The window was open. That was good news. He was half-afraid he was going to be forced to use the front door, which also meant he'd be reduced to knocking since he didn't exactly carry his key in his Superman suit, not that it would've survived today's encounter. As it was, only one sleeve remained on the upper half of his body, his legs were sporting a new pair of shorts, and he was missing a boot. The odds of him holding onto anything while battling the God of the Underworld were slim to none. Even his invincibility took a beating today. The only time he could remember feeling so sore and weak was when Jor-El took his powers away so many years ago. Worse, he knew that as soon as he got home he would have another fight on his hands. Letting out a slight groan, Superman moved with a sudden burst of speed and made the final descent to his apartment.
All was quiet except for the soft click of the window closing behind him. He couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing. Sure, he had faced Hades today and taken on the depths of the Underworld, but the thought of facing the other person in the apartment was a hell of a lot scarier. Her heartbeat was regular, so he didn't think she had heard him come in and that at least gave him the element of surprise. Silently, making his way to the bedroom, he tuned in his hearing to the bedroom. Clicking and cursing. Great.
The door was cracked open wide enough that he could see his bed, which was currently being occupied by a half-dressed Lois Lane typing furiously at her laptop. Creeping right up to the edge of the door, he studied her facial expressions with unease. Her brow was furrowed, head was low, and the small vein near her temple was throbbing as a string of inappropriate words tumbled out of her mouth. However, he also noticed she was dressed in his flannel and was glancing at the window every thirty seconds with a troubled crease in her brow. She was angry, but she was worried too. The tugging feeling at his heart increased, realizing that he was the source of both her emotions. Gathering his confidence, he pushed the door open and stepped in.
"Lois?"
She looked up from her computer and the frown vanished. Her heartbeat sped up, tears pricked at her eyes, and he heard a shaky breath exit her mouth. He took another step into the room and she tossed her laptop to the side of the bed. It took her three large strides to reach him, but when she did, she stopped abruptly. Before he could make a move to put his arms around her, she held up a single digit and he froze. Her eyes slowly travelled down the length of his body and he braced himself.
Normally, she would've thrown herself at him after a battle like today, but he knew what she was doing. First, she was scanning him for injuries. Though generally he came home unharmed, he had to admit that his destroyed suit probably concerned her a bit more than usual. He normally didn't bruise or bleed, but fighting against supernatural creatures was also not normal. He watched her eyes lock on the particularly nasty slash mark on the left side of his stomach and frowned when she bit her lip.
Second, he knew that she was collecting herself. The rate of her heartbeat had not normalized, but the tears were blinked away and her expression was becoming more and more masked by the second. She didn't like to seem weak, especially in front of him, but he knew she was reeling inside. She was scared, but it was the anger that frightened him most. As her eyes moved back up to meet with his, he waited for her to make her move. Hazel finally met blue and he readied himself for the fireworks.
"This is for saving the world, yet again, and because I love you."
Lunging towards him, Lois threw her arms around his neck and captured his lips with her own. She kissed him hard, in the desperate way she had done so many times in the past, after similar world-saving scenarios. Soft lips enveloped his, moving deliciously across every inch of his mouth. Her teeth nipped at his bottom lip before flicking her tongue across the same spot and he groaned. He was more than surprised at her reaction, but the way she was kissing him right now made him incapable of properly questioning it. Her fingers threaded through his hair and trailed down his back before she finally parted those luscious lips from his own and slid sensually away his body, leaving him thoroughly aroused and unsatisfied.
"Are you hurt?" she asked softly. Her eyelids fluttered as she scanned his torso and once again locked her gaze on the cut on his stomach. Her fingers gently touched the mark, almost as light as feathers, tracing the three lines that were in the process of scabbing over. Removing her small hand from his body, he brought it to his lips and kissed her fingers all while never breaking eye contact. He knew she'd never believe him if she couldn't see it in his eyes.
"No."
She stared at him for a moment, nodded, and retracted her hand.
"Okay."
For a moment, he thought she had developed super speed. He barely had time to react before he saw that same hand come flying towards his face. Hardly having sufficient time to move with the strike, Clark felt the contact and grimaced. That was the reaction he had been waiting for.
"That is for nearly getting yourself killed today, scaring the hell out of me, and kissing that Amazon princess, bitch!"
She was out of his reach and across the room before he had a proper chance to reply. Dressed only in his red-and-yellow flannel, which made it nearly impossible to concentrate in his now semi-aroused state, she paced beside the bed angrily. Hands on hips, head down, string of mumbled curse words flowing out of her beautiful mouth, he watched and waited for her to stop pacing long enough to look at him. However, when she did, he wished he hadn't remained silent.
"Aren't you going to say anything? Or are you just going to stand there with your mouth wide-open waiting for another super-powered princess to come shove her tongue in it?" she asked. "Maybe I'll give Lana a call, at least she's not a complete and total stranger!"
"Lois, I'm sorry, she completely took me by surprise," he tried to explain, completely ignoring the Lana comment. Thunk. He looked down to see Lois rubbing her thumb across her retracting fist and he blinked in surprise. Damn, she moved fast.
