For someone who could move faster than a speeding bullet, Clark Kent was awfully talented at showing up late on a consistent basis. Normally that was because unexpected problems tended to pop up right in front of him ; unexpected problems, like people getting caught up in trouble or trouble getting caught up with him. In this particular case, the latter appeared to be the problem. Clark had changed out of his work attire into something more casual and had been on his way to the roof when Jerry, the same guy who had been so persistent on wishing him well when Lois had told everyone he was in the hospital, had stopped him on the way up to ask him if he wanted to go grab a few drinks. After politely declining several times over, Clark finally found an exit route (editor at twelve 'o clock, asking about a deadline Jerry had hanging over his head) and gladly took it.
It couldn't have been more than four minutes into the five minute window that Lois had set up when she had climbed onto the roof herself when Clark pushed the door to the roof open and stepped outside. With a sheepish smile, Clark made his way over to where Lois was waiting and immediately started with, “Sorry, Jerry wanted to turn this outing into a party of three. Had to throw him off my trail.” Maybe it would have been better if Jerry had tagged along. All the common sense reasons as to why he shouldn't have aside (like the fact that Jerry didn't know Clark was the actual Superman and that Lois was actually the Lois Lane), it would have made all of this – whatever this was – less...well, whatever it was. There was a lot unsaid hanging between Lois and Clark and Clark didn't really know how to bring it up without driving Lois off or making it worse.
He cared about her and she had said that she cared about him. Was it because they genuinely cared for one another or was it because they felt obligated to because of who they were and the consistent story that surrounded their relationship with one another? Did they care about each other just because they were Lois and Clark or was there something more there between them? Because of their different backgrounds and all the hype behind their names, Clark couldn't help but worry. But that was what he did. He worried, even when Lois had made it pretty clear that she had wanted to get to know him because he was different from the start. And Lois? Clark had known she was different, too, when they had first met. She was younger. Even more reckless than the Lois from his world. She was only just starting out and she had no idea what was waiting for her on the road ahead. Clark had been pushy about keeping an eye on her because of that and, somewhere along the way, feelings other than curiosity and concern found their way to him. This new Lois Lane, with her shoe obsession, her experiences with his adoptive family back in Smallville, and her knowledge of who he truly was...she was a lot like the Lois had had known at home, yet at the same time she was something else entirely.
And he really liked that something else. But was now really the time to tell her that? Was it even okay to?
Clark raked a hand through his hair and straightened out the collar of his jacket, making sure that the costume hidden underneath wasn't overlapping his clothes on the outside. He would have worn it out, but doing so at work would have been far too risky. There were already enough Superman jokes bouncing around here. They really didn't need any more. "So, are we ready for China?" Clark flashed Lois a grin, breaking free from his train of thought. "Or did you want to go grab Jerry?"