Table of Contents
From Part 1:He cringed some more. "Um... talkative?"
"Yeah. You were telling me all about your mom and dad..."
Oh god.
"What... did I say?" he asked tentatively. Terrified. Dreading her answer.
"Oh..." She shrugged again. "Just that your mom had brought you up to be polite, and your dad would yell at you if you did anything to upset me, and... oh, that you take them flying."
Oh god. That was bad, wasn't it? Okay, he hadn't said anything to help her work out who he was, but that...
How could he have said all that?
He hoped that was all he'd said. That had
better be all he'd said...
She was speaking again. The words emerged almost gabbled. "Oh, and you told me you have a secret identity."
Now read on...His jaw dropped.
He hadn’t!
Had he?
He managed to bring his lower jaw back in contact with its mate, and then he eyed Lois warily. She was actually looking rather embarrassed about the whole thing. But why would she be embar...
Oh, god. Please let him
not have told her.
He snuck another nervous glance at Lois. She looked shifty now, like there was something she wasn't telling him.
Clark shook himself mentally. Get it together, Clark! Hadn't he decided he needed a wholly separate persona when he was being Superman? He was blowing it big time. His first day as a superhero and he felt like the kid who'd gone to school wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants. He gulped and forced himself
not to look down. He was going to
kill Mom.
He took in a deep breath and puffed up his chest. There, that was... slightly more superhero-ish. "Lois, I didn't happen to tell you what that secret identity was, did I?" Clark asked, hoping he'd imagined that squeak. His voice had been baritone, authoritative, demanding.
Yeah, right, he'd squeaked. Hopefully she hadn't noticed.
He raised an eyebrow at her - an authoritative one. Superheroes demanded respect and dignity. He commanded his mind not to wander to the bright red briefs he was wearing
outside his... tights. Oh, God. What'd he been thinking?
Calm down, Clark. It was sharp. Cool. Debonair, even. Dad hadn't said anything. Dad wouldn't have let him leave the house if he'd looked foolish, right? Though... he had left rather abruptly...
Lois cleared her throat and he tried focusing on her. "Would it be so bad if you did?"
Oh, god. He'd told her. And now she was playing with him. Or... shoot! What if she was trying to call his bluff? No, wait... she was the one bluffing... or not bluffing. Oh, hell! Why couldn't he think straight?
Okay. Breathe. Look suave. Nonchalant. No, wait. He was authoritative. Right. "Well, Lois, yes, it would be bad. Just think, if you knew, if people knew you knew, you'd become a target. You'd be placed in danger."
Whew. Finally something intelligent had come out of his mouth.
Lois seemed to mull over that concept for a moment before she replied. "Good point. Only... how would people know that I know? I mean, it could just be our little secret. I'm good at keeping secrets. I'm a reporter, remember? Sources, informants. All very hush-hush stuff."
Clark sig -- caught himself before he sighed. He loved watching her babble. And really, she had a good point. She hadn't taken advantage of him while he was drunk, either. That had to be a plus. He thought, anyway.
Well, okay, maybe... Oh, what the heck. He had nothing to lose, right? By the sound of it, he’d already told her plenty.
"Okay, Lois, you're right. So you won't say anything, right? When I'm dressed in the Suit, you'll treat me like Superman. And when we're at work, I'll just be plain old Clark Kent. Though, it'd probably be a good idea if we didn't talk too much when I'm Superman. Don't want people to think they can use you to ge... Why are you staring at me like that? Lois? Oh, good god!!"
**********
Lois felt her knees go weak and her mind go blank. Automatically, she pasted on a smile and dropped her eyes, buying herself some time to think.
Plain old Clark Kent?
Yeah, right. For the second time that day, he'd knocked her speechless. Cover, Lois. She was not going to fall apart in front of her greenhorn colleague. She couldn't let him know how rattled she was. "Oh," she tried to say, then cleared her throat. "Nothing. I just didn't expect you to agree that quickly." She raised her eyes back to his face and tried a more convincing smile.
