From part 2:
Suddenly, Lois wriggled out of Clark’s embrace. Blushing as she slightly lowered her eyes, she gave him a slow, sultry smile before looking back up at him again.
“Let me change into something more comfortable – *you* just wait *right there*. *Don’t* move.” she said, smiling seductively as she playfully brushed her finger down Clark’s nose.
Lois started giggling slightly in anticipation as she scurried over to the bathroom. As he watched her disappear inside, Clark felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Oh, this was not good. Not good at all.
And now, part 3:
When he saw that the bathroom door was safely closed, Clark doubled over on the sofa, supporting himself with one hand as he clutched the other over his rapidly beating heart. What on Earth was he supposed to do now? Didn’t Lois *ever* consider the consequences of her actions? What if she got pregnant? Wait…of course!
Clark sat back up on the sofa just as Lois was reemerging from the bathroom. He mentally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw what she was wearing. It was just an ordinary nightgown – his mind had conjured up horrors of having to face Lois when she was dressed only in skimpy lingerie or perhaps wrapped in a towel. Still, the nightgown left little to the imagination, and Clark felt himself begin to sweat.
As Lois gingerly walked up to him, Clark quickly ran through his plan one last time. However, much sooner than he would have liked, Lois had taken his hand in her own and was purring, “Superman…why don’t we take this somewhere…more private?”
Clark’s pulse rate doubled. Oh god, she was really going to go through with this. He went into action.
“Mmm, I would *love* to, honey. Just wait till our kids are born – I can’t wait to see their little faces!” he said, giving Lois his most indulgent smile.
Lois’s face briefly registered surprise before she recovered. She looked at Clark apologetically before saying, “Oh, Superman. I just took the pill – but you don’t mind, do you?”
Oh, great. Count on consumer pharmaceuticals to ruin everything. Clark could only say weakly, “Oh, no. Of course not.” He wasn’t done yet, though. As Lois walked them ever closer to her bedroom, Clark implemented Plan B.
“Hmm, Lois, after tonight, you have *got* to take me to meet your parents! We’ll have to tell them *all* about how we ended up together!” Clark said, praying that this would work.
Lois frowned. “Superman, I wish I could, but we can’t! You’d understand if you met my parents – I couldn’t share my private life with them!” she pleaded.
Oh, no. Well, so much for trying to use parental disapproval. As they passed through the doorway to stand next to each other beside Lois’s bed, Clark spoke up again.
“Just wait until Clark hears about this! Won’t he be so happy for us?” he asked, trying to sound excitedly optimistic.
When Lois was silent for the next few moments, Clark felt his heart tear itself to pieces. Nothing that he tried had worked – he would have to confess that he had never been affected by the pheromones. He would have to admit to toying with her feelings. Lois would be totally crushed at his deceit, as well as utterly humiliated. She would most likely never want to speak to Superman again, and he couldn’t blame her. But still, he had to do the right thing.
Taking a deep breath, he said, “Lois, I -“
****
Lois’s thoughts were in turmoil as Superman’s words swam through her head. What was she doing, and to Superman of all people?
Earlier, she had been so sure that this was what she wanted, but now she wasn’t so sure. No, that wasn’t exactly true - of course it was what *she* wanted, but the problem was that it wasn’t what *Superman* wanted. He was totally helpless, and here she was taking advantage of him!
What made it worse was that Superman prattled on about kids, and meeting her parents – things that a *normal* couple would want to do. Not rape victims and their rapists. Because that’s what she was doing – she was *raping* Superman! Then he had mentioned Clark…and that was the worst thing of all.
Clark would laugh at her, would ridicule her for her weakness. She could picture him in her head right now, pointing a finger at her as he laughed in scorn while light glinted off of his glasses. “Lois, Lois…I manage to put you to bed without even a kiss, and you jump into bed with Superman at the first opportunity? Tsk, tsk, tsk.” he would say.
No…Clark wouldn’t do that. Instead, he would be disappointed. Oh, he wouldn’t judge her – he’d continue to be polite to her, and treat her respectfully. But inside, he’d be disappointed at what a horrible person his best friend turned out to be. He’d feel disappointment that one of his friends had *used* another one of his friends in such a manner. And somehow, Lois knew that Clark’s disappointment would be even harder to bear than his laughter and ridicule.
When Superman spoke again, the last of Lois’s resolve crumbled.
“Lois, I -“
****
“No, Superman! Don’t say that you love me!” Lois blurted out as tears started to well in her eyes.
Clark was taken aback at her sudden change in attitude. “What-“ he began.
“Oh, Superman! Believe me, I know how much you want this right now – I want it too! But what you’re feeling isn’t real!” she wailed.
Clark’s eyes widened. He had been about to say, “I have a confession to make”, but he wasn’t about to disabuse Lois of her erroneous assumption.
Catching himself, he put on as disappointed of a face as he could muster. It wouldn’t do to look too relieved.
“Lois, I understand. I can’t stop loving you – but I’m content to…adore you from afar…” he said sadly as he looked into her eyes. Well, as sadly as he could make himself sound, anyways.
Lois nodded ruefully, a wistful expression on her face. “Yes, I think that would be best.” she said, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Not wanting to linger in case Lois suddenly changed her mind again, Clark smiled at her one last time before flying out to safety. Once again, Lois Lane had managed to surprise him. She was stronger than he had given her credit for; that was for sure.
Clark flew as fast as he could to the arctic. He needed a cold – no, a very, very, cold dip in the ocean to get his now raging hormones under control.
****
<A couple of days later>
****
Lois had seemed somewhat subdued the last couple of days at work, Clark mused as he flew as Superman in the direction of her apartment. Maybe it was just his imagination – but he still wanted to check up on her, just in case she was still tearing herself up with guilt.
When he landed in the living room through the window, Lois’s eyes widened and she started to flush. “Superman, I-“ she began.
“Lois, Clark told me what happened to me when I was stopping Miranda. I don’t remember a thing from the last couple of days!” Clark interrupted.
“What? Really?” Lois asked in bewilderment.
“Yes. Uh, I actually stopped by here right now to ask if…well…um, I know how the pheromones are supposed to affect people…and I was wondering if…er, I had done anything *untoward*…” Clark said as nervously as possible.
Lois’s mouth opened in surprise, but she quickly recovered. “Oh, Superman, don’t worry about that. Well, actually, you *were* kind of *forward*, but it’s ok – I managed to hold you off.” She said lightly.
Clark gaped in astonishment. The audacity! – but he remembered to look relieved before Lois could notice anything suspicious.
“Oh, good. I’m glad that you showed restraint.” he said with a smile.
Lois smiled at him in a condescending yet friendly manner. “Well, Superman, you must know that I would *never* think of taking advantage of a friend like that! We…we are friends, right?”
“Of course” Clark said, before bidding her farewell and flying out into the sky. He felt cheated at having ever worried about her in the first place.
Yep, Lois was definitely back, all right.
<the end>
