XYK

Chapter 11 – "Pink Slip."

Lois took off her sun glasses, for a second she just couldn't believe her eyes. He was plastered everywhere, that chiselled jaw line and those unmistakable steel blue eyes were staring right back at her. Not that she wasn't used to seeing him on every corner, of every street, on every newsstand. But for the last two weeks, she'd been so busy eating, laughing and shopping she hadn't thought about him until now, when she had been confronted with his image. Clark. Or Superman as everyone else knew him.

She grabbed a copy of 'Novella 2000' but put it back when she noticed the covers of several other publications that featured, not only Clark but Wonder Woman too, standing just as tall by his side. Lois didn't have to be fluent in Italian to understand the gist of the captions written in big bold lettering 'Gli Amanti?' Una squadra magnifica!" "Il risparmio del mondo insieme..."

Lois looked around and whistled, "Hey Luce, C'mere."

Lucy, who had been carelessly flicking through a newspaper on the other sides of the stand, saddled over and took off her sunglasses "Hmm?"

"You speak more Italian than I do. What's it say?"She handed Lucy one of the magazines.

"Blah,blah blah...."Lucy mumbled to herself as she glanced over the article "Mmmhm,mmmhm...mmmhmmm"

Lois who was eager to know what was going on back home tapped her foot, "Lucy, I'm not a linguist but 'Blah' and 'Hmm' don't sound very Italian to me."

Lucy smiled and used her little finger to pinpoint a paragraph on the page. "Ooh here's a juicy bit, it says... 'Superman and Wonder Woman have been seen together on several occasions, fighting crime without the rest of the Justice League members. Could love be blossoming?"

Lois wasn't sure what it was but something within her dropped. Could she be jealous? No. Not at all, she batted the stupid feelings away. Lois Lane didn't do jealousy, but there was a gnawing feeling chipping away at her heart. Lois slowly ran her finger over the picture of Clark. She knew exactly what was bugging her...She missed her husband, she missed him so much.

"Wonder woman is one lucky lady, Superman is fine..."Lucy put the magazine back on its shelf "...damn fine."

Lois turned to Lucy. "I think it's time I went home."

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Lois opened the door and was immediately alerted by the sound of female laughter and the smell of something glorious cooking on the stove. She quietly wheeled her suitcase in and parked it by the coat rack. Lois followed the scent and the sound to the kitchen doorway, where she stood in the shadows.

Lois stood quietly watching something that resembled her life but not quite. In her kitchen were a man and a woman cooking and laughing together. The woman was talking animatedly whilst chopping up tomatoes, whilst the man was sipping from a glass of wine and nonchalantly stirring what was bubbling away in the pot. The woman then stood next to the man and added some salt and pepper, all the while chatting away. The man held the spoon up to the woman, who bent slightly to taste the concoction. The woman made orgasmic groans,' Yummy!' she exclaimed .The man smiled triumphantly. Lois silently tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

Lois cleared her throat and asked, "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?

Diana prince followed the voice and met Lois's suspicious eyes with her smiling, although somewhat disappointed ones.

Clarks smile faded the moment his eyes clocked Lois. "Lois. You're back." Clark looked away. He could feel a dark cloud descending over the room and his mood. What surprised him the most was the sudden feeling of anger and hurt that started to bubble in the pit of his gut.

"Yes." Was all Lois could think of to say. On the plane over she had rehearsed exactly what she was going to say; a big spiel about needing some time away, how she was sorry she hadn't called, how she had missed him and how she hoped he could forgive her for all the drama she'd put him through, but here right now, with an audience consisting of only Wonder Woman, all words evaded her. Lois turned to their guest to acknowledge her presence. "Diana."

Diana plastered on a smile and stepped forward to shake Lois's hand "Hello Lois, it's so lovely to see you again."

Lois didn't say anything as she slowly shook Diana's hand, instead she silently sized up the almost 6ft tall beautiful Amazonian. The temperature in the room seemed to drop, as it became stifled by awkwardness.

"I was teaching Clark how to make beef Stroganoff... He's been living on Pop tarts and $1 noodles." Diana laughed a nervous laughed and looked down "Umm...I should go." She started untying the apron she'd been wearing.

"No." Clark said. He made a move to stand next to Diana."Stay for dinner, It's only fair. You did help make it, after all." Clark said, silently willing Diana to stay, he still hadn't been able to look at Lois and the thought of being alone with her made him nervous.

"Yeah,stay." Lois said, although none too convincingly.

"No." Diana picked up her bag "I'm sure you guys have a lot of catching up to do."

Clark made a face that only Lois caught, she bit her tongue. She silently willed her husband to look at her but instead he moved closer to Diana and gently put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We can't convince you to stay?"

