From part 6 ...
Instead of seeming relieved, however, Clark just looked even more distraught. "But that's just the problem, Lois!" His eyes begged her to understand. "I need you to care about him ... to be willing to put up with him."
Sitting up a little straighter on his lap, Lois furrowed her brow, now completely baffled. "Put up with him? You mean because he's your friend? Clark, he's my friend, too! I don't mind if he comes to you with his problems -- I want him to. He does so much good in the world ... of *course* I want us to be there to help him, to support him. He doesn't have to help us in our investigations or wash our dishes or ... or ... fly us to our choice of vacation spots to earn his keep! We don't *put up* with him, Clark -- we support him because he's our friend!"
He looked somewhat reassured, but there was clearly something still eating at him. "But do you think he'd be good boyfriend material? Or maybe someday ... husband material?" He swallowed. "Even if you had to share him with the rest of the world?"
"Even if I had to share him? Clark, you have totally lost me!" she said, throwing up her hands. "I've been assuming all day that you've been feeling insecure about how you measure up to Superman, but now it almost sounds like you *want* me to have a crush on him!"
Searching her face, Clark brought his palm up to cup her cheek, clearly attempting to gather his courage. "Now that I know you love me," he began softly, "I guess I just need to know if you can love all of me ... not just the ordinary man."
As the words filtered, Lois stared at him for a long moment. Slowly, she reached up to pull off his glasses, then gasped as she studied his bare face. "Oh ... my ... God."
*****
and now, the conclusion ...
*****
More nervous than he'd ever been in his life, Clark watched as Lois's face went through several emotions in a row ... shock, disbelief, outrage ... then extreme embarrassment. She dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. "I can't believe I actually said that to you last spring, the ordinary man stuff," she finally mumbled.
"Are you mad?" he whispered, half-dreading the answer.
"At the moment, I'm more horrified over telling Superman I was in love with him hours after telling you I didn't feel that way." She swallowed. "But don't think you're out of the woods; I'll probably get to mad eventually, maybe after we get home tomorrow."
Clark sighed in relief, closing his eyes in silent thanks. "So you're not going to leave? I was scared you were going to storm off and head back to Metropolis alone. Or maybe kick me out."
She stared at him, still looking shell-shocked, but gave her head a little shake. "No, I think we have a lot to talk about ... you're not getting rid of me that easily." She studied his face for another moment, then reached up to push his hair back off his forehead. "Oh, God," she whimpered as she saw the results. "I can't believe this is happening."
"Honey, you have to believe me--" Suddenly his head lifted and, after listening for a moment, Clark grimaced. "Um, actually, do you mind if we take this inside? I've been keeping half-an-ear open since we started talking about you-know-who, but I'm beginning to hear activity on some nearby balconies and I don't want anyone to overhear us."
Lois moved to the opposite side of the wall. "Oh, sure," she grumbled. "You're willing to have sex in an outdoor hot tub, but heaven forbid anyone hear us talking."
Clark rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the water. "Lois, we weren't going to have se--" He stopped and stared at her, eyes wide. "Were we?"
She made a sound of exasperation. "Well, not *now*!"
Wincing, Clark opened the sliding glass door into the living room and picked up his towel. "Me and my big mouth," he muttered. "I couldn't have slipped up later on tonight, now could I?" When Lois's jaw dropped in disbelief, he quickly put up his hands in surrender and gave a nervous laugh. "I was kidding! It was a joke, I swear."
She rolled her eyes right back at him. "Right."
"It was!" he protested. "Honey--"
"Clark, will you please quit honeying me and just get me my towel?"
"Oh ... sorry." He quickly finished drying himself and exchanged his wet towel for Lois's dry one. "Here you go." When she hesitated, however, he cocked his head. "What's wrong?"
She grimaced. "Nothing ... it's just cold and I'm gearing myself up for freezing to death until I can get inside."
Clark's expression softened. "I won't let you freeze," he assured her. He held up her towel and stared at it for a moment, using his heat vision to warm it. "Come here."
After another moment's hesitation, Lois stood up only to be wrapped immediately in the waiting towel. "Wow," she whispered. "This does feel good."
Giving her a little smile, Clark scooped her up into his arms and floated her into the living room, sliding the glass door shut behind them. Only when they were safely inside did he release her legs, bringing her to stand right in front of the fireplace. "Do you want me to dry you off?" he asked quietly, pointing to his eyes when she just looked at him, confused. "With my heat vision, I mean?"
"Oh ..." Lois said breathlessly, looking a little shell-shocked again. "No ... thanks. I can manage."
