Irene was beyond the disappointment and sadness that she felt last night. All she felt now was anger and annoyance.

She was sure that the moment that she saw Clark again that she would scream. No one had ever made her feel as hurt as she did last night, or maybe she was just angry with herself. She had lost focus on her story and instead made it all about her feelings for Clark. He made her lose focus.

It happened last year during the Battle of Metropolis and it was happening again now.

Irene had been plagued with a thousand clouded thoughts as she and Jimmy waited at Radu's Coffee shop, they were regulars and the owner, Radu Stancu, already had their usual waiting for them on the counter. Usually every morning was filled with gossip and complaining as Jimmy and Irene had their daily coffee but for once Irene was grateful for Jimmy's unusual silence. Or maybe she was the one that was unusually silent and Jimmy was just giving her space.

As much as Irene wanted to believe that she had her emotions under control, she was also someone who always spoke her mind. So her silence now was definitely unusual.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or am I really going to have to ask?" Jimmy questioned once they had stepped out of the coffee house. Considering the way that she was acting Irene was surprised that it had taken him this long to ask. But Jimmy also knew her better than anybody and was just waiting for the right moment to question her.

"Aren't you asking already?"

"Well, technically I guess I am."

Irene came to a stop, not carrying that the sidewalk was busy and that people were sending her annoyed glances. Everyone around her was eager to get to work, and normally she would be too. Instead she was dreading stepping into the Daily Planet and seeing Clark. She knew that she would pretend that nothing was wrong, and that he would see right through the act. Mostly she was worried that Clark would also pretend that there was nothing wrong. "Clark and I kissed last night."

"Can't really say I'm surprised." Jimmy muttered, earning an irritated stare from Irene. He only shrugged in response as he took a small sip of his coffee. "What? I know you. And it was pretty obvious to me."

With a sigh Irene started walking again hoping that it would help her clear her mind, but with every step that they got closer to the Daily Planet the more she dreaded the idea of facing Clark. "That's not very comforting."

"So was he a bad kisser? Or why are you upset?"

Irene wished that was the case. That she felt nothing when they kissed or that he was a terrible kisser, but that was a lie. She had never felt the way she did when she kissed Clark. Like the whole world could fall away and all that mattered was him.

And it frustrated her that he made her feel that way. Especially after what happened after the kiss.

"He just left. We kissed and he left. I haven't heard from him since." Irene said softly, saying the words out loud making her feel worse about the entire situation.

"Oh." The photographer replied as he attempted to find a reasonable reason for Clark's actions. "I'm sure he had his reasons."

She was aware that Jimmy was trying to make her feel better, but the truth was that she only felt worse. The realization that maybe when he kissed her he felt absolutely nothing being the only reasonable answer. And now they had to continue to work together, and Irene wasn't sure if she could move on and pretend that the kiss didn't happen. In kissing her Clark had opened a door she wasn't sure could be closed. "Yet, you can't even come up with one."

"I'm not Clark. I hardly know him." Jimmy replied as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, we're going to be late." Irene said instead needing a change of subject. Their daily meeting wasn't for another hour and the Planet was only a block away. Normally they would sit outside the coffee shop and talk some more but Irene was itching to get the moment that she was dreading over with. To rip off the hurt like a band-aid and hope that her pride wouldn't be too hurt.

It was no surprise when Clark stepped into the conference room a couple of minutes late. He was always a little late, Superman was always needed even if he couldn't always be there to help. But the rest of the reporters at the Daily Planet didn't know that Clark Kent was Superman, they all assumed that Clark was unreliable.

Throughout the meeting Jimmy kept passing her post-it notes with funny doodles in an attempt to cheer her up. Not that anyone else could really notice that there was anything wrong with her to begin with. Irene approached the meeting like she always did, acting like everything was normal.

But if anyone was really paying attention they would notice that Irene hadn't met Clark's waiting eyes once. To her it was like he didn't even exist as she updated Perry and how their story was going. Regardless of how angry she was at Clark she still left out all details related to the kryptonite even though it was a pivotal detail in their investigation and the only clue they really had.

Perry wasn't impressed with their lack of progress on their story, and truthfully Irene agreed. They hadn't made any real groundbreaking discovery that they could publish, of course the kryptonite they discovered would make an amazing story but they couldn't reveal what they found. But Irene knew that there was more to all of this, they just had to keep digging.

She would just have to keep digging for something more. She knew there was an ever bigger story to be discovered in all of this.