Diana smiled up at Clark "No. But thanks..." She corrected herself and turned to acknowledge Lois "...thank you both for the offer. I should get going."

"Let me walk you to the door." Said Clark still refusing to meet Lois's gaze with his he slipped right past her, ushering Diana through to the lounge to the front door with a hand gently resting on her back. Lois sighed and grabbed a wine glass and poured her first glass of alcohol in two weeks.

At the door Diana put on her coat "The stroganoffs ready, just put it into some bowls and remember the bread is due to come out of the oven in about two minutes."

Clark nodded and smiled "Check."

Diana opened the door, and then turned around to look at her friend, "Go easy on her, Clark."

Clark's weary eyes met Diana's sunny optimistic ones with his own. "I'll try." The two parted with a peck on the cheek and Clark closed the door.

He walked back through to the kitchen only to see Lois ladling Stroganoff into Bowls; she'd already taken the bread out of the oven and laid it on the table. "I'm sorry my coming home ruined your plans."

Clark winced at the slight venom in her voice, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing..."Lois slid a bowl in front of her husband "It's just I get the feeling you'd rather be eating dinner with your little friend right now."

Clark sat down at the table and picked up a spoon "I'm not even going to dignify that."

Lois tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into her stroganoff, "You two looked very cosy, that's all I'm saying."

Clark dropped his spoon "Two weeks without so much as a phone call and you're trying to start a fight...Are you for real?"

Lois sipped her glass of wine. She didn't want to fight, she just couldn't help herself, it was the only way she knew to get him to speak to her and if she was honest, really honest then she was jealous of the scene she'd just encountered. Somewhere deep within her she'd envisioned a homecoming that involved a lot more kissing and hugging, but now she just felt irritated.

"I got a job offer." She looked at her husband from across the table.

"A job offer?" Clark asked, somewhat thrown off by the now sedate change of subject.

"Yes, I got a job offer while I was in Italy, that's where I was by the way." Lois played with the napkin on her lap "...but I haven't decided whether to take it or not."

"What kind of Job?" Clark asked.

Lois smiled slightly "Editor in Chief of an upcoming magazine."

"Whoa."Clark adjusted his glasses "But you love working at The Daily Planet."

"I loved working at The Planet, yes. But now I'm ready for a change..."

Clark looked at Lois, she wasn't drunk at least, which was a welcomed relief but he didn't recognise her. Sure the woman sat opposite him looked like Lois, smelt like Lois, even behaved like Lois but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"..When Lex offered me the position I was absolutely stunned, I mean..."

"I beg your pardon?" Clark interrupted Lois's flow of speech. "Did you just say Lex? As in... Lex Luthor?"

Lois stopped speaking. She nodded.

"As in... Alexander Luthor...as in the crook, as in 'the Machiavellian industrialist', as in 'The White collar criminal' ,as in...Everything that's wrong with the world!" Clark raised his voice.

Lois took her napkin and dabbed her mouth "I know you and Lex have a history together, but..."

"BUT WHAT!" Clark stood up "Lois, you know what kind of man he is, you know what he does...You're an investigative reporter for goodness sakes!"

"Well, it's not like he's ever been found guilty of anything. This is America, Clark. He is Innocent until Proven guilty."

Clark shook his head, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lois, his Lois working for the devil."Are you out of your mind!?"

"No. I've never been better." Lois deposited her bowl at the sink and went into the living room. Clark followed.

"If you think I'm going to just stand by and let you ruin your life, you've got another think coming."

Lois was bright red with anger "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER CLARK...I CAN DO WHAT I LIKE!"

"FINE..DO WHAT YOU WANT, SEE IF I CARE!" Clark stood, his thunderous voice matching hers at every turn.

"FINE....AND BY THE WAY, LUCY SAYS 'HI'!!!" Lois yelled, as she barged past him and ran to their bedroom and slammed the door shut with all of her might.

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Clark eyes followed Lois through the newsroom. He could see her clearly moving with purpose, weaving around mailroom boys, gossiping administrators and random reporters. As she got to the room with the words 'Perry White- Editor in Chief' emblazoned on it she stopped to straighten her suit and take a deep breath. She knocked and then stepped inside.

Through the offices class walls Clark could see Lois taking a seat opposite their boss; she crossed her legs and began talking. Clark couldn't make out much from their expressions, so decided to use his super listening. He hated to invade Lois's privacy but his curiosity got the better of him.

Lois handed Perry an envelope. "Consider this my two weeks' notice." Clark heard her say. Lois didn't give the white haired editor a chance to reply instead she sailed out of the office, past a stunned Clark and into a waiting elevator.

TBC.

(P.S Happy Easter everyone!)