Clark Kent had always liked math. He'd been good at it growing up. He appreciated that there was always a definite answer, it was either right or it wasn't. There was no subjectivity, no grey areas.

He'd especially liked story problems. Ones with time and distance, they'd always interested him. Maybe because of the fact that he could travel great distances so quickly, when he would see the true answers to these problems, he would always try to calculate how long the same distance would take him. As much as he'd resented and complained about his powers growing up, this was one minor facet of his life where he'd embraced and enjoyed them.

It was this thought that was running through his mind as he sat at his desk at the Daily Planet at 1:35 in the afternoon, watching with narrowed eyes as Oliver Queen leaned down to kiss Lois Lane on the cheek at the entrance to the bullpen.

If I throw Oliver off the roof of the Planet at 1:36, what time will it be when he hits the ground?

He frowned a bit. Really, that seemed unnecessarily messy. Why should the people of Metropolis have to put up with a splattered billionaire all over the sidewalk just because Oliver Queen had the audacity to steal his woman right out from under him?

Okay, so maybe that was stretching it a bit. Technically, for Oliver to have had stolen anything from Clark, it would have had to belong to him first.

And Lois Lane absolutely did not belong to him.

He looked on with a sinking heart as Lois smiled up at Oliver, nodding in agreement with whatever he'd said.

Racking his brain, he tried to think of the last time Lois had agreed with him on anything. Or even smiled at him.

There was that one time…recently. But did it count if he'd reset time so that none of it had actually happened?

Sure, it had been for the best. His little outing as Clark Kent – Alien Superhero had gone about as badly as it could, and with the help of the ring the Legion had given him, he was able to fix things so that Metropolis wasn't in chaos, his life wasn't in complete disarray, and most importantly, the people he loved and cared about were once again protected. More than that, they were blissfully unaware of the craziness that had taken over their lives in the few days following his public debut.

And he was thankful for that. Mostly. He was glad that they couldn't remember the bad things that had happened.

But…it hadn't been all bad. His mind drifted to the chilly night up on the roof of the Planet, as he'd promised her he'd tell her again someday. Someday when he could make sure she would be protected, that her life wouldn't be turned upside down by his secret.

Then, he'd kissed her.

It was a special brand of torture that he could remember the feeling of her lips against his, and know that she had no memory of it happening. She had no idea that she'd softened toward him somewhat during those crazy few days and stood by him despite the havoc that ensued following the interview.

No, as far as Lois Lane was concerned, it had never happened. Sure, after he'd reset time, he'd made sure he was on time at the airport, a latte in hand, so she had no reason to be mad at him from that standpoint.

But, still, she was…distant. Different. Something had changed between them since she'd left for Star City and he'd backslid into another failed attempt with Lana. Those few days his secret had been the number one story in Metropolis, he'd seen glimpses of the feelings she had for him, and he'd certainly felt her respond to his kiss.

Once time had been reset, though, those glimpses faded to nothing. At first, he'd figured, or more accurately hoped, that her avoidance of him, her shortness with him, their forced conversations, were a product of her pushing away any feelings she'd had for him. Thinking back to his actions over the past few months, and sure that Chloe had filled her cousin in, he couldn't really blame her given Lois' instinctive need to protect her own heart.

Now? He wondered if he'd been wrong. Because the last few weeks had seen a big upswing in the time she'd been spending with Oliver Queen. His blond friend had been popping up at the Planet more and more, and it had nothing to do with Tess Mercer, who'd Oliver had been seeing in the not so recent past.

No, his stop seemed to be Lois' desk. And only Lois' desk.

Which had led him to creating these violent little math problems involving his arrow-loving buddy.

His hands balled into fists of frustration when he saw Oliver pull Lois into a hug, Lois wrapping her arms around him with a contented smile on her face.

He needed to get out of there.

Almost leaping out of his chair, he quickly rushed past the happy couple without a word.

Completely missing the bewildered look on Lois's face, and the knowing smirk on Oliver's.

**

"So, where's the fire?"