He seemed to relax a little. "Well, I figured I didn't have much of a choice, really. I just wish I knew how a red
stone could make me go nuts like that. I mean, what if I'd hurt someone?"
"You didn't," she soothed him, feeling protective toward him all of a sudden. Among other things, most of which she could hardly identify. "You just talked to me. There were a few moments," she continued thoughtfully, "when you seemed, well... you said stuff that made me a little uncomfortable, but you didn't
do anything." Which meant... what? Darned if she knew. "You know what? I think I need some coffee."
He blinked. "You want to go somewhere?"
Oh, god. He was going to pick her up again. Hold her against that strong chest -- the one she'd seen naked just a day earlier -- his arms gently encircling her, making her feel totally safe... That scared the heck out of her. "We can't really go anywhere with you like that," she managed to say, semi-rationally. "And we can't talk in public anyway. I was just thinking, you could go get us something."
He raised an eyebrow. "And leave you here alone? Lois..."
Yeah, now that she knew what to listen for, he sounded
exactly like Clark. "Clark, I'll be fine. It's a nice night, no one's around..." She glanced around the riverbank, peering through the gloom. "I think that's a nice flat rock over there I can sit on. And you'll be right back." A thought occurred to her, and she frowned. "Don't even think about not coming back."
"Lo-is!" He sounded offended.
"No, I know you wouldn't leave me here, Clark," she reassured him, and as she said it she realized it was true. "You're not that kind of guy."
His face cleared. "In that case... I'll go get us some coffee." He levitated upward slowly for a moment -- was he keeping an eye on her reactions? She did her best to look blase. "Back in a flash." Suddenly, he was gone.
On wobbly legs, Lois walked over to the aforementioned big rock and plopped herself down on its surface. She sure hoped there was a long line at the coffee shop. And how was he going to go into a coffee shop, anyway, dressed like that?
Well, duh, she answered herself, he wouldn't -- he'd go in as Clark. That seemed so bizarre, on so many levels.
Looking back, though, she had to admit it made a crazy kind of sense. Clark did have this sense of confidence about him. She hadn't been able to wither him with sarcasm; in fact, he'd given back as good as he'd gotten. She'd assumed it was just the attitude most good-looking guys developed, and was therefore totally unwarranted. Maybe not.
Trust me on this, Lois, A memory came floating back.
I am not a typical male. Now there was the understatement of the decade.
So where did that leave her? Any second now, he was going to swoosh back in front of her, and she still didn't know how to react to him. So far, he'd exhibited three different personalities!
There were similarities, though. He was polite, for one thing; his mother had taught him well. Considerate, too. Kind of charming. Almost goofy at times. And whether he was Clark, Super, or drunk, he'd really seemed to enjoy talking to her. That realization melted away some of the tension in her gut.
He was nice, and he liked her. If not more, but she wasn't going to go there. She was nice, too -- sometimes -- and she liked him -- sort of -- so why not just go forward from here and just see what happened?
She was a little shocked at herself to realize she wasn't even thinking of printing any of this. Wasn't this a story too big to ignore? Or maybe it was a story too big to share.
A coffee cup appeared in front of her, held by a male hand, attached to a smooth forearm, which was encased in... nothing. Her eyes trawled upwards to see Clark standing there in jeans and a t-shirt. "I gotta sit down," she muttered.
Clark grinned. "You are sitting down."
"Oh, yeah. I guess I am. Gimme that." She took the cup and sipped as fast as she could manage, needing the caffeine. "Is this as weird for you as it is for me?"
"Weirder," he replied ruefully, sitting down on the grass opposite her. He'd get his pants wet, came the irrelevant thought. Oh, no, he wouldn't, would he? Not when he wasn't actually in contact with the ground. He looked at her expectantly. "So... what happens now?"
Yes, what was going to happen now?
She decided to test him. Tease him a little. Now she knew he was Clark Kent, she also knew that he wouldn’t harm her, despite her earlier fears.
“You mean before or after I print the story?”
He gulped. She stifled a giggle.
Then the look of sheer terror on his face sent guilt through her.
