Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Every Time We Say Goodbye (4/12)

"I don't just mean this weekend. I meant that I, uh, I can't marry you."

"Have you?" It felt like her voice was coming from miles away as she searched her memory. With shame, she realized that Lex had, on occasion, been relaxed and familiar. There was the time he had been at the Metro Club when she was undercover. He hadn't blown her cover or done anything to give her away. Later that night she'd come home from a fight with Clark and Lex had shown up on her doorstep. He had been charming and flirtatious and had eaten ice cream straight from carton with her.

And then there was the time, only a few weeks ago, when terrorists took over the Planet and they had spent the night handcuffed to each other. During a quiet moment, as she lay with her head in his lap, he had enumerated all the things that money couldn't buy, and one of them had been "brown eyes." His thumb had stroked over the bare flesh of her upper arm when he said it, his voice soft and sultry. Their eyes had met for a moment and a shiver of pure desire had run through her.

The billionaire was dressed in khaki pants and a golf shirt, looking as though he had just stepped out of a sportswear catalog.

Lois picked up the purse and dumped its contents onto the seat. She didn't see anything foreign amidst the objects that were hers. She started kneading the lining of the purse. It took her less than thirty seconds to find a lump in a seam at the bottom. She used cuticle scissors to snip the lining open and found a small and cylindrical metal object, less than an inch long. Her hands began to shake and she dropped it back into the purse as if it had bit her.

On Clark's nightstand she found a black and white snapshot propped up against the base of the lamp. She picked up the picture and couldn't help but smile. It was another picture from work. Clark obviously needed a wider social circle. This one showed Lois sitting at her desk, her hands on the keyboard and her head turned, looking back at Clark who was standing behind her, one hand gesturing at her screen while his other hand rested on her shoulder. They both appeared to be laughing.

She had no idea when that picture had been taken; no idea that it even existed before this moment. Maybe it was from the day when Jimmy was experimenting with shutter speeds and had gone through about five rolls of film, taking pictures of pretty much every square inch of the newsroom.

Her stomach made a funny little lurch as she focused on Clark's smile and the obvious mirth in their expressions. God, she missed him! Lois sat down on his bed and took a longer look at the picture. She'd give almost anything to have him back in Metropolis at this moment. Maybe it was the day (week!) she'd had, but she really, really missed Clark at this moment. It was just her luck that it took him falling in love with someone else for her to realize how much she enjoyed his company. Now that she had Lex stalking her, she even missed Clark's annoying inclination to be protective of her. An odd aching sensation seemed to hollow out her chest at the thought that someone else now had a larger claim on his heart.

Lois put the picture back, replacing it carefully so that Clark wouldn't know she had been snooping. She meant to rise, but gave the bed a test bounce instead. There was absolutely zero chance that Clark would catch her, so she laid back, spreading her arms wide and staring up at his ceiling. Her gaze found the industrial beams that were probably his first glimpse of the world in the morning, assuming he could see them without his glasses.

A smile played over her lips at this stolen glimpse of Clark's personal life. A little tug of guilt went through her at the thought that she was sorta, kinda invading his privacy, but she brushed it away. Looking at his pictures and trying out his mattress didn't even begin to rise to the level of tapping his phone and tracking his whereabouts.

Unbidden, her thoughts turned to the memory of the time she and Clark had been undercover in the honeymoon suite at the Lexor. One moment she had been speaking, and the next she was sprawled across the bed with Clark's mouth on hers and his hand cupping her face. Lois touched her cheek, but it felt nothing like his caress had. Her lips parted slightly at the memory of his kiss. She'd been so shocked -- and so completely amazed by the gentle pressure of his mouth -- that she hadn't thought to protest. For a fleeting second or two she had even started to kiss him back before the maid came barreling in and Lois realized why Clark was kissing her.

"I never realized before how much Clark… That I, that he, uh…" Lois found herself suddenly unable to articulate a clear thought. Even worse, a tear came loose, rolling down her cheek. She quickly swiped at it with the back of her hand. "Did you know that he's head over heels in love with some woman who works at the Planet? And he won't tell me who she is, either."

"You really don't think Clark will mind?"

Superman smiled and shook his head. "Not a chance. When he finds out you wore that to sleep in, he may never wash it again."

Lois laughed even as her cheeks grew warmer. "Then I hope it's not one of his favorites."

"I think it is, actually. Maybe we'd better not tell him." He nodded toward the closet. "Let me just grab a few things and I'll be out of your hair."

She watched him walk across the room, admiring the play of muscle beneath the tights and the regal sweep of the cape as he moved. Superman opened the closet and browsed past a couple of shirts before selecting a blue and white striped oxford. He turned and she took a step back as he went past her in the direction of the dresser. He opened the top drawer and took out the dark boxers.