For the life of her, she couldn't remember a time in her life when she had been so angry. When she found NSA-grade spyware on her phone that the General planted, she had been pissed. The time Lucy stole and wrecked her first car the day she got, she had been livid. When she thought that Chloe had been murdered, she felt like she could have set Smallville ablaze. But now, as she trudged through the icy tundra with freezing winds whipping against her cheeks, she couldn't recall a single instance in her life when she had been as furious as she was right now.
What the hell was his problem? Both of their problems? For two supposedly exceptionally advanced lifeforms, they sure didn't act like it. Granted, she knew Jor-El was technically not a person, but for a piece of artificial alien intelligence, he certainly seemed like a typical stubborn male. So did his son. Just the thought of Clark standing there, shrugging off her attempts to talk to him, made her blood boil. As she stopped walking and looked back at the crystalline palace, her heart hammered against her chest thinking about the interaction that just took place.
When he had turned that familiar head of onyx hair and fixed his baby blues on her for the first time, she thought her heart was going to burst. It nearly ruptured when she found herself in his arms again, breathing in the singular scent that was Clark Kent. It had taken almost all of her willpower not to crumble in his arms, to let herself break down in his strong embrace at the fact that he was alive and well, instead of bleeding out before her. It had taken even more of her self control not to kiss him, but she knew her carnal desires did not nearly crack the top ten important things on her list of what was important right now. She had done her best to quell his apprehensions and fears as soon as it became apparent he had realized she knew about his secret, but she knew she still had a lot of work to do on that account. Still, she thought she had done a pretty good job at getting him to come to terms with the fact that she knew everything and there was no use hiding it. All she had to do was tell him about what she had seen.
But then he had to go and act like a jackass.
She knew what she was coming back to deal with, or at least, she thought she did. His future self had prepared her for the fact that he was going to be stubborn and cold and maybe even a little hostile, so she wasn't exactly shocked. Not only that, but she was used to dealing with Clark and his many mood swings. The only difference now was that she had a world to save. She had seen and experienced what would happen if Zod took over, so the fact that he was wasting any time not listening to her had sent her into a tailspin.
As she stood there in the middle of the white-washed landscape, she tried to calm herself down. As much as she wanted to ignore him and wait for him to come groveling for forgiveness, she knew she couldn't. That was selfish. She had a job to do and a world to save, so the apologies would have to wait for later. She also knew that even though he had pissed her off, it wasn't intentional. He hadn't been used to dealing with human emotions for three weeks and he certainly had never been used to her knowing anything at all about his alien heritage, so part of her understood the steamrolling. He was wounded and confused, but he was still Clark, so she knew that sooner or later, he'd coming running with an apology and hopefully, some more open ears. Thankfully for her, sooner came rather than later.
"Lois! Lois, wait! You'll freeze out here!"
She hadn't realized until that very moment how cold it was around her. She had lost all feeling in her face, hands, and feet, and by her calculations from army survival training, her other extremities weren't going to last very long. But the fury she had felt had fueled her enough to make her way out into the cold unperturbed for a few solitary moments. Unfortunately for her, the solitude and the warm feeling had both disappeared, leaving her crowded and cold, yet still quite incensed. Turning to look at Clark, she did her best to maintain her composure, but her body betrayed her to the freezing winds.
"I'd rather f-freeze than listen to you and your d-dad talk like I'm not even t-there!" she managed. It was a chore to keep her teeth from chattering, but she refused to give in just yet. He reached a hand out towards her, but she shifted away stubbornly. No matter how cold she was and how much she wanted to feel his touch, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Lois, please! Come back inside!" he yelled through the wind. That he had to yell at her was a big enough sign that the weather was completely inhospitable, but still, she held her ground. She was a Lane, damn it, and Lanes didn't give in.
"No!" she said, barely managing to keep her teeth from cutting through her tongue. They stood there in the snow, nearly three feet apart, staring into each other's eyes, with hers burning into him and his pleading with her. Her willpower was beginning to crumble between the freezing temperature and the apologetic look on his face, but still, she didn't relent. Seeing the determination on her face, she watched as his expression fell into submission.
