By Andressa Casale AKA dedecasale <dedecasale@hotmail.com>
Rated: PG
Submitted: March 2008
Summary: This story is set in the time of the episode "House of Luthor," but there's no kryptonite cage. Perry, Jimmy and Jack aren't staying at Clark's apartment. There's only a confused Lois and a heartbroken Clark. What would have happened then?
Author's Note:
The parts outlined in ~~~~ are either parts of the song or a flashback scene, but you'd probably figure that out. ;)
This is the first fic that I'm uploading to the archive. I want to thank Mona and Leila who made a wonderful job of beta-reading this story for me.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to Debra Joy LeVine, WB, DC Comics, Joseph "Joe" Shuster, Jerome "Jerry" Siegel, and to whomever more. The lyrics belongs to Alanis Morissette's song, Ironic. I'm just a fan with a hyperactive imagination!
***
{*An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day*}
***
At 1 a.m. Lois found herself hiding behind a tree a few feet away from Clark's apartment. Staring into the nothingness around her, Lois sighed, disappointed in herself for being so pathetic. Why was it so difficult to just go ahead and knock on his door? She was being such a coward. Something she never thought of herself as.
Suddenly, a loud noise pulled her thoughts away from her lack of courage. Glancing around, she saw a homeless person going through someone's trash can. Most women would feel threatened by the situation, but Lois Lane was not most women! Sure enough, a few minutes later the homeless person had moved on. Lois, however, was still rooted to her hiding place.
Lois consulted her watch and saw it was now 1:10 a.m.
Enough was enough. It was time for her to be in control once more. With this brave thought in mind, Lois sighed and slowly emerged from her cover. Not a few steps later, she abruptly stopped as she felt the wind blowing on the back of her neck. Her heart raced at the familiar sensation, and she quickly turned around expecting to see the Man of Steel before her. But Superman wasn't there, instead, a solitary cat who was looking at her funny. 'Even the cat thinks I'm pathetic!' She thought to herself, and her memory took her back to one night earlier on that same week.
~~~~
Lois sat on her couch reading her favorite novel. Her life had been so crazy these past few days that she felt the need of a good book to take her mind away from her problems and to a place where things actually worked out. She felt the gust of wind blowing on her back, the all too familiar swoosh followed by the sound of boots hitting the ground, which announced Superman's presence.
Lois smiled, content that he had come. She had asked for Clark to tell Superman she wanted to see him, but she didn't exactly expect Clark to do it. Even for her it seemed to be of bad taste. Lois regretted immensely ever mentioning to Clark that she wanted to speak with Superman.
She had asked the man who had just poured his heart out for her to ask another man to come see her. It was stupid and in retrospect made no sense. It was insensible. She saw the look of hurt on Clark's face; what must he think of her?
"Superman!" Lois looked surprised
"I heard you wanted to see me," he replied coldly.
"Yes, please come on in. I'll just put on a robe," she said. Suddenly feeling very exposed in her night gown, she noticed his sudden intake of breath. Why did Superman seem so distant and annoyed?
"Unless it's lined with lead, it's a waste of time." Lois nodded her head, of course it was a waste of time. Was Superman implying that he had actually used his x-ray vision on her?
"I guess so," Lois laughed timidly, not sure how to continue. She wasn't expecting this. The Superman she knew wasn't this cruel, he wasn't this cold, and he certainly didn't use his powers to peek on her. "I'm just trying to figure it out..." Her words caught up in her throat. At least she thought he wasn't this man.
Did she really know who Superman was? Was she doing the right thing, pouring her heart out? She thought of Clark, of how badly she had rejected him. Clark was a sweet man, she shouldn't have played the friends card with him. But she didn't want deal with Clark now. He was a whole new territory, one she wasn't ready to go yet.
"Well, there've been a lot of... changes going on in my life and I'm trying to make the right... decisions." Why was she using the plural all of a sudden? She wasn't going through changes. Yes the Planet, Luthor, but she still had her friendship with Clark, Perry, and Jimmy. Everything was like it was before. And what decisions? She only had to make one decision: Superman or Lex. And she couldn't decide.
