“The villain is vanquished, my lady,” he said with a smile and a courtly bow.

And Clark. Oh, how she would love a hug from her friend right now!

“Of course I came,” he said, smiling down at her. “You needed me.”

Just then his hearing kicked in, tuned to a familiar voice. “That’s it! You are dead meat, buster! Just because I left the window cracked does not give you the right to invade my home. You picked the wrong place and the wrong girl, and definitely the wrong day, and now you’re going to get it!”

Not waiting to x-ray her apartment, Clark changed direction and rocketed to Lois’s rescue. As he pulled the window wider, he heard a thwack and a crash, then Lois let out a scream and a “Son of a—Where did you go? Come back here, you—“

Clark landed directly in front of Lois and quickly surveyed the scene. Lois stared at him wide-eyed, a kitchen towel in one hand and an angry red welt beginning to rise on the back of the other. A puddle of water was spreading around the shards of glass that were the remnants of Lois’s coffee pot. The coffee machine itself lay on the floor in the middle of the mess. A fast scan of the apartment revealed Lois’s bag and a pair of pumps on the floor near her front door and an open pizza box on her kitchen table next to a paper towel, which acted as a plate for one of the pizza slices. A paperback book lay on the floor at the bottom of a small waterfall of cream soda that trickled off the table. There was, however, no sign of an intruder.

He turned back to Lois. “The villain is vanquished, my lady,” he said with a smile and a courtly bow.

But Lois didn’t smile at his corny joke. To his consternation, he saw her face begin to crumple before she bit her lip and took a ragged breath, obviously trying to hold back tears.

Clark frowned and stepped closer to her, the hand actually grasping her shoulder this time. “Lois? What’s the matter?” She blinked at him once or twice, but didn’t answer.

She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t. Especially not in front of Superman. There was nothing to cry about, anyway. It had just been a bad day. A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, that was all. She could really use a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. And Clark. Oh, how she would love a hug from her friend right now! But Clark wasn’t here, and he wouldn’t be there tomorrow, either, so she’d have to muddle through without him.

Superman’s deep voice rumbled down at her. “Here, Lois,” he said, leading her to the living room.

She shrugged and added with a wry half-smile, “Not unless you can make Clark magically appear.”

Then she saw his reflection in the darkened window. He met her eyes in the glass, and she new.

“Oh, Clark!” she breathed. “I love you so much! It was such a rotten day, and by the end of it, all I wanted was you.”

He kissed her again, tenderly this time, and held her close.

“Well, here I am, and I always will be, for as long as you want me.”

“That could be a very long time,” she warned him.

She heard his sigh in her ear as he hugged her even closer. “I sure hope so,” was all he said.

It began with the alarm clock—the one that Lois opened bleary eyes to find blinking at her: 12:00, 12:00, 12:00.

She was due to meet him in—she glanced at her watch—twenty-five minutes!

She managed the feat without tripping down the stairs, but not without smearing her hands, legs, and skirt with wet tree debris.

where she had to pick up a dozen bagels and an order of blintzes
[…]
Bobby took the bag and looked into it. “Two, four, eight…” he muttered. Then he gave Lois a sharp look. “There are twelve bagels in here. Saul’s sells them by the baker’s dozen.” He held out his hand in a “fork it over” gesture.

her coffee had been cold every time she’d reached for it, and, she thought miserably, she really, really missed Clark.

She looked up to see a huge, ugly wasp hovering six inches above her soda can, then landing on the lip of its opening.

It was the last straw.

Just then his hearing kicked in, tuned to a familiar voice. “That’s it! You are dead meat, buster! Just because I left the window cracked does not give you the right to invade my home. You picked the wrong place and the wrong girl, and definitely the wrong day, and now you’re going to get it!”

Not waiting to x-ray her apartment, Clark changed direction and rocketed to Lois’s rescue.

He crossed to the table, cupped the offending insect in his hands, and released it out the window, closing the window-latch behind it.

He turned back to Lois. “The villain is vanquished, my lady,” he said with a smile and a courtly bow.

Trying not to get her hopes up, Lois forced herself to walk calmly to the door and look through the peep-hole. He did! He had!

“Oh, honey! I’m sorry!” He picked up her hand and kissed the stung spot. “Better?” he asked.

Swiftly, he came to stand in front of her and gathered her to him. “Hey, it’s okay,” he soothed. “It was just a bad day. Tomorrow will be better.” One hand came up to stroke her hair. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

“Oh, Clark!” she breathed. “I love you so much! It was such a rotten day, and by the end of it, all I wanted was you.”

“Well, here I am, and I always will be, for as long as you want me.”

“That could be a very long time,” she warned him.