Getting It Together

By Antonia <antonia_koskina@hotmail.com>

Rated: PG

Submitted: May 2002

******

Lois looked in to the eyes of her partner, somewhat startled by the genuine expression of his feelings. She opened her mouth and searched for appropriate words. "I don't know what to say," <great comeback Lois> she thought, annoyed at herself.

"Say you'll go out with me tonight," Clark persisted, praying for a positive reaction, "and I promise you I will *not* disappear."

A faint smile started to spread across Lois' lips. There was definitely something about him she couldn't resist, something that melted down that seemingly unbreakable barrier she had put up around her heart all those years ago. "All right."

Clark's heart soared; a wide smile took over his face. <Thank you!> he thought silently, glancing upwards to the heavens. He looked at Lois, who was beaming at him like a kid in a candy store. "Pick me up at 7:00," she said softly.

"Okay," Clark managed.

"But you gotta promise me you won't disappear," Lois looked up at him sternly. There was no way she was going to waste her time on him if he kept up the disappearing act that had been going on for the last couple of months. She frowned; they would probably be together by now, if it weren't for the fact that he disappeared every time she needed to talk to him, and Dan Scardino wouldn't even be in the picture. In fact when she thought about it, she didn't know why she had given Clark another chance. <Because you're in love with him, not Dan> a voice screamed at her conscience, <and you know it.> Lois smirked at the voice in her head, and answered it mentally; <how ridiculous, I'm not in *love* with Clark, and certainly not Dan.> She looked up at Clark and tried to shake the thoughts, "and you'll be there at 7:00?"

Clark nodded sincerely, he looked into her dark eyes, <God, she's beautiful> he thought to himself. He swallowed hard as she moved closer to him.

"And 7:01," she murmured playfully placing a slender hand on his shoulder. "And 7:02," she placed both her hands around his neck.

Clark nodded again, a smile took over his face and his heart was thudding in his chest. He had never held her this way before, and he was totally and utterly mesmerised by her beauty.

"And 7:03," she moved closer still. Her breath caught in her throat, as she gazed at his handsome features. She knew she was teasing Clark and the thought of it excited her, and gave her the courage to persevere. She continued to draw him closer and gaze up at him until she reached 7:05, at which point they were almost nose to nose. Her heartbeat quickened, as she leaned in to brush her lips with his; initiating a kiss. Clark closed his eyes blissfully and leant in towards Lois, longing to feel her lips against his.

"WoooHooo!"

"Yeah!"

"Way to go CK!"

"All right!"

Several cheers and wolf whistles echoed around the newsroom. Lois jumped nervously then collapsed into embarrassed giggles, blushing furiously. She pulled away and looked around; several of their colleagues were watching the scene in amusement. Clark's heart sank; they had been so close! "Oh no," he moaned awkwardly as Jimmy wandered past them, winking at Clark slyly.

Lois, however, got over her embarrassment as quick as a flash; she had an idea. She smirked devilishly as she leant forwards towards Clark and whispered in his ear. "Hey partner, whaddya say we give 'em something to cheer at?" At his startled expression, she pulled him close and pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss, he responded immediately. The cheering grew louder as it echoed around the room, but for a few blissful moments Lois and Clark were in a world of their own...

-----------------

Lois blushed at the memory as she hooked in a long, dangly earring. <What had gotten into her?> Kissing in the workplace was definitely not regular Lois Lane type behaviour. She couldn't help smiling at herself. "Well, maybe it's time for a change," she told her reflection.

The telephone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced at the time; it was 6:58, Clark still had two minutes. She picked up the receiver, "hello?" Her stomach clenched with discomfort when a familiar voice answered. "Uh, Dan, hi!" Lois forced a light-hearted greeting.

-----------------

Clark arrived outside Lois' apartment holding a long- stemmed red rose. He raised his hand to knock at the door, glancing at his watch as he did so. He was a few minutes early so he decided to wait - he wanted to be exactly on time. The phone rang from inside Lois' apartment; Clark tapped his foot impatiently and glanced up and down the corridor looking for something to do with himself for a minute or two.

