Readily Engaged
Part Two

Previously:

What did Superman have to do with any of this? “Clark, Superman is an incredible person, but...I don't know him the way I know you. And he doesn't know me the way you know me. And so yes, I trust you more than Superman.”

Somehow that helped him make his decision. He whispered, almost so low she couldn't hear him, “I trust you, too.”

Then he looked up at her and said, “I hate Luthor because he's been trying to destroy me since I arrived in Metropolis.”

And now, the conclusion...

“But...why on earth would he care about destroying you? You're just a reporter. Okay, an incredible reporter, but still...”

“Do you remember those "tests' of Superman right after he got here?”

Superman again. Why did he keep bringing up Superman? She didn't care about Superman right now! She just wanted to know what the issue was with Lex. She sighed. She said she'd listen. She said she trusted him. And she did.

“Yes, I do.” She might trust him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't ask questions. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Luthor admitted to me, well, to Superman, I mean, that he was behind them.”

“Wait a second. He admitted it to you? Or to Superman?” Not that it mattered who Lex admitted it to. He had been the one testing Superman. He'd put innocent people's lives at risk in order to test Superman's abilities.

“To Superman, technically,” Clark said to the floor. “But really...to both of us.”

He looked back at her and said, “You see, we're actually...kind of...well... The same person.”

Lois blinked at him. That made complete and total sense. Not! Wait a second... “Are you saying that--that you are--Superman?”

He looked miserable. “Yeah.”

“Oh.” Well, that was an intelligent response. She didn't know what else to say, though. She didn't think she could handle this right now.

So she went back to the subject of Lex. “So you mean that Lex...told you...while you were being Superman...that he was testing you.”

“Yes.” Clark looked wary. “And he was behind the heat wave, trying to banish Superman, and the explosion of the Messenger, and the Metamide 6, and the Toasters, and countless other crimes, none of which I have even the slightest shred of proof for. He is an evil man who thrives on power and will let nothing stand in the way of amassing more power, which is why he is so intent on destroying Superman. But I don't have any concrete proof!”

“Oh.” Yet another brilliant display of wit on her part. It must be in Tahiti. Along with her sanity.

“So...um...” Her thoughts were whirling in crazy patterns, creating a chaotic storm field in her mind. “Since I've seen baby pictures of you...um, you Clark, I mean... And, well, Superman was never heard of before last year... I'm, um, assuming that he -- you Superman, I mean -- is a relatively new addition?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Right. Got it.” She shook her head. “No, never mind. I don't got it. Explain? Please?” She knew she sounded like a pathetic little child, but she couldn't help it. The emotional drain of this weekend was really catching up to her. Not to mention the lack of sleep, coupled with the fact that the sleep she had gotten was curled up outside, against his front door. Her brain just wasn't working. She really couldn't handle this right now. It was too much.

Couldn't they just forget about the whole stupid Superman thing, and the Lex thing, and kiss and make-up? No? She didn't think so. She forced herself to pay attention to Clark's explanation.

Super powers. Chronic do-gooder. Protect parents. Have a life. Equals secret identity. Oh, well, now it was crystal clear.

Sort of.

But really, it was as clear as she could handle right now. For some reason tears filled her eyes. No! Why was she crying? She had no reason to cry. Stop it. Stop it right now! But of course, her treacherous tear ducts refused to listen to her.

“Oh, Lois, please don't cry.” Clark finally moved closer to sit beside her. He reached for her and tentatively pulled her into an embrace. She buried her face in his shirt and held on tight.

“I'm sorry,” she mumbled. “I'm sorry.”

“I'm the one who's sorry, Lois. I'm so sorry.”

She tried to stem the flow of tears, but every time she thought she was okay to breathe again, they recommenced.

As he gently rubbed her hair, Clark continued to speak. “I should have told you. I shouldn't have yelled at you. How could you have known about Luthor? I never told you. I never told you anything. I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner.”

“No.” She pushed away from his chest and roughly wiped her cheek.

He looked stricken. “No what?”

“No, you shouldn't have told me sooner. About Superman, I mean.”

“I...shouldn't?”

