This is my first fic to be posted here so hopefully it's something people will enjoy! I've always wanted to see what happens when Lois finds out what was happening while she dealt with her feelings with the wedding so I decided to explore that in this short fic I'm working on. After a few more editing sessions I'll probably also post on AO3
Summary: Lois is finishing up a story only to be startled by Clark having a nightmare. But when she prods him about it she never expected what she'd learn
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It wasn’t uncommon for one of them to fall asleep, given how often their investigations ended up causing late night writing sessions. Sometimes it would happen in a Planet conference room, other times it would be at one of their apartments. However typically Lois was the one to doze first, her head rested comfortably on Clark’s shoulder as he continued to work as best he could without waking her. This had been common even before the two began dating, and now as they also spent their nights switching between investigation notes and trying to navigate the strange space of their relationship it became more of a habit than anything. Tonight though Lois sat at her laptop typing away as Clark rested between the couch cushions and the armrest, a soft snore escaping his lips every so often to break the monotonous typing noises.
“I guess that volcano in Guam took more out of you than we thought,” Lois quipped to no one and saved the most recent draft of their article. She stretched her arms above her head as she reread the opening sentence for the twentieth time. At this point they were long past the deadline for the morning edition so they’d have to settle for the evening edition instead. Though still a front page contender, it never felt as satisfying to Lois now that she had become accustomed to seeing the Lane and Kent byline each morning. She peeked over at the man who had stolen her heart, her attention focused on his every detail whin his slumber.
He always looked so different asleep. His shoulders didn’t droop in a way to hide his stature, nor were they postured in a way to bolster other’s confidence in his abilities. His glasses rested on the coffee table, something he had started doing more and more often ever since Lois learned the truth about his dual identities. Without the glasses and with his hair styled sans hair gel he looked like neither men, instead like some amalgamation of the two and yet something completely new at the same time. There was a gentleness to his features, something she never saw with the stoic Superman character. A confidence she would wonder how he hid as he played the bumbling Clark character. But there also held a vulnerability she never witnessed with either. This was something truly different: this was the man without any walls or smokescreens to hide behind. No lines of concerns as he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. No frown in frustration as she yet again never listened to his pleads that she stay put. No fingers rapping on a table as he worried if he were needed somewhere in the world.
She lingered only a moment more before she turned her attention back to the article at hand in hopes she could also catch a moment’s rest soon. The fatigue of the day had long since settled in her bones but she knew Perry would have their heads if they didn’t show up with a completed draft. Though quickly her awareness brought her eyes back towards her sleeping partner when she heard a low whimper. For the slightest of moments she thought her mind was simply playing tricks or something outside had managed to pierce through the apartment’s walls. But when she turned back to Clark her heart stopped. She stared and assessed his now pinched features; his face contorted from serene to anguish in only a few short moments. Clark repositioned in place slightly on the couch but otherwise showed no signs of leaving his slumber. Even if she wanted to reach out and wake him her body seemed to be frozen in place next to him, unable to help with whatever ailed him.
“Clark… Kent… Knows where I am…” He grit out between his teeth and Lois froze next to him. His voice sounded weak, as though he had to force the words from his mouth against some unknown force. Yet again he squirmed in his place on the couch and Lois felt her heart jumpstart from stopped to marathon sprint when he let out another whimper.
“C-Clark?” She stuttered out but still couldn’t find the strength to move. For a moment Clark lifted an arm as if reaching out for something and Lois caught the way it trembled in the air. After only a few second the appendage dropped to Clark’s lap and Lois finally found the ability to move her own body. She could feel her heartbeat pulse throughout her veins, against her neck and down to her fingertips as her mind raced to catch up with the terrifying situation.
“Who are you talking to?” Lois asked quietly next to him, her hands raised as if ready to grab him at any moment. She didn’t know if she expected her question to wake him up or for him to respond to her. His face continued to squeeze in agonizing pain and Lois began to run through anything and everything they’d faced that could possibly cause this.
