He isn't quite the same.
They spend the night pressed together, their bodies finding and fitting straight back into their Clark and Lois jigsaw as if they had never been apart. She cries and he wipes her tears; she's missed someone doing that. She takes the next day off, emailing Perry to tell him she has a bug and won't be in for the next few days, that there was nothing to worry about. They spend the whole day curled up on the sofa catching Clark up on all the TV he missed while he was away. Away, not gone; it is easier to just pretend that he was never dead, that he never left her. It is easier to just relish in the fact that he is here, warm and holding her with his hands running through her hair as if he was never gone.
He doesn't want to talk about what happened, not that she presses him to, she doesn't want to talk about it either. But she catches him staring into thin air sometimes, a pained expression and a hand rubbing across his chest where only weeks before there was a gaping hole. She knows that he probably needs to talk about it to someone about all of this, but he refuses. He hasn't even told his own mother that he is alive yet and she doesn't really know why. He claims that he just couldn't wait to see her here in Metropolis, that she, Lois, was the first thing he had to see when he woke up, but there is something else behind his eyes, some kind of fear she has never seen in his eyes before. He is haunted now by things she cannot understand; things he won't help her understand as he becomes a ghost of his past self. She doesn't actually care at the moment, he's only been back a few days and they have plenty of time to sort this all out.
He won't let her tell anyone else that he is back, trying to bargain with her for a little more time for just the tow of them before he has to face anyone else. He jokes that he enjoys just being Clark for a bit without anyone expecting Superman to come flying to their rescue. The world still thinks their beloved superhero is in a grave at the moment in Metropolis and Clark's family and friends, including his mother, all think he is under the ground back in Kansas. She understands that, she really does; she doesn't want to have to give up this precious time with just the two of them either, but he needs to tell someone. She can't live with the guilt of keeping his return to herself. She brings it up occasionally over the next few days, but every time she mentions it he sweeps her off her feet to the bed, making her forget her own name, let alone that he needs to face his problems.
And that is how Lois finds herself yet again emailing Perry to say she won't be in, emailing him a quick article she had managed to whip up while Clark was in the shower. She tries to really sell this stomach bug, that she is still throwing up all the time and can't even get out of bed. Which is kind of true. She can't get out of bed, not because she is ill, but because of her no-longer-dead-superhero-boyfriend is sleeping, a heavy arm protectively slung across her waist. The problem comes when her phone starts to ring on her bed side table. Clark starts to twitch in his sleep as she carefully leans over to grab it before the call goes to voice mail. She has missed Clark's sleep dishevelled look so much, the way his hair sticks up in every direction and his eyes flutter open just to gaze at her. She smiles at him as she answers the phone, Perry's face glaring up from the screen.
"Lane. You alright?" The editor sounds as if he is trying hard to not sound too bothered about her, attempting to maintain that cool collected demeanour he puts on in the office. "You must be really ill, huh?"
She instantly feels guilty that she has been lying to the closest thing she has to a father; he has been so concerned about her since Clark had gone. For all he knew, she had lost both Clark and Superman in one fatal swoop (which she had, but he had no idea that you could lose both in one person). She coughs as Clark gives a strange sleep-filled look, questioning her sudden sadness just from picking up her phone. His face clears with understanding when she answers.
"Hey Perry." Clark closes his eyes and nestles back into his place against her side, pulling her body back across the bed closer to him. She just manages to stifle the surprised squeak that almost escapes from her mouth. "I…um…" She struggles to lie to him, unsure what she can possibly say without upsetting him or Clark.
"Lois. You are not ill." She is surprised at his revelation, unsure how to respond, he continues. "Somethings obviously up with you, you've been 'ill' for three days. You have never in all your years at the paper taken a sick day. I was worried about you, with the whole losing Clark thing, so I rang his mom."
"You did what?"
"I rang his mother, I still had her contacts on record and I know you guys are close. I just thought you needed someone Lois, you are clearly not fine, no matter what you say." She is in shock. It's not that she's mad at Perry, he is just trying to help. But she has no idea how Clark is going to react to this, she has really since he came back. They are different now, she still loves him, but it might take a while to work out who they are. They have both been through a lot, it's understandable. He very literally died and she mourned him, of course their relationship is not going to be the same straight away. On the other end of the phone Perry tells her that he hopes she feels better soon and to expect a call from Martha Kent soon.
She puts the phone down the phone and puts her head in her hands as she thinks about what just happened. Clark gently kisses her bare shoulder, gently skimming his hands down her arms before she pulls away.
"I need a shower." She picks up his shirt from the day before and heads towards the bathroom door.
"Lois…" he tries to grab her as she walks away from him. He sighs before standing up himself and heading to get some coffee, throwing on some underwear as he heads out of their room.
When the knock echoes through the apartment, it is Clark's automatic and instinctual reaction to open it; he doesn't realise until the door is already open that he is dead and whoever is on the other side is not going to be expecting to see a dead man opening it. The split second before he can register who it is Clark remembers the phone call he heard only minutes before. His mother.
But it is not her at the door. It is Bruce.
He is standing awkwardly, a coffee cup in either hand. His usual stoic face only shifts slightly, an arching eyebrow the only give away to his surprise. He pauses in the doorway before pushing past Clark and into the kitchen. Clark has no idea how Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises and vigilante knows exactly Lois Lane keeps her good alcohol, but then he remembers he's been gone for weeks; there's been plenty of time for him and Lois to bond over alcohol. Bruce grabs a glass and throws some kind of spirit down his throat, giving Clark a look of disbelief while doing so.
"She in the shower?" He nods towards the closed bedroom door and Clark suddenly feels just a hint of jealousy creep under his skin. Bruce was there to look after Lois, not him. He also becomes very aware of the fact he is half naked. He isn't exactly self-conscious about his body; Lois always laughs if he is reluctant to take off his shirt, but this is Bruce. He doesn't really know him very well, he only met him twice, and the second time they were a bit busy saving the world to chat. They stand on opposite sides of the kitchen, awkwardly avoiding eye contact for the next few minutes, listening to Lois shut off the shower and the occasional bump and curse as she tries to get dressed in the other room. Eventually the door opens after what feel like an eternity. Lois hold a towel to her wet hair as she enters the kitchen.
"Clark, can you…. Bruce!" She looks between the two superheroes with a mix of surprise and confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"Martha called me, said Perry was worried about you." Clark wonders how his mother and Bruce know each other, but he decides not to question it, not wanting to draw more questions from Lois. Bruce continues, gesturing between the two of them. "But clearly you are fine, so I'll just go." He heads towards the door but before he can get there Lois launches herself across the room, wrapping him in a large hug. Clark decides to focus on the TV upstairs, blocking out the words exchanged between the two.
Bruce leaves and it is just the two of them, alone in the apartment once more.