Awww! That was a very nice, story, Alicia. smile Poignant and sweet in turns. Clark's introspection as he flies was heartwrenching at first, and really enlightened the way he felt after Lois told Superman she just wanted to be friends. His reactions when he first saw her, his voiced anger tempered by his determination never to hurt her despite what she did to him, was really well done. And the end was so sweet.

I think the line I preferred was when Clark said "Thank you" to her - not sure if you meant it to be interpreted that way, but I read it like a counterpart to Superman saying thank you to her for being a good friend, words he regretted afterwards because they didn't reflect the truth of what he thought. This time, after she told him she had chosen him, the very same words reflect the truth of how he feels. smile

As for your concern that we might have felt cheated by the fact that it was an inbetweenie, well, this reader sure didn't feel this way. smile I enjoy stories that give us an interesting insight about something that happened on screen but where introspection would have been a great addition. The written word has that big advantage over image, and you've given me just that. Therefore it doesn't bother me at all that the story doesn't bring them further than the real episode did. smile

Besides, there's room for a sequel... wink

Thanks for sharing this delightful vignette, Alicia! smile

Kaethel smile

- I'm your partner. I'm your friend.
- Is that what we are?
- Oh, you know what? I don't know what we are. We kiss and then we never talk about it. We nearly die frozen in each other's arms, but we never talk about it, so no, I got no clue what we are.

~ Rick Castle and Kate Beckett ~ Knockout ~