Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with this wonderful show Superman & Lois, only the circumstances of the story
Summary: A missing scene from season 1, episode 2.
Spoiler Alert: Episode 2, season 1, and "Loyal Subjekts"
Title: It's A Start
"This isn't so bad." Jonathan whispered to his twin. Sarah was summoned to help Lana in the kitchen with dinner, and they were about to follow.
"No. It's almost as if for a few moments you can forget your parents have lied to you your entire life, and you can shoot heat rays from your eyes," Jordan hissed…
"Still pissed?" Jonathan asked.
"Aren't you?" Jordan replied.
Jonathan's glance wandered to their parents talking in the hallway. He noticed Clark's posture first; his head cocked to one side. "He always did that when he was about to leave; probably hearing cries for help," he said.
Clark straightened up, and froze looking directly at Jordan, and then back to Lois as if hesitating. "And did that." Jordan added. It was reassuring that Clark didn't want to leave. Their mother's hand rested on his chest for a few moments and he kissed her forehead, before leaving.
Jonathan was comforted watching their love. "The perfect cover too. Reporters travel, why wouldn't he be assigned all over the globe?"
"There's food in the backyard. Your mom's looking for you," Grace told the two of them. Sarah handed them plates on their way out the door and they grabbed their food meeting up with Lois in a corner near the shed.
"Your dad has been called away," Lois told them.
"You can say it mom, we know. Remember the whole car in the air thing without glasses. It's hard to forget." Jonathan beat Jordan to reply.
"Bet Sarah's dad can't do that," Jordan muttered.
"Flying is pretty cool." Jonathan replied. He always tried putting a positive spin on things. Once he actually took time to think about it, it was pretty neat that his father was the most powerful superhero on earth. What a thing that would have been for show and tell when he was younger? Or career day? It would have trumped all the other parents… which was probably why they didn't tell him and Jordan when they were younger.
Lois caught the flicker of empathy on Jonathan's face. It would be tougher with Jordan, because of his powers, and his anxieties. He'd inherited her quick, sarcastic temper that Lois knew would be burning for a long time on this one. Sarah joined them, and there wasn't time to talk more.
"You can't blame him for being angry," Jon said. Jordan had gone straight to his room after they got home from the barbecue, while he'd stayed in the kitchen working on homework. Lois had set up her laptop on the kitchen island, and pulled up a stool. Every time Jon looked over, she looked lost. She likely hadn't added a word to whatever it was she was writing.
"It was going to be tougher for one of you. Doctors told us, when you were born that at least one of you would end up with some of his abilities, but they couldn't predict which. Initially we assumed it was somehow tied to your athletic ability. It surprised us when Jordan showed signs of his abilities… " Lois replied.
"It's tough both of us. You lied to us our entire lives, and now we have to build new identities for ourselves. I have to watch Dad take Jordan into his confidence. I have to figure out who I am without my twin, while trying to support him through this. Something that is now going to be the rest of his life." He answered his mother honestly.
Lois looked up from her screen at her son; the patient, easygoing twin had shown some anger. "Although I'm still a little mad about it, I'm starting to get why you didn't tell us. At five, having Superman for a dad would have been the coolest thing ever. If we'd let it slip to the wrong person… he shrugged.
A smile pulled at Lois' lips. She always knew Jonathan had Clark's easygoing nature. "You had lots of chances to tell us since. We matured pretty quick compared to other friends," he added.
"The result of having a father barely around," Lois replied, sighing again. When she'd found she was pregnant, she swore she wouldn't repeat the same patterns her father did. The guilt would be with her and Clark the rest of their lives.
Jon was hesitant to forgive her. He was still sorting out his life after leaving Metropolis, and now the revelation about his father felt as if it had pulled the rug out from under him. But he took a moment. "He couldn't even be himself at home. All that pretending."
"We argued when I found out I was pregnant. He wanted to tell you right away, or at least not keep it a secret. No glasses in the house, use of powers where appropriate, that kind of thing. But I took the mama bear position. I wanted you to have a childhood free of the responsibility a secret like that carries with it. I wanted you to play with friends, go to birthday parties, ride bikes in the neighbourhood, and play football. I wanted you to do all this without worrying about your father's survival. I wanted you to do this without worrying about who you were talking to, and what would happen if you let it slip to the wrong person. And I will regret it for the rest of my life."
Jon refocused on his homework, working through the math problems. "We both will." Clark entered wearing the same clothes he wore to the barbecue. "Secrets had done enough damage to my relationship with your mother. I didn't want them with my kids. He moved over behind Lois. "But your mother's persuasive, and soon I began picturing throwing the football around with you and Jordan, fixing your bikes, and sitting through holiday assemblies. It wasn't easy, and I can't count the times I almost slipped up by forgetting my glasses, or changing from the suit; the amount of times I almost said something, but it was worth it. Because now you have happy memories to get you through."
Jon took it all in as he finished his last math problem. The scratch of the chair against the wood floor signaled the end of the conversation. He put his books in his school bag, and crossed to where his parents were. He dropped a kiss on top his mom's head. "See you in the morning mom. Love you,"
"Love you sweetie," Lois answered.
Clark touched Jon's arm. "Look at me please," Jon did, seeing the man underneath the façade for the first time. "I will never stop trying to make this up to you and your brother," He took the boy in a quick hug. He still felt like his father.
"I know," Jon said against Clark's shoulder. Clark let him go. "You need a shower," he tossed back at his father as he left, placing his school bag behind the coat rack near the door. "See you tomorrow,"
"See you tomorrow Jon," Clark replied. It wasn't yet acceptance, but it wasn't turning his back on him like Jordan.
Lois had shut her laptop, and joined him near the stairs. Clark put his arm across her shoulders, and they climbed the stairs together.
"He's right, you do need a shower," she told her husband. He left her as they passed the bathroom. Clark took the hint, smiling over his shoulder. A few minutes later she felt his arm pull her close.
"You have one twin. I'll have the other. As long as we keep talking, we'll be fine," she said.
"You are as wise, as you are beautiful Lois Lane."
"That's why you married me," she replied. He kissed the top of her head and she curled further into his embrace.
The bulk of this was written before the episode Loyal Subjekts