This is a ficathon fic for Laura S. I hope you like it, Laura.
It's set in S2. I'm nervous about posting it. It's been some time since I've written anything.
Huge thanks to Gerry, Jenni, and ML - their suggestions have really helped.
c.
~~~~~
Invitation
PG 13
Oh! No!
Lois picked up the card she'd let drop to her desk, bit her bottom lip, then peered at it cautiously, as though it had the power to burn her. Taking a deep breath, she shoved it to the side of her desk, turned it face down, placed three thick reports on top of it, then shifted her attention to the high velocity smartass banter and one upmanship in the news room.
But drawn, as if by a magnet with an evil force-field, she stared at the corner of her desk again. Cautiously, she lifted the reports; it was still there - the card, the invitation. She frowned. Then Jimmy confirmed her worst fears: he had one too. So it must be real.
Oh. God.
She was no good at these things. Absolutely. No. Good.
Big. Important. Birthdays.
There had to be a good reason why she couldn't go.
....
Well, there wasn't, of course. For this, she blamed Perry White's inability to assign her at the appropriate time to anything Metropolis related that was out of state or in a foreign country or the backwoods of Canada or wherever - there were so many possibilities if he would have just given it some thought. The Chief had absolutely no imagination!
It wasn't as though there wasn't a perfectly good conference on municipal sewage disposal, in Philadelphia, this weekend. Oh, she'd dropped hints all right; Perry had even picked them up, and then assigned Ralph! The new guy Ralph Whatshisname. The one with the bad suit, the eyes that wandered where they shouldn't, and no discernible talent of any sort. He was the one who got to go to Philadelphia!
To make matters worse, Martha Kent had persuaded Perry White to give Jimmy and her a day off. How she'd managed to do that, Lois had no idea. The last she'd heard a colleague's dad's birthday was not a legitimate reason for time off. Either her boss was getting soft or Martha knew stuff about Perry and had used it. Lois suspected the latter.
The party was supposed to be a surprise; otherwise, Lois figured that Jonathan Kent, who was a modest man, would never have agreed to this semi-gala thing that Martha had planned. Still, Lois, by this point, knew him well enough to guess he would probably enjoy all the fuss once the shock wore off.
Anyway, there she and Jimmy Olsen were on a Tuesday evening in late March, standing in front of a big old barn on Wayne Irig's farm, next to Schuster's Field, just outside Smallville.
Superman had flown her, Jimmy Olsen, and Clark Kent to Smallville; well, she and Jimmy first, to save them the cost of flying. Now that was odd, Lois mused. Superman had time to do stuff like that? She was surprised that he was so close to Jonathan Kent that he'd do them this sort of favour. Still, she knew Superman and Clark were friends.
Still, it was odd. Frivolous, and she doubted Superman had a frivolous bone in his very perfect body. But then it was Martha who'd arranged it, and that explained it all; Martha probably had stuff on Superman, too. Embarrassing photos or something.
Martha Kent was pretty amazing - Lois thought they should just put her in charge of running the universe.
She snuck a look at the man in red and blue beside her, intimidated by his stoic mask. Mask? Why did that word come to her mind?
"Thanks, Superman. That was pretty amazing." Jimmy looked in awe at the superhero.
"You're welcome, Jimmy. Pleased to be of service." His eyes sought Lois's as he spoke and he nodded to her, a mixture of reserve and yet acknowledgement in his own.
"Thanks, Superman." But Lois hadn't really been sure how to respond - a few weeks ago, they'd seemed close, Superman's loss of sight rendering him temporarily a little less remote. He'd needed her. But afterwards everything returned to normal pretty quickly, and now Lois wondered if maybe she hadn't dreamt the whole business. Superman sleeping on her couch! How likely was that?
"I... uh... should go get Clark."
"Uh huh." A spring breeze tousled Lois's dark hair and she raised her hand to tame a wayward strand. And Mayson, she wondered? She took a deep breath, and looked away from Superman as an image of his flying Clark and Mayson to Smallville rose unbidden in her mind.
......
Superman landed on the back porch of his parents' home, did a quick spin and Clark Kent, in jeans and blue shirt, walked in the front door towards the kitchen.
"Hi, Mom." He gave her a big hug, reaching around her waist to take a cookie from the cooling rack on the counter.
"Now that wasn't so bad was it, Clark?"
