A/N: And here is the last part. I hope you all like it. I realise the ffdotrnet alerts are down again, so I hope you people are getting this. Ah, well... Thanks Abby, for the last-minute beta!

PART I I I

The rest of the week passed in a blur of emotions. Lois did not call for Superman the next evenings, and he didn’t look for contact either. Lois spent her days taking Jason to several sights in the city, though she refused to take him anywhere near Acropolis.

The shock she had felt at first had worn off a little, and had made place for anger, betrayal, and mostly, hurt. She felt hurt because he hadn’t confided in her. She felt hurt because they had been working side by side for years and he had never said a word. But most of all she felt hurt because the only two people she had felt she could really trust had been feeding her lies for years on end. It was a good thing Superman hadn’t come over because Lois felt she might have ripped him to shreds.

Lois walked back and forth between the wardrobe and Jason’s suitcase furiously, packing their belongings so they could leave early the next morning. There was no need for her to throw Jason’s clothes around, but she simply needed an outlet to vent her frustrations.

Angry though she was at him, a part of her regretted that he hadn’t come over the next day. Now that she had reached the end of her vacation she felt no desire to leave, despite the fact that this was possibly the worst vacation she’d ever had. Because leaving meant she had to go to work again. And working meant facing Clark... or Superman... or Kal-El… or whatever she was supposed to call him.

A rap on the door shook her out of her thoughts. Irritated, Lois dropped the heap of clothes she had been holding onto the bed. Planning on giving Mr next-door an earful if he was going to complain about the hot water again, Lois took several long strides to the door and wrenched it open.

The now familiar hallway was deserted. Lois took a moment to look around before she shrugged and closed the door again. Odd. She could have sworn she’d heard a…

Tap! Tap! Lois spun around. The taps, louder this time, came from the direction of the window, not the door. Lois froze for a second. A tap on the window left no doubt who the visitor was. Should she let him in? The angry and hurt side of her wanted to keep the window closed. Pretend she wasn’t at home. But she needed more than a simple curtain to fool this guy. He was probably looking at her right now.

Her anger suddenly flared up a little again, and Lois straightened her back. He’s got some nerve to come back now and not even give me the chance to avoid him. She stalked to the window and ripped the curtains open. She fully expected the man behind the window and threw him a look she knew could make most people crumble. “What are you doing here, Clark?” Lois asked coldly, putting a lot of emphasis on his name.

“Can I come in?” Clark looked like… Clark, yet wearing Superman’s suit. He looked anxious and nervous as always, but Lois knew that this time he wasn’t acting.

“Why?” She crossed her arms. “Give me one good reason to allow you in.”

“I want to talk to you.” Clark shot her a big-eyed pleading look that would have melted her if her resolve to make him squirm hadn’t been so strong. “I need to ex-”

“Maybe I have no desire whatsoever to talk to you.” Lois said stubbornly. It wasn’t entirely true. She had a million questions she wanted an answer about right now, but she didn’t exactly feel like facing him.

“Lois, please.” Clark pleaded with her. “I -… It was stupid of me to leave when you found out. I should have stayed … to explain.”

“But you didn’t. You fled the scene.” Lois snapped, and Clark nodded, somewhat embarrassed. “Why?” Clark looked around him rather restless. Lois knew he was probably worrying about the attention he was getting, hovering in front of a hotel room for an extended period of time. Lois couldn’t bring herself to care. “Why?” She repeated.

It took a while before Clark answered. “I was scared. I didn’t know what to do, and-” Apparently embarrassed, it seemed to be the genuine truth, but Lois laughed it away sarcastically.

“You were scared? You, of all people, were scared? The man who saves the world three times during his lunch break, didn’t know what to do? The man who does-”

Lois missed the flicker of annoyance of his face, and therefore not realised she had truck a nerve when Clark cut her off. “Yes, I was. And you know why? Because this is a problem my super strength can’t solve. Because,” he took a deep breath, “I have no experience with this.”

Lois shot him a sceptic look. “So at the first sight of trouble you ran away?”

“No, Lois, I-” Clark started to object, but Lois didn’t let him finish.

“No, of course you didn’t. How could I have been so stupid?” She turned around and walked away from the window, done with the conversation. “You flew.” Her back turned towards him, Lois waited for they ‘whoosh’ that would tell her he’d taken off, but it didn’t came. A peek from the corner of her eye, when she turned her head a little to the right, told her he was still hovering by the window.

