Note: Wow…FINALLY I got this done. So very sorry it has taken soo very long. Allergies, work, etc have kept me down a bit. Anyway, the rest will hopefully go much faster. Instead of getting right back to the 'plot', I wanted to give Clois more time to flesh out some of the issues they're facing. It's a long one. Hope you don't mind. And I really, really hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you do. Thank you all for your amazing support!

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Chapter 14

Bruce Wayne stared at the clock on the dashboard and tapped his finger impatiently against the steering wheel.

Only twenty more minutes.

Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Sending Clark in to rescue Lois alone after a month long separation, well…it was more than dangerous. Clark's emotions had been notably erratic, as he himself had attested. Not to mention the unresolved issues between them. There were, in fact, too many to name. Then of course, there was the biggest issue of all -- Clark Kent was obviously head over heels in love with Lois Lane.

That was a plan spoiler if ever anything was.

And Lois? Well, she was too unpredictable at this point to know how she would deal with any of it. Clark. His secret. His feelings. Her feelings…

Bruce's sigh filled the car.

Yep. Two sticks of dynamite. And Bruce Wayne had just struck the match to light them both.

The clock ticked over.

Nineteen minutes and counting.

--

"Holy…"

"Nice, huh?"

Standing in the center of a rustic log cabin, holding Lois Lane in his arms, Clark felt like a god among men.

Though they'd moved at super speed, the sensations of that trip were seared into his memory forever. The way she clung to him like he was her last hope. Her hot breath nearly melting the material between them as she pressed her face against his neck. Her body shivering with excitement in his arms. The thunder of her heart as it rattled against her rib cage.

Oblivious to their surroundings, Lois gazed up at Clark, her hazel eyes wide with wonder. This reaction was not lost on a fully aware and engaged Clark Kent. Neither was her breathless attempt to put into words what she was feeling. "Wow. I…uh…"

"Do you have any idea..." A tiny smile played on his lips as his gaze openly roamed every curve of her flushed face. "…just how beautiful speechless is on you?"

And that's when it happened. All the reasons she had been so speechless came rushing back to her. His kiss. Their kiss. That led to a seriously intense make out session. Which should have never happened because…

The diamond on her left hand cut into her palm. She winced and glanced down, vaguely noting the diamond had drawn blood. Somehow in their hasty exit, the ring had twisted around leaving her clenched fist vulnerable to a vengeful attack.

And attack it did.

"Um…Clark. You can…" Physically shrinking away from him like she'd been stung, Lois nodded toward the floor.

"Oh. Right."

He set her down reluctantly then watched as she instantly put as much physical distance between them as possible. It was amusing and disconcerting at the same time. At this point, he could only guess what was going on in that head of hers. And she was being so uncharacteristically silent, guessing was really the only option available.

Except, of course, diving right into it.

He glanced down at his watch. Nineteen minutes till he had to meet back up with Bruce. As much as he wanted to pursue what they'd started back at Lex's compound, he hesitated. He sensed Lois was completely off balance, and in that state of unsteady equilibrium, she was vulnerable to his advances. In an ideal situation, now would be the time to take advantage and press the upper hand that came with his unexpected arrival.

Unfortunately, time compelled him to forgo the pleasure of pursuing his heart's fondest cause.

For now.

First things first. He removed the insufferable mask and tossed it onto a nearby table as his eagle eye surveyed their surroundings and noted too many holes to breach. He cast one last longing look in Lois' direction. It was lost on the woman lost in silent contemplation.

Clark sighed.

Time to get busy.

It barely registered with Lois where she was. One of Bruce's safe houses. He'd told her about them. Even taken her to a few as a precaution should anything happen to him. Explicit instructions were delivered and promises extracted. This was not one he'd shared with her, but she recognized it as his just the same.

She felt Clark's eyes on her. Heard his sigh fill the silence between them. Deep, full of longing. Lois viciously chewed her nails in frustrated disbelief. How could this be happening? What exactly was happening? What was Clark doing here? Why now? Now when she'd finally embraced the decision she'd made weeks ago. What about Lana?

