A Date for the Fourth of July part three for
By LastScorpion
(Disclaimers in part one; Warning in part two)
---------------
At first, Buffy wasn't sure she saw them.
Martha and Jonathan Kent had insisted that they really wanted to do the dinner dishes, and the young people could best make themselves useful by taking Cara outside and letting her tire herself out before bedtime.
Clark set up the lawn chairs. Lex disappeared into the house and brought out five glasses of lemonade on an old tin tray. By the time he got back, Clark and Dawn had joined Cara in her rushing-around-the-yard-and-shrieking game, so he just handed Buffy her glass and set the tray down on Clark's chair.
"It's a pretty evening," Buffy commented as Lex sat down next to her. "You never get a sky like that in California."
Lex looked up at the big dramatic clouds, scenically lit with the shifting colors of sunset, as if he'd never thought of it before. After a minute he said, "It's the climate, of course. Cumulo-nimbus clouds are unusual where you live."
"Very unusual," she agreed. Then she saw them, or thought she did. "Um. Do you see those?"
Lex looked, and didn't seem to notice anything. "What?" he asked.
Buffy swallowed hard and faced up to it -- she was seeing things again. She took a deep breath. "Those little wandering lights, out there by the bushes?"
Unexpectedly, Lex laughed. "Lightning bugs. Also known as fireflies. Bio-luminescent beetles of the order...."
"Oh, thank God. I was afraid it was something evil that only I could see."
Lex shook his head a little and smiled. He had a nice smile, and he looked at her in a way that no one had looked at her in a long, long time. "They're just bugs," he reassured her.
"Not evil then? Good, good."
"Want me to catch you one?" Clark interrupted.
"No, let me!" Cara shrieked.
"Race ya!" Clark challenged, and the two Kent kids were off like a shot.
Dawn flopped down in a lawn chair, and Lex handed her a drink.
"Thanks!" she huffed. "I SO cannot keep up with them!"
"Well, they are faster than a speeding bullet," Buffy pointed out, laughing. It was years since she'd laughed as much as she had today.
"No kidding!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Buffy! Buffy! I caught you a lightnin' bug! I'm being very gentle with it, too!" Cara appeared out of thin air, right next to Buffy's chair. She had her chubby little hands cupped together, only touching on the edges. She opened them slowly, and Buffy could see the insect. It really was some sort of beetle, she saw, not very big, and its butt turned on and off.
"That's really weird," she said.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "This from the Vampire Slayer!"
The bug flew away. Cara squealed happily and ran to tell her Mama that she'd caught one without squishing him.
Clark followed her in, then came back and took the tray into the house. Finally, he returned again, took his glass from Dawn (she'd snagged it when he picked up the tray) and joined the others.
"Do you suppose I was that much of a handful when I was that age?"
Everybody laughed at him, and he blushed. Or maybe it was just the last red light of sunset on his face.
"So. Lightning bugs," Buffy said. "Not evil, huh?"
"Just bugs," Dawn said, unconsciously echoing Lex's earlier assertion.
"These mosquitoes, on the other hand," Lex said, brushing one from his head.
"They don't bother me," Clark bragged.
"Me either," Dawn added. She didn't volunteer any possible reasons. Buffy approved of her sister's reticence, although she supposed it probably wasn't really fair that the Summers girls knew Clark was Superman, but he didn't know that Dawn was the Key. Oh, well. It would probably all sort itself out, one way or another.
"Are you sure you have to go back to Metropolis tonight?" Clark asked, giving Dawn the big puppy eyes.
Buffy rolled her eyes at the tone of voice, and noticed Lex doing the same thing. He noticed her, too, and they silently shared the snark with a smile.
Dawn had Clark's big hands in her own. "I'm sorry, baby," she said. "But I have to get this stuff done at the lab."
"I know," Clark pouted.
Buffy managed to turn her reflexive gagging reaction into a fairly innocuous cough. "Are you all packed up, Dawnie?" she asked, in her bossiest big-sister manner.
Now Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yes, Buffy. All packed up and ready to go."
"Are you all packed up, Lex?" Buffy asked.
He gave her a very amused look. "No need to take that tone with me. You're not my big sister."
"Thank God!" she exclaimed, and grabbed his hand. "Wanna take a walk down to the crick? Give Clark and Dawnie a chance to say their good-byes before you have to drive back to Metropolis tonight?" She didn't add aloud that she wanted a chance to say a proper good-bye to Lex, too, but it was obvious that he picked up on it.
"Absolutely," he replied. "We'll be back in an hour or so, ready to drive back to the city. You'll be ready, kids?"
"Kids?" Clark sputtered indignantly.
"An hour," Dawn added sweetly.
"Or so," Buffy answered her.
-------------
"Huh. Let me get this straight," rumbled former Captain Stonetree, contemplatively swigging beer. "Alien invasion, international guvmint conspiracy, end of the human race. Did I leave anything out?"
Mulder didn't know why he even tried telling this story. "I said you wouldn't believe it."
"Nah. I believe it."
Mulder looked closely at the big man. It was hard to tell whether he was joking or not.
Stonetree seemed to understand his doubts. He smiled and clapped Mulder on the shoulder, nearly toppling him from the spindly kitchen chair. "Smile, kid. Have another beer. I'm gonna go put some clothes on, and then we'll hit the road."
"You know where Knight might be?" Mulder didn't get his hopes up.
"Somethin' else." There was the sound of drawers opening and closing from the other room.
"What? Where are we going?" Mulder felt like things were careening past him, out of control. Again.
Stonetree re-appeared, wearing a big baggy brown suit, a really strange-looking tie, and a porkpie hat ala Buster Keaton. Mulder blinked and blinked again, but the vision remained.
