Clark glided down to his apartment balcony from the cool night sky and sighed with relief. It had been a long day for both Clark Kent and Superman. Perry had been a monster at the office, Lois was in Star City for the third day in a row, and Cat happened to be unbearably annoying today. As far as Superman was concerned, he felt like a complete failure. Chloe and Oliver were on a much-needed vacation, so the League was a little short-handed. That left Clark to pick up a lot of slack.

He opened the doors to his bedroom hoping to find Lois, but all was quite in the Kent apartment. A strong surge of anger and annoyance bubbled up under his skin at her lack of presence, but he quickly calmed himself. It wasn't her fault that Perry sent her to Star City, he knew that, but the sting of loneliness hurt. He really missed her, especially on a day like today.

Checking his phone for the first time in a few hours, he saw a missed call and voicemail from his wife. Pressing the phone to his ear, he heard her exhausted and slightly frustrated voice on the other end explaining that she probably wouldn't be back until late tonight so he shouldn't wait up for her. That only added to Clark's own frustration.

Sighing, he quickly changed out of his suit and took a much-needed shower. He let the water run through his hair and down his back and chest, gently caressing every curve of his body. His mind drifted to Lois for a brief moment, imagining her hands softly massaging his skin, but he quickly snapped out of it. Imagining Lois didn't even come close to the real thing.

He stood in the shower for a few more minutes before deciding he should leave some hot water for Lois if she decided to shower when she got home. It was getting close to midnight and he figured she had to be getting home somewhat soon. After running a towel through his hair, he slipped on a pair of boxers and wandered out towards the balcony. Despite her suggestion to sleep, Clark found that he couldn't. Not without her. Not tonight.

Out on the balcony, the breeze was chilly, but not uncomfortable to Clark. In fact, it felt nice, almost numbing, on his skin. He did his best not to use his super-hearing due to the fact that the League had pretty much told him if they saw him out tonight, they'd use kryptonite to force him back home. It was a low blow, but one that he didn't quite mind. He was running on fumes at this point and he didn't want to risk getting sick like he did the last time he over-exhausted himself.

"Clark? Hey honey, sorry I'm getting back so late," Lois's voice called from inside the bedroom. Surprisingly, he hadn't even sensed her come in. His mind was still on over-drive from today.

"It's okay. How was your trip?" Clark called back numbly. He wasn't really in the mood for talking, but he knew she had a difficult few days as well. It wouldn't be fair for him to take out his frustrations on her.

"Oh, don't even get me started!" she exclaimed. He heard her putting her overnight bags down in the corner of the room where he knew they would sit for at least a week before she would unpack them. "I'm going to give Perry an earful tomorrow about what a colossal waste of time that was. I'm sorry, but if he asked me to cover one more story about President Lex Luthor and his incredible generosity in the job market, I am going to projectile vomit all over him."

"I'm sorry," Clark said. He still was looking out at the Metropolis skyline and hadn't even noticed Lois had stepped out on the balcony with him. She was leaning against one of the open doors and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's okay. I'm just glad I'm home," she said softly as she walked over to her husband.

"Me too."

Lois expected Clark to turn and greet her with a hug or kiss, since that was what he usually did the minute she got back from a trip, but he stood stoic with his back still towards her. She could see the tension in his muscular back and shoulders. His hands gripped the cement rail he was currently leaning against tightly enough to leave imprints.

"Clark? Are you okay?" she asked as she made her way to his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder only to have him flinch away from her, an act that caught her completely off guard. No matter his mood, no matter if he was furious with her or the world, Clark had never moved away from her like that. A feeling of complete and total dread filled her stomach.

"I'm fine," he said, gritting his teeth together. He was angry alright, but Lois didn't know what about. He couldn't be mad at her, right? It definitely wasn't a forgotten birthday or anniversary, not that he'd get angry about that anyhow.

"Clark, you're not fine. What's wrong?" Lois asked. She tried again to touch him, this time placing her hand gently over him, but he backed away immediately. His eyes flickered to hers and in an instant, she knew he wasn't angry; he was hurting. His cerulean eyes swam with emotions ranging from sadness to anger to guilt, all feelings she was used to dealing with when it came to Clark Kent.

"I just had a long day, alright? If I say I'm fine, I'm fine," he almost growled. He turned back to walk inside, but Lois grabbed his forearm and spun him around. He wasn't getting out of this one without a fight.

"You're not fine, so stop acting like it. I know you and I know when you're lying to me, so you might as well tell me what's going on before this turns into an argument," Lois challenged.

"Do you ever think that maybe there are some things I just don't want to talk about?" Clark yelled. He scowled at her like she was Public Enemy No. 1 and ripped his arm out of her hand without a second thought before retreating inside. However, he was stopped dead in his tracks by what was playing on the television.

"Hey! Don't you-"

Lois's mouth snapped shut when she saw the TV. Video footage of Clark, in this case, Superman, carrying the body of a young girl out of the aftermath of an explosion filled the screen.

"Today, a suitcase bomb went off in City Hall which has caused four minor injuries and two fatalities. The bomber, Cedric Frichze, and a young girl on a school field trip were killed in the blast. Police have deemed this a terrorist attack and are looking further into the attack."

Clark stood motionless as he watched the footage replay. It was all his fault. He had been finishing up an article when his super-hearing caught the suicide bomber's final shouts inside City Hall. He sped to City Hall in time to see the ball of flames envelope the bomber, who he knew was beyond saving. After quickly speeding everyone out, he watched the building explode into flames.

