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i.
Martha knew an instant attraction when she saw it. It was exactly what she had felt with Jonathan nearly twenty-five years ago, when she had followed him out of class and asked for his notes, despite not even needing them. He was just so handsome, and she was desperate to talk to him.
She felt like she had finally come alive when she was around Jonathan.
Ever since Clark had brought Lois home, it was like a switch had flipped. Martha recognised it like she was watching herself all those years ago.
He was livelier, louder, brighter.
Clark was always a light, but there was something about Lois that helped him shine a little brighter. Like he wasn’t dimming himself down to hide himself in plain sight, to prevent someone from noticing him.
Her sweet son was more alive than she had ever seen.
And she liked Lois a lot; she reminded her a little of herself at that age. Clever, discerning, with instincts so strong she couldn’t even be swayed by God himself appearing before her and telling her that she was wrong.
Martha watched as Clark rolled his eyes, throwing his head back dramatically as Lois grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him away from their truck. He didn’t move, and she could tell Clark was planting himself to frustrate her even more.
She laughed to herself as Lois resorted to pressing both hands on Clark’s chest and trying to shove him away from the car engine. Clark didn't even budge a little as Lois tried with all her might to push him out of the way. In fact, he looked a little too pleased with himself for getting the better of her, looking down at her amusedly. Martha wondered how long it would take for Clark to acknowledge his obvious attraction to her. Years, probably.
“What, are you made out of steel, Smallville?” Lois huffed.
Martha leaned closer to the window to hear them better. All the two of them had done in the last week was bicker and fight and argue. The sexual tension was killing her.
She jumped slightly as she felt an arm wind around her waist, a sweet kiss being pressed to her temple. Martha sighed as she relaxed against Jonathan.
“That’s gonna be a problem, isn’t it,” he said quietly into her ear.
Martha watched as Clark used his body to shove Lois away from the engine, taking her place and reaching in to fix something while muttering lowly. Lois didn’t seem pleased, if the way she smacked him in the arm and kept reaching for the wrench in his hand was any indication.
“Maybe not,” Martha smiled.
Jonathan laughed and patted her on the hip before he moved away to put the kettle on, grabbing two mugs.
“She’d be great for Clark,” Jonathan said. “I’m not so sure he’s ready for a woman like Lois.”
Martha nodded as she watched Clark toss the wrench onto the ground and point to the car engine as he stood over Lois, telling her to fix her own car.
“Oh, definitely not,” Martha agreed.
“Maybe we’ll finally be done with all the Lana Lang drama,” Jonathan said.
Martha tutted; as much as she would love that, she knew her son. He hadn’t worked out that what he felt for Lana was infatuation and not love, and he wasn’t going to let go of that easily. Especially when he was too young to understand what a woman like Lois could give him, versus a girl like Lana who didn’t know who she was yet.
“As much as I’d like that, your son is too stubborn for that,” Martha said.
Jonathan laughed as he grabbed their teabags, shaking his head and looking out the window.
She watched as Lois stood with her hands on her hips, saying something to Clark, who threw up his hands and moved towards the house. Martha moved away from the window, looking busy at the sink while Jonathan smiled at her.
Clark slammed the door open loudly as he walked into the kitchen, grease and frustration all over his face.
“Great news, did you guys know that Lois is a certified mechanic?’ he asked sarcastically. “No need to fix the truck ourselves, now Lois the mechanic is on the case,” Clark said, his voice raised.
“I can’t do any worse than you!” Lois shouted back.
Martha looked at Jonathan, who was trying not to laugh as he stared at the kettle, refusing to catch her eye. He knew they would both laugh in front of Clark and that would set him off.
He always had taken after Jonathan when it came to the dramatics.
And when it came to liking feisty women.
“You could stand to be a little nicer to Lois, Clark,” Martha said quietly, not wanting Lois to overhear her. “She isn’t speaking to her father and she’s not having an easy time with all the change.”
Clark's face fell a little before his frown returned.
“She’s annoying,” he muttered.
Jonathan laughed as he poured their cups of tea.
“I like her,” he said.
Martha smiled; of course Jonathan liked her. They were a lot alike; smart, hot tempered, intuitive. Kind. Good down to their very core. Always putting others first.
Lois was a lot like Clark, too; it’s probably why she annoyed him so much. They were so similar, it was only natural they would drive each other crazy.
“Me too,” she agreed.
Clark looked disbelievingly between them as Martha sighed dramatically.
