Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Remember When It Rained Part 1/?

Hello... Well, any feedback would be wonderful.

Thanks!

~Anna.

I immediately dove for this story as soon as I saw the title because it reminded me of the Josh Groban song of the same title. That may be intentional... let me check the author's note... okay maybe not. That could be just some music obsessiveness on my part.

Great story!!
I liked the jealessy part. She's the one asking for a new partner but still... just so Lois

This was so cute. The way he was concerned about her!

This was just so sad. How can Lois ask for another partner!?!

oh no !! Poor Clark. Lois is really punishing him, huh?

I'm already looking farward to the second part!!! Lois just has to forgive him !!!

Great beginning! I am very interested in where this will go. But I just wish that Clark didn't love Lois so much. I think that maybe he should try to leave for a bit...a short vacation or something, to get away from Lois and make her wonder.

What I don't think Clark should do is follow up Lois's juvenile intentions and bring other people into their affairs, such as Diana and Dougal. I think Perry is pulling puppett strings in this, too.

Perry paired them both up with attractive people and just hoped that common sense would set in. If Clark doesn't bite, then Lois will have to realize that this isn't the way to handle her affairs.

~Sheila

Oh, gaaaaaahhh!!!! How could he????

Yes, I know very well that this is what Clark did in the TV series. And it is what he did in the comics, too. He proposed to Lois without telling her about his double identity. In the TV show, he worked his shapely little a** off to convince her that it is better to love Clark than Superman. He made her go through a lot of heartache as she gave up her crush on the Man of Steel. Considering that he himself is the Man of Steel, I'll never like him for working so hard to keep Lois in the dark about the truth about himself. And honestly, when he asked her to marry him, he asked her to trust him completely and to accept him exactly as he presented himself to her, as plain old Clark Kent, farmboy reporter from Smallville. That is the guy he asked her to share her life with. Please don't tell me you think this kind of behaviour is all right, Pincessanna!

I suspect that you are going to teach Lois a lesson in this story and make her see that she is hurting Clark very cruelly when she is rejecting him, and moreover she is an idiot if she is giving up a one-in-six-billion guy like Clark. I, too, want Lois and Clark to be together, and I, too, want Lois to get over her anger. But please, please, please make Clark see that he was the one who was wrong here. To be so dishonest about who you are when you are asking another person to share her life with you - well, that is very close to unforgivable.

Ann

Very interesting take on the proposal and its aftermath. Your characters ring true and their interaction it both tense and realistic. I plan to follow this story to wherever you take it.

I, too, wish Clark had revealed his secret identity before proposing to Lois, but unlike some others (you know who you are), I understand why he didn't, even though I think it was a serious mistake. Clark was - and still is - an insecure man. He wants to be loved for who he is and not what he can do. He wants Lois to love the person inside the suit, not the person and the suit. He doesn't want Lois to be Mrs. Superman. He wants her to be Clark Kent's wife, because in this incarnation of the Man of Steel, that's who he really is.

In the comics, for a long time, Clark Kent was a convenient disguise for Superman when he wanted (or needed) a short break from being almost worshiped as a superhero. Superman was the real identity, not Clark. But here, in the Lois and Clark universe, it's Clark Kent who is the real person. When Tempus tried to kill an infant Kal-El and Lois discovered the truth (and was understandably perturbed), Clark said, "Clark Kent is who I am. Superman is what I do." He's not being dishonest when he says that Superman isn't a real person. He simply doesn't understand - as Lois eventually does - that Superman would not be the hero he is if Clark Kent weren't the person in side the suit. Lois understands that they're really the same person, but Clark doesn't. Witness the number of times when Clark speaks of Superman in the third person, as if he's intentionally distancing himself from the caped hero. In fact, I believe we have an unfinished story on the boards describing what it might be like if Clark suffered a psychotic break when he put on the suit and Superman became an actual separate personality in his head.

