"So, you were thinking of me when you were making out with Lana at the Ace of Clubs?"

The smirk on her face was all he needed to know that his jaw was probably on the floor at that.

Because, frankly, it was the last thing he expected to hear from her.

Clearing his throat, he reached up to loosen his tie a bit before mumbling, "I would hardly call it making out."

"Really? That's not what I heard."

Tilting his head slightly, he took in the slightly smug expression on her face that was masking a hint of pain in her beautiful hazel eyes.

"Who did you hear it from?"

"I never reveal my sources."

His eyes narrowed, taking in her defiant stance in front of him. After a moment, realization set in.

"Benny."

Her silence was all the answer he needed. That, and the way her eyes suddenly darted toward the floor.

"Obviously, Benny isn't a very reliable source because he seems to have left out part of the story if that's the impression you were left with."

She shifted her weight slightly, noticing the slight note of confidence back in his voice. Eager to get the balance power back in her favor, she simply waved her hand at him, attempting to dismiss whatever explanation he was about to give her.

"You know what? I don't care who you kiss Clark. In fact, I really had no intention of ever bringing it up because honestly, it's your business," she said, attempting nonchalance. "I just wish you wouldn't insult my intelligence by claiming to have been thinking about me all the time while I was gone when it's pretty clear your thoughts, and lips, were otherwise occupied."

With that, she spun around, ready to go back into avoidance mode, hoping Clark would take the hint and back off.

Of course, Clark recognized that particularly tactic, what with the years of experience he had in the ways of one Lois Lane.

"So, Benny told you he saw Lana and me kissing. What else did he tell you?"

His question was greeted by silence, which he'd expected. Not that it would deter him. He watched as she flipped through a drawer of files, clearly not reading any of them or even looking for anything in particular, other than a way to keep her hands and mind busy so she wouldn't have to deal with him.

"Because, if I remember right, the bar was pretty busy that night. So, I would imagine he might have been sketchy on some of the details."

At those words, he noted the slight hesitation in the rhythm of the flipping folders. But it was quickly covered by the sound of her clearing her throat and a slight shake of her head.

"Like I said, it's your business Clark," she tossed back over her shoulder.

"And you're not the slightest bit interested in what really happened? What happened to the investigative reporter who would stop at nothing to uncover the truth?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she stated simply, "That kind of digging is reserved for things I actually care about. You and Lana in a liplock doesn't quite rank up there on that list."

That stung, for a second, nearly knocking the breath right out of him. But it was eased by the knowledge that that particular blow was delivered with a stubborn refusal to actually look at him while she said it. He knew it bothered her. And, what's more, he knew she was probably dying for an explanation. She'd just have to be dragged kicking and screaming into actually admitting that.

"Really?" he asked, his tone making it clear he didn't believe her.

She nodded, continuing to mindlessly thumb through the folders.

"Well, whether or not you care, I'm gonna explain anyway."

"Knock yourself out."

He watched her for a moment, weighing his options. He could just start talking, knowing she'd at least hear him as she pretended to ignore him.

But he wanted more. He wanted to see every flicker of expression on her face as he explained the situation to her. To know that she not only heard him, but was really listening and, more importantly, understanding exactly what was being said.

So he walked over to her, knowing, that even with his superpowers, he was about to take his life into his own hands. Reaching out, he gently grasped her arm and spun her around to face him, the surprise evident on her face at his bold actions.

She quickly covered though, glancing in annoyance down at the hand still holding her arm. Her eyes moved back to his, seeing the challenge there. He tilted his head, watching as she tightened her lips into a line, her eyes narrowing. He raised his eyebrows, almost daring her to call him on his actions, but she only smirked in response, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

It was odd timing, considering, but he felt a slight sense of relief that their ability to have wordless conversations still seemed to be intact.

"Lana and I were having dinner there."

He received a single eyebrow arch at that, and realized what it sounded like. Yeah, he was going to have to measure his words much more carefully.

"It wasn't a date," he quickly said. "We were just, you know, catching up."

Her eyebrow settled back into place, and he exhaled a little in response.

"We were sitting in one of those booths, you know the round ones? Across from each other, but then, suddenly, she was next to me."

