Aren't Meant To Be

   Bruce gently sipped at his coffee, taking a short moment to mentally prepare for the day.  It was only seven in the morning, but he was wide awake.
   The elevator pinged.  A few seconds later, Clark stepped into the penthouse.
   "You're up early," Bruce said.
   "I was raised on a farm."
   Bruce caught the slight edge in Clark's voice.  "Something wrong?"
   Clark made sure to take a quick deep breath before speaking.  Even so, he had a hard time restraining the booming anger in his voice.  "You broke up with Lois! Why?!"
   Bruce sat in silence for a moment.
   "Clark, I don't exactly expect you to understand this, but Lois doesn't really fit into my life anymore."
   Clark wasn't satisfied with that answer.  "Could you possibly be any more vague?" he asked sarcastically.
   Bruce took a deep breath.  "Lois is... somewhat devoted to me.  Over the past couple of months, she's put herself in a lot of danger because of me—because she thinks she can protect me by getting Luthor put in prison."
   Clark was beginning to understand, though he still didn't like it. "So... you dumped her because you think she'll be safer if she's not worried about you all the time?"
   "It's not just that.  I... I don't think I'm that great for her to be with.  Between school, training, and everything else, I don't really have time for her anymore."
   Clark frowned.  "So make the time."
   Bruce halfway glared at him.  "She's not a priority.  She can't be.  I have more important things to worry about."
   "How can you say that?! She's not just a... a task or something you can—"
   "You left Chloe in Smallville, didn't you?"
   Clark was caught off-guard. "...What does that have to do anything?"
   "She was your best friend, and I think you know she's practically in love with you.  But you left and came to Metropolis because you knew your destiny was here.  Because being here was more important than being with one person."
   Clark thought about that quietly for a moment.  The more he thought about it, the more he realized Bruce was right.  But still, there was one hole in Bruce's reasoning.
   "Hold on a minute," Clark said firmly.  "Lois is still here, in Metropolis.  You don't need to choose between her and being somewhere else.  Even if you don't have a lot of time to spend together, at least you'll have something."
   "It's not just that," Bruce said reluctantly.  "I... I don't think I still feel the same way about her that I did before.  I... appreciate her, but I don't love her."
   They both stood in silence for a moment, thinking it all over.
   "Lois and I... probably aren't meant to be together," Bruce said. "She needs someone who can actually be there for her.  That someone isn't me."
   "Then who?" Clark asked.
   Bruce resisted the urge to give him a clever grin.  "I don't know, but I hope whoever he is, he figures it out sooner than later.  After all, now that I'm out of the way, he doesn't have an excuse any longer."
   Clark suddenly felt nervous, and conveniently remembered that he needed to be somewhere else.  Bruce had never seen Clark be nervous before—about anything.  He enjoyed watching the boy of steel squirm for a few moments. 
   "Well, I'd better get moving," Clark said.  "I've got three articles to write before nine."
   Clark stepped back into the elevator, waiting for the doors to close.
   "Clark," Bruce said, "...watch out for her, alright?"
   As the doors began to slide shut in front of him, Clark stumbled over his words.  "I...uh... what?"