Back in Clark's hotel room, he blew his nose into another tissue and groaned in annoyance and Peggy felt bad for him. It really looked like he wasn't doing well. "Is this what it's like for humans when they get a cold?" Clark asked her.
"We have them more often but basically and the doctor is right. You just have to let your body heal." Peggy told him and Clark groaned in annoyance. "Just out of curiosity, are you sure this is just a cold and not some kind of alien/Kryptonian sickness?"
Clark tapped his watch three times and his watch disassembled back into liquid-geo matter and formed Kelex's mini-drone. Peggy had seen Kelex before and she knew Clark was an alien but he was still a shock to see. "Greeting, Margaret Elizabeth Carter. It is good to see you again."
"You too."
"Kelex, can you give me a quick scan and make sure this is just a cold and not something else?" Clark asked and Kelex's faceplate shot out a beam of blue light that scanned him from head to toe several times before he processed the data.
"My scans have picked up zero traces of any kind of foreign matter or contaminant From my scans of your body, I can confirm that you are experiencing what the humans have correctly diagnosed as the common cold. Bed rest and fluids are the best method of treatment but by my estimation you shall recover within 48 earth hours. The yellow sun energy your cells are slowly absorbing are aiding in your recovery." Kelex informed him.
"Thanks, Kelex." Clark replied. He was glad that this was just a cold and not some kind of infection he got from the alien planet. Kelex gave him a nod before shrinking back down and assuming his camouflage form as a watch. "Two more days of this is going to be torture."
"I believe that's a bit of an overexaggeration." Peggy sat down next to him and handed him the cup of warm tea and honey. "I'm still curious as to how you got sick in the first place. How?"
"When I woke up on the planet after the rocket exploded I saw red sunlight so the planet orbited a red sun like the one on Krypton. [Sniffle]" Clark wiped his nose with a tissue and sipped some tea. "As I mentioned before Krypton orbited a red sun and there we didn't have any special abilities. It's only under a yellow sun that I can do what I can."
Peggy nodded and began to understand. "So, when you arrived on this mystery planet you didn't have your abilities making you pretty much human. It was a good thing you had Kelex with you. From how you described it, it sounds incredibly dangerous."
"Yeah, and it wasn't fun." Clark's memories of that place were still fresh in his head and he likely wouldn't be forgetting them anytime soon. "If I hadn't lived through it then I wouldn't believe it either but it happened. Worst 24 hours of my life and I'm guessing Howard and Colonel Phillips don't believe me."
Peggy gave him a nod. "You can't exactly blame them as we have no proof and you can't tell them about Kelex so they just think it was a delusion or bad dream and that you were drifting in the Atlantic for the two weeks you were gone." Peggy then realized something. "That's another thing. How exactly did you get back?"
"Even I have no idea…" Clark then explained everything that happened after he took out the V2 rocket. Given the suddenness of his return yesterday and his illness and powerful sneeze, Clark was taken to see some doctors and then taken to the hotel to get some rest. He ended up passing out quickly after a hot bath and a fresh change of clothes and woke up this morning which is when the doctor took a look at him. Peggy listened in rapt attention as everything Clark described seemed so fanciful and unbelievable. An entirely new world that he explored would be the dream of any scientist though from the details of his descriptions it sounded more like a horror-scape, especially the ending where Kelex scanned and deduced what they thought were earthquakes weren't earthquakes. Given that he heard inhuman-like roars and screeching that made him remember when he saw King Kong in the theaters when he was a kid then he could only guess it was some kind of monster. Thankfully a beam of light and flurry of colors from the rainbow surrounded him and he seemed to be transported through said light until he was dunked in the Atlantic ocean. "…and I swam until a patrol boat found me. Thankfully they recognized the S on my suit and brought me back here."
"I'm just glad that the planet you ended up on had breathable air. And what was the light that brought you back here?" Peggy wondered and Clark shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know but Kelex was able to get some information on what happened through the science of it still kind of eludes me. The light that hit me was made up of trans-dimensional energy that transported me and Kelex from that strange planet back to earth near instantaneously." Clark explained but Peggy looked confused. "I know, I don't understand the science of it either as this is out of both of our wheelhouses. I think the basics of what happened is that the light was made of some kind of energy that basically transported me from that planet to here. The question remains who and why. Kelex doesn't have a record of that kind of energy in his database so whoever is behind my return is an unknown…"
"…but clearly they wanted you back here on earth meaning they could be an ally." Peggy suggested.
"I think so but I'm not exactly in a position to figure that out. I'm earthbound for the foreseeable future and I'd like to keep it that way for a while." Clark admitted.
"Good." Peggy grabbed his hand and intertwined her hand with his. "I would very much appreciate you staying on this planet for the foreseeable future."
Clark smiled and would have liked nothing more than to kiss her but given the fact that his head felt like an overstuffed sausage from his cold and his nose was dripping with mucus he felt it would be better to wait. He gingerly ran his thumb over the back of her hand and gave her a smile. "Earth is my home. You are my home and I have no plans to change that."
