Coming Home

by vikinggoddss

After 'Lazarus' Lois went to Egypt, but never came back to the Daily Planet or Clark. Instead, something pushed her away from him and sent her to Gotham City, where she started a new life for herself with a new super hero…but now, four years later, she's coming home for Clark and Lana's engagement party. What will happen when she finds out Clark never stopped loving her? *Rated M*

Coming Home

By: vikingggoddss

Rating: NC 17

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Smallville. I just like to take them out and play with them. This fic is purely for entertainment value…so do not sue me!

Summary: After 'Salvation' and 'Lazarus' Lois went to Egypt, but never came back to the Daily Planet or Clark. Instead, something happened that pushed her away from him and sent her to Gotham City where she started a new life for herself with a new super hero…but now, four years later, she is coming home for Clark and Lana's engagement party. What will happen when she finds out Clark never stopped loving her?

****************************************Clois***** *******************************

Metropolis 2013

Lois Lane flashed a brilliant smile for the paparazzi as she was escorted down the red carpet and into Metropolis Plaza Hotel. She felt like a million dollars; and she should, she thought wryly, considering Bruce had spent over a hundred thousand dollars on her jewel encrusted black Vera Wang gown alone. Lois didn't even want to imagine how much the diamond choker or ten carat tennis bracelet she wore cost. And while Lois thought the jewelry and form fitting, mermaid style couture dress was stunning, and flattering to her figure, the idea of spending that much money on a dress and accessories seemed excessive and ridiculous to her.

However, she also knew that to a billionaire like Bruce Wayne, it wasn't even a drop in the bucket. He considered all of it an investment in getting her to accept his pursuit of her. Lois wasn't stupid. Bruce had been trying to seduce her ever since she took the job at the Gotham Gazette. However, she was beginning to suspect he might be falling for her now. She recalled Oliver Queen's similar pursuit a few years earlier. Maybe not quite as aggressive, but just as frivolous with the monetary gifts…

Why did the Billionaire Boys' Club think they needed to buy her expensive things to get her interest?

It was funny. She wanted to love Bruce Wayne, but even with all his money, charm and dashing good looks, Lois couldn't quite get over a certain small town farm boy with a hero complex who had captured her heart without wooing her with diamonds and a dozen roses a day.

Bruce had courted her for over a year and Lois had always insisted they stay on the 'friends only' playing field…until last month, when she got the 'invitation'…

******************************Clois*************** ***************

Previously:

Gotham City: Lois's apartment April 2013

Bruce handed her the invitation.

"Your choice…Do you want to go?"

Lois glanced down at the piece of embossed paper in her hand. 'You are cordially invited to the engagement party of Mr. Clark Kent and Ms. Lana Lang…'

Swallowing her sudden urge to vomit, Lois tossed the card on her dressing table. "It should say Lana Lang Luthor, but…whatever, obviously Smallville doesn't care."

Bruce put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her gently, trying to entice her into a better mood. "Are we going?"

Lois pulled away from his touch. It wasn't that she was playing hard to get. She wasn't. Her withdrawal wasn't on purpose. It was simply, she couldn't give Bruce the answer he wanted from her.

Lois Lane was still in love with another man.

"I suppose we should, but I'm surprised he invited me."

Bruce frowned at her evasion, but he was a patient man and Lois Lane was worth the wait. He let his hands drop to his sides. "He probably didn't. She did. You know…wanting to get rid of old flames and all that."

Lois caught Bruce's dark eyes in the mirror of her vanity. "Yeah, well Lana didn't need to send me an invitation to her engagement party to do that." Lois tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but it still seeped through. "All she had to do was show up—and that was the end of Lois and Clark."

Bruce sighed. He desired Lois above any woman he'd ever met; however, he hated it when she got morose about the Boy-scout!

"To be fair, Lo…you did kind of take off to Egypt first and then decided to never come back. He didn't get back with Lana until last year…"

Lois scowled. "No Bruce. To be fair I gave Clark an out and he took it," she snapped. "He kissed me as the Blur—pretty much advertising they were one and the same, and then when I begged him for the truth…he told me to go to Egypt! So no…*I* didn't make that choice. *He* did!"

Bruce murmured a soft *mm-hmm*. "What about Kaleb? Do you ever plan on telling him?"

