Part 19
"I like your girlfriend, Clark. How did you meet her?"
Clark looked up as Lana ascended the stairs to his hayloft. As the women had taken over the house, he and his father knew enough to stay away and let them have their space. He'd handled most of the chores on the farm and then gone to lounge on the sofa in the loft. He wasn't tired, but there had been nothing else to do and he hadn't felt like going into town for a beer with John. The sense that he should enjoy every moment with Diana that he could was hanging over him. He'd actually been expecting her to come find him, but Lana was still a pleasant surprise.
He stood up and hugged the petite woman. "Lana, how are you? I haven't seen you since..."
"My star model tried to kill me? Good times. Did you ever catch her?" Lana asked playfully.
Clark shook his head. "I'm afraid not, though Toyman has been captured. I think Darcy has earned the right to her own life so long as she stays out of trouble."
Lana shoved at him. "You're a born diplomat, Kent."
"I've seen your folks but I didn't expect to see you- what, no fashion shows in Milan or Paris?" He asked, teasing.
Lana moved further into the loft and sat on the desk in the corner. She took up the picture of them in their senior year of high school and she smiled. "God, we were such a cute couple. No, I've taken a step back from the limelight, though my lines are still top sellers among the fashionable elite. I'm not doing any shows this season but we're marketing to the upscale department stores. Am I boring you yet?"
Clark laughed. "No, but I'll be sure to pass the news on to Lois. She loves your line."
"And how about you? Your girlfriend was wearing bracelets from my spring jewelry line." Lana's smile grew bigger as Clark kept mum. "Come on, Clark, don't keep me in suspense! The whole town is curious, I miss that small-town need to know everyone's business. She's great, by the way, so nice and polite and pretty-"
Clark put up his hands. "All right, all right. Her name is Diana-"
"Diana Prince, I know. She's your special lady from Metropolis, but please, you know what I mean. Is she...you know, like you?"
Clark raised his brows. He had known Lana Lang all his life and though he had kept his origins a secret from her after he'd learned of his Kryptonian heritage, he'd grown to realize that he'd been wrong. Lana was nothing if she was not loyal. She had known about his feats as Superman for years before he'd finally told her. That she had kept his secret spoke to her intense sense of friendship. He knew that she would never willingly betray his secrets, no matter how big or small.
"You mean, was she brought here by a spaceship when she was an infant and became a hero after developing super abilities?" Clark asked dryly. "No...Diana is a little different from me."
"Different? How? Quit playing with me, Clark."
He smiled. "Diana is Wonder Woman. Satisfied?"
Lana's eyes grew large. "Wow, Clark, is she really? Jeez, you sure can pick 'em."
He raised a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You like to zigzag in between us normal humans and your super-babes. First me, then that model you dated in college, then it was that reporter, now it's Wonder Woman." Lana said.
Clark shook his head and sat down on the sofa. "It's not like that. I've been friends with her since the League began, and things just took this turn. It's so new."
Lana smiled. "I like her for you. It's a good match. How long are you staying in Smallville?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm on vacation- go figure, I spend all my time jet-setting so in my downtime I come home to Kansas. I was just going to say, the fair is coming up pretty soon. You and Diana should stay long enough for that." Lana winked at him. "It's always fun to see you win the Strong-Man competition."
He nodded. "If it'll make you smile like that, then sure, we'll stick around for the fair."
"What happens at a county fair?"
Clark leaned back stretched slightly as Diana shifted beside him. It was hours after all of Martha's guests, Lana included, had departed from the Kent farm. Clark and Diana had retreated to the hayloft and were lazing on the long sofa. They were only resting, taking cat-naps and they had remained fully-clothed, more the pity, as far as Clark was concerned.
He cleared his throat and blew a few threads of Diana's hair away from his face. "Well, the fair is just an excuse for everyone to come out to town for the day- to play games and see some local art. Lana wants me to compete in a Strong-Man competition, and she'll be showing some jewelry from her new line."