"But I can't until I know... how you feel." It was now or never, she came to this point, and she wasn't turning back now. She walked up to Superman and put her hand on his chest to emphasize. "Superman, is there any hope for us? You and me? I'm so completely in love with you." She was, she really was in love with him. The way he kissed her, the way he cared about her, the way he held her when they flew. She loved everything that man stood for. "I can't do anything else without knowing." She had to know!
Superman shook his head. She'd give everything to know what he was thinking. Didn't he know that they were made for each other? How couldn't he see that? Did he already have a woman he loved? Maybe he already had a family. But she had to know, she couldn't go through with her marriage to Lex without knowing if Superman felt the same way about her.
"Lois, I do care for you, but..." The irony of what he was about to do almost made him laugh. Though it wasn't going to be a happy laugh, but a sad one, "There are things about me you don't know, that you may never know." He had lost his last traces of hope and now all he could see was Lois and Lex getting married. How could he ever trust his secret with her when she was marrying his arch enemy?
"It doesn't matter. I know YOU. I don't mean you the celebrity or you the 'superhero.' If you had no powers, if you were just an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, I'd love you just the same." Superman shook his head again. 'Talk about irony,' he thought.
"Can't you believe that?" She asked after a moment of silence.
Superman had to fight to breathe, he couldn't bear looking into her pleading eyes, he came here to break her heart, but he found out it was harder than he thought it would be. Making Lois happy was his goal, breaking her heart was against everything he valued. Yet he had to do it. He didn't want her to love Superman, he wanted her to love him!
"I wish I could, Lois," he pulled her hands away from him, when he felt he couldn't handle anymore contact, "but under circumstances, I don't see how I can." Maybe things would have been different if Lois had never met Clark, but life wasn't a 'what if' scenario, and there was nothing he could do to make it right.
Lois looked at him, heartbroken, she had tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't keep staring him in the eyes, the feeling of rejection was too strong and new. She turned away from him, but at the sound of him leaving she turned again and he was gone.
"Superman..." Was all that he heard before her voice was out of his hearing range. "I really do love you!" Lois said and then stared at the empty space.
~~~~
It had started to rain, Lois realized as she snapped out of her trance. This was the perfect excuse for her to just go and knock on Clark's door.
"Clark, I was taking a walk and it started to rain, can I come in?" Lois rehearsed to herself. "Wow, Lois taking a walk at 01:10 a.m.?" She imitated his possible answer.
"Clark, I was standing outside your apartment, then it started to rain!" This sounded even more pathetic, but it was really the truth. Without even realizing, she had walked up the stairs to his front door, and she was soaking wet. Lois cleared her throat and knocked on the door.
~~~~
{*Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right*}
~~~~
"Lois?!" Clark opened the door and to his surprise Lois was standing outside "What are you doing here? It's 3 a.m.!"
"3 a.m.?!" Lois asked intrigued "But here it says 01:10 a.m.," she showed him her watch. "It must be stuck," She concluded, looking at the jewelry on her wrist. "I don't know why I still buy this junk; my cell phone has a clock. But then again, I always forget it at home..." Clark laughed. He couldn't help it. He had missed her so much.
"What?!" She crossed her arms in her chest, annoyed.
"Did you come here to babble?" He asked with a smile in his face. She had come to him, it didn't matter if she came to babble, he'd still hear her babble just to hear her voice. But something worried him, she was nervous! "Because if you did, it's past the babble hour."
"I'm sorry," she apologized shyly, "I didn't know it was so late. I wouldn't have bothered you."
"3 a.m. is too late, 01:10 a.m. is ok?" He couldn't help but tease
"What are you still doing up?" She asked, ignoring his comment. It caught him off guard, he searched for an excuse to avoid answering her question.
"Lois you are soaking wet!" He said, concerned. "Come on in," he opened the door. "We need to get you out of these wet clothes."
"Nice try, Kent!" He smiled. She had missed his smile. She followed him to his bedroom where he looked for clothes that would actually fit her. She used his bathroom for changing into the comfortable old pajamas he gave her. She took a long breath, inhaling the nice smell on the fabric. That was Clark's cologne, she'd recognize it by miles.
Boy, she had truly missed him! Lois checked her image in the mirror. She looked awful; his pajamas were twice her size. She finger combed her hair, trying to look as nice as possible before exiting. She found Clark on the couch holding out a mug for her. She took it and sat beside him.
