I feel like a little explanation for this story is in order. About four months ago, I was talking to Sara on IRC and we were discussing on of her favourite subjects: Tipperary and a certain wav file. At some point, the idea for this story was born. It was supposed to be short and funny, but instead, I think it got more waffy and way much longer. There are still some funny things in here, but you might not get them if you don't know Sara. Oh, and please don't believe everything I tell about Ireland in this story. Some of it is true, but most of it has been made up for the sake of the story and to tease Sara. But more about that at the end of the story.
After having put the blame on her, I also have to thank Sara very much here. You're a fantastic BR and I don't know what I'd have done without you on this story! Thanks for explaining the same things over and over, for doing my research and for helping me with my Irish.
Also, thanks to Sara Kraft, who BR this story over and over in only a few days, made me change and add a lot and in general helped me improve this story as well as make me laugh a lot. You're the best!
If you notice the use of both American English and British English, then it's entirely possible and my fault. When I started this story, I still wrote in AE, but for the last three months I've been living in the UK, so I now use BE. I've tried to fix most of it, but I'm sure there are still plenty in there.
The story is set somewhere in early S2.
No copyright infringement is intended with this story.
I hope you enjoy reading this!
~~~ Blessings from Tipperary ~~~ "Conas a cábhairim leat?" "Well, you could start by speaking English since my partner here doesn't know any Irish," Clark told receptionist.
"Oh, of course! I'm sorry, but I thought you were from Ireland. We don't usually get tourists from abroad."
"That's okay."
"So how may I help ye?" the man asked in English.
"We just arrived here and we'd like to get a room."
"Let me check if we have anything available." The receptionist then proceeded to check his books.
“’Clark,” Lois warned under her breath, “We’re *not* going to share a bed!” Her voice got steadily louder, though she did try to keep it low. “Come to think of it, not even a room! That wasn’t part of the deal!”
It was one thing to go to Ireland with your partner from work; it was something else entirely to go spend it in the same hotel room. She didn't mind spending a weekend with her best friend in Ireland, but sharing a room? The last time they had to do so had been a disaster, she remembered. She didn't want that to happen this time, she just couldn't afford to have something happen and lose Clark as her best friend because of it. So why would she have to consider this now? Surely Clark would understand... although, he had just said *a* room, so maybe...
No, she'd make sure nothing happened. Their current situation was easy to solve for a reporter like her.
The main question here was, *how* had she got herself in this situation? The more accurate question was, how had she possibly managed to lose the bet? Yes, she, Lois Lane had lost a bet and now she was at Clark's mercy in some godforsaken place with three houses, a hotel and a lot of potholes in the middle. What had she been thinking with that bet anyway?
Last Wednesday had been an unusually quiet day at work and there had been nothing, absolutely nothing to work with. At least, nothing worthy of Lois Lane, the reporter on it. So when Perry had handed them the press release of the dog show and the tactful message of expecting a story about it that day, she had first been speechless and then furious. At that stage Perry had been long gone, holed up in his office.
It had looked like they'd been really stuck with the most boring story she had ever been assigned. Clark hadn't been happy about it either, but he had thought they could make it interesting somehow. After all, they were Lane and Kent.
Nope, that one really hadn't worked on her, no matter how Clark said it. But she had seen a slightly interesting idea for competition in his words. And he had even agreed!
The deal - well okay, bet - was that they went to the dog show, stuck together so they had the same information, and back at the Planet they'd each write their own individual stories and submit them to Perry. He had to decide which one was better. The winner got to decide what they both were going to do during the whole weekend.
Mental note, Lane, do not bet with your gorgeous partner, she told herself for the umpteenth time.
Gorgeous? Where had that come from?
But going on vacation with him did mean something, she hoped. Maybe... Well, she'd vowed to be honest with herself about her feelings for Clark and she was well on her way to falling in love with him. She'd probably been for a long time. Even though she'd denied and hidden it for most of the time she knew him, she no longer could. At least, not to herself. It was too obvious. First, it was him she had thought of during her near-wedding. Second, every time he walked into a room her heart did little flip-flops. Third, his smile made her melt inside. But most importantly, she missed him when he wasn't around.
