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“Okay, do you have everything packed?” Lois leaned forward, grabbing a travel-size pack of tissues and stuffing it into her bag. She turned to face Clark, who was holding little Molly in his arms. She was reaching out with one hand towards Lois, blue eyes wide and mouth slightly open as she looked right at Lois. Lois smiled brightly and leaned forward, wiggling a little finger in her face and smiling as Martha gurgled happily.
“I do.” Clark replied matter-of-factly, smiling brightly at Lois as he held little Molly, tilting his head to glance at her before glancing back at Lois. “I have her bottles, I have diapers, wipes, diaper cream, hand sanitizer, pacifiers, a changing pad, and let’s see…” He glanced into the bag for a moment. “Some of her toys that she likes, her favorite Krypto stuffie, three changes of clothes, a little garbage bag, burp cloths, snacks, yeah, I got everything.”
“Good,” Lois huffed with a smile as she stood back up, watching her daughter proudly the whole way.
Molly was 6 months old now, and was one of the happiest babies they’d ever seen. Lois could still vividly remember holding her for the first time- all reddish purple skin, eyes scrunched closed, wiry dark hair and an incredibly loud cry (“She has a great pair of lungs!” The doctor had said, garnering a laugh out of both Lois and Clark). She remembered how watery Clark had gotten at the sight of her, full on sobbing as the tiny baby was placed in his arms. She remembered how he’d cried as they wrote her name down on the birth certificate- Martha Evelyn Lane-Kent, or as they decided to nickname her, little Molly. She remembered how Ma Kent had instantly burst into tears upon hearing the name they’d picked for the baby, eyes watery as she carefully, lovingly held the small baby in her arms, looking down at her with such pure love and adoration. Pa Kent had been standing right next to her, sobbing just like she was, one hand over his mouth as he tried to not fall to the floor from such overwhelming emotion.
Lois truly had never thought herself capable of being a mom. It had been the furthest thought from her mind, especially with her own childhood and her tendency to not mesh well with relationships, but she’d ended up very surprised at just how maternal she ended up being. Molly was everything to her; and she was everything to Clark, too.
Lois saw it every day in his eyes. In his posture. In his unconscious actions. He took advantage of the fact that he technically didn’t require as much sleep as humans to stay up with Molly to ensure Lois got as much sleep as possible (he’d insisted on pulling a bit more weight than her in the newborn stage, insisting she’d done so much just carrying her, and it was his turn to do the heavy lifting and give Lois a break to recover from pregnancy).
Clark’s parents had been right in that actually raising a baby was so much different than learning about raising one. The sleepless nights, the loud cries, the panicking about holy shit we are raising an entire person with a future and thoughts and opinions of their own. Lois remembered Ma Kent saying that having a child felt like putting your heart in someone else’s body and letting them run free with it. Lois, nor Clark, had never truly understood that before now.
Clark shifted Molly ever so slightly in his arms, grinning broadly down at her as he reached for the diaper bag and slung it over his shoulders. He looked down at her, simply admiring the endlessly beautiful baby in his arms.
Molly was truly perfect in every single sense of the word. She had the prettiest blue eyes- Lois insisted she’d inherited Clark’s blue over her own- and a small tuft of wiry yet slightly curly black hair on her head (Ma had said that her hair would fall out and be slowly replaced by permanent hair, and said permanent hair was slowly beginning to grow). Molly was an endlessly curious and rather cheerful baby, hitting nearly every single milestone right on time. She’d started babbling a month ago, and Clark had never before heard such a beautiful sound.
One of Clark’s favorite things was to find new things to introduce to Molly, who eagerly took in every single new discovery with the widest eyes and a big smile on her face. Currently, one of her favorite things was to listen to different songs Clark and Lois would play for her- her favorite was Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill, something Lois had listened to a lot while pregnant, but Molly seemed to like anything with a guitar in it. Clark loved playing different songs by The Mighty Crabjoys for her, and beamed with pride each time Molly seemed to determine she enjoyed a song (which was most of them, much to Lois’s chagrin).
The aquarium had been his idea. He had adored all sorts of animals ever since he was a little kid, and growing up on a farm with cows definitely intensified that love. Clark had raised two different cats growing up, both of whom he’d rescued as a little kid and begged Ma and Pa to allow him to keep them. It’d ended up teaching the then six year old Clark quite a bit about responsibility when he’d been given permission to keep the first kitten, who he’d named Pumpkin.
Molly seemed very interested in animals as well, just like Clark as a kid. She’d been attached to a Krypto stuffie they’d gotten before she was born, and her first ever laugh had been out on a walk, when Molly had seen a dog sprinting after a ball and promptly decided, with her little brain, that that dog was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. Clark had taken no less than twenty pictures of the occasion.
“And you have the tickets on your phone, right?” Lois asked, tilting her head. Clark responded with a cheerful nod. “Good. Let’s go then, Smallville.”
The aquarium wasn’t a very long drive, thankfully. Molly had been tucked into her carseat the whole time, her eyes glued to the window as she watched the buildings whizz past them. She seemed mesmerized by the colors outside, and Clark only realized as they parked that he’d been beaming the entire ride.
