Summary: Set during the season 2 episode, 'The Prankster.' What if Lois and Clark had kissed while watching TV?
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Just exercising my imagination.
A/N: I had written part one as a stand alone, and it easily can just be one story by itself. However, I wrote a second part, and plan on writing a third part. Hence, a trilogy! Here's part one.
****
Lois had told Perry and Clark she was fine, but her hands were shaking, and she felt slightly breathless as she opened her apartment door.
“Nobody’s here…. Right?” She said aloud to the fish.
She tossed her shoes off to the side and grabbed the remote, pointing it at the TV, and hesitated. Nope. Not turning the TV on.
“Everything’s fine…. Everything’s fine…” she repeated over and over as she took off her vest and put her hand on the fridge handle.
She stopped and pulled her hand away from the fridge.
“Oh God I hate this!” she exclaimed while shaking her hands and looking warily at the fridge. This was stupid.
“Oh girl, just get a grip!” she commanded herself as she grasped the handle and opened the fridge door, keeping her eyes closed just in case.
Nothing happened. Relieved she grabbed the milk from the shelf and proceeded to drink right out of the carton trying to get a grip on her fear.
The phone rang and she jumped, sloshing milk out of the carton and jumping back to avoid wearing most of it.
“I have got to get some control,’ she said to the empty room while wiping up the spilled milk.
The phone continued to ring. It could be a trap! She grabbed the closest things to her, oven mitts and some kitchen utensils, and used them to pick up the phone.
“Lois? Lois? Is that you?” Came the voice from the receiver.
“Perry?”
“Yeah, listen….” Perry began to speak but Lois didn’t hear what he was saying while she tried to calm her breathing.
While reassuring Perry that she was ok the call abruptly ended so when the phone rang again she assumed it was Perry calling her back.
It wasn’t. It was Griffin admitting he had cut the previous call and confirming his guilt in the murder of Barrows. She listened as he told her he would be tormenting her, making her life miserable and then would put her out of her misery. She quickly hung up the phone.
Now what.
She took a deep breath. Griffin wasn’t going to scare her out of her own home! First she needed to change out of that great skirt that looked amazing but wasn’t much help if she had to move around quickly. She peered into her bedroom looking for any signs of an intruder, grabbed some clothes out of the dresser and ran into the bathroom locking the door behind her.
More deep breaths, willing herself to calm down. She could do this. This wasn’t the first time she’d been in danger or threatened and it always worked out. She just needed to put today behind her.
Despite her attempt at confidence she couldn’t make herself get into the shower. Griffin’s call had unnerved her too much. Dragging a brush through her hair, cleaning off her makeup and brushing her teeth was about as much as she could do as she was now paranoid that someone was watching her. She changed quickly into the old and comfy jeans and long sleeved shirt she’d grabbed and cautiously opened the bathroom door.
She could do this.
Right?
Thirty minutes passed and she had stayed perched on the edge of the couch staring at the phone, only moving when a neighbour dropped something on the floor above and she jumped several feet in the air.
She couldn’t do this. Not if she wanted to sleep! There was always Perry’s offer but she found herself wishing she had taken Clark’s offer to bring her home.
Clark! Thinking about him brought an unfamiliar sensation of fluttering in her stomach.
It wasn’t too long after 10pm, he’d still be up, right? She grabbed her keys, wallet and as an afterthought, a ball cap pulled low to help hide her face in the event Griffin was watching the area, and opened the apartment door. She peered down the hallway, heart pounding as she turned her back to lock her door. Creeping down the hallway, down the stairs, and towards the main entrance to the building. She cracked the door and peeked outside to see if there was anything abnormal. Her breath caught as a car started on the other side of the street and she hesitated while the car drove away.
Jeep. Get in the Jeep. She’ll be find once she’s driving, she rationalized. She climbed in, glancing around to see if anyone was watching and put the key in the ignition. Closing her eyes, and with a whimper, she turned the key, putting her head on the steering wheel in relief as the Jeep started. What had she been expecting? That her Jeep would blow up? Yes, she laughed to herself, that’s what she had expected. She needed to get out of here now before her imagination gave her a heart attack.
