Chapter 12

He stopped dead in his tracks, his breath catching in his lungs as he heard her call his name. He didn't know why she did, but his hopes rose as he slowly turned around. There she was, half her body poking out of the doorway as her eyes directly placed on him. "Yeah?" He asked softly. She didn't respond, but simply motioned with a finger to come to her. His mind froze for a second, not completely aware of what was exactly happening. He wanted to run to her, but his feet wouldn't let him. Resigning to taking his time, he walked slowly towards her, his heart beating ferociously the closer to her he got.

Each step seemed like an eternity, his feet slowly lumbering in front of one another. He didn't know what to do with his hands, and finally resigned to sticking them in his coat pockets awkwardly. With his head to the ground like a scolded dog, he walked closer. Before he realized it he was only a few feet from her, his head slowly lifting to meet her gaze. When her eyes came into contact with his, he didn't know what to do. She looked angry, but there was something in them that showed understanding. His hopes rose even higher as she closed the distance between them.

Still running over every scenario in her head, she gently reached out and placed an open palm on his right cheek. "Smallville."

"Yes." He replied, his shaking hands falling out of his pockets as he tried hopelessly to smile.

When he tried to smile, she melted; her heart bursting forward as she put her other hand on his face and brought her lips to his. The tears began to fall down her face as she allowed herself to let go, to let every single angry thought be drowned out in her tears of happiness.

He was surprised, but it only took a second for him to respond. How much he craved her taste, her smell; it all rushed into him so hard he almost fell over. Her lips moves tenderly on his, his eyes closing as he softly placed a hand on her back. Once again the feeling of bliss that had occurred on Valentines Day came back. His mind went to the heavens, his heart erupting in a volcano of love and affection.

Lois felt both his arms rap around her back as she was pulled tighter into the kiss. She almost laughed against his lips at how stubborn and stupid she had been. He loved her, it was that simple. It had always been that simple. With her arms stretching around his neck, she pulled out of the embrace for only a second to say. "I'm so sorry Clark."

He shook his head and smiled weakly. "It's not your fault Lois." He reassured her.

"No, it is Clark. I've been so stubborn." When he smiled and kissed her tenderly, she let a few more tears fall down her already stained cheeks.

"It doesn't matter Lois, we have all night to tell each other how sorry we both are, but there are only three words I want to hear from your mouth." When she frowned, he hugged her tightly to himself as he placed his mouth to her ear. "I love you." He said softly.

Lois felt her world become butter, her body melting in his arms as she drank in his words. Hearing it for the first time had been his desperate attempt for a last ditch effort to not lose her, and it had worked, but now that he was saying it because he was happy, it meant even more. "I love you too." She said back softly, her lips barely moving against his neck.

Clark smiled as his whole world came into place. The insecurities and pain were now a distant memory, their presence gone like the warm summer wind. His own tears began to fall down upon her shoulder as he whispered. "That's four words Lois."

She laughed against his chest, her chin resting on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. "Shut up Smallville." She said, pulling back and gently dragging him through the door with her.

He almost tripped into her, but he remained upright as he held the doorway. "There are some things I need to tell you Lois." He struggled getting the words out as she had already begun attacking his lips again.

"I said shut up." She smiled against him, her teeth nibbling softly on his bottom lip.

"I'm serious Lois, there are some things you need to know about me." He couldn't do anything unless she knew the truth, and unlike previous times, there was no hesitation. She was the woman he loved, the woman who he held so high that he would risk anything for. There was no doubt in his mind that she could handle it. They hadn't come this far for her to just push him aside. Something she had said months ago popped into his head as she continued to kiss him, ignoring what he had said. He remembered it vividly. It was when she had been stressed about Oliver. She had said something about him being from Mars and she would find it as nothing more than a personality quirk. Well, it was something like that; he was having trouble focusing as she had her tongue down the length of his throat.

"Lois." He said loudly, pushing her away. When she pouted, he felt her pain, but he had to do it. "There are so many things you need to know."

