Yet again, thrilled by the number of entries. Try your hand at this one.
~Laura
“So have you found a costume for the Planet’s Halloween party next week, CK?”
Clark leaned back in his chair as he eyed his young friend. “Not yet, Jimmy.”
Sitting at the desk across from Clark’s, Lois swiveled around in her chair and faced him and Jimmy. “You know, Clark, you could always wear that scruffy sailorman look you wore last week at the Metro Club,” she suggested with a saccharine smile.
Clark threw her an equally saccharine grin. “I’ll wear the ‘sailorman’ costume if you wear that chicken outfit again. Deal?” he asked innocently. Trying to conceal a snicker and failing miserably, Clark watched as Lois’s smile turned into a smirk.
“Real cute, Kent. But I’ve got you figured out. You just want to see me in that hideous get-up so you can ruffle my feathers.”
“Admit it, Lois, you like it when I ruffle your feathers.”
Lois smirked at him once more before adding, “Besides, I don’t need a costume because I’m not going.”
“Aw, come on, Lois! You have to go. It’s going to be a blast!” Jimmy’s enthusiastic words brought a scowl to Lois’s face. Clark scratched his nose, attempting to smother a grin.
Lois saw right through him.
“And I suppose you’re counting the days until Halloween. Are you and Jimmy planning to go trick-or-treating too?” If not for the teasing glint in her eyes, Clark would have been offended at her biting tone.
“Seriously, Lois, you should come. It’ll be fun,” Clark urged, standing up from his desk and covering the short distance to perch on the edge of hers. Jimmy followed, standing nearby with his hands in his pockets.
“Fun?” Lois asked, looking as if the word was foreign to her. Sadly, it probably was.
“Yeah, fun. Everyone dressed up in costumes, the excitement in the air, and not to mention the fact that Halloween is the perfect excuse to eat too much chocolate. Now, that is something I know you can’t pass up. Admit it,” Clark’s voice lowered as he leaned forward slightly, catching an addictive whiff of her perfume, “you know you want to come.”
“Even if I was inclined to dress up in some ridiculous costume – which, for the record I’m not – what makes you think I’d want to spend the evening at the Planet at some costume party? Maybe I have a hot date?”
Clark felt his heart plummet. Please don’t say you have a date with Luthor, he silently pleaded.
Lex Luthor had been giving Lois far too many meaningful looks lately, the kind of looks that didn’t escape Clark’s keen eye. The billionaire was circling his partner like a vulture. Ignoring the simmering jealously that always seemed to boil inside him at even the thought of her with that maniacal slime ball, Clark willed his expression to remain neutral and reluctantly asked, “So do you have a date?”
“Well,” Lois hedged, reluctance creeping into her voice, “no, not exactly. But, Clark, come on! It’s a costume party! I don’t do costumes.”
Clark grinned at that. “No, of course you don’t,” he began teasingly, “Lois Lane will only resort to chicken feathers when a hot story is on the line.”
Thumping him lightly on the chest, Lois shot him a look of indignation. “I wouldn’t even know what to dress up as, Clark.”
“Well, I haven’t figured out what I’m going as, either. But we have a few more days before Halloween. I’m sure we can figure something out before then.”
“Hey, guys! I have an idea. Why don’t you choose each other’s costumes?”
Two pairs of brown eyes fell on Jimmy, both giving him identical looks of disbelief.
“Have you lost your mind, Jimmy? Let Kent choose a costume for me? I’m sorry, but I don’t think that attending the Daily Planet’s costume party as a playboy bunny is quite what I had in mind.”
Clark threw her a wounded look. “Give me some credit, Lois!”
“Clark, you may be from Kansas, but you’re still a man.”
“Oh, I see,” he began, sounding offended. “Because I’m a man it must mean that I’m not capable of picking out something that isn’t tacky or sleazy. Is that it?”
“Hey! What’s so tacky or sleazy about a playboy bunny costume?” Jimmy asked, his words eliciting two simmering looks from both of his co-workers. Backing up a few steps, Jimmy put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I won’t say another word.”
Lois turned back to Clark, a silent challenge in her eyes. “Are you saying that you wouldn’t?” she asked Clark.
“Lois, I’m not much into playboy bunnies.”
Lois snickered at that. “You must be from another planet then. I’ve never met a man who wasn’t into playboy bunnies.”
“You know, Lois, I bet that I could come up with a better costume idea for you than you could for me.”
“I smell a bet, guys!” Jimmy exclaimed, slapping his hands together like an overly exited child on Christmas morning.
“Don’t you have work to do, Jimmy?” Lois asked pointedly.
“Um, no not really,” he said lightly. “I’ve been running around all morning for the Chief. He’s finally giving me a breather.”
Lois sighed, rolling her eyes. “Where is Perry when I need him,” she muttered under her breath.
Clark grinned at her, his eyes full of mischief. “I think Jimmy’s right, Lois. I think this does call for a bet. I’ll pick a costume out for you, and you do the same for me. Come Halloween night, we’ll just see who picked better.”
“And who’s going to be the judge?” she asked. “Jimmy?” Her tone of voice relayed to Clark exactly what she thought of that idea.
“We could take a poll at the party and see which costume gets the most votes,” Jimmy suggested.
“I hope I don’t live to regret this.” It would certainly save her the trouble of having to find a costume. She swallowed hard, hoping that Kent wouldn’t pick out some idiotic harem garb. He’d find himself sorely disappointed if he expected her to perform the dance of the seven veils. “Don’t ever say that Lois Lane is known to back down from a challenge,” Lois muttered as she shot daggers at Jimmy.
Poor kid was certainly getting a heavy dose of Mad Dog Lane today.
“Lois, I don’t think you have to worry about anyone accusing you of that. You? Backing down from a challenge?” Clark chuckled, clearly finding the idea amusing. “That’ll be the day!”
Lois’s eyes narrowed in a glowering look. She was immensely pleased when the smile disappeared from his face. Her partner took too much pleasure in teasing her.
“So what are the terms of this bet?” he asked.
Lois brightened at that. After a few moments of silent consideration during which she thought of several embarrassing things that she could require her naive partner to do, she said, “When I win, you have to wear suspenders to work for a week!” Maybe she’d be evil and pick out a pair that would complement his wild ties. Lois almost giggled at the thought.
Clark’s eyes widened. “Suspenders, Lois?”
She suddenly had an image of him in nothing but suspenders, a straw hat, and a brilliant smile. Not liking where her thoughts were drifting – they seemed to drift in