Hello, everyone. Thanks for the feedback.
And thanks to rkn for betaing again.
Here's part 21.
A Box of Swiss Chocolates
The next day, Kiley continued to work on her painting about her broken family. Why couldn’t things be different? Why did she have to fall in love with a Luthor, anyway? She missed the way her family used to be, and she missed her Larry, too.
And even though she wasn’t quite as upset as she had been yesterday about what Dad was doing, she was still hurt. Dad was treating Larry the way Arnold treated her. Not exactly as in-your-face, but similar. Arnold didn’t let her move on in her life with her painting. Instead, he continued to make comments about how she should be writing, or how writing in itself was better than painting. Every time he did that, she was a child again, trying to convince Metropolis that she DIDN’T want to be a reporter like her parents. She still lived in their shadow because of that.
Dad refused to believe the possibility that Larry was not exactly like Lex Luthor. He wasn’t letting Larry move on with his life, either. By investigating him, he was forcing Larry to continue to live in his uncle’s shadow. Kiley sighed, remembering how Larry had revealed to her how much that bothered him.
Still, remembering what she knew about Dad’s history with Lex Luthor, she sighed. Should she cut him a little more slack? Lex Luthor had put Dad in a Kryptonite cage, after all. And tried to steal Mom from him she added to herself, remembering that article. Still, that didn’t excuse him from going through Larry’s personal things!
Kiley continued painting for another few hours.
Suddenly she put her paintbrush down. Enough was enough. Mom and Dad were not going to believe her about Larry any time soon. Her life was in shambles. If she flew to Switzerland tonight, after Dad was done his “investigation,” she could tell Larry. Then at least she’d have him back in her life. And she could also warn him about her father’s investigation.
Maybe someday, her parents would believe her about Larry, if for no other reason than he didn’t attack the family.
Kiley took a deep breath and spun into Superwoman. She looked at the time. 2:00PM. That meant it was 8:00 in Zurich. Larry would be home by now, assuming he wasn’t out tonight. That meant her father would at least have to be out of his house, if he had gone there today. Nodding to herself, she finally flew out the window.
As she approached the Alps, she smiled this time. Once again, they became a source of comfort. She should have her Larry back tonight.
Assuming Larry was okay with her being Superwoman, she added to herself, suddenly voicing a new fear. Larry was okay with Superwoman now. He had told her that he didn’t consider her or the other super-heroes egotistical anymore. But would he really be okay with HER being Superwoman? And even if he was, would he be okay with her hiding the truth for so long? What if she told him, and he said he couldn’t accept it?
Then she’d have no family at all and no Larry. It would be just like when she was in the cave in Northern Russia. All alone. Kiley started to turn around. Anything was better than that. Then she reminded herself about her father’s investigation. Shouldn’t she at least warn him about that? She took a deep breath. She had to know how this would turn out.
Kiley flew down to land in a familiar alley, and then walked over to Larry’s house. Would he even be home? Since she hadn’t contacted him in over a week, she didn’t know what his schedule was anymore. What if he had gone to his mother’s or something? What was going to happen tonight?
Kiley ran her fingers through her hair. Then she nervously knocked on the door. Would he slam the door in her face when he found out who it was? She ran her fingers through her hair again.
Just as Kiley was about to knock on the door again, it opened.
Larry stood on the other side, looking shocked. “Kiley? I thought I was never going to see you again!”
Kiley smiled slowly. “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again, either.”
“Things were pretty intense when you left,” Larry commented.
“Yeah, they were,” Kiley agreed.
“Listen, I should probably apologize for the way I reacted. I don’t usually act like that. Something about you makes me more emotional.”
“Me, too.” Kiley grinned. But she was still standing outside. Was he going to let her in?
“But it did really hurt me that you were keeping something from me and that you lied to me. Why did you do that if you said you loved me?” Larry pleaded for her to answer.
Kiley sighed. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can I come in? This isn’t really a conversation I can have if others might see or hear us.”
Larry nodded, with his eyebrows raised.
They went into his living room, where “Swiss Alps Mystic” was still proudly displayed. They both looked at the painting, and then each other, at the same time.
“So,” Kiley began. “You were right; I’ve been keeping something from you. And it’s something big, that a major part of my life.”
Larry opened his mouth to say something. He looked quite upset by this information.
She raised her had to quiet him. “But I’ve had good reasons for doing so. This secret doesn’t just affect me; it affects my whole family, Larry.”
Larry seemed to calm down a little by this information. He nodded. They both sat on the couch.
“I wanted to tell you that night, I really did. But I couldn’t do that without telling my family first. And then, well, when I did tell them…” Kiley’s voice trailed off. She knew he didn’t like people judging them because of his uncle.
Larry sighed and nodded in understanding. “They didn’t want you to tell me because my last name’s Luthor.”
Kiley nodded. “I told them not to judge you by that, but they didn’t listen. They’ve had a lot of bad history with him, and NOT just what’s in the papers, I’m afraid. It has to do with our family secret.”
