-Clark is not doing a good job-
"Oh...." Lois pushed her hair back over her ear, glancing between Him and the clone. "Oh, Clark."
He winced. "Lois, let me explain..."
"Is he your son?"
"What-- no! It's really complicated..."
Lois leaned into the closet; he looked almost exactly like Clark, only a little younger, and a little off, though she couldn't identify why. He was a little violet in the hollows of his cheek, panting for air. He looked only about fifteen, or sixteen, somewhere around there, a frown etched on his lips, and his eyes big and wobbly. "Hey, Lois Lane, good to meet you." She went to grab the kid's hand, but he started backwards, clutching his wrist. "Clark hasn't mentioned you."
"Lois, can we talk? I can explain."
"Can it, Smallville." She forced a smile at the boy, like she might at a baby at the supermarket. He didn't respond. "What's you're name, kid?" Nothing. He just stared. "How do you know Clark? Is he your dad? What are you doing in the closet?"
The kid stared at her, a blank droopy look on his face. He started shaking out his hand anxiously. This quickly developed to a tic in his neck, jerking his head. His eyes left her and stared at Clark.
She followed his eyeline. watching Clark fidget. "Lois, this is my... Brother."
"Brother?" She asked. "You don't have a brother."
"I... can we talk?"
"You've told me you're an only child! You've outright told me you wished you had a sibling growing up!"
There was a thunk as the kid retreated backwards into the closet as far as he could, arm's crossed over his face and neck.
"Lois, please?"
She looked back and forth between the boy, twitching and blocking himself off defensively, to Clark, watching the boy with fear.
"Okay..." She looked back at the kid. "Do you wanna... come out of there?"
The boy's wide eyes narrowed, eyebrows knitting together defensively. "NO!" He barked, speaking for the first time, arms crossing.
"Okay..." She followed Clark, watching the boy as they turned the corner. "So," She whispered, setting her purse and jacket on the table. "What's this about?"
"He... I didn't want to house him, but there were no other options because no one else has the ability to manage him..."
"Wait, wait, who is he?" She hushed, throwing up her hands.
"He's... my brother? right?" That sounds suspicious. "He's like, sixteen. He's never been out of his... out of town. And now I have to house him, I barely know him and he's in my house and my life and he's not easy to manage at all..."
"Okay, okay, okay." Lois interrupted, watching him concernedly. "I can tell you're freaking out."
"I'm not freaking out."
Lois nodded. "I think I understand..." She noticed Clark's eyes flare, and glanced behind her to see the kid peaking around the corner of the bedroom. Realizing he was spotted, the boy puffed up his chest, crossing his arms again. She stared at the boy, he was a little worse for wear in the light: eye bags, neglected hair and skin, and what looked like a severe vitamin D deficit.
He looked like what Clark could be if he was born in metropolis, instead of being a sweet Kansas boy with parents that still called her to ask how she was almost a year after she'd last saw them.
"Stop LOOKING AT ME!" The kid backed against the doorframe. He bumped against the wood, starting and dropping into a more aggressive stance, like a cornered animal.
Lois looked away, if he really was Clark's little brother, she doubted he'd have the bite to match his bark. Clark kept watching him, scared. She couldn't help feeling bad for him. "STOP IT!" Clark looked away too, locking eyes with her and giving a dejected look.
She heard scuffling footsteps, thundering across the room. In the corner on her eye, she saw him stop behind the sofa, watching them.
"Uhm," Clark lead the way into the bathroom, the one room the child had not yelled at them in. "Can we just...?"
"Yes." She grabbed his sleeve, hurrying them both inside. "Clark, I'm sorry. This is a tough position to be in."
"Yeah?" He asked, a little surprised. "Yeah. It's not... it's a lot."
"I can see." She kept lowering her voice, not wanting the boy to hear them. "Clark, is this why I've never heard of him?" The Kent family having some secret embarrassment seemed impossible, but any movie involving a neurodivergent or disabled child was enough to show that it was possible. "Did he have to leave Smallville?"
"He..." Clark stalled, stammering. "He's just staying for a week or so until things are fixed up and they're safe to house him again."
"Okay..." She thought for a second. "So, was Smallville not safe for him before?"
"I-- I don't know." He played with the doorknob uncomfortably.
"Clark, I've been to your house in Smallville." She said, throwing her mind back. There had been no Little brother, no photos of the brothers, no mention of a little brother from his parents, who had waited .5 seconds to tell her about drama at church and the electives Clark took in highschool. She couldn't see them just forgetting to mention that their second child existing.
"Uh, so..." Clark fumbled the latch, opening it. he backed out of the bathroom, Lois chasing him out into the living room staring at the boy. He was sitting halfway under the table, Lois' purse infront of him, digging through it determinedly. "Wh-- HEY!"
"CLARK!" She interrupted, stepping infront of him, buffering the Kents. She watched the kid ravage through it. "Hey, Whatcha looking for?"
The boy glanced up, aggressively. "It was buzzing."
"I probably got a text." She took the edge of the purse and tugged it away until he removed his hands. She slid out her phone, gathering up the things he'd strewn out on the floor. She put Clark's debit card on the table for him. Frusterated at the overcrowding in her bag, she removed a hunk of tinfoil. "You hungry, kid?"
He frowned. Suddenly holding her attention, he shrugged, scooting backwards away from her. Lois placed Clark's would-be lunch in front of the kid, who watched her suspiciously.
