It ended up being so much more than a one off. Clark soon found himself being cornered by Richard in a variety of places; He found that he was completely unable to say no.
He went to bed in the early hours of the morning thinking about the way Richard would throw his head back, showing off that long stretch of neck while he panted out Clark's name. He dreamt about the way Richard would dig his fingers into Clark's back, leaving long scratch marks. He definitely kept remembering how Richard would happily drop to his knees and wrap his mouth around Clark if only he asked... Or looked at the man in a particular way, apparently.
He felt a great deal of guilt with regards to Lois. He was having her fiancé in every way that he shouldn't. He tried to alleviate the problem by reminding himself that she wasn't having Richard, in any way shape or form anymore. She didn't even glance at him.
Even throughout the start of the preparations for Christmas, they grew closer. He soon found that he genuinely enjoyed spending time with Richard. The man spent a great deal of time worrying about Jason; Richard was under no illusion that his engagement with Lois was going to hold out for much longer, though his assuring Clark that it would have happened sooner or later was not helping.
Richard kept reminding him that they had been having problems for years, that Lois had always been waiting for someone else (though he tactfully didn't say Superman) and that Richard had just been there when she had been a few months pregnant and needed someone stable to hold her hand.
Clark kept assuring him that he was not going to run off with Lois and raise Jason with her. It was distressing Clark because Richard seemed to be waiting for her to take his son away from him. The fact that it was his name on the birth certificate and the fact that Lois would be unable to keep up her hours at work and raise a child did not seem to stem the man's worry.
Clark had, after several weeks, decided the easiest way to deal with this was to distract him; and Clark took a large amount of pleasure out of distracting Richard. As much as he enjoyed it when Richard would corner him, push him down into a chair (or onto the ground) and then threw himself at him, Clark loved picking the smaller man up and pinning him to the wall; there was something about their size difference that drove Clark mad. It was a new thing, he hadn't cared about it with Lois, other than making sure he was careful with her.
When he had sex with Richard, they tended to come out with scratches and bite marks over their entire bodies. At least, they had for the first three months; these past few weeks, Richard had refused to do anything rough, demanding instead that they go slowly... gently...
Clark didn't mind, prolonging the time they spent together, writhing together... He would do it all day every day if he didn't have work and his duties, even though the man had taken up the unusual habit of sniffing Clark all the time. He could just as happily spend his time cuddling Clark, his face mashed up against his armpit as he could having sex.
He smiled quietly and looked up wondering where Richard was. Out the corner of his eye, Clark saw Lois storming towards him, her expression set and her teeth grinding. He turned slightly, feeling slightly concerned. It only lasted a moment. He guessed the problem when she slapped him and demanded he stand in the corridor with her.
"How dare you?"
"L-Lois?"
"How dare you take Richard from me?"
"What? I don't-"
"Don't play ignorant!" she snapped, her eyes wild. "Richard told me this morning about your little affair."
He stared at her in shock for a moment, before recalling how Richard had been trying to telling him something yesterday before Clark had gone down on him. Oops...
"I... Lois, I-"
"Oh no, you are listening right now, Clark. Not talking."
He nodded his head, not daring to interrupt her again.
"We were happy. Don't you get that? I'll admit, we may have been a little distracted from each recently, but I had thought that was due to work; not you." She gave him a disgusted look; he resisted the urge to scuff his toes like a child. "Why? After all this time, I thought it was me you wanted. You always used to trail after me like some lost puppy."
"What?"
"Quiet. Now, Richard may have broken off our engagement for this... thing that you have but if you are with him bec- " she choked slightly, her eyes going watery for a moment. "If your thing with him is some weird Lois by proxy thing, I will make you regret it."
Clark felt his jaw drop at her words; this, he had not been expecting. He opened his mouth to reply, but she held up a hand to stop him; indicating that she wasn't done yet.
"Richard is a good man. You had better be here to stick around, because we had both been on rebound when we started our relationship. Let me assure you, seeing Richard hurt is not something I will ever go through again."
"Rebound? No..."
"Good." She said softly, her relief evident for just a moment. "You had better have spare storage space. Richard is moving in."
"You kicked him out?"
"Don't sound so surprised, Clark. Of course I did." She sounded so exhausted that Clark wanted to say something comforting to her. However, he kept his mouth shut and just nodded again. She turned to leave, but paused for a moment, glancing back. "Tell him I expect him at the house at 8.30 tomorrow to take Jason to school."
Clark just nodded again, his heart relaxing slightly at those words. Lois wouldn't completely estrange Richard from his son. Heading back over to his desk, he sat down again feeling very aware of the stares and whispers that were following him. People had just seen Lois heading back in while wiping tears from her eyes.
