Chapter Text
The day started out as most of Clark’s days did: with him accidentally smashing his alarm into pieces. In an effort to stop its blaring, which was so shrill and high-pitched that he could feel it in his bones, Clark had slammed his hand down on it. In his daze, he truly believed it was with an appropriate amount of force. As he lifted his head and blinked at the hunk of twisted metal, he realized that not only was he incredibly wrong, but he was also going to be late for breakfast.
Putting on his superspeed, Clark dejectedly gathered the pieces of the alarm. It had been a gift from Lois. It was made out of titanium, which they had both hoped would be able to withstand Clark’s half-hearted efforts to shut it off. Despite it being a gift, he made a mental note to pay her back for it since it had only lasted a week in his possession. Clark was thankful that Lois had already left for the morning, citing a meeting with Perry. And Kara had spent a week with the Danvers, socializing with their oldest daughter and her best friend, Alex. His chest grew warm at the thought of Kara making friends and becoming comfortable with her life on Earth. He was excited to hear all about her trip and the schemes the two girls managed to come up with.
With a light huff and a quick look in the mirror, Clark quickly set off to his (and Kara’s) favorite donut shop. He was meeting Kara there and afterward, they planned to stroll around a park nearby before returning home. As he walked, he scrolled through his messages and saw that he’d missed one from Lois. Feeling the blush in his cheeks at the thought of his girlfriend, he read:
Hey Clark, I hope you don’t mind but I’m joining you and Kara this morning! You aren’t the only one who’s been missing her. I already texted her and don’t worry, I already bought extra donuts <3 <3 <3
Clark smiled and sent a quick thumbs up and his own hearts in reply. He hadn’t had the chance to spend time with his two favorite people since Lex Luthor started making headlines. With all the shuffling within Luthor Corp and subsequent scandals, Clark had his hands full and his free time was tight. In over a month, he had only seen Kara and Lois in passing in their apartment and during the lunches he managed to spare. It was exhausting for anyone, even Superman.
When the donut shop came within sight, Clark broke into a smile and a jog. He could see Lois was already there, sitting outside on the shop’s patio under a bright red umbrella. Kara was nowhere to be seen. Clark chuckled in amusement, he should've known that his cousin would be late. Even after a year on Earth, Kara was known to stop and study random animals or plants she saw on her walks. Her strong fascination with all of Earth’s ecology was reflected in her corner of the small apartment, which was filled with various science textbooks and novels.
“Clark! You’re late!” Lois raised an eyebrow while Clark made himself comfortable across from her.
“Ah, well…” He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, attempting to steel himself for Lois’ incoming teasing.
“Don’t tell me you got lost.”
“I…ah…broke the alarm clock.” His cheeks grew bright red as Lois began to laugh.
“Again?!” She said, attempting to catch her breath. “I thought for sure this one would be tough enough for you, Smallville.” She pushed a chocolate-covered donut toward him, “I guess I should’ve known, given you broke the office printer last week.”
“It was broken before,” Clark argued. “I was just…um...making the break more obvious.”
“Oh, were you? I guess a handprint crunched into the side is more noticeable than a paper jam.” Lois raised her eyebrow in amusement, breaking out into a small smile when Clark stumbled to explain himself.
“Eh-em…yeah…I mean yes…I mean…” Clark felt like his entire body was hot with embarrassment. He pushed his glasses up in a nervous habit as he fumbled for what to say next.
“It’s okay, Clark. Don’t have an aneurysm.” She pushed the donut even closer to him, looking pointedly at Clark. He took it gingerly and finally began to eat.
“You breaking things is the most entertainment I’ve gotten in ages.” She shuffled the donut box at the edge of the table until it sat perfectly between them. She plucked two blueberry glazed donuts for herself.
“Oh, I thought you’d be pretty entertained by Wayne Enterprises.” The Gotham-based company recently unveiled a new line of user-friendly portable gas masks. While they really only had a public audience in Gotham, with the presence of Scarecrow and other supervillains like him, it was still an impressive invention. The masks themselves could be folded into a rectangle as small as a cell phone.
“Please, Bruce Wayne is still refusing our interviews. I told Perry we shouldn’t have sent Cat to interview him for his charity gala. She can be a little…pushy.”
“And you’re not?”
“Not in the way Cat is!”
“No, you’d just catch him off guard on the street somewhere,” Clark grabbed another donut. “Actually…why haven’t you?”
“He’s a slimy billionaire, that’s why. He keeps slipping away as soon as he spots me, which is somehow whenever I’m within a mile radius.”
“Well, I’m sure he has bodyguards everywhere. They probably see you before you see him.”
“Sure, but--” Lois was cut off by a blur of wind and blonde hair as Kara zipped by, quickly threw her backpack under the table, and settled into the chair next to Clark.
“Hi, sorry I am late.” Kara blew a stray tuft of hair off her forehead before reaching for a donut. She looked like she had taken a detour through a nature reserve— various twigs and leaves were scattered in her ponytail, and dirt smudges littered her hands and nose.
“No, Kara, seriously? Wash your hands.” Lois attempted to smack Kara’s hand away, which Kara obediently pulled back to her side.