And how had he done it? In a matter of seconds, he'd broken down every wall between them. Everything she'd been clinging to. Every reason for her actions over the past month. The doubts, fears, the undeniable conclusions.

With one kiss he'd changed everything.

And yet, everything was still the same.

Though Lois never moved, she suddenly felt everything around her shift and tilt and weave. It only lasted a moment, but that moment was enough to make her sink into a nearby chair for support. She blinked back sudden dizziness and unconsciously reached out for something to hold onto.

Clark's hand instantly slipped under hers, steadying her. Gentle concern laced his voice. "You ok?"

Lois nodded. "Yeah. I just…" Avoiding his gaze, she glanced around and noticed some major changes had taken place. Windows had been boarded up. A massive cabinet was moved in front of what could only be the back door. "Clark, what did you do?"

"That?" He gaze followed the path of hers before he explained. "Oh, I just secured the location, that's all. Which is, frankly, quite interesting considering Bruce thinks it's already as secure as possible." A meaningful gaze moved back to meet hers. "I'm surprised your fiancé doesn't know you better."

She felt like she'd been doused with ice cold water. Instantly defensive, Lois stiffened and pulled her hand out of his abruptly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He'd expected that. Hoped for it, actually. Anything, even risking her wrath, was preferable to the uncomfortable, unreadable silence distancing them. "Well, this place may keep something out there from getting inside, but we're dealing with you here. Does he even know how stubborn you are?"

"Clark…"

"I mean, really." He pressed, his chuckle, wry. "He thinks that all I have to do is bring you here, tell you to stay and you'll do it without a fight." A hint of confident possessiveness slipped through his voice. "Not my Lois."

"His Lois will."

Three words. Simple, yet powerful. They set him back on his heels. The passive tone, the resigned expression....this wasn't about her choosing Bruce. Or even about not choosing Clark. This was about something he'd never expected from Lois Lane. This was about her giving up.

He swallowed hard, his blue eyes layering with gray. "No one can change that much in a month."

"You did." An unwavering, searching gaze. "Or did you?" Blowing out a sudden breath, Lois jumped to her feet and pushed past him, her fingers burying in her hair. "God, I don't even know what I'm saying." Spinning on him, accusation flashing in her eyes. "Clark, what are you doing here? Not here, here. But here, in Gotham. Because if you're here to tell me that you're back with Lana, don't. I've already done that a million times in a million ways."

As soon as she moved past him, Clark was on his feet. Ready, willing, even aching to answer every accusation, every doubt. "Lois, I'm here because here is where you are." Pained confusion flickered in his eyes. How could she even think Lana was part of anything that had happened between them in the past several minutes? "Lana has nothing to do it."

Clearly unconvinced, she took up a defensive posture. Arms crossed. Chin jutted in the air. Tight lips. "No? When did that change? Because the last time I saw you, you were…"

"…making a mistake, Lois." So he had been right. She had seen them kiss. His eyes filled with guilt, his voice with regret. "One that I have been paying for every second of the past four weeks."

"But Lana…"

"Is another subject we don't have time to fully discuss." Clark interrupted. Knowing this discussion was much more complicated than could be conveyed in a few moments, he silently cursed the clock and cut to the chase. "But until we can, you need to know…" A hesitant step toward her. Open, pleading eyes. Arms wide, exposing his own vulnerabilities. "Lois, I don't love her. Not like that. Not any more." Another step. "The truth is, Lois…that I lo…"

She saw it coming. The confession. The words. It was so obvious and so bold and so completely unlike Clark Kent.

She cut him off and dismissed his monumental near admission with a wave of her hand as she nonchalantly turned from him. "You know what? You're right. We don't have time for this." Shoulders squared as she prepared to face him. A demand hardened her expression. Her arms tightened around her, holding in her wayward heart.

