Chapter 75

Superman let himself rise slowly into the cool, night air, while his brain took several minutes to sort out the night's revelations. His decisions right now could determine many things, the most important of which, to him, was assuring Lois' safety.

Shaking his head, he said aloud to himself firmly, "And everyone else's!"

Focusing his eyes on the road to Smallville, he could see Lois and Chloe were still a half hour away from the farm, and he could tell she was breaking the speed limit. On the same road, Lex Luthor was in an old, beater of a car.

Superman spoke again softly, "Oh, Lex, what a fall from your Porsches and Lamborghinis! I'll bet it is killing you to—"

Superman froze in place, his mouth open, his red cape flapping wildly in the upper-level winds and encircling his suspended body in its folds.

Super neurons flashed with thoughts faster than any present day computer could calculate. Scenarios, more complex than a simple farm boy from Kansas should be able to fathom, played out across a truly alien mind, and a course of action was selected before another second could tick across any clock miles below him.

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"Lois, what if he goes to the Planet? You know, to file the story?"

Lois was driving fast down the familiar highway to Smallville, a path she now knew so well that every small landmark along the way told her exactly how long she had before reaching either end of the journey.

"Clark? Oh come now. Clark just goes off and catches bad guys and saves people naturally. He doesn't see anything he does as Superman as being story-worthy. He's not going to do the logical reporter thing and head for his desk once…" She shook her head decisively. "No, he'll go to the farm or—"

"Back to your apartment?" Chloe suggested.

Lois took her foot off the gas pedal. "No…well, at least, I don't think…"

"Hmmm, not knowing good old Clark as well as you thought you did lately, are you?" Chloe smiled.

"Oh, stop it, Chlo! Of course, I know him. He's Smallville." She bore down on the gas pedal again. "I've always…"

"Lois, you only found out tonight about how red Kryptonite affects him, and that was only because of some impromptu in-the-trenches training." Chloe grinned mischievously. "I'll bet you're wondering just a little bit about what else he hasn't told you?"

"Well, if a certain, beloved cousin of mine had let me in on some of these secrets long ago…" Her right hand hit the wheel with such force it surprised both of them. "I cannot believe you didn't tell me…"

"You know very well I couldn't. Besides, isn't it better that he came to you on his own and told you himself, willingly?"

"Yeah," Lois said a bit dreamily. "That's kind of how he explained—" She shook herself. "Yeah, you're right. It was best this way. Clark always knows what's best."

"Generally, yes, he does. You might do well to remember that a little more often."

Both saw the lone figure standing in the middle of the road ahead of them at the same time. Chloe let out a short scream, and Lois emitted a quick curse and slamming on the brakes.

"And then sometimes…" Lois uttered the words through gritted teeth as she shifted to park and got out of the car, "he's a complete idiot! Clark, what do you think—"

"Miss Lane," Superman emphasized as he grinned sheepishly at her, his head bowed, and looked at her through his eyelashes. "You really do need to remember that when I'm dressed like this, you have to call—"

"Oh, you're lucky I'm calling you 'Clark' and not—"

"Lois, there could be people around—"

"There's no one around for miles and you know that, or you wouldn't have—"

Chloe had come around the car, waved, and said cheerfully and meaningfully, "Hi, Superman!"

"Miss Sullivan." He acknowledged her with a smile before turning back to Lois. "Yes, I do. Lois, but, the thing is, you don't, and you can't always know—" He suddenly crossed his arms, assuming a more appropriate stance, and changed the subject. "Oh, by the way, nice following my instructions and staying put for a change."

"Well, I…we—"

"Hey, don't drag me into this," Chloe spoke up from behind her. "You're the one who—"

"Lois, I really need you to be out of the way for tonight. It's important." Their eyes locked, and for several seconds, both breathed in and out heavily in the same, exact rhythm until he said, "Please."

"You want me to go home?"

"Yes."

"Okay." She turned her back on him and heard him breath out a sigh of relief. When she reached Chloe, she shoved her slightly, back towards the car. "Come on, we're going…like the man says."

