Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye
Author: Sue S.
Rating: PG/PG13ish
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Previously:"Will you be all right here alone?" Superman asked.
Lois shrugged. "Are you offering to stay here with me?"
His eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea."
"Can't resist me?" she teased.
In an instant, his features changed from politely friendly to definitely amused as he chuffed out a surprised laugh. He grinned at her and shook his head. "It would take a stronger man than me, Lois."
For a moment longer Superman seemed to hesitate, then he gave her a wink and disappeared in a rush of wind. The door clicked shut in his wake and, a second later, a sonic boom rattled the windows.
"He can't resist me," she whispered to herself.
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Part 5/12
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The fact that he could only resist Lois for short periods of time was a secret Clark guarded nearly as closely as Superman's identity. He had done his best to get out of his apartment before Lois could tempt him into staying longer. Flirting with her was one thing but seeing his normally unflappable partner vulnerable and teary-eyed brought out every protective instinct he possessed. It had taken a huge amount of restraint not to hug her when she'd admitted that she was afraid. If he had stayed and she'd turned to him for comfort events could have spiraled out of control.
Who was he kidding? Events were already beyond his control. Lois was being stalked by Lex Luthor. There was a serial arsonist loose in the city. Not only were they burning down vacant buildings but they were also randomly leaving behind kryptonite. It was entirely possible that all those things were related. How much longer would it be before Luthor thought to check on Clark Kent's empty apartment? Anyone walking past his front door would see that the lights were on inside.
He couldn't go back to Hawaii tonight. And he definitely couldn't stay at his apartment -- but maybe he could stay nearby.
Clark landed in the alley behind the Apollo Hotel and changed into street clothes before heading inside. The Apollo wasn't long on amenities but he knew from experience that they took cash and they didn't ask questions. It was also only six blocks away from his apartment; close enough for him to hear if Lois called out for Superman.
Twenty minutes later he was in a dingy room on the fourth floor, trying unsuccessfully to stop himself from wondering if Lois had put on that t-shirt yet. Was she sitting on his couch, watching television? Was she on his bed and reading a book? Even better, was she stretched out across his bed again and whispering his name? Or maybe she was walking around barelegged in his apartment at this very moment. He could picture her opening the fridge or walking along his bookshelves, her head tipped back as she browsed through the titles on the highest shelf. Would she go on tiptoe to pull one down for a closer look? He could perfectly imagine the taut line of her legs and how the shirt would rise as she lifted her arms. How much of her legs did it reveal? If he was there would he catch a glimpse of her panties? Clark shook his head. He really shouldn't be thinking about Lois like this. Even if she wasn't going to marry Luthor she was still achingly out of his reach.
Maybe that was the lure? What if it had nothing to do with her brilliant mind, her driving ambition, or a body that made desire well up in him like a spring each time he saw her? Maybe he only wanted what he couldn't have. The irony being that she, too, wanted what she couldn't have -- Superman.
Technically that wasn't true. She could have Superman; he just had to be willing to take the deception that far. Or he'd have to find the courage to tell her the truth. For a moment Clark let himself imagine what might happen if he went back to his apartment and confessed everything. How would Lois take it? Would she hate him -- and for how long?
He couldn't do it. Not now. Not tonight. Not when the rest of her world was crumbling around her. She knew Luthor was stalking her. Perry had quit and the Planet was no longer her safe haven. Their friendship seemed to be the only constant she had left. Luthor had tried, but that was the one thing he hadn't succeeded in controlling. There was simply no way Clark could bring himself to ruin their friendship -- not right now.
"I promise she'll never be yours, Superman. Never."Clark stared blankly at the brick wall outside his window as Luthor's words echoed in his mind. Was it Luthor leaving kryptonite at the occasional fire? That was the frustrating part; it wasn't at every fire. Clark could never tell going in if there was kryptonite lying around until it was too late. His most recent brush with hidden kryptonite had been the worst. He couldn't decide if he'd come closer to the source or if his unknown assailant had upped the quantity.
