Beyond the Sun

17

Landing in a slight skid, Clark put Annie down. She seemed to deal with the sudden motion better than when she was little. Sitting down she put her legs over the edge of the building and looked up at the sky. From the barn roof, the sky looked more beautiful. It was literally spread out above them with nothing cutting it off. No bright city lights. No high-rise buildings. Nothing. The only things which did surround them were the endless fields of grass and crops.

"So?" Clark sat down and looked at her waiting for the possible worse.

"Was growing up easy?" Annie asked while keeping her eyes up at the stars. She was trying to count how many constellations she could see. "I never asked you. I mean, we established my mid-teens were rocky. But I never asked about you, which seems unfair. So, was it easy?" At this Annie slowly tilted her head and looked at him with a simple expression. By the look on his face, she figured she had already got her answer. "I'm sorry." Annie looked back up at the sky and sighed. "No girlfriends then, huh?" She suddenly joked with a grin, Clark double took and looked at her with a shocked look. "What? Come on..." Annie laughed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Friends?" She peeked up and over at him, and he just looked away. So, all in all, he seemed to be back in the same position he was when they first met. With a sigh, she hung her head, "I'm sorry for asking, just...I was talking to your mum earlier, and it just got me thinking."

"Yeah, I heard." Clark said quietly while looking to his hands.

Annie winced, "Seriously...you really can hear everything, can't you? Ever thought of becoming a spy? You'd be super at it!"

Clark smiled and shook his head, "Hadn't ever thought of that. Don't think I'd like it much. I'd want a job where I can help people more practically."

"Doctor?" Annie asked with a small snort of laughter as he looked at her with a frown. "Sorry, Doctor Kent..."

"Shut up," Clark smirked and gave her a gentle shove to the shoulder.

"What? You'd be so good. You've already got the vision to cut one necessity out of the way." Annie said with a simple shrug as she kicked back and laid down on the roof. She put her arms behind her head and shut her eyes with a small sigh. Kicking her legs, she listened and enjoyed the silence, though she opened her eyes when she heard movement and looked to Clark as he laid down beside her. Looking back to the sky, she frowned slowly. "Say, Clark?"

"Hm?" He looked at her curiously as she laid with a thoughtful look on her face for a few moments before turning and looking at him.

"Do you like...ever think about your other home?" Annie asked interestedly. A small frown appeared on his face as he looked up at the sky. Its vast blackness just stared right back down at him. There was something strangely isolating yet comforting about it, he couldn't pin the contradicting feelings down. "Like...you must have another family...right?" She rolled onto her side, tucking an arm under her head she looked at him as he slowly did the same and placed a hand on the roof between them.

He tapped thoughtfully on the wood several times before shrugging slowly. "I suppose...I've never really ever dwelt on it before. But I guess I must do, right?" He looked at her as she thought over his words.

"Would you go there, if you could?"

"I'd need to find it first." He replied and watched as a quick look of sadness flashed across her face. Clark reached out and held onto her hand which had settled a little below where his was. "I'm not leaving, Annie."

"You'd need to explain to NASA why you're stealing a rocket...so that's good to hear!" Annie laughed trying to pass her hesitance up with humour, he looked at her knowingly. With a sigh, she shut her eyes, for a few moments she laid silently before looking back at him. "Do you ever really think about what your other home must be like?"