DISCLAIMER: The Justice League of America
characters are the property of DC Comics. The story contents are the creation
and property of Djinn and are copyright (c) 2006 by Djinn. This story is Rated
PG-13.
Moving On
by Djinn
Kal hovered over the
water. In the moonless Metropolis night,
he knew he was damn near invisible. But
the people he was watching weren't. The
woman he loved. His
son. And the man they lived
with--the other part of their happy family.
This could all have been Kal's, if he hadn't put his own needs over
Lois's.
He hadn't even told her he
was leaving. And it hadn't occurred to
him to use his special vision to see if there was a reason he shouldn't
leave. Why hadn't it occurred to him? They'd made love. Over and over and... He'd taken no precautions. He'd assumed she had.
Bad
assumption.
Worst
assumption of his whole life.
Kal heard their door open,
looked to see who was coming out. It was
Lois and Richard. He saw that Jason was
asleep already. Lois was holding
Richard's hand, her expression pensive.
Then he smiled at her, and a slow smile crossed her face. A smile so radiant Kal thought he felt his
heart split in two. She loved this
man. And he was a good man. Worth loving. He'd even saved Kal's life.
"If you need some
time...?" Kal heard Richard say.
"I know this is hard."
"It is hard. I'm not going to lie to you." Lois snuggled against him. "And it's going to be hard for quite a
while. But I don't need any time. I made my decision five years ago."
"He wasn't here when you
made your decision."
"It doesn't
matter."
"Maybe that's a hasty
determination."
"Maybe I know my
heart." She sighed. "Part of me will always love him. But it doesn't matter. Because I love you."
Richard didn't look
convinced.
"You know me. You know I'm not the thoughtful type. I'm impulsive. I act.
I push. I grab. I run.
I don't...deliberate."
He laughed. "This is true."
"So, don't you think if
I was going to go after him, I'd have done it by now?"
"That's a good
argument."
"I know." She stared out at the sea. Seemed to be staring right into Kal's eyes,
but he knew she couldn't see him.
"I'm where I want to be."
"Even
if it hurts?"
"Even
if."
"Okay." Richard sighed, but when she started to
nuzzle his neck, he smiled.
"It's a warm
night," Lois murmured. "And a dark one."
He pulled her down onto the
porch swing. "Think anyone would
notice if we were to...misbehave?"
She laughed, was already
climbing onto him. It was clear they'd
made use of the swing in just that way many times. "I don't think anyone will notice."
Kal flew away fast, not
wanting to make her a liar.
Not wanting to watch her
leaving him behind.
------------------
Themyscira seemed especially
peaceful this visit. Diana lay back in
one of the hammocks along the beach, letting the sun warm her.
"Did you hear?"
She gazed over at the
surf. Arthur stood in the waves, the
water up to his waist.
She smiled lazily at him. He'd turned into a good friend, had never let
the way their affair had ended affect how he treated her. "Did I hear what?"
"He's back."
She could feel her smile
dying. "Who?" But she knew.
There was only one man who could earn that level of enmity from
Arthur. The man he felt had stolen her,
even if Kal hadn't kept her. Even if Kal hadn't even had her. "Lois will--"
"Lois, in a stunning
turn of events, is staying with her current beau." Arthur moved a little closer. "I'm surprised he hasn't been here
already."
She looked up almost by
instinct, scanning the skies for a trace of red and blue. There was nothing.
"He's free, Diana. He's finally free."
She shook her head, turned
away, and closed her eyes. "He's
far from free. He loves her. Always has, always will."
"You're wrong, I
think."
She didn't answer,
just let the sun warm her. She heard
Arthur dive into the water, swimming back to his home. Leaving her behind the way he'd done when he
ended their relationship.
Why had he told her this? Was it to warn
her because he knew she wouldn't want to hear it?
Or because
she would?
----------------
Diana was more beautiful than
Kal remembered, and he just stared at her for a long time. It had always been that way. His heart had belonged to Lois, but every
time he saw Diana after an absence, he'd be struck anew by her loveliness, by
the sheer vitality of her being. She was
riding hell bent down the beach, laughing as she raced another Amazon. He thought she was going to win, but the
other's horse drew away.
Then he realized Diana was
pulling up, staring up at the sky as her horse slowed. Staring directly at where he hovered--thirty
thousand feet up.
"I know you're
there," he heard her say.
She didn't sound particularly
happy he was there.
He was about to fly away,
when he heard her whisper, "Come down, then."