So yes, she thought he was gorgeous. He was, of course. She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been attracted to him. And she was jealous when other women noticed his attraction and good looks as well.
There was just one problem. He didn't return her feelings, he'd made that obvious long ago. She could never show her true feelings for him now, she was sure that would ruin even their friendship. If she couldn't have him the way she craved for, then she'd have him the way he wanted it. She just needed him in her life, and she could live with their current situation.
Well, back to the matter at hand.
Where was she? Oh right, the bet.
Needless to say, Clark had won the bet. She had to do everything he wanted this weekend... Of course, she should have expected he'd win with his talent for 'touchy-feel-good' stuff.
So they were in Ireland now, in some town called Tipperary, if she remembered it right. Superman had dropped them both off. That was something she had to ask Clark about later, just how had he managed to get Superman as his private airline?
But right now, Lois wondered more about what they were doing in Ireland, and more importantly, why Clark had refused to tell her until now.
She'd been a little lost in her thoughts and only now noticed a hand waving in front of her face. Right, Clark was still with her, and while she'd been thinking, she'd left him to talk with the clerk.
"Ireland to Lois! Hello! Anyone here?" Clark tried to catch her attention.
She rolled her eyes. "Ireland to Lois? Just what is that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "You know, as opposed to 'Earth to Lois'."
She rolled her eyes again. Men. "Cute, Kent. Real cute."
"Come on, the clerk's waiting for us. He must have found an available room."
As they turned their attention back to the clerk, the man had already started to speak. "I've got a few rooms for you. Let's go over the options, shall we?" the receptionist told them.
They both nodded, hoping to get something decent. The first impression of The Green Fool, the hotel, was okay. Although Lois still wondered who had ever come up with such a silly name. Who was that fool and why was he green?
"Okay, so I've got a room with one bed, nice view, TV and bath and shower," the man started to tell them.
"What's the view up here?" Clark interfered.
"Fields with lots of cows - don't worry, you won't hear them at all - and some hills."
"Is that the only view?" Clark asked.
"No, rooms on the other side of the hotel look over the town."
"Okay, what about the other options?"
"There's a room with two single beds pushed together. One room has a bunk bed and is quite small. There's a family room and finally the honeymoon suite with a four-poster waterbed, a fireplace, Jacuzzi and minibar. All rooms come with a shower, some have a bath and TV. Every room has a cosy interior. So what will it be?"
Before Clark could open his mouth to reserve a room, Lois quickly interfered. "We'd like a moment to discuss the options, we'll be right back." She just had to make it clear to him that they needed a separate room, or that family room. Even the bunk bed room was discussable. But he just had to understand!
She couldn't share a room with him now! Not with her newfound feelings and his lack thereof, it would be disastrous!
"Take your time, missus," the man replied.
They both moved back to their earlier spot and Clark gave her a quizzical look.
"I know you get to choose the room, but you are going for the family room, right?"
"Lo-is!"
"Oh, please, Clark?" She tried to look as innocent and pleading as possible. She knew Clark liked her puppy dog look, so it was worth a shot, even if she had no idea how to create the look. It's not as if she actually used it a lot...
"What's it with you and sharing a room with a man?" Clark then asked, completely ignoring her attempt to persuade him.
"I... you know darn well what it is!" she blurted.
"Right, so the room with the view it is."
"Cla-ark!"
"Yes, Lois?"
"Maybe the bunk bed room then?" she tried again. She could live with sharing a room, but a bed as well? The prospect would normally make her heart accelerate, but those were just dreams. Faced with the real prospect, she wasn't sure if she could deal with sleeping in the same bed as her best friend while she loved him and he didn't return the feelings.
*****
Why was she so averse to sharing a room with him? He knew she trusted him not to try anything. Maybe she was just being stubborn as always. Well if that’s the way she wanted to play, he could play too.
Clark rolled his eyes at her last comment. "You promised to do whatever I wanted to do this weekend, Lois. So I'm going to book the honeymoon suite."
