He knew he shouldn't be there, watching her sleep.
But everything between them was different now and the feelings he'd had for Lana couldn't even compare to what he felt for Lois. What he felt for her scared him but at the same time, made him feel as though he wasn't alone anymore.
Clark couldn't explain the visceral need that had developed to be close to her and it was that need that had him standing in the doorway of his mother's room; watching.
"Clark, what are you doing?" Her soft voice startled him.
He hadn't noticed Lois stir and felt his face warm with embarrassment at being caught where he knew he shouldn't be. In spite of that fact though, he smiled. "Trying to sleep?"
"It's a little hard to do that standing in a doorway, don't you think?" She rolled over on to her side and propped her head up with her hand.
"I know." He sighed.
"So do you plan on sleeping there?" Her soft query made his face flush even more.
"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind."
"Then what exactly did you have in mind?" Her voice sounded a little breathless and Clark knew she understood what he was trying to get at.
"I thought maybe I could stay with you." He tried to swallow the lump that was suddenly stuck in his throat. She's going to say no, he thought; but surprised him when she didn't say anything.
It was too dark to see what she was thinking and it suddenly dawned on him how it must have sounded. He pushed himself away from the doorframe and apologized. "Lois, I didn't mean it like that."
"I know you didn't." And he heard her laugh softly. "You're too much of a Boy Scout."
It shouldn't have irritated him to hear her say it, but it did and he frowned. "Thanks."
"Do you think that's such a good idea?" She asked gently. "You've already said that we're not just friends anymore."
"We've shared my bed before." But it wasn't the same, was it?
"We shared your bed when we were friends." Lois reminded him.
"I know." He nodded reluctantly and turned for the hallway. "Never mind, it was a bad idea."
"Clark." Her voice was barely a whisper as she stopped him. "You can stay."
His hands began to shake and he could hear the sound of his own rapid heartbeat in his ears as he turned back around and walked to the bed. "You can trust me."
And to his surprise, Lois smiled at him. "That's too bad."
"Come on Lois." He smiled back. "It's one of the things you like about me."
"Smallville, it's the only thing I like about you." She disagreed. "And since it seems that you're not going to let me go back to sleep unless I let you stay, you should stay." She tossed the sheet back in invitation.
He sat down on the edge of the mattress and the shaking in his hands got worse when he felt her sit up and then rest her chin on his shoulder.
"But I can't stay here after tonight." She added.
He didn't want to hear that and sighed. "If I go back to my room, will you stay?"
Clark felt her grasp the back of his tee shirt and she shook her head. "No. Because if I keep staying here, we're going to end up doing more than just sharing a bed, and I'm not ready for that."
"And you think I am?" He leaned away from her with a frown. "You mean a lot more to me than that."
"Well, this was your idea." She sat back and sounded annoyed. "And if we get into the habit of doing this, there's only one way it can go and you know that."
He sighed and his frown deepened. "I just want to be close to you."
"I want to be close to you too, but this is a dangerous way to do it." He heard her sigh and tug on his shirt. "You mean more to me than that too."
"Lois?"
"What?"
"You're right." He admitted with a reluctant nod.
"I'm always right, Clark. But what am I right about this time?" He smiled in relief because he could hear the humor in her voice.
"As much as I'd like you to stay at the farm, it's not a good idea anymore. At least until Mom comes home." He amended.
"If we do that, you do realize that you'll end up on the couch again." Lois reminded him and her chin was back on his shoulder.
"If it means that you get to stay here, I can live with it." Should he tell her? "Lois?"
"Yes?" Her voice was low in his ear and his heart hitched.
"You know how I told you earlier that I like you a lot." He started. "And you told me that you like me a lot, too."
She nodded. "What are you trying to say?"
"It's more than that." He barely got the words out. "These last twenty-four hours have proved it."
"Proved what?" Her voice was nervous and breathy.
Just say it. "I think I might be falling in love with you."
She sat back again and didn't say anything in answer.
"I just thought you should know that." Clark glanced behind his shoulder.
"But you're not sure?" Lois finally asked him and for the first time, heard the rapid beat of her heart. He wasn't sure why, but he'd never thought to tune into it before.
"When it comes to you, I'm not sure about anything." He shouldn't have smiled, but did because he was responsible for the accelerated pace. His smile grew when he felt her arms curl around his neck and she kissed his cheek.