Superman watched her suspiciously for a moment and sighed. He saw Chloe climb into the passenger's side and Lois reach for the door handle on the other. But before her hand touched the metal, he'd made another decision.

In one fantastic burst of speed, he flew to the Daily Planet, retrieved a certain small package in his desk drawer, flew back to a spot just behind Lois, and reached out to place a hand on hers before she could open the car door.

"Lois. I have something for you."

Startled, Lois turned to find him surprisingly close. "Superman—"

"No, you're right. Right now, this minute, I'm just Clark, and there's something I want you to have." He placed the small box in her hands. "I was saving this for your birthday, and I know I could have probably picked out a more romantic moment for this, but I think …I think I really want you— He took a deep breath. "No, Lois, I need you to wear this tonight."

Lois looked down at the square box, wrapped in white tissue and bright blue ribbon, with a note of confusion. "You want me to open this… now? Here?"

In the dim light coming only from her car headlights and the stars above them, she saw him nod. She could also see the muscle in his left jaw tightening as he did so. It was clear to her, for she knew him well, that he was worried, or angry, or both.

Her hands shook a bit as she pulled on the end of the ribbon. She looked up at him nervously as she started to lift the top of the box, but he was only biting his bottom lip. For some reason, he was as nervous as she was.

She had been holding her breath without knowing it, but as soon as she saw that it wasn't a ring, she exhaled gratefully.

It was only a bracelet.

"It's beautif—" She gasped. "Oh-my-god, Smallville, it's—"

"Yeah, it's that bracelet. I mean, it's okay, isn't it? It was meant for…" He shifted his weight back and forth, looking down and not at her, painfully waiting for some word that she was actually accepting the present for what it really meant. "But, you know, even if that's not okay," he started speaking quickly, "you've still got to wear it tonight. Really. Please. Oh, boy! Help me out here, Lois—"

"Clark—"

"—I really need you to say something—"

"Clark—"

"—because I'm kind of floundering and—"

"Clark, hush!" She stood on her tiptoes to reach up with one hand and pull his head down to meet hers and kiss him hard. "Gift accepted, intent accepted, and it's really beautiful, and I love it, and I love you." Her hand fell down to his chest and she felt all the tension leave him. "But"

"But? That's never good."

"But," she repeated, "why is it important for me to wear this tonight even if—"

"It just is, Lois. It just is. Here." He took the bracelet from her hand and slipped it onto her left wrist. "It stays there tonight. No matter what. You hear me?"

"Yeah. Sure. Smallville?"

"I have to go." He kissed her one more time with an urgency packed into it she couldn't understand. "I have to go, and you and Chloe are going home." He opened the car door and all but pushed her inside. "Home," he said again. "Understand?"

"Yeah, right. Home." She nodded, and looked over at a puzzled Chloe.

The next minute they were both holding onto their seats as he lifted the car and turned it so it was headed in the direction of Metropolis.

"Lois, what's going on? What did he say?"

"I don't know what's going on. He said he wants me to go home, and I can tell he's worried about something happening tonight." They both watched through the back window as Superman soared up into the night sky heading toward Smallville. "But I know one thing. I am going home. And my home is not in Metropolis. It's wherever that man is!"

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Author's notes: Mari2Anne – I'll bet you're thinking he's found a way to lo-jack Lois about now. Maybe, maybe not. (evil laugh, here) PrincessBella15 – Yes, I meant 33.1. Good catch. Now I'll have to change it. I knew it sounded funky when I wrote it. Cloisharley- actually that race…I've written a bit of that already. I've actually gotten quite a bit of the coming chapters written. It's a matter of stringing them together and I hate doing that part. After all, I know where I'm going with this…Y'all might not…but I actually do (for a change) Chewbie – I do apologise to you and to all the rest of the readers about the lateness of this. Holidays, work schedules changing, and my aching back keep getting in the way. I thought Clark not figuring Lex would know he and Lois are now an item is typical of the way Clark would think. He didn't know he loved Lois for a long time, so how could anyone else know?