His heart beating so hard he
was sure she'd be able to hear it, he let himself fall in a controlled
dive. A Kryptonian
peregrine, streaking blue and red through the sky.
But unlike a falcon, he
slowed as he approached. He landed
gently, well away from her.
This wasn't an attack. Although, he wasn't completely sure what it
was.
"So, you're back?"
"Seems
like." He knew he was staring at her. "You look great. I mean...very relaxed and all." He gave her his best Clark Kent "aw
shucks" grin.
All expression on her face
disappeared. She stared at him hard.
"What?"
"Clark Kent was never
mine, Kal. He belonged to Lois, and you
know that. If you want Lois, why are
you here?"
"Uhhhh..." He knew how stupid he sounded. But her anger stunned him. She'd known he was leaving. She was his best friend. She and Bruce both. He'd told them he had to leave; they'd seemed
to understand. "Why are you mad at
me?"
"I guess a Kryptonian
ball bounces all the way here?"
"You think I'm here to
start something? On the rebound?"
She swung her leg over the
horse's withers and slid off.
"Well, I think if you wanted to have a friendly chat, there would
have been better ways of doing it than stalking me from up there."
"I wasn't stalking
you."
"Of
course not." She leaned back against the horse, and it
turned its head, nickering low and nuzzling her arm. "What do you want?"
"Diana, I'm your
friend. Can't I just want to see
you?"
"You've been back for a
month, Kal. If you wanted to see your
friend, you'd have come much earlier than this." She moved toward him. "I'm sorry she didn't wait for you. I'm sorry she found someone else. I'm sorry that another man is raising your
s--"
"It's all right. I know Jason is my son." He moved closer to her. "How do you know?"
"I didn't know. I just guessed. The timing was awfully suspicious."
"Yeah." He swallowed
hard. "I won't be in his life. Not the way my dad was in my life."
"You made a choice to
leave. There are consequences to
choices."
He sighed. "I'm not sure why you're so angry at
me."
"I'm not angry. That was just the truth." She sighed heavily. "Kal, when Arthur told me you were
back, I was..."
"Arthur told you?"
She nodded.
"Not Bruce?" Kal hadn't been to see him yet, either. He'd have to remedy that as soon as
possible. But he'd been afraid of what
he'd find if he went to the mansion.
He'd been afraid he'd find
Diana in Bruce's bed.
She pulled the horse around
and mounted. He grabbed the bridle,
talking to the horse low and soft, the way he'd talked to horses on the farm.
"Not Bruce?" he
asked again.
She couldn't seem to meet his
eyes. "No. But there's not really a phone here."
"You have your
communicator." He could hear the ultra-high-pitched pulse it sent out as
it switched every so often to a new JLA comm satellite. He put his hand on Diana's knee, let it sit. "I thought you'd be with Bruce,
Diana."
"Well, I'm obviously
not." She kicked him away,
surprising him with her strength.
He'd forgotten what it was
like to spar with an equal. She wheeled
the horse around and took off.
"Not even a challenge,
Diana." He flew after her, picking
her off the horse and carrying her into the air.
She went limp in his arms,
and he turned her so that their bodies pressed together.
"I missed you," he
whispered.
"I missed you,
too." And then she head butted him
so hard his eyes teared up.
He let go of her, and she
fell like a stone, but it was a controlled fall, and he could tell she was in
no danger. By the time he took off after
her, she was already heading out over the open ocean, going very fast.
But not as
fast as he could go. He caught up with her and grabbed her feet,
flipping her hard. She cartwheeled through the air, heading toward the water. But she recovered nicely, and streaked back
at him like a heat-seeking missile.
He tried to get out of her
way. She wasn't having it. The impact probably sounded like a sonic boom
to anyone who happened to be within range.
They tumbled down together, like two blue and red and gold birds mating--or
fighting to the death.
As they plummeted, he pulled
her to him, expecting to see anger again.
But she was laughing. "Damn
you!" she said, but her eyes were sparkling.
He saw the water just below
them, twisted so he'd hit first. He
heard her take a breath, did the same thing.
They hit hard, and their momentum carried them deep under water. She wasn't moving, so he held on to her
tightly, kicking up as quickly as he could.
Breaking the surface, he
looked over at her, expecting her to be unconscious since she'd been so quiet
in his arms. But she wasn't. She was just watching him.
Then she smiled. "That was fun."
He knew he was grinning like
a fool. "It was." He moved a strand of wet hair off her
cheek. "I did miss you."
"You missed her,
too. That's always been the nature of
how things are between us."
"Well, I think things
have changed. Lois has moved on."
