Author's Note: I wrote this a while ago but kinda forgot about it (I swear, real life needs to get its nose out of my SV fic business). It was written before 'Watching the Rain' but I guess it can serve as a sort of sequel to that story. It's Lois again...lol...I really need to get started on that Clark fic *sigh* I've cheated slightly with the timeline and the SV continuity, but it's not like the show is great on the continuity (I'm still mourning Alicia, and Clark forgot all about her after a week!) and besides, if Kansas can have mountains, I can cheat on the timeline. Anyway, hope y'all like it! Oh and I forgot to mention, Jimmy is alive and well in my universe because Jimmy Olsen doesn't die. Ever.

I always thought that women who went on TV to cry about their boyfriends were money-grabbing attention seekers, but I could never understand why anyone thought their stories were worth paying for or giving attention to. As we walked slowly past the huge window of the electrics store on Dupont Street, I could read all the little taglines on all the different TV screens. "He loves his car/dog/job more than me" or "We don't talk any more". I wondered what mine would read, maybe "My boyfriend's a super-powered alien". That was a story worth telling. The crowded street made it impossible to walk quickly. One of the screens was now showing a woman whose boyfriend had cheated on her. I looked at Clark who was trying to push the crowd apart like a normal guy, rather than a human wrecking ball. He wouldn't dare cheat on me – he knew I'd give him hell for it. I told him that once, and he had laughed and said that since it had taken him so long to finally get me, and so much energy to keep me, he didn't think he would even have the time to look at someone else.

He managed to make a path through the crowd and I followed in his wake, his strong, warm hand holding firmly onto mine. Suddenly, we were at the edge of the crosswalk, waiting to cross. I wasn't sure if we got there at normal speed or super speed. That happened a lot when I was with Clark. As we waited, I could see out of the corner of my eye that Clark was looking at me again – not in a creepy stalker kind of way, or a lovesick puppy kind of way, just in a ...Clark…kind of way. He had been looking at me like that this morning when I woke up. I had teased him, he had tickled me, one thing led to another…the lights changed and as we walked, Clark lifted our hands to kiss the back of mine. I rewarded him with a smile and the goofy idiot's face just lit up, like he'd won the lottery. Just as quickly, his face changed – he was concentrating on something. "What is it?" I whispered, knowing he could hear me. "A collision – three blocks down" he replied. Giving in to the inevitable, I whispered, "Go", and with a kiss he was gone.

That was the problem with dating a superhero – there was always a speeding bus or crashing airplane or mugging to sort out which interrupted normality. We tried to be as regular as possible, like driving from Smallville to Metropolis to get to work. Of course it would've been much quicker to ask Clark to fly us in, but I hated trying to explain flight hair. I had only taken a few steps when Clark reappeared in front of me. He pulled me close and kissed me like he really meant it. After what felt like a couple of days he pulled away, his face full of regret. Then he was gone again. I didn't feel the cold in the air any more, and I think I floated the rest of the way. Clark was a great kisser – I accidentally told him that once, and he had never let me forget it. In my defense I didn't know it was him at the time, since he was pretending to be my then boyfriend's superhero alter ego. When I found out it was Clark, I didn't speak to him for two whole days.

There was a Post-It stuck to my monitor when I finally got down the stairs to the Daily Planet's basement office. The message in Jimmy's scrawl read, "Lois, Dr. Hamilton called to cancel your meeting. He says you have his number if you want to reschedule. J". Huh. Reschedule? I was supposed to have that story finished yesterday and if Emil didn't help me out, Perry was not going to be pleased. I picked up the phone and dialed Emil's office. When I finally got through to him, he sounded cheerful – way too cheerful for my liking.

"Lois! How are you?"

"Uh, fine. I'd be better if you had a very good reason for canceling on me."

"But aren't you and Clark…? I mean, I just assumed you two had plans today."

"Yeah we did – you."

"Lois, do you know what day it is?"

"Sure. It's Tuesday."

"No, its…Oh I don't have time for this. I'll send the stuff you need over to the Planet by courier. Clark can explain anything you don't understand."

"Hey, well, thanks Emil. I appreciate it."

"Sure Lois. Have a nice day!"

I hung up the phone, completely stumped. Emil was being even more weird than normal. I looked round the office which was buzzing as usual. That was when I noticed the red. Lots of red. As in red balloons. And red roses. My brain started clicking. The buzzing streets. The TV talk shows about relationships. The sappy songs on the radio that Clark had teased me with by singing along to them on the ride into Metropolis. Oh.

