Work Text:
Ostensibly, Jon was all Clark; he had a head full of unruly jet-black hair, moss-colored eyes, and a toothy smile. But Clark knew better. Little Jon was Lois through-and-through.
i.
Mornings in Metropolis were quiet on Sundays. If you weren’t in bed because you were at a party all the night before, then you were in bed because you wanted to catch up on sleep before the workweek began. Lois wished she was part of the latter group of people, but Lois was beholden to the whims of a rather fickle being.
Little Jon liked to wake up with the Sun, unconcerned with Lois’ beauty sleep needs. She blamed Clark for that particular habit since he’d been an early riser before she’d even met him.
Luckily, Jon was usually Clark’s responsibility in the early hours. Clark was so attuned to Jon’s sleep cycle - in part due to his super-hearing - that he was often able to be by Jon’s side before the first cry.
But Clark had been called away on Superman duties that morning, so Lois was on watch.
Lois took a peep at Jon over her coffee. Parked in his high-chair before the open-balcony doors, Jon happily babbled to himself as he soaked up the morning light. He relished sunlight so much that Lois wondered if it was the Kryptonian DNA.
Lois smiled lazily to herself as she put her cup down, and turned back to the spread of records on the coffee table. She was in the middle of an investigation into a flood of toxic chemical by-products from factories into water bodies around Suicide Slums. Lois had most of the puzzle pieces for her story, but she wanted to prove that it was a deliberate decision on the part of corporations.
She needed a source, but no one wanted to talk.
Lois looked back up when she heard a cry from Jon. His face was scrunched up in fierce dissatisfaction. Lois suspected it was because of the clouds’ decision to cover his precious sun.
“Mama.” He looked over at her, his demand obvious with the way he stretched his chubby little arms out.
Lois knew better than to ignore that, he was the bossiest little person Lois had ever met. Clark said Jon inherited it from her, but Lois refused to acknowledge that.
“You want to look over zoning permits with me, Jon?” She asked as she hauled him into her arms.
Jon snatched locks of her hair and stuck them in his mouth, watching her with wide moss-green eyes that were so much like her husband’s.
Lois tickled his belly, which elicited a shriek of laughter from her son. “I know you are secretly a fiend for zoning permits. We’ll do something fun later.”
She sat cross-legged before the coffee table, carefully positioning Jon on her lap.
“I just know that this was a concerted effort, sweetheart, I just need to tie it all together.” She downed the rest of her coffee as she ranted to Jon. He babbled in reply, strings of words that had no meaning. Lois enjoyed her talks with him; both of them weren’t fans of silence. “I know. Why would the city let all of these companies just dispose of waste near residential areas?”
Amidst the frustration of the investigation, Jon started to wildly flap his hands around. Lois tried to keep him in check, but he knocked a pile of city records to the floor.
“Oh, Jon. I know it’s annoying, sweetheart, but we must keep our heads on straight as the General would say.”
Lois went to pick up the fallen documents when her eyes fell on two Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for two different companies, but Lois noticed the same staff member’s signature on both.
Dr. J. Callahan, PhD.
Lois’ eyes narrowed, she knew the EIAs vastly understated the environmental impacts of the chemical waste. She scanned through the other EIAs, all signed by Dr. Callahan.
She had wondered how so many reports (that were obviously falsified upon a second glance) were approved.
She suspected she had her lead, all thanks to her brilliant baby.
“You are such a clever boy! I should have known you were onto something.” Lois showered kisses all around Jon’s face, drawing out bales of delighted squeals. “You may have the makings of an investigative journalist just yet! I’ll have to tell your Daddy and Aunt Chloe how you cracked this case.”
ii.
Amidst the chaos of his double-life, Clark relished quiet evenings like these. On the couch with Jon in his lap and Lois cuddled up into his side, and Scooby-Doo on the TV. Clark could have done without Jon’s favorite outfit - a Green Arrow onesie (courtesy of the man himself) - but Lois wore her Superman t-shirt in solidarity with him.
