"I'm so happy! She's finally going to accept us being together." Diana beamed. They had flown back to his apartment in Metropolis. In her reverie she danced around his apartment like a ballerina.
"I don't know about accept. It's more like tolerate." Clark warned.
"She said you'll have the chance to earn her trust. That means she'll accept us in no time. Why don't you seem very happy about this?"
"I am happy about it." He said unconvincingly. "There's just more to it."
"What more?"
"The parting words. She basically said, that if I ever hurt you she'll murder me."
"No she won't." Diana assured nonchalontly.
"She won't?"
"Of course not. If you ever hurt me, I'd kill you long before she got a chance."
Clark was taken aback, she's just said that with such a straight face he actually believe she'd do it.
"Uh, define hurt." He said warily.
"Clark, it's fine. I won't let her hurt you. Besides, pretty soon she'll have to be chaperone for Donna."
"Oh man, I feel sorry for the guy who asks to date her."
"Is that why you told you you don't know any nice boys?"
"That and the fact that your mother is frightening. To put any guy through that, goes against man law."
"Man law?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Whatever. So what are we going to do tonight?"
"I want to just chill, I've got to work in the morning. As a matter of fact, I'm going to go jump in bed, and do nothing for the rest of the night "
"Oh yeah. I forgot about work." Diana said. "Can I stay the night anyway?"
"You may." He said, as he lumbered towards his bedroom, with Diana following. Once inside he kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt. Then he stopped at the foot of the bed and stared at it.
"What's the problem?" Diana asked, coming to stand next to him.
"I gotta figure out which side of the bed I want."
"Does it matter?"
"Yes it matters. As you have pointed out, I need balance in my life. This is actually more of a dilemma than I realized, before you said something I was unconscious of all of this symmetry. Now I'm going to be extra OCD."
"How about I just take the left side, like I did in my bed?"
"Alright. Wait... No. I don't know."
Diana didn't want to deal with any of this, at first she thought he was doing this on purpose to get her back for purposely throwing the furniture off balance, but on second thought, he was serious.
So she tossed him into the center of the bed, dove on top and kissed him. She pinned his arms above his head, and held him underneath her. "Does it really matter that much?"
"I think I'll get over it." He said.
"Good."
Diana rolled off him, and stood up to spin out of her clothes into a red silk nightgown. It was much more revealing than the others she had worn in front of him. It showed off more leg, and more cleavage. Clark tried not to look like he was staring, but had the feeling that he was failing miserably at it. He quickly changed into his signature sleepwear, a pair of gym shorts, and started towards the bed before Diana stopped him.
"Do you like my gown?" She asked, spinning around for him like a model.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." He took the opportunity to get a really good look at her.
"Good." She smiled, then lightly raked her fingernails down his chest and torso, stopping at the waistband of his shorts. Her hands lingered there, and she stared into his eyes with a mischievous smile. Clark couldn't tell what she was doing, or what she wanted.
"Tell me something Clark. Do you ever use your x-ray vision to look at me?"
"No." He answered honestly, but with caution in his voice.
"Really? So you're not even tempted?" She stepped back, and poked her chest out towards him a little bit. His eyes dropped briefly, before returning to her eyes.
"Not really." He said it casually, but that was a total lie, he was tempted constantly, but always refrained. He decided that it would be all the more rewarding when she allowed him to see her.
"Such control for the great Kryptonian." Diana remarked, "Honestly Clark I don't know how you do it. If I could, I would watch you all the time."
"Is that right?" Clark decided to go along with the game she was playing, figuring he could enjoy himself a little bit too. Still in the back of his mind he thought she was just testing him.
"So would you watch me when I do this?" He lifted his right arm and flexed his biceps.
"Oh yes," She said, as she rubbed her hands across his arm. "Such a big strong man to keep me warm at night. Come to bed."
She took his hand and pulled him to the bed, where she had him lay down first. Then deliberately climbed over him, making a point to brush over his aroused body. She had felt him like this before, on the beach after their swimming session but this time was different. This time it was her intention to get him excited. She kissed him deeply, laying on top and holding him close.