"Uh, Dan, hi!" Clark couldn't help overhearing Lois' cheery tone. <Oh no - Scardino> he clenched his fists with rage. Ugh, he hated that guy - with a passion. The rose he had been holding was completely crushed in his angry grip, and the stem had been reduced to a small pile of dust on the floor. <Damn> Clark swore inwardly. <Oh well, I can always go grab another, it won't take a second to dash to that beautiful wild English Rose bush over the Atlantic> he thought, <a quick job for Superman.> But Superman wasn't supposed to make an appearance tonight, he remembered. Besides, he didn't want to risk being late - even with superspeed - and a promise was a promise... The sound of Lois' voice woke him from his thoughts; she was still on the phone. Clark tuned into the call, he knew he shouldn't but he just couldn't help himself.

"Well no, actually it's okay," he heard Lois say.

"Oh so you don't mind me not being around huh? Who else you got lined up?" Scardino's irritating voice rang cheerily down the line.

"Well y'know its funny you should mention that..." There was a pause, Clark's heartbeat quickened as he listened harder, "I'm actually going out with Clark tonight."

"Really? Oh, like on a date?"

"Yeah, like on a date."

"A real date with Kent?" Clark frowned in anger, but he felt secretly pleased at the obvious hurt in the other man's voice.

--------------------------

"So how about Saturday night?"

Lois winced, she felt a pang of sympathy for the guy, but what could she do? Pretend she and Clark weren't happening? No, she'd done that enough. It was unfair to lead Dan on any further; he just wasn't The One. She knew in her heart that it was Clark - who had she been kidding? It had *always* been Clark. <OK, let him down gently Lois> a voice in her head prompted.

"Look Dan, there's something I should, uh... need to, uh... *want* to say." Lois gulped, had she really said that? <Gently does it Lois> the voice in her head trilled. <I do know> she spat back at the voice mentally, <I've refused enough men in my time.>

"Uh oh," Dan knew what was coming.

"I, um, well, I actually don't think we should see each other again, I mean I just -" she was about to launch into one of her never-ending babbles, but he interrupted her.

"It's him isn't it?"

"What? Who?" Lois said, caught a little off guard by his abruptness.

"Kent."

"Look, Dan,"

"Lois, it's OK. I know you're in love with him - any idiot can see that. I'm sorry I was foolish enough to even consider coming between you two. Y'know I just wish I'd got there first..."

------------------

Clark couldn't listen to anymore; his heart was leaping about all over. <Maybe Scardino wasn't that bad after all> he thought. He heard Lois hang up the receiver. He had to tell her; tonight was as good a night as any. He started to panic; maybe he should just keep things simple and let tonight be perfect. He pushed these thoughts aside as he realised he was going to make himself late. He drew a deep breath and knocked at the door.

-----------------

As Lois hung up the receiver, she felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, like her path was now clear to move forwards; forwards to Clark... She knew she had made the right decision, as she knew she couldn't even begin to compare her feelings for Dan to the feelings she had for Clark. Clark was real; he was genuine. He spoke from the heart with such a profound honesty that when they were alone together, she felt safer and more secure than she'd ever felt before. Dan, on the other hand, carried along a fake happiness wherever he went and although flattering, spun of corny one-liners that even made *her* cringe sometimes. He was incredibly secretive about his work and what he was doing - she couldn't stand that - he always...

There was a knock at the door, <that'll be Clark> she thought excitedly. She glanced in the mirror once again and turned to answer the door.

******

Later that evening, Lois and Clark could be found strolling down the sidewalk, arm in arm, laughing hysterically like two teenagers.

"I can't get over the look on his face when you said that!" Lois laughed giddily, leaning on Clark's arm for support.

"I know, he sure met his match!" Clark replied trying to keep a straight face as he did an impression of the waiter's face. This made Lois giggle even more, and they both collapsed into a pile of laughter as they made their way back to Lois' apartment.