“I always wanted a daughter,” she said wistfully, staring out the window.
“We would have named her something like Mary or Margaret,” Jonathan said, playing along. “I would have taught her how to fix cars.”
“She’d bake, too, like me,” Martha said.
Clark narrowed his eyes at them.
“Maybe we should adopt another kid,” Jonathan said, looking at Martha. “Do it right this time.”
Martha hummed as she stirred her tea.
“Have a kid that doesn’t drink milk straight out of the bottle or leave pizza crusts in the fridge,” she agreed.
“A kid that doesn’t sleep in every morning and does their chores on time,” Jonathan teased.
Clark rolled his eyes.
“Maybe a kid that helps me iron sometimes,” Martha smiled at Jonathan.
“One that mucks out the stalls without complaining,” he added.
“The four of us don’t even fit in the house,” Clark cut in.
Martha looked at him closely.
“I’m sorry we gave Lois your room,” she said.
Clark softened up a little, shrugging and shaking his head.
“No, it’s fine,” he said. “It’s not like we can stick her on the couch.”
Jonathan knocked her hip with his own, smirking.
“You know, son, a little challenge might be good for you,” he said.
Clark frowned, looking confused between them.
“A challenge, how?”
Martha smirked as she took a sip of her tea, looking out the window at Lois.
"It might be good for you to be on your toes a little.”
ii.
Chloe had been watching them for the last few weeks with such intense amusement; she never wanted this to end.
It was like watching an intensely prolonged mating ritual where neither of the subjects knew they were locked in a mating dance. Chloe was actually kind of fascinated by how strong the attraction between Lois and Clark was. It was like the opening scene of a porno, where the confident girl kept hitting on the shy nerd who had no idea what was happening.
She'd never seen Clark so riled up by anyone the way that he was with Lois, and she’d never seen Lois bite her lip and bat her lashes so much in her life, not even with all the crushes she’d had on the older boys on the base over the years.
Chloe tried not to laugh as Lois blocked Clark at the bottom of the stairs, not letting him go up.
“Just stay out of my room,” Lois said.
Chloe knew Lois well enough to know when she was trying to piss someone off, but Clark hadn’t seemed to work that out yet. She swore she could see his cheeks turn red with anger as he clenched his jaw.
“ My room,” he said in a low, frustrated voice. “You’re in my room. Where all my things are.”
Lois shrugged, clearly thrilled at the reaction she was getting. She stayed planted on the bottom step, moving to cut Clark off every time he tried to get around her.
“Move,” Clark warned.
Lois shook her head.
“Just tell me what you need from my room and I'll go get it for you,” she smiled at him.
Chloe tried not to laugh as Clark looked incredulous and offended. It was actually kind of nice seeing Clark meet his match; he was so impenetrable most of the time that seeing him square off with someone as stubborn as he was was fun.
Clark seemed to be the only person who didn’t realise what was happening.
Chloe looked up as Mr Kent walked into the kitchen, smiling at her at the dining table. He looked over to where Lois and Clark were bickering on the stairs and rolled his eyes as he walked to the fridge.
So they were like this all the time, Chloe noted to herself. She wondered if the Kents got sick of the flirting.
Chloe loved Lois and Clark; they were her two favourite people in the whole world. There was something kind of amazing about watching the two of them bounce off each other, experiencing an intense attraction and not appearing to realise the depth of it.
Because Chloe could see them as a couple. She could see Clark making Lois a little softer already, and Lois making Clark happier with each passing day.
And it was kind of nice to get a reprieve from the Clark and Lana drama. Chloe would never, ever say it out loud, but she had gotten bored of them years ago. Two people that couldn’t even have a conversation could not claim to be in love.
It didn’t hurt as much as Chloe thought it would have, watching Lois and Clark. It stung that Clark was attracted to every girl that wasn’t her, but it also meant something to her that she was his best friend in a way that nobody else was, not even Lana or Pete.
Not even Lois.
For now, at least.
Chloe watched as Clark put his hands on Lois’ hips and quickly yanked her down the step, shoving her behind him and running up the stairs even faster than she’d seen him move on the football field. Lois made an incredulous noise and ran after him, but Chloe could see the matching blush on her cheeks.
She startled slightly as Mr Kent put a glass of orange juice down in front of her, smirking.
“It’s great to have you around again, Chloe,” he said.
Chloe smiled at him as she nodded.
“It’s good to be back,” she agreed. “Witness protection was boring.”
Mr Kent laughed as he looked up the stairs, where she could hear Lois and Clark shuffle around his room and argue.