Lois and Jon loved Scooby-Doo, and that particular preference had rubbed off onto Clark. There was something about the way Mystery Incorporated solved mysteries, taking it all upon themselves.
Maybe because it was so reminiscent of the lives Lois and Clark led.
Clark’s heart warmed when Jon burst into a fit of giggles and Lois hummed in amusement at Shaggy and Scooby’s antics - they were always in sync.
“I think it’s that new blond rich boy.” Lois speculated beside him a while later. It was another reason Lois loved Scooby-Doo; she loved to figure out the plot twists before they happened. Honestly, Clark’d been surprised by how long it took Lois to get into investigative journalism with how much she loved these shows.
“I think it's Mayor Jones’ opponent.” Clark added his own speculations into the arena. They sometimes made a competition out of it.
“Oh, Smallville.” Lois patted his arm in faux sympathy as if she felt bad for his ineptitude with Scooby-Doo plot twists. He turned his head to look at the mirth in Lois' eyes that he was sure she could see in his own. It was still so easy to lose himself in those hazel-brown eyes of hers, even after all those years later.
“Oh, Smawwie.” Clark and Lois whipped their eyes towards their baby. Jon patted his chubby little hand on Clark’s arm in a way that was very reminiscent of the way Lois had just patted it.
Lois burst into laughter while Clark tickled Jon’s belly in retaliation. “Traitor!”
Jon, however, was unbothered by his betrayal towards his father; he smiled his toothy smile, overjoyed by Lois’ obvious amusement at his acquiescence.
“See, your son knows I’m right.” Lois said between her fits of laughter.
Clark rolled his eyes, but failed to keep the smile off his face as Jon babbled back. “He always takes your side.” Clark argued, Lois and Jon were two peas in a pod.
“That’s not it. Jon and I have been working on his deduction skills, haven’t we, baby?” Lois directed the latter part at Jon, who just smiled contently in response. “He’s just putting them to work on Scooby-Doo.”
“We’ll see about that. It’s the other mayoral candidate.”
Unfortunately for him, the villain was the new blond rich boy.
(Lois made sure to console Clark thoroughly later when they were alone in bed, so he didn’t have much to complain about.)
iii.
“Okay, one last time, let’s go over the plan.”
Jon stared up at Lois as he sat in his comfy stroller that Lois’d parked near the Daily Planet’s entrance.
“In and out, no detours. Steer clear of any hands. Eyes forward. Retrieve the papers - Mommy needs them.”
Jon’s head bobbed up and down as his eyes followed a butterfly around. Lois decided to interpret that as an affirmative. It was a simple enough mission for her clever boy.
“Okay, let’s move, soldier.” Lois pushed the stroller through the entrance, dodging the horde of comers-and-goers.
It was Wednesday, but one of the rare days she decided to take off since she’d saved up so much time. Clark was up in the Watchtower on League business, so it was a Lois and Jon-type of day. Unfortunately, Lois’d forgotten a few files at the Planet, files she needed so she could work on her current story at home (no one ever accused Lois of a healthy work-life balance).
For that reason, Lois and Jon were on this covert mission - in and out - because the last time Lois and Clark took Jon to the Daily Planet, they had been bombarded by half of the office, all of them wanting to play with or hold Jon. It hadn’t been until hours later that they’d broken free. Lois did not want a repeat, especially when she was on her own.
Lois walked briskly through the office, careful to avoid any eye contact.
“Lois!” She heard one of the copy editors yell out.
“Nope, I’m not here.” She stayed on course, quickening her steps. Jon looked up at her curiously, he smiled widely when she winked back at him.
Lois and Jon arrived at her desk. “Phase One is a success, Jonny!” Lois searched through her files, and exclaimed in victory when she found the ones she needed. “Phase Two as well.”
Jon beamed back at her, Lois assumed it was in triumph.
“Lane.” Lois’ sense of victory faded, she spoke too soon. It was a classic mistake, one the General always warned her against.
Lois turned to address the new threat. “Grant.” Cat Grant stood before her in all her self-righteous blonde glory. It was Lois’ own folly, thinking she and Jon could ever escape unscathed.