“Here we areee.” He trilled cheerfully, opening the car door and wiggling a little finger in Molly’s face, laughing as she giggled happily in response. Lois grabbed the carrier out of the other seat and Clark obediently held his arms out as Lois attached the carrier to his chest. A minute later, Molly was tucked into the carrier, head snuggled against his chest, blue eyes bright as they flicked over the sight of the aquarium building. “Ready?”
Lois tilted her head and flashed him a smile. “Of course I’m ready, Smallville. Let’s go.”
Clark kept a steady hand on the back of Molly’s head as they walked in, Clark showing his phone to the front desk to confirm their tickets. The front desk employee pointed over to a door on the right, which had a large plaque with the word ‘WELCOME’ emboldened on it in big white text, and Clark gave them a thankful nod before he and Lois walked over and pushed the door open.
The first exhibit was themed after rivers, much to Clark’s delight. He walked over to the first tank along the left wall, which held a collection of freshwater fish that he pointed out carefully to Molly, whose eyes followed his fingers the whole way.
“That’s a Common Carp, see?” He pointed at one of the fish swimming past the glass. “They live in a lot of rivers across the world. They can even grow up to four feet, which is a pretty big fish. And that one,” He pointed at another fish, “is an Elephantnose fish. See how long their nose is?”
Molly drank in the sight of the fish as they swam past, gurgling contentedly as Clark walked past each and every exhibit, detailing the fish inside. Molly seemed to be listening intently to his voice, eyes following the fish as they swam around in the tank. She even reached a grubby little hand out, opening and closing it as Clark leaned a bit closer to the glass and her fingers made full contact with the cool glass. She giggled.
“I don’t think Molly can understand all of your fish facts yet, Clark.” Lois teased playfully, a warm and gentle smile on her face as she looked up at him.
“It’s never too early to learn about animals, Lois.” He shot back playfully, pointing out yet another fish swimming past. “Besides, she likes it when we talk to her. It’s good for her development.”
“I know it is, dork.”
Clark gave her a playful smile and stuck his tongue out at her, to which Lois raised a hand to her chest in mock outrage. Clark guffawed at that, and Molly let out a giggly squeal, waving a little hand about in the air.
“You’re such a child, Clark.” Lois teased.
He shrugged his shoulders playfully and looked down at Molly, who was still smiling broadly. “Well, Molly likes when I’m like this, so there.”
Lois rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle, simply shaking her head at the sight of her husband, six foot four and just so happened to be the most powerful metahuman alive, sticking his tongue out childishly at her just to garner giggles out of their daughter. The very thought was ridiculous, but something warm bubbled in Lois’s chest as her eyes flicked up to Molly in the carrier, still gurgling happily and waving a hand about. Lois shook her head once more before turning and walking towards the door to the next exhibit, with Clark following carefully behind her.
The next exhibit, themed after the tropics, was exceptionally colorful. Molly reached a hand out in the general direction of one of the tanks and squealed, and Clark turned to see a bright blue fish swimming right past the glass.
“You like the blue fish?” He asked, getting only a contented gurgle in response, which earned a small laugh from him. He walked up to the tank, leaning so Molly could reach out and press her little fingers against the glass again. “That’s a Palette Surgeonfish. They’re actually mildly venomous, if you see the spikes near its tail. They can hurt.”
Molly’s eyes were glued to the sight of the fish, flitting from one to another, eyes bright and wide open as she held out a small fish, gurgling happily. Clark continued to read out each and every plaque to Molly, who seemed completely entranced by the colorful fish.
“She’s so happy,” Lois chirped in mild surprise, watching as Molly held out a hand to the glass, still babbling away. Clark turned his head and gave Lois a shining smile.
“She is, isn’t she?” He replied, running a comforting hand down the back of the baby carrier before pressing a kiss to Molly’s cheek, who didn’t even notice in her fish-entranced state. “Looks like the aquarium was a good idea, huh?”
Lois tilted her head back and laughed, before playfully shoving at Clark, who gave her a shit-eating grin in response. “Oh hush, you.”
He shook his head and kept grinning. “Never.”
They continued to walk through the aquarium for a good couple of minutes, passing by several tanks of colorful fish, coral and even a few eels. Molly’s eyes flickered over nearly each and every fish that she could see and she kept babbling at each one- especially, oddly enough, the angelfish and the hammerhead sharks. She outright laughed at the sight of the penguins, especially when one waddled right up to her. She’d reached her little hand out yet again, fingers touching the cool glass, and Lois swore the smile on Clark’s face could light up an entire room. He was beaming- fucking beaming- holding a finger of his own up to the glass as he cooed at Molly. Lois’s mouth upticked into a warm smile as she fondly watched the sight of her fiance and baby, both smiling brightly at the simple sight of a penguin in front of them.