"That's the way I like it." She laughed and he leaned away again and kissed her cheek in return.
"You go back to sleep and I'll go back to my room." He tried to stand, but Lois wouldn't let him go.
"I don't think so." She held on to him. "I want you to stay."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure I don't want you to leave." He felt the softness of her lips as they brushed his ear. "Because we both know that nothing's going to happen, don't we?"
"Are you sure about that?" He couldn't resist and laughed as he took her hands in a gentle grasp.
"Say goodnight Smallville." She slipped her hands out of his and sat back. "You're not getting anything more than a sleeping companion."
"I'll take it." He smiled to himself. Having her in his arms was better than nothing because tomorrow night, he was going to be sleeping in an empty house again.
He didn't even want to think about it.
Clark felt the bed move as Lois stretched out and heard her sigh. He got in next to her and pulled the sheet over the both of them before he reached for her. It felt like such a natural thing to do and Lois was right; what they were doing was dangerous. But without a word of protest, she let him draw her against his body and she curled against him, pressing herself into his loose embrace.
He felt an arm wind around his waist and the other rest on his chest. And while she played with the edge of his tee shirt, he kissed her forehead. "Clark?"
"What is it?"
"Did you really mean it?" Her warm breath against his neck sent goose pimples skittering down his arms.
"About my starting to fall in love with you?" He smiled because he was quickly beginning to realize that it was more than that.
"Yeah."
"I meant it." He kissed her temple and felt the quick pulse. "If you don't feel the same way, it's okay."
"Does this mean you're going to start calling me 'Honey'?"
Was it possible to hear a smile?
"Not if you don't want me to." He kissed her cheek. "Because you did say that you didn't want me to make a habit of it."
"Well it seems to me that it's something a guy would call his girlfriend, don't you think?" Clark's breath caught as her hand slipped under his tee shirt and came in contact with his skin, caressing him. Did she just say girlfriend?
The word dangerous came to mind again and he had to resist the overwhelming temptation to answer her action because if he did, they might very well do something they weren't ready for and he swallowed nervously.
"I thought you weren't ready for that." He probably shouldn't have done it, but he brushed his lips against hers, the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears. Just one kiss and they could go to sleep.
"We're sleeping together and practically living together, so I think we've gone way past that." He felt her shrug.
"Lois, we're not sleeping together." He knew what she meant, but he couldn't resist the urge to tease her.
"Then what do you call this?" She kissed the underside of his jaw and he sighed contentedly.
"We're not sleeping, we're talking." He laughed and pulled her closer to him.
"Then I need to fix that." Lois commented quietly and before he had a chance to think about what she was doing, her lips were on his and he was kissing her back. She teased and coaxed and even dared him to deepen his kiss, and when he tentatively answered her dare she continued to coax him, trying to encourage him not to be so shy.
She was giving him permission to take things a little further with her than they'd gone before, trusting him to put the brakes on anything more.
He pressed her into the mattress, only wanting to feel as much of her as he could and his hands wedged their way under his tee shirt that she was wearing. Dangerous.
Dangerous, because he hadn't considered that his work worn hands would create a friction on her soft skin that would cause her to arch her back and his body would harden in places it had no business doing.
He wanted her, it was as simple as that; and it was as complicated as that.
"Lois honey, we have to stop." He whispered in her ear, trying to catch his breath and stop shaking as badly as he was. "Please."
"Then you have to get your hands off me." She put her arms around his neck and held him as her back arched again. "Because if you don't, we're in serious trouble."
He kissed her and smiled as he did as she asked when he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. He slipped his hands from under the tee shirt and smoothed it down and they settled on her back. "Lois Lane, you're nothing but trouble."
"I'll take that as a compliment." She took his face in her hands and kissed him before she tucked her head under his chin and sighed.
"I kind of figured you would." He grinned. "So do you still want to go to the lake tomorrow?"
She nodded. "It would be kind of nice to go when no one is there. Then we could have the whole lake to ourselves."
"Whatever you want." He began to stroke the length of her hair, loving the feel of it under his fingers.
"Clark?"
"Mm-hmm?" His other hand caressed her back and he could feel himself getting sleepy.
"You called me 'Honey'." Her hand skimmed his chest lightly.
