Disclaimer in first chapter

five months after the events of Superman Returns...

Lois Lane ran through her article on the waning influence of Intergang in the nearly re-built Metropolis for the third time before allowing her emotions to boil over. Again.

Her life had been so screwed up lately. Her, er, Richard was always grinning like a Cheshire cat lately. It was even worse that Clark Kent and he had become some good friends. Not that she didn't want Richard to have guy friends, but honestly. Clark Kent? She couldn't see it. Clark was sweet but he and Richard were like flip sides of a coin!

Lois sent her article to Perry, deciding that if tried to proof it again she would scream . She looked at the pictures of her family on her desk with a smile on her face before laughter burst in to her reverie.

Laughter from Richards office.

Creeping around the cubicles Lois spied the image that had come to give her a sense of disquiet lately.

Richard, Jason, and Clark watching cartoons. The three of them watched old looney toons together religiously. Jason had started to incorporate Marvin the Martian battling Superman into his coloring pad. More often than not, Jason would alternate where he chose to sit, his choices of laps growing and waning depending on who would join the boys, but he always seemed to favor either Richard or Clark. Perry would sometimes step into the office, trying to pretend that he was stern and inevitably falling into the couch with his own share of popcorn. Cat Grant had made an appearance more than a few times, somehow toning down her natural bombshell tendencies to giggle with Jason. Lois had been invited of course, but this new "Clark" thing in her life just confused her.

Right after he'd returned Clark had been putty in her hands. Always there: nice and quiet, quiet and nice. He'd gotten a little stand offish a few months back but Lois had chalked that up to a nervous crush. Then he and Richard had become friends.

Clark had still bumbled around the office, but it was different now. Lois hadn't been able to pin it down exactly, but it was more, more...

more confident.

How can someone trip and be suave?

Lois Lane had no idea, but plenty of female interns had started being around the bull pen way more when Clark Kent found his mojo.

Lois hated it.

For some reason, she felt like Clark was hers somehow. From the first day he'd showed up at the Daily Planet he'd followed Lois around like a little lamb. After he'd come back he'd been the twenty four hour on call baby sitter for Jason.

God, she could sound like such a bitch sometimes.

Richard had shrugged at Lois' inquiries into Clark's personal life. He'd said that Clark had lots of layers and it was up to Kent to reveal himself to Lois.

She'd almost made Richard sleep on the couch that night.

And Superman, oh god, he'd been way too enigmatic lately. Kal-El had been over very rarely for more than a few minutes at a time as of late and Lois was beginning to wonder what exactly was going on. He'd been so happy to find out about Jason, despite Lois being unable to tell either of the men in her life how she felt. Kal-El had just smiled in a mysterious way when she asked him about what he'd been up to. "I've been so busy, but I'm always around Lois." Then he'd smile and fly away.

Stupid alien.

Why did she feel like he'd been trying to tell her something? Was he not interested in her anymore? Did he still love Jason? What was she missing?

At the center of it all was Jason. Her little angel. He had been remarkably carefree as of late, what with his allergies disappearing faster than amazonian rain forest. She'd had a conversation about his burst of strength on the Gertrude but Jason had shrugged off Lois' questions while asking for crayons. She could already see that his sense of misdirection that he must have gotten from his father was kicking in.

She supposed that she didn't care, as long as he was okay. Richard hadn't mentioned anything odd about Jason, even though she'd been sure something would have come up by now. He had seemed distracted a few weeks back, but that had passed after striking up a friendship with Clark.

Laughter cut into her thought process again.

Stamping her foot in a fit of child like pique, Lois grabbed her still forbidden pack of cigarettes and headed for the roof.

Damn, she missed her cousin.

Clark had seen Lois sneaking around, peering into Richard's office as they watched cartoons with Jason. He and Richard had seen how Lois had been becoming more and more frustrated with "the boys" as they'd come to think of themselves as, but Richard had suggested that they let Lois go for a bit. Not too long, of course, but long enough so that when the inevitable fall out had to happen, the menfolk could batten down the hatches against Hurricane Lois.

As Lois stomped off towards the roof fumbling with her cigarettes, Clark decided that the time had come to initiate the first part of revealing himself to Lois. He knew that there was a chance that it would all come out now, but he needed to take the chance.

Clark had found a measure of peace since becoming friends with Richard. They had spoken lightly of Clark's deep affection for Lois and especially Jason, but Clark had realized that moment had passed. Richard was a great person and becoming a good friend and Clark saw that because he loved Lois so much, that Clark needed to let her go. Freeing in a way, it had given Clark a veneer of smoothness in his bumbling persona. Richard had teased Clark about going for "geek chic" when they'd played pool one night at Ink, Clark had decided to run with it. Not that he wanted to date anyone, but his life was far too lonely. He had realized that being so far removed from people could be a detriment to his ability to fit in and enjoy being "Metropolis Clark" at all, so he'd opted to be that much more comfortable in his persona. Clark decided that to be happy he needed more people in his life who knew about him. It had never been a question of telling the woman that he loved who he was, but it was a big step. Now that Clark had changed where Lois lived in his heart, he realized that it was more important that she knew the truth. A woman you loved should know the truth at some point...the woman who bore your child couldn't not know as soon as possible.

