So no baseball game tonight
. Am sad about that. Been cleaning house all day - am sad about that too
.
Thanks, as always, to Kathy
.
Last time
He set the bag on the floor and rested his hands on her waist. "You have seen my other outfit, right? Other women aren't exactly checking out my... butt."
"I know and I'm not crazy about that either, but at least you've got a cape then and that's..." She lowered her voice to a whisper even though they were alone. "...Superman. Superman is perpetually unattached, but Clark Lane, on the other hand..."
He held up his left hand – the one that sported the wedding ring Perry had given them – "Has a golden band?" he asked with a wink.
"For the moment and maybe – someday – forever, but for right now, ring or not, Clark Lane is taken."
The doors opened and they moved apart. "I like the sound of that," Clark told her, picking up the bag with one hand and taking her hand with the other.
"Me, too." She bumped into his hip with hers.
It took them ten minutes to get back to their room and to the window to watch what was going on across the street.
They watched as the door opened and shut behind the three men.
"And Clark?"
"Yeah?"
"Don’t ever call me sweetheart again."
"Got it."
*~*11*~*They watched as Roarke and his friend threatened Congressman Harrington. They learned that the test was going to be at dawn.
And that downtown Metropolis was going to be wiped out by a giant tidal wave.
"At least they didn't close the blinds or shutters while they watched that tape," Lois said grimly. "Superman still could have seen it but now we have photographic evidence."
"But who do we take it to?" Clark asked, moving away from the window since they were all gone.
"Perry first. Maybe he has some Navy connections? Or Superman does?"
Clark nodded thoughtfully. "Actually, I have met the Secretary of Defense a couple of
times. Or rather Superman has. If nothing else, I can try to get to him. Or find the ship that's going to shoot the torpedo and stop it if I have to – now that I can fly again, all of my powers are back."
"That could work."
"But first we call Perry."
The rest of the day was a flurry of activity. They called Perry, met him in his office along with Jack Olsen – Jimmy's dad who was also a bigwig at the FBI. He'd been investigating Harrington for some time. He called his contacts with the Navy and by midnight, when Lois and Clark stumbled back in to the suite, the tests had, theoretically, been stopped.
Superman was going to hover high over the warships in question just to make sure that there wasn't some miscommunication somewhere down the line.
They, of course, had the exclusive ready for the morning edition of the Daily Planet. They even had a couple of updated variations ready for the afternoon edition.
Lois and Clark were going to keep an eye on the offices across the street, in case anyone came back, but everyone thought that was unlikely. APBs were going to be issued before long for Roarke and Bart – the man who had been with him – while Harrington was under FBI surveillance.
Lois stood watching out the window. Clark moved behind her, his hands resting softly on her shoulders. He gently massaged them, causing her to drop her head forward much as he had earlier, as his thumbs worked against the back of her neck.
She groaned slightly as he increased the pressure. "That feels *incredible*," she moaned, her forehead resting against the window.
He moved, his arms wrapping around her and holding her to him. "Why don't you go lie down and get some sleep? I'll keep an eye out for any activity across the way."
"You don't mind?"
He shook his head. "No. My powers are completely back and I don't need nearly as much sleep as most people. I can go a couple of days without sleep as long as I have something to keep me busy – like rescues or something – but one night shouldn't be a problem."
She turned to rest her head against his shoulder and wrap her arms around his waist. "Are you sure you don't mind?"
He kissed the top of her head. "Not at all. It's been a busy day. Get some rest."
"Wake me up in a bit to trade?" she asked with a soft sigh.
"Nah. I got it."
"If you're sure, I'm not going to say no to that."
He tipped her chin up and kissed her lightly, their lips lingering for several long seconds. "Get some sleep."
She kissed him again before moving away and heading into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
Clark stared out over the city, doing his best not to imagine what was going on in the room behind him. Was she going to borrow some of his clothes to sleep in again? She'd bought an outfit for work but that was it. He probably could fly back to Pittsdale, but the alarm would be set and he didn't want to take the chance on someone noticing he'd been there.
Mayson had borrowed some of his clothes a few times but they had never looked as good as when Lois had worn them the day before. He wasn't entirely certain why that was. Mayson was a very attractive woman and he'd enjoyed spending time with her, kissing her, even. She'd understood, even appreciated, his desire to take things slowly in the physical relationship arena. He thought she'd had the impression that he'd been burned badly in the past when it came to sex and she was willing to wait until he was ready.
But with Lois...
Everything was... different. Everything was... heightened. Everything was... more.
Maybe it was because she knew the truth about him and it hadn't fazed her. She wasn't repulsed by the idea that he was Superman, but neither was she attracted only to the powers. She simply accepted them as a part of who he was.
Of course, Superman hadn't interrupted their lives yet. He'd only realized he could fly again a few hours earlier. At some point, he was sure, they'd be in the middle of a conversation or a make-out session or... more someday and he'd hear a call for help and he'd have to leave her standing or sitting or lying there while he flew off.
He was rapidly coming to believe that she was the woman he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. But could she live with that? Live with Superman constantly interrupting their evenings home alone? Missing birthdays or anniversaries or some other special occasion because of a mudslide or earthquake or other major international disaster? He wouldn’t *plan* anything for those days, of course – no ribbon cuttings or teeing off at golf tournaments – but real life could still interfere.
His hearing kicked in slightly – just enough to hear clothes hitting the floor in the other room and the swish of the satin sheets being pulled back. He frowned slightly and then his eyes widened as he realized...
Before he knew what he was doing, he'd turned and tugged his glasses down to the bridge of his nose. The wall started to peel away before he came to his senses and pushed them back up, his hands covering his eyes as he groaned.
He'd heard clothes coming off.
He hadn't heard clothes coming back on.
She was trying to kill him. That had to be it.
Of course, she probably didn't realize that he'd heard all of that and she had made sure he didn't plan on going in there during the night – either to sleep or wake her up – so she probably thought he'd have no idea.
So Lois was in the bed in the other room, probably naked as the day she was born, and he was out here for the foreseeable future.
It was better that way, he told himself. Much better.
"Good night, Clark," came her voice from beyond the door.
He couldn’t bring himself to respond.
"*Good* night, Clark."
He sighed.
"Good *night*, Cl-ark." She was starting to sound annoyed.
"Good night, Lois," he finally called back.
Long night was more like it.
*****
TBC