"Hmm, hot chocolate!" Lois took a sip "What happened to coffee and tea?"
"I think caffeine is the last thing you need right now."
"Yeah, and sugar is one of them?"
"Lesser of two evils..."
"Well, you should see how hyper I get when I'm sugar high." He smiled, and she corresponded briefly. "I wasn't allowed to have cotton candy when I was a kid. 'The girl's hyperactive enough, Ellen. Don't feed her dyed sugar,' my father used to say." Clark laughed, but Lois drifted as she took another sip before entering into a deep, uncomfortable silence.
"Lois, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"
"I don't know," she answered and withdrew
"Lois, did something happen?" Clark asked, worried when all kinds of thoughts crossed his minds. "Did Lex do anything to you?"
"No!" She answered, a little annoyed at his insistence that Lex was a monster. "Why haven't you answered my calls?" The tone in her voice brought Clark back to the stage of their relationship they were in. "You've been so distant."
"Lois, you made it clear where we stand." Clark put his mug on the coffee table, sensing that he wouldn't be able to control his anger and would break it in a split second. "You said you didn't love me!" He continued sitting next to her, but avoided her gaze completely.
"God, I did not say that!" Lois was frustrated. What was it about Clark that drove her completely insane?
"Sorry," he amended, "you said you loved me like a brother! Well, I don't want to be your brother, Lois. I thought it would be easier to just get out of your way. I'm letting you be happy with that sociopath you love!"
"I'm sick of this," She announced, getting to her feet. "You treat me like dirt. How can I ever believe you really loved me?" She put her mug on the table to rest beside Clark's.
"The truth is Lois, you are the one who can't see!" Clark nervously chewed on his bottom lip, thinking of how stupid and incoherent Lois was being. It drove him mad that she refused to look at what was right under her nose. "Ok! You wanna know what I think?" He finally said, letting go of his pride.
"Shoot..." As Lois stood in front of him while he still sat one the couch, Clark felt an inexplicable sense of inferiority.
"No, you need to listen to me now for a change. Because you never listen..."
"I'm all ears!" Lois replied.
Clark looked straight into her eyes for a long moment before replying.
"I think you are so headstrong that you are going to marry Luthor just to prove to me that he is a good person. Which he is not," he couldn't help but add. "The problem is that you are here, at three o'clock in the morning, with the man who made it very clear that he is in love with you. And guess what else, It's the morning of your wedding day," he let it all out in one breath. "Why did you come to me?"
"Because... because..."
"Why? Are you getting cold feet; are these wedding jitters?"
"All right, fine! I don't love Lex."
"Then why are you getting married to him? Because Superman rejected you or just to prove me wrong?"
"I'm scared, Clark. I don't know why I accepted Lex's proposal, but I feel so scared that all that I cared about has fallen into pieces. The Planet exploded, Superman is a jerk, and you abandoned me! Lex is the only one who stood by me."
"He isn't standing by you, if you would just listen to me, you would have realized by now that he is just manipulating you! You are so blind to think that he truly loves you, when in reality you are just a prize for him. You are Superman's love interest. Having you, to him, is winning a battle with Superman. Is that really what you want to become, Lois? A trophy wife?!"
"Clark, I didn't want to lose you." Her voice was cracking
"Well, you already have" he told her before avoiding her gaze one more time. He was sure that if she stared into his eyes she would know he was lying.
"You are just like them," she said, on the verge of tears "You are judgmental, you are manipulative, and you are a jerk. You think you can just talk sweet things, say you love me, and then abandon me when I need you the most." One single tear rolled down her cheek as she shivered, "this isn't fair, I needed you!"
"Why did you need me? To share the happiness you felt about marrying the third richest man in the world?"
"No! Because I was conflicted, because I love you!"
"...Like a brother," he completed sarcastically.
"No, like I love Superman." She turned her back to him, "I loved every time you smiled, every time you brought me coffee. I loved when you cared about me, I loved when we bantered." Lois let all her tears fall; she couldn't keep talking without her voice failing, but she kept going. "I loved when we spend time together in the Lexor Hotel. I loved when we snuggled in the couch to watch movies."