He stared at his computer screen, debating doing his work. He ought to, but he would prefer to go see how Richard was doing. He was most likely at his house, packing his life up; perhaps he would need some space.
In the end, Clark headed over after lunch. He checked the house to make sure it was empty except the one person he was after, then he flew in the window and moved silently downstairs, where Richard was sat on the sofa, staring blankly at nothing.
"Richard?" He spoke softly. Seeing no reaction, he walked over and knelt down in front of him. "Richard?"
Richard raised his watery blue eyes, opening his mouth to speak; no sounds came out and the man just leant forward to rest his head against Clark's shoulder. The larger man simply rested a hand on his shoulder. He didn't say a word.
"Lo- Lois talk to you then?" He whispered after a few moments, in a voice that was hoarse from crying.
"Yeah."
"She'll never let me see Jason again." His voice hitched in the middle, but the man kept his face hidden on Clark's shoulder.
"You will." Now, Clark moved; he pulled Richard off and looked him straight in the eyes. "You are taking him to school in the morning. You have to be here at half eight to get him."
"R-Really?"
"I don't know what will happen later, but if Lois is letting you see him again straight away then hopefully it will be okay." He spoke in a deep voice, trying to be reassuring. Richard smiled and nodded, leaning fully into Clark.
"I'm staying with you then?" Even as Richard shifted to sit in his lap, Clark could feel him tensing up nervously again.
"Of course." He kissed his head, unsure of what exactly to say to reassure him, but after a moment what he had managed seemed to be enough.
"Should probably go get my stuff then."
"I guess so."
"Suppose if I'm picking him up, I get to keep the car."
"Yeah."
Richard remained fully against him for a little longer, before pulling himself up. Clark stood up smoothly and followed the man up the stairs to help him with his bags.
"Need to call a taxi."
"It's ok, Richard. I'll do it." He turned around and headed back downstairs to the phone, taking a few moments to remember the number for a taxi firm.
That night, Clark had expected them to just go straight to bed for sleep, but Richard surprised him by pulling his head down for a deep kiss, pressing his body close.
"Now?"
"Yes. Horny."
Richard had already stripped off and was standing by the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. Clark took a moment to admire the man as he removed all of his own clothing; his strong thighs, his slim hips, his... Clark frowned for a moment. Richard's belly wasn't as flat as it had been. It didn't really look like fat though.
His chest was slightly... puffier too... Clark frowned for a moment as he looked deeper. Richard scowled, sitting down and covering himself up when he saw Clark's declining interest.
"Oh!" Yelped the larger man, his eyes going wide as he stared. "T-That's impossible."
"What is? That I got fat? Thanks... but it's only a little."
Richard's face crumpled slightly, his already emotional day coupling with a sudden attack on his self esteem. Clark sat frozen, unable to make himself say anything. It wasn't until Richard went and began pulling a pair of pyjama bottoms out of his bag that the hero did anything.
"You- You aren't fat, Richard. That isn't fat in there." He was aware of his voice going higher as panic and confusion began to set in.
"Start talking sense or shut up and let me sleep." Richard snarled, the hurt on his face clear.
Clark walked over and fell to his knees, unable to tear his eyes away. His hands grasped Richard's hips, but his attention was higher up than it usually was when he knelt down like this.
"Clark?" Richard still sounded hurt, but a little scared now as well.
"You... She's beautiful." He breathed.
"She? What are you on about?"
"Richard..." Clark pulled his eyes up to look into the face of his lover. He didn't know how to express what he was feeling or even what was happening.
"What?" Richard was definitely starting to look frightened. He crouched down to look at Clark properly.
"She..." He trailed off, and then simply pulled Richard into his arms, taking both comfort and confidence from the feel of their skin touching. "You... There is a child. In you."
"What?" Richard half laughed the word, trying to pull back. Clark didn't let go.
"We should go to a doctor. There is a little girl in you."
"Is there really?" Richard sounded sarcastic. "And what does she look like?"
"She is beautiful. She's so small; she has little hands, little feet. She doesn't seem to move much, but I don't know if that is normal. I can hear her heartbeat."
"I'm pregnant..." He didn't sound so sarcastic anymore though, confusion was bleeding through.
"Yeah." He whispered.
"Huh... Well, that's impossible."
"Yeah." They sat together for a few long moments, neither one really sure what to say.
"You got me pregnant." Richard's voice was somewhat indignant now, as though he had made a start to collect himself.
"Yeah, I- apparently."