“Luthor…” He continued, more groans escaping. After another moment a loud yelp caused her to jump and Clark clutched one of his hands to hist chest, cradling it as though it had been burned by something. She moved her head slightly in an attempt to check for any marks on it but it was nearly impossible due to his movements. On top of it all he began to cough again and again, his breathing now taken on a wheezing-like quality.
“Clark? Clark what’s wrong?” Lois asked as she moved her hands to shake him by his forearms. She had only just managed to rest a few fingers near his shoulder when he bolted out of his seat with an arm stretched out in front of him. Before she could even process what happened Clark crumpled to the floor as if the act of standing had been too much for his legs. Another loud moan fell from his lips before another coughing fit. Lois found herself also struggling for air and tears pricked at her waterline even as she tried to tamp down any emotions while the situation continued to go sideways. Her eyes surveyed the walls, the shelves, anything that could possibly lead to a clue, any clue as to what was happening. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No strange figure in possession of kryptonite. No angry arch nemesis enacting revenge.
“Lois… No… You can’t…” Clark whined as he twisted on the floor into fetal position. He curled further into himself before finally shouting her name, apparently waking himself up in the process. He panted over and over as if trying to catch his breath and Lois noticed a sheen of sweat on his brow. She waited with bated breath for what would happen next. Instead Clark remained on the ground, his eyes screwed shut as he gasped for air. Eventually when his breathing evened out and he seemed to no longer be in the midst of a coughing fit she made her move.
“Clark?” She asked and finally she saw his eyes open. It took another few seconds for him to turn his head in her direction but he didn’t move the rest of his body. She spoke his name once more and only as she stood over him did she realize she couldn’t see any brown due to his pupils being blown wide. There was a cloudiness to them, as if fear or adrenaline fogged his ability to see in front of him. She leaned down slowly until she sat on her knees next to him, careful not to spook him as though he were a frightened animal about to bolt. She held one hand against his cheek, just as he had done time and time again when she felt the world would collapse at any moment.
“Lois?” He whispered in confusion, as if he hadn’t realized she was there in his apartment with him. Slowly his pupils contracted and she could see him returning to her from wherever his mind had transported him.
“Clark,” Lois began and she leaned so her forehead touched his, “What just happened?”
Clark seemed to draw comfort in the touch and closed his eyes yet again. She caught sight of his lip quiver slightly before he drew in a breath and pulled away. Offering only a shrug he responded with a small “I don’t know”.
“You were asleep then suddenly you started thrashing around and coughing. Was it a nightmare or something?” She further prodded only to watch as he moved to reach his arms around his legs as if closing himself. She caught his jaw tick, something that typically only happened when he was holding back his emotions.
“Something like that.” Clark responded quietly, though he looked away as he answered. She reached out to grab one of his hands, noting the clamminess as they entwined. He gave a reassuring squeeze back but it only further set off alarm bells in Lois’ mind.
“You said something about Clark knowing Superman and Lex were somewhere together.” Lois inquired further, still cautious in her movements and tone. She watched his entire body remain rigid, controlled in his every movement at her questioning. His gaze lingered on the nearby wall as if he had suddenly been made into a statue. She thought back to each of the times Lex had managed to worm his way into their lives. There was some answer here as to why Superman would feel the need to tell Lex that Clark Kent knew where they were. She peered down at his hands again, noting the one not held by her rested on the ground by his hip.
“It was just a nightmare,” Clark finally supplied and Lois realized he had started to move in an attempt to stand up. She squeezed the hand she held and placed her other arm on his chest to stop him. Immediately he stilled on the floor though Lois knew he would try to change the subject as soon as he reasonably could.
“Lois it’s late,” He began in that tone Lois knew all too well. The one he used whenever she pushed and prodded too much in an investigation. The one that made clear he felt whatever conversation or sleuthing needed to end immediately.
“No.” She huffed back and she was sure if Clark had been watching he would’ve seen a flash in her eyes. Even with the lingering fear from his outburst the famous Lois Lane temper rose. The clipped tone of her voice only further cemented she wouldn’t back down. Still, he looked anywhere but her as if this would somehow cause Lois to give up.