"Good night." She then said, and pulled away abruptly. Without another word she turned over and looked to get settled in for sleep.
It was then, that Clark realized she was just playing him. Getting him all riled up, just to leave him in the cold. He had the feeling that this would be the first of many times where she would use her sexuality as a weapon against him. He also had the feeling that she would win every battle against him with it as well. He supposed it could be worse.
Diana had been trying to get a feel for him, and his levels of control. She trusted Clark with her life, but she still didn't like the idea of giving up total control. Having sex would mean just that, allowing him complete and intimate control over her, as an Amazon it was a difficult thought to allow that. As it was, it was only a few days ago that she decided she would actually have sex with Clark. Before that, there were only passing thoughts, and of course the occasional erotic dream.
In her fantasies he was perfect, doing exactly what she wanted, exactly the way she wanted it, but she knew the real thing would be different. He could lose his incredible control, and be driven by his body instead of his mind. Lack of control was something she's never seen from him, it was something she had to mentally prepare herself for. Part of her wanted to jump him and get it over with now, but the other part wanted to wait, wanted to carefully weigh her options after speaking with him about it.
That's what they would do, they'd have a long talk about likes and dislikes, wants and desires. That would calm Diana's nerves. She decided that this talk would come at the earliest possible convenience, however that wasn't tonight, after teasing him like she did, and so soon after her mother left town this was not the right time. Maybe tomorrow after work, maybe the next day, either way it would be soon.
Diana woke up to a soft buzzing sound, Clark wasn't in bed with her so she assumed he was making whatever noise she was hearing. She stood and walked towards the sound, finding Clark in the bathroom cutting his hair.
He stood shirtless in with his back to the wall mirror with a what outwardly looked like cordless Oster Classic 76 clippers in one hand, and a small handheld mirror in the other. He was working on the back of his hair, looking to be deep in concentration, not wanting to make a mistake.
"Good morning." He said casually, without looking at her or breaking his concentration.
"Good morning. You're cutting your hair. How often do you have to do that?"
"Every couple of weeks."
"What are you using to cut it? Those look like regular clippers."
He silently stopped cutting and handed her the clippers. The weight was unexpected, it was nothing in her hand but for something so small it weighed a lot.
"It's heavy. You made these yourself?"
"Yup, this bad boy is about two hundred pounds. The blades are made from Kryptonian alloy and the motor is powered by a Kryptonian solar crystal, which is what makes it so heavy."
"I see. I always wondered how you kept your hair short. Always assumed you cut it like everyone else did, since your hair is so soft. I had no idea."
"It feels soft, but just like the rest of me; stronger than diamonds. Speaking of hair, I like yours right now."
Diana looked into the mirror and was surprised he would like how she looked.
"I look a complete mess? You like this?"
"I don't think you should leave the house like that, but when we're alone, I like the look." He imagined that's what she would look like after a long night of lovemaking. After last night, he wanted even more to see her that way.
"I don't know why you would like me like this. But whatever, I'll let you finish." Diana left his bedroom, while he finished with his hair.
20 minutes later Clark came out of his room, freshly showered and dressed for work. He was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of Diana in his kitchen. She was bent over looking through something in the bottom of his refrigerator. He had a clear look at her exquisite derriere. He'd have to fly to work if he didn't stop staring, but at the moment he didn't care.
Diana heard Clark step into the kitchen, but couldn't see him. "You know, sometimes I really hate having to be so careful not to break things. This package shouldn't have been this difficult to get to." Diana said, finally standing up with a package of breakfast sausage in hand.
Clark was only vaguely aware that she had said something. "What?"
"Nothing." Diana responded, realizing what he'd just been doing. "So did you like what you saw?"
"Uh, yeah?" He hoped she wouldn't be angry.
"Good. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes. Headed out the door right now."
Diana put the food on the counter, walked up and gave him a big hug. "Have a wonderful day!" She said giving him several loud kisses.