"Huh... Can we go lie down?"
Clark stood up, picking Richard up as he went and setting him down on the bed. Richard pulled the unmade bedcovers up over, but held them up until Clark climbed in beside him.
"You have a little girl inside you." He said gently.
"Yeah. I got that bit. We'll have to go to the doctor's first thing, I guess."
"Second thing. You have Jason."
"Oh, right. After that. Cool, he'd going to have a half sister."
"Swell." Murmured Clark, his head still reeling.
"You won't leave me now, right?" Richard's voice was soft, as though he was aiming for cool. He didn't quite make it and Clark had a feeling that he was thinking of Lois and Jason... and how he had left them before the child was born.
"Never."
They did not end up going to the doctor's, at least not straight away. Richard was worried about what they would think, or if they would do tests. He had buried his head in Clark's shoulder when they got back to the flat and had stated that he did not want to be a guinea pig.
Clark had been unable to object. He did set about researching where the best doctor to go to was. He decided that they would go wherever was necessary as long as they found a good doctor that could keep their mouth shut.
Not only did Richard object to any kind of tests that were not strictly needed, but he would not want newspapers reporting that a man was pregnant and oh, he turned up with someone who had an uncanny resemblance to Superman. It wouldn't be good if any enemies Superman had lurking around took note of Richard and their little girl.
He didn't mention this to the man though as he was anxious enough already. He went back to distracting him, but this time he had other means than just sex.
"What should we call her?"
"Call her? I thi- I mean, shouldn't we wait to see if we both make it though this pregnancy?"
"You have an idea? Can I hear it? I don't want to keep calling her 'little girl'."
"Umm... But, what if-"
"Please?"
"It's just a thought, but I like Cassandra, or Cassie."
"Cassandra." He tried the name out, moving it slowly over his tongue a few times. "Cassandra... I like it."
Richard grinned, his features lighting up for the first time in too long.
"What do I tell Lois?"
"Lois?"
"Yeah, either I hang around here and get really fat for a bit, or I leave and come back with a child. Oh, and what about Jason? I can't leave him for any number of months. What do I tell Perry?"
His face was stricken, but Clark pulled him close.
"Jason will be fine. He already knows I'm Superman. As for Lois and Perry... you can tell them whatever you like."
"It'll hurt Lois if I tell her you are Superman. She's still waiting for you."
"I think she'll have bigger things to worry about."
"And Perry will want to publish it. It'll sell papers."
"He's your uncle, Richard. I'm sure that counts for something."
Richard shut his eyes and sank into Clark's embrace he was meeting Lois that evening to talk to her about Jason. It had been a week since Richard had found out about the child, about Cassandra, and he had recovered from the shock of it. Of all the people in the world to have sex with, it had to be the only one who could get him pregnant.
Clark was right though. Lois was still pleasant to him at work, if she found out about this then perhaps she would be ok. Maybe... If he edged it at her in stages...
Jason was a wonderful child with an open mind about how things worked. So long as he didn't end up thinking all men got pregnant then it wouldn't be a problem.
It was Perry that Richard was now beginning to worry about. His uncle loved him, he knew that, but Perry was utterly unable to keep a secret; and being family, Richard couldn't just quit and expect him to leave it alone. He took a deep breath, inhaling Clark's unique scent. It smelt like home.
They found a doctor before Richard managed to work up enough nerve to talk to any of the three people he needed to speak to. She was an old woman in a small town neighbouring Smallville, who had been around before Superman, and while she understood people's enthusiasm over him, she also had a certain amount of sympathy for his struggle with privacy.
It had been Martha who had found her. Since Clark had told her about his relationship with Richard she had been enthusiastic. She had not minded that Clark's lover was a man, or that Clark had somehow managed to get a normal man pregnant. She had been shocked at first but it had faded quickly.
She had been nagging him to bring Richard over for a visit, and now he was going to have to. They were driven out there and were now at the farm waiting for her to come back from where ever she had bustled off to.
"You're sure she doesn't mind?"
"Not at all."
"Really sure?"
"Incredibly. Richard, she wants to meet you. I explained everything about our weird situation, right down to Lois and Jason."
"Right..." Richard was sweating, even in the cool winter air; his nerves were getting the better of him.
"Relax." He whispered, walking over to where his love was sat and wrapped his arms around him.
Richard did so, but a moment later they heard a truck door slam. Richard jumped and tensed up again.
"Ma?" Called out Clark.
"Clark? Oh, Clark!"
His mother entered the room; her white hair was tied up in a bun and her clothing was dirt stained but she rushed over to hold her son.