"Are you kidding?" But he grinned. "Bringing Jimmy at the same time was a stroke of genious."
"Saved you from Lois's clutches, did he?" Martha's tone was sardonic, but her eyes glinted with mischief.
"Superman needs to keep some distance from Lois right now."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"Mom!" His eyes got a desperate look and he searched the room for an escape. "Where's Dad?"
"Upstairs. Putting on his new suit, I hope. I think we're about ready to go. Wayne and Mary have been really great. Not a word. Jonathan thinks we're going over for dinner, just the five of us."
"Is Dad going to be okay with all this?" Clark's hand gestured, sketching in the scope of the party to come. "I figure most of the town'll be there."
Martha stopped what she was doing, and dried her hands on a towel. "He'll love it. At first, he'll pretend he doesn't, but he'll love it."
Clark looked at her skeptically.
"Trust me, Clark." She patted her son's chest, then turned towards the staircase to fetch her husband.
.....
"Just want to show you the new generator, Jonathan. It's out in the barn. Bet Clark would like to see it, too."
A minute or two later, Wayne Irig opened the old door of the barn whose boards had been bleached silver by almost a century of Kansas sun and rain.
And then the explosion: "Surprise!" People milled around, slapping Jonathan on the back, hugging him, shaking his hand. "Happy Birthday, Jonathan!"
Chuckling, Jonathan succumbed to the crowd, hugged Rachel Harris and Maisie, shook Pete Ross's hand and that of his father-in-law Lewis Lang, traded insults with his teammates on the Smallville Bowling Team.
"Jonathan, you knew," Martha whispered accusingly.
"Hard to get up earlier than a farmer, Martha." He winked at Lois and Jimmy as he said it. "Jimmy, follow me. There's a young lady over here who'd love to meet a photographer from the big city." He guided Jimmy across the worn, stone floor to where a young woman was taking pictures.
Martha turned to Lois. "We're so glad you could come, Lois. Jonathan and I, we feel you're family." Martha stopped abruptly, as though she'd said too much again.
For some reason she couldn't explain, Lois hugged the older woman. "You couldn't have kept me from coming."
What was she saying? The reality was, Lois was stark, raving terrified. This whole thing was way too family. She'd failed family. This was not some formal, business related gala where she could work the room, gathering information and making contacts. This was different: this was family and friends of such long standing they might as well be family. For that you needed small talk. Lois had failed small talk, too.
At least Jimmy was here. She could cling to him for the evening.
Cling? In what universe?
At least Mayson hadn't come with the Kents, which meant she was somewhere inside and Lois had just missed her in the short time since she and Jimmy had arrived. Standing straighter, Lois braced herself for the evening ahead, and the sight yet again of Mayson Drake swarming Clark Kent.
She'd done this before, Lois told herself sternly. The Corn Festival - she'd had fun that night, she and Clark. But so long ago - before Lex, before Mayson, before everything had changed so much between her and Clark Kent.
Before she knew Smallville.
......
Although Clark was chatting with Pete Ross, he was covertly watching Lois out of the corner of his eye. She and Superman had a got a bit too close when he'd lost his sight: he'd needed her help to get through that, not just physically but emotionally, too. No real lines had been crossed although it had been close. He had to reminding himself: Lois was not for him - it was Superman she wanted.
In spite of what his mother was telling him.
Fearing he'd blunder yet again into betraying how he felt, he'd had a fit when his mom asked Lois to-night. He knew he had to keep his emotional distance from her. Yet he hadn't wanted her not to be here, either.
He hoped she would have a good time to-night - city girl in the country... he was apprehensive.
"So, Clark, congratulations on that Kerth you corralled last fall."
"Thanks, Pete. I didn't think news like that got to Smallville."
"Are you kidding - your mom told my mom who e-mailed me while I was in Hong Kong. Say, how about introducing me to Jimmy and Lois? I'd like to meet her - I read her stuff - it's damn good. I don't see her around right now, though."
Neither do I, he thought and focused. Yeah. Got it. Her heartbeat told him she was on the perimeter of the barn... in the north-east corner. He shot a quick glance in that direction, and there she was checking out the threshing machine. For some reason her heart was racing - she was nervous! Why?
"She's over there - I'll go get her.
But he was stopped in his tracks by the distant sound of screeching breaks and blasting horns. He was out of the barn and in the sky in a just a few of Lois's heartbeats. Not much later he was back at the party.
. . . .
