Diana woke up refreshed, she slept wonderfully. Looking at the clock on her phone, she saw it was 7AM. Unsure if it was proper etiquette to be up so early she opened the door slightly and stuck her head out. Martha and Jonathan's door was still closed, but she could hear sounds downstairs, it must have been Clark watching tv. Unsure if the Kents were still asleep she hovered just above the floor and floated downstairs to where the sound was coming from.
Clark didn't sleep well, every time he closed his eyes his mind was flooded with images of Diana. Her sleeping in what he still considered his bed did not help anything. During the night, he left Smallville and checked into the Watchtower just to see what was going on, nothing much. After that he did all of the farm work for the day, allowing his parents to sleep in for a while. Since he couldn't sleep he decided to relax and watch the sports highlights from yesterday's games.
"Morning Clark." Diana said happily as she walked into the den and sat down on the couch opposite Clark. "How did you sleep?"
First thing in the morning and she was still distractingly beautiful. Her hair was down and mussed, she hadn't even bothered to comb it before coming downstairs. Instead of an unkempt mess, he thought she might be even more beautiful. And of course he didn't miss the fact that she was barefoot again. His mind drifted back to the little bit of dreaming he did last night. Things started with him removing her shoes and massaging her feet, and things ended with her hair as disheveled as it was right now. He had to shake his head clear before he spoke.
"I didn't get much, this couch isn't really conducive to sleeping." That was only partially true, although he'd much prefer a bed, the couch wasn't that bad. The real reason he couldn't sleep was because of her, but he wasn't going to tell her that. "I checked into the Watchtower, and flew around for a while."
"Anything going on?"
"Not much." He looked up and checked up on his parents, they were still sleeping, so he could continue without them overhearing sensitive information. "Bruce stopped a huge shipment of drugs from getting into Gotham. I don't know what drug they were shipping in, but I heard the street value of it was something like 8 billion dollars."
"8 billion? Wow."
"Yeah, we should watch Bruce's back for a little while, because somebody is going to be furious at losing that much money, and that somebody will want retribution."
"Is he the only one of us in Gotham?"
"Zatanna is there for the next week or so. She's got some shows." Clark paused when Diana didn't say anything else. She turned towards the TV there were highlights from a baseball game on the screen, but she wasn't really watching. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere. "Zee was on duty when I checked into the tower. She asked about you. She's getting inquisitive again."
"Again?" That part of Zatanna usually irked Diana. She was always the most curious about her and Clark, and she could never put her finger on why. "What did you tell her?"
"The usual. I didn't want to say anything without talking to you about it first. It's not like we've announced anything to them, you said before that Bruce probably knows but he's not going to say anything."
"Would it be so bad?" She asked. "To tell the league we're together?"
"I guess not, no. Why? You want to tell them?"
Diana pondered. "I don't know. Maybe." Diana felt that at this point she was all in with Clark. She was enjoying the closeness she felt with him, and was looking forward to getting closer. But sometimes she wasn't sure where he was, sometimes he was closed off. When he returned from his walk yesterday, where it was assumed he went to see Lana, it took a little while before he was himself. He was normal by dinnertime, and then she forgot about it all when they kissed. She gave so much thought to the kiss last night that she didn't consider the myriad of emotions she felt for him on a day to day basis. She had take into account that her feelings went up and down constantly. Was this normal? She wanted to ask him where he went yesterday, but out of fear of being pushed to a low moment, she didn't, and hoped he would tell her eventually. She had to be patient.
"Want some breakfast?" Clark asked. "I was going to make some pancakes."
"Sure. That's sounds great."
The smell of maple sausage brought Jonathan and Martha downstairs. Clark was at work in front of the stove, tending the sausage patties, heating up the pancake griddle, and preparing a pan to scramble some eggs. Diana sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of fresh pancake batter in front of her, surrounded by several measuring cups and a set of measuring spoons. She had a little bit of flour on her shirt and a nervous smile on her face. She had mixed the pancakes, and despite Clark's insistence that everything would taste fine, she was still afraid that they would be awful.
"Mama you get the first batch." Clark said without even looking up. "Daddy you're next."
