Thanks for the reviews -- 'tis better to be talked about, than not talked about - Oscar Wilde, paraphrased

Disclaimer: Superman and his fellow characters are the property of Warner Bros. Studios and DC Comics and created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. The fact that this story is all true is beside the point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. A Kiss to Forget

Clark sidesteps Jimmy Olsen with an automatic apology as he rushes to the elevator. Damn… I actually forgot about that meeting with Perry – now Superman is late for his appointment with Lois.

The old lift clanks and complains before the doors rumble open, and it's all Clark can do to keep his clothes on until they squeal and creak shut. The speed he divests himself of his Clarkwear is so fast, in fact, the suction created by his sudden takeoff brings his garments up to the roof with him. I'll have to remember that trick – could save some cash if I don't have to visit the Salvation Army every other week for new-old suits.

Folding the clothes carefully, he finds a dry corner to stash them and rises up in the night sky to get ready for his entrance. As he clears the curving letters that encircle the Daily Planet's globe in a 30's-style mimic of Saturn's rings, he hears Lois shiver before he sees her.

She waits for me up here in the cold -- in drenching rain on this freezing rooftop. I know Lois – anyone else would draw back a stump for such an imposition.

As he lowers himself to the roof, his heart beats hard and fast in his chest like a startled bird. I remember it fluttered its wings in panic when it grazed my face, stunned. I held it until it came to, shook itself and took off, no thank-yous, no apologies.

He sees her now, under the eave of the doorway -- little protection from the rain, now driving sideways, bent on claiming her. She sees him and hesitates – her better judgment warning her to stay where it's dry, her instinct urging her to go to him.

She looks at me if I was the sun and she was the Kryptonian starved for energy -- as if I give her life, not the other way around.

I have to tell her.

"Lois."

He follows her movement - his entire being attuned to her personal rhythm, thrumming in time. The blood behind his eyes blinds him, until all he can see is the spectra of light that halos her body, and, whatever passionate biological mechanism powers his heat vision, it smoulders in his pure-sky-blue pupils - turning them a deep, otherworldly violet as he observes her.

Running toward him, she kicks off her shoes -- discarding them on the rain-puddled cement of the Daily Planet roof.

Superman frowns, "Your feet must be cold, Lois."

"Not if I do this," and she steps up onto his boots, surprised as always how soft and warm they are to the soles of her stocking feet. She flexes her toes.

"Hold on," he whispers, as he envelops her in his cape against the storm, and shoots straight up -- to float above the clouds where the air is clear and the stars sparkle like raindrops suspended in time – an eternity of promise poised above them.

Her voice is tiny in the darkness, "This is a new outfit, isn't it? Is the cape wool?"

His eyes smile at her prosaic/intimate question and he drops his guard for the moment.

"My… a… mother… made my first uniform, but, before I… left, the AI crystal at the Fortress manufactured some modified suits for different purposes -- of course, this was prior to Luthor's unwelcome visit -- now that I have them back --"

" -- you're your own designer." Lois quips. An uncommon twinkle in her eye, she taps his shoulder with her reading glasses.

Relaxed, Superman drops his hero mask and allows Clark to continue. "No, um, I just tell it what the suit needs to… do; the AI decides the rest. This material's thicker – more resilient –- well, except to Kryptonite –- and, now that I have the crystals back, I'll be able to mend the tear in the, uh…"

Lois spreads her hands over the cloth on his chest, her eyes scrutinizing the fabric with her own brand of x-ray vision –- her glasses -- and she adjusts them on her nose.

His banter halted by Lois's intent inspection, Kal languorously lets his eyelids slide shut for a moment, and breathes in her natural perfume –- her pheromones -- that only he can sense.

"I can't find the rip," Lois says, reaching a slim arm around his trunk, making Kal lose his train of thought. "Is this a different suit?"

"Uh… um, this is a spare," he squirms, "My day to day suits are all pretty much the same…"

Lois peers up at him through her glasses. Her natural far-sightedness makes her eyes huge behind the lenses, and Kal can't help but chuckle.

"Hey, close up, you're cute." She reaches up and examines his cheek in a clinical manner, "Wow, you have perfect skin -– I am so jealous -- and such silky hair – what conditioner do you use?"

Eyes locked with her knight in spandex armour, Lois keeps a straight face for a full five seconds, but an explosive snort followed by a convulsion of snickering, sends Kal into a laughing fit, and, still giggling, Lois slips off his feet. He gasps, drops to catch her with one arm around her waist, and clasps her tightly to him.

I'm not safe for her -- how can I risk – his existence defined by the feel of her hair tickling his nostrils, and his own quickened breath deflecting off the skin of her neck.

"What?" Lois frowns, quicksilver-serious in tune with his mood turn. "Hey, you're squishing me." She pushes back from him, pulls off her glasses and peers at him askance, her little methodically-nibbled nails pressing against his chest. "Your heart is going 80 miles an hour – even faster than usual. What's up? It's not the first time I've fallen."

He blinks, turns his head away, and wipes at his eyes, "Just a… bad dream I had – I'm okay – it's okay.

Are you okay?" He looks at her and then hugs her to him.

She pushes back a bit, with a grin, "Look, big boy – I've heard lame lines before, but that one takes the fruitcake."

Kal lets out a breath and smiles at her, "That's me… one big red and blue fruitcake – take me."