Richard and Clark had talked it over, which had been one of the most surreal things Clark had ever done, and the two had come up with a two step plan that would let Lois down a bit more gently as to the fact that the "Guardian of Metropolis" was, in fact, Clark Kent.

Few can imagine how strange it is to plan an exit strategy into real life with your former girlfriend's fiancee.

In another time and place, Lois and Clark had been brought together over a suite in Niagara Falls. In this particular reality, it had never been. Their love had been short lived, he confiding in her all of his Kryptonian heritage while desperately wanting to reveal his Earth heritage. One moment had spiraled out of their control and they had given in to their mutual attraction.

Roughly five years and ten months ago, Superman had been in a massive battle with Maxwell Jensen a.k.a "The Parasite" for the first time and Jensen had managed to drain Clark of his powers. When Jensen had run off at his unexpected victory Lois had swooped in to save Superman from being discovered powerless.

He'd been half delirious, having bouts of cold shakes, the reaction the the energy leech's attack. She had tried everything to warm him but it had finally come down to body heat...and they'd been unable to resist themselves. After a night of unexpected tenderness for both parties, Clark's powers had returned in full and he'd had to leave to finish what had been started by the Parasite.

Clark still remembered the way Lois had breathlessly pleaded "Kal-El" in the throes of passion and bitterly regretted that when the two had tried to reconnect hours later, the moment had passed, transformed into fear and uncertainty about a possible relationship. Days later, scientists had found the remains of Krypton and Clark had made the choice that had changed everything.

Now, in the present, Clark and Richard made eye contact at Lois' poorly disguised confusion. As the woman in their lives made for the roof of the Daily Planet on this cool fall evening, the fathers of Jason Lane simultaneously and silently agreed that now was the time.

Gently moving the laughing six year old from his lap, Clark left Richard and Jason to the cartoons and decided it was time to get into his other work clothes. Jason, who had become accustomed to Clark's departures as he'd been the first to see Clark for who he was, simply gave Clark a quick hug so Superman could go and do what he needed to do.

Even with the task at hand making Clark nervous, his son's accepting touch bolstered his resolve. The sooner the truth was out, the sooner this family could be whole- even if he couldn't be a part of it.

Lois stood on the roof of the Planet, cigarette in hand, yet still unlit. She wished that she had some days off and that she could take Jason out to Vermont. The crisp Autumn weather she remembered from her own childhood visits to her grandparents home was missed here in the big city. Feeling the cool air caress her, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine standing in the middle of the woods, the sounds of falling leaves whispering in her mind.

As lost as she was in her own mind, Lois still felt the air change behind her and she knew that she was no longer alone on the roof. Girding her heart for the inevitable flow of confusion and warmth at his presence Lois turned to see her savior, her guardian, and her devil.

Kal-El.

She'd come to call him that in her mind as of late. Addressing him as Superman seemed like calling a cop you were married to "officer" all the time. Superman was his title to her now, not his only name.

He stood there, basked in the last few rays of sunshine, looking as strong and honest as ever. He really was a force of nature. She liked to think though, that if he'd never been the superhero before her, that she would have fallen for him anyways. That she would have seen him on the street, or a bookstore, or at coffee, doing anything that millions of regular people do, and that she would have felt her heart gravitate towards him.

Lois pulled herself from daydreaming. After how she'd felt lately she wasn't going to be the one who broke the silence. He'd found her, he needed to start.

"How have you been Lois?"

Hmm. That's how it was going to be? "Oh you know, raising a kid, working at a paper. Same old thing." Ouch, she was going to have to do better than that if she didn't want the boy scout too see right through her.

She watched his eyebrow raise and a shadow of a smile play at his mouth. Again with this amusement? Why? What was so funny about her that he couldn't just play it straight?

"And Jason? Has he been having fun at school?"

"Oh please," god this man could be infuriating, "Like you don't know how he's doing. I appreciate the attempt at small talk Kal-El, but we both know that this isn't a normal situation. You don't have to play games with me."

At the word normal, Lois saw his eyes take on a brief flash of something. Here and gone so quickly that she wasn't sure as to what it was, but she regretted using the "normal" word. Just because they were unique, didn't mean she had to throw it at him.

Recovering quickly, he smiled. "actually, he and Richard seem to be having a great time right now. He's a good man Lois."

This was different. Since when did she talk about Richard with him?

