Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Every Time We Say Goodbye (1/12)

The story can be found here. Comments go here.

I'll post once a week until it's done.

Squeeeeee! New Sue fic!

Awwww, your kind words made me blush. Thanks.

I love this story - I love how Lois and Clark really talk in this story. If Lucy had stuck around, or if Lois had a solid girl friend to talk through Lex's proposal with, I think the conversation might have gone just like this - an admission that there are things that she genuinely likes about him, but that she's not really in love with him. And a best friend is the person that can poke and prod you, rip through justifications, and make you honestly analyze decisions you're making in your life. For Lois, that person is Clark.

But what a position for him to be in! He can't be honest with her about his feelings, it's tearing him up to have to listen and be that friend for Lois, he has to make sure he's not speaking just out of jealousy, he has to respect her enough to also respect her decision....aaarrrggghhh! It's a testament to his character that Clark is there for her through it all anyway, despite his feelings. I hope he knows that patience is a virtue, that she might work through her emotions and really see the man she has overlooked all along.

Truer words have never been written!

Oh, oh, oh! A new Sue story! I came to checks the mbs not expecting to find anything new... And there was this treat waiting! Yay!

I'm On vacation, on a crappy connection on the phone but I promise real fdk as soon as I'm back home in a couple of days. By then I'm sure I'll have reread this a serious number of times... Smells like a new personnal favorite, so please don't keep us hanging for too long!

Yay! Sue is back!

Yaaay! Sue is back!!! *insert cheerleading emoticon here*
Just one question: is there gonna be a nFanfic version of this? I ask because I still get a bit lost among all these acronyms (for instance, what "WAFF" exactly stands for?) and... Because I know Sue

Okay count me in. I'll be along for the ride. I like the concept of this story. Clark is going to have to do a lot of fancy footwork to keep Lois from guessing the depth of his feelings for the time being. (But he did learn to dance from a princess 😉). I thought Lois would be more adamant about Lex splitting the team up, but she is just too shocked and surprised right now. I look forward to seeing her start to miss her time spent with Clark. It might just be a catalyst to make her face her own feelings. Keep it coming. 😀 Sarah

Ahhhh, there's nothing quite like settling in to read some lovely feedback!

groobie - Kind words? Oh, honey, you should have seen the first draft of my acknowledgements. I figured I'd better tone it down or you might figure out that I'm more than a little dazzled by how generous you are with your time and considerable talent. Uh, I mean, I didn't want to embarrass you with how effusive it was.

He did say he'd do anything for her, and he truly means it. Anything she wants or needs, he'll do it, even if it means giving up his own chance at happiness. <sniffle>

Cristina - A new personal fave? Squee! And we're just getting started! In a couple more parts all the groundwork will be laid and we can really get into it. Thank you!

HiddenMoon - Thanks for the vote of confidence! WAFF is an acronym for "warm and fuzzy feelings." So, basically, I plan to have the characters wallow in schmoop. There isn't an nfic version, sorry.

Sarah - Yay! Thanks for coming along for the ride! I promise Clark is going to do some extremely fancy footwork before the story is over.
Yeah, absence just might make the heart grow fonder.

Thank you, ladies!

Ooh yay, a new Sue fic!

Loving this first part.

This bit is just so perfectly Clark.

Eagerly awaiting the next installment

Feli

Delightful start, I love that your Lex is smart enough not to waste talent.
Having Clark traveling is great, perhaps he can even use Clark to expose Intergang in other cities.

Hi Sue! That’s a cute surprise!
LOIS: …and then the Kryptonian prince drifted up the tower to the window where Wanda was waiting for him, her body burning with the heat of a red sun for the moment when she would once again hold him in her arms…Dammit, I must stop getting distracted like that! Let’s see… Wanda put out her cigarette on the dresser top, not caring that she burned another mark into the worn surface. It didn’t matter and anyway, the dresser belonged to Clark — in fact, the entire club did — and once Anton showed up tonight, she would be out of here. Permanently. Then Clark could try and look for another way to get a win, because she sure was out of the business!

I think the rating kind of got away from me there. Soooo-ry!

LEX: What do you mean, ‘Nigel shoots me dead right after I propose to Lois Lane’?