"And you want to
also?"
"My feelings for
you...they've always been complicated."
Hell, Arthur thought Kal had gone out of his way to sabotage her
relationship with him. Kal didn't
entirely disagree with that assessment.
He had been madly jealous. Even if he'd had Lois.
Would he be madly jealous of
Lois if he had Diana?
"I know. My feelings are complicated, too." She relaxed in his arms, and they floated
gently.
He studied her face, how she
wasn't looking at him exactly.
"Lois didn't wait for me.
But...did you?"
She tensed.
"Diana, if you say yes,
it doesn't mean I'm going to...attack you." His smile this time was soft, but not
Clark's. He knew he was giving her Kal's
sheepish smile. The
smile that was for her alone.
And she seemed to
respond. Her expression became more
open. "I have feelings for Bruce,
Kal. But he's never going to let me in. I discovered that while you were gone."
"I think he's an idiot,
then."
"Well, I sort of do,
too, but that's not the point. He
doesn't think he can be with me, and he has his own reasons. And they're not stupid ones. I just wish..."
"I know. I just wish, too..." He let her go, but she didn't push away. "Maybe you just leveled the playing
field?"
"Why? Because neither of us are
each other's first choice? Nice,
Kal. Very
romantic." And this time she
did push away and took off out of the water, leaving him alone in seconds.
"Way to go, Smallville."
Kal sighed. Maybe he should take charm
lessons from Bruce?
----------------------
As the JLA meeting broke up,
members breaking off into small groups to catch up or rehash the latest
mission, Diana wandered away from the table.
A red blur passed her, then headed back, materializing into the Flash. "You look like a woman who could use a
pick-me-up."
She took the iced mocha he
handed her and downed half of it.
"Careful,
Princess. You're going to get brain freeze."
She already had it. "But you taught me how to stop
it." She pushed just below the
middle of her eyebrow like he'd showed her.
The pain intensified but localized, under her finger. Then it was gone. "Ahhhh."
"I know. It's like magic, huh?"
"Better
than Circe's."
He grinned. Then his grin grew into a pensive expression
as he looked over at where Kal was talking with Bruce. "So, Big Blue's back. How you doing with
that?"
"Fine. Why wouldn't I
be? He's my friend. My
very good friend."
"You're very, very good
friend." He waggled his eyebrows.
She slugged him. But not too hard.
"Owww." He moved closer. "Seriously, Diana. Lois is not in his life anymore."
"Yes, she is. They work together."
"You know what I
mean."
She patted him on the
arm. "Just because you only think about
sex, doesn't mean that the rest of us are so afflicted."
"It doesn't mean that
you're not, either." He grinned at
her and sped off in the direction of the mocha machine.
She considered going to join
Bruce and Kal, but that seemed too awkward.
Bruce was avoiding her these days when the interaction wasn't
professional. She suspected it was
easier on him that way. And she hadn't
seen Kal since their impromptu romp-fight in the sea.
Some things were just better
left alone.
She passed Flash coming in
with refills, and he circled back and handed her another one.
She waved it off. "I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning."
"You
sure?"
She nodded, and he touched
her arm and then was gone.
Goddess help her, she was
tired. Bone tired. Too many fights. Too little sleep. Themyscira was tempting, much more appealing
then her room at the embassy. Or maybe
she'd just sleep in the Watchtower.
"Leaving?"
She hadn't even heard Kal
come up.
"Yes. I'm beat."
"I'm tired, too."
They stood in the corridor,
staring. She finally turned to go.
"Diana?"
She glanced back at him.
"I was thinking
that--"
"I said I was tired,
Kal."
"I know, but--" When she
started to turn away, he grabbed her arm, spun her around to face him. "Look.
Everything's hard right now.
Working with Lois and not having her.
Working with you and knowing you're mad at me. My son..." He stopped, and his eyes looked suspiciously
bright.
"I'm sorry,
Kal." And she was. But she didn't know what he wanted her to do.
"I need my friend
back."
"I can't make your life
better. You just have to...go through
this."
"I know. And I'm not asking you to fix it. But...could you just have dinner with me
tonight?"
He sounded different. Not like he was wooing. Or playing the "is it romance or isn't
it?" games the way they used to. He
sounded...defeated.
"Just
dinner?"
"Anywhere you want--any
dish you want. We'll fly there. As us. Superheroes. We'll make some restaurateur's
day." He was talking fast, moving
closer. "I'm lonely, Diana."
She swallowed hard.
"Don't you ever get
lonely?"