"And you must be Richard." She said with a smile, pulling back to look at the smaller man before her son was finished with his hug.
"I... Hi."
She smiled at him and pulled him up so she could embrace him warmly. Richard barely resisted for a moment before he curled down slightly to return it.
"Dinner? Or would you rather go to bed? I had that old bed of your replaced with a double a while ago, Clark, so there is space for both of you."
"Ready to eat something?"
"Please." Richard looked a little subdued as he sat back down, but he sent them both a soft smile.
Dinner was a quiet affair; Richard didn't want to do any talking before bed and both Clark and his Ma picked up on that. When they settled down, Richard rolled onto his side, pulling Clark up against his back.
"It's nice here." He murmured.
"Yeah."
"Wait till I'm asleep before you head out."
It was armed with a sonogram that Richard went to talk with Lois. The little photograph finally gave him the confidence to speak with her that he had lacked the last time.
"Pregnant? This isn't a funny joke, Richard."
"No joke. Look." He held up the sonogram of Cassandra, but she barely looked at it.
"What, is it mine?"
"Well..." He was so glad they were doing it in the middle of the day and at the house. They were sat in the living room, toys scattered across the floor. "It's Clark's."
"Clark's..." Her voice was deadpan as she stared disbelievingly at him.
"Yeah."
"He's so manly that his sperm can even get you pregnant."
"Apparently so."
"What is he, Superman?"
There was an awkward silence that followed that. Richard stared uncomfortably at his feet. Lois wasn't slow, she worked it out quickly.
"Clark? Clark is Superman." She snorted. "You have got to be kidding me. Clark?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Fuck... I wondered why he wasn't around as often. Superman, I mean."
Richard gave a soft hum, his attention still focussed downwards.
"Well, fuck. No wonder he wasn't interested in me. Clark? Seriously?"
At least she hadn't hit him yet.
"Well, I suppose you always did notice him. I don't think I ever considered Clark more than just some kind of over excited puppy."
Richard felt the dig at Clark, frowning slightly. Lois put a hand under his chin and lifted it up.
"I won't hurt you, Richard. You know that. Have you told Jason yet?"
"No. I wanted to talk to you first."
"Ok. You can tell him when he has dinner at yours tomorrow."
"Dinner?"
"Yeah. I was going to be angry and not let you see him. But, when I first got to the office and spoke to Clark last month I found I couldn't let you not see him. So I was going to let that be your only contact, then I realised you would be missing him... and Jason is missing you." She gave him a sad smile.
"Thank you."
"I'll pick him up from school tomorrow." She rocked back on her heels for a moment, a frown suddenly coming over her face. "What are you going to tell Perry?"
"I... have no idea." He let his head fall into his hands. After a moment, he felt Lois' small hand rest on his shoulder.
"Want me there for back up?"
He let out a slight whimper and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Please."
"Don't worry, Richard. He'll keep this out of the papers if I have to castrate him myself."
He chuckled and allowed her to sit back. Relief was flooding his veins and he slumped back.
"How far along are you?"
"About five months, I think."
"You aren't very big."
"No." He rubbed a hand across his belly. "Something to do with my muscles and how they aren't stretched out yet, then something to do with where she is sat."
"Where is she? You don't have a womb."
"Apparently I have a kind of temporary one. I'm on so many pills though."
"For what?"
"Supplements. I can't eat much because she's crushing my stomach."
"Oh. Does it hurt?"
"Yeah. The doctor said she had shoved other bits and pieces out of her way and will continue to do so. I can't take the buckets of painkillers I want though."
Lois smiled at him, before her eyes looked down to focus on his belly again.
"You're having a girl then? Any names?"
"She's called Cassandra."
"Oh, I like it. Middle name?"
"No middle name."
"Surname?"
"White. Clark wants her to have the same surname as Jason."
"He's going to have a little sister." She was openly grinning now. Then again, Jason had been bugging them both for sometime about wanting a sibling. He smiled as well, relaxing as his anxieties melted away.
It turned out Perry hadn't needed threatening. They didn't end up telling him that Clark was Superman, but they did say Richard was pregnant.
Perry had been sceptical at first, but he had quickly accepted it. His nephew hadn't lied yet.
Richard continued to tell the truth. He told Perry he had only had sex with Clark recently; that no, he wasn't sure how it had happened; that yes, there always was the possibility of aliens. He simply chose to omit the part about Clark being the alien involved.
Jason turned out to be even easier than Perry.
"I get a sister then."
"Sure do, kiddo."
"Ok. Can I have a brother next though?"
"Umm... We'll see."
