Title: Evasive Action
Author: Sue S.
Rating: PG
Summary: What if Lois figured it out? What if she didn't get upset? What if she messed with Clark's mind to wring a confession out of him? How far would she go to make him admit he's Superman? What if someone wrote a story without even trying to make up an A plot and everyone else just went along with it and pretended it wasn't just WAFF with window dressing?
This is set just after Top Copy. I tried to write this as a third person POV but realized the immediacy of knowing what Lois is thinking suits the story better. One of these days I'll go the omniscient route. It would sure help with exposition. But since there's no exposition in this story, it doesn't matter. Heck, there's not much plot either.
Since I'm not doing this to make a profit, there will be no refunds given. Did I mention that the characters in this story don't belong to me and aren't much in-character anyway? But what's fanfic for if you can't have fun with someone else's intellectual property?
I am deeply indebted to my betas, Sara and DJ. Without them this would be a huge unfinished mess that I would never have dared post. DJ, especially, deserves credit for insisting that I post a PG version of the story.
Here's all the A plot you're going to get: Lois is staking out a warehouse or some such dark and dangerous place. What is she looking for? I don't know. Frankly, it won't matter and I couldn't be bothered to come up with anything anyway. Feel free to supply your own details. It probably has something to do with a major crime ring and blah, blah, blah… Let's just go from there, shall we?
<><><>
I'm nearly to the end of the corridor when strong arms grab me from behind. One goes around my waist, lifting me back against a solid body. A hand covers my mouth as I'm dragged backwards. I kick with a desperation born of panic but the guy doesn't release me. My screams are muffled. I'm in deep trouble and I can't even call out for Superman to help me. I can't move my arms to dig an elbow into his stomach. Belatedly I realize I should have asked Clark to come along instead of sneaking in here on my own.
"Lois, calm down. It's me," Clark says urgently in my ear. Clark? My mystery attacker is Clark? Who knew he was this strong? When did he get here? I should probably be grateful it's him instead of wondering why - and how - he tailed me here tonight.
"Let me go!" It comes out more like "Megah."
"Only if you promise to be quiet," he answers in a forceful undertone.
What kind of game is he playing? I bring my heel down hard on his instep and he lets out an exasperated sigh. "Do you promise?" he asks.
I give a non-committal grunt but he takes it for agreement.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I whisper when he lets me go.
"I might ask you the same question. You shouldn't be in here."
"Well, I am here, so I'm going to keep going, if you don't mind." I go to walk around him.
He steps in front of me. "No, you're not. It's too dangerous."
"Since when are you my babysitter?"
"Since about ten minutes ago when you lost your mind and broke into this place."
"You're in here too!"
"I was following you," he says as if he has every right to sneak up on me.
"Well you can stop following me!" I move to go past him and he takes hold of my wrist. "Clark, I don't want to hurt you…"
"I'd like to see you try." There's a hint of amusement in his voice as he says this. Does he think I won't beat the crap out of him? Because I totally will. I might feel bad about it later, but I have no problem with giving him a bruise or two to remind him of who he's messing with.
"This is my final warning, Kent. Trust me, you do not want to go there."
His fingers tighten on my wrist.
"Fine," I say, and pull my wrist to flip him over. Except he anticipates me and I end up twisted around with my arm trapped across my waist. He pulls me against him again, his hand back over my mouth. I'm furious with him and I let loose a stream of muffled obscenities as he pulls me, struggling with all my might, towards the outside door.
If I wasn't so angry I might be a little turned-on that he's so much stronger than me. Good thing, then, that I'm enraged. The fact that my docile partner suddenly has an over-assertive side doesn't do anything for me. Nope. It's only irritating that even my best efforts don't free me as he drags me from the building. He pulls me through the alley and pins me against a brick wall. We're both breathing hard.
"You have an amazing command of the English language," he says, "but some of those suggestions are physically impossible."
I ignore that and decide to try flattery. "Have you been working out?"
"Nice try."
I relax against the wall, hoping he'll think I've given up. "Okay, you win. You're absolutely right. I shouldn't have been in there. So… I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"You think I'm just going to turn you loose now? Lois, I've known you far too long to believe that you're just going to give up and go home."
"What are you going to do then? You have to let me go sometime."
He considers this for a moment. "I'll take you home."
<><><>
When we get to my apartment he insists on walking me to the door. I try to shut the door before he can come in. "So, bye now."
"Uh uh. I don't think so." He puts his foot in the door, blocking me from closing it.
"You are not staying here tonight!" We glare at each other through the four-inch gap in the door.
"Would you rather I got Superman involved? Because I'm pretty sure that once I explain the situation to him, he'll be glad to keep an eye on you."