Lois had eventually grown used to how easily Clark loved and found joy in things. Lois had been worn down by her childhood, driven to cynicism and constant suspicion, but Clark was… so different. He really did look at everything and everyone like they were beautiful. She’d seen him effortlessly give bright smiles to random passerby, she’d seen him run over to help a pregnant woman with her groceries, she’d even seen him hold a teeny tiny tired butterfly in his hand like it was the most delicate thing in the world as he encouraged it to drink some sugar water he’d prepared it.
Lois had wondered many a time while she was pregnant, a hand over her belly as she felt the small little baby inside her kick, what her baby’s personality would be like. Would they favor Clark? Would their baby be kind, soft and oh so cheerful like him? Would they favor Lois? Would their baby be feisty, independent and determined like her? She’d wondered so many times while pregnant, and now that Molly was here and so clearly favored Clark in personality, Lois was honestly quite happy. Clark had been a little disappointed that their baby completely favored him in appearance (“I just think it’d be so cute if she had your eyes, Lo,” He’d told her one night with a kiss to her forehead, “Or your nose.”) but something about it made Lois so, so happy. She’d fallen head over heels in love with Clark, so some part of her was happy with the fact that their baby so resembled the man she’d fallen for.
Molly had started giggling again when they reached the Giant Pacific Octopus tank, downright squealing when the octopus grazed a tentacle across the part of the tank her hand was pressing against. She’d turned to face Clark for a brief second, almost as if to say ‘look dad!! Look what the octopus did!!’ which got a hearty laugh from Clark and a fond laugh from Lois.
“Oh man, Smallville, I’ve never seen her this happy.” Lois murmured with a particular fondness to her voice, smiling softly at Molly.
“Me either.” He spoke, voice low as he pressed a kiss to Molly’s forehead. He ran a gentle hand on the back of her head, murmuring softly to Molly as her eyes remained glued to the octopus. “She really likes animals, doesn’t she?”
Lois brought her hands together and turned to look at the octopus for a moment. “I think we’re gonna have to get her an octopus plushie, if they have one in the gift shop.”
“I’m sure they do.” He replied, still watching Molly’s hand trace over the glass of the aquarium tank. “We can get her a couple little things at the gift shop. I’m sure they have a lot of stuff there she’d like.”
“You’re not gonna go overboard and get her like, twenty stuffed animals are you?” She teased, grinning.
“Nooo.” He chirped, dragging out the ‘o’ for dramatic effect, garnering another laugh from Lois. “I’ll get her five things, max. I promise.”
“Just don’t go too crazy in the gift store.” Lois replied, giving him a smile as she walked over to the next tank in the room.
If they’d thought Molly was especially happy by the sight of the octopus, it was almost nothing compared to the sheer joy and wonder on her face when they walked into the Moon Jelly room and her eyes landed on the sight of them. The blue glow of the jellies painted her face as she stared, eyes wider than either of them had ever seen, mouth wide open and transfixed with wonder. She fully pressed her hand against the glass of the tank, lifting her head to stare at the jellies as they swam up.
“Oh, I think she has a new favorite animal.” Clark joked, holding a hand to the back of her head as he watched Molly’s face.
“I think so too.” Lois mused, lifting her hand to gently caress Molly’s cheek. “I hope they have jellyfish plushies.”
Clark tilted his head before leaning down to press a kiss to Lois’s forehead. “I’m sure they do.”
Molly spent a solid eight minutes simply staring at the Moon Jellies, before Clark was able to finally gently pry her away from the tank and go into the next room.
They must’ve spent a solid two hours in the aquarium, giving Molly a good couple minutes at each tank to gaze in wonder at each of the creatures on display. Sure enough, her favorites had been the jellyfish and the octopus, but she’d also been quite enamored by the dolphins, letting out another loud, happy squeal as one of the dolphins had chirped at her.
They’d eventually made their way to the gift shop, a colorful room littered with toys and t-shirts along every wall.
“Oh Lois, look at this one,” He cooed, holding up a deep blue jellyfish plushie with pastel blue arms. Molly reached out for the plushie, opening and closing her hand as she tried to clutch onto it.
“I think she really likes it, too.” Lois smiled, turning to walk over to another display of toys. She looked around, eyes scanning over the toys before she picked out a purple colored, doe-eyed little octopus plushie and holding it up to Molly. Molly’s hand reached out for that one too, and Lois’s smile grew wider. “Looks like you were right about the octopus.”
Clark playfully tilted his head and lifted his shoulders, beaming. “Let’s get both of them, then. She seems really happy with both.”
Lois ended up holding the two plushies, along with the dolphin plushie she’d picked out after Molly had giggled at it and reached a hand out for it.
“I think that was a very successful aquarium trip.” Clark spoke as he gently lifted Molly up and out of the baby carrier and placed her down into the carseat. He handed her the octopus plushie, and Molly immediately clutched it to her chest, gurgling happily as she squeezed the fabric.
As they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, Lois glanced over to the backseat, smiling as she saw Molly slowly drift off to sleep. She looked so endlessly peaceful, lips parted slightly and octopus plushie tucked in her hands. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.
Lois beamed. “I’d say so, Smallville.”