First of all, congratulations on your 100th post!
Wow! What a chapter! But I see there is still a ? after the 4. This Chapter felt so much like a ending with Clark returning from being missing, revealing himself to Lois, and gaining her forgiveness and love all at once, I'm breathless from the whirlwind. There's more? Where will the story go from here, I wonder. I must say I'm at a loss on where this will go. Will there be more about Clark cleaning up the mess of his disappearance? Will Lois disappear next? Was this "missing" only the beginning, an opening story arc?
I am confused, or more accurately surprised, by this one line though:
Surprised by its proximity, he swiftly changed into his regular clothes and crept silently into the living room.
...
Her hands crept beneath his shirt and began to caress the bare skin of his back.
In this first line, we see he had been in his uniform when he changed into his Clark clothes, and in this second line (from later on) he's no longer wearing his uniform AT ALL. It just surprised me that he had taken it all the way off, before putting on his Clark clothes, when we all know he wears his uniform under his business suits (and sometimes, his casual clothes as well).
I really thought Clark would return and say he had had a family emergency in Kansas, which would be bolstered by the fact Lois had never contacted the Kents about Clark's disappearance or "missing" status, and Lois would be
for not calling them. I was caught off guard at his revelation. Wow! That was a twist.
I loved Clark's descriptions / thoughts about Lois:
Drawn to her, Clark perched himself on the edge of the couch and took a moment to study her beloved features. Lois was disheveled, having clearly upset herself the point of exhaustion. She was also hauntingly beautiful, and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to cup her cheek. He loved this woman with every fiber of his being—her passion, her brilliance, her wit, her stubbornness, and the stark vulnerability that she rarely displayed to anyone. He was overcome with a desire to protect her and alleviate her pain. He knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but he didn’t want her to have to shoulder her burdens alone. He wanted to be her partner in every sense of the word.
Awwwwww.
So many times in the past, he had been mesmerized by her elegant leaps of logic, and he found himself wishing that she would relieve him of the burden of his secret. Today, with no secrets between them, they were on the cusp of a new relationship. Giddy at the prospect, he smiled at the woman he loved and silently promised to take care of her no matter what life had in store for them.
There's such a finality to these wonderful lines of love for Lois. Are you sure this wasn't "the end"?
If not, where to next?