"Works for me." Jonathan said. "I'll grab us a couple of plates." Jonathan stepped to the cupboards and gathered place settings for each of them. Clark took the batter from Diana and started pouring it on the griddle. While Martha placed the measuring cups into the sink and cleaned anything that had been spilled on the table. Diana sat amazed at how they worked in unison. They didn't even have to say anything, and there was no impatience from any of them. On Themyscira the palace kitchens were always hectic, and nerves were often worn thin between the people working in them. There was a calm about the Kents, they had been doing this for years and it never bothered any of them. It wasn't long before everything was fully cooked, and they each had a stack of pancakes, some sausage and scrambled eggs in front of them.
"So, what are you two telling people about how you met?" Martha asked, as she poured maple syrup on her pancakes. "Surely someone has asked by now."
"We say we met at the gym." Clark answered. "She was on the bench press machine, and needed a spotter. So I came over and helped."
"Here it comes." Diana said sarcastically, as she knew where he was going next.
"It was a stroke of genius by me I think. It has a nice parallel to how we really met. You guys remember, her needing my help catching the plane. It all works, except for the fact that I don't get beat up in this story."
"I thought you were evil, and you tried to touch me, I didn't know what you wanted. That's why I fought you." Diana felt the need to explain with the Kents here, in hindsight she felt bad about her first reaction to him. "And for the record I didn't need any help with that plane."
"Is that right?" He said teasingly.
"Yes that's right." She replied combatively.
"Well, here's the thing. Everyone in the plane knew you were there, and yet they were still begging for Superman to save them."
"They were not."
"They were. You would not have landed that plane safely the way you were going."
"You think I'm not strong enough to land a plane?"
"I don't think that at all. But landing a plane isn't about strength, it takes some finesse. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Catching a plane is easy, doing it without killing everyone inside is hard."
Clark had a smirk on his face. Diana looked like she wanted to punch it off.
"I would have done just fine without you." She snapped.
"Keep telling yourself that."
Martha and Jonathan watched them in silence. It was interesting the way they went at it, at first it seemed Clark was acting out of character. Usually he was passive with everyone he met, but with Diana he wasn't, he was forward and sarcastic. He didn't have to worry about overpowering her, or feel like he was imposing anything upon her, because she could take it, and give back just as hard. She could stand up to him physically as well as mentally. Perhaps for the first time, they were seeing Clark as the man he wanted to be. The fact that Diana could bring that out of him, made it easy to love and accept her. Martha and Jonathan looked at each other and smiled, each had the same thought. This woman is right for their son.
After breakfast, they all retired to the living room, where Martha had pulled out several photo albums from storage. Some of the albums had to be stored very securely, as they had pictures of Clark showing off his powers. Clark sat on one sofa by himself, while Diana sat on the opposite sofa in between Martha and Jonathan. Martha handed her the first album, containing baby pictures of Clark.
"Aww look at him he's so cute!" Diana said with a huge smile. They were looking at a picture of Clark taken very shortly after he was found. He looked to be about four months old and was laying in the crib with a cowboy hat next to him. Diana thought he had the happiest look on his face that anyone could ever have.
The next hour was more of the same. His parents told more silly stories about him, but they didn't bother him so much this time. Seeing Diana smile was worth it, and seeing the joy on his parents faces sold it even further. They probably thought they'd never be able to share these things with anyone. Even his father, who was known for keeping his composure at all times was a little emotional about it. They were happy Diana was here, happy she was in their son's life.
Seeing Clark as a young boy gave Diana another perspective of him. Even as a baby he looked like himself, it was strange to see him like that. How could the chubby little baby in the picture turn into the big strong man in front of her? Looking at another picture she marveled at a three year old Clark standing next to Jonathan, they were both wearing suits and posing for the camera. He and Jonathan didn't really look alike, their facial structures were rather different, but in this picture they looked like a family. Diana was amazed with the Kents, amazed at how they could raise one of the most powerful beings in the universe into the most humble man in universe. They created an unbreakable bond with him, and she reveled in the fact that they seemed to include her in it as well.
Clark stood in a blue and white plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows, a blue necktie, grey slacks and black shoes, he was dressed and ready ten minutes ago. Now he was in the bedroom impatiently waiting for Diana.
"Why is it you can get dressed in three seconds, but yet I've been waiting for a week and a half for you to get ready to go?"
"Calm down I'll be right out." She shouted through the bathroom door.
About a minute later she stepped out, wearing a baby blue colored dress with a matching long sleeve sweater. "I had to make sure my hair looked right." She said, as she put on her black flat shoes.
He had to admit, her hair looked good, she wore it down, but without her tiara, it looked like her hair had more body. Maybe it was the way it framed her face, or maybe just the fact that he'd never seen it like this but it gave her a much more exotic look. This was a good thing.