“Was it really just a nightmare?” She asked and this time she moved so he would be forced to come face to face with her. In response he shifted his gaze to his own lap and Lois immediately knew the answer.
“It wasn’t a nightmare, was it? You were remembering something that had happened with you and Lex,” She continued and once more was given confirmation when Clark’s jaw twitched again. She felt a small shudder leave her throat and paused for a moment to collect herself before she set Clark off even more. The strongest man in the world rarely allowed himself to show any signs of being vulnerable, even with her.
“He had kryptonite,” She finally realized as she played back the intense pain on Clark’s face, the effects of being burned during the dream. Her thumb smoothed against the back of his hand in an attempt to provide him some sort of comfort. She could see his other hand clench and unclench by his side but his face remained completely neutral.
“What happened Clark?” She asked, this time with a small amount of force between her words. She caught the small flinch he gave before he once again schooled his feature and that only egged her on more. And yet still he refused to open up, refused to look at her.
“Clark,” She practically snapped but her herself quickly. She let out a huff before she continued, knowing that they were dancing a fine line between Clark letting her know about his troubles and a full blown heated outburst ensuing.
“Please Clark, tell me what happened.” She repeated and continued to watch him.
“Lois I really think I should fly you home. I don’t want Perry to-” he protested and Lois found her self control shatter.
“No Clark,” She bit back at him, “I’m not leaving until you explain what’s going on. You always do this, even before we started dating. And you know all those stupid excuses I just chalked up to you being afraid of commitment because I didn’t know about the moonlighting in tights but now I do. So you are going to sit there until you tell me what the heck that brain of yours just did!”
If this had been a suspect for an investigation this would’ve been the point where Clark awkwardly diffused the situation before dragging her away to continue her tirade on the way back to the Planet. But this was different. She refused to budge here.
Her lips pursed in a sour expression as she studied his next move. This time his eyes peered over towards her once, twice and his jaw twitched again. Eventually her impatience won out and her mouth opened again.
“We promised each other no more secrets between us, everything out in the open. So please Clark, what happened with Lex?” She begged and squeezed his hand between hers again. Here she played dirty and gave a small pout in hopes to break down the walls just a little more so he would be vulnerable. and fear that managed to fill her veins.
“The night before the wedding… Luthor… He asked me to come to his wine cellar.” Clark began.
“His wine cellar? What, did he plan to get you drunk and try to shut you behind a brick wall?” She asked with a frustrated tinge to her voice. Her earlier frustration at having to draw out the information meant her old habit of distancing reared its ugly head no matter how much she worked on it with Dr. Friskin. She opened her mouth to apologize, that is until she watched Clark’s shoulders tense and his jaw tick yet again.
“Clark, did he try to bury you in his wine cellar with kryptonite?” She implored, dread once again filling her veins. Now her heartbeat rang in her ears and she prayed it wouldn’t drown out Clark’s answer.
“Not… Exactly…” He eventually acquiesced though his gaze continued to stare anywhere but her. In fact there felt as though he had put up the smokescreen again that Superman used whenever she had appeared on scene. Even through the veil of disguise she saw the raw pain as he recalled whatever memory haunted him. The fear that still gripped him years later.
“He asked that Superman and Clark come to your wedding,” He began again, “And I told him no. So he…”
Clark trailed off and Lois leaned closer.
“So he..?” She repeated and braced herself for where the story would turn.
“I- Looks, it’s not really a big deal Lois,” He tried to distract, “I promise I’m fi-”
Before he could even finish his false platitudes she pulled Clark to her chest in a hug. Lois held him close, positioning his head right in the middle of her breastbone to best hear her heartbeat. She took slow, controlled breaths so he could feel the rise and fall of her chest as her arms continued their unshakable embrace even though he didn’t move. She counted as each minute ticked by until eventually his arms moved to circle her torso until his hands were clasped behind her back. Only thirty seconds later whatever final wall crumbled and Clark’s stubbornness shattered along with it.
