slayers_desire | Rested after a good night sleep

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."

An hour doesn't seem like a lot of time normally, but Clark never expected to see Krypton for even a minute. Every moment he stands on the surface of his world, simulated or not, is precious to him.

He reaches down to take her hand. "Walk with me?"

"Of course. I might walk close," April smiles. After all, the dress and heels wasn't made for walking in snow and ice. And Clark is warm. And handsome.

The possibility of her being cold occurs to him very shortly thereafter, and without a word he takes off his red jacket and drapes it over her shoulders. It's still abundantly warm from his body heat, and although it doesn't exactly go with her outfit, he likes seeing her in it. He's only wearing a blue T-shirt underneath, but his now-vulnerable flesh doesn't mind the exposure to the ice and wind.

He takes her hand again, slowly walking along the edge of the deep chasm with himself on the inner edge, looking down into the depths of Krypton.

"This makes me feel more like the cheerleader girlfriend of the star football player, wearing your jacket and all." April chuckled. She was glad for the offer, and felt quite comfortable in his jacket.

He smiles at her. The jacket is enormous on her, but he feels like it's doing what he can't manage physically, wrapping her up in warmth and keeping her sheltered and safe. "Not much good unless I get to show you off," he says, gentle teasing and yet serious. There's an alpha male part of him that wants to parade her around Smallville, shouting, 'Look at her! She's mine! You can't have her!'

Instead, he has a better idea, one he's been tossing around for a while. "You know, prom is going to be coming up in a few months. I wasn't planning on going originally, but things seem to have changed. Like having someone to go with, if she'd like."

April had about to ask if there were events he could show her off at, when he asked about prom. "I would be happy to attend it with you. Just answer one question -- what is a prom?"

He'd known she never went to school, but he'd thought that perhaps she'd at least have heard of prom before. Still, he's happy to introduce her to the concept. "It's a kind of formal dance towards the end of the school year, kind of as a big farewell party for the graduating class. It's one of the biggest graduation traditions outside of the actual ceremony itself. Which you're welcome to come to as well," he adds, making sure she knows one hundred percent that she's invited.

((Haha, both Clark's prom and graduation go disastrously in canon and I'm planning on following. Should be fun!))

"Formal hey? I think I could find something formal before then." April will enjoy looking for the dress, being the girly-girl she is. "It must be so exciting for you to be graduating. And I would be glad to attend both the prom and the ceremony."

((Awesome!))

"Very formal," he confirms. "Guys-in-tuxes-and-ties kind of formal." He's also kind of hoping that her presence will help deter any disaster from striking like it usually does at Smallville events of any kind. Bad karma must be just dying to hit the prom. And how can anything bad happen when she's with him?

"It is kind of exciting. And a bit scary, because I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Specifically, I mean. But that just puts me in the same boat as most of my classmates." He actually feels reassured by that. It's normal to not know what you're going to do when you've just left high school. Clark likes feeling normal.

And here, under the artificial red sunlight and with his girlfriend at his side, he feels more normal than he ever has in his life.

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