Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Marriage of State (4/15?)

Chapter 4

“Well, here we are.” Clark said as he opened the door to his suite, which he would now be sharing with his wife. Given his status as son of the first lord, he was afforded a larger space than most aboard the mothership, with a separate sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom. The sitting room had a small table and with two chairs, bookshelves, and a padded “window seat” next to a view screen which could be changed to show a variety of scenes rather than the black vastness of space. Currently, it was set to show farmland in the evening.

Lois stepped into the room ahead of him and paused to look around. Clark suddenly found himself feeling self-conscious again. After the fiasco of their initial meeting in the bridal chamber, they had settled into easy conversation – sharing stories and getting to know each other, even teasing each other a bit. Lois was smart and fun and he’d quickly felt a rapport with her.

They had returned to the reception after Ching escorted his parents back to the transport station. Clark could still hardly believe his brother had managed to pull that off. What a gift! And yet his heart ached for more time with his mom and dad. He somehow missed them more now than he had before their too short visit. What he wouldn’t give to have their advice now?

Now that he was alone again… with his wife… in his rooms – a space which had, till now, been only his to decorate and lounge about in as he pleased. Now he had to share it with someone he’d only just met. Even though they’d been getting along well, it was only a matter of time before they managed to irritate each other while living in close quarters. It would take time to work out the rhythm of living together. Right now, he felt… vulnerable.

“You can, uh… you can make yourself comfortable,” he said gesturing around the room absently. “There’s… books and holovids on the shelves. The bathroom is through that door and this door leads to the… bedroom.” He gulped nervously. That was something else they were going to have to figure out. But he wasn’t ready to discuss that just yet.

“It’s nice.” Lois commented casually, but she’d crossed her arms around her waist and seemed to have closed in on herself.

‘She’s nervous too,’ Clark thought to himself. They were back at square one. At the reception, it had been easy to navigate around each other – no pressure, no expectations. It had almost seemed like a first date or not even – more like two new acquaintances just hanging out. There were no silly wedding reception games – no cake to smash in each other’s faces, no garter, no clinking glasses to call for a kiss. Mostly, they had been left alone, wandering through the great hall, commenting on various people they knew or recognized, chatting with whomever felt like speaking to the newly wedded couple.

No one had expected them to behave like husband and wife. Even towards the end, when they were asked to join their respective fathers on the dais for the formal conclusion of the celebration, their part in enacting the treaty had only been marginally acknowledged.

Lois had spent a few last minutes with her father before the dignitaries from Earth were transported back to their homes. Clark’s heart had ached for her as he watched her trying so hard no to cry in front of her father and wiping her tears away as soon as his back was turned. He knew how she felt – abandoned among strangers with no way home. He’d been there once, years ago. And seeing his folks again today had sent him right back to that time and place – the twelve-year-old kid who didn’t understand why he couldn’t go home.

… it was just supposed to be a visit.

Clark cleared his throat and glanced around the room for something to break the ice. He spotted an unfamiliar suitcase and duffel bag by the wall. “Hey, looks like they brought your things here. I cleared out some space in the closet and there’s an empty chest over here you can use. If you need anything else, just ask. We’re, um… well, it takes about a month to get back to New Krypton so this’ll be home for a while.”

“Right… thank you,” Lois replied. She sounded tired all of a sudden. Come to think of it, he was feeling pretty wiped out himself – which was odd given his current proximity to Earth’s sun. That wouldn’t last long. They were leaving orbit in the morning and his abilities and strength would fade within about a week.

He understood why they had to go – too many Kryptonians had used the powers they’d gain to do terrible things. But, having grown up under the comforting warmth of the yellow sun, he was not looking forward to returning to the cool, dull light of New Krypton’s red sun. He’d always felt out of place there. Despite being Kryptonian by birth, he could never let go of the idea that Earth was meant to be his home.

Clark shook his head to return his thoughts to the current situation. He and Lois still had to figure out how to make this marriage thing work and that wasn’t going to happen with them both just standing there. Deciding to give her a few moments to herself, he cleared his throat and stepped towards the bedroom. “I’m just going to change into something more comfortable. Feel free to look around. Make yourself at home.”

At her silent nod, Clark slipped into the other room and shut the door behind him with a heavy sigh. He really hoped they be able to get past this awkwardness soon. He’d really enjoyed her company at the reception. He didn’t want to lose the friendship they’d only just begun to build.

