Chapter Twenty-Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Superman or any of the DC characters, or the setting, I'm just playing in their universe for the first time. Also, as a reminder, my Lex Luthor's modeled after Smallville's Lex in my head (played by Michael Rosenbaum).

A/N: Hang in there, guys, good things are coming, I promise.

"You don't think I should go?"

He hesitated and then said, "It's not up to me whether or not you go away with your boyfriend or not."

"But you think it's a bad idea?"

"No, it's… Just… remember what I talked about, about Lex making you do anything you're uncomfortable with."

"Lex has been very patient with me. He doesn't wish to rush me either." The kissing experiment had proven that well enough.

"That's good," he said woodenly, and the silence stretched between us again, as I wasn't sure what else to say.

"But I would like to see you when I get back," I added.

"You would?"

"Of course." Didn't he know that? "We'll have dinner at the farm, yes? Like we talked about."

"Yes, right. I guess just let me know when you're back."

"I will." It was the most awkward conversation we'd had so far, and I wished we could get back to our easy familiarity with each other, but I didn't know how to accomplish it.

"I hope you have a fantastic time," he said with an air of finality to his voice.

"Thank you," I replied, feeling a little glum about the exchange.

"And if you need anything…"

I felt a rush of warmth at the offer. Whatever the reason for his strange mood, he did care about me in his own way, and the implied promise that he would rush to my side lifted my spirits. "I'll call."

Nassau was beautiful. The beaches were beautiful, the clubs were beautiful, our elaborate suite was beautiful. Lex took great delight in providing a first-class experience, sparing no expense to purchase the best of everything money could buy.

But I found myself… bored. While I did enjoy lying in the sun in my swimsuit, I could always do that at home. The exclusive clubs Lex was so proud to gain immediate entrance to were loud and flashy, and that troubled my sensitive eyes and hearing. The meals were very fancy, but the portions so small, they didn't satisfy my appetite one bit. The food from the vendor carts on the streets smelled just a flavorful, but Lex found my suggestion of eating from them distasteful. And I didn't want to be chauffeured around in a fancy car, I wanted to try the scooter rides everyone seemed to be enjoying so much.

So, to keep my interest, I turned to honing my ability to listen for danger, hoping to improve my skills. We'd be lying on the beach, and I would hear the sounds of a struggle. I'd excuse myself, go and take care of the problem, and then return with Lex being none the wiser. Or we'd be shopping at the Straw Market, and I'd see a pickpocket at work, slip away to apprehend her, all while Lex stood making a business call.

The local authorities were far more receptive to me than their Metropolis counterparts, but maybe because they seemed to have no idea who I was before I turned up on their doorstep with a criminal in hand. I was still working on finding the balance between active and passive listening though, and I'm afraid Lex found me to be a very distracted dinner companion on most nights.

Another effect of my efforts – I was recognized more when we went out in public. At first, I thought it was just being with Lex, who was very recognizable and did everything in such ostentatious style. But soon it was my name I heard on the natives' lips as word got around what I'd been doing. There was even a news article about it in the local paper, but I was pretty sure Lex hadn't seen it, he mostly stuck to business publications. Plus, even when we were out for an evening together, he seemed almost as distracted as I was. Whether it was that "one last business call and then I'll be done for the night, I swear", or scrolling through something on his phone, it was no wonder he hadn't noticed my furtive crime-busting trips or how I was only half listening to him most of the time.

The one bright spot was that I didn't have to worry about Lex rushing any of the physical aspects of our relationship. We shared a suite, but there were two separate bedrooms, and we each had our own private bathrooms. Lex was very respectful of where he touched me when we were out in public, and in the evenings, he gave me a chaste kiss goodnight before we slipped into our individual bedrooms. It got so I almost wished he'd try to kiss me with more passion again, to see if I could get used to that kind of contact as well, but I think both of us were too hesitant to bring it up.

We did have some fun though. Lex arranged for a private viewing of an art collection that I found to be quite moving indeed. And I enjoyed the markets, talking to the locals about their wares and children. And one night we took a midnight cruise on a luxury yacht that I enjoyed very much. Not that the yacht itself held much charm for me, but away from the lights of the city, the stars seemed to burn so bright I could almost reach up and touch them. It made me wonder if I could… reach them. Could I survive out in space long enough to find other stars or other worlds? Was there a chance that I might find other Kryptonians on one of the other settlements that had thrived instead of failed?

One of the crew cleared his throat, pulling Lex and I from our individual thoughts. "Sir, we're going to have to return to shore."

