After all the black suit, perfumed cream, and bed sharing descriptions, I'm not sure if my mind is in the gutter, or if Lois's is, so good work on that one.
Excellent descriptions of Kal's emotional awakening. Painful emotions seem to come part and parcel with becoming aware of the good feelings - Lois didn't just teach him how to smile, she taught him how to cry, too. Fear and hope. Happiness and despair. As ruler to a small, troubled population, Kal probably has plenty of fodder for future emotional experiences, to boot.
I'm still a bit puzzled by how it is that Kal seems completely...ignorant doesn't seem like the right word, perhaps unaware... of the whole birds and bees business. It seems from our tiny sliver sized views of Tek's life that Kryptonians know love, lust, and attraction, but manage to keep these feelings both deeply private and unnamed. And Kal isn't suffering from an attachment disorder - he's not incapable of love, he in fact displays plenty of the compassion and generosity of spirit that make the emotion of love possible. So what is it that was separating him from--what is for Earth humans--the biological imperatives of love and attraction?
I'm looking forward to reading more of this excellent and intriguing story.
Regards,
Rac