Valentine's Day.

I remembered Valentine's Day. And red. Once, a couple of years ago, that combination had led to Clark and me jumping off the roof of the Daily Planet, almost having sex and...er…crashing Lex Luthor's engagement party dressed like a pair of Hell's Angels. I didn't personally remember it but Clark filled me in on all the details. I yelled at him for that after I gave the outfit to Goodwill.

I plopped down onto my seat. Clark hadn't said anything about it, did he realise it was Valentine's Day? He wouldn't have forgotten because Clark didn't forget anything – something to do with the way his brain was wired. Chloe and Emil tried to explain it to me scientifically, but I had rolled my eyes and said well of course his brain was wired differently, he's an alien. Duh. Maybe he was going to surprise me with something nice, that's why he hadn't said anything. I liked that explanation, so I pretended to do some work while I waited on Clark to show up. A voice interrupted my pretence – the voice was not happy.

"Lois Lane! Where's that story on those unexplained robberies you promised me yesterday??"

Uh oh. It was Perry, and his face was turning purple. I had to think fast.

"I'm just waiting on some scientific data from my friend Dr. Hamilton, then I'll have it on your desk…uh…tomorrow morning." I gave him my most persuasive smile. Clark was a sucker for that one.

"What?? I'm not running some charity, this is the best newspaper in the world and I expect the best stories on the front page before some rag like the Inquisitor scoops us!!" He was glaring at me.

I tried a different tack. "But chief, it's Valentine's Day! No one wants to read that kind of story today. Ask Molly to run that puff piece on some long-lost couple who were reunited after 10 years. People will love that."

Perry calmed down a little and considered that for a minute or two. "Hmmph. Alright. But I want that story on my desk first thing tomorrow morning." He stomped off to yell at someone else. I would never tell Perry this, but I adored him. When he came to the Planet, he learned very quickly about my connection to Superman and my relationship, both personal and professional, with Clark, who he knew already. So when Superman died, and Clark was away training at the Fortress, Perry took some of the biggest stories off some of the more senior reporters and gave them to me to work on. That was what saved me from moping through those long, empty months. I shuddered at the memories. I hated moping, but I had missed Clark so much that I needed to do something. Perry wasn't a superhero, but he had saved me from myself. Now that Superman wasn't dead any more, and Clark was back from training, Perry expected us to get all the exclusive Superman stories. I suppose it was only fair.

My hair ruffled like there was a breeze blowing. I turned round expecting to see Clark was standing there, holding a coffee, but it was Bart. "'s up gorgeous?" he grinned at me. "What are you doing here, Bart?" I asked. "I come bringing highly classified and confidential documents that Emil says you need for some reporter thing you got going on." I waited. "Well? Where are they?" He was keeping me hanging on and I hated that. With a laugh, he handed over a thick folder and disappeared. Clark's superhero friends weren't nearly as special (or cute) as he was, but they were just as annoying. My hair ruffled again and I looked up – this time it was Clark and he did have coffee. I reached for the blessed Java and him at the same time. We were wrapped around each other in a way that probably wasn't proper behaviour for a newsroom, but I didn't care.

It was lunchtime before I remembered that it was Valentine's Day. We had been so busy working on the robberies story, I hadn't thought about it at all. Emil had a theory that whoever was carrying out the robberies could literally blend into the background, like a chameleon. Clark disappeared just before the afternoon mail arrived. No doubt there was a burning building in Kuala Lumpur or a nuclear power plant accident in the Middle East to sort out. It was a well-known fact that Superman and the Daily Planet, and in particular the star reporting team of Lane and Kent, had a very special relationship. As a result, we got a lot of mail addressed to Superman, and Clark tried to answer them in person. Today, however, was different. The mailman brought three trolleys full of pink and red envelopes and dumped them on my desk. I fumed for ten whole minutes before Clark reappeared. "What the…?" Wide-eyed he continued "Lois, what is all this?" With as much bite in my voice as I could manage, I replied "It's for you. From your admirers." He still looked confused, so I handed him one of the pink envelopes. As he opened it and read the card inside, I saw the light bulb flick on over his head. Now he got it. "It's Valentine's Day!" he said, like he'd just discovered how to make a wheel round. "Hmmm. What are we gonna do with all this?" He waved his hand in the direction of my desk. "Burn them?" I suggested. If he couldn't see how mad I was, he really was blind, super-vision or not. "Lois! I'm not gonna burn it, I'll just take it somewhere else". In a split second he was gone again with all the envelopes. I was really mad now, so I did what I always did when I was mad, and called Chloe.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Lois!" said my cousin when she answered, in a real sing-song voice. Ugh. I should've known. Chloe and Jimmy were my favourite people in the whole world after Clark but sometimes, they were so sweet and romantic that they gave me cavities.

