I do not own Smallville or Arrow. Please, read, and reviews are always appreciated:).

Chapter 8: Truths.

January arrived, yet the snow remained in Metropolis and it was still very thick. Martha and Johnathan were still staying with Lois and Clark, as their car could not get through all of the snow and the snow would be even worse in the countryside where they lived; for this reason, Kara was still in Smallville with her parents and Gabe was still staying with Chloe and Jimmy. Felicity had not made contact with Oliver, as she feared that his Christmas had been just as miserable as hers, and possibly worse as he had no family.

On a Saturday morning, Lois woke up early to feed the twins. After doing that, she prepared breakfast for Martha and Johnathan, as she had a burning desire to impress them. She knew that Clark's parents were fond of her, but that did not prevent her from constantly worrying about how she appeared to them and how she appeared as a mother to Jane and Ben, especially considering that her own mother was so critical. Her thoughts were interrupted when Clark entered the room and walked over to her. "Lois, you really don't have to go to all of this trouble to impress my parents, they've always thought the world of you." He kissed her lightly on the neck to assure her that everything was alright.

"I know, I just-I want to impress them as much as I can." Lois knew that she sounded like a mad housewife, but she did not care. Clark took hold of her hands and murmured, "Lois, we gave my parents grandchildren and you love me. That's all they've ever wanted for me. They love you for that alone as well as all of your amazing attributes."

The kitchen door opened and Martha and Johnathan walked in, fully dressed pulling their suitcases along with them. Martha's eyes were red, it looked as if she had been crying and Johnathan was standing by the door in silence. Clark tried to read his parents' expressions, but he could not. He glanced at Lois, who looked just as confused as he felt, before asking, "Are you guys not staying for breakfast?"

There was a dead silence, then Martha answered, "I'm afraid not, sweetie. We have to get home."

"Why?" Clark asked, wondering if their call home was the cause of his parents' strange behaviour.

Martha looked at her husband for the first time since they had entered the room. Their eyes met for a fleeting second, then she looked away and he answered, "There's been a problem on the farm. We'll call you later, Clark. Thanks for everything, Lois. Kiss the kids goodbye for us, will you?" With that, he turned away, pulling the suitcases with him.

Clark and Lois turned their attention back to his mum. She walked over to Lois and, ignoring, her daughter in law's concern, hugged her goodbye, before walking over to Clark. Martha almost collapsed into her son's arms and she was fighting back the tears which were threatening to fall down her face. Lois saw this because of where she was standing and her stomach felt sick, worrying about what the cause of this was. As Martha released Clark, he bent his head so that it was level with hers and he asked, "Mum, are you sure everything's ok?"

Avoiding looking into his eyes, Martha forced a smile and replied, in a flat voice, "Clark, everything's fine. Don't worry. As your father said, we'll call you when we get home." She kissed his temple as she had done when he was a child, then she picked up her bag and walked out of the house. Lois took hold of Clark's hand and led him to the door. As Martha and Johnathan's car pulled out of their drive, Clark asked, "Do you have any idea what's going on? I have a gut feeling that it isn't anything to do with the farm."

Lois closed her eyes, unable to erase the look of pain in Martha's eyes. "I don't know, Clark, but we'll find out, I'm sure. They'll be fine, they're your parents."

"That's what I'm worried about." Clark mumbled, before kissing Lois on the head and returning to the house to check on Ben and Jane. Lois remained where she was, wondering what was happening. For as long as she had known Clark, Martha and Johnathan had always been happy together and they loved each other deeply. What could have caused this sudden burst of sadness or awkwardness? The two of them had seemed very happy during Christmas. What could have changed in a couple of weeks?

Trudging through the snow, Felicity made her way to the Metro Coffee Shop, as she had a burning desire for a hot chocolate. Just as she purchased her drink in a take-away cup, she saw Oliver sitting at a table with a drink and a paper. She hesitated for a second, before walking over to him, holding her drink close to her, as if it would protect her heart was being hurt. "Hi, Oliver." She spoke for the first time. He looked up from the paper and indicated to the seat opposite him. As soon as she was sitting down, he asked, "So, how was your Christmas?"

Placing her hot chocolate on the table, Felicity answered, "It was nice, thanks. My brother came to stay with me, so that was lovely. It was nice to be with him alone, without our parents." She paused, then asked, "How about you? What did you get up to?"

A smile appeared on Oliver's face and he replied, "I-er-I worked. Oh, don't worry, I let all of my staff go home, but I worked."

"Why did you do that?"

"Well, I had work to do and it isn't as if I have any family, is it?" Oliver hesitated, then moved his hands onto the table. "Can I ask you something? If you'd known that I was going to propose to you, would you still have left to go to London?" His voice was low as it was the only way he could control his voice and emotions.