If it was Luthor why was he toying with Superman? Why not just kill him outright? Why the elaborate charade? Had Luthor found Lois yet? If he hadn't was there a way for Superman to put him off her trail?
Three seconds later Clark had spun into the suit and shot through the open window and up between the buildings until he was as high as the blinking red light atop Lex Tower. He flew towards it, passing over Lois' apartment on the way. The men in the dark sedan were once again parked down the street, waiting in the shadows for her return.
As Clark got closer he could see Luthor and Mrs. Cox through the windows of the penthouse. Luthor was seated at his desk and Mrs. Cox was perched on the corner, swinging one long leg insouciantly as she spoke. Clark paused, hovering above the building, to listen in.
"…not moved since two o'clock this afternoon. Mr. Peterson insists that she left shortly after returning from lunch and never came back. Her car is still parked in the underground garage at Planet Square. The unit outside her apartment reports she has not returned. We've checked on her mother, father, and sister, and she is not at any of their apartments. "
"She has to be somewhere," Luthor growled with a barely concealed impatience. "She can't have simply vanished into thin air. What about Perry White?"
"He's down at the shore, but we haven't spotted her there, either. Perhaps she is en route?"
"How? She hasn't rented a car, hasn't taken a bus or a train or a plane. Has she used her cell phone?"
"No."
"Superman," Luthor said with a bitter laugh. "She probably got that overgrown boy scout to fly her out of town."
It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Clark descended rapidly to land on the deck outside Luthor's office. He swung his arm, adjusting the cape so it fluttered out behind him, then placed his hands on his hips in a deliberately aggressive stance. Clark had the momentary satisfaction of seeing both Luthor and Mrs. Cox slack-jawed in astonishment. A few seconds later their expressions simultaneously shifted to masks of pleasant indifference. Luthor pressed a button on the desk and the pane of glass separating them slid silently open.
"Good evening, Superman. Is there something I could do to assist you?" Luthor's arms spread wide in a gesture of welcome as he leaned back in his chair.
Clark didn't budge from where he stood. "You said there was no need for pretense between us so don't flatter yourself that there is anything you could do for me."
Luthor gave a slight nod. "Very well. Why are you here?"
"I'm here to spare you the effort of trying to find Lois Lane. As you surmised, she is somewhere far away from Metropolis."
"Somewhere safe?" Luthor asked.
"Very safe."
Luthor smirked. "I'm relieved to hear it. I value her safety above everything else."
Clark couldn't stop himself from shaking his head slightly. "You expect me to believe that's why you have armed men sitting outside her apartment?"
"What other reason could there be?" Luthor templed his hands together. "Threats were made regarding Ms. Lane after I escorted her to a charity event. You'll forgive me for taking precautions to ensure my fiancee's safety. After all you can't be everywhere, can you?"
Clark took several steps forward, stopping just a few feet from the front of Luthor's desk. He pitched his next words low, weighting each one with deliberate menace. "She's not your fiancee. She told you 'no.' You need to accept that as her final answer."
"And you need to accept that I cannot simply walk away when there is the potential that she might be in danger."
"The only danger she's in is coming from you."
Luthor made a dismissive wave of his fingers. "You may not believe me capable of passion, Superman, but I assure you that I am deeply in love with Lois. I would never do anything to harm her."
"Walk away, Luthor. I'm warning you--"
"No, I am warning you." Luthor leaned forward slightly, his dark gaze boring into Clark's. "If anyone is in danger, Superman, it's you."
Clark blinked, then felt a chill slide down his spine at how utterly calm Luthor was. Clearly the man felt he was holding all the cards.
"Yes," Mrs. Cox chimed in. "I saw you on the news earlier today. You looked a little… green. Have you been feeling well?"
