A/N: Normally I drop my fics and run because I'm too much of a coward to read any comments on them. But when I was persuaded to read what everyone wrote about 'A new pair of jeans', I was little overwhelmed. So if, by any chance, you're reading this and commented saying such nice things, thank you.

Anyways, this idea bounced around in my head for a couple of days after Idol - I know that Lois's visions are part of the main plot this season, but what if she hadn't gone comatose? What if they had just kept on kissing?

Thanks to: Olivia, who picked the title for me when my frazzled brain drew a blank.

On reflection, Clark thought, it had been an interesting week.

In fact, the more he thought about it, it might possibly have been one of the best weeks in his entire life.

Sure, there had been the incidents with the twins-with-powers that had temporarily damaged his reputation as the Blur and ruining everything that the shield of the House of El represented. Which had almost led to him outing himself on live TV. And finding out Chloe had bugged more than just his house. And not only that, but the memory of seeing Lois dangling off a flag pole a hundred stories up and then letting go was going to stay with him for a very long time.

But on the other hand, she had kissed him.

His lips quirked up into a smile at the memory. A memory that was also going to stay with him for a very long time.

She was always doing that, wrong-footing him. One minute he was watching her walk away, his heart sinking, and the next, he thought his heart was going to beat right out of his chest as her hands pulled his face closer to hers.

Gazing over the rooftops of Metropolis, his coat flapping in the wind, Clark took advantage of the quiet moment the city had given him and relived the memory.

She was amazing, she really was. Standing on the podium at the press conference held by the D.A., Lois told Metropolis why the Blur couldn't come out of the shadows. She understood, more than he could have hoped for, what it meant to be him – a light in the darkness, a symbol of hope. He couldn't help thinking that his dad had thought the same thing about him. Like what he had said to the twins, about inspiring people to step up and do the right thing. And then, somehow, Lois thought that he was the Blur and almost died protecting him. How ironic.

Every time he told someone the truth, they looked at him differently. Chloe had that air of knowing more than he did and was always, always, slightly patronising. Lana had looked at him like he was a god, and, if he was honest, had always wanted to be just like him. His parents had looked at him with such love and pride that was always laced with worry. Lionel had seen him as a means to a greater end. Tess looked at him with ambiguous intentions in her eyes - she always had her own agenda. Pete had been his friend, and then left. Jimmy had trusted him completely, had looked up to him even, but he had died for that reason.

Every time, something had changed. He wasn't just Clark any more.

But with Lois?

Lois had looked at him and said "Thank you".

It was always different with her, from the moment he met her.

And now she was standing in front of him in the copy room, wearing the glasses he had to pretend he needed, looking utterly adorable and making him smile the way no-one else could. She punched him in the arm and his smile faded. Were they really never going to talk about him kissing her? Was she just going to forget about it?

He had no idea why she kicked the stack of newspapers over to him, and the way she advanced on him honestly made him a little worried, but the worry was nothing compared to the surprise he felt when she kissed him. He was literally bewildered for at least a good five seconds as his brain tried to process the fact that Lois Lane was crushing her lips to his. What was the point she was trying to make again? He couldn't really remember, especially not when her lips were so soft. And inviting. Under the circumstances, he didn't think he could do anything else except kiss her back, so he did, his eyes closing as he lost himself in her.

One arm snaked round her waist, pulling her closer as his other hand tilted her head left so he could kiss her better. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and nibbled at it gently, soothing it with his tongue, before giving the same attention to her upper lip. He kissed her again and again, shrinking the world down to the feel of her in his arms, her mouth against his, her hands pulling him ever closer.

He never wanted this moment to end.

Clark didn't know how long they stood there, wrapped up in each other. All of his senses were trained on her, listening to her uneven breathing and the rapid beat of her heart, feeling nothing but her. The moment, and their kisses, deepened and Lois's breathing grew more uneven. Clark's heart was soaring, revelling in the way she tasted, the way she responded to everything he did and matched every move he made. His body was telling him to slam her into the nearest wall and start something else altogether. His head was pointing out that the last time they had kissed, Lois had disappeared for two weeks.

Eventually, Lois's need for air was what stopped the kissing, at least temporarily. She stood there in his arms, still on top of the stack of newspapers, trying to catch her breath. Clark pressed his lips to hers again and again, his eyes still closed, desperately needing more of her and wanting her to stay but fearing she would go. Lois's breathing returned to normal, and the copy room, which had been filled with deep breaths and sighs and potential only a short time before, fell quiet. Clark's eyes flickered open to meet Lois's serious gaze, unsure of what to say but unable to break the silence. She didn't look like she was going to speak any time soon, so Clark did.

He pursed his lips and then spoke. "So…see you in two weeks?" His voice cracked as some of the longing he felt for her leaked through, the feelings he always hid away so carefully because he was never quite sure what they meant suddenly pushing up to the surface and almost choking him in their intensity. Still Lois said nothing and Clark needed to make her understand that this time, she couldn't leave, not after what happened. He closed his eyes and swallowed, willing himself to be calm, as words from the past drifted through his memory. Anything's possible, Clark…trust your gut. Clark opened his eyes to look at her and quietly, softly, deliberately said "Please don't go, Lois…not again. Stay. Please…stay." His arms tightened around her, making his meaning clear.