"What are you going to do all day?" He asked.
"I figure I'll go to the watchtower for a while, just to see what's going on. But, I will be here when you get back."
"Alright, I'll see you then. Bye."
"Bye!"
He walked out the door, while she went back to prepare some breakfast. Figuring sausage and toast should be easy enough.
On the way out, he looked through the walls back into the apartment, Diana was placing a pan on the stove. Just to be safe he went back and yelled from the doorway. "I'd appreciate if you didn't burn down the building!"
"Shut up!"
He laughed as he closed and locked the door, this time leaving for good.
The Watchtower was rarely busy in the morning, but given the lack of world trouble it was even more dead than usual. Diana made her way to the cafeteria, there were only three people there. Wally was unsurprisingly working on a stack of pancakes and John Henry was standing up from a seat next to Zatanna.
"Thanks Johnny!" Zatanna called as he was leaving.
"You're more than welcome." He said with a smile. "Good morning Diana."
"Good morning John Henry." She responded.
He didn't break stride, exiting the cafeteria and walking down the hall briskly.
Looking back, Wally was in a zone with his food, talking with him wouldn't be a very good idea, so she chose to head towards Zee.
"Hello Zatanna, do you mind if I join you?" Diana asked.
"Diana hi! Not at all, have a seat."
"So what brings you here so early?"
"Food, I am so sick of take out I just had to have something cooked with some... umph."
"Umph?"
"I guess? That's not really the best word, I just wanted something that was made by someone I know. John Henry was kind enough to make some breakfast for me."
Diana looked at the plate of sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy in front of Zatanna. It looked much better than the over cooked sausage and burnt toast she made herself before she left Clark's.
"So how are things going with you and Clark?" Zatanna finally asked. Diana wondered how long it would take for her to ask about him.
"We're wonderful, we had a wild weekend, but we made it."
"Rough patch?"
"Not really, it's just my mother paid us a visit. She showed up out of the blue and caught us in bed together."
Zatanna began coughing, hard. Diana's words were a complete shock. "Zee are you ok?"
Zee held up one finger to signal 'just a minute' to Diana while she took a big drink of grape juice, attempting to combat the coughing.
"Your mother caught you in bed with Clark? Wow." She finally said after regaining her composure. "I bet she was mad. I know if my dad would have caught me doing the nasty with some guy he would have flipped out!"
"The nasty? No, no! We were just sleeping." Diana insisted.
"Whatever you say Diana." Zatanna said sarcastically. "So what happened?"
"She walked in on us, and attacked Clark. Eventually we went to his parents house, they were able to calm her down."
"Woah, you met his parents?"
"Yes, this was the second time I been to Smallville."
"Sounds like you two are getting awful cozy together."
"I suppose." Diana wanted to tell someone about herself and Clark, she wasn't sure why she let Zatanna of all people be the first to hear it, but she was the only one here. Except Wally. "Wait. What happened to Wally?" Diana looked around not seeing him anymore.
"He was here earlier. He must have left."
"I hope he didn't hear any of that." Diana worried.
"It's fine, he's a guy they don't gossip like we do... So tell me, what's Superman like in bed?"
"Excuse me?" Diana was taken aback. Zee wasn't joking about gossip.
"Come on Diana, you're living the ultimate fantasy of every woman on the planet! You have to tell me, what's he like? Is he fast, slow, gentle, rough? Come on tell me?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please girl, you have to tell me, did he make you scream, did you make him scream? Did you break the bed what?"
"Zatanna! We were sleeping, we haven't had sex yet."
"What?" Zee shouted. "You were serious? What are you waiting for? You've got Superman in your bed and all you do is sleep? I can't believe I'm hearing this."
"We did get caught. Why does it matter so much to you anyway?"
"I want to live vicariously through you. Diana it's not all about you, this is getting down with Superman we're talking about, you must understand you do this for women everywhere!"
So this must be it, this is why Zatanna always asked questions about her and Clark, she wanted him for herself.
