Lois hadn't earned her nickname lightly, she really was a mad dog. She had been since the beginning, and it had served her well throughout her career. It had earned her a respected place at the Planet, but Lois had never felt that she could stop fighting, or allow anyone to forget her accomplishments. Not that anyone ever did. Clawing her way from nothing, she was determined to keep what she had, and prove she could do it without help.
Few people had ever managed to take a place in her life where she'd let down her guard enough to accept assistance. Perry had been the first, and for all of their arguments, she loved him like a father. Clark was the other, and the implication that he was there to protect her, though met with a bit of bristling and narrowing of eyes, it was a milder reaction than anyone else in his position would have received.
"You've got that right," Lois said firmly. Her version of the wedding vows had gone something like, 'I promise to love, honor, and not obey you, because I'm not a terrier.' "I thought you were around because you love me, not because you want to save me from falling out of helicopters or rescue me from damaged rocketships." She smirked. "Stalker."
Bumping his hips with hers, she caught his lips. "Good. You do worry too much, Smallville."