His mind whirling with Lois' revelations, Oliver walked quickly back into the bustling bullpen. Almost immediately, he spotted a newly arrived Clark, who was placing a large cup of coffee on Lois' desk, the slightest of smiles on his face as he glanced down toward her empty chair.

He'd seen that look a lot in the weeks since Lois had returned from Star City. Of course, it had always been when Lois was in the vicinity but wasn't looking, or directed at an inanimate object that belonged to her, which was frustrating in and of itself to Oliver. Knowing how both of them felt and watching as they insisted on not doing anything about it was beyond annoying. The idea of ignorance never seemed so blissful, especially in light of the conversation he'd just had with one Ms. Lane.

Clearing his throat, Oliver moved toward the two joined desks, with Clark still lingering near Lois'.

"We need to talk," Oliver said, not bothering to disguise his annoyance.

Looking startled for a moment, not having expected Oliver to be in front of him, Clark looked up. "Oh, hey Oliver. Have you seen Lois?", he asked, seemingly oblivious to the archer's attitude towards him.

A tight smile crossed Oliver's lips. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have."

Clark glanced around the bullpen. "Where is…"

He cut himself off as he caught sight of the woman herself breezing into the bullpen. She headed straight for her desk, not bothering to spare either man so much as a glance.

It was clear to Oliver she was back to business, mere minutes after confiding in him. These days that meant throwing herself into her work, which served the dual purpose of perfecting her craft and maintaining some distance from Clark.

The fact that he'd been pretty much dismissed without a word mere seconds after she'd entered the newsroom, however, was not so clear to the farmboy-turned-reporter who was standing eagerly by her desk.

"Hey Lois."

"Hey Clark," she mumbled, her eyes fixed on her screen as she began typing.

"I brought you coffee."

"Huh? Oh," Lois said, briefly looking up at him before turning her attention back to her work. "Thanks."

"Clark…," Oliver called, attempting to get his attention.

"So, are you okay? I heard what happened last night," Clark said, continuing on as if Oliver hadn't spoken at all.

"I'm fine," Lois answered distractedly, tearing her eyes away from the monitor to glance at her calendar, before turning her attention back to the screen.

"Are you sure? Chloe told me that Mannheim's thugs grabbed you. Those men are serious, Lois, you could've been killed."

"Well obviously that didn't happen."

"So, what did happen?"

Lois shrugged, her focus now on a stack of notes that were piled in front of her. "Metropolis' resident hero happened," she responded, her attempt at nonchalance in front of the two men thwarted by the smile beginning to form on her lips.

"The Blur saved you?" Clark asked, feigning innocence which caused Oliver to roll his eyes in response.

"That he did," Lois said, her smile becoming just a bit wider.

Clark looked at her expectantly, clearly wanting her to continue, however Lois seemed content not to share any more of the previous night's adventures with him.

He took a step closer to where she sat, his fingers beginning to tap on the desk, an action Oliver took as a sign of beginning frustration at Lois' closed-off attitude toward him this morning.

"And then what happened?" he pushed.

Oliver's eyes widened in surprise at that. If he hadn't seen it himself, he wasn't sure he would have believed it.

Clark Kent - unassuming, polite, and gentlemanly Clark Kent - was actually standing there, in the midst of the noisy and not-so-private newsroom, fishing for a reaction to his and Lois' encounter.

Had he not been so ticked off at him and the current situation, Oliver might have been impressed at the attempt, even if it wasn't executed with the smoothness the young billionaire himself would have conveyed had he been in a similar situation.

Grabbing her stack of notes, Lois stood up and finally met Clark's inquiring gaze. Tilting her head slightly, she bit the side of her lip, her cheeks beginning to take on the barest tinge of pink.

"Nothing for you to be concerned about, Smallville. Don't worry, I was in very good hands," she finished evasively, flashing him a quick enigmatic smile complete with sparkling eyes before brushing past both of them and heading for the elevator.

Oliver watched, his gaze narrowing as he waited for either "brooding Clark" or "overprotective Clark" to put in an appearance at Lois' cryptic comment and subsequent brush-off of the danger she'd been in the night before.

That had been a pattern that had developed, something Oliver had noticed even before things had heated up between them at Chloe's wedding. Clark's concern for Lois' safety had become more than just a friendly concern, though if called on it, he'd deny it, stammering out the typical she's a friend excuse that fewer of their circle was buying anymore. Any rescue of her was normally followed by mumbled, anxious thoughts of what might have happened had he not reached her in time, and why couldn't she just be more careful because didn't she know that there were so many people who needed her?

So, he was more than a little surprised to see Clark grin as he turned, his eyes following her retreating form.

Inhaling sharply, Oliver stepped toward the larger man, a spark of anger flashing across his handsome features. Finally seeming to pick up on it, Clark's smile morphed into an expression of bewilderment.

"What?"

"Not here," Oliver said through clenched teeth. Eyebrows knitted in confusion, Clark simply nodded and began walking toward the archive room on the other side of the bullpen. He walked in, and Oliver followed, slamming the door behind him. Startled, Clark turned toward him.

"What's up?"

Oliver crossed his arms, leaning back against the door. He studied Clark for a moment, before allowing a small smirk to grace his lips.

"Have a good night last night?"

Clark's features relaxed at that, not picking up on the underlying note of accusation in Oliver's tone. He smiled, a smile, Oliver noted, not unlike one that had graced Lois' features earlier.

"You could say that."

"Save a lot of people?"

"Yeah, there was a fire over on 6th and Main, and I stopped a robbery at the convenience store over on Rockwell."

"And saved Lois, obviously."

Clark nodded, his smile growing a bit wider. Oliver shook his head slightly, pushing himself away from the door.

"You know, we've talked about this thing with Lois, and how you feel like you can't be with her because of your secret and the whole dual identity thing. That you think you can't be the Red Blue Blur and have a life of your own to go along with it. And, I don't agree with that, as I've said many times in the past few weeks, but I get why you feel that way, and that's your right, even if I do think you're making the wrong decision."

"Okay," Clark said slowly, his eyes narrowing as he attempted to follow Oliver's train of thought.

"The plan was, as you put it to me, to remain firmly on the friendship side of things with Lois, even though that's not really what you want, but what you think has to be. Correct?"

"Right."

"So, care to explain to me how, exactly, you making out with her as the alter ego you're so convinced you have to keep from her fits that particular plan?"