Her comment about the Fortress and shoe racks brought out a laugh of his own. She was right. There was no way he'd ever let her install a shoe rack anywhere near his personal sanctuary. Not unless that rack was designed to hold shoes that she planned on dumping in the incinerator. And, just as Lois knew that Clark wasn't about to stop wearing plaid, he knew that he'd never see that woman throw away a pair of shoes if her very life depended on it.
It took a moment for his nerves to get at him. At first, Clark couldn't help but grin at Lois on behalf of the noise that she had made when he had unexpectedly picked her up. She could handle chasing after shady leads that got her chased off by even shadier people, but getting snatched up unexpectedly by Superman was worthy of a yelp. It was endearing. And funny. Very funny. But then, as she shifted around in his grip, her hands going around his shoulders for support, Clark couldn't help but think about how nice it felt having her in his arms like this. Again, it was different than some random person he was rescuing off the streets. Looking down at her, feeling how close she was to him, it brought on the sort of feeling that he got when he made a sharp dive from the highest point in the sky.
His mother had called them butterflies. Clark had asked her about the feeling once, a very long time ago, and that was the amused response he had gotten in return. Butterflies. That had been the first time simply being around a person had ever made him feel that way. It hadn't been the last. Every single time he saw Lana Lang, his childhood crush, those butterflies always came fluttering by. And now they were back again.
"Does that mean you're offering to pay me for taking you to China? I guess I'll be getting that plaid tie after all..." Clark felt her ease up her grip, which hopefully meant that she was getting more comfortable. It seemed that joking around was going to be the best way to handle how awkward he felt right now. Maybe the same held true for her. "It'll take the Superman Express no more than twenty minutes to get there," Clark answered, looking to the sky. Without Lois, he could have gotten there in under a minute. With Lois, he didn't want to risk moving too quickly. Clark might have been able to withstand the outside pressure that came with moving at a certain speed, but he couldn't say the same for her. He looked back down to meet her eyes, but she was looking out at something else. "Maybe less." Clark gave the entrance to the roof (and the area inside of it) one final look before he kicked off the ground, arms tightening around Lois's body, and took off for the clouds.