AHHH!!! Happy reading! Happy sigh! Such a nice way to jump back into reading. Didn't get to comment on the other 2 parts before, so I'll just smush it all together in this part.
Loved how Lois' natural instinct was to run to Clark for comfort after her sucky date and had to admire the part where she dumped dinner on Mr. Octopus.
“It was the way you were looking at me. At least, I think you were,” she explained. “I've... seen that look before. I'm not being mean, Clark, but you were all puppy-eyes and rapt admiration.
That IS how he was looking though...all cute and pathetic and smitten.
Ever since... him... she'd only dated men who meant nothing at all to her. To whom she was moderately attracted; whom she could kiss, and enjoy kissing, without feeling anything deeper. Without ever being tempted to want more or to give more.
Really thinking that Clark needs to go find Claude and pummel him to a lovely shade of black and blue for making Lois such a neurotic nut.
Because Clark, she knew with a sudden shock, was the one real, down-to-earth man she could feel something for, if she let herself. The only man, since... him... who could persuade her to believe that love really existed. And who could really hurt her, far more than he ever had.
She swallowed, realising that she had to do this convincingly. She had to be calm, collected, casual, giving no hint of the turmoil she'd felt while coming to her decision. She wouldn't be needlessly cruel, but on the other hand she couldn't be too concerned about hurting Clark's feelings: being cruel to be kind was probably the best...
He was removing his hand from hers. And he was standing up. And, when she looked at him, his expression was withdrawn, his eyes behind the geeky glasses showing no emotion.
NO! NO! NO!!!! Stupid Lois, you had to go and actually figure things out...and take 20 minutes of awkward silence to do it in!!! And you off course had to come up with the absolute wrong approach to the situation - good job, Wendy - Lois written to a T!!!
“What have they got that I haven't, Lois?” he asked, more in despair than bitterness. “Those guys you date... I know you're not in love with any of them. If you're in love with anyone, I'd have thought it was Superman, anyway. You don't spend time with them the way you spend time with me. I don't think you even like some of them. What's wrong with me, Lois? What don't I have that you want?”
/me knocks Lois out of the way and hugs Clark! Nothing, absolutely nothing!!! You're perfect...well, ok, not perfect, you are a lunkhead after all, but other than that, you're perfect! And she's just a twit...so you should just come live with me, ok?
Sorry, got a little side-tracked there....
I love how she finally admits what she's afraid of and why she couldn't take a chance on them as a couple - the theory that CLark is dangerous because he's the only one that really means something to her and the only one with the power to hurt her. Very well conveyed in this part.
And I really liked that revelation, very calm. <g> And it's a nice little addition against Lois' argument about Superman being safe because he could never love her in return. Bravo, Clark!
