This story explores a small offshoot of the issue of Clark’s control over his powers. He accidentally smashed an alarm clock, crushed a phone, and exploded a pillow when he was distracted. At least some of those little accidents happened when he was distracted by Lois.
The story is mine; but I’d really like to thank all of the writers of the original episodes. I’ve used many original quotes (and partial quotes) from the series, mostly first season. In a few places, I’ve edited quotes slightly to make them fit my story better; and in at least one instance, Clark has Lois’s lines and vice versa. Hey, it worked better that way. 
I also want to thank Wendy – for her quick beta-reading on this despite her other beta-reading duties and her own WIP. And for her delightful comments and encouragement. And, of course, for her firm belief, despite what I thought, that I should be writing. Wendy, you were right and I was wrong! <g>
None of the characters in this story belong to me; all rights belong to DC Comics and Warner Brothers. I don’t actually have permission to borrow them, either. But no copyright infringement is intended and this story is strictly for entertainment purposes, not for profit. There’s really no monetary value in feedback. As Wendy pointed out, it’s priceless! ************************ Cloud Nine ****************************
Clark Kent had a problem.
A big problem…
A huge problem.
A huge problem in a small, shapely, fascinating package: his beautiful and vibrant partner, Lois Lane. She had stormed into his life, his interview, and his heart in one single moment… and that was it.
The beginning of his huge problem.
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He'd left the newsroom after that first, failed interview, and returned with the ‘mood piece’ Lois had scorned. It netted him the job - and a partnership with her, something beyond his imagination at the time. He'd have been happy with a job that allowed him to see her from a distance; to be partnered with her was so far above his expectations that he still felt like his head was spinning.
Or maybe that was just part of Lois's effect on him. He was the strongest man in the world, maybe even *beyond* the world… but she made him feel weak, dizzy - and that was part of his big problem.
He'd thought it was just the effect of her initial impact on him, but then there was Lex Luthor's White Orchid Ball. Many of the Planet staff had been invited; after all, it was in essence nothing more than a grandiose press conference. Lex Luthor had used the gathering of the city's most influential people and the substantial presence of members of the press to unveil his Space Station Luthor plans.
And Lois, in an effort to capture an exclusive interview with the billionaire, had outdone herself. When she’d appeared at the ball, Jimmy had been almost speechless, and Clark had found himself inadvertently floating.
And that was Clark's huge problem. He'd floated at his interview, when he'd first seen Lois Lane. Fortunately, he'd just risen to his feet and the encounter was so brief that he'd only been off the floor by a centimeter or so - not enough for anyone to notice.
Then the same thing had happened at the ball, upon his first sight of Lois in the midnight-blue gown. That time, he'd floated about four inches. Incredibly, despite the crush of people no one had noticed, and that was probably due to Lois.
She’d timed her entrance perfectly to coincide with Lex Luthor’s apearance, and her bold “Lex Luthor… why haven’t you returned my calls?” had turned every head in the room in her direction. No one had seen him floating.
But it was a dangerous thing to have happened.
He couldn't afford to let anyone guess his secret. It had been bad enough in the past, when he'd had to move on because someone started to wonder about him. But now - now he'd found a place where it really mattered to him that he stay.
It was even *more* important to conceal any sort of unusual abilities now that he'd created Superman.
With the entire world's worth of press focused on every bit of information they could ferret out about Superman, even a hint of anything extraordinary about Clark Kent could be fatal to his secret.
So… extraordinary was out.
Unusual, even quirky, was probably okay - Lois already thought he was a bit strange.
But the floating had to stop.
But how? The obvious solution - avoid Lois Lane - would be impossible. He might as well decide to… to live underwater, or find the Holy Grail, or… lay an egg. Any of those would be easier than avoiding Lois, especially since he didn’t *want* to avoid Lois. Quite the opposite - he *wanted* to be where Lois was.
Maybe it was just a matter of control.
Just learning to control another ability… although floating inadvertently at every sight of his partner wasn’t exactly comparable to heat vision, or enhanced strength or hearing. It was more of a nuisance, really, than an ability… or maybe more like a nervous tic. He didn’t have any experience in learning to control a nervous tic.
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Since the ball, he’d managed to keep his feet on the ground - most of the time - while they were working together in the newsroom.
There’d been one or two times, particularly at the end of a long day, when he’d found himself rising slightly off his chair if he allowed himself to gaze at her for very long. Fortunately, the newsroom had been almost empty and Lois had been focused on her computer on those occasions.
She’d almost caught him floating, though, that night they’d stayed late at the Planet, trying to piece together Samuel Platt’s report.
That was the night he’d brought in the Chinese food, and they’d just finished eating. She had caught him staring at her, but the desk had been between them and he’d followed his return to the chair’s seat with a shift of position, as if he was slouching down into his seat. All she’d done was issue a warning – “Don’t fall for me, Farmboy, I don’t have time for it” - and shortly after that they’d left the newsroom.
After that night, he’d been careful not to daydream in her presence. Of course, she kept him - them - so busy that he didn’t have a lot of time to daydream, at least not in the newsroom. He could daydream - and float - all he wanted when he was at home, especially now that he had his own apartment.
But the problem wasn’t that easily solved. No sooner would he think that he finally had his reaction to Lois under control, than she’d do something to upset the whole thing.
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tbc
