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The rain had stopped just before sunset, leaving the city awash in gold and reflections in puddles. From her desk at the Daily Planet, Lois stared blankly at the blinking cursor on her screen while the office hummed around her as people packed up to go home for the day, and Jimmy laughed at a joke Steve had told him by his desk.
None of that reached her.
With a sigh, she looked over at Clark Kent's empty desk- his other obligation had taken him out for the afternoon. It had been three weeks since she had stood in Clark’s apartment with tears in her eyes and told him she couldn’t date him anymore. Not because she didn’t love him, but because it was the complete opposite. She loved him too much to keep feeling abandoned by him: the missed dinners, the interrupted date nights due to the calls that pulled him away mid-conversation. Clark always looked guilty when he returned, apologising with earnest blue eyes that made her want to forgive him before he even spoke. But she couldn't. And so, she ended it. Clark had accepted it without grovelling, but still with a hint of confusion which somehow made it feel worse.
Lois pushed herself away from her desk and grabbed her coat, finished for the day. She pressed her back against the wall of the lift with a tired sigh as it took her down to the street below and said goodnight to Nino. Metropolis glowed around her, her feet reflecting in the shiny wet pavement as she made her way home with her hands shoved into her jacket pockets against the cool evening air. Couples passed her, laughing softly to one another, and she looked sadly down at the ground, being reminded of her short time of happiness. Then she saw a blur of a red cape coming to a stop.
Superman was standing near the fountain in Centennial Park, appearing to be holding someone. A woman. Lois stopped walking and watched from afar. The woman moved closer to him with one hand resting against the emblem on his chest, and the other close to his side. She had dark hair, which cascaded down over a long, expensive coat, and Lois felt something unpleasant tighten in her stomach. It was jealousy, and it only got worse when Superman leaned down and kissed her. Not in a way that was saying thank you, or a passing sign of affection, it was intimate. The kind of kiss that came from familiarity. Something Lois had experienced with Superman in their time together. The kiss continued, and Superman's hand slid gently up under the woman’s jaw while she curled her fingers into the cape at his shoulder. Lois almost stopped breathing.
“Superman has a girlfriend,” someone nearby muttered with delight. “How adorable.”
Lois flinched and turned away immediately, swallowing hard. She had broken up with Clark. He wasn’t hers anymore, but this was still painful to watch. He had moved on so quickly. Before she realised what she was doing, she hailed a cab.
Lois looked up at Clark’s apartment. A light was on, and she let herself into the building, knowing that the code hadn’t changed. She made her way up the stairs to his door and knocked with a sigh. The plant she had bought him after their first date was still bright and green, and she smiled fondly. The door opened, and Lois looked up at the man she had once loved, and still loved. He wore a grey T-shirt and jeans, and looked so relaxed it almost made her angry.
“Lois?”
She barged past him before she lost her nerve. “We need to talk.”
Clark shut the door carefully. “Okay.”
She turned toward him, arms folded tightly. “I saw you tonight…In Centennial Park,” she continued. “With someone.”
Clark swallowed. “I see.”
She blinked incredulously. “That’s your response?”
“I’m not sure what you want me to say other than that.”
“Oh, I don’t know!” Lois snapped. “Maybe something!"
“You’re upset with me?” He asked softly.
“Of course, I’m upset.”
“Why?”
Lois opened her mouth and then stopped, thinking over what she wanted to say. “I saw you kissing someone,” she said finally. “And it just…”
Clark’s face changed. “It bothered you,” he said quietly.
“Yes, and I don’t know why. It sounds insane because you’re not my boyfriend anymore. You and I are over, and none of this should matter... But it does matter, and I don’t…” She trailed off, voice exasperated from the rush. “Clark, that woman…Who was she?”
Clark smiled. Sheepishly. “She was no one.”
“What?”
“Lois, she was an actor,” Clark stated, and Lois frowned at him, wanting more. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “It was for a charity campaign. They were filming footage for a slogan about heroes. Lois, the kiss was staged.”
