A/N: Recognizable lines are from the House of Luthor episode.
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He’d woken optimistic about the day as he was feeling more and more like his super self, despite the absence of flight. The sun was shining brightly, and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen, quite different from the gloomy, overcast sky from the previous weekend. He spent the morning cleaning up his apartment, as everything had been left as it was for the past week. The extra blankets and pillows from his sudden guests last week were neatly folded, but hadn’t been put away, there was laundry to do, the kitchen to clean up, and if he was going to stay for a few days, groceries to be purchased. He hesitated once, when he approached the half packed boxes of books. Leaving them where they were, not sure if he should unpack them or not, he made himself a cup of tea, wanting a moment to sit and think before meeting Perry.
At the airport last night, while waiting for his flight, he’d stopped at the book store and browsed the large selection of newspapers. A tabloid caught his eye as a picture of Lois was on the front page. She was dressed comfortably in the same clothes she had been wearing last Saturday when she had been to his house, and Clark noticed the date on the front page. This was one of the weekly tabloids, dated on Sunday, and in the series of pictures, it was obvious that there were many reporters waiting on Lois’s front step. He’d put the tabloid back, and picked up another, showing similar images but from a day later. Seething, he’d placed the tabloid back on the shelf and picked up several other newspapers to see if there was anything in them. The only Metropolis newspaper this stand carried was the Star, and once the clerk had snarkily commented his store wasn’t a library, Clark reluctantly purchased it in the hopes of finding out some of the truth behind the tabloid headlines.
There had been two small articles, buried within the pages of city news, which hadn’t shone any light on why there were reporters harassing Lois. The one reporter had named Lois the ‘elusive Ms. Lane,’ the other had interviewed an anonymous source at LNN who revealed Lois had been fired. Clark’s flight had been announced at that moment and he’d stuffed the newspaper into the garbage, frustrated that he’d be stuck on the plane for the next few hours.
Once in Metropolis, he took a taxi home, and as soon as he’d dropped his luggage off, he changed into jogging pants and a light sweater, and headed outside. It had been almost midnight so he ran at a fast pace, hoping no one would notice the late night jogger sprinting through Metropolis. It hadn’t taken long to get to Lois’s home, and he was relieved to see no one hanging around. He hadn’t seen any lights on in Lois’s apartment, so after a brief inspection of the surrounding area to be sure there was no one watching her apartment overnight, he had turned and ran back home.
Back in his apartment, he’d checked the messages he’d been in too much of a hurry to check before. Perry had left a message asking to meet for lunch, and had a favour to ask. The little bistro he had suggested was one Clark was familiar with, and Clark had called Perry back in the morning to confirm he would be there. He was curious about the favour Perry wanted, and he had been hoping to get some advice on what to do for employment.
Placing his empty cup on the kitchen counter, he went to his room to change. His initial clothing selection had been a suit, as though he was going to work. Deciding that was too formal for a friendly coffee with his former boss, he tried jeans and a sweater, which now felt too casual to be asking his former boss for career advice. Compromising, he kept the jeans on, grabbed the shirt and added a blazer, but left the tie behind. Satisfied, Clark grabbed his wallet and keys, and headed towards the door, hesitating as he opened it.
Even without his power of flight, it didn’t feel right to be leaving the house underdressed as he was. It wasn’t as though he always went out with the Suit on underneath his regular clothes, but getting home, or getting to a Suit had never been an issue. Currently, without being able to fly home to change, if he encountered a situation he could help with, coming home would take longer. But was he ready to return? Did he want to return?
Closing the door firmly, he made his decision. Quickly changing again, this time with the Suit underneath his clothes, he prepared to leave once more. There was no chance he would be able to sit by while someone got hurt, or worse. He knew if he could help, he would, and it was safer for everyone in his life if he continued to do that as Superman, and not reveal who it really was behind the flashy Suit. Satisfied, he headed out into the sunshine, looking forward to the walk through the city.