"Diana." Zatanna continued. "I know Clark has had a few girlfriends, but I feel like he isn't the kind of guy to get down with just any girl. He turned me down a long time ago, because he wasn't in love with me. If you get a chance at that, not just the sex but the love too, go for it. And then give me details."
"So you don't want Clark for yourself?"
"Not if he doesn't want me. Besides he's yours, and I'm happy for you."
That calmed Diana's nerves considerably. She didn't like the idea of another woman going after Clark, the fact that Clark turned her down was also a good thing. After that, the conversation shifted, to different topics, such as Diana's next moves for her foundation, upcoming events for Zatanna, the latest league gossip, and strangely enough, interior design. Apparently it's something Zee has been passionate about since she was young. Diana was happy to have a little girl talk, usually the only time she got it was with Shannon, only this time she didn't have to leave certain things out. There was good and bad about talking with Shannon, Diana didn't like lying to her, but Shannon was great for keeping her grounded.
Zatanna on the other hand seemed to be easily distracted, mid sentence she zoned out began looking past Diana. Something had caught her eye.
"Zatanna, what are you looking at?" Diana asked, looking behind her, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary. John Henry and Ollie were each getting themselves a bottle of water.
"Oh my." Zee said absently.
"What? What are you seeing that I'm not?"
"Did you ever notice how cut John Henry is?"
Diana looked back at John Henry, he was wearing workout clothes and was sweating heavily, as was Ollie, she could only assume they had been in the gym. "He's in very good shape. Why?"
"You think he's single?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe it's the breakfast talking, or maybe it's just his glistening biceps, but John Henry Irons can get it. Why didn't notice before?"
Diana figured it was because she was eyeing Clark. "You should go for it, he may be into you." Diana said.
"Should I?... he's built like a tank, he's really smart, and apparently a great chef." Zee lifted up her empty plate to demonstrate that point. "Do you really think he'd go for me?"
"I think so, and if you're interested in him, you should tell him. It's what I did with Clark." Diana hoped if she was going for John Henry she would forget about Clark. "I could tell him for you."
"No!" Zatanna yelped, causing both John Henry and Ollie to look up at her. "Don't do that." She whispered. "I'll tell him myself."
Clark wondered what was going on, Lois was taking him out for lunch. This often meant she wanted something from him, as she was in the bathroom at the restaurant he worried about what it could possibly be. The last few times she'd taken him to lunch was to get him to cover for her while she followed some dangerous lead or source, all of which ended in Superman rescuing her. She returned to her seat with a big smile on her face, that couldn't mean well for him.
"Clark, I want to thank you." Lois began.
"You do?" He was surprised.
"Yes, your little talk the other day opened my eyes to what I really wanted."
"Is that right."
"Yes. I realize I don't want a long term relationship with one person, the thought of waking up and seeing the same guy every day for rest of my life isn't all that appealing to me."
"I see, but didn't you say you didn't want to be lonely?" Clark pointed out.
"That's true. I did say that, and I've come up with the perfect solution."
"You're going lesbian?" Clark joked.
"Hell no!" Lois shouted, making several other patrons turn and stare at her.
"Woah, sorry." He didn't think she would get that mad.
"Is that what you think about all day? A couple of hot chicks gettin it on?" Lois questioned.
"No, I don't think about that at all. Getting back to the subject, what's your brilliant plan?"
"My brilliant plan? Oh right! Clark, I have decided that I'm going to have a baby!"
Clark didn't look convinced, he kept a straight face, waiting for the punchline. When it didn't come, he became skeptical. "You, a baby?"
"Yeah."
"Okay? So who's gonna be the lucky daddy?"
"See, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"No, no no. I am not donating anything."
"I wasn't going to ask that. Don't worry Smallville, I'm not that desperate."
"Alright, I just wanted to be clear."
"I understand, but as far as the daddy goes, I haven't figured that part out. I don't know if I'd want to go through a clinic, or just find somebody, but maybe it would be a better idea to adopt. What do you think?"