Clark looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Lois heading out on to the roof, glancing around.

"What?"

"You heard me. You practically bowled Ollie and me over to get up here, what was the big emergency?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Just needed some air."

"Yeah, well next time, watch it."

He didn't respond, instead taking the opportunity to look at her – something he'd had precious few chances to do lately, seeing as whenever she realized she was in the same room with him, she immediately came up with some excuse to bolt. She'd put her hands on the ledge, her face turned toward the Metropolis skyline, the bright sun giving her skin an almost golden glow.

"What're you doing up here?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright."

She said it so nonchalantly, as if it was completely normal (and at one time, it would have been, but not recently), that it took Clark by surprise. It was the first time she'd willingly sought him out since she'd come back.

Her eyes widened suddenly, seeming to realize what she'd just said. "I mean, with the way you rushed out of the bullpen, I thought maybe you were sick or something so I was just checking…but you know what?" she continued, her face taking on the mask of indifference that he'd begun to dread, "You're obviously fine, so I'm gonna get back to work."

She spun quickly on her heel, walking purposefully back toward the door. He could feel the familiar panic begin to set into his heart, watching her walk away.

Before he could fully contemplate what he was doing, the words were out of his mouth, stopping in her tracks.

"I thought we were friends."

She remained with her back to him for a second, before turning to face him, crossing her arms in front of her defensively.

"We are," she shrugged, her tone indifferent.

"So, why didn't you tell me you were back with Oliver?"

A startled expression replaced the impassive one.

"What?"

"Friends do that, right? Tell each other stuff like that?" he pushed, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice, knowing he really had no right but feeling incredibly hurt just the same.

She took a step toward him, her lips forming into a smirk that Clark was sure spelled trouble for him.

"They do. So, I guess I could ask you the same question."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't recall getting a phone call when you and Lana had your grand reunion," she responded, and he picked up the hint of pain in her voice, even though she tried valiantly to mask it with sarcasm. "I heard about it from Chloe."

Words escaped him at that, because she was right. And any ground he thought he'd had in this little battle was quickly lost.

"Lois…"

She held a hand up as if to silence him. "You know what? It doesn't matter. Just don't stand there and get all high and mighty about me giving you relationship updates when you weren't exactly forthcoming either."

All he could do is nod at that, knowing she was right.

"However," she said, breaking the tension that seemed to be constantly between them these days. "If I were going to be giving you a relationship update, there'd be nothing to tell. I'm not back together with Oliver."

His brows knit together, his trademark "confused" look. "But…you guys have been together all the time, he's been coming by to see you, and he was all over you downstairs," he finished, knowing the jealousy was probably seeping through with his last comment.

"Since when is a kiss on the cheek and a hug considered all over someone? Ollie and I are friends, that's all. I made a decision a long time ago about our relationship, and I, for one, am not going back on it," she finished, her voice taking on an accusatory tone.

Clark jerked back at that, her words slapping him in the face. His eyes widened, and he noticed her mouth open slightly as what she'd just said seemed to sink in.

"Clark…," she began, but trailed off, for once at a loss of what to say.

"I guess I know now why you're mad at me," he said quietly.

Sighing loudly, she shook her head. "I'm not mad at you."

"Sure you are. You've barely spent more than five minutes in the same room with me since you got back. In fact, we may actually be nearing a new record right now," he finished, his voice taking on a tinge of sarcasm.

"I'm not mad at you," she simply reiterated.

"But…you are disappointed in me."

He could see in her eyes that he'd hit on it, though she quickly averted them from his gaze.

"It's your life, Clark. And your love life. If you wanna keep twisting yourself into knots because you have this belief that you and Lana are these tragic star-crossed lovers, then be my guest."

"You think that's what I'm doing? That that's what I think?"

"Well you keep taking her back, so yeah, that's what I think. I don't get it, then again, I'm not a big believer in the whole 'star-crossed lover' thing. I mean, really, what is that? If two people love each other enough, then they'd do anything they could to be together. They'd fight for it, regardless of the odds. They don't just bail and pray for another chance down the road, hoping that fate or whatever the hell they think guides this stuff, brings them back to each other."