Lois wiped at her face again. “No. I was dating Lex, who, as you said, hates Superman. Therefore, I couldn't be trusted with that information. But--” she pointed a finger at him, “--you should have told me about your suspicions, even if you didn't have proof, instead of muttering like a jealous fool and ordering me around. Which, as you should know by now, is the fastest way to get me to do the exact opposite.”

He at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

“Clark, how many times have you followed along, trusting my instincts, when I've had a crazy hunch?”

“A lot.”

“And how many times have you managed to find a major clue in an investigation? How many times has it been you with the hunch and me trusting you?”

“But you always argue with my hunches.”

“Well, yes, but I still go with you to test them out. Don't I?”

He rubbed his chin as if trying to remember. So she smacked him.

“I do, Clark, admit it.”

“Okay, okay.” He held up a hand in surrender -- and to block another smack. “You trust my hunches, too. And I should have trusted you. And not ordered you around.”

She sat back in satisfaction. “Good. Now that that's out of the way, you should make me some coffee.”

“I should--what?”

“Make me some coffee. I need something to perk me up, so that we can decide how best for me to return a certain disgusting piece of jewelry to its rightful, not to mention repulsive, owner.”

“So does that mean you forgive me?”

Forgive him? Of course she forgave him! How could she not? Especially considering the alternative. “Yes, Clark. Do you...do you forgive me?”

“There's nothing to forgive.”

Lois knew that wasn't true, but decided not to push the point as he got up to make the coffee. She smiled, content. They were not fighting anymore. Not fighting was good. Not fighting meant there was hope that sometime in the near future Clark would want to kiss her again.

“I'm thinking I want to mail it to him,” Lois called after Clark, going back to the subject of Lex's ring. “That way I don't have to look at him. And couldn't you just see his face? I could put a note in it. "Hey, Lex, sorry. I'm in love with Clark. Here's your ring back. Lois.'” She grinned.

“He'd go ballistic,” Clark said, entering with two hot mugs of coffee.

“I bet he'd turn purple!” Lois said with glee. “Maybe it would be enough to make his head explode. That would be nice.”

Clark laughed. “Drink your coffee, Lois, I think you're dreaming.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Seriously, though, I can't do that. It wouldn't be right. But on the other hand, I have a feeling that he won't take too kindly to being turned down.”

“No.”

She took a sip of her coffee. “Ahh. This is perfect.”

They sat in comfortable silence, simply drinking the hot brew and resting in the knowledge that things were right between them.

“So what are we going to do?”

We. She loved it that he said we. He didn't assume this was her problem. It was now theirs. Together. We. What a beautiful word.

“I don't know. Think it'd work to just walk up to him, say, “I'm sorry, Lex, I can't marry you,' hand over the ring, and leave?”

“Probably not. He'll want more of an explanation than that.”

Lois sighed. “You're right.” A pause. “I really don't want to deal with this.”

“I know, honey, I know.”

Honey? Honey. She smiled. That was even better than we.

“I guess I could wing it.”

Clark frowned doubtfully. “I'm just worried about his reaction. He's not a nice man, Lois.”

“You think he'd actually do something to me?”

“I wouldn't put it past him.” Clark's voice was grim, and very, very sure.

That gave Lois pause. It wasn't that she didn't believe Clark. It was just hard to reconcile that level of evil with the man she thought she knew.

“I just don't know any other way to do it. I can't mail it to him, I can't do it over the phone. I have to go see him. And it's just cruel to do it in public.”

“He deserves cruel,” Clark said darkly.

“Clark. Please.”

“I know. Okay. But Superman is going to follow you, so that if there's even any hint of trouble...” He let his voice trail off, but it didn't matter. She knew exactly what he meant.

She gave him an impulsive hug. “Thanks.” His arms tightened around her and for a moment she let herself rest in the comfort of his embrace. This was definitely where she wanted to spend the next hundred years or so.

After a long moment, she pulled back. And laughed. Clark looked exactly like a puppy who had just had his favorite bone taken away.

“I need to get this over with...honey.” She was hesitant about using the endearment, but Clark's brilliant smile proved that it was worth it.

“And then we can come back here and get back to doing that?”

