Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK - Trusting Me, Trusting You 2:Bridge (13/?)

Clark scanned the room. "We should clear this stuff away."

"Yeah," she agreed. "A few of these things would be really hard to explain."

"Like the Winnie the Pooh sleeping bag?" Clark said, his tone suddenly imbued with a definite whiff of teasing. "And the apple-scented conditioner?"

Lois scrutinised his face before replying and saw no trace of shadows. "And the almost-finished-and-then-pulled-apart-again jigsaw puzzle?"

Clark tried to rein in his smile, and the effect - eyes that were lit with amusement and a mouth that hovered alluringly on the precipice of laughter - was electric. His eyes narrowed. "Have you been spying on me, Ms Lane?" he asked.

His feigned sternness called to something within her. Something she thought had been left in the dark place where Linda had died. Something that couldn't help but respond to him. "Absolutely," she said with a jaunty grin.

Clark pursed his lips and sucked in a hissed breath. "I'll have to be more careful around you." Before she could reply, he sprang to his feet and offered her his hand.

Lois smiled, remembering his self-conscious reaction when their fingers had collided over a jigsaw piece. His progress was remarkable. She had to keep reminding herself that there *had* to be damage. Alien ... human ... it didn't matter. *No one* could suffer what he had suffered and not be terribly wounded.

She slid her hand into his, knowing that his gesture - and her response - would not be trivial and insignificant to him.

He smiled as his large hand closed around her smaller one.

She'd never met anyone who appreciated the tiny things the way Clark did.

He pulled her to her feet. She didn't withdraw her hand, he didn't loosen his, and suddenly, they were standing together, connected.

She stared into his brown eyes.

His beard parted, and he smiled.