"Kansas," Stonetree answered.
---------------
At first, Buffy wasn't sure she saw them.
Martha and Jonathan Kent had insisted that they really wanted to do the dinner dishes, and the young people could best make themselves useful by taking Cara outside and letting her tire herself out before bedtime.
Clark set up the lawn chairs. Lex disappeared into the house and brought out five glasses of lemonade on an old tin tray. By the time he got back, Clark and Dawn had joined Cara in her rushing-around-the-yard-and-shrieking game, so he just handed Buffy her glass and set the tray down on Clark's chair.
"It's a pretty evening," Buffy commented as Lex sat down next to her. "You never get a sky like that in California."
Lex looked up at the big dramatic clouds, scenically lit with the shifting colors of sunset, as if he'd never thought of it before. After a minute he said, "It's the climate, of course. Cumulo-nimbus clouds are unusual where you live."
"Very unusual," she agreed. Then she saw them, or thought she did. "Um. Do you see those?"
Lex looked, and didn't seem to notice anything. "What?" he asked.
Buffy swallowed hard and faced up to it -- she was seeing things again. She took a deep breath. "Those little wandering lights, out there by the bushes?"
Unexpectedly, Lex laughed. "Lightning bugs. Also known as fireflies. Bio-luminescent beetles of the order...."
"Oh, thank God. I was afraid it was something evil that only I could see."
Lex shook his head a little and smiled. He had a nice smile, and he looked at her in a way that no one had looked at her in a long, long time. "They're just bugs," he reassured her.
"Not evil then? Good, good."
"Want me to catch you one?" Clark interrupted.
"No, let me!" Cara shrieked.
"Race ya!" Clark challenged, and the two Kent kids were off like a shot.
Dawn flopped down in a lawn chair, and Lex handed her a drink.
"Thanks!" she huffed. "I SO cannot keep up with them!"
"Well, they are faster than a speeding bullet," Buffy pointed out, laughing. It was years since she'd laughed as much as she had today.
"No kidding!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Buffy! Buffy! I caught you a lightnin' bug! I'm being very gentle with it, too!" Cara appeared out of thin air, right next to Buffy's chair. She had her chubby little hands cupped together, only touching on the edges. She opened them slowly, and Buffy could see the insect. It really was some sort of beetle, she saw, not very big, and its butt turned on and off.
"That's really weird," she said.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "This from the Vampire Slayer!"
The bug flew away. Cara squealed happily and ran to tell her Mama that she'd caught one without squishing him.
Clark followed her in, then came back and took the tray into the house. Finally, he returned again, took his glass from Dawn (she'd snagged it when he picked up the tray) and joined the others.
"Do you suppose I was that much of a handful when I was that age?"
Everybody laughed at him, and he blushed. Or maybe it was just the last red light of sunset on his face.
"So. Lightning bugs," Buffy said. "Not evil, huh?"
"Just bugs," Dawn said, unconsciously echoing Lex's earlier assertion.
"These mosquitoes, on the other hand," Lex said, brushing one from his head.
"They don't bother me," Clark bragged.
"Me either," Dawn added. She didn't volunteer any possible reasons. Buffy approved of her sister's reticence, although she supposed it probably wasn't really fair that the Summers girls knew Clark was Superman, but he didn't know that Dawn was the Key. Oh, well. It would probably all sort itself out, one way or another.
"Are you sure you have to go back to Metropolis tonight?" Clark asked, giving Dawn the big puppy eyes.
Buffy rolled her eyes at the tone of voice, and noticed Lex doing the same thing. He noticed her, too, and they silently shared the snark with a smile.
Dawn had Clark's big hands in her own. "I'm sorry, baby," she said. "But I have to get this stuff done at the lab."
"I know," Clark pouted.
Buffy managed to turn her reflexive gagging reaction into a fairly innocuous cough. "Are you all packed up, Dawnie?" she asked, in her bossiest big-sister manner.
Now Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yes, Buffy. All packed up and ready to go."
"Are you all packed up, Lex?" Buffy asked.
He gave her a very amused look. "No need to take that tone with me. You're not my big sister."
"Thank God!" she exclaimed, and grabbed his hand. "Wanna take a walk down to the crick? Give Clark and Dawnie a chance to say their good-byes before you have to drive back to Metropolis tonight?" She didn't add aloud that she wanted a chance to say a proper good-bye to Lex, too, but it was obvious that he picked up on it.
"Absolutely," he replied. "We'll be back in an hour or so, ready to drive back to the city. You'll be ready, kids?"
"Kids?" Clark sputtered indignantly.
"An hour," Dawn added sweetly.
"Or so," Buffy answered her.
-------------
"Huh. Let me get this straight," rumbled former Captain Stonetree, contemplatively swigging beer. "Alien invasion, international guvmint conspiracy, end of the human race. Did I leave anything out?"
Mulder didn't know why he even tried telling this story. "I said you wouldn't believe it."
"Nah. I believe it."
Mulder looked closely at the big man. It was hard to tell whether he was joking or not.
Stonetree seemed to understand his doubts. He smiled and clapped Mulder on the shoulder, nearly toppling him from the spindly kitchen chair. "Smile, kid. Have another beer. I'm gonna go put some clothes on, and then we'll hit the road."
"You know where Knight might be?" Mulder didn't get his hopes up.
"Somethin' else." There was the sound of drawers opening and closing from the other room.
"What? Where are we going?" Mulder felt like things were careening past him, out of control. Again.
Stonetree re-appeared, wearing a big baggy brown suit, a really strange-looking tie, and a porkpie hat ala Buster Keaton. Mulder blinked and blinked again, but the vision remained.
"Kansas," Stonetree answered.