They took off to the west, leaving the skyline of Metropolis behind them. The fears Lois had allowed to creep in suddenly seemed inconsequential in Clark's arms. Why hadn't she gone to him from the start? Flying with him reminded her of who he was, what he was capable of.
She clung to him, her best friend, her lifeline.
"It's okay, Lois. I've got you now," he murmured gently, feeling her cling ever more tightly to him.
Slowly, eventually, she felt herself begin to relax. Flying in Clark's arms paradoxically grounded her. By stepping away from the earth and into the clouds, she could see things much more clearly. And what she saw was that she had been blinded to see all along. She couldn't do this on her own. She needed her partner, her hero.
Soon, they were over the smooth plains of Kansas. Fresh air and stars was all Lois could sense from his arms, but it was enough. It meant she was away from Lex. She was safe. Safe from her fears, her insecurities. She was with Clark, and that was all that mattered.
They landed near his parent's farmhouse, under an outdoor light.
She hugged him fiercely before letting him go entirely as he set her down. "I'm so sorry, Clark," she repeated her words from earlier. Lois stood in his arms a moment, just looking into his eyes, trying to think what to say. They both had lost so much with the Planet today, and she realized that by pushing him away, she could have lost him as well.
"Do you want to walk a bit before we go in and talk?" he asked. "You don't have to face my parents right away if you don't want to," he offered.
She shook her head. "I'll be all right. You and I need to talk, I know. But, it may do me some good to see your folks first," she smiled brightly.
"Let's go in then. But just one second," he said, releasing her and standing back just enough to spin out of the suit.
"I'll never get used to you doing that," she said in awe.
Clark laughed boyishly. "It's nothing, really."
She took his hand and tugged him towards the front door.
********
"Clark! There you are!" cried Martha, reaching to hug her son. "And Lois. I'm glad you came for a visit."
Martha hugged Lois as well, and as always, Lois was touched by the warm nature of Clark's parents.
"Come on into the kitchen. I just finished a mean chicken Parmesan that I think you'll love!" Martha headed back to the kitchen, calling to Jonathan to ask if he'd finished setting the table.
Lois looked over at Clark in appreciation. He'd known what she'd needed, the quiet comfort of the farmhouse and his parents.
As they sat down at the table, Lois was about to say that she had eaten dinner already. But her stomach protested before she could do so. She realized she had been so nervous at dinner with Lex that she'd barely eaten more than a few bites of salad, very little of the duck, and well, maybe a bit more of the chocolate cake.
"This is wonderful, Martha," Lois said sincerely.
Martha smiled a thanks, meanwhile mentally assessing what Clark had told her on the phone about what was going on and what she saw now in Lois. Lois was in a fancy black dress but had come in no shoes. <<Had she been with that villain Lex?>> she wondered.
"We heard what happened at the Daily Planet, Son," said Jonathan.
Lois and Clark exchanged looks of shared sadness. "Do they know what caused it?" Jonathan asked.
"Well, Jack has been accused of planting a bomb," Clark began.
"But I'm sure he didn't do it," finished Lois with conviction.
"Who do you think did, Lois?" asked Martha.
"I don't know. I mean, I have an idea, but--well, I'd like to talk to Clark about it first. Later, when we're alone, if that's okay?" she hesitated. She needed to clear the air with Clark first, and Lois was sure bringing up Lex in front of his parents would at best be uncomfortable.
Martha smiled at Clark. "Sure, honey. Not a problem."
Dinner continued on pleasantly, as everyone tried to avoid the white elephant in the room. Why had Lois let Luthor put a wedge between her and Clark? And was she really going to marry that man?
But as usual, Clark's parents took their cue off him. He didn't seem rushed to make Lois talk, so they wouldn't either. Instead, conversation turned to matters on the farm and plans for the coming harvest season.
Eventually, Clark got up to help his mom wash up, regular speed, and quietly talked to her about her art classes.
Lois remained at the table, feeling nervous as she knew the time was nearing when she and Clark could have time to talk. She tried to be calm, knowing that he wouldn't have brought her here if he wanted to lay blame. She hoped he had simply realized that she simply couldn't say much of anything under Lex's scrutiny, and hopefully now they could do something about it.
Clark had actually rescued her from herself tonight, though she wouldn't admit that. She realized she had simply been going round and round in her head. She hadn't realized how much she had come to rely on Clark to bounce ideas off of, and to see things from a different perspective. Instead, she had become doggedly stubborn about not telling Clark anything out of the idea that she needed to protect him. She realized now that there would be no way out of Lex's shadow without Clark's help. Yes, Luthor had Kryptonite. But that didn't mean together they couldn't beat him without him using it. Surely as a team, they could handle Lex, and that gave her just a bit of hope.
*****
A little while later Martha and Jonathan went up to bed. Martha left Clark a blanket and pillow for the sofa, while Lois was to stay in Clark's room.
"Where do you want to talk?" he asked Lois.
"Down here's fine," she said, making her way to the sofa. She sat down, unconsciously pulling Clark's pillow to her chest for comfort as she sat down.
He watched her patiently, knowing she was trying to figure out where to begin.
Lois looked down at her hand absently, thinking of the huge diamond Lex had given her that evening. She was glad Clark hadn't seen it; she had already taken it off and set it on her night stand when he had arrived. But still, she could feel Lex like a specter between them, and she wanted so much to shake the feeling.
