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Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Like Pearl Jam
Author’s Note: So both KSaraSara and I find it absolutely hilarious that in the episode The Phoenix, Clark finally gets the nerve to ask Lois on a date and then buys Pearl Jam tickets. Given that Pearl Jam is not a band either of us have ever pictured them listening to, it has prompted many a messaging session back and forth. So one night I thought to myself, what if they had gone to see Pearl Jam? What might have happened if the two of them ended up on a date that they really wanted to be on, but also didn’t want to be on?
So, of course, I messaged my partner in crime KSaraSara and told her she HAD to write this story with me. She wasn’t too sure at first, but I pestered and bugged her and threatened her life…you know, all normal totally ordinary stuff until she relented. And now, we have this cute little first date story.
Many thanks as always to KSaraSara who puts up with my weirdness and allows me to bully her —er gently coerce her — into writing with me!
Also any and all opinions of Pearl Jam are that of the author’s and do not reflect the talent of the band themselves. We apologise to any Pearl Jam fans reading this.
Enjoy!
Summary:
When Clark asks Lois on a date, he wasn't expecting her to say yes quite so readily. So much so, that he didn't actually have a plan. When he panic-buys two tickets to Pearl Jam, finds himself feeling very much like a fish out of water. Still, anything is worth it if it means a date with Lois. After all, they appear to be her favourite band...
A look at what might have happened if their first date hadn't been postponed in "The Phoenix"
Chapter 1
“We’ll never get this paper out by deadline!” Perry White’s voice carried across the newsroom in a way only he could. “I want everyone’s stories on my desk in ten minutes flat!”
He sounded irritated, but Lois Lane knew that he secretly thrived on the thrill of waiting until the very last minute to put the paper to bed. After all, any good reporter knew that a story could break at any second. She was grateful she had already turned her latest piece in, or Perry would be breathing down her neck too.
Instead, she’d gotten up, stretched and made her way over to the coffee maker for her second cup of the day. As she shook the little packet of artificial sweetener and put it into her coffee, she pictured the look of inevitable amusement on her partner Clark Kent’s face when she made her way back to her desk. He’d commented more than once on her supposed caffeine addiction but never failed to make her coffee any time she asked and sometimes when she didn’t.
A warm flutter ran through her as she thought of her partner. It had been happening more and more lately despite her best efforts to suppress it. In the past, she had told herself that she was imagining it, or that if she did feel an attraction to him, it was purely physical. After all, she’d seen him without a shirt on, and anyone with eyes could see he was gorgeous. But those little moments had been adding up over the last few months.
Like the fact that he’d abandoned his Christmas dinner in Smallville with his parents last month to have dinner with her. Or the fact that his parents had called her family. Or the fact that every time he smiled, she wanted to kiss him. She had no idea why, she just...did. And when he was around her, he smiled a lot.
In fact, as she picked up the milk to pour it into her coffee, she felt him approach behind her, and that same warm flutter ran through her again, this time stronger than before.
“Uh, Lois...I-I want to ask you something.” She turned, noticing that he sounded nervous, though he was trying to hide it. She frowned slightly.
“Ooh, I’m not going to like it, am I?” she guessed.
“What makes you say that?” he asked as she stirred her coffee. She could feel the anxiety rolling off him, and it made her anxious too.
“You’ve got that tone in your voice,” she explained patiently, hoping she sounded reassuring. Was he in trouble? Did he need her help? “You know, when people are uncomfortable. Like when they want to borrow your car, or money, your clothes...”
“Oh, okay, you got me,” Clark said with a slight hint of that impish smile she’d come to love when they were bantering back and forth. “I-I wanna borrow your clothes.”
Before she could stop herself, she found her voice adopting a flirty tone as she replied to him.
“I bet you’d look real cute in black chiffon.” She was thankful he couldn’t see the slight blush on her cheeks as she turned away from him and headed back towards her desk. Why did this keep happening? Why did she keep feeling so tongue tied and nervous around him these days? They were together all the time!