Clark didn't glance at her, didn't take his gaze from Luthor. The man was sitting stiff and proud, his dark eyes glittering with satisfied amusement. His cold confidence gave Clark a perfect understanding of the unspoken threat. Luthor had kryptonite and he had no qualms about using it. Luckily he didn't seem to have it anywhere in the room at the moment.
For several long and silent seconds nobody moved. Clark didn't blink, didn't twitch. He didn't want to do anything to show the slightest hint of fear even as a giant hand seemed to be squeezing his chest. He met Luthor's gaze, staring him down.
It was Mrs. Cox who broke the silence, clearing her throat as she rose from her perch on the corner of the desk. "I'm afraid you caught us just as we were about to go into a meeting. If you'd like, I can put you on Mr. Luthor's calendar--."
"No," Clark answered without taking his eyes off of Luthor. "We're done here."
"Yes," Luthor said softly, "I believe we are."
For another long moment they glared at each other. Then Clark turned, striding confidently out of the penthouse and onto the patio.
"Please be careful, Superman," Luthor called out. "It would be tragic if anything should happen to you."
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Lois had thought it would feel odd to be alone in Clark's apartment. And yet it didn't. It wasn't the same as being home but it definitely felt homey and comfortable. She washed her face, swished a dollop of Clark's toothpaste in her mouth in lieu of brushing her teeth, and then changed into his t-shirt. Lois wondered what Clark would say if he could see her now. Would he be annoyed? Intrigued? Make fun of her because her legs were too skinny?
Lois settled in beneath the covers and again reached for the picture of her and Clark. She studied their expressions and wondered once more what had made them laugh. It could have been anything. Clark cracking jokes and teasing her as they ran through a story together had been pretty much a daily occurrence. Then again so was his compulsion to edit her copy. Maybe there was one thing she wasn't going to miss about their partnership.
The phone rang and Lois jumped, startled by the unexpected jangle. She resisted the temptation to answer it and waited for his machine to pick up. Maybe it was his girlfriend, calling to leave a message. After four rings, Clark's cheerful voice asked the caller to please leave a message. For a moment there was silence at the other end and then:
"Lois? It's me. Pick up the phone."
Lois hastened to put the picture back, feeling as though Clark had just caught her red-handed. Of all the people to be calling right now she hadn't considered it might be Clark himself.
"Come on," he cajoled a few seconds later. "I know you're there. Please pick up."
Equal parts irritation and embarrassment coursed through her as she lifted the receiver. "He told you? Superman told you I was here? He promised me he wouldn't tell you!"
There was a short pause and then Clark cleared his throat. "I doubt he promised you that."
Lois frowned. Superman had promised that, hadn't he? Or had he only promised not to tell Clark she was wearing his t-shirt as pajamas? Anyway it didn't matter now because the rat fink had clearly blabbed to Clark. He'd had to fly all the way to Hawaii to do it, too! The thought flickered through her mind that he'd actually gone there to take Clark some clothes but she wasn't about to let that paltry excuse blunt her righteous indignation.
"What else did he tell you?" she demanded.
"He said that you'd had a long day and you needed a friend."
Superman was right. She did need a friend. It was suddenly hard to be upset with the hero. She'd told him she needed Clark and he'd made possible the next best thing to actually having Clark there. Her throat seemed to have suddenly closed off, causing her to make a choked little sound as she admitted, "It was a long day."
"What happened? Did you meet Luthor for lunch like you'd planned?"
"I did. I told him I couldn't marry him."
"And he didn't take it well?" Clark guessed.
"I don't think he even took it as an answer. He thinks all we need is some time away together. I, uh, I didn't want to go home tonight, in case he decided to drop by. I hope you don't mind if I stay here." She wondered if Superman had told Clark about her suspicions that Lex was stalking her. If he hadn't she didn't want to give Clark the satisfaction of admitting he'd been right about the man.
"No, of course not. Stay as long as you like."
"Thanks." Once again, her voice dropped to an emotional whisper. She cleared her throat to try and regain some poise.
