Free Fall [7/?] (Smallville // Clark/Lois)

[krysyuy]

Title: Free Fall (7/?)
Author: Krys Yuy
Summary: Clark isn’t willing to risk his heart again. But when Fate gives him a glimpse into his future, the only question is – how hard will he fall?
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Lois, Chloe/Bart, Oliver/Dinah, Bruce/Zatanna, Justice League
Warning: Spoilers up to Hex.
Rating: PG-13/T
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used. This fic is purely for entertainment purposes only.
Author’s Notes: This chapter was such a bitch to write, and even now, I’m not exactly pleased with it. After Doomsday, my Chloe love isn’t exactly overflowing, so her role is being minimized. This chapter could be considered filler, I suppose, but it actually sets up elements of the story that will definitely be picked up later. Still, I hope you enjoy it as is. In other news, please check out my new Clois one-shot, Hear My Heartbeat on a Staircase, if you haven’t already. It’s my Clois twist on Doomsday and what happens after. It’s also from Lois’s POV, so a change of pace from this story.
Thank you, once again, to all my loyal readers and reviewers! Your reviews spur me on – thanks for the words of encouragement! Please read, review, and enjoy!



Chapter 7: Mystery

Chloe, however, was oblivious to the horrifying changes in her appearance. She smiled awkwardly, still confused by his silence but wanting to break the tension.

Clark couldn’t find it in himself to return the smile yet. Sometime during his missing years, he hadn’t been able to protect her. The blank grey of her right eye was evidence of that. His sorrow eased slightly when he noticed her left eye was the same lively blue he remembered.

So she was only partially blind.

Clark was thankful for that, but it didn’t lessen his guilt.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked, looking more worried the longer he stared at her.

He tore his eyes away from her scar and cleared his throat. “Nothing. It’s nothing,” he said. He forced himself to smile. “Bart’s hogging you, that’s all.” He stepped forward and hugged her.

She hugged him back and he wished he could tell her how sorry he was.

Instead, Clark pulled back and said, “I wanted to wish you both congratulations.” His future self had probably conveyed that to them already. “Again.”

“Thanks,” Bart replied with a grin. He kissed the side of Chloe’s temple. “In a little more than a month, this beautiful creature will be all mine.”

Chloe reached behind her and Bart was immediately there. She grasped his hands and brought them around her waist, so she nestled comfortably against the chest of her fiancée. Bart nuzzled her cheek and she laughed.

Chloe turned her head to the left so she could look at Bart. “I’m already yours,” she whispered. She placed her left hand against his face. Bart leaned into her touch and she smiled at him.

Despite his remorseful mood, Clark felt happiness seep into him at the obvious love Chloe and Bart had for each other. But he had seen this before. His thoughts changed to Jimmy and his insides went cold. It was only a little more than a month ago in his time when he witnessed Chloe just as happy with Jimmy.

He didn’t understand. What went wrong?

Though Clark was reluctant to potentially ruin the mood, he also said he would do something for his other friend. “Jimmy sends his well wishes, too,” he stated. “He’s happy for you.” He watched his friends carefully for their reactions.

Bart smiled graciously and there was no trace of insincerity when he said, “Tell him thanks. That means a lot.”

Chloe faced forward again, and she slowly lowered her hand from Bart’s cheek and back to her side. Her smile became sad and perhaps a tiny bit regretful. “Yes,” she agreed. She echoed her fiancée’s statements. “Will you thank Jimmy for us when you see him?”

Clark nodded. “I will,” he promised. If I’m still here on Monday. It didn’t seem painful for Chloe to talk about Jimmy, but given his conversations with both of them, they weren’t exactly on speaking terms either. His brows furrowed as he tried to decipher any clues he might have missed.

“Smallville!”

Clark winced and Bart and Chloe laughed at the abashed expression on his face. He frowned at them.

“In trouble with the missus, Stretch?” Bart asked. He grinned with one eyebrow raised.

Chloe leaned back against Bart again, her good eye focusing on her best friend. Her mischievous expression matched that of her fiancée’s. “So, do you know what you did to incur Lois’s wrath?” she asked.

“I have an idea,” he muttered under his breath. He turned his head to see Lois making her way to their little group in the corner.

Lois had her purse slung over her shoulder and one very irritated frown on her face. “Have you suddenly gone deaf? Or were you not listening to me earlier?” she demanded when she came to stand next to him.

Clark wondered if he could appease her somehow. “Lois –”

She abruptly whirled around to face Chloe and Bart. Her ponytail smacked his face for the second time that day. He blinked and rubbed his eyes with the vague suspicion this time was not an accident.