***

Lois breathed a sigh of relief when Kal left her alone in the sitting room. She just needed a few minutes to adjust… again. Realization that this was really happening seemed to come over her in waves. For awhile she’d be fine and then something would remind her of why she was here and what she was doing and it would all become overwhelming again.

She was leaving Earth – something she had never imagined doing. Heck, before the Kryptonians showed up, space travel was still limited to highly trained astronauts and means of going farther than the moon had yet to be conceived. Now she was getting ready to travel lightyears away to a new solar system with a new husband she barely knew.

Although… Kal was proving to be a surprise in many ways. He’d grown up on Earth apparently – raised by farmers if she didn’t miss her guess about the Kents. They seemed to be very nice people and Kal clearly adored them.

“Clark…” she whispered softly the name Martha and Johnathan had called him. “Clark Kent. I wonder what he prefers to be called. Lois walked towards the bookshelves, wondering what she might find there. She was surprised again by his selection. She had expected most of the books to be written in Kryptonian (there were a few of those), but the works on the shelves were primarily written in English – with a few in other Earth languages as well. And she recognized many of the titles.

“Moby Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings…” she muttered the titles as she ran her finger along the spines. “He’s quite the reader.”

She came to a book-end, next to which stood a framed photograph. It was a family portrait. She recognized Martha and Johnathan, although they appeared several years younger in the photo. The little boy seated between them couldn’t have been older than ten or eleven. He was looking at the camera with the brightest smile. Lois could almost feel the happiness radiating off of him.

She stepped back and swept her gaze over the rest of the shelves, taking note of the few knick-knacks spaced out between the books and holovids – an old baseball, a small globe of the Earth, a Luke Skywalker action figure. Lois rolled her eyes at that last one.

She figured she should start unpacking and made her way back towards her suitcase, but froze as Kal came out of the bedroom. He had taken off the heavy, Kryptonian wedding robes and was now dressed in a pair of plaid, flannel sleep pants and a grey t-shirt which read ‘Kansas State University’ in purple letters. The shirt fit him almost too well – accentuating the muscles in his chest and arms. Lois felt her mouth go dry. She’d thought he looked good before.

“What?” Kal spoke up when he caught her staring. “Is my shirt on backwards?”

Lois blinked and shook her head. “No, no. You look… that is,” she cleared her throat. “Well, you really are from Earth, aren’t you?

Kal smile and relaxed a little. “Yeah, I am. At least, I grew up there.”

“You promised me a story.” Lois reminded him.

He nodded. “I did. But… well, it is sort of long. Are you sure you want to get into it now?”

She shrugged. “Nothing better to do.”

“Alright. Would you care to change first?”

Lois looked down at her own, stifling robes and suddenly couldn’t wait to be out of them. She quickly grabbed a pair of lounge pants and a sweatshirt from her suitcase and stepped into the bathroom to change – she wasn’t quite ready to check out the bedroom. After changing and using the facilities, she went back out to find Kal sitting in one of the cushioned chairs by the small table. He’d somehow acquired a tray of cookies and two mugs of hot liquid. Her nose identified the beverage first.

“Is that hot chocolate?” she asked.

Kal nodded. “It is. I figured we should take advantage of Earth’s delicacies while we still can. It’ll be a while before regular trade is established. New Krypton has… something kind of like chocolate, but it’s not the same.”

Lois felt her spirits wilt slightly. “I didn’t realize I was going to have to go without chocolate.”

Kal chuckled softly. “I take it you like chocolate, then?”

“Like is an understatement. You got some of this we can stash away for emergencies?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Kal gestured to the seat across from him. “Sit. Enjoy. I figured a story like this called for refreshments so I zipped out for some while you were changing.”

Lois blinked as she sat. “That was fast. How did you… oh, right. The superspeed thing.” I’ve gotta be honest, it’s kind of weird seeing those powers used for something so… domestic. Does everyone on board use them so casually?”

Kal shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Not really. I mean, sometimes they come in handy. But most Kryptonians are used to doing things without powers and so superspeed and strength for basic everyday things just get in the way.”

“But not for you?” Lois nabbed a cookie and nibbled on the corner.