"Like what?" She asked, grabbing one of his hands and pressing her tender lips to the open palm.

Clark ran his other hand through his hair in nervousness. "There's so much that I don't even know where to begin." He looked at her, thinking she would get annoyed, but instead, she surprised him with another kiss.

"Then don't." She mumbled against his lips as she gently slipped his coat of his shoulders. He didn't seem to react to her words, but the more she kissed him the more he finally responded.

"Lois." He said weakly, his mind becoming foggy. He wanted to tell her, she needed to know. "It's complicated Lois, this is really important."

She slowly dropped his coat on the floor as her hands went up under his shirt. With a firm pull, she lifted it up over his head until he raised his arms in defeat and let the fabric disengage, falling to the floor with the coat. Not once did she allow his lips to leave hers, except to remove his shirt.

"Lois." He mumbled, his eyes closing in pleasure as he felt her hands go to the front of his jeans.

"Is what you have to say more important than the fact I love you?" She asked, pulling back to stare into his eyes.

He thought about it. Was his secret more important than her? Or was love more important than anything? As he struggled to make up his mind, he saw her frown. Thinking he was losing her, he shook his head. "Nothing is more important to me than you."

She smiled widely and hooked her thumbs through the belt loops on his pants. "Then whatever you have to say can wait." She firmly tugged on him as she sat herself on the bed.

Clark kneeled on the mattress as he gently positioned himself overtop of her. As she gently lied back on the mattress, he put his knees to each side of her and rested on his knuckles, just above her shoulders.

Lois felt her heart soar above the clouds, his large form positioned above her as she let out another tear.

Frowning, he wiped away her tear with a thumb. The heat of the moment had been cut off prematurely as he thought something was wrong. He softly dropped to his right side and propped himself up onto an elbow as she continued to lie on her back. More tears were coming out, but he didn't know why. "Lois?" He asked softly, resting a loving hand on her stomach. Her demeanor was frightening him. She wanted him one minute, and the next she seemed upset.

"Smallville, I-," She stuttered for a second, unable to stare into his eyes. Looking to the ceiling, she put her right on top of his on her stomach. She was scared, but she had trouble saying it aloud. His warm fingers found hers as she finally managed to look at him. His eyebrows were set deeply, his eyes closed slightly in a frowning manner as he looked concerned. The warmth in his eyes and in his hand allowed her to open up. "I'm scared Clark. If we do this, there is no going back. I've always cherished what we've had and I love you." When his frown went even deeper, she continued. "I'm just scared Clark, for the first time in my life I've found something I can't stand being away from, and I don't want to lose it."

Wiping away more of her tears, realizing that any intimacy that would occur would be nothing sexual, he dropped his head off his hand and laid his right arm out above her head on the pillow. "I'm scared too Lois, but I'm tired of letting fear rule my life. I hate being selfish, and you know that, but my heart wants this more than anything."

"Mine too." She echoed, her right hand squeezing his left tightly on her stomach. "It's just-," She said, but stopped, finding trouble in getting her words out. "We've built this weird connection that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, and I'm afraid once we do this we'll lose that."

Clark was confused. "What do you mean?"

Staring back to the ceiling, she brought their intertwined fingers up to her chest. "The bickering, the awkward silences, and even me calling you Smallville; it's always been something unique in our relationship. I don't want anything to change."

Clark smiled suddenly. Lois, the woman who took no prisoners, was scared about change. For a woman who had spent her whole life bouncing around from one place to another with her father, dealing with change on a constant basis, she seemed like she had found something she didn't want to let go of. For him to be that one person meant that she loved him almost as much as he loved her, and that sent his heart to new levels. "Lois, nothing will change. I still want you call me Smallville. I still want you to wring me out, especially when you know I deserve it. You're the only woman who sees past me and there is no way I would allow that to change. That is the woman I fell in love with, and I will not allow you to turn away from who you are."