"Do I plan on telling Kaleb what?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. He hated when Lois played dumb. "Lo…you know what I mean. I meant Clark. Do you ever plan on telling Clark about Kaleb?"

Lois paled, before her jaw lifted to a pugnacious angle. "And *why* would I tell Clark anything about my son?"

"Oh, I don't know," Bruce growled, getting frustrated at her lack of trust, "maybe, because the boy is his?"

Lois sucked in a sharp breath, before she glared and went on the attack. "What are you talking about, Bruce?! I think your Bat-senses must be on the fritz because Kaleb is *not* Clark's!"

"Really?" he smirked. "So yesterday, when I came over to pick you up—that wasn't your three year old son lifting the couch over his head as he searched for his lost crayon?"

All the air left Lois in a whoosh and she jumped up from her seat to grab him by the lapels of his jacket. "Bruce," she said suddenly, desperately; her grip fierce, as she clung to him. "You can't tell him!"

He put his arms around her, soothing her. "Lo—"

"No! I'm serious! If Clark found out he could take Kaleb from me. And then Lana would be involved with…" Lois looked sick, "…raising my son…and…ugh…she's so manipulative." Lois started to shake. "Oh God!" she muttered and sat back down on her chair. "This can't be happening. I knew I should've stayed away from the JLA…" She put her head in her hands. "Now I'm going to lose my son and Oh God!"

Lois was halfway to a meltdown when Bruce knelt down in front of her and took both her hands in his, making her look at him. "Lois!" He had to yell her name almost in her face to finally get her to pay attention. "Hey…look at me," he said more softly now, "I would never-ever do that to you." He kissed her knuckles. "I'm crazy about you. Don't you know that by now? I would never betray you like that. Not even for the JLA."

Lois gave him a wobbly smile. "Why do you still care so much, Bruce? I haven't given you any reason to?"

He shrugged. "Because you're Lois and you're amazing. A gorgeous and brilliant reporter with more balls than most men I know," he said with a grin. Lois finally chuckled and Bruce went on. "Listen Lo, I don't care if the JLA would want to know about Kal…I don't care if *he* would want to know. I think I've made it pretty clear The Blur does not control Batman." Lois rolled her eyes, but she wasn't trembling or shaking anymore…and she was letting Bruce hold her now. "Just say the word and Boy-scout will never come near you or JK ever. I promise."

Realizing he was talking about defying the JLA for her, Lois glanced up at Bruce with wide hazel eyes. "Thank you, Bruce. I don't know what I would do without you, but I don't want you to get into trouble for me."

He smiled. "Won't ever happen," he said. He picked up the invitation. "So, I'll have Alfred send our regrets tomorrow—"

Lois snatched the invitation back. "No," she insisted, taking a deep, fortifying breath. "I think we should go." She placed a hand on his cheek. "You're right. I need to move on."

"What about Kaleb? We can't take him with us."

"Do you think Alfred would mind watching him for a couple of days?"

Bruce laughed. "I doubt it. Those two seem to have the same strange fascination for chess and star gazing." He smirked. "I think they'd be fine for a couple of days."

Lois nodded. "Then send an acceptance for the two of us," she said softly, biting her lip in a way that had Bruce's pulse racing, but also made him want to take his jet to Metropolis and shove a green meteor rock up Boy-scout's ass for hurting this woman. "It's time I faced my past and seeing him with her again should be just the push I need to let him go for good."

And then for the first time, in over a year of relentless courting, Lois kissed Bruce with more than just a peck on the cheek.

As they fell back on the bed, Bruce hoped he wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life pushing Lois to see Clark Kent again after nearly four years apart…

***************************************Clois****** ********************************

Present time: Metropolis May 2013

Bruce and Lois made a beautiful couple as they entered the hotel. The ballroom was packed and Lois's nails dug into Bruce's arm as they were announced. The short balding man's voice was far bigger than his stature and his voice carried across the Ballroom.

"I am pleased to announce…Mr. Bruce Wayne and Ms. Lois Lane."

Lois was practically tap dancing with nervous energy. "Stop fidgeting, Lo," Bruce whispered in her ear as they were ushered inside. The throng of people around them converged, many of them wanting to make the acquaintance of the reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne. He kissed her cheek, while deflecting another hanger on. "Trust me, you're the most beautiful woman here and gorgeous women don't fidget," he teased.

