Chapter One

The following morning, Clark Kent performed his daily routine. He flew over the city to make sure everything was safe, and stopped off at her balcony. Although today was different, she was alone, alone and crying.

Part of him wanted to burst in and take her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right, but he knew he couldn't do that now. She belonged to some other man.

He continued to watch her for a few minutes and desperately wanted to know what she was crying over. He had seen those tears before, those tears that she shed when the broke up. Clark wondered if Richard broke up with her for an idiotic reason. Who would be stupid enough to break up with Lois Lane? You could do no better than her, once you have had the taste of perfection that is Lois Lane, you can't ever love something else the same.

Clark looked at his watch and decided to fly home to get ready for work. He took one last glance at his beloved before flying away.

Lois, on the other hand, walked out onto her balcony once he left. She sighed and placed her hand where he was standing moments before. She wiped the last tear that fell from her eye.

"Another day, another tear." she looked around to find him, "You've been doing this everyday for months now." She realized he was gone when he was nowhere to be found, "Damn it, Clark, isn't me crying every single day enough to grab your attention? Where is the same old Clark that would burst in that would save me whenever I was in despair?" Another tear fell, "Richard left for a few days to deal with some family stuff in another state, so here I am, crying on my balcony, dreaming of a love with some other man while I am in a relationship with someone else. If that doesn't scream sappy Romeo and Juliet then I really don't know what the hell else does…"

She walked over to the growing plants and took a look at one in particular. The flower began to grow and come back to life when Clark returned, each day it only grew stronger and stronger, "That must be a sign" She breathed heavily and walked back inside.

\S/

Lois walked into the bullpen with a frown on her face. Clark hadn't seen her walk into the office with a frown on her face in awhile.

It's probably because Richard isn't here, he thought.

She took a brief glance at him as she unpacked her stuff to settle into her desk.

Clark looked at her and realized today wouldn't be the best day to mess with her. He fixed his glasses and got up to go talk to her.

"I finished proofreading your article," she looked up at him.

"And?" she asked.

"And I think you might have been using this incorrectly… these facts" He pointed on the paper to her mistake.

She gave him a look, "I'm not using them incorrectly, I was using these facts and evidence to back up my claims." She huffed and got up to go get coffee, "Next time you think you can…" she stopped.

"Next time I think I can what, Lois?" He asked following her intently.

She turned around to face him, "Look, next time you think you can correct my mistakes, why don't you double check to make sure you're right, I definitely know what I'm doing Clark. I'm on my way to winning a Pulitzer"

"We know... but" He proclaimed.

"Excuse me?" she buried her eyebrows close together, "What are you trying to say, Kent… spit it out"

"Lois, we all know you're a great journalist," He didn't want to give into her attitude, "However… you still haven't won a Pulitzer yet. "

"Yet" Lois stuck out her finger and reminded him.

"We all know it's coming one day here soon…"

"Don't forget it, Smallville" She walked back to her desk, "People deserved to know…"

"Know what? How great you are? We hear it all the time, Lois, you should try being a little modest sometime in the near future," She huffed once more and pulled him into the copy room.

"It's been a long time since you've pulled me into the copy room with such passion…" He tried to crack a joke but she pushed him onto the chair.

"Don't try to make any jokes with me, okay, Clark? Today is not the day" She turned around while crossing her arms.

He sat there for a few moments questioning what was wrong, he got up and walked right behind her, "What's wrong?" he asked her softly.

"Richard." She barely let out.

"What did he do?" He questioned.

"Left." She let a single tear fall.

He bit his lip and sighed, "I'm so sorry, Lois. He's stupid for leaving you like that…"

"No, he'll be back, he just left without telling me." She walked away from Clark over to the opposite corner, "Then I called him a few times and when he finally picked up, he said that he went out of town and apologized to me. He said it was last minute and urgent… it just came up"

"Well, that's good then." Clark said turning around.

"It just… it hit me deep. Waking up, him not being there, not telling me he was leaving. I panicked, I thought someone left me again without so much as even a word as to where they were going." She walked over to Clark, "I couldn't do it, I couldn't be left behind one more time."

Clark's heart began to shatter as he realized that he was the man who had broken Lois' heart in the first place and left it so fractured.

"I love him, and sometimes I think he doesn't understand how special he is to me" She whined.

"You… love him?" Clark asked as his throat began to close in as the three words he would never want Miss. Lane to say about anyone else but him were being spoken.

"Yes, you didn't think I would actually stay in love with you and not try to move on."

"I-" He tried to speak but was at loss for words.

"Oh my god, you did. You thought you could stroll back into my life as if nothing happened; you've got to be kidding me, Clark." Lois dropped her mouth in shock of what she was thinking.

Clark was about to say something when a loud voice appeared, "KENT! LANE! GET IN MY OFFICE NOW" Lois and Clark were interrupted by the sound of their editor, Perry White, calling for them in his office.

\S/

"I can't believe Perry is making us working on this story together!"

"Why not? It's just like we used to be back then. Lois and Clark. Lane and Kent," Clark said.

"Things change," Lois said.

"But we don't have to," Clark said.

"Whatever," she said. She began walking away from him in the opposite direction.

Without thinking, he reached out for her arm and turned her so that she was facing him. "I don't like this, Lois," he said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied straight to his face.

Clark understood that she needed some time. After all, he had only been back for two weeks after his fourteen month absence. So he decided that he would give her all the time in the world. He was willing to wait forever if it meant being with Lois in the end.

So, he changed the subject. "I can't believe yet and other DA is crooked," he said.

"This is Metropolis, Clark. There is crime going on left and right," Lois said.

"I know. It's jus-," he began saying.

"It's just what?" she asked impatiently.

"It reminds me of Sacks," he said.

"So?" she asked. She didn't understand why he was bring Sacks up.

"It's all his fault," Clark said.

"Look, I know Sacks has done a lot of bad things, but I hate to break it to you. Sacks isn't at fault for every crime that goes on in this city," Lois said.

"Not the crime, Lois. Our break-up," he said. She stood there just staring at him as he spoke. "If he had just stayed in jail, then we wouldn't have gone behind each other's backs. Things would have stayed easy for us."

She shook her head. "You're wrong, Clark," Lois said.

"How am I wrong, Lois?"

"We may have gotten in that argument, but my feelings for you didn't change. Even when we did the whole break-up thing, I was still in love with you," Lois said.

"What about Richard? Why are you with him instead of me?" Clark asked.

Lois ignored him and continued speaking. "The thing that tore us apart was you," she said. She poked his chest at the word you. She stared him straight in the eyes as she spoke. "You didn't trust me enough to tell me you were the blur until you thought you were leaving forever. And even then you didn't really tell me. Your kiss told me it all." Her voice began cracking. "Then when we could have been everything we should have been, you left."

Clark saw the tears in her eyes. "Lois, I'm so sorry," he said reaching out for her.

However, she pulled away from him. She knew that with one touch from him, he could change her everything. She couldn't have that. She made a promise to herself that she wouldn't let Clark Kent back in her heart. Even if it hurt her.

"No, Clark. You decided that protecting me meant more to you than being with me. You made that decision all on your own. You became Superman. You save people every day." She continued to walk away, "You left me and didn't bother to return even slightly with a note, Richard has been good to me, and will continue to be good to me. I've moved on and so should you. See you at the party tomorrow."

TBC