"Why?" Lex frowned. "I've booked the yacht for another two hours."

"There's a hurricane warning on the emergency channel."

"That's ridiculous, it's not hurricane season," Lex huffed, and the man paled.

"I… I'm just telling you what came over the emergency channel, sir. It's not set to hit for some time, but all small craft are warned to return to shore immediately." He gave the barest of shrugs. "Global warming?"

"You'd better go in like he said," I suggested, sitting up a bit taller. He was right, the currents had changed, the distant howling of the wind noticeable once I knew to look for it.

"You mean we," Lex clarified once the man scurried off to get the yacht into motion.

"No, I meant you. It sounds like it's approaching with enough strength to make landfall in a couple of days. I'd better go see if I can encourage it to dissipate." I had no idea if I could manage such a thing, but I had to try. All those nice people I'd met on the island… their homes and livelihoods would surely be impacted if the hurricane came close enough.

"Kyria, that's insane," he scowled, reaching for my hand. "You can't do anything to stop a hurricane."

"We'll find out, won't we?" I smiled, easily pulling away and heading straight into the night sky. Several miles from the yacht, the cloud cover grew thicker, obscuring the bright stars from my view as I headed into choppier winds.

I spotted it ahead, the dark maelstrom of wind and water, and loud, so very loud, I could hardly hear myself think over the violent wind. It was bigger than I'd thought it would be, spinning counter-clockwise, and still picking up speed. It whipped the waves into a frenzy below, reaching all the way up to the heavens.

And then I saw Kal, or at least I assumed it was him, who else would be hovering at the top of a hurricane? I sped up to meet him, deliberately popping up behind him and projecting my voice loud enough to be heard over the howling winds.

"Fancy meeting you here!"

"Kyria!" he grinned, whirling around. "I wasn't sure if you'd show or not."

"I'm taking a vacation, not in a coma," I joked. "I was wondering if you'd turn up."

"I couldn't let you have all the fun," he smiled back. He looked good, wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans, both plastered to his body with the moisture being whipped through the air.

Tearing my focus from the way his clothes clung to his body, I shouted over the wind. "What do you think? How can we stop it?"

"I've been thinking about that," he replied, instantly serious. "We need to disrupt the rotation and get the energy to dissipate. It seems logical that if we were to fly in the opposite direction with enough speed, we might be strong enough to do that."

"That's what I was thinking too. Together or apart?"

"Come again?" He cupped a hand to his ear.

"Do you think it would be better to try and fly in synch with each other and generate more force together, or to tackle it from both ends? One of us at the top, the other at the bottom, and we meet in the middle?"

"Let's try it from both ends. You take the top and I'll take the bottom."

"I'll see you in the middle then," I smiled, not in the least bit worried about the winds that whipped my hair into a frenzy. It couldn't really hurt me, at least I didn't think so.

I sped to the top of the funnel, flying clockwise to counter the motion, and managed to disrupt it somewhat, but it kept building with such force, it fed the hurricane just as quickly as we starved it. Kal and I regrouped, both of us breathing hard with exertion and disappointment. "It's not working very well!"

Kal's face lit with an idea. "Wait, hurricanes feed off of warm, moist air. If we super-cool the surface of the ocean…"

"Then it'll stop feeding it, and we should be able to unravel it!" I finished for him, my excitement growing. "That's a stroke of genius! Let's try it!"

This time, we flew together to the base of the hurricane, diving straight into the eye. It felt like I was inhaling solid water, so I stopped breathing altogether, trying my hardest to reach the center of the maelstrom. And then we burst through into the eye, which was eerily calm, and far easier to maintain our position.

"You blow that way, I'll blow this way, and we'll focus on cooling the surface to disrupt the draw of warm air. Then when I give you the signal, you start flying opposite to dissipate the funnel already formed, sound like a plan?"

"Yes, I understand," I nodded, eager to put it into action.

"Here we go," Kal murmured, and we both took deep breaths. There wasn't much of an effect at first, other than to freeze some of the spray, which ended up sending shards of ice whipping around us. But the longer we blew, the more I could see the effect spreading, weakening the hold the funnel cloud had on the ocean. "Now!" he yelled between one breath and the next, and I immediately broke off to fly in a tight circle, right on the inside edge of the storm.

That meant flying right through the shards of swirling ice, which stung against my unprotected skin, though I could tell it did no lasting damage. At first, I wasn't sure it was going to work, the howl of the wind sounded even more fierce this time, but then it became easier to slog through, the wind less focused, spilling in every direction. And then it just broke up, the water melting back into the sea in a gentle rain as the hurricane lost its momentum.

