Chapter Text
Clark managed to keep a somewhat even tone despite their argument entering its second hour. “All I’m saying is that maybe immediately following the death of their tyrannical dictator which threw the country into a dangerous state of political unrest is not the best time to accept an assignment in Boravia.”
She scoffed. “This is a career-making opportunity! This is a chance to do real journalism, not just fake interviews with Superman.” She gestured vaguely in his direction.
“Real journalism?” His tone turned incredulous. “What about that whole… Lex Luthor international conflict exposée? You know, the one that got you nominated for a Sidney Award?”
“That wasn’t…” Her shoulders slumped. “That’s not the same , Clark. That never would’ve happened if not for you. This is a chance for me to do something… intentional.” The anger gone from her expression, she looked at him with only sincerity.
Taking a step closer to her, Clark’s tone softened. “Lois, at the best of times, Boravia wasn’t safe for journalists. But, now? I just…” He trailed off.
She nodded in understanding, her tone curt. “You’d rather I be here. Where you can keep an eye on me.”
“You make it sound like ‘wanting you to be safe’ is a bad thing.” He tilted his head imploringly.
“It is if it means I can never leave Metropolis again.”
Clark closed the distance between them, taking both of her hands into his. “Lois, I… I know that you can take care of yourself. You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met, I trust you more than anyone, and I know, rationally, that you could handle it.”
“But?” She prompted, looking up at him.
“But that doesn’t stop me from worrying about you.”
At that, Lois leaned forwards, tucking herself against his chest as he dropped her hands and wrapped his arms around her.
After a beat, she spoke again, joking: “How about this? I’ll buy a gun.”
Clark tilted his head back as he laughed, his chest vibrating against hers. “That is not what I meant.”
“It’ll only be a few months.” She said softly. “You’ll barely have time to miss me.”
He hummed. “Sounds like you’ve made up your mind already.”
“That’s not true.” She protested halfheartedly.”
“And,” he continued, “I always miss you. I’m going to miss you tonight, in fact, and you’ll only be halfway across the city.”
She pulled back from him slightly, laying a hand on his chest and peering up at him. “Hmm, well then how about you stay a little closer?”
“How close are we talking?” He smirked, trailing one hand down her lower back.
“This close.” Lois closed the distance between them with a kiss, raising a hand to the grip the hair at the back of his head.
He groaned in response, pulling her closer until her body was flush against his. Separating only when both were starved for air, Clark cast his eyes up and down her body, his breathing shallow.
“Let’s go to bed.”
The next day
Taking a seat at her desk, Lois tried to focus on the long day’s work ahead of her instead of her argument with Clark the night before. Or… the other thing they did that night.
Entering her computer, she attempted to open a story she’d been working on about rising insurance rates following metahuman events but found herself pulling up the details of her Boravian placement offer instead. She took a quick glance behind her at Clark’s desk, but it was empty. He was taking a ‘Superman day,’ as he called it, and Lois suspected he was already deep in the frozen Arctic, in the secret headquarters that he still would not let her visit.
She scanned the offer again, frowning as her and Clark’s earlier conversation returned to the forefront of her mind. It really was such a great opportunity: 4 months in the heart of Boravia’s newfound political vacuum, investigating past and present government corruption. Of course, the idea of living in Boravia for any amount of time unsettled her, and she hated the thought of being away from her life in Metropolis for so long. There was no denying, however, the magnitude of the opportunity. This would put her on the map as a journalist. And, if they didn’t give it to her, they’d give it to Steve, and she could not let that happen.
A sudden presence next to her startled her from her musings. She closed the tab she’d been on quickly, revealing her working insurance story. The presence, Cat, quirked an eyebrow at her.
“You alright, Lois?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just… looking at insurance rates.” She gestured halfheartedly at the computer screen.
“Sure.” Cat smirked doubtfully. “I just need you to ‘okay’ my Justice Gang op-ed when you get a chance. I just sent it over.”
“Got it, yeah. I’ll do that right now.”
“Thanks!” The blonde practically bounced back to her desk.
Lois sighed and opened her email, taking in Cat’s latest work: “Corporate Metahumans Cloud Heroes’ Image.” She began to read.”
