So, yeah, I'm alive (barely). RL got me for a few weeks. But I'm back!
Chapter 7 – Girl Talk
They barely walked in through the front door and Conner was being squeezed almost to death by his twin sister.
"I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"
She finally released him, so he sighed and smiled a little to her.
"I'm fine, mostly." He said honestly. "I think I just need a little rest."
"Hm… What happened to your shirt?" she frowned.
"I honestly can't remember clearly, but I think I destroyed it?"
She blinked twice, but then shook her head.
"Okay, I don't want to know. Come on, I made you dinner."
"Sweetie," Clark started to say. "it's two in the morning."
"I don't care." She said. "I bet Conner hasn't eaten since he left the cave."
As if on cue, Conner's stomach made a low growl that made Claire grin madly, like she did when she was right about something.
"Go take a shower, both of you, while I'll heat things up."
They knew arguing with her was futile, so they did exactly that. Conner striped from his pants and boots and got under his shower – turning it on the heat. He stepped under the water and just let it wash his tiredness. The whirlwind of emotions he had gone through the last hours made him heavy and tired. Good thing he had his family to hold him.
After his shower, he put on some grey slacks and a white tank top and went to the kitchen, where Clark and Claire were talking, waiting for him.
"Here he is!" His sister greeted with a smile. "Sit and eat. I can hear your stomach making cartwheels."
He sat beside his father, who was also eating – Claire had made his favorite pasta – and his sister served him with a very generous portion of food, that he gladly took and ate with gusto.
He refused to say anything about the ordeal he and his team had passed through in the last 24 hours, and gladly, neither his father or sister asked about it. They just ate in silence. After that, Claire told him to go to bed, and after saying good night to them, he did exactly that.
~.~
"I'm worried about him." Claire said, while cleaning another dirty plate.
"Me too. He's tired. And I have no idea what they did to him."
"We should ask tomorrow." She suggested. "Maybe he'll tell us."
"Maybe." Clark looked tired too, so Claire passed him the last plate to dry.
"You should rest too, dad. You haven't slept since they went out. And that was forty-eight hours ago."
He smiled briefly. "Perks of being a father to a teenage superhero, I guess."
Claire couldn't say much about that, so she wisely kept her mouth shut, starting to clean the sink.
"At least tomorrow is still Sunday. He'll have at least one day to prepare to school on Monday."
"Yeah." She said, smiling. "It's going to be great."
And she meant it. She couldn't wait to show Conner the good things in school. Also, she couldn't wait to spend some time with him, daily. Also, doing something there wasn't related to superheroing could do her some good.
Conner was proving to be a true superhero. Just like their father. And as much as Claire was proud of him, she was also becoming very… jealous. She kind of wanted to be a part of it too. After the event that made her think she didn't want to be a hero, she thought nothing could change her mind about it. And her dad had been very protective and adamant that she remained in secret, safe. So she simply shut the idea out, thinking that it wouldn't bother her.
But now… She wanted to be a part of that, too. At least to have a little more time with her dad and twin brother. She wanted to fight crime, punch some bad guys. She wanted to learn how to fly so graciously. She wanted to learn how to use the powers she didn't even developed yet. She wanted to become the Supergirl that Grandma always told her she could be.
"Claire?"
"Yeah?"
"You okay?"
She sighed.
"Yeah, dad, I'm fine. Just tired, too, I guess." She said, without looking at him. "I'm going to bed, okay? Love you."
"Love you too, sweetie. Sleep tight."
"Don't let the bedbugs bite…" she replied smiling, going to her room and leaving her dad to finish cleaning the kitchen – which he did in 0.8 seconds, following her in the hallway silently, to his own room, stealing a kiss in her cheek when he passed her.
"Love you."
~.~
The next day, Conner felt a lot better. Rested, he could hear and smell Claire making something in the kitchen. He couldn't hear his father's heartbeat, so he assumed he was out. He got up, took a long shower and got out of his room.
Sure enough, Claire was making lunch.
"Hey sleepyhead…" She said with a smile. "Sleep well?"
"I guess so." he stole an apple from the fruit basket and started eating. "Where's dad?"
"There's a flood in Indonesia. He went to help."
He felt himself smile.
"Superman doesn't stop, does he?"
"No," she laughed. "only when he's being Clark Kent, and sometimes, not even then. Being a hero it's a full-time job."
He smiled, and they sat in silence for a while. Conner helped with small things Claire asked him, but they didn't talk. He wanted to, specially about M'gann, but he didn't know how or where to start.
Fortunately, Claire seemed to have a sixth sense about those things.
"So… How are you, after this whole Bialya thing?"
"We're calling it 'Bialya thing' now?"
"I am."
He laughed a little, and then sighed. "Well… I'm fine, I guess. It was just… stressful."
"What happened there, Kon?"
His father's voice took him by surprise, but sure enough, once he turned around, Superman was there, looking at him, concern written in all of his features. Claire had a similar expression, and he couldn't help feeling good that they were worried about him.
"We had a… set back, I think." He started, wanting to talk about it with his family first. He knew he had to tell everything to Batman later, so it was almost like training.
He talked about the mission, their plan… until everything went wrong and Psimon got them. He talked about having no memories, just instinct. He talked it all, while Clark sat by his side, still in Superman regalia, and Claire walking around the kitchen, making their lunch. They didn't say anything until he was finished, for which he was grateful.
Finally, the food was on the table and Conner had finished talking. Claire looked at him with a smile.
"Well… I can't imagine how hard it must've been. At least you have a telepath for a friend."
They all laughed, which helped disperse the tension after his words.
"Yeah." He agreed, feeling himself a little strange.
"Hm… And it seems you like her."
"Well, yeah. She's my friend, right?"
Claire snickered. "Of course."
"Claire, stop it. It's making your brother uncomfortable."
Conner shrugged, feeling his face getting hot.
"You like her, right, Kon?" she insisted.
"Yeah…"
Clark sighed.
"What do you like about her?"
Her smile was mischievous, which made him confused. Clark was just eating and looking at his daughter with a resigned and fond look, and he decided he could answer honestly.
"She's pretty." He answered feeling his cheeks burning. "She has pretty eyes, she's kind. She doesn't like injustices… I… I like her."
Claire had the Cheshire cat smile on her lips.
"Dad…" she started.
"Yeah?"
"You need to have the 'Girl Talk' with Conner. You know, before things get a little more intense at the Team with Miss Martian."
Conner had no idea what she was saying, but somehow, he knew he should keep his mouth shut.
Clark just sighed, and then looked at him.
"Conner…"
"Yeah?"
"Your sister is right." He sighed again. "We should talk."
Claire started laughing.
"Oh, I'm gonna need some popcorn for this, but go on. I'll be listening."
Clark's cheeks were crimson red, and Conner knew he was just a mirrored image of his father right now.
Clark cleared his throat before he started talking.
"You see, when a man loves a woman…"
Clark having the sex talk with Conner is in my head for a while, hahaha. Poor Kent boys, so shy! And Claire, of course, is just having a good time watching their embarassment. hahaha
This is completely unbetaed, so tell me about the mistakes I made so I can fix them, please?
Don't forget to comment, and I'll be back as soon as I can.
Thank you for reading!