"Shall we?" He asked, gesturing toward the door.
"Surely." She answered.
Upon entering the school Clark and Diana were greeted warmly by several staff members he didn't recognize. They set them up with name tags, and directed them towards the cafeteria where everything was taking place.
"I haven't been here in a long time. Things have changed." Clark said.
"It's been 10 years, did you expect them not to?"
"To be honest I don't know what to expect. As it is, Smallville is six years behind the rest of the country in just about everything, I would imagine the layout of the high school would be no different."
As they walked deeper into the cafeteria Clark began looking for some of his old friends. Deciding to act totally human tonight he chose not to use any super abilities to find anyone, that way it would be easier to be surprised. The music was playing, a few people were dancing, but most were mingling. While he searched, Diana wandered over to a wall of photos featuring Clark's high school class, of course she was searching for pictures of him. The first one she found was him in his football uniform with two other boys. He stood in the center with his helmet tucked under his arm. She couldn't help but think that him playing football was cheating. She smiled at the look on his face, he was trying to look intimidating, but it was clearly a fake look. In fact he looked ridiculous.
"Roids! My man, is that you?" A voice said, speaking to Clark.
"Wow!" Clark said surprised, as he turned towards the voice behind him. He knew who said it, before he even looked. "I didn't expect to hear that nickname ever again."
"Well, you look like you're still taking them. How are you doing Clark? Good to see you again."
"Good to see you too Kirk."
Diana heard Clark talking to someone, so she turned to see him greeting a man as one would an old friend. Quickly checking back to the picture, she saw that he was one of the boys standing next to Clark in the football picture, he was an old teammate. Looking back, she saw he was about Clark's height, but much larger in frame, probably about 300 pounds.
"So what are you doing these days? Surely you left the Ville by now."
"Oh yeah, I'm in Metropolis now, I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet."
"Daily Planet! Alright, not bad, not bad at all."
"How about you?"
"I live in Manhattan, I'm an electrician at Kansas State University."
"Oh alright."
"So let me guess, you and Lana, married, one kid already and maybe another on the way?"
"No actually. We uh... ended things right after college."
Clark and the big man continued their conversation, and when he mentioned marriage, Diana figure this was her queue to enter the conversation.
"But I did bring someone with me tonight." He turned to see Diana walking towards them. "Kirk, this is my girlfriend Diana Prince. Diana this is Kirk Alyn, he and I played football together."
"Yes, I saw your picture over there. It's nice to meet you Kirk." She said pleasantly, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you too Diana." He then turned back to Clark. "Well then Roids, it was good seeing you again, I'm gonna keep it moving, but I'm sure I'll see you again before the night is over."
Kirk stepped away, and Diana turned to Clark completely confused.
"Roids?" She asked.
"Short for steroids, that's what the football team called me back then, because as a freshmen I could weightlift on par with the seniors. So they joked I was taking steroids, hence the nickname."
"I see."
Clark and Diana moved around the room, sharing customary greetings with many. Diana was surprised at how superficial most of the talk was. It consisted of 'Where are you working now?' 'Are you married? Kids' 'How are your parents?' and not much else. Several people knew Clark worked at the Daily Planet, most didn't. The whole event seemed like a big bore to Diana, and she didn't think Clark was having the best time either. There were still people dancing, she hoped that she and Clark would get a chance to as well. At least then the night wouldn't be a complete waste.
"Clark Kent?"
Clark turned around to see his 9th grade English teacher.
"Mrs. Turner, hi."
"It's so good to see you Clark. I hoped you would make it. With you mingling with superheroes these days I wondered if you forgot about us in Smallville."
"I could never forget about this place."
"I liked your latest Wonder Woman article a lot. You have a talent Clark, you're able to find the real story with her, in a way nobody else has so far. You even convinced me to join the cause." Mrs. Turner lifted her arms to reveal a pair of Wonder Woman bracelets, they were the mid level style, metal cuffs with rhinestones. They looked nice, but had nothing on the genuine article.
"Fantastic, Wonder Woman would be pleased." Clark said.
Diana smiled, she was thrilled to see someone wearing them. She had been getting updates all weekend from Julia about pledges for them, but hadn't seen any since she'd been in Smallville.
"So tell me Clark, is this your girlfriend? Your wife?"