“Relax, Clark! I’m not going to write it!”
“You’re... not?”
He seemed to lose his balance suddenly, tumbling backwards and ending up sprawled on the damp grass. He blushed and scrambled back into a sitting position, this time staying cross-legged firmly
on the ground.
“No, I’m not. Though I probably should,” she added with a grimace. Perry would kill her if he ever found out what she was passing up...
He nodded, his expression grim. “Yes, you should. I mean, if it wasn’t
me you’re considering writing about, I’d probably be right there with you working on the story.”
She studied him thoughtfully. Would he? Now that she was able to put together her knowledge of Clark Kent together with the little she knew about Superman, a picture was emerging of a man almost unknown in modern times: one with scruples. Ethics. Decency. Even if he was somewhat susceptible to a mind-altering drug.
“I’m not sure you would, Clark,” she said slowly. “I think you’d think it was going beyond the boundaries of the public interest and invading Superman’s privacy.”
Even as she said it, she knew that she was testing herself with the words.
Invading privacy? There was no such thing as privacy. Any reporter knew that.
The boundaries of the public interest? She’d always held the view that there was little which didn’t in some way come under the public interest. There were things she wasn’t interested in writing about - the sex life of the latest pneumatic Hollywood starlet, for example - but that was still a legitimate story. For a tabloid.
“Anyway,” she added, “I’m not writing it. I’d really appreciate it if you’d give me something I
could write - but your secret is safe with me.”
He smiled. It was a blinding, warming, utterly gorgeous smile. And behind those unflattering glasses his eyes echoed the smile.
“And
I appreciate your discretion. Thank you.”
Wow. It’d been a long time since she’d been bowled over by a man. In fact, she’d vowed that it would never happen again. She was far too sensible and self-respecting to allow a mere man to have that effect on her.
But this man was different... and he was rapidly sneaking past all her barriers.
“Though, you know, I’m not so sure about giving you a story,” he added. His expression was sober, but she could swear that his eyes were twinkling. “After all, you’re the established reporter. The Kerth winner. I’m just the new kid on the block. I’m the one who has to prove himself.”
Two could play that game. “Well, don’t forget that your red stone is still at my apartment. All I have to do is bring it into work tomorrow...”
“Ouch!” He pretended to flinch. She could tell he was putting it on; there was a broad grin on his face. Then his mouth turned down at the corners. “I’ll have to get rid of that thing. Destroy it somehow.”
“You’d better not go anywhere near it.” Where had that protective impulse come from? And yet she *did* want to protect him. “Leave it to me. I’ll find a way to dispose of it.”
How, she wasn’t sure. Okay, she could just flush it down the toilet, but then it would go through the sewage system and out again somewhere... and given he could fly and he might get called anywhere in the city or even out to sea, that was too much of a risk. Not to mention the risk that someone at the sewage reclamation plant could find it and keep it. Whatever. She’d work something out.
“Thanks,” he said again. “And of course I’ll give you an interview. I just... won’t talk about some things, right?”
“No problem.” And, because he was right that he had to make his mark, she added, “I’ll stay out of your way the next couple of times Superman saves something, okay? You can have those stories. That should help with Perry.”
He looked... surprised. As if it hadn’t ever occurred to him that she could do someone a favour.
Why, though? She’d done him several favours tonight, and he’d accepted them all with thanks and a charming smile. Why was this different?
And then she realised. This was business. This was two competing reporters after the same story, and she’d made herself only too clear to him on that subject several times since he’d been hired. She did not give up stories. She did not appreciate anyone muscling in on something that was hers. She’d made it clear that he was competition, and for that reason he was in the way.
Yet just now she’d made it clear that she’d stand back and leave the way clear for him.
Because, in spite of her instinctive wariness with men, in spite of the way he’d rattled her since the day they’d met, in spite of his magnificence in that costume which made her in awe of him, in spite of the way he’d ogled her and behaved like a teenager in her apartment... in spite of it
all... she liked him.
Liked him.
In fact, could even begin to consider him a friend.
