Truth or Dare
by Wanda Detroit
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This is a response to Siggi’s “Truth or Dare” Challenge issued on 18 June, 2004. Thanks to Stopquitdont, who, as always, was an amazing BR. Enjoy! Feedback is welcome!
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Wet, numb fingers fumbled through her handbag to retrieve the keys to her apartment. It had been an absolutely dreadful ride home. The rain was teeming down in sheets, and she could barely see two feet in front of her windshield. Walking from the parking garage to her front door was going to be a chore; she was going to wait it out to see if the storm would let up, but it seemed to only be getting worse.
Sighing, she readied her keys and her umbrella and made a mad dash for her apartment. Rainwater soaked the bottoms of her pants as she ran through deep puddles, and the strong wind inverted her umbrella, drenching her through and through.
It was a dark and bone chilling October night.
She was shivering and dripping wet when she finally got inside.
“Happy Birthday, Lois Lane,” she said aloud to herself, sighing.
She shrugged out of her soaked jacket and hung it on her coat rack to dry. She meandered towards the bathroom, peeling sodden articles of clothing off as she went. A bubble bath would be a nice treat, she thought.
She drew a hot bath and added fragranced bath salts. Sinking into the tub, she could feel her ice-cold skin begin to thaw. It felt fantastic, and she might have stayed longer, but an extremely loud clap of thunder startled her out of her relaxed state. The lights in her bathroom flickered off and on.
She decided if there was a blackout, she wasn’t going to be naked in the bathtub. She’d better cut her bubble bath short...
Lois rinsed off quickly, and dried herself off with a soft towel. Feeling refreshed, she donned a pair of satin pajama pants and matching top. She pulled her hair up into a half-ponytail and retrieved her tub of rocky road from the freezer. Curling up on the couch, she turned the TV on and started channel surfing.
‘Nothing on, of course,’ Lois noted. There was a great deal of thunder and lightning; the storm seemed to be getting worse.
Out of the blue, someone knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” Lois called, cautiously. Nobody in their right mind would be out in this weather. Maybe it was her landlord...
“It’s me. Clark.” That familiar voice! What was he doing out in this weather...?
Lois rushed to the door. “Clark? What are you doing here?” she asked.
He didn’t have to answer. He stood there, just as drenched as she had been, clutching a dripping-wet bottle of red wine and a bouquet of flowers. His glasses were dotted with rain drops and his hair was just as wet as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. “Happy Birthday, Lois!” Clark said, grinning like a schoolboy.
“What? How did you know?” Lois looked surprised. Not too many people at the Planet knew her birthday, and she liked it that way. Only Jimmy and... Jimmy. It had to be.
“I heard Jimmy ask you what your birthday plans were, and when you said you weren’t doing anything, I thought I’d come by and surprise you,” Clark admitted.
“Come in, come in,” Lois said, ushering Clark inside. “You’re soaked. You didn’t have to do this. You shouldn’t have--”
“Lois, I wanted to.” He removed his jacket and hung it on the coat rack beside hers. He handed her the flowers. “Sorry, these looked a lot better when I first bought them...”
Lois had to smile. “I think they’re beautiful. They’ll perk up once they’re in a vase...” She peeled the wet paper off of them and set about finding a vase. “There’s some clean towels in the bathroom if you want to dry off.”
“Thanks,” Clark answered, heading over to get one. “I brought wine, too. I thought we could toast your birthday,” he called from the bathroom.
Lois smiled. No one had ever made such a fuss over her on her birthday, not even when she was a little girl. Clark emerged looking only slightly drier than he had been. The storm was still raging outside. “We haven’t had a storm like this in a long time,” Lois commented.
“There’s a power outage at my place. I’m surprised you still have electricity. It looks like a lot of neighborhoods nearby lost theirs.” Clark joined Lois in the kitchen, searching her cabinets until he found two wine glasses. Lois had already brought out a corkscrew, and soon she’d popped open the bottle and poured them each a glass.
Clark held up his glass. “To you, my lovely partner, Lois Lane, on her birthday,” he announced regally. “Many happy returns!”
“Thank you! And... thank you for making it special,” Lois answered honestly, a pretty smile spreading across her face. They clinked their glasses and both took a sip.
