Yes, it's another one of those Season 8 "fix-it" type of things. This could be placed around or after 'Hex.' AU.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own.

It was a different side of her he'd never seen before. Maybe glimpses had shown through when Chloe was involved, or his mother, even Oliver at times. But Clark had never experienced firsthand the softer, sweeter side of Lois Lane.

He had a feeling that it wasn't her intention to expose this side of her, but the little joys she would find on the grounds of the Smallville County Fair lit up the inner child she normally kept under wraps. It was in her smile, in her giddy laugh, in her wild hand gestures, and he found himself thoroughly captivated by her.

"Clark, come on! I see a stuffed elephant with my name on it!"

Lois grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and tugged him toward a milk bottle game booth. A smile popped onto his lips at her fervor. It had been a while since he had spent some time with her, one on one; her reasoning being that she had a ton of work to catch up on from being away too long. He had a suspicion that she was avoiding him. He couldn't blame her. The last good moment between them occurred during that damned wedding, where everything had changed for everyone. But for Clark and Lois, things had been about to cross a well-constructed line when Lana appeared and drove a huge wedge between them. Then Lois ran off to Star City, barely contacting him while gone.

When she came back, the wall she'd erected was so high and so thick Clark was sure it would take more than a chisel and maybe an atomic bomb to get through. Hell, it took an entire month just to get Lois to spend time with him outside of work, and even then it was a charity event hosted by Martha to convince her to show. He knew Lois wasn't doing it for him, but he'd take what he could get.

"Do you want me to win it for you?" Clark asked, an easy smile gracing his face.

"Please, like you have the skills," she tossed over her shoulder as she picked up one of the balls. She was able to knock down three out of the five displays, enough to win a small prize, but not the desirable elephant.

"Are you sure you don't want me to try?"

Lois flicked the ear of the little stuffed bunny in her hands and pursed her lips. "Fine, go ahead."

Clark stepped up to the booth and, without a sweat, knocked down all five displays and triumphantly won the elephant. He turned to her with a huge grin and presented the animal to her.

Lois stared at him for a moment before she grabbed the elephant and hugged it to her chest. "Thanks," she murmured, averting her eyes.

Clark only nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He looked around and found a hot dog stand nearby. "Come on, let's get a bite to eat."

On the way to the hot dog stand, Lois's phone beeped from her back pocket. She retrieved it and thumbed through the incoming message. "It's Oliver. He's helping me with a story I've been working on."

"I thought we agreed no work stuff tonight."

"I'm always on the clock, Clark."

"But what about the fair?"

Lois looked up into his innocent expression. For a moment—and not for the first time—she was struck by how handsome a man he was. It always seemed to catch her by surprise. His eyes were a crystal blue, wide and imploring, and his lips were full and supple. What she wouldn't give to just stretch up on her toes and kiss those lips. No, she thought, don't go there.

Blinking back her runaway thoughts, she looked down at her phone again. "I have to go. Tell Mrs. K I'm sorry."

Then she was gone. Clark watched her ponytail swing back and forth as she walked away from him, her stuffed prizes clutched under her arm. He sighed, his heart heavy. Clark knew that he had screwed up that night in the hospital, letting Lois leave without her knowing what was truly in his heart. But at the time, even he didn't know what was true. It took the month Lois was gone to realize what a huge space she held within him, because then it was a void no one else could fill. Now, though, Clark didn't know how to repair the damage. Lois wasn't giving an inch, but what else did he really expect?

Letting out another sigh, Clark decided to leave the fair. It wasn't any fun without Lois anyway. After making a quick detour to find his mom, he walked toward the parking lot. On the way to his truck, his ears picked up a voice nearby.

"I just left. What else could I do?...I can't, Chloe. It's too hard…No, no I'm past it, or I'm getting there…It just is what it is, Chlo. I'll get over it. I'll get over him…"

Clark's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm heading over to Ollie's right now…It's just a dinner, nothing else…"

Clark's eyebrows then furrowed.

"No, Chloe. It's not like that. I swear…Okay, love you, bye."

So many thoughts flooded Clark's mind. What the heck was Lois talking about? Did she really have feelings for him? Why the hell was she having dinner with Oliver alone? And why did she have to lie about it to him?

He got into his truck and started the engine. No, Lois couldn't still be into Oliver. That ended over a year ago. As far as he knew, Lois didn't drag a dead thing on. She knew how to move forward, and Clark hoped it would be in a direction toward him.

(((o)))

When Lois entered the penthouse, Oliver was nowhere to be seen. However, she did see the dinner he'd set up for them. Lois sighed; it looked pretty intimate.

"Oliver?" she called as she walked toward the table set for two.

She heard a sound behind her and saw him come down the stairs. "Hey," he said with a soft smile.

"Uhh, what's this?" Lois gestured toward the table. "Looks a little cozy for a dinner between friends."