When she turned back to him, an unreadable mask had been firmly set in place. "So let's get to it. What's this plan of yours? And how are you going to bring Bruce back to me."

Clark had to struggle not to scream. His jaw twitched and his eyes narrowed in fierce concentration.

Lois Lane was, without a doubt, the most stubborn, pig-head, frustrating woman...no, forget women. She was the most frustrating person he had ever met. She never did what he wanted when he wanted her to. And always pulled the proverbial rug out from under him at the most unpredictable, inopportune times.

What was more, he'd never seen her like this. Then again, he'd never faced her, his heart fully and completely hers. Nor had he ever seen her guarding her heart so fiercely...against him before. Sure they'd danced around each other, masking their feelings, boldface lying to each other. But even then, he could always see through her, even if he did choose to not call her out on the obvious.

But now?

Now, she was so resolute. So distant. He was watching it happen right before his eyes. Walls were being erected to unscalable heights. And she was shutting down at a speed so rapid, even he wouldn't have been able to keep up. He realized he had a choice to make. He could either boldly break those walls down or patiently wait.

For now.

He so desperately wanted to break a few bricks.

Then again, sometimes to get what you want, you have to choose your battles. And your moment. Sometimes you really do have to take the path of least resistance until a better opportunity opens the back door for you.

He chose to take the back door.

"It isn't my plan, Lois, it's Bruce's." All business, he turned his back on her and put distance between them, his eyes once more scanning the premises for anything he'd missed. He couldn't mask the cold, irritated disappointment in his voice if he tried. Which, he didn't. "And now that you're away from Lex, it's none of you concern."

"None of my…" His non-answer answer stung and irritated. She pursued him across the room. "Clark, the man I plan to marry is going to meet with a complete lunatic that wants you dead. And I was kidnapped to facilitate it all. How is any of this not my concern?"

Clark spun to face her. "We have it under control, ok?"

"No, it's not ok!" Lois shot back as a vehement finger poked him in chest. "You shouldn't have come, Clark."

"Right. Because my being here is messing up your perfect plans, right?" Clark shot back just as heatedly.

"My perfect…" Her face crumbled in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"This." He grabbed her hand and held it up, a mixture of hurt and disgust twisting his features. Bruce's diamond winked at her viciously.

She jerked her hand away from him and stumbled backwards, her eyes blazing. "I did not plan this, ok? It just happened."

"Just like the kiss you saw, Lois." The back door swung wide open. He advanced. "Only that, I stopped." His hinted accusation only served to fuel her anger.

Hands on hips, she leaned forward an unintended challenge in her eyes. "If that was stopping, I'd really love to see you go for it."

"You already have!"

They were eye to eye. Toe to toe. Their breathing was raggedly erratic. And perfectly in sync. His cheeks were flooded blood red. Her lips were burning with the memory of her rescue. One look in his eyes and she knew...she felt it with every fiber of her being.

He was going to kiss her again. And it was going to be amazing, and explosive, and this time...there would be no stopping.

For anything.

And as desperately as she wanted that...

"AAARRGGGHHH!" Lois let out a yell that reverberated through the room. "You are just so….AAARRRGGGHHH!!"

Spinning around, she stomped away from him, every cell in her body fighting against the movement. Resisting her retreat. Favoring instead the magnetic pull of Clark. She felt like she was treading through a quagmire, every step taking her away from him was agonizing, difficult, pointless.

No matter the distance separating them, she was still with him. In his arms. Lost in the intensity of his kiss. Her heart rapidly aligning with his. Giving into every tantalizing desire raging through her body, soul...

Dammit, Lois Lane, stop this insanity! You are no longer yours to give.

She couldn't...wouldn't...let him get to her. Not now when there was so much more at stake than just her own heart.

"Lois..."

"Stop. Don't come any closer." Lois commanded with such force it stopped Clark dead in his tracks.

"Lois..." Clark verbally tried again.

