "I wish it were that simple." He said softly.

"It is." She replied, finally wiggling herself from his hands and kissing him again. When he pulled away, she sighed heavily. "What is it?"

"Don't you have anything to say?" When she glared at him with arched eyebrows, he continued. "Aren't you going to chastise me about lying to you for so long?"

"No Smallville, I'm not. I understand what it's like to have to hide your true self from others. For the first time in my life I'm allowing myself to be who I really want to be, and you bring that out in me Clark. You make everything seem right, and I would not risk losing that."

"Me either." He replied breathlessly, her lips suddenly crashing onto hers.

Lois bit her lip and pulled back suddenly. "There is one thing though."

"What?" He asked, his dread slowly creeping back.

"I am angry at you about one thing." When he asked what about, she grinned wildly at him and adjusted herself by draping her other leg over him. She was now straddling his lap completely. "After your little display of speed, It means that you've been holding back, and I don't appreciate that."

"What?" He asked.

"Don't play stupid with me Smallville, you know what I mean. In the shower, in the car, you weren't giving it one hundred percent were you?"

His eyes went wide as she smiled evilly. "I didn't know if I would hurt you or not." He said in defense.

"Isn't that sweet?" She mocked. "From now on you don't hold back." When he looked away, she grabbed his chin and made sure he could see the intensity in her eyes. "You got that Smallville?"

"Yes ma'am." He smiled back, taking her lips once again.

-

Chloe sat on the porch swing, Shelby lying beside her at her feet. She wondered how well things were going between Clark and Lois. There was no doubt in her mind that her cousin would take it well, but still, she was as curious as always. The squeak of the screen door ripped her from her thoughts, bringing her head around to see who the person was. She smiled slightly as she saw both Victor and Katherine exit.

"Good morning." Kat said, Victor nodding his own greeting.

"Good morning." Chloe replied. She didn't know what to make of the couple before her. She knew Victor's secret from Clark's earlier encounter with he man, but she had trouble getting a handle on his girlfriend. She was quite a woman it seemed, someone who might be able to even take Lois down if it came to it. "Are you two heading back to Metropolis already?"

Victor shook his head as he leaned up against the porch railing. "No, Clark and I have some things to discuss, and I'm sure the police will be around at some point to get our statement as to what happened."

Kat smiled at Chloe and asked. "Have you heard anything about anyone else getting hurt?"

Chloe nodded sadly. "I just got off the phone with the local paper and they said that Clark's date, Abby, was wounded by a gunshot."

"How is she?" Victor asked.

"She's in stable condition. The bullet just missed her spine, but shattered her pelvis."

"Ouch." Kat said with a wince. "I guess we should take some comfort in the fact that she didn't die."

"There is that." Chloe replied. "If she had died, we'd have a heck of a mess on our hands."

"It's already going to be a mess." Victor stated, crossing arms across his green t-shirt. "Let's just hope that people don't get too curious. The last thing we need is people digging for both Clark's and my secret."

Chloe gave them a warm assuring smile. "Here in Smallville things tend to get passed over rather quickly. Strange things happen all the time, and people usually turn a blind eye because of fright or repetition."

Victor shook his head. "I still have trouble believing that though. This may not be Metropolis, but I still have a horrible feeling about everything."

Kat grabbed his hand and rubbed it softly. "Of course you do honey, you held a woman in your arms as she died. If that didn't affect you in someway, you wouldn't be human." She smiled at him.

"I'm only about fifty percent human." He joked, lightening the tension that had settled over them.

"Fifty-fifty is good enough for me." Kat replied, kissing him lightly.

Chloe watched the two of them, jealousy settling in. She wondered if one day she would meet someone who she could share her love with. Kat and Victor, Lois and Clark, and even Mr. and Mrs. Kent, they all made her depressed. She wanted to be happy like them.