“He dropped a cage on me, “Clark began and Lois craned her head slightly to hear him better as already his voice took on a husky tone while he choked out the words, “One that had been infused with kryptonite. He had some sort of switch that could turn the intensity on and off. I’I was stuck in there the entire night. He was at least decent enough to only show back up before the ceremony though only to taunt me.”
Lois felt the way Clark shook against her as he trembled through the words. His voice cracked and he swallowed thickly before he continued.
“I can’t even describe what being in that cage was like. Kryptonite’s always been awful but for the most part I’ve only had to deal with it in short bursts. This, this went on for hours. It was like every inch of me was being electrocuted and set aflame and frozen all at the same time. If I tried to touch the bars they’d burn me. At some point my mind started to mix together, making me see hallucinations of you and Luthor standing over me. I-I couldn’t-”
He broke off again, this time for a sob to burst from his lips. She could feel her shirt dampen with his tears and she held him tighter in her arms. She continued her slow breaths in an attempt to keep her heart slow and comforting, even though she felt dread fill her to the core as she waited for him to continue. She knew the story wasn’t over, couldn’t be over given just how sadistic Lex Luthor was even to this day. the events.
“When he did finally show up I thought for sure he’d kill me. Instead he opened the cage so he could tell me all about how great of a day it was. Reminded me that it was him marrying you, not me. About how you were too independent but he’d fix that during the honeymoon.” Clark finally continued after several more wracking sobs. Lois felt her own blood simultaneously run cold and boil over all at the same time. Cold for the fate she had unknowingly been spared from. Boiling for the fate that Clark endured because she had been stupid enough to trust Lex in the first place.
“He hooked up the ceremony to speakers so I could hear everything. I tried ramming to door down but at that point I was so weak all I did was burn myself more. For some reason he left the key in what I guess he thought was far enough away I couldn’t reach it. Probably another way for him to taunt me. But I managed to get it and opened the door just as Perry had stopped the wedding. By the time Luthor had shown up screaming about getting his pound of flesh I’d managed to hide. But since I’d lost my powers there was nothing I could do when he jumped.”
And yet to this day Lex Luthor had managed to defy death, to curst Clark with his continued existence only months after these events. All the while she had been none the wiser, instead too focused on her own turmoil from the failed wedding and inability to see through Lex’s façade.
“Why,” She croaked before quickly clearing her throat, “Why didn’t you tell me? I saw the police report why didn’t Henderson tell me after they filed and closed the case? What happened to the kryptonite?”
“I didn’t really tell anyone. I mean people finding out Superman could be trapped? I can’t risk something like that getting out, even if I know Henderson wouldn’t knowingly spill the beans. The only people I mentioned it to were my folks and all I said was Luthor managed to get some kryptonite so I couldn’t save him.” Clark answered quietly and hugged Lois slightly harder. Not enough to hurt but enough to prove her attempt at comfort worked. Prove that even though she had practically wrestled the truth out of him this was something that needed to be brought to the light. Though Lois inferred what his story about telling his parents really meant.
“Clark you’ve kept this inside for years?” She asked but already knew the answer. Of course Clark had kept it to himself as he always did when it came to his alter ego.
“I managed to get out and Perry stopped the wedding before you could say ‘I do’ so everything worked out in the end. No reason to make my parents or anyone else worry about some that was already in the past,” Clark answered with a small shrug but Lois could see this secret weighed on him, the weight far more than he had let on.
“But that doesn’t explain the cage disappearing,” She responded and felt her own tears make tracks along her cheeks.
“After I broke out I didn’t have any powers, obviously. But when the switch for the kryptonite was off I only got mild symptoms. So that night I snuck in to break it all down and haul it away without anyone finding it.” He supplied and somehow that didn’t ease the pit in Lois’ stomach. Now she felt her own throat close as it always did when she cried. Her lower lip quivered as she steadied herself to ask more questions.
“You let me and Perry and Jimmy and Jack all sleep in your apartment that night and none of us even took a second to notice you were hurt.” She mumbled and put her chin on the top of his head. She cursed herself at the pity party she had thrown that night, the way she snapped at each and every one of them when they tried to ask her about how she was holding up. How no matter what awful, terrible things she had told Clark he never wavered from helping her back up from her explosive spiral.