“I’m so sorry to bail on you, Chlo, but something really important came up,” Lois said. She somehow managed to hug her cousin even though Chloe was in the circle of Bart’s arms.

Chloe returned the hug, but still frowned. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Is it anything that needs our set of skills?” Bart added, gesturing to himself and Clark.

Lois shook her head. “It’s something Clark and I have to take care of personally,” she answered vaguely.

Chloe’s frown deepened, but instead of questioning them further like Clark expected her to, she let it go. Chloe moved out of Bart’s arms to hug each of them one more time. “Be safe,” she whispered.

Clark nodded. “Of course,” he said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“As safe as can be,” Lois replied, smiling.

Chloe scrutinized her suspiciously with her good eye. “Uh-huh,” she said, clearly unconvinced.

Before Chloe could undoubtedly mention Lois’s penchant for trouble, Lois leaned forward and kissed her cousin’s cheek. “Call me if you need anything,” she said quickly, already walking backward. “I put a lot of work into this shower. Enjoy it.” She winked and grabbed Clark’s hand as she spun around to the exit. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Chloe replied, a thoughtful look coming over her face.

“See you lovebirds later,” Bart said, grinning.

Lois turned slightly so Bart could see her roll her eyes. “See ya, Casanova. Take care of my cousin,” she said. She faced forward again and waved without looking back.

Clark waved with her, shrugging helplessly as he was pulled along. Chloe and Bart watched with mirth coloring their expressions.

“You still say that every time, sweet stuff,” Bart called out after them. “I will.”

Clark tensed as they made their way through the doors and towards the elevator. “’Sweet stuff’?” he repeated, displeased for some reason.

Lois jabbed the down button and, though she still seemed angry, now looked at him with a bit of wry amusement. “Something wrong?” she asked sweetly.

Clark tried to stomp down on his flare of annoyance towards Bart and now Lois. “No, nothing’s wrong,” he mumbled. He made his voice louder. “I thought you of all people would hate anyone calling you ‘sweet stuff’.”

“I do,” Lois agreed, nodding. “But as much as I hate it, little nicknames like those are part of Casanova’s charm.”

Clark nearly bristled. “Charm?” he repeated incredulously. He was skeptical, not because he doubted how Bart came across to women, but because of the fact that the speedster’s specific brand of charm seemed to be welcomed by Lois, a woman who Clark always pictured dropkicking Bart than letting him make a move.

“Supposed charm,” she elaborated, looking more amused by the second as she glanced at him.

Was there something on his face? Clark discreetly brought one hand to his cheek and forehead, but didn’t feel anything.

Lois bit back a smile and moved her gaze up to the numbers on the panel that lit up with every floor they passed. “Besides, I can never pin him down long enough to get my message across,” she added. “He’s not only fast, but slippery too. Plus he’s marrying my baby cousin. He gets a free pass for now.”

Clark’s shoulders relaxed. So it wasn’t that she liked the nickname. She tolerated it. That made a lot more sense. He frowned. Why did he care again? He was never bothered with Bart’s tendency to nickname people before.

Lois continued to talk, unaware of his inner musings. “Chloe wouldn’t take too kindly to me incapacitating her future husband before the honeymoon, anyway.”

Clark grimaced. “I get it. No need for details,” he said. However, bringing the conversation from Bart to Chloe triggered what he only temporarily ignored. The image of Chloe’s glassy eye and grisly scar yanked at his conscience. “Lois –”

She immediately interrupted him; her earlier anger and irritation resurfacing before he could even finish the second syllable of her name. “I told you to stay outside the club. Very simple instructions,” she said. “And yet –” Her glare hit him the moment the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival on the ground floor. “You revert to, not even copy boy, but intern mindset.”

Lois almost huffed, but instead walked out of the elevator with Clark following a few steps behind her. Her disapproval rang in his ears, bothering him so much that he didn’t even question how she knew what he was going to ask. Maybe it would have been better if he had ignored Bart. He dismissed the thought instantly.

If he had stayed outside the club and not gone over to greet his friends, he would’ve been kept in the dark about Chloe. Irritation of his own rippled through him as he and Lois made their way outside the Metropolis Satellite Center. Was Lois never going to tell him? Had she somehow planned on running interference between him and her cousin?

He waited until she unlocked her car and they were both seated inside, seatbelts fastened. She had just pulled out onto the empty street when he asked, “What happened to Chloe?”

Lois’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “This is why I wanted you to wait outside the club. I knew you would see her and then there would be questions,” she said. She waved a hand in his direction. “And look! You, with said questions.”