The corner of his mouth ticked up a bit at her rant, having come to a similar realization of his own in the days following Lana's departure.

"You're right."

She looked at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really? So you aren't cursing Lex for tearing you two apart?" she said dramatically, punctuating it with a snarky eyeroll for good measure.

He was alarmed for a moment, not sure how much she knew.

"Lex?" he asked, fishing for a bit of information.

"Yeah, Chloe told me the Bald Wonder forced Lana to leave you or some ridiculous crap like that."

Clark simply nodded, figuring it was close enough to the truth to at least continue the conversation. "He did."

She was silent at that, though he noticed her arms tightening around herself in an almost protective gesture.

"But the thing is, I didn't really fight it," he said quietly. "And neither did she."

"You still could," she said softly, the barest hint of sadness in her voice.

"I don't want to."

He could see the tiniest flare of hope in her eyes, just for a second, before she squashed it, taking on a look of disbelief instead.

"Come on, Clark."

"It's true. Actually, I even had the chance, recently, to make sure Lex wasn't an issue anymore. I could have fixed things."

"You did?"

His mind wandered back to the Legion ring, and the decision he'd made on that very spot weeks ago. It was funny, it hadn't even taken more than a second for him to decide, wasn't even a decision at all really. As he'd looked at Lois that night, tired and bruised after a run in with Linda Lake, yet as strong and beautiful as he'd ever seen her, he'd known that going back any further than right before the gossip columnist had seen him wasn't what he wanted.

What he'd wanted was standing right in front of him, had been standing in front of him for years, he'd just been too blind to see it.

Of course, as he looked at Lois now, he couldn't tell her the whole story, but he could try and explain the gist of it, enough to get his point across.

"I did. And I didn't take it. Because I realized it wasn't what I wanted. Getting back with Lana in the first place, it was…easy. Familiar. And I know now, it was a mistake."

He watched her eyes search his face, knowing Lois was looking for any hint of a lie there, any sign that he was residing in the land of denial.

Finally, after a moment, her lips turned up into a small grin.

"It's about time."

**

3 Weeks Later – Oliver's Penthouse

"I'm telling you man, the cape worked. The crowd loved it, you were there!"

Clark bit his lip, eyeing Oliver warily.

"Dude, I'd totally wear a cape if I could. It would drag my swim speed way down, though," A.C . chimed in.

"Capes are fine," Dinah interjected, "but I still think you need something form-fitting for underneath it," she finished with a grin.

"Why are you so hung up on tight superhero costumes?" Oliver asked, not liking the little knot that had formed in his stomach at Dinah's flirty comment.

"Hey, I wear fishnets and hot pants. I think turnabout is fair play!"

"Equal opportunity eye candy," A.C. grinned.

"Well, we are a progressive bunch," Oliver snarked.

"Come on, guys, this is serious. I need to come up with something, fast."

"What's the rush, man? You've been blurring your way around the city for months, why all of a sudden the need for the disguise?" A.C. asked, taking a large swig from a glass of water.

"No reason," Clark shrugged lamely.

"Oh, there's a reason," Oliver chuckled.

"Let me guess," Dinah grinned, "A reason with the initials L.L.?"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!"

"Wait, what's Lois have to do with the Boy Scout having a costume?"

"Nothing!" Clark insisted petulantly.

"Or….everything. See, Lois has been going all out to get an interview with our friend, the Red-Blue Blur here. And what Lois wants…"

"Clark gives her," A.C. nodded, catching on with a teasing grin and enjoying the deep shade of red his friend was turning.

"Right. But without a costume…"

"She knows it's him," Dinah finished.

"Exactly."

"Which, I don't see a problem with, personally."

"That makes two of us," Oliver added.

"Three," A.C. added.

Clark sighed. "I wanna tell her, I will tell her…someday. Just…not yet."

"And why not?" Dinah asked, her arms folded over her chest.

"Because…I want her to want me for me," he said quietly, but sincerely.

