"I know that amongst these people who have been so horribly hurt by my clone, I am seen as a shadow of what he is. They know I did not hurt them, but still – they feel as if I did – as if I will and – I have to wonder why you do not look at me like that, Lois?"
Just go ahead and read
Long Strange Trip , Kal. That'll let you know why.
"Perhaps it is the very fact that you talk with me, that you – are at such ease with these other two – that I feel that one day – I can – interact with those my clone hurt without all the awful fear.”
That is definitely something to look forward to.
"We can help you learn to relate to these humans – because I am the expert in the subject... so is Clark.”
Yes! Lois has gone through it. Lane, as you said in a previous chapter, is undamaged. LL is overly damaged. But Lois is the middle, the "just right" of this particular situation of human/Kryptonian relations.
Lois deserved the best she could have, and a life without intimacy seemed a cold and empty way to live. Even if it was the life he faced.
“You were... incredible,” she told Clark, her eyes glowing with love. “You always have been. Without you in my life, I'd never have come back to myself. Ever.”
Awwww! I like how you show so well the differences among the three L/C couples. Lane and Kent (canon) - well, their affection is solid. Lane was never tortured by an evil alien. Sure, they had their rough patches, but everything is fine.
Lois and Clark ("LST") - they've had a rougher go of it. But they've made it through. Yes, there are scars and there always will be. But there is love, too.
Kal-El and LL: can something ever happen between them besides hate and fear? I love how you show Kal-El realizing what could be, and then realizing that he'll never have it.
He couldn't think of LL that way. Such a thing would never be possible between them and he couldn't allow himself to believe he could ever belong here. He didn't belong with his former people anymore either, he was an outsider to all. He could never forget that.
Wow, this is really saddening. Kal-El is even more alone than the Clarks. Yeah, they were the only alien on Earth, but they had the support of their parents and friends. Kal-El has no one.
Please post more soon!
Michael