Lois turned onto her side and looked deep into his eyes. "I've never been in love before Clark. There was Oliver, but there wasn't something deep down that told me I could spend the rest of my life in his arms. You, you are such an enigma that all I want to do is hold you and ask you a million questions. For all our fighting and bickering, we've never really talked openly, yet we know each other better than anyone else. It's scary and it makes me think that once we share everything about ourselves, that the small things we've always enjoyed will disappear." Her words came out in more of frustration and confusion instead of truth. She was scared, and she couldn't quite get a handle on it.

Sighing, he continued to smile until she gave him a tight, personal, smile in return. Her smirk could light the night, even without her bight white teeth showing. "Tell me what you see me as." He said suddenly.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion, her smile turning into a deep mask of wonder. She wanted to know where he was going with his question.

He urged her on. "I want you to tell me what you think of me. We've known each other for over two years now, but tell me, who do you think I am?"

"That's a hard question Clark." She replied, taking their hands back to her abdomen.

"I'll go first them." He said, smiling. "When I see Lois Lane, I see a woman who's brash, loud and incredibly forthright." When she was about to speak, he cut her off by bringing his hand from above her head and placing a finger on her lips. "But, I also see what others don't. There's something inside of you that drives you to succeed. I don't know what it is, and I don't think I ever will, but it's something so strong that it keeps you going forward. You're tough, smart, and incredibly attractive, yet you hold everything thing in. You may speak your mind, but your deepest and strongest feelings always stay in here." He let go of her hand and put a finger just above her left breast.

"I didn't think boy scouts thought so deeply." She smiled, her eyebrows dancing upon her forehead. When he did nothing but grin in return, she took a deep breath. "When I see you, I see a man who drives me insane, all the time, but you have your moments when I think you're smarter than anyone I've ever known. You get your head wrapped so tightly around things that you get confused, but in the end you always do what you think is right. I admire that you want to protect everyone, putting your own feelings aside, but I can see that your anger and your annoyance is there." His grin signaled for her to continue. "We're alike Clark, we see the pain in each other and can relate. I just don't brood." She smirked suddenly.

"I think my days of brooding are over." He said. "I also know that you pick on me because that's the best way to get your anger out."

"They better be, bucko." She replied, answering his first comment. "My picking on you is fun, but it allows me to be completely honest. I can bug all I want, but you never give in. You let it bounce off of you like a basketball off concrete, and you still find a way to make me smile in the end. I've never had that. Everyone around me caves when I get upset or pestering, yet you egg me on and make me so frustrated I just want to hit you."

"You can." He smiled, his words bringing about a kiss as she leaned in.

Pulling back, she nodded. "I know I can." She gently slapped the side of his face, but held her palm against it instead of dropping it. Her eyes slowly drifted down his face and to his exposed chest. "You make me happy when I feel miserable." Her eyes fluttered back up to his. He was still smiling warmly, his lips pursed just slightly as he breathed softly.

"You do the same thing Lois. When I'm pining, or brooding, or whatever you want to call it, you manage to drag me away and make me laugh." He gently wrapped his left hand around her back and pulled her to him.

Lois let out a muffled cry against his lips at his strength.

Clark broke the kiss and rubbed her nose with his. "Seeing how the mood has died, there is something I need to tell you."

She squinted as his face went suddenly somber. "Okay, but somehow I get the feeling that you don't want to."

"I want to Lois, for the first time in my life I want someone to know."

"Know what?" She asked, now more than a little intrigued.

"The truth."

"If you tell me you don't actually love me, then I'll burn you alive." She said with a smirk.

Clark laughed. "I love you, in that there is no doubt. I just hope you can love me after what I want to say." Her smile suddenly disappeared. "Let me tell you a story." He said softly, turning away from her embrace and lying flat on his back. Putting his hands under his head and entwining them, he took a deep breath and began.

The time flew, becoming irrelevant as he spun an elaborate story for her. Almost within a minute of him beginning, it had become clearly evident that he was speaking about himself. She drank in every word with rapt attention, not sure she if had even blinked. It shocked her deeply to learn he was from another planet, yet it all made some kind of twisted sense. It explained all his insecurities. His abilities were another matter. They were intriguing and surprising. It also explained a lot, but to her she found them quirky in nature. Clark was special without them, but they added a whole new layer of depth to the already incredibly complicated man.