"I like adoption. It worked out pretty well for me. The clinic thing seems a little sketchy. I've heard some horror stories about those."
"As have I, and since I don't know anybody who I'd be willing to procreate with, that leaves adoption. Now I know it's not easy for a single woman to adopt, but it's worth a thought. My real question is, do you think I'd make a good mother?"
"Am I really the best person to ask? I mean... have you talked to your sister, or maybe your mom?" Clark asked.
"No, I haven't talked to them yet. You seem to be my voice of reason these days, I wanted to get your opinion first."
Clark tried to imagine her with children. "Let's see, you're impatient, quick to anger, and very judgemental. I don't know if that's those are the best traits for motherhood. However, when you put your mind to something, you're good at making it happen. Parenthood is serious stuff, you can't count on Superman saving you from that."
"I know, I know. Adoption takes a long time anyway, especially for a single woman. I guess I've got time to change my mind, but I definitely know that I need to make some changes in my life. I don't want to go on the way I am."
"Well, whatever you decide I'll be there for you. I'm always your friend." Clark assured. It was good that Lois wanted to make changes, it would probably mean less work in the cape. Which was beginning to be a good thing. Also because he wanted to see Lois happy.
Diana had a nice time spending most of the day at the watchtower, there wasn't very much activity on board, but she did discover why she hadn't been asked to be Bruce's backup yet. It was because he hadn't been going out for the last week, all he's done lately is monitor duty. She wondered briefly what he was actually doing, but then figured he had everything in hand.
She was now returning to Clark's apartment. With her she had a small bag of clothes and personal items. He wasn't home, so she went to to work at find a place to stash a few things, since she was here so often, and expected to be visiting more often, she figured leaving a few outfits couldn't hurt. The chests of drawers were full, most of them were filled with button up work shirts that were still wrapped in plastic, so she opted for the walk-in closet.
As expected, everything was color coordinated, black suits, gray suits, blue and brown, all balanced perfectly. He had more space than clothing, and plenty of extra hangers so she just hung up a few of her own things, a few dresses, and several pairs of pants. Then she folded several tee shirts and sweaters on a shelf next to some items of lingerie. Finally two nightgowns, the most revealing ones she owned, were placed in the chair at the left side of the bed. It would be several hours before he returned from work so she picked a book off of one of his shelves and made herself comfortable in the living room.
Clark came home hours later with a bag of groceries, Diana said she would be there when he returned, so he picked up something to eat. "Hello." He called out as he entered.
"Hi Clark!" Diana said happily. She was glad he was finally home, she got bored with the book she picked out rather quickly, and spent the rest of the time watching a marathon of NCIS on television. "What do you have there?"
"Fruit punch, maple syrup, flour, and some chicken wings." He said as she joined him in the kitchen. "Tonight, we're having one of the best meals that anyone could ever have, that doesn't involve macaroni and cheese."
"And what would that be?" Diana asked.
"Chicken and Waffles."
Clark fried the chicken and made the waffles, and they ate dinner while watching TV. They talked briefly about their days, Diana about her talk with Zatanna and her apparent interest in John Henry. Clark about Lois' decision. Other than that conversation was sporadic at best, Diana was trying to figure out how to bring up the intimacy had been racing through her mind. She couldn't tell if he was purposely avoiding it, but she knew it was on his mind as well, instead of addressing the elephant in the room he just went on and on about how much he loved chicken and waffles.
Clark's phone rang. "I'm not here!" Clark complained before answering.
"Who is it?" Diana asked.
"Bruce." He answered the call. "Hello? Alfred, what's up?...He did what?... Really?... Alright we'll be right there." Clark hung up the phone laughing.
"What's going on?" Diana asked.
"We need to get to Gotham. This is too funny."
During the flight to Gotham, Clark could barely contain himself explaining the situation to Diana. Once she figured out the story, she had a hard time keeping herself together. By the time they reached the underground entrance to the Batcave they had regained their composure, but the second they were greeted by Alfred they burst out laughing again, and Alfred joined them.
