Epilogue
Clark stopped in front of the Daily Planet building and looked up at the globe on the roof. He’d stood here like this on the day he’d interviewed with Perry White, almost three years before. Some of the best years of his life had been spent working in this building, and now he was returning.
It felt like coming home.
Even so, he was nervous. When Perry White had signed off on his transfer three weeks earlier, Clark had chosen not to tell Lois he was coming home, wanting to surprise her. But now that he was here he was second guessing his decision.
In the three weeks that had passed since she’d left Paris, they hadn’t been able to spend much time together. Wrapping up his assignments at the European bureau, attempting to find somewhere to live in Metropolis, and his ever-present Superman duties, had all taken up so much of his time that he’d barely seen Lois. Adding into the mix the fact that Lois wasn’t all that fond of surprises, and he just wasn’t sure what sort of a reception he was going to get.
Well, it had to be faced. Squaring his shoulders, he adjusted his grip on the box he was carrying and entered the building.
It was still early; the bulk of the day staff wouldn’t be arriving for at least another half an hour. He’d timed his arrival deliberately, wanting to avoid being stopped by one of his colleagues and possibly missing Lois’ entrance.
Depositing his box of belongings on his old desk, he went to check in with Perry.
***
Lois was in a foul mood.
Since she'd had to leave Clark at the airport three weeks earlier, things had seemed bleaker than ever. She'd only seen him twice since, not counting the brief moments of conversation when they’d met at the scene of a Superman rescue - their schedules, time differences and his Superman duties had gotten in the way. And while he called every night without fail, it just wasn't the same.
She missed Clark.
Stupidly, she'd thought it would be like before she went to Paris. She'd miss him, yeah, but it would be a low-grade thing, like a distant ache. Not this grinding, yearning loneliness. She sighed. She'd either have to get used to it ... or work on Perry to get Clark back to Metropolis, where he belonged.
The elevator doors opened with a cheerful ding at odds with her mood. She took two steps out ... and then paused at the railing.
Someone had left their stuff all over Clark's desk. Incensed, she stormed into the bullpen, intending to remove the offending items and tear strips off the person responsible. But as she got closer to the desk, something caught her eye and stopped her in her tracks
A shiny gold nameplate. A very familiar, shiny gold nameplate.
Wonderingly, she picked it up and traced her index finger over the name engraved on its surface. She remembered how proud he’d been when Perry had presented him with his first nameplate - not this one; the original had been destroyed in the blast commissioned by Lex. Surely she was dreaming? She ran her finger over the lettering one more time to make sure.
Clark Kent
He was back!
She spun, looking for him. Her eyes searched the newsroom- until they found him, standing next to her desk with that megawatt grin she loved and her coffee mug in his hand.
***
“Clark! You're back!”
She ran to him and hugged him tightly before letting him go so she could look up at him.
“How long for?” she questioned.
“Permanently. That is, if you'll have me?”
The question was supposed to come out lightly. After all, they'd never spoken about things like commitment, permanence or what kind of future they had. But his question had come out loaded with so much more meaning than just the offer of a permanent work partnership.
“Oh, Clark.”
He braced himself for her withdrawal. Instead, to his surprise and delight she pulled his head down and kissed him deeply in full view of the interested newsroom staff.
“Stay forever.”
They stood for a few moments, smiling at each other, both aware that something momentous had passed between them and oblivious to the catcalls and cheering from the rest of the newsroom staff.
The mood was broken by Perry's gruff bark.
“Get back to work. This is a newsroom, not happy hour at Buckingham Palace!”
He clapped Clark on the shoulder as he went back to his office.
Clark followed Lois back to her desk. Later, they needed to talk - after all, he'd practically proposed in the middle of the newsroom, and she'd accepted - but right now, he had a lot to catch up on.
He leant over Lois' shoulder.
"So… what are we working on?"
THE END
Last edited by NostalgiaKick; 08/28/15 08:48 PM.
