AN: Yeah, yeah, so I said I didn't know if I would ever write anything more and yet here I am again. I just have these few little moments that keep playing in my mind that won't go away. I don't write much from Clark's PoV and he's been complaining at me about it. So I figured I'd toss this out there and see if anyone is still readying Supes fan fic that ISN'T Smallville! LOL!

This is set in my own AU. If you haven't read anything else from me, you might be a little confused. Lois married Richard and Jason didn't find out Superman was his father until he was about 11. They had a really rough relationship. Jason is now 25 years old, married, and has a young son. Clark told Lois the truth about his identity a few years ago and she has been angry at him ever since.

This isn't beta read at all. It's just me testing the waters to see if anyone is interested in the story. If you'd like to be my beta, I'm open to the help. Just let me know if you want me to keep going.

Shattered Limbo

"Morning Mr. Clark!"

"Morning, Jimmy."

Two things I can always count on when I arrive at work in the morning are that the first person to greet me will be Jimmy Oleson and that he will call me "Mr. Clark."

"Hot day today, huh?"

I smiled at him, "Sure is."

"Mid July is always a real scorcher in the city, but this summer takes the cake!"

"I can't disagree with you on that," I replied, pulling my lap top out and flipping it open on my desk. "What are the top stories everyone's working on this morning?"

"Well, Lois is still pressing Gregory Baldacci for an interview about the gambling ring that was busted two weeks ago. Looks like she might land it today."

I took in that information and tried not to show my displeasure. Leave it to Lois to go after the number two mob boss in the city a few weeks after the number one mob boss landed in jail. It made me nervous, but there was no stopping Lois once she had her mind set on something. I knew that fact very well.

Unaware of my discontent, Jimmy said, "And Mr. Lombard is all caught up in the scandal the Monarchs are facing over steroid use."

I nodded at him, but my eyes searched the bullpen for Lois. And came up short.

"Kent!"

Jimmy nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Richard's voice calling to me. "That's you."

"Can I talk to you in my office for a sec?" Richard asked, that touch of perpetual annoyance seeping though into every word.

"Whoa," Jimmy made a worried face. "What did you do?"

"I have no idea."

It was common knowledge around the paper that Richard and I didn't get along very well. There were rumors on top of rumors about the private fight Lois and I had several years ago. Everyone knew that it had happened, but no one knew the details. No one knew she was angry at me for waiting nearly twenty years to tell her I was Superman. No one, that is, except Richard White.

Thus, the staff of The Daily Planet came to accept that Lois and I weren't on good terms. Furthermore, since Richard was her husband, I wasn't on good terms with him either. That didn't faze me much because Richard and I had never technically been on good terms. At least as far as Superman went. Richard had once been companionable with Clark, but never with Superman. Two men in love with the same woman while trying to be a father to the same son just didn't work out no matter how you tried to sliced it. Once he knew the truth about my identity, it took less than a millisecond for Richard to apply any loathing he felt for Superman towards Clark.

In a way it was a relief. It meant I no longer had to pretend that I enjoyed his company. I could respect his ability as a reporter… and to be completely honest, I never doubted that he loved Lois and Jason and would never hurt them. Still, that didn't mean I had to like the man for having everything I wanted. He'd sometimes try to strike up conversations in the break room over coffee. I would always be forced to grin and bear it out of necessity. After all, Clark Kent had no reason to dislike the head of the international division. Once Richard knew my alternate identity all those friendly attempts stopped cold and were replaced with any and all forms of verbal degradation.

I headed into Richard's office ready for whatever onslaught he had to toss in my direction. He had his back to me when I entered.

"Close the door, will you?" he said, rubbing his neck.

I obliged. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just have a headache," he replied.

He'd misunderstood me. "I meant, is there something wrong with the world or with Jason or with something else?"

He turned to look at me then, confusion on his face, but said nothing.

"You don't normally ask me to come in here unless there is something very wrong," I said.

"Oh," he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "I'm sorry, this damn head ache is messing up my concentration," he mumbled, passing me the envelope. "Jason and Kate were over last night and he asked me to give you this."

I took it from him and looked inside. "Right. Thanks."

