Clark frowned, his gaze shifting from the new tire sitting on the sidewalk behind Lois to the older one currently sharing an axle with the dummy on her Jeep. "He wasn't lying, Lois."
"Of course he was!" She let go of the jack's handle and sat back on her heels. "Only one tire was flat; you can see the others are just fine!"
He shook his head. "The tread's too worn. You need two new ones so they'll balance."
Lois stood and turned to face him, crossing her arms. "Oh, and should I top up my blinker fluid while I'm at it? Clark, It's the oldest trick in the book! Guys like that mechanic take one look at a woman and assume she's an easy mark: suddenly a lot more parts need replacing, and they're all more expensive than they were five minutes ago! Men like him can't be trusted!"
Clark met her gaze, his voice quiet. "So you don't trust me either, then?"
Her mouth snapped shut, her cheeks turning pink. "I…" She fell quiet.
"Lois, I don't have anything to gain from lying to you about this," he said, stepping back briefly to let one of her neighbors pass by. "Like I said: the tread is more than a third worn down. If you put a new tire across from the old one, they'll be lopsided. You'll have to change them both."
She nodded, staring down at her feet. For a while, the only sound was from the usual Metropolis traffic moving around them. "You did lie, though."
"What?"
"Superman told me," she said, still not meeting his eyes. "You lied about not really being in love with me."
Clark sighed. "Yes," he said quietly. "I did."
Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "I lied too."
He stilled, unsure if he was supposed to have heard that.
Lois knelt in front of the jack again and strained against the handle. Metal creaked as the car slowly, reluctantly rose. "I know why you took it back," she said after catching her breath. "After the way I treated you, it wouldn't surprise me if you really didn't love me anymore."
"Lois…" His hands clenched and unclenched.
"And you're right. I didn't trust you."
She reached for the handle again, but Clark put a hand over hers.
"Lois…" He took a deep breath. "Let me."
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Like I said before, I don't need any—"
He slid a hand under the frame of the Jeep and raised it slightly. Only Lois, from her position behind the jack, could see the sliver of space between it and the car. She gasped.
Clark lowered the Jeep back onto the jack, his heart pounding. Lois stared at him, her expression one of shock. "I didn't trust you either," he admitted.
She let go of the handle. "You—"
He nodded.
"You…" Her eyes flicked to the smattering of people passing by, completely oblivious to their conversation.
Clark ducked his head. "I completely understand if you want to yell at me."
She closed her eyes, took in a breath, and let it out. "Go get the second tire."
"What?"
Her gaze found his again. "I'll work on getting the dummy off; you go get the second tire."
He nodded, then glanced at the numbers on the replacement and headed for the alleyway. By the time he returned, the jack was finally at a workable height.
"That was fast", she said, bringing the wrench up to the first lugnut on the dummy. "You really are handy to have around."
Clark stacked the newest purchase on top of the previous one. Grabbing another wrench from the toolbox for appearances' sake, he started loosening the nuts on her rear wheel.
Lois's eyebrows raised. "Wha—don't tell me I need four?!"
"No." Clark tugged the hubcap off and deposited the four lugnuts into it. "We're going to put these in the front, and your new ones will go back here." He set the tire on the sidewalk and went to the other side of the Jeep, careful not to intrude into traffic.
She stared at him for a moment, nodded, and returned her attention to the dummy. "If you tell me I really do need blinker fluid, I'll shoot you."
"You wouldn't be the first one to try." The clatter of nuts landing in a hubcap nearly covered her snort. He stacked that tire on the first one. "Want some help?"
Her glare rivaled his heat-vision. Clark deftly caught the wrench she lobbed at his head. Within minutes, all the old tires were in a neat stack and the dummy was in the trunk.
"Would you trust me if I did say that you needed blinker fluid?"
She rolled the first replacement up to him and looked him in the eye. "...Yes. Would you ever lie to me about needing it?"
He rested a hand over hers. "Never."