He thinks that's a punishment? "Go ahead then. Go get him." Clark obviously hasn't considered the fact that, at some point, someone is going to need Superman's help and he'll have to leave.
He grins. "I can have him here faster than you think."
"Then do it."
Clark considers it for a few seconds and then says, "You're on." He starts to walk away down the hall.
I open the door and lean out to yell after him. "Better hurry. I might leave before you can find him. And there's no guarantee I'm going back to the warehouse. I might go somewhere else. In fact, I don't even know where I'm going to go." The scary part is that's true.
"Will you give me a head start?" He turns at the top of the stairs and smiles at me.
"This isn't hide and seek, Clark."
He takes the first two steps and then turns again. "Try not to flirt with him too much, okay?"
"I'm not going to flirt with him! You don't flirt with Superman! He's not the kind of person who just invites casual flirting!" I call out as he disappears down the stairs. I go back inside my apartment and slam the door shut.
"I don't mind when you flirt with me, Lois," says a familiar voice from behind me.
Astonished, I turn to face him. "Superman! How did Clark find you so fast?"
Superman looks a little chagrined. "I'm sorry. I was outside when I heard you two talking. Since I, well, you said my name and I… I hope you don't mind."
"No. No, of course not."
"So why does Clark want me to keep an eye on you?"
"I… never mind. It's not important."
"It seemed important to Clark."
"Clark's a worry-wart. I can take care of myself, you know."
Superman nods, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Then you don't need a babysitter? I can just go?"
Ha! Oh Clark, you were too clever. Superman trusts me more than you do.
"No, you don't need to be here." Wait, am I kicking Superman out? Yes, I have to if I want to get back down to the warehouse before they move anything out of it. I give Superman a reassuring smile. "Clark's just being unreasonable."
"Unreasonable?" Superman raises his eyebrow.
"Very unreasonable. There was no one in that warehouse when we were there."
"Did you ever consider that they might have you on closed-circuit television? That you might be putting yourself and the Daily Planet in jeopardy if you got caught?"
"There were cameras in that warehouse?"
Superman nods grimly.
"How would you know that? I mean, how do you even know which warehouse I'm talking about?"
Superman looks surprised by the question. "I always keep an eye on that part of town, Lois."
"Oh." Duh. I should have realized that.
"Clark is right. You can't go back there."
I sigh. Even if Superman left now, there's no way he wouldn't catch me at the warehouse if I went back. I'm going to end up spending the rest of the night ducking both him and Clark. It makes me tired just thinking about it.
"So…?" I give Superman my most enticing smile. "Will you be staying for a while?"
Superman looks at the window he just came through and then back at me. "I… I can stay for a little while."
"Are you hungry? I can fix us something… is there anything in particular that you'd like?"
"Whatever you're making is fine with me."
"Umm, I can make spaghetti?"
"That would be great, Lois. Thanks."
"Okay, spaghetti, coming up." I go into the kitchen and start looking for a pan to boil water. I find one and fill it, but as I turn to put it on the burner I almost run into Superman. He's leaning against the counter, obviously just trying to be sociable. Water spills all over me as I accidentally tip the pan.
"I'm sorry, Lois. I… Can I help at all?"
Now there's a new fantasy - cooking with Superman. "Sure," I tell him. "Can you start the water boiling while I go get changed?"
"I know a great recipe for sauce, would you mind if I made it?"
Thud. Oh, be still my heart. He cooks, too? "You can cook? I wasn't even sure you needed to eat."
"I eat, Lois. And I can cook. I don't get to cook for someone else very often."
"Okay," I agree and turn to go change clothes. Superman cooks. He's cooking for me!
<><><>
I change into a pair of jeans and a stretchy top that's maybe a little too low-cut. Casual but enticing is the look I'm going for. Would Clark consider this flirting? Why do I care what Clark thinks? I fervently hope he doesn't come back now and crash the party.
I sip a glass of wine while I watch Superman cook. He seems right at home in the kitchen. He seems right at home in my kitchen. He hasn't asked me yet where to find anything. It must be the x-ray vision, the way he seems to know exactly where I keep everything.
He's good with his hands. Then again, when isn't he confident in his movements? He takes a sip of the sauce and nods approvingly. Then he holds the spoon out for me to take a taste.
Damn. He can cook. "This is wonderful," I tell him. "What's in it?"
"It's a secret." His eyes are almost mischievous. Is he flirting with me?
"Okay, what's the secret?" I ask in a conspiratorial whisper.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret," he says with a wink. I swear he really is flirting with me. It's too much; I have to look away. When I dare a peek at him again his expression changes, like he suddenly realized he was more familiar with me than usual.