Richard nodded and sat down at his desk.

I stood there waiting for the rest of his complaint. It never came.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah." Then he added, "What is that, anyway?" he gestured to the envelope.

"You didn't look?"

"No, I didn't look. If Jason had wanted me to know, then he would have told me."

"So you ask me instead?"

"Fine, don't tell me. I don't care," he shrugged.

After a beat I gave in and said, "Two season tickets to the symphony."

"Oh, okay. Who are you going with?"

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"Not really." He pinched his nose the way people do when they are fighting a bad head ache and then looked back at me expectantly.

I frowned, not understanding Richard's interest in the tickets or the reason why we were even having this conversation. Richard had a similar expression on his face.

"They're not for me, they're for the security officer at my apartment. His wife is a big fan of classical music and Jason said he could get him some discounted tickets as a gift. So… these are the tickets."

"Jason knows your security man?"

"Yes, Frank is a very nice man."

"Interesting."

There was a very uncomfortable pause where neither of us said anything.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" I asked. The whole conversation had been too strange for my liking. I was baffled by the attempt at small talk.

"I told you, I just have a head ache. Give a mere mortal human a break for once, will ya?"

That sounded like the usual Richard to me. "Okay, well, thanks for delivering the tickets. I'll just go and call Jason to let him know I got them."

I had one hand on the door knob when Richard said, "You make it sound like I'm incompetent of delivering a simple envelope."

Yup, the normal Richard was back. "Not at all. I just wanted to thank him, is all."

"Right," he sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Can I get you some aspirin?" I offered.

"Nope, I'll be fine. Save the rescue attempts for someone at death's door."

Typical parting shot. I nodded and opened the door to find Lois on the other side waiting with two cups of coffee. Neither of which was for me.

"All done?" she said. Even without a hint of a smile, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

"Yeah, we're done."

She brushed past me into the office and closed the door with her foot, effectively shutting me out. Things had been better in recent months between us, but Lois still never missed the opportunity to get one up on me. She was cordial when necessary around Jason or for work, but that's as far as her generosity could be extended.

"So, how'd it go?" Jimmy asked, concerned for my safety.

"It was fine, but I have to get to work."

I slid down into my chair, intent on starting in on my work load, but my attention was drawn to Richard's office and the conversation going on inside. It was wrong of me to listen in, but I had this nagging feeling that something just wasn't right and that I needed to know about it. Something was very off today.

"So, what was it, anyway?" I heard Lois ask.

"Tickets to the symphony, of all things."

"Oh, Jason told me Clark goes to every concert he performs."

I smiled at the pleased tone in her voice. Score one point for me.

"No, these were for some guy – hey – did you know Jason was friends with the people who work in Clark's apartment building? I mean, I guess I knew Jason went over there, but still. It seems odd."

"There's a whole lot of 'odd' about what Jason knew about Clark that we didn't know, so why should this be any different?"

My smile fell at the now disdainful quality of her voice. Subtract that point.

"I guess." Richard hissed in a breath.

"Still got that head ache?" Lois asked.

"It's turning into a migraine."

"Here, let me help."

One glance at the door informed me that Lois was now giving him a soothing massage. I couldn't help but be jealous. Then again, I'd spent the last twenty years being jealous of Richard White. Why should today be any different?

"That feels so good," Richard moaned.

Lois bent down to kiss his neck, and I quickly looked away. It never sat well with me to witness Lois and Richard being affectionate. It was one thing to know… it was another thing to see.

A few minutes later, the door to the office swung open and Lois, with lips that had obviously been well kissed, headed out. "How about lunch around noon?" Richard called to her.

"Maybe. I'm still working on getting to Baldacci, so if that goes through I'll have to bail."

He walked up next to her and took a sip of his coffee. "No problem. Just let me know."

"Sure thing."

"And thanks for the rubdown," he whispered, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

A seductive snicker followed, "Anytime."

He kissed her once more, gently, and then turned to go back into his office.

I closed my eyes and groaned, wishing with all my might that she would look at me the way she was looking at Richard. That I could be the one she brought coffee to and made lunch plans with and kissed before work. I wished…

And then she screamed.