After the meeting Irene headed directly to the supply closet needing some time by herself. As much as she didn't want to admit it, being in the same room as Clark for the last hour had overwhelmed her. She was tormented by so many mixed emotions and she simply needed a moment to breathe.

A moment that was all she was going to allow herself. And one deep breath later she picked up a box of pens so no one would think too much of her little escape to the supply closet.

Just as Irene took a step to the door it slowly opened, and to her misfortune Clark was standing at the doorway taking a moment to see how she would react to his presence. And honest she didn't know how to react.

"Irene?"

"What do you want, Clark?" Irene questioned and even she couldn't ignore the double meaning in her question. But she really did need to know what it was that Clark wanted. Sure, she was nothing special when compared to how extraordinary his life was.

Yet, she felt like there was something there. Or maybe it was all entirely one sided or it was as simple as her being infatuated with the man that was too good for her.

Clark stepped fully into the supply closet closing the door behind him, a look of determination in his eyes. "I need to explain myself. I need to apologize."

"I don't have time for this." She replied, which was the truth. There were deadlines that she had to focus on and she wasn't about to let personal drama affect her work. As much as she wanted answers to what was happening between her and Clark she was also afraid of knowing the answer.

"Wait. Please." He insisted as he stepped in front of her, not willing to let her leave until she heard what he had to say. "Last night was a mistake."

Irene wasn't sure what she expected him to say, but it certainly wasn't that. To say that kissing her was a mistake was equivalent to getting punched in the stomach. "A mistake?"

"No. That's not what I meant." He replied quickly as he shook his head, his determination wavering. Now he seemed uncertain, and unable to find the best way to approach the situation knowing that he was bound to say the wrong thing again. "I've wanted to kiss you for a very long time. Now that I have... during the meeting kissing you again was all that I could think about."

"Really?" Irene questioned not at all swayed by his words that in any other circumstance would have had her heart beating out of her chest. But all she could think about now was how terrible he had made her feel the night before. "Because all I could think about was how angry I was at you."

"Irene, I'm so sorry. I just need you to give me the chance to explain myself." Clark continued, and even looking at him now Irene wasn't sure if she could stay angry at him for very long. "Give me that chance. Tomorrow night, please."

He took another step closer, and now there was hardly any space between them. His presence was overwhelming, but she had just enough grip on her reason to not let herself be entirely consumed by him no matter how much she wanted to.

Irene never got the chance to reply as the door to the supply closet opened, and they met the wide-eyed Lois Lane who was looking between the two of them. It wouldn't take a genius to guess what was going on between the two of them.

Without saying a word Lois slowly closed the supply room door leaving Clark and Irene to look at each other in shock. Although Irene was aware that Lois wasn't one to gossip she also wanted to make sure that Loise didn't think any less of her for after seeing her be

"Lois." Irene called out feeling the need to explain herself. "Lois, wait."

"You and Smallville huh?" Lois questioned with a knowing smile, and Irene began to get the sneaking suspension that maybe Lois hadn't been completely blind to what was happening. But of course Lois Lane would notice the small details. "Don't worry I'm not going to tell anyone."

Irene shook her head almost like the action was going to help her clear her head. "There's nothing to tell. I... I don't even know what we are."

"Sounds complicated." Lois replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. The thought of Lois thinking less of her because she was engaging in what was becoming a workplace relationship. She admired Lois, and wanted her name to be as respected as hers. "Or maybe you're just making it more complicated than it has to be."

Metropolis was not a city typically known for crime, but since Superman had made the city his home crime was almost nonexistent. Because what human would be foolish enough to think that they could rob a bank when Superman was protecting the city?

Apparently there was a criminal foolish enough to attempt a petty bank robbery. But as Irene watched the robbery unfold on the news from her couch, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong.

Superman had arrived over an hour ago and the hostages had been released the moment that he did. However, there were still no signs of Superman or the bank robber. Something was wrong. There were signs that there was a fight occurring inside the building. But how could any normal thief be any match against Superman?

She found that she could no longer find it in herself to be angry at Clark. At least not in this moment, when she didn't know what was happening inside the Metropolis National Bank. For the sake of her own sanity she turned off the T.V. knowing that although everything would turn out alright she didn't want to hang on the reporter's every word.

Like she did whenever she was especially nervous or stressed Irene did the only thing that could calm her and that was work. Picking up the stack of files on her kitchen counter she began looking through everything she had on Cadmus Labs. It wasn't much but there had to be something that she had Clark had missed in the beginning.