Clark could see the struggle Lois was having, trying to remain impassive as he spoke. But to her credit, she looked him straight in the eye as he recounted the events of that night. Not that he was terribly surprised. He had issued the challenge, and she never backed down from a challenge.

He took a deep breath, ready to launch into the part of the story he knew would be the most difficult.

"She told me she'd missed me, and that she regretted leaving. That she wanted us to try again," he began, a bit quietly. "It was funny, hearing her say that, I realized something."

He paused, waiting for a verbal response, but all he got was a slight, questioning head tilt.

"I'd always thought that, if Lana ever came back, if I ever heard her say that, I would feel…happy. Relieved. But I didn't feel either of those things," he said.

"What did you feel?" she asked, her voice a bit tentative, much to her own chagrin.

A soft smile graced his lips at her question.

"Nothing," he answered, watching as her eyes widened in response. "That was it. That was the moment I realized what I think I'd known for months. I'd moved on. I was over Lana, I am over her. And maybe it took her coming back for me to fully admit it."

He paused, noticing that somewhere in the midst of this conversation his hand had slipped down her arm and he'd lightly intertwined his fingers with hers. He wasn't sure if she'd noticed, but whether she did or not, he took it as a good sign that she hadn't snatched her hand away.

"I was just about to tell her that, to explain things, when she kissed me. I didn't see it coming and she sort of caught me off guard, which must have been what Benny saw. But Lois," he said, his voice becoming a bit plaintive, "I swear I pulled away the minute I realized what was happening."

Her eyes finally left his face, gazing down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at him.

"Benny said that he saw you two kissing, and then he got distracted by some customers. When he looked back, you were gone."

Clark nodded. "And you assumed the worst?"

Her lips lifted slightly into a grin. "Would I be me if I hadn't?"

He took a chance at that, slightly tightening his fingers around hers. When he felt her respond in kind, he continued.

"I took her back to Nell's, and we talked. I told her that she had been right in what she'd said on that DVD. That we didn't belong together. And that we'd probably both known that for a long time, but somewhere along the way we'd become sort of a safety net for each other. Familiar, I guess, or, a mutual fear of being alone. I told her that I'd always care about her, but I wasn't in love with her anymore."

Lois nodded, almost imperceptibly, before asking, "How'd she take that?"

"Actually, she agreed with me. But, that wasn't all I told her."

He could see the Lane curiosity flare up in her eyes at that, and grinned as he watched her try to appear and sound nonchalant.

"Really? What else did you say?"

With his free hand, he gently tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear, then letting his hand trail down her jaw, his fingers landed gently under her chin.

"I told her I had feelings for you."

A soft gasp escaped her lips at that, and Clark could swear he even saw a glimpse of shininess in her eyes.

"And if you're wondering how she took that, she wasn't at all surprised."

"What do you mean?"

He just shook his head, laughing softly. "Let's just say I think Lana had us pegged from the beginning."

For a moment, she just gazed at him, and Clark was pretty sure he'd never had anyone look at him like that, and he was positive that he'd never felt his heart beat that fast from just one look.

But the moment was quickly broken as Lois blinked rapidly for a second, his words seemingly sinking in as she finally pulled her hand away from his.

"Us?" she asked, before sidestepping around him.

He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath as he realized the wall he'd thought he'd successfully dismantled was being thrown back up alarmingly quickly. Clark rubbed his hand over his face, getting his bearings before turning to her, seeing her standing with her arms crossed in front of her, as if to keep him safely at a distance.

"Come on, Lois," he said, his voice soft. "I told you how I feel, I've explained everything that happened while you were gone. Just…stop running. Please. Admit it. Admit that you feel the same way about me as I do about you."

Her arms seemed to tighten around herself at that, almost as if she was bracing herself against whatever argument he was about to put forth.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I am. If I could go back to the night of the wedding and change the way I handled things? I would. But, I'll be honest, I'm not sorry Lana showed up that night."

The flash of hurt that swept over her features at that threatened to take his breath away. He put his hand up quickly, almost as if trying to stop her pain, telling her to hold on so he could explain.

"Look, when you broke up with Oliver, you got the chance to say goodbye to him, on your terms. I never got that chance with Lana. I got a DVD left a hospital for me. And while I did start to move on after she left, the truth is, I needed to end things on my terms. I needed to say goodbye to my past, so that I could finally look toward my future. Lana coming back, it gave me the chance to do that."

