He didn't even really know what drove him to dig out this box tonight.
If he had his way? If he could follow his own heart?
Lois Lane would never leave his side again.
Not that it didn't still shock him at times when he realized that. And when he realized she felt the same way.
But there had been so many times in his life when he didn't feel like he had 'his way'. Where he couldn't follow his own heart.
Which is why he feels so anxious, gently holding this box. What if Jor-El had a different idea about his 'destiny'?
Clark remembers back to a few years ago. The box had been sitting up in his loft. He wasn't even sure why it had been out, but it was. And Lana had found it. She had opened it, inspected it, and then just kind of shrugged and closed the box.
And that was it.
At the time, it had hurt him. He had thought, mistakenly, for so long that Lana was the one meant for him. He had once told his mother he couldn't imagine loving anyone else.
Lois, she had sort of snuck up on him. More like, snuck into him. Because that's what she did. She got under his skin, made him think. Made him see things in a completely different way. And before he knew it, he was unconsciously seeking her out. Their friendship grew as the years had gone on, and it was now, when he looked back, that he couldn't remember ever not loving her.
He isn't sure what he expects to happen. Maybe nothing. After all, his life was nothing if not full of the unexpected.
"Look, I told you that I want exclusivity, and if you think I'm kidding around…"
Clark's head snaps up as he hears her voice coming closer. He slips the box between him and the arm of the sofa as her keys jangle in the door. A big step for them, giving each other the key to the other's place. Especially for him, considering he had yet to tell her everything. Not because he didn't want to, or because he didn't trust her, because he did. He trusted her implicitly and he knew that his secret would be safe with her. It was just…she made him feel normal. And he thought a part of that was because she didn't know his alien origins.
Selfish? Maybe. But he wanted to hold on to that feeling…just a little bit longer.
She barrels through the door of his apartment, glancing at him and giving him a quick smile before turning her attention back to person she was speaking to on the other end of her cellphone.
"It's your call buddy. But I can tell you this, you want your story told? Then the Daily Planet is the only paper you should want it in. But I'm not gonna beg. You want the best, you know where to find me."
And with that, she snapped her phone shut while simultaneously gently dropping of her black computer bag to the floor.
"He still giving you a hard time?"
"What gave it away?" she responds, rolling her eyes. "You're up next, you know. I did the whole 'bad cop' bit, now you gotta do the whole 'boy scout' routine with him. We'll have him eating out of our hands in no time."
"And give Perry the interview he's been dying for."
"Not just Perry, every paper in the country is after the LuthorCorp's latest whistleblower. Lex's disappearance really wreaked havoc on that company."
"Not that you aren't enjoying the benefits," he responds, grinning and pulling her down next to him on the couch.
"You mean we are enjoying them. We are partners, Kent," she smiles in return, leaning over and planting a soft kiss on his lips, a kiss he is more than happy to return.
Within a moment, she jumps up and heads to his bedroom, chatting on about Jimmy's latest assignment and how she needs to make sure they get him to take the photographs they're going to need for the interview. He just shakes his head, used to her sudden movements, happily used to her 'noise' as she rambles on about one thing or another.
Clark reaches next to him and gently slides the box up from his hiding place. He carefully opens it, seeing the bracelet nestled safely inside.
He already knew she was the love of his life. He knew she was the one for him. And that's all that should matter. And it was all that did matter. To him.
However, the responsibility he had been given by being sent to Earth, the destiny Jor-El was prepared to train him for, to lay out for him, that felt entirely overwhelming. And decidedly out of his control.
At least, that's what he felt now. In this moment.
"Just give me this, Jor-El. Just let me have her," he whispers, gently closing the box.
"Who are you talking to?"
So lost in thought is Clark, he doesn't hear Lois bound back into the room, having changed out of her work clothes into a pale yellow tank top and pajama pants. He looks up at her, slightly startled.
"Huh? I…no one."
"You alright, Smallville?"
"What? Yeah…yeah I'm fine."
Lois nods, not completely convinced. She reads his moods pretty well, always has, and sees something's not quite right with him. Leaning back against the sofa, scooting a bit closer to him, she gives him a quick once over with her eyes, trying to decipher what was going on…when her eyes fall on the box.
Clark notices where she's looking and realizes she had caught him so off guard when she came back into the room that he hadn't slipped it back into its hiding place. He had wanted to do this in his normal, Clark way. Thinking it out, making sure everything was exactly how he wanted it to be. Of course, Lois, being the complete opposite, tended to cause his best laid plans to go out the window.
But, he smiles to himself when it hits him. He had taken the leap and followed his heart the night he had gone to see her to confess his feelings for her. Instead of all the romantic words he had thought through and practiced over and over, he had simply taken her in his arms and kissed her.
So maybe Lois was onto something. Maybe he just had to take the leap. Again.
"Is that for me?" she asks, a grin lighting up her face.
He takes a deep breath, his fingers tightening slightly around the box.
"Yeah," he says softly, gently placing the box in her hand. "It is."