The Batman sat in the shadows of on the top of a high rise business building in downtown Gotham. He was in an awful mood, he needed to ask for help, something he hated to do. He asked for the kind of help he'd only trust Clark or Diana with, because he knew they'd be discreet. Unfortunately when they were alone, they would never let him hear the end of this one. This was the first night he'd gone on patrol in a week. He got tired of being babysat by a super powered leaguer, so he decided to take a break, tonight he told the tower he was staying in again, but went out anyway. Now he was stuck here.
"We brought your hog!" Batman heard the familiar man's voice from behind him. He turned startled, hating that they were able to sneak up on him. Sitting on the batcycle were Superman and Wonder Woman. Just by looking at them he knew he'd never live this one down. Superman sat on the bike gripping the handlebars while Wonder Woman sat behind him with her arms wrapped around his neck, and her head resting on his shoulder. They both had big grins on their faces.
"What happened?" Diana asked, she clearly knew what happened, but was taking the opportunity to needle him.
"You know what happened." The Batman answered gruffly.
"No we don't." Clark said innocently, getting only the famous 'Batman staredown' as a response. Not one to be intimidated by that look Clark continued on. "I have no idea why Alfred wanted us to bring you the batcycle. I have no idea why it was so important that only me and Diana can know about it."
"You have to say it." Diana announced. "Otherwise we won't put the bike on the street."
Batman sighed angrily, and mumbled an unintelligible sentence.
"I heard you, but I'm sure Diana didn't. Say it so humans can understand it."
"Catwoman stole the Batmobile." He repeated through gritted teeth.
Clark and Diana paused for a moment with straight faces, but then cracked up again.
"What is it with Catwoman?" Clark asked. "Because you just go to pieces whenever she's around."
"Just put the damn bike on the ground and get out of here!" The Batman demanded.
"Well someone's a little cranky." Diana chortled.
"Why don't you just let her keep it for a while, she'll bring it back." Clark suggested.
"Damnit Kent!"
"You just have no sense of humor." Clark said dryly. He and Diana got off the bike, and he lifted it up over his head, then jumped off the roof with it. Before Batman could use his cable-gun to zip down to the ground Diana picked him up and floated him down. Granted the situation wasn't life threatening, Batman hated to be flown, by either Clark or Diana, but today it was much worse than normal.
On the ground the Batman didn't say a word, he just jumped on the Batcycle and rode off quickly.
"You're welcome!" Diana called as he sped away.
"That was fun." Clark observed.
"Very."
Back in Metropolis, Clark figured there was nothing else to do but go to bed. Diana followed him home, and when she changed into another very revealing nightgown he realized she was planning to stay. He changed into his usual sleepwear, but stood at the foot of the bed awkwardly.
"What is it this time?" Diana asked.
"Can we switch sides? It'll make me feel better."
"Whatever Clark." Diana relented, climbing into bed on the opposite side she was in last night.
"This is much better." He admitted.
"You like that side better?"
"Not really, I prefer the middle, but at least with the flipping of the sides I feel a little more in balance." He said as he settled in.
"Okay." She said dismissively. Diana became concerned about his need for balance, since she pointed it out to him he complained about it all the time. It was beginning to get annoying.
Diana laid in bed next to Clark, but didn't move close to him. If he came to her she wouldn't shy away, but she was punishing herself. She was punishing herself for not having the courage to bring up the sex talk she'd been thinking about all day. She meant to bring it up several times throughout the night, but chickened out each time. She felt she didn't deserve to cuddle, so she just concentrated on sleep.
Several hours later Clark got up to get himself a glass of water. He stood at his kitchen counter drinking, and scanning the apartment. Diana was there alone for much of the day, he was looking to see if she moved anything.
Then he saw it, in his closet. He almost missed it, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. But inspecting further by going back into his room he saw a sight that scared him half to death.
She put her clothes in his closet.
"What the hell!"