---- Chapter 29
Lois looked around at all the children in the kitchen, watching them run around like the proverbial headless chickens. Chloe stood next to her, an eyebrow raised at the situation. Each held up a hand and Lois whistled. They all stopped running and looked over to her.
"Would all children please come to order in front of us at this time."
They all ran and stopped in front of her, Jordan at the front of the group and Jack towering over all the girls. She looked at Aly and Liz, noting that the twins were a strangely perfect mix of Chloe and Bruce's features. She could see both of their parents in their faces, but couldn't say that they favored one or the other. Shaking her head, she got back to the task at hand.
"We love you kids like crazy, but five days of you guys running wild like you just were is going to drive both of us and your fathers, not to mention the General, up a wall. Martha being Martha would probably be handling it very well, but that's not the point. Just to make sure, do you guys want us up the wall?"
Four heads shook out emphaticly.
"Good, glad to hear it. Now, there are going to be three ground rules for our time together that my blonde companion here will lay out."
"One: If you're going to run, it's going to be outside under the supervision of a parent or grandparent. Jack, Aly, Liz, you all know better than that anyway. Jordan, you too."
All the children had the good sense to look chastised, all the while not looking like they had any intention of adhering to the rule.
"Two," Chloe continued, "all yelling and howling, as well as any other loud noises, should be confined to bedrooms or outside with the running. We adults love being with and talking to all of you, but when you're loud and screechy it makes the being around and talking less fun. Agreed?"
"Agreed," four small voices said.
"Good. For the last one, I'm turning this over to my esteemed cousin."
"Three: Have fun with each other. Think you guys can handle that?"
The yells of yes for an answer were a blatant disregard of rule number two, but Lois figured that they should get a pass on it this time. They all ran off to do something upstairs in one of the bedrooms, leaving Lois with Chloe.
"Hey, where are Clark and Bruce?"
"I think they had a Justice League meeting today."
"So, let me see if I've got this right. Both our husbands are part of a group of super heroes that has united to save the world from threats when, say, one of them can't handle a threat in his or her respective city."
"Yeah, and even if one of them could handle it alone, they like to send teams just to make sure. Batman doesn't like the help, though, so he almost always handles things in Gotham on his own. Superman doesn't mind it, from what I hear, but for the most part does it by himself because he doesn't need any help. He is often one to render assistance, though."
Lois wasn't surprised. "As many powers as Smallville has, it's not a shock. And knowing Bruce, his handling things all by his lonesome is exactly what I would expect."
As they sank into silence, Lois looked around the kitchen. All their stuff was very modern looking, and she didn't even recognize half the appliances on the counter. Her eyes fixated on something that could pass for a juicer, a meat grinder and some strange kind of can opener. For once she was glad that she didn't need to know her way around a kitchen.
Ok, now the silence was going on for too long. She needed something to talk about. "I put on the bracelet and saw Lara," Lois blurted out.
"Really? Was it the standard fare of keep her son's heart safe and you allow him to be a pinnacle for good?"
"Sounds like you've heard this a few times before."
"I've heard it an equal number of times to you forgetting, so I guess this makes number four. I like it, though. Reminds me that we do not live in a world of the norm, as little reminding of that as I actually need after the life I've had since moving to Smallville."
"That place really was a catalyst for making a life that felt normal turn into something one couldn't imagine. Seriously, after we moved to Smallville we each ended up marrying a man that wears a cape and fights crime. I'm wondering if meteor rocks can cause mental illness without actually, you know, giving people powers. In me, anyway."
Chloe shrugged. "It's entirely possible, though I'm not entirely sure that you're any more crazy than you were at the age of twelve. Up until this last bout of memory loss, I'd say you'd actually mellowed out quite a bit. I blame Jordan, because the same happened to me when I had Jack."
"Did it really?"
"For me it kind of put things into perspective. I couldn't take all the risks to get the story we once had, but it didn't diminish me as a journalist any. I had a son that depended on me." She shrugged. "I know it seems to be something common to hear from parents, but I really think it's true that having children forces you to think about your decisions more. Think about it; how many times since you've found out about Jordan have you made a decision without thinking about how it will affect her?"