"My girlfriend. Mrs. Turner this is Diana, Diana, this is Mrs. Turner, she was my 9th grade English teacher. She was my favorite teacher in high school, and the early inspiration for me to become a writer."
"Oh stop it Clark." Mrs. Turner blushed a little, and paused. There was something she wanted to ask, and was trying to figure out the best way to go about it. "You know Clark, I'll never forget your end of year essay, about your adopted parents, I still tear up every time I read it. I've always wondered, did you ever look for your birth family?"
Clark paused to think, he wanted to tell her but didn't want to lie, he couldn't tell the whole truth so he had to be careful with his words. "Yeah I found them. They uh, passed away not long after I was born. But I was able to find out a little about them, who they were, where they came from. I even found a first cousin."
"You did! That's wonderful!"
"Yeah it is, she's... studying abroad right now, but I'm really looking forward to getting to know her better really soon."
Mrs. Turner decided not to ask any more, just by looking at him she could tell it was difficult for him. The whole town knew that the Kents couldn't have children on their own and that Clark was adopted. He never made much of anything about it, but anyone who knew him could tell that he wanted to know about his true origins. She was so glad he was able to find something.
Diana was determined to get him on the dance floor, and after speaking with few more people, including his best friend Pete Ross and Mr. Siegel, his gym teacher and football coach she did just that.
Lana Lang was much later than she wanted to be. Her mother's car didn't want to cooperate and it sputtered all the way to the school. She wasn't sure what to expect when she got there but seeing Clark on the dancefloor with a supermodel wasn't what she expected. She knew he was a great dancer, as she was directly responsible for that, but there was something else about him. He looked happy, he looked relaxed, in a way she hadn't seen before, he definitely didn't look like he was working particularly hard to not hurt his date. She guessed that over the past few years he's learned even greater control over his strength. It was good to see him like that, good to see him not alone.
Diana got herself another cup of punch, and watched Clark take pictures with some of the other football players. They were clowning around, doing some sort of chant, and standing in a circle, with Clark and Kirk in the center. She tried to figure out what they were saying when a young woman approached her. She was pretty, but looked a little apprehensive about speaking with her.
"Hello." The woman said, looking at her nametag. "Diana. I noticed you were dancing with Clark Kent, you're his girlfriend?"
"Yes I am."
"I'm Lana Lang. Clark's old... friend."
"Yes. He told me."
"Look I know you don't know me but could we talk for a minute... outside?"
"Sure."
Diana and Lana left the building, Clark was none the wiser, he was busy having a grand ole time with the guys. He was enjoying himself, something he hadn't expected to do.
Outside, the cool air was refreshing, so many people had made it hot inside. Lana wasn't sure why she wanted to talk to Diana or if it was even a good idea, but was going to give it a go. "I saw you two dancing in there."
"Oh, yes Clark is very good."
"Yeah, he's great." Lana reminisced a little, then continued. "He seemed happy."
"I think so."
"You seemed happy."
"Yes."
"That's good. I'm happy for you. Clark is the kind of man who deserves to be happy, he deserves every good thing this world has to offer. Coming from a small town like this I know that people... talk. I hear that Clark has been a little different lately, mostly about dating. I hope he hasn't been too distant with you."
Sometimes he was, sometimes he wasn't Diana noted, but didn't say anything.
"He and I were together for long time, but we ended pretty abruptly. Did he ever tell you?"
"No."
"Oh." Lana almost stopped, but felt Diana deserved the truth, or at least some form of it. So she continued. "After we finished college, he wanted to move to the big city, and take me with him. He asked me to marry him, but I turned him down. I said I couldn't be the woman he wanted."
"I see."
"I was afraid. Afraid of what might happen to him... us." Lana paused. "I don't know what I'm saying... I guess, just... you shouldn't be afraid, if you want him, accept him for who he is, and what he does. I cared about him, I really did, but as much as I wanted to, there were just some things I couldn't accept."
"You couldn't accept his decision to be Superman." Diana said, rather matter of factly.
Lana stepped back, afraid she had revealed too much. "What?"
"It's ok." Diana assured her. Lana was hurting, and had been for a while, in a way Clark probably didn't even know. "I understand. I don't know what the future holds for Clark and I, but I'm not afraid. I know his secret, and you don't have to hide from me."
Lana watched Diana remove her glasses in a deliberate manner. At first it didn't make any sense but then she saw it. Wonder Woman!
