I'm sorry this has taken so long to post. I'm usually a bit of a homebody, but the last few weeks I have been had very little time at home and have only managed to get online a few times. Unfortunately, this is going to keep up for the next couple of weeks at least while I have some travel for work. I'm hoping to be able to write while I travel, but usually sleep is a rare commodity when I'm not at home, so my energy levels (and thus creativity) are low. I'm hoping that once I get back, things will slow down.
I needed something sort of lighthearted when I wrote this. I hope that doesn't mean this part doesn't ring true.
From Part 8...
She reached forward, placing her hand in his. “So, what are we going to do?” she asked, her voice soft.
“I think…” Clark took a deep breath. “I still think it would be best if I didn't come by anymore. But if you don't agree…” Clark looked down at their joined hands, squeezing hers slightly, “I'll do whatever you want.”
Lois smiled at him, feeling happy for the first time. “What I think is that you not coming by anymore is ridiculous. We need to figure out how that kryptonite got to Australia and I don't see how we do that without you being here.”
Clark smiled back at her, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “I'd really like that Lois,” he whispered, his hand dropping to her side.
And now on with Part 9…
Clark and Lois sat in silence for a moment holding hands and smiling at each other softly. They both knew this was a pivotal moment in their relationship, although neither was really sure where it was leading them.
After another moment of silence, Lois shook her head. “Okay,” she said. All business now, she leaned over and grabbed her notepad again. “So, let's go over the facts. Where was the kryptonite?”
Clark smiled at her, loving the look on her face as she tried to figure out what was going on. “I'm not sure. It seemed to be everywhere. It was just part of the soil – everything had a faint green tinge. Very faint – it's not like I saw it when I got there. And there couldn't have been a lot of it as I was there for a half hour before I started to feel the effects.”
“Is that long?” Lois asked, suddenly realizing she knew very little about kryptonite.
“Yes, I can usually feel it right away,” Clark confirmed.
“When was the last time?” she asked. “Before yesterday, I mean?”
Clark said nothing for a moment, looking up at the ceiling while he thought. “I don't know,” he looked at her. “I know it seems weird, but it's literally been years. It may even have been that time Arianna Carlin shot me.”
Lois' eyes clouded over for a minute as she remembered how scary that had been. She moved to place a hand on Clark's leg to remind herself that he was here and gasped. “That was you!” she exclaimed.
“Of course it was me, Lois. Who else would it be?” Clark laughed.
“But I thought…” Lois found herself at a loss for words and moved closer to Clark, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. Clark was holding his breath not sure what had happened, but sure that if he moved at all Lois would remember where she was and quickly extricate herself from his grasp.
“That day. It was you, Clark,” she whispered into his chest. “You could have died.”
Clark did not say anything, just ran his hands very lightly over her back, trying to calm her.
Lois pulled back to look in his eyes. Taking in the look of fear in his eyes, she remembered yet again. It did not matter all that much in the end, anyway. He had died anyway. Well, sort of.
She pulled back, putting her arms around herself. It did not offer the comfort Clark did, but she was not ready for that yet.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she reached for her pen and pad again. “So the last time you were around Kryptonite was ten years ago?”
Clark sighed, knowing Lois' moment of weakness was over and it would likely be a very long time before he would be able to hold her again. He shook his head, feeling like he did not have the energy to speak in reply.
Lois placed the pen against her lip, tapping slightly while she thought. The tapping was interrupted by a similar, but louder, tapping sound on her door. “Lois? Clark?” came Martha's voice.
Clark got up to open the door, “Hi, Mom. We didn't want to wake you with the light,” he explained.
Martha reached down to place a hand on his forehead. “How are you feeling?” she asked, running her hand around to his cheek and looking closely into his eyes. She knew he had a tendency to downplay how he was feeling on the rare occasions he had been affected by kryptonite and had learned that the best way to make sure he was telling the truth was to look him in the eye.
“I'm fine, Mom. Really,” he smiled at her, knowing exactly what she was doing. Martha smiled at him knowingly, and laughing, Clark insisted, “I really am fine.” He then levitated a few feet off the floor as if to prove his point.
Behind him, Lois gasped. She had never seen him do anything “super” when not in the Superman outfit and even though it should not have mattered given all that she knew, she felt a bit of a rush anyway. Clark turned in mid air to giggle at the look on Lois' face.
“I thought… I thought…” Lois stammered.
Clark arched an eyebrow in reply and finally Lois said, “I thought you said you weren't feeling super yet?”
“I wasn't,” Clark said simply, “but that was at least an hour ago.” Clark landed on the ground before turning back around to his mother, “Do you mind waiting to head home, Mom? Lois and I are working right now.”
Martha walked over to the bed, taking a seat. “Right. If you think I am going to sit by and wait for the two of you to determine where that Kyptonite came from, you have another thing coming, young man.” Turning to include Lois, she continued, “I know that once upon a time you were the Hottest Team in Town, but it can't help to have more help.”
Lois smiled. She could not help the strong affinity she felt towards Martha at that moment.
Clark looked towards Lois, fully expecting her to argue, but seeing the look on her face, he knew he was lost.
Defeated, he went into the living room to grab another chair.
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The clanking coming from the kitchen created a sort of soothing background noise. After two more hours of playing Q&A, they were no closer to determining where the Krytonite had come from. Martha had decided that they needed a break and had gone to the kitchen to make some coffee.
Lois had stretched out face down on her bed, groaning about the ache in her back. A moment later, Clark tenuously applied his heat vision to her back. He held his breath, waiting for Lois to yell at him and tell him to back off, but she got very quiet.
For a few moments, neither of them said anything while Clark continued to lazily draw random shapes on Lois' back with his eyes. When his eyes settled on the small of her back, Lois giggled. Clark moved his eyes back up her spine, but a moment later darted a low blast of heat vision at the small of her back again. Lois giggled.
Clark moved his gaze to her shoulders, moving in circles down her arms and between her shoulder blades. Then zigzagging down her back he held his breath. Again, Lois giggled. “Stop,” she said, her voice muffled in the comforter.
Clark moved closer to sit beside her.
“What?” he asked, his voice completely innocent.
“Stop,” Lois said again, looking up at him, laughter still in her eyes.
Clark glanced in her eyes, then nonchalantly looked above her head, sending more heat vision towards her lower back. “Stop,” Lois laughed, reaching up to shove his head to the side.
Clark let her guide his head around, but the instant she left go, he did it again. This time Lois' giggle was more of a laugh. “Clark!”
Smiling, he did it again. “Clark! Stop it!”
Clark looked back at her innocently. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Lois. Stop what?” Blast!
Lois sat up this time, still laughing. Clark leaned to his left slightly and leaned forward so he could see behind Lois. Blast!
Lois shoved him backward and while Clark let her, she lost her balance, landing on her front alongside him on the bed. Blast!
Turning over, Lois went to push at him again, but Clark reached out and grabbed her hands. Leaning over her – Blast!
Lois shoved harder yet and this time landed on top of Clark. Clark went to raise himself up just as he realized what had happened. Leaning with his head only a few inches off the bed, he stopped still afraid to breath.
Lois was looking at him giggling, but when she caught sight of the look in his eyes, her laughter died on her lips.
Neither said anything for a moment, just lay in place watching each other.
“Lois?” Martha called from the kitchen. “Where do you keep your sugar?”
Lois did not reply and they sat in silence for another moment. Then simultaneously they both moved away from each other.