Larry paused and seemed to be processing that information. “So this is a big family secret that involves bad history with my uncle? Why do you trust this with me, then?”
“Because I need you in my life, Larry!” Kiley cried. “I love you! I miss you, and I’ve been at odds with my family ever since I told them about you, anyway. Besides, some of the things Dad is doing really hurts, almost betrays me, and has me worried about you.”
“Oh, and as far as the ‘lie’ last week, it wasn’t actually a lie. I did go upstairs. I just didn’t stay there.” With that, Kiley took a deep breath and spun into Superwoman. “I flew out the window.”
Larry’s mouth fell open. “You’re…”
Kiley nodded. “Yes.”
“And I told you Superwoman was egotistical and I didn’t want her around my home last month! No wonder you left that day the way you did! I can’t believe you were still willing to talk to me after that!” He hung his head in shame.
Kiley shrugged. “Yeah, it hurt a lot. But your explanation when you called me made sense. And I really wanted to keep seeing you. Besides, it took me a while to really believe that you weren’t like your uncle. So I could understand how you could have taken a while to believe Superwoman wasn’t egotistical.”
“But why didn’t you just say you KNEW Superwoman, at least, wasn’t egotistical? You didn’t have to tell me you were her; you could just tell me you knew her.” Larry sounded confused at this, trying to understand what was going on.
Kiley thought back to that time. “Yeah, that’s true. I could have. And I did plan to help you see the truth when we got back together. But I guess I also felt it was easier to pretend the problem doesn’t exist, you know? Brush it under the rug. And I thought that telling you that would sound too much like ‘believe me because I told you so.’ Would you have actually listened to that?”
Larry shrugged. “I don’t know.” Then he chuckled. “I feel kind of dumb, though. There were so many clues, I should have recognized! Why couldn’t I see the truth?”
Kiley shrugged back at him. “We work hard for people not to even think we might have secret identities as regular people. And as for the rest, I’m just glad you didn’t figure it out before we were ready for it. We’re ready now,” she added gesturing to her and Larry. With that Kiley leaned over and kissed him.
“I’ve missed that,” she said grinning, when the came up for air.
“Me, too,” Larry replied. Then he kissed her again.
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! My father is conducting an investigation about you.”
Larry shrugged. “So? I don’t think there’s much we can do to stop him. Maybe it’ll allow him to finally see the light.”
Kiley sighed. “Larry, it’s a lot more complicated than that.” She rubbed Larry’s knee while she talked. “First of all, I hate to admit it, and it hurts me, too, but Dad is going to take a long time to see the light on you. Lex Luthor put him in a Kryptonite cage, once. Grandma told me he was in there for almost twenty-four hours.”
Larry paused to digest this information. “But Kryponite? Your father?” He sounded confused again. Then suddenly, the light seemed to come on in Larry’s head. “Your father is Superman! I should have figured that out right away when you showed me you were Superwoman. And you said it was a FAMILY secret. But...I just…” his voice trailed off.
Kiley chuckled. “It’s okay. You’ve had a lot to take in tonight.”
He nodded. “So Uncle Lex once tried to kill your father.” Larry sighed. “This just keeps getting messier and messier. I can’t believe I once looked UP TO that piece of slime!”
Kiley nodded sympathetically. “But anyway, Dad does his investigations, particularly one like this where he think he needs to ‘save me’, the way Mom taught him. Breaking and entering, undercover, and underhanded superpowers. He’ll go through your private things, if he hasn’t already, to try to find evidence.”
Larry sighed. He didn’t look thrilled to know that a stranger who obviously hated him, going through his private things. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to stop him. But thanks for telling me.”
Kiley suddenly got an idea. “I don’t know what you’ll think of this, but would you come to Metropolis with me? Then at least, you wouldn’t have to deal with my father face-to-face while he does this investigation. It might be better on both of you. And I miss having someone to talk to in Metropolis. I can’t talk to my family anymore.”
Larry looked horrified at this idea. “Kiley, I avoid going to Metropolis for a reason. If you walk around there with the name ‘Luthor’, everyone’s out to get you. I know that.”
“But you don’t look like Lex Luthor. Couldn’t you just do what you do here? Not give out your last name?”
He shook his head. “But I’d at least need to get a hotel or something. I’d have to sign my full name for that.”
Kiley shook her head and took his hand. “You don’t have to get a hotel room, though. You could stay with me.”
Larry looked taken aback. “Look Kiley, I love you and I know you love me…but…”
.
“You’re not ready for intimacy?” she asked him suddenly understanding. “Look, Larry, I’m not ready for that, either. I just meant you could sleep on my couch so we could avoid the hotel problem. Quite frankly, I hope you’re okay with this, but I don’t plan on doing that until I get married. That’s what my parents did, and they tell me it really helped their relationship.”
Larry looked relieved. “I’m glad to hear that. I always said I didn’t want to do that unless I got married either. I didn’t want to be a playboy like Uncle Lex. Not that us…’making love’ would make me a playboy but…”
Kiley nodded in understanding. “So, seriously, would you come to Metropolis with me? It would mean a lot.”
