Four

Emma couldn't believe it had already been two months since the first time she had met J'onn. She sat bundled up on a bench at school, pulling her jacket tighter around herself to keep warm, and looked at the sky. It looked familiar, the sky. It looked the way it did the day he had come through the portal.

His presence tickled her mind, and she let him in. Still thinking about me? he asked.

Of course I am. I'm always thinking about you.

I am flattered.

You're always flattered.

Why wouldn't I be? I've got a beautiful girl thinking about me.

For a Martian, sometimes you say some very human things.

I've been on Earth for fourteen years. Human tendencies have begun to rub off on me.

I like it better when you're…

Exotic and mysterious?

I was going to say 'tall, green, and handsome.'

Clever.

I try.

I have something to tell you, Emma.

What is it?

Perhaps it would be better if we spoke… in person.

What…

And at that moment, the air was charged with electricity. A strange feeling went down Emma's spine, and she sat up straight, looking around. She knew what was happening, and her breathing quickened in anticipation. J'onn?

"Yes, Emma?"

She jumped and whipped her head around. There he was, standing beside the bench, smiling at her. He was just another college student again, wearing the same black sweatshirt and sneakers. Beneath the brown eyes of his façade, she saw a flash of red-gold.

"J'onn!" Emma vaulted from the bench and turned, just as he stepped forward to embrace her. She seemed to tumble forward into his arms. Everything was suddenly overwhelming, and she burst into tears, face buried against his chest. "I'm sorry," she said in between breaths. This crying confused her, and she probably looked like an idiot.

"Don't," he said, both aloud and in his mind. "You have no reason to apologize to me, Emma."

She swallowed and nodded, taking gasping breaths that eventually became regular again. The tears stopped. Emma looked up at him – and frowned. It's not right that you have to pretend to be someone you're not here. As happy as I am to see you, I'm not really seeing you, am I? I'm seeing this – this mask! She thumped a hand on his chest. And it makes me angry!

Emma… He gave a small smile, running a thumb along her jaw, which gave her chills. It is not what is on the outside that matters. In here – he touched a finger to her forehead – and in here – he touched a finger her to chest – I am still the same J'onn J'onzz that I have always been.

Emma sighed. I know.

Do you have class soon?

No. I just got out, actually.

Would you like to go get some late lunch?

She scrunched her eyebrows at him. Is this a date?

His eyes twinkled, another flash of red-gold showing through. If you would like to see it that way.

A big smile spread across her face. "Okay," she said aloud. "Let me call my mom and tell her I'll be hanging out with a friend for a few hours. I feel like I shouldn't have to, since I'm an adult, but if I don't tell her where I am, she freaks out."

J'onn laughed. "Even I understand that. I, too, had a mother once."

Emma pulled her cellphone from her purse and speed-dialed her mother. As she put the phone to her ear, she smiled at J'onn. You have the best smile.

Thank you.

"Hi, honey," came Alice Whitaker's voice through the phone. "What's up?"

"Can I go have lunch with a friend before coming home?" Emma asked.

"Which friend?"

"Uh… a guy friend?"

"How old is he?"

Emma looked at J'onn's human face. She raised an eyebrow.

Twenty, J'onn thought to her.

"He's twenty, Mom. Don't worry. I'm not going out with an old man."

"Is he nice?"

Emma laughed. "Yes, he's nice, Mother. Do you want to talk to him?"

Alice was silent, thinking for a moment. "No, that's okay," she finally said. "But if he touches you –

"He won't. J'onn's not like that. And I'm not just saying that."

"Zjon? Sounds foreign."

Emma laughed. "He's not. His parents just wanted to put a spin on the name John."

"Hm. Okay. I'll stop pestering you. Have fun! And be home by ten."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks."

They said goodbye and hung up.

Emma laughed. "Zjon?" she said, repeating her mother's skeptical voice.

"You should have told her I was foreign. That would have been closer to the truth."

"Oh sure. Yeah, Mom, don't worry. He's just a Martian." Emma looked around. Sorry, she thought to him. Probably should have said that in my head.

No one's listening. So, where would you like to eat? I would suggest a place, but I'm… a foreigner. He cracked a grin.

Oh, haha. Who's paying?

I am, of course. I brought money with me because I thought you might say yes to a date.

How sweet… Are you a vegetarian?

How did you know?

She blinked at him. J'onn… Our minds are linked. We can read each other's thoughts. Besides, it's… It seems like something you would be. Believing all life is precious and all that. So, no fast-food places, then. How about the café?

The café? From your memories, I am guessing you're talking about the Bluewater Café?

Yes. It's where my friends from high school and I would go to hang out after school sometimes. After everyone else went off to big universities, I was the only one left, really. I haven't been to the café in a year, at least.

J'onn took her hand and they began walking. Why didn't you go to a university like your friends?