“I’m different.” Kal admitted, shaking his head slightly. “I grew up on Earth. I’ve had these abilities since I was a kid and – not gonna lie – it’s a lot harder to control superspeed when you’re eight than it is when you’re an adult.”

“You had all these powers when you were eight?”

“Not all of them. I couldn’t fly before I left.”

Lois breathed out heavily and shook her head. “He couldn’t fly, he says,” she muttered before taking a sip of hot chocolate. Her husband could fly – that was hard to wrap her head around. She’d seen Kryptonian soldiers flying on television and even a few times in person but it was never anyone she knew. Now she was married to a guy who could fly and stop bullets and shoot heat rays from his eyes.

She was pretty sure his powers would fade after they left Earth’s solar system – that was the whole reason all the Kryptonians had to leave – but it was still pretty wild to think about. This discussion was going a little backwards, though.

She leaned forward and looked Kal in the eye. “I think you need to start at the beginning. How did you end up on Earth to begin with?”

Kal nodded. “Well, back on Krypton – before it imploded – Jor-El, my father, was a scientist.”

“But he’s the First Lord,” Lois interrupted.

“He is now. But, as you know, up until a few months ago, Nor-Zod was First Lord and, back on Krypton, his father was. Despite being of noble birth and expected to become First Lord within his time, my father chose to study science and was dedicated to learning all that he could and helping the Kryptonian people.

“One day, he discovered that Krypton was unstable. After running many tests to verify his findings, he brought them to Lord Zod. But Zod wouldn’t listen. The man refused to believe that anything could go wrong during his reign. He silenced my father – forbidding him to share his findings and placing our family under house arrest. My parents had a few resources in their home lab – just enough to build a small spacecraft. Fearing they would never survive the end of Krypton, they chose to send me to Earth. I was to be ‘the last son of Krypton.”

“But they did survive,” Lois pointed out. Her cookie and coco were forgotten as she listened to his story.

“Yes. My father miscalculated. He predicted the first large tremor which shook Krypton’s core and sent me into space just before it struck. However, he thought that tremor would trigger a series of quakes which would destroy the planet within days. He was wrong. That first tremor was only the beginning. But once it hit, my father’s warning could no longer be denied. Other scientists had already come to the same conclusion.

“A mad scramble began – everyone trying to get off the planet. Transport ships were hastily constructed and people fought for a seat on board. Those who could afford it sought private passage off world. My father tells me it was chaos. Families were torn apart. Earthquakes continued on and off for almost a year. And when the end finally came… less than one percent of the population had managed to evacuate.”

Lois gasped. “That’s awful. I mean… I knew a lot of people had died on Krypton but I had no idea it was so many.”

Kal nodded. “It was awful. And those that did survive had nowhere to go. They drifted for several years in various colonies of strung together space crafts. They finally found a habitable planet and chose to settle there, but New Krypton is… less than ideal.”

“Is that how they came to Earth – they were looking for someplace better?”

“Uh… no.” Kal ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, looking down so as to not meet her eyes. “No, I’m afraid that’s actually my fault.”

Lois sat back, surprised. “Your fault?! How is it your fault?”

Kal took a deep breath before beginning to explain. “You see, my father was probably the only Kryptonian who knew about Earth. He’d discovered it during some studies of space probes. He was fascinated by other worlds. He sent me too Earth with the expectation that he and my mother would die along with everyone else on Krypton. When they didn’t… he decided to go looking for me.

“Shortly after settling on New Krypton, he took a private shuttle to Earth. I was twelve years old when he found me and already developing many abilities, but without really understanding why I had them. My parents – the Kents – had told me how my ship had crash landed in Schuster’s Field, but they didn’t know anymore than that. When Jor-El found me… he answered so many questions. And he invited me to go back with him to New Krypton. I didn’t want to leave Earth. My home was in Smallville – ”

“Smallville?” Lois interrupted. “Is that a real place?”

“Of course it is. Smallville, Kansas.”

“Kansas. Wow. You couldn’t get anymore rural.”

Kal gave her an irritated look. “Are you gonna let me finish? Or are you going to keep picking on my home town.”

Lois held her hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I’ll behave.”

He took a sip from his cup before continuing his story. “As I was saying – I didn’t want to leave my parents or my home. But I did want to meet Lara, my mother, and to learn more about where I came from. So, I agreed to take a trip to New Krypton while I was on summer break.”