"I feel like his property now," she said quietly, knowing Clark would understand whom she meant. "I didn't even actually say 'yes,' Clark."
She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes, and he was by her side in an instant.
"What happened? What did Luthor say to you? Why have you been pulling away from me, Lois?" he asked, unable to keep all the questions he'd been bottling up from spilling out at once.
She reached for him, and he gladly pulled her in to hug him. "To protect you," she said, her voice slightly muffled in his shirt. "I thought I was protecting you."
"Protecting me?" he laughed softly. "Lois, come on. You know who I am. I don't need---"
She sat up, looking in his face. "Lex has Kryptonite, Clark. A lot of Kryptonite."
"Oh," he said quietly, understanding at least in part why Lois had pushed him away.
She took a deep breath and reached for Clark's hand, to give her courage to continue.
"He threatened to hurt you if I didn't go along with his plan. But he did it all so subtly," she said in frustration. "One moment he would talk sweetly to me and in the next breath he'd open up his case of Kryptonite, hinting that Superman shouldn't get involved in this." She shivered.
"I didn't want you to know. I'm sorry, Clark. I didn't want you to feel like you had to do something about it, because I was afraid he'd---"
He pulled her closer to him. "I know. It's okay, Lois."
"And now the Planet is gone. Lex could rebuild it so easily, Clark. You know he could! But I don't think he will. I think--"
"What? What were you going to say at dinner?" he prodded.
"I think Lex is behind it. Behind it all. Did you get into my file on him?" she asked, though she didn't seem angry.
He nodded.
"I have all these little bits of possibilities of things he may have been involved in, but no real proof. And we need proof to nail him, you know we do."
He hugged her suddenly. "I'm so relieved that you see him for what he is, Lois. I was terrified---"
She shook her head in shame. "Clark, he scares me, but not necessarily how you mean. He can be so charming, disarmingly so. And sometimes I almost don't notice the evil that lurks underneath. I mean--" she gestured to her dress, and then covered her face with her hands.
"I'm so ashamed, Clark," she said brokenly.
"Lois, you have nothing to be ashamed of."
She looked up at him, her eyes bright with tears. "I am ashamed. I let him wine and dine me. I even listen to his plans with interest, because they seem good and logical. But the moment I disagree with something he says, he shows just a glimpse of the villain beneath and I get scared. And so I go along with it, telling myself all the while that I'll figure out how to get him, how to get out from underneath his power."
"You don't have to do it alone, Lois," he said warmly, gently lifting her chin so he could see into her eyes.
"I know that now. I've been debating telling you. But today I realized... I need you, Clark."
"You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that. I thought---well, all kinds of things, and none of them pleasant."
She grimaced. "I only wanted to keep Lex away from you. He threatened both Clark and Superman. And I was afraid that if he pursued Clark, he'd soon make the connection that you were Superman."
"Lois, do you really care so much for me?" he asked quietly, staring down at their joined hands.
"I know I was scared... of us. Because you mean so much to me as a friend, and I wasn't sure--- But Clark, I *do* care. A lot. These last few days have been hell. I've wanted to say something, but I was so scared of Lex, of what he'd do. And when I saw you going through my files, I was secretly relieved!"
He smiled at her. "I know I'm not the snooper in the relationship, but I had to know what was going on. And when I saw you had evidence building up against Luthor, well---I knew I needed to talk to you alone, one way or another," he said, shrugging his shoulders apologetically.
"Well, I'm glad you brought me here. And I'm glad you snooped! At least something useful has rubbed off on you," she laughed, nudging him in the shoulder. Then she sighed, serious again. "And, I know we need to plan, but can we stop talking about Lex for tonight? I've been going round and round in circles for days over this and I need a break."
"Sure. He's not exactly my favorite subject either," Clark smirked.
She smirked ruefully, "Yeah, I noticed."
They were silent a moment, still holding hands in the softly lit room, the only sound a distant chirping of crickets.
"Clark, about our date the other night," she began.
"Yes?" he asked quietly, simply enjoying being close to Lois again.
"It was such a perfect evening. And I was so upset I ruined it... cause I had been hoping..."
Her eyes met his and she leaned in a little closer. "What I *really* wanted was...a good-night kiss," she whispered.
"Me too," he whispered back, and gently pulled her in closer. His lips settled on hers, warm, tender. She responded to him instantly, and suddenly they were both dizzy, as the kiss deepened and became more passionate. They had kissed before, of course, but it had always been a pretense, while undercover or for a false motive. Now, with nothing to hide behind, each was stunned by the passion they found in the other.
After a long moment, they stopped, eyes searching each other.
"Wow," she breathed.
Clark smiled. "Yeah."
They reached for each other again, this time the kiss even more insistent and passionate. It was a meeting of souls, a sense of deep recognition, as they each silently gave a promise to the other.
Eventually it was Clark who pulled away the second time.
"I--I have--never--" Lois began, inarticulate for once.
Clark held back a little smile. "I always suspected..."
She laughed warmly. "Well, wish you had shared that bit of information sooner!"
She leaned into the crook of his arm, feeling protected, safe. Loved. She didn't want to leave his side tonight.
"Clark? Could we maybe watch a movie or something? I just don't want to go to bed just yet."
"Sure," he said, reaching for the remote.
So they settled into the sofa, for a quiet night in Smallville together.
