I really love this, Barbara! I'm sorry I have so little time for feedback, but I
will say a few things, at least.
Okay, first of all, the prologue scared me! I was thinking that Clark can't be hurt, and if Lex has pushed him it won't matter, but... but Lex has Kryptonite, doesn't he?
I just love this:
Hours ago she had rejected him, and that still hurt like hell. He had had his revenge, though, Clark thought bitterly. He had lied to her about his feelings towards her, when he met her as Superman. His reaction seemed so childish now, so unreasonable and so totally unasked for. Why had he done that? He should have been better than this. He should have been wiser than this.
And I love this even more:
Hours ago she had rejected him, and that still hurt like hell. He had had his revenge, though, Clark thought bitterly. He had lied to her about his feelings towards her, when he met her as Superman. His reaction seemed so childish now, so unreasonable and so totally unasked for. Why had he done that? He should have been better than this. He should have been wiser than this.
Yes, you should!!!!
It didn’t matter who of the two Lois loved, since they were one and the same person.
Yes, they are!!!! You are!!!!
That was the reasonable side of him, but his ego had another opinion.
Yes, that's too, too true.... :rolleyes:
He should love and cherish her, like she deserved it, regardless if it was Superman or Clark she paid more attention to. In fact he had assigned all his love and affection to his Clark persona, totally ignoring that Superman *had* to feel the same. And he had expected that Lois would see through his mist of deceit and make the favoured decision.
Hear, hear!
He couldn’t remain silent about his identity, anymore. Lois had to learn his secret sooner rather than later.
Yes, Clark! Yes, yes, yes!!!
What about clothes? What is Superman without his Superman suit? Is it the suit that is Superman?
He had often said to himself that without the suit, he was just Clark. But sometimes it would *have* to come off - some activities just couldn't be accomplished with it on. And what would happen when he *had* to take the suit off? Would he revert to 'just Clark' again. Would he never be able to wear regular clothing again? Would he be stuck in the Superman suit until he died? The mere thought disgusted him.
Poor Clark!
Lois had asked Clark if Superman’s outfit came off. Well, it did come off, but the man underneath it wasn’t Superman anymore then. He shook his head. This was so ridiculous; of course he remained Superman when not wearing the suit. Getting rid of the hero wasn’t as simple as taking his clothing off.
No, of course not. But still....
Otherwise Lex Luthor would have found a way to strip his enemy. A brief smile flashed across his face at the thought, but it vanished almost immediately.
This was really funny somehow!
Clark was so darn good at seeing the mistakes of the people around him, but he was awfully blind concerning his own.
Yes, that's true, but the simple fact that Clark admits this to himself means that he has become better than most people at acknowledging his own shortcomings.
Lois glanced at her ring. The diamond was sparkling brightly, and filled her apartment with a strangely cold light. It didn’t reach her heart.
No, Lois. Of course not.
Would a ring from Superman look just as impersonal? Did she really want to marry Lex? What would it be like to be Mrs. Superman instead?
Oh, Lois. How blind you are right now.
Mrs. Superman. It sounded strange. She whispered the name, but that didn’t make it any better. It wasn’t his real name, anyway. So she might keep her name then. What would she call him? Superman? Honey? Darling?
Well, that's just it, Lois. You can't be Mrs. Superman. It just doesn't work. Even though Clark is busy right now thinking of a way to make it possible for you.
Could she call Superman, Honey? The thought was somehow ridiculous. But it didn’t matter, anyway. They weren’t going to have a future. He had told her so. Thinking about it, she really didn’t know him too well. Where did he sleep, for example? Did he actually need sleep?
You are beginning to understand, Lois. Superman does not have a private life, even though his secret identity may well have one.
*Forget Superman,* she told herself. He had practically accused her of being dishonest concerning her feelings for him. How could he think that? Maybe Superman wasn’t that perfect after all. But she still felt the longing in her heart. Lex might be the second best choice, but if the first choice wasn’t available, Lex would be best for her.
Why would he be best? Damn it, Lois, you are about to marry the man and you haven't even tried to explain to yourself why you are doing it.
Lois sighed. She felt that her friendship with Clark was breaking apart, and she didn’t even know the reason. That depressed her more than anything.
There was no argument she could blame for this. He just couldn’t accept that she was going to marry Lex. He hated him but had told Lois no good reasons why. She still heard him growling, ‘Get into bed with the devil.’
Maybe it was jealousy. Clark had claimed to be in love with her, but he might be jealous of the rich man he had to compete with. But there weren’t any competitions, Lois thought sadly. She liked Clark as a friend, but she didn’t love him. She had tried to break it to him gently. Why had he refused to accept this? He kept being mean instead, accusing her of being shallow.
Oh, Lois! You really are so blind. But I agree with you that Clark should have given you a reason for his claim that Lex Luthor is a devil. Clark didn't make it possible for you to think that you were listening to
reason when you heard his objections.
‘Get in bed with the devil’. He could just as well have said that she was a prostitute.
Well, Lois, as painful as that was, maybe you should have given that thought a little further consideration. Aren't you actually selling yourself to a man you don't know if you can trust? A man you don't love? And aren't you actually selling yourself to him because of his great riches?
Why on earth couldn’t Clark accept that Lex would make her happy?
Why do you so blindly insist that Lex will make you happy, Lois?
Why did he begrudge her this life? Jealousy couldn’t be the whole reason, could it? Maybe she should ask Lex if Clark was refusing to tell her something.
NOOOOO!!!!!!! She is considering asking Lex to
investigate Clark, to ask him to find out if Clark is hiding something from her!!! Lois, right now I want to kick you!!!
And I'm not going to quote Lois's dream, but it was sweet and sweetly erotic. Oh, Lois. Please admit to yourself that it is
Clark you love!!!
Great story, Barbara!
Ann