“Count on it. I can guarantee that I'm going to need a hug or ten after this,” she muttered and turned to find her purse.

~~~~{~}~~~~

Lois waited in the anteroom to Lex's office, wishing this were already over with. She'd gone home to shower and change and get herself presentable, but it wasn't enough time for her. She wanted to stall longer. She wanted Clark to swoop her up in his arms and take her to some deserted tropical island where neither one of them would ever have to think about Lex again. She was a coward.

But rejection hurt. And even if Lex was as evil as Clark claimed, even though he was a controlling jerk who assumed too much, she hated having to go in there and reject him.

Why? It wasn't like she'd ever had any trouble rejecting suitors before. Or blind dates. Or anyone! Then again... Come to think of it, she'd never really had to get to this point before. It never came down to rejection. By now she had usually scared the guy off. The only men she hadn't sacred off were ones who wanted something from her. Like Paul. And Claude. And Lex. And Clark. Clark? No. Though that pattern didn't bode well for their relationship... No! What was she thinking? Clark was as different from Lex as a man could be – and that was even without the Superman factor.

Clark loves you, she reassured herself.

While Lex loved only himself. And power. Though what he wanted from her, why he thought she could be an asset to him, she had no idea. It wasn't like she was insecure. On, no. As Clark could attest, she was often too secure in herself...so secure in her abilities she quite often ended up getting kidnapped. But she was still realistic. She was a reporter, for crying out loud! A good one. A great one, in fact. But still... What did Lex see in her?

Suddenly the door opened and she shoved her self-analysis aside.

“Lois, my pet! Come in.”

My pet? Pet? Now all he needed to do was pat her on the head and say, “Good doggie.” Pet. Hmph.

Instead, he gallantly reached for her hand to bring it to his lips for a kiss. It was fortunate that he didn't go for her lips. She was tired enough and cranky enough that she might have had to smack him for that and somehow she didn't think that would go so well. Fortunate, too, that he halted before he kissed her hand. She might have had to smack him for that one, too. Then again, maybe not. She did possess some restraint, after all.

“Lois, my dear, you've lost your ring!” Lex exclaimed, holding her hand immobile in midair.

“Um, not...exactly.”

He looked perplexed, but not exactly angry. Yet. “What, then? "Exactly.'” He mimicked her tone.

I'm sorry, but I've just realized I'm in love with Clark. His words echoed in her head and she fought a giggle. Unsuccessfully. She decided she was more tired than she had thought. This was definitely verging on slaphappy.

“I do not see how this is funny,” Lex said stiffly.

Of course he didn't. He wasn't slaphappy. And he was a pompous pain in the butt. Why had she never seen that before? So, no, he wouldn't see how this was funny.

“Well, the thing is, Lex,” she trailed off. How was she supposed to say this? Suddenly weariness crashed into her and her brain was full of fog. “I've thought long and hard about your proposal and realized that I don't love you and so I cannot marry you.” Was that good enough? There was something missing. She could just catch a glimpse of it through the fog...Oh, yeah.

“And here's your ring back,” she said as an afterthought, pulling it out of her pocket and handing it over to him.

“I don't understand. You already said yes, darling.” He looked truly baffled. Not evil though. Maybe Clark was wrong? No, she trusted Clark. And besides, it didn't matter. She loved Clark, not Lex. So whether Lex was evil or not, she had to end this.

“Uhhh, no, Lex, I didn't.” She thought about searching for tactful phrasing, but it continued to evade her in the fog. Finally, she gave up. Lex was a strong man, he could handle a little rudeness. Besides, he'd been the rude one first in assuming she would marry him like that! She remembered how he slipped the ring on without waiting for an answer and anger flared up again. She did nothing to hide it.

“No. You put the ring on without giving me a chance to answer – which, by the way, was really not a nice thing to do, but I suppose it was all for the best, because that made me mad, which made me think, which helped me see my true feelings, okay?”

She paused. Was there anything else she had to say? “And I'm not your darling.”

There. All done. She turned to leave.

“Dar—Lois, wait.” Lex reached out to grab her arm. “Surely this is a mistake.”

“No, no mistake.” She tried to remove her arm from his grip, but his hold was too tight. “And would you kindly let go of my arm?”

“Please, can't we talk about this first?” His voice grew harder, but she didn't care.

He was starting to hurt her arm. She wrenched it away from him and rubbed where he'd been holding. Jeez, it was sore. Ten to one she'd have a bruise before she got home. Too bad that wasn't enough to press charges.

“There's nothing to talk about. Good-bye, Lex.” She started to turn around but this time he grabbed both her arms and pulled her towards him. She could smell his breath and the raunchy odor of cigars.

In a hard, almost menacing, voice, he said, “Lois, I beg you to reconsider.”

Geez, didn't he ever give up? No, probably not. “No, Lex. N-O. No. Two letters. One word. No.” Once again, Clarks' words came back to her, but this time she allowed herself to say them.

“You will regret this decision, Lois.”

She thought about that. What could he do to her? With Clark around to protect her, nothing. “Hm...nope, can't say that I will.” With a false, cheery smile, she pulled free from his grip, waved good-bye and turned on her heel to leave. For real this time. What a relief to have that over with.

And then she heard the gun cock.

Ever so slowly, feeling the plush carpet every inch of the way, she turned back around to face Lex. And his gun. Where on earth did that come from? part of her brain wondered.

Who cares? another part retorted.

Well, at least now you know Clark wasn't exaggerating, yet a third part piped up.

Shut up! she told them all. This is a life or death situation!

Big deal. It's not like Superman isn't hovering outside the window, ready to stop the bullet.

What? She peeked over to the window and caught a quick flicker of red cape in the wind. Oh, yeah. Superman was there. And she didn't even have to scream. How convenient.

She smiled at Lex.

He didn't know how to deal with that reaction, but his hand remained steady on the gun. “I mean it, Lois. You will regret this decision.”

“Why, Lex? If you really love me, why do you want to kill me?”

“Love?” He snorted. “This has nothing to do with love. It does, on the other hand, have everything to do with control.”

He continued to speak and she half-hoped he'd get distracted by his own power trip and give her a chance to knock the gun away from him, but his aim stayed steady.

“You see, Lois, with you as my wife, I could control your actions. I could control what you investigated, I could control what you printed. I could control you. However, if I let you go, then not only will you have dumped Lex Luthor, an impermissible situation, but you will also be out of my control. Also an impermissible situation.”

Yup, Clark had definitely not been exaggerating. Not only was Luthor evil, he was also certifiably nuts. Wacko. A few cans short of a six pack. His elevator most certainly didn't go to the top. Even if he did live in the tallest building in Metropolis. The situation and her exhausted state had finally caught up with her. It was all she could do not to giggle.

As it was, she did something equally as stupid. She taunted him. “Go ahead, Lex. Shoot me.”

So he did.

