Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lois woke up with an annoying ray of light streaming in through the bedroom window hitting her right in her face. She sighed and put her head under the pillow. Oh god, is it morning already? But horrible sun nonetheless, she could not shake the warm and fuzzy feeling in her body. Wow, what a dream, why did I have to wake up? No, wait… A bright smile spread across her lips when she opened her eyes and remembered the night before. It hadn’t been a dream after all. She was in Clark’s soft bed, on the farm. They had just spent one of the most magical nights ever together. Far away from work, far away from Watchtower and far away from the rest of the world. A much needed break in a time that really had put a lot of stress on them both in the middle of their bliss as newly engaged.

Her thoughts went back to reliving some of the night she had just spent in the arms of her gorgeous fiancée. Damn, that man would never seize to amaze her. When they first started dating, she had been a bit scared. For several reasons. First of all, he was her best friend and she was really afraid of losing him if she screwed things up. Second, she was scared that they were not in the same place in their relationship. Lois had known she was madly in love with Clark long before he had opened his eyes and seen her as more than a partner at work and a friend. Or before he had admitted it to himself, anyway. He had had a hard time letting go of his past, especially of Lana, the girl who he had spent most of his teenage years brooding over. He never really got any closure with her, since they had been torn apart more or less against the will of them both at the time. But even when Lois was sure his heart belonged to her, she had still wanted to take it slow. To be honest, she had been a bit skittish about being intimate with him.

She was much more experienced than him in the bedroom department, she had known that much. He had always seemed a bit uncomfortable around the ladies, like back when they first got to know each other and he almost died of shame when she stepped in to the bathroom while he was having a shower… And the way she had watched him panic and looking for a way out when some college girls cornered him in a room at a party and tried to seduce him. She still had to laugh when she thought about that scene. He was still always the perfect gentleman, and he didn’t really have much of a temper. Well, not like Lois anyway. He was more the type who kept his feelings bottled up inside. She had never told Clark this, but she had been a bit scared that he wouldn’t live up to her expectations of what a passionate relationship should be. Boy, had she been wrong…

Once he felt sure about his feelings for her, and had gotten over the fear of hurting her while they made love, he had let her in on a whole new side of Clark Kent. One she thought few people knew about… He could set her body on fire with one look - a look that had nothing to do with his heat vision. And he would jump her at the most unexpected times, like kissing her senseless in the elevator at work, the passion raging in his eyes like nothing she had ever seen before in any man. She couldn’t resist him if her life depended on it when he showed her that side. And she knew he was just as crazy about her. She was a lucky girl… Except for the fact that, at the moment, his side of the bed was empty.

She felt a sting of disappointment as she turned around and touched his cold pillow beside her. Damn, he had promised her that they wouldn’t have to leave the bed for the whole weekend. That was the only way she had agreed to finally go to sleep. Where had he gone? She tried to focus her senses, but the house seemed quiet. She could pick up a faint smell of coffee though… Well, if she couldn’t have him at the moment, she would have to settle for a cup of Java first. But he’d better be back soon, or else…

Lois put on one of Clark’s old plaid flannel shirts and went down into the kitchen. There was a note on the counter, just by the coffee pot. She smiled. He knew her too well… “I just went for a quick supply run to make sure we don’t have to leave bed again today. Just as I promised. You’d better be in bed waiting for me when I get back…” Lois smiled and had just poured herself a cup of coffee when there was a knock on the door. She ran a hand through her obvious bedroom hair, trying to straighten it out a bit, and opened. She froze on the spot.

“Lana! What a….surprise!”

Lois was stunned. Where the hell did she come from? And why? The last thing she heard, Lana was forever out of Clark’s life, due to an incident involving her skin absorbing a large amount of Kryptonite. And even if Lois didn’t really doubt that Clark loved her, she felt a sting of fear. How would Clark react to his ex-girlfriend showing up on their doorstep? And why was she here? She had always assumed that Lana somehow knew about her and Clark, but she had never really talked about it with anybody.

“Oh, Lois. Hi. Yeah… I…. I came to talk to Clark. Is he around?”

“No, he… he is out shopping for groceries I think” Lois answered, not really sure what to say.

“Can I come in and wait for a bit? I wouldn’t mind a cup either...”  she said, nodding at Lois’s mug and stepping inside without waiting for an invitation.

“Eh… I don’t know when Clark will be back. Perhaps I could just leave him a message to call you later?” Lois tried. She was usually not this insecure, but Lana’s sudden appearance had really caught her off guard. What she wanted to say was Clark promised me a day in bed with him, so why don’t you make yourself scarce and come back another time. Or not at all.  But she was not sure if Clark would appreciate her pulling a Lois on his ex like that...

“I didn’t know you lived here again…?” Lana interrupted Lois’s thoughts when they entered the kitchen.

“Yeah…. My apartment kind of blew up, to tell you the truth…”

“Oh, yes.  I was really sorry to hear about the Talon. It’s terrible…. Lucky no one got hurt though. What happened?”

“Actually, it was a kind of a misfire. Someone was after my dad and they thought he was at my place. Luckily I was the only one there, and Clark got to me in time or I would have been blown to the moon…”

“Oh, so Clark saved you?” Lana asked, eyes widening.

Lois was starting to get really uncomfortable. She didn’t want to be seen as some needy damsel in distress like she had always thought Lana to be.