"You have super powers, Clark! You can move at super speed! How the hell can you be taken by surprise?" she asked. Her hands flew up in disgust and he used every ounce of self-control not to try and tame her.
"Well, you managed to do it just now," he murmured. An eyebrow raised in response and he sighed. "Look, I swear, I had just turned around and she planted one on me. She said it was how Amazonians thanked each other."
"Well, now I'm sorry I interrupted! I'm sure she would've probably gotten down on her knees and thanked you properly, if I hadn't shown up," she growled. Clark's face flushed at her insinuation, but she rattled on. "Maybe if I hadn't been there, the cameras would've gotten an even better picture!"
"Picture…?" he asked. His stomach dropped. There were pictures? Shit.
Fuming, Lois walked towards the bed and opened up the laptop. He heard two clicks before she turned the screen towards him. A close-up, high-definition photo of Superman kissing Wonder Woman filled the screen. And it looked bad. His eyes were halfway closed, no doubt in mid-blink, and his hands were on her shoulders. Though he knew he was only trying to push her away, it wasn't what the photo said. It also wasn't what Lois saw.
Superman sat down in exhaustion. Hades was finally back in the Underworld and the gate was sealed. His body ached, thoroughly battered and bruised from Hades's attacks, and he struggled to stand up. A shadow crossed his path and he saw a small, slender hand reaching down towards him. Sunlight glinted off the golden bracelet she wore and he squinted. Taking the offered hand, he helped pull himself up with a grunt. Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman, stood in front of him.
"Thank you, Kal-El. Hades will stay where he belongs and be punished accordingly," she said in a thick accent. He nodded and tried to pull his hand out of her grip, but she held on. Before he could question her, he heard Lois's voice yelling at a taxi driver in the distance. Turning his head, he saw her stepping out of yellow cab several yards away. Thank God, she was okay. A smile graced his lips and he turned back towards the woman who still had his hand in a vice-like grip.
"Well-"
He was cut off by a pair of lips on his. Eyes wide open, he couldn't believe what was happening! Shocked, he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away.
"Wonder Woman! That was rather inappropriate, I, um… I don't mean to insult you, but I don't… I'm not romantically interested in you," he stumbled. Clark was at a loss for words! Had he given off any romantic vibes? He didn't think so! Clutching at the back of his neck, he took a step back, while the woman in front of him frowned.
"What have I done? That is how we express gratitude where I am from," she explained. Snapping back into Superman mode, he straightened his posture and cleared his throat.
"Here, we just shake hands, Wonder Woman. And your gratitude is unnecessary," he said. Turning quickly back around, he was met with the flashes of cameras and questions from reporters, none of which were coming from Lois, who was no longer to be seen or heard. Shit.
She was standing with her back to him now. Arms crossed, she looked out the window, no doubt at all the damage to the city. Smoke was still rising in the sky when he was flying home and he had no doubt fires were still burning. However, the League could deal with the majority of the destruction. He had done his part today and now he had to clean up the mess he had made at home.
Clark walked hesitantly over to the window and stood about a foot behind her. He could still virtually feel the heat rising off of her, but at least her heartbeat had calmed. Reaching a hand out, he gently brushed her elbow. She didn't give in to his touch, but she also didn't move away from him. Instead, she kept her arms locked together and her eyes on the skyline.
"Lo, you have to know how sorry I am. I promise, I was pushing her away, not leaning into it," he said softly. "There is no one else, but you."
Still, she didn't react. If anything, she stood even more rigid. He frowned and started to worry that she didn't believe him. Clark knew she was going to be angry when he came home, but her reaction was starting to worry him because Lois Lane was not the silent type. Just before he opened his mouth to plead more forgiveness, she spoke.
"How many times has this happened now? Five? Lucy, Zatanna, Tess, that woman who claimed you were the father of her child… now, Wonder Woman," she said softly.
"Lois—"
"Clark, I know how you feel about me and I know it probably was just a misunderstanding, just like all the other times, but you have to understand how this feels," she said. She turned towards him with glistening eyes and his heart broke as her gaze shifted to her feet. "It's enough that I have to see it, but to see it with someone like… you…"
Growing genuinely concerned, he threw caution to the wind and slid his hand across her lower back. Her body froze, but she didn't push him away, which he took as a somewhat positive sign. Stepping directly in front of her, he placed his other hand on her free hip and looked into her eyes.
"Someone like me? Lo, I don't want to be with 'someone like me,' let alone anyone who isn't you," he explained. She tried to turn out of his arms, but he held his grip. "No, honey, we've talked about this. It's why I love you. You don't see Superman, you see Clark. Powers don't make the person, okay?"
"I know we've talked about it, but seeing it and reading it are two completely different stories," she huffed. "It just sucks, okay? I don't like being insecure."
Her admission broke his heart and he noticed that her eyes had shifted down to his chest again, but this time it was because she was trying not to cry. Pulling her into his arms, he held her as tightly as he could without causing her harm. Feeling her arms curl around his neck and face press into his chest, he placed a kiss to her hair and breathed in her scent. God, he loved her. He was so thankful she hadn't gotten hurt or killed today. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to bear that. When her heartbeat calmed and he was sure her tears had been either wiped or blinked away, he pulled back enough to look at her. Sweeping a piece of hair behind her ear, he cupped her slightly red cheek and studied her face.