"Mom, who's that with Maisie?"
"Her new husband, Tommy Trucker."
"Mom, his name is not Tommy Trucker."
Martha laughed. "No - I don't remember his last name, Clark honey. Maisie's only known him five weeks, and that includes two weeks of wedded bliss. He's a trucker, just like her last two husbands - occupational hazard when you work at a truck stop, I guess." She paused. "Good looking trucker though."
"Mom!"
Jonathan appeared beside them. "Come on Martha, let's show 'em how it's done." He whisked his wife away, and out into the space in the cnetre of the old hay barn that had been cleared for dancing.
Time to find Lois, and introduce her to some of his old friends. But before he could do that, Clark, too, was whisked across to the dance floor by Rachel Harris, noticing as he went that Wayne Irig was walking toward Lois.
"Lois, come and take a look at my new generator. It's a beaut."
.....
"Ya know, Clark, there are some major babes here tonight." Jimmy handed Clark a beer, brewed in Kansas.
"Glad you came?" Clark teased.
"There's Lyssa, with the camera, Janine, Ginny...." He took a sip from the beer he held in his hand. "Who's the blonde babe chatting with your dad right now? "
"Lana Ross".
"I'd like to meet her."
As though she were aware that her name had been mentioned, the woman in question walked toward them.
"Think you're about to get your wish, Jim."
"Clark!" Lana slid her arms around Clark's neck and kissed his cheek. "I haven't seen you in way too long."
"Lana, this is Jimmy Olsen. He works with me at the Planet. Jimmy, this is Lana Ross."
"Hi, Jimmy. Clark and I used to date in high school." She slipped her arm through Clark's. "We...."
"Lana," Pete called from a few feet away, his voice raised so it could be heard above the music being played with extravagant exuberance by The Smallvile Five. "Honey, your dad wants to see you for a sec."
Lana smiled at Clark. "Later, Clark." She touched his cheek with her finger.
"Way to pick 'em, CK."
"What?"
"Well, Lana and Rachel. I'm guessing the hayloft in your dad's barn saw a lot of action." He took another sip from his bottle of Kansas Tornado. "This stuff's pretty good. Too bad we can't get it in Metropolis."
"Yeah. By the way, the guys who own the brewery are over there."
There was a pause as Jimmy gazed around the room, but stopped at the sight of a striking redhead sauntering toward the band. "Yep, I'm betting you saw more action than I did in high school."
"Oh, I dunna know, Jimmy."
"You know it wasn't until my first year at college that I even got to third base ..." He looked sideways at Clark for a moment, then raised his beer to his mouth. "I sure could sure use some advice. How do you get that home run, CK?"
"What?"
"You know - get a girl to make a man of you. How do you do it?"
"Heck, Jim. I've no idea."
"Come on, CK. Give a guy a break. I need some help here. What's the secret?"
"Jim, look, I don't know." Clark cleared his throat. "It's, uh, not like I haven't gotten real close, but d'ya know, I've never actually, uh, well...." He shrugged his shoulders, hoping to appear relaxed, but his left hand chopped the air nervously, betrayed him. God, what was he saying? He was 28 and a virgin.
"No way, man. Not even Cat?"
Clark let out a deep breath, tried to regain some composure. "There's gotta be more than just... It has to be the right girl ... woman." He paused. Finally he blurted. "It just never came up."
Jimmy's widened. "You mean, you can't... Gosh, I'm sorry, CK - have you seen a doctor about this?"
"What? God, no, Jimmy, that's not a problem." If only, he thought to himself as a couple of embarrassing, Lois related moments came to mind. Like the time he'd kissed her in the Honeymoon suite at the Lexor. What must she've thought?
"So what about Mayson, then? She's hot for you."
Clark's eyebrows shot up. "Jim, she's just a friend. That's all."
Jimmy took another swig from his bottle. "Well, there're a lotta hot babes here to-night - just sayin', CK." Jimmy raised his Kansas Tornado, squinted at its woeful emptiness. "Want another?" he asked as he began to walk towards the bar.
"Thanks, Jim."
Left alone for a moment, Clark leaned back against the wall, caught sight of Lois chatting with his Mom and a few of her friends. He wondered what they were talking about and shamelessly eavesdropped. He hoped his mom wasn't being mischievous - god, he hoped Lois wasn't either.