“I flew away Lois, yes. But this time I’m staying.” He stepped onto the window sill and from there to the shining floor to prove his point. “I’m not flying anywhere this time.” His voice sounded determined and Lois turned her head away again, not knowing what to say. A part of her liked it that he was trying to make amends, another part of her wanted him to leave. She felt like she might break if he didn’t. And Lois didn’t want to break. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“That’s OK. I’ll do the talking.” Lois could her a soft squeak and knew he had sat down in the big red chair next to the window. It took a while before he actually started to speak. “I know you’re probably angry at me for hiding the fact that Clark is actually me. And I don’t blame you. But I’m not apologising either.” Lois lifted an eyebrow Clark couldn’t see. “It was necessary Lois. I’m sure you realise a man like me can’t do what he does and lead a normal life at the same time. It wasn’t always easy, but it was necessary.”

“You came all the way here just to tell me you didn’t do anything wrong?” Lois was relieved to find that her voice sounded stronger than she felt. A little harsh maybe, but at least it didn’t crack.

“No, I… No.” A deep sigh was followed by a few long seconds of silence. “I’m not perfect Lois. People like to think I am.. but I’m not.”

Lois crossed her arms, her back still turned to him. “Maybe that’s because you pretend to be.” She retorted. He didn’t reply. Turning around she saw that Clark was holding his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. He looked so hopeless, Lois felt the sight tugging on her heartstrings.

“I flew away because I was scared. Because I didn’t know what was going to happen. Because you … you suddenly saw a lot more of me than I was prepared to show you.” Clark looked up unexpectedly, and for a moment their eyes met. Instantly Lois recognised the man she had seen earlier that week.The man behind the Man of Steel. Lois looked away, but not before she realised that this time he was showing his real self to her willingly. It was because of this realisation that Lois found herself believing everything he said.

“But now it’s different. I left because I was scared, and that was wrong of me. But I’ve come back to show you that, even though it still scares me, I’m willing to allow you in. And that I won’t fly off again.”

Lois’ mind raced as she kept her eyes fixated on the floor. Clark’s words didn’t take away the anger, pain an frustration, she still felt them, but his words had added something new. Love and hope. Realising Clark was probably waiting for her reaction Lois took a breath and looked up to meet his piercing blue eyes. “So I’m scary?”

Clark closed his eyes temporarily, obviously relieved, before opening them again. “Positively terrifying.”

Lois snorted despite herself. “Good,” noticing the twinkle in his eye had returned, Lois added “don’t you forget that when we’re back in the bullpenn.”

Clark looked surprised at that: “Wait. You mean you don’t mind having to work next to me at the Planet?”

“Now why would I mind that. I can do some much more sneaking when you’re around. Think of the possibilities!”

Clark laughed. Not the nervous chuckle like Clark used to do, but a real, genuine laugh. Lois stared at him for a while, but his mirth was infective and soon Lois found herself starting to laugh too. Her words hadn’t been particularly funny, but stopping seemed impossible. All the stress, frustration and anger she had cropped up during the week seemed to vanish as she laughed it all away with Clark, ignoring the tears on her cheeks and the stitch in her side. It took several minutes for their laughter to reduce to an occasional chuckle.

“So, where do we go from here?” Lois said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. It was a very sobering question, and Clark looked serious when he answered; “I don’t know.” He reached out to take Lois’ hand, and Lois squeezed it slightly. “I don’t know here this is headed. And I don’t care. As long as I’m with you.” He gave her a small smile, and Lois returned it.

“Well, I don’t know where we’re going. But I do know where to start.” She got up and extended her hand. Clark raised an eyebrow as he took it. “And where is that?”

“A certain super man promised me to show me around Athens.” Lois said as a small grin broke out as she walked past Clark, heading towards the window. “I think I’m quite ready for another temple.”

“Well, I am sorry Miss Lane, no more temples for you.” Lois turned around in surprise to find out that Clark was no longer dressed in red and blue—like he had been a second before—but in a brown suit and thick horn-rimmed glasses. He walked towards her. “You’re exploring the town with Clark Kent tonight.”

A big grin crept on Lois’ face as she tugged on his ugly tie. “And where is Clark Kent planning on taking me?” She whispered. Clark nodded out the window, at a small restaurant. Loud singing voices and the sound of shattering dinner-service drifted through the open window. Two old men sat on a bench outside, sipping from a small glass.

“You are going to learn the Zembekiko.” He said simply.

“The what?” Lois walked after him as he made his way to the door. “What’s that?” Clark turned around with a smirk. “It’s a traditional Greek dance.” He opened the door and stepped into the hallways. Lois halted in her tracks. “A dance? No, no… I don’t dance.”

Clark’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, yes you will…”