“Question,” he corrected, not fazed by her displeasure with him. He focused instead on somehow fixing what had gone wrong with his best friend. “I only want one answer.”

“Does ‘no’ work for you?” She smiled cheekily and Clark saw his Lois in her more in that moment than any of their previous interactions. While annoyed, he couldn’t say he wasn’t comforted to be on familiar ground.

He knew she wouldn’t back down, but he wouldn’t either. Not about this. “What happened to her?” he asked again, prepared to wait it out.

Lois settled back in her seat as she stopped at a traffic light. “You know perfectly well I’m not going to tell you,” she replied easily.

So he was going to lose in the ‘who could be more stubborn’ race. No surprise there. Sincerity would win her over, he hoped. “Lois, I can stop it from happening,” he said quietly. “Tell me, please.”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and her expression softened. Before he could feel heartened by it, she said, “Sometimes things happen for a reason.”

Clark stared at her in disbelief. His Lois was disappearing. “You can’t honestly tell me if you had the chance to save Chloe from losing half her sight or getting those scars, that you wouldn’t take it.”

The light turned green and Lois stared straight ahead as she pressed the gas pedal. She stayed persistently silent.

Clark didn’t recognize her. He reached out and touched her shoulder. “Lois, please.”

“I can’t tell you.”

He dropped his hand. “Can’t or won’t?” he asked, voice like steel.

She puffed a breath, the action stirring her hair away from her forehead. “You’re not seeing the bigger picture here,” she replied, shaking her head.

“Since when were you about the bigger picture?” Clark asked, not taking his eyes off her. If it would help her cousin in any way, Clark knew his Lois would break all the rules. There had to be something else going on. “You’re always about the smaller, more immediate picture.”

The corners of her lips flitted up and he frowned, seeing nothing amusing about the situation. She spoke before he could. “If you do something different, there’s the risk that something worse happens.” Her mouth set in a firm line and her face was suddenly very sober. “She could die, Clark.” She glanced at him and repeated, “One wrong move and she could die.”

The protests he had ready vanished on his lips. What could he say to that? While something terrible had happened to Chloe, she was alive. Could he really risk that just so she would be as healthy and whole as he remembered the last time he saw her in his time?

The answer was easy. He closed his eyes and quietly said, “I’m sorry. I already broke my promise.”

“I won’t- I won’t try to find out anything.”

A tiny part of him rebelled at him standing down. But the topic was closed. For now. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” he admitted, looking out at the nighttime streets of Metropolis.

“I can imagine.”

He looked back at her and wryly commented, “Yes, well, you wouldn’t have made that promise in the first place.”

Lois latched on to the tonal change of their conversation. “No, I wouldn’t have,” she readily agreed. She gave him a look with one eyebrow raised before turning her attention back to the road. “Seriously, Smallville? You’re in the freakin’ future. Curiosity should be at the top of your list.” The mirth in her voice quieted as she added, “I don’t fault you for wanting to know about Chloe.”

Clark knew she wasn’t changing her mind any time soon. “But you won’t tell me.”

She nodded. “It’s rare when I see eye to eye with Batboy, but he does have a point. The more you know, the more you can affect this future when you’re sent back,” she said. There seemed to be something more behind her words, but she didn’t disclose anything else.

Batboy? Clark decided he didn’t want to know. Instead, he said, “I have a feeling that’s not happening until I find out why I was sent here in the first place.”

Lois reached over to pat his thigh as she said, “Good thing you have the world’s number one investigative reporter with you then, isn’t it?”

His lips twitched. “The ‘world’s’?” He was glad her touch on his leg was brief. There had been no time to fidget before her right hand returned to the steering wheel.

“It’s been six years, Clark,” she said, pulling into the underground garage of her apartment building. She winked. “Was there any doubt?”

–

Lois opened the door to their – well, hers and not his – apartment, sliding her coat off her shoulders. She didn’t seem to notice when Clark took it from her. She headed down the hallway. “I don’t know about you, but I think tonight is going to be a restless one,” she said, entering the bedroom. “Let’s see if we can get some shut eye.”

Clark hung both their coats in the hallway closet and jogged down the hall to stand in the bedroom doorway. “I’ll take the couch,” he said quickly.

She frowned at him as she closed the lid on her jewelry box. She placed her hand on her hip and said, “You could just sleep here with m–”

“Lois!” His voice came out more than a little squeaky, and he blushed. “It’s okay, really.” Did he look as nervous as he felt?

She stared at him for a long moment before her eyes widened. Then her lips curved up impishly. “Why, Clark Kent, are you afraid I’m going to compromise your virtue?”

