Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: And Then There Was Light 17/22

"I'm dreaming again," he answered unabashedly. "I think I've been dreaming for over a week now."

"That's what friends do, isn't it?" I bit my lip and closed my eyes. It still sounded so weak, so pale, so...not enough. Not a lie, just...not the whole truth. But what truth could I speak? How could I tell him that he meant so much more to me than just a friend when Superman had already admitted to me that he cared for me? How could I *not* tell him that thinking he was going to die had hurt more than hearing the news that Superman had probably died stopping Nightfall? Whatever I said, I would hurt one or the other, and yet I knew I needed to say something more, something a little closer to the truth.

"You're one ahead," I said with a warning note. As I had expected, the characteristic competitiveness made him subside. "So...you know the night we started this little tradition? I told you I couldn't sleep because you were in the room? Well," I grimaced. "That was a lie."

...

"I wasn't in the room," he observed quietly.

"I know." I refused to let him look away. "That's *why* I couldn't sleep."

A sense of purpose suddenly infused Clark's being, shining outward from his expression as he shifted to face me more fully. "Lois...there's something I need to tell you. It's about...why I left Metropolis with Superman. He and I...well, you see, he's my--"

I could have screamed in frustration when the sound of someone knocking on the door cut Clark's confession off mid-word. His expression turned panicked, and he glanced hurriedly to the window.

Besides, I had my own questions for Superman. Questions such as: where had he been earlier? Why didn't he ever show up when Clark was in danger? How had he let Nigel get away? Why wasn't he doing more to help us bring down Luthor? Where was he now? And--the question I had been wrestling with since visiting Superman's premature memorial--how had Luthor managed to capture Clark in the first place when Superman should have been guarding him?

Unwillingly, my eyes were drawn to Clark. I wanted *him* to be the one thing I could lean on, and he *could* be that thing...except for his unreasoning fear and suspicion of Superman. I had questions for the superhero, yes, but Clark...Clark had accusations.

I stared at him for a moment before forcing myself to realize that, of course, he meant the byline on our story, not...well, not the other option for combining our names.

But the next time a moment like that came, I promised myself, I would *not* let it slip away unused.