N/A: I'm sure there are zillions out there, but here's another 'Honeymoon in Metropolis' fic. It just always bothers me that there could have been SO many interesting complications that could have arisen during Lois and Clark's joint surveillance, that were so poorly addressed in the episode. As with most stories, this one comes with an early revelation... actually, if you think about it, two early revelations. I made a lot of changes to both the plot line and some of the dialogue. Also, I've glossed over a lot of the stuff to do with Thaddeus Rorck. After all, we ALL know the evil plot... I don't need to go over it again with you. I'm only including the parts relevant to my retelling.

Disclaimer: Although I really, truly wish I owned Superman (and all related characters), unfortunately I'm stuck without either a contract of ownership or the real thing. sigh I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

Lois sighed comfortably as she slipped into the hot water in the jacuzzi. Settling back, she swirled the bubbles around and smiled to herself. Who were they to say she didn't know how to relax?

Suddenly, the phone rang. Without bothering to dry her hands, Lois reached across lazily and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" she said.

"Working hard?" came Clark's patronizing voice. Lois had to work to restrain a groan. Of course Clark would call her at a time like this... "No, I'm relaxing," she snapped back, but there was no real fight in her. Like she'd said, after all- relaxing. No need to let Clark get under her skin...

Too late. His next comment had her hackles up. "Well, Clark, maybe you should just--" "Ah, ah. Temper temper, Lois," he said cheekily. She could picture him smiling that thousand-megawatt farmboy smile, and couldn't help grinning herself. Even when he was being absolutely infuriating, Clark always put her at ease. Not that he needed to know that, of course.

"How's the bed?" Clark asked casually. There was a faint inflection in his voice that made her face flush as she glanced across the room at the huge round bed. "The-- the bed?" she asked, trying to kick and pry her mind out of the gutter she suddenly found it in.

"It's great," she replied half-heartedly. What was wrong with her? Or, more importantly, what was wrong with Clark Kent, that he could twist her into a reaction like that? It really pissed her off.

"You know, Lois. I really didn't think you had it in you." "What?" "Spending an entire weekend just... relaxing. I'm impressed." Lois narrowed her eyes. How did this hack manage to worm past every barrier she put up, calling her best bluffs?

"Well, Clark, is there a point to this phone call, or did you just call to annoy me?" she asked. "Annoy the eternally patient and zen-like Lois Lane? Me?" he quipped. "Don't patronize me, Kent," she said angrily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to relaxing."

She hung up the phone, and slipped underwater. Leave it to Clark Kent to officially destroy her nice calming weekend. She let out her breath in a rush, and the bubbles spiraled upward. Popping back above the surface, she got out of the jacuzzi. The water was getting cold anyway.

She slipped into her silk bathrobe and went to curl up on the bed. Flipping on the TV, she scanned through the channels. Sappy movie... sappier movie... the Leonardo di Caprio version of Romeo and Juliet... all this romantic crap.

Lois turned off the TV. If she watched any of the overly gooey, lovey-dovey options the television offered, her weekend really would be ruined completely. Now, if there were someone else to watch it with her, it would be a totally different story...

But who? Lois wondered. Who did she want here? She sighed. Why were men so eternally confusing?

She didn't want Lex Luthor, she knew that. The man was certainly rich and quite handsome. In fact, he was more or less the type of guy she'd be quite willing to be swept off her feet by, but there was always a faint... something... on the edge of her mind that made her wonder about him. Something about his charm, his philanthropy, the attention he lavished on her, felt false. That, of course, made her even less willing to listen to Clark's warnings about him. Clark...

Was it possible she wished Clark were here? He certainly was easy on the eyes... No, that couldn't be possible. Clark was her partner, her friend. If she was totally honest with herself, he was her best friend. Quite possibly her only friend. Unless you counted Jimmy. And there was that frustrating habit of his of getting through all her defenses. He didn't take any crap from her. Or, more accurately, he took her abuse and then shot back at her. He called her bluffs, stripped away all her petty insecurities, and saw right through what she was saying to what she really meant.

But neither Clark nor Lex had anything on Superman. Now there was a man worth spending time and heartache on! Every bit as handsome as Clark, certainly more so than Lex, so kind and eternally gentle, despite the power he held... Clark and Lex weren't safe to have feelings for. They were only human, they were just men. Like Claude. Men betrayed you, made you feel like you were the most important thing in their world... and then they ripped away everything you had that they could use. But Superman was safe. He was steady and sure- a man who was too simply good to take advantage of her like that. He was more than human, he was safe to adore. Safe, she emphasized in her mind.

But then, the idea of Superman sitting next to her watching TV, wasn't really a picture that came easily to mind. Neither was the idea of Lex doing something so... normal. She and Clark had spent many evenings together in the past weeks. That in itself was odd. Sure, he was her partner, but Lois had always kept work and her personal life strictly separated, ever since Claude. Lois threw herself back onto the bed and sighed. She could ponder this later. For now, she could really use some shut-eye.