The first time he had kissed her, he didn't know what had come over him. All he knew was that he was standing there as she ranted and thinking he had never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in his whole life. So he did, and she had kissed him back, and given him something to dream about, something to hope for. At night, alone in the farmhouse, he had savoured the moment again and again, seeing her standing in front of him or lying beside him, eyes only for him, her lips kissing his. Now, he had kissed her because he wanted to, had wanted to so much that it wiped out every other thought he had, and everything else was forgotten…the Kandorians, Tess, Chloe, Oliver, his training…no, the only thing that mattered was what Lois would do now. Gazing at him still, she bit her lower lip (his stomach clenched at the sight) and, eyes fluttering closed for a second, nodded. She had nodded. That meant…that she was going to stay. She was going to stay here with him.

The joy that spread through his entire body, crackling with energy and anticipation, sparking every nerve ending, manifested itself in Clark kissing her again, hard. Lois kissed him back, meeting his passion with equal ferocity. They pulled each other even closer as Clark lifted Lois up off the newspapers and kissed her harder, his head tilting upwards, trying to show her how he felt, what she meant to him, how much he needed her. Their tongues duelled in a heated and deliberate battle, each of them giving and taking from each other, neither of them letting up. When they finally pulled apart, Clark's breathing matched the uneven rhythm of Lois's as he rested his forehead against hers.

There were things that needed to be said. Both of them knew it. But was now the time to "talk"? The last thing Clark wanted to do was talk, if he was completely honest. He was holding Lois in his arms, feeling every line and curve of her body against his, hearing her now gentle breathing as it caressed his face. She was so warm and alive and real, and he knew that from now on, he could never, ever, give her up. Maybe he always knew that, from the moment he saw her on that train and a faint spark of hope ignited inside him, pulling him back to the world as Clark Kent, drawing him closer to her. Maybe it had been the moment he had stood in the rain, cradling her against his chest, realising that he had never felt like this before and not knowing what to do with the feelings she invoked in him so easily. Maybe it was when she told him not to tell her his secret, to keep the mystery. She constantly surprised him, doing what he least expected and never what anyone else would do.

"Clark?" she whispered, sending a thrill through him as her breath hit his ear. Trying to keep his control over his own body intact, all he could reply was "Hmmm?" Lois seemed to be pushing against him and he looked up at her, eyebrows raised, fear of her leaving suddenly taking over every rational and irrational thought. "Will you put me down? Please?" she asked, softly, as though her words were going to hurt him and she was trying to lessen the impact of the blow. Clark lowered her till her feet touched the ground and she could stand upright. She was tall, even without the stack of newspapers, one of the few people he knew who didn't need to crane their neck to look at him. One glare from her could make him feel small, one smile could make him feel like he could take on the whole world. Right now, she wasn't doing either, just standing there, her arms looped round his neck, eyes searching his face as though trying to find something, or see something. His hands ran down her back, learning her, committing everything in this moment to memory. "I know that we should talk…" she began, trailing off as he rubbed his nose against hers, unable to stop touching her. "But I don't want to, at least not right now. I just…want to be here…with you". His breath caught, daring to believe she had said those words. What could he say? He didn't think he could find the words, as lost in the swirl of emotion in her eyes as he was, but he forced himself to think and speak.

He pulled his head back a little to take in all of her beautiful face as he spoke, eyes shining with the depth of his sincerity. "I'm glad you're here with me. I wanted you to stay. We don't have to talk, not yet…but can I take you out for coffee or something?" Her eyes sparkled in response and she bit her lip again. Clark wasn't going to be able to move if she kept doing that, judging by the way all the blood in his head seemed to be rushing south. "Is this a second date, Smallville?" she asked, her tone light and teasing. He knew he should answer in the same vein but he couldn't. He needed her to know how important it was to him. Looking her straight in the eye he said "Yes, it is." Suddenly unsure, assailed by doubt, he added "If you want? I mean…" Lois laughed and Clark thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. "So you kiss me and ask me out on a date and then you aren't sure?" she teased, her eyes sparkling again. Clark had to grin at himself. He was an idiot. "Yes, Smallville, I think I can manage coffee. How about tomorrow night?"

Relief flooded through him and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent he never quite put a name to. She had kissed him and she had said yes to another date. How did he get so lucky? A noise outside the copy room brought both of them back to the world around them. They probably should be doing some work. Slowly, reluctantly, Clark let go of Lois, trying to make the moment last as long as possible. She held his gaze even as they stood close to each other, not touching, just looking at each other. Lois took a step backwards and turned, walking towards the door. She stopped and looked back at him, smiling the most heart-warming smile he had ever seen before she disappeared into the corridor. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

High above Metropolis, Clark opened his eyes. What followed that day in the copy room were three more days of stolen glances and lingering touches, moments snatched here and there when they could. He had taken her out to coffee and for hours they had talked and laughed and reminisced about the past. She had even let him kiss her when he took her home with a promise that they should do it again.

He didn't know precisely when seeing Lois every morning had become a reason for him to want to go to work, or when her smile had become the one thing he looked forward to seeing, or when her approval had become the thing he craved most, but he knew that she meant more to him than anything in his life. She didn't see a god or an alien or a saviour when she looked at him – she saw Clark. With fierce resolution, Clark vowed to himself that he would tell her his secret one day, and when he did, she wouldn't run away or leave. Lois would stay.

The wail of a police siren broke into his thoughts and he listened intently for its destination. There was a robbery in progress, somewhere across the city.

With a smile and hope in his heart, Clark set off into the night.

Fin