"Lois," Clark couldn't hold his own tears from falling
"I love your smell, I love when you touch me, I loved when you kissed me, even if it was under false pretences, I love when you hold me, I even love it when you edit my copies! There I said it, are you happy?" Lois whipped at her eyes, feeling embarrassed, yet a lot better.
"But," Clark begun dumbfound and Lois took a shaky breath before facing him. Her eyes were red and it tugged at his heart."If you loved me, then why did you push me away?"
"Because I also love Superman, and it isn't fair to you! And I didn't want to lose your friendship, so I thought Superman was safer, that's why I chose him. Because I wanted to love Superman, and I still wanted us to be friends! But you can't have it all. You were so mad, you didn't want to talk to me, and Lex was there!"
"But, Lois!" Clark took of his glasses, "I AM Superman!"
~~~~
{*And isn't it ironic ... don't you think?
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought ... it figures*}
~~~~
Lois stood in shocked silence as the two men she loved blurred into one! And Clark kept saying stuff like he not being able to tell her in the beginning because he couldn't trust her. But she wasn't paying much attention anyway. All those lame excuses about month cheese shipment finally made sense.
Clark Kent... Superman... Mild manner reporter... Superhero... What was she? Galatically stupid? How could she be fooled by a pair of glasses? And she was investigative reporter who by the way was marrying the world's richest sociopath! God, she hated irony!
And Clark Superman Kent was a big...
"Jerk, you are jerk."
"I'm sorry!" He said, embarrassed
"You are sorry, yeah you better be sorry!" She started pacing, furious, in front of him, thinking of this new discovery. "You are Superman, you are also Clark Kent, and I told Clark Kent that I wanted to fly with Superman, and I danced the dance of the seven veils to Clark! But wait, that was also with Superman."
"Ok, you are mad."
"Mad? I'm furious!" Lois stopped pacing; she ran her hand through her hair, thinking about something that Superman had said early that week. "Now that we are confessing secrets, tell me Clark. How many times did you check on me?"
"What?!" Clark asked, surprised at her question
"All those times that I caught you staring at me at the news room, you were x-raying me, weren't you?"
"Lois, I NEVER took advantage of my powers."
"But you said that unless my robe was lined with lead it wouldn't work! Explain that to me!"
"I was kidding," he defended himself
"No, you weren't," Clark laughed and stood up, walking to were Lois was.
"Wouldn't you like to know that?" He asked teasingly, before taking her mouth in his for a long, reassuring kiss. Their first real kiss. Lois felt him smiling on her lips and her world turned upside up again. She felt shiver running up her spine when she realize that Clark, Superman, and Lois were made for each other.
Lois broke the kiss because she needed to hug him, to hold him. Holding Clark was even better than kissing him, kissing Clark was out of this world, but when he held her, she felt like nothing bad could ever happen to her again. Clark was her guardian angel. Who saved her life many times, and who saved her from making the biggest mistake of her life.
"I never thought that kissing Lex Luthor's bride would be so fun!"
"And I never thought that cheating on my fiancé would feel so right!"
"Lois, let's run away together?"
"What?! Clark, you're crazy!" She laughed nervously
"I'm serious. Let's do it, I'll fly us anywhere you want to go, Paris, Thailand, Hawaii, Tahiti! Let's elope?" Lois was silent while she thought about what he had just asked. "What do you say?"
"You can fly us anywhere I want to?" She asked dreamily, and he nodded his head. "Then fly me to the moon, Clark!"
Clark smiled, happier than ever. He cupped her face in his hands, drinking in the beauty of her eyes. Lois Lane, the woman of his life was all his. And she loved him, the ordinary Clark. Who would have thought?
"Yes, ma'am!" He kissed her, and the world started spinning out of control.
~~~~
{*Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out...*}
THE END...
Ironic -- Alanis Morissette
{*An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
Isn't it ironic ... don't you think*}
Chorus
{*It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought ... it figures*}
{*Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids good-bye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
'Well isn't this nice...'
And isn't it ironic ... don't you think*}
Repeat Chorus
{*Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face*}
{*It's a traffic jam when you're already late
It's a no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of your dreams
And then meeting his beautiful husband
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
A little too ironic... and yeah I really do think...*}
Repeat Chorus
{*Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out*}