Five years.

It had been five years since he had gone off planet on a crazy mission to find out if the remnants that scientists had reported were pieces of the planet Krypton. Five years since he left earth with every expectation that he would find his people alive and well, and five years since he left his human life behind.

He had found nothing, of course. Krypton was too far away for any satellite on Earth to detect any sort of activity but he had had hope. Hope that some of the most intelligent people on Earth could be correct in their assumptions. Hope that he would be able to reunite with his true family. Hope that later shattered his heart and left him feeling empty in a way he had never felt before.

He knew going back to earth would not be easy. He had left Clark Kent behind, telling only the few people he trusted most with his intentions. Lois, whom he had shared everything with and whom he had only a month prior to leaving asked to marry him. His mother, who was living on the farm in Smallville by herself and would have only the company of her neighbors and close friends while he was away. And of course, Bruce, who knew him as much as he knew himself and who understood why he needed to take the long trip when no one else could comprehend his intent.

Now, standing atop the Daily Planet building and contemplating what his next move was, he not only heard when he arrived, but he felt his presence the moment he touched down behind him.

"I thought we were under an agreement that we would not show up in the other's city without alerting one another. It was your rule after all."

Bruce didn't make a sound but Clark could imagine the smirk on his face.

"A rule you were never capable of following, as I recall. And besides, this hasn't been your city for five years," Bruce replied as he came to a stop beside him.

They were silent for a few minutes and that quiet comprehension was a relief to Clark. He had missed those quiet moments with his best friend almost as much as he missed Lois while he'd been away and he was glad that they still had that understanding between them despite the time apart.

"I assume you're relatively caught up with current events," Bruce finally broke in.

Clark sighed audibly and thought about his reply before giving it.

"I've touched base with Ma and she told me enough to keep me away from touching base with Lois. I assumed correctly that there would be no need to contact you as you would have undoubtedly learned of my return through that mysterious way you have of finding the most unattainable information. I then caught up with other events by spending some time at the Watchtower when nobody was on active duty."

Learning about Lois had been the biggest blow to his happy return, but after much reflection, he knew he didn't have room for blaming her or for being upset. He had been gone for five years, after all.

"At the risk of sounding…insensitive," Bruce began. "I'm just going to come out and say that Lois didn't have it in her to wait for you. I watched her for a few weeks after you left and then checked in on her periodically thereafter. She buried herself in her work; wrote some of her best stuff during that time. But after about a year and a half, she tired of waiting for you. She lost hope that you would return to her and she began to move on with her life. She stopped following her routines and who could blame her? Lois Lane is not the type of woman who sits around and pines over a man; not even a Superman."

Clark nodded slowly at his friend's candor. His mother would only give him platitudes and empty optimism concerning Lois. She played to his hope, but Clark knew better. He knew, in the back of his mind, that there was a large possibility that Lois would not be waiting with open arms when he returned. He, of course, never anticipated being off planet for so long, but he had been optimistic nonetheless. He understood; he even supported her decision. But it hurt.

"Believe it or not, I'm glad she's moved on. I never wanted her to put her life on hold for me and although it hurts, it's ultimately for the best. I should have never put her in that position to begin with and I can only hope that she can forgive me once I announce my return to the world."

"You owe her an explanation before you make your presence known. She was going to marry you."

"I understand that. I do. But it won't make a difference. She's not going to drop her life for me and I would never ask her to. The last thing I want is to bring doubt into her life after she's worked so hard to move past me."

"No, she's a lot a stronger than that, but you can't just swoop in without alerting her of your return. Unless of course you're afraid of that particular confrontation…" Bruce teased.

Clark gave that notion some thought, and then nodded imperceptibly towards Bruce.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," he replied honestly.

He had taken Bruce by surprise. He didn't need to see behind the lead-lined cowl to know that his brows were furrowed in mild confusion.

"You see, I've changed over the course of five years as well. After traveling so far for so long I don't know if I'm capable of living in Metropolis and working a nine to five job on a daily basis anymore. Settling for my old life wouldn't be fair to me and it certainly wouldn't be fair to Lois. If I'm afraid of anything it's to admit all of this to her and have her believe I've felt this way all along; that I was never going to be capable of living a normal life. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't believe me when I tell her that I've only just come to that realization myself and that up until the moment I touched down on Metropolis a few days ago, that I meant what I told her about forever."

Bruce was speechless. The two friends had always been open with each other about their lives and Clark certainly never shied away from telling him some of the sappier moments in his relationship with Lois, but this was different. Clark was opening up to him in a way that he'd never done before and it was his willingness to go there that made Bruce certain that his friend was truly back.

"She's happy, from what I've read in the papers. Knowing her, she'll demand an exclusive, write a mildly scathing article detailing your return and then move on with her life. You know she's not petty and she'll forgive you after she gets the hurt and the anger out of her system. You don't need to worry about Lois Lane," Bruce explained.

Clark nodded again at his friend's much appreciated advice and turned around to face him, shoulders squared.

"I'll go meet her now," he began then paused and quirked an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to have her new address, would you?" he asked and a slight blush graced his cheeks.

Bruce smiled knowingly at his friend and recited Lois' new address; the one that she shared with her boyfriend of nearly two years.

"I'd offer you advice about how to handle yourself but I'm sure it wouldn't help. Just make sure she doesn't have any Kryptonite handy; she may not want to hurt you, but she would love the opportunity to make your unexpected return as uncomfortable as she can make it."

With those words, Bruce turned around and was lost to the shadows once more. Clark smiled after him and took off into the night sky. It was going to be a long night.