A gasp was his only answer. "No funny business, I promise," he added for her reassurance. He booked the room, and ordered their dinner. All the while he heard Lois mutter about how unfair it was, that he was getting out of his league and somewhere in between something about it being fun as well as irritating. He knew she hated surprises, and she was up for one heck of a surprise this entire weekend. Hopefully, she'd like it all.
So far, he had been able to avoid telling her the reason of their brief visit to Ireland, but he'd do it over dinner. After all, they had stuff to do tomorrow before it happened tomorrow evening.
Clark hoped it was a good idea to bring Lois along. When they'd placed the bet, he had forgotten about his plans for the weekend. So when he'd won - Perry thought *his* approach of the dog show was very original - he just had to take Lois with him to Ireland. Well, it would be fun, that was for sure. With some luck, she would even let him take her to Limerick on Sunday before they flew back - Superman Express, of course.
He would have to find a way to take her back without letting her know his secret identity. He wasn’t ready for her to know yet. They were just best friends. But he'd figure it out somehow. It was just going to be a bit more of a challenge on the way back.
He'd done it on the way here as well. He'd picked Lois up from her place in his disguise, claiming that he'd already dropped off Clark in Ireland. She'd believed him, and she had enjoyed the flight, but not as much as usual. She'd seemed very distracted, and she hadn't looked at him *once* with admiration in his suit. That had to be a good sign, at least, he hoped so.
He turned his head, and looked at the woman walking beside him. They were on their way to the honeymoon suite to freshen up and have some dinner. With the key in one hand, and his other hand on the small of Lois's back, he led the way to their room. In comfortable silence they rode the elevator to the highest level. There was a small hallway that led to their left and it ended at the door to their room. Lois took the keys from him and entered first.
He heard her sharp intake of breath when she looked at the room.
"Clark, look at it. It's beautiful! Who would've thought they'd have such a nice room out here?"
"I could have told you," Clark said with a huge grin on his face.
Before Lois could thwap him for that comment, there was a knock on the door and Clark went to answer it. A moment later, he reappeared with their luggage.
"Why don't you look around, while I put this away?"
*****
Lois headed off for the bathroom first. It was pretty big, and the shiny white walls greeted her the moment she opened the door. There was a large bath, a separated shower and a sink with two wash bowls. Behind another door, Lois found the toilet.
She moved on to the rest of the suite. There was the fireplace, and around it there were a lot of red pillows shaped as hearts. Next, she came to the window and all she could see were fields and cows. My, they really *were* in the country here. It reminded her of Smallville for some reason; Clark's parents also had a lot of fields and some cows.
Turning around, she stared at the huge four-poster. The bed had red spreads. Actually, everything around the room was shaped in little hearts and was coloured red. She had to admit, it wouldn't be all that uncomfortable. Next to either bed was a minibar, and near the window stood a small table with their television.
So where was the Jacuzzi?
Lois was looking forward to using that. So where was it?
She looked around her and her eyes searched the room frantically. Bed - check. Fireplace - check. TV - check. Minibar - check. Jacuzzi - not found. Only then did she spot a door between the bed and the large window.
Quickly, she walked toward it and put her head around the door. The contents of the room surprised her and made her breath catch. The view that greeted her was a small room. In the centre was the Jacuzzi, surrounded by candles. The room had no window, so the candlelight would look perfect for some romance between newlyweds or whoever else stayed in the honeymoon suite. The wall opposite her was one large mirror.... she suspected that was for more effect of the light and the view for the lovers. Only then did she notice the shape of the Jacuzzi... another heart.
Yes, definitely a suite for honeymoons and lots of romance.
It didn't mean she would enjoy it any less!
Maybe she could even enjoy it with Clark...
Briskly, she turned around and went to test the bed. She carefully sat down on it and immediately felt the gulfs of the waterbed. Slowly, she started to move up and down a bit to test the mattress. If felt excellent, she figured she would sleep like a baby here. In one fluid moment, she let herself fall backwards and she could now see the ceiling. Behind her, she caught Clark's movements.