Oliver chuckled as he reached her. "Yeah, I went a little overboard. But it doesn't have to mean anything."

Lois eyed the setting warily. She really didn't have the energy to fight off any advances, but she was too hungry to care. So with a friendly smile, she sat down in one of the chairs. "Okay, then. Dazzle me."

Oliver grinned and took the opposite seat. He poured some wine and Lois nervously wrung her hands under the table.

"Relax, Legs," he chuckled. "It's just dinner."

"With an eerily romantic air about it."

"Okay, yeah. I made it intentionally romantic," Oliver confessed. "But I don't expect anything from you. I just don't know how to do low key."

"I thought you've been learning how by hanging with us simple folk," Lois clicked her tongue.

Oliver laughed. "I have. I certainly don't live like I used to, but every now and then it's nice to splurge."

"And you decided to waste such an expensive meal on me?"

"I wouldn't call it a waste. You deserve the best."

Lois sighed. "Ollie…"

"I know, I know. You prefer farmer's tans and blue eyes now." Oliver smirked at Lois's flushed expression. "How is that going, by the way?"

"It's not," she quickly replied, stabbing her fork into the lobster meat on her plate. "I told you. He doesn't see me like that."

"Oh, come on, Lois. Everyone knows he's got it bad for you." Oliver casually took a sip of his wine.

Lois's eyes shot up to him. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not," she replied firmly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"How can you?" she shot back, then shook her head sadly. "Clark has and always will have one girl on his mind, and I am not that girl."

Oliver watched her for a second. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "What if I told you I know for a fact that you are that girl?"

"I'd say you're delusional," she scoffed.

"Why is that so hard to believe, Lois? You and Clark have had this weird connection for as long as I've known you two. Is it really that hard to fathom that it would turn into something more?"

Lois sighed and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. "Why are you trying to convince me of this? You know, it's a little odd for my ex-boyfriend to be pushing me toward a new relationship."

"I may be your ex-boyfriend, but I'm also your friend, and I want to see you happy."

"Then please, just drop this topic. Clark and I are never gonna happen."

It was Oliver's turn to sigh. She was not making this easy. "Alright, alright. I'll drop it." He put his hands up in surrender and returned his attention to his plate.

Lois did the same and the room was quiet for a few minutes while they ate.

Then Oliver broke the silence. "Did you know Clark told Lana goodbye?"

"Obviously, since she left," Lois grumbled.

"I meant he told her goodbye even before she left."

That got her attention. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Clark closed the book on his relationship with Lana pretty much right after she came back to Smallville."

"But…why?"

Oliver gave her knowing smile. "I'll give you three guesses."

"Don't say it's because of me."

"Wow, you really don't understand how crazy Clark is about you."

"Stop saying that!"

"Why?"

"Because then I'll start to believe it," Lois said. "And if I found out it wasn't true…I just don't know how I would get over that."

Oliver sat back in his chair and stared at her.

"Look, Clark is probably the best guy I know. There're a lot of things I could say about him and I know I would be lucky to end up with someone like him someday. But he doesn't feel the same way I do, and maybe he never will. So the best thing I can do is move on from it."

He nodded. "Okay, Lois. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She sighed softly. "I know. It's okay."

Oliver reached over the table and gently took her hand. She accepted the comfort and smiled at him.

Clark knew he shouldn't spy on Lois. He knew it was wrong and it invaded her privacy, but the nagging feeling about knowing that she was out with Oliver wouldn't leave him alone. He did his best to push checking up on her out of his head while he busied himself with patrol duties, but he figured a quick peek wouldn't hurt.

Boy, was he wrong.

Standing in the shadows on the balcony outside of Oliver's penthouse, he caught sight of Oliver and Lois sitting in a very romantic setting holding hands. They were smiling softly at each other. Clark had seen Lana with different men over the years, but nothing pained him like seeing Lois with someone else. He didn't know exactly what was going on in front of him, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. Lois was over Oliver. He was sure of it. She just had to be.

Before Clark sped away from the penthouse, he made a promise to himself that he would confront Lois soon. No more running away.

(((o)))

Soon turned out to be the very next morning. After he'd finished all his chores on the farm and tended to Shelby, Clark couldn't help but zoom over to the Talon. He entered the coffee shop and headed straight for the stairs.

"Clark."

He turned to see Chloe at the counter, grabbing a coffee to go. He smiled and turned to meet her. "Hey, Chloe."

"What's up. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was going to see Lois. I need to talk to her about something."

"Lois isn't here," Chloe replied. "She didn't come home last night."

Clark stilled. "What?"

"Yeah, I got home around two in the morning from the Isis Foundation and she wasn't home. Nor was she when I woke up this morning."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Last I heard, she had dinner with Oliver last night."

