Hey everyone! I'm back! There are probably only two more chapters left after this one. Hopefully I can post them faster than the last two. *sigh* Actually resolving a story is hard. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 13: The Aftermath

Clark hadn't wanted to show up to the scheduled meeting with Lois as Superman. He wanted her to see him as Clark. Unfortunately, he had been pulled away to handle an earthquake in China late in the afternoon, and by the time he arrived back at the Planet, Lois was already waiting for him on the roof.

Her stance was wary, and she was smoking a cigarette, a habit he thought she had finally stopped. Apparently, these latest stresses had pushed her back into it. Great, yet another thing for him to be proud of.

He landed lightly on the rooftop and tried to relax. Lois starred at him with her head tilted to one side, a slow stream of smoke blowing out of her mouth.

"I could change if you like," he said. "It would only take a moment."

"Hmm," she answered nonchalantly. "I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Now that I know, I can see "him" in Clark, but I'm trying to see Clark when you're dressed as him. I suppose you could change back to Clark if you want to."

Clark quickly changed back to a business suit and tie. "I'm still the same person you know. "Clark" and "Superman" are both me."

She took another drag on her cigarette. "Yeah, about that. How exactly does that work? You see, the Clark I met on his first day at the office and the superhero I met that same day couldn't be more different. I assume that was intentional, a trick to hide your real identity. Only...which one is your real identity?"

Clark rubbed the back of his neck. "Neither and both, I guess. They're both exaggerated aspects of my personality. I really am the hero who saves people, and I really am the bumbling nerd. The real me is someone in between."

"Have I ever seen the real you then? That someone in between, is that the person I fell in love with? Because if it isn't..." Her voice cracked a little, her cool facade beginning to crumble.

"Lois, no one knows me better than you." Clark stepped forward toward her. "I meant what I said last night," he continued, "I have loved you completely since the day I met you. You are one of the only people I act like myself around."

She stepped back. "I'd like to make things work between us, but I need some questions answered. I feel like I'm at a disadvantage here. You know things about my life that I don't; we have a history I don't understand and I can't stand that." Lois was always the investigative reporter, even in her personal life. She continued on. "First, how the hell did I not figure out this before?"

"Well, technically, you did," Clark replied.

Lois' eyebrow went up.

He continued on. "Back before I left for Krypton, you started to get suspicious. You noticed the resemblance between me and Superman and that I'm never around when he is. So when Perry sent us on an investigative trip posing as newlyweds, you decided to test your theory."

"And how exactly did I do this?"

"You shot me."

Lois' mouth opened with shock.

"With a blank."

Her expression changed to smug satisfaction.

"I didn't realize it wasn't a real bullet, thought my cover was blown, and revealed myself to you. It was a rather clever little ruse."

"Of course it was, sounds like something I would think of." Lois said. "Though I get the feeling that there is more to this story. Keep going."

"So, you knew I was Superman, and you were in love with Superman and I loved you, so...things progressed from there."

"Things?" Lois said with an amused smile.

Clark squirmed. This part of story was slightly awkward for him a recount to her. Bringing to memory their night of intimacy while Lois of standing right there within arm's reach was...difficult.

"I took you to my Fortress..."

"Wait, you have a fortress?"

"Yes, it's up north, though it is less functional now than it used to be. But that's another issue. We went up to the Fortress and we had dinner and...made love." At this Clark blushed, suddenly embarrassed.

"Well, that explains where Jason came from, though I had figured that out somewhat. It doesn't explain why I don't remember any of this."

"There's more. I have, had, a kind of computer program that let me communicate with my deceased Kryptonian father. When I told him about you, he informed me that I couldn't be with you if I planned to continue serving the world as Superman, that I had to choose. I chose you."

"So you just gave up being Superman?"

"Yes, he, my father, took away my powers."

Lois looked at him in astonishment.

"When we left the Fortress, we discovered that while we were gone, Zod had taken over the world. I knew I needed to be Superman again, so I went back and begged my father for my powers back. He gave them to me and I defeated Zod. That left you and me in a weird place. We couldn't be together, but we had to work as partners everyday. You were so distraught. I guess I was just trying to relieve your pain."

Lois looked at him in suspicion. "What did you do?"

"I kind of accidentally erased your memory."

SSSS

Lois stared at Clark in shock. "'Kind of accidentally'? How do you 'kind of accidently' do that exactly?" Lois yelled.

Clark looked like he wanted to disappear. "I didn't really think I could. You were so upset and I kissed you and somehow willed away your knowledge that I was Superman."

"Really? You must have had some suspicion it was possible or you wouldn't have even gave you the right to do that? I could have handled it."

Clark's demeanor changed, and his voice rose in response to hers. "You think you could have handled it? Well, you weren't handling it. You think you're the only one who suffered from this decision? I had to spend everyday working next to a woman I loved and remembered being with, knowing that she'd never give me a second glance because she was too obsessed with my alter ego. Why else do you think I left? I left because I couldn't take it anymore. So, no, I didn't have the right to do what I did, but I had my reasons."

What Perry had said to her earlier echoed through her head. Clark is good man; whatever he did or didn't do, I'm sure he had his reasons. Lois grabbed Clark and kissed him. "You're a complete idiot sometimes," she said, "but you're a sexy idiot."

She continued kissing him. His warm lips molding to hers perfectly. "I'm kind of having a hard time understanding why you're kissing me instead of throwing your shoes at me or something," he said in between kisses.

"One, these shoes are quite expensive; two, Perry said something earlier that your little rant reminded me of; and three, you are actually quite attractive when your angry. So I guess I'm going to forgive you. It'll make things easier that way."

"Things?" Clark said with a confused expression on his face.

"You know," Lois said with a gleam in her eye, "things." She slowly ran her fingers up and down the front of Clark's body, lightly brushing against the buttons of his shirt. "In a way, many things are easier now. I don't have to balance my relationship with you with any lingering feelings for Superman, you can be openly involved as Jason's father as Clark, and now that there are no big secrets between us..." Her wandering fingers began loosening Clark's tie.

"If you really want there to be no more secrets between us, we might want to find a more private place than the Daily Planet rooftop." Clark said.

Author's note: If any of you are hoping for a steamy bedroom scene between Lois and Clark, you are out of luck. I have no skill in writing lemons, and I don't feel comfortable doing so, at least not ones that anyone sees. You'll just have to use your imagination.