Lois barely had time to shoot him an unappreciative glare before a tiny blonde in burgundy burst upon her.

Chloe all but climbed up Lois like a spider monkey and held on. "Oh my God! You're here!" she cried, giving her more statuesque cousin a hug that belied her tiny stature as she proceeded to squeeze the life out of Lois.

Lois immediately hugged her baby cousin back. "Ugh…need to breathe here, Chlo…" Chloe relaxed the death grip she had and Lois pulled back to smile down at her cousin's pixie like face. "It's good to see you too. I missed you."

"Lois, what are you doing here?" Chloe asked, chewing her lip. "I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you-I am, but I didn't expect to see you-at least not here."

"What are you talking about?" Lois asked, but then she noticed Chloe's attention was caught by something behind her and she remembered Bruce. "Oh, Chloe…let me introduce you to my date—"

"Bruce Wayne," Chloe cut in with a tongue-in-cheek smirk. "Uh…we've met, Lo, but he neglected to share that you two were dating."

There was a sudden commotion towards the back of the grand room, and the tinkling sound of a glass shattering was heard. The room got quieter, and then a woman's voice saying, 'Clark!' sounded across the entire room.

Lois's head shot up, and then…there he was, shouldering his way through the enormous crowd. Her knees went a little weak as all six foot four inches of him determinedly made his way towards where her, Bruce and Chloe were standing.

Chloe's eyes shot to Bruce. "You should have warned him," she hissed.

Lois caught it and finally was able to tear her eyes off the beauty that was Clark Kent bearing down on them to round on her cousin. All her previous anger at Chloe and her secret keeping shot to the surface and Lois let loose. "Clark doesn't own me, Chloe, and even your merry band of super-friends can't tell Bruce who to date. If you want to stay family—back off," she snapped quietly.

Chloe's eyes widened. "You know about—?"

"I've known for years, Chlo, not that you ever cared about my feelings in any of this considering all the inventive ways you hid his secret from me. I know he's your friend, but we're family! Don't pretend to start caring now."

Lois might have said more if Clark wouldn't have been so close to them at that moment. She bit her tongue, plastered on a fake smile and turned to the one man who had the power to make her melt with just a look.

"Hey Clark," she said, smiling so hard she thought her face might crack. "I guess congratulations are in order. It's good to know that fairy-tales really do come true, huh? I mean, look at you…Clark and Lana—finally making it to the altar. Who knew? I mean I did…it was written in the stars and all, but…"

Bruce squeezed her hand reminding her to stop babbling. Lois shot him a grateful look and zipped it. "Anyways, congratulations," she said elegantly, leaving out the psycho babbling this time, "I hope you both will be very happy."

The words were like bitter sawdust in her mouth and Lois had a hard time not grimacing after saying them. But she managed to not break down in front of him.

If Lois wanted to babble, Clark, on the other hand, seemed speechless; his eyes roamed over Lois like a starving man eyeing the last supper. "You look beautiful, Lois," he said softly, his eyes focusing on her lips. When Lois nervously gnawed on the bottom one, heat seemed to flare in his eyes. "I missed you."

Clark's voice was filled with want and Chloe winced when Clark looked down and noticed the way Bruce had a hold of Lois's arm.

"Are you two…dating?" Clark asked, his voice rising dangerously.

"Aren't you marrying your child hood sweetheart?" Bruce returned, smirking, unfazed by the anger stamped across Clark's face.

Clark's jaw went tight and his fists clenched. He looked like he wanted to rip Bruce apart limb from limb, and just as the awkward meter started to go off the charts Lana joined the group.

"Bruce, it's good to see you," she murmured in her whisper soft voice, before latching onto Clark's arm and clinging like a jelly fish while she offered up a polite, but blatantly false smile at Lois. "Wow, Lois Lane. Look at you—infamous reporter for the Gazette with two Pulitzers under your belt." Even her praise sounded condescending.

Lois merely smiled; determined to keep her foot out of her mouth tonight. "Long time no see, Lana. Oh and congratulations," she said, noticing how tense Clark looked with Lana attached to him like a cling-on.