"OK, um, I'm just gonna clean up outside ... I have the turn the jets off and I don't want to leave the chocolate out there overnight. Do you still have my glasses, by the way?"
Lois looked down at her hand. "Um, yeah ... sorry." She held them out. "Sorry, they're a little wet."
"Can you please just put them on the mantle?" he asked, his voice soft. "I won't be needing them anymore tonight."
She stared at him for a moment. "You look ... really different without them."
Clark gave her a little smile. "I think that helps with the disguise."
"And which person is the disguise?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Who are you?"
He felt like he'd been sucker-punched. "Lois, it's me ... Clark." He could hear a tremble in his voice. "Superman is just an identity I created to be able to use my powers in public. He didn't exist before I came to Metropolis, before he saved you on the Messenger. Everything you and I have gone through together ... everything we've said to each other, it's all me."
She swallowed, hard. "OK ... it's just hard to figure out who I'm talking to, that's all."
Clark nodded, trying to understand how big of a shock this was for her. "Maybe this will help," he said, then quickly spun out of his bathing suit and back into his jeans and flannel shirt.
When he came to a stop, Lois's eyes opened wider and her mouth fell open. "Wow," she whispered. Then she pulled the towel a little more tightly around her body. "Can you, um, please hand me my clothes?" she asked, clearly fighting to regain her equilibrium. "I can't do that spin thing so I need to get dressed the old-fashioned way."
"Lois--" He took a half-step towards her, needing to know that she understood, but she held up a hand, holding him off.
"Clark," she said, her eyes pleading with him. "*Please*."
He hung his head, and then did as she'd asked.
*****
Clark sat cross-legged on the living room carpet, staring into the fire, disheartened. It had been twenty minutes since Lois had fled to the bathroom to change into her clothes, time that felt like an eternity as he sat alone, contemplating his fate. Things had been very quiet on the other side of the condo; at least, he hadn't heard any ranting, raving or cursing from her. But in a way, he would almost welcome having her yell at him, just to get them talking again. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to spin into his clothes in front of her ... could she possibly be frightened of him now? The fact that she had called him Clark gave him a little bit of hope, but he couldn't help but worry that he had truly ruined things, just as he'd feared.
Finally, he heard the click of the door and he turned, half-hopeful, half-afraid. She was standing, uncertain, at the edge of the dimly-lit room, dressed once more in the button-down shirt and jeans that she'd been wearing at dinner. He didn't dare x-ray her to see if she'd added a bra.
"Hi," he said softly, searching her face. She didn't seem to be overtly angry, which he took as a good sign, but the way she was eyeing him so warily made his heart sink. "Are you OK?"
"Under the circumstances, I think I'm holding together pretty well."
Clark swallowed. "I know ... and I'm sorry. I was just getting a little worried since it had been so long. I didn't mean to push."
Lois sighed and walked towards him, waving him back down as he began to stand up. "I was just having a little panic attack in the bathroom, that's all. Kind of like yours this afternoon--" Suddenly she stopped and pursed her lips. "But I guess you didn't actually have a panic attack in the bathroom this afternoon, did you?" she added, her voice tinged with sarcasm. "You were rescuing that man from the chairlift the whole time."
Clark winced. "Um, yeah ... I wanted to tell you then, Lois, but there were so many people and--"
"Save it, Clark." She stood in front of the fire, looking down at him. "So just tell me ... was the whole thing made up? The fear on the chairlift and all of it?" Her voice had become unsteady and he heard her give a little sniffle.
He looked up quickly. "Lois, no ... none of it was made up. I ... I do tend to get claustrophobic if I'm feeling trapped. I have some competing theories about why, if you're ever interested, but the important thing is you were a huge help to me today. I generally try to just force my way through it, mind over matter, but I was struggling up there and you really helped." Under the intensity of her stare, Clark looked down at his lap, embarrassed. "Your hero isn't perfect," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."
With a heavy sigh, Lois dropped down on the floor beside him, crossing her legs as she sat. "You don't have to be perfect, Clark. That's not why I'm with you." She paused and then added grudgingly, "And I guess I can see why you couldn't tell me as Superman today. There were a lot of people around."
He met her eyes, grateful. "I've been trying to tell you all weekend, Lois. That's actually why I invited you here, to give us some time alone and some privacy, so we could talk."
"But why did you wait until this weekend?" she asked, throwing up her hands. "I thought we were friends! I can see why you'd need to keep this a secret from the world, but why from me? Why for this long?" She sniffled again. "I thought I meant something to you."
