Note: As usual, you guys are amazing with all your support and kind words. So glad you haven't forgotten this one. Here's the Lois POV chapter. Hope you enjoy!!! Would love to hear what you think!
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Chapter 6
For Lois Lane, the past month had been a dream.
From the moment her hazel eyes fluttered open, she had been handled with a solicitous pampering that was only a vague memory to the motherless Army brat. Only once before could she recall being taken care of so thoroughly. So gently. So lovingly.
When she was five.
Her time at the Kent's had come close, but even then the Kent family rule of 'everyone pitches in' applied. There had been responsibilities and chores, though not as strictly enforced and often pawned off on an unsuspecting farm boy with wide, innocent eyes.
There, she'd felt more like part of the family unit. Not separate from it, only receiving its benefits, but never contributing. There, she felt at home.
As Bruce Wayne's guest, she wasn't allowed to lift a finger. When Alfred wasn't anticipating her every need before she even had one, Bruce was showering her with expensive and unique treats. Flowers from various corners of the globe. Specialized meals flown in from Bruce's favorite international restaurants. Private performances to sold-out shows.
But it was the luxury of his undivided attention that touched her the most.
She was no stranger to the Bruce Wayne story. No one in the newspaper business could be. Knowing the movers and shakers of the world was an unspoken pre-requisite. Just as she had discovered with one Oliver Queen, however, the image and reality were not always the same.
And then, just like Oliver Queen, she found out his secret.
And with it, his loneliness.
She understood that loneliness perhaps better than she thought she would. Maybe it was her childhood that had prepared her for it. Being the daughter of a soldier had opened her eyes. Made her understand the personal sacrifices heroes and their families make every day for a greater good.
And there was no question in her mind. Bruce Wayne was a hero.
With the weight of his secret and the darkness of Gotham City on his square, capable shoulders, Bruce reminded her more than just a little of a certain farm-boy-turned-reporter she knew. Despite their glaring contrasts. Their difference in social and financial status. Their upbringing and demeanor. Even the secret identity aspect wasn't enough to erase the similarities.
It was the brooding that did it.
The repressed emotions. The constant, but silent thoughts. The perpetually serious line of his lips. The hint of shadows in his eyes.
Something about being able to reach inside all that darkness and coax a smile appealed to Lois. To ease the tension in his coiled frame with one off-handed remark or even a silent hug of understanding. Bruce Wayne needed her. And that appealed to her too.
On a level she hadn't expected.
Did he make her heart race? Not exactly. It seemed only one man in the universe had the power to do that now. Not that his good looks and solid build were lost on her. They weren't. And kissing him was in no way an unpleasant task. Even more than that, in his strong arms she felt safe, cherished. She had no doubt that his skill in loving her would ultimately rival all his others.
Still, she was not blind to the truth. She loved Bruce Wayne, but she was not in love with him.
Rationalization kicked in to overdrive. Bruce was a good man who had turned into a very good friend. One that she had come to depend on. To hope for. Who was to say then, that he couldn't turn into a very good love?
A love that was safe. A love that was effortless. A love that didn't hurt.
And Lois Lane so desperately wanted to not hurt.
Perhaps that was the real reason she'd said yes to his proposal. Maybe she knew Bruce would never be her be-all, end-all. That one passionate, irrational love that she would go to the ends of the world for. Die for. Perhaps he sensed it too. If he did, he was still willing to have her just the same.
Perhaps she was willing to let him.
Just to stop the tears.
Of those, there had been plenty.
She couldn't stop the image that had started it all from popping into her mind.
That she and Clark had danced at Chloe's wedding hadn't come as a huge shock. After all, that's what people do at weddings. And since she and Clark had played such pivotal roles in the ceremony, it only made sense that one dance would be carved out just for them.
What hadn't been expected was how that dance made her feel. What it made her realize.
They had been talking. Stunted, vague comments unworthy of remembering. Unworthy of them. When suddenly, Clark looked down at her and asked…
"Soulmates. Do you believe in them?"
Every snarky comment she'd ever thought about the subject was on the tip of her tongue. They slipped away unspoken when she looked into his eyes. The deep blue pulled the truth out of her.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do."
Clark nodded as if he'd known her answer before she gave it. "It's weird, isn't it? Wanting it, searching for it…never quite finding what you're looking for. But still believing anyway."
She digested that a moment before venturing into a mystery that had long been a case of study, but never an expertise. "Maybe the key…is to stop looking."
His thoughtful gaze drifted for a moment. "Maybe."
"How do you think you know?" Her question brought his gaze back to her. " When you've found 'The One'."
"I don't know." The shrug of his shoulders was accompanied with a sad smile. "I guess…it's instinct."
She thought that was the end of it. His answer. The subject.
That's when she realized just how close they were. He was pressed against her. She was molded into him. His broad chest was so close she could feel her own breath on her face. Or maybe it was his. Theirs. The hand in the small of her back was strong, gentle. Pulling her deeper into him. The heat wherever skin met skin was scorching. She was acutely aware of her flushed cheeks and the sudden lack of oxygen in the room.