"I didn't realize you and Bruce were dating." She gave a tinkling laugh, "I have to say, you've done really well for yourself out there in Gotham." She glanced at Chloe, her fake smile still stretching across her pointy little face, "I've given up my thing for billionaires, but Lois—you seem to have a knack for attracting them. First Oliver—now Bruce Wayne…" She sighed and dug her nails into Clark's arm when it became obvious he was fidgeting. Her brow shot up and her voice lowered to an almost threatening level. "With all your success…I'm surprised our little party brought you back to Metropolis."

Lois frowned as her gaze darted from Clark discreetly tearing his arm away from Lana's clutches to Lana herself, who looked like she was about to be forced to chew a bucket rusty nails. "O—Kay… Am I missing something here? Why is everyone so surprised I'm here? You invited us."

Clark's gaze whipped down to his bride-to-be and Lois actually took a step back at the fury on his face. He looked like he was about to use his heat vision on his soon-to-be-wife. Lana started to shake her head, but Clark ignored her and turned his gaze back to Lois.

On the Richter scale of awkward—this situation was a 10.0 at this point.

Clark's aqua gaze swept over Lois once more as if memorizing her. "Lois it was…" he paused and Lois's smile faded as his throat muscles flexed and he swallowed thickly, as if just seeing her had wrecked him. "It was good to see you." The sadness in his voice was obvious. "I'm glad you're…" He did it again and Lois frowned, confused at the blatant longing in his gaze, "…happy," he finally choked out, but he looked anything but-as a matter of fact, he looked miserable. "If you'd excuse us for a moment," he nodded his head at the group, wrapped a huge hand around Lana's scrawny arm and proceeded to almost drag her out of the Ballroom.

Lois watched them go with a mixture of sadness and surprise. "Okay that was weird," she said watching Clark drag his fiancé out of the room. Once Lana's reed thin body was pulled from the room, Lois glanced to Bruce, "Was it just me, or was he seriously surprised to see me here?"

Chloe jumped in, her green eyed glare going to Bruce first, before softening when she turned her gaze to Lois. "Lo…Clark and Lana didn't invite you," she said hesitantly, not wanting to risk getting Lois mad at her all over again. "They uh…invited Bruce and a guest, but with your history with Clark…*and*" she emphasized the word, "…considering Bruce never told Clark you were dating. I don't think either of them did expect to see you tonight." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Lois."

Lois turned to Bruce. "Please tell me you didn't?"

Bruce Wayne was still digesting the ugly fact that it was obvious Boy-scout was still in love with Lois. And considering what he knew about her feelings for Clark...Bruce was in no mood to be accused of plotting his own failure in winning the heart of the woman he wanted for himself. "Seriously?" he asked, his brow shooting up. "Do you really think this is my idea of a good time, Lo?"

Lois didn't hesitate. "No," she said softly. Bruce loved her. He wanted her-the last thing he would do would be to orchestrate this disaster. She turned to back Chloe-her reporter's antennae up now. "Well, maybe Clark and Lana didn't expect me to be here, but someone obviously wanted me to torpedo this shindig," she muttered, her eyes scouring the room for possible suspects. "And I intend to find out who thinks he can play 'puppet-master' with my life!"

Bruce and Chloe both knew that look. Lois was on a mission now. And she wouldn't be leaving Metropolis until her mystery was solved.

**************************************Clois******* ****************************

Later, upstairs in their two bedroom suite at the Plaza, Bruce paused outside Lois's bedroom door as he debated over what he was about to do. Did he *really* want the answers to his questions? A part of him said 'no' just keep things as they were…get her back to Gotham and she'd still be his, but he wasn't wired that way. He loved Lois, but it was becoming pretty obvious she would never return that sentiment and Bruce Wayne wasn't anyone's rebound guy.

It was time he heard the truth from her.

Lois's head whipped about as he threw open the double doors to her private quarters. She slipped her robe on over her nightgown. "A knock would have been nice."

"You're still in love with him and it's pretty fucking obvious he's still in love with you, so why don't you tell me, Lo…" Bruce came to a stop in front of her. The dark eyes that struck fear into Gotham's criminals were glowing fiercely. "What the hell are you and me doing here, and why the hell is Boy-scout really marrying fly girl?"