"Oh my... You're... I can't believe it." Lana now knew why Clark looked so happy, and why he wasn't holding back on the dance floor. Diana was as tough as he was, which meant he didn't have to. She was so glad for him. "This changes everything."
"Yes, I think it does."
"I just wanted you to accept it if he ever told you." Lana laughed. "I guess this worked out for the best. I always wondered if you knew who he was, with him always being the one to interview you, but I had no idea you were together. So all the rumors are true?"
"No not really, we only started dating about a month ago."
Diana and Lana spent the next 20 minutes talking before re-joining everyone else. Lana felt normal again. Living far away from Clark wasn't so difficult, even seeing him on the news every other day wasn't so bad. But the thought of seeing Clark again was a different story. She nearly didn't come back for the reunion, but once she learned he was bringing someone she was determined to meet and speak with her, despite the fact that she had no plan of what she was going to say. Of course she had no clue it would be Wonder Woman.
Back in the truck, Clark and Diana were heading home.
"So did you have a good time?" Diana asked.
"I did actually. Much more than I thought. There were a lot more people than I expected. Except for I didn't see Lana. Which is weird because I know she's in town."
"You saw her yesterday when you went for your walk?"
"Yeah." He wasn't sure why he didn't tell her until now.
"She was there. I saw her."
"Really?"
"Yes, she introduced herself after she saw us dancing, we talked for quite a while. She was pretty shaken up about you, so I told her the truth about me, about who I am. I think it calmed her down a little bit."
"Oh wow. What did she say?"
"She was glad, for both of us. It lifted a weight off of her shoulders."
"Oh, I guess there were some things I should have told you. I'm sorry I didn't."
"It's ok. I understand why you didn't, I think. No matter how strong you are, facing someone who hurt you is a very difficult thing." She thought of her mother, who was having such difficulty dealing with her pain.
Clark took another look at Diana. She was amazing. Any other woman would probably be furious at him for being so secretive about and ex girlfriend, but she wasn't. She was so forgiving, and understanding, he almost couldn't believe she was with him.
Martha and Jonathan were asleep when they returned so they floated through the house in order to not disturb them. Floating into the bathroom they brushed their teeth, then they took turns changing into their pajamas.
"Goodnight." He said, and started towards the door.
"Wait." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a kiss, it was brief, but it was still nice. "Now goodnight." She said after breaking it.
Before Clark could get comfortable downstairs on the sofa, he heard the voice again. Lana was calling him from the big tree. He didn't get to see her at the reunion, and they were leaving tomorrow, so now would probably be the best time for them to speak.
He flew out rather quickly, he didn't feel as bad as he did before. Diana seemed to have started the healing process for him, hopefully Lana could continue it.
"You were at home. I wasn't sure, I thought maybe you were out with Kirk and Pete." Lana said, she had been sitting at the base of the tree, apparently prepared to wait for a while. "I wanted to talk to you before, but you guys were getting rowdy, I didn't want to ruin the fun. Sorry if I woke you or anything."
"It's fine, we just got in not long ago. So what's up?"
"I spoke with Wonder... Diana. She told me everything."
"Yeah, she told me."
"That's really good, she seems good for you."
"Thanks."
"You said the other day, that you wanted to be friends again. So do I, but to do that there are things I need to get off my chest first."
"Ok."
"I loved you Clark, with all my heart, but I would not have been able to live with myself if we had stayed to together. I felt like being with you would be selfish, and that I'd never let you be who you really are. I would have held you back as Superman, because I wouldn't be able handle seeing you be hurt, without the ability to help you. I also would have held you back as a man. You can barely feel it when I touch you, and I know you said it didn't matter, but I know it would. Eventually you would have gotten frustrated and you would have resented me for it. I never wanted that. Please don't think I'm trying to hurt you again by saying this, but I want you to listen to me. Don't let any past hurt get in the way of your future. With Diana you have a chance to have what you truly want, a woman who can love you, and be loved by you in return. Don't ruin it because of something I did."
"Thank you." Clark said after several minutes. When he asked her to marry him, she just said no and that was the end of it. He never knew how she truly felt, to get it out there lifted a weight off his shoulders.
"Goodnight Clark."
"Goodnight Lana."
When he made it back to the house he felt good, really good. He liked to think that he had gotten over Lana years ago, but maybe he didn't. For the first time he didn't feel depressed when he thought of her. He had closure.
He also had Diana, who had seen just about every aspect of his life, and didn't look like she was going anywhere, anytime soon. It was a great feeling.