~~~~{~}~~~~

Before the police arrived, Superman had restrained Luthor by tying him to his own desk chair with his own whip -- which had previously been hanging on the wall as decoration. Every time Lois looked at the expression on Luthor's face, she broke into giggles again. He never expected this to happen to him.

Superman raised his eyebrows at her and she retorted, “It's your fault, you know.”

He continued cleaning up the glass from the window he'd broken to get in and Lois continued muttering under her breath, knowing Clark understood everything she said -- and that Luthor would be going crazy not knowing. “Kissing me senseless. Keeping me up all night. Making me worry and cry and sleep on your stoop. Making me fall in love with you. It's no wonder I'm slaphappy. And then the look on your face when you came crashing through that window... couldn't you at least have opened it? No,” she said, looking at the mess. “I guess you couldn't. And I guess he can afford to replace it anyway.” The thought made her giggle. Yes, Luthor could afford to replace it now, but he wouldn't be able to by the time Lane and Kent were through with him.

“So, you see, it is absolutely your fault that I'm slaphappy and giggly, so don't raise your eyebrows at me, mister!”

She managed to calm down by the time the police got there. She and Superman made quick work of giving their statements to one officer, with only a few stray giggles on her part, while two other officers read Luthor his rights in preparation to taking him in to the station.

Since when have I thought of him as Luthor? Lois wondered. She hadn't noticed the shift, but now she realized that Clark's habit of referring to Lex by his last name felt more comfortable. It fit him.