But he had missed the little girl.

"Clark…"

"I should've stopped the bomb. If I had just gotten rid of the bomb instead of moving people out of the building, she would be alive," Clark whispered. "It's all my fault."

Lois rushed to Clark and wrapped her arms around him. She clung to him like a child, needing him to feel every inch of her and every ounce of love she had for him. His arms gently wrapped around her waist, but she could feel him trying to pull away.

"It wasn't your fault, Clark," she whispered. "You know you can't save everyone."

"But this wasn't like that!" he suddenly yelled. He jumped away from Lois like she had just poked him with a hot needle, but she grabbed his hand before he could completely pull away from her. She looked up at him and saw his eyes brimming with tears, a sight that broke her heart. Clark looked her in the eyes and tried to blink away the tears, but he couldn't. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

"I was tired and not thinking straight and it cost someone their life because of my actions."

Lois looked at the broken man in front of her and sighed. This wasn't the first time he had been upset over not being able to save someone, but it was the first time she had seen him this upset over it. Maybe it was because it had been a little girl or maybe it was because he really did blame himself for making a hard decision, but she would be damned if she was going to let him feel guilty for this.

Stepping in front of him, she gently pried his hands away from his face and replaced them with her own. His cheeks were wet with fresh tears and his eyes were as pink as his face. She wiped the tears away with her thumbs and caressed his face in her hands. Bringing his face to her eye level, she looked at him with all of the love and admiration she could possibly muster.

"You had to make a decision today. That decision and your actions saved so many people, Clark. You cannot beat yourself up for making a split-second choice, okay? Every action has a consequence and we don't get to choose what those consequences will be," she said. "You have the hardest job in the world and no one expects you to be perfect. You aren't God."

"I should've double-checked the building, I should've done more…" Clark tried to say, but his voice began to crack. Lois pulled his head to her chest and stood steady as the Man of Steel cried into her shirt. His arms wrapped around her like an iron bar as he finally let the sobs wrack his body and all she could do hold him.

Clark crying wasn't exactly new to her, but it wasn't common either. She had seen him cry three times in his life. Once at his father's funeral, once when he watched Lana's break-up video, and once when Lois had woken up in the hospital after a particularly nasty injury. None of those times were like this though. He was full-out sobbing, and truthfully, Lois was at a loss. He had come home after days of not being able to save people before, but a quick lecture from her usually snapped him out of his funk. She wondered now if he had been bottling up all of those feelings until now.

So, Lois just stood there. She rubbed his back and ran her fingers comfortingly through his hair, whispering words of love to him. A few strangled apologies escaped his mouth, but mostly he just tried to keep from audibly crying. Neither of them liked to be weak in front of anyone, but in front of each other they knew that there was no need for embarrassment. There was only compassion and understanding.

After a few minutes, she couldn't hear him crying anymore, but he didn't move his head from her shoulder. She knew he felt embarrassed for crying like that, a feeling she often shared when their roles were reversed, but she made him look at her anyhow.

"Honey, I know you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you need to know it wasn't your fault. There is nothing you or anyone else could have done. The only person to blame is that man, okay?" Lois said. Clark looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes and nodded, but she could see the doubt that still hung over him like a blanket.

"Clark, if it wasn't for you all of those people would be dead. You did the best you could do."

"It doesn't make it hurt any less," he replied hoarsely. Lois nodded before taking his hand and sitting next to him on the bed.

"That's why I'm here, Smallville. To talk you through it and make sure you know you aren't alone in this," Lois said. "Nobody's perfect. Not even Superman."

Clark finally allowed a small smile to grace his lips as Lois stroked his cheek. Those beautiful brown eyes he loved to get lost in sparkled with nothing but love and honesty, something that he sorely needed. He turned and kissed her palm gently before leaning in to kiss her lips.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you," Clark said. Lois ran her fingers through his obsidian locks and smiled.

"You'll never have to find out."

Clark kissed her once more and pulled her into a tight embrace. Letting his cheek rest on the top of her head, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. She smelled like strawberry shampoo and maple donuts, a surprisingly intoxicating scent that he wished he could bottle up.

"I missed you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair. Lois played with the hair that curled just at the base of his skull and snuggled more into his shoulder.

"I missed you too, Smallville," she said, looking up. "Star City isn't nearly as fun without you."

She pecked him quickly and gave his shoulder a squeeze as she rose from her seated position. Watching her walk to the bathroom, Clark got up and closed the balcony doors before turning the rest of the lights off in the apartment and locking the front door. Not that they really needed to with his super-hearing, but it always made Lois better. As he was crawling into bed, Lois exited the bathroom dressed in one of his old flannels that he honestly couldn't claim to be his anymore. Flicking the lights off, she crawled into bed next to Clark and let him wrap his arms around her.

"Thank you, again. Sometimes I just can't help feeling guilty for the things that go wrong," Clark murmured. His hot breath tickled her ear, but she tried not to squirm and ruin what she knew was an important moment.

"No need to thank me, Clark. You save the world daily. The least I can do is save you from yourself from time to time," she whispered. Turning over, she found his face in the moonlight and pressed a goodnight kiss against his lips which he accepted whole-heartedly.

"You save me every day. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight, Superman," Lois teased. Clark grinned at her and kissed her once more before she turned her head and snuggled back towards him.

As Clark began to drift to sleep, all he could think about was how the real hero wasn't in the skies, but here in his arms.