It didn’t take long to get to Clark’s place and she sat there trying to come up with a reason she was showing up at this time without telling him about the call. Clark would worry and tell her to call the police. Her pride at being an independent, strong woman who was ruthless in her pursuit of the story, had taken a beating over the last few months. She couldn’t let this get to her as well. This was something she could handle, she just needed a friend for the evening.
Putting the Jeep in gear she headed off to the closest pizza place which wasn’t too far from Clark’s. She grabbed two pizzas and some diet soda before stopping in the rental store and grabbing the first three movies she could think of.
Back at Clark’s place, she could see the light was on and hear the sound of the TV so hopefully he was awake! She knocked.
“Clark!” She called. Leaning on the door while she tried to shuffle pizza, movies and soda around, she was startled when the door opened and she fell back into Clark’s hands.
“Lois, it’s after 11.”
“I know, I know, it’s late. I’m sorry but I, uh, had this sudden urge for pizza and a Mel Gibson movie,” she babbled as she walked past Clark to put the pizza down. “I know how much you like pizza and Lethal Weapon, so, uh, here I am!”
“Great! Come in….”
Lois held up the movies to show Clark. “So what should we start with? Lethal Weapon 1 or Lethal Weapon 2 or there’s 3 but it’s sort of stupid at the beginning but it gets better!” She was beyond babbling now, it was moving into the verbal diarrhea phase.
“Lois, is something wrong?” Clark asked cautiously.
“Does something have to be wrong for me to want to spend some time with a friend?” She was definitely deflecting his question and trying to stem the flow of words that didn’t seem to want to stop.
“No, uh no, sorry. 1 would be great.”
Lois popped the tape into the VHS and hit play and took a seat next to Clark on the couch, removing her hat and fiddling with her hair. “This is really great… we should do this more often. What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Lois…” Clark started before the phone ringing loudly interrupted him
“Clark! Don’t!” Lois cried.
“Hello? Hello?” Clark held the phone in the air. “There’s nobody there. Must have been a wrong number.”
“Wrong number. No problem. That happens all the time in the big city right?” Her hands were shaking. Was it Griffin? Had he followed her here? Don’t start crying she told herself.
“Lois, you want to tell me what happened?”
“Nothing happened,” she tried to brush Clarks question off as she stood up and walked over to the pizza. “I mean, you know, nothing important. Griffin called me.”
“What! What did he say?”
Lois brought the pizza over to the coffee table and sat down. “Oh, the usual. He said Lois, hi, how are you, long time no see, I’m going to kill you.” So much for not saying anything! Before her mouth betrayed her further she took a large bite of pizza.
“Kill you! What! Did you call the police?” Clark exclaimed, his eyes widening.
“Clark, I’m a professional reporter. This is not the first death threat I’ve received. These things, they never pan out.” Don’t cry. Take another bite.
“Well maybe not, but I’d feel a lot better if you’d stay here tonight.
“Oh,” she stammered as a wave of relief flooded over her. “If it would make you feel better then I guess…”
“Don’t let me twist your arm or anything,” Clark said with a slight smile.
She sighed and put down the half eaten piece of pizza. “Oh, Clark.” She grabbed his hands in hers. “I don’t want to die.”
“Lois, I would not let that happen.” Clark spoke softly but Lois knew he would do everything he could to keep her safe. She felt the tears begin to well up as Clark gently stroked her hands with his thumbs. She felt comforted, safe and as he looked at her she felt a surge of desire, her stomach flip flopping.
She let go of his hand and reached up to his face with her right hand, ever so gently running her thumb up his jaw towards his hair. He didn’t flinch, instead he moved slightly closer as her breath caught, her heart started pounding as she leaned towards him and hesitantly kissed him.
It took her brain a moment to recognize that Clark wasn’t pulling away from the embrace. Her hand found its way into his hair, her other hand on his chest. He had brought one arm up onto the back of the couch and was gently caressing her shoulder, the other hand on her waist.
She gasped and pulled back from his lips, dipping her head slightly. Clark lowered his forehead to hers and she could hear his heavier than normal breathing. She dropped her hand from his hair and let it fall back into her lap.
“Lois?” He whispered.
She glanced up and met his eyes, biting her lower lip while butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She could see in his eyes that he was uncertain and concerned. Trying to reassure him she smiled slightly and was rewarded with a smile in return. Clark draped his arm around her shoulders and leaned back into the couch guiding Lois towards him as the movie began. She nestled in to his shoulder trying to find the perfect spot to rest her head.