Clark finished his narrative by asking her a question. "What is your biggest fear?"

She was snapped out of her little world of listening as she had taken everything in stride. His question was a strange one, and if she didn't know him like she did, she would have scolded him for changing the subject. "I don't know, I've really never thought about it."

"I have." Clark replied, taking his hands from under his head and interlocking them on top of his chest. "My biggest fear has always been that I would be alone forever. That's why I brood. I feel alone, as if no one could accept me for who I am. In the end, I just want to share my love with someone who understands and accepts me." He had opened up, allowing everything to spill forth. Knowing that she could handle it was a great relief, but he had been somewhat scared when he had started. For the first time in his life he had seen Lois without something to say. She hung on every word like a child on a nursery rhyme. Everything he said was taken in, her eyes never leaving him. She understood, allowing all the fear and apprehension to disappear.

"You're not alone." She said, getting close to him as she placed a hand on both of his.

"I know." Clark replied, opening his palms and rubbing her smaller hand. "So, what do you have to say about all this? I'm sure Lois Lane has something snarky to say." He smiled as she playfully swatted his right arm with her other hand.

"Usually I would, but what you said makes so much sense that I can't believe I've been blind to it for so long."

"You must understand Lois, you make me feel normal. When I'm around you I forget that I'm from another planet. You treat me like I'm completely human. You make me feel human."

She smiled warmly and kissed him, her lips pressing tenderly up against his. "I have a question." She said suddenly.

"Really?" He asked, pulling back to stare at her.

"Yes." She threw him a devilish grin. "Are you scared that you would hurt me if we were intimate?"

Her question threw a wrench into his happy thoughts. "I don't know. It's something that's always in the back of my mind."

"What about with Lana?" Los asked. She dared bring her up only because she could see in his eyes that he had no reaction to the name.

"What about her?"

"Did you not worry about hurting her?"

Clark sighed. "No, because at the time my father had removed my abilities."

"You're talking about your father at the North Pole, right?" When he nodded, she laughed. "Please tell me he isn't Santa too, because that would throw a wrench into what my father told me when I was twelve."

He got swept up in her laughter, his arms wrapping around her as he lifted her up onto his chest. "There is so much more I need to tell you. There is danger in knowing the truth about me."

"Such as?" She asked.

"Some people are curious already, Lex and Lana for starters, and I don't want you getting caught up in any ploy of theirs to uncover my secret."

"I can take care of myself, Smallville."

"I know you can." Clark said, kissing her forehead. "I'm just going to worry, and you can't stop me."

"I'll try." She scoffed.

"And you'll fail miserably."

She smirked as she met his lips again. Her eyes slowly closed, but when they opened, she got a good look at the time on the alarm clock. "It's late." She said with a soft voice.

Turning his head, his eyes widened. He didn't think he had spoken that long. It was near midnight. Feeling comfortable around the woman he loved and willing to reveal himself had surely let the time fly by.

Something irked her. "When I pulled you down to the bed, you were willing to be with me, even if you knew you could possibly hurt me?"

"Yes." He gulped.

"Why?"

Clark thought about it for a second. He spoke the truth. "Deep down I think I knew you could handle it, even without knowing the truth. You're the strongest woman I know and I guess my conscious told me so." When she smiled against his chest, he added. "That or I was too horny to think twice."

She laughed loudly and she bit him on the chest. It excited her to know that he was practically indestructible. She didn't have to hold back. When they were ready, she would make him understand what being with a real woman was like. Anything Lana had done would pale in comparison to what she would do to him. "When the time comes, I'll make that super brain of yours is think only one thing."

"You?" He asked.

"Yep." She snuggled into his neck and slid off his chest to rest on the bed beside him. She still kept her body tight to him, but lying on him would have led to something she didn't know if she was ready for. Plus, being indestructible had its drawbacks. His body was like stone, and she preferred something soft to lie on.