Giggling again, she swats him – and drops her glasses; they watch them fall, a fast diminishing speck, through the clouds, toward the Planet roof far below. He senses her heart rate rise, afraid despite being encircled by his arms, protected within his grasp. He reads her mind. That could be her and she knows it.

Kal tightens his hold on Lois, and swoops down to intercept her spectacles before they smash on the concrete.

…So selfish to put her in mortal danger – I can't let her be responsible for me. Because I am… immortal, I am a danger to her. My danger is not physical – I must bear it, for her sake.

The mood spoiled, they descend without a word, both busy in their minds, Lois unaware of the opportunity passed.

--------------------------------------------------------

In the hallway of the Metropolis Justice Building -- teeming with the usual parasitic media whores and court reporters, lawyers and concerned citizens -- Kitty Kowalski sidles up to Superman.

One Surprise Pink fingernail grazes his arm.

"Hey Superman," Kitty purrs. Cameras whirr and click, and Kal vibrates to blur his image, avoiding an unwanted appearance with Lex's ex on the front page of the Inquisitor.

"Ms. Kowalski," he responds in a stern tone, "I understand you are cooperating fully with the authorities concerning your testimony." He steers her into an alcove and, with a heated glance at the paparazzi, telegraphs his need for a moment of privacy. To Kitty's surprise, the pack retreats -- a testament to the level of respect due Metropolis's adopted son and veritable saviour.

Eyes narrowed, he looks down on her from his great height, and she shivers… he can see right through me – careful.

"Yeah, I'm finished with Lex. I want to turn over a new leaf, and I thought we could… talk about that."

Superman takes a deep calming breath and begins to walk away from her –- his boots silent on the marble of the should-be-echoing hallway. He throws his comment over his shoulder and avoids her eyes, "It's inappropriate for us to talk during the investigation -- considering the circumstances."

Kitty skitters up to him to grab his arm again, and Superman disengages her with a feather touch of his other hand as if he cannot bear the physical contact – his disgust with her revealed in a slight flaring of his nostrils as if she is an unpleasant smell.

The newsmen wait patiently at the far end of the hall for a heads-up sign from Superman, but he raises a hand and they bide their time, checking light levels and scoping out angles of view, heeding Superman's wish. Ben Peter's mistake the week before was sufficient to the lesson. A million dollar pic, thought Ben -- A weeping mother consoled by Superman, while cradling her child, murdered by a serial killer – I need just one frame. The other photogs had discerned the message in his violet glare, but Ben's greed, thinking Superman wouldn't notice the tiny click and whir of the shutter, cost him his brand new Nokia -- crushed in an instant because he wanted a picture the Kryptonian wouldn't allow.

"But, Super… man, I want to talk to you. It's kind of important -- and I wanted to discuss the boy."

Superman halts and turns to her, internal red flags going up and alarm bells ringing. He struggles to keep calm and crosses his arms across his chest in defence. His voice, when he finds it, catches on some phlegm… "Boy?"

Kitty smiles a warm toothy grin that encompasses her eyes, her hair, her whole being, as she places both hands -- long nails spread wide -- on his forearms. Mmm, rubbery… I've got him. She looks into his alien eyes and sees fear. "Your… boy." She reaches one nail up to stroke along his cheek, and he trembles. She giggles at his reaction.

Superman shifts to escape from her hands, drops his arms, and moves back. His face turns an odd shade, but his voice keeps the same stentorian timbre.

"Um, K… Katherine -- can you get to the roof?"

Giggling, Kitty jumps up like a little kid promised a big bag of candy, "I'll meet you there."

Superman walks back down the long hall toward the smiling and deprecating press, his feet echoing for effect. After the obligatory questions and some clever, yet vague, answers, Kal excuses himself and exits a nearby window.

-----------------------------------------------------

Lowering to the roof as gracefully as possible, considering his insides feel like jelly, Superman approaches Kitty, who sits cross-legged on a rooftop skylight. She's like a dangerous cat -- I think her claws would make even me bleed.

"Um, Katherine, to be perfectly honest, I can't imagine what you would have to say to me -- unless it's concerning the whereabouts of your… boyfriend."

Kitty makes a face at Superman's mention of Lex. "I'm sorry Superman. He took off, after… abandoning me at that pet shop."

She moves toward him, a purple Lamborghini bearing down on the deer in her headlights. "I'm totally available -- if you know what I mean."

He doesn't know where she acquired super speed, but her arms are around his neck before he knows it and her lips -- What? Oh, God… she's kissing me – Lois…

Lois – NO -- she's HERE…

The rooftop door bangs open, and Lois stands, a delicate silhouette framed in the harsh fluorescent light of the stairwell. "Ms. Kowalski… I have a few questions our readers would like... clarified…"

As Superman attempts to extricate himself from Kitty's anaconda grip without hurting her, she continues to smear lipstick over his face and neck. His heightened senses force on him Lois's emotional reaction, and her anxiety comes to him in an acrid wave. He realizes, like a punch to the gut, that all his abilities are not enough to erase the hurt and betrayal etched on Lois's beautiful features. No… Lois – oh, honey -- it's not what it looks like…

"Kal?" Lois utters.

Kitty giggles. "Oh look -- it's the wife."

-

TBC

Don't forget to review -- thanks:)