LEX:

LOIS:
CAT: I much rather have lots of RST instead.

12 parts of fluff! How can one manage!
.
.
.


See? That’s why Nestle invented the Nespresso system.
PERRY: Nonsense. One must be able to use newspaper coffee as newspaper ink in a bind.

Metabolism extraordinaire! It can be yours, for just 1.21GW of electrical power!

I’m sure she’d find work.
SPENCER SPENCER: There’s always room at the center of my magazine.

What about her mother?
LOIS:



Translation: He lets her win.
CLARK:

JAPANESE TWINS:

Sound like very compelling reasons.
MINDY:

If the glass shoe fits?

Really? Asking her to go for a cup of coffee while she’s nursing a cup of coffee?

See?
CLARK: It always works when I ask the girls in the singles bar over on Third.
RALPH: No, I can confirm that it doesn’t work. At all.

Like, how he just sort of blurted it out while they were in bed?
CLARK:

JAMES BOND:
MARSHAL JOHN KRUGER:

Really? Isn’t that like taking your date home and swiping Tinder the entire time while she drives?

Maybe he just got bad news from the pilot about the plane going to crash in a couple of minutes?

And the emeralds around it! They practically glow!

Maybe if he found the right amount of red Kryptonite…?

Well…she’s still alive for one thing. And she’s not locked up in some harem in the Swiss alps.

LEX: She’s talking like that matters.

MINDY: Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I’d do a man for a billion dollars. Hell, I’d do a man and his son for a billion dollars.

But it would be enough to hire, for instance, Joe the Blow. Then she wouldn’t have to be married to him for the rest of her life. Only for the rest of his life.

Like someone was peeling his fingers and toes with a Kryptonite blade before sending his favorite toy back to his father in a box?

LOIS: May I hit him? Please? Just a we little bit?

Birthday sex. Dig a bullet out of his shoulder. Wear a flimsy dress and pretend to be his concubine. Stuff like that.

A reporter I met in Metropolis.
LOIS: LINDAAAAAAA!

But he does have a rockin’ bod’. Or so they say.

Like when she said it to Clark the night before?
LOIS: That’s not…We…I…That’s not what we’re talking about right now.

It’s because he values breathing.



Yes, that would be helpful





He’ll make a wonderful Best Man.

OWEN: I don’t know how it happened, sir. One moment he was right next to me. The next, I sit down and there’s this squishing sound. You know, like when you sit down on a rat or something.

?

Take seven…subtract one…add a week…erm…That’s going to be almost another week!

Michael

Yes! Sue S. is back!!!


If Lois is distracted there is usually a very good reason for it. Urgh! Clark, three packets of sugar are more than enough! Why is it men can pretty much eat whatever they want and not pay the price for it?



What a sad state of affairs, Lois should have at least one female confidante. Its a real pity Lucy hasn't grown up yet.


Of course there is more to the conversation, but for me, this sets the tone and texture of the story. Nicely written.


Voices from outside of Metropolis? on the surface it sounds like a great concept, but wouldn't it be better to start the series someplace closer to home? I guess Luthor wants Clark as far from Lois as possible. This way he knocks out another leg in her personal support system. Clever, without being ruthless - so far.


With Owen as Clark's shadow, why do I get the impression that he won't make it to the airport?

Brilliant beginning!

Woo hoo! More FDK!

Feli - Thank you! I see we share the same opinion of Clark's willingness to make Lois happy. The next installment will be up on Thursday, and each successive Thursday after that.

Framework4 - Lex was portrayed as pretty clever on the show, or at least, he usually had an ulterior motive (or two) for everything that he did. I'm trying to stay true to that portrayal. Thanks for stopping by.

Michael - Hey, you! I was thrilled to see you pop up in the thread! And then I laughed, because you are, as always, full of wit and snark. And cute emojiis. You always come up with such fun emojiis. I laughed hardest at the idea of the ring having "emeralds" circling the main stone (and why hasn't someone written that story?!?), and the list of "anything" that Lois should be willing to do for Lex:
Switch the fiance to Clark and I'm pretty sure the answer would be 'yes' to all of it. Except maybe the birthday hanky panky. We never actually saw that one on the show, so it's pure conjecture whether she'd be game.

