Midnight Mochasby CarrieRene
Author’s Note: This takes place right after That Old Gang of Mine episode in Season Two.
***
It was early morning; the dark skies were clear as Superman flew around Metropolis. He was coming back from a train derailment in Star City when he heard her voice.
He had made it a habit very early in their partnership to zone in on her heartbeat. Many times, this had saved her life, and other moments, it made him relax knowing she was safe.
Now something was different. It was three in the morning, and she should be sleeping soundly. But what was coming from her apartment was anything but peaceful. Superman heard Lois’ heartbeat rapidly increasing and the sounds of her mumbling. When he finally neared the apartment, he stayed in the sky for a moment as he looked through the walls. He found her thrashing in bed, and his heart broke watching her.
Superman decided Lois needed a distraction from her bad dreams, and he knew just the thing that could help her. Seconds later, he flew to the east toward France. Within five minutes Clark was walking down the hallway toward Lois’ apartment. He had a cup of peppermint mocha in his hand along with a small brown paper bag with a chocolate croissant in it that would melt Lois’ heart.
Knocking on the door, he turned his head slightly to hear if she was moving inside.
***
Lois was standing in the bullpen of the Daily Planet, looking over at the empty desk. She couldn’t believe it was over. Superman couldn’t help. Emil Hamilton was in jail, and even if he could help her, she doubted his ability. No one could bring back her best friend. Lois looked around at her co-workers, who were acting like nothing had happened. Jimmy and Perry were over by the coffee maker, laughing at something, and Lois felt empty.
It had been three days since the celebration of 60 years of the Daily Planet. Al Capone and his goons were in jail, and the Planet was back. Now Lois felt even more alone than she had all weekend. At one point, she had even taken a drive over to Clark’s empty apartment. It was cleared out like no one had ever lived there.
She walked over to Clark’s empty desk and sat down. Nothing was left of his presence, only his memories.
“Lois, what are you doing over here?” Jimmy asked, walking up to her.
“I just wanted to feel close to Clark,” Lois sighed, wiping her index finger across the mental desk.
“Who?” Jimmy questioned, shaking his head. “Lois, you need a vacation. I know you had a rough couple of weeks with figuring out Dr. Hamilton was the one behind Al Capone’s return.”
“I didn’t do it by myself. Clark helped.”
“Lois, who is this Clark, you keep mentioning?” Jimmy wondered, tilting his head and giving his friend a strange look.
“Clark Kent. My partner. My best friend. The one man who loved me and… I love,” Lois stammered. She got up from the desk as the tears began to fall. “No. It can’t be. He’s not gone. Clark.”
Lois started running toward the elevator. She needed to find someone who remembered him. Someone who wouldn’t forget. As she ran up the steps, she heard the sounds of loud rapid knocking on a door. Stopping instantly, she turned her head.
“Clark,” she screamed. “Come back.”
Suddenly she felt his touch and the sound of his voice.
“Clark,” she whispered.
***
He couldn’t stand it. When he heard her screaming his name, he had to get into the apartment as fast as he could. It didn’t matter how many questions she would have — he had to get to her.
As gracefully as he could, he unlocked the door, holding onto the cup and pastry bag for her. In a flash, he had opened the door, and after he put the items on the kitchen table, he raced into her bedroom. Sitting down on her bed carefully as she thrashed around , he reached out and touched her arm.
“Lois,” he said, quietly. “Lois, I’m right here. You’re having a nightmare. Wake up, Lois.”
“Clark,” she whispered as she stilled for a moment. “Where are you?”
Her eyes were still closed, but he could tell she was starting to come out of the nightmare. Her heartbeat had slowed down to normal. Slowly, her eyes started to flutter open.
“I’m here,” he whispered.
Lois shot up from the bed and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close and didn’t want to ever let her go. He didn’t understand what was happening, but after what she had been through, he didn’t care.
“Clark, it was horrible. I couldn’t believe it. Everyone had forgotten about you. No one knew who you were. I can’t stop having these nightmares,” she explained, trying to pull away from him.
“Lois, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, still hugging her tightly, the familiar scent of her hair filling his senses. The scent of her floral shampoo that he could sense from miles away. When he walked into a room, her heartbeat and the smell of shampoo were the two things he could do to locate her. If she ever switched shampoos, he would never forget the floral smell of vanilla rose.
“You didn’t come back to me,” she said, her voice trembling a bit. “The last few days, I’ve been having nightmares that you didn’t come back. Dr. Hamilton hadn’t resurrected you and you were gone from my life.”
“Lois, I’m right here,” he said, finally pulling back a little. “Why didn’t you tell me about the nightmares?”
***
Lois’ face turned for a second as she realized where she was and what she was doing. This wasn’t normal. Looking over at the clock, it flashed three forty-three. What was he doing out this early?
"I'm really grateful you're here, Clark... but why are you here? It's late,” she asked, pulling the blankets over her scantily clad body. She was wearing her pink silk short set. The camisole hung down a bit, the straps always falling off her shoulders.
“I couldn’t sleep. I started walking aimlessly through Metropolis. I realized I was heading toward your apartment, when the aroma of this hidden bakery stopped me in my tracks, I couldn’t help myself,” Clark explained as he stood up.
Lois noticed as Clark retreated out of her bedroom and heart felt broken once again. Luckily, seconds later he returned with a cup and treat in hand.
“I remember a conversation we had a few weeks ago about peppermint and chocolate. You said you loved those little Andes mints, but hadn’t tried a peppermint mocha yet. So I found a bakery that had them along with chocolate croissants,” he explained, standing a few feet from her bed now.
She grinned as he held out the gifts to her, and suddenly the embarrassment of him seeing her in silky pajamas didn’t matter. This man was a gift. Lois tossed the blankets off her and stood up. Within a second, she was inches away from him, and she reached over and kissed him on the cheek. Then she took the treats out of his hand and disappeared out of the bedroom.
“Clark, if you hurry, I might share,” she stated. The memories of the nightmares disappeared as the aroma of heaven overwhelmed her senses. Now she felt lighter and before she took a sip of the peppermint mocha, she remembered the feel of his skin on her lips. Yes, the nightmares were over, and Clark was alive and a reminder of how her fantasies could become reality.
The End
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Prompts by Toomi8
Want:
-Pre-engaged/friendship Lois and Clark
-Peppermint mocha
-Clark smells Lois' hair
Don’t want:
-Songfics
-Tempus
-Lame excuses
CommentsTOC2023 Fictathon Master List