I kept flying in my tight circle, intent on making sure it didn't reform, until I felt Kal's hand on my arm, and I came to a stop. Unfortunately, the sudden stop messed with my inner balance, and I had a panicked moment when I couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. I ended up plummeting into the sea, my head spinning and momentarily confused.

The cold water was a shock, but a split-second later I was pulled from the water by a pair of strong arms. "Kyria? Are you hurt?" Kal asked, and I opened my eyes to see him searching my face worriedly, brushing the wet hair away from my brow.

"Only my pride," I replied with a sour twist of the lips, and was rewarded by his dazzling smile.

"You really had me worried there for a moment."

"I'm tougher than I look, remember?" I smirked back. "It'll take more than a little water to keep me down." We were both completely drenched and smiling at one another like fools, and then he let go of me, trusting me to keep myself upright as we hovered over the water.

"I'm sorry for messing up your vacation," he apologized. "I should've handled this right away and then you wouldn't have had to go for a midnight swim."

"It's fine, it's the most fun I've had in days," I admitted, and he nodded back.

"Me too."

"How have you been?" I asked, wringing out my hair so I looked less bedraggled, but realized what a useless effort that was, and gave up.

"Good. I've been working on the book, I can't wait to show you the pages I have so far."

"Oh, I'd love to see them."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to wait until you got back…"

"No, I'd love to read them now, if you don't mind."

His face lit with a gentle smile. "Okay, I'll send them to you when I get back then."

"Great."

"Good." We were silent for a few minutes, just smiling at one another above the now-peaceful sea. "Well, I should probably let you get back to it, Lex will be worried about you," he said finally.

"Right, he probably will be," I realized.

"But you're having a nice time?"

"I… yes, Nassau is beautiful and the people are friendly. And I've been practicing."

"Practicing?"

"Catching criminals," I smiled. "Next time… I'll be ready for you."

"I accept the challenge, madam," he replied with a formal bow that made me laugh.

"I'll see you when I get back?" I asked, needed that promise of something to look forward to, and he didn't disappoint me.

"I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye." This time I didn't hug him goodbye. I wasn't sure I'd be able to let him go again if I did.

My hair was mostly dry by the time I made it back to the hotel suite, as I took the time to enjoy the milder air. Still, I must've looked half drowned from the look on Lex's face when I landed on the patio.

"Are you alright?" he demanded, drawing me inside. "I was worried sick."

"I'm fine. Kal and I took care of it, easy peasey," I smiled, adopting a phrase I found pleasing to the ear.

His scowl was instantaneous. "You called Superman to help?"

"No, but Kal had the same idea I did. Good thing too, it was more difficult than I thought it would be to stop the hurricane."

"But you're fine?" There was still an edge of worry to his voice that concerned me. Couldn't he see me standing before him, healthy and whole?

"Yes, I am."

Lex got up and went to the bar, pouring himself a deep glass of something amber, and drinking half of it in one swallow. That was never a good sign. Lex's words often turned harsh after drinking spirits. I preferred him after a mellow glass of wine. He didn't offer me a drink, but that wasn't unusual, I'd made it clear I didn't enjoy the taste of alcohol. But he didn't move away from the bar either, refilling his tumbler and staring into the bottom of the glass as if it held answers only he could see.

"Is something the matter?" I asked, when he continued to steadily drink.

"No, of course not. What would be the matter," he muttered in a monotone.

"Lex?"

"I'm fine."

"Even if I couldn't hear your heart pounding, I'd know that to be untrue. Does it truly bother you that I left our night cruise to stop the hurricane?"

"Of course not, what kind of a monster would I be to want to keep you all to myself?" he replied, his voice still devoid of inflection.

"I'm here, aren't I? I came back to you as soon as I could."

"Did you? Or did you stay on to chat with the man of steel?"

Was he jealous of my conversation with Kal? "I… we spoke for a few minutes, yes," I admitted, though I couldn't understand why that would possibly bother him. "Are you… angry with me because I talked to Kal?"

"No, I'm not angry with you." Lex let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping. "But Christ, can't you stay away from him for more than forty-eight hours?"

My head tilted to one side, it'd been several days since I'd seen Kal. "It's been more than forty-eight hours, more like…"

"No… I didn't mean it literally," he stopped me. "But this is our vacation. You're supposed to be spending it with me, not him."

