Chapter 11
Richard glances at the rear view mirror. Clark is seated in the back, gazing out at the city, Lee on his lap, both wrapped in the same blanket. Since leaving the Vanderworth property, neither have said a word. Richard ordered Lois to go pick Jason up and wait for him at their house. She didn't argue and just left, after a quick glance at Clark, who seemed oblivious of everything other than the trembling woman in his arms.
Clark's expression is odd, almost expressionless, Richard thinks. Lois seems to have done much more damage than he thought she had. He just hopes now that the reporter will come back to his senses tomorrow and won't run away again. He knows he has to talk to him, to show him that he's much more valuable than he thinks he is. There are people who care for him. Aileen, Jimmy, Perry do… he does. He doesn't know why, but he feels close to the guy. His thoughts are interrupted when they arrive at the apartment complex parking lot. It seems to be a quiet place. It suits Kent a lot…
He quickly gets out of the car and opens the back door to help Clark get out with Lee in his arms.
"Do you need any help?" he asks.
"No… thanks Richard. I… I'll take care of her… go back to Lois… I think she needs you right now…" Clark stammers, then he walks away.
Richard watches them disappear into the first building, amazed that the reporter still cares for Lois's comfort, even after what happened tonight. He shakes his head and gets back in his car.
Clark shuts the door of Lee's apartment behind him with a swift move of his feet. He quickly switches on the living-room lights with his free hand and carries Lee to the couch. After unwrapping himself from the blanket, he pulls it over her. Having dozed off in his embrace, the sudden loss of warmth wakes her up.
"Clark? Where… where am I?" she asks, shaking like crazy.
"Shh… It's ok. We're in your apartment now. Just wait here. I promise I won't be long," he says, brushing her shoulders lightly through the blanket. She nods and hears him walk out and shut the door.
After what seems like only ten or fifteen seconds, she hears the door knob again. He's back. "Back already?! What did you do?"
"Oh… I just changed into some dry clothes… you know…" he says, brushing his almost dried hair away from his face. He wears a dark red flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. His glasses are gone, but he knows that that's not important right now.
"That fast?! You were only gone a few seconds!"
"Err… You must have dozed off again, I guess…" he answers. "I'm not that fast…" He hates to lie to her. He sighs and tries to concentrate on more practical things. She's still trembling, goose bumps all other her pale skin. She needs to have her wet clothes taken off.
Lee hates cold. She can't stop the shiver and the trembling of her teeth, and it makes registering her surroundings harder. She tries to rub her upper arms and focuses her mind on Clark. He's coming close to her. She can smell his fresh clean clothes mixed with the sent of the river shore. As soon as he kneels beside the couch, she can feel his unusual warmth and she reaches out for it unknowingly, leaning toward him. He steadies her, putting both hands on her shoulders, and gently pushes the blanket away.
"You… you need to get rid of your clothes… they're wet," he whispers, warmth rising on his cheeks.
She just nods and proceeds to pull her sweater away, but her trembling hands won't cooperate and her moves are erratic. She suddenly feels big, warm hands on her shoulders. They quickly pull her tattered sweater away, then she feels fingers unfasten the zipper of her jeans. She tries to forget her embarrassment and helps him as much as she can, lifting herself a little to let him grab her jeans and pull them off her legs. She can clearly hear his shallow breath as he tries not to gaze at her soft pale skin while doing so. Soon she's in her underwear and is happy for once that she's not able to see his face at that very moment. She knows that he must be blushing as brightly as her right now. But the shivering has returned now that the cool air of the apartment is on her exposed skin. She hears Clark leave her again, standing up, and she tucks her legs beneath her on the couch to keep as much warmth as she can.
Clark unbuttons his shirt and shrugs it off quickly to put it over her shoulders. She immediately feels the warmth on her back and the softness of the flannel.
"I… I thought that it would be better to warm it up… before giving it to you. You'll be much better… with… I mean…" he stammers.
Now feeling a little better, she manages to get rid of her still wet and cold bra and lets it fall on the ground at Clark's feet. Her underpants join it next. The young man is now crimson and swallows hard as he sees her slip into his shirt and wrap it around her beautiful, naked body. But the shiver has returned. He sees her rock back and forth trying to make it stop. She's so beautiful… He could have lost her tonight. Sitting on the couch just behind her, he leans back and gently forces her to lean against him. She cuddles herself onto his lap, her legs huddled up, her head on his shoulder, her right hand on the small of his back while the other is nestled on the middle of his bare chest. His strong bare arms circle her shivering frame, his hands rubbing her gently through the fabric of his shirt. She closes her eyes and just savors the magical moment.
He whispers, "Use my warmth, Lee… it's all yours."
She nuzzles under his chin and her cheek comes in contact with the chain of his necklace. As her hand wanders up to touch it, she feels him stiffen slightly, but he relaxes immediately. She feels the smoothness of the little object hanging from the chain. A polished stone?
In a soft voice, she asks, "What is it?"