The Clark Kent we saw in the series wasn't far from that state. He tried so hard not to be absorbed by the hero, he was even envious of himself at times. In fact, if not for the stabilizing influence of Lois Lane, he might have made that mental break anyway. But because Lois understands that the two are really one, she's just as mad at Superman as she is at Clark.

I've seen a number of posters say that Lois should have been given the information earlier. I can't disagree, but I also can't buy into the position that Clark is the only one at fault. There was no way for him to tell her during season one. At first, she would have run the story and felt bad about ruining Clark's life, until she got the Pulitzer. Then there was that whole thing with Lex Luthor. Just imagine how everyone's life might have changed if she'd accidentally let Superman's secret identity slip out.

Early in season two, her life was unstable, and neither of them knew what they wanted or how to get whatever it was they thought they wanted. And making that revelation too soon would have seriously damaged their chances of trusting each other. Yes, the fact that Clark proposed before telling Lois was damaging, but once that particular genie is out of the bottle, there's no putting it back.

Remember, while Lois is basically a good person, she's not exactly a saint. One of the reasons she's so much fun to write is because she's so flawed, and it's so much easier to write something interesting about a flawed person who overcomes those flaws and grows in the telling. The fun in writing about both of them is that they're both flawed, both have room for improvement, and both need to mature before trusting their hearts to someone, even to each other.

I have heard from a few readers who think Lois from season one is a total stinker and doesn't deserve someone as high and mighty as Superman. I've heard from some who think that a man (Clark) who lies to a woman (Lois) and hides such a huge part of his life from her is a louse who doesn't rate the time of day from her. I think the truth is in the middle. They're both at fault, if we have to assign blame to anyone. Neither one is perfect, but if you have to be perfect to be loved, I'm out of luck.

And this story isn't about how to be deserving of someone's love. This story (both the one under discussion and the greater story of Lois and Clark) is about working past each other's insecurities and flaws and mistakes and selfishness and lack of consideration to find a common ground, a place where both parties can open up with confidence that their imperfections won't push the other away. And I'll bet nickels to noodles that this is what will happen in this story.

Can't wait to see how far off I am.

Yes, Terry, I know who I am.

Perhaps there was, perhaps there wasn't. I wish he would have told her during season one, but I can see that there were reasons for him not to.

Perhaps.

But my point was that Clark should have told Lois before he proposed to her. Yes, there were other times when I wish he would have told her, too, but I don't think it was unforgivable that he didn't tell her on those occasions.

I wish he would have told her after he had been shot in TOGOM. Nevertheless, while I think it was rather cruel not to tell her there, I don't think he was absolutely obliged to do it. They were not committed to each other at that time. Clark had not specifically asked Lois to trust him at that time. And he himself was shocked and lost and confused about what he should do after he had been shot.

I think it was even worse that he didn't tell Lois about himself before he froze her in ATAI. After all, she was risking her life for his sake, and she may very well have died, as you showed us in a fic of your own, Terry. Didn't this huge sacrifice on her part give her the right to know the truth about the man she was prepared to give her life for?

However, it was Lois's idea that he should freeze her. It wasn't Clark's idea. And she didn't ask him to tell her about himself before he froze her. I dislike him for not telling her at that time, but I still don't think it was unforgivable.

But how can you say it wasn't horrible to propose to her without telling her? The proposal was his idea. He was asking for her complete acceptance and trust. How can it be all right not to to tell her that he is Superman, when in fact he is Superman? Can it be all right to forget to mention that little detail just because he doesn't think of himself as Superman? Mentally he is Clark Kent, not Superman, and he needs Lois to think of him that way. If she can't accept that psychological aspect of him, then he can't share his life with her. I understand that. However, I also know that the man who needs to think of himself as Clark Kent is also the man who keeps dressing up in spandex and flying off, often several times a day, to fight crime, prevent accidents or help out at disaster sites. Doesn't he think that Lois deserves to know that? Doesn't he owe it to her to acknowledge that to her before she decides if she wants to marry him?