"Say the word, Lois, and I'll be on the next plane to Metropolis."
Her heart soared at the thought of having Clark there, live and in person. And then she thought about what Lex might do when he found out. Her hand tightened on the receiver, mourning the loss of Clark's swift return. "I appreciate that but Lex would probably fire you for dereliction of duty."
"I don't care."
"I do. I couldn't have that on my conscience. Besides, if you get fired, you won't be able to pay rent on this place so I have somewhere to hang out when the need arises."
He laughed and the tension inside her unclenched at the familiar sound. She again picked up the photo of them at her desk. Even though it was black and white and Clark wasn't looking directly at the camera she could still picture his eyes perfectly, how they crinkled at the corners whenever he laughed.
"True," he said, his voice pitched in what she knew was him affecting a mockingly reasonable tone. "I only work so I can support your need for clandestine locations."
"Well, in case I've never mentioned it before, I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome."
Lois stretched out beneath his covers and settled deeper into his pillow. His sheets and pillows retained the faintest scent of Clark making it feel like the next best thing to an actual hug from him. "So what about you?" she asked. "How was your day?"
"So far I've spent it eating shave ice and watching surfing."
"Gosh, you must be exhausted," she said in mock pity.
He faked a yawn for her benefit. "I am."
"Is it Gwen down in Subscriptions?"
"No."
"Dang it! I'm running out of eligible singles…" Her eyes went wide as a new possibility occurred to her. "Oh my gosh! That's it! She's married, isn't she? That's why you aren't openly dating her."
"She's not married."
Lois growled in frustration. "Fine. Then you have to tell me what Superman wears to bed. Or are you lying about knowing?"
"Why would I lie about that?"
"Because sometimes you seem to take great pleasure in messing with me."
Clark chuckled. "For the record, Lois, most of the time I take great pleasure in messing with you. But this isn't one of those times."
"So tell me! Come on, give me something here! Either tell me your girlfriend's name or come clean about Superman's choice of sleepwear."
"You do realize that, so far, you've lived a pretty fulfilling life without knowing either one of those things. Why does it matter who I'm in love with or what Superman wears to bed?"
"It's the fact that
you know and you won't share that's so irritating. I tell you everything and yet you barely share anything with me. Aren't we friends, Clark? Don't you trust me?"
There was a long pause and then she heard Clark sigh. "He wears boxers to bed."
"Boxers?" she repeated, not quite sure she had heard him right.
"Boxers," he affirmed.
"Huh. I always pictured him as a briefs kind of guy. Not that I picture him, mind you. Just that, if I'd thought about it -- which I haven't -- I would think he wears briefs. Or maybe even that he sleeps in the buff."
Clark made a sound that was halfway between a cough and a laugh. "We are not having this discussion. In fact, I already regret telling you."
"Why?"
"Would you want Superman to know what you wear to bed?"
"Superman already knows what I'm wearing to bed."
"Oh?"
"He stopped by earlier when I was picking out my pajamas. But he made me promise never to tell you. I guess he thought it would prey upon your imagination."
Even across thousands of miles of phone line she could hear Clark swallow. Lois smiled, feeling a little feminine pride that Clark might be trying to imagine what she was wearing right now.
"Which phone are you using?" Clark's voice had dropped to a husky rumble and the low pitch of it reverberated through her as if a tuning fork had just been struck.
"Which phone?" she repeated. She couldn't quite parse the question when her brain was still occupied with noticing just how sexy Clark's voice could be.
"The one in the living room? Or in the bedroom?"
"Um, bedroom," she whispered.
She could practically hear his grin, even before he spoke, still using that low tone that was really starting to do something for her. "Are you in my bed?"
"Maybe," she allowed somewhat coquettishly.
"Under the covers?"
"Does it matter?"
"I guess that depends on what you're wearing."
"Nothing but boxers," she said with a giggle. "I hear they're all the rage in nighttime attire this year."