So this is what wanting to crawl under a rock felt like. “N-no!” he denied immediately. “Of course not! It’s just a little… a little…”

Clark coughed, his cheeks burning as memories rushed through him. Memories of a naked Lois – who he hadn’t known was Lois yet – pressed against him. His blush glowed brighter.

“Hmm…” Lois sauntered over to him, the hand on her hip moving up to her face as she regarded him playfully. “Thinking good thoughts?”

“…” Maybe if he didn’t look directly at her, he wouldn’t feel so trapped. His eyes darted to the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but at her. It worked. Sort of.

“Smallville, I don’t sleep naked all the time.”

He choked.

She laughed.

Clark’s eyes shot down to meet hers and found them sparkling with mischief. Forget the rock. Maybe the ground could open up and swallow him. How did she know what he was thinking, anyway?

Lois placed her right palm full against his chest, and he almost jumped in surprise. Her touch brought back memories of his own Lois doing the same – the time with her teasing smile and that red, red dress. That particular recollection wasn’t really helping his nerves. Lois looked at her hand on his chest as if it held the secrets to her next big article. He squirmed when she looked up at him from under her long eyelashes.

Was it his imagination or was she leaning into him? His breath hitched.

She must have noticed his edginess because her hand dropped away, the impishness in her countenance dimmed. “Sorry,” she said, looking contrite. “I think I might be using you as a coping mechanism.” Her smile still held a trace of mischief, but now with added doses of both dejection and nostalgia. “That and I haven’t flustered you like this since we first started dating.”

He couldn’t ever imagine becoming comfortable with Lois’s advances, not when his cheeks hadn’t even cooled down from blushing so much. “I get used to this?” he asked.

His disbelief chased away the few clouds that surrounded her countenance, for the time being. Her smile grew. “Oh, I still fluster you,” she said. “In different ways.”

Clark was never going to banish the memories of her earlier that morning if she didn’t stop implying things. It felt like his collar was on too tight and he tugged at it uselessly.

Before he could ask her very politely and plainly to stop before he melted into a puddle of embarrassment, Lois added, “You just grow a lot bolder.”

Him? Bold? Certainly not in the way she was insinuating. He stared at her suspiciously. “Red kryptonite bolder?” he asked.

She held in her laugh, but the fact that she almost did made him frown at her. That seemed to only increase her amusement. “No,” she answered, shaking her head. “It’s all you.”

The affectionate smile on her face made his chest ache. “I’m not… used to this,” he admitted. The words flowed from his mouth before his brain could decide if it was a good idea or not. Not with you.

Understanding radiated from her and her expression became even softer. She stepped away from him and walked to the closet. “Relax, tough guy,” she said, tone light and back to its familiar teasing. She rummaged through the wardrobe and reached up on her tiptoes for something higher up. “Your virtue is safe with me.”

Clark was glad Lois wasn’t looking at him. Being vulnerable and open around her was something he had to get used to. In an effort to keep things friendly, however, he came up behind her. “What do you need?” he asked. She looked to be reaching for some linen.

“A blanket and a pillow,” she said, moving aside for him. “I don’t know why Clark put them so high up.” She huffed and it sounded rather odd for Lois to be talking about him, but not really him.

Clark grabbed a white pillow and a dark blue quilt he was sure his mother must have made. He started to hand it to her, but Lois shook her head and pushed the soft items back into his hold.

“Since you’re forgoing a warm bed – and I mean that in the most innocent way possible – you’ll have to take the couch,” she said. She picked up his discarded clothes that he left on the mattress earlier that morning and brushed past him and back into the hallway.

Clark quickly followed her as she led him down the hall and into the living room. She removed some books from the couch and tossed them onto the coffee table. She then smoothed out the wrinkles of the cotton cushions and laid his sleeping clothes on top of the afghan hanging off the back of the couch.

“You can use this as an extra layer if you want,” she said, fingering the woolen blanket made up of red and blue knitted squares.

“Thank you,” Clark replied, setting the pillow down on the end of the couch closest to the hallway. He placed the folded blanket next to it.

“I would offer the spare bedroom if there was an actual bed in there,” Lois said. She walked around the furniture so the couch was now between her and Clark. “We’ve been meaning to get a futon for guests, but so many things keep coming up.”

“The couch is fine,” Clark commented. He looked over at her and noticed the sadness lurking behind her hospitable mask. She didn’t seem close to breaking down, though, and Clark admired her strength. He knew it wasn’t much, but he would do what he could to distract her from worrying. “I’m used to it, remember?”