Nope, it was okay. They were talking about Smallville City Council. Pretty safe topic, he thought. It sounded like Lois was interviewing them. Everyone's heartbeat was very normal. He relaxed.
Wayne Irig's niece, the 12 year old with the twin sister, came over with a plate filled with squares of birthday cake. Clark watched idly as Lois raised a piece to her mouth. Then, just as the cake was a quarter inch from her mouth, Tommy Trucker accidentally bumped into her right elbow and gobs of white frosting lathered Lois's upper lip and chin and the tip of her nose while cake crumbs tumbled down the front of her dress.
Clark grinned.
He loved it when Lois messed up. Unfortunately, every part of his body loved at, he grimaced, as momentarily he was reminded how Lois Lane could fire his passion when he least expected it. Maybe he should go check out Wayne's new generator. That should be a safe distance away from her, he calculated.
At that precise moment Lana joined the group, and in one seamless move Martha handed Lois a napkin as she said, "Lois, this is Lana Ross. Lana, this is Lois Lane."
Wiping the icing from her hand, Lois mumbled, "Hi, Lana."
Clark watched the two from across the room. Lana was looking good tonight, but then she always had. Blonde hair skimming her bare shoulders, and all in pink, even pink stiletto shoes. Her favourite colour, he recalled, remembering how he'd been so distracted by her prettiness until the day she'd betrayed Rachel. Tonight, though, there was no doubt of Lana's elegance.
Lois, on the other hand, at this moment, was a mess, brushing at the cake crumbs that littered the front of her brown calico dress, the one she'd bought at the Corn festival last year. He smiled. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman in the world.
......
Alone for a few moments, Lois sipped white wine and watched everyone. The party wasn't so bad, better than she'd expected, but she still was that outsider, distanced from everyone. Interviewing instead of chatting.
She'd seen very little of Clark Kent. Was that it? Tonight, she'd danced with a couple of his old friends and talked with a few of the girls with whom he'd gone to high school. She figured Clark Kent was one experienced guy. He seemed to have had at least four girlfriends in high school as far as she could tell. Not that she was counting. Nope. None of her business.
They all were so close - Clark and Rachel kidding with each other as though they were still fifteen. And with Pete Ross, too. Did she still have any of her high school friends? Clark and the Irigs had the casual ease of long time neighbours, and of course, Lois knew how close Clark was to his parents. They all seemed so connected. She did not doubt that they would all stand by each other.
Would her friends and family stand by her? Most of them had refused to come to that wedding thing last spring. Well, at least her mother had been there for her. But her sister and father hadn't. Why not? They hadn't even been interested in spending Christmas with her.
Yep, she'd failed family.
She took a small sip of wine and listened to the Smallville Five, actually now Six with the addition of a teen-age singer who was surprisingly good, an easy and playful swing in her voice as she toyed with the lyrics.
Then Lois noticed that among those dancing was Clark Kent and the beautiful pink blonde whom Lois had met earlier. They were dancing awfully closely, Lois's eyes narrowed as Lana's arms slipped around his neck, a tad more intimately than friendly. Well, that figures, Lois thought - Clark did have a thing for blondes.
She wondered why Clark hadn't danced with her this evening. In fact, there was a chunk of time when she hadn't seen him around at all. One of his odd disappearing acts.
Once again, Mayson's image flashed across the screen of her mind. Why wasn't Mayson here? Maybe Martha hadn't invited her? But wouldn't she have, if the two were seeing each other? Maybe Mayson had a big case pending and couldn't get away. Or maybe they weren't dating after all. Lois liked that explanation better.
For a moment she wished she had Mayson's nerve. Just go up to the guy and ask him away for a weekend. Yep, a weekend where there was a barn with a hayloft, she thought. She'd show Clark Kent a skill or two that she bet he hadn't seen in any hayloft he'd ever been in.
Who was she kidding? All her relationships had been federal disasters. Besides "all" was a dismally short list, and she vaguely wondered how long something had to last to qualify as a bona fide relationship. Anyway, what was she doing fantasying about Clark Kent anyway? How pathetic was that? He'd told her last spring he didn't love her. He was not for her.
Jimmy came up behind her, tapped her on the shoulder. "Penny for your thoughts, Lois." He enunciated the words precisely rather than speaking them normally, making Lois suspect a few Kansas Tornados were coursing happily through his body.
"Just thinking about haylofts, a farmboy and a girl in pink."