As she turned around to lie on her stomach, she could see him smiling down at her.
"So, what do you think of it so far?" he asked as he sat down on his end of the bed.
She climbed up and sat beside him before she replied. "You know, this isn't as bad as I'd suspected. They've got some style here, and I like it. Maybe the weekend's gonna be fun after all."
"I'm sure we'll have fun." The big grin on his face told her she might not like his plans all that much.
"You mean you'll have fun on my expense, buster!"
"Oh, that's right, this is *my* weekend," he teased.
"Right. So are you going to tell me yet why we're in Ireland?" she asked eagerly.
"Not just yet."
"Cla-ark!"
"Lo-is!" he mimicked her.
"I'll tell you over dinner, all right?"
“Fine,” she conceded, letting him know by her glare that it wasn’t really, but she’d let him win for now. She’d let him have his fun. “So, when’s dinner anyway?”
"It should arrive any minute now."
Right on cue, there were two short knocks on the door.
*****
A few minutes later they had settled themselves on the bed with their trays. The smells coming from the plates were excellent, and when Clark lifted the lid, she could see the delicious looking food. So that was bangers and mash. The guy who'd brought the dinner had mentioned the name and had explained it was real Irish food. To Lois, it looked liked ordinary mashed potatoes - even though the waiter had called it colcannon - with four sausages and a lot of gravy with onions.
Carefully, she took a few bites. "Hmmm, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed with widened eyes.
Clark just gave her a smile in return as he continued to eat the meal. He was irritatingly silent throughout dinner. She hated surprises and she hated the suspense, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of her begging, so she enjoyed her food in silence as well.
When they were both ready for the desert - chocolate mousse - Lois thought it was time her partner told his story. He'd been stalling long enough and it was only fair she knew why he'd taken her to Ireland. Of all the places and things she could have thought of, it had to be some far away island with a lot of rain and wind. He could have chosen Hawaii or something like that!
"Clark?"
"Yeah," he responded without looking up from his plate.
"It's time for you to fill me in."
“Sure,” he said with a mischievous grin. “I was only waiting until you brought it up again.”
She wanted to give him a smart retort back, but thought the better of it. She was more interested in that story of his. The only thing he received from her for now was a questioning look.
"Okay, you know how I've been travelling for some years?"
"Yeah."
"For a couple of weeks, I'd been to Ireland, mostly around Dublin. During those weeks, I met a young woman. She was a little older than me, but she treated me very nicely every time I visited the pub where she sang and played the piano. She had a beautiful voice, long red curly hair, grey eyes and a wonderful smile. Anyway, we became friends pretty fast and I've always stayed in touch with her."
At that point, Clark paused for a moment.
"What's this Irish woman got to do with us being here now?"
"Always the reporter, eh?" Clark teased her.
"Cla-ark!" her voice held a note of warning this time.
"Fine, fine! Tomorrow it's her birthday and I had promised her I'd drop by. She doesn't mind at all that I bring a friend along."
"So we're just here to go to a birthday party?"
"Not just any birthday party, but an *Irish* party."
"What's the difference?"
"She expects us to bring her a gift. And people who enter her house for the first time also have to bring her something typically Irish."
"What? You've *got* to be kidding me!"
"Nope, no joking," he told her with a sheepish grin.
"So this woman, does she have a name?"
"Sure."
"And that is..."
"Sara."
"So this Sara - a complete stranger - has her birthday tomorrow, and I'm going to her party with an Irish present, and I have no idea what that is, and I'm going to do this all because it's your idea of fun? A nice weekend away? Come on, Clark, what's the real deal here?"
"What do you mean?"
"You'd thought you could make fun of me? Fool me? But I know you, Kent! So tell me why we're really here."
"Lois, I just told you! We're going to Sara's birthday party since that was my plan for this weekend and I won the bet. I couldn't change it, that would be rude. And since she doesn't mind me taking you along, I thought it would be fun. The only catch is that we have to get an Irish present for you to give, but that can't be so hard. I honestly thought we'd have fun! And haven't you been to Ireland before?"
