Author's Notes: Thanks Blah, Uhm.What, hopemaster (for the consistent review), Joseph Benjamin, Dani (Buddy, thanks). Teena, I'm incredibly appreciative that you've delurked. I'm pretty proud of that line too. It's only going to get interesting from here on in. I've introduced the relationships, now I'm going to see if I could semi-accomplish tying it all together. You all have been a blast to write for. Thanks for keeping up.
Origins – Chapter 18
Clark flew Lois to the roof of one of Gotham City's tallest buildings. He set her down gently, both pairs of feet firmly on the ground. Once Lois felt her legs, she went weak kneed and Clark holds onto her to keep her from falling down. Not as firm as he originally thought.
"Are you okay?"
Lois blinked once. Then twice. A quick chill ran inside her and Clark realizes that she's freezing.
"I'll be right back," Clark says, flying off again in a blur.
A moment later, he was back again. It was barely even a few seconds.
"Here." Clark wrapped the familiar red blanket she had used on him when they first met out in the cornfield around her cooling body. Lois hadn't taken the time to really analyze that night but after everything that's happened in the last few minutes, a wave of memories since she met him coursed through her mind.
It was all so overwhelming that Lois had to blink again.
"Lois," Clark spoke so softly.
Lois sunk to the floor, tugging the blanket tight around her as she looks out into the surrounding city of Gotham. It held as much history and architectural culture as Metropolis. She needed to think but she found herself incapable to.
"All this time," Lois started, unsure exactly where she was headed with this. Her eyes remained focused on the city. "I don't know what you want me to say"
Clark slowly sat besides her, making sure not to scare her away or anything. Not that he thought she was afraid of him, she just looked so lost and his heart sank because of it.
"I wanted to tell you," Clark says. "Ever since I realized I was in love with you I've wanted to tell you." When she continued to stare out into the city, he does the same.
"Why didn't you?" she mutters in a low voice.
"Everything was so perfect." Clark paused, struggling to say the next words. "I didn't want to risk it"
"That's a lie," Lois shot back, her eyes now meeting his with defiance. "It would never have changed how I felt. People don't just wake up in the morning and stop loving somebody"
"But what if it could?" he returned with equal vigor, the life he's led finally catching up with him. "That's what I've lived with my entire life. I can't just wake up and not feel these things. I Lois. There's no other people out there like me," he tries to explain as best he could without breaking down.
Lois's mind backtracked by the use of his words. He said people. "But the meteor shower?"
Clark shook his head; this was the moment of truth. "The meteor shower didn't cause this," Clark says, holding both his hands out, palms facing upward before him. "I caused the meteor shower"
Lois's eyes go wide by the unbelievable revelation.
"Clark," Lois says, her head tilting slightly in disbelief. "You can't blame yourself for what happened. It's not like you fell down with them"
Clark's eyes darted away from hers, the sparkle in his eyes from the night before completely gone. Only sadness remains in him.
"I did," he says in a whisper. Lois almost didn't hear it if it weren't for the wind carrying his voice towards her direction. The words I did reverberated through her mind like an echo.
"What?"
"I'm not from around here Lois"
At this point, Lois truly didn't know what else to say.
About half an hour later, Clark has just finished telling Lois everything about himself. He told her how he came down from the sky during the first meteor shower and how his parents found him in a field with his spaceship – another revelation that made his entire story all the more real to Lois.
He told her about how his powers emerged all throughout grammar and high school, and how in some ways, he's still learning everything about them.
Clark held nothing back and told her everything. Jor-El. Lara. The Kawatche Caves. Everything. He felt a tremendous relief in telling her all these things, and even more relief that she didn't run away screaming from it.
Lois sat there and listened.
Clark knew he was telling her too much, but once he started, it all just poured out of him. He couldn't quite understand how he always had such a strong connection with her, and he mentally berated himself more than once that he should've done this a long time ago.
Clark always knew that he could trust her, and it was never about 'not' trusting her. It was about not trusting himself. He had made many mistakes all through-out high school; he didn't want a repeat performance that would cause her pain. He should've known by now that predicting the future is one gift he does not have.
"And that's pretty much everything"
Like before, Lois's blinked her reaction before giving a verbal response. "That's – a lot"
Clark chuckled but stopped immediately when Lois didn't do the same. At the moment he wasn't certain where they stood.