Clark shifted so they were facing each other and clasped her hands in his. "Lois, you mean everything to me," he said urgently. "*Everything.* That's why we're here now. You're the only person I've ever told this to." He paused briefly. "Well, I told Jason Trask back when we were in Smallville, but that was only because he was going to kill me and my parents and then probably go after you if I didn't, so I was pretty desperate. But you're the only person I've ever wanted to tell. I swear, that's the truth."
She gave a little gasp. "So that was all true, too, with Trask? The Kryptonite ... Clark, he almost killed you!"
He nodded and gave her hands a little squeeze. "But he didn't, thanks to you getting Rachel there when you did. But I think you can see why I've been running scared of anyone else finding out."
Lois pulled her hands back out of his grasp. "I'm not just anyone," she shot back defiantly.
"No ... no, you're not. But when was I supposed to tell you, Lois? When we first met, you made it very clear that I was nothing more than an annoyance. And then when Superman showed up, you didn't see me at all. You said it yourself earlier, Lois ... you put him up on a pedestal, and suddenly I was in competition with myself. And I was losing ... badly."
She had the good graces to look embarrassed, tucking her hair behind her ear self-consciously. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I wasn't very nice to you back then."
He gently touched her knee, letting her know it was all right. "And then once we did become friends and I started to wonder if we might someday be more than that, you started dating Lex Luthor. That scared the hell out of me."
"Scared for me?" She looked up into his eyes. "Because you knew he was a criminal?"
Clark nodded, then averted his gaze. "And for myself," he admitted. "He hated Superman ... even more than I hated him, which is saying something. If he'd ever found out about me, Lois--" Clark had to stifle a shudder. "My parents, my friends ... I couldn't take that chance. All I could do was to work behind the scenes to try to bring him down, to try to find something tangible that would convince you that I wasn't making it all up."
"And I didn't believe you," she said softly. She shook her head, sighing miserably. "I really screwed that one up."
He gave a humorless laugh. "You weren't the only one, believe me. I messed up, too, Lois. There were so many other ways I could have handled things. A lot of my problems back then were of my own making." Clark shook his head. "I'd get insanely jealous every time you'd have a date with him and snap at you, which only made you mad at me. Or I'd underestimate him as Superman, whether because I was cocky or naive ... or both. And then I let myself wallow in rejection instead of fighting for you...." He sighed. "Anyway, you can see it wasn't my finest hour."
"Mine neither," she admitted. "I agreed to marry Lex when I didn't love him, and let him manipulate me into not trusting you." She looked up at him then. "But I told you last night, Clark ... I told Lex no at the altar, not because of Superman but because I couldn't stop thinking about you. And even though we were both too scared to be honest after it was all over, I did try to make it up to you. We got close then, Clark, really close. These last six months ... I've considered you my best friend!"
"I know ... I know, Lois. And I've felt the same way." Clark sighed. "But after that whole mess in the park, and then with Superman in your apartment.... It just got so weird! I mean, I'd finally gotten you back; how was I supposed to tell you that I was so hurt that afternoon that I wasn't thinking straight and hurt you right back? We were awkward enough around each other back then, after Luthor died. If I'd told you that it was me in your apartment that night--" He shook his head. "I thought you'd hate me." Then he looked into her eyes. "But you have to believe me, Lois ... once we started dating, everything changed. I've been wanting to tell you, even trying to tell you. I couldn't stand having this secret between us."
She was quiet for a long moment, staring at her lap, and Clark felt his heart sink. Could she ever forgive him? Would she ever be--
"OK," she finally said.
He furrowed his brow. "OK?"
"OK. I believe you."
Clark released a deep breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, feeling the tension drain out of his shoulders. "Thank you."
"I guess I can see how you've been trying to tell me for awhile. You've been dropping hints all weekend." She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I didn't pick up on them. I mean, my *God*, Clark, constantly talking up Superman like that? What were you thinking??"
He blushed. "I freaked myself out ... you kept going on and on about how you wanted me, Clark, and how you didn't want to date Superman. I was thrilled at first, since I've spent the last year and a half wishing you'd fall in love with me instead of my creation. But then I realized that you'd have to care about him, too, if we were to have a future together. So I panicked."
Lois sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "You dope!" she exclaimed, her exasperation clear as she slapped him across the knee. "Clark, the reason I've been talking like that all weekend is because I thought you were feeling insecure about my feelings! I thought you were fishing for compliments!"
"I was," he chuckled, ducking his head in embarrassment. "But for him!"