"Then let me take you home at least! Please!" he called through the wind. He sounded desperate now and she couldn't deny that it had weakened her resolve incredibly. Between his tone, the way he was looking at her, and the deathly chill she felt permeating her bones, she knew that she couldn't last much longer out here. The only thing that gave her some comfort about her compliance was that she wasn't agreeing to go back to the Fortress. She would have let herself turn into a human popsicle before she had gone back and listened to the two of them talk over top of her.
"Fine! But only s-so I don't have t-to listen y-you bicker anymore!" she finally agreed. Watching as his face relaxed with relief, he stepped towards her and went to wrap his arms around her, but paused, silently asking her for permission. Giving him a stiff nod, she felt his strong arms pull her body against his and without another word, felt all of the air rush out of her lungs.
The change in temperature hit her immediately. The late September heat of the Kansas air instantly seeped through her skin and she shivered in delight. The warm blanket of a firm body wrapped around her didn't hurt either. Realizing that her head was still buried in his hard chest, she lifted it up and was immediately assaulted by his piercing gaze. As annoyed as she still was with him, he made it damn difficult not to want to lean in and close the space between them. Her teeth found her lip nervously and she swallowed when his eyes flickered down to her mouth. All she had to do was lean in a few inches…
She jumped from his arms like someone had poked her with a hot iron. No. Focus, Lois. She had to have some semblance of restraint until he knew the truth about everything. Besides that, she wasn't going to allow herself to give into her desires until she had given him a piece of her mind about what had just happened in the Fortress. Her pride wouldn't allow it. Without another word, she walked up the back porch steps and into the kitchen, shedding her coat and draping it on the back of a chair after she entered. Immediately, she gravitated towards the coffee machine and began the familiar process of brewing a large pot. She was much warmer now, but a cup of coffee couldn't hurt. It also might help her screw her head on straight. The screen door shut beside her, but she made no move to look up from her current caffeine mission.
"Lois…" he said. She could see him standing there out of the corner of her eye, but she kept her focus solely on the task at hand.
"Now you want to talk to me? Give me a minute, I'm busy," she replied, moving towards the cabinet and pulling out two coffee mugs. She hesitated, annoyed that she had automatically grabbed one for him, but didn't put it away. Placing the mugs next to the humming machine, she opened the fridge to find some cream, but when all she found was an old carton of orange juice staring back at her, the realization that he hadn't been living here for three weeks hit her again. Logically, she knew that. It wasn't like she'd had any with her coffee earlier, but she also hadn't had anyone to avoid a few hours ago. Resigned to the fact that she had nothing left to occupy her until the coffee was finished brewing, she turned and leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms as she stared at him. As soon as their eyes met, he sighed and pinned his best puppy dog expression on his face.
"I'm sorry, okay?" he said softly. The look in his eyes told her he was genuinely sorry, but she wasn't sure even he knew what he was apologizing for.
"For what?" she asked. When he didn't answer, her initial thoughts were confirmed. He may have been an alien, but he was still a typical male. Cocking an eyebrow up, she answered for him, since it was obvious he had no idea what he had done wrong. "For not believing that I can help? For not trusting me? For thinking that I couldn't possibly have anything useful to tell you about Zod, even though I actually know what happens in the future?"
"No, that's not—I mean, yes, I just… Jor-El can be so…" he sputtered, his face turning flushing red as she chastised him, but she was in no mood to hear what he had to say anymore. Something in her snapped as she listened to him stutter. Moments ago, he had been as cool as the frozen castle they had been standing in. He had no trouble articulating his thoughts and arguments to his father's voice, but when it came to her, he was reduced to the same old Smallville that used to brood up in his barn loft. It was ridiculous! It was as if as soon as he wasn't in control anymore, the heroism he hid behind was merely a façade.
"Clark, I watched Chloe die! In my arms!" she yelled, jamming her finger into his solid chest as he watched, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "I watched Zod plunge a Kryptonite dagger into your stomach and I watched as you bled out in front of me! So forgive me, but I don't give a damn how Jor-El can be!"
