Disclaimer: Superman is owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Comics and their associates. The works of this story are entirely fictional and creations of the fan fiction author. The writer is receiving no financial gain with this piece.

Author's note: Chapter 3. Clark and Lois finally get together. Rather steamy. (I'm blushing just thinking about it, but it must be done).

Coming Home

Lois's mouth was full of sushi. "This is great, Clark!" she exclaimed.

"Well I did promise you lunch, Lois", Clark said with a grin. The last hour and a half had been quite emotional for them both. After learning the bombshell of Clark's true identity, Lois had been full of questions and demands. She'd wanted to know everything, and he had held nothing back. He was finally able to coax her to eat when he told her he had procured one of her favorite foods – sushi.

"It's amazing, though – this looks and tastes exactly like the food from that little sushi place in Kyoto… you know, the one that we went to after that press conference-". She stopped when she saw Clark's sheepish grin, and her mouth formed a surprised "O".

"Yeah, well, luckily they're still in business. I picked it up this morning", said Clark. "It's really not a big deal" he said hastily as she put her plate down and grabbed a drink of water to wash down the sushi she'd nearly choked on in her surprise.

She looked at him incredulously. "Clark, of course it's a big deal. I came here in a cab with my sweet, dorky co-worker, and he's suddenly turned into the-", she stopped suddenly.

"The what?" Clark prompted her, regarding her intently. "Lois?"

Lois complexion turned slightly pink, as she raised her eyes to his and murmured "The love of my life".

Clark said nothing, but within a super-second Lois found herself pulled up from her chair and enveloped in a warm, super hero embrace.

"Um, Clark", Lois said breathlessly as he nuzzled the soft curve of her neck.

"Hmm?" said Clark, as he moved on to press a warm kiss just above the cleft of her breasts. Lois closed her eyes as every rational thought fled from her mind at that moment. At some point she realized he had stopped and she opened her eyes to see his laughing ones looking down at her.

"Did you want to say something, Lois?", he said with a smile.

"I, have to, um, freshen up – where's your-"

"Down the hall, first door on your right", he said, nodding in the appropriate direction. He stepped back to let her go, and she felt suddenly cold and alone.

Several minutes later, when she emerged, she nearly bumped into him. As always, his nearness completely filled her senses.

"Where were we?" he said, a predatory glint in his eye.

Her eyes traveled over his large frame, taking in his broad shoulders and muscular arms. How could she not have noticed the resemblance before? His tie was slightly undone and she glimpsed a flash of red and blue at his neckline. Her mouth went dry.

"You have your Superman outfit on under there?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I usually do. Gotta be prepared for anything that might happen..." Suddenly concerned at her expression, he said, "Does that bother you?"

"Uh, not in the way you might think." Lois ran her tongue over her dry lips and tried to focus her thoughts. "Actually, you have no idea what a huge turn-on it is".

Clark grinned wickedly. "Well, you can see all of it, if you like…but you'll have to undress me."

Lois smiled appreciatively. "I can handle that."

She stepped close to him, close enough to feel his chin brush the top of her hair. Looking up, she ran a finger through the knot of his tie and pulled. The smooth silk slid freely around his neck, and then she pulled it off and cast it on the floor. Next, she carefully unbuttoned his white oxford shirt. When the "S" on his chest was revealed, she couldn't resist running a hand over the letter, over his chest, marveling at its smooth, raised texture. She felt his quick intake of breath and was satisfied. She pulled the shirt out of his waistband, and then tugged on each sleeve, in turn, to free it from his body. It was harder to do than she thought, because it caught against the finely defined muscles of his upper arms. The shirt joined the tie on the floor.

She moved as close to him as possible, and then felt her way with her fingers, to his belt buckle, pressed between their bodies. She noticed that his breathing rate had increased, and so had hers. Next, she fumbled with the button on his waistband, and then the zipper, and then she thought he'd stopped breathing altogether. She looked up into his face to see a furrow of concentration between his brows, and grew concerned.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

His voice strained, Clark said, "Actually, I'm trying to restrain myself from tearing every shred of clothing off your body at this moment, and taking you right here on my hallway floor."

"Oh", Lois breathed, and she swallowed hard at the appealingly erotic picture he had just painted.