The right side of her mouth quirked up in a half-smile. “I remember,” she said. Instead of hitting him with a quick-witted retort like he expected her to, her gaze grew distant and she seemed hundreds of miles away.

He hadn’t meant to submerge her in more memories. “Lois, I want to apologize –”

She snapped out of her trance to stare at him in confusion. “Again, Smallville?” she interrupted. “What for?”

“Your husband is missing, and I’m disrupting your life –”

“First off, you’re giving yourself way too much credit,” she cut in. “You have no idea who or what caused this time snafu, so you can’t possibly blame yourself. You can’t blame anyone, really.”

Lois continued, “As for disrupting my life?” She shook her head, holding in a snort. “Do you not know me? I do that perfectly fine on my own.”

Clark was at a loss, because if he weren’t here, then his future self would be and there wouldn’t be this entire mess in the first place. “I just –”

She held up a hand, cutting him off again. “Clark, you can play the blame game all you want. I’ll never accept your apology because there’s nothing you have to be sorry for.” She held his gaze for a long moment. “Capiche?”

After a second or two, Clark looked away and nodded even though he didn’t agree.

“Get some rest,” Lois said. She walked over to the entrance of the hallway and leaned against the frame. “I have a feeling the two billionaire boys will be gracing us with their presence sooner rather than later.” She paused and then made a gesture to the closed door behind her without looking back.

“Oh, and so I don’t offend your maidenly sensibilities,” she said with a wry grin, “you can use the spare bathroom across the hall here. It’s stocked with shampoo and the works.”

Clark nodded again, hoping she could see the appreciation on his face. “Thanks, Lois.”

She nodded, pushing away from the hallway arch. “Sweet dreams, handsome.” Her smile was soft and sad, and she disappeared down the hallway before he could say anything.

The affectionate nickname did not go unnoticed by him, though she obviously said it without thinking. This was the fourth time now. To be perfectly honest, it did feel rather weird to hear her call him that. It suggested an intimacy far greater than any of her previous nicknames, even Smallville. ‘Smallville’ had started out annoying, but was now comfortable, perhaps even soothing in its familiarity. When uttered, it didn’t have to mean anything beyond the friendship category. The Lois he knew would not have called him ‘handsome’ in a million years, not when it would admit a physical attraction to him. That, and he could hear her saying it would give him an ego boost he didn’t need.

Even as he rolled his eyes, Clark acknowledged that having future Lois call him ‘handsome’ didn’t exactly make him feel horrible – just… strange. In a good way.

Shaking his head, Clark quickly changed into the clothes Lois left on the couch, the same ones he chose that morning. Though he was without the red and gold plaid flannel, he wore the light blue pajama pants and white muscle shirt. He folded the slacks and button-up shirt and placed them in a neat pile on the lounge chair. Then he took off his glasses and put them on the coffee table.

Clark sat on the couch and blew out a tired breath, running a hand through his hair. It had been a really, really long day. He grabbed the folded blanket and spread it out with a flick of his wrist before he let himself fall back along the couch. The pillow provided a soft cushion for his head and the quilt a warm cover for his body as he stared up at the ceiling.

So many things had happened in the course of twenty-four hours. Being sent to the future, finding out his identity as the Red-Blue Blur was apparently inconsequential, Chloe’s mysterious scars… Frankly, nothing shook him more than the fact that Lois Lane was his wife.

This was not a future he would have imagined for himself.

In fact, it was never supposed to be in the realm of possibility. Everything was different in 2015. Everything he thought he knew about his life was out of whack, aligning in ways he could have never foreseen.

He didn’t know who he was anymore.

Clark closed his eyes and though his troubling thoughts would have normally kept him awake, his exhaustion had him falling asleep within seconds.

–

The warmth of the sun shining on his face finally woke Clark from his slumber. He blinked up at the unfamiliar ceiling, wondering for a half-second where he was when the events of the day before came rushing back. He groaned and sat up slowly, his left arm bracing itself along the back of the couch.

A mocha aroma drifted through the air and he turned his head to look in the kitchen. His angle didn’t offer a very good view, so he used his x-ray vision to see the coffee maker brewing. That meant Lois was awake as well. He concentrated his hearing and heard her shuffling around in the bathroom as water ran from the faucet.

Clark stood, stretching, and decided he needed a shower before he could even attempt to face what he had yesterday. He walked at a human pace to the spare bedroom and glanced around the room that contained only bookcases and file boxes arranged in a haphazard manner. Knowing the chaos of the room could only be Lois’s doing, he shook his head with a small smile before he went into the bathroom.