“Oh, right, sorry, hold on.” Kara stood up quickly, sending her chair flying. Thankfully, Clarke was able to reach out to catch it before it hit an unassuming passerby. “Sorry! I will be right back!”
“Walk, Kara!” Lois called after her. Clark gently set the chair down and they both shared a look of fondness for the teenager. She was slowly getting used to her new planet, though Clark knew that there were still many hurdles to get over. Especially between the two of them. While their relationship was stable, there was only so much Clark could do to help his little cousin in her grief. He couldn’t relate to her pain, since he only knew what she had told him and the various holograms from his father. But he tried his best to be there for her when she needed him. And to give her space when his presence was too much.
Kara landed pretty early in Clark and Lois’s relationship, but they knew immediately and without a doubt that they would be the ones to care for her. And so far, they were doing well. The decision to move in together was a fairly easy one, although Jimmy spent a week lamenting about how much he’d miss his “favorite giant roommate.” The trio had lived together for six months, and despite the size of the tiny apartment, it felt like home to Clark. Soon after Lois moved in, she and Kara became incredibly close. Clark was happy to see how well they got along, although it often turned to small thoughts of regret when they took turns embarrassing him.
It seemed that Kara returned a little too quickly, narrowly avoiding knocking over her chair once again. Clark gave her a pointed look over his glasses as she sat down. Kara smiled sheepishly, pulling a stray leaf from her ponytail. She mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ before grabbing a jelly-filled donut from the box.
“You look like---ah, Lois, what are the people who give out the books called?” Kara asked.
“Librarians,” Lois helpfully supplied, grinning in anticipation.
“Yes! Clark, you look like a librarian when you look over your glasses like that.”
“You do, babe.” Lois laughed at Clark’s offended expression. “Don’t worry, you’re a very hot librarian.”
“Gross.”
“Kara!” Clark said in a desperate effort to change the subject, “How was the Danvers’?” Kara’s bright blue eyes lit up immediately.
“It was awe-some! We went camping in the woods and caught some frogs and oh!” Kara paused to rummage in her backpack. “I made something for you, Clark.” She looked for a few more moments before setting a wooden figurine on the table. It was a small dog-like shape, its features barely discernible, save for the small chiseled “S” on its tiny chest.
“It is a dog,” Kara said. “With El Mayarah on his chest.” Clark took the figurine and held it carefully, eyeing their family symbol. “I know you have been wanting a dog and I know this is not a lot compared to the real thing but I thought maybe--” Kara’s rambling was interrupted by Clark’s hand on hers.
“Kara, you made this?”
“Well, yes…Alex said it would be a good way to help me practice controlling my strength, and I…wanted to make something for you.” Clark blinked away the tears that had welled up in his eyes.
“Thank you, Kara.” Clark tried to contain all of the love he felt for her in those three words.
“You are welcome, Kal--Clark.” Kara corrected herself, looking away towards the sky. Clark swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew that Kara was trying, and truthfully, he did not mind the slip-up. It was nice to hear a piece of what could have been. But he knew calling attention to it would only upset his cousin, who was still grappling with who he had become.
“Lois, I made you this too.” Kara pulled a small wooden stick out of her bag. “It is…supposed to be a pen. Because…you are a journalist.” Lois took the pen just as carefully as Clark had with his gift.
“Thank you, sweetie. You did a great job.” Lois smiled brightly and tucked the wooden pen safely into her bag. She made eye contact with Clark for just a moment, but it was enough for him to understand. She’s trying. She’s doing better. We’re going to be fine. Kara seemed to relax in her seat at that, stuffing the rest of her donut in her mouth before reaching into the box blindly. They all sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Kara and Clark eating donut after donut while Lois checked her emails.
“Do ya’ll still want to go out and explore? Kara, didn’t you say you wanted to go to one of the parks around here?” Clark asked around half of a donut he had shoved into his mouth.
“I can’t, unfortunately,” Lois said. “I have an interview at 1 that I need to prepare for. You both can go out and enjoy the great outdoors of Metropolis without me.”
“Okay, do you need me to grab dinner tonight?” Clark asked, stooping to give Lois a quick kiss on the cheek.
“No, I’ll pick it up on my way home. You two have fun, okay? Don’t get into too much trouble!” Lois gathered her things.
“I promise,” Clark said. “So, Kara, do you still want to go to Stein Park?”
“Actually,” Kara said quietly. “I was wondering if we could go to the planetarium.” Clark tried to hide his surprise. When Kara first landed, she refused to talk about space in any capacity. She even avoided looking at the sky at night, worried she’d find the light of a long-dead star.
“We can,” Clark said. “If you want to, we'll go.” He paused, searching for any hints of discomfort. “If you’re sure.”
“I am sure. I want to know.” Kara’s eyes shone with unshed tears as she avoided Clark’s searching gaze. She instead stared at the sky above them, zeroed in on a singular spot. Clark imagined she could see Rao, thousands of light years away, still burning in a wide expanse of empty space.
How long will it take, he wondered. For Rao’s light to leave the sky. What would he tell Kara? Had it already happened? Clark was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t memorized the position of Krypton’s star like Kara had. He just didn’t know what to look for, and he worried that asking Kara to show him would only remind her that while he was there for her in so many ways--she was always alone in remembering.