This is a fic that I started over on fanfiction.net under the pen name Tairona, but I've decided to post it here as well (because what else am I going to put in my LiveJournal?).

Prologue: The Cherry on Top
Chapter One: She Could Make a Choice Now
Chapter Two: Springing a Leak
Chapter Three: What We Pretend to Be
Chapter Four: More Than You Bargained For
Chapter Five: To Lay It All on the Line
Chapter Six: The One That Hits You
Chapter Seven: I Hope You're Wrong
Chapter Eight: Is This What You Were Looking For?

Title: L'esprit de l'escalier
Author: taro_twist (aka Tairona)
Timeline/Fandom: post-Superman Returns
Pairing: Lois/Clark
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: DC and the WB own everything! I'm just temporarily messing with their creations ...
Spoilers: Superman Returns, Superman II, and I guess Superman: The Movie, to be on the safe side

Summary: As Superman, Clark Kent has faced everything from hurricanes to petty thieves, but nothing has prepared him for the experience of having the love of his life come to him for relationship advice. As for Lois, she's faced everything from absentee alien fathers to hydrogen bombs, but never in her wildest dreams has she seen the universe flipped on its head like it's about to be ...

Notes: I started writing this because, well, we all know that Clark Kent is Lois's friend while Superman is her love interest. So I initially thought it would be amusing to play with the idea of Lois going to Clark as a friend and asking him to advise her about the love triangle she's stuck in with Supes and Richard, since she'd basically be telling him about himself. But then I got this other crazy idea and this story is basically what happened when the two collided rather abruptly ...