"I've been lonely for
years, Kal." There, she'd said
it. All these men who supposedly wanted
her, and she was lonely.
"Just
dinner." He held out his hand.
She didn't stop to think,
just said, "Let's go to Bangkok."
"Mmmm. I love Pad Thai."
"Me,
too."
His smile was luminous as she
took his hand. He didn't seem to want to
walk, flew with her to the teleporter. As if he thought she'd change her mind if she
had too much time to think about it.
Bangkok was steamy and hot. Exhaust
fumes filled the air as traffic backed up into the distance.
"I always forget that
it's like this," she said.
"It's good. It's different."
"Different
than Metropolis?"
He nodded as he tucked her
arm under his and started walking.
"What do you do there
when you aren't working?" she asked.
"I, uh...I don't really
spend much time there. I go home--my
mom's alone now, you know?"
She nodded. "So you spend all your time in Smallville?"
"Or at
the Watchtower."
"I saw you'd picked up a
lot of extra shifts."
"You noticed
that?" He grinned. "I trade monitor duty with people who
actually have a life."
Which left her and Bruce
safely out. She pulled her arm away from
his. At his look, she said, "It's hot.
Too hot to...do that."
"You've never minded the
heat."
"It's been five years,
Kal. I'm not sure you have any idea what
I mind anymore."
He looked down. All the energy seemed to go out of him, and
he slowed, looking around. Up. Down.
Anywhere
but at her.
"I'm sorry," she
murmured. How many times had they said
that since he got back? More than they'd
said it in all the years she'd known him.
"Sure. No.
You're right. It's too
hot." He stopped. "You know, this was probably a
mistake."
"No, it's just--"
"No, Diana. This was definitely a mistake."
"What about the Pad
Thai?"
He shrugged. "Guess it wasn't meant to be." And then he was airborne and speeding away so
fast he was nothing more than a blur.
She took off after him,
flying much more slowly. "I guess
not."
----------------
The battle had been
fierce. Kal saw Diana limping off the
field, heading for a downed tree. She leaned
against it, and he listened in--she seemed to be having a hard time catching
her breath. He changed to the vision
that would let him see how badly she was injured and gasped. Her leg was broken in at least four places,
that last final charge had done it, no doubt.
Kal had thought he'd heard
some dire-sounding snaps from her direction.
He'd assumed she was dishing them out, not taking that much abuse.
"Watchtower," she
said. "Take me home."
She disappeared.
"Me, too," Kal
said, tapping his communicator. He came
in right behind her.
She whirled, seemingly
startled to see him. He saw her wince,
and her leg almost buckled, but she corrected well.
"It's broken," he
said as he walked to her and swept her up.
"Put me down."
"Shut up."
She looked startled at his
tone. To say it had not been a good few
months for him would be missing the point of what suckfest
meant.
"I can walk."
"I said shut up."
She shut up, but she didn't
relax in his arms the way she had when they'd been floating in the ocean. The way she'd used to relax when he'd carry
her off the field back before he left.
J'onn looked up as he carried
her into the infirmary. "What
happened?"
"Her leg's broken. She was making it worse by walking on it, and
she's too tired to fly."
"I can fly."
"Then why were you limping off the battlefield?" He looked at J'onn. "It's bad."
"It's not that--"
She shut up when he glared at her.
He had to bite back a
smile. He'd always envied Bruce's
ability to silence someone--especially her--with a glance. Now he knew the secret. Just embrace the pain. Or wallow in it. Whichever.
Kal put Diana down gently on
the bed, checked her out for other injuries as J'onn went to work on her leg
with the healing ray. Her ribs were
cracked. Her wrist wrenched. But those were normal injuries that would
heal in no time. The leg was the
problem.
"Are you done with your
inspection?" she said very softly.
"Yes."
"And does the great
alien think I'm going to live?"
He wasn't sure he'd ever
heard quite so much sarcasm in her voice.
"Looks like."
"Well, thanks. Go away now."
"I'll stay."
"Why? Are you injured?" The sarcasm gave way to something that
sounded like worry. She seemed to be
checking out his uniform. Looking for tears,
punctures.
"I'm fine."
"Oh. Well...good." She didn't meet his eyes.
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"Okay," he said,
crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't need you here,
Kal. Looming over
me."
"I'm not looming."
"Hulking
then. Or how about towering?"
"It's nice to know you
read the thesaurus while I was gone."
J'onn straightened up and
thrust the ray into Kal's hands.
"What are you
doing?" Kal asked.
"Leaving."
