Hi Evie!
He never thought heâd get this lucky.
âŠAnd that was exactly why he couldnât risk losing it.
âIâm sorry, Lois. But no,â he said with finality.
Iâm not sure this is a healthy choice. He should remember that Lois has just had access to kryptonite.
Lois sighed, her shoulders drooping. âOk, then,â she said, as if recalibrating. She released his hands and shut the laptop.
Danger. Danger. Danger! Danger!
âOk?â
âOk,â she nodded.
Danger! Danger! DANGER! DANGER!
/Pulls back curtain to reveal giant ACME bomb with lit fuse/
âNo, I mean â I â thatâs it?â
âThatâs it,â she said with an easy shrug, leaning back in her chair.
Oh, look, the bomb is filled with these funny green glass shards.
âAnd thatâs alright with you?â He couldnât be understanding her correctly.
I recommend running it through a filter.
But she was nodding, and calm. âThatâs alright, Clark.â Too calm.
/Starts digging six feet down/ Letâs hope the downstairs neighbors wonât mind the hole in their ceiling.
âSo we can just keep going as we have been? The star reporter of the Daily Planet, and her secret undercover reporting partner, Superman?â
âOh, that. No.â
There it was, he thought. The catch.
âWhat part?â he asked.
âWell, all of it, really. Except the Superman part.ââš
He parsed that. âYouâre not going to let me be your partner anymore.â
Thatâs evil.
LOIS: He wonât sleep with me so I can only withhold work, not sex.
But now she was using a word like âforever.â
He would give just about anything for a âforeverâ with Lois Lane.
Look whoâs being a smart cookie!
LOIS: /takes bite of a large chocolate chip cookie/
âI think we should see it before we take it, but it could work.â
Okay, whatâs going on?
âBut this would meanâŠâ he shook his head. âNo. You canât give up reporting.â
Oooh, emotional blackmail!
Perry will print anything I send in as long as itâs well written and the facts are straight.
Page one headline: Tree has fallen in Colorado forest! Natural causes presumed.
âThe only Pulitzer I want is one with both of our names on it.â
LOIS: What? âStory by Lois Lane. With special contribution by Clark Kent.â See? All good.
âThere are only two options. I can either live my life here in Metropolis with a Pulitzer and Clark Kent, or I can have a cabin in the mountains with Superman. Take your pick.â
It was Lois Lane 101 was that she belonged in a major city newsroom. Now she was flatly denying that as a necessary component of her happiness.
How does that medicine taste, âSupermanâ?
And he needed to protect her.
Sometimes even from herself.
And without asking her permission.
He looked at her, struggling for words. âBut the story⊠You would give up your chance at the Pulitzer for me? No, Lois, no.â
LOIS: No, I donât need protection from myself. I just need Superdoofus to think I need protection from myself.
Lois had seen what he couldnât.
Sheâd found a way to create a new life.
Together.
Maybe he would be just Superman to the rest of the world, but Lois had figured out how to give Clark Kent a safe, secluded home. With her.
LOIS:
She looked at him with shining eyes. âIt turns out Iâd rather have you than a Pulitzer.â
Awwww
This time he would let things get a bit away from them, he decided.
Oh?
CLARK: there *is* a bedroomâŠ
âWait,â he said, pulling away. âThis isnât right.â
She looked up at him with darkened, hazy eyes and kiss-crushed lips.
Oh, *thatâs* how you turn off that stupid brain if his. Deprive it of blood.
âLet me?â she said, clearly choosing indignation to dissuade him from where he was going.
LOIS: itâs easier if he thinks itâs his idea against the world.
So if you think that people will buy the âundercover reporter in Africaâ line, I think we should do it.â
For the first time in his life, he saw Lois Lane speechless.
You know, for the life of me, I canât figure out if Lois was playacting or really considering the cabin-in-the-woods option. And if the sneaky or the possibly-more-mature approach would be better character development. Either way, thereâs juuuust one more part!
Michael
I'm going to miss this story. 
