Summary: Set following the end of Crusade. A look at what Clark might be thinking of Lois and the possible role they might play in each other's lives.
What has he gotten himself into? He's been asking himself this question repeatedly for the past hour or so. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, just helping someone who seemed like they needed it. He saw a problem and tried to solve it, that's what he told himself. Yet, here he is now standing in amazement of the whirlwind that is "Lois Lane". Since they arrived at the house from the cemetery it's been a headspin. When they arrived at the farm, he explained to his parents about Lois staying with them while she was in town. He tried to preempt any questions they might have about why he had invited her here by explaining that she was sleeping in her car and did not know anyone in town. Though they didn't say anything he knew they were still a bit curious about his willingness to have a near total stranger so close. First, he couldn't say for certain what it was about her. For, she talked too much and seemed to have the biggest chip on her shoulder. Nevertheless, it was like he knew she was trustworthy, caring, and brave. A part of him feels like he has known her all his life. So, when he invited her to stay it had just seemed like the natural thing to do. It's really out of character for him as he is usually more cautious in letting someone he barely knew get so close to him and his family so soon, but it just seemed to be easy to do with her.
There was just something about her that from the moment he saw her when he was reprogrammed that he found captivating. At the time he had a mission that needed to be completed, but for a short period of time Lois was interesting enough to keep his attention. It would have been easy to blame it on his Kryptonian persona, but he knew once he saw her in the cemetery that wasn't true. It is not really something he can explain like some instinctive feeling that doesn't really make sense yet does somehow. Because the truth is he shouldn't feel this way, and if he were being honest he has never really felt this way before. Still, he finds himself drawn to her. Already he is able to notice certain things about her that he has not picked up on so easily with others. For instance, he notices how she rambles a lot when she's nervous, and how she tends to do these little gestures when she is thinking or is about to say something sarcastic. It's like he can read her somehow, and if he is honest it is a little scary. The only other people he has ever felt he can read this clearly are his parents, but he has known them all his life, Lois he has only just met.
He's trying really hard to ignore this nagging feeling that maybe this is a sign of some sort that he should be paying more attention to. Shaking off that thought he instead focuses on how insane this line of thinking is that he is just overreacting that it means absolutely nothing. Like how could it, here she is talking a mile a minute, making fun of everything, and just being annoying. However, she's comforting like he feels that he can be himself around her because he doesn't have to try to impress her cause she isn't impressed with much. It makes it easy to make mistakes or do something wrong like she doesn't have these high expectations of him that he feels like he has to constantly live up to, almost like she gets him too which is crazy. Even in that thought he can sense that like him she was trying to write this off too. He second guesses it though, thinking that perhaps his wires are still crossed from his earlier ordeal, and he is making all of this up in his head. It would be believable, but several times already she has said things he was thinking before he's had a chance to utter a word, and more than once they seem to be able to complete each other's sentences. The first time it happened he caught the expression on his parents' faces like they were analyzing them. He wasn't sure what that meant, but one thing for sure was that he was not ready to contemplate the implications.
In the back of his head he wishes it had been this easy with Lana. Perhaps, if he had been able to read her like this things might have been different between them. As strong as his feelings are for her, neither one of them was ever able to let their guard down with each other. It was always as if they both had doubts about how the other would feel if they revealed too much of themselves. The truth was that it has always been easy to feel less guarded around others than Lana. He likes to think that he just cares more about Lana's opinion than anyone else, but he knows that it's a bit more to it than that. As if sensing that something was wrong with him, Lois chooses that precise moment to tell him to snap out of it. She says something about if he is going to help her he can't be distracted, getting his head into the game, and something about a "General". It's enough to get his attention as they discuss what they need to do first in their investigation. They both say they need to go to the safe house, then their eyes meet and it's like they are having a secret conversation. They smile the same smile like they both just had the same epiphany. It's at this moment that Clark has another thought about how easy this whole thing with her seems as though she has always been there, and that he can't imagine life without her in it anymore.