With her pen she began to annotate the documents desperate to find any kind of lead. The sound of glass shattering from her balcony caused her to jump and to her surprise Superman was standing on her balcony. A shattered pot at his feet. Clark had a tendency of always showing up on her balcony but there was something different about this visit.

He seemed like he was barely able to keep himself on his feet. Realizing this Irene rushed to the sliding glass doors pushing them open to let him inside.

"Sorry, I didn't know where else to go." He explained as he stepped inside the apartment his cape dragged along the floor behind him. Irene rarely saw him in his Superman suit, but everytime it seemed to have the same effect on her.

He took her breath away a little.

"What happened?" Irene questioned as she helped him take a seat in one of the dining room chairs. There were no visible injuries and if he had been injured he was already healed. But there was no ignoring his slight shortness of breath that was gone in an instant.

He didn't have to say exactly what happened for her to know. There was only one thing that could cause these effects in him.

Kryptonite.

But how could a bank robber come in possession of kryptonite? And how did Clark not see it coming? The only thing that Clark couldn't see though was lead. But no one else should know that.

Hundreds of questions were going through her mind. And she didn't know the answer to a single one of them.

"I was caught off guard." Clark replied, determination hardening his features. He was angry and she hadn't seen this side of him since his battle with Zod. He had this desire to protect everyone, what he didn't understand was that even with his abilities that wasn't possible. "It won't happen again."

Irene remained silent, unable to find any words to say. The realization that he would have to go up against whoever knew exactly how to hurt him leaving her speechless in the worst way possible. Clark Kent was invincible, she shouldn't have to worry about him.

"I have to go." Clark declared as he stood the wooden chair scraping against her hardwood floors.

Irene stood too, shocked that he was brushing off what had happened only a couple of minutes ago. "Go where?"

"I need to find him. Before he tries to hurt anyone else."

He was eager to find whoever had done this. It wasn't because he felt the need to redeem himself, Clark was too selfless for that. This was all about making sure that no one got hurt with this new criminal loose in the city. He wasn't being reasonable, which meant that Irene had to be. "We don't even know who he is."

"I have to try."

Irene shook her head knowing that this had to be much bigger than just a thief that happened to come across some kryptonite. There had to be something bigger behind all of this, her investigative instincts were screaming at her that there was still so much more to this story that they had to uncover. "Clark, this is getting dangerous. This isn't a fire or a petty thief."

"I know." He replied softly, as he studied her for a moment. His calm demeanor was meant to ease her, but she was already trying to come up with a solution to their problem. There had to be a way to find the identity of the criminal that was now in possession of kryptonite. "Can I kiss you?"

His question caught her off guard, her mind still working on trying to find the next clue that they could follow. They couldn't have hit a dead end. But her thoughts came to an immediate stop as she looked up to meet his blue eyes.

Maybe it was because just moments ago he was injured or maybe it was as simple as she wanted to kiss him again. But she leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Just like their first kiss this one also came with the same feeling that something was falling into place.

Clark's hand quickly found itself on the back of her neck meaning to pull her closer, but before he could attempt to deepen the kiss she pulled away. The instant she did, Clark attempted to find her lips again. Irene only shook her head as she placed a hand on his chest knowing that if she allowed the kiss to go on any longer.

If she did she knew that they probably wouldn't be able to stop. She wanted him so much that it was ridiculous, but even then she couldn't find it in herself to forgive him entirely for what happened the other night.

Clark seemed to sense this as he placed his hand on top of the one she still had against his chest. Slowly he raised her hand to his lips as he placed a kiss on her knuckles. Again she could sense the apology in the gesture and as much as she was holding out she the at the end of the day she would forgive him.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 7?" Clark questioned.

"See you tomorrow." Irene confirmed returning his smile with one of her own. She wished that she could be more excited about their dinner together, but the truth was that all she felt was fear.

The way that their current situation with the kryptonite was unraveling was bringing back memories from Zod's attack. She could only hope that unlike the Zod's invasion Metropolis wouldn't end up facing that level of loss and destruction again.

A/N: Things are heating up as we near the end of book two. Very excited for you all to read the next chapter as I have to say that it's one of my favorites that I've written so far for this story. I'm also very excited to get started on Batman v Superman because we finally get to meet Bruce! And you all know how much I love myself some Bruce Wayne.  Tell me what you are all excited to see next!