Thunder roared outside, and just as suddenly, the electricity went out. A flash of lightning illuminated the room for a second, but otherwise Lois’ apartment was pitch black.
“Well, so much for having electricity,” Clark laughed.
“Yeah...” Lois fumbled through one of her kitchen drawers, retrieving a flashlight. “I’ve got some candles, too.” Using the flashlight, she located some candles and matches. Together, they made their way carefully to the sofa. She lit a cluster of candles, casting a low, warm glow in the room. She sat down beside Clark and sipped her wine. “What are we going to do now?”
Clark shrugged. “We could play a game.”
Lois thought for a moment. “I have cards... somewhere. Though I doubt I’ll be able to find them... Wait. I have an idea...”
“What?” Clark’s interest was piqued.
A strange little smile graced her lips. “Truth or Dare.”
“What?!”
“You heard me.” In the candle light, he could see her smirking.
Clark was dumbfounded. “Isn’t that a pre-adolescent game made up for the purpose of embarrassing your friends...?” *Lois* wanted to play *that?* Was this *his partner*? All-work-and-no-play Lois Lane? And how much wine had she consumed, anyway?
Lois shrugged. Teasingly, she egged him on, “Why not? *Scared?*”
A devious smile crept across Clark’s face. “I most certainly am not. Bring it on, Lane.”
“Truth or dare?” she asked, tracing the edge of her wine glass absently with her finger until it sang shrilly.
Clark wasn’t sure what to choose--it was going to be tough any way you sliced it. “Uhh... Dare.”
Lois smiled as she thought it over. “I dare you to stand on your head. And--no using the wall for support!” *This* was going to be funny.
Clark shrugged. “Okay.” He stood up and made his way to the center of the room. Lois finished off her glass of wine and started to pour another. She started to raise the glass to her lips, and stopped abruptly.
Gracefully, like an acrobat, Clark raised himself in a perfect headstand. Lois gaped.
“Wow! How did you--?” He wasn’t even struggling; he remained perfectly still for ten seconds or so. He dismounted expertly, like a gymnast, and sat down on the couch beside her. “Pretty good, Clark. I’m impressed.”
Clark grinned. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”
“Dare.” Lois was focused. She was taking this game seriously. Maybe even a little *too* seriously.
“I would like to see a song-and-dance.”
“Any requests?”
“Singin’ in the Rain,” Clark replied. “It would be apropos.”
“Ha. Okay...” Lois rose and moved to the center of the room. Illuminated by candlelight ‘footlights,’ she faked a little barefoot soft shoe dance along with her song.
Clark found it to be absolutely adorable. He already knew she had a pretty singing voice, but he was glad to hear her again. “Beautiful!” he said, applauding when she was done.
Lois sat beside him again, and took another drink. “Truth or dare?” she asked, a challenging tone in her voice.
Clark took a deep breath. “Truth...”
Lois lowered her voice slightly and watched him intently. “Do you have feelings for someone?”
The candlelight danced across his face, warm and mysterious. After a pause, he answered, “Yes.”
“Who?”
Clark laughed. “Sorry, I answered your question. I told the truth. That’s exactly one turn.”
Lois scowled. On Clark’s next few turns, he chose ‘dare,’ simply to drive Lois crazy. She was getting awfully annoyed. After a while and another glass of wine, she figured out a way to get him. The next time he chose dare...
“I dare you to tell me who you have feelings for,” Lois demanded. She cringed, waiting to hear it. Mayson. Mayson Drake...
She studied his handsome face in the candle light. “You,” he said, barely audible.
“Me? But what about--”
“Mayson? I broke it off with her today. She was getting a little tired of hearing me always talking about you...”
Lois blushed.
Clark, embarrassed, tried to change the subject. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
Lois had to eat ice cream out of the container without using her hands or any utensil. Now *that* was amusing. To make sure she didn’t cheat, Clark secured her hands behind her back with a cloth napkin. Lois accomplished the messy task successfully, and looked up at Clark, chocolate ice cream smeared across her face. Clark laughed and seizing an extra napkin from the table, gently proceeded to wipe her face clean. For the fun of it, he kept her tied up, even though she protested.
“Truth or Dare?” Lois asked.
“Dare.”
“I *dare* you to untie me!” she demanded.