"Well, once, that I recall, and that ended up with us getting shot at."
"WHAT?"
"Clark and I met with a jumpy source last week. He shot, but it wasn't so much at us as the ricochet got a little close for comfort. Fortunately, my husband is bullet proof and faster than one to boot, so I stand before you intact. Anyway, that happened and Clark reminded me that Jordan liked having both her parents around, so I do tend to think about her a lot when making decisions."
"Isn't parenthood grand?"
Lois smiled a little, happy to know she was doing something with Jordan correctly. "Alright then, how about we get back to last night's topic of the relationship history of Lois and Clark. So far we've covered until the point where we started being friends again after Jack was born and were a team at the Planet again. Now, when did we hook up?"
"Yeah, I think that I'll leave that particular story to Clark because I wasn't there for it, thankfully. What I do know is that after you two were teamed up again, things got back to normal, for the most part. Anything pertaining to your personal lives was more or less avoided, because Clark didn't have one and you weren't sure if could have one. You went out on a few dates with various men over the next couple months, and that led up to what I refer to as the Cinco de Mayo Incident."
"The, uh, what now?"
"The Cinco de Mayo Incident. I'd have been there for some of it if I could have, but it happened in Metropolis and I was here in Gotham, not to mention it was one of the first nights Bruce and I could have sex again after Jack was born. Well, one of the first nights I felt comfortable with it."
Lois held up a hand, stopping her cousin from further elaboration. "That must have been great for you, Chlo, but that's all the detail I need."
"Right."
Lois couldn't think of anything to say, and figured Chloe was suffering from the same malady since she wasn't saying anything either.
"When are Clark and Bruce going to get back?"
"You can never tell with these meetings. If it's the entire League, it can take a while. If it's just the core people like Clark, Bruce and Ollie, along with Bart, J'onn, Diana and a couple others then it shouldn't be too much longer. They have their philosophical differences at times, but don't let things get out of hand."
Lois and Chloe spent the next hour with the kids, playing a couple games and getting themselves all worn out. Lunch time was quickly approaching and there was still no sign of Bruce or Clark.
"Ok, this sucks," Lois said as she laid on a couch. "I could barely get ten feet from Clark for a week and a half before this, and now when I want him here to tell me about this so called Cinco de Mayo Incident, he won't come home from a meeting!"
"So, yell for him."
"What?"
"Yell for him. Superman always hears you, so yell. He'll hear it, even if he is on a space station."
"The Justice League meeting is on a space station?"
"We'll discuss that later."
Lois sighed, then raised her voice. "Alright Superman, I'm told you always hear me, so you better be hearing me now. Chloe has brought up a little something she calls the Cinco de Mayo Incident, and says you're the one to tell that story. Therefore, I expect you back at the Wayne Manor in a timely fashion to do just that. Oh, and Chloe expects the same of Bruce. I do not think you two want to come back here to pissed off pregnant women."
Thirty minutes later, Clark and Bruce were standing in front of their smiling wives. Clark's arms were crossed over his chest and Bruce's were in his pocket. Lois saw that each had a raised eyebrow and was staring at his respective spouse. She just smiled a little more before standing up and hugging Clark. She stepped back and decided to be annoying.
"You know, the least you guys could have done is bring home lunch."
Chloe broke out in laughter before popping up off the couch and wrapping Bruce up in a hug of her own. Lois smirked up at Clark, who returned it in kind.
"Oh come on, Smallville. You were at that meeting for hours and as you probably heard me say, I would like to hear about the Cinco de Mayo Incident. I'm really quite intrigued by anything that can be called an incident. Lucky it happened on a good name day, else it might have been the Arbor Day Incident or something equally as ridiculous."
"You know, we could have been discussing something vitally important up there."
"And if you had been, I would have understood not coming back in a timely manner. But since you and your companion are back half an hour after I yelled, I'm thinking that you guys weren't involved in anything that was going to save the world. At least not in the near future. Now, about lunch..."