Felicity stared at him for a couple of seconds, before sighing. "Oliver, the reason I ended our relationship was because I thought that you weren't taking our relationship seriously. So, no if I'd known, I probably wouldn't have left, or when I left, I would've got back together with you. Do you still have the ring?- Wait, no. Don't tell me! Neither answer would make me feel better. I know you and I know that there's no way that you can still be in love with me. Just tell me that, as I told you, so that we've even. Tell me, so that we can move on with our lives." When he just looked into her eyes, Felicity snapped, almost in a begging voice, "Tell me you don't love me anymore! Just say it, Oliver!"

Oliver took hold of her hand and touched it lightly. "Felicity, don't ask me to tell you that. Unlike you, I can-and never will- be able to lie to the person whom I love. I swear to you, I know that you feel the same way. I am not going to give up on us!"

"Oliver, there's something I need to tell you"- her sentence was cut off by the arrival of Barry. She stood up and kissed her lightly. As they parted, she saw Oliver watching them and her heart sank. "This is Barry. He and I are dating now."

Aware of the tension which was now there, Barry suggested, "How about I leave the two of you alone?"

Felicity grabbed hold of his arm and looked into his eyes. "No, Oliver and I are done talking. I have to go anyway. Bye, Oliver." With that, she walked away with Barry. Oliver watched them walking away, his heart breaking. He also saw Kara watching him, but he knew that when she wanted to talk, she would tell him. His relationship with Kara was never going to work out and the sooner they ended it, the better for both of them.

Kara crossed the road and just as she was about to reach Oliver, Jimmy caught her eye, so she walked over him instead, unaware that Oliver was watching her and he had seen her change in direction for it and he knew the reason for it: she was still in love with Jimmy, as he was still in love with Felicity. He knew that he was going to have to be the one to surrender their relationship, as he knew that Kara would not want to surrender.

The exchange and conversation between Jimmy and Kara was incredibly one-sided, as Jimmy loved Chloe more than he had ever loved Kara and he did not share her feelings anymore, but Kara had made herself think that, somehow, she and Jimmy could be together again.

When their conversation ended, Kara walked over to Oliver and sat in the seat where Felicity had been. By the look in hr boyfriend's eyes, she could tell that he had seen her with Jimmy. "Kara, we need to talk."

"No, we can't give up on us!" Kara begged. "I can never be with Jimmy again, I know that now, so I don't want to give up on my relationship with you, Oliver."

Sighing, Oliver observed, "But that isn't fair on me, is it? And, the fact that I'm still in love with Felicity isn't fair on you either. I think we have no choice but to end it now, Kara. Before it gets even more complicated."

Kara shook her head and continued, "But I really like you and you like me! We can make this work, I know we can."

"We'd be living a lie," Oliver replied in a stern voice, "I'm still in love with Felicity, Kara. It wouldn't be fair on you for me to be dating you whilst I'm still in love with her…. And you're still in love with Jimmy." There was a long silence, then Oliver reached over the table and took hold of her hand. "Kara, just because we aren't together anymore, doesn't mean that we can't be friends. I think that you and I could be good friends. What d'you say?" He could see the stubbornness in her eyes, but as time went by, he could see her eyes beginning to soften. A part of him was glad of the excuse to end their relationship, as his feelings for her were not very deep.

After a long pause, Kara finally admitted defeat to the truths of their relationship. She bit her lip and remarked, "Just so you know, I did really like you and I think that, in another life time, you and I could be amazing together." She paused, before adding, "Before we pull the curtain on us forever, there is something I'd like to do."

Oliver frowned, wondering what she was talking about. "And what's that?"

Kara leaned forward and kissed him passionately. When she knew that Oliver was not going to respond in any way, she withdrew and opened her eyes, smiling. She stood up. "Goodbye, Oliver. I'm sure that you and I will still be in each other's lives." She turned her back on him and walked down the street, leaving Oliver slightly stunned that she had been so bold, he wished that Felicity were that bold with showing her feelings for him, or if he were that bold to show her how much he loved her.

Clark put Jane and Ben into their highchairs and began to feed them, whilst Lois made lunch for the two of them and Oliver, as he had asked them if he could join them for lunch and Lois had accepted, as she knew that Clark wanted to speak to someone, besides her about his parents. She was sure that it was nothing serious, but she knew that Clark was worried. Martha had called them to tell them that they were home in Smallville, but she had sounded very sad and that had worried both Lois and Clark. Clark knew that his mum and dad loved each other more than anything. He wanted to speak to Tess about it, but she was busy taking Alexander to football matches, so she was not available and he was worried about burdening her with another problem, when she had problems of her own already. Clark did not want to talk to Lex, considering all that had happened between his own parents, so Clark knew that Oliver was his best chance, besides Lois.