"Yeah – but that's who I am Lois, I can never change that"
Lois shot him a serious glare. "I would never change you," she tells him with no uncertain terms. "I would never want to," she added to prove her point.
"But," Clark says, waiting for the inevitable rejection.
"But what?"
"This the part you say that we should take some time apart, think things over, reassess," Clark figured one after another.
Lois rolled her eyes and then slapped him on the shoulder. Even now that she knew he doesn't physically feel it, it's the only way to get her point across.
"What?" she replies in disbelief. "You're pitying yourself again. I hate it when you do that. I really do"
Clark is briefly confused. "You mean – you and I – "
Lois held the urge to say 'duh' and opted for a more subtle approach. She takes his hands into hers. "It's going to take a little getting use to, but – you're still Smallville to me," she genuinely smiled. "No amount of alien superpowers is going to change that"
Clark let out a deep breath he was positive he's been holding for a while now. She accepted him. He truly felt like he could do anything now.
"You always have a way of surprising me, Lois," Clark comments sincerely and with a hint of awe in his blue eyes.
"Ah!" she ignored. "It's nothing compared to the flying. My shock aside. That was very cool," she admits to him proudly.
Clark chuckles again and this time she joined him. "You're still cold," he notices her shivering still.
Lois shrugs. "It'll pass in a bit"
Clark moves closer to her, cupping her cheek with one hand while the other stroked her shoulder. "May I?" he asks with his eyes, asking her for permission.
Lois's eyes go wide at the request. "You mean…" she makes a 'V' with her middle and forefinger, pointing to her eyes, then to his, then hers and back to his again. Clark couldn't help but smile. Lois had yet to see him use his heat vision and it's making her excited.
"Yeah," Clark says.
"So you weren't overemphasizing to impress me?"
Clark smirked. "Of course not"
"Will it hurt?" she asks suddenly in such an adorable manner.
Clark smiles. "I would never hurt you"
"I know," and then she closed her eyes tightly, leaving Clark more than a little amused.
"You don't have to close your eyes, Lois," Clark says assuring her that it won't hurt. He held her closer, brushing his finger across her eyes, asking her to open them. She does and she stares intently in his eyes, the love and care in them were stronger than ever. "You ready?"
Lois didn't say anything and simply nodded her response.
She watched as Clark's eyes glows a tiny red light within his pupils. He looked down on her and began releasing what felt to Lois like a gush of warm air. Her shivers calmed to a restful stop.
When it was over, Lois looks at him with a bit of amazement and mischief. "That kind of tingles"
Clark gazed away, slightly embarrassed. Lois catches on.
"Have you ever used that on – " Lois began but Clark already nodded his head with an answer. "Oh, I knew that felt familiar," she declared amusingly. "You know, not that I'm complaining or anything. Man, I'm think I like it better not knowing"
Clark shoots her a look and Lois immediately refutes.
"I didn't mean it that way – I meant – you and me – together – oh the hell with it," she laughed in the end, her bumbling attitude making her lose all confidence to explain appropriately.
They both laugh and after another moment of silence, it's finally followed by another serious discussion.
"What are we going to do about the Desmond Brothers?" Lois asks first.
Clark sighed. He had revealed himself in front of them without thinking through of the ramifications involved. He fears that they are already running a background check on him if they haven't already. It seems that they've been watching Lois for a while now and that left uncomfortable in terms of her safety.
"You were right about finding the link between Robert Thorne and the Desmond Brothers. They are working for him on some capacity"
"How did you know I was on Thorne's case?"
"Bruce told me," replied Clark.
"How exactly did Bruce know?" She slapped herself when she realized. "Oh right. Rachel. Of course. I've been working with her on the exact same thing"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Why didn't you?" she returned.
"Fair enough"
"Come on." Clark pulls her into his embrace. "We got to lay low somewhere that Thorne or the Brother's won't find you"
"And where's that?" Lois asks curiously.
Clark takes off with Lois in his arms. "Bruce Wayne," he says as they flew through the dark skies.
On the ground a few homeless onlookers in the street look up into the sky.
"What is that Bob?" he points to the sky.
"I dunno. A big bird I guess"
"Nah, looks like a plane," Bob says.
Another homeless man snuck out of his area and looked at the talking men. "Shut up, fellas, I'm trying to sleep! There probably just some kid hand gliding or something"
Bob and his friend just shrug and went back to huddling around the fire to stay warm and forgot all about the figure they saw flying in the sky.
To be continued…