Clark took a bold leap. "You were willing to have sex with me, but now you seem to be avoiding it." He was longing for her, but he wanted the truth and asking was the only way of knowing.

Lois thought about it for a second, her mind trying to come up with a comprehendible explanation. "I got caught up in the fact that you told me you loved me. Not that I think it would have been a mistake, but the more I thought about it after I was staring into your eyes, the more I realized how scared I was. If we did have sex, I really thought it might change everything."

"It won't." He assured her. It wasn't like he was groveling for her, but he wanted her none the less.

"I know that now." She said with a grunt. "What? You want me now?" She asked with a silly smirk, knowing full well he was just curious and not horny.

"No, well, I want you all the time, but I think we both know when we'll be ready."

"That's right Smallville, we have a whole week to find the right time. Plus, I need a demonstration of these abilities of yours before we do anything."

Clark's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "A week? I thought you meant something like a month."

Lois laughed against his shoulder and patted his stomach. "We're not dating Clark; we've already told one another we love each other. I think that allows us to skip the awkwardness surrounding the subject of intercourse."

"When did Lois Lane start saying intercourse?" Clark asked with a smile.

"Sex sounds too random. It cheapens the love I really feel for you." She was being serious.

Clark nodded in understanding. "Intercourse sounds worse though, how about making love?"

"Too cheesy."

Clark thought hard. He didn't know what else he could use to describe it. "I give up. You pick a word."

Lois laughed again. "I'll come up with something eventually."

-

Chloe slipped the card into the lock and waited for it to beep.

"Do you think they worked things out?" Jimmy asked.

"I don't know, but I really hope so." They had spent the night with Candice and her friends. She had come to like the tall woman. When Jimmy would slip away for a second here or there, she would talk to the woman about her abilities. She was quite surprised about the nature of her strength. Clark had once told her that the sun gave him the necessary strength to fight his battles, but Candice's came from the moon. Complete opposites, but in a way she shared something special that only Clark understood.

It was nearly one in the morning before they had gotten back to the hotel, having left Candice behind at the bar with her friends. They were more than likely to run into the woman all week, so for the time being they didn't need to see too much of each other. Candice had even offered to help teach Jimmy how to ski. Normally Chloe would have gotten jealous, but she really felt there was a genuine sincerity that came from the tall black haired woman. She would always be skeptical about people with meteor powers, but there had been some in the past that were not bad people. One came to mind, but she couldn't place his name. It had something to do with her getting strapped to a steel girder and about to get her memory erased, but it wasn't very healthy to dwell on the past.

Opening the door as the light went green; she slipped inside and dropped her bag purse on the bed. "They should have a main door in the middle. Having to come in through the bedroom is a real pain."

Jimmy shrugged out of his coat. "I didn't design the place. I believe someone did that over a hundred years ago."

Chloe snickered at his comment and went to the kitchen. Finding a glass, she turned on the tap. Holding a finger under the water, she noticed the door to Lois's bedroom was shut, the lights off. Her vision drifted to the couch, which was mysteriously empty. A small smile crept to her lips as she turned off the tap and set the glass on the counter. As quietly as she could, she tip toed to the bedroom door and opened it. It squeaked just a little as her hand went for the light. She had to get something before she went to bed. She had been worrying about them all night.

"Don't."

Her hand stopped suddenly as she heard a deep voice. "Clark?" She asked softly. A smile crept to her lips as she heard a feminine moan.

"Goodnight Chloe." He said.

"Okay." She replied softly, closing the door quietly as a huge grin split her lips. When she turned around, she was greeted with a frowning Jimmy.

"Is Lois in there?" He asked.

She nodded and put a finger to her lips for silence. Taking his hand, she gently led him to their bedroom, but not before turning off the kitchen lights. As she closed the door to the bedroom, she smiled and kissed him hard. "This week is going to be much better than I could have ever hoped." Giddiness and happiness were converging loudly within her.

He continued to frown, but it suddenly dawned on him. "I see." Jimmy said with a grin.