“Has it been like this the whole time?” she asked.
He nodded.
“It’s just getting worse,” Mr Kent said, taking a sip of his own glass. “We’re waiting to see how long it takes for them to crack.”
Chloe looked at him curiously. That could mean anything. For them to fall in love, for Lois to snap and slap Clark, for him to try and smother her in her sleep. All equally possible.
“What do you think’s more likely, a physical assault or them falling in love?” Chloe joked.
Mr Kent laughed as he shook his head.
“I have twenty of Lois trying to kill Clark, but Martha has twenty on marriage and babies,” he said as he put his glass down and made his way out the door.
She laughed, but Chloe thoguht about it – if she had a twenty, she knew which outcome she’d bet on.
Chloe looked up at the stairs as Lois clomped her way down, sitting back at the table with Chloe and reaching for the rest of the potato chips on Clark’s plate.
“You are so obvious,” Chloe said.
“How?” Lois asked.
“Why don’t you just pull Clark’s pigtails next time?”
Lois scoffed, kicking her gently under the table.
“It’s not like that,” Lois argued.
“Well, if it was, I think it would make a lot of sense and I would be totally cool with it,” Chloe said honestly.
Lois just looked at her like she was crazy.
“Well, it’s not,” she repeated.
Chloe shrugged, reaching to also steal some of Clark’s chips. She looked up at the sound of a large bang upstairs, trying not to laugh at the cacophony Clark was making.
“What did he need?” she asked.
“Underwear,” Lois smirked.
Chloe laughed, looking at Lois. She looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen her.
“I just like seeing you two so happy,” Chloe said.
Lois softened a little at that.
“That’s just because you’re home safe,” Lois winked. “But I guess it is fun to drive him insane,” she acquiesced.
Chloe smirked.
“Keep it up, he loves it, even if he acts like he doesn’t,” she advised.
“Oh, I know,” Lois smiled. “I’ve got Smallville all worked out.”
Chloe sat back in her chair; Lois and Clark really did make sense.
iii.
Lana had never seen that look on Clark’s face before. She thought she’d seen him jealous, and had accused him of it numerous times over the last four years, but seeing the way he was staring at AC, his jaw clenched and his eyes cold and hard...
Lana was realising that Clark wasn’t lying when he told her he wasn’t jealous of her and other guys in the past. Clark had never looked at her the way he was looking at Lois right now, who was busy beaming at AC while Clark was staring daggers at her.
AC was lovely. He was gorgeous and sweet and he had the same sort of sexy, not scary masculinity that Clark had, where a woman could feel completely safe around them.
But Clark was acting like AC had just tried to murder Shelby.
It didn’t matter that Lois and AC only had eyes for each other. It didn’t matter that AC was talking about losing his mother when he was still a baby, and that Lois was sympathising with him about it right now. Lana knew Lois lost her mother when she was six; she could relate to Lana’s heartbreak, just like they could both relate to AC’s.
But Clark was completely unmoved, looking disapprovingly at Lois when her face softened.
Lana remembered how shocked she had been when she’d seen Clark and Lois together for the first time last year. Lois had come to Smallville looking for Chloe’s murderer, and she’d been invited by Clark to stay at the farm. And then she’d just sort of stayed.
Clark had been all smiled around Lois; that easy, bright, big, dimpled smile that Lana had only see a handful of times when he was around his parents or Chloe or Pete suddenly became his default expression when Lois was around.
Lana had been so sure that they were dating when she’d gotten back from Paris, but Clark had denied it, and Lois had laughed when Lana had tried to casually mention it to her. She had believed that she’d misread the signs of attraction for the longest time. But this was undeniable.
There was no way to mistake the way Clark was acting right now.
He had feelings for Lois.
Lana tried not to let her mind wander to the fact that they hadn’t slept together in weeks, or how Clark had acted like he was having an affair whenever Lois was around.
How Lana felt like the other woman around the two of them.
“Do you really believe that, or is that a pickup line for the girls?” Clark said testily.
Lana felt herself grinding her teeth. She'd never heard Clark talk to someone like that before. She knew he had a sassy streak, but she’d never seen him act so childish or so rude.
Lois seemed equally unimpressed, if the way she narrowed her eyes was anything to go by.
“Smallville? Can I talk to you over here for a minute?” Lois asked.
Lana could feel the way Clark tensed behind her, following Lois to the other side of the room and averting his eyes as Lois told him off, his shoulders tight and his jaw tense.