"How did your parents meet?" Lois inquired as she carried in the lunch and placed it on the table. She kissed Jane and Ben on their heads, before sitting down next to her husband, awaiting an answer.

Clark began to feed Jane, then he answered, "Well, as far as I'm aware, my dad went into Metropolis for some repairs to his father's tractor or something like that and they met that day." He paused, before adding, "What I don't understand is why he let her give up everything to do with him."

Lois looked at him confused and inquired his meaning of the latter statement as she began to eat her own lunch. She quite enjoyed the fact that Clark could now feed the children, as it gave her a bit more freedom in terms of when she could eat herself.

Sighing, Clark answered, "Well, before she met my dad, she was going to go to university to study to become a lawyer. Her father was a lawyer, so he was really edger for her to go into that business. She did go to university and began to study, but then she met my dad and, I don't know why, but she dropped out of university and married him. She left Metropolis and moved to Smallville. Why did my dad let her do that, considering he loves her so much? It makes no sense."

"Maybe it was her choice. Maybe she didn't want to follow the life her parents had planned out for her. She wouldn't be the first one to go and do it." Lois remarked, thinking of how she had rebelled against her own parents.

Clark shrugged. "Yeah, I know. It was her decision, but he shouldn't have let her give up her entire carer for him, to marry him. I just doesn't feel right. I mean, I love you with all my heart, Lois, and I would never ask you to give up your future for me."

Looking up from her lunch, Lois smiled and replied, "I know you wouldn't, Smallville. That's one of the many reasons why I fell in love with you." She paused, then added, "Maybe your mum really wanted to start a new life with your dad, though. I know it sounds awful, but human nature is never rational, is it?"

"When I was younger, they always told me about the first time they met. Do you remember the first time we met?"

Lois chuckled at the memory and took hold of her husband's hands. "Smallville, as much as I love you, I could never forget that. I'm very surprised that you haven't forgotten, considering the state you were in."

12 years earlier-Yale University…

At 18, Clark had only just began to drink alcohol and now, in bed with a splitting headache, he was regretting drinking so much the previous night. He knew that he should not have tried to impress his new friend and roommate, Oliver Queen. There was a part of him which did not trust the young man. He was very reserved, but Clark guessed that was one of the affects of being orphaned at the age of 10.

Clark opened his eyes and suddenly realised to things: he was not in his own room and that he was completely naked in somebody else's bed. As he looked around to his great horror and embarrassment, he saw that he was in a female's room, but there was no female to be seen, much to his relief. However, this relief was short-lived when the door opened. "Erm… why is there a stranger in my bed?" The girl's voice was soft, but it also had a tone to it, which made her sound formidable. Clark stood up and faced the speaker. The young woman's face showed shock as she saw that he was completely naked and Clark heard her murmur something to herself. There was a brief silence, before she walked over to the cupboard and passed him a blanket without looking at him.

Wrapping the blanket around him, feeling very embarrassed, he asked, "Who are you? What's your name?"

The young woman finally looked at him properly for the first time as she replied, "Lois. Lois Lane. Now, who the hell are you and why are you in my room?"

"I-er-I'm Clark Kent and I am so sorry for being… naked in your bedroom. I woke up in here with a hangover. I'm so sorry." As he began to calm down, he noticed how attractive Lois was and he blushed.

Lois bit her lip. "Ok, I don't mean to be rude, but you would mind leaving my room because I have to get dressed for class and I am not going to get dressed with you in here, no matter how open you are about your.. private parts." Clark blushed, then nodded. At the door, he stopped and said, "I hope that you and I will meet again soon, Lois Lane."

Nodding, Lois smiled, but when the door was closed she mumbled, "There is no way on Earth that I am ever going to become friends with him-no matter how good-looking he is. He won't remember me tomorrow anyway."

The next day, Lois made her way to the Student's Union and she sat down with her hot chocolate and books. "Lois Lane?" She looked up and saw Clark Kent standing in front of her.

"Wow-I'm surprised that you even remember my name, considering the state you were in when we last met."

Clark smiled as he replied, "I could never forget you." He suddenly looked really embarrassed and said, "I mean, er, our meeting was memorable… to say the least." He sat down opposite Lois. There was a long silence before Lois asked, "So, did you find your way back to your own dorm or did you walk into another girl's dorm and scare her?"