"Do you know how it feels to be Clark Kent around Lois Lane? The bumbling nerd who is somehow engaged to the powerhouse, fearless, award-winning reporter?" he asked. Those hazel orbs he loved so much widened slightly and her full lips parted at his words. "Every day I hear the whispers about how the hell I ended up with you or what you see in me. It isn't easy for me, either."
"But that's not real, it's just an alter ego," she replied. Moving his other hand to her face, he brushed his thumbs lightly across her smooth cheeks and gave her a soft smile.
"So is Superman."
Her mouth opened at his reply, but shut rather quickly. Lois wasn't one for silence, but she also wasn't one to speak if she didn't have some sort of retort ready. Clark watched her absorb what he was trying to tell her and momentarily thought he had succeeded in quelling her anger, but when the crease returned to her forehead, he knew this argument was far from over.
"Yeah, well, the difference is that there aren't guys lined up to kiss me at work, now are there?" she grumbled. He unconsciously bristled at that comment and tried to hide his reaction, but was well aware that Lois felt his body stiffen in response. Stepping back herself, she placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.
"What, you think I've kissed other guys at work?" she said. Her voice raised about an octave and he knew he would be treading very dangerous waters if he didn't stop her train of thought right now.
"No! No, I would never think that about you, Lois," Clark said sincerely. He waited for her expression to change, but when it didn't, he sighed knowing he would have to try to explain himself. "But you don't see what I see and you definitely don't hear what I hear."
A tense silence filled the room and an eerily calm expression came over her face as she walked towards him. She folded her arms over her chest and came so close to Clark that he had to bend his head down to look her in the eye.
"So, let me get this straight: you think that me, seeing you kiss another woman, is equivalent to you, seeing guys check me out and hearing them say lewd things about me?"
"No, but—"
"But what, Clark? You know damn well there is no comparison there, so don't 'but' me and tell me what you're really thinking right now or so help me God, you will be sleeping at Ollie's tonight."
Damn, she was good. Her stare bore into his eyes so intensely that he had to look away. She didn't understand. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and opened his mouth, but quickly clenched it shut. He couldn't respond until he was sure he was going to tell her what was on his mind. It wasn't something he wanted to tell her, but it also wasn't something he thought he could hide from her at this point. Looking back at her, he found her patiently waiting with the same expression etched on her face.
"It's not just at work. That, I can tune out. But some of the times when I've had to save you… the things that some of those thugs have said…" he trailed off with his eyes following suit. His gaze focused on the dark spot on their bedpost that he had scorched after one of their more ravenous sessions of love making and he steeled his jaw trying to focus on that memory, rather than the discussion at hand. He didn't want to burden Lois with some of his darkest worries, but he wasn't entirely sure she would allow him to keep them from her either. His mind drifted to the many different reactions he envisioned her having, but the soft touch and guidance of Lois's hand on his cheek brought his eyes and his mind back to focus on her.
"You've never told me that before," she said simply. He nodded and swallowed, hoping that would be enough, but was disappointed when she asked why.
"Because it's not something I want to think about," he said darkly. "If I do… I… I've wanted to kill men before, Lois."
"And that scares you?"
"More than you know."
Lois didn't react save for a slight exhale of breath, then her eyes closed for a brief moment. When they opened, she closed the distance between them. The weight of her body in his arms and the secure feeling of her arms curled around his neck caused him to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Pressing his face into the crook of her neck, he breathed in her scent and shuddered. Lois responded by tightening her hold around him and he relished in the feeling of her radiating warmth. Soft fingers trailed their way into his hair and he hummed in appreciation. He trailed his fingers along her back in response and was pleasantly rewarded with a kiss on the side of his neck.
"I didn't know you had to deal with that. You should have told me, Smallville," she murmured in the shell of his ear. He nodded into her shoulder then raised his head to stare at the swirls of green and brown that danced in her eyes.
"I didn't want for you to have to think about it either," he explained. A line formed across her mouth and he frowned, but felt her thumb quickly soothing the crease in his forehead.
"Hate to break it to you, but I've been threatened with a lot of things over the years—that included," she said. "But you've always been there to save me, so I don't think it's anything we need to dwell on, hmm?"
"Just like we don't need to dwell on today?" he asked lightly. Her expression told him that was not the case. Sighing, he pulled at her waist and looked at her with all of the love he could muster. "Lo, I am so, so sorry about today. Not just that you had to see it, but that it ever even happened. There's no excuse for it and all I can say is that I love you more than anything in this universe and there is no one else that I could ever want besides you."
In typical fashion, Lois made him sweat it out for a moment before she finally relented and gave him a little nod. A relieved smile appeared on Clark's face and he embraced her once again before stealing a brief kiss.
"You're forgiven, Smallville, but the next time I find those lips of yours on anyone's other than mine, I get to see if you can withstand the force of an Army tank, okay?"
