To be titled later. With solarsteel.

[dp_lois]

Lois Lane hated feeling uncertain about anything. Even if it was over misplaced car keys, which was what she was currently trying to find in her Talon apartment. "Oh come on. There's only so many places they could be," she muttered, pulling up the sofa cushions and checking beneath them

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[solarsteel]

Three days. Well, two full days and the beginning of this one. They'd gone their separate ways on return from Rhode Island, although Clark wasn't sure if it was out of habit or the desire to repress some of the more interesting events that had happened over the course of his 'vacation weekend'.

At least he'd gotten the story out of it that Hope had been, well, hoping, for. Written, edited, re-edited and sent up to his supervisor's office for publication later in the week. A human interest piece on what flooding meant not just for the state in general, but the consequences faced by those who lived here.

And now he was lingering at the door to the apartment, listening to Lois move around inside and curse occasionally. He'd deliberately suppressed any reaction to what had happened Friday night just as a way to get back into work and patrol mode, remaining quiet and pleasant to her the few times they'd run into each other at the Planet, but a new week always meant chasing down new leads and checking on old ones.

No time for talking.

Which was why he was there. Knock, knock, knock.

"Lois? Mind if I come in?"

[dp_lois]

She froze for a moment, her eyes darting toward the door. She took a deep breath, and straightened. "It's open," she called.

[solarsteel]

He took a deep breathe and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and turning the lock. It wouldn't stop a determined intruder, but something was better than nothing.

Lois looked beautiful, as always, prompting a half smile near one corner of his mouth.

"Having problems?"

[dp_lois]

The turning of the lock made her swallow hard, memories of the night the two of them spent together flooding her mind unbidden. Immediately she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"I can't find my keys," she told him, glancing around. "I've looked everywhere. I think they're just gone."

[solarsteel]

Clark regarded her quietly, watching her face flood with a rosy pink, and idly wondered if the blush went down farther than her neck. He moved further into the room, attention drifting away from her, eyes narrowed in apparent concentration.

"Not many things are really gone, just temporarily misplaced. We'll find them."

[dp_lois]

Lois watched him for a moment, then resumed her search, consciously aware of his presence. "So how are things going?" she asked, glancing at him as she moved to the kitchen and opened one of the drawers, pawing through it although she had no idea why her keys might be there.

[solarsteel]

"As well as can be expected," He answered, attention caught by the glint of a familiar, and very tiny, replica of the Daily Planet globe glinting in the sunlight over by the television. Sliding hands into the pockets of his work slacks, Clark meandered in that direction casually, leaving Lois to ransack the kitchen area again.

"Haven't gotten more than a few hours of sleep."

[dp_lois]

She paused, turning to look at him with a frown. "Well, you need more rest than that. Do I need to tie you to a bed to get you to sleep?" She hadn't thought about how that sounded before she said it. Then again, she rarely did.

[solarsteel]

"Tell that to the residents of Southern California," He crouched down in front of the t.v. stand and picked up the set of keys, holding them out in her direction once he'd straightened up.

The only visible reaction was a tightening of his jaw, and it was hard to tell if Clark was angry, or trying not to laugh, his expression settling somewhere between calm and inscrutable. "Do you?"

[dp_lois]

She cocked her head to the side, moving toward him and reaching for the keys. "Do I what?" she asked uncertainly, a familiar tingle of electricity flickering through her as their fingers brushed.

[solarsteel]

His head tilted, down instead of mirroring her movement, green eyes taking in the traces of blush still coloring her cheeks, before relinquishing the keys into her hand. The shampoo she'd used on her hair was vaguely distracting, mingling with the rest of her scent.

"Have to tie to me to bed."

[dp_lois]

And that was when she realized what she had said and just how it sounded. She swallowed hard and arched an eyebrow at him. "Would I need to?"

[solarsteel]

Clark moved forward, until they were just barely an inch or so from touching, still watching her face intently. He appeared to think about it for a couple of moments. By the way the hue of his eyes deepened just slightly, it was fairly obvious he found some part of the equation appealing.

"I don't know. Could be other avenues to explore besides bondage."

[dp_lois]

The breath caught in her throat at his words and her gaze dropped to his mouth. "What kinds of avenues?"

[solarsteel]

His expression sobered, all traces of amusement and playfulness seemingly fading away to be replaced with an earnest seriousness. He frowned, slightly, before leaning over until his lips just barely brushed across the lobe of her ear.

"We'd be late for work if I showed you."

[dp_lois]

Lois shuddered a little at the feel of his lips against her ear. The touch was just too barely there. "And being late would be bad." She didn't move away from him. "Even if you'd probably be forgiven."