"Fly girl?" Lois snorted, rather than answer Bruce's far too disturbing question. Lois had known Lana had joined the JLA, but she'd never heard her name before tonight. "Why do they call her that?"

"Quit deflecting, Lo," Bruce returned, knowing full well she was dodging the real issue.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," she said in reply, smiling because she knew she'd get her way.

Bruce couldn't help but smirk. It was this that he loved about her. "Fine," he capitulated. "They call her that because when she had the kryptonite suit removed, she almost died. She had to have a massive blood transfusion and apparently, the donor was a meteor freak that had been bitten by a radio-active fly." Lois's eyes widened, but before she could ask questions or comment, Bruce went on. "So, the donor's blood got a super powered boost from Lana's kryptonite infected body and presto-change-o-meteor-crazy…now she can stick to walls and fly—hence the fly-girl moniker."

Lois crossed her arms, chuckling at the thought that Lana was now part fly. That was just…eww. "Does she have a thing for bullshit too…?" She paused and grinned, "Oh, wait a minute…that was something she's always had, so no one's probably noticed how full of shit she is."

Bruce rolled his eyes, but he was laughing just the same because he'd thought the same thing about the oh-so-uppity Lana Lang a few times himself. What the fuck did Clark see in that skinny bitch? But that thought brought him right back to why he'd come in here…obviously, Clark *had* moved on if the way he'd nearly gobbled up the sight of Lois was any indication.

"Lois," he said standing behind her and putting his hands on her waist. "I love you. You know I do, but I think it's pretty obvious you're not over him…what do you want from me here?"

Lois turned in his arms and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry," she breathed, sniffling as she rubbed her face against his chest. "I never meant to hurt you, but I never lied to you either, Bruce."

His arms tightened reflexively as he held onto her for as long as he could. "I know." His throat closing up as placed a kiss on her head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Lo," he murmured as his world started to tilt and whirl wildly…

She was leaving him.

"You love him," he stated. "And, he obviously still loves you."

Lois stepped away from his arms. "Yeah, coz nothing screams 'I love you' like marrying another woman!" she muttered.

"He couldn't take his eyes off of you."

She snorted as she sat down on the edge of the bed, shaking her head. "I bet. It was probably horror because I was crashing his engagement party." She gave a short, bitter laugh. "God, you know this makes me two for two at breaking up Lana Lang's engagement parties."

"I don't think that's exactly true, Lo," he said coming to sit next to her. He took her hand in his. "My money is still on her inviting you. Just because Clark didn't know, doesn't mean she didn't do it."

"Normally I would agree, but you saw her face, Bruce. Lana was *not* happy to see me there tonight. No, someone else was behind this and I'd really like to know who."

Bruce used that as an entrance to bring up the question she still hadn't given him an answer on. "Do you still love him, Lo?"

She gave him a sideways glance. "Does it really matter? He's moved on, I'm moving on. Why dredge all this up?"

She was giving him an out. She wasn't leaving him after all, but…Bruce didn't want to be a consolation prize. He refused to be *that* guy. "It matters Lois, because if you do…you should tell him. I can see he still loves you. That look on his face tonight wasn't horror. It was the look of a man in love."

Lois was saved from answering when Bruce's 'other' phone rang. His jaw hardened when he saw who was calling. "Speak of the devil," he muttered.

"Answer it," Lois said, "it's obviously JLA business."

Bruce merely raised a brow. He doubted that. Boy-scout had looked royally pissed at him tonight and Bruce was pretty sure he was about to get an earful. After a brief and brusque conversation, Bruce hung up. "He wants to meet with me," he said with a smirk.

"So…this isn't about the League?"

"C'mon, you knew it wasn't."

Lois worried her bottom lip nervously. "Bruce…"

He grinned. "Don't worry about me, Lo. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself," he said gruffly. "Think about what I asked you. If you decide to really move on—say the word and I'll have the jet ready in an hour and we can go home, back to Gotham. We'll put this behind us and start over. But…if you still have feelings for Clark, then you need to resolve them once and for all or tell him." He knelt in front of her and took both her hands in his. "I would move mountains for you, but I can't fight a ghost. Decide what you want. I'll still be there for you and Kaleb; no matter what. Okay?"

Lois gave a small nod and then he was gone—off to get into his Batman gear before meeting up with the Blur.