"Isn't that usually what a guy calls his girlfriend?" He asked her.
"Am I your girlfriend?" Her head went up and she looked into his eyes.
"Only if you want to be." Clark smiled at her as she flushed. "Because I'd sure like it."
"When I first came to Hicksville, I never thought I'd end up with Farmer Fred as a boyfriend." Her head went back down on his chest and she sighed. "I told your mom that I'd rather have a nerd with glasses."
"Farmer Fred?" He laughed and Lois punched him in the arm.
"Well Farmer Clarkie doesn't have the same ring to it."
She was right about that. "So am I your boyfriend?"
"Only if you want to be." And she began to laugh. "Because I'd sure like it."
"Then I think we should seal the deal before we go to sleep." He suggested. "But you have to look at me first."
She raised her head and caught his eye. "I'm looking."
"Good." And he kissed her, then he felt her fingers in his hair as she kissed him back and she smiled.
"You still need a haircut."
"Go to sleep Lois." Clark admonished her gently with a kiss on her cheek and to his surprise; she actually complied when she relaxed against him.
"Don't even think about getting in the habit of bossing me around." She warned him.
"I won't, because you won't let me." He shook his head as he tightened his hold around her and relaxed. "Good night Lois, sleep well."
"Good night Clark." She sighed with contentment. "I will."
oooooo
It was a perfect day.
The weather was perfect and the temperature of the water was perfect. The lake was mostly deserted and Lois had Clark all to herself.
Perfect.
As they spent the afternoon together swimming and talking, it startled her to realize that she, too, was beginning to fall in love and that scared her. It hadn't been that long since she'd given her heart to Ollie and that had been a complete disaster.
But, she reminded herself; Clark wasn't Ollie because Clark wasn't afraid to tell her how he felt about her. Or show her for that matter.
She'd gone to sleep with his solid body under hers and his strong arms holding her close, with the sound of his heart beating in her ear. They'd shifted during the night. But his warmth was never far away, his reassuring touch letting her know that he was there.
Lois couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so well.
Yes she could. It was the last time she'd shared a bed with Clark.
A light wind began to stir late in the afternoon, making it too cold to swim any longer. So Lois found herself back in her cover up, covered with her towel and in the shelter of Clark's warm body.
He'd called her a mother hen after she'd found him in the caves, looking after him the way she had. Well, he was being a bit of a mother hen with her, making sure she was warm and comfortable.
"We can go if it's getting too cold." He scoot forward to give her more of his warmth.
"Would you can it, Smallville? I'm fine." Lois couldn't help but laugh. "But if you can't handle a little wind, we can leave."
"I'm fine Lois. I just mention it because if you catch cold, I know who you're going to blame." She heard his soft chuckle.
He was doing that a lot, laughing. And smiling too.
She hadn't realized how serious he'd been until she started spending so much time with him. And the first time she saw him smile he looked so different. It was probably the first time she got a glimpse of how handsome he really was.
"I'm not going to catch cold; the way you've got me bundled up." She leaned back. "Of course, if you catch cold it's your own fault."
"I know. But since you're keeping me so warm, I don't think it's going to happen."
"I should have guessed that there would be an ulterior motive." Lois smiled. "And here I thought you were being a gentleman."
"I am, I'm just using it to my advantage."
"Just like you use those baby blues of yours." She felt her face warm.
"I'll have to remember that." He laughed softly as she put her head back against his shoulder. "Of course, you use those gray eyes of yours with me too."
He noticed the color of her eyes? She shouldn't have been surprised, but she was.
"It's one of my best features." She teased.
"And do you know what your best feature is?" His voice had dropped to a whisper and Lois knew what was coming.
She leaned away from him and caught his eye. "What is my best feature?"
"I'll show you." And he kissed her. "I like doing that."
"I never would have guessed." She held his gaze and his face flushed. "I like the way you do it."
"You make it easy." He sighed. "And that scares me."
Lois nodded as she leaned back against his shoulder again. "It scares me too, but what was it that you told me? 'If we're scared together, maybe it won't be so scary.'"
"That was before I realized I was falling in love with you."
"It's no different, Clark." She shook her head. "Because I'm not Lana and you're not Ollie. Those relationships didn't work because we weren't friends with them first."
