Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Berlanti, Shuster & Siegel.

September
Smallville, Kansas

Lois Lane wrapped her hands around her mug of coffee and leaned against the living room window, a small smile playing on her lips as another row of corn disappeared out of the 10 acres they'd planted back in May.

"It's almost 6:30, Clark," she whispered, taking a sip of her coffee. "Boys need to be up soon, playoff game tonight."

Almost simultaneously, another row of corn was mowed down as the front door opened and closed. Lois felt the curtains flutter next to her face. Upstairs, she heard both of her teenage boys swear.

"What the hell?"

"Dad, come on!"

She shook her head and made her way into the kitchen as Clark Kent came down the stairs, wiping his hands on his faded Wranglers. "What'd you do to them?" she questioned, eyes sparkling as Clark kissed her on the forehead and opened the fridge, pulling out the fixings for eggs and bacon.

"Let's just say their blankets needed to be washed anyway," Clark said jokingly. "So, I put 'em in the washer."

"You set the load for bedding, right?"

He bit his lip. "I-"

There was another rush of air, and then he was back, heating up butter in the skillet on the stove. Lois was laughing at him. He winked at her.

Jordan and Jonathan came stumbling into the kitchen about a half hour later. Jon's hair was wet from the shower, and Jordan, Clark was pretty sure, had on the same hoodie and khakis he'd been wearing the night before. "Morning!" he greeted them.

"Oh God, make him stop," Jonathan groaned, plunking himself down at the table beside his mother, reaching for the coffee pot.

Lois quirked an eyebrow. "Uh, since when do you drink coffee?" she asked.

"Since Dad became my alarm clock," Jonathan's head thunked down on his arms.

Jordan folded into his chair, yawning. "Not everybody's happy to be up at the crack of dawn like you," he groused to their father.

"Ooo," Clark grinned, scrambling the eggs on the stove. "Smallville's finest, already in tip top shape for their playoff game tonight," he laughed.

"I'm not a fully functioning human for like three more hours," Jonathan pointed out. "I'll be ready by tonight, though. New Carthage isn't gonna know what hit 'em."

"I do," Jordan told his brother. He reached up, snagged a piece of bacon off the plate Clark had been about to set down in the middle of the table. He grinned. "Me."

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Good thing you don't suck on defense, 'cause your sense of humor ain't knocking anybody out."

Jordan pointed at him with a forkful of egg. "Neither does yours."

"Eat," Clark commanded, shaking his head ruefully. He looked over at his wife, who'd been watching the entire exchange. She smiled back at him.

"I'll see you guys on the field tonight," Clark told the boys as he dropped them off in front of Smallville High School. He noted with satisfaction that Sarah Cushing was waiting for the two of them in front of the flagpole. Then, he put the truck in gear and looked at Lois sitting next to him. She'd been squished next to him the entire ride into town, and Clark, admitted, he hadn't hated it. "And what are your plans today?" he asked her.

"The same thing I do every day, Pinky," Lois teased him. "Try to dig up dirt on Morgan Edge."

Clark raised an eyebrow as he pulled away from the curb and into the dropoff traffic. "I don't need to remind you that you needed me to put a guy like, four times your size through a sleazy motel wall a couple nights ago?"

Lois eyed him. "I had that under control," she argued.

He snorted. "Yeah, yeah, no, totally knew that. I'm sure hitting the panic button was just an accident, right?"

"Maybe I just wanted to see you," Lois told him. "We haven't had much time to ourselves lately."

Clark sighed. He knew she was joking, but inwardly, he also knew there was a nugget of truth to it. "Yeah, I know," he replied honestly. "I was hoping this weekend would be a little less…" He trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Eventful?" his wife suggested, and Clark nodded, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "I mean, New Carthage is pretty decent this year," she said. "There's a chance your football season will be done tonight. That'll be one less thing to do."

He looked at her sidelong, and Lois sighed. "Okay, I know. That was a low blow. You know I'd love nothing more than to see our boys playing State in a few weeks." She noted Clark was still eyeing her, and added, "And uh, see you on the sidelines, of course."

Clark smirked. Then, his smile faded as he pulled up across from the Gazette. "What about after the game tonight?" he offered. "The four of us, we go to the diner, and just get like, loaded on cheesy curly fries and chocolate shakes. As a family."

Lois leaned and kissed Clark on the cheek. "Sounds completely unhealthy," she informed him. Then, she smiled. "I'm in. I love you, I'll see you tonight."

"I love you, too," Clark replied, waiting until she was in the door of the office before driving off. Halfway back to the farm, he slammed on the brakes, thankful, and not for the first time, that Smallville traffic usually only involved a stray pheasant or a combine on the highway.

He left the truck on the side of the road and broke the sound barrier heading for Bangladesh.

His boots touched down and instantly sank into the mud. Rain was pouring down, and Clark was glad he didn't have to wear his glasses as Superman. Monsoon season, he grimaced, looking around and trying to decide if the impending mudslide or the flooded village road should be his first priority.

And then he heard the crack in the seawall.