Cat’s eyes fell on Jon - who eyed the enemy with curiosity - in the stroller. “Well, who’s this little angel?” Lois watched in horror as Cat picked Jon up (without Lois’ permission), babbling sweet nonsense to him. Jon didn’t seem to mind too much, just a bit apprehensive.
Jon and Lois’ plan had completely fallen apart.
Cat peeked back at Lois over Jon’s head, as though she’d forgotten Lois had been there the whole time. “Well, at least his mother finally decided to spend some time with him.”
Lois’ eyes narrowed. Did Cat Grant just imply Lois was an absentee mother? Because she had a career? Oh, Lois would bet money that Cat would never say the same about Clark. Lois squared her shoulders, braced for a fight (unfortunately, not physical with Jon in the vicinity).
Lois opened her mouth to let Cat know what she thought of Cat’s unwanted opinions, but Jon beat her to it.
He opened his mouth and vomited all over Cat’s silk shirt.
Cat let out a loud noise in disgust, holding Jon away from her body as though he was diseased. Lois snatched her son back from Cat before Cat ran off to the bathroom in a panic.
“Sorry!” Lois shouted after her, but even Lois could hear the insincerity of it. You could practically hear the smile in her voice. She peeped down at Jon, taking inventory of her boy, making sure he was alright. “You alright, baby?”
Jon’s mouth stretched into a smile, and Lois knew he would be fine. He just needed to be cleaned up and back in their apartment for a cozy afternoon.
Lois made sure she had all their stuff before she turned to look back in the direction Cat had run off. She hid her smile in Jon's neck.
Jon surely knew when to improvise - the mark of a true soldier.
“Nice work, Cadet.” Lois whispered to her happy baby, before adding a moment later. “Don’t tell your Daddy I said that.”
iv.
Lois sat on the couch with Jon beside her. She had papers about her most recent story strewn all over her lap while Jon contently watched a rerun of Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood for his an-hour-a-day TV time.
It’d been a long day, she and Clark had had to cover a particularly horrible fire in the city (after Clark-as-Superman had put out the fire). They’d barely stepped a foot inside their apartment after work when Clark had been called away to the Watchtower. On top of everything, Jon had been in a horrible mood which he’d only just gotten over. Jon was a tyrant when cranky.
Lois’ eyes drooped, the words on her papers blurred. She tried to muster the energy to open them; but before she could, she felt all of her papers be swiped off her lap. Her eyes fluttered open to see Jon climb up her lap, making himself comfortable.
She smiled tiredly. “You’re right, Jon, those papers are a problem for tomorrow.” Her eyes followed Jon’s to Mister Rogers, all dressed up in his blue sweater.
Mister Rogers’ voice lulled her to sleep.
Clark snuck in through the balcony, shutting the door quietly behind him. It was late so he was surprised to find the television turned on. Curious, he took a peep at the couch.
Lois was asleep, her head resting on the back of the couch. He knew she’d had a long day - he’d been part of it. Surprisingly, Jon was still awake on her lap, his fist in his mouth, quietly watching Clark make his way to them.
Clark turned off the TV before he carefully picked Jon off Lois’ lap. Jon immediately made himself comfortable in Clark’s arms, playing with the top of his cape. “Hey, bud. You keeping watch while Mommy sleeps?”
Jon nodded his head in response; Clark doubted Jon knew what he was nodding to, but it warmed his heart anyway.
Clark and Lois hadn’t known what to expect when Lois had become pregnant with Jon (honestly, they hadn’t even been sure if Clark’s kryptonian DNA would be compatible with Lois’ human DNA). They both led busy - and very often dangerous - lives, so they had been worried they wouldn’t have the time for him when he was born. It wasn’t easy, but they worked hard to make it work. They both knew there wasn’t much they wouldn’t do for their son, even before he cried his first little cry in the clinic.
“Well, let’s get you to bed now. I’ll watch over Mommy - I’ll always watch over both of you.”