"Do you ever regret getting involved with him?" He was so still and Lois sensed that he was holding his breath in anticipation of her answer.
"No. He showed me a world I never would have had the chance to see if we hadn't been involved," She explained. "even though I knew that I didn't fit into that world. He's a champagne and caviar kind of guy and I'm beer and pretzels."
Lois felt the rise and fall of his chest as he released his breath. "I'm not even that."
"I'd be disappointed because then you wouldn't be you." She tried to reassure him.
"I think there's a compliment in there somewhere." He dropped a kiss in her hair.
"There is." And she took a deep breath. "Do you ever regret getting involved with her?"
"I don't know." He was being honest about it. "She was the first girl I ever loved even though it was a mismatch from the start; deep down I think I always knew that. We were never completely honest with each other and it was something that affected our relationship. And her living at the farm didn't make things better; it made them worse."
"Then why did you ask her to stay with you?" He was too nice for his own good sometimes.
"She didn't have anywhere else to go."
"Did you have to sleep with her?" That still rankled.
"It wasn't something I planned Lois, it just happened." He sighed. "It shouldn't have happened, but it did and it complicated things between us."
"Relationships shouldn't be complicated." It was Lois' turn to sigh. "When two people are involved, they need to communicate with each other so it doesn't get complicated."
"Kind of like us."
"Just like us." She amended and the irritation that had begun to form, ebbed away. "If it hadn't been for Ollie, I don't think I would have really appreciated the friendship that we have because we don't hold back."
"That's because you're the kind of girl who doesn't hold back." He nodded. "I say what I think when I'm with you and don't feel bad when I do. I always feel like I should apologize with anyone else."
"Never apologize for saying what you think Clark. If you go around in life trying to spare everyone's feelings, all you do is hurt yourself; the General taught me that."
Her father had taught her a lot of things that Lois was just beginning to appreciate. She'd resented him for most of her life for being an absentee father, but the older she got she could look back and see that his responsibilities were greater than she could ever have imagined.
What was it that she'd told Clark? 'His role in the world was more important than being a father.'
And in finally understanding that, she made the tentative move to try and connect with her father only to find out that he'd been trying to do the same with her. Their relationship was still tenuous at best, but at least they were trying and Lois didn't feel quite so adrift in the world.
Clark's feelings for her reinforced that belief.
"Where are you?" She was pulled out of her reverie by Clark's amused voice as he gently shook her shoulder.
"I was thinking about Dad."
"And here I thought you were thinking about me."
"Feeling a little insecure there, Smallville?" She reached up for the hand on her shoulder and held it. "You shouldn't, you know."
"I'm not insecure." He was sounding awfully defensive.
Lois leaned away and put her hand on his cheek, guiding his lips down to hers and kissed him. When he kissed her back, her hand moved to the back of his neck to keep him where she wanted him.
"I'm not." He insisted as he dropped a soft kiss on her lips and Lois settled back against him.
"If you insist."
"You shouldn't be either." Clark put his arms around her and his defensiveness was gone. "She's in the past."
"So is Ollie."
"I know." He sighed. "So that leaves the present and the future."
"Let's not look into the future just yet." Lois insisted as she ran light fingers up and down his arms. "I'd like to enjoy the present."
"Would enjoying the present include dinner with me?"
"Would that dinner be at the farm?"
"It doesn't have to be." Clark shook his head and his voice was close to her ear. "I might just want to show off my girlfriend."
"Show me off?" He was kind of cute when he was possessive. "I'm no trophy."
"Okay, then you can show me off." He laughed. "I just want to spend more time with you before you have to go home."
"Yeah, about that." She needed to go home, to the Talon and Lois knew that. But the truth was, as much as she knew that she needed to she didn't want to. "I meant it when I said that we can't sleep together anymore, but you promised me that you would stay in your room and I'll hold you to that."
"You want to stay?" He tightened his arms and held her close. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure that I don't want to be alone, which is what I would be if I went back to the Talon." She tried to explain without sounding completely pathetic. "It's nice to know that when I'm at the farm, there's someone just down the hall."
"Why don't you just move back?" He cleared his throat. "You said yourself that we're practically living together, so why not make it permanent? I know Mom wouldn't mind your staying in her room until she gets home and she'd love to have you around as much as I do."
"But to put you back on the couch doesn't seem fair." She frowned.
