“It doesn’t matter, Clark. What matters--”
“How long have you known, Lois?” he cries, and whatever Lois sees in his face, it arrests her. There are more tears trailing down her face, but he only knows by the scent of salt; his eyes are blinded by his own fears and disappointments. “Since that night? The night you came to me and asked me on a date? Is that why you were crying? Why your heart was racing and I could tell you were hiding something? Is this what you were hiding, Lois?”
“Hey, I’m not the only one who’s been hiding things, and you’ve been doing it for far longer!” she snaps back, bristling.
Clark trembles. A crack echoes through his hearing and when he looks down, he sees hairline fractures in the floor spreading out from his feet, a shockwave effect caused by the amount of pressure it is taking him to stay in one spot.
“What happened, then?” he asks, and cannot help the bitterness pervading his tone. “You found out I was Superman--the ordinary man you promised you would love--and decided to give it a try? And then what? You found out I was Clark instead of the perfect hero you made up? Are you disappointed to find out that Superman isn’t real?”
Lois actually winces at that. And then (freezing the blood in Clark’s veins), she just shuts down. Her face goes expressionless, her eyes icy, her mouth a firm line. “You have no idea what I think, or why I came to you. You don’t know me, Clark! If you did, you would never--”
“No, I don’t!” His hands curl into fists, and Clark takes a precautionary step back (clearing a pathway to the door for Lois so he does not frighten her). “But I’ve tried! I have done nothing but ask you what you think, or what you feel, or what you want from me! I love you, Lois, and I have done everything to try to be what you need. What you want!”
“But why?” Lois shouts. “Why me? Why did you pick me to lie to, Clark? Out of all the people in this city, why did you have to make me look like the fool?”
The echoes of their voices die out. The apartment falls silent. Clark stares at Lois. She stares back. A silent, painful tableau.
“You think I did all this to make you look bad?” Clark finally asks, his voice a pale shadow barely daring to slice through the quiet around them. “You think I wanted to lie to you--to lie at all, about everything, for my entire life? I guess you don’t know me either, Lois. You’ve known my Secret all this time, and you still…don’t know me at all.”
“How can I?” she asks dully. “You’ve never bothered to show me who you really are.”
“I have shown you more of who I am than I have ever shown anyone else. I have been honest with you as much as I can, and I only ever lied about one thing. I trusted you with my Secret, Lois! And still…that’s not enough?”