Laughing with more embarrassment than humour, Clark shook his head. "No, I didn't. My roommate wasn't very pleased when I turned up naked in our dorm, but I told him what happened." He did not want to tell her that he had told Oliver all about her, as he did not want her to know that he had feelings for her. He did not know if she felt the same way and, for that reason, he wanted them to be friends before anything else.

Lois finally looked up at Clark and their eyes met for a fleeting second and Lois began to feel something for him; she felt as if she knew him even though she had only just met him. Scared of this feeling and connection, she stood up and picked up her possessions. "I have to go, Clark." She paused, before adding, "I guess I'll see you around." As she walked away, Clark watched her and smiled to herself. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Oliver sat in Lois's place and asked, with a smile on his face, "Is that Lois Lane, then? I can tell that you like her already. Does she feel the same about you?"

"I don't know, but I know that I want to get to know her. I want to become her friend. Can you understand that?" Clark looked up at his friend, hoping that he would understand and he saw that he indeed did. Clark knew that he and Lois Lane would become friends, that was what he wanted more than anything.

Present day…

Lois and Clark were pulled out of their memory of the time they first met when there was a knock on the front door and Oliver walked into the house. "Hey, Clark. What's up? Lois said that you wanted to talk to me." As he walked in, he kissed Jane and Ben on the head before sitting down at the table. Clark threw his wife a thankful smile, before replying, "It's about my parents. I think there's something wrong with them."

Biting his lip, Oliver remarked, "Clark, I'm the last person you want to talk to your parents' problems about, trust me. I won't be able to help you."

"I trust you and just because you don't have parents of your own, doesn't mean that you can't help me." Clark assured his friend, with a sad smile. There was a silence, before he explained, "They were here to Christmas and everything was fine and normal. They were laughing and… they were happy. Then, this morning, after Lois had spent ages making them breakfast, they came down here with their bags and said that they had to leave because of some emergency on the farm. But what was really weird is that they didn't really look at each other. My dad looked really angry and my mum looked… broken. I must say, I was annoyed with them for being so rude to Lois."

Oliver threw Lois a knowing smile, before turning his attention back to Clark. "So you have no ideas what could have caused this transformation over night?"

"None at all," answered Lois, "they were fine. I mean, they argue like a normal married couple, but as I say, that's normal."

"I've never seen either of them like this before," remarked Clark, very worried now, "do you have any ideas what could have caused this?"

Shaking his head, his friend replied, "No. I mean, I can only think of one thing that would cause them to act that way, but your dad doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do that sort of thing." He avoided looking at Clark, as he knew that what he was implying would be considered as treason against Clark's parents' marriage.

Clark glared at Oliver and snapped, "My dad would never do a thing like that! He loves my mum too much and he honours their marriage vows. Your father may have done that, Oliver, but my dad actually loves my mum."

Fixing Clark with a deadly look, Oliver retorted, "I may have only known my parents for ten years, but I can guarantee that my dad never did anything of the sort. He and my mum were faithful to each other until the day they died." Both Lois and Clark could see the pain in their old friend's eyes as he spoke about his parents and the latter began to feel very guilty, so he murmured, "I'm sorry. When I get upset, I lash out. I didn't mean to offend or upset you." In response, Oliver nodded and said, "I'm sure your dad is exactly the same, Clark. He's a good man."

There was a long silence and Lois took charge of feeding the twins in order to have something to whilst her husband and his best friend sat in silence. Finally, Clark broke the silence by asking, "Have you seen Felicity recently?"

"Yeah, I saw her this morning. And I broke up with Kara, by the way."

"Why?" Lois asked, before Clark could do so.

Oliver looked down at his hands, then answered, "Because I'm still in love with Felicity and she's still in love with Jimmy, so our relationship wasn't fair on either of us. Anyway, I saw Felicity and she told me again that she no longer loves me. And, to add the icing on this wonderfully depressing cake, she is now dating another man."

Frowning, Clark asked who this person was and Oliver replied, sounding very annoyed. "How do you feel about that?"

Sighing, Oliver ran his hands through his hair. "How do you think I feel? I'm in love with her, she doesn't feel the same way about me anymore and she's with somebody else?"

Lois pulled Ben out of his chair and onto her knee. "Oliver, she's your friend, right? If she's happy, then isn't that the main thing? Maybe you have to let her go, it may be the best thing and her and Barry go well together."

"No, I can't let her go. I can't give up," Oliver insisted, "I've only ever loved three women in my life and I've already lost two of them to other man. I-I can't lose Felicity. I love her too much." He remained silent, then his phone buzzed and he stood up. "I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." With that, he stood up and walked out of the house.