“Am I missing something there?” AC asked quietly, looking sideways at Lana.
She really had no idea what to say. She didn’t want to mess this up for Lois, but if things kept going this way, Clark surely would.
“I think we all are,” Lana said, looking into her coffee cup.
AC sighed and nodded.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Lana huffed a soft laugh; she couldn’t remember the last time someone asked her that.
“No,” she said honestly, looking over at Clark, who was still stoic, and Lois, who looked more frustrated than Lana had ever seen her.
She couldn’t believe she had talked herself out of seeing the attraction they had for one another; when she paid attention, it was so obvious. Lana wondered – if Clark wasn’t with her, would he make a move on Lois? Would Lois let him?
“I’m sorry about that,” Lois said, appearing across from them at the bar again.
“It’s cool,” AC dismissed. “I gotta bounce.”
Lana caught his sideways glance as he stood up and left, looking back at Clark and frowning when she saw Clark staring at Lois, looking concerned and annoyed.
“You’re right, I was being a jerk,” Clark said, never taking his eyes off Lois. “I’m gonna go apologise.”
Lana watched as Clark left without so much as flashing a look her way, completely focused on Lois. Lois came around to sit next to her, sighing as she looked out the door as Clark disappeared.
“I don’t know how you put up with him, Lana,” Lois lamented.
Lana smiled awkwardly. She wanted to broach it, but Lois was bold and direct and understood her feelings and how to communicate them and Lana was...nothing like that.
“I’ve never seen him so jealous before,” Lana admitted.
Lois raised an eyebrow.
“Jealous? Come on, Lana,” Lois dismissed. “He’s so in love with you it’s honestly kind of gross.”
Lana wanted to smile, but she couldn’t bring herself to relax completely. Maybe Lois didn’t feel anything for Clark, but Clark certainly felt something for Lois.
“I don’t think Clark knows what he feels,” Lana said.
Lois frowned, looking uncomfortable.
“Lana, I don’t feel that way about Clark,” she said.
Lana knew a lie when she heard one. She’d heard Clark talk enough to know when someone wasn’t telling the truth.
But she also knew when someone was lying to themselves, too.
That was when Lana realised that Lois had no idea what was going on between her and Clark. And if Lois didn’t know, then Clark certainly didn’t know. He was always the last to work out his feelings. After all, it had taken him nearly four years to finally give in and date her.
“I know, Lois,” Lana tried to soothe.
Lois wasn’t really her problem, Lana knew. Lois was loyal and good hearted, and she wouldn’t just decide to take Clark from her.
No, Clark was the unpredictable one in all this. Lana had seen him attracted to other girls, and she knew that he was skittish and would run from her at the mere shadow of a problem. She’d seen the way Clark had lost his mind, running off with Alicia and marrying her.
But he couldn’t even make love to Lana.
He wouldn't have that problem with Lois, Lana would bet money on it. Clark was always running from Lana, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe he was running to Lois.
“You know, when I got back from Paris, I was so sure you and Clark were a thing,” Lana admitted.
"Yeah, you said that,” Lois said. “Why?”
Lana shrugged.
“You were staying at the Kent farm, and you understood everything he was going through,” Lana listed. “And then I saw the two of you together, and Clark just seemed so relaxed around you.”
Lois waved her off.
“I’m just like Chloe to him,” she dismissed. “Just part of the furniture.”
“No, you’re not,” Lana said quietly. “It’s so much more than that. He's not like this with me or Chloe.”
Lois frowned, looking into her coffee cup. They didn’t say anything for a while as they drank, Lana lost in her thoughts about Clark’s jealousy spike and Lois’ easy sexuality and how Clark could get himself worked up over Lois, but not over her.
All she and Clark did these days was watch movies and hang out at Crater Lake and talk about college.
She was exactly like Chloe was to Clark.
Lana wished she was more like what Lois was to him.
She wanted him to want her the way he wanted Lois.
iv.
Lois had lied.
She didn’t know she’d lied, Oliver figured. But she had.
Clark’s family is what Lois had said when he had asked about him after hearing Clark’s name pop up one too many times. Oliver had been curious as to the nature of their relationship, and Lois had gone on to wax lyrical about his parents, and how she considered them more of her own parents than her own father, and how Clark was just a part of that family unit.
But Clark was staring at Lois from across the room like he’d just caught her cheating on him.
And Lois was looking back at him like she’d just gotten caught with another man.