I also laughed at the picture of the Mountain as a visual aid for Owen. That's pretty close! In my mind, Owen is clean-shaven, but the height and bulk (and no-nonsense attitude) are dead-on.

Morgana - Yes! Morgana is back!
Darn metabolism! It's beyond unfair.

Yes, but realizing Clark is her best friend and truest confidante is step one in recognizing that he could be a heck of lot more, too.

Yes! That is precisely what Lex is up to -- he's savvy enough to know that Clark isn't going to be encouraging Lois to accept his proposal, and to know that keeping Clark far away will leave Lois in a vulnerable place.

I promise, Clark makes it to the airport. Lex wants him out of the way, but he doesn't want him dead… yet. <heh>

Yeah? Thank you!!!

Thank you all for leaving comments! I'm very grateful!

It’s all in the magic of http://cosgan.de/smilie.php?wahl=2&ziel=frech

Umm…actually…/points at Dirty Pool and Tainted Love by Double L/ I wasn’t the one who had the idea first

Unfair!
NIGEL: If you are interested, sir, I can arrange for you getting shot.

Yes. Pure conjecture!
GOODE: Conjecture? You call those photoshops conjecture?



Michael

SUE!!!!!!!!!
Happy to see you back! And will wait impatiently for the rest...

This made my night. Thanks Michael

Yay - another fic!


Trust me, honey, when you have to ask if you would be crazy to turn him down, he's probably not the right guy for you. You want a guy that you *know* you would have to be crazy to turn down.

Somebody like Clark.


Yep, creepy stalker vibe alert. It seems romantic now. But wait till he checks on where you're going, puts spyware on your phone, and reads all your mail.


Ah, Clark, that's good advice! Of course, in the words of Ella Fitzgerald (or maybe it was Billie Holiday), "I've been rich and I've been poor, and rich is better."


Why would he be mollified by this assignment? Because it's interviewing a kid? Because the assignment is in Florida? I am not sure what you meant by that.

Howdy! Howdy! Howdy!

Michael - I remember those stories by Double L, but I didn't remember the engagement ring having special K in it. Then again, it's been many moons since I read them and my memory for stories is considerably less than encyclopedic.

I would NEVER! You must be thinking of someone else.

Lola - Hey! I promise I'm even happier to see you! Thanks for stopping in!

Iolan - And now you're here, too! What a wonderful night it's turning out to be!

Not a bad suggestion, actually. And you're absolutely right. You do want someone you know you'd be crazy to turn down.

Good thing Lex isn't the type to become a stalker then, isn't it?


Whoever it was, they seem to know what they're talking about. I'd rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable. Or rich and happy versus poor and happy. Or…


In my fevered brain it was implied that it was an impossible interview to get, but I can see why you'd be confused. I'll reword it for the final version to make it more clear that Lex delivered an interview that Clark had been eager to do.

Thank you to everyone who's commented!

Hey Sue ...

Well, you have me hooked (as usual ) right from the start, totally putty in your hands, dying to read more. Ah--oh wait, an advantage to being late: Part 2! Woo-boo! ....yeeaaahhh--it's a pretty safe bet what I'll be doing later today .

Beyond excited about this story, and have been wanting to read it since I saw it post, but RL (ie--kindergarten starting this week for my daughter/first kid in school/parent denial and utter school cluelessness ) have kept me away till now.

I love where you are going with this story. Having a legit conversation about the proposal--not how it just blurted into a fact on the show. Clark walking that line--of being The Best Friend...and knowing that as much as it hurts to be there for Lois (and how insanely frustrating it is: -- Our Poor Clark ) he has to be the person. And lastly, by (maybe--totally my guess ) potentially giving Lois time to miss Clark, but because of real work reasons (travel) instead of personal issues (the fighting in the series the proposal instigates).

Speaking of Clark and travel...I have got to give you a couple of these: . What a sneaky way for Lex to pry the two of them apart! Dissolve the partnership to quote-on-quote work to each of their strengths...give Clark THE story, the type of story he'd love to report. Love it!

I must go and pick up a very Big Girl kindergartener from school. Where-oh-where does the time go? I guess what they say IS true: Kids grow up way too fast .


