Chapter Nineteen
Chelsea versus Manchester United was perhaps the most heated rivalry of the English Premiere League. The clubs supporters legendarily disliked one another. Because of this, plus the stakes the matches usually represented, a ticket was a hot commodity. Standing in the pens, one could feel the electricity in the stadium. The longer the match went without a score, the more the tension seemed to build. Somehow, Clark Kent found himself packed up against the fence with Aphrodite and Jonn.
“The brutality and violence is amazing! It’s so exciting,” Aphrodite said, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a wide excited grin.
“The match is the other direction, Thea, you’re looking at the crowd,” Clark instructed, gently turning her around to face the match.
“Oh! Something’s happening out there, too!” She exclaimed. Clark had to smile. He glanced over at Jonn and was surprised to see a look of deep concentration on his face. His Martian friend seemed to have been caught up in the feverish atmosphere. Being raised in the states, Clark hadn’t really followed the sport much, but he was beginning to understand the allure. The crowd seemed to hang on every possession, rising and falling with their team. That he was here was still amazing to him. He’d gone to see Aphrodite, just as he promised Diana he would earlier in the week. Clark had a very reasonable, thought out argument prepared for the event. He carefully explained to Aphrodite that the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing was part of the courting ritual for most average people. It was a step toward deepening the relationship, perhaps even a step towards marriage. Since they both knew that was an impossibility, it would be better if they stop using it. For once Aphrodite listened to him calmly, waiting for him to finish. This was an encourage sign he thought. He asked if she understood what he was saying and she nodded. Clark felt a sense of relief that they had cleared that up. Just as he was about to leave, Aphrodite stopped him with a question.
“Kal-El, if we aren’t going to be boyfriend/girlfriend anymore, then what should we use?”
“Um, what’s that,’ he asked.
“How should I introduce you, if you don’t want to be called my boyfriend?” she said with a smile.
Part of him didn’t want to have to introduced at all, but she had a valid point.
“I guess there are alternatives,” he absently said.
“Like what? Would you introduce me as your Lady,” she calmly asked.
“No, I’d feel like kind of a creep calling anyone that,” Clark said, dismissing it.
“Woman friend?”
“No, that doesn’t sound right. How about just friend,” he suggested.
“From my reading, friend implies a platonic nature to the relationship. We certainly can't claim that, can we,” she said seductively, running her fingers down the front of his shirt.
“No, no, I guess not,” Clark quickly agreed, taking a step back so he wouldn’t be distracted.
“So what? Lover” she suggested.
“Ah, no,” He answered, again the creep factor being high with that one.
“Partner?”
“No,” He shook his head, visions of all the Justice League members that had young boys as their partners flashing through his mind.
“Significant other, companion?”
“Well, I do know.”
“Sex mate?”
“No! Definitely not that,” Clark replied, squirming a little inside at just the thought of saying that to someone. He was stuck. As he scrambled to think of the right term, his mind seemed to go blank. He would have been happy with friend.
“Well, Kal-El, you did promise to show me around this new world and there are still many things I want to see and do, so for convenience and practicality wouldn’t it be easier for me to refer to you as my boyfriend,” she said with a rather satisfied smile.
“But I’ve already explained why that wouldn’t be right,” he countered.
“Oh, yes, I understand, but since we both agree that would never happen, isn’t it just easier to use the term for now?”
“I suppose it would, but it would imply something that wasn’t.”
“You said that's what average people mean when they say it. Neither one of us is average, Kal-El. As long as we know it doesn’t mean that, there shouldn’t be a problem, right,” she countered.
“I guess,” he said weakly.
“Good! I’m glad we had this discussion,” she beamed.
“Right,” he answered, not sure what had just happened. As he made a move to leave, Aphrodite came up and wrapped her arms around him.
“Aren’t you going to kiss your girlfriend goodbye, Kal-El,” she playfully asked. Almost automatically he leaned down to kiss her goodbye and again received a scorching embrace. She seemed to put all of herself in every kiss. When they finally pulled apart, he had to take a deep breath to calm himself down.
“Oh, are you free this weekend,” she asked.
“What? Ah, this weekend, I think,” he answered, trying to get his focus back.
“Good, I’ve got tickets to something called a Foot Ball game. I saw it on the television and apparently it’s quite popular. I mentioned it to Jonn and he seemed eager to go with us.”
“You spoke to Jonn?”
“Yes, I like your friend, he’s fun. Why don’t you two meet me in London this weekend and we can all go,” Aphrodite suggested.
“I guess, unless some emergency comes up,” Clark replied. How the heck did she get in touch with Jonn, Clark absently wondered.
“Oh, I’m no worried, you’re Superman, you can make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Right,” Clark absently agreed and headed out of her room.
He was still a little confused over how things hadn’t gone as plan when he transported into the Watchtower later. As he stepped off the pad, he saw Jonn waiting for him.