“Mel Gibson’s really funny in these movies,” she said while yawning.
“He plays a great wildman…” Clark began.
As Clark continued speaking, Lois suddenly found she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. His voice was soothing and she felt herself drifting off.
****
As she woke she heard Clark speaking softly somewhere nearby. “Tell Chief we’re on it… Thanks.”
She was at Clark’s. On the couch. With a blanket on her. “Who was that?” As the words came out of her mouth she remembered the kiss they’d shared.
“That was Jimmy. Griffin’s parole officer called this morning,” Clark said as he adjusted his tie. “The only address he has for him is Griffin’s father’s toy store.”
“Toy store? I thought Griffin’s father was a nuclear physicist. Didn’t Griffin follow in his footsteps?” She asked as she put on her shoes and grabbed a slice of leftover pizza and took a bite. She hadn’t eaten much last night and was quite hungry.
“Apparently he retired and he’s gone into the toy business. It’s not far from here.” Clark handed her a cup of freshly brewed coffee. “How’d you sleep?”
“I had really weird dreams,” she said as she took a sip. Heavenly. Did that kiss actually happen or was it part of her strange dreams.
“Maybe it’s the pizza?”
“I doubt it. I dreamed I was a cocktail waitress and Griffin was the bartender and all of a sudden he’s trying to shove me in the blender, and I’m screaming we don’t serve blended drinks here!”
“Let’s hope it’s the pizza,” Clark laughed as he took the piece of pizza out of her hands.
“Hey! That’s my breakfast!”
“I’ll buy you a donut on the way to the toy store.”
“Do you mind if we stop at my apartment first so I can change?”
“No, of course not. I know you senior journalists have an image to uphold.”
She rolled her eyes as he walked past her. Maybe the kiss had been a dream, a really good dream. She smiled to herself and turned to Clark as he called.
“Lois?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you ok?” Clark came back down the steps towards her. “Last night you had a, uh, rough night with the call from Griffin and…” he fell silent, a slight hint of a blush forming on his cheeks.
He had stopped in front of her, so close that she could easily wrap her arms around him and take comfort in a hug. Instead she glanced up at him and startled by the intensity of his eyes, she looked down at the floor quickly. That had been no dream last night.
“I, uh, maybe? Last night was… well… I was a little freaked out. I mean, it’s not like I get a call every day with someone threatening to kill me. I have had them before, but I just…” she trailed off cursing in her head at her babbling, twisting her fingers together to hide her nervousness.
Clark reached for her chin and gently lifted her face towards him. “Hey, it’s ok. Let’s deal with Griffin first.”
“Ok,” she smiled up at him. “Here, you drive,” she handed him the keys.
Clark dropped her off at her place and left with the Jeep to get breakfast giving Lois some time to shower and change. Clean and wrapped in a towel she stared at herself in the mirror, absently running her fingers over her lips. That kiss had been amazing, unlike the other times they’d kissed. So far she’d only instigated one kiss with him and that had been as a distraction before she’d been tossed out of a plane. She gasped as she remembered the kiss from Clark when he had suddenly decided to leave Metropolis during the heat wave. There had been something behind that kiss, as it wasn’t merely a friendly kiss. Even the kiss they’d shared while distracting the maid from their surveillance equipment had been more than just a distraction. She grinned slightly as she remembered fighting at first before finding herself enjoying it. Clark was a great kisser.
She jumped as the front door slammed shut.
“Lois?”
“Clark? I’m just finishing up,” she called, realizing she’d daydreamed far longer than she had should have.
“Ok, I’ve got a coffee and some croissants for you.”
She dried and straightened her hair in record time and changed into one of her new skirt and jacket outfits. The skirt was a bit shorter than she usually wore but perhaps today was the perfect day for it.
“Ready,” she announced as she entered the living room. Clark turned to hand her the cup of coffee and she watched as his eyes drifted down then back up to her face, a grin breaking into a smile. She took the cup from his hands, their fingers lightly touching and she smiled up at him trying to calm the butterflies making her stomach and heart flip flop. “Let’s go.”
