Hi Corrina!
“About lunch time.”
She nodded, and silence loomed again. Desperate, Lois said, “If you could ask me anything, what would it be?”
Awww…kwardness!
That was easy. “Chocolate. With ice-cream a close second.”
He smiled at that. “Good.”
“Why?”
He shrugged slightly. “Good choice.”
He got a chocolate surprise for her?
To us. Lois caught the words before they escaped. “To hay,” she said. “And sunshine.”
Oooh! The Hayseed and Little Miss Sunshine
“I drive the truck along the rows and… Do you have some sort of machinery to pick up the bales?”
Yes. Bio-robot.
“Will you teach me how to work it?”
/Sputters/
Hmm…
/Heads over yonder for next part/
Well, that further explained how he got all those muscles. Dragging her mind away from the image that wanted to form in her mind, Lois said, “Then we drive to the barn and…”
but she’d seen enough to trust that Clark had it all in hand.
Literally.
“I’m not sure I am as useful as Jack would be.”
She is more useful. In some ways much more useful.
“I had to come back eventually,” he said. “And there’s no one I’d rather be with.”
Awwww
Lois smiled softly, he responded, her heart danced a little.
/Imagines it doing the robot/
Actually, it felt better than any date she’d ever had.
It’s because she knows that only she feels that way and thus there is no expectations on her date’s part about how the evening would continue.
LOIS:
Tracey arrived with two plates. She glanced to the table, her gaze resting a moment on the spot where Lois’s finger was almost touching Clark’s.
This is going to go into The Smallville Morning as a page one headline.
“Yes. You were right about that, too. He asked when I’ll be back.”
Clark didn’t look too pleased about being right. “What did you say?”
“You’re not leaving tomorrow?”
“Of course not! I have hay to bale!”
Plus, she still has to crack that rumor about misappropriation of dark subsidiaries.
He smiled at that. Was he pleased because he would have help with the hay? Or some other reason?
Let’s … go with option two.
Lois told of some of her more interesting stories and the characters she’d met when chasing those stories.
CLARK: she’s okay. She survived. She’s unhurt.
Name your own price. Your own working conditions.
CLARK: Lois Lane!
“I’ve been very patient,” Mr Guerra said. “I’ve waited for- “
I’m…not sure this is how you do headhunting.
“I’ve been patient, too, Mr Guerra,” Clark said, “but now I have to ask you to leave because you’re interrupting my dinner and being rude to my guest.”
See?
His grin became more natural. “Depends on who’s offering.”
So, offers for payment in kind for letting her stay on the farm is not off the table?
“You can’t keep working full days with interrupted sleep every night.”
“I’m OK.”
She’s used to irregular sleep cycles? Also, they meet in his room instead? After supper?
“To the barn?”
“To the barn.”
Awwww
The ground ahead was slightly rough and dimly lit, and she was wearing heels. That was excuse enough to keep her hand in his.
LOIS: What? He does not know what sort of stuff I do in heels in Metropolis
Except, it wasn’t really a date. It wasn’t about being together. It was about trying to find out if Lana wanted to marry Clark.
And sharing a haybale in Clark’s barn is definitely required to find this out.
It was about preparing the townspeople for the news that the anticipated wedding would not happen.
Again, sharing hot chocolate inside Clark’s barn was essential to that.
She didn’t speak as she ate the ice-cream. It was good enough to demand her full attention. She swallowed the last mouthful and sighed.
“Yes.” She laughed. “You won’t believe this, but the blanket feels warm.”
“Tired?” he asked.
You know, for a moment I thought Clark might have warmed it. But he did not indicate so to Lois so it must all be in my mind.
“We don’t know if he is looking for his father,” she said. “But we know he left his established life to experience something different. What if he meets a girl and falls in love? What if he tries a different job and discovers he loves it far more than milking cows?”
Then Clark will need to get a new farmhand. Or work twice as fast.
If Clark were to leave the farm, to pursue his dreams in journalism… what would happen to the Farm Boy?
Depends. Would he get partnered with a hardnosed city slicker or would he be left to his own devices and get to report on the most marvelous dog and pony shows in town?
“Thanks,” he said, sounding relieved. “Do you still feel that… compulsion… that need to know everything about everything?”
She still breathing?
“He doesn’t care much for truth. Or fairness. He just cares about sensationalised headlines and selling newspapers. That makes him volatile.”
But…but…but this is *Smallville*!
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I would love to be a reporter, but the price is to give up farming. And that’s a price I’m not willing to pay.”
Oh boy. Maybe… he could farm sources?
Leaving the farm meant leaving Clark.
That was going to be difficult.
She would miss Clark.
And Martha.
And the farm.
Even Bess and Daisy.
But mostly Clark.
Oh dear, oh dear!
As they walked out of the barn, Lois slipped her hand into his. His heart leapt as he gently enclosed his fingers around her hand.
“The ground is a bit rough for heels,” she said.
Yes.
Should he kiss her?
He wanted to… obviously.
But more, he didn’t want to do anything that would spoil what had, so far, been a perfect evening.
Claude had betrayed her badly. What Lois needed most was people she could trust.
By the time they reached the landing, Clark had decided he wouldn’t kiss her.
Huh. So, will Lois?
Her head was tilted up, looking at him.
Not expecting a kiss at all, is she?
LOIS: Clark didn’t kiss me
Her mouth was just a few inches away. He looked into her eyes, hoping there would be clear indication of what she wanted. They were soft and warm, but if there was a message there, all of Clark’s powers were not sufficient to decipher it.
/hands Clark a dictionary/
His mind was full of Lois.
Holding her hand.
Sharing her smile.
And that kiss.
Awwwwww
See you in part 14!
Michael