*****************************************Clois**** ********************************

After Bruce left to meet with Clark, Lois found herself far too amped up to sleep, so she changed out of her nightgown and into a black pencil skirt and a dark blue blouse. She wanted a drink and didn't want to sit in her room drinking alone, so she went downstairs to the hotel's bar, determined to take her mind off what was happening tonight.

She'd been there for maybe ten minutes when she felt him standing behind her. She finished her last shot of tequila and spun around on her bar stool. "I thought you were meeting Bruce on top of the Daily Planet?"

"Oliver is taking my place on that. I needed to see you," he said so softly, Lois had to lean forward to hear him.

She flashed him a smirk. "Well…look at you, getting all sneaky, Smallville. I'm impressed. Did you learn that from your bride to be or have you always been such a rat?"

Clark took two steps forward crowding her against the bar and Lois leaned back, desperate to keep him at bay. "Whoa. Okay, personal space bubble…" she heaved, pushing at his chest, her voice breathless at his proximity.

"Why did you leave me?" he asked without preamble.

His eyes were clear and as blue as the ocean and Lois felt herself falling into them.

She looked away; breaking the connection. "You wanted to play games and refused to be honest with me. When I did come back…you'd already shacked up with Lana." She shrugged. "I figured it was time to move on."

"I'd already…what?" He shook his head, confused. "Lois, I didn't get back together with Lana until six months ago—right before Christmas."

"No, I came back from Egypt Clark and I found you and her in bed together…" Lois refused to cry in front of him, so she blinked back the tears that memory caused. "I decided then and there, it was time to move on."

Clark's eyes widened as he had a sudden memory of one night almost three years ago that he had given in to his pain about Lois leaving and had allowed Lana to soothe him sexually. "I—it was just that one time—I thought you were gone. Lois—"

"Don't bother explaining. I got it loud and clear, Smallville. It'll always be Lana for you."

Words eluded him and Clark's heart broke all over again. "No. It isn't," he whispered, taking another step closer, now completely invading Lois's 'personal space bubble'. "It's you. You're the one," he told her, his eyes riveted to her mouth with such longing that Lois's entire body throbbed in response.

"Clark," she gasped, desperately trying to find the strength to tell him to back off.

But he couldn't. He put his hand on her cheek, his thumb caressing her bottom lip. "I've never stopped loving you."

Lois swallowed hard as her world tilted. "You can't…" she started, but he lowered his head and as soon as his lips touched hers, Lois moaned softly, giving Clark the opening he was looking for. He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer, angling her mouth for a deeper kiss as his other arm went around her waist and he yanked her up out of her chair, pressing her body all along his.

Lois's arms automatically looped around him, holding on as he pulled her to him. He kissed her silly for several moments, before he pulled back. "I need you…"

Those words shocked Lois into motion. "No!" She catapulted out of his arms and started to head for the exit—looking to escape his far too alluring presence. "We can't do this. You're engaged. I'm with Bruce now…"

"Are you?" Clark asked, latching onto her arm and refusing to let her run away. He dragged her off to a dark corner of the bar where it was far quieter and no prying eyes to watch them. He gripped both of her arms and leaned down so that they were almost nose to nose. "Are you really with him, Lo? Or are you just trying to forget me with him like I'm trying to do with Lana?"

Lois was panting softly. "Don't do this, Clark…"

"I can't stop it, Lo," he said just as quietly, intensely. And then he kissed her again. And it was rockets and fireworks, explosions of heat and a release of tension so profound, that Lois and Clark were almost violently reminded of how good they were together.

Clark groaned and picked her up in his arms. He spun her around and almost slammed her into the wall. Only in the last second did he control his strength and just managed to crush her between his firm body and the hard plaster of the wall, and not send her crashing through it.

"I have to…" He was breathing so harshly, he could barely talk. His hands were shaking as he yanked her skirt up around her waist. "Need you right now."

"We can't…" Lois keened, but her legs were wrapping around his waist and her hands had already buried themselves in his hair. She tugged his face to hers and kissed him. "Oh God…this is so bad."

"I can't stop myself," he growled against her lips as he pressed her deeper into the dark corner of the bar. His hand went under her skirt and literally tore her panties right off her. "I have to have you."

"Clark!" Lois gasped when his fingers immediately followed suit and slipped along the slickened folds of her sex.