Clark's heart pounded hard against his ribcage. "You don't think…that they…"

Chloe tilted her head in confusion for a moment before she caught on. She let out a laugh. "Slept together? No, I don't."

His chest deflated a bit.

"Why do you seem so relieved?" Chloe asked knowingly.

"Oh, I'm just trying to look out for Lois."

"Mmhmm," she hummed, a smirk on her lips.

Just as he was about to defend himself, Lois came bursting through the door and shot up the stairs to the apartment. Clark and Chloe both watched as she ran up without a word. They then looked at each other before heading up the stairs. When they came through the door, Lois had just closed the door to the bathroom.

"That was odd, even for Lois," Chloe said.

"I'll wait for her to get out. You can head out if you need to," Clark said.

"Alright, text me and let me know she's okay. I'll be at Isis."

"Okay."

As Chloe left the Talon, she typed out a text to Oliver. Job well done. Let's see if it worked.

Oliver sent back a winky face a few minutes later.

Clark went to sit on the couch. He picked up a magazine from the coffee table and waited. Forty-five minutes later, Lois stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a burgundy towel and her hair wet. Steam followed her out as she walked toward the kitchen area. Clark shot up from the couch and stopped, taking in her scantily clad appearance.

Lois froze when she caught sight of him, her eyes wide. "Clark!"

The man in question didn't respond. All he seemed to be capable of doing was stare at her almost naked form. A familiar stirring began in his stomach and he had to drag his eyes away before his body betrayed his thoughts.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Uhh, I wanted to talk to you, and I ran into Chloe downstairs and she said that you hadn't come home all night. Then you raced right past us coming up here. I just wanted to know you were okay."

"You couldn't have waited downstairs while I was in the shower?"

"It's not like I haven't seen it before," he said without thinking, then realized his mistake when Lois glared at him.

"So, what? You thought you'd get another peek?"

"No!" he responded passionately. "Come on, Lois. You know me better than that."

"Then what do you want?"

"I…I wanted to see if you'd like to have breakfast with me."

Lois gave him a weird look. "Breakfast?"

"Yeah, at the local diner. I wanted to talk."

"We don't need to have breakfast to talk, Clark." She shifted her towel, which didn't go unnoticed by him. "What do you want to talk about?"

Clark took a moment before responding. "Were you with Oliver all night?"

Lois blinked in response.

"Chloe mentioned that you had dinner with him."

"What does it matter if I had dinner with Oliver?"

Clark clenched his fists at his sides. "Are you back with him?"

She huffed and planted her hands on her hips. "What's with the third degree, Clark? What business is it of yours if I'm with Oliver?"

"I'm your friend—"

"Oh, is that what we are?" she scoffed.

"Yes," he replied heatedly. "I know you haven't wanted anything to do with me outside of work for the last month, but I'm your friend and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"And you think Oliver is going to hurt me?"

"He's done it before, hasn't he?"

Lois took a step back in disbelief. "Who are you to talk about being repeatedly hurt by an ex? How many times did you run back to Lana after she'd hurt you?"
Clark had no response to that, so he stayed quiet.

"That's what I thought," she said. "Did you only come here to question me about my love life?"

"Lois, I just want to be a part of your life again."

She threw him a funny look. "You are a part of my life."

"Not like I used to be. You've been shutting me out for a long time. Did you realize last night was the first time in two months that we've spent time together outside of the office?"

She looked away. "I've been busy."

"That's a lie."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been avoiding me. And I understand why, but you've got to give me another chance."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she murmured and turned back to the bedroom.

Clark followed. "Yes, you do. Lois, we have to talk about it."

"There is nothing to talk about," she said. "Now I have to get dressed. You can show yourself out."
"No."

Lois stared at him, surprised.

"I'm not leaving, not until we sort this out."

"Clark, please…"

"Tell me you're not with Oliver," he spoke over her.

She scoffed. "Why does that matter?"

"Because…it just does."

Lois sighed warily. If only to get him to leave, she answered, "No, I'm not with Oliver."

Clark's shoulders seemed to lift. "Then why were you having dinner with him last night?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I can't have dinner with a friend?"

"No…I mean, yes, you can. But why were you with him all night?"

"Unbelievable," she muttered. "Why the hell are you asking these questions, Clark? What do you want?"

He actually growled. "I want you."

Lois froze, not believing what just came out of his mouth. "W-what?"

He at least had the decency to look surprised at his own words but continued on. "I want you," he repeated. "And the thought of you with Oliver makes me sick to my stomach."

The room was silent for long moments, nothing but shallow breaths could be heard as they stared at each other.

"I don't believe you," she said quietly.

"What?"

"I don't believe you," she said more firmly. "You're just, I don't know, confused."

"I'm not confused," he said with a shake of his head.

"You can't be serious."

"Why the hell not?" he huffed.

