Part 9: Normal

She turned back to Superman, suddenly uncertain.

“Are you tired?” Superman asked.

“No, although I could use some coffee,” she said, glancing down at his bootless feet.

For some reason, now that everything had calmed, her mind was suddenly struck by the sight.

Not merely because he didn’t have the bright red boots on, but because his feet were covered in the most ordinary pair of socks imaginable. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but maybe something . . . less normal?

He looked down and wiggled his toes, earning a laugh from her.

“It looks strange, huh?” he prompted. “I imagine no one would guess I wear typical white crew socks with my boots.”

“No,” she said with a chuckle.

“After coffee, why don’t I take you to where I grew up?” he asked suddenly.

She startled, gaping at him. “Seriously?!”

“Has always been my plan, though I suppose I should tell you who I am first.”

She looked at him thoughtfully, wondering why he looked so nervous. Did he think his identity would be so unnerving to her? Upsetting even? Was he afraid she would stop liking him once she knew who he was under the suit? Did he fear that she would find it too strange for him to be whoever he was?

Sort of like the socks, was he a normal guy underneath?

And then she remembered the night she wished had never happened.


"Lois, I do care for you. But… there are things about me you don't know, that you may never know."
"It doesn't matter. I know *you*. And I don't mean you the celebrity or you the superhero. If you had *no* powers, if you were just an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, I would love you just the same. Can't you believe that?"
“I wish I could, Lois, but under the circumstances, I don’t see how I can.”


His response made a lot more sense now.

She refocused, identifying a flicker of an emotion she had never really seen on his face before.

Insecurity?

Why would he feel this way? Unless. . . .

"I’ve already met you, haven’t I? I mean, I’ve already met the man you are outside the suit,” she stated.

He froze for a long moment before he slowly thawed.

He nodded mutely.

“I think I understand now. That’s why you’re so nervous. That’s why you didn’t tell me sooner.” She frowned to herself as she went to her couch and plopped herself down, trying to recall all the men she had ignored, been rude to, or said a flippant remark to so they would leave her alone.

She was now quite certain she had done that to Superman at some point. There wasn’t really a single man she hadn’t done some unkind thing to.

Lord. She really was an ice queen.

“You don’t think I’ll like the real you,” she said softly, her eyes sad.

“No! No, It’s. . . .” He scrambled for words but came up short as he sat on the other side of her couch.

“It’s okay, Superman. I know I can be . . . well, pretty mean at times, especially to men. I’m just sorry I dished out some of it at you. I did, didn’t I?”

“Well, um, yes. But it was a while ago, and--”

“I really am horrible. I’m thinking back, trying to figure out who you could be by remembering all the people I’ve been rude to and there’s too many!”

“Lois, it’s really not like you think,” he cut in, taking her hand.

She stilled and looked down at his hand holding hers.

Her hand that still had a bit of his blood on it.

She took a deep breath.

Maybe they should continue this later. They had been through a lot, but then, could she sleep knowing he wanted to tell her who he was but for some reason was finding it difficult? Maybe there was a better way to go about it.

“Telling me is hard for you, so maybe . . . just . . . let me figure it out?” she asked uncertainly, looking back up at him.

His eyebrows rose. “How?” he asked.

“Well, just continue where you had left off in the kitchen earlier, but leave out names or anything that you find too hard to share. I imagine by the time you're done I'll have figured it out," she explained.

Superman looked thoughtful for a moment, and then hopeful.

She wished she knew why.

"Alright, I can do that," he said.

"Good, but before you do, let me get dressed first," she said, looking down at herself. She was still in her nightgown and slippers.

"If you're sure you won't be angry when you learn who I am, I could continue the story while we fly to where I grew up?" he proposed nervously.

Lois grinned. "I don't know why you seem so concerned about my reaction. You could work in sewers and I wouldn't care."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he said, though he didn't look convinced.

"Fine by me," she said before she disappeared back into her room.

Ten minutes later she was back, dressed and freshened up.

“Ready?” she asked, finding him looking out the window.

“Yeah,” he said, holding out his hand.

She went to him and in a blink they were above the clouds.

“Okay, so after I graduated from high school, I went to college,” he began, flying at a slower pace than she was used to, but she wasn’t about to complain. “I kept to myself for the most part, but did partake in a few foreign exchanges which got me into traveling. After I got my degree, I spent the next few years traveling the world. That’s when I picked up most of the languages I know now. However, as time went on, I wanted to settle some place, but that was proving to be very difficult. Everywhere I went, things inevitably happened that I couldn't ignore and I would do something super that I couldn't hide. And then I would have to move on because someone would become suspicious. I actually almost moved on from Metropolis after I had a close call just minutes after arriving. I'm glad I stuck around though."

"What happened?" she asked.

"The brakes on a bus had gone out. I stopped it before it ran over people walking through the intersection on my way to my interview. A woman saw me do it and I barely got away before she brought attention to me. I had even left a hand imprint. Sometimes I wonder about where she is now and why she hasn't come forward, especially after Superman came out. I mean, I'm grateful that she hasn't, but I do wonder."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Anyway, I went to the job interview and got denied right off the bat."

"What! Really?" For some reason that was hard to imagine. "They just told you no?!"