They'd been to a local Greek restaurant, it had been a busy night and there had been waiters dashing about all over the place yelling at one another in Greek for various orders. It had been terrible service truthfully, but they hadn't minded too much as the majority of the time they had been far too wrapped up in each other to acknowledge anything else, and the food had been superb - once it came. However, after a while, Clark had started to worry that Lois was getting fed up of the rude staff and rushed atmosphere. When the time had come to order dessert, she couldn't decide what she wanted, so Clark had persuaded a waiter to let her sample a selection of the desserts on offer. The waiter hadn't been too pleased at this complication to say the least, and had stormed off cursing them under his breath in Greek, assuming they couldn't understand. Clark had been furious; he'd stood up on impulse, and yelled something back at the waiter in Greek. Half of the kitchen staff had frozen, the cocky smiles had fallen off their faces in an instant; the waiter had just stood there with his mouth open in shock, turning an odd shade of purple.

Lois and Clark had collected their things and made an abrupt exit. Clark had been petrified that he had spoilt the evening, but Lois appeared to find the whole situation hilarious. Especially when he'd told her afterwards that he'd shouted back, "Actually sir, I think we will pass on dessert if that is where you want to put it!" in Greek. Lois had later promised that she had ice cream in her fridge back home, so they wouldn't miss out on dessert after all.

"I didn't know you could speak Greek though, where did ya learn that?" Lois inquired, when she had recovered from her laughter. They had reached the steps to her apartment, she indicated for him to come up.

"Oh, y'know here and there," Clark replied casually. "I told you I can order dinner in 347 different languages."

"Yeah, but you never mentioned being able to come up with sly retorts to rude waiters - on demand!"

Clark laughed, "it's always useful."

"So I've found." She pushed open her front door, and they stepped inside. "So what else can you do that I don't know about?" Lois asked cheekily, moving closer to him. As she looked into his eyes she felt her stomach churn, <oh no> she was falling for him. Falling for his charm, his manner and his enthusiasm. His ability to turn a date that should have been a complete disaster, into a night packed with a lot of fun, <he looks so handsome in that suit, mmm. > Lois was taken aback at her obvious attraction to him, and the increasing desire she had to... Whoa! Best not to think about that!

Clark was slightly unnerved by her question; he looked into her eyes as they moved closer. "Well, I can do this," he murmured softly and he leaned down and kissed her, tenderly at first then slowly the kisses intensified, growing with passion with every beat of their hearts. Lois responded eagerly pinning him against the wall. Maybe it was the cheap wine, but she wanted him so much, to feel close to him... she reached up and tugged at the buttons of his shirt suggestively.

Clark knew he should stop. If things got any hotter, he knew he wouldn't be able to. <She deserves to know> a voice in his head shouted. He stiffened his torso as she grasped at him. The last thing he needed was for her to discover him in the suit. He summoned every ounce of his willpower to pull away from her.

"Lois, I'm sorry, we can't do this. We have to stop."

Lois stared at him, confused, "why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing is *wrong,* God you don't know how many times I've dreamt of this - but we have to talk." Clark felt like crying; why couldn't things ever be simple? <This could ruin everything> he thought bitterly.

"About what?"

"There's something you should know, before our relationship goes any further. I, I'm so sorry I haven't told you before, I just didn't know how..." Clark trailed off; he didn't know how to put it.

"Oh God no, don't tell me. I already know," Lois exclaimed dramatically.

Clark's stomach flipped, "you do?"

"Of course I know, it's obvious really, what with the disappearances and the excuses..." Lois sighed; she knew he had been too good to be true.

"But, how?" He asked incredulously.

"Well, nothing else fits. There's just one thing I can't work out." Lois started to pace the room.

"Which is..?"

"Why. I mean you seem like such a great guy, so caring, so kind. I never thought you had it in you, I mean we've been best friends for almost two years. *Friends* Clark, nothing more - until now. You had no reason to hide the fact that you were married with kids, you could have just said so instead of making dumb-ass excuses like, 'Oh I'm sorry, Lois, I had to return a book to the library or -'"

"Hold on a second; rewind. WHAT did you just say? I'm MARRIED? With KIDS? Lois, I am *not* married!" Clark exclaimed.