"Because!" she fired back. "It's me. Why would you want me?"

"There's no one reason why. I've realized that I've been slowly developing feelings for you for almost a year now, and I think you have been too."

She scoffed. "Please."

"No, don't do that. I want the truth."

She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "The truth about what?"

"Lois, answer me honestly, please. Do you have feelings for me?"

"It doesn't matter."

Clark gripped her arms. "How can you say that?"

"It'll never work, don't you see that?"

"How do you know if we don't give it a try?"

Lois shook her head and stepped out of his grasp. "Clark, I've done this dating thing wrong so many times. I can't try with you and have it not work out. Then I'd lose you and that's just not an option."

"Lois, I swear. I will do whatever it takes to make this work."

She knew he meant it. After all, she'd watched him try countless times to make it work with Lana.

"What if it can't, Clark? What if we just aren't meant to be?"

"I think anything is possible for you and me," he said softly.

She looked into his eyes. There seemed to be clarity and truth within the blue-green swirls of his irises. There was also fear, perhaps from the possibility of being rejected. If she were honest with herself, she had been longing to hear these kinds of words from him. She wanted so badly to just throw caution to the wind and dive into whatever it was that was brewing between her and Clark. But there was that niggling voice in the back of her mind, the one that kept reminding her that he'd already let her down, twice.

"I don't know, Clark. I'm…I'm not in your wheelhouse. I'm not like Lana. How can you say that you have feelings for me?"

"Are you kidding me?" He let out a small chuckle. "I know you're nothing like Lana. But that's why I know what I feel is true. I don't have some idealized picture in my mind of who you are. I've gotten to know the real you all this time. You're everything I thought I couldn't stand, but I realized while you were in Star City that it was all those things about you that I missed the most. When you were gone, it was like I couldn't function. You're so much a part of me, I can't look left or right without something reminding me of you."

Lois looked away, unable to handle the emotion in his eyes. It felt as though he was looking right into her soul. Clark stepped forward and gently cupped her cheek, bringing her gaze back to his.

"I could stand here and list all the things I love about you, but then we'd be standing here all day," he smiled that smile that always made Lois melt. "And I'd really rather take you out to breakfast."

She swallowed nervously. "Would this be like a date?"

"Like a date," he confirmed. "But I will be taking you on a real date soon, if you'll let me."

She shook her head, laughing in spite of herself, and clutched at his arms. "Oliver was right."

That got a funny look from him and it made her laugh again.

"I'd love to go on a date with you," she said shyly. "And for the record, nothing happened between Ollie and I. We were just talking until late and I crashed in his guest room. There's only one guy I want."

Clark beamed and cupped her face with both hands, pulling her in for a kiss. It started off sweet and slow, but quickly became more passionate. Lois wrapped her arms around his waist as Clark slipped his fingers through the wet strands of her hair, guiding her as he deepened the kiss even further. Lois let out a gasp when his tongue touched hers and then a little moan, and Clark had to force himself to pull back before he let the impulse to push her down onto the bed take over.

"Wow," Lois breathed, her eyes still closed.

Clark licked his lips, savoring the taste of her. "I'll let you get dressed."

"Yeah…" She still sounded breathless.

He smiled, placing one last kiss to her lips before retreating back to the living room. While Lois went to the bathroom to change, Clark sat on the couch, the smile never leaving his face. He texted Chloe to update her that Lois was okay. After sitting there for a while, he spotted the prizes on the dining table, the stuffed animals they'd won from the fair. He moved over to the table and picked up the little bunny that Lois won. The bunny was no bigger than the size of his hand, and it was purple and white. Smoothing a finger down its soft, floppy ear, he smiled to himself.

Lois did her best to get ready quickly. She threw on simple jeans and a white tank top. She blow-dried her hair in about ten minutes and applied her daily minimal make up in roughly the same amount of time. She gave herself a quick once over and then left the bathroom. She pulled her favorite boots out of the closet and slipped them on before grabbing her maroon leather jacket.

When she stepped into the living room, she saw Clark standing by the table, holding the stuffed bunny she'd gotten. Pulling her jacket on, she said, "You can have him. It's only fair."

Clark looked up and was taken by her appearance. Even dressed so casually, Lois was still incredibly beautiful. He smiled at her and absentmindedly stroked a thumb over the animal's head. "Thank you. Are you ready?"

"Yep."

The two headed for the door, but before they left the apartment, Clark gently grasped her arm and pulled her close. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was intimate, sweet, and left Lois breathless once again. "Just in case I can't do that for a while."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, Smallville," she responded, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

Clark grinned, hearing her call him by his nickname for the first time in months, and watched her walk ahead of him, her hair dancing along her back. He held onto the little bunny as they descended the stairs and his heart swelled about three sizes, knowing he was about to embark on his wildest adventure.

Hope you liked it. Reviews are fuel.