He had already toed off his shoes, so she quickly tugged his pants down and waited as he stepped out of them. Then she stepped back to admire him. His Superman outfit had always fitted him like a second skin. Every curve and bulge of muscle could be seen. Every breath he took emphasized his perfectly sculpted chest, straining at the confining fabric. His long, tightly toned legs were spread slightly apart, and his arms were crossed over his chest, above his firm, flat abdomen. He was magnificent. And he was regarding her quizzically, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Um, Lois? Can we get to you, now?" And, in what seemed like super-speed, and probably was, he had her standing before him in nothing but her bra and panties. He took her hand and tugged gently, leading her into his bedroom. The room was painted in an unusual, opalescent, color, and Lois realized that it reminded her of the pictures of the crystal cavern she'd just seen.

He drew her down to sit beside him on the soft blue coverlet of his bed, and cradling one of her delicate hands in his large ones, he looked seriously into her eyes. "Lois, before we…go any further, I want to be absolutely positive that you're sure about this – about us. I don't ever want to go backwards with you again. I don't want to scare you away, but, for me, this time, it's a commitment; a life-long commitment. This time, I want it all: marriage, a family, more kids".

He paused to let the effect of his words sink in. "We've been together so long, even when we haven't been 'together'. I know you…" he paused, again, and looked down as he turned her small hand over in his, "better than I know myself."

He chanced a glance into her eyes. "We've already wasted so much time. Can you - do you think you could, love me like that? Live with me like that?"

She used her free hand to tenderly stroke the side of his face, and her voice quavered as she said, "You big dope, that's all I've ever wanted." As the last word left her lips, she found herself enfolded in a crushing embrace.

"You won't regret it", he breathed against her ear, "We'll make it work". And in a super-second he had both of them completely unclothed, warm bodies pressed skin-to-skin in an instant. Lois laughed with pure joy.

"I'd forgotten how fast you can do that" she said. Then she gave him a wicked smile "let's take the rest a little slower".

He let her push him back onto the bed so that she straddled his torso. Her movements against his erection nearly sent him over the edge at once. He put both hands around her slim waist and lifted her as if she were a feather, readjusting her away from dangerous territory. She settled into pressing warm kisses to his heated skin, working her way downward as his heart rate exponentially increased. When her fingers encountered the rough, raised skin near his side, she knew it was the site where the shard of kryptonite had pierced his skin. She paused and examined it carefully.

"Does it hurt?" she asked quietly.

"Not anymore" he reassured her.

"Will it ever heal completely?" she asked.

"I don't know – I think so.", he said uncertainly.

And, for the first time, Lois realized that he didn't have all the answers. How could he? He didn't know everything about himself, about his origins. He didn't even know the limits of his own body. For the first time, she fully understood why he had felt so compelled to try to find his birthplace, Krypton; to try to find some answers. Her heart nearly broke thinking about how alone he must sometimes feel. He would never be alone again. She would make sure of it.

With renewed dedication, she continued her exploration of his body. She pressed a gentle kiss to his side, and went lower. He groaned as she took him into her mouth, and brought him so close to ejaculation that he pulled away quickly, and with a deft maneuver, flipped her so that she was on the bottom and he was on top.

Now the tables were turned. He nuzzled and pressed kisses to first one breast, and then the other. He took an erect, straining nipple into his mouth and suckled until she writhed beneath him in an agony of delight. Then, chuckling, he turned his attention to her other breast. He licked and kissed his way down her softly curved belly, until he reached the moist folds between her legs. He parted them with his fingers and found the small nub of pleasure within. She gave a small breathless cry as he rubbed gently. When he replaced his finger with his mouth, licking and suckling her with abandon, she felt as if her world would soon explode. Just as it began to, her gentle super-warrior rose above her. "Now we fly", he murmured, as, capturing her lips with his, he parted her thighs and plunged into her once, twice, and then a third time.

Together they soared into a shattering release, in a perfect, intimate melding of bodies and minds. Still deep inside her as they descended into clouds of soft satisfaction, Clark gazed down into her face, and saw that what he felt was reflected in her expression; a joyous, exhilarating feeling of finally finding that perfect place where you belong. As if she'd read his mind, her heart swelled with a tenderness that threatened to overcome her. "Welcome home" Lois whispered softly.