She gave a forced smile and backed up to give him space. She glanced over a few times, watching him carefully take the tinfoil wrapped sandwich and try to take a bite. She wondered if she should tell him to remove the foil. "Let's try this again, shall we?" He looked up at her, mouth full of metal. She held out a hand, but quickly changed it to a waved. "Lois Lane, good to meet you."
He relaxed ever so slightly and swallowed hard. "I'm not Lois Lane."
She couldn't help smiling slightly. He was either more of a smartass, or more of an air head than his brother. She wasn't even sure he was Clark's brother. This all felt a bit too much like a highschool-fling-nightmare-scenario to her.
Was it her place to pry? Yes.
"When's the last time you ate?" She asked, hearing Clark inhale sharply.
The kid looked up, confused, and continued exploring the food that had been offered. "twenty-two hours."
She raised her eyebrows. "Well, Clark's cooking isn't that bad. What's up?"
"Lois Lane..." He parroted, apparently not listening to her. "Who is that?"
"Is this an interrogation?" She laughed. It was. "That's me, kid."
"Oh." He said, looking between her and Clark. "You acted like she was going to be evil when you opened the door. Is she evil?"
Clark coughed in embarrassment, spluttering out a jumble of words, none directed at him. "She's not evil. I wasn't acting like you were..."
The kid squinted at her, decreeing if she might be some mastermind villain. "Are you good?"
"I like to think so." She replied earnestly.
The boy nodded, serious. "Okay then."
He loosened up a little after that, still glancing at her and Clark occasionally. She took this to mean she was at least as acceptable as Clark, which is good, because she spends a lot of time being 'less acceptable' than him. She sat in front of the boy, analyzing him closely as he discovered that the foil wrap may not be edible. "So, you know me, what's your name?" She asked.
"No name." He said casually, shoving a fist of bread into his mouth.
"No name?" She looked back at Clark.
"Uh-- I mean, you heard him."
She rolled her eyes. He had some nerve to be joking after all the secrets today. Still, if the kid wouldn't tell her, she would just have to find out. "Well, Mr. No-name, what are you doing eating on the floor? Sit at the table, you're right under it."
"No." He said sharply. "I like this."
"Okay." She put her hands up innocently. The conversation died there. Lois silently watched him for a telltale sign of childhood neglect or abuse. Clark, being watched by the younger Kent, was suddenly fascinated with his phone screen.
Look, Lois knew this wasn't about her, or Lucy*, or how long it took them to get her away and find help for her. It wasn't about her sister who showed up on her doorstep every month for two years straight in university, looking for a place to stay, this was about the little Kent that had showed up on Clark's doorstep for housing.
This awkward atmosphere didn't seem to line up at all: Clark was way more of a kid-friendly, family person than she was. And while she got fed up with people easily, Clark was one of the first person she thought of that would want to accommodate an unhoused child relative.
The boy seemed uninterested in eating anymore, he didn't seem concerned by her presence either, eyes fully fastened to Clark.
"You, uh, You must not see Clark a lot since he moved out to the city, huh?"
The boy frowned. "I've never been here."
"Never?" She asked, humoring him. He shook his head. "Have you ever left home?"
He shrugged, shaking his head again, not looking away from his relative. "But we've been into town sometimes."
Been into town sometimes? She wasn't sure what to make of that. Clark had talked about going on a family road trip in his senior year, wouldn't they bring his kid brother? What about shopping or school, or any of the hundreds of things that would lead to a child leaving a 4 acre property over the course of 16 years? The kid's history was getting more than suspicious by the second.
This was supporting her locked-away-shame-of-the-family theory.
"huh... well I guess Ma and Pa really want to keep you safe?"
"Okay!" Clark interrupted, voice wavering a little. "uh, Lois. Thanks for stopping by, but I think i-- my-- I think he needs to have a rest." He spluttered, putting a hand on her shoulder, and then immediately retracting it under her glare. "It's been a long and stressful day."
"Are you kicking me out?"
"Uh..."
"Yes or no."
"Sort of."
She sighed and okay-ed, standing up. She slid back into her heels. Honestly, she was kind of glad to be leaving the kid's presence. He made her uncomfortable, and she didn't know how to talk to kids. This relief, however, came with the undertone of rage at Clark for trying to hide things from her. The absolute audacity to lie straight to the face of the top ten investigative reporter in the USA (two years running).
"Well, Goodnight." She draped her coat over her arm, picking up her purse again. "Night, kid." He didn't respond, facing the wall and focused on something hidden from view. Feeling a sudden urge to check her purse, she ignored Clark's silent invitations to leave. She began emptying her purse again, and hummed. "Huh. I wonder if someone took my car keys."
"What?" Clark glanced over her shoulder, and then at the kid. "Hey! did you steal her keys?" He snapped. The kid jumped, backing against the wall. "You cannot steal things!"
"I wasn't..." He murmured, keys clutched in his left fist.
"Drop that." He did. watching the adults nervously. Clark strode across to the kid, slowing cautiously as he got closer. He ducked to pick up the keys, and backed away, returning to Lois. "I'm so sorry about that Lo."
She took the keys back, shooting a smile at the kid, which he did not reciprocate. "It's fine, Clark." She said, ignoring the misshapen handle of the car keys and repacking her bag. Lois kind of respected whatever agenda this kid was functioning on. "I'll see you at work." She said, watching her coworker squirm in discomfort. This isn't over, She tried to project to his mind with a forced smile. She waved at the kid and headed to the apartment door. "Goodnight, boys."
-*Lucy Lane: Lois' little sister. She's been put through a myriad of shit, especially in the CW show where she apparently had a full bingo card of trauma.-