A range of emotions flashed across his face as she yelled at him. Fear, shame, and regret were blatant. He'd never been a good liar and he certainly hadn't gotten any better since she'd seen him last, but he was also genuine, which was the only thing that made her feel a little guilty for yelling at him. He didn't know what she'd gone through in the future, so he had no idea how important it was that he listened to her, and if she was really honest with herself, she wasn't even angry about that.
The thing that made her the most upset was that she missed him. The other him. The version of him that was open and honest with her about everything, from his thoughts to his feelings to everything that was going on in the world. He didn't keep her in the dark. This Clark didn't give her those luxuries and as selfish as it was, she resented that, no matter how unfair it may be. But she knew she had to let it go. If she wanted to help save the world from Zod, she couldn't let her emotions overshadow what she needed to do. And what she needed to do was to tell Clark what had happened to her, not yell at him because he had made her mad.
"Okay. Okay, you're right," he said. Taking a breath, he sank down onto the barstool by the island counter and looked at her, pleading with his eyes and his words. "Lois, please… I'm sorry. Tell me."
And just like that, she was back to wanting to throw herself into his arms again. A breath of relief escaped her at the fact that she wasn't going to have to fight him anymore, but a new sense of foreboding rose in her stomach at the thought of telling him everything. Well, not everything, but everything he needed to know. The buzzer on the coffee maker sounded and she prepared two mugs quickly before sinking down on the stool beside him. After a sip of the hot, rich liquid and a deep breath, she felt her confidence rise and she began.
"When I woke up, I was in the Planet. I had gone from Karate Kid with Tess in the bullpen, to waking up in a Mad Max version of the Planet. When I went outside, I was sure that I was having a nightmare. The city was destroyed, it felt like the Sahara, and the sun was blood red. It looked like the world had ended."
Memories of that world came flashing back in an instant, along with the images of Chloe and Clark, dying on that very street, but she shook them away. She couldn't allow herself to get emotional before she even started the story.
"The sun was red?" he asked quietly and she nodded. Something she couldn't describe flashed in his eyes, whether it was confusion, fear, or a mixture of the two, she couldn't be sure. But she didn't have time to think about it right now.
"Yeah. I'll get to that, I promise," she said. He nodded and gestured for her to continue.
"One of the Kandorians flew in and asked how I'd gotten there. He told me I was in a restricted zone for humans. I still thought I was dreaming at this point, so naturally I made some smartass comment and he knocked me out," she said. If she ever saw that concrete-headed clone again, she was damn sure going to return the favor, especially if they were on an equal playing field here.
"Naturally," he said, a smile tugging at his lips, which she couldn't help but return. But it was short-lived as she thought about the next part of her story.
"When I woke up, I was in the barn, except it wasn't exactly your barn anymore. Zod had turned it into some sort of Nazi alien war camp for humans," she said, watching as his body went rigid at the thought. Swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat, she looked him straight in the eyes, recalling the tired and terrified pair that she had seen just days ago. "That's where I saw you."
"One of the Kandorians—who, I probably should have mentioned, is this crazy ninja chick that I fought on the train last night, but we'll get back to that—"
"What?" he cried, nearly toppling his barstool over as he stood. "She came back with you? Where is she? Did she hurt you?"
"Easy there, farm boy, I'm fine" she said as she raised her hands, beckoning him to sit back down. For someone who was supposed to be reining in his emotions, he was doing a great job letting them control him. Part of her warmed noticing how concerned he was about her well-being, but she tucked that observation away for later as he stared at her with wild eyes, waiting for a response. Sighing, she knew she couldn't continue her story without giving him what he wanted.
"Okay, so I guess I should have maybe started with that. Sorry," she said, with an apologetic grimace. "When I woke up on the monorail train, she was there too and we sort of got into a major fistfight before we went off the rails—literally. I guess I have you to thank that I'm not roadkill right now, huh?"