When he arrived at the bistro, a server showed him to the booth Perry was occupying.
“Clark! Good to see you, son,” Perry exclaimed as he stood and enthusiastically shook Clark’s hand. “You look well. How are you doing?”
The question was asked quietly and Clark remembered the last time he had seen Perry, after he and Lois had argued. He knew he looked much healthier now, the burns had healed leaving no trace of a scar, and he knew he had looked haggard and exhausted from his continuous nightmare interrupted sleep. Now, rested, and feeling more like his normal self every day, he was able to smile at Perry and assure him he was doing great.
“That’s good to hear. Look, I’ve got to hit the gents. When the waitress comes back get whatever you want, and order me another coffee.” Perry walked away quickly, leaving Clark to grin at the evidence of how many coffees Perry had already had.
By the dishes, someone had been here with Perry before he had shown up. There were several cups and a few dirty plates with utensils. Clark briefly glanced around to see if he could spot anyone familiar, but one of the reasons the café was so popular with the Planet’s reporters was the high backed booths to sit in. The seats were comfortable, the tables big enough to sit several people around and not feel crammed, but the high backed seats gave a level of privacy valued by reporters, especially when meeting a source or interviewing someone. Clark, facing away from the door, couldn’t take a good look around at the other patrons without either using his enhanced vision to look through the seats, or standing up.
The server approached and cleaned up the dirty dishes. Clark placed his order for a large caramel latte, and requested more coffee for Perry, smiling at the server. He remembered rescuing her from a serious car accident shortly after his debut in Metropolis. Clark was glad to see she looked well and healthy.
He found himself musing over how many people he’d helped in the last year, and how few he saw again. That was one of the appeals to Metropolis; the likelihood of bumping into someone who’d met Superman was small. Except Lois. One of his few repeat rescues, and thankfully she hadn’t figured out who was underneath the Suit. Admittedly, her attention had been on Luthor lately, even though she’d claimed to love Superman.
Clark forced his thoughts away from that never-ending bottomless pit. Their last conversation as Superman and Lois would continue to haunt him, and if Superman returned, he would apologize, preferably before she needed rescuing.
Where had Perry gone to? He could easily hear him, but couldn’t see him. It sounded like he’d been stopped by an acquaintance and his laughter carried over the high backed seats. The server arrived with their drinks, and Clark took a sip as he heard the polite chime of the entrance, signaling a customer had either entered or exited. Clark closed his eyes and savoured the taste of the hot, sweet, coffee, appreciating the hum of conversation buzzing around him in the rapidly filling café, even enjoying the polite clinking of cutlery and crockery. He sighed with contentment. He’d missed these sounds of the city a lot more than the sometimes incessant honking of vehicles.
“Oh!”
Clark’s eyes shot open at the very familiar, very close, startled sounding voice.
“Lois!”
“I’m sorry, I’m here to meet Perry. He’s over there chatting and said he’d be back here in a minute.” Lois still stood, fiddling awkwardly with her purse, looking towards Perry and not at Clark. “I didn’t mean to startle you, or intrude. I’m sure I have the time right. Were you just finishing up?” Lois started digging in her purse, Clark knew she was hunting for her planner. She meticulously wrote all of her appointments down and while Clark had a sneaking suspicion Perry had arranged for them both to be here at the same time, he didn’t want to scare her away. If he was leaving Metropolis, he wanted to talk to Lois first.
While appreciating the sounds surrounding him, he had intentionally not listened to any of the conversations in the hum of noise. It had taken practice, especially when he had first moved to university, to learn what was overhearing a conversation in the normal sense, and what was beyond. He’d been sitting there, with his eyes closed, and while he hadn’t jumped, she had startled him. “I just got here. Have a seat, the server is heading here now for your order.”