"Well yeah. To them, I was just another guy wanting a job, competing with other guys also wanting a job. It also didn't help that they technically didn't have any job openings. And remember, when I was job hunting, Superman didn't exist yet, but even if Superman did exist then, they still would have told me no. People don't treat me like Superman when I'm me," he said with a shrug.

"Isn't that frustrating?" she asked. That would drive her nuts.

"Not usually. When I'm…just myself, not Superman, it's a relief to be normal. To not be expected to be perfect or whatever. I can't be Superman all the time. I think I would burn out, and then what good would I be?"

She nodded slowly, her mind churning his words.

"But you were eventually hired, right?" she asked as they glided over a cloud.

"Yeah. I proved myself by doing a job one of the current coworkers didn't want to do."

Lois laughed. "That's what Clark did! That's funny. He wrote an article I didn't want to cover."

Superman smiled. "Yeah, it was something like that."

"So do you still have that job?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, and it's by far the best professional job I've ever had. No one knows I'm Superman, of course, and while I wouldn't really mind some of them eventually finding out, if any of them got hurt because of some lunatic trying to get to Superman. . . ." He shook his head.

"Another reason why it's hard for you to tell me," she commented understandingly.

"Yeah," he softly agreed.

"So how did Superman come about?" she asked.

"I actually have one of my coworkers to thank for that," he said, his gaze turning away from her to focus on something in the distance as he continued flying. "Right after I returned from a quick rescue, I was filthy and she commented that I should bring a spare set of clothes to work. That sparked the idea in my mind, but only after talking with my parents did it really take off. I spent hours with my mom working on a suit that would work. So much fabric!"

"So on the space shuttle, when you said your mother made it for you, you were serious," she said, blinking.

"Of course. I try not to lie or exaggerate when I don't have to. I have to lie often enough as it is," he admitted with a frown.

"What do you mean?" she asked as they flew high over a bridge.

Where were they going?

"When I have to go and help someone, I can't just tell my boss or coworkers that's what I'm doing, for example. Fortunately, my job is fairly flexible, but things can still get pretty awkward or even frustrating." He averted his eyes from her, and she was struck by how guilty he suddenly looked.

"Hm, yeah, I could see how that would be," she said thoughtfully.

They were now flying over farmland. Farms and open fields as far as the eye could see.

"So about what you had said before, that kryptonite cage. What happened there? Was that before you became Superman? Was Bureau 39 involved?"

Superman startled slightly.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked, tensing up.

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise," she stated, inwardly frowning.

He sighed and grimaced before answering.

"It was Luthor. The day before the wedding. He wanted to talk to me and after I refused to go to the wedding, he sprung the trap. I managed to escape, but I was too weak to save him when, well. . . ."

"Oh." She didn't know what to say, but she wasn't going to apologize for asking. And she definitely wasn't going to ask why he hadn't told her. The reason was obvious.

She stilled, reviewing everything he had told her. Was she still expected to figure out who he was from what he had told her? She didn't even know what he did for a living. But then . . . maybe that in itself was a clue. She had told him not to share anything that was too hard for him to share.

She frowned, and she didn't have to look at him to know he was watching her. She could feel his growing unease from how he was holding her.

So she must have enough information to figure out his identity.

She forced herself to think, which was odd. It was almost as if a part of her didn't want to know. Or already knew and didn't want to admit it.

His work. He didn't identify his work because it must be an instant give away.

He hadn't identified his degree for the same reason.

And then it clicked.

Suddenly his fear of her reaction made absolute sense, and only her desire to prove him wrong stayed her temper.

She closed her eyes and tightened her hold on him, recalling how circumvent he had been about the globe as Clark. How Superman didn't seem to mind what Clark had done with it. It made so much sense now!

Her thoughts fell back further, remembering how nervous he had been when Trask had first appeared and how he had reacted to the public's enthusiastic response to Superman.

And then when they had gone to Smallville to investigate the meteorite. His 'allergies' and his paper cut. No wonder he hadn't known what to do and had looked so baffled!

He had never been sick before! He had never been hurt!

Clark was Superman!

Her best friend, her partner, was the world's most beloved hero.

The man who she had comforted as he re-lived his worst memory was Clark.

The man who had stopped Nightfall was the man who couldn't beat Perry in a fair game of poker if his life depended on it.

The man she had at first written off as a 'hack from nowheresville' was the last son of Krypton.

The man who corrected her spelling and brought her the perfect cup of coffee each morning was the most powerful man on the face of the planet.

She slowly exhaled.

"So, how far are we from Smallville?" she asked calmly.

He instantly stopped, hovering high above the clouds as he looked at her.

"You're . . . not mad?" he asked.

"Why would I be mad? It would just prove you were right to be nervous. Besides, I think you've beaten yourself up enough."

He began flying them forward again, hesitantly.

"Really?" he asked.

"Everything makes a lot more sense. Honestly, the only anger I’m really feeling is at myself for not realizing it sooner,” she admitted.

“So . . . what now?” he asked.

“You wanted to show me where you grew up, so show me,” she said. “And then after, we still have that exclusive to do. After all, we need to decide what to tell the world where recent events are concerned.”

Clark smiled at her. “Okay.”

O o O o O

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