"Hmmmph" I said, letting Chloe know that something was up.

"Lois, are you alright?"

"Clark forgot Valentine's Day."

"But you don't even like Valentine's Day, Lo. And Clark knows that."

"That's not the point!"

"Well why are you whining about it?"

"I don't know, Chlo. I just can't believe he forgot."

"Lois, does Clark tell you he loves you?"

"All the time."

"Then what does it matter?"

I sighed. Chloe was right, what did it matter? "Um, I dunno. I gotta go Chloe, I'll call you later"

"I might be very busy," she giggled. "But Lo, just remember that Clark operates on his own special time zone, so...be patient, ok?"

"Ok, Chlo. Love you"

"Love you too Lois. Bye"

Chloe's question was echoing in my ears. Why did it matter so much that Clark hadn't done anything for me for Valentine's Day? He loved me – fact. I loved him – fact. We both knew that, so some tacky, over-commercialised holiday wasn't going to change it. Instinctively, I knew the answer, but I didn't want to admit it to myself, never mind to Chloe. On days like today, I just wanted Clark to be Clark, not Superman. Sharing him with the whole world was never usually a problem, but to be honest I was jealous of all the other people he was spending time with, however short, when he wasn't with me. I wasn't really mad at him, I was mad at myself, but as always I was taking it out on him. When he came back, he looked wary, like he'd finally caught on that I was mad. We worked at our desks in silence for a while. Eventually, I stood up and he looked over to see what I was doing. "I'm going to the scene of the last robbery," I announced. "That was the only bank where the vault wasn't completely emptied because the alarm went off and the guy got away… there might be some clues". Clark stood up. "I'm coming with you," he said, pulling his jacket off the back of his chair. "No, I want to look at it myself, without any help." I insisted. Clark backed down and said, "Well, if you're sure…." "I'm sure!" I snapped, and walked out of the office.

The cool air cleared my head a little, and I could see how dumb I was being. Just because I was being neurotic didn't mean I should take it out on Clark. I walked quickly to the Metropolis General Bank, a couple of blocks away from the Planet, and told the manager what I wanted. He let me into the vault soon enough - he wanted the robberies explained as sure as I did. I had never been in a bank vault before. It was a steel room that was maybe the size of the living room at the Kent farm, and one end of it was stacked high with gold bars. I traced my finger along one of the bars, idly wondering if maybe they might let me keep one if I solved the mystery. Maybe I would ask Clark to get me one: people gave him free stuff all the time. With a clang, the vault door slammed shut. Damn. Now what was I supposed to do? At least there was a light on. But of course, it suddenly went out too. Somewhere in the back of my head I realised that if I was stuck here, I would run out of oxygen, and then I would die. I sat down on the floor and curled my arms around my knees. My card-and-present-less Valentine's Day was suddenly not even a problem at all – staying alive was.

I tried to feel in my bag for my cell phone and I found it, but there was no signal in the vault. I was well and truly trapped. I did the only thing I could do and yelled for help. "Superman! Help me! Please! Superman!" My voice echoed off the walls of the vault, almost deafening me. I stopped yelling after a few minutes because I was starting to feel a little breathless. Maybe if I held my breath, the air would last longer. It was so quiet in the vault that my nerves were on edge and my hearing magnified every tiny noise. I was sure I could hear a shuffle coming from somewhere, but it was so dark I couldn't make out where it was coming from. I sat on the floor for what felt like hours. My nose wrinkled at the smell of hot metal. Something sparked like a match being lit. It looked like the door of the vault was being cut open with maybe an acetylene torch….or pin-point accurate heat vision. I watched as the spark cut out a shape in the door and as my eyes adjusted to the light coming in, I could see that it was Clark. I breathed a sigh of relief, expecting him to rush over to check if I was alright, but he didn't. He flew into the vault and back out again. I staggered to my feet and stumbled towards the door. As I stepped through the hole in the vault door, I could see Clark surrounded by a crowd of people from the back and some cops who had joined the party. He seemed to be holding a piece of the wall…by the neck. That was weird – it was like the wall was there but it was shimmering slightly round the edges. Clark's hand squeezed a little tighter and the shape changed into a man, who was trying to loosen Clark's grip on his throat. Clark dropped him to the ground and a police officer took him away. The bank manger stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Thank you Superman! You've saved us from being ruined!" The guy had obviously read too many thrillers, he was talking just like them. Clark, aka Superman, said in his deep, distorted voice "No need to thank me. It was Ms. Lane who caught the culprit".