As the tension started to break, Lois buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she laughed. But as another thought occurred to her, she lifted her head in disbelief, looking at him like he was insane. "And that's another thing ... did you really think I'd care about how fast Superman can do dishes?" she asked. "Or how he could help on our investiga--" Suddenly, her eyes opened wide. "Oh my God! All that work stuff you were talking about, you already *do* that!" She slapped him on the leg again, a little harder this time. "No wonder you get so many Superman exclusives!"
Clark cringed, but took comfort in the fact that she didn't seem to be as outraged as she sounded. "Well, yeah ... but you get Superman exclusives, too!" he dared to point out. "I do try to divvy them up a bit, to let some other papers into the mix, but I usually give the Planet first crack at them."
"Well, I would certainly hope so!"
He chuckled with her, but after a moment, he became more serious. "God, Lois," he sighed, taking her hand once more. "I was so scared ... I was sure you were going to be furious with me."
Sobering, she looked down for a moment, but she turned her hand in his to intertwine their fingers. "I can't promise I'm not going to get mad at you, Clark," she told him quietly. "Things keep coming into my head, things that make sense now that didn't before, or stories you told me that I now realize weren't the full truth. It's going to take me some time to deal with all of this. Maybe a lot of time."
Clark took a shaky breath. "I'll give you all the time you need," he promised. "I just don't want to lose you."
She looked up at him, then reached out a hand to stroke his cheek. "We'll work it out," she said reassuringly. "We might have some heavy conversations, but you're not going to lose me."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment at the contact, realizing how much he'd been craving her touch, then he held out his arms. "Come here." Without hesitation, Lois leaned forward and let herself be pulled into his lap. "Thank you," he whispered, holding her close. "For being so understanding."
Lois gave him a hug, then ran her hand up to his forehead to push his hair back again. "You're just lucky I love you so much," she told him, looking into his eyes. "Ordinary man or not, I think you're pretty special. So you're stuck with me." Then she paused, biting her lip. "Unless ... you eventually decide that you aren't interested in such an ordinary woman?"
Clark's eyes opened wide at her words, and he cradled her even closer to him. Cupping her cheek with his hand, he gave her an emotional smile. "Lois, believe me ... you are the most extraordinary woman I've ever met. You're smart, talented, beautiful...." When she just stared up at him, her eyes dark and luminous, he slowly lowered his mouth to hers, eyes fluttering closed as their mouths met in a tentative yet tender kiss. Before he could deepen it, however, he felt Lois's body begin to tremble in his arms. Afraid that she'd begun to cry, Clark instantly pulled back, concerned. "Lois? I mean it, honey ... I think you're extraordinary!"
As he looked into her face, however, he was amazed to find that, far from crying, his girlfriend was shaking with barely controlled laughter. "You bet I'm extraordinary," she finally managed to choke out. "This afternoon, I turned Superman into a human snowball!"
Clark groaned. "Oh, God, I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
She grinned at him. "Nope."
He gave a good-humored roll of his eyes. "Well, technically, it was a Kryptonian snowball."
Lois jabbed a finger into his chest. "Which reminds me, you have a lot of questions to answer, mister! I might not be able to think of everything I want to ask you tonight, but you and I are going to spend a lot of time together talking over the next several days."
Clark took a deep breath, then gave her a smile. "That sounds wonderful."
Pressing a kiss to his mouth, Lois pushed herself off his lap and stood up. "OK, then, come on," she instructed, holding out her hand to him.
Cocking his head in confusion, Clark followed suit and stood, intertwining their fingers. "Where are we going?"
"To sleep," she said simply. "It's been a very long day."
At her words, Clark hesitated. "Lois? Are you sure?" He motioned to the couch. "I know this has been a shock and if you'd rather I slept out here ..."
"You don't have to do that, Clark." She gave him a knowing smile. "Besides, we have some unfinished business in the bedroom."
His eyebrows rose and he couldn't help but steal a glance at the hot tub outside. "Lois?" he whispered, not daring to hope. "Are we--?"
She shook her head, but smiled as she came closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No," she replied, her voice dropping to a more intimate murmur. "But as I recall, someone still owes me a full body massage." She pulled his lips down to hers for a kiss. "And we both know that Superman doesn't break promises."
Beaming, Clark scooped her up into his arms. "I love you, Lois Lane," he assured her, his heart welling up with happiness. "More than words can ever express."
"And I love you, Clark Kent," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. As she felt them leave the ground, however, Lois raised an eyebrow. "So is this another one of those benefits of being with Superman you wanted to tell me about?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips.
Clark just grinned and let his eyes twinkle at her as they floated through the bedroom door. "Honey, you ain't seen nothing yet."
*****
The End.
Kathy Brown
kathyb@lcfanfic.com