Clark went under the spray of the shower and let the water wash away his worries. He didn’t let himself think of anything and kept his mind blank. He shampooed his hair and scrubbed his body, drawing out the shower for as long as he could. Minutes later, he stepped out before he felt like he was wasting water.

Feeling clean and refreshed was a good way to start the day, Clark decided. He grabbed the beige towel hanging off the rack and wrapped it around his waist. Too late he realized he didn’t bring a fresh change of clothes. Blushing at the thought of Lois catching him with only a towel, he listened hard.

The apartment was quiet and he frowned. Had Lois gone out without telling him? So early in the morning? In any case, that meant the bedroom was empty. He supersped into the room and grabbed some boxers, a pair of dark jeans and a casual black T-shirt. He tossed the towel onto the bed and, afraid that Lois could walk in at any moment, also supersped through putting on his choice of clothes. When he was done, he picked up the towel again and folded it as he walked out into the hallway. He dropped it off in the spare bathroom before wandering into the kitchen to grab a cup of the coffee he smelled earlier.

Clark was crossing through the living room area when he spotted Lois out on the balcony. She sat in one of the chairs, her knees pulled up to her chest. As he got closer, he saw that she was cradling a cup of coffee between her hands. She rested the bottom of the mug on the tops of her knees. She wore jeans again plus a white peasant blouse with long sleeves. This time, however, instead of a ponytail, her dark brown hair tumbled over her shoulders, still wet from her shower. Lois stared out at the Metropolis skyline, eyes focused on nowhere in particular, her face pensive and downcast.

He knew what she was thinking, and he wished he could bring him back for her. But instead of calling attention to it, he merely leaned his shoulder against the frame of the open sliding door and said, “Good morning.”

She turned at the sound of his voice. When her eyes landed on him, something flashed in her expression. He heard her sharp intake of breath before she replied, “Morning.” She smiled and her gaze cleared of any turmoil. “Sleep well?”

Small talk. He could do small talk. Better to ease into things, anyway, he supposed. “Better than I thought I would,” he answered. “You?”

Lois looked back out at the view and took a deep breath. “Not really, no,” she admitted. She brought her legs down from the chair and stood up. “Are you hungry? I can make breakfast.”

Clark straightened as well as he dubiously asked, “You can?” Perhaps Lois had learned to cook in the six years he didn’t know about.

Her eyes narrowed as she passed him to get inside, though he noticed she didn’t contradict him. “Well, by making breakfast, I mean taking out a bowl and pouring cereal and milk,” she said, placing her coffee mug on the counter before walking into the kitchen. She grabbed two bowls and a cereal box from the cupboards and then a milk carton from the refrigerator. “I have perfected the art of pouring, y’know.”

“Really.” Clark leaned forward with his elbows on the counter as he watched Lois grab two spoons out of the drawer. She then proceeded to pour the cereal.

“It’s a delicate act, Smallville!” she said, flashing a quick glare at him. She started to carefully pour the milk into the first bowl. “Pour too much milk, the cereal gets soggy. Too little, then it’s too dry and crunchy.” She stopped pouring before the milk caused the cereal to rise to the very top. “Ah. Just the way I like it.”

“This is yours,” she said, taking the bowl and walking out to place it on the dining room table. She laid a spoon next to the bowl of crispy looking cereal. “Yes, this bowl is definitely Lois Lane-Kent approved.”

He frowned. Why did that have such a nice ring to it? Lane-Kent.

Upon seeing his frown, Lois frowned as well, but she went about pouring her own bowl. Clark sat down at the table and waited for her. However, instead of joining him at the table, she sat on one of the barstools. She faced him and simply began eating, holding the bottom of the bowl with her right hand and using the spoon with her left. Silence settled over them with only the sounds of munching filling the air.

The quiet got to Lois faster than it did him because she cracked first. “Yesterday, I heard the news about a mysterious wind putting out the fire at that grocery store on 8th,” she said, looking up from her bowl at him. “People thought it was Superman, but he didn’t show his face…” She placed her spoon in her mouth as she contemplated him. Then she took it out and pointed it at his head. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

He didn’t meet her eyes. “I couldn’t expose myself,” he said. Just the thought of letting the public see his face brought back bad memories from the day before yesterday.

“Oh. That’s right.” Lois gulped down a couple more spoonfuls of honey oats, and then hopped off the barstool. She placed her bowl in front of Clark on the table. “Stay right there,” she said, patting his shoulder as she passed him. “I’ll get it.”

“Get what?” he asked, confused.

Lois didn’t hear him. She had already gone down the hallway by the time he turned around. What on earth was she talking about? He replayed their short conversation, but nothing stood out. Clark shook his head and went back to eating cereal.