She heard him draw in a quick breath then release it slowly. "Superman was right. That is going to prey upon my imagination."
Her cheeks flushed hot and her heart started to pound wildly. What in the world had possessed her to tell him she was wearing nothing but boxers? Was this some psychological thing where she was so afraid of losing Clark that she was going to start blatantly flirting with him? Or was it because he'd admitted he enjoyed messing with her and she just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine?
Either way it seemed like a good idea to use her most sultry voice to coo into the phone, "Sweet dreams, Clark."
She heard his amused exhale before he replied, "Sweet dreams, Lois."
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Six blocks away at the Apollo, Clark hung up the phone and scrubbed his hands over his face. He was 99% sure that Lois was kidding about wearing nothing but boxers. Even so the mental image she'd given him wasn't easily dispelled. It was no good reminding himself of what he knew she actually was wearing either. Right now Lois Lane was in his bed -- and she was wearing nothing but his favorite t-shirt. The urge to go check on his apartment was nearly overwhelming.
He
should go back over there. He should warn her about just how determined Luthor was to keep tabs on her. But she had sounded so happy on the phone -- and so flirty -- that he knew he couldn't do it. Confirming her fears about Lex Luthor would only make it a sleepless night for both of them.
He'd talk to her in the morning as Superman. He'd go over there first thing and ask her not to go to work. For once, her crush on Superman might work to his advantage. If Superman asked Lois to stay put there was a fair chance that she'd do it.
"Nothing but boxers…"Tomorrow suddenly seemed like a very long way off. It wasn't just the thought of what she was (or wasn't) wearing that was going to keep him awake. It was the interminable wait until he could talk to her again. There were at least twenty hours or more left until Clark could call her again. Seeing her as Superman was one thing. What he really wanted was to talk to her again on the phone.
It was pretty ironic that the distance Luthor had put between them was actually loosening the boundaries of their friendship. Lois was a lot more flirty when she thought he was thousands of miles away. Her almost single-minded determination to find out who he was in love had to be driven by more than mere curiosity. What if she had come to realize that there could be more to their friendship than just friends? He couldn't think of any other explanation for finding her on his bed earlier tonight, whispering his name in that dreamy, wistful way. Her reaction at being caught had certainly made it seem less than innocent. Not to mention the way she'd said good night to him.
"Sweet dreams, Clark."There was the casual kind of flirting that you did with a co-worker. And then there was how she'd sounded tonight. Maybe it was finally time to come clean. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't reject him after all. It was the biggest and riskiest maybe of them all.
What would she do if he told her that the mysterious woman whose identity she was trying so hard to discover was actually her? What if he told her that the reason he knew what Superman slept in was because he was Superman? Or had he long since passed the point where he could safely tell her anything? Maybe he had gone too far now with his deception and his lies for her to ever be able to forgive him. Lois was already in a fragile emotional state with Perry gone from the Planet and Luthor's stalking. He couldn't burden her with yet another bombshell.
Was Luthor going to take Superman's word that Lois was out of reach? Or were his minions still combing the city in search of her? What was Luthor planning? The man didn't do anything without making a plan for it. Following Lois and setting fires to occasionally dose Superman with kryptonite all had to be leading up to some kind of end game. Was he planning to kill Superman and offer himself to comfort Lois in her grief?
It didn't matter what Luthor's plan was. There was no way Clark (or Superman) could walk away and leave Lois to that sociopath, no matter what Luthor threatened to do. Clark began to pace back and forth. He hated that he was trapped here waiting for chaos to break out in the city -- or for his own rapidly diminishing self-control to vanish and send him rocketing back to his apartment to either confess everything or give in completely to temptation as Superman. What he need right now was a call for help to distract him. A mugging, a bank robbery, or even a cat stuck in a tree would be perfect. Then again the next call for help he answered might be his last.
Even though he'd wanted the distraction, a shiver shot down his spine when a siren began to shrill out its alarm.
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End 5/12
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