"What about the story?"
"You can't do two things at once?"
Clark released an exasperated sigh, shaking his head. "Of course, what was I thinking?" She watched him start walking and followed as the group made its way to the kitchen, where a good portion of last nights talking had happened.
Lois watched as Clark started pulling things out from the large refrigerator and setting them on the counter.
"Let me preface this flashback by saying that I don't consider it an incident so much as just another day that happened in our lives. There were too many things going on that could actually be classified as an incident for this to make the cut."
"Oh come on, Clark," Chloe said. "This was an incident. They define incident by saying that it was what happened between you two on Cinco de Mayo of 2014." She paused a second before continuing. "You know what, I am a little bitter that I wasn't in Metropolis for it. Being able to make love to my husband again was great..."
"Your husband thought so too."
"...but I could have waited for it to have witnessed what went down."
"Your husband feels a little insulted, but isn't surprised."
"Sorry, Bruce."
Lois looked from Chloe to Bruce, then to Clark again. "Ok Smallville, enough prefacing, out with it!"
"Ok, ok. So..."
---
"Smallville!"
Clark looked away from the water he was about to gulp back into his apartment. A quick glance at his watch confirmed it was late. Why was Lois trying to talk to him at 1:21am? How the hell had she even gotten into his apartment?
He walked back inside, slipping his glasses back on. He'd have put on some pants over his boxers but Lois was blocking the path back to his room.
"Lois? How did you get in?"
"I made a copy of Martha's key. Ya know, in case of an emergency or something."
He watched her fidget a second, not liking that. It generally led to something he didn't like her doing and a Superman save. He eyed her another second before speaking.
"Should I ask why you're here, or are did you need somewhere to stand and fidget in the presence of another person?"
"Very funny. I need something."
"At 1:21 in the morning?"
"Yeah. On a tangent, why are you up?"
Gah. He should have seen that coming. He'd saved her from gunmen earlier in the day after she'd run off when Perry had sent him to cover a press conference at city hall. When he'd gone to bed, he couldn't get the image of her tied up with a gun pointed at her head out of his, and had decided to do some fly overs of Metropolis and known trouble spots in Eastern Europe.
He'd gotten home and taken a shower, somehow ending up standing on his balcony with just boxers and a shirt on. He was going to have to remember pants now that Lois could come and go as she pleased. Time for the easy cop out answer.
"Insomnia. I've had it off and on for years. What is it that you need?"
Clark waited for her to say something. She didn't seem to be in any hurry, though, because she was just looking into his eyes. She might be the one that hated uncomfortable silences but he felt like that one getting uncomfortable this time. What was she...
He didn't get to finish his thought, though, as Lois stepped up to him and pressed her body against his. She stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips lightly on his, shocking the hell out of him. He didn't know how, because he was sure his mind was permanently paralyzed, but he kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands found their way to her waist of their own volition.
They broke apart a minute later. Clark let his eyes dart around the room, making sure that he was still in his own living room and not some alternate dimension where things like this happened between them.
"Damn it!"
Clark snapped out of his musings as Lois started stomping around the room in what he could only call a minor tantrum. He only caught a few words of what she was muttering to herself as the tirade played itself out, and he wasn't sure that his ears weren't singed from what he heard.
"Uh, Lois?"
"What?" He noticed that she didn't stop her stomping around the apartment.
"Was that a really bad kiss or are you angry about something else?"
"It was a great kiss, but it didn't solve anything like it was supposed to!"
"You expect a lot from kisses."
She stopped and glared at him, and he took a step back before he even realized what he was doing. She apparently really did expect a lot from kisses, but what the hell was it supposed to solve? For him it was just causing problems like confusion and he really needed a pair of pants right now. Boxers were not going to hide things very well.
He stepped away and walked to his room, hearing her start stomping around again as he found a pair of jeans and put them on. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he walked back out into the living room where Lois was downing the glass of water he hadn't had a chance to get to.
