Thank you for your kind response to my story so far! Here's the next part for you.
Susan
From Part 2:
‘I’ll tell her the truth,’ Clark now smiled. He knew it wouldn’t be easy; her hurt and anger would take time to overcome. But he could no longer wait to reveal his secret to her. Clark loved Lois, and he knew that she felt something for him. To continue hurting her with outrageous lies was morally reprehensible. And by tearing down this barrier between them, Clark mustered the courage to move their relationship closer to each other.
But Lois wasn’t privy to Clark’s thoughts yet…
Part 3
Lois heard the ding of the elevator that signaled Clark's Monday morning arrival and steeled herself to action. 'Cheese of the Month Club,' she remembered, letting Clark's excuse fuel her anger. She forcefully crushed the part of her that wanted to understand, forgive, press her body into his arms.
"Lois, we have to talk." He had made his way to her in record time. No trip to the coffee machine first? No uncomfortable shuffling of papers on his desk? ‘It’s almost as if I’m important enough to be at the top of his To-Do list,’ Lois thought caustically. He wasn't getting off that easily. She pretended not to hear him.
Clark tried again, "Please, Lois," as he invaded her personal space, reaching an arm around the back of her chair and leaning in.
"Oh, did you want me now?" The sarcasm radiated from her; she toppled her chair in a rush to stand. "Because I certainly got the message loud and clear Saturday night that you didn't want me anywhere near you." The L of her first name started to form on his tongue, though her tirade proceeded into full rant before the word was uttered. "Anyway, I need to meet a source now. No, wait, I mean I have to avoid a ten cent fine at the library before I get my teeth cleaned by my dentist who works just past the video store that I have to return my late copy of 'Santa Clause and the Martian Invaders' to. And after that..."
"Please let me explain..."
"No! I don't want your explanations. I don't want your excuses. And I certainly don't want your pathetic lies!" She saw the guilt cross his face and pressed her advantage. "You are a horrible liar! Do you think I'm so stupid that I'd believe you desperately needed cheese after sharing a romantic meal with me?"
"You're not stupid, Lois; you're the most brilliant woman I've ever known." Clark started to reach for her as Lois stepped back.
"Don't you dare try and score points with me."
"I swear, I'm not playing games." Glancing around the newsroom, Clark caught on to the attention their escalating argument was attracting. "Please let me talk to you in private. I need to tell you something important. I'm begging you to let me fix this."
"This? This what? Will you be fixing 'this'," Lois inserted the air quotes, "with more of your lies?"
"I will never lie to you again, I promise, just please hear me out. I just need to talk to you alone." The desperate tone in his voice and the sorrow evident on his face began to weaken her resolve, and her foot involuntarily stepped towards the conference room as her eyes took in the interest of their colleagues. 'Gossip mongers,' she silently seethed. Taking charge of the situation, lifting her head and straightening her spine, Lois turned dramatically on her heel and marched to the conference room. She threw open the door and gestured as Vanna White would, offering the room's seclusion as if it were a prize.
Clark treasured that prize, allowing himself a moment to believe that he could make things right between the two of them. 'Lois, I am Superman,' he repeated to himself. No panic, no fear, only peace and truth. He had no illusions that Lois would squeal in delight and jump into his arms upon his revelation; the next few minutes (‘Who am I kidding? More like the next few months!’) would be painfully difficult, but he was confident that his decision was the right one. If she could accept his deception, then one day she might accept his love.
But in an instant, Clark’s hope crumbled. His super hearing had kicked in.
-&-
“Don’t you dare!”
Lois recognized the look on Clark’s face. Her eyes narrowed in anger as his widened in panic. He was going to do it again! The emotional wall that had been sliding to the floor in light of Clark’s desperation now exploded to the ceiling. And it was topped with jagged pikes. And an electrified barbed wire fence.
“Lois… no… not now,” spilled from his lips as Clark’s eyes darted between the firestorm in front of him and the direction of the derailed passenger train behind him. What could he do? ‘I can’t tell her like this,’ his soul cried. He faced her fully, grasping her arms and focusing all his attention on her. “Lois, I would give anything to tell you what I need to say. Please don’t hate me. But I have to go, now.”
“Get your hands off me! You don’t have the right to touch me. But at least spare me the lie this time.”
“I told you I won’t lie to you anymore, but I can’t tell you where I’m going. Can’t you see that?”
“That’s right, you won’t lie to me anymore. Because I will never listen to another word you try to say to me.” She tossed her arms sideways to break Clark’s hold on her. “If you walk out that door right now, I will never forgive you.”
“If you only knew,” Clark’s head hung low, leaving contact with Lois’ eyes as his thoughts turned inward. He was going to lose her before she was even really his. They could never be together with his secret keeping them apart. He started to turn from her, sensing little alternative. He knew what it felt like to leave her, afraid that it would be for the last time; he had done it before when Superman had been blamed for causing a sweltering Metropolis heat wave. At least then he had given her a proper goodbye. Clark waited, sensing a slim chance. Could a goodbye now be the beginning of a future hello?
Suddenly, his heart took over and his body reacted.
Clark pivoted, thread his fingers through her hair, and pulled Lois into a passionate kiss. His lips devoured hers and joy flooded through him as her arms pulled around his waist and she returned his attentions. He tasted her tongue as time stopped and the world around him disappeared. He shivered as a breathy moan pierced his eardrums. They parted by a fraction of space, each visibly drawing in air. “I love you, Lois Lane.”
She gasped, startled by the intensity in his voice. Her brain refused to work; she remained frozen, staring at his lips, heartbeat pounding furiously against her chest.
He eased back, and his hands slipped from the back of her head, passing lightly down an ear, over her cheeks, and down to her neck. “I will meet you tonight at your apartment and tell you everything. I love you so much.”
Then he ran towards the stairs.
Stunned, Lois remained still as she watched him leave. She expected her anger to return, her inner voice to throw verbal daggers towards his receding form. But all she could perceive inside were the words “I love him” echoing through her hollow core. Then the fog lifted, and Mad Dog entered the newsroom. Her plan kicked in. ‘I will find out your secret myself.’
Lois ran towards the stairs.