"Who is she?" he asked, ignoring her insinuation that he had been the one to save her last night. That was just one of the many other things they could talk about later.
"One of Zod's soldiers. She was torturing some poor guy in the barn with her laser vision when we first met and she packs a hell of a punch, so we probably need to be on our guard. I don't know what she wants or why she followed me, but it can't be good," she said. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. What he was feeling was written all over his face and how he was feeling was evidently a little murderous. His hands were balled up into two tight fists clenched tighter than his jaw and his normally sky blue eyes were a stormy shade of indigo.
"I need to find her before she hurts anyone else," he said, his tone steely and clipped. She could only imagine where his mind was, so without another though, she reached her hand out and gently slipped her fingers over his rigid hand in an effort to calm him. The tension in his fist faded almost immediately, but his expression remained stone cold.
"Hey, not so fast, speedy. I know we need to find her, but I still need to tell you everything before you go disappearing on me. As dangerous as she might be, what I have to say is more important, okay?" she said, fingers squeezing his slowly relaxing hand. It was obvious that he wanted to argue by the crease in his forehead and the way his eyes flashed with determination, so when he opened his mouth to do so, she was ready.
"But—"
"Are we seriously going to do this again?" she asked. It was one thing for him to get upset, that was natural and she didn't blame him, but it was another for him to revert right back to square one when it came to learning about the future. Channeling all she had learned from her years living with the General, she glared at him relentlessly until his shoulders and face finally dropped in defeat.
"Okay, fine," he said. Thankful that she didn't have to fight another round with him and his unnaturally thick head, she gave him a brief, appreciative smile and pulled her hand out of his grasp before she lost her train of thought thinking about what his touch had done to her in the past—well, future.
"Okay, where was I? I woke up in the barn and…" she trailed off, attempting to remember where she had left off. Her gaze fell on the black winter jacket and a sudden thought struck her. Quickly retrieving her stack of notes chronicling her 48-hour future adventure, she placed them on the counter in front of him. "You know what? Does your super speed apply to your reading comprehension skills, too? Cause this will go a hell of a lot faster if I just give you these."
Clark looked at the pile of crumpled papers before him cautiously. She knew the war that was raging in his head, but she didn't push him. In the end, she knew he'd eventually read what she had written, but he wouldn't be himself without brooding about it beforehand. Sipping her coffee, she sat there silently, watching his internal struggle, before he finally sighed and began scanning the pages in front of him. He started off at human speed, at least as far as she could tell, but as he kept reading, the pages started turning faster and faster until he had reached the end. He held the last page in his hands and simply stared at it for a moment, no doubt re-reading how Zod had stabbed him before she travelled back to the past. But finally, after he put the piece of paper down and spread his hands flat against the wooden counter, he swallowed and looked at her.
"Everything that happened… it was my fault," he whispered, shattering her heart with the way that the words came out. She'd known he would take it pretty hard and that he would blame himself entirely, but she had pictured dealing with the brooding and stubborn Clark Kent, not the devastated one.
"Wait just one minute before you go guilt-tripping down that very long, dark path to Broodville. Zod is the one who is responsible for what happened, not you. You did what you thought was right," she said. Covering one of his large hands with her own, she squeezed it gently. "And even if you were wrong then, you have me to help steer you right now. That's kind of the whole reason I'm here, Smallville."
The corner of his mouth ticked up at her words and she felt him return the pressure on her hand. His eyes were wild with anxiety and apprehension, but she could see the self-reproach fading with each second that passed by.
"Guess the world really would end without you, huh?" he said. Though he meant it as a joke and a way to find some familiar ground between the two of them, all she could think about was the very similar words that he'd said to her in the future.
"This is what happens to a world without you in it."
Suddenly, the feeling of his hand beneath hers became too much to bear and she slipped away from him without a word. She couldn't take it. The thought of his words only led to the memories of his bed and his very naked body against hers. How the hell was she supposed to deal with that? It's not like she could talk to him about it. Just one insinuation that they'd had anything more than platonic relations would send him running for the Himalayas—literally. But even if she could talk to him about it, what was she supposed to say? Hey Smallville, since we already shacked up in the future, want to give it a whirl now before I totally lose all self-control and start stripping? She had never been so affected by a man before and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. The only thing that she held on to was the fact that there was a mission to take care of first. Once Zod and the Kandorians had been dealt with, she would think about what to do, but not before then. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully.