"It sounds like it will be a wonderful day."
"It will be. We'll have a great time."
Days passed easily on the Kent farm. Diana was pleased to make herself useful to Martha and John around the house and in the orchard. Clark was able to take care of the more lengthy chores, leaving more time for the family to enjoy together.
They played card games, fished from a nearby lake, rode horses, and occasionally went into town.
Clark was happy to be Diana's guide through the more intricate details of Man's World, and even happier still that Diana returned his every affection. She had no hesitation in letting him know that she cared for him, and that if things were different...
Her curse was spreading like a slow, oily tide. Already the clay of her being had begun to resurface on other areas of her body. A large spot on the back of her left thigh, the tops of her feet, one side of her neck, the whole of her back and smaller spots were beginning to appear on her arms, small as freckles.
Diana had stopped mentioning the curse all together- Clark hated that she seemed to accept her fate without a fight. He knew she had stopped praying to Aphrodite to reverse the curse, he knew she was trying to embrace each new day, but Clark could see the signs of decline.
Diana's glow was gone- her face had taken on a slightly ashen appearance, as if she had been covered with a thin mist of dust. She moved slower than she had before, there was a slight strain around her mouth as if she was holding an inner pain in check. Clark didn't want to focus too greatly, but he had seen several locks of Diana's hair fall out on their last horse ride.
The dread that he would have to standby as a helpless witness while Diana was destroyed from the inside out was taking over Clark's mind. He was growing restless and paranoid for her, expecting Ares or Hades to rise up out of the earth at any moment to finish her off.
He tried to push such thoughts aside for the day. The Smallville fair had finally arrived, and he knew Diana was excited about it. She wanted to watch the community gather together and have some fun, she wanted to watch the games and taste the food.
"I've been looking forward to this, Clark. Your people are so kind, today should prove to be very entertaining."
Clark nodded as he watched her come down the stairs. She'd tied her hair into a scarf and chosen to wear a long-sleeved top with her jeans. She couldn't fool him, he knew she was trying to cover herself. He chose not to comment on it. He nodded. "Yeah, I think you're in for a real treat. Are you ready?"
"Oh, yes. Are John and Martha...?"
"They've already gone into town, we can meet up with them later on."
"Your mother made an extra special pie for a contest. She showed me the secret of her twice-baked crust." Diana informed him as she slipped into the truck beside him.
Clark smiled. Who knew Wonder Woman would have been so interested in domestic things? "She was telling me about it last night. I think she'll win this year."
Diana smiled and turned her eyes to the long road that would lead into the center of Smallville. She had surprised herself with how much she had come to love the Kents and their home. Not only was she made to feel welcome, Diana had felt that she'd found a second home to Themyscira- in a small farming town of Kansas, of all places!
Clark kept his fingers entwined with hers as he steered with his free hand. Diana stole a quick glance at him from the corner of her eye. He was such a calm man, and so good to everyone. He was generous and loyal. He had been shockingly ardent on the one night they'd shared together, something Diana had not known to expect. She had gone to him out of trust, and he had revealed to her a deep longing she'd never known herself capable of. She wanted to experience more of what they'd shared, but it seemed that it was not meant to be.
She was dying a slow, steady death. It could be said that she had begun to die the moment she'd stepped into Tartarus. There would be no more prayers, no begging her gods for mercy in lifting the curse. Diana knew she would die, but she chose not to waste her time with anger or bitterness.
She had lived for over a thousand years on Themyscira before entering Man's World and discovering a new side to life. That there were men, alien and human alike, who could overcome a past of cruelty and war to fight for justice. Over a thousand years old, and she still had so much to learn...well, her time was up, but Diana felt that she'd lived long enough. A new champion would rise as she fell.
She tightened her grip on Clark's hand and leaned against him. 'Yes, despite it all, I feel that my life has been complete.'