“Hello, Jonn.”
“Hello Clark, I was wondering if you happened to see Thea today,” Jonn asked in all seriousness.
“Yes, yes I did.”
“Did she mention this weekend?”
“Ah, yeah, she did, she said something about a football game,” Clark offered, starting towards the cafeteria. Jonn immediately followed, walking along with him.
“Wonderful!” Jonn said with a big smile, “then she got the tickets!”
“Yeah, she did. You’re looking forward to this, aren’t you, Jonn?”
“I must confess I am, Clark.”
“Well, barring an emergency or alien invasion I guess we’re going,” Clark said, amused to see his teammate so excited.
“I look forward to it,” Jonn practically beamed and head back towards the monitor room. Clark was still chuckling to himself over Jonn’s reaction as he entered the cafeteria. The room wasn’t very crowded. He glanced around, seeing Shayera and Zatanna sitting together talking. They seemed to have become very chummy lately, he observed. When they looked over at him, both had big smiles.
“Hey Clark, how’s your girlfriend doing,” Shayera teased. Both women laughed when they saw Clark blush. Two can play at this game, Clark thought to himself.
“She’s fine, just fine, Shayera,” Clark said, moving over to their table. “You know, I’ve notice you two don’t seem to be with anyone. Does that mean you’re still pining away for Lantern, Shayera? Oh, and Zee, who was it you secretly had a crush on, Batman?”
Both women’s jaws dropped open in shock. They looked mortified and Clark had to smile.
“Super hearing, remember, ladies? You both have a good day now,” Clark said, grinning from ear to ear as he walked away.
So Clark found himself pressed against the fence with thousands of screaming fans all around him. He was a little worried Jonn was going to rip the fence to shreds as he shouted and cheered with the supporters. As the final few minutes ticked down, the anticipation grew. When the winning goal was scored the entire place went into a state of delirium. The roar of the crowd was deafening. Jonn was cheering and high-fiving everyone around him. Aphrodite was caught up in the moment and leapt into Clark’s arms, giving him a surprisingly strong hug and passionate kiss. You would have thought everyone standing near them were old friends by the way they hugged and danced with joy. Aphrodite released Clark and turned to embrace Jonn. Clark just took a moment to enjoy the scene.
The rest of the night went by rather quickly. They went to several clubs to listen to the latest bands and then it was on to the dancing. Again Clark gamely gave it a go, but mostly he stood and watched. As he sat there on the side looking out over the wall-to-wall crowd, he had to admit the day had been interesting. There was a certain allure to the endless possibilities of the big city, yet he kept finding his mind going back to the last night at the farm. It was the only place he truly felt completely at ease. Sitting on the roof with Diana had been the most content he had felt in years. Sadly it occurred to him it was possibly a glimpse at what might have been. He was pulled from these melancholy thoughts by the sound of a champagne cork popping. Aphrodite and Jonn were taking a break from the dance floor and came back over to him to celebrate. Managing a smile, he joined them in toasting the wonderful match they had witnessed earlier.
------------------------
Diana had been at the Embassy all day. It seemed that far from having the weekend off, her schedule was full of meetings. As ambassador for her people, there were a million issues and problems that had to be dealt with. As the day dragged on and on, with one meeting after another, her patience was being tested to the fullest. As the trade representative went into mind numbing detail about how his agribusiness could increase the yield of Themyscira’s soybean crop production, she feared tears would come from her eyes. The fact that Themyscira didn't have a soybean crop didn't seem to deter the man in any way. She knew as Princess of her people, she had duties to perform, but this seemed above and beyond the call. Growing up the Queen’s daughter, she had lived around the palace business and politics her whole life but it had never interested her. When Diana thought of her home, it wasn’t the palace or formal banquets that she pictured. It was the little things, riding horses, swimming in the ocean or just walking through the natural beauty of the island that came to mind. When Bruce took her to one of their infrequent dinners, it was always an elegant affair at the most exclusive restaurants. It was the best of everything, so she really couldn’t complain, but secretly she wished for something different. The trappings of being a princess held no fascination for her. It was the everyday things that held an appeal. Here she was a princess and ambassador, yet the most recent pleasant memory she had was of the night at Kal’s farm. She had been reluctant as first, wanting to continue their discussion of when and how he was going to handle this woman Thea, but eventually she had let it go and just enjoyed the sheer natural beauty of the sunrise. They sat in silence taking in the way the light played over the golden fields. It was as if the world were waking up anew around them. Much later they floated down and Kal made them breakfast. It was steak and eggs with strong rich coffee, nothing fancy, but as they sat there just enjoying their meal and each other’s company, Diana found herself as happy as she could recall in recent memory. As she tried to bring her focus back to the meeting she was attending, another trade representative was just about to start. When he began his PowerPoint presentation, Legumes, Nature's Miracle, Diana had to will herself not to groan in misery.
