Chapter 6
“What are you doing here?” Lois hissed as he scooped her into his arms.
“Lois, I asked you to stay away from this place.”
“But this is where the story is!” she objected while she kicked her legs in futility.
“Not tonight. There’s no activity and from what I’ve been able to see, the container has been emptied and I have no idea where the drugs have gone.”
“Oh,” she commented, relaxing into his arms. “Where are we going?”
“Newsroom? Your place?” Clark was trying not to dwell on the moment.
The closest he’d been to her in the past few days was sitting next to each other as they worked. He’d avoided touching her, even the small gestures that had been so common between them, unsure what she was comfortable with. It was the first time he’d flown with her as Superman since she’d been aware of his identity, something that was dawning on her as she stared at him while they flew.
“Lets go to your apartment,” she said, smiling up at him. “I’m assuming you’ve got more food there.”
He smirked and they flew the rest of the way in comfortable silence over the sleeping city. Once at his apartment, he gently set Lois down.
“You should shower,” Lois remarked. “You still smell like the fire from earlier.”
Resisting the urge to smell the Suit, Clark headed to the bathroom for a quick shower, returning two minutes later in sweats and a t-shirt, and leaned against the doorway to his bedroom, watching as Lois rummaged around in his fridge.
“I can pick something up,” he suggested as she closed the fridge door.
“I thought you usually went grocery shopping?” Lois muttered as she started opening cupboards.
“I do, I’ve just been busy the last few evenings keeping a certain reporter out of the middle of a large drug deal.”
“Speaking of which, where could the shipment have gone? Did you talk to Sawyer?”
“Hold that thought; I’ll be right back.”
Clark changed and flew out of the window, hoping to be back within a minute or two. Unfortunately, the only pizza place open this late had nothing ready and he had to wait ten minutes. As he paced nervously, hoping Lois wouldn’t assume the worst, he thought about their current assignment.
They’d stumbled onto a crime scene which had led them both to a drug smuggling operation. Having involved the authorities, and informing Perry of their latest investigation, Superman had been assisting the police with the late night searches. This was the third night in a row he’d found Lois at, or in previous nights, near, the scene of the search. The first night she’d been in the wrong location, but nearby. He’d finished assisting the police and flown over to inform her she’d missed the fun. Last night, she’d arrived, late, but in the right spot, just in time to get a few quotes from Superman and the Inspector. Tonight, she’d been in the right spot, the police hadn’t, but the shipment of narcotics had already been moved. Clark was becoming increasingly frustrated that they were consistently behind the criminals.
The pizza cooked, Clark changed in the alley and flew back to his apartment where Lois had made coffee and was flipping through the news channels. When he landed, she turned the television off.
“So this is where you went? When you vanished I wondered if you’d heard something.”
“Sorry,” Clark said feeling awkward. “I hadn’t anticipated having to wait for them to cook the pizza; I thought I’d be back within a minute.” He set the pizza down on the coffee table, returning a moment later once again in sweat pants and a t-shirt. He flopped down on the couch next to Lois with a heavy sigh.
“Clark, I’m sorry about tonight. I was convinced the police, and you, had the wrong intel. I couldn’t get a hold of you to explain.”
“One of the things I love about you, Lois, is your tenacity.” He winced internally at his use of the word ‘love.’ It was true, but he didn’t want to spook her. “Along with your stubbornness, persistence…”
He laughed as Lois glared at him, her mouth full of pizza.
“To answer your earlier question, I did talk to Inspector Sawyer. He hasn’t heard any new drugs hitting the streets here so it may have been a staging point, or it hasn’t filtered down yet. What’s frustrating him is by the time the police have figured out where the shipment is, it’s already been moved. They’re consistently a step behind. Tonight they had the wrong intel, and you…”
“Had a very late tip. I knew where you’d be but didn’t have time to get to you. I did call the precinct but the desk clerk merely took a message. You and the police were in the right place, but the wrong area of the complex. I’m surprised you didn’t spot me arriving earlier.”
“I did,” Clark admitted between bites of pizza.
“But you didn’t stop me,” Lois asked, perplexed.
Clark finished eating and closed the pizza box. “If I tried to stop you from doing anything that might be the slightest bit risky or dangerous, I’d be following you around all day. Plus, that’s your nature and I would never change that about you.”
“Oh.”
“If you had been in danger, I would have rescued you. I’ll always do everything I can to rescue you, Lois.”
They held eye contact for a long moment, the air between them heavy with things unsaid. Clark broke the moment first, taking the leftover pizza to the fridge.
“Oh, thanks for covering for me earlier.” That morning he’d been late to the meeting after helping with a large fire across the country. He’d been surprised when Jimmy had asked how he was feeling when he’d arrived.
“Sorry I didn’t get the chance to forewarn you. I just blurted out you had a migraine and you walked in thirty minutes later, right as rain.”
“That’s ok. I appreciate it. Tea?” As Lois shook her head and took a sip of her coffee, Clark grabbed a mug, put a teabag in, filled it with water, and stared at it until it boiled.
“Is this how it would be?” Lois asked, staring at him. “Work, Super-stuff…”
“Super stuff?”
“Yeah, you know. Not everyone makes their own cup of tea by staring at it.”
It was at that moment Clark realized he’d avoided any blatant use of his powers around Lois in the few days she’d known; at least dressed as Clark. “It could be whatever we want it to be,” he said as he joined her on the couch.
“I think I like it like this,” Lois said softly, placing her cup on the coffee table.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she assured him as she took his tea mug from his hands and set it beside her cup on the coffee table.
He sat as still as he could, watching her hands as she laced her fingers through his. His gaze moved to her face as she leaned closer, closing his eyes in anticipation.
“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” he mumbled, briefly breaking the kiss.
“Not yet,” she whispered as she kissed him again. “That might take a lifetime.”
“I think I can handle that,” he responded as he threaded his hands through her hair, eagerly responding to the woman in his arms.
Their still steaming cups were left forgotten.
****
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