"Clark, please." Turning from him, her shoulders dropped in pained resignation. "You don't understand."

"What don't I understand? That this thing between us is bigger than both of us combined? That it's too much to ignore anymore?"

"Clark..." Her voice sounded strangely small in the room. "...I am engaged to be married. We've already...announced it. Started making plans. And Bruce is..."

"Bruce wants you to be happy. He will understand." He was closer than expected. He wasn't touching her, but that didn't stop her from feeling the warmth of his presence surround her. Oh, how she just wanted to sink into him. Let him erase all the pain from the past month. Wipe away every invisible tear.

And just become his.

Current circumstances simply wouldn't allow it.

And Lois Lane was not one to break promises easily. If ever at all.

"He won't have to." Slowly, deliberately, Lois turned to face him. Her greatest weakness, she suddenly realized. For a split second, she forgot everything. Everything except his eyes. They were definitely drown worthy. Why had it taken her so long to notice? So long to feel this? If she could do things over. If she could only…

You can't. And there's no point in wishing you can.

"Lois…"

Her eyes slipped closed in quiet determination. The words were perhaps the hardest she'd ever said. Cold. Lifeless. Painful. "Clark, I'm going through with this wedding."

Clark felt like he'd been slammed against a wall of Kryptonite. And chained to certain death. "You can't be serious."

She swallowed hard. "I'm very serious."

"Then you're right. I don't understand." Confusion and pain ripped through his expression. "Where is the Lois Lane I know, because she's not standing in front of me."

"Clark…"

"I mean it, Lois. What's happened to you?" To prove his point, he started listing apparent inconsistencies. "The Lois I know doesn't make a commitment like this to a man she barely knows. And she certainly doesn't do it after disappearing for weeks without letting anyone know where she is." Anger began to surface. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? All the places we searched for you? I mean, I actually understand not calling me. But not contacting Chloe? What were you thinking?"

"I needed to get away."

"You mean you needed to run away. Away from me. From us. From what we could be together." The assessment was thick with emotion

"Clark, I've seen what we can be together." Shaking her head, Lois' eyes filled with her own pain and regret. "And it's not enough."

Incredulous, his eyes widened. "How can you say that? I know you felt it, Lois. When we kissed…"

"Yes, Clark, I felt it. And it was amazing, and passionate and…and insanely perfect." A helpless shrug. A painful hitch of her chest. Anguish filled eyes. "But so what? It was only a moment. And moments with you, Clark, they come and then they go like they never existed. If I've learned nothing else from you, it's that. Deny, deflect, ignore, do anything but give in. Do anything but make them real."

A pause. An arrow of truth. "Bruce lets me make it real."

A breaking heart. A searching gaze. A conclusion reached.

"You don't love him." It was the barest of whispers.

"I do."

His piercing gaze nailed her. "Not the way the Lois Lane I know…knows how to love."

"Maybe not." The concession in her eyes made a heartbreaking appearance in her voice. "But I'm not holding out for insanely perfect any more."

The silence in the room was deafening.

Her sigh was full of defeat as she attempted to move past him. His hand shot out arresting her retreat. They turned to look at one another, their respective hearts in their eyes.

Hers, resigned. His, pleading.

"Lois, please don't do this to us."

"Us?" All the tears she'd cried over the past month gathered behind her eyes just waiting for permission to break. She refused their request. Though her voice didn't get the message. "Clark, there is no us."

"You're wrong." Clark swallowed hard and conceded the obvious. "What you've said…it's a fair assessment. I have done my share of denying this, but Lois…" Gently gripping her upper arms, he turned her toward him. Then he took a chance and reminded her of her own share of failures. "...so have you. You're the one that lied about the sensor on your finger. About the answer you gave that jeweler. I know you meant it when you said you loved me, yet you denied it…"

Sighing, Lois' shoulders dropped. "Clark, please don't. It's no use. We had our chance. Several, in fact. This past year has been chocked full of them. But in the end, it doesn't mean anything. Because in the end, it isn't enough…for you. And it never will be because I'm not…"

"You're not…what? Lana?"

