"We aren't...you haven't...you're still...hovering."

He removed his hands from her shoulders in a blur, feeling blindly for the hood on either side. Dear God, he was hovering?! In a room full of witnesses? With Dealin' Dan right there to announce the play by play?

'Ladies and gentleman, please direction your attention to the silver Jeep Grand Cherokee where Superman is kissing Lois Lane...''

Clark hadn't been wrong. She *had* been territorial. Unthinking, unwisely, she had charged over and placed herself between that woman and Clark, as if her partner was the gazelle and Elaine, the lion.

Lois sighed.

Clark's eye came open and regarded her. She shut hers quickly, too embarrassed to be caught looking.

His hands, which had been resting on her back, moved slowly, lightly rubbing up and down. Comforting, rather than romantic.

She was surprised at the unexpected rush of tears.

She looked at him then. And she let herself see him. See everything she had been afraid to see. Everything she had never allowed herself to see...for so many reasons. He was here with her, unavailable to anyone else. He'd told her so. And once more he had put himself on the line for her. The very least she could do was...open her eyes. And stop lying. To herself. To him. To the entire world.

"I picked wrong," she said slowly, carefully, not letting their mouths separate, but trying to speak clearly. "I want the grey sedan."

He felt an unexpected surge of joy, of relief. They fit. After all that happened, they still fit.

He didn't get it. He just...didn't get it.

"I didn't ask for that."

She blinked. Took a deep breath and released it. "I know. I know that. And really, even if you had, it's...none of my business."

He dropped his hands from her sides, aware that, just like that, the wall had risen again between them. He was not her business and not her boyfriend. Those were the things she had said all along. She had said them again today, and still she could kiss him like he was both.

He ran a hand through his hair, rumpling it, deciding. They could certainly kiss, they'd established that. But they couldn't stay forever connected at the lips. Sooner or later they were going to have to face reality.

The warning bell rang. Five short minutes and everything felt so different now. Lois grabbed a muffin and offered him one. He put it back, no intention of eating. "Why were you jealous?" he asked, timing it so she had just taken a large bite.

Her eyes bulged and she chewed frantically. He pressed his advantage. "Am I wrong? You were a little...territorial."

She grimaced, a blush stealing over her cheeks.

Good.

"I didn't approach her, you know." He held her captive in his gaze, not looking away. Not letting her, either.

She nodded vigorously.

"And I don't want this." He crumpled the paper in his fist, shooting it into the waste basket. "I'm here with you, Lois, whatever that means. And maybe we're going to have to decide, because I don't consider myself available. Not while you and I are together."

Elaine, however, didn't have any more sense than the Porsche driver had. "You said you two weren't an item. What's the big deal?"

Clark tightened his grip a notch. Still friendly, nothing more than a casual hug...

"Just because I said he wasn't my boyfriend doesn't mean he's included in the refreshments. He isn't."

She turned in his arms, her eyes hot, searching his. When her hands came up to his chest and delved into his pocket, he didn't move. She raised a silent eyebrow as she unfolded the paper and read the digits.

"I didn't ask for that."

She blinked. Took a deep breath and released it. "I know. I know that. And really, even if you had, it's...none of my business."

"Isn't there a rule against switching?"

She nodded slightly, eyes dancing. "We're going to have to break it."