A few hours later, Lois was nearly finished with her mountain of tasks and in desperate need of a pick-me-up. Luckily, one arrived. A text from Clark: Coffee? Smiling, she responded, I didn’t know you could read minds, too. His nearly-immediate response read: I’m full of surprises. Then, I’m at the Jitters around the corner. She responded to the message with a thumbs-up.
She snuck out of the office without attracting any attention, and, within minutes, was walking into the brightly-lit coffee shop, her eyes searching for Clark.
She found him at the counter, beaming at her as their eyes met. Walking up to him, she planted a quick kiss on his lips as he snaked an arm around her waist.
“Hey.” He smiled brightly at her, his hand coming to rest on her lower back underneath her jacket.
“Hey yourself.” She leaned into his touch, her shoulder knocking into his.
“I got us both vanilla lattes, I hope that’s okay.” He said softly.
“That’s perfect, thank you.”
“Clark!” The barista called out. She set down their lattes with only a slight glance up and down his tall figure, at which his arm imperceptibly tightened around Lois’s waist as he flashed the barista a tight smile.
“Should we take a walk?” Lois offered, picking up both of their lattes, eager to leave the crowded coffee shop. Clark nodded and steered them outside, releasing his hold on her waist to take his coffee once they reached the sidewalk.
They began to walk around the block, pointedly avoiding the direction that The Daily Planet office was in. They chatted about their respective days as they walked; Lois learned that Clark had, in fact, spent the morning in the Arctic, repairing the last remaining bits of damage to his "Fortress of Solitude," as he called it.
Lois smirked. "That's a terrible name."
"What? It is not!" He turned towards her, incredulous.
"The Fortress of Solitude?" She laughed, "Come on. It sounds so... broody."
"I am broody!"
Lois stopped, facing him. She raised a hand to cup his cheek, gazing slightly up at him. "You're right. You are broody. And dark. And pensive." Clark nodded in agreement with every word. As she finished speaking, he turned his face slightly, placing a kiss on the inside of her palm.
"Thank you," he smiled softly at her.
Peering behind him, Lois noticed a figure standing against a lamppost at the end of the street. Vaguely, she recognized the man from the coffee shop. And, she realized with a start, he'd been in the Daily Planet office earlier that morning.
"Clark," she started carefully. His brows furrowed at the shift in her tone. He hummed questioningly as his eyes searched hers. She continued, "I think we're being followed. Black hoodie, sweatpants. I saw him at work this morning, then at Jitters."
Clark tensed, taking a step closer to her. She could practically see the gears turning in his head. "Is he a big guy?"
She kept her eyes trained on his face, pretending that this was a normal conversation, that they were a normal couple. "Average build. Maybe 5'10, it's hard to tell at this distance. Loose clothes could easily be concealing a weapon."
He nodded slightly, then leaned over her, his breath tickling the shell of her ear as he whispered, "I need you to trust me for a second."
Lois shivered despite herself, and, peering up at him, nodded, "I trust you."
Clark's eyes searched her face for a moment longer, then, with a small smile, he wrapped an arm around her waist, nearly lifting her off the ground, corralling her backwards into a nearby alley. She gasped as her back hit the wall, and a hand came up immediately behind her head so it didn't do the same. Her hand came up almost instinctively to land on his chest as he stood over her. His eyes were glued to hers, but she could tell his focus was on the entrance to the alleyway, waiting for the suspicious figure to turn the corner.
He didn’t have to wait for very long. Only a moment later, the man entered the alleyway behind them. At the sound of his footsteps, Clark whipped around, positioning himself between Lois and the suspicious figure, almost completely shielding her from view.
The approaching man pulled a gun swiftly from the band of his sweatpants and fired once. Twice. At each shot, Lois flinched, but Clark didn’t move. The bullets found home in his chest and abdomen, tearing holes through his freshly-pressed shirt, but, within seconds, he was moving again, shoving the attacker into the opposite wall hard enough to splinter the bricks behind him. The man collapsed against the wall, his gun clattering to the ground a few feet away from him.
Clark stalked over to the man lying on the ground and, seemingly without an ounce of effort, lifted him by the collar of his jacket, holding him with the tips of his feet barely off the ground.