"Why?"
"The two of you are
giving me a headache." J'onn
gestured to the ray. "You know how
to use that. Get to it." He phased through the floor and was gone.
"He usually uses the
door." Diana looked up at Kal, her
mouth set in a tight line.
"We gave him a
headache?" He sat down on the bed,
aiming the ray at the parts of her leg that still needed healing.
Silence fell in the room, and
he shifted so he wouldn't have to see her face when he said, "We used to
be so good together, Diana."
"Yes, so good they all
thought we were involved."
He sighed. Glancing over at her, he saw her try to hide
a yawn. "Lie down, Diana."
"I'm fine."
"You're exhausted. Lie down.
I can do this when you're asleep."
"In fact, you'd probably
prefer it."
"Don't put words in my
mouth."
"Fine." She was still
sitting up, arms folded over her chest now.
"Diana, lie down or I
will put you down."
"I'd like to see you
try."
He shut off the ray, turned
as slowly and deliberately as he could, and put his hand on her shoulders. He pushed.
She resisted. He pushed harder. She resisted more, her hands behind her on
the bed, bracing her. Then she seemed to
forget her injury, brought up her leg as if to kick him away.
"Diana,
no."
But she'd already done it and her small sound of surprised pain hit him deeper
than if she'd cried out loudly. Her eyes
filled with tears, and she let her leg drop, suddenly breathing deeply.
"I'm sorry," he
said. And he pulled her to him and held
her. He expected her to push him away,
but her arms came around him and she pressed herself against him,
shuddering. He thought she was crying,
and pulled back enough to see. She
wasn't, and he remembered that she didn't cry very often, and when she did, it
was usually not for herself.
She stared up at him, a look
he couldn't read in her eyes. Then she
pulled his head down, met his lips with her own.
He thought he was ready for
it. He thought he remembered what
kissing her was like. But when her mouth
opened, he felt a shock of pure electricity run through him. She was kissing him as if they were wild
things. And he was kissing her back the
same way, while still trying not to hurt her leg again.
There was a cough at the
door, and Flash said, "I guess now would not be a good time to ask for a
Band-Aid, huh?"
"Get out." Kal thought it was a creditable copy of
Bruce's voice. And he hadn't even been
trying.
"Color me
gone." The door shut behind him.
"Don't push me away,
Diana," Kal said, afraid that she would come to her senses now that they'd
stopped kissing.
But she just lay back
slowly. Then she looked up at him,
unsmiling but not hostile, either, and said, "Just finish my leg so we can
get out of here."
He worked very, very fast.
------------------
They walked out of the
infirmary. Diana tested her leg,
couldn't feel any pain. But Kal was
probably better with the ray than J'onn was--he could actually see what was
happening as he used it.
As they made their way to the
teleporter, their pace was slow. Kal grabbed her hand, and she thought she
could feel his pulse racing where their skin touched.
"Your place or
mine?" she whispered.
He smiled and seemed about to
answer. But then he pulled her close and
just hugged her, his mouth on her hair, murmuring things she couldn't make out
but that sounded sweet anyway.
Then he pulled away and said,
"Bangkok."
"Bangkok?"
He nodded. "We never got our Pad Thai."
"Well, actually, I
picked some up on the way home. I had my
taste buds set on it..."
He laughed. "I grabbed some in Metropolis when I got
home, too. But it didn't taste very
good." He pulled her into the teleporter, held her as he said, "Bangkok."
It was still hot and
steamy. The traffic was still backed up
for miles.
"Got a favorite
place?" Kal asked.
"The
Golden Orchid."
"That's my favorite
place, too."
"I know. You took me there,
remember?"
He nodded. And suddenly he seemed a little awkward and
shy. But not in that practiced Clark
Kent way. In a Kal
way. And she had to pull him to
her and kiss him, right there in the middle of the sidewalk on one of the
busiest streets in Bangkok.
She heard the sound of
cameras. Heard Kal
giggle. And she didn't care, just
kept kissing him. Then she pulled away
and assessed the crowd that had gathered around them. Most holding cameras or
snapping away with their cell phones.
"So much for a low-key
romance," Kal whispered so softly only she could hear it. And then he grabbed her hand, and they
launched into the sky, not coming down until they reached the Golden Orchid. He looked down. "Maybe we should have come in
civvies?"
"It's safer this
way. I can't very well be seen with
Clark Kent if you want to keep your identity secret. Although if Clark is never around, won't Lois
be suspicious?"