Lois stared at him, then grabbed the nearest sofa cushion and hurled it at his head. Clark caught it before it even touched a curl.
“Oh, for fuck sake!” Lois shouted furiously, “I got upset over a stunt?”
Clark tried very hard not to laugh, but it didn’t work.
Lois pointed at him accusingly. “Don’t you dare laugh.”
“You said yourself that we were done, but you're still jealous?”
“Shut up," Lois said, slumping down on the sofa, staring down at her knees while the city lights shimmered through the windows behind him.
Clark took a step closer. “Lois…”
She looked up at him. “Are we sure this was a good idea?”
“I never was.”
“You know what I mean.”
Clark exhaled slowly and sat beside her, leaving just enough distance for her to close it if she wanted. “I hate being without you,” he admitted quietly. “Every second of it.”
Lois fiddled with her hands. “Then why didn't you fight me?”
“Because I thought being with me was making your life harder.”
“Clark, my life is always going to be hard, but you somehow made days easier, especially at the office."
Clark’s gaze dropped briefly to her lips before he caught himself and looked away again.
“Oh, come here."
Lois reached for him, fingers curling into the front of his T-shirt before kissing him. For one stunned moment, he didn’t respond at all, then Clark smiled against her mouth and kissed her back. Everything changed. The weeks apart and the pain were gone. His hand moved to her waist, and Lois leaned into him. He kissed her deeply and tenderly, like he’d been starving for it, and Lois melted against him, feeling his weight shift as he pushed her back against the cushions. There was no hesitation, just longing and an overwhelming gentleness that made her groan quietly. His other hand cradled her face, thumb brushing against her cheek as if he was needing to feel every inch of her.
Clark broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers and breathing hard. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that again.“
Lois smiled breathlessly, eyes darting to gaze into his. “You’re still a complete idiot.”
Clark looked up at the sound of something only he could hear, and Lois felt him tense up beneath her hands. Duty calling for Superman. Lois ran her finger along his jaw gently.
“Go,” she whispered.
Pain flickered across his face. “But Lois?”
“People need you.”
“You need me too.”
“Then just don’t take too long.”
Clark searched her face for a second and kissed her once more, promising something far beyond returning for just another embrace. He finally pulled away and shot out of the window, transforming into his suit as he did. Lois then realised she didn’t have any of her stuff with her. She got changed into one of his old shirts she found folded in a drawer, and the fabric hung down considerably big on her body before she moved over to the bed. She clambered across the sheets and nestled against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. Waiting.
It wasn’t long until the window slid open softly, and Lois looked around immediately. Clark hovered just beyond the curtains, the moonlight catching the edges of his cape behind him, one knee bent as he ducked the frame. His hair was wind-tossed, like he’d flown back as fast as he could. The moment he saw her lying there waiting for him, in his clothes, something in him changed completely.
“You stayed,” he said, relieved.
Lois propped herself up slightly against the pillows. “You sound surprised.”
He crossed the room in an instant, half super-speed, the other Clark, unable to keep the distance between them any longer, and the bed dipped as he reached her, one arm sliding behind her back. Lois barely had time to inhale before he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck instinctively, and Clark buried his face into her hair, placing soft kisses across her collarbone. Lois laughed with surprise as Clark rose into the air effortlessly with her, the two of them hovering above the bed. The sheets fell from underneath them as Lois found herself wrapped in his cape instead, floating with the man she realised she adored. Clark pressed tiny kisses down her cheek, slower this time, savouring the moment, and Lois threaded her fingers into his hair. There was something so intimate about this, suspended above the bed, but it was all too normal for him. Clark’s forehead rested against hers for a moment as they drifted together.
“I really missed you,” he whispered.
Lois brushed her thumb lightly along his cheekbone. “You have me, okay? I’m not leaving you again. I was stupid to."
Clark closed his eyes at her promise, then looked down at her with the same overwhelming affection she’d seen upon her arrival. Clark lowered them gently back onto the bed, hands staying wrapped around her and holding her close, while his cape fanned behind him like a blanket.