"Feel better yet?"
She glanced over and gave him a small smile. "Sorry. I don't usually stomp around after I kiss somebody."
"I'm not complaining that you did, just surprised. Don't know why I am since you do have a stomping tendency when something vexes you."
"What can I say, I enjoy a good stomping every now and then. Good stress release considering... nevermind." Her eyes got shifty and his curiosity was piqued.
"Considering what? You know you can tell me anything, Lois."
"I can, but I'm not going to, so let's change the subject."
Clark shrugged and sat down on the couch. It was apparently going to be another long night. He motioned for her to sit down. "I know you say that you think better on your feet these days, but feel free to sit down if you want."
"Thanks, maybe in a minute." She looked him dead in the eye. "Are you even curious as to why I kissed you?"
"Considering I haven't thought about it for about two seconds and that's the longest I've made it so far, yes. But I wasn't going to push you into explaining because I knew you'd do it when you wanted to and not a second before."
"Good point. Fortunate for you, patience isn't something I know or you need on this one."
"Awesome." He said it before he realized he was speaking and winced. He looked up at her and found her raising an eyebrow at him. "So, uh, you wanted to explain?"
She walked over and sat down next to him on the couch. He was surprised at just how close she sat, but wasn't going to complain about something he could only enjoy.
"I've been trying to get something out of my head for three months now. It got stuck in my head when we were hashing out our issues right after Jack was born. It's been reverberating around in there like I don't have a brain to get in the way of it bouncing off the walls of my skull. Really, I'm surprised I've been able to hold back as long as I have.
"See, ever since we talked back then, I've wondered what would have happened if the date would have gone well. That thought led me to wondering what it would be like to kiss you, and that thought has been in my head for three months now. I've fought it with every fiber of my being."
"Ok..."
"Well, I finally came to the conclusion that the thing that would get thinking about kissing you out of my head would be kissing you. So I did, as you may have noticed."
Clark nodded, smiling. "I think I recall that, yes."
"Damn right you do. Anyway, the reason I yelled, stomped and muttered afterwards was because it was great. That was just about the most intense kiss I can remember, and now all I can think about is how good the kiss was and how much I want to do it again."
His head snapped around to look at her, and found her leaning closer than he remembered her being. When she licked her lips, he knew he was gone and leaned in, kissing her for all he was worth.
He soon found himself half laying on top of her and in the midst of an intense make out session. God, she was a great kisser. If there was a heaven, he knew that it wouldn't be any better than this. Nothing could compare, not even being Superman...
Superman. She didn't know he was Superman.
It took every bit of willpower he had and some he didn't know he had to stop kissing Lois and push himself back up. He took a deep breath before speaking, wondering just how long it would be until he could speak to Lois again after this.
"Lois, I need to tell you something."
He watched her run a hand through her hair as she sat up next to him. "It must be pretty damn important if you wanted to stop that, so I'm all ears."
"I... I've been keeping something from you. It's something you need to know before we go any further into whatever it is we're doing."
"Any further requires removal of pants, Smallville. I'm sixty percent sure that won't happen tonight, but..."
"I'm Superman."
Lois froze for a second, then jumped up off the couch. He watched her start stomping around again, which was a strange reaction to say the least. The people downstairs were going to hate him.
"What?"
"I'm Superman." He stood up, pulling off his glasses and standing straight as himself for the first time he could remember. Chloe had told him the slouch was what really sold the difference between Clark Kent and Superman.
"I should have told you, Lois. I've wanted to tell you, but I didn't. The truth is, I was afraid. Afraid you'd hate me for keeping something like this from you. Afraid that instead of not talking to you much for months on end, it would be years. Most of all, afraid you'd see me differently."
He stopped talking, noticing that Lois had stopped walking around but had her back turned to him.
"Not to be glib, but having you see me differently seemed like a good idea for a while."
She spun and fixed him with a look that made him feel like he'd been hit with kryptonite. The hurt was radiating from her eyes.