Expecting teasing remarks to be flung his way at that, Clark was surprised to see his friends simply nod in response.

"Then let's get you a costume," Dinah said, a small smile on her face.

"Leather's always a good option," A.C. shrugged, earning an enthusiastic nod in agreement from Oliver.

"And clearly we're going to need to stick with the red and blue theme you've already got going on," Dinah added, gesturing to his blue shirt and red jacket.

"I'm still putting in my vote for a cape," Oliver said, getting an eyeroll in response from Clark.

"Noted," he grumbled.

"You know, I'm not so sure leather would be your best bet," Dinah mused.

"Why?"

"Well, you said before that flying is going to be one of your abilities."

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm just thinking you might need something a little less bulky…a little more aerodynamic."

"Like?" Clark asked, a hint of dread in his voice.

She pursed her lips, tilting her head for a moment. Then, a smirk lit up her face.

"Tights."

Clark gulped loudly at that, his cheeks beginning to burn as Oliver and A.C.'s bursts of laughter suddenly filled the room.

Shaking his head vigorously, Clark looked at Dinah.

"No. No way. No tights."

**

Two Days Later, Daily Planet Roof

"I just ran into Tess, she said to give this to you. I think it's your new assignment."

He walked out onto the roof, seeing Lois gazing out upon the city. They'd found themselves up here quite often lately, since their air-clearing conversation a few weeks back. Things had been better since then, though not exactly back to where they'd been before Chloe's wedding. But they'd begun to hang out a bit more outside of work, their friendship seeming to get back on track. Not that he didn't want more, and he sensed she did too, but he also knew that she needed some time. The walls were still there, but they were coming down bit by bit.

She took the paper from him and opened it, scanning it quickly, then groaned.

"What?"

"I swear, the woman gives me the silliest stories in an effort to drive me crazy."

"What is it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Some fortune teller down on 6th and Main. She's being sued by a woman for a faulty reading. I mean, come on. Who goes into those things thinking they're actually gonna get a glimpse into the future?"

"You don't believe some people have that gift?"

"Please, Smallville. That would mean that our future is laid out for us, that we have no choice in it."

"So, there's no such thing as destiny?"

She shrugged. "I think a person could be destined to do something, but you still have to make the choice to do it. I'd hate to think that I have no choice in how my life turns out. These people are just quacks, anyway," she said, holding up the paper, "they just tell you what they think you wanna hear."

"Sounds like you speak from experience."

"Yeah, Chloe dragged me to one once."

"And you don't believe what she told you?"

"Even if I did, I'd still like to think I have a choice in how I live my life."

"What do you mean?"

"Alright, this fortune teller, she told me that I was destined to fall for a guy who flies a lot."

Clark's eyes widened as she spoke, but Lois simply continued.

"Now, who knows, that may end up being true, but you don't see me camping out at Metropolis Airport chasing down single pilots, do you?"

Clark swallowed hard. "Did…um, did she specifically say it would be a pilot?"

She shot him a strange look. "No…but who else would it be?" Shaking her head at him, she turned to head back inside, muttering, "You're so weird sometimes, Smallville."

He stared at her retreating form, sure there was a sappy grin on his face. After a moment, he heard her say, "Oh wait..."

As she turned, he felt his feet suddenly hit the cement and he stumbled forward slightly, earning him a perplexed look from Lois.

Mouth agape, he looked down. Had he just been floating?

Clearing his throat, he straightened himself up, covering the best he could.

"Yeah?"

"She did tell me one more thing about my flyboy."

"What's that?"

She giggled, shaking her head. "You're not gonna believe this."

"Try me."

"He likes to wear tights," she said, laughing. "Can you believe it? Lois Lane and a cross dressing pilot. The General would love that," she finished with a shake of her head and a giggle, before turning and heading back into the building.

As Clark watched her go, he reached for his cellphone, sliding it open and quickly dialing a number.

"Dinah? Hey, it's Clark," he said, a grin beginning to form on his face. "So….about those tights…"

Who was he to fight destiny?