"Kal...what is going on? You can't possibly be here to talk about my lov- my life." Alarm sirens were flashing wildly in her mind.

"Actually..." Superman walked away from her. She saw him tense briefly and watched as he breathed in the air, the fading sunset silhouetting him. "Lois, why haven't you gotten married?"

Lois reached out for the nearest handhold, her stomach lurching unpleasantly. This was it, he was leaving her again.

Clearing her throat nervously Lois found her mouth talking without her consent. "Well...I don't know. I love him, Kal. Jason loves him as well. But still...it's complicated."

Kal-El turned. She saw his silent accusation and hated him a little for it.

"Listen," Lois felt her temperature rising, "Who the hell do you think you are? You don't get to pass judgment on my life Mister, no matter how many people you save!"

She watched as the hero in front of her relented, raising his hands in a surrender.

"Lois! Please, don't misunderstand," once again, complicated emotions flowed across his flawless features and her heart beat faster, "I just meant that you've been with Richard for a long time if I'm right. He's been there for you, more that I ever was, ever could be with the way things were. I just think that if you love him...no matter how you feel otherwise, you should be with him." Kal-El finished quietly, and Lois could see pain wash his face briefly, but she could see that he wasn't finished.

"Lois, I will always love you. I realize that now, more than I have ever before. But our moment...it passed. As painful as that is to admit, our consolation, no, our good fortune, is that Jason is around today because we tried to seize our moment. No matter what happens, wherever we may end up, our son will always be something that we have to bond us," Lois felt tears brimming in her eyes, made worse that she could see them in his eyes as well. No one should hurt him like this, least of all her.

"But the truth is, Jason has a father. And you have a man that loves you more than anything other than his son. You should let yourself be free and be with them. I know that it's what I want for Jason."

Lois wiped her eyes, totally stunned at this evenings events.

Clark felt tears welling up as he emptied his heart to Lois. He reflected on the fact that even if you know you can't be with someone, you don't love them any less. He remembered walking away from Lana at the end of his senior year, going out into the world to discover his place and hating that he'd had to leave her as well. He refused to give in to self pity though. The short time that he and Lois had together made him realize that someone was out there, and more important than that, he had a son to care for now.

After his impassioned argument to Lois, Clark could see that his words had not fallen on deaf ears. The light in her eyes changed as Lois wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped towards him.

With infinite care, Lois Lane reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes and then gently kissed him. Even as the heat flushed through his body at Lois' touch, Clark recognized a good bye kiss. He returned the soft emotion as he could sense that between the two of them, this kiss was equal to days worth of conversation and emotion. In this world, right now, the stolen moment was how Lois Lane and Kal-El closed the book on the romantic portion of their relationship.

A moment passed and Clark stepped away from Lois, his heart soaring and plummeting in the same motion. He had done it, he had set her free. Clark had never thought that he'd be strong enough but they had taken the first step towards the future.

Masks of necessity back in place, the former couple looked at each other, new respect in their eyes.

"So...Would you like me to bring Jason up to the roof? You and he could talk..."

Clark smiled at Lois. She was so strong...he was glad that she could still be in his life.

"I appreciate that, but he and Richard are having fun. On top of that, I see him more than you think I do Lois."

For some reason, past the years of delusion and ignoring that powerful acting in front of her, Lois Lane finally heard what Superman wasn't saying to her.

He and Richard...more than you think...

Kal-El had failed to mention Clark at all. In fact, Lois' mind raced through all the times, all the excuses, all the hints. The realization of what hadn't been said for years now washed over her like a wave now that she was viewing him with a heart unburdened.

And the knowledge didn't surprise her. It didn't make her mad, or shocked, or a million other responses that many would have expected from Lois Lane. She found herself curiously happy. Proud of the fact that the two men she'd always had a strange attachment to had worked with her and given her such a personal look into his mind as he revealed that there had only ever been the one.

Suddenly, Superman's eyes took on a faraway look that she recognized.

"Time to go," Lois said with a little sadness.

Her hero looked at her, understanding at her pain. "Unfortunately. Something in Toronto...police band is pretty busy but it sounds like some kind of giant robot."

"Are you giving me a scoop?" Lois grinned at her...friend. Yes, friend was perfect.

"Not that you need it Lois, but I suppose if it turns into something bigger you would have a scoop on your hands."

She waved at him, one half goodbye, the other half joking dismissal. "Go on then, go save the world from science gone bad."

He grinned at her, a smile that she'd never seen on him before. It was easy and less shrouded than he'd ever been before.

As Superman turned and began to float away Lois couldn't help herself.

"Cl-Kal...be careful."

As he stared into her eyes, a surprised, then knowing look pierced Lois to the depths of her soul.

A wry grin on his face, Clark Kent started to fly away from her. Before he was too far though, Lois heard him say, "About time."

She heard the smile in his voice even after he was long gone.

(2/5)