"Let me guess: they want to invade our planet and take control, right?"
"According to Diana, that's pretty much it, yes."
There's a soft thud as she puts her glass of water down on his nightstand a little too harshly. She snorts.
"Very original, I must say," although she can't quite ignore the fear settling in her stomach.
It must show, because he reaches out to grab her fingers, soft eyes meeting hers. She moves to settle on his lap, legs either side of his waist, and hides in his neck, seeking comfort in the two enormous arms that he wraps around her. Her eyes flutter closed when his lips come to brush her forehead, and it takes a moment before she musters the will to lean back.
Sitting there against the headboard, hair tousled, sleep still softening the lines of his face as the morning sun bounces off his uncovered chest, he's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.
"What happened when you saw him? Did he say anything?"
Clark shrugs. "Nothing, no. He just - looked at us." Then, frowns. "At me, I think."
The chill that runs down her spine spreads in her whole body, somehow. "And then, the portal closed, and that was it."
He shakes his head, lets it fall back against the wall. "It's one monster coming to obliterate all life on Earth after the other - literally," and he's right. It would be funny, really, if it wasn't so tragic.
If she wasn't so afraid they'd take him away from her again.
"There were so many of them, Lo." His jaw tightens underneath her fingertips, tension and frustration radiating off of him. "Darkseid looked terrifying enough, but there was an entire army, and that's only what we saw - I don't really doubt there's more of them."
Of course there were. God forbid they went too long without a major threat to the world, and no forceable way to stop it.
Lois lets a hand travel down his neck, the other sliding in his hair to comb his curls back the way he likes. Attempting to ease the storm brooding behind the blue of his eyes, if only for a few moments.
"How did we beat them last time?"
"We united - the humans, the Atlantians, the Amazons. Oh, and Zeus and Ares were there as well, so I'm guessing that helped too," he adds dryly, and she chuckles. His small smile fades way too soon, though, letting the worry take back its place. The fact that he's already taking so much on his shoulders when he just came back after sacrificing himself makes her blood boil.
She'll curse all those damn tyrants later, though. For now, Lois kisses his cheek, then manoeuvers to make sure he's looking at her, his face inches from hers.
"Then we'll unite again."
"Because humanity has always been so great at overlooking its differences for the greater good?"
"Because you'll help them. Just like Jor-El wanted you to," she smiles. "Besides, you're not the only hero in town anymore - you'll have each other."
She's scared, of course, terrified, but she trusts them - trust him. "I'm not saying it will be easy. But we've done it before, Clark - we'll do it again."
Of course, she knows that his apprehension and fear aren't going to disappear, just like hers - the danger is far too great, far too imminent for that. They'll have to fight, and more likely than not, give in to sacrifice again, and the mere thought of it makes her stomach twist.
But finally, his lips curve into a smile, a true one, and in this moment, that's all that matters.
The twinkle in his eyes when he speaks again makes her own smile grow wider. "Optimist, huh?"
"Yeah, well - I'm afraid you only have yourself to blame for that particular change in character, Smallville. But don't kid yourself, I still get to be the cynical one in this relationship - I really don't have the energy for this positive person thing in the long run. That's your job, mister 'It's not an S, in my world it means hope'."
His laugh resonates through their bedroom at that, a wonderful contrast to the heart wrenching silence that filled the space all these weeks, and there's that look in his eyes again. The one that to this day, still scares her and excites her in equal measures. The one that, as stupid as it sounds, still seems to take her breath away.
It certainly does now.
He's the one closing the distance this time, and there's an urgency in the way he threads his fingers into her hair and holds her closer, always closer. A tenderness, a reverence in the way he kisses her over and over again. A warmth that feels more like home than any other thing in this whole apartment.
If she was able to articulate one coherent thought, Lois would probably be embarrassed by the small moan that escapes her, and that alarming and skyrocketing heart rate of hers he can probably hear.
He lets his hands travel down her back, then, and his lips down her jaw, lower, waking every nerve in her body on the way. It's his turn to snuggle into her neck and tuck under her chin, and she's more than happy to hold him as close as she can.
When Clark finally gazes back up at her, Lois wonders if there's a single shade of blue on this planet that can compete with the Kryptonian one in his eyes.
She's pretty sure she already knows the answer.
"Hi."
"Hi."
He kisses her chin, lingers there. "I have to protect you, Lo," he says against her skin. Desperate, she knows.
One of his hands moves to her temporarily still flat stomach, and his fingers carefully slide under her cotton shirt the way they had so often since his return. She hates how this time, the excitement that appears on cue on his face is not enough to cover his torment.
"Both of you."
"You will, sweetie."
She lets her fingers play with the hair at his nape for a few seconds before sliding them to his cheek, making him look up at her. "Hey - you will," she promises.
His small smile is not enough to cover the raw fear that colours his voice.
"How can yo be so sure?"
Lois leans in, pecks his lips. "Because I know you will never let anything happen to us." She makes sure her eyes don't waver looking back into his apprehensive ones.
Then, smirks. "And then when he's old enough, we'll tell him all about how his dad fought the universe's scariest villain and saved the world - again."
He chuckles at that, just like she hoped he would, and for now - for now, she's going to focus on keeping that out of this world smile on his face.
The heavy stuff can wait for a little longer.
"He?"
"Mhm - I have a feeling. Wanna bet?"
Clark snorts, playing along. "Nice try, but I know better than to bet against you."
"You've a very wise man, Kent - let hope your son inherits that. Now. A, 'when are you meeting with your new super crew to come up with a plan to save humanity and can I come to help' - B, 'how the hell am I going to keep our kid alive when I can barely cook an omelet'. Two topics, equally urgent, equally terrifying - you choose which one we tackle first, baby."
Arms tightening around her waist, Clark laughs.