slayers_desire | Rested after a good night sleep

"If you do tromp on my feet, you will just owe me a foot massage later." April replies. Now they have their drinks, she will guide him to a booth. Where they can set down drinks and hit the dance floor.

"Besides, dancing can help agility for football and battles."

Clark doesn't think that a foot massage will fix broken toes, but he's a lot less clumsy than he looks, so he feels fairly confident in his ability to not squash her feet flat.

"Ah, appealing to my masculinity," he says with a laugh. Football and fighting, two of the great American male pastimes. "Good strategy."

"Oh didn't you know?" April sets down her drink, and slides up close to him. "There is a lot of your masculinity that I would like to appeal too."

After their discussion the other day, he's feeling a little bolder than he would be ordinarily, and his voice drops half an octave. "Oh, you are."

His only perpetual problem is not knowing what to do with his hands. He compromises by sliding one around her waist, very careful not to grope her.

The boldness definitely gets a reaction, because Clark's voice and the hand on her waist gives April a very pleasant sensation down her spine.

"Good to know." The soft statement is matched by a soft kiss.

Clark's heat vision has been behaving so far, much to his relief. This does not, however, mean that he isn't enjoying himself, particularly when it comes with kisses.

This is so much better than spending the evening staring at the barn wall.

"I think to dance, we have to move our feet a little more than this," he says with a smile, using his other hand to smooth back a stray hair from her face.

"Ohhh I have moves." April guided him towards the dance floor. A slow dance is playing at the moment, so they are able to stay close. While dancing.

Clark is much better at slow dancing than he is any other kind, provided there isn't a lot more than swaying around and not, like, waltzing or anything. At least this way he's sure not to step on anybody.

He chuckles a little as they dance. "The last time I did this, I got interrupted by a tornado touching down in town." It's nice to be somewhere where he doesn't have to worry about disaster striking unexpectedly.

"This is a tornado-free zone." April reassured him, caressing his hair with her fingers. No drama should interrupt them here. "Glad someone taught you to slow dance. Will have to thank the woman in question some day."

He chuckles, almost subconsciously stroking her back. "That would be my mom, actually. She and Dad took me to a social when I was six, and I wanted to dance like everyone else. So I stood on her shoes and she twirled us around the room."

"Awwww." April always loves hearing Clark/Martha stories, especially from his childhood. And while still protective, felt a little acceptance from his mom.

"Now thanking her would be difficult. She is an amazing woman."

"I've had two great mothers." Clark's never spoken about Lara to anyone but his mom, just after his brief time in captivity in Summerholt. "I don't remember a lot about my biological mom, but I remember her putting me in the ship as a baby. She was only afraid that no one would love me. I wish she could see you all. You, my parents, my friends. I am loved."

"You are definitely loved. I am sure she would be happy." April kisses him again. Then smiles, "I have another surprise lined up here, that sort has to do with your biological home."

Clark is somewhat stunned, to the point where he stops moving. Something to do with Krypton? "Really?"

April smiles and checks her watch. "I guess we are close enough to our appointment time. This Club has a simulation room, where you can make anything or anywhere come to life. And from tips from a comic geek of mine -- we have designed how Krypton would have appeared. For you."

Clark's more than stunned, he's speechless. Regardless of how he feels about his biological father, and the fear he's had regarding his own people, he's longed to know more about where he comes from. What were his people like? What sort of planet was Krypton? What happened to it? He never expected any of those questions to be answered.

He's aware that he's staring at her, mouth open, but he doesn't know what to say.

With a soft chuckle, April takes his hands and guides him off the dance floor and towards a back room. There the simulation room waited for them, and on first enter ti looked like a huge expanse of nothingness.

But once the door was closed, April keyed into the information. And within seconds the landscape changed to appear as Krypton. As it had been before it had been destroyed. "All the descriptions for the world were taken from the Comics. But I am hoping it is close enough to the world that you were born."

Clark isn't sure what he's expecting, but he has to inhale sharply as he's surrounded by ice and snow. Huge spires rise up like enormous crystals, towering thousands of feet overhead, and a deep chasm drops off to reveal crystallized structures built (grown?) into the side of the cliffs. Two enormous moons hang in the sky, and behind them both, a blazing red giant star burns dimly, so huge that even human eyes would be able to see the flares leaping from the surface.

He takes a step forward, the ice firm but not slippery, and a puff of dusty snow rises around his shoe. "Oh my God."

The simulator also does a good job with mimicing the atmosphere of Krypton. ~~Mun's choice for Red Sun effects on Clark~~. April watches Clark carefully, with a curious look to if it is a good 'Oh My God' or not.

She will remain quiet for now. Allowing him time to take in everything.

It's a minute or two before Clark realizes his powers are waning. Powers or not, he's still not human and his species are adapted to this environment, so he continues to be immune to the cold. But he can tell that if he tried to run, or hover, or use his x-ray vision, he would get nothing. The energy of the yellow sun bleeds out of his body, replaced by the less nourishing red light of Rao, like his form can only hold one or the other. But he doesn't feel unnerved, or frightened. He just feels normal. And that's okay.

He turns slowly in a circle, looking at everything he can see, noticing how it even smells different from Earth. "This... this is amazing."

Luckily for April, her vampiric abilities give her some protection from the cold. Otherwise in her dress she would be shivering. Her breath shows when she talks and breathes. "There were different descriptions from the cities that had once existed. And I didn't want to try to duplicate your birth parents."

"But I wanted to share some of what is known."

Clark goes to her, and takes her into his arms, and tries to ignore that he's trembling slightly. He feels the grief for a planet he never knew, and the heartsickness of an alien who will never go back to his homeworld, but he doesn't regret being here for an instant. He only regrets that eventually they'll have to leave.

"Krypton is gone," he says quietly. "It's not coming back. This is closer than I ever expected to get. Thank you."

His warmth is appreciated by April, and she cuddles close. A kiss on his neck at his slight trembling. "I am glad that I could give this to you."

He chokes back a slightly hysterical laugh, sounding more like a sob. "I don't... how can I ever repay you for this?" He doesn't know if she understands the magnitude of what she's given him today. This is more than just a gift. She's unlocked part of his identity. Given him normality. Shown him home. Things he'd never dared to hope for. "How long do we have?"

"Silly Clark. This is the sort of things people do for the ones they love. I don't expect you to pay me back. Your happiness is enough." April kisses his chin.

"An hour. Hope it is enough time."

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