Peggy couldn't help the blush and smile that adorned her face before she leaned in and kissed Clark on the lips. It was soft, gentle, and pure love and it was definitely pure love because Peggy was willing to kiss him when he had mucus dripping from his nose. Not to mention that she was also risking catching his cold as well. She pulled away and used a tissue to wipe some of mucus that was on her upper lip and Clark wiped his nose.
"Wow…to think I couldn't love you even more but you kissed me when I'm sick." Clark said in awe and Peggy chuckled in amusement.
"If I catch the cold in a few days then we'll know why but it will have been worth it." Peggy remarked and Clark chuckled.
"And I'll be there to help you like you're helping me right now." Clark promised and Peggy smiled. Having Peggy with him there was tremendous in helping him deal with his first ever cold and while he was still miserable and wished it to be over, her presence and just them talking helped. This moment was just a nice reminder that he loved Peggy and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. If the war ended tomorrow then he would be meeting her family and then introducing her to his mother back in Smallville. Thinking that made him remember something he had come to realize during his time on the mystery planet. Considering all he could do there was just wait and think, he thought of a lot of things and one of them was his future with Peggy. "Peggy…we need to talk."
Hearing the seriousness in Clark's voice told Peggy that this was important and if this was any other situation then she might be worried that he was ending their relationship. Thankfully she knew that likely wasn't the case as he wouldn't have said what he said if he wanted them to go their separate ways. "Talk about what?"
"Our relationship." He said when he saw the look of concern in her eyes and quickly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, giving her some reassurance. "I mean only to talk about how things will be with us in the future. Hopefully when this war ends and things go back to normal…our lives will be different."
Peggy was confused by what he meant. She understood that when the war would be over that the chance to return to their old lives was a possibility but she wasn't sure why that would be cause for concern. "What do you mean?"
Clark took a deep breath and wiped his nose before he took a sip of tea to ease his throat so he could speak with some ease. "A year or two from now, when this war is over and everything that has happened will be nothing but a distant memory, things will change. I'm hoping for the better and the chance to go home…and I was hoping that you would come with me. Being able to spend time with you when we don't have the timetable of war sounds pleasant and I think it'd be nice to introduce you to my mother and finally put a face to the name in all the letters I send her."
Peggy was a bit taken back and a blush crept up her face as she cleared her throat and recomposed herself. "…I would love that. I'll admit that I'm not quite sure how things will go when the war is over but that sounds quite lovely. Is that what you're so concerned about?"
"No, it's about how our relationship will work when the war is over." Clark said only for Peggy to look at him in confusion. "Peggy, I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life if you'll have me but I inadvertently gave our relationship an obstacle. Back when I first told you the truth before we arrived in London, I told you that I never anticipated falling in love with you. I don't regret that decision but you knew me as Kalvin Elbert and he has become the Superman and while that will remain a part of who I am for the rest of my life…when the war is over I had planned to go back to being Clark Kent. The whole reason I created my Kalvin Elbert identity was so that when everything was over I could go back to being Clark Kent and no one would know it was really me."
Peggy realized the issue that they now faced. While not exactly public knowledge or tabloid information for the news, there were many in the SSR who knew that Peggy was dating Clark's alter-ego of Kalvin Elbert. Howard knew for sure and Colonel Phillips likely knew too. They weren't public with their affection in the SSR given both were professional in the workplace but people had to suspect something. While Kalvin Elbert was technically an alter-ego for Clark as the Superman so he could use his powers without any kind of connection to Clark Kent they were pretty much the same person. It was just a way to disguise his origins so people now believed he was a result of Project Rebirth and not an alien. It was planned for Clark to join the war effort and hide his true identity with even expertly falsified birth and medical records made curtesy of Kelex so the ruse was perfect. He hadn't anticipated meeting and falling in love with Peggy when he made the plan because now it presented a slight wrinkle. Clark wanted to spend his life with Peggy and after the war he planned to return to his life as Clark Kent. He wanted to show Peggy his home and introduce her to his mother and eventually marry her and was sure she wanted the same. Only problem being she was currently with his alter-ego who didn't technically exist and if they kept it that way when the war was over then the greater the risk of people figuring out that Clark Kent and Kalvin Elbert/Superman were the same person.
"Yes, I see a bit of dilemma." Peggy admitted.
"Something I never planned." Clark held both her hands in his. "Margaret Elizabeth Carter, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are strong, intelligent, powerful, driven, and compassionate with the biggest heart to match and you fight harder and stronger than anyone I've ever met. You've been fighting side by side with Superman since this war started. With everything that is happening and will happen…the question is if simple farm boy Clark Kent from Smallville, Kansas is enough for you."
Peggy tightened her grip on his hands and looked him in the eyes. Her gaze to him had the same look of love that he had to her. "I fell in love with Clark Kent. Him…Kalvin Elbert…Superman…Kal-El…they are all different parts of the same man. If he will have me…then I will have him. No matter what happens or difficulties we face…we do it together."
Clark smiled and kissed her hands. "Together." He sniffled and had to get a tissue to wipe his nose. "If I wasn't sick I would kiss you right now."
"I don't mind." Peggy leaned in and kissed him again, despite the mucus and his cold. If there was ever a truer sign of love then this then they couldn't think of one. Whatever came their way, they'd face it together.
And there would be plenty of obstacles for them to face.
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