Hey, everyone! Here is the promised next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7: Questions

It took Lois longer than Clark thought it would to come into the living room of her apartment. When she did appear, he was more than a little surprised at her appearance. Gone was the disheveled Lois he had seen all day. She had combed her hair, washed her face, and changed into a more comfortable outfit.

Well, he was sure it was comfortable for her; it certainly wasn't for him. Her current ensemble of short shorts and a tank top were not helping with his resurgence of amorous feelings. Or rather it was helping, helping them surge faster.

He looked away as she threw herself down on the coach next to him. She leaned over him to look at his laptop where he had already started writing up the expose for Perry. Clark continued to avoid looking at Lois.

Lois started to read his screen. "I still get a byline on this."

"Of course, the article was your idea. You picked up on the discrepancies first. And I'll let you edited it, except for the spelling." Clark grinned.

Lois smirked at him. "Thanks. You are so generous."

"Yes, I am. Speaking of generosity, I made soup. You slept through lunch, so you might want some."

"Maybe later. For now, I'll just watch you write. When you're done, maybe we could have some together."

SSSS

Lois and Clark settled into the quiet equilibrium of work. Clark continued writing their article while Lois occasionally pointed out things she wanted to change. As they worked, Lois slowly moved closer to Clark. By the time they finished, she had softly pressed herself against his side. Clark could feel her heart beating through the thin fabric of her top. Even when he had finished typing and emailed the article to Perry, they continued to sit there, each absorbing the warmth of the other.

Clark broke them out of the trance. "You should probably get something to eat. The soup should be ready by now."

He stood up, leaving Lois feeling cold on the couch. She wrapped a blanket around herself. He returned with two bowls of soup. After handing her a bowl, he sat back down, this time leaving more space between the two of them.

Lois ate her soup for a while before breaking the silence. "Who taught you to cook?"

"My mom, this is her recipe. Martha's Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup. Guaranteed to cure anything.

Lois laughed. "You know what's weird? You know everything about me, but I really don't know that much about you."

Clark looked at her, a little suspicious. "What are you talking about, Lois?"

"Well, for example, I don't know if you've ever had a girlfriend. Sure, I've never seen you with one, but what about when you were younger or during your mysterious trip around the world. You never talk about it."

"You want to know about my past girlfriends?" Clark asked, now puzzled.

"Sure."

"Okay, well, in high school, I had this crush on a girl named Lana. Lana Lang. We didn't actually get together until after graduation because she was with another guy. The relationship didn't last."

"Why's that?"

"I guess we just wanted different things. We tried staying together when we both went to college, but we drifted apart."

"That happens. I never really had any long-term relationships in high school because my dad moved us around so much."

Clark nodded. "I went on a few dates in college, but nothing ever came of any of them. Then I did some traveling, wrote for the newspaper in Smallville a bit, and then moved here."

"Okay," Lois said, "but you must have been with someone since high school."

"Well..." Clark debated whether to try to explain his further dating history, considering it was with Lois and she didn't actually remember it. He decided on half-truth.

"I got together with this woman once, but it fell apart not long after it started." Clark's voice suddenly became emotional. "We jumped into things too quickly. There were too many obstacles that we never thought about. I ended it. If I could do it again, I never would have."

"When was that? Did I know you then?"

"Yeah, you did. I was about six years ago. Before I left."

Lois was surprised. Clark had never talked about any of this. Of course, if she had the timing right that was when she got together with Superman, not that she remembered that very well. She probably would have been pretty self-absorbed right about then.

Something occurred to her. "Clark, is that why you left? Because of this woman?"

Well, there was no point in him holding back now. "Yeah, partly, I needed to get away." Clark left the "from you" unsaid.

Lois moved over and hugged Clark. "I'm so sorry. You know I was really mad at you for leaving. I wish you would have told me why."

Clark nodded as he hugged her back. It was weird pouring his heart out to her. He kept so many things from her. If only he didn't have to.

Lois pulled away. "Well, now that I've ruined the mood of the evening, would you like to watch a movie?"

"Are you asking me to stay and watch a movie with you?"

"Yes, I hate being alone when I'm sick. I would like you to stay."

Clark glanced out the window. Superman hadn't been seen all day. If he went to long without an appearance, people began to speculate.

"I don't know. I do have some errands to run."

Lois tried to hide her disappointment, but Clark noticed anyway. He didn't really want to leave her anyway.

He relented. "Okay, but I have to go after that."