There is an awkward silence when Bruce leaves; neither of them know what to do with themselves, both just standing until Lois moves towards the coffee Bruce left on the side. She takes a sip before turning to him.

"Hey." She whispers with a smile, knowing he can hear her.

He loves her. There is so much he is unsure of but the fact he loves her is the only thing he is sure of in that moment as she looks at him with a smile that does quite reach her eyes. There is a deeper sadness in there, one that Clark cannot help but feel responsible for; he left her and for that he feels a great sense of guilt. He knows that what he did was right, that it saved the human's world, but he also caused such a great deal of pain for those he loved, for his world. Clark is not a selfish person, but sometimes he wishes that he could be. He wishes he didn't have to always be a hero and s

"Clark." Her voice is stronger now, a hint of worry present. "What's wrong?" Neither of them have been the same since he came back and he knows that she is aware of that. He just wants to go back to how they were before this whole mess, but they can't; he never gets what he wants, he always has to sacrifice it for the greater good. Clark knows that he has always been different, but before he saw it as a duty, as a gift, now there is just pain and heartbreak. "Clark, you're scaring me."

His eyes snap up to her once more. Apologies rise up in his throat but for some reason there is a simmering anger and jealousy that reach his mouth first.

"I'm fine." He internally winces at the harshness of his voice and the pained flinch that Lois fails to hide from his super sight. He hurries to try and rectify his words. "I mean…I…"

"What Clark? What did you mean?" She is defensive now, and he cannot stop the words that fly out of his mouth.

"I was gone for a month and suddenly you're all friendly with Bruce Wayne?"

Her face goes dark and Clark immediately regrets the argument he has just started. He knows that he shouldn't have said that, he knows that there is nothing going on between Lois and Wayne and yet…

"Friendly with Bruce Wayne?!" She all but shouts. "What is that supposed to mean Clark?" He opens his mouth to apologise but she will not let him get a word in. "You have no right to do this Clark. You left. You sacrificed yourself and died. I mourned you Clark, your mother mourned you, and then you show up here months later and expect us to go back to normal?! You haven't even told your own mother you are alive and now you're asking if me and Batman are 'friendly'?!" She seems to lose speed for a minute, but Clark doesn't dare speak and waits for her to finish. She is right and she deserves tell him this.

"Clark, you were gone and I was all alone in this apartment. Do you know how big this place feels without you? How cold the bed is?" He voice is quieter now, filled with a sadness that breaks his heart. She was never supposed to live here without him, this was supposed to be their home together. He wants to hug her but can't bring himself to, not yet. "One night I had finally managed to get to sleep and something woke me up; it was a burglar, he had a gun. I was so scared Clark." He can't picture her scared, his image of her is so strong but he realises that she can't be, not always. "The only thing I could think to do was to call Bruce. He spoke to me the whole way to Metropolis and when he got here, got rid of the burglar. He took me out for coffee the next day and then rang occasionally to make sure I was okay. That's all, nothing else."

Clark's head hangs in shame. He wasn't there; he wasn't there and she was scared. She had turned to Bruce in friendship because she had no one else. His voice is choked as her name slips from his lips.

"Lois. I'm so sorry." She nods before looking up at him with eyes welling with tears. He knows that look and so opens his arms as she runs towards him. Her head buries into his neck, her arms embracing him tightly. He is overcome with her and all he can manage to focus on is the flowery scent of her still damp hair. He loses track of how long they spend wrapped up in each other, both content to just be together once more.

She is the one who pulls away, his fingers brushing away the few tears that have escaped. She huffs in that extremely Lois way and takes a step back from him with a stern look hiding her

"You need to visit your mother." He nods. He does have to visit his mother, she deserves that. He is still scared though. He had revealed his return to Lois because he needed to see her, he could breathe without her, and he knew that she wouldn't ask any questions that he didn't want to answer. But his mother, she won't let him get away with ignoring what happened and he doesn't want to have to think (let alone talk) about what he did. But he has to, he knows this and - with the look Lois is giving him – he can avoid it no longer. He can at least request one more thing from Lois.

"I will, but only if you come with me."