"Trust me. Lois won't notice whether Clark is there or
not." He sounded bitter, but it
wasn't a raw, new bitterness. It was an
old pain. The way she felt when she
thought of Bruce. It hurt--but it
wouldn't kill her.
"Come on," he said,
pulling her into the restaurant.
There was a gasp as they walked in. Then
many people came scurrying to them. A
man hurried out of an office, making much of them. They were led to a very private table, near a
fountain. Big, frothy drinks were placed
in front of them, the actual liquid obscured by huge chunks of tropical fruit
on plastic skewers and very bright paper umbrellas.
"Drinks are on the
house," the waitress said with a very sweet smile, then
she left them alone.
Diana leaned toward Kal,
smiling when he took her hand. "So, no your place or mine tonight?"
"We're not about
that."
"We're not?"
"Well, not yet."
"Oh. Not yet." How long did he want to wait?
"I mean. Not right this minute yet. But...later. Tonight. If you want...?" He sounded like a teenager on his first date.
"I want."
The teenager gave way to the
man she'd loved for far too long. She'd
been pushing that love away for so many years that it felt strange to let it
in. To let it fly.
"I've loved you for
years, Diana," Kal said, his fingers doing things to her palm that made
her shiver. He didn't qualify the
statement, and for the first time she didn't feel like bringing Lois up.
Kal had loved her for a long
time. And that was enough.
"And I've loved
you." And she had been waiting. Even if she'd never admit it to him. She'd been willing to wait a lifetime--Lois's
and Bruce's, if necessary.
But it hadn't been
necessary. Fate had a strange sense of
humor.
The waitress came back. "Do you know what you want?"
Kal smiled at Diana. "Oh, yes." He was not looking at the menu.
Diana smiled, too, then looked up at the waitress. "We'll both have the
Pad Thai."
"Extra spicy," he
said with a mischievous grin. When the
waitress left, he leaned in and kissed her.
As he pulled away, she said,
"Extra spicy or extra strong?"
She was thinking about their romp in the sea and the sky. What would it be like to make love to someone
she wouldn't hurt if she let go?
He seemed to be thinking the
same thing. He was gripping her hand
tightly. And he seemed very far away.
"Earth
to Kal."
"I'm here." He brought her hand up, kissed it, then let his lips just rest against it. "Although right then, I was drifting off
to our little swim the other day."
"Somehow, I knew
that." She was meeting his gaze,
knew that her expression had to be naughty.
"No holding back
now," he said, his eyes very serious.
She nodded.
"I'm not talking just
about the sex, Diana. You were right to
push me away."
"Or run away?"
"That,
too. I wasn't ready. And maybe you weren't, either."
"And now we are."
"Yes. And now we are." He let go of her hand, and they talked--the
way they used to, with no lack of topics, laughter creeping in slowly as they
recalled the ease they'd once had.
They talked nonstop until the
food came. And when the meal was over,
they took off for Paris and sat next to a gargoyle on the roof of Notre
Dame. They talked some more. And they kissed. And finally, they flew back to New York.
She led him into the Embassy,
smiling at the warm welcome from the staff.
Superman was beloved, and not just by her.
There were some surprised
looks when she drew him away, taking his hand and leading him up the
stairs. She imagined there would be even
more surprised looks when he led her back down them in the morning to
breakfast.
He smiled at her as she
closed the door. "Nervous?"
"I am." And she showed him that her normally steady
hands were trembling.
That seemed to make him melt,
and he pulled her to him, and was easing her uniform off, and she realized he
was far too familiar with how to do that than a man she'd never made love to
should be. And she got his uniform off
just as quickly. And then they were
falling onto the bed, and she had the momentary fear that he wouldn't be worth
the wait--or that she wouldn't be. But
that thought lasted about ten seconds, and then she didn't worry anymore.
No holding back was
amazing. No holding back was better than
amazing.
He laughed at her expression,
kissed her tenderly. And she kissed him
back just as sweetly.
"Life will get
better," she whispered to him, as he fell asleep in her arms.
He tightened his hold on her,
pulled her close, his deep, even breathing a soothing counterpoint to the
strong beat of his heart. He moaned, and
then he started to talk in his sleep, and she tensed, afraid of what she was
going to hear.
But it was just nonsense
words. And none of them sounded like
Lois. And one of them did sound a bit
like Diana.
She kissed him and he smiled
in his sleep. An easy, boyish smile that
she hoped he'd never stop showing her.
She realized she wasn't
lonely. With a last gentle kiss on his
forehead, she cuddled into him and fell asleep in his arms.
FIN