"Lois? Are you okay?"
The mug she was holding nearly slipped out of her shaking hands with the touch of his hand on her shoulder. Caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed that she hadn't answered him, which was highly unusual, so of course he was concerned. But damn it, did he really have to touch her? And say it like that? She was already flustered enough just thinking about the memories she had with him, but his low, raspy tone was going to send her overboard if she wasn't careful.
"Fine! I'm fine, just jittery from the coffee, I guess," she said and made her way to the sink to rinse out her mug in an effort to keep herself occupied. She could practically see him standing there behind her, arms crossed with a frown etched on his face.
"I've seen you drink three double espressos back-to-back without you missing a beat. What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?" he asked. She froze. Damn him and his newfound sense of confidence. The Clark she had left behind three weeks ago would have never been so direct. Instead, he would have tried to get the truth out of her by skirting around the subject with some half-assed questions or simply avoided the conversation altogether. But this version of Clark had no problem getting directly to the root of the problem and she didn't quite know what to do with that. All she could do was stick to what she knew: evasion and sarcasm.
"I have told you everything you need to know right now and we'll leave it at that," she said. Turning on heel, she placed her hands on his biceps and started pushing him towards the door, which in hindsight, was a mistake because the feel of his muscular arms beneath her hands did nothing to dissuade the feelings she was currently trying to ignore. "And right now, all you need to be concerned about is that there is a time-travelling Uma Thurman somewhere out there who's convinced that I'm Bill."
The body she was moving stopped in its tracks, nearly causing her to crash up against it. Thankfully, she got a hold of herself before she did. Curious as to why he stopped, she looked up at him to see what was wrong, but all she found was a look of utter confusion staring back at her. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head at his lack of cinema knowledge.
"Seriously, Clark? Kill Bill? We really need to work on your movie repertoire," she said, turning him and pushing against his back. "But that's after we save the world. Now go, do your super-speedy thing and find that future Krypto clone before she tries to throw me off another train."
She managed to get him across the threshold and on to the porch, but he stopped before she could actually push him down the stairs. He caught her eye and frowned, obviously disagreeing with her, but she could still see the resignation in his features that she was right about finding the rogue Kandorian.
"Fine, but you're staying here and you're going to tell me what you're hiding from me after I find her," he said. She almost snorted at his attempt to tell her what to do. If the General couldn't keep her from doing what she wanted, he certainly wasn't going to be able to either. But she knew this wasn't the time nor place to get into that particular argument, so she relented.
"I will do one of those things, but only under one condition," she said as she leaned against the doorjamb.
"What?" he asked, seemingly surprised that she had given in so easily. Narrowing her eyes, a smirk played across her lips as she teased him.
"When you're done, pick up some groceries to join that expired carton of OJ in the fridge. It's looking a little lonely and considering I haven't had a paycheck for three weeks, I can't exactly splurge on takeout," she said. The way his shoulders relaxed at her innocent request warmed her. It was obvious he had been waiting for some outlandish or dangerous demand, so the fact that she could placate him with a simple grocery request was a win in her book.
"Does that mean you're staying here?" he asked. She knew he was trying to come off cool and collected, but she knew his tone better. He was relieved and seemed to be the most pleased she had ever seen him at the prospect of her invading his personal space. But she wouldn't be herself if she let him off easy.
"For now," she said. "Depends on what you come back with."
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said. For the first time in weeks, future and past included, he flashed her a brilliant mega-watt smile before speeding away in the blink of an eye. The way her stomach flip-flopped filled her with a new sense of apprehension, not for his safety, but for the thought of having to share a living space with him while trying to avoid her continuously growing feelings for him. That was going to be a problem and one she didn't have time to think about. At least, not yet.