He was looking at her. Staring, in fact. Not the way he’d looked at her earlier. This wasn’t the same eating-up-her-body-with-his-eyes look he’d had when he’d been high on that stone. His expression held admiration - and something else, too. A little like that night when they’d been working late together and she’d caught him staring and - because she’d felt unaccountably shaken up inside - she’d slapped him down.
Admiration. Interest. And... intent.
He leaned forward, towards her.
She caught her breath.
He drew closer, and raised one hand towards her face. She forgot to breathe. Without even consulting her, her body was leaning towards him.
And then a bolt of lightning hit her. He was kissing her.
She was tumbling, falling. Kissing wasn't supposed to be this good! It was as if every nerve in her body had suddenly come alive at once and she felt like she was floating.
Wait... she
was floating! Her feet weren't touching the ground. She broke off the kiss suddenly in astonishment. It took her a moment to catch her breath, then another when she peered up at him and saw the look on his face. Pure, unadulterated bliss. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes hazy, clouded with adoration and a little something she couldn't quite discern. Like he was drunk again, but drunk on... Love? Nah... they'd only just met.
But, still, there was something...
Her breath finally caught up with her and she remembered they were still off the ground. "Clark?"
He continued to gaze at her adoringly. "Yeah?"
"We're floating." She grinned and watched in amusement as a different sort of blush crept over his face.
"Oh. Sorry." He grinned back at her sheepishly and lowered them to the ground. "I didn't even notice." He ducked his head a bit.
He was so cute when he was embarrassed. "That's okay. Took me a minute to notice, too."
They both chuckled, and the fiery spell they'd been under faded to a warm glow. Lois felt herself blush, heat spreading to her cheeks. Clark Kent was definitely no ordinary guy.
**********
Clark had the urge to go perform barrel rolls in the sky. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined standing right here, right now, with a ridiculously huge grin on his face from just having kissed the most remarkable - and beautiful - woman he'd ever met.
So much had happened in just one week! He'd landed the job of his dreams at the most respected newspaper in the world. Met the most stunning and intelligent woman he'd ever seen - someone whom he could imagine spending the rest of his life with. Found a way to use his special abilities openly for the greater good of the world. Single-handedly saved a multi-billion dollar space program - a fact which was still a little mind-numbing. Inadvertently discovered a rock that could render him intoxicated.
And the most amazing thing of all... He'd found that the world hadn't come crashing down around him just because someone else knew his secret.
Sure, he was a little disappointed and even a little embarrassed that he'd blown his disguise with Lois Lane, but something told him it might just be better this way. Especially since it seemed she liked him. He could only imagine the horrors that might have happened had they started a relationship
before she'd found out the truth. That would have been messy.
Clark brought his attention back to Lois, who was now drawing circles in the grass with the toe of her sneaker. "So... " he started.
She looked up at him and smiled. The sight made his heart swell. "So... "
"I guess we should head back now, figure out what to do with that rock."
"Yeah, you're right," she sighed.
That wasn't really disappointment he heard in her voice, was it? Had she really enjoyed all this as much as he had? It was probably true, but Clark was still having trouble believing just how well things were going for him. He wondered if she'd say yes if he asked her out on a date. He'd have to try that out later. Meanwhile, they really should get back; it was getting late.
Clark spun back into the Suit and stepped towards Lois, ready to scoop her up again, but he stopped. She was standing there staring at him slack-jawed, and he had the sudden urge to wrap his cape around him, remembering his earlier embarrassment about his "super" attire. He grasped the edge of his cape, fingering the hem. "I think I'm going to talk to Mom about making a different Suit. This one's just too... "
"No!"
"No? You... you like this one? It's not too... I don't know, loud? Immodest?"
"No, no. I like this one. It's... Super." She grinned.
He groaned, then picked her up. "You should have seen some of the other ones."
"Yeah, you said something about that," she replied, still sounding amused.
Which reminded him... "Just out of curiosity, what did I say again when I was, you know, out of it?"