“Ta-dah!”

Clark turned around. Then he blinked.

A proud smile graced Lois’s lips. A red cape and yellow belt was draped over her right arm, while her left hand held up a mostly blue suit. “What do you think?”

Clark swallowed the spoonful of cereal he forgot about upon seeing the costume – his costume, he realized – in Lois’s hands.

“… I like the colors?”

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Complete Chapter List HERE.


Crossposted to clois, cloisfic, Divine Intervention.

Comments

[psychme.livejournal.com]

Hooray, more Free Fall. I’ve missed this story.

No objections on my part to the minimization of Chloe. After the overdose of her on the actual show, I actually don’t enjoy reading much of her in Clois fic these days. So it's welcome that you're scaling her back, no matter that your Chloe might well be more interesting and less offensive than the one on the show.

Lois continues to be awesome and I really love your take on these characters. Their voices are just spot-on. When you mentioned in the A/N that a Lois POV fic would be a change of pace from this one, I kind of had to stop and reflect on the fact that this was in Clark's POV. I think that's because Lois here is quite expressive, and even though Clark needs to hurry to catch up at times, he also instinctively gets her. And so do I. Does that make any sense?

I particularly liked their 'virtue' conversation, as well as the glimpses of Lois with her Clark on her mind.

And whee, our Clark is about to be Superman!

I look forward to more.

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

Please forgive the lateness of my reply. I suck. >.>;;

I plan to update more frequently as it's summer, so please wish me luck on that. My goal is to finish this before S9 premieres, so we'll see if I can do it! And I'm so happy you haven't forgotten the story. :)

You and I are so on the same page about Chloe. Seriously. My Chloe has done everything SV!Chloe has, excluding some stuff in Doomsday (I have my own version of events for the FF universe), but she has this happy ending of sorts. It has been six years, however, and I do believe in karma.

I try to be as true as I can be to Lois and Clark. :D I love writing them. And yes, you totally make sense. I get what you're saying. ;) I won't try to articulate it again, but I do get it. Lol. This being Clark's POV may become even more apparent as the story develops because of certain things that will come to pass. ;)

Writing the 'virtue' conversation was perhaps my favorite part of this chapter. And I'll try to have more glimpses of Lois with her Clark on her mind (some readers felt she wasn't freaking out enough when she realized Clark was not her Clark). As this is a Clark POV, Lois is just not showing her worry to him.

I hope you enjoy Clark's reaction to the suit. ;) Oh boy, do I have plans for him.

Thank you soooo much for your wonderful comments! Chapter 8: Attempt is here. Enjoy~!

[clutterklutz.livejournal.com]

LMAO "I like the colors."

I really enjoyed this chapter. You handled Lois's various emotions well; how she can easily slip into her role as Lois Lane Kent, forgetting that this Clark isn't her Clark. Also Clark's reactions were spot on. The moment when she calls him handsome, the affectionate nickname slipping out, and Clark liking the sound of it, confused that he doesn't mind it. The use of 'Smallville' and 'handsome' was a nice way to illustrate how much has changed between them .. and how much has also stayed the same.

I loved how Clark is a bit jealous and annoyed that Bart calls Lois "hot stuff," and relived when he realizes she is merely tolerating the nickname. It's sweet, despite his confusion, that Clark is so very protective of Lois, and touches on the feelings he's been ignoring.

Poor Lois. I thought you handled the balance of her teasing, seriousness in refusing to tell Clark about what happened with Chloe, and her pensiveness, the sadness she feels that her Clark isn't there. The image of her on the balcony with her morning coffee, staring up into the sky, was just so heartbreaking. It's just so Lois. A subtle moment when Lois's guard is down, where she allows herself to be vulnerable, to be a wife who misses her husband and soulmate everymuch.

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about the lateness of my reply. I suck. >.>;;

LOL, glad you liked that line. I felt it was very Clarkish.

Lois will slip into her Lane-Kent role a lot as she sees her Clark in our Clark. (Of course. XD) Our Clark just lacks the maturity and realizations that her Clark has, but at his core, he is the essentially the same. (Whoa, all this talk of the different Clarks is confusing me a bit, lol. I hope I'm making sense.) This is something our Clark will learn as the story further progresses. I think that's the fun thing when writing a future fic that involves time travel. You can play around with what's changed and show the contrast with, in this story's case, the mostly oblivious protagonist. And with a protagonist like Clark, it's a lot of fun to explore that.

Clark ignores a lot of things, even if the way he acts is pretty obvious. Clark perfects denial. I hope the build-up to his eventual realization doesn't fall short. But, if you noticed, I also don't give him too much time to reflect on it as other matters keep coming up that take priority. So, we'll see.

