Authors Note: Found this kicking around in my stories folder, mostly complete, and decided to finish it. Short and sweet fluff ahead!
1.
She's loud. She's annoying. She steals his bed, hogs all the hot water, and changes his answering machine. He's not sure what to make of this girl who has burst into his life will all the subtlety of an atomic blast, but he's trying to figure it out.
"I guess that explains why we're friends." He says it like an offering, unsure if friendship is the right word to describe their relationship but willing to settle on that descriptor for now. Friend is solid. It's something.
"Oh we're friends now?"
He teases that they can keep it a secret—he won't admit it if she doesn't. She smiles and punches him in the arm, a gesture he's becoming quite accustomed to, and he watches her leave. He wonders what he's gotten himself into.
2.
He tries to look out for her, keep her from getting hurt. He's seen her take down soldiers and crazy scientists with relative ease—he knows she can take care of herself, but he still keeps an eye on her. He tells himself it's just in his nature: he always looks out for his friends.
"Why is it that you feel the need to lob a grenade at every guy I date?" she questions him angrily one day. "I already have an overprotective father, I don't need an overprotective brother too—especially one who isn't my brother."
He isn't sure why he's so suspicious of everyone she dates. He wonders why he feels the need to examine them under such a close microscope. He can't quite explain it, but it certainly has nothing to do with him acting like a brother.
3.
The whole situation is awkward. A Red-K fueled Valentine's Day spent with her and he's the only one who walks away with the memories.
"I must have really liked you," she murmurs when he tries to lighten the situation by showing her the gift she had given him.
The look she gives him is anything but light, and he can't help but think that he had really liked her too. He'd been free and open with her in a way he has never been before. But it's complicated and messy, and he'll bury those thoughts and feelings instead of examining them too closely because it's much easier to focus on the familiar childhood love that has dominated so much of his life.
In the weeks afterwards he wonders why, as hard as he tries, he can't quite shake the memory of her smile as they leaped into the sky that moonlit night.
4.
She stares at him through tear filled eyes. She looks so dejected and heartbroken that he feels his own heart squeeze in response.
"You know, where Ollie's life is going…there's not room for me in it. And I know he'd never admit that so," she swallows harshly, "I had to. I just, um, I can't face another heartbreak down the road."
He doesn't know how to answer. He's not sure what to say. So instead he reaches out and pulls her into his arms, gently rubbing her back to let her know that he's there, that he understands. He hears her let out a soft sob against his shoulder.
"Besides, why settle for hot, rich, and famous when I can hang out with you?" she jokes weakly.
He smiles slightly at her attempt at levity and wonders how any man could knowingly break Lois Lane's heart.
5.
This day is a confusing, screaming mess. What was supposed to be a happy day is now in shambles, and he feels as though he is partly to blame. A monster on the rampage, a best friend missing, an ex-love back in the picture, and a near kiss with a woman who makes him confident as hell one moment and question everything he knows the next.
She gives him a look as she leaves, this look he can't quite decipher. All he knows is that something has broken today, and he doesn't know if it can be fixed.
A part of him wonders if this is going to be one of those moments in life he'll look back on with regret.
6.
He's searched everywhere for days on end, but he can't find her. No one can. He can't even hear her—not her voice, her heartbeat. There's no classic Lois Lane teasing, no banter, no laughter.
There's only silence.
It terrifies him.
His heart hammers at the thought of what that might mean, at what the deafening silence could signify. But even as his head thinks it, his heart refuses to believe that Lois Lane is dead. Either way, he knows that there is a good chance he won't ever see her again.
He wonders why it feels like a light inside him has gone out.
7.
"Clark Kent, you're back!"
The look of joy on her face when she launches herself into his arms makes his heart stutter. He hadn't been sure what to expect from her upon his return, but this is more than he would have dared to hope for.
"I was beginning to think that your family lived on some distant planet," she says against his shoulder.
The dramatic irony of that statement is not lost on him. He holds her tightly, hardly believing that he's finally holding her again and that she's actually letting him.
"You must have really missed me." In his happiness and surprise, he can't stop the words from slipping out and they break the spell, prompting her to back away and quickly inform him that she has barely noticed he was gone. He doesn't let her off the hook though, and feels himself falling easily back into Clark Kent and the comfort of their banter. This is right, this is what he needs—she is what he's needed.
He wonders how he never noticed that before.
8.
Hell has frozen over. Cats and dogs are getting along. And Lois Lane and Clark Kent are a couple.
Clark glances at her out of the corner of his eye as she jumps out of her seat to shout something as a giant green monster truck decimates another row of cars. She doesn't seem to mind that he has spent most of the day reading or watching her when she isn't looking. He promised to take her to a monster truck rally, and while he doesn't see the appeal of the fumes or the greasy food or roar of the trucks, he can see the appeal in simply watching her enjoy it—her hazel eyes widening in dismay as her favorite truck loses an important part, or her laughter at the cheesy showmanship.
She punches him lightly in the arm and excitedly points out the attributes of the next truck to enter the arena. He isn't sure what she says—only that the excited smile she gives him makes him realize that he would spend the entire rest of the day in this crowded, noisy stadium just to see her smile at him like that again. He has all the time he wants to make sure that she does.
He wonders how he can be this lucky.
9.
After six years of friendship and almost a year of dating, she finally knows.
She knows before he tells her, which comes as a total surprise to him. After he admits he's the Blur, they take the rest of the day off and go to the Kent Farm. They spend hours talking about his secret—where he's from, what he can do, everything. She listens mostly, asking questions occasionally. She's sometimes awed, once or twice angry, but she is supportive and understanding as the pieces come together. As the hours pass he watches revelations take place in her eyes as she reviews their time together.
Eventually they end up in his bedroom, both curled up on top of the covers. He thinks she has fallen asleep, and as he moves to pull a blanket over her she reaches out and grabs his hand, her eyes still closed.
"Thank you," she murmurs. "For trusting me."
"Always," he says immediately, sincerity in the forceful declaration.
He covers them up and lays down beside her, watching her eyelids flutter as she falls asleep. With her hand still in his, he wonders why he didn't do this much, much sooner.
10.
The secret is out. An alien in red and blue patrols the skies. Superman has taken flight.
Some people are awed; hopeful. Others are afraid—suspicious. Years ago that stir of rejection would have felt devastating to him. It may have even outweighed the good. Now…
"They'll come around," Lois says confidently, a pencil perched behind her ear as she prints her latest article off. "How could they not?"
She whirls around their new office, grabbing her coat and bag before kissing him on the cheek and promises to meet him for dinner after her interview. She's about to say something else when his head turns slightly, hearing distant shouts for help. They're calling his name. He gives her an apologetic smile and kisses her forehead before super speeding to the window.
"If we have to cancel this reservation again you had better bring home some churros—authentic ones!" she calls after him, but he can hear the laughter in her voice.
Years ago he used to worry about his future and wonder if there was a chance for him to have all the things he wanted, a chance for him to be happy. He can still hear Lois' laughter on the wind, a whispered encouragement as he flies towards people who need him.
"Go get 'em, Smallville."
He doesn't have to wonder anymore.
End.
Fluff because it's sort of my forte. Thanks for reading!