I really liked Don't See You Hurt, so I'm glad that we're getting more of this!
“You don’t have to take me to fancy places,” she hedged anyway.
She withdrew from his light embrace and pulled back. Suddenly, it dawned on her why she felt so uncomfortable. The last fancy dinner abroad had been with Lex. Lois looked into Clark's eyes.
This is such a great touch, and so smart to link these experiences together in her mind. That's such a human thing to do!
There's just so much I never had the chance to share with anyone.
He always knows just the right thing to say!
She'd never really pondered the implications of having to share him with the world. He'd seemed too unattainable, the perfect man she could safely love from afar. Even now that she knew, Clark’s gentleness made easy to forget that there was also this other side of him.
I love the way you work through this, because it's so easy to absentmindedly separate them into 2 entities, and it's great to watch Lois parse this.
She didn’t want to imagine what Clark was forced to see inside that building.
That's so real. I feel like this detail is glossed over too often.
“Nooo!” Superman’s shout drowned out the others.
Oh no! This was so unexpected and you really got the feeling of surprise and panic here - it happens so fast!
She’d told herself that she was only going to adjust her strategy, but she lacked the strength to fight her way through yet more defensive lines.
This really hits!
But the man behind her wasn’t a guard. He was wearing a cap, horn-rimmed glasses, and baggy pants – the old man she’d seen outside. But he wasn’t old.
Such a good fake-out!!
But he eased into the hug, sagged into it more likely, until it was hard to tell who steadied whom.
Awwww.
Then he averted his eyes, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants and shuffling his feet.
This is a picture perfect description of this character!
“Thanks, I have everything I need.”
Except for you, she thought.
This is SUCH a great line!
“Snap out of it, Clark. It's just a scratch.”
So satisfying to see her get to say this! Exactly the kind of push he needs when he does this!
...the place too obvious for her to immediately notice it in her current state of mind.
This is so exactly, PERFECTLY how the mind works in these panicked situations!
...Seems like he learned a thing or two from you.” A wry smile played around his lips.
I love their banter! You captured it here so well!
For a moment, he didn’t seem to move but for his eyes that skimmed the text and his lips that became tighter with every line.
This is such a smart way to clue us what's happening!
<You will suffer, Lane. I’ll take everything you love from you. Killing Superman is just the first step.>
Properly CREEPY!
But never before had someone threatened to kill people she loved.
Can't remember if I said this in the FDK for the original fic, but it's just so fun to read about this happening the other way around from what we usually see/expect.
As he noticed Lois, he nodded toward the sleeping man and gave a slight roll of his eyes.
“You need to put a stop to this,” he whispered.
Oh, I just LOVE concerned and competent Jimmy!!
“Clark took the attack on Superman and me pretty hard.”
She hadn't realized how hard until now.
It's heartbreaking to watch her realize this!
But then she bit her lip, suddenly not sure it would really help Clark to know there were even more people at risk.
Very tricky to weigh this, knowing Clark's character!
When he wasn’t working, he was sleeping, at his desk, on the couch and once she’d found him sprawled across the spiral staircase in his apartment.
It's details like this that really lend his behavior credibility!
It was the first time in days he didn’t just touch her in passing.
I always look forward to the riveting pace of your stories and this didn't disappoint!