Kal paused and fidgeted with his cup. He looked sad. “I promised my folks I’d be back soon… but things didn’t work out that way. The trip to New Krypton was long and Jor-El used the time to teach me the language and the customs of our people. I learned so much. When we arrived, Lara and Ching welcomed me and, while I was a little homesick, I was happy.

“Then people started asking questions – where I’d been, how I’d survived. Somehow the news about Earth got back to Nor and he decided it was worth checking out. Once he discovered the powers granted by the yellow sun…” Kal shrugged. “He didn’t want to give them up. And once he’d opened hostilities with Earth, there was no way I could go home.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and Lois could see the pain etched on his face – so much like what she’d seen when he hugged the Kents for the last time earlier today. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to comfort him – but how?

Kal cleared his throat and looked at her. “So, you see, it’s my fault. They never would have come to Earth if it wasn’t for me.”

His voice was laced with long-accepted guilt. He blamed himself for all of the death and destruction inflicted upon his home.

That was just intolerable.

Lois set her cup down hard and stood up – pacing practically before she’d even begun to speak. “Don’t be ridiculous!” she exclaimed. “You were a child. You didn’t ask Jor-El to send you here or to come looking for you. You didn’t send Nor to investigate Earth. You were just a boy.”

“But if I hadn’t –”

She spun on her heal to face him as she cut him off. “No! It’s not your fault, Kal!”

Kal offered a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone tells me that.”

“Maybe you ought to start listening.”

“Maybe.” He chuckled suddenly. “You know we’ve come a long way from you saying Kryptonians don’t care about peace.”

Lois breathed a short laugh of her own. “Well, you’re not exactly the average Kryptonian.”

“No, I’m not.” His smile was brighter this time and his eyes seemed to peer straight into her soul.

Lois looked at her feet for a moment, feeling shy, and then pushed through her nerves and sat back down. “There’s something I don’t understand,” she said.

“What’s that?” Kal sat back and bit into a cookie, looking more relaxed than he had before.

“Why send just you?”

Kal frowned in confusion. “I told you. They didn’t have the resources to build a bigger ship. I was an infant. The capsule was just big enough for me.”

“But what about Ching? Couldn’t they have found a way to send your brother as well?”

“Oh!” Kal’s eyes flew open in surprise and he shook his head. “No. You see, Ching isn’t my biological brother. He’s adopted. After Krypton was destroyed, a lot of children were left without families. Jor-El adopted Ching as his son and heir.”

“I see.” Lois pondered that a moment and then questioned, “but then, shouldn’t you be the heir? Or does it go to Ching by default since he’s older?”

Kal shook his head again. “No. You’re right. Technically, I should be next in line to be first lord. But, at the time when Ching was adopted, I was officially presumed dead. Although my parents believed I had made it to Earth, no one else knew that and they didn’t have the resources to go looking for me until after they settled on New Krypton. So, Ching was named heir instead.”

“Shouldn’t it have gone back to you when you returned though?”

“Yes. And it was offered to me. But I didn’t accept it for two reasons. The first being that I had not received the training expected of a future first lord. Ching had. He was better prepared than I. The second reason – well, I just don’t want to one day be in charge of an entire planet. I grew up on a farm – not a palace. I feel so out of place during official court functions.”

“Like today?” Lois guessed, remembering how nervous he’d seemed during the wedding ceremony.

Kal nodded. “Like today. And also… I don’t really consider New Krypton my home. I love my family and I am grateful for the legacy of the people I come from but, super powers aside, I don’t feel Kryptonian. I’ve always thought of myself as human.”

Lois finished off her hot chocolate as she considered his words. He was truly caught in between two worlds – born on one but raised on another. He wasn’t a space boy at all – he was a farm boy. She wondered if he’d played baseball or been a boy scout. That seemed likely.

Then she thought about his career plans and suddenly understood why he had chosen that path. “That’s why you want to become the ambassador – you would rather live on Earth, where you can see your adoptive parents regularly and live the way you’d grown up think you would.”

“Exactly.” Kal smiled. “I also have a unique perspective which I think will serve me well in the position. I love the people of Earth and the people of New Krypton. I genuinely want what is best for both planets and I hope I can help build trust between our worlds.”

Lois whistled softly. “That’s a lofty goal. After everything that’s happened – I’m not sure humans will ever trust Kryptonians.”