"Exactly." A bittersweet smile touched her lips. "I'm not her, Clark. I am the exact opposite of her. Everything she is, I'm not. And everything she's not, I am. And believe me, Clark, I have watched you long enough to know she is what you want. Who you love. That is never going to change. And I refuse to build my life on the dream that one day it will."

"So, that's it. That's why you're giving up."

"I'm not giving up. I'm just…" Blinking back the tears that threatened to overcome her, Lois shrugged helplessly. "…choosing a different path."

"It's the wrong one."

The alarm on Clark's watched beeped alerting them both to the time.

Ten minutes.

Lois stepped back from his embrace and quickly brushed away the few rebellious tears that had slipped down her cheeks. She cleared her throat, hoping the lump that was lodged there would disappear. It didn't. "You've got to go, Bruce is waiting. And I'm counting on you to keep him safe. For me."

"Lois…" He advanced.

She retreated. Crossing her arms protectively in front of her, Lois nodded her agreement with the one and only part of the plan she knew. "I'll stay put. Bruce needs me to, so…"

"I need you to stay too." His penetrating gaze searched her face. "Would that even make a difference?"

"Clark…" Her chest collapsed with a weary sigh.

"Right. I get it." He backed away from her, his hands up in mock surrender. "Deny, deflect, ignore." One last longing look before he grabbed the discarded mask on his way to the door.

Watching him walk away, an almost desperate fear raced through her. She knew where he was going. Straight into the lion's den. Into the fire. Into a hell created just for him. Her gut twisted in anguish. She feared never seeing him again. Of never touching him. Holding him…

She took an involuntary step forward. "Clark, please…please be careful."

The desperation in her voice was palpable.

It was enough to make his heart thunder with hope.

Hand on the door, he paused. "I will." One nod. One last admission. "Oh, and uh…Lois? The answer is yes."

"Answer?"

A gust of wind. A gasp of surprise. His warmth enveloping her.

Aqua eyes gazed into hers, searching, connecting. Reaching deep inside and wrapping her heart in a love so profound she felt her world tilt out of control. "Do you…love this woman." He gently, deliberately took her face in his hands. She suddenly felt grounded. His smile deepened when she let him. His answer was a breath against trembling lips. "Oh, yes. Very, very much."

Clark leaned down and tenderly brushed his lips against hers, savoring each lasting moment. Knowing whatever he was facing, this would pull him through. She filled him up. And met him where he was. Every lonely, empty space inside of him was overflowing with Lois goodness. Every cracked piece of his heart, instantly mended into seamless perfection.

With agonizing precision, he was ripping her defenses to shreds. Every stubborn pillar of fear, of insecurity, silently crumbled from the ground up. Leaving her vulnerable to his deliciously gentle assault. Coaxing buried dreams from their graves. Breathing new life into them, into her. She clung to him instinctively. Shamelessly. Desperately holding onto one moment that would never, ever disappear.

Lois whimpered in protest when Clark pulled back way too soon to breathe against her lips. "Insanely perfect is yours, Lois Lane."

One final kiss.

"Do us a favor."

One final whisper.

"Make it real."

A sudden chill. Then an aching loneliness.

Lois Lane didn't need to open her eyes to know…

Clark Kent was gone.

--

Eight minutes.

Bruce glanced in the rear view mirror and groaned. Two guards were approaching the car. Slowly, deliberately. He glanced back down at the clock. Too early. Then his gaze shifted to his phone. No message.

Damn.

He thought he'd hidden the car well out of sight.

Apparently, he'd underestimated his enemy.

And his rival? A text message flashed…

Safe. Field leveled. Goal scored. Your play.

Bruce smirked in grudging admiration. No, his rival had performed as expected.

He glanced back up at the mirror and noted the guards' positions. He had just enough time to type a brief warning and issue a heartbreaking command.

Tbc…