****
This was not how she had expected today to go. At the processing plant she’d succumbed to whatever gas they were pumping through the ventilation system and had dissolved into a giggling puddle only to be picked up by Griffin and his goon, Victor. Now she was sat in a chair while Victor waved a gun around complimenting her legs. At least she wasn’t tied up!
When Griffin’s mystery weapon had misfired, Victor had been distracted, and she had used that moment to disarm him. A small scuffle with Griffin, where he tried to suffocate her with a pillow, ended when a well placed kick incapacitated him. She’d grabbed the gun as Superman showed up.
“Well I guess you don’t need me?” he had asked with a grin.
“Not this time, but don’t leave town,” she’d responded while catching her breath. “Have you seen Clark?” In the background she could hear sirens approaching.
“Yes, he’s on his way with the police.”
Superman stayed with her for the few minutes it took the police to get to her. Once they’d apprehended Griffin and Victor, he’d flown out of the window and seconds later, Clark ran through the door.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. I just have to give my statement then can we get out of here?”
“Yes, I’ll go get the Jeep.” Clark squeezed her arm lightly and left.
It didn’t take long for her to give her statement and she sat outside waiting for Clark, pondering. They’d have to go back to the Planet to write up their story for Perry and then she’d deal with last night. How, she had no idea. He’d told her he loved her and then had taken it back all those months ago. At first she’d believed that he had only said it to stop her marrying Lex, but now she wasn’t so sure. The fiasco with the Kerth awards told her otherwise. He’d asked her to be his date and they’d had a great time at the awards dinner where his glances hadn’t gone unnoticed.
What about her feelings for Superman? She’d spent most of last year fawning all over him, gushing like a lovesick fool. It was a little embarrassing to remember, and she tried to not think of that night she’d told him she loved him. He’d been right though, there wasn’t any hope for them and while it had hurt so much to hear it then, she’d recovered. She was happy with their friendship and she did care about him, just not madly in love as she had believed she was. Superman had been safe to lust after because there couldn’t be a future. Clark on the other hand…
Clark was her friend, her best friend. She’d never had a friendship like it, especially with a guy, where she felt like she could share her thoughts freely. He’d laugh at her sometimes, hug her at others and gently mock on occasion, but he’d never be cruel to her.
“Lois?”
Shaken out of her thoughts she smiled as Clark approached.
“I couldn’t park any closer,” he explained while holding out a package. “I brought you a sandwich. You haven’t eaten since breakfast and I thought you’d be hungry.”
She took the wrapped sandwich from him and smiled. That was so like Clark to think of her. “Lets go write this one up,” she suggested as she slipped her hand into his while they walked to the Jeep. She was rewarded with one of his stunning smiles as he gently caressed her hand with his thumb and the butterflies returned in force turning her insides upside down.
****
Perry chased them out of the newsroom as soon as their story was written and submitted. They’d done some great work, he’d said, and it was time for them to go home and rest up for tomorrow. As they walked through the revolving door into the warm summer evening, Lois found herself not ready for today to end just yet.
“Want to get dinner?” Clark asked.
“I really want to go home and change first.” Remembering Victor’s comments about her legs made her want to go grab the baggiest sweat pants she owned.
“How about I grab take-out and I’ll meet you at my place?” He looked so hopeful and she couldn’t resist.
“Sure.”
“What do you feel like?”
“Anything but pizza,” she laughed as she headed off to the Jeep.
****
Clark yelled at Lois to come in before she’d managed to knock on the door. Surprised, she let herself in and her stomach growled as she smelled the food.
“Wow, it smells amazing in here! Where did you get this? I heard a new place was opening somewhere near but wasn’t sure where…” She stopped talking realizing she was babbling again. She glanced appreciatively at him as he looked relaxed in jeans and a dark t-shirt and she was glad she’d skipped the sweatpants and baggy sweater. Instead she’d chosen her favourite jeans with a summer blouse, a light sweater draped over her purse for later when it got cooler. She walked over to the table where Clark had set up dinner, placed her purse and sweater down, and sat.
“Hi,” he smiled at her as he handed her a glass of red wine. “I hope you’re hungry. I wasn’t sure what to get so I got a bit of everything.” Clark gestured to the counter where several containers sat steaming. “There’s some spicy and not so spicy dishes.”