Everyone looked round at me as Clark came over to see if I was alright. I noticed a couple of the female tellers gazing at Clark like they were teenagers with a crush on a football jock. That reminded me that I was mad at him and I yelled at him "What the hell took you so long?? I could've died in there!!" There was silence all around, and I could see the bank manager staring at me. "What??" I snapped. "He's…. Superman" he said in hushed voice. "You can't just yell at him." For a split second I wanted to say, "He's not Superman, he's Clark! He leaves wet towels on the bathroom floor and spends Saturdays lying on the couch in his boxers watching Discovery Channel!" Instead, I glared at him and said "I'm Lois Lane. I can yell at whoever I want." I heard a snigger from the direction of Clark. Eventually, the crowd melted away and I was able to give my statement to the police while taking notes for my story. Superman had already left – I was going to have to speak to him when I got home. Clark, aka Clark, was waiting for me outside the bank, and we walked to the truck in silence.

It was a long ride home, longer than usual. As we pulled up beside the barn, Shelby ran over to greet us, barking like crazy. Clark kneeled down to pat Shelby's head as I walked towards the house. "Lois" Clark called, "maybe we should use the front door." Huh. We never used the front door. For a split second I thought about arguing with him, but I gave in and went round the front of the house. As I opened the door, a light breeze blew through it and ruffled something that was on the floor. I stepped in and looked more closely. Rose petals. Rose petals were scattered all down the hallway – to Clark, who was standing in the kitchen waiting for me. I stepped lightly over all the petals and finally got to Clark. My heart was thumping in my chest the whole time. My eyes were drawn to the dining room table where there were two places set with fine cutlery and two candles lit. Leaning against one of the candlesticks was a pink envelope with my name on it. "Clark" I breathed as I reached out to touch his chest. His warm hand closed over the top of mine as an unfamiliar feeling crept over me. After a minute or two, I recognised it as shame. "Sorry I was mad," I whispered. In answer, Clark pulled me close to him and wrapped his long arms around me. I buried my face in his chest and we stood there in silence for a long moment. Clark broke the silence "It's my fault, Lo. I wanted to surprise you so I didn't say anything, and then you were mad at me and I realised you thought I didn't care. So if I did wanna say something you might have just thought I was saying it because I should." He knew me so well – I didn't deserve him. "I love you," he said as he tilted my head back to look in my face. "I love you," I whispered back.

Clark made me dinner. The pink envelope had two tickets to the annual monster truck rally in Lubbock in it. After dinner, Clark pulled me into the living room, which was a sea of roses. I think he bought out all the florists in Smallville and Metropolis. I couldn't speak, I was so touched – it was too much, when I had given him nothing. As if the night couldn't get any better, Clark put on 'Blazing Saddles', one of my favourite films. He was now officially the best boyfriend ever. When the film was over, Clark pulled me off the couch where we had been snuggled up very comfortably and led me outside. It was a beautiful starry night. Clark stopped in the middle of the yard and pulled me close to him, his arms around my waist. I knew what was coming next so I put my arms around his neck and hung on. We floated upwards, higher and higher, till the world had disappeared beneath us. I would never, ever get used to this – being so close to the stars I could almost reach out and touch one. "Lois" Clark said quietly. I looked up at him. "Happy Valentine's Day," he smiled at me before he kissed me. I felt warm and safe where I was, here in his arms. "I want to ask you something. Actually I've wanted to ask you for a while but now seems like the right time." He let go of me with one arm and held up his hand – he was holding something. The something sparkled. That meant – "Lois, will you marry me?" My heart sang and I almost yelled, "Yes!" as I hugged him and we twirled in mid-air. Clark's eyes shone as he put the ring on my finger. With a grin he asked "Still don't like Valentine's Day?" "Are you kidding me? It's lame and tacky and totally pointless. What's to like?" He laughed and kissed me, more deeply this time, as we floated on into the night.