Larry took a deep breath and nodded. “For you, I’ll do anything.”
So Kiley, who was still wearing her Superwoman costume, stood up. “When my Dad takes my Mom flying, he cradles her. That’s also what I do when I’m doing rescues, because the people feel safer. And I can do that for you if you want. But I wondering if it might feel…I don’t know…not that you’re all macho and everything, but…”
Larry nodded in understanding. “Yeah, it would be kind of weird for you to carry me like that. How about you put your arms around my waist from behind? Could you fly like that?”
Kiley grinned and wrapped her arms around him like he suggested. “Like this?” She leaned over and kissed his back.
Larry chuckled. “Yeah, like that.”
“Can you open a window?” He nodded and did so. Then they got back into position and took off. Larry looked at the Alps from above. “I can see how you’d paint an ‘aerial view,” he commented teasing her.
Kiley laughed. Flying with Larry was just as amazing as she thought it would be.
Ten minutes later, Kiley flew into her apartment.
Larry looked around her living room. “Nice place.” He looked at the portrait of her family. “Is this your family?”
Kiley nodded. They used to be anyway. Now they were a broken family.
Larry noticed her reaction. “I’m sorry. Are you sure you made the right decision by telling me?”
Kiley shrugged. “I just didn’t know what else to do. Well, it’s late, especially by your time. There’s the couch,” she said pointing. “Let me get you a pillow and a blanket.”
The next morning, Kiley got up feeling a little better. Larry was back in her life. That was a good thing. She got dressed and went downstairs to greet him. “Hi Larry,” she smiled, and kissed him
“What would you like for breakfast?” she asked him.
“Do you have stuff to make omelets? I’ve never made you my breakfast special yet!”
Kiley grinned. Larry, her chef.
So Larry made a couple of omelets with green peppers, onions, and cheese. They also had toast and juice. As they enjoyed their breakfast, they also kept touching shoulders, knees, and feet.
After they were finished, Kiley knew she wanted to work on her painting of her broken home. But Larry was here. What could she do? Suddenly, she nodded to herself. It was time to break that barrier as well. After all, Larry was the only one she had right now.
So after excusing herself for a second, she changed into her painting clothes. What would Larry think of her when she was dressed so grunge? She shook her head and told herself, “Larry loves you, not the way you dress!”
Then she came back downstairs.
Larry looked up. “Are those the clothes you use to paint with?” he asked causally.
She nodded, and then suddenly sneezed.
“Bless you,” Larry replied automatically.
“I’m going to paint now…Would…you like to come with me?”
Larry looked at her in surprise. “I thought you told me you never showed anyone unfinished paintings?”
“I don’t. But this is different. I want you to know all of me, Larry. I love you. You’re the only one I have left.” She took him by the hand a led him into her studio.
“This is a painting about my feelings concerning my family breaking up.”
Larry smiled sadly at her and nodded.
Kiley got to work. A half hour after she started working she noticed her nose running. Was she getting a cold again? She shrugged and continued painting. Larry picked up a box of tissues for her.
That night, she and Larry read passages from “Romeo and Juliet.” Each made parallels to their own situation as they cuddled up together on the couch.
“Romeo and Juliet decided they were going to be together no matter what their parents thought, just like we have,” Kiley commented to Larry.
“Yeah, but they ended up not being able to fix the problem. Do you think we can really change your parents’ minds eventually?”
Kiley sneezed again. “Yes, I do. My parents hated Lex Luthor, Larry. But they’re good people. We just have to prove it to them. I just knew I couldn’t do that by not seeing you. Besides, Romeo and Juliet were only children. We’re not.” She blew her nose again. “Besides that, I love you, Larry. I need you in my life, no matter what they say. “We’re two halves of the same whole.” She took his hands and looked intently into his eyes.
Larry nodded in understanding.
Then she sneezed again. She really was coming down with a cold. And no Dad to comfort her this time. At least she had Larry. She rubbed his legs.
The next day, Kiley noticed she had a fever as well as sneezing and blowing her nose. This was the one time where she actually was bothered by heat. She threw her blanket on the floor.
Larry came up to give her cold drinks, read her stories, and comforted her the best he could. He warmed her heart and once again, she reminded herself she had done the right thing by telling him about Superwoman. Unfortunately she had a hard time telling him that, because her throat was so sore. Larry seemed to understand, though.
Her cold lasted three days, when she became less coherent. What was this place? Who was this nice man helping her? Oh that was right, Larry. How could she have forgotten him? As she sat up and tried to reach for him, she fainted.
When she came to, she could hear his voice in the background, “Look, I know you and your husband hate my guts because of my uncle. I don’t blame you on that. But that isn’t the point. The point is that Kiley is seriously ill and I don’t know what to do! I thought it was just a cold, but now she’s losing becoming incoherent. And she just fainted! Take me back to Switzerland or throw me in jail for all I care, just do something to make her better! Let her be okay!” Larry’s voice sounded like it was cracking.