If he really wants her to share her life with him, shouldn't he tell her these basic facts about himself? Shouldn't he tell her, "Lois, I need you to understand that I think of myself as Clark, but it's true that I'm also the man who flies away sometimes to be Superman"?

If he doesn't need to tell her who he is before he asks her to marry him, then what is marriage all about? Is it all about exchanging vows so that you are allowed to have sex with each other without committing adultery in the eyes of God? Is it not about being honest with each other? Trusting each other?

Whatever Lois ever did to Clark, I can't see that she ever deliberately treated him as badly as he did when he proposed to her without letting her know the truth about the person who was asking for her trust and her heart. And the fact that she had already figured it out about his lies didn't make them the least bit more acceptable.

Ann

Ooh, I'm so glad that people are actually enjoying this story! You have no idea how nervous I was posting this first part last night... After all the wonderful stories I've read on here.

You were not far wrong, Laura! I have the CD and my beta and I were fishing around for a title - why is it always incredibly hard to find a title? We went through words associated with the story, and then song titles on an ITunes list (to see if anything stuck - lots of laughing there at inane suggestions... ). Finally we went to the song titles on the backs of my CD collection. Still more laughing, but we finally found the one that seemed to fit - on Josh's second CD. I'm sorry I forgot to mention this. I guess because it's not hugely important in terms of the storyline, although it seemed to fit because of the first scene and the emotions involved also...

I'm sorry... But we couldn't have Superman hitting someone in a jealous rage, now could we?

Trust me... I'm going to get some more use out of this metaphor yet...

Ooh! I'm so glad you think so. You see, I'm trying so hard to channel Ms Lane here... Obviously it's working!

Perry is indeed. So, do you think that Clark will copy Lois? Hmm...

No, I don't. However, since it was used in the show, it creates a very good (oh, I can't think of the word...) thing for keeping them apart for a while...

Thank you again to everyone who's posted feedback so far. I'm so glad it was received well!

~Anna.

Great start. I am looking forward to the rest. Laura

Ann wrote:
I never said Clark was right, I only said I understood why he did what he did. I agree totally that he absolutely should have told her before proposing. I agree that it was a serious mistake, and I agree that Lois should be upset about that. And your point that it's something he should have done differently is perfectly valid, one with which I agree.

But to condemn Clark utterly for doing something he'd been trained to do all of his adult life (hide his powers) isn't the answer. From his point of view, he had to know - to know - that Lois loved him, completely absent her affection for Superman. Instead of clobbering him for what he's done (and I agree it was the wrong thing to do), why not encourage him to rebuild Lois's trust in him and seek her forgiveness? Lois was justifiably angry when Clark proposed before confessing The Secret, but I've always thought that she was too harsh on him for that. Him breaking up with her for her own good? That was far worse, in my humble opinion. I think she was totally justified in being furious with him on that score.

One of the things about a loving relationship is that you forgive the other person when they do something monumentally stupid. Clark forgave Lois for treating him like a useless ornament early on, and then for her infatuation with Superman (which, of course, he made more complicated than it should have been), but we have to remember that a lot of this stuff went on so people would tune in to the show to see what would happen next. If we have to blame somebody, let's blame the writers and the producers and ABC and December 8th Productions - and let's whack somebody over the head with some uncooked spaghetti for canceling one of the best romantic dramas ever to grace the small screen!

Cut Clark some slack, Ann. He's not perfect. Lois isn't perfect. Neither you nor I are perfect. So let's allow them to be flawed and work towards fixing those flaws. It's one of the things that makes us human.

I can't believe I missed replying to this the first time around - thank you, Terry. You have no idea how much the above means to me. If my characters ring true, I guess it's because I've been watching far too much (is there such a thing as too much when it comes to L&C? *ponders*) Lois and Clark in the past 6 months or so.

Again, thank you. Thank you everyone who's reading this story so far (with only one part up...). I'm going to try and have the second part up tomorrow night. Just waiting on my betas to be done with it Otherwise it'll be the next night as promised (er...night my time...perhaps morning yours? I'm not sure).

~Anna.