Hi y'all!
Rather than repeat myself (which I do most of the time anyway), I'm going to address a couple of things to start out and then I'll do some individualized loving.
Lois rolled over in her sleep, beginning her trek to the left side of the bed. That was his side of the bed, though he doubted she knew that. So many nights he had glimpsed her reaching out in her sleep and wished that he could be the one she was reaching for. His conscience told him he shouldn't be spying on her like this. But Lois knew full well there was a man flying around Metropolis and she still left her curtains open. If that wasn't an invitation, then what was?
The key word in this passage is
glimpsed. I didn't want it to sound like he was some perv hanging around outside her window all hours of the night. I think he "flies by" whenever he's on his way home (sometimes even if it's not exactly on his way) and he justifies that by telling himself she knows darn well that Superman is out there but she still isn't pulling her curtains closed. The subject does come up again and it does get addressed.
I have a special fondness for Bobby Bigmouth. I think it's his love of food combined with the fact that he seemed to take a fiendish pride in sneaking up on both Lois and Clark to surprise them. Plus, and this is just me, I think Bobby
knows. He's such a fount of knowledge on everything else (like knowing that Clark is mooning over Lois and that Dan wasn't really a DEA agent). I don't say it explicitly in the story simply because they never did on the show. That's why he reacts so strongly to Clark's offer and it's why he talks him out of it. (For what it's worth, I think Perry knows, too. <g>)
Emily - Yes, it's a HUGE secret. Why would Clark tell anyone until he was absolutely certain of both his feelings and theirs? I'm glad I made you feel wishy-washy. My thanks for your later defense. I work in a lab and I did do some calculating before settling on using a 2% solution. It was nice to know that the percentages made sense to someone else.
Framework - I'm sorry you deleted your post. I hope to see you again.
BJ - Thank you for the 'unreality' check. Reading that list made me remember just how lame some of those episodes were. I laughed out loud at "and a man named 'Fathead'." Truly, that one stretches the limits of credulity. :p
mozartmaid - You do realize that leaving people hanging is the point of a multi-part story? Otherwise, why come back for the next part?
Hopefully Clark won't be forever haunted by ignoring her cry for help. I just enjoy watching him wallow sometimes.
DW - Don't forget that Lois is walking around in her bare feet, it's going to be hard to make serious time when you're walking on nothing but railroad ties and gravel.
Michael - Ha! Yes! It is TMI for your parents. That's one thing I don't see popping up in fics that much - at some point Clark has to cut the apron strings and be a grown man. He can't talk about every little question or concern with them (I have an nfic that I've been working on for almost four freakin' years that touches on this theme).
Yes, Clark was going to tell her after the movie. He's still hoping for that perfect window of opportunity to tell her. Twitchell is the head of R&D for Alliance Technologies. He's the one holed up in the warehouse that Lois had under surveillance.
Joan - Bobby Bigmouth
always makes sense.
I think Clark has every right to keep his secret secret (but he also loves Lois enough that he wants to share it with her). The sequence for the drink spillage was: Lois realizes she's been drugged, she pushes the glass away, it tips over and spills all over her and the counter.
Vicki - Gentle prodding is always welcome.
I was lol at your all-too-familiar cycle of procrastination. Did I say he was going to lie? I thought I phrased it more along the lines of his declaration to Tempus - that his ethics disappear when Lois is threatened. Looked at in that light, ask yourself how far he'd go to get her back.
STEPH! - Long time, no see! Thank you for picking out my absolute favorite line in the part to highlight. There's no greater declaration of love that Clark can make than to give Lois the secret that could destroy him. Would you trust someone that impulsive, short-tempered and ambitious with the power to ruin you?
TEEEEEEEEEEJ! - OMG! I have missed you! Thank you for the sweet compliments! It's probably just as well that I wasn't a writer back in the day. I was only 23 when the show first aired and the ensuing years have done wonders for my ability to express logical thoughts.
Kathy - Yes! <fist pump> Oh, you got it! Bobby's heart did break a little when Clark made the offer (see my opening rant).
If and when Lois learns that Clark is Superman, she's going to be able to piece together the fact that he knows which side of the bed she sleeps on and all that that entails. You're right, it could be read as creepy. I'll work on it.
Artemis - Yay! You're still with me!
Ann - Wow! Thank you! Thank you for trusting me enough to read the story and then taking the time to reply at such length. It means the world to me that you're in on it now. Thank you for your very kind and insightful look at Clark. You're absolutely right - Clark has zero appeal (to me, anyway) when he's default angelic.
The entire reason that I got sucked into this show when it first aired was because he was a different kind of Clark Kent. He was flawed and he was fascinating. I loved watching him verbally spar with Lois. I loved watching him struggle to find a balance between being like everyone else and using his powers to help people. Deep down he's a good person. He was raised to be kind and loving and honest. Well, mostly honest. There was just one thing that he must never, ever tell anyone because to do so would put his very life in danger.
That's why I'm willing to cut him so much slack when it comes time to tell Lois. He doesn't actually *have* to tell her, does he? Sure, it would be dishonest to keep something like that from her, but people become involved all the time and don't tell their partners about the money they have squirreled away, or that spouse they haven't quite divorced, or that child they had out of wedlock. Clark wants to tell her because she deserves to know. She's earned his trust. She's his best friend and he desperately wants to include her in everything, not just the mundane day-to-day stuff.
My sincerest thanks to everyone who has replied. We're coming down the homestretch now and I'm very appreciative of all the encouragement.
ETA: The idea that Lois is leaving her blinds open on purpose for Superman isn't unfounded. Subconsciously, I think she's "flirting" with him by doing so. After all, in "Barbarians at the Planet" she puts on a silky nightgown (and no robe, although she disingenuously offers to put one on) when she
knows that Superman is coming by to visit. Likewise, at the end of "Metallo", she gets out of the bathtub only to find Superman there in her apartment. If she knows that it's likely he could drop in, wouldn't she
close that window before taking a bath? Lois knows he's out there and she not only leaves the curtains open, but the window, too, in the hopes of luring him inside.