"I told Superman things I haven't even told Chloe. Very personal things that nobody else in the world knows, or so I thought. Tell me what my greatest hope is, Clark. If you're Superman, you know."
Clark sighed. "Your greatest hope is that you'll find somebody that can love you without feeling sorry for you because of the attack. Your greatest hope is that you don't forget again, so that on the off chance you do find somebody you love instead of settling for a guy that's just ok down the line, you get to remember him and how happy you two are. And most of all, your greatest hope that your friends and family can be happy. That one isn't something you told me as Superman."
"I trusted you."
"I know."
"More than any other man in my life. Ever."
"I know."
"You've hurt me like nobody else I know."
"I know."
Silence enveloped them. Clark couldn't pry his eyes away from hers, and she made no move to look away from his. He couldn't tell how much time had passed as they stood there, but didn't really care either.
"Never again."
"Never again?"
"Promise me you'll never hurt me again."
"Nobody can make that promise, Lois. Promising not to hurt somebody is the easiest way to hurt somebody down the line. It's not a promise anybody in the world can keep."
"Then promise you won't do it purposefully."
"If I have any choice in it, I'll never hurt you. I promise."
"That's not what I asked."
"It's all I can do."
"You're really Superman?"
"Red and blue."
"What?"
"You have red and blue underwear on."
"I do."
"I want us to stay friends."
"I know."
"You're the most amazing woman I've ever met."
"I know."
"Neither of us is going to be well rested for work tomorrow."
"I know."
"Let's take the day off. The reason I couldn't sleep tonight was because of seeing you with a gun pointed at your head. I couldn't get the image out of my head."
"You worry about me a lot, don't you?"
"Every day."
"Thank you, and quit it."
"Would that I could."
"What now?"
"I was hoping you could answer that."
"Would that I could."
"Touché."
"I don't want to leave."
"Then don't."
"I don't know where we stand."
"That's nothing new."
"If we'd gone to the clothes optional stage of life and you'd told me then, I don't know what I'd have done. I may have never wanted to see you again. As it is... I'm not sure."
"If I'd have let something like that happen, I don't think I'd have been worthy of the job I do."
"You wanted to be with me as Clark Kent and not Superman, didn't you?"
"Clark Kent is who I am. Superman is what I do."
"Then why all the excuses about it being too dangerous for us to be together?"
"You being with Superman is too dangerous. You'd become a target, and knowing I'd put you in danger more than you already were would drive me crazy. Everything I said about that was true."
"Then why not just tell me the truth?"
"Because I was a coward. Because I was using Superman to be close to you when I couldn't be close as myself. It was an odd feeling, to be jealous of myself."
"That's a pretty underhanded for you, Clark Kent."
"I know. I felt guilty all the time, but being near you made me forget myself, Lois Lane."
Lois walked over, moving from her spot for the first time in what Clark estimated was near to forty five minutes, and hugged him. He hugged her back as best he knew how.
"I'm taking your bed tonight," she mumbled into his chest.
He smiled for the first time in what felt like years. "Shocking."
---
"So, you told me you were Superman because we were about to sex each other?"
She watched Clark chewing a bite of one of the sandwiches he'd made. He hadn't had the chance to eat much while telling the story, so he hadn't wasted time before digging into one. He finally swallowed.
"An odd way of putting it, but yes. If we'd gone down that road before I told you, I don't think we'd be married and part of a family. I don't even know if we'd still be talking to each other." He paused for a second. "Well, considering you would forget about it, we might be friends, but every time I told you about it you probably wouldn't talk to me for a month or six."
"At least," Lois added. "So, that was the Cinco de Mayo Incident?"
"Hardly," Chloe said. "That was just the warmup. Most of the rest of the day was just as intense, if not more so."
"Wow. Hell of a day."
Clark pushed an empty plate away from himself. "Yeah, no kidding. So, where were we? Oh yeah. So, we got a little sleep, but not much. Then we head into the Planet. What happened next will probably surprise you."
"After all this, you think I can be surprised?"
"Yeah, because what happened was..."