“Yeah, well. Normally I can take care of myself, but when you are trapped in the middle of an exploding missile, he sure comes in handy…”

“So you know about him then…?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve known for a while…” What did that little pretty little princess think? That Clark didn’t trust Lois although they were engaged? But then she remembered that Clark hadn’t told Lana for years, even when they were seeing each other. And she wasn’t sure Lana knew about the engagement. She hid the hand with the ring a bit under the table.

“Of course. You guys are quite close now, right?” Lana asked, sounding a bit nervous.

Ok, here goes… Lois thought, bracing herself for what would come. Talking to Lana about her and Clark was about the last thing she wanted to do right now. She would rather have spent all day watching sleazy rom-coms or listening to Clark’s collection of music than having this conversation.

“Can I talk to you about something Lois?”

“Eehh…”

“I don’t know if Clark told you how we broke up? But we just couldn’t be together any more... “

“Yeah, I heard something about that…. But listen, I don’t know if I am the right person to…” Lois tried, but Lana just went on

“Well, I have finally managed to get rid of the Kryptonite once and for all… so I thought I would come in person to bring him the news…”

Lois couldn’t believe her ears. She had some nerve, that was certain. What did she want? Lois’s blessing to go after her fiancée? Seriously?

“Well, he’s not here at the moment” Lois interrupted “I think maybe you should come back later? And perhaps call him first so he can get a bit of a heads up?” She knew she sounded rude, but she really didn’t care at the moment.

“You’re probably right. But now that I have you here I wanted to ask… Do you think he still has feelings for me?”

What the hell? “I honestly don’t think I am the right person for this conversation Lana…” Lois was now both confused and furious.

“I know you are not the girl-talk kind of person Lois, but I never really had the guts to ask Chloe. And since you are like… like a sister to him I thought you if anyone would know, right? I would really appreciate any kind of hint you could give me. It would be a bit awkward if I came here expecting something from him and it turns out he has moved on… ”

Lois froze on the spot. Oh dear sweet Jesus . She doesn’t even know we’re dating… What the hell am I going to say?

“Yeah, wouldn’t that be awkward….”

Lana realized something wasn’t right by the expression on Lois’s face. Why did she look so odd? Shit, what if Clark was seeing someone, and Lois was freaking out to be the bearer of bad news. She really had assumed that Clark would be waiting for her. They had been in love forever, after all. True, they hadn’t had much contact in the almost two years that she had been gone. But Clark had waited longer than that before. And she knew he wasn’t the one to jump into something. Due to his powers he was reluctant to let anyone in. Maybe he had a rebound fling in order to get over her? She had been on a couple of dates herself after all, but nothing had felt right. Not when she knew he was still out there. She had tried to get over him by dating other guys in the past. Like Jason, Lex and some shorter stories along the way. But she had always come back to Clark. And he had always come back to her. They were meant to be, right? Except now that she saw the horror in Lois’s face, she felt a sting of doubt for the first time.

“Is he... seeing someone else?” She asked, a bit insecure. She had to know. Better to find out from Lois now, than to make a fool of herself later anyway.

Lois tried to evaluate the situation. She was furious that Lana just assumed she could step back into Clark’s life and expect him to be at her service, waiting. And she also felt a bit humiliated that Lana evidently couldn’t even start to imagine her and Clark as a couple. Even when she answered his door on a Saturday dressed in nothing but his old shirt, and a typical have-just-been-fucked-mindless hairstyle. Part of her really wanted to rub it in Lana’s pretty little face. But part of her also felt a little insecure. What if she was wrong and Clark would be blinded by Lana again? She also understood Lana in one way. Even if she was delusional, who could blame her for wanting Clark back? He was obviously the greatest catch on planet Earth, and Lana was just about to get her heart crushed when she found out that they were engaged. Probably anyway. Unless the tiny, insecure part of her brain was right… Nonetheless, there was no point in lying now. She had to come clean with Lana before this conversation got out of hand.

“Lana…. I…. “ She stuttered. Then she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but the thing is that ...”

And that was about as far as she got with her confession though. In that exact moment they heard the door swing open with a bang and Clark wooshed his way into the house, straight up the stairs, without even seeing them. Before Lois could stop him, she heard him calling from upstairs.

“Hey Lo, hun? Where are you? I’ve got us doughnuts for breakfast, strawberries and chocolate for lunch and a bucket of Rocky Road for dinner. And I have stocked up on the bubbly...” His footsteps were coming down the stairs now, searching for her “Well, naughty naughty, I thought I told you not to leave the bed today…”

Lois saw the color drain from Lana’s face, as realization dawned upon her. Could he just shut up? She had to stop him now before he showed up naked in the kitchen or something. God, could this be more awkward?

“I’m in the kitchen. With company… ”

Clark stormed into the kitchen. He stopped short, completely dumbstruck, staring at Lana with an expression of pure horror on his face. He was dressed in nothing but an old pair of jeans, holding a bottle of Champagne in one hand and running the other nervously through his messy dark hair. Lois caught his clear blue eyes in a long gaze and she knew. He was hers. No doubt. And with the last part of insecurity she had felt about her relationship with Clark now fading away, she felt nothing but pity for Lana. Poor girl, she was about to get her heart broken… Well. She’ll get over it. Lucky he decided to at least keep his pants on she thought, stifling a giggle as she broke the awkward silence.

“I am going to hit the shower, I think you two need to talk...”