"You're not?" she asked meekly.

"No!"

"But -"

"Lois, I am NOT married! I can't believe you think I would go out with you if I *were* married!"

"Well, it was the only explanation," she said in a small voice. <What is going on? What's he hiding?> she thought.

"Lois, listen to me, the reason I keep running off is not because I have a wife, or a child. I run off because I have to, it's my job."

"Great career," she retorted sarcastically, and turned away.

"Lois, this is not a joke. Look at me," he removed his glasses, "I'm Superman."

"Oh very funny, and so original- " Lois turned to face him and froze with shock. Without the glasses, the similarity was incredible, she thought to herself. "Actually, now that you mention it, you do look pretty alike." <Alike? Who was she kidding, they were identical. How had she never seen this before?> Clark looked at her, perplexed. "Oh my God. You're not joking are you?" Clark shook his head sadly. Lois was dumbfounded; the enormity of what had been said had just hit her, hard. Her mouth hung open and she just stared at Clark in disbelief. All this time he had lied to her, all this time he had been leading a double life. She felt incredibly betrayed, "I can't believe it. You've lied to me, the whole time you've lied to me. I thought we were friends, *best* friends. I thought I could trust you, I -" she choked, tears welled up. <Don't cry Lois> she willed herself. Anger started to bubble up inside her, extinguishing the tears.

"Lois, I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you, I really did. I never meant to hurt you. In fact, I was trying to protect you. If people-" he started.

"No Clark, you were trying to protect yourself, not me. You didn't care if I got hurt along the way," she bit back at him fiercely.

"Lois, that is not true, I care for you more than anything, I would never -"

"I'm talking about emotional pain, not physical pain," she snapped. "'Cos you might be able to save me from all the bad guys in the world, but nothing hurts as much as this does right now inside my heart." Lois couldn't hold back the tears any longer; they started to stream down her face uncontrollably. "Please leave," she sobbed.

"Lois, please, can't we talk about this."

"I said LEAVE!" she wailed, starting to get angry again. "I need to be alone, just go."

Clark's heart ached with sorrow as he watched the tears smear her lovely face. He wanted more than anything to hold her tightly and make it all right again. But he couldn't, what had he done? He turned towards the door; knowing that if he stayed, he would only make her angrier. She needed to calm down, collect her thoughts. "I love you, Lois, please remember that," he called out, and he closed the door behind him. The sound of her sobs grew once the door had been shut; they echoed through his mind and tore into his soul as he flew home over the streets that they had been laughing on together, not half an hour before.

----------------------------

Lois regained some degree of composure as she changed out of her dress, into a T-shirt and some slacks. The phone had rung two minutes after Clark had left; it was him. She had been startled momentarily at how it was he'd got home so quickly, and then she remembered, which made her angry all over again. She left the phone for him to leave a message, and ten minutes later it was flashing with 10 new messages.

Lois was having a pretty hard time getting her head around the fact that Clark was Superman. She found it hard to believe that the person she trusted most in the world had been lying to her from the moment they'd met. <Oh God> she thought, <why did I get involved? I've had my heart smashed again, and I swore I wouldn't let it happen; what has he done to me?> Then a voice in her head spoke, <you got too close, Lois; you let him in. Big mistake, won't you ever learn?> Lois tried to collect her thoughts, her head was full of jumbled events and conversations - disjointed, in no particular order. <How did I get into this mess?> she asked herself. A faint smile crossed her lips as she remembered the first time that he had asked her out, the memory was crystal clear...

...She had been completely oblivious to his predicament as he approached the subject with her. 'Uh, Lois, I want to ask you something,' he'd said, trying to sound casual.

'Ooh, I'm not going to like it, am I?' she'd replied. <How insensitive!> Lois thought, annoyed at herself.

'What makes you say that?'

'You've got that tone in your voice. You know, when people are uncomfortable, like when they want to borrow your car, or money, or your clothes?'

'Uh, ok, you got me, I wanna borrow your clothes.' Lois laughed out loud at the memory.

