slayers_desire | Rome adventures: open to Clark and Xander

Entry tags:

clark,
untaken road

Rome adventures: open to Clark and Xander

April felt blessed in the fact that she was getting closer to Clark's family in Smallville. Especially since every time she visited with Martha and Jonathan, she could sense their approval and that they were glad she made Clark happy. It was so important to her to share more of her world with Clark in return, and introduce him to someone from the Buffyverse.

So after deciding on Xander, April first sat down with the older man and explained about her visits to the Nexus. And how she had made several friends there. And how she started dating someone from another universe. And that she would like to introduce her boyfriend to Xander.

With those basics covered, April was ready to contact Clark and invite him back to Rome. This time to meet someone from her world. And waiting for Clark to arrive, April felt a couple of butterflies in her stomach. She just hoped that Xander and Clark would get along alright.

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The identity of the victim is obscured, only the possible knowledge of the death being by gunshot will let her know that it isn't Clark's father. It will not be clear to her whether it is even one of the Kents or someone they know.

Clark's grip on her hands tightens a little as he continues watching the floating objects. "April," he says quietly. "I think that's enough."

((I want to keep them both in the dark for maximum shock value, especially for when Clark comes back from the dead. That okay?))

The gunshot makes her gasp. And a vase on the fireplace breaks. But at the very least she knows it is not Jonathan's death.

Breathing heavily, she answers the question he posed. "A death. I can't tell who will die. But it will be tragic for everyone."

((ooc: more than okay!))

Missiles and death and an ice fortress like Krypton. And he has until summer before this all happens. "That's enough," he says again, looking at her with concern in his eyes. And frees one hand to touch her face.

((Whoohoo, trauma for everybody! I cannot wait for this event, seriously. I'm a terrible person.))

His touch breaks her vision. The coffee table and food tray land back on the ground with a loud thud. Still jumpy... April fidgeted. "What..."

((strangely me too. I am such a bad mun wishing trauma on my puppet. I balance it... with birthday thoughts for Clark and the prom scene))

He brings his other hand up now too, cradling her face in his hands. "Easy, there. Stuff was floating. You okay?" Even in the face of this terrible news, his first concern is still her. And it would be still, even if he knew the identity of the gunshot victim. She needs his concern now.

((I have such a fun lineup for Clark this season, and just with the canon stuff! Prom, amnesia, being human, death... and I'm thinking about bringing in a fun little sideplot from the comics where Superman gets magically stoned (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/1073332.html). Being mean to pups is so gosh-darned fun.))

"Stuff was floating?" April was not aware of anything out of the usual. She wonders about it briefly, and inquires, "How did it happen? Was it... was it me?"

((awesome. I am looking forward to every step. And totally support Clark falling for Lana while all amnesiac. Because I can be mean to my puppet too at times.))

"I think it was. They came back down when you snapped out of it. And you... broke a vase." His gaze flicks briefly in its direction. "It happened when you jumped. Like something scared you."

((It is totally torture having to wait and not just dive into these things headfirst. Must pace myself! *sits on hands* We're going to have so much fun. Clark and April, not so much. XD))

"It had been the gunshot. Hearing someone's heartbeat just... flatline." April explains. She looked at the broken vase.

"I think my gifts are enhancing."

((I know that feeling. Have to take things one at a time. Speaking of which, when does Clark's birthday come? Before the prom?))

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Is that good or bad?" For a moment, he wishes his dad was here. He's always done a good job dealing with his alien son whenever a new ability has shown up, despite not having that power himself.

((I don't think they say in canon, for that season, but his birthday is typically around the end of each season when they do mention it. So probably after, but we can fudge it either way. I'd guess either around then or the amnesia episode.))

"I don't know. Obviously it will require training." April moved closer to him. Placing her head on his shoulder.

((Lovely. Could have a very happy birthday, then have him forget it))

Clark puts his arms around her, trying to lend her comfort if she needs it, and also thinking deeply about the new information he's been given. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that." He gets the feeling he's opened a whole different can of worms, and now he has even more questions than when he started. And he doesn't know what all she saw, how graphic it was, but he feels guilty that he asked her to do that for him. Like he was selfish for wanting to know.

((I'm thinking maybe we could set it right between the two, so after "Spirit" and right before "Blank." Sound good?))

"Clark. I wanted to help you." April replied. "And if it untapped something new within me... I am not going to be mad at you."

"I am sorry I couldn't give you more to help you. But the events are all connected. I felt that much."

((I am agreed with that. I have to go out for a work assignment, hopefully will be back soon.))

"You gave me more than enough," he assures her. Even though it left him with so many more questions to ask. But he's going to have to live through them one event at a time, just like he would have if he'd never met her. He'll just have advance warning this time. "I just want you to be okay."

((All right, see you in a bit then! I may be in bed when you get back; I've got class in the morning and we're taking an exam. Oh, and while we're discussing upcoming plots, I'm keeping Clark's flight ability under restraint until at least after the missile incident, and then I think I'm going to unleash him.))

"Mmmm better check me over just in case." April teased lightly. On one level, these new powers scared her. But she felt safe in his arms.