“Maybe not. It won’t be easy and it’ll take time. But I believe it is a goal worth pursuing.” Kal stood and began to clean up their snack, moving their cups to the tray and then carrying the tray to a little ledge by the door to their rooms. Lois assumed someone would come by to take it away in the morning.

As she watched him, she recalled another question she’d had since they met the Kents. “Do you prefer to be called Kal or Clark?”

He paused in his tidying and sighed with a wistful smile. “Clark. I’ve always thought of myself as Clark. But on New Krypton, I am Kal-El. That’s just the way it is.” He didn’t elaborate anymore and Lois wondered if he’d tried to push the issue at some point in his youth.

“Would you like me to call you Clark?” she asked, smiling softly.

He shook his head. “I would like that very much, but you’d better not.”

“What if I just call you Clark in private?”

“If you slip up… some Kryptonians can be really weird about names.”

“I won’t slip up… Clark.”

He smiled and it finally seemed to reach his eyes. “I like that. Thank you, Lois.”

Lois returned the smile as she stood up and stretched. It had been a long day and she was about ready to turn in. She was about to mention doing just that when she recalled that they had yet to work out sleeping arrangements. She looked toward the bedroom apprehensively.

They had been on good terms since the bridal suite and she felt fairly confident that Kal… Clark wouldn’t try anything. He’d made his position on the matter pretty clear. She actually felt fairly safe with him considering they’d known each other less than a day. But that didn’t exactly translate to comfortable sharing a bed.

Glancing around the sitting room, she noted the lack of sofa or any other suitable sleeping space. The window seat wasn’t even long enough to stretch out on. She supposed she might be able to doze off while sitting up if she were tired enough but that didn’t seem likely right now. She eyed the floor… no way. She’d never get comfortable.

“What’s wrong?” Clark asked. He must’ve noticed her sudden change in demeanor.

Lois sighed and shrugged. “It’s just… it’s late and I was thinking about going to bed except…” she trailed off, unsure how to broach the subject.

“Except we haven’t talked about sleeping arrangements.” Clark finished for her.

Lois nodded silently and waited to hear his thoughts on the matter. Once again, she found herself feeling vulnerable. This had been his room first. It didn’t seem fair that she should come in and kick him out of his bed simply because she was uncomfortable with the idea of platonically sharing a sleeping space with a man she barely knew. But then, he probably wasn’t all that comfortable with it either.

“You take the bed.” Clark finally said. “I’ll sleep on the floor out here.”

Lois raised her eyes to meet his, surprised at the offer. “Oh, no. I couldn’t make you do that. It’s your bed.”

Clark smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “Would you rather sleep on the floor?”

“Well… no. But… um…” Lois bit her lip, having no idea how to solve this problem and suddenly distracted by the stretch of his sleeve across his bicep.

“It’s a big bed. We could always share.”

Lois felt a blush spread across her cheeks at the thought of actually sharing a bed with Clark – and why did that no longer seem quite as daunting? Ugh! She felt like a foolish schoolgirl. Pull it together, Lane, she scolded herself. She was just about to come up with some scathing remark to put them back on equal footing when he spoke up again.

“I’m kidding,” Clark said gently. “I think that would be too much for both of us right now.”

Lois took a deep breath and smiled her thanks at his courtesy. He had her completely off kilter and she wasn’t sure whether or not she liked it. She needed sleep. She could sort out everything else in the morning.

But she still wasn’t sure about making Clark sleep on the floor. It looked so hard and uncomfortable.

“Seriously, Lois. Take the bed.” Clark said when she continued to hesitate. “I’ll be fine. Look.” And with that he lifted up off the floor and assumed a reclined position about 3 feet in the air.

Lois knew Kryptonians could fly. She’d seen them fly on television and a few times in person, but almost always in an intimidating, warlike manner. This though… this was just so casual. The juxtaposition between what she’d known before and what she was seeing now was so severe that she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Okay fly-boy. I’ll take the bed,” she said between chuckles. “Do you often float in your sleep?”

Clark shrugged and floated back onto his feet. “Sometimes,” he answered, his voice sounding a bit husky. Lois looked up to find him staring at her with a look of wonder.

“What?” she asked.

He just smiled. “You have a really nice laugh.”

Lois blushed again but she didn’t really mind this time.