"There was a hurricane, I had to help…"

"And Superman obviously had it well in hand. You could've stayed with me. You don't owe those people anything."

"It's not about owing anyone, it's about helping others. You've done the same, I know you have. I've heard you talking about your charitable donations."

"That's just money," he shrugged. "You have enough to do the same. Don't think I don't know what you've been up to on this trip, your trips to the police station, all that vigilante nonsense." I could only hang my head in embarrassment, he had noticed. "Kyria, it's not up to you to jump in front of every bullet."

"It is if it saves someone's life. Who better to jump before a bullet than someone who can't be hurt by it?" I asked, sitting beside him at the bar.

"This is his influence on you. He's turned you away from me," he muttered, refilling his glass again.

"Lex, I'm not turning away from you just because I'm helping others."

"But you are, can't you see?" he pleaded, his gray-green gaze holding mine. "This was supposed to be our time. Ours. I feel like you've barely given me half your attention since we got here."

"You are the kettle calling the pot black," I scowled. "Your focus has been split as well with all of your business calls," I pointed out, but he just shook his head.

"That's not the same at all."

"I see no difference."

"The difference is, when I'm off the phone I'm here, I'm yours. I don't get the feeling you're ever completely focused on me," he said miserably.

"I don't understand what more you want from me."

"I want you, Kyria. I want you to be mine, is that so hard to understand?" I stared back at him blankly, because I really didn't comprehend, and he looked away with a scowl, tossing back the rest of his drink before he set the glass down with a sharp clatter. "Do you love me?"

"I-I don't know," I stammered. How would I know that? "I'm fond of you…"

"Fond of me," he scoffed, face souring as if he smelled something foul. "It's him, isn't it? You're in love with him. Just because that idiot loves you is no reason to throw what we have away."

"What are you going on about?"

"Oh come on, the way he chases after you night and day, it's obvious. He can't even leave you alone for more than a few days."

He couldn't possibly mean Kal, did he? "Kal is with Lois," I said patiently, but Lex was undeterred.

"He dumped her weeks ago. Didn't you notice she's been turning up in the news hounding that hockey player? It's you he's been obsessed with."

"If Kal loves me, it's like a sister."

"Please, the way he looks at you is not at all like you're his sister. Don't pretend like you didn't know it, you've been playing up to him this whole time."

"Kal loves me." What a crazy, wondrous idea. Could it be true? Was there something behind his words and worried glances that I'd missed because I'd convinced myself it could never come to pass?

"No…" Lex's face changed, regret clouding his features as if he wished he could recall those words. "It's not love, it's… He's obviously stuck on some idiotic idea that the last son and daughter of Krypton belong together. I can understand that, in a way, but he has no right to go after what's mine." His hands settled on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him. "You still are, aren't you, Kyria? Mine?"

My eyes were open, but I didn't see Lex. I saw the look in Kal's eyes as he plucked me out of the sea, the way his face lit with pure happiness when I admired his housewarming gift, the way he held me when he'd pulled me from the rubble. Kal loves me. I tried it out in the stillness of my mind, and a wondrous hope flared deep in my heart. "I'm sorry, I have to go," I said, pulling free from his grasp.

"Wait… we need to talk this out," Lex pleaded, following me into my bedroom. "Look, I'm sorry if I lost my temper, it's just that you mean so much to me. What we have…"

"Will never be what you want it to be. I'm sorry if that hurts you, but my heart is elsewhere."

"Don't say that, Kyria. If you'll just give us a chance…"

There was nothing in the bedroom that I wanted, the trappings of wealth and privilege meaning nothing in the face of this new revelation. I turned to face Lex, my voice as gentle as I could manage. "Maybe he doesn't truly love me, but my heart belongs to Kal, whether he wants it or not. Goodbye, Lex."

I left with only one thing on my mind – I had to find Kal above all else. Maybe Lex was mistaken. Maybe Kal didn't love me at all the way I loved him. Maybe I'd find him in Lois' arms. Maybe I'd kick myself for leaving the stability and adoration Lex offered, but I didn't love Lex, and I now knew I never would.

There was only one man for me.

"Kal?" He wasn't at his apartment or at the farm. Where had he gone after the hurricane? Honestly, he could've been anywhere on the planet in the space of time it'd taken me to argue with Lex. "Kal?" I called out again, but I couldn't stay in one place, I had to find him. Steeling myself for what I might find, I went to Lois' apartment as well, but she was alone, thank Rao.

This was ridiculous, how could I expect to find him when we were both out and about? We could be chasing each other around the globe for hours and never find each other. I went back to my apartment and opened the terrace door.