She hesitated, but stopped rummaging in her purse, before sitting across from him. The awkward silence was broken by the server taking Lois’ order before the silence settled on them again. Clark found himself staring at his half finished coffee, trying to find a way to start asking if she was ok. He wanted to know about the reporters, what had happened after the wedding, and how she was holding up, but he was wary. As much as he wanted to be a friend to Lois, listening to her mourn for her almost husband was a topic he wasn’t willing to endure at the moment. He was afraid of his reaction too. If she started talking about Luthor, would he panic and have moments of reliving his experience?
“So, how’ve you been?”
“How are you doing?” Lois asked at the same time.
“I’m ok,” he replied.
“You look… well,” she said as she dipped her head, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
Clark focused his hearing on her and was surprised to hear Lois’ heartbeat thumping away, not fast enough to be scared, but faster than usual. Was she nervous? About him? “Thanks, it’s mom’s home cooking, and the farm work,” he tried to joke.
“Farm work!” Lois exclaimed. “But you were hurt? Why didn’t you rest? How are your…” she broke off, gesturing to his chest.
“Oh, I’m fine.” The only other topic other than Luthor he would prefer not to discuss; the injuries he had received curtesy of Luthor.
“That’s good to hear. Your folks?”
“They’re well. Gearing up for the harvest.”
Lois nodded as the server arrived with her coffee. Clark took a large slurp while trying to think of what to say next. How did things get so awkward between them? Last weekend, every time she had stopped by, uninvited but welcome, it had felt strange, not awkward. True, he admitted, he hadn’t done much chatting, still trying to come to terms with what had happened to him, and Lois had bustled in with the purpose of either feeding him, or checking on him, before rushing off again. The last time he’d seen her before leaving for Kansas, they’d argued, and he felt himself blushing as he remembered his cruel words.
“Lois,” he began, intending on apologizing, at the same moment she began to speak.
“Let me go first,” Lois forged ahead, not giving him a chance to object. “I wanted to apologize for…”
“CK! Lois! What are you guys doing here?” Jimmy’s voice rang out over the café as he gleefully walked over towards them. Clark peered around the side of the booth to wave at Jimmy, spotting Jack several paces behind him, and noticed Perry looked startled and annoyed that the two young men were approaching. Perry hastily excused himself from his conversation and hurried over as Jimmy scooted onto a seat next to Lois.
“Jimmy! I thought I told you two to meet me in half an hour,” Perry bellowed, approaching the table.
“We’re done, we’ve got the place, so we thought we’d head down here early.”
Perry responded with a grunt, and Clark could tell he was pleased, but still annoyed. Perry had clearly arranged for he and Lois to meet and was not thrilled with the interruption. Neither was Clark, even though it was good to see Jimmy and Jack. As soon as he and Lois got a moment alone, he’d apologize, just as Lois had been trying to do, and he felt like he had more to apologize for. He’d been cruel the last time he’d seen her, and he couldn’t shake the remorse over the way he’d spoken to her as Superman.
Jimmy was babbling on about the apartment they’d just rented, and was now stressing about finding a job. He did not want to return to handing out flyers, and Jack joked that he could return to his former line of work of thievery. Clark glared at him, eliciting a grin from Jack, as Jimmy continued to talk about the apartment. Once outside the café, Lois started to pull away from the group.
“I should get going.”
“You got somewhere to be?” inquired Perry.
Clark noticed that Lois was fiddling with her purse again. “No… I…”
“I’ve got another meeting in about a half hour. Jack and Jimmy are joining me. I was planning on walking over as the meeting is just past the old Planet building.” Without waiting for an answer, Perry began walking, shouting at Jimmy and Jack to follow. Clark shrugged at Lois and followed, grinning when he heard her quickly walking behind to catch up.
“Perry, you said you had a favour to ask?” Clark asked, curious.
“Well, son, I think we’re ok now. These two needed a place to live but it sounds like they’ve got one…”
“Not for a few weeks, Chief,” interrupted Jimmy. “The lady said we could move in at the end of the month but we’ve got to prove employment first.”
“Yeah, and that’s not going so well,” Jack added gloomily.