"… It was a gift… from my Father. It's a… crystal," he simply says. He can feel that her body is warming up a little, the shivering is subsiding. He rests his chin on her soft hair and sighs. She plays with his crystal a moment, then caresses the tender skin of his neck with her fingertips, tracing the line from his jaw to his collarbone. She can hear his breath getting swallow when her fingers slowly slide down to the middle of his chest and start to explore its chiseled shape. When they brush the tip of his exposed nipple, she feels him shiver slightly and desperately try to suppress a moan. Yet he does nothing to stop her. Taking that as an invitation, her lips open slightly and begin to taste the tender flesh just under his ear while her fingers move down to explore his abdomen. He's oddly muscular for a man who has spent the last few years in coma… But she shrugs off this thought, hearing his moans and feeling him shift beneath her.
"What… what are you… doing…" he whispers, out of breath, his right hand wandering unwillingly to her left thigh.
"I'm suggestive enough… don't you think?" she whispers, sucking gently on his left earlobe. "…And I'm sure that at least your right hand is ok with that, judging by what it's doing right now…"
He realizes that his right hand has indeed sneaked under her shirt and is now caressing her smooth, bare hip. Eyes wide, he jerks it away and straightens, trying to push his so lovable friend away from his lap before she realizes how right she is...
"Oh, um… I'm sorry… I…" He quickly gets up, running his hand nervously through his dark hair.
Lee wants to scream out of frustration but she says nothing. She closes her eyes and sighs. He's running away... again… Each time she thinks that she has reached him, he just closes himself off again. "Is it because of her?"
He looks at her, dumbfounded. "No!" he says in a high pitched tone. He sighs and whispers, "No… I…"
She gets up and stands in front of him. Putting her hands on his upper arms, she rubs them softly and says, "Clark… I know that you're still hiding something. Is that the reason why you keep distancing yourself from me?" He tenses under her fingers. She comes closer, unwillingly begging for his warmth. "Whatever it is… I know you think that you have good reasons…"
He closes his eyes and lets her come even closer. Her body presses against his own now, and she encircles his waist with her arms and leans her forehead against his chest. After a moment of hesitation, he returns the hug, brushing her back tenderly. He feels her smooth curves under his fingers through the flannel, and warmth spreads throughout his already excited body.
"But you can't stay like that forever. It's killing you and you know it," she whispers, her cool breath tickling his skin. "You have to trust the people around you, Clark."
"It's not that simple…" he says with a tremor in his voice. He can't tell her who he is and he can't give in to his own feelings… he has no right to do that. He was sent to Earth for a reason; Jor-el told him that, even his father said it. He has a mission to accomplish. He is Superman… Clark Kent is just a costume… he doesn't really exist. Lee deserves better than a ghost, and Lois, Lois…
As if she read his mind, she says, "I'm not Lois, Clark… And you're not… Superman."
He clenches his jaw and shuts his eyes, fighting the urge to scream. She's wrong, she is so wrong, he thinks. He's nothing more than an outcast who's trying his damnedest to help. An outcast with no home, no real life. He is a permanent headline in the press, an idea… just an idea… nothing more.
Lee suddenly feels his body shake, and gasps when he falls to his knees, burying his face into her belly. He's crying, clutching the back of her shirt with his trembling hands, threatening to tear it. Trying to ease the knot in her throat, she strokes his silky hair softly, feeling the burning tears wetting her exposed skin. They stay like this a moment, in the middle of the living room, this gentle giant sobbing, his cheek pressed against her belly, clutching her back as if his life depended on it.
After a moment, she starts to sing softly… just a murmur. Her soothing voice envelops him slowly as she rocks him ever so slightly. He knows that song… it seems to come out of the past. Ma used to sing that song to him when he was just a toddler. As his sobs begin to subside, he nuzzles her stomach with his head and closes his eyes, feeling suddenly at peace. Home… this is like home… this is home, he thinks.
"Lee… you need to know… I…" he starts, but his bloodshot eyes snap open suddenly. He focuses his hearing, then sighs. "Sorry… I… have to go…"
As he gets up, brushing his wet face with the back of his right hand, she asks, "Clark... What do I need to know?"
He looks at her and his expression saddens. She's so beautiful. His red shirt on her perfect little body has an effect on him that he can't deny. An old thought strikes him again: so close to happiness without being able to reach it. That's his curse. "I'm sorry… Goodnight, Lee."
He leaves her there and shuts the door behind him, then quickly takes the stairs up to the roof of the apartment complex. Arriving there, he looks at the sky. The snow has stopped. He takes a deep breath and starts to run, concentrating briefly. The crystal on his neck begins to glow, illuminated brightly from within, and changes into the magnificent 'S' shield. It grows and settles on his bare chest, then the rest of the suit materializes, his everyday pants and shoes disintegrating in the process, all this happening in the fraction of a second.
His long cape flaps in the air. He's gone.
"So… are your men ready?" Lex asks a tall man in a black military stealth suit, his voice sugary.
"Yes, they are in position. They'll follow him until we see a good opportunity. The second unit is also in place and ready," the man says, his expression stern and professional.
Lex takes a few seconds to stare at the mercenary. This man must have been chiseled in rock, his face half disfigured and his eyes piercing. The bald man can't help but be amazed with his own good taste in finding the right men to work for him. This one is just perfect for the job: emotionless, he'll know no pity. That's good. "All right. Let the games begin!" he says, waving his hands theatrically in the air.