He could see her shaking slightly, as she struggled to hold back tears that were obviously threatening. He stepped toward her, one tear finally falling onto her cheek, a tear he reached out and tenderly wiped away.

"And in case I was being too vague, the future I'm talking about is you," he said with an adorable grin that would melt the most stubborn of hearts.

Even Lois Lane's, as it turned out.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

She straightened her shoulders, looking directly into his heartbreakingly beautiful eyes.

"I admit it," she said quietly.

"Admit what?" he responded, knowing full well what she meant but not being able to resist the opportunity to get her to say the words.

She gave him an incredulous look. "You're really gonna make me say this. aren't you?"

"After all this? You bet I am."

Rolling her eyes, an exasperated sigh left her lips.

"Fine," she said, pausing before continuing, her hand reaching up to gently lay on his chest. When she spoke again, her voice had softened and the look on her face was filled with affection, with the slightest hint of fear. "I have feelings for you, too."

He covered her hand with his, and then brought it to his lips, placing the softest of kisses against her fingers, sending a shiver throughout her body.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Clark moved their now joined hands back to his chest, his thumb rubbing softly against the back of her hand.

"So, what now?" Lois finally asked, a note of shakiness in her voice, the enormity of the step they were about to take not lost on her.

Clark shrugged slightly. "Dinner? Tomorrow night?"

That brought a smirk to Lois' face. "Clark Kent, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well, someone once told me that's what a guy does when he likes a girl."

"Hmmm, she must have been pretty smart."

"Smartest woman I've ever met."

Now with a full-blown smile, Lois laughed. "Good answer, Smallville," she said, gently pulling her hand from his grasp and beginning to head toward the door.

Until that very second, he hadn't realized that that was the first time she'd used her nickname for him since she'd returned to Metropolis. In the last few minutes, she'd snarked at him, rolled her eyes at him, and called him Smallville.

Yeah, everything was okay.

Seeing her hand on the doorknob, he realized that he'd forgotten to get one important piece of information from her.

"Wait, is that a yes?"

Turning back to him, she considered him for a moment. The smile on her face disappeared as a seriousness washed over her.

"You know, this isn't gonna be easy for you, Clark. And, you need to know that it's not because I'm mad at you or because I'm holding a grudge or anything like that. It's just…it's who I am," she said quietly.

A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "I know who you are, Lois. And I'm still here."

She nodded. "Yeah, you are. I just…I'm not really good at relationships. Just ask all the guys who've run screaming from me."

"I haven't exactly been successful in the relationship department either."

A wry chuckle escaped her lips. "I'm not sure what that says about our chances."

"Maybe it doesn't say anything. Because all of those relationships, they're in the past. They don't have to have any bearing on our future, Lois. I'm not those guys you've dated, and you're not…"

"Lana?" she interrupted, unable to stop the grin from appearing on her face.

"Hey, I dated other girls," he said in mock defensiveness, returning her teasing smile. After a moment, his eyes softened. "The point is, maybe we had to go through all the wrong relationships so we could recognize the right one. Granted, I can't see into the future, but Lois, I think that's you and me."

As he finished, he noticed the look of wonder on her face. Slightly puzzled, he looked at her questioningly.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said softly, "It's just…you're definitely Martha Kent's son."

"Huh?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "I'll explain someday. I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Lane."

"I'm sure you will, Kent."

She turned to leave, when Clark realized once again he hadn't gotten a definitive answer. Jogging forward a few steps, he placed his hand on her arm.

"You still haven't given me an answer. Are you always this difficult to ask out on dates?" he teased.

"Yeah, so you better be prepared, Smallville."

"Is that a yes?"

She reached up to brush some wayward hair off his forehead.

"Pick me up at 7:30."

With that, she opened the door and slipped out, closing it behind her.

With a triumphant smile, Clark turned and leaned back against the door, unaware that Lois was doing the same on the other side.

It had been just about four full days since she'd returned to Metropolis.

Four days they'd both like to forget. Four days of avoidance, pain, misunderstandings, and longing.

But none of that mattered anymore. It was the past.

Tomorrow was her fifth day back.

And the first day of their future. Together.