I'm not ready. I love it here too much. I've grown up in Bluewater Bay my whole life. I don't want to leave it now. And besides, I don't even know what I want to do. I haven't chosen a major yet.

Perhaps ufology?

Emma snickered. I don't think I could get that as a major… I don't even know if it exists as a teachable class in college. Probably not. I don't think ufologists are very… respected here. I'm not even sure if ufology is a word beyond science-fiction novels.

Do people here believe in aliens?

In general? I don't have a clue. I always have, but that's just me. I'm weird.

I don't think you are.

That's because you're weird, too.

Oh.

A little while later, they were sitting at a window booth at the Bluewater Café. Emma knew immediately what she was getting. During the months of October through January, the café made all their holiday food, and the pumpkin soup was amazing.

"What's good here?" J'onn asked.

Emma smiled. "Everything."

He looked up at her with a deadpan expression on his face.

She could just imagine how much funnier it would look if he was in his regular Martian form. She tried not to laugh. "No, really. Everything is good here." She slid out from her side of the booth and sat down next to him. "Look," she said, taking the menu from his hands. "What are you hungry for? They've got pasta, salad. Great soup. That's what I'm getting."

"Hmm… Actually, soup does sound good to me."

She turned her head to look at him. "You're not just going to get what I get so it makes me feel better, are you?"

He turned his head as well, lifting an eyebrow. "Why would I ever do that?"

Suddenly, Emma realized how close they were. She could feel his breath on her face. He tilted his head to the side slightly, looking at her more closely.

"Yes?" she asked nervously.

He moved toward her, tilting his head downward.

She turned her head away from him. Not like this, she thought quietly. The day you let me see you in your natural form is the day you can kiss me.

Do you mean the me in boots and a cape, or the me who wears nothing and has an oddly-shaped head compared to you?

The second one.

That's a big step.

I know.

I might frighten you.

If the cartoon you is as accurate as it has been, I've already seen what you look like, and you don't look that bad. Your eyes are a little… creepy, but.

"Um…"

J'onn looked up. Emma turned to see who had spoken and nearly slapped herself in the forehead when she realized it was just the waitress.

"I… I can come back later…?" the girl said, smiling nervously.

Emma turned to look at J'onn, and then back at the waitress.

She thought we were… sharing a moment, J'onn thought.

Oh. Well, we were, weren't we?

I think so.

Emma shook herself. "No, that's okay," she said to the poor girl who was standing there. "Um, can I have the pumpkin soup, please?"

"Uh-huh," the girl said, taking out her notepad to write it down.

Emma noticed she was staring at J'onn in a very… dreamy fashion. Just as she felt a twinge of jealousy, J'onn thought to her, There's no need for that. I've found that even in disguise, for some reason, women flock to me. It's a bit… distressing sometimes.

No wonder you thought I was infatuated with you. What, does this just happen to you all the time?

Not all the time, but often, yes.

How awkward.

Yes. I think they must be able to tell that I am different, but they cannot quite figure out how I am different.

Well, how did I figure it out?

The first time I came through the portal, I arrived not knowing what to expect and it took me a second to shapeshift out of my crime-fighting outfit. Your eyes happened to pass over me just as I was changing.

What luck. Crap. J'onn, she's waiting for you to tell her what you want.

"I'll have the pumpkin soup, as well, please."

"Alrighty." The waitress giggled. "What'll you have to drink?"

"A chai tea latte, please," Emma said.

"A mocha, if you have them," J'onn said.

"Of course we have them, silly," the girl replied, giggling again. "You must be new in town."

Oh, dear God, Emma thought. She's obsessed.

I told you.

"Okay, so we have two pumpkin soups, a chai tea latte, and a mocha. Will that be all?"

"Yes," Emma said.

The waitress lingered for a moment, and then giggled one last time and pranced off.

Emma laid her head down on the table, sighing. "Kill me now," she muttered.

J'onn laughed. The sound echoed in her mind like it always did. You can go to sleep at night knowing that I am in the midst of a giant battle with some robotic war machine, and yet, when a girl giggles at me, you become as prickly as a cactus.

I can't help it. Girls become jealous very easily.

You can too help it. Do you think I would cheat on you?

Are we even dating?

I don't know. Are we?

Ugh. I asked you first! Emma looked up at him.

He folded his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow. Are we? he asked again.

Well… I hope we are.

Then we are.

It's that simple?

Why would it not be?

Oh. I don't know. Because you're a fucking Martian, maybe?

Why does that bother you now when it didn't before?

Emma looked away. Because I thought you would be gone forever. I never thought you would actually come back. Now that you have, I… I don't know if I can actually do this.

J'onn reached down and took her hand, squeezing it gently. Would you like to try?

She looked up again, smiling a little. Yes.