Oliver watched them intently. There was some sort of unspoken conversation happening with their eyes that was more intimidating than he would have liked to admit.
On top of that, Clark Kent was massive. Oliver was usually the tallest guy in the room at six foot three, but Clark was easily a couple inches taller, and nearly twice as wide. Even his hands were freakishly huge.
Oliver wasn’t used to feeling small, or inadequate. He wasn’t used to feeling second best.
Lois looked stunning; Oliver could see why Clark was looking at her like that. He caught the way Clark’s eyes kept flicking down her body, looking so perfect in that black dress. Part of him wanted to wave his hand in front of Clark’s face and tell him not to stare at Lois like that, and part of him wanted to step out and leave them alone. He wasn’t one for drama, and he could tell that getting involved with Lois meant getting involved with Clark, and he wasn’t sure he had the energy for it.
But maybe there was a third option.
“You know, the way Lois talked about you, I thought you were gonna be a little more –”
“I could use some water,” Lois cut him off.
“A little more what?” Clark asked flatly. “Of a geek?” he asked, looking sarcastically at Lois.
She flinched a little.
“Well,” Oliver said, shrugging.
He didn’t mean to throw her under the bus like that, but he was intrigued by them.
“Well, you’re not exactly jumping the velvet ropes at nightclubs,” Lois shrugged.
Oliver couldn’t help but laugh as he looked back at Clark, who looked annoyed now.
“It’s really nice to see that Lois has found someone who can overlook her personality,” Clark shot back.
“Ah, well, don’t worry about it, Clark,” Oliver cut in. “You know, I mean if I lived under the same roof as such a beautiful woman, I probably would have masked my feelings with sarcasm, too.”
Lois and Clark both straightened up at that, their eyes going wide in panic.
“Feelings?” Lois laughed off.
“Feelings?” Clark echoed, sounding more panicked than Lois did.
Oliver was losing patience for the two of them, especially with Clark getting on his high horse defending Lionel Luthor. Oliver tried to put him in his place, but he regretted it when Lois walked out and left him to argue with Clark about morality.
>>>
“Clark’s nice,” Oliver tried.
Lois raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.
“Yeah?” she said. “Did you two braid each other’s hair after I left last night?”
Oliver smiled. He really liked her. Lois wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met before. But he was curious as to what there was between her and Clark.
“You and Clark, you ever slept together?” he asked.
Lois made a face that clearly said no. Oliver had figured that directness was the way to go with Lois early on, but he wasn’t sure what sort of answer he was going to get when he asked the question.
“No,” she said flatly.
“Not for lack of trying, or...?” he pushed.
Lois looked incredulous.
“Not even so much as a dance at prom,” Lois said.
That intrigued Oliver.
“You guys went to prom together?”
Lois sighed, putting her fork down, clearly frustrated.
“What’s with the third degree?” she asked. “Clark’s been in love with Lana Lang for as long as I’ve known him. And I’m not into perfectly nice, perfectly boring farm boys that need to be coached through adulthood.”
Oliver smiled, but there was something in Lois’ eye that told him his gut instinct was right on this one. That their connection was too obvious for anyone to ignore.
“So, I’m not gonna lose you to Clark Kent?” he asked.
Lois laughed and shook her head.
“Me and Clark? There's a better chance of me being struck by lightning again,” she joked.
Oliver frowned.
“You were struck by lightning?” he asked.
Lois grimaced.
“Technically Clark was, and I was right next to it. It's actually how we met,” she smiled.
Oliver tried to smile, but it felt a little like he was obstructing fate somehow by dating Lois.
v.
It was palpable.
Jimmy couldn’t take his eyes off of them. It was like watching a tennis match, the way the two of them argued, volleying back and forth like it was a sport.
He'd met Lois and Clark through Chloe. At first, he’d thought that Chloe and Clark had had something going on. He'd been sure that Clark was his competition for Chloe. But Chloe had assured him that the unrequited crush she had once had at fourteen was well and truly put to bed, and Clark had never felt that way about her.
And Jimmy had been sceptical, until he’d seen Clark with Lois Lane.
Lois might have been the coolest person Jimmy had ever met. She was brash and funny and smart and brave and way too cool for a boring farm boy like Clark. But Jimmy could see so clearly when they were together.
It was electric.
They were electric.
If Clark ever looked at Chloe the way he looked at Lois, maybe then Jimmy would have cause for concern about him and Chloe.
“How long have you guys been together?” Jimmy asked.