Well, *that* fun didn’t last long... Clark released his struggling friend from her binds. Lois, once freed, finished off her glass of wine and poured another. She was definitely feeling the effects of the drink, and was becoming giggly.
The game continued, taking on a different tone when it was Clark’s turn to ask the question. Lois chose truth.
Curiosity had overwhelmed him. If *she* knew about *his* feelings, the least he could do is know about *hers*... and most of all, where he stood in her eyes. “Do *you* have feelings for anyone? And, no, Superman doesn’t count, because *everyone* knows about that.”
Lois almost spat out the wine she was drinking. “I, uh... well, yeah.” She was glad the room was dark under the candle light so that he couldn’t see her blushing.
“Who?”
“Hey, I’m not gonna fall for that one. I told the truth. That was one turn.” Even a little tipsy, Lois was smart enough to know that he’d pulled that same trick with her. She asked him in turn, “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” A single word he’d regret... this time.
Lois was going to get him back for putting her on the spot. “What’s your deepest, darkest secret?”
“I’m... I--” Clark stammered. He was stunned. He wanted to tell her. He really did! “Lois, I...” He opened his mouth, but the words just didn’t come out. Just then, he knew the reason why. “Listen, Lois. I *will* tell you. I just need to know something before I do.”
“What?”
“Who do you have feelings for?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Lois retorted, her cheeks crimson.
Clark answered solemnly, his eyes looking deeply into hers. “Everything, Lois. Everything.”
Lois stared back, wide-eyed. “You promise if I tell you, you’ll tell me your secret?”
“I promise.”
“Cross your heart and hope to die?”
“Absolutely.”
“Pinky swear?” She extended her pinky to him, a most serious expression on her face. If his heart was not on the line, he surely would have laughed.
“Okay, okay...” Clark hooked his pinky with hers. “Enough, Lois. Just tell me. I swear I’ll tell you my secret.”
Lois looked at the ground, then back at Clark. “You,” she said so softly he might have missed it if not for his super hearing. “I have feelings for you. After a while, I just sort of realized that my crush on Superman wasn’t realistic. He’s a fantasy. And you... well, you’re real. I mean... who’s here, spending my birthday with me, in the middle of an electrical storm? You. I don’t see Superman here...” Lois laughed shyly and shrugged. “Happy now? You tell me your secret. I told you mine.”
Clark stared at Lois, dumbfounded. Had she really just said what he thought she did?! Impulsively, he reached out and gathered her into a tight embrace. “You have no idea how happy that makes me!” He pulled back, grinning ear to ear. To his surprise, she was grinning as well. “I owe it to you to tell you this, Lois. Truth or Dare, or not.”
He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. “Lois, I’m Superman.”
Lois burst out laughing.
“Lois?”
“Ha! You? Superman? Clark, come on. Let’s be serious here.” She stifled another snort of laughter.
“I *am* being serious, Lois! Superman’s my secret identity. I mean, Clark Kent is my secret identity... What I mean to say,” he stammered, “is, well, you know I’m adopted, but what you don’t know is, my parents found me in a spacecraft from the planet Krypton...”
Lois hadn’t stopped laughing. Maybe it was the wine. Was this so *unbelievable?*
Still laughing, she set her glass gown and poured another, accidentally splashing some onto one of the candles, extinguishing it.
“Watch, Lois. I didn’t want to have to prove it to you, but...” Clark lowered his glasses and relit the candle using heat-vision.
Lois’ jaw dropped. “No way! You really *are* him!”
“Yeah,” Clark answered shyly. Lois stared at him, awe struck. “You’re not mad...?” he asked cautiously.
“Give me a few hours...” she replied, dumbfounded.
They stared at each other in silence, the candles flickering soft, golden light across their faces. Their attraction to one another was palpable. For the moment, ‘Superman’ didn’t matter. It was just Lois and Clark. With feelings for one another, having admitted it for the first time. Clark’s hands somehow found Lois’ and he held them ever so gently for what seemed to be a long time.
“So... what now?” Clark asked, breaking the silence at last. “More Truth or Dare?”
“No,” Lois answered. She glanced at the empty wine bottle, then at Clark. “There’s something I’d rather play.”
“What’s that?”
A wicked grin spread across her face. “Spin the Bottle.”
--THE END!--