'I bet you'd look real cute in black chiffon.'

'What I wanna say is I...'

'I know what you want, Clark.' <Why couldn't she ever let the guy finish a sentence?>

'You do?'

'I know you a lot better than you think. How much do you need?'

'What? No, I don't want money, Lois.' <Jeez, she really had made it difficult for him!>

'Clark, you don't have to be embarrassed. That's what friends are for. Just tell me how much.'

'Lois, I want you to go out with me.' Lois smiled, remembering how she'd taken a sip of her hot coffee, and almost choked on it when he'd said this.

'What? You're asking me out?'

'Yeah, you know, like on a date.'

'A date? You mean like a real date? Where I take out my good perfume, the one that I got after I saw "Love Affair," the good one, not the remake, and I put a dab behind my knee and I don't even know why?'

...Lois was jerked awake by the ringing of the phone, it was Clark; again. "ARGHH!!" she yelled, she was so mixed up! "I need to get out of here, clear my head," she muttered to herself. She checked the time, it was 12:55am; she couldn't go out now could she? Of course she could, she could do whatever she wanted. And what she *wanted* was a nice refreshing jog in the park - away from the phone.

--------------

Clark paced his apartment, his mind a blur. What had he done? He had wrecked everything, *everything* in one stupid move. <No, not one> he thought, <there have been hundreds in the last two years. Hundreds of stupid moves.> But Clark knew he couldn't have told her from the start, how was he to know she was trustworthy? She could have gone and printed it for all he knew. But she was right; he had been protecting himself. Protecting himself from people thinking he was some sort of freak science experiment gone wrong. But he had been doing it ever since he was a kid; it was natural - surely anyone would do the same in his situation? Had he been dealing with it all wrong all these years? All he ever wanted was to lead a relatively normal life, was that so much to ask?

He had called her 15 times and had got no answer. He knew she was in, just ignoring the phone. He didn't blame her; she must be hurting so badly. Clark felt overwhelmed with guilt. He needed to get outside, get some fresh air, and do some more thinking. He considered going flying, but decided just to walk instead; <Superman has caused enough trouble tonight> he thought grimly as he left his apartment and began to wander down the street aimlessly.

After a while, he found himself in the park staring at the bench where he had confessed his love to Lois on that fateful day last year, before her wedding to Lex Luthor. He remembered the dire consequences that followed. Clark shook these thoughts from his mind abruptly and continued walking through the park.

-----------------

Lois had jogged through the deserted streets of Metropolis to the park. Her jumbled thoughts began to separate into more of a chronological order. As she ran she began to see things differently; from his point of view - how much he must have been hurting when she told Superman how she would love him even as an ordinary man. She knew in her heart that he never meant to hurt her, that he loved her. She also realised that she loved him back however much she tried to deny it, and this scared her more than anything. <Oh I don't want to lose him!> The tears started to come back; this time she let them come. They streamed down her face and blurred her vision, but she ran on, round the corner. She didn't see the figure coming in the opposite direction until she had slammed into him.

"Ahhh Jeez! Can't you watch where you're going?!" she yelled in pain. Lois felt more like she had run right into a brick wall. She looked up and realised why, Clark's concerned face looked down at her.

"Lois? What are you doing out here? It's well past 1am; anyone could be lurking about in the bushes!"

The sound of his voice made her cry even more. "Oh, Clark I had to get out, I needed to think, I -" She collapsed into his arms - a trembling wreck of emotions.

"Sshh Lois, please don't cry. I can't stand it, knowing I've caused you all this pain." He cupped the side of her face with his hand and stroked his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a grey smudge. Her skin was smooth and flushed under his, and her eyes were red around the rims. He led her over to a bench and sat her down. She began wiping the tears from her eyes shakily.

"What are you doing out anyway? Don't you like, fly when you're out patrolling the city?" she managed.

"I wasn't out on 'patrol,'" he answered. "I was just taking a walk. Err, needed to clear my head."