She tilted her head. "There were a few things about the Planet -- comments about Perry and Cat. You mentioned your mom and dad. You told me -- very smugly, I might add -- that you had a secret identity, but you refused to tell me what it was. I asked you where you were from, but you got distracted and offered to take me flying, which got
me distracted." She wiggled slightly in his arms and grinned at him.
"Okay, so that was the first part I don't remember," he agreed, trying to concentrate on something besides how incredibly right she felt in his arms. Did she say he
hadn't told her his secret identity? That tracked, actually, if he could trust his own memories; she'd said something about not having a clue what his name was. "When we went back?"
She sighed. "I was going to give you the third degree, but I just couldn't do it. Don't ever tell Perry that."
"So..." He frowned. "You mean, the first time you heard my name was..."
"When you mentioned it at the riverbank, yeah." She smirked.
He closed his eyes for a moment. "All that, and I give myself away when I'm supposedly clear-headed?"
"Well, I'd probably have worked it out anyway, sooner or later," she consoled him, a little too cheerfully for his comfort level.
"Yeah, you probably would," he conceded grumpily. Smartest woman he'd ever met. Good thing she was on his side.
"Oh, come on, Clark, it's not that bad, is it?"
He looked at her and smiled. "Nope, not too bad. Not too bad at all."
******
Clark entered work the next morning bright and early, but with a certain degree of trepidation. He'd dropped Lois off outside her apartment building -- she'd refused to let him get too close to that red rock. The idea of her protecting him was almost laughable, but he loved that she cared. At any rate, he hoped it was caring, and not just a desire to avoid seeing him act drunk again.
She had kissed him, though. And he was quite certain that Lois didn't go around kissing people she didn't like. So that was something, right?
"Kent!"
He looked up to see his editor bearing down on him. "Yes, sir?"
"What are you doing in here?"
Was this a trick question? "Uh... working?"
"Son, do you see Superman anywhere in this room?"
He swallowed. "Well, no."
"Then get out there and find him!"
"Yeah, Clark," Lois's voice chimed in from behind him. He turned to see her smiling wickedly at him. "Superman articles don't just write themselves, you know! You've got to work for them."
Perry beamed. "That's my girl." The smile disappeared. "So get on out there! Both of you!"
Over Perry's shoulder, Lois winked at him. Clark hid a grin. "Yes, sir, I'll get right on that..."
Perry turned and went off after someone else to hector, but Lois stepped toward him. "So, Kent, where've you been?"
Like she didn't know. "Around."
“Well, you may not have heard, but I've nailed down the Superman exclusive." She walked past him, grabbing his arm to steer him back towards the elevators.
"Nice work."
"Well, you know I am an award-winning reporter."
"One who's apparently eaten her Wheaties this morning," Clark commented softly as she pressed the button to call the elevator car. "So tell me, how *do* you do it? Do these big stories just come up and knock on your window or something?"
She shrugged. "I have a genius for being in the right place at the right time."
"Or something."
She grinned at him as they entered the elevator. "Well, stick with me, kid, and maybe you'll learn some things."
"I have no doubts about that, Lois." The doors closed, leaving them alone together, and he paused. The banter was fun, but... "What did you do about that rock?"
"Smashed it into lots of sparkly bits. Then flushed them. They’ll be nicely diluted. You might not want to get close to the sewage plant for the next few days, all the same."
"Oh, I'm quite happy to avoid it altogether," he assured her. "Thanks."
She smiled up at him, looking almost shy. "You're welcome. Just don't go around picking up any more shiny stones, okay?"
He laughed. "I have learned my lesson. So, we doing an interview this morning?"
"Yes, please -- you can come to my place. And I won't even make you sit on the couch."
"Right. Okay, well, we can do that... and then," he added, feeling more confident, "maybe tonight we should celebrate your exclusive."
She glanced sideways at him, sweeping a look up under her lashes that made him catch his breath. "You buying?"
"Sure. Just name the country."
As the elevator door opened, she grinned at him, then dragged him out to take on the world. He had a feeling it was going to be an absolutely terrific day.
THE END