Lois and Clark exchanged a look, then Clark pulled his baby daughter on his knee. "He has no choice," Lois observed, "he has to let her go. He can't do anything else, can he? She's with someone else, someone whom may suit her better than him. I know he loves her, but he has to move on. She left him for a reason and we all know that it wasn't really because of some job. There must have been more to it and Oliver must know that, deep down."

Upon arriving at the Queen Industries building, Oliver walked over to his closest security guard and asked, "Do you have any idea what this person was after, Simon?"

"No, Mr. Queen, but we do know that we caught them before they took anything. Oh, and Miss. Lance is waiting in your office. She said that she would very much like an audience with you, Mr. Queen."

Oliver made his way to his office. He opened the door and saw Felicity standing there. He walked past her, took off his jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Felicity hesitated for a second before answering, "Oliver, I wanted to tell you that I was seeing Barry, but-well-you didn't give me much of a chance, did you?" When he made no response, she continued, "If you really are in love with me, why are you not more bothered by me dating someone else? Does it really not bother you or are you just pretending that you're ok with it when it's killing you inside? Ok, I'm not going to stand here and talk to a brick wall. Barry and I are going out to dinner." As she began to walk away, Oliver finally looked up from his desk and asked, "Where are you going to dinner? You and Barry, I mean?" His tone was controlled.

Confused, Felicity stared at him, then answered, "Well, actually, we can't find anywhere, but we will." Oliver picked up the phone on his desk and spoke into it for a couple of seconds, before putting it down and informing her, "I've just solved that problem. I've just booked a table for you and Barry at one of the best places in Metropolis. A cab will be at your place to collect you at the 7." His fingers continued to fiddle with the phone as he spoke so that he had something on which to distract him.

Felicity walked over to him, frowning. In a gentle voice, she asked, "Why are you doing this, Oliver? I mean, you're in love with me, you should be trying to sabotage my relationship with Barry, not encourage it. Why are you being so nice?"

Sighing, Oliver looked up at her with his eyes full of sincerity and love. "You're my eldest friend, Felicity. All I want is your happiness and if Barry makes you happy, then I should help you. You're right, I do still love you, but… I have to let you go." Without saying anything, he walked around his desk and pulled her into a hug. He released her quickly and then returned to his work. Felicity stood there in silence, before nodding to herself and leaving the office.

As soon as the door was closed, Oliver rested his head in his hands, trying to focus on something apart from the constant pain in his chest whenever he saw Felicity. He still loved her, but Clark had been right: he had to let her go, no matter how much it broke his heart.

An hour later, Oliver made his way back to Lois and Clark's house, as he wanted to see how Clark was after worrying about his parents for the entire day. Upon entering the house, he walked into the living room where Lois and Clark were sitting together, reading their separate books. This solitude and peace was ended when the front door opened and Clark's mum walked in, with her suitcases in her wake. Lois and Clark stood up, Lois led Martha over to the sofa and sat her down and Clark rested the suitcases against the wall before joining his wife and mum of the sofa. He threw Oliver a look telling him that he wanted him to stay in the room, before turning attention back to his mum. "Mum, what's wrong? Why are you here? Is Dad ok?"

Martha whipped away the tears on her face and in her eyes. "Yes, Clark, your dad is fine. Yesterday, your father told me something. Something that I never thought I would hear from Johnathan Kent… He's been having an affair, Clark, with Nell Potter, Lana's aunt." There was a dead silence and both Lois and Oliver could see the devastation in Clark's face. Lois was the first one to recover from the shock and she asked, "For how long, Mrs. K?"

"5 years," Martha answered through gritted teeth, "I swear I hate him. He told me that he loves her in a way that he's never loved me, because she was his first love. I've left him, Clark. I was wondering if I could stay with you and Lois for a while. I haven't told Tess or Conner yet."

All Clark could do was to that question was nod, as he had lost the ability to speak. Lois threw Oliver a look, so he stood up and asked, "Mrs. Kent, how about I take your things up to the guest room? Get you settled in?"

Despite her anger, Martha managed to smile. "Thank you, Oliver. You're very kind." She went out of the room and Oliver followed, closing the door behind himself.

As soon as the door was closed and Martha was upstairs, Clark looked at Lois and began to cry. He was crying for his mum, crying for what he had always believed and cried because his childish dreams of the kind of man his man had been, his hero, had been shattered. He moved closer to Lois on the sofa and fell into her arms, hiding his face in her jumper. Lois held him in her own shaking arms. She kissed his head and murmured reassuring words over again and again. She did not understand his pain, but she knew that he needed to feel safe and loved and that was why she was there. In spite of all of the main of his mum's revelation, Clark felt safe in Lois's arms and he knew that he always would.