Awwgust Drabbles

Falling Asleep Together

It's the end of Superman.

Three days and still feel like a beaten corpse. I've finally got my wish. I'm human. I've even got the sniffles. The couch is buried beneath my dirty Kleenexes. If Ma were here, she'd freak. I don't have the energy to clean or get off the couch. The milk spoiled ages ago. Got no motivation to go grocery shopping.

If it weren't for Parasite out there, wreaking havoc with my powers, I might have enjoyed this rare moment of relaxation. I can get used to the runny nose. My broken ribs tickle more than hurt. It's nice to feel normal for a change. It's impossible to relax when I know people are suffering.

Even at full strength, I'll only make the situation worse. It's better to stay dead. Let the people believe Parasite killed Superman. I flick through the channels till I find a familiar favorite. The movie is already halfway over, but I don't care. The soundtrack calms my nerves and slowly I start to drift off.

There's a sharp knock at the door. "It's me, Smallville," Lois says. "You better have a good excuse for missing work!"

Not now. I'm in no mood for a lecture. My fingers fly to my face, where my glasses usually are. I left them in my bedroom. If I stay quiet maybe she'll go away. All the lights are off. No way she'll know I'm home.

"I know you're there, Clark," Lois grumbles. "I can hear the Princess Bride soundtrack. Don't make me kick this door down. You know I will."

"Key under mat," I call to her. I'm still paying off bills from the last time I broke the door.

Lois finds the key and unlocks the door. "You shouldn't leave your key lying around like that. Certainly not in Suicide Slums," Lois prattles on without pausing for breath, cleaning the mess. I try to stand and fall back into the cushion, my head spinning from the exertion. Shit. But she's seen Clark without glasses before and never made the connection. I'm so puffy and sick she'd never think I'm Superman. Superman is dead.

"I knew it!" Lois stops her tirade long enough to study me. "You went after Parasite alone." Well, technically Superman did . . . I think fast.

"I learned from the best," I smirk, wincing as I open a scab on my lip. "Follow the action and take no prisoners," I quote Lois.

"There are much easier ways to get the story," Lois sits next to me.

"Really?" I arch an eyebrow.

"No," Lois relents, opening a can of ointment that smells like herbs and honey. She grabs my arm and plops a generous amount onto the handprint-sized rash Parasite left. "Running in is exactly what I should have done."

She would be dead. I barely got away and I'm Superman! "I'm glad you didn't," I say. "I don't want to . . ." I bite down on my tongue. That was scarily close to romantic. Lois and Clark don't do romance. She's made that clear multiple times. "I don't want to have to tell Perry he lost his best reporter."

Lois slaps my arm. I don't have to fake it when I wince in pain. "I had to hear about you getting hurt from Perry. What were you thinking, Clark?" Lois' voice rose an alcove higher. "No story is worth your life!"

Is she really giving me the same speech I gave her a few months ago? Apparently.

"Perry knows?" I frown, each word a struggle to get out. I'm so confused.

"Henderson told him he saw you run after Rudy, before hell broke loose," Lois explains. "You, idiot. You could have died."

Pretty sure I am partly dead. "Superman stepped in before I got too badly beat up."

"I bet he did," she hissed. "Have you seen him?" Her tone was neutral, but her violet eyes burned with fury.

"He's dead," I swallow a lump in my throat and tuck the blanket tighter around me. There's no Superman without my powers.

"He's not," she grabs my hand under the blanket. "He's in trouble, but he's not dead."

"Superman in trouble?" I blow my nose and add the Kleenex to the pile.

"Isn't he?" Lois shifts to face me, positioning her body so she's snuggled under the blanket with me.

"How should I know?" I turn away from her. "You're the expert on the alien."

"If he were in trouble, I'll tell him not to give up hope," she nestles against my side. I want to tell her to move lest she catch whatever bug I have, but I'm transfixed. "I'll tell Kal, no matter how few minutes we spend together, he never fails to lift my spirits," she says. "I'll tell him that I love him . . . Every part of him. And that even when he loses faith in himself, I'll never stop believing in him."

She's trying to hook me in with lies of love. It's maddening how she so readily loves the alien but keeps Clark Kent at arm's length. Sometimes I think she knows, and then she pulls a stunt like that and complicates things even more.

"I'll be sure to pass the message along to Superman's ghost," I say. "I know he'll want to thank you."

She snuggles closer, yawning. "At least I've still got my Partner," she hooks an arm through mine, drawing the blanket tighter around us.

"I don't know, Lois," I say. "I don't think I'm cut out to be a reporter."
It's not the first time I've considered quitting. People would be safer if I weren't around.

"Clark. You've chosen a job that can put you face to face with some pretty bad stuff," she subtly tightens her grip on me. "Fight for truth and sometimes you get smacked down, but let me tell you Clark Kent that if this is what you want, if this is who you are then you have to do it."

"It doesn't matter what I want," I say. The humans' safety comes first. Always.

"This job takes guts. Some days you'll feel like a failure and not want to get out of bed," she says. "When you're overwhelmed you need to ask someone smarter than you for help."

There's only one person I know with the tools and resources to combat Parasite. He sort of started this whole mess. "And what if they don't want to help?"

"Then you do the best you can," Lois yawns again. I'm surprised to see it's past 1am. "And take one day at a time."Her body heat is like the hottest part of the sun. Her breathing slowly levels out and she falls asleep.

"I love you too," I kiss her head and gather her in my lap. I fall asleep to the sound of her heartbeat.