"Yeah, yeah, but that was Dublin and that's just different. You know how hung up on cities I am. This is a *small* town… or village. I’m not even sure it qualifies as a town. Sorta like Smallville." She gave him a challenging glare.
"I'm aware of the fact." Clark gave her a smile. "Come on, let's finish desert and then talk this through."
Several minutes later, they were both finished and had put the trays in the hallway for room service to pick up. Clark had already called them and had made the proper arrangements. He'd even ordered breakfast for the next morning.
"So here's the deal. Tomorrow morning, we'll go do some sight seeing. We'll have lunch in town before we go hunting for the Irish gift. And I have an idea for that, so don't worry. After that, dinner at the hotel and we can change then before we go to the party. As for Sunday, I was thinking we'd go to Limerick, the third largest *city* of this country, to do some shopping and after that, we'd head home by Superman Express again."
"Okay, sounds fair enough. I can live with that. Just two more questions," Lois responded.
"Yes?"
"Just what are the proper Irish gifts? And how is Superman going to find us?" she asked. "Oh, and what time does he pick us up? And does he *mind* that we’re using him as our personal chauffer?" she added as an afterthought.
"That's four questions." He gave her a wink. "To answer the first one, it's best to leave that till tomorrow when we go hunting for the presents."
"Hunting?" Lois squeaked.
"You'll see. It'll be fun, just you and me and an afternoon in the country."
"I don't see the fun in that, but since it's your weekend, I'll let you get away with it, farmboy!" She tried to sound casual, but the few high pitches in her voice were too obvious.
"Thank you, Lois." Clark gave her another huge smile. "As for Superman, he doesn't mind at all since we're all friends and I have arranged to meet him Sunday around 4pm in Limerick."
"You have?"
"Yup!"
"One of these days you have to tell me how you do that!"
"Do what?" he asked her innocently.
"How you... oh, never mind!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration. He could be such a lunkhead at times, and from experience, she knew it was best to ignore it. No matter how badly she wanted to know more about his relationship with Superman. She wasn't jealous of it, but it would make some things in her life a lot easier if she could have a little super help once in a while. It wasn't because of how she felt about the man in tights anymore. She was over that, she tried to tell herself. She had to be. She had deeper feelings for someone else...
"You're cute when you do that," Clark told her.
"Thank you," she blushed lightly. "But you changed the subject!"
"I know. Look, Lois, it's getting late, and I'm a bit tired after the travel and time change. I could use some sleep."
Lois glared at him for a moment before she conceded. "Yeah, I'm a bit tired too. I'll take the bathroom first."
Several minutes later, they were both ready to head for bed, but still stood at the head wondering about the sleeping arrangements.
"I know how I said we'd share the bed since it's my weekend, but if you feel uncomfortable about it as you made clear earlier, I can still sleep on the floor. On the cushions by the fire place," Clark said as he pointed to the red hearts on the floor.
"No, no, that's all right. If anyone should sleep on the floor it should be me," Lois responded.
"Oh no, I am not letting you sleep on the floor, Lois."
"So we're just going to share the bed. It's big enough," Lois stated matter of factly, though she felt anything but. A light blush crept on her face again and she had her stare directed to the bed, trying her best to avoid looking at the attractive man standing beside her. He was only wearing boxer shorts and his muscled chest looked amazing. She'd often wondered how it would feel under her hands...
Stop it, Lane! She scolded herself. Just because you might love him, didn't mean he returned the feelings and now was definitely not the time to think about such things.
Before she could think more about that, she returned her thoughts to the conversation.
Bed.
Sleeping arrangements.
Clark.
She really needed to focus on that one.
She'd just told him they were going to share a bed. Despite everything she'd said back in the lobby. She'd acted on instinct again.
That meant they'd be together in that bed for the entire night. So it was a large bed, and they could easily share it, but it still meant she'd sleep in that bed with Clark.
Was he a restless sleeper? Did he snore? Was he a sleep walker? Would he pull the blankets his way? Did he talk in his sleep?
There were just countless things to worry about.
Hold on!