Superman warned the police that Luthor had an unbelievably large network of resources and recommended solitary confinement and multiple witnesses for all contact. Even between Luthor and officers, or Luthor and the guards.

One of the officers looked at him like he was crazy, but Henderson had come, too, and he took Superman seriously. “Don't worry, we'll be extra careful with this one.”

Lois got the impression that Henderson had more suspicions about Luthor than he had admitted to them. Had everyone suspected the man except herself? No, some of the other cops were being more lacadasical until Henderson barked. She wasn't the only one Luthor had duped.

“Would you like a ride home, Ms. Lane?”

Why was Clark being so formal? Oh, right. They were in public and he was Superman. She shook her head to clear it.

“Actually, Superman, thanks, but no. I've got a lot of extra energy right now. I think I'd kinda like to walk it off.”

He looked disappointed and she whispered under her breath, sure that he would hear her, but nobody else could. “Of course, if you'd like to find Clark to walk with me, I wouldn't say no.”

His expression brightened and she winked.

“I'll see you later, then,” he said, his arms crossed across his chest in that familiar Superman pose. “Stay safe.”

She smothered her laugh at the awkward formalness even as she waved and started walking towards the elevator. This was definitely going to be interesting. She wondered how well they'd be able to keep up the pretense of reporter and superhero in public, and best friends and lovers in private. Lovers? Where had that thought come from?

Yet at the same time, it fit. She loved Clark. It had taken her way too long to realize it, but now that she had, she knew. This was a forever kind of love. She knew that this was the person with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. No questions. No doubts.

Part of her was shocked at this unequivocal certainty. Shouldn't she be more careful? She had just almost said yes to marry a monster! And the rest of her relationships had been, without a doubt, disasters. Not to mention the fact that she'd been working with Clark for almost a year only knowing half the person.

Shouldn't she take some more time to get used to this idea?

The rational side of her brain said yes. Be careful. Take it slow. Make absolutely sure that this wasn't a mistake.

The stronger part of her brain, the part that gave her hunches which turned into headline stories, the part that had allowed her to believe Clark's accusations against Lex once she finally listened to Clark – that part said no. Go for it. Make a life with him. Be happy.

And she knew that hot headed, Mad Dog, Lois Lane, who always jumped into danger for a story without worrying about the consequences, was finally ready to take a similar risk for love. And she knew that this time, it would work out. She had a hunch. That was enough.

By the time she'd made this decision, the interminably slow elevator had finished its descent. Lois strode out of Lex Tower feeling free and light. Clark met her on the sidewalk and she couldn't help but give him a huge smile.

“Hiya, flyboy. Walk me home?”

He grinned back and gallantly held up a crooked arm. “M'lady.”

Lois linked her arm with his and laughed. She snuggled closer to him as they started walking and sighed. This was comfortable. This was home.

“You know,” she started. “That piece of rock that Lex tried to pass off as a symbol of love was the ugliest piece of jewelry that I'd ever seen.”

“Oh, really?”

She nodded confidently, not looking at Clark. “Yup. But you know what made it so ugly?”

“No, what?” He had that quietly amused tone in his voice. The one that meant he knew she was going somewhere with her veiled clues and he would be patient, giving all the right responses, until she chose to reveal it to him.

“What made it so ugly was the person behind it, and the intent with which he gave it.”

“Oh?” He paused.

She let the silence grow. C'mon, Clark, read deep into this. Don't be cautious. Don't make me be the only one to take a risk.

“And what do you think would make a ring beautiful?”

She smiled. Thank you, Clark. “Oh,” she said, keeping her voice as casual as possible. “A simple setting. Elegant. Not too big, not too small. And a giver who gave it out of love. Who gave it to me as a promise to love me, and cherish me, and protect me for the rest of my life. As a promise for a forever relationship, an equal partnership that would last as long as we were both alive.”

“Oh, really?” She could tell he was smiling, too, as he spoke. “And have you seen this ring somewhere yet?”

“No.” This time she looked at him and allowed him to see her smile. And her love for him, she hoped. “But I do believe I've found the man I want to give it to me.”

And this time, she thought, when Clark gives it to me, I won't be reluctant. I will be wholeheartedly, completely, readily engaged.

THE END

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