Laura (who wrote every bit of this on her iPhone so that the four year old--who thankfully is still a Little Boy--could have some 'iPad Time!!!' ). One still planted squarely into the nest at home...sighing in relief .

Hey there. So happy to see a new story from you when I wandered in here today.

Most of my favorite parts have already been quoted, but I also loved the "real" conversation they had about Lois' proposal. Of course, given their communication issues on the show, this was totally out of character.

I especially liked Lois' answer to Clark's question:



So real. We don't need Clark's thoughts here. His expression tells us everything we need to know. It tells Lois, too. I'm sure she'll remember this look later when everything is falling apart.

I also loved that the conversation already has Lois rethinking Luthor's motives.


Good for Lois. Clark's emotional availability is paying off here. Lois is acting like her usual, questioning self.

Also, this...


And here we have one of the fundamental differences in Lois and Clark's characters - how their parental influences affected their outlooks on marriage. Clark see's Martha and Jonathan in a respectful, friendly, trusting, loving relationship and can't see a marriage working any other way. Lois didn't get that and so she can't see those qualities as a "real" motivation for marriage.

I love how Lois somehow got a confession of love from Clark without even trying. That was a funny exchange. I'm wondering if Clark will eventually fess up or if Lois is going to put all the clues together. Can't wait to find out.

I was with Morgana on my suspicions of Lex and the muscle letting Clark make it to his prime interview appointment. So glad to have the reassurance that Clark is not on Luthor's hit list ... yet.

I'm also with LMA. I found the story late, so yay, me. I get to go straight to part 2.

Woot!

What a great premise! To see Clark and Lois actually communicating in this episode is delightful.

Lex breaking up their partnership by sending Clark to Miami is so sneaky, and well just so Lex! Separating Lois and Clark isn't enough, he has to control Clark's trip to the airport too. I just hope Owen doesn't travel all the way to Miami, or send Clark elsewhere. Clark's self-control here is amazing. Most adults would chafe at being treated like a child, let alone the silent threat by the giant Owen.

Huzzah! More feedback!

Laura - Putty in my hands, eh? <looks over at the growing pile of laundry> I suppose, though, with small children you already have limited time on your hands.

That has irritated me all these years. I've always wondered what might have happened if they had talked about it instead of having it blurted out.


Yeah, and the little piece of me that likes to imagine Clark yearning for Lois couldn't resist having him be her sounding board. Truthfully, though, I think it's exactly what we were given on the show. By the end of the first season she really did look upon him as a close friend, and she also was starting to recognize the attraction between them.


Thanks! I figured Lex is exactly that conniving.

Brenda - Hey, stranger! How wonderful to have you here! I've missed you!




I hated how, on the show, she just blindly accepted that Lex couldn't possibly be up to anything. Sure, you don't want to think your almost-fiance is a sociopath, but someone with Lois' supposed instincts should have at least questioned if Clark might possibly be on to something. In the end, I have her waffle back and forth for a bit, just because I think that would be human nature to not want to believe it.


I'd say it's more like she doesn't automatically go there, but she certainly realizes deep down that friendship is the key to any kind of marriage. Or it should be. She was on the defensive when she was arguing with Clark about it.


Thanks! She wasn't really trying -- she meant that to be an illustrative question for herself, not for Clark. Now that she knows, though, it's going to drive her crazy until she can get him to talk.



Lex is much too smooth and subtle to kill him outright.

cuidadora - Hi! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.

Nope, Owen only makes sure Clark gets on the plane (and probably waited to see it take off). It would be extremely frustrating to be treated like a child, but Clark has the comfort of knowing that he can zoom back to Metropolis in just a few minutes.

Thank you for the comments! My thanks to everyone who's chimed in so far.

I'm late to the party, but oh, so happy to find this! I absolutely loved this conversation. Clark is being a wise friend, much more mature than we ever saw on the show, at least in the first season. And Lex has been too clever for his own good; splitting up Lois and Clark may be designed to make her easier pickings, but I have a feeling it's going to make her heart grow fonder instead. For the record, I got why Clark was mollified by the assignment, but of course it never hurts to make it more explicit. Now I just have to decide whether to catch up now or wait another month so I can read the whole thing at once (yeah, like that would ever happen). Looking forward to the rest!