"It's just me, you know. You don't have to be so formal with me all the time." I reach out and touch his arm.
His expression flickers and he moves his arm so my fingers fall away. "It's better… if I don't get involved with anyone."
Disappointment floods through me. "I wasn't asking you to get involved with me."
"We should eat now," he says firmly.
<><><>
Dinner ends up being a quiet affair. Superman avoids looking me in the eye and only gives me a tight smile or the barest of responses each time I try to draw him into conversation. His plate clean, he wipes at his mouth with a napkin.
"I probably ought to go check the city now. Thank you for dinner."
"Oh, don't thank me. You cooked it. I should be thanking you for dinner. So… thank you." I hate that I'm such a babbling idiot when he's around.
He goes to the window ledge and then turns, his gaze finally directed at me. "Please promise me you won't go back to that warehouse."
I hold up my right hand. "I won't go back inside the warehouse, I promise."
"Good night, Lois."
As soon as he's gone I change my shirt in favor of something dark and less revealing before I leave. Clark is long gone, probably still out looking for Superman. I'm not going back to the warehouse, not really. Surely Superman can't fault me for sitting outside, a block away, in my Jeep? I only promised him I wouldn't go inside. If my source was correct, everything is getting shipped out of there before dawn. I'll just follow the truck when it leaves. I'm singing the alphabet backwards to stay awake when there's a knock on the passenger door.
Startled, I jump in my seat and turn to see Clark peering in at me. I think about not unlocking the door, but he looks angry enough to tear the door off.
"What are you doing here?" I ask him breezily as he gets in with a scowl on his face.
"Me? What are you doing here? Superman said you promised not to go back to the warehouse."
"Am I in the warehouse?"
He frowns. "No."
"I only said I wouldn't go back in the warehouse." A thought occurs to me. "Let me get this straight - Superman dropped by in the middle of the night to tell you I was sitting here watching the warehouse? Does he do that a lot? Wake you up to give you progress reports on crime in the city?"
Clark sighs. "Only when it concerns you."
"Well, I'm fine. And I'm not going back inside the warehouse. You can go back to bed now."
"Sorry, I can't leave. I promised Superman I'd stick around. Apparently you're not to be trusted."
We sit in silence for over half an hour. I think about Superman in my kitchen looking like he belonged there. He was flirting with me, I'm certain of it now. And it was good and it was… comfortable - until he went and made it awkward. Why does he do that? There are moments when I know for certain that he's attracted to me. And then there are moments when he avoids me like I'm made of Kryptonite.
What about Clark? Who I absolutely know is attracted to me, but who also seems to avoid me. He asked me out on a date and then Perry made us go on a stakeout instead. And, as almost dates go, ours was a scorcher until I got sick. And since then? Nothing, nada, zilch. Yes, I've avoided him. But he's avoided me just as much. Maybe not in an overt way, but he still disappears at the slightest provocation. Am I attracted to Clark? Oh hell yes. I crave him so much you'd think he was covered in chocolate.
And therein lies the danger. I work with Clark. I'm friends with Clark. If anything happened between us and it didn't work out… it sends me into a cold sweat just thinking about it. I tried to explain this to him when he first asked me out and he said he felt the same fears. Is he having second thoughts about dating me? Is that the problem?
If only one of them would send a clear signal, I could just write off the other. Truthfully, I've been leaning more towards Clark the past few months. Not that I would ever admit that to his face. It's not just that Clark seems more attainable. He's just… easier to hang out with. Dinner tonight with Superman is one of the rare times he's ever stuck around longer than a few minutes. It hardly counts, though, since he clearly wasn't about to let down his guard.
The truck backed up to the loading dock of the warehouse roars to life. It sits there idle for a few minutes and then it rolls away. I wait until it goes around the corner before I start the Jeep and follow. The truck gets on the interstate.
We follow him out of Metropolis and into the countryside. Just after the sun comes up he pulls into a truck stop. I fill up the gas tank while Clark goes inside to find us something to eat. He comes back with a couple of breakfast sandwiches, a bag of cheddar-flavored popcorn and a half-pound of red licorice.
I only eat half my sandwich. It's dry and it tastes like processed cheese. Speaking of which, the smell of Clark's popcorn is overwhelming. He finishes off my sandwich and goes back to eating his dehydrogenated corn.
"How can you eat that junk and still look like you look?"
He shrugs. "Genetics have been kind to me."
"Are you kidding? Have you seen your dad? You aren't going to look so good in another ten, fifteen years if you keep binging like this."
"Maybe I take after my mom."
I sigh and change the subject. "Where do you think he's going?"
"I don't know. How long do you intend to follow him?"
"As long as it takes," I say.
<><><>
End 1/7