Jimmy ... giggled. "Nothing there, Lois. Nada. No hayloft experience. Clark just told me he's a virgin."
"What!" Lois, turned abruptly, looked at him skeptically, thinking about the number of girls who'd said they had dated Clark Kent tonight.
"God, shouldn't have said that. Betraying a buddy. Lois, ya gotta promise me you'll never tell anyone."
"I promise, Jimmy." She patted his arm. "Clark's secret is safe with me." And it is, she thought. His secret is safe. But maybe Clark won't be safe with me from now on. Just maybe, if I can work up the nerve to make the first move.... Try for a real relationship with a real guy and not some unattainably safe, fantasy guy.
Why was he was he still a virgin? She was - there was no other word for it - shocked. From what she could tell, Clark had had lots of opportunity. Unbidden, the memory of his kiss in the Honeymoon Suite slipped into her mind. Yep, all the parts of a man. In solid working order, too. She blushed, smiling to herself, and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.
"Friends!" Wayne Irig's voice boomed as he spoke too close to the microphone in front of the band. He cleared his voice and looked around. "You all know what a good friend Jonathan Kent has been to me and to all of us. All the times he's been there for us whenever we've needed help. So, Happy Birthday, Jonathan. Many more, too." For Wayne Irig this was very long speech. He cleared his gruff voice. "Clark here is going to say a few words."
Lois watched as Clark walked over to the mike, his gait easy. He moved beautifully she thought - he'd taken off his jacket and, well, all she could think was he did move sooo very, very... nice.
He spoke well, too. Simply, yet eloquently, of his father's humanity and how much he owed him, how much he'd learned from him. Then father and son hugged, unashamed at showing their feelings in this gathering of family and friends. Once more, the Smallville Seven (the twins had delusions of musicality) burst into music. But Lois kept her eyes on Clark and his dad, saw his father's quiet pride in his son.
Unbidden tears built behind her eyes, and she fought to control them.
Then Clark was walking toward her, and all of a sudden she envied him. Something she'd never done before. Maybe she'd been jealous all night. She knew it was petty, knew it was wrong, but she couldn't exorcise her feeling.
She should not have come. She was jealous of Clark - his relationships, his family. Because he was still friends with so many people from his past, because his father loved him, because ... he was so normal. Things she didn't have, wasn't, didn't know how to be.
Because he had been avoiding her all evening.
When Clark reached her side, her unhappiness flared in her dark eyes.
She whirled away from him, spitting out what was trivial, what she did not care about, really, because she knew instinctively it was nothing. "Time out from the girlfriend for the co-worker?"
He grabbed her arm and turned her forcefully around to face him, placed both hands deliberately, firmly, on her shoulders. His dark eyes met hers, calmness challenging turbulence.
"Lois." His voice was soft. He took the wine from her hand and placed it on the table behind them, then took her hand in his.
"You're so bloody normal, Clark. So ... " Her hands flailed as she glared at him, feeling foolish, angry - at him for she had no idea what exactly, at herself for so many things, for being so absolutely, appallingly ridiculous. For behaving badly. Yet she couldn't stop herself.
"What?" He was astounded.
"You're so damned ... whole."
He was stunned. Whole? All his life he'd been searching, always knowing something was missing. A piece of his soul. And then one day he'd walked into the Daily Planet and there she was.
"Lois... No, never - not until I met you."
She raised her head then, looked at him, met his dark eyes, the turmoil in hers gentled by the depth of emotion in his.
"Oh." A sigh escaped her lips, and the tension slid from her shoulders. "Oh" she breathed.
"Lois," he repeated, touching her cheek gently, willing her to see him, all of him.
And just as it appeared she was about to say something more, Jonathan tapped her on the shoulder. "How about a dance with the old man?" His eyes twinkled.
Lois laughed. "I'd love to." And she let him shepherd her onto the dance floor.
"After all, what Martha said that night, Lois - "You're family," Jonathan told her.
Clark watched them go. Time to shorten the distance between them, he thought. Time to take a chance with her again, to show her his heart. Tomorrow, he'd ask her out. There was a Pearl Jam concert...
The end.
So, have you guessed the guidelines?
Had to be S1 or 2, a party in Smallville, Clark confesses his virginity to someone who then tells Lois, & Lois gets jealous. Plus no babies/kids, Trask or Bureau 39. And a happy ending.
I've used a few lines from the show. You know which ones
carol
