I wanted to get around to this fdk sooner, but I kept getting interrupted! I read this part as soon as it was posted, and then I just went back and reread it. I enjoyed it more the second time, I think, only because I was able to read slower and really enjoy it. The first time through... okay, I'll admit to just skimming through for Lois/Clark interaction. Such a one-track mind, I do.
I thought it was really interesting the way you had Lois also experience the death of Clark's parents. It's just one of the saddest parts of Alt-Clark's story for me... I love Jonathan and Martha as Clark's sounding board and givers of all the good advice, you know? I just hate that this Clark had to grow up without them. It also makes me want him to get his Lois even more, though, because he needs someone to be there for him and sustain him.
As he slipped into the currents of rushing people, Clark smiled at his colleagues in greeting and made his way to his desk. He felt a little guilty for staying away so long, for being egocentric enough to leave his world unprotected in order to spend additional time in Lois’s universe, but he quickly squashed the feeling. He wouldn’t trade his extra time on the Farm in Smallville with the Kents for anything. He’d talked and laughed and cried with them. Being held by Martha and Jonathan Kent had been something he would cherish for the rest of his life. After all he’d gone through in his life, no one could begrudge him that small bit of selfishness.
I love that he stayed longer and spent some time with the Kents (see my earlier comments) but truly, it probably only served to make his own re-entry into his Metropolis more lonely. Boy needs his Lois, stat!
Which brings me to... their first meeting. I'll go with Mouserocks on this one - I totally wasn't expecting it to go like that. I was floored.
Clark could almost feel her nervous anticipation at meeting him. He took in her look of dewy-eyed amazement and his smile vanished. His disappointment was palpable and even though he tried to hide it, he watched as her expression changed and he knew she had sensed it, too. No, this was not the Lois he knew, not if his expression could crush her enthusiasm. Although this Lois didn’t act like the hundreds of excited groupies that mooned over Superman, he could still tell she had been expecting something more from him.
I'm with Lois on this one - I was expecting more, too! However, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. Yes, he's been searching for her. But he gave up on it, didn't he? He told HG Wells it was impossible to find her. And now he's spent quite a bit of time in our Metropolis, and he's adjusted to the idea of never finding his Lois - probably accepted it. And now, all of the sudden, she appears. He's bound to be shocked and confused, at best. Of course, Lois is disappointed, and in typical Lois-fashion, gets defensive and angry and pretty much tells him she could run circles around him in the newsroom.
So Lois and Clark have gotten off on the wrong foot... excellent. I can't wait to watch them fight falling in love. Some things are exactly the same, in any universe. I'm curious how you are going to have them interact with each other, though, seeing as they aren't partners. I was hoping that Cat would make it not an option and they would have to partner up (really liking Cat as the Ed-in-Chief, though! Brilliant!). The two of them competing for stories might be entertaining at first, but I want them to work together, too!
Excited for the next part!
Tracey