“Uh, what I want to say is, uh—”
“I know what you want, Clark,” she interrupted, telling herself it had to be something simple, but also something that Clark might feel mildly embarrassed asking for help with. Since it definitely wasn’t borrowing her clothing, it had to be money. She still made more than he did, and she knew that living in a city like Metropolis wasn’t cheap. She didn’t think of Clark as someone who would have his self-worth tied into how much money he made, but she also knew men were fragile creatures at times, and Clark was no exception.
“You do?” Clark asked, clearly surprised. Her heart sank a little as she took his reaction as confirmation of her theory. For some reason, she’d been hoping for something else, something...more. But, she was happy to help him if he needed her. More than happy. The idea that he would come to her about something like this only proved just how close they were. She liked that thought at least.
“I know you a lot better than you think,” she told him as they walked together. It suddenly occurred to her that she’d never known anyone quite as well as she knew him. It was a nice feeling to know someone that completely. Shaking those thoughts off, she decided to get right down to it. “How much do you need?”
“What?” he exclaimed—a bit quickly, telling Lois she had been right. “No, I don't want money, Lois.”
“Clark, you don’t have to be embarrassed,” she reassured him. She suddenly wondered just how much it was that he needed. Would she need to dip into her savings? She was surprised to realise that for him, she would. After all, Clark would definitely pay her back. “That’s what friends are for. Just tell me how much.”
“Lois, I want you to go out with me!” Clark exclaimed, frustration replacing his earlier nervousness. Lois froze in her tracks and turned to look into the eyes of her partner, who seemed flustered but a little more confident now. Conversely, her hands were suddenly shaking ever so slightly.
“What?” Great reaction, Lois, she thought. Real eloquent. But still...did he mean what she thought he meant? She decided to find out. “You’re...asking me out?”
“Yeah...you know...” he said, obviously grateful that they were both on the same page. She was, but now her entire body was a mass of nerves and her mouth felt dry. “...like...on a date?”
Oh God, he meant it. And she loved the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. A date. A date with her partner. A night out where they didn’t talk about work and dressed up and he kissed her at her door at the end of it. The image of what it might be like to kiss him flickered through her brain and she almost gasped aloud. A date. Oh boy.
“A date?” she echoed, her own nerves showing now and a silly smile playing across her face as she looked into his deep and eager brown eyes. “You mean a real date? Like where I take out my good perfume, the one I bought after I saw 'Love Affair', the good one not the remake, and put a dab behind my knee, I don't even know why?”
Oh, God, she was babbling. And worse, she was telling him all her first date secrets. She must sound ridiculous. But instead, he smiled even more.
“Yeah," he replied, an endearing grin lighting up his entire face. "I guess that’s what I’m saying.” Lois drew in a breath of air and slowly sank down into her chair.
A date. A date with Clark. The two of them together in a romantic setting. The possibility of him touching her, kissing her...had she remembered to breathe? Oh right, yes. She was aware that he was looking at her expectantly and though part of her wanted to jump up and say ‘yes! Yes I’ll go out with you!’, she suddenly became very aware that, whether things worked out or not, their relationship would change if they went out.
New pressures would be introduced along with expectations. Lois had never been good with relationships. Every one of her past ones could be classified as no less than federal disasters. What if she screwed things up and lost her best friend for good?
“Well, that's...Well, I...I just...I don't...I don't know what to say,” she replied, still stalling for time. She wanted to go out with him. Desperately. But she didn’t want things to change. Lois was not good with change. After all, the last time there had been a major change in her life, she’d nearly married a psychopath. The last thing she wanted to do was say yes to a date with Clark and end up married the next day in Vegas.
“Well, most people either choose yes or no,” Clark said patiently. He suddenly looked remarkably calm, where a moment ago he’d seemed so nervous. Why? Why was he calm now? Why was she suddenly a nervous wreck?
“Well, it's not that easy,” she said slightly defensively. “I mean, it's easy for you because you've had time to think about it. You've had time to plan what you're going to say...and what you're gonna say depending on what I say back to you—”
"Lois," he interrupted, looking at her with amusement, and she realised she was babbling. She also noticed that he smelled really good—like pine trees in the predawn morning. Was that cologne? Or did he always smell that good?