Clark knew where this was going before Perry opened his mouth. “Perry, it’s ok, they can stay with me for a few weeks. I’ll be in Kansas next week, and then I’ll have to figure out what I’m doing.”
“Kansas?” Lois asked. “Weren’t you just there?”
“Dad wants to harvest next week, I said I’d help,” Clark answered with a shrug. “It’s not as though I have something to do here.” He watched as Lois’ cheery expression fell. “Perry, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Get some career advice…”
“Sure, sure, son,” Perry said distractedly as he continued his brisk walk towards the old Planet building. It wasn’t until he arrived at the boarded up entrance that he slowed his pace, the rest of the group pausing with him.
“I wish they’d just get it over with and tear this place down,” Jimmy stated.
“Yup, too many memories,” Perry said sorrowfully as Clark walked around the barricades, while the others walked up to the graffiti covered boards which covered what had once been windows, and the main entrance.
“Most of them good,” interjected Lois.
“Well, you know there’s a lesson to be learned in all of this,” Perry began.
Jack laughed and interrupted. “Why am I not surprised”
Perry glared at Jack. “We should appreciate what we’ve got while we’ve got it.”
Clark sighed as he focused on the ground in front of him. He knew how true that was. Had he thoroughly appreciated his job, his friends, and his friendship with Lois?
“I know I’ve said this before, but I just hate it that Luthor got his way in this one thing.” Perry said as Clark glanced up, the sound of air brakes on a truck close by catching his attention.
“He didn’t! Look!”
Clark turned towards the voice, surprised to see Mr. Stern standing in front of the truck he had heard, and resisted the urge to peer over his glasses to see what was under the tarp on the trailer.
“What is that?” Jack asked as several workers began to detach the tarp.
“Great shades of Elvis,” Perry gasped as the tarp fell to the ground and revealed the large Daily Planet logo that once hung over the entrance. Clark could hear applause from Lois and several people standing around watching. He used a touch of his superhearing to catch what Mr. Stern was saying to Perry.
“We’ll start on the building next week but first I thought we’d announce to the world we’re back in business. I reconsidered your proposal, and I agree with you Mr. White. Metropolis does need the Daily Planet. Besides, one more nail in Lex Luthor’s coffin will suit me fine. I do have some ideas about modernization…”
“Uh, modernization?” Perry queried, as Clark chuckled. Perry chased after Mr. Stern and Clark stopped listening on their conversation. He gazed at Lois, who was smiling in delight, staring at the cargo of the trailer. As if she could feel him looking at her, she turned and glanced at him, smiled shyly, and turned away.
“I’ve never seen something so beautiful in my entire life,” Clark blurted out. Then, as he was trying to think of a way to make his statement less awkward, Lois turned, her arms crossed, and smiled at him.
“You never gave up. On the Planet, on your friends, on me.” Lois walked over towards him, still smiling.
He gulped a breath back. This was the closest they’d been since that day in the park, and while the last few weeks had been incredibly difficult, the future suddenly looked a lot brighter. “I couldn’t. You’ve just named, probably everything in this world that’s precious to me.” He meant every word.
“I don’t think I’ve ever, will ever, meet anyone, quite like you.”
She was so close to him now, he could easily smell her perfume. It was the scent she’d worn when he’d first been partnered with her, a light citrus scent. She’d switched to something heavier, spicier, once she’d become involved with Luthor. He paused trying to determine exactly what was being said, beyond her words, attempting to shake off the distraction of her perfume and proximity to him. He needed to apologize for abandoning her, for not trying harder to be there for her when she needed someone.
“Lois,” he began, as once again she spoke at the same time.
“No, let me go first,” Lois tried to insist.
“No, no, not this time. Lois.” If this was a continuation from the bistro, he knew Lois would try to apologize. For what, he wasn’t sure, but most of the blame lay with him. “I’m sorry, about a lot of things, I wanted to bring Luthor down, but I never wanted to hurt you. I shouldn’t have said anything about the way I felt towards you. It put you in an incredibly awkward position.”