Several hours, Lois looked over at the clock on the nightstand, and groaned. It was two a.m., and she still hadn't been able to put her earlier thoughts out of her head.

Sitting up, she glanced at the phone next to the clock. When her thoughts got so confused like this- which, she thought smugly, wasn't often- she really needed a confidante. Any other day she would have called Clark; he wouldn't mind being woken up. But Clark was half the problem.

Cat Grant would probably know the answer to the questions that kept chasing themselves around in her brain. And Cat was a surprisingly good listener, if she could quit needling Lois for five seconds. But her relationship with Cat was rocky at best.

Then there was her cousin, Chloe. But they'd been out of contact for years. It would be incredibly strange to call her up in the middle of the night. Which left... Lucy.

Lois sighed, and reached for the phone. Lucy was in California right now, at school. It was sometime past eleven o'clock Lucy's time, and knowing her sister's propensities for wild, late-night parties, she'd still be up. What had the world come to that she was asking Lucy for advice about guys? She, Lois, was supposed to be the smart, responsible one.

Lucy picked up on the third ring. "Hello?" "Lucy, I know it's late to be calling you, but I--" "Lois? Oh, don't worry about it, I just got home. Jared was having a few people over..." Lucy launched into an account of her evening.

"That's great, Lu, it really is. Look, I called you for a reason..." Lois trailed off, wondering how to put this. "Okay, shoot. What's the reason." Lois sighed. "Lucy, did you happen to see that piece in the Planet that Clark and I wrote a few weeks ago? About the pheromone-laced perfume?" "Oh yeah, the one that made people fall in love? That was really neat. You wouldn't happen to have a little stash of that somewhere, would you?"

"No, I don't, Lucy. But it won't work without some kind of attraction factor there, anyway. When I was under the influence of that stuff... Lu, you know I've been crazy about Superman since he showed up in Metropolis." Lucy muttered something under her breath. "What was that?" Lois asked suspiciously. "Nothing. Just... I know." "Well, when I got sprayed with the pheromone compound, that means I should have fallen for him, right?" "Sure, Lois. Look, if you managed to embarrass yourself in front of your dream guy... I don't have a lot of sympathy for you except to say 'Welcome to my life'."

"No, no, that's not it at all. It's that... I didn't go for Superman. I went after... Clark. I blew off Lex Luthor, and Superman didn't cross my mind at all the whole time I was affected. And now that I have to admit that I'm attracted to Clark... Well, he and Superman have been playing this eternal tug-of-war in my head. And Lucy, I'm just so damn confused," Lois said, trying (and failing miserably), to hide the desperation in her voice.

Lucy sighed. "Lois, it's not uncommon to have feelings for two people at the same time. Alright, the doctor is in. Tell me what attracts you to Superman in the first place. I mean, honestly, the guy seems kind of distant to me."

Lois pondered Lucy's question. "He's honest, and genuine, and kind... he's the single most gentle person I've ever met..." she trailed away. "And he's got all the amazing powers, right? That's got to be part of it," Lucy prompted. Lois didn't even deem that worthy of a reply.

Lucy continued. "Now, I met Clark when I was staying with you, just after he started at the Daily Planet. He seems like a really nice guy. He's honest, you know? Not like a couple of other train-wrecks you've dated--" "Look who's talking, Miss I-Can't-Date-Someone-Without-A-Rap-Sheet--" Lois began, but Lucy plowed on over her.

"I've never met Superman, but I've seen him on the news. I've read articles about him- mostly yours and Clark's- and honestly, all the things that attract you to him- the kindness, the gentleness... it all applies to Clark, too. I won't pretend to know either of them as well as you do, but it seems like they're both very similar people." Lois opened her mouth to protest that, but suddenly found that it was true.

"Lois, I can't help you with this. It's your life, your choice. But I can tell you this from personal experience- flash and glamour aren't everything. Sometimes it's the ordinary guys that prove to be the best." Lois was silent for a moment, then stuttered out, "Thanks, Lucy. I guess I should probably let you get on with... whatever." "Bye, sis."

Lois hung up the phone, and a single tear traced her cheek. She stood up and wandered around the room. Now that the conversation was over, she realized that she hadn't been after advice. She'd wanted confirmation that it was okay to love Superman, that she wasn't being selfish, wanting him all for herself. Instead, she'd gotten completely the reverse.

She found herself standing by the window. She pulled away the gossamer curtains aside, glancing out, hoping to see the superhero outside, waiting for her. It was a vain hope. She did catch a glimpse of a flash of color in the sky above, but it was most likely just an airplane's lights.

Then her eyes were drawn to the lights across the street, and what she saw shocked her out of her self-pity. That was Congressman Harrington, wasn't it? The file he held was marked 'Top Secret', in red letters. And there were two people in the room with him.

Reaching for her camera, Lois began snapping pictures...