Lois jerked her head back, needing to get away from his touch.
"And you're clearly in denial," she snapped, taking a step backwards, only to come in contact with one of the metal filing cabinets in the room. "In that moment, Clark, your face didn't lie."
"So, that's the whole story to you? One moment in time, forgetting everything else that happened around it? The circumstances, what was going on at the time, that's all meaningless?"
She was silent at that, her eyes gravitating towards the floor as she seemed intent on studying the lines of the tile there.
Realizing he wasn't going to get a response out of her, he continued, his tone a bit gentler, almost plaintive as he plead his case.
"I was shocked. Confused. I never thought I'd see her again and there she was, standing there with this big smile, hugging Chloe as if it were the most expected thing in the world. So, yeah, those old feelings flared up for a second. But that's all it was, Lois."
She bit her lip, listening to him, willing herself to keep her defenses firmly in place. Knowing that if she looked up at him, looked into what she was sure, particularly given the soft voice he was using to try and explain things to her, was that puppy-dog look mixed with determination that was a lethal combination as far as she was concerned, that her resolve would crumble.
"You keep telling yourself that," she finally muttered, stepping to the side and making her way around him. She walked over to another cabinet, absently tugging open the drawer, desperately trying to keep herself occupied so she didn't have to deal with this conversation.
Which, would've worked fine, if the next words out of his mouth hadn't surprised her completely.
"So, I guess that means you're still in love with Oliver."
In a split second, she whirled around to face him.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"That's ridiculous, you know I'm over Oliver."
"Really? Because I saw the look on your face, the night he was poisoned," he responded, his voice tinged with a confidence that didn't go unnoticed by Lois.
"Oh my…" she began in exasperation, then caught herself, and tried to regain control of her emotions by managing to continue calmly, "that was completely different Clark."
"Why?"
"Because…because I thought he was dying! And after our break-up, I never thought I'd see him again and I was shocked! I was confused! I…," she stopped short when she noticed the smug grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Damn him.
Clenching her fists, the frustration coursing through her, she took a step toward him.
"It is so not the same thing."
"Oh, so you're allowed to have a moment of confusion about a person you once loved suddenly showing up in your life, but I'm not?"
He noticed the sparks practically flying out of her eyes, and his grin widened, which he knew would probably tick her off more, but he couldn't help it. Her passion, it was one of the things that had always drawn him to her.
Seeing him obviously enjoying getting her riled up, she willed herself to calm down. She would not let him win this one. Her fists unclenched, and she took a deep breath. Crossing her arms in front of her, she tilted her head slightly, ready to wipe that cocky smile off his face.
"I'd hardly call the situations similar Clark."
"They seem pretty similar to me."
"I guess, on the surface, they might appear so, except for one little thing."
"Which is?"
"I wasn't wrapped around someone else in the midst of a slow dance when Ollie suddenly appeared back in my life."
And as she was usually able to, in fact, more times than Clark would like to admit, Lois had completely stunned him.
On the one hand, he was surprised because he was sure she'd continue to avoid that subject like she had been since she'd returned to Metropolis.
On the other hand? Leave it to Lois to slam her cards down on the table at the moment he least expected it, and in the process, catch him completely off guard.
He realized, in that moment, he had to gather all the confidence he had walked in with, and answer her straightness with his own. If she wanted to get into it, then that's exactly what they'd do. Looking directly into her eyes, he readied himself to answer the challenge he saw there.
"I was exactly where I wanted to be that night, Lois."
"Oh yeah, I could tell by the fact that the minute you saw her, you couldn't let go of me fast enough."
"You want me to say I screwed up? Fine, I screwed up."
"What I want is for you to tell me the truth!"
"The truth as you see it, right? Because that is the only truth you're willing to consider," he shot back.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that I've known you long enough to know how stubborn you are once you have your mind set on something. And you're counting on the fact that I'll just give up trying to convince you otherwise, like everyone else in your life who's given up when you've stonewalled them. But you can forget it, Lois. Because I'm not gonna be like everyone else. I'm not giving up. So you can believe whatever you want, but you're gonna hear me out. As many times as it takes, starting right now."
He could swear he saw a flash of admiration in her eyes, but it was so quickly covered by a mask of indifference that he couldn't be sure. The same look he'd seen on her face so many times before, the same look that told him he had his work cut out for him.
And, surprisingly, he never felt more normal than he did in that moment. That's what she did for him – even if she didn't know it. Because all of his superpowers couldn't help him with one stubborn and determined Lois Lane. No, at this moment, he was simply a man trying to convince this woman that somewhere along the way, his heart had become hers. He felt a sudden burst of resoluteness at that thought, despite the seemingly impossible task he faced.
If he could get through to her? He might even start believing he could fly.
"I didn't even realize it until that night, the night of the wedding, but something had been building between us for months. Looking back, I see that now, but I don't think it really fell into place for me until I saw you talking to some friend of Jimmy's at the reception and I realized I wanted to throw the guy clear to Metropolis."
Only someone well versed in Lois Lane's mannerisms would pick up the almost imperceptible eyebrow arch at his words. Luckily, he had studied her closely in the four years they'd known each other, so he knew that despite the look of passivity on her face, she was hearing him loud and clear.
"I know, after everything that happened that night, that it's hard for you to believe, but…the feelings I have for you Lois, they're real."
This time, he received the tiniest of smirks in response. And he had a sinking feeling that her passive listening was just about over.
"Really?"
"Yes," he responds sincerely, despite her disbelieving tone. "When you were recovering, I thought about you all the time. I probably used up all the space on your phone with the voicemails I left, and I'm sure your father hates me after calling him constantly for updates."
Her smirk widened a bit. "You thought about me all the time, huh?"
His eyebrows furrow slightly at her expression, her tone. Why did he have the feeling a bomb was about to be dropped on him?
"So, you were thinking of me when you were making out with Lana at the Ace of Clubs?"
Oh. That was why.