“There were more important things to worry about that night,” Clark rebuked and finally lifted his head. She could see the way his cheeks were flushed and his eyes watered even though he tried to give one of his classic easygoing smirks. His hair had managed to become more ruffled due to how close she had held him but she didn’t care. All she cared about was righting the wrong even if it was years late.
“That sick, twisted perverted creep! Where are my keys?” Lois yelled and untangled herself from her partner. He stared at her dazed when she immediately stomped towards the front door for her purse. Without a glance back towards him Lois dug around in the bag, forgetting that they had not driven back to his place after they left work.
“Lois where are you going?” Clark asked as he too stood up and wandered towards her. But it didn’t matter. At this point Lois had already formulated a plan in her head and the perfect way to let her temper out while exacting revenge. With one hand still rooted fruitlessly in the purse she let out a terse huff.
“I’m going to the Metropolis Penitentiary and dealing with Lex myself. A double life sentence doesn’t even beging to describe the punishment he deserves. When I get my hands on him the guards will be lucky if there’s even a fingernail left for them to take back to his cell. I mean, who does he think he is? You’ve spent your life helping others with your powers and your smarts and by just being Clark and that wad of slime did this to you as thanks! And then had the gall to come back again after he chose to jump rather than go to prison only to cause issues yet again. And you know I should’ve broken off the engagement long before I told him I couldn’t marry him when I got to the alter. I can’t believe I-”
“Hey,” Clark broke into her rant and Lois finally paused in confusion as his question. At some point he had started pacing and had managed to end up in the archway in front of his bedroom. Clark stood by the banister for the front door stares and only then did she realize he had a goofy grin on his otherwise sullen face. Had she been in a different state of mind she would’ve teased him for looking at her as if she had hung to moon or something.
“What?” She huffed far more tersely than she intended given Clark had just finished baring his soul but her anger continued to overpower any rational thought in her brain. She waited for Clark to continue so she could ensure he would be okay being left alone while she committed manslaughter.
“You said you broke off the engagement.” He answered softly and took one solitary step closer.
“Right.” She responded slowly, not sure what Clark had been getting at with his statement. The man simply stared back, the light in his eyes now returning, dim though it still was. She opened her mouth to prod further when he spoke up again.
“But you didn’t. Perry and the cops stopped the wedding.” He responded, one more step in her direction. He watched her and finally the proverbial lightbulb went off in her head.
“No,” Lois countered slowly, “I stopped the wedding. I realized I couldn’t say ‘I do’ and had just told the archbishop and Lex this fact when Perry barged in with the calvary.”
“You stopped the wedding?”
Lois could practically feel the hope radiating from Clark with this new information.
“I stopped the wedding.” She confirmed yet again though this time she offered a small smile. She watched, now completely having forgotten about her plans for infiltrating Metropolis Penitentiary and instead focus on the man in front of her. Another few tentative steps and they stood in front of one another again.
“I guess we both ended up having secrets from that day,” Clark quipped but Lois knew there was no heat in his words. She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped right before he pulled her close again and kissed the spot where she parted her hair.
“I’m staying the night. Don’t fight me on this. I need to know that if the nightmare comes back I’ll be here. Please.” She begged and squeezed her eyes shut in hopes tears wouldn’t fall again.
“Even if it does, it doesn’t matter. Nothing else matter except that you Luthor you couldn’t go through with it,” Clark whispered and she wondered if he were still smiling as he placed more kisses to her crown. However the competitive side of her refused to back down and lose the not-quite-argument about being there.
“Clark you almost died! Even if the kryptonite didn’t kill you Lex wasn’t going to let you live. You can’t tell me that then expect me to go on with my night like everything’s fine. I’m staying mister and that’s final.” Lois argued weakly but knew Clark wouldn’t fight her. After all the man had proposed to her before all their recent relationship troubles. He reminded her again and again these past few weeks that he would wait for her. And even if he did act like a lunkhead sometimes she knew there was no way she could let him wait forever.