“No, Clark, I really….”
“No, Lois. Please, let me finish. Luthor was a criminal who needed to be exposed but had I known how it would have ended…”
“Clark…”
“Lois, I’m sorry Luthor died. If I could have done anything to save him, I would have.” In the dark recess of his mind he could feel the memory of the cage starting to creep forth. What no one could realize, the one person who could have rescued Luthor, had almost died at Luthor’s hand minutes before. Clark realized, in that moment in the sunshine with Lois, even after being tortured by Luthor, had he been able to, he would have saved Luthor. The memory of the cage was forced back, and he continued. “I couldn’t say anything to you about what we discovered, I was afraid if he found out…” He couldn’t finish. There was no doubt in his mind that had Luthor suspected Lois knew anything about the investigation into his criminal dealings, she wouldn’t be left alive.
Lois gently took his hand in hers, and squeezed lightly before releasing. “I know, I understand. I want to say I was sorry for not believing you all those months ago. So much of all of this could have been avoided if I’d have listened to you.”
“Lois, this wasn’t your fault. None of this was.”
“But how did I miss it? Clark, I’m an investigate reporter and I almost married the biggest criminal in Metropolis! I need to understand…”
“It’s ok, Lois…”
“I haven’t ready any of the papers, or watched the news. There were reporters camping outside my apartment… I didn’t want to see what they were writing about me. Selfish, I know.”
Clark reached for her hand this time, giving her a comforting caress as she continued.
“The police interviewed me, but when it was obvious I had no idea what Lex was doing, they stopped asking. Jimmy told me some of what you had discovered, but Perry stopped him from saying too much.” She paused, looking down at their joined hands. “I need to know, Clark. Can you…?”
He realized what she was asking and couldn’t deny her. “If you’re sure.” He said warily. It wasn’t that he was reluctant to help her, share the investigation with her; he was glad she was asking him. Rather it was his own tangled relationship with Luthor he was concerned about untangling.
“I’m sure. I need someone who I can trust to explain the truth, without the sensational headlines.”
“Ok.” He would have to keep Superman separated, no idle comments from him about how Superman had discovered this or that, as he had no idea how his still healing subconscious would react.
“Partner,” she said with a slight grin.
“Partner?” Clark let go of her hand, only just realizing he’d continued to gently run his thumb over the back of her hand.
“Well, seeing as the Planet is going to be opening again, I assumed we’d be working together again.” Lois paused briefly, and Clark watched as her smile turned to disappointment. “Unless you have other plans. You had asked Perry for career advice, and I’m being presumptuous to assume you haven’t had other offers already…”
Clark laughed at Lois’ babbling. “Partners,” he interrupted.
“Friends?”
He smiled fully, the dark cloud that had been hanging over him after the memory of the cage, dissipating immediately. “Friends.” Clark watched as Lois smiled briefly, before she glanced down at the ground for a moment, then tucking a her hair behind her ear once more, and adjusting her purse strap. Curious, he listened to her heartbeat, realizing she was still nervous about something.
“There’s something else we need to discuss…” she began.
“Isn’t this great, guys!” Jimmy walked up behind them, interrupting Lois, slinging an arm around Lois’ shoulder. “Hopefully we can all get our jobs back.”
“Yeah, it’s great,” Lois replied with a slight smile, looking at Clark.
Clark noticed the sudden lack of enthusiasm in Lois’ voice, wishing Jimmy had waited a few more seconds before interrupting so he could find out what she was so nervous about. Trying to think of a way to reassure Lois they’d have chance to talk privately once Jimmy and Jack left, he was distracted as he heard a frantic cry for help. His heart jolted as he heard the panic in the woman’s voice. How could he not answer? Even though he couldn’t fly yet, he could still help. “Um, can you guys excuse me for a second? I have to go… Uh, I’ll be right back.”
As he dashed away, the last thing he saw was Lois’ crestfallen expression.
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