It was like he was high on Red K. Clark was lost—lost in the feel of her after so long. He knew he should stop, technically he was still engaged to another woman, but he couldn't or didn't want to stop himself. Lana knew where he was, and she knew it was over. She'd known the minute he saw Lois it was over.

"Lo, I've missed you so much," he groaned into her neck as he palmed her wet heat and slid a finger inside her. His thumb pressed against her clitoris and he rubbed the distended nub in small, tight circles until Lois was writhing under his ministrations, panting his name like a mantra.

"I dream about you…" he confessed, nibbling at her ear and holding on to her tight as her entire body jolted and stiffened—she was about to come and Clark leaned back, eager to see it. It had been so long since he'd been able to watch Lois in the throes of passion and he didn't want to miss even a second of it.

"Oh God, Clark!" she cried, muffling her voice against his neck as her orgasm overwhelmed her and she came undone, clinging to him in a darkened corner of the hotel bar with a hundred people only fifty feet away from them.

Once she came back to her right mind, Lois pushed at his chest, shocked and appalled at what she'd just done. "Clark! Let me down." When he stood there like an immovable object, his face buried in her neck and his chest still pressed against hers like a steel wall, she grabbed his jaw and made him look at her. "Put-me-down-now!" she demanded in a hiss.

"Lo-is," he said softly, his eyes dreamy and soft. "I love—"

"Don't you dare say it!" she gasped, struggling now to get away from him.

Clark came out of his hazy sexual fog when she began to struggle in earnest and he reluctantly let her slide down his body, but he didn't back away. He couldn't. Not this time. "Lois, we need to talk," he said. "I can't let you walk away from me again. Not without telling you the truth about everything."

Lois shook her head, tugging her skirt down and making sure she looked presentable again. *Now* he wanted to tell her the truth?! She sighed. "I already know the truth, Clark. I've known for a long time."

He nodded. "You know I'm the Blur…yeah, but—"

"And how do you know that I know that?" But before he could reply, she answered her own question. "Let me guess…Chloe called and told you I knew. Right?" His face told the tale and Lois snorted. "It figures! She always was better at keeping your secrets over mine. Some things will never change."

Lois took a deep breath and maneuvered her way around the solid wall that was Clark's big, muscular body. "I have to go. This shouldn't have happened."

But Clark couldn't let her walk away again. He simply couldn't. "Lo, wait!" he said urgently, grabbing her arm and keeping her there. "Please," he begged, "don't go. I—you may know about my secret, but you don't know everything. I never got the chance to tell you everything."

"Never got the chance…?" She gave a sarcastic laugh. "Clark, you had *every* chance. You *chose* not to tell me!"

The seconds ticked away as Lois and Clark wrestled with their demons on who left who…

Lois knew she should go. She knew it, but when he hunkered down so that they were eye to eye…his big soulful aqua gaze was so earnest, so pleading, she melted. "I can't…" she whispered, trying one last time to escape the hold he had on her.

"Please Lo. Please. Just let me explain everything and then…" He stopped and she watched as he swallowed hard, as if what he was about to say was actually painful. "And then…if you still want to leave me again. I'll-I'll let you go," he ended softly, and his eyes closed then and Clark wiped at them just as Lois realized they were tearing up.

"Clark…?" She touched his face, her tender heart snagged by his desperation. "Okay. I'll listen, but not here," she said looking around the bar, utterly thankful no one had spied them earlier or now. "And not upstairs either," she added. The last thing she wanted was for Bruce to come back and find Clark in their room. Not that there was a she and Bruce after this—Lois knew she would have to end that. After tonight, it was beyond clear that she was ruined for any other man after Clark Kent…

She was giving him a chance. His smile was dazzling. "I know where we can go, but you'll have to take a ride on the Clark Kent express…"

"The what?" she asked, her lips twitching in response to his infectious grin.

He suddenly scooped her up in his big, strong arms and Lois gave a little *whoo* and looped her arms around his neck. Their eyes locked and both remembered the many times she'd ended up just like this after one of her hair-brained schemes had backfired. Clark hugged her to his chest, his heart swelling at holding her like this again and Lois let him, rolling her eyes at the possessive look in his.

"Okay cave-man, take me to your lair," she said with a smirk.

