~*~

…thirteen…

~*~

The last glints of moonlight died as the sun sought to break over Kansas. The sky was the colour of lead. Hints of silver flicked off the stalks of corn surrounding the Kent farm. Clark flew low, but not too fast, revelling in the scorch of the cold pre-dawn air over his body, and the feel of Lois in his arms.

He wanted to remember this forever.

However long forever was.

For Lois, the experience could be summed up in a single word… awe.

At the sight of the town she loved sprawled out below her. At the magnificence of the man who had the ability to carry her above the world.

They touched down on the porch of the Kent farmhouse way too soon. They just stood there for a moment, a feeling of awkwardness sliding between them that neither knew how to break. They both sensed that something had shifted with the passing of the moonlight. The night was over, a new day had begun, and they had both lost something, perhaps.

Clark opened the door, leading them inside. Almost on autopilot, he switched on the kettle and started making coffee. Lois perched on the counter, just watching him. When he was done, he offered her a cup of the strong brew and she smiled her thanks, sipping at it gratefully.

"How soon do you have to go?" she asked, fearing the answer.

"As soon as possible," said Clark, "I have to find Chloe and Davis. Now that I can fly, it should be easier, but there are… things I need to do. To prepare."

"You have a plan?"

"Sort of."

"You want to tell me about it?"

"I'd rather not."

Lois just nodded. Clark was surprised, expecting her to push, but she just sat there, sipping at her coffee and looking sad.

"It's all changed, hasn't it?" she said, suddenly, her eyes fixed on a spot outside the window.

"Between us?"

"Yeah."

"Do you regret it?"

Lois turned to him and smiled. Clark couldn't explain how grateful he was to see that smile.

"I don't mean that," said Lois, "I mean, now that you're… you again. It's changed. Last night…"

Clark said nothing. There was nothing to say. She was right. It had changed. When he was fifteen he'd lost his powers for a while, leeched from him in a freak accident by a fellow student named Eric Summers. Lana had been the one to notice the change in him. For that brief time when he was powerless, he looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Clark felt that weight more than ever in this moment.

"Do you read comic books?" asked Lois.

The question threw him for a second.

"Um… not really," he admitted, "Why?"

"Just thinking about a comic I read a while ago," she said, "The X-Men. You know it?"

"Yeah," said Clark, "But when I do read comics, I'm not really a Marvel fan."

Lois chuckled, "Well, anyway, Rogue and Gambit are like these… star-crossed lovers…" she explained, "Only they can't be together because Rogue's power means that any contact – skin on skin – will drain him until he dies. But then they get trapped in Magneto's Arctic fortress…"

Clark cut in, "Magneto has an Arctic fortress?"

"Yeah."

"How original," he muttered.

"He strips them of their powers, and… even though they're trapped, it's the one night Gambit and Rogue get to spend together. Kinda like…a cruel irony."

Clark's eyes met hers and he saw the mist of tears coating them.

"How does the story end?" he asked.

"They get their powers back. Everything's changed, and… she leaves him there."

Clark bowed his head, fighting a losing battle against his own tears.

"I have to do this, Lois," he said, "I don't want to, but… I have to stop Davis. I have to save Chloe. I promised."

"I know."

Silence between them. An eternity of it, filled with dreams and regrets.

"This isn't how I imagined it," said Lois, "This isn't how I imagined it would go when you and I finally figured it out."

"You thought about that?"

"Of course I did," she said, "I think… maybe… I've been in love with you since we met. Maybe even before that."

Clark's face twisted into a smile that was ruined by the tears that now ran freely down his cheeks. Remembering a line from a movie he saw once, he tried to go for a joke – just to stop the pain.

"So," he said, "Will you love me for the rest of my life?"

Lois must have seen the movie too, because she said: "No. I'll love you for the rest of mine."

He kissed her. The salty taste of both their tears blending with something that was just… Lois. And he loved it. And it tore him apart to break away.

"It was supposed to be a start, Clark," she said, her forehead pressed to his, her fingers again twisted into the locks of his hair, "A start to… something. Dinner, a movie, a concert… a sunset, a walk, a smile… whatever…"

"I have to go."

He allowed himself one last kiss. Burning the feel of her into his mind, hoping against hope that it would give him strength, not drain it by the time this day was done. Lois didn't stop him when he left without another word. She just collapsed to the floor, and cried… for all that might have been.