“I'm just trying to ask you out, not trying to negotiate a nuclear arms treaty,” he pointed out, and the lighthearted tone in his voice eased her nerves a little. She still felt as if every part of her body was suddenly hyper-aware of his every movement. How could she go from feeling completely comfortable with him in every way to jumping at even the thought of him touching her in the span of thirty seconds? Oh, right...she’d thought about kissing him.
“Well...there are a lot of things to consider,” she pointed out logically. After all, maybe he hadn’t thought about the ramifications this could have. Had he planned this? Or had it been a whim? “Our partnership, our friendship, our relationship with the people in the office. What I'd wear...”
There was a slight flicker in his eyes that Lois could only wonder about at her last sentence. Was he picturing her in something? Did he have a preferred outfit? Oh God, had he fantasised about her? Suddenly she wanted more than ever for the answer to be yes.
“Lois. Don't over analyse it,” he urged softly. “Just go with your feelings.”
She suddenly realised that not once during this entire exchange had he responded with hurt our wounded pride. He seemed to inherently understand that her hesitation had nothing to do with whether or not she had feelings for him and everything to do with how those feelings might impact them going forward. She was struck by how incredible that was—that he knew her that well and that he could be so patient despite her answer not being an immediate ‘yes’.
It was that very patience that allowed her to give in to the butterflies that were doing backflips in her stomach and look up at him with a shy smile.
“Okay, then, yes.”
“Yes?” he echoed, sounding slightly stunned, as if he hadn’t actually entertained the idea that she might say yes.
“Yes,” she replied, warming even more to the concept and feeling those butterflies increase. She stood up again and their eyes met. Suddenly all the noise and din of the newsroom seemed to die away. She took a tiny step forward as if drawn to him by some invisible force. She was going on a date with Clark Kent. She’d said yes.
“Okay,” Clark said, running a hand through his hair nervously as an excited grin spread across his face. “Yes. That’s great! Wonderful, even!”
A beat passed between them, and it seemed as if neither of them had any idea what to say. It was as if everything and nothing had been said all at once, and she felt both comforted and completely unbalanced by him. Finally, she forced herself to speak again.
“So, uh, where do you want to go?”
“Go?” Clark echoed, confused.
“On the date,” she clarified. A look passed over his face and she realised that he really hadn’t thought about what he would do if she said yes. Her heart flipped over at the thought of him naturally assuming he would be turned down but having the courage to ask anyway.
“I, uh, can I get back to you on that?” he asked, looking slightly embarrassed. She smiled softly and touched his arm in reassurance. He looked grateful.
“Of course,” she replied. He opened his mouth to speak when Perry suddenly reappeared from his office, and, if possible, even more irate than before.
“Kent!” he barked. Clark’s head shot up and he looked slightly guilty. “Did you get that robbery piece finished?”
“Uh, I was just touching up a few things, Chief,” Clark replied with a sheepish smile.
“Well, get to it! This isn’t some ladies' luncheon at Buckingham Palace! We have a deadline!”
“Sure thing, Chief,” Clark replied. He shot her an apologetic look, but part of him seemed almost relieved that Perry was yelling at him, as it gave him an excuse to retreat to his desk.
“Go,” she said, making a shooing motion with her hands. “We’ll plan this later.”
“You sure?” he asked, suddenly nervous again. She decided he was incredibly sexy when he was nervous. And when he was confident. And when he was...Oh, God. “I mean you’re not going to change your mind?”
“I might if you get fired,” she replied with a grin. “Go. We’ll talk later.”
He nodded and turned to head back to his desk.
“Clark?” she called back to him, unable to resist. He turned back and the look on his face made her melt. “I can’t wait.”
He grinned.
She was going on a date. With Clark. With her best friend.
Oh, God.
Last edited by lovetvfan; 04/07/22 09:01 PM.
Spike: "There's a hole in the world...feels like we ought to have known."
-Angel
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