It wasn't until Clark spoke that she realized, he felt it too.
Continuing a broken thought, his voice was raspy. His throat spasmed with a hard swallow. His gaze, an instant flame. "Maybe when you stop looking outside yourself, you find it's been there all along. You just missed it because that person has become so much a part of you…you don't see them. They're too close. To familiar. Too easy to overlook."
"Maybe you've just been blind."
"Maybe knowing you so well they can..."
"…finish your sentences."
"Maybe your eyes are finally open."
"Maybe…"
His lips were hovering over hers. His eyes searching hers, asking for permission to close the gap. Lois instinctively leaned forward. Clark follow suit. She could feel his breath on her lips…
There was a gasp of surprise. Then Lana Lang walked in.
And Clark Kent's blindfold dropped back into place.
Lois spent the rest of the evening in a haze. Nodding, smiling, pretending her attention was fully on her duty as maid of honor when all she wanted to do was go hide in a corner and…
And what?
Cry? It wasn't like Lois Lane to do that. She was not the typical 'girl' by any means. She'd always been proud of that fact. Yet, in that moment, crying was all she wanted to do. Then the unthinkable happened. She accidentally stumbled across the pair of them in a liplock that tore her heart to shreds and opened a floodgate of tears she'd been holding back for years.
That's when she ran. So hard and so fast, so far, no one would find her. She didn't even know where she was running to. She just knew what she was running from.
The truth. And a broken heart.
That's how she had ended up in Gotham City.
On a dark, rainy night. On a dangerously curvy road. As an unexpected deer bounding out of the roadside forest sending Lois' car into a tailspin that landed her on Bruce Wayne's doorstep…
Pushing out a heavy breath, Lois swiped away a tear that had slipped down her cheek as the memory of that night a month ago faded and reality took hold. Her gaze lowered to the folder in her hands. She sniffled and tried to focus on the decision before her.
On the folder in her hands.
Unsure what was waiting for her beneath the bright red cover, she opened the thick folder. Her heart immediately stopped. Her breath caught.
Clark Kent's name was written all over it. Literally.
Snapping it shut, Lois tossed it onto the couch like it bit her. Jumping up, she began to pace. Her mind whirled with questions. And answers.
Bruce had Clark investigated? Of course, he did. He had you investigated. You're in his sphere. Clark is in yours. Was in yours. You'd unconsciously uttered his name. Naturally, Bruce would have been curious...
Curious.
Lois stopped pacing and spun to face the mysterious folder. It was thick. Thicker than hers. What could Bruce have possibly found on Clark that would create such a stack of information? Sure there were the police reports. The numerous times he'd stepped in to save someone's day. Still her own rap sheet of parking tickets and public disturbances alone should have rivaled his do-gooder portfolio.
She began pacing again.
She wouldn't look. She shouldn't look. What good would it do? There was nothing in that file that could possibly change anything. Clark Kent would never love anyone but Lana Lang. In fact, he was probably back with her by now. Lois had already accepted that. And Bruce. They were planning their wedding. Looking to the future…
Why is it so thick?
A moment of indecision hung in the air.
Then Lois Lane did what only Lois Lane could do.
Plopping down onto the couch, she snatched the folder up and flipped open the cover. She began scanning. Page after page. Her eyes growing wider. Her breath coming in short, rapid gasps.
When she reached a section under the heading Luthor Corp, she felt sick inside. The more she read, the deeper she was pulled into the mystery of Clark Kent. The more her eyes were opened. Bits and pieces of a larger puzzled fell into place.
And a crystal clear picture of the whole of Clark Kent came into view.
Her fingers brushed against a hard case. Shaking, she pulled the disc out of it's case and rushed to the nearby dvd player. She slipped the disc into place and pushed Play.
Images appeared. Footage from a seemingly abandoned Army base. She was being held in the air by an invisible childhood friend that was squeezing the life out of her. She dropped. But not to the floor. From out of nowhere, Clark Kent scooped her into his arms and gazed down at her, with concern. With care. The rest of that night played out. The loss of her dear friend. Her uncontrollable tears as she begged him not to leave her. And the heartbreak on Clark's face as he was unable to step out from the shadows and comfort her.
More footage. The fight club warehouse. Lois taking on Clark. Taking on Titan. Losing consciousness. The fierce battle that ensued. Cryptic words. Powerful blows. Superhuman strength. A brutal end. The victor, called Kal-el, rushing to her side, turning her over and brushing the hair away from her face with the most gentle of touches. With concern and guilt etched across his bloodied features.
How many times had he saved her? How many more that hadn't been captured by surveillance or picked up by some obscure satellite feed? How long had he been lying, hiding? How scared he must be. How lonely. To never reveal himself. To never trust…
That's when she ran. So hard and so fast. She didn't even know where she was running to. She just knew what she was running from.
The truth. And a broken heart.
Tbc…