She grabbed her plate and joined him as he talked her through the various dishes, trying to pay attention. He was so close to her, she could feel his warmth, smell his aftershave and the fluttering in her stomach intensified. This felt like a date, it was just missing the candles and the lights were too bright, but was a date such a bad thing?
Her plate full she sat at the table. As always conversation flowed easily as they talked through the day, laughing as Clark told her about Jimmy trying to get photos of the people affected by the nitrous oxide and getting them to show the faces they’d made while under it’s influence. When she couldn’t eat another bite they’d cleared the dishes and put the half full containers in the fridge.
“Clark, that was delicious! Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Lois.”
They were close, very close. Within kissing distance close. “Dessert?” Lois asked as she stepped back breaking the moment.
“I, uh, I think there’s some ice cream in the freezer.” Clark ran his hand through his hair as she opened the freezer door. He grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and Lois scooped chocolate ice cream generously into them.
Nervous, Lois wasn’t paying attention as she placed a larger than normal piece of ice cream into her mouth while they stood in the kitchen.
“Lois…” Clark hadn’t touched his bowl instead taking a step closer to her and removing the bowl from her hands.
She couldn’t answer as she was trying to deal with the ice cream freezing her mouth. She gulped it down as Clark leaned in to kiss her.
“Clark!” Lois pulled away. “I’m sorry, Clark, I, we… we can’t do this.” She ran to where she’d left her purse and sweater and dashed up the stairs to the front door.
“Lois, wait…” Clark hurried after her.
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have last night. But I wanted to. Oh, Clark, I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me.” The words spilled out as her tears threatened to do the same. “You said you did, and I didn’t, then I wanted to tell you that I did, but you said you didn’t, that you’d lied…I’m so confused.” Shut up Lois, she thought as she felt Clark engulf her in a hug.
“I’m sorry, Lois,” Clark spoke into her hair. “I told you I lied because I thought you had enough to deal with. I didn’t want to add to your pain.”
The butterflies had returned and were threatening to spill out of her stomach. “Last night I was scared and you were here. You were there before and after Lex, you’re always there for me.” Lois paused, realizing two things. First, that Clark had known what she was talking about, and second... “You do, don’t you. You still do…” She tilted her head up to look at him and he nodded imperceptibly.
The butterflies exploded. She could feel tingles down every limb, the nerve endings in her pinky fingers felt like they were burning as she reached up to kiss him. It was a soft, slow, sensual kiss and when they broke apart, she rested her head on his chest as he stroked her back.
“Clark?”
“Mmhmm?” he murmured.
“Can we take this one day at a time? No four letter words that begin with ‘L’…”
“What about Lois?” Clark chuckled.
“You know what I mean,” she laughed back. “I’m scared, Clark. I always mess things up and I don’t want to lose your friendship.”
“Lois, you won’t. I’ll always be your friend.” Clark gently kissed her forehead. “It’s late. Would you like me to take you home?”
“I brought the Jeep, I’ll be fine.” They broke apart and Lois suddenly chilly from the lack of contact, put her sweater on. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight Lois,” Clark muttered as he kissed her again.
****
She sat at her desk, idly watching the ticker go by with their news story, her thoughts on last night. She jumped as Clark spoke.
“So, how does it feel to see your name in lights?”
“Oh, uh, I wasn’t reading that. I was thinking about my next story!”
Clark grinned and she smiled shyly when they were interrupted by Perry and Jimmy. Shortly after, Diane the receptionist, walked over with a huge bouquet of yellow roses as Perry and Jimmy left to call the police.
“Lois, these just came for you.”
“Oh!” She exclaimed while she smelled the flowers. “Diane, what do yellow roses mean”
“I don’t know. The only thing men ever give me are directions to their house!” Diane walked off leaving a surprised Lois and Clark behind.
Lois spotted the card and pulled it to read.
“Yellow is for friendship,” Clark stated while shuffling on his feet.
“From a special friend,” she read off the card. She glanced up at Clark who was blushing. “Clark? They’re beautiful.” She smiled as Clark continued to blush. “Thank you.” She took another whiff before placing them on her desk while Clark moved to his desk. The butterflies were roaming free around her insides and she loved it. She grabbed her notebook and turned to Clark.
“So, what have we got today?”