"Hang on," he whispered against her ear and Lois had only a second to do so before he zipped out of the bar at full throttle. The wind and the scenery blurred past them faster than a speeding bullet and Lois's heart was racing when a couple seconds later, they suddenly came to a skidding stop in front of the Talon.

Her eyes widened when she saw the old building she used to live and work in. "Oh my God! That was amazing!" she said, laughing, her cheeks flushed from the wind and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Clark set her down on her feet, but held on to her waist as he basked in her exuberant response to his powers. She glowed like a shooting star and he loved her so much at that moment. Everything he wanted to tell her was right there on the tip of his tongue, but he held back. First he had to explain to her why he'd told her to go to Egypt…

He took her by the hand and started for the entrance of the coffee shop, but Lois held back, looking up at the dark building. All the lights were off and as far as she knew, no one they knew lived there anymore.

"Clark, it's closed. We can't just break in Superman…"

He turned and a brow shot up. "What did you just call me?"

Lois shrugged. "Nothing. It's just…well Superman…it seems to fit what with your super powers and all." When he kept staring, she got fidgety. "Look, forget I said anything," she said laughing it off. "I'm not trying to change your name or anything."

"Superman…" Clark let the name roll off his tongue. "Isn't that a little…" he shrugged, still bashful about bragging about his abilities, "pretentious?"

Lois grinned. "Still modest I see. Look Clark, if the super shoe fits—wear it," she told him, raising her chin as if daring him to deny it.

He laughed softly. "Lois…I've missed you," he told her softly and hugged her to him, squeezing her so hard it was just this side of being painful.

"Clark!" she gasped, "having trouble breathing here!"

He let her go immediately. "Sorry," he said. "It's just…I really have missed you."

Me and my ribs can tell," Lois replied, but her smile took the edge off her zinger.

She glanced back at the building. "And back to our breaking and entering…you know I only do that for a good story, right?"

He chuckled and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "Well then luckily for me, I have the keys so we'll be fine."

"Do you run the Talon now?"

He shrugged, hemming and hawing a bit before he admitted he'd sold the back forty acres of the farm. "I bought out the lease a few years ago," he informed her as he opened the door and escorted her inside.

"Why?"

He glanced away guiltily. "It was—" His eyes went to the dark stairwell to the right and he sighed. "You'll see," he said mysteriously.

"Clark…? Double O seven you're not. What aren't you telling me?"

Clark flipped on the interior lights and pointed to the coffee machines. "Do you want a cup of coffee?" he asked instead of answering.

"No, what I want is answers. That *is* why we're here, right?"

"Yeah it is." He led her to the stairs that went to the upstairs apartment.

"We can't just enter someone's house, Clark. That place may hold memories for us…but I don't think the current tenants will appreciate the landlord wanting to stroll down memory lane at two in the morning!"

He kept on tugging her up the stairs, making her follow after him as he climbed the short flight to the top landing. "There are no current tenants Lo. No one has lived here since you left."

Lois frowned. "What? Why?"

Clark paused outside the door. "Because…this is my place now," he answered.

Lois looked confused as Clark unlocked the door to his private haven. No one came here, but him anymore. He turned on the lights and Lois walked inside, looking around for a moment before she gasped. It was like she'd taken a step back in time.

"It's…" She didn't know what to say. He hadn't changed anything. All of the stuff she hadn't taken with her to Egypt was still there. As a matter of fact, the apartment was exactly as she'd left it four years prior. She could even still smell her old Christian Dior perfume hovering in the air. How was that possible?

"Clark what is this?" Lois asked, her stunned expression showing her shock and surprise.

"This was all I had left after you were gone," Clark explained as he walked over to the counter. The kitchen still had her coffee mugs and utensils, plus a few knick-knacks and other things that were hers. He picked up a bottle of perfume and Lois's hazel eyes widened when she realized it was hers too-no wonder she still smelled it. Lois's eyes watered when he took the cap off and inhaled, smiling sadly. "It's the only place I could feel close to you. I couldn't let anyone change it."

***********************************************Clo is**********************************************

Okay everyone...this is a two parter. I saw 'Promise' the other day on TNT and my muse simply wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote a story where Clark fought like that for Lois. Hope you like this...remember reviews and comments are soul food for the muse. :)