From pt1.
Lois pointed. “Your shirt is over there, your pants and briefs went somewhere in that direction, one of your boots is in that corner and the other one is over there.”
Clark looked around. “Where’s my cape?”
“I actually don’t know. You didn’t have it with you.”
“Um, and my underwear?”
“Trust me. You don’t want to know.”
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TBC...
Now pt 2
Barring an explanation that he figured he was too embarrassed to hear, Clark didn’t think he minded going “commando” today, but looking at the scattered mess of his suit…
*What was that horrid brown stain on the “S” emblem?*
He was thinking he’d rather be wearing civvies, and avoid being Superman for the day. But how to pull that off without telling her he was Clark?
If he told her he was Clark, she’d kill him, and he wanted to find out what happened yesterday before she did that. Of course he might just die of the railroad spike that seemed going through his skull right now.
He was very tempted to just fall back against the pillows and sleep it off, but a slight rustle of movement reminded him of a presence beside him...a very naked presence...all flushed and tousled...
*GAH!!! Gotta get your head on straight man!!!*
Lois sorrowfully considered the man beside her and wondered again what she’d been thinking last night. Yes, he’d been cute and adorable and sweet and a host of other things she hadn’t expected from Superman, acting so out of character; “Hey, it’ll be fun!” he’d told her several times, a sloppy grin on his face.
Now he just looked uncomfortable.
He was staring uncertainly at his clothes, the chocolate syrup from last night had stained his emblem horribly. No, she wasn’t sure what she had been thinking then, but he seemed so lost now it was only reasonable she should take charge now.
“I’m going to hustle into the washroom and clean up.” She informed him as she grabbed a T-shirt off the floor and pulled it over her head without revealing much, though he’d obviously averted his gaze, “You can dash out and get cleaned up…uh, wherever it is you get cleaned up. Do you want to meet back here or at the Planet? Oh wait, scratch that, I don’t think you should be back in public after yesterday.”
She noted his visible wince to her warning, but chose to ignore it in favor of direct action. Holding the T-shirt discreetly down around her hips she slid from under the sheet and made her way to the doorway. Peeking back around the side before he could move she gave him a reassuring nod.
“Don’t worry sweethea,- er I mean Superman. We’ll figure this out.”
Clark watched as she disappeared from view and waited to hear the shower come on before he could get the nerve to get out of the bed. Sweeping around her room in a speedy maneuver he gathered his suit, spun into it, and used her window to escape to his apartment, flying too fast to be seen. He considered just going back as Clark and confessing to her, but he recalled again how he needed her to figure out what happened to him yesterday. She’d be so mad she wouldn’t be able to focus on the reason he’d acted so out of character yesterday. No, he needed her eager to help and thinking straight. To that end, he’d have to be Superman with her today.
Showering and donning a clean uniform he turned on his TV not only to give her time to finish her ablutions but also see if he could get an update on just how badly he’d behaved yesterday.
He was disturbed to say the least at the ranting Lex Luthor on LNN, snarling something about filing charges, then there were those teenage girls giggling something about how bad his line dancing was. There were a couple more incidents mentioned that had him frozen in disbelief and knowing he’d be getting call from his mom soon. Right on cue, his phone rang.
Sighing heavily he picked up the receiver.
“Clark Jerome Kent!”
“Mom, please, before you start,-”
“I’ve been calling since yesterday!” she barked, “What in the Sam hill were you thinking?”
He had to go over the fact that he’d woken up this morning with no memory of yesterday and that Lois had volunteered to help him out, but he still wasn’t spared her wrath when she heard he’d woken up in Lois’s bed. Martha went into a screaming fit that rivaled the mom in “A Christmas Story” movie when Ralphie had accidentally used the “F” word. Promising to call back when everything was figured out he hung up as gently as possible and, heeding Lois’s warning, made his way back to her apartment as discreetly as possible.
He found her sitting on her couch with two cups of coffee before her and flipping through all the news channels with notebook in her lap and a pen in her hand. She smiled encouragingly up at his entry and invited him to take a seat as she muted the sound on the screen.
“I think we should start with your first emergency call,” Lois began offering him a mug. “We’ll investigate the area and see if there is anything about it that will jog your memory, but we can’t expect you to go in public like that after yesterday.” She suggested eyeing him critically. “Do you wear regular clothes in your own time?” she pondered.
Aha, an opening to involve himself. “Maybe I could get some from Clark,” he murmured thoughtfully. “He could help us out.”
“No!” she barked, surprising with him with her vehemence. “He was ridiculous yesterday, I don’t want anything to do with him right now.” She stood and stalked angrily behind the couch.
He cringed inwardly wondering again on the details of what he had done. She’d mentioned he’d gotten out of line as Clark too, but whatever he’d done then had irked her to the extreme. She was mad, just nail spitting mad. Not as mad as she was gonna be if he told her he was Clark though, and he just wasn’t up to taking that kind of abuse right now, especially since he needed her help. *Better come up with something quick, Kent*
“I remember he was downtown when I got that call for help.” *Eeep! Liar, liar! Superman shouldn’t lie!* “Besides he’s better at this whole investigation business than I am.” Seeing her stubborn stance he suddenly stood up and looked around alertly, pretending to hear something. “Oh no, I think there’s a landslide in California…” ooo, he was getting used to this lying thing.
“No way.” she stated staring him down. “Last time you left on an emergency you ended up painting smiley faces on the LexCorp building with whipped cream. You’re not leaving my sight today, until we figure this out, buster.”
Well that was bound to make things harder.
“That’s a good clue though.” She began, “He was acting weird yesterday too, so maybe you guys were together when whatever happened…happened. So we’ll start downtown.”
“You just said I can’t go out in public like this.” He argued, sweeping his hand toward his emblem.
“That’s right,” she agreed approaching her coat closet, “But I’ve got a trench coat in here that might fit you.”
She rifled around in the shadows of her closet and came up with a raggedy stained coat that he wondered should probably be fumigated before he put it on, but took it from her urging hands and slipped his arms into the sleeves. The shoulder seams ripped as soon as he shrugged into the jacket and he rolled his eyes at her approving murmurs only to have his vision obstructed by the “Disney(tm)” version of a “Goofy(tm)” hat complete with droopy ears and buck teeth slapped onto his head.
Tilting the hat up he watched as she dug through a satchel for something else, intending to argue as soon as he got her attention. The only problem was as soon as she turned around she smeared his cheeks and chin with a charcoal type make up, not giving him any chance to speak his case.
“There, I think that’ll do it.” she nodded, seeming very pleased with herself.
“Lois?” he exclaimed as he motioned toward his boots and the bright emblem that blared out between the lapels of the coat.
“Pfsssh.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, the average joe on the street won’t even look at you twice. And I’ll be there to watch over you.” She grinned, “I just need to call Perry and let him know I’m helping you out today in exchange for the exclusive.”
Clark backed off as she picked up the phone and collapsed into her armchair, the coat making a ripping noise as he impatiently tugged it out from under him. His first instinct was to drop his head into his hands, despairing about his situation; but he stopped himself, thinking he should remain poised as Superman would. Then he thought about what Lois had spoken of yesterday’s events and all that he’d learned from the news, realizing everything was beyond his control at this moment anyway and dropped his head into his hand, groaning pitifully.
Lois surreptitiously gazed over him as she listened to the hold music on the phone. She almost felt sorry for him…almost. But if Clark Kent thought he was going to get away with lying to her all this time without a bit of mental torture and punishment, he had another think coming.
TBC....
TEEEJ