"Carolyn," he tried to swallow his fear, but his throat was so dry that her name erupted into a fit of coughs. She hadn't even heard his attempt to speak to her. When he had gathered himself again, he looked at her, standing with her back to him, and sighed. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The silky sage dress she wore fell loosely to the ground, leaving her back bare to reflect the moonlight. Seeing her gazing at the New York cityscape, lost in silent reverie, made him want to leave everything behind and devote his every moment to her simple happiness.

But that was not an option. He shook his head to snap himself out of the haze that consistently overtook him when Carolyn was around. He had to tell her. She deserved to know.

"Caro-"

"Isn't everything so much prettier at night, Lex?" she sighed, turning toward him again. She smiled at him and leaned against the barrier separating her from the city below.

The haze returned. He could so easily lose himself in her gaze, and it was growing more tempting by the minute. Especially after a day like today.

"Alexander," she teased, knowing he didn't like when she called him by his real name. He walked over and took both of her hands, staring deeply into her light green eyes. She immediately fell into his chest, breaking eye contact, and Lex knew she could sense his uncertainty. His mind raced as he tried to put the words together.

"I know you don't want to move to Rochester with me. You can just tell me. We'll figure something out. And whenever I have a break from classes I'll come visit you!" She spoke fast like she didn't want to give him time to disagree.

"What? No, it's not that at all!" He reacted. He actually hadn't even thought about that at all since she brought it up the night before. "I would follow you to the moon if I could, it's just-"

"Work? Family? Stubbornness? I'm not asking for the moon, Lex, it's only a 5 hour drive."

"Carolyn," he consoled her, "I love you. I want to be with you. I just don't get much of a say."

"What do you mean?" she shouted, the tears began to fall. He pulled her into a hug, not knowing what else to do. He needed to think without her responding to how well she could read his face. This was not going the way he had imagined it.

"Do you remember," he began, "when you were walking home from a late night shift because I didn't come to pick you up? A group of thugs tried to rob you, and you were saved by the one they call The Tempest, remember?"

She nodded in his chest, "I was pretty mad at you." Her voice was muffled against him.

"Or when I didn't show up to our date and you saw later that night on the news that he had been involved in finding an escaped criminal?"

She stared at nothing, nodding slowly. She was beginning to put it together.

"Or that time-"

"It's you..." she whispered.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, relieved he didn't even have to say it.

"It's you!" She pushed herself away from him.

He was speechless, Anger? She's angry? Not what I had expected.