Lois smiled, "Tell me about it." She began to chuckle quietly <*he* had to clear his head!>

Clark was relieved at her amusement; things couldn't be that bad if she was laughing. "I think we need to talk." He looked at her seriously, and she nodded in agreement. Clark knew then that they were on the same wavelength, knew he wouldn't have to do too much explaining.

He took a deep breath and started. "Y'know, we've been a couple for the last two years, do you realise that? We're partners, we work together, we bust the bad guys together. Up until recently we'd spend our weekends together - getting takeouts, watching movies - we've even spent Christmas together. We bicker, we fight, we make-up, we hug - we're best friends. The only thing we *don't* do is sleep together and wake up together. And I used to think that that was because you'd rather die than even contemplate the idea of being - *intimate* with me." Lois opened her mouth to say something, but he put a finger up to hush her. "Then we had our 'first date' and I knew then, for definite that you would be the one I told - about me being Superman that is, 'cos it was so perfect. And I know things have been far from perfect since then - and I know it's mostly been my fault but, I hope now you can understand why."

Lois nodded, it all made perfect sense now. "Remember last year after your 'wedding' to Luthor, and I took back that confession of my love for you?" Clark continued.

Lois nodded again.

"Well I didn't mean it, I love you, Lois, and I've never stopped loving you. I loved you from the moment I set eyes on you, and pretending I didn't was so hard! I thought my heart was going to break, I really did.

"And all the time I wanted to tell you, I hated having to lie to you, and watch the difference in how you'd look at Clark and look at Superman. All this time I thought I could be happy living this compromise for the rest of my life; not being able to tell the person you love most in the world, about who you are and what you feel. I thought friendship was all I'd ever get from you, but now we're dating and everything changed. Then to make thing's worse there's Scardino, who thinks you're his second chance for love," a frown of confusion darkened Lois' patchy face. "Oh c'mon Lois, you know it as well as I do; the guy thinks you're a good replacement for the partner he loved and lost - and I'll be damned if you are! I wanted to rescue *our* relationship, but every time I tried, I had to leave. Me being Superman was *hindering* my relationship with you, and I couldn't let that happen, no way. But at the same time I couldn't let our relationship go any further without you knowing. And I *totally* respect the fact that you're angry and hurt and emotional; because I love you, and I'll wait for as long as it takes for you to understand that I never *ever* meant to hurt you." He trailed off, staring into her unblinking eyes.

Lois stared back into his in wonder. She felt almost faint with excitement. "Oh, Clark, it's okay, I know, I understand," she paused thoughtfully, "I'm actually not angry anymore."

"But -"

"And I understand because I love you too," she cut in shakily.

Clark's heart thumped in his chest, "So why bother wasting your time with Dan? Why add another complication to our already hideously complicated relationship?" he said.

Lois sighed. "Because you were never around, you ran off every time I tried to speak to you. I wasn't to know you were off saving the world. And well, to be honest it was mainly because I was scared."

"Scared?"

"Yes, scared," Lois began, almost desperate to explain herself. "You are my best friend, the one person I can, or thought I could - trust. I was scared because all my life I've closed myself off from people, segregated myself to stop them hurting me. I concentrated all of my energy on my work, made it my life. The last two years since I've known you I've been a better person; you've brought me out of myself - like the world suddenly became multicoloured instead of the dreary shades of black and white I was used to. Like, if I walk down the street and see a homeless person in the side of the road, I don't hurry past pretending I can't see - I stop, smile and give him a dollar. I would never have done that before I met you. And it scares the hell outta me when I see just how much I've changed.

"I was never looking for love because I never needed to, then slowly it creeps up on me, and I try to deny it at first - then BAM!" Lois clapped her hands together, "I wake up one morning and it hits me in the face. And I just can't ignore it anymore because I am completely and totally in love. Not with Superman, not with Lex Luthor, and *definitely* not with Dan Scardino - but with you, Clark Kent."