Lois took the opportunity to kick the gun further from the altercation, stepping away from the wall to get a better look at their attacker’s face.
“Who hired you?” Clark asked between clenched teeth.
The man, dazed but still conscious, grimaced as he responded, “Lex… Luthor. Sent me to- to kill Superman’s friends. He didn’t tell me you were some kind of Navy SEAL.”
Clark pulled the man slightly closer, and he gasped at the increased pressure on his injuries.
“Listen carefully.” Clark bit out. “This is your second chance. And, if you come anywhere near either one of us ever again, you won’t get a third.”
Letting go of the man’s collar, he collapsed, briefly landing on his feet before falling backwards against the wall and sinking to the ground.
He turned back towards Lois, scanning to make sure she was unharmed before taking hold of her hand.
“You need to call the office. Tell them you’re sick and that you’re taking the rest of the day off. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be at work right now.” As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles soothingly.
“Okay,” she nodded, trying to process everything that was happening. “But… we can’t go home. There could be people waiting for us there, too.”
Clark sighed. “You’re right. Which means you finally get to see the “Fortress of Solitude.”
Lois grinned softly at him, “Do I have to call it that?”
He laughed. “Only if you want me to let you in.”
As the couple walked out of the darkened alleyway, their attacker taking wheezing breaths on the hard ground, Clark stepped on the man’s discarded gun, smashing the barrel to pieces.
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Clinging to Clark’s chest as they landed, Lois struggled to comprehend the impossibility of the Arctic ‘fortress’ past her streess-induced headache and dizzying motion sickness. She stumbled as her feet hit the frozen ground, but Clark was already there, one arm wrapped around her shoulders and one held out in front of her to grab onto. She managed to maintain her footing during the walk to the entrance, emblazoned with a giant 'S' over the door.
"Subtle." She quipped.
"I thought so."
The door opened as Clark approached, revealing a sweeping, crystalline interior. As they crossed the threshold, a figure emerged from one corner of the 'fortress.' A robot, Lois realized, shooting her partner an apprehensive glance. But he barely reacted to the robot's appearance, until, to her surprise, the robot spoke.
“Is everything alright, Sir?” The robot, wearing a ‘4’ printed on its chest, asked monotonously.
“We’re okay, Gary. Just… lying low.” The robot- Gary- gave a slight nod in response before turning away. ‘Gary?’ Lois mouthed to Clark, who shrugged in response.
Spinning in a slow circle, Lois took in the enormity of the secret base.
“Clark, this is…” she started.
“Awesome?” He smiled, peering sideways at her.”
“Cold.” She answered, laughing.
He chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry. I don’t get a lot of human guests.”
“And you don’t… feel it?”
He tilted his head to the side, contemplating. “I can tell that it’s cold, but it’s not uncomfortable.”
Lois shook her head in disbelief. “You really are full of surprises.” As she finished speaking, her eyes trailed to the bullet holes in his white shirt. She laid a tentative hand on his chest over the torn fabric, feeling the skin beneath as if to confirm he was unharmed.
“You took a literal bullet for me.” She whispered.
Clark laid a hand over hers on his chest “I’d do it a million times over, Lois.” He said softly.
“What do we do now?”
He sighed, dropping his hand from where it’d held hers. “You go to Boravia.”
Lois took a step backward, surprise coloring her features. “What?”
“Lex won’t touch Boravia with a ten-foot-pole, and no one there would even agree to do business with him. You’ll be safer there than in Metropolis.”
Choosing not to argue that point for the time being, Lois asked, “What about you?”
He pursed his lips before answering. “Lex wants us dead because he thinks we know Superman. Even if you leave, as long as I’m around- either version of me- everyone at the Daily Planet is in danger.”
“What are you saying?” She urged, even though she already knew the answer.
“I have to disappear,” he answered resolutely.
She closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. “No, Clark. That’s not the answer here.”
“It is, Lois. I’ve gotten too close, and it’s putting people in danger.” He took a deep breath. “Clark Kent needs to be out of the picture completely.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Once again, she already knew the answer.
“I have to let Lex think that he’s won- that he killed me.”