The entire table froze, forks midway to mouths, as they all turned to look at Jimmy.
“Who?” Lois asked.
“You and Clark,” Jimmy said.
Lois looked horrified as Clark and Chloe burst into laughter.
“No,” Clark said.
“God, why would you even think that?” Lois asked as Clark reached over to her plate and took the mushrooms she had set aside for him.
“Gee, I don’t know,” Jimmy said.
Chloe shook her head at him. Maybe he should have asked Chloe about it before they’d all gone out to dinner, but he really had thought they were a couple.
“You guys never thought about it?” Jimmy pressed.
“Jimmy,” Chloe hissed.
“Clark wishes,” Lois scoffed.
Clark rolled his eyes.
“I do. Every night,” he said flatly.
“Jimmy, enough,” Chloe said, nudging him to stop.
Jimmy let it drop, but he kept watch over them. There was something about the confidence that they spoke to each other with, the way they were always in sync, the way they kept knocking elbows but made no effort to move apart that made him sure he was onto something.
“Are you sure there’s nothing going on there?” Jimmy asked as Clark walked Lois to his car.
Chloe shook her head.
“Nothing,” she said.
“Are you sure? They're not even sleeping together?” he asked.
Chloe grimaced.
“Clark’s not really a casual guy,” Chloe said, getting into Jimmy’s car.
“They’d make such a good couple,” Jimmy mused.
“Well, Clark’s not over his ex-girlfriend, and Lois is dating Oliver Queen, so at the very least, the timing’s off,” Chloe said.
Jimmy looked at her curiously.
“You agree with me,” he realised.
Chloe smirked at him.
“I’ve got a twenty on marriage and babies,” she winked at him.
Jimmy smiled as he drove them to his apartment for the night. Maybe Lois and Clark just needed a little push.
He was happy to be the pusher.
i.
“Lois, you don’t understand,” Clark tried to explain. “It’s because you are special.”
He realised, as he said it, how true it was.
He could take the world hating him, being scared of him. He could take the public turning on him and no longer trusting the Blur. But he couldn’t take anything happening to Lois.
He couldn’t take losing Lois.
Clark took one last look at her before he put the Legion ring on and went back to before he made the second worst decision of his life.
>>>
He was anxious the entire drive to the airport. Clark hadn’t spoken to Lois much after the wedding, aside from giving her updates on Chloe and getting them about Jimmy. He had known the second he let her walk away from him at the hospital to follow Jimmy to Star City that he had made a mistake.
And then he had doubled down and tried it again with Lana, only to realise what a fucking idiot he had been.
He'd been so sure that loved Lana. But he hadn’t been willing to acknowledge the truth until after she had left two weeks ago and really accepted what he’d been ignoring for all these years.
Clark hadn’t really loved her. He'd loved the idea of her, the girl next door he had thought she was in his head. But there was no version of Lana that he’d ever wanted to be with, not really.
His feelings for Lana were passing, a mere infatuation with a pretty girl that he couldn’t have.
They were the feelings of a boy.
The way he felt for Lois was so much more. As he drove closer to the airport, Clark let himself acknowledge that he’d always been attracted to Lois, thinking about the last time he’d been affected by red kryptonite and had nearly gone insane trying to get her into bed with him.
He thought about the time he’d been dating Lana and had seen Lois at the strip club, and how he’d been unable to take his eyes off of her. At the time, he’d thought it was normal, that Lois was sexy and he just had eyes, and it would have been weird if he didn’t notice.
But now, it was like putting together pieces of a puzzle.
When Lana had gotten back from Paris and said that he and Lois made sense together.
How his father did bed checks every night when Lois lived with them.
How he’d gone to Lex to get her back into Met U to try and make her happy, since she’d seemed so miserable in Smallville.
When Oliver said they had feelings for each other.
His mother saying that the reason he never told Lana about his heritage because he knew deep down she wasn’t the one he wanted to be with.
Faora telling him that he had feelings for the vessel she inhabited.
Lois telling him that he wasn’t saving for a bike all along, but that he was saving for a Harley.
Lois telling him that he could do more than languish on the farm, and that he had so much potential.
Lois giving him the job application for his job at the Planet and telling him that she believed in him.
Lois telling him that when he found his soulmate, he’d know.
Lois, who he’d regretted letting walk away from him every single moment.
Clark parked at the airport, closing his eyes as he really thought about it. It was so obvious when he ran through it in his mind. They'd always been so drawn to each other, like magnets.
He was going to do this differently. He was going to do this right.