Clark stared at Lois, amazed at what he was hearing. She continued, "I came so close to admitting it, y'know. That same day you took back that confession of yours, I had something to say as well - but you were so determined to go first, so I let you. I was about to tell you that I loved you back, that I couldn't marry Lex because I loved you. But you told me you just wanted friendship, so I hid my feelings." Lois looked up at Clark, who was still staring at her wide-eyed. "When you told me tonight that you were Superman, I was so hurt - and angry. I didn't know what to do, so I put distance between us. I got so wound up remembering all the lies you told me, and all the things I said to Superman. But then after a while I started to look at those same things, events and conversations, from your point of view and I realise that what you did makes sense - except maybe all those times you pretended you couldn't even open a peanut butter jar!" Lois paused, exasperated. "Clark, what I feel for you is so strong I really don't think I could be angry anymore, and I don't think I can ever learn to love anyone else."

"No! That's it, neither can I." Clark exclaimed, suddenly finding his voice. "I've loved you from Day 1, no one has ever come close to how you make me feel."

"And I thought I could make it work with Dan but...Bleughhh!" she grimaced and she laughed, and Clark laughed, relieved. And almost for the first time in Lois' life she could feel herself getting a grip on one of those happiness seeds. She could feel her hand tightening over the little seed, she could feel it nestling against the palm of her hand, and this time she was not going to let go of it. She was going to plant it in her heart and let it grow, because this was one of those perfect moments in life; a moment that you never want to end.

Clark spoke softly, "It's always been you Lois, you and me, Lois and Clark. Just look around you, we're plastered all over the city, 'Lane and Kent: The hottest team in town.' Nobody else stood a chance did they?"

Lois laughed and shook her head, a smile took over her face. "Do you know something? The very day I was due to marry Lex I stood in front of the mirror and I said to myself 'Mrs. Lex Luthor. Lois Lane Luthor. Lois Luthor Lane.' It just didn't fit, then I came up with 'Lois Lane . . . Kent. Lois Lane Kent.'" She sighed, "I dunno, it just seemed *right,* so comforting to say."

"God, Lois, we've wasted so much time hiding from each other," he said. "Let's not waste anymore." And with that, he took her hands in his and kissed her tenderly. Lois closed her eyes blissfully as she felt his lips moving against hers. She couldn't believe that just six months ago she would have thought it might feel strange to kiss this man. But it felt so unbelievably right, because this was what her lips were designed for. For kissing Clark Kent.

They leaned backward together onto the bench and smiled at each other, then they kissed again. It began to grow lighter as they kissed and soon the morning sun lit up the park and cast tall shadows about them. And in that cool, hazy glow of the fresh new dawn, Lois and Clark finally got it together.

*****

A slight shiver ran up Lois' spine and presently she became aware of their surroundings once more. She pulled away from Clark gently and smiled, her lips tingling from the contact. "Cold?" he asked, taking his jacket and placing it around her shoulders before waiting for a response. She nodded and tried her best to stifle a yawn; she felt exhausted. "I think we should head back now, don't you?" Clark suggested; she looked incredibly tired and was no good at hiding it.

"Yeah, I guess we'd better." Lois nodded and stood up.

Clark grinned. "Wanna travel first class?" he asked.

Lois smiled, "Sure." Clark looked around before spinning into the suit right before her eyes. <Wow> she thought, overwhelmed at the change. She was glad they had taken the time to talk, even if it meant she was worn out now. He stepped forwards, took her in his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead.

They flew back to her apartment in silence and landed at her front door a moment later. "Thank you," she whispered softly.

"Just have one more thing, before I let you sleep," Clark said. "Did you honestly think I was married?"

Lois laughed aloud, "No, of course not! But I knew you were hiding something, it was the only thing I could come up with."

Clark smiled with relief. "So do you think I could take you out again and see if we can have a better time?"

"I'd love that," she grinned, "but I won't be going anywhere ever again if I don't get some sleep. I've been awake almost 24 hours!"

"Okay, I take the hint--I'm going, I'm going!" He laughed, holding his hands up and backing away.

A satisfied smile crossed Lois' lips as she turned and went inside her apartment. She had gone from being happy to sad, to happy again (with about a million other feelings in between). <What a night> she thought, as she hastily changed and crawled into bed. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The End

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