The short moment with Lois on the balcony seems to resonate with a lot of readers, so I'm glad. Lois is a woman of action, but with a superhero for a husband, there are times when all she can do is wait. Of course, the moment we saw was brief and Lois will be back in investigative form soon enough. ;)

Thanks so much for your awesome review! I appreciate you taking the time to write down your thoughts. You're so kind with your comments. It lets me know that somehow, I'm doing something right and that the reader is inferring what I want them to. :D Chapter 8: Attempt is here. Please enjoy~!

And thanks once again for your awesome review!

[leonhart-17.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the last line! so perfect! This is wonderful and I feel horrible for them both. I'm really curious to see what happened to Chloe and how Clark deals with Superman!

Great chapter!

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

LOL, thank you! When that line came to me, I knew it had to be the ending to a chapter. ;) I find it to be so Clark.

Yes, they're both in difficult situations, aren't they? More of that to come, though! The Chloe mystery is on the back burner for now, but it will be addressed again later. ;) The reader will find out what happened, I promise.

Clark and his Superman issues will continue in Chapter 8 and well into the following chapters.

Thanks so much for your comments! :) Chapter 8: Attempt is here.

[babettew54.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I really wanted to know what happened to Chloe, but it's best he doesn't know.

I couldn't help but chuckle when Lois said 'was there any doubt?' Not by me.

And the tension is so good. You really captured it at the apartment, and whenever they're alone.

But Lois is missing 'her' Clark. And I know past!Clark wishes he could ease her pain, but of course, he can't make that move, and neither can she. But that won't stop Lois from teasing him mercilessly.. *bad Lois* *giggles*

Where is future!Clark? Past!Clark can't wear the suit, can he? Humm, interesting. I'm a bit surprised she would go there. Ponders the direction you're going with revealing the suit, considering it's his future she's telling him about.

I'm really curious to see what happens next! :D

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry for the lateness in my reply. I suck. >.>;;

Anyways, the Chloe mystery will be addressed again later! I won't leave the reader hanging on that. You will eventually find out what happened to her. ;) But for now, it's on the back burner.

Glad you liked that line, I actually had a few other lines of dialogue before I settled on that one. I found it to be very Lois.

Thanks for commenting on the tension. I'm glad that it's apparent, even though I'm not consciously focusing on that when I write.

It's a very fine line. A line they won't cross, but there is still a lot more teasing to come. ;) I can't really say, but do know I have a plan for them (them being past!Clark and future!Lois). Some stuff I think any Clois shipper would enjoy.

Future!Clark's whereabouts is a big subplot, so I can't really say. It will be revealed eventually, though. He's not where you think he might be. As for Past!Clark wearing the suit... *coughs*

Lois's reasoning for revealing the suit is really quite simple. XD Maybe too convenient, but y'know. Anyways, I'll let you read for yourself. ;)

Sorry for the wait! And thanks so much for your comments! I appreciate you taking the time. :D

Chapter 8: Attempt is here. Enjoy~!

[htbthomas.livejournal.com]

So many things that Clark is learning about - Chloe's scars, his relationship with Lois, and now his costume! I love the way you're going about it too. :)

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

Gah, I suck so much at replying in a timely manner. I'm sorry!! ;_;

I'm glad that how I'm writing this isn't coming across as random to the reader. XD

And while Clark is trying to keep a lid on his curiosity, there's still many more things he'll find out. ;) Please enjoy the ride~!!

Chapter 8: Attempt is here. Thanks again for commenting!!

[mute-mime.livejournal.com]

I love so much of this and how it's playing out.

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

Gosh, I suck at replying to reviews in a timely manner. :(

Anyways, thank you so much for commenting! I'm so glad you're liking this. Hopefully, you continue to enjoy this wild ride, wherever it ends up going. ;)

Chapter 8: Attempt is here. Thanks again for your comments!

[anakaliaandrea.livejournal.com]

this story is soo cool! I love it. and I love the fact that you are doing your own thing with Chloe and this scar thing. Even though she isn't with Jimmy like I want her to be, at least he is still alive. =)

[krysyuy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. :D I started this story after Infamous aired, so for creative purposes, I have my own version of events from Doomsday (though I will be using certain elements from it). I think, perhaps in retrospect, I may have kept Chimmy together after watching the whole of S8, but then again, I'm also in love with Chlart, so... And Jimmy is my Jimmy Olsen - all that "Henry" nonsense I'll be ignoring. ^.^;;

[eternal-moonie.livejournal.com]

This was one great chapter honey.