"And I already told you that I could live with it, if it meant that you would stay."
Lois shrugged. "It would make it easier for your mom to teach me how to cook."
"Please come home Lois." He pleaded softly. "Please."
"You really can't live without me, can you?" She smiled and had the absurd urge to laugh.
"Any more than you can't live without me?" He tossed back. "What do you suppose that means?"
"That we're two really pathetic people?" She relaxed against him and then did laugh.
"We're not pathetic Lois."
"Hey CK, what are you guys doing out here?" Lois looked up to see the smiling face of Jimmy Olsen and a hesitant looking Chloe standing just behind him. "I mean, I can see what you're doing. We just didn't expect you to be here."
"Well that's obvious." She frowned and refused to be embarrassed.
"Lois." Clark admonished her quietly.
"Sorry." She apologized to him. "We were swimming and now we're getting ready to leave."
"It doesn't look that way to me." Jimmy grinned at them.
"What do you want Olsen?" Lois wanted him to get to his point, so he would leave. "Or is it a habit of yours to bother people at the lake?"
"I'm here so Chloe can apologize." He was straightforward in his explanation and pulled Chloe forward. "Here's your chance, Bright Eyes." And he stepped back.
"I am sorry about yesterday." She started haltingly. "I honestly didn't realize that you two had become an item when I asked Lana to meet us here. I wasn't trying to set you up with her Clark, I just thought you should talk. I didn't know she'd already been to the farm."
"I understand why you did it; you're Lana's friend." He seemed to accept her explanation. "I'm not sure what she told you about what happened, but it was her decision to break up with me. And the thing is, she didn't talk to me face to face.
"I thought I meant more to her than that and I deserved more than that." Clark added. "She's made it pretty clear that she wants to give us another try, but I don't because I've moved on."
Lois was proud of the way he stood his ground; he'd really let her go this time.
"I can see that you have." She watched her baby cousin and couldn't quite tell what she was thinking.
"Are you okay with this?" Lois asked Chloe.
"I won't say that I'm not surprised because to be perfectly honest, I never could picture the two of you together." She admitted to them. "You've always been oil and water."
"We still are." Clark laughed. "But that's what makes it's interesting."
"Are you happy Lo?" It was an obvious question. But she knew that underneath all of her prying that Chloe just wanted what was best for her older cousin. And if that meant Clark Kent she would accept it, even if it might be a little reluctantly. All Lois could do was nod.
She wasn't ready to put a voice to what she felt for Clark to anyone but him, and that was difficult enough.
"Jimmy and I were planning on a movie night tonight. I'd really like it if you would be there." It must have been a difficult invitation to extend, given the circumstances.
"Can we take a rain check on that? Lois and I already made plans." Clark asked.
"How about tomorrow night then?" Jimmy stepped forward and Lois could see the crestfallen look on Chloe's face. "Could you do that?"
Lois nodded. "We'll be there, just give us a time."
"Seven?"
"Seven sounds good." Clark agreed. "And we'll bring the pizza."
Jimmy smiled at them and took Chloe's hand. "That sounds great. We'll see you tomorrow at seven."
He started to lead her away when Chloe stopped and turned around. "Clark, Lois means a lot to me."
And there it was. A subtle warning not to hurt her.
"I know she does Chloe. She means a lot to me too."
"Just so we understand each other. I don't want to have to go to Uncle Sam." She'd report him to the General?
Chloe grabbed Jimmy's hand without another word and walked up the beach.
"I guess we're talking again." Clark observed.
"It looks that way." Lois agreed. "But I'm not too sure how I like her threatening to go to Dad."
"She cares Lois, that's why she said it."
"I know." And she patted his knee. "I'm ready to go now."
"And you never answered my question." He mentioned as he stood up and held out his hand to help her stand. "Will you move back out to the farm?"
"That goes without saying Smallville." She smiled at him as she picked up the towel they'd been sitting on and shook the sand out of it before she clarified her remark. "Of course I will."
"You name the day and I'll be happy to help." He grinned.
"I know you will and I'll let you know. This turned out to be a pretty nice day, don't you think?" Lois asked him as he slung their towels over his shoulder and took her hand.
"A very nice day Lois." He nodded as he walked her up the beach.
And with any luck, those days would just keep getting better.