Under The Weather | Superman

During the early days of their relationship, Lois had a chance to learn a lot of unexpected things about her new boyfriend. But one of the more surprising discoveries came their first autumn together. Of all the people she knew, she never would have expected Clark Kent to have seasonal depression.

Late in every fall, Metropolis got hit with a bad rainy season. The clouds would roll in and keep everything wet and gloomy for a few weeks before clearing the way for winter. The fact that it set in at the same time the days were getting shorter meant a lot less sunlight for the unhappy inhabitants of Metropolis. Unfortunately, one of those residents happened to need sunlight.

The first time she noticed it was only a few months after they’d moved in together, and Lois spent a few agonizing weeks worrying that her boyfriend was having second thoughts about them. But the rain eventually cleared up and the sun came back out — albeit in a more reduced capacity — and Clark eventually bounced back to his typically cheerful self.

Being Lois, she of course instantly needed to “fix” the problem. After speaking to a few medical professionals and doing her own research, it became clear that it wasn’t something she could fix. Her determination had to be channeled instead into helping in whatever ways he needed until the season passed.

After finding out the truth about his secret identity, the situation became a little clearer to her. It wasn’t exactly seasonal affective disorder that he was suffering from — but it was sort of the Kryptonian equivalent of it. With less sunlight, he had less physical energy, which also left him with less mental energy as a result. In that way, she supposed, he really wasn’t much different from humans.

It still saddened her a little to see her boyfriend so moody and listless, but at least she had a better understanding of why it was happening. She could put it into simple terms and wrap her head around the explanation. It made sense, and that was all she usually needed.

Having the medical explanation for it should have cleared up her worries about the problem. Lois considered herself a very factual person. She wasn’t the sort to give in to fanciful or sentimental thoughts. And yet, every time she saw those dark hazel eyes without their usual sparkle, or that halfhearted smile greeting her at breakfast in the morning… it made her want to reach into the sky and shove all the grey clouds out of sight.

This particular November, a few months after their wedding, the sky broke open and unleashed a deluge on the city. The already reduced sunlight was cut even shorter by the constantly overcast skies. The rain was coming down so hard for a week solid that the city officials took precautions in case the sewer system couldn’t handle the excess drainage.

Lois noticed her new husband lacking some of his usual upbeat personality during the first few days. By the third day, he was starting to visibly drag, but was still able to work and carry on as usual. It wasn’t until the morning of the sixth day that she started to genuinely worry.

Her eyes opened with effort as she squinted at the rain-blurred window. “Ugh,” she groaned. “Not morning already.” At least it was her day off. After the late night she’d had at the office, she needed it.

It took several moments for her brain to fully register the warm body she was currently snuggling up next to. Sitting up, she frowned down at her sound asleep husband.

Clark never slept in. He was always up with the sunrise — probably some byproduct of growing up on a farm where chores didn’t acknowledge the existence of weekends. It was a frequent source of irritation for Lois, who was decidedly not a morning person.

“Clark, honey,” Lois murmured, gently shaking his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

His skin definitely felt colder to the touch than she was used to. Was he sick? Could Kryptonians even get sick? As far as she knew, Clark had never been ill a day in his life.

“Clark, please wake up,” she said, tone hardening a little. Her brain had a strong survival instinct, going into combat mode whenever the precious life she’d carved out for herself was being threatened. And the man she’d fallen in love with was now a permanent addition to that protected bubble.

He stirred immediately, rolling over with a mumbled inquiry that was lost in the pillows and blankets. One large hand reached over to grab hers. “Lois… you okay?” he repeated, voice still slurred, but slightly more intelligible this time.

Lois both loved and hated the fact that his first reaction was to find out if anything was wrong with her. It was touching that even half-asleep he could detect her worry. But considering that he was the source of that worry right now, it wasn’t entirely appreciated.

“I’m fine. Are you feeling okay?”

He nodded sleepily, eyes falling shut again. “Yeah. Just tired. Late night.”

Well, that was an understatement. Clark had spent until three in the morning helping prevent a washed out bridge from fully collapsing and blocking the waterway into Hobs Bay. Lois had also been at the scene to cover the disaster for the Daily Planet, and then had to spend the next few hours writing up her article for the morning edition.

Still, it wasn’t like him to be this worn out, even if it had been a grueling five hours of non-stop lifting and moving.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Lois asked, pressing a wrist to his forehead. She didn’t know if he even ran fevers, but it was worth a shot.

“‘m fine,” he murmured, a deep yawn belying his words. “Just need to recharge.”

Those words were the ones that finally made it click for Lois. Of course he was more exhausted than usual. He’d expended a lot of power last night and hadn’t been given an opportunity to recharge. That, combined with the sunless week they’d had, it made sense he was feeling depleted.

Lois shifted closer, sitting with her back against the headboard. She gently guided her half-asleep husband closer, letting his head come to rest on her lap. “I’m sorry,” she said gently, running her fingers through the soft black hair. “I didn’t even think about it last night.”

“’m okay, honey,” he mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes. “Promise.”

It would have been a lot more reassuring if he wasn’t already drifting back into sleep.

Lois sighed and shook her head. “Next year, we’ll go away for the rainy season,” she said. Her gaze shifted out the window, to the gloomy skies that were keeping the sun locked away. “We could spend a few weeks with your mom if we can’t afford anything else.”

He offered a faint hum of agreement, apparently not conscious enough to more actively join the conversation.

Her fingers continued soothing away the headache she knew must be raging inside his head. He quietly slipped back into the protective haze of sleep, while she kept careful watch over the man who watched over the whole world.

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