dovelike | (no subject)

Oh, Eirene isn't knocking it. Much. Simply a matter of local pride. If Clark didn't prefer Smallville over everything else, she'd start worrying.

It's a beautiful day for strolling past the stalls, and Eirene selects almost as many items as Clark does, knowing full well that once he leaves, she'll be mobbed by the local children, and patiently waits until he's done with each section before launching into a spirited haggling session with the farmer or fisherman, until she's worn them down to a slightly lower price.

When everything has been wrapped up, packed into bags and handed over to Eirene, or at least the stuff that Clark will let her carry, she spies a stand near the end of the town center with little figurines for sale.

And promptly falls in love with a little gray elephant statue.

The haggling is, well, to put a word to it, adorable. Not that he has a clue what they're saying, but Clark just stands to her side, a big smile on his face, and watches her with amusement, occasionally shrugging at the vendor. Clark will be no help for him.

Once they've gathered their purchases, he finds her over by the figurine stand.

"Elephants?"

Eirene shifts a bag of apples to her hip, treating it the exact same way she would a toddler, and points toward the pachyderm, engaging in another bartering session until the vendor throws up his hands and gestures to the statue.

"Go on, woman. Take it. I will have more next weekend when the shipment comes in from India." His English is heavily laced with a Greek accent.

She bows formally and collects her prize, hugging it to her chest. "Blessings of Zeus on you, sir."

"Come on, Clark. Lets go home before he changes his mind. And yes, I adore elephants."

Clark is just further amused as they start back toward her house.

"Why elephants?"

"Because they're large, gentle creatures, content to just go about their lives. You have to train an elephant to be mean. Of course, there are always exceptions."

She grins while skirting around a group of kids spilling out of an alley in pursuit of a small dog or large cat, she couldn't see past the mob.

"I've just always liked them. If you ask nicely, they'll let you ride them without benefit of those horrid drivers who keep yelling at and smacking them."

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen one, outside of the Metropolis Zoo, and that was a long time ago." Clark steps aside to let the kids - and the dog - go by. "Personally, I liked the rhinoceros better."

"Do you want to? While you're here, I mean." She's already mentally figuring out whether to take him to an actual zoo, or the wilds of Africa, or somewhere on the Indian subcontinent if he actually says yes.

If not, it's a moot point, and they're getting closer to her home anyway.

Clark probably should have expected the offer. But he didn't, so Eirene will get a look.

"I'm not sure we'l have time. We need to get your house set up." There's a brief pause before he adds, "Next time, though."

"Okay." She smiles easily (always has) and leads the way back to her home. The door is standing open, which may or may not mean anything, and it's not until they get inside that the reason stares them in the face.

Almost literally.

There's a gift basket on the counter and a kitchen full of dishes and cups and everything that she was planning on shopping around for in the morning.

The basket is, thankfully, only full of golden apples, and a note from her mother. Which turns her cheeks red and is stuffed into a jeans pocket.

"Well," Eirene sighs after a moment. "At least thats one thing off the list."

Clark sets the packages he's carrying on the counter and gives her a small smile.

"Guess that just goes to show no matter how old you get, we're all still kids to someone."

Eirene follows suit with the couple she hadn't put down yet, and casts a glance towards the ceiling.

"This? Is very true. Why don't you take out what you want for dinner tonight and then I'll put the rest away."

He rummages through the packages for a few minutes and then pulls out some pork chops and setting them aside. Then he'll open the fridge and eyes it thoughtfully. "Do you have a specific order or place where all this has to go?" Some people do, he knows.

That takes Eirene completely by surprise. "Uh, no? I think the fruit is supposed to go in the draw labeled 'crisper', but everything else should be fair game. Don't worry about it, I'll put everything away in a minute."

After some consideration, she sets mushrooms and an onion next to the pork, and then starts loading everything else into the fridge in a neat, albeit slightly haphazard, way.

Clark wants to be helpful - that's what he's here for, after all, so he passes her items to be put away where she wants them. At least it makes him feel like he's doing something useful.

When they're finished, and all the packages are away, he turns the little elephant figure over in his hands. "So, what's next?"

"I try and figure out how to cook this without using magic so you don't freak out?"

She's ... not actually kidding, either, by the sheepish expression on her face.

Clark looks over at her. "I can teach you, if you want."

Stare.

"You know how to cook?"

"Uh, yeah?" Clark thought that was a given. "I mean, I'm no gourmet, but I can fend for myself. Mom made sure I could."

It wasn't, though it probably should have been. Eirene blinks after a few moments, and grins up at him. "That's very groovy, Clark. Yeah. I'd like that. This meal, anyway."

She extracted the elephant from his fingers shortly afterwards and carries it over to the fireplace in the living room, to a place of importance on the mantle.

He follows, eyeing the mantle. "I'm not going to come back next time and find a real one in the backyard, am I?"

There's a brief hesitation before Eirene shakes her head, that might suggest she was, in fact, wondering if it was possible to host a fully grown African elephant in a goddess's back yard. In Greece.

"No. I'll just get my fix the next time I'm in Africa." You know. Where the genocide and the bullets are.

Don't think Clark didn't notice that hesitation.

"Well, at least I know what to get you for your birthday." Something elephant related, he means.

Beat.

"Do you even have a birthday?"

And a second hesitation, this one more embarassed than shifty.

"I .. don't actually know how old I am, Clark." Small smile.

"Birthdays aren't much of a consideration?"

He offers a sympathetic smile. "That makes two of us."

"You forgot somewhere around the year ten thousand, too?" She's teasing, Clark. Hip nudge. "Besides, you don't need an excuse to give a present to someone."

As has already been proven. Or will be, with a ninja!kiss. "Come on. Show me how not to burn pork."