For men, didn't sharing a bed and sleeping together mean the same thing as having sex?
She let out a groan as she thought about what she'd just said. Would he think that...
Surely not, right? This was *Clark* she was talking about. The last decent guy on Earth. Anyway, he didn't feel that way about her, so why was she worrying anyway? Or was it because she really wanted more? Just what was wrong with her?
She was overreacting. Clark wouldn't try anything. He didn't even love her so why would it cross his mind?
"Lois? What's the matter?" Clark's voice suddenly cut through to her.
"Nothing. It's nothing!" she hastened to reassure him.
"Are you really sure about sharing the bed? You don't look too happy right now. If you don't want to, I can still go sleep on those cushions."
"No, don't be silly! Look, Clark, the bed is big enough for both of us, so why wouldn't we share it?"
"Because for some reason it's troubling you?"
"Okay!" she threw her hands in the air. "I was just thinking... I mean, I don't even know if you snore."
"That's what's got you worried?" Clark asked.
"Yeah, and I just thought, you know, if maybe you'd expect more of me now." Had she really said that out loud? He wouldn't think she'd *want* it?
A pair of shocked eyes greeted her. "Lois, I told you before, and I'll say it again now. We're here to sleep. I promise you, no funny business. My parents raised me better than that. And my mom says I sleep like a baby, so you don't need to worry about the snoring."
"Yeah, but..."
"No strings attached, Lois. I don't want to throw our friendship away over such a thing. So let's just sleep. Do you trust me?"
"I've always trusted you, Clark," she admitted. "And I know you're different than other men. You're my boy scout, after all, so I don't know why I was worried."
"Lois, is there something else you want to tell me?"
She let out a yawn before she replied. "No, not really. I'm fine. Come on, let's get some sleep."
Clark kept eyeing her sceptically, so she gave him a smile before she walked to her side of the bed. Soon, Clark lay beside her, with his face turned to her. She could see his gorgeous features in the light cast by the small bed lamp above their heads. He'd taken off his glasses and his hair was tousled around his face. The dark brown eyes looked at her, and his lips were turned up in a smile before he reached over to turn off the lamp.
"Goodnight, Lois," he whispered.
"Goodnight, Clark."
*****
Clark awoke around 4am. He had no idea what had stirred him from his sleep. He couldn't hear any calls for help, so that wasn't it.
Just then, he became aware of a slight weight on his chest. He looked down on the sleeping form of his partner.
During the night, she must have rolled over and sought the warmth of his body. He wasn't complaining about it all. Now that they finally were this close - yet he knew nothing would ever happen - he felt his body react. He was glowing and it made him feel better than ever. He knew it wasn't correct, but right now, the moment was just perfect.
This was how he pictured his future. Them, together, forever.
If only it could be really true, but he couldn't allow himself to even dream about it. He would only get hurt if he started to think she might finally return his feelings. She didn't, she'd made it clear often enough by now. Sure, she loved him, but only as a brother and her best friend.
Even now, while she was the one who'd rolled over to him, it was only because she'd been cold and had found him to keep her warm. That was the only reason.
What else could it be? She didn't love him like that, even if it was nice to think she did. But it was only foolish to go down that road again. He was thrilled they were best friends, and if that was all they'd ever be, than so be it. He'd rather have her in his life than not at all.
If she did return the feelings, than surely she'd have said so or the very least hinted at it. She *had* to know how he felt about her... and she clearly ignored it.
Friendship was all they had. And partnership, of course, at work.
But right now, he didn't care. They were here, together, and she lay rolled up on his side. It wouldn't hurt to sleep like that, even if it was only once. He'd treasure the memory and it would be enough for him.
She did look beautiful. One arm rested on his chest, her head lay on his shoulder and she'd curled up close to him. A few locks of hair fell over her face, the rest of her hair was sprawled over the pillows. Her lips were curled up in a smile and she breathed regularly. Clearly, she looked happy.
Clark gave her a kiss on top of her head and put an arm protectively around her back before returning to sleep.
His last thought before he was asleep again was that he'd sure have nice dreams.
*****
To Be Continued...