"Kal!" I tried again, desperation creeping into my voice. "Kal, where are you?" I heard him coming long before I saw him streaking against the night sky, and my heart rate spiked. He was coming!

"What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded before his feet even touched the ground beside me, looking everywhere at once for danger before his gaze swept over me, checking me for injury or worse. "What are you doing back? Did Lex do something?"

"What am I to you?"

"What?" he blinked in surprise, taken aback by the question.

"I need to know. What am I to you?" I repeated, willing him to answer.

Kal took another look around, starting to comprehend there was no immediate danger. His face was wary as he turned back to me. "I don't understand. What do you mean? We're friends."

"Is that all I am to you? A friend?"

His lips parted, and he formed a word but discarded it and swallowed before replying, "We're good friends."

This was what I'd expected, but instead of accepting that, for once I challenged him. "Then you wish me to find love with another? To give myself to Lex?"

His jaw tightened, but his voice remained pleasant. "I want you to be happy, that's all."

My head tilted to one side. "Are you happy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does it make you happy to see me with Lex?"

A furrow appeared on his brow as he shook his head. "That's not important. It's not about me, it's about you being with who you care about."

"What if it is about you?"

"Pardon?"

"What if it's all about you? Always you?"

The furrow deepened. "I don't understand…"

"Lex was right, you are an idiot," I huffed, turning away. How was I supposed to do this if he didn't meet me half way?

"What are you talking about? Kyria… what's wrong?" he asked, intercepting me in the blink of an eye, blocking my path.

"What's wrong is I'm in love with an idiot," I muttered, and he scowled.

"Lex is hardly idiotic, he's got a genius level I.Q."

"Intelligence has nothing to do with it, or we'd be tracking on the same level."

"I don't get it," he said with a helpless shrug. "What did Lex do to make you leave?"

I had to spell it out for him, there was no other way. I took a long breath. "He told me something that changed… everything for me."

"What?"

"That you love me." Kal just stared at me wide-eyed as if he'd been frozen solid. "Is it true?" I prompted when he didn't so much as blink.

"I… care very deeply for you, Kyria," he said carefully. "But I never wanted to interfere with you and Lex, that was not my intention at all."

"There is no me and Lex." I shook my head in annoyance before reaching for his hands, pleading for him to open up to me. "Just tell me, please. Tell me what you feel for me. I need to know."

"What do you mean there's no you and Lex?"

"There isn't anything between us, there never really was."

"But you said…" This time all he did was blink, about twenty times as he processed that. "You said you preferred him to be romantic. You said you were dating."

"I said I preferred him when he was sweet and romantic, because I liked that softer side over the hard business side to him. And yes, I tried dating Lex, I never said I loved him."

"You went away with him to the Bahamas."

"Yes, to try and move on and forget you."

"Forget me?" He looked completely baffled. "What did I do?"

"You were with Lois. And I saw how happy she made you, I couldn't interfere with that."

Kal nodded as understanding dawned. "You're not with Lex," he said softly, drifting closer.

"And you're not with Lois?" Despite Lex's insistence, I needed confirmation from Kal. His arms around me told me everything I needed to know.

"And you're in love with an idiot," he grinned.

"Apparently," I smiled back, the flutter of his breath against my lips making my stomach clench in anticipation as he closed the distance between us. There was no hesitation in his kiss, no doubt of his feelings as lips moved over mine. My body flowed against him as he pulled me close, molding to him as if we were two parts of a whole, and I was filled with a sense of belonging I'd never felt before. This was real. This was right.

This was home.

The kiss drew to a close, and Kal pressed his forehead to mine. "This idiot loves you too, you know." He kissed my hair, holding me close.

I didn't move, I didn't speak, I didn't need to. The sky turned lighter as the sun began to rise, and we moved out onto the small terrace to greet the dawn, arm in arm.

"What happens now?" I asked, turning to face him as the morning sun filled us with strength and hope.

"Now… we go get some ice cream?" he suggested, the corner of his mouth quirking.

My lips curved in appreciation. "Maybe you're not such an idiot after all."

A/N: Well, I finally got these two together, I hope you liked it! I am going to have to put the story on hiatus for a while, I need to do some work on my next book and this story is very distracting! But there is definitely more story to tell here, exploring things between Kal and Kyria, as well as Lex's reaction to this turn of events, so I will really try to return to them. In the meantime, please leave a review or PM me with any questions you might have about the story or any direction you might like to see in the future. Thanks for reading!

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