((good luck in your exam, in case I don't catch you before then. I think the timing will be nice with Clark's flight. I am going to keep April's new telekinisis under restraint until the death incident.))

Those arms tighten just a little around her, and he leans his head on top of hers. Still thinking a lot about what he's just learned.

"I screwed up yesterday," he confesses. Knowing now that what he did, or failed to do, might be the cause of all this. That his failure might mean someone's death, not knowing that it's his own.

((Still here for a teensy bit, anyway. Hooray for synchronized power unleashings! I think the only thing Clark will have left to get is superbreath, and I'm keeping that canon so it'll take a while to get there.))

"Tell me about it." April encouraged. She cuddled close to him. Offering to be his support, just as he offered to be hers.

((That works with me. Can't have them mature too quickly))

He sighs and closes his eyes. "I ran off to China with Lana. She was on the trail of one of the stones that Jor-El sent me after, and I couldn't let her get her hands on it. I didn't tell my parents I was leaving or anything. Lex and Jason were there too, and Lana... she got possessed by Isobel again." The witch who had possessed her before, the one who stripped Clark of his powers and went in search of the stone he'd already found. "I had to fight her for it, and I had the stone in my hand, and I lost it. I don't know where it is now." He sounds like he's been beating himself up over it ever since.

"Mom and Dad are pretty mad. That I left without saying anything. Dad lectured me on trust. And not disobeying. And Jor-El lectured me for failing to keep the stone. I just... I screwed up."

April had almost fretted at the first sentance, but fortunately Clark explained that he couldn't trust Lana. And any jealously that might have been there at first was quickly gone.

"These stone must have been very important for you to risk so much, and for you to now feel so upset that you lost one."

"I know your parents are upset that you left. But they just want to protect you. They were mad about the Nexus knowledge at first, remember? And I am sure your father was just more upset that he didn't have a chance to be with you, and help you. I know I would feel the same way."

"Everyone screws up now and then Clark. It makes us human. I am sorry that Jor-El lectured you because of it. And that you feel so responsible."

"They are. Jor-El told me that they hold all the knowledge of Krypton, and that letting them fall into human hands could mean something really, really bad." And now he thinks he has a better idea of what that could be. What punishment Jor-El is going to dole out for losing another stone, or what comes of it.

Normally he might be amused at her calling him human, but right now it just plain hurts. "But I'm not human. No matter how hard I try to be."

"You will find them." April shifts her position to sitting in his lap. Stroking his fingers through his hair. "This is just a challenge presented to you on your road of destiny. But you will succeed facing it."

Sensing the hurt, April placed her forehead on his. "No. You aren't. And I am not either. I guess I meant to say... we have to make mistakes to learn from them and grow stronger."

He musters up a very half-hearted smile. "Is that a vision talking, or just your faith in me?"

He's been her strength, her reassurance, through so many trials already in the few months that they've known each other and been together. And now it's her turn to help him, reassuring him that he isn't as much of a failure as he thinks. And though it does help to wear the protection charm that she gave him, its influence only goes so far. "People," he suggests quietly. "That's what people do."

"Its my faith in you." April kisses the tip of his nose.

"Exactly. Clark, no one said that carrying a destiny would be an easy thing. We will meet challenges and obstacles. And sometimes we will do something that feels like it messes up everything. And end up facing even more obstacles and challenges."

"But the strength in our souls will carry us through. I know it."

He does feel a little better, knowing that her words stem from her unshakable faith in him and his ability to do what needs to be done. It's not a full reassurance, there's no way of taking away all the guilt at once, but it does help some.

"I just can't help but feel that maybe this is a mistake I can't afford to make." And part of that may be the unrealistic ideal that everyone expects him to live up to, but after hearing some of what's to come, he can't shake the thought.

"There is no mistake that we can't make right." April continued to ease her boyfriends guilt away.

She relizes that his uncertainty stems from that unrealistic ideal of Superman. And gently ran her hands down his chest. As much as him meeting Xander had been important to April, she acknowledged that another person fan-boying about Superman's greatness might have not helped the situation.

"Did you know that it had taken me a while before I connected the dots before Clark Kent and the comic legend of Superman? That the man I fell in love with was the one who sits here with me now, and not some blue-and-red caped ideal that must be so incredible difficult to imagine yourself as. That everyday I am with you, I see the hero that is Clark. The sacrifices you make. The triumphs that make you smile. The challenges that make you doubt. And that I have seen such growth and strength since that first time we met in the Nexus. That your destiny might feel unreachable, but that everyday you are taking steps towards it. Doing what you feel is right."

Xander's reaction was actually one of the more helpful ones he could've had. Once he believed that Clark actually was Clark, he rolled with it easily, not geeking out or asking him stupid questions about the glasses that he doesn't wear (yet). So it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and he's grateful for it.

And as he listens, one of the twisted knots of stress in his chest seems to loosen, knowing that she really did fall in love with him for him and not Superman. That she believes in him, not because of a comic book, but because she knows him. And that she has confidence that even if he doesn't grow into being that untouchable, pristine boy scout in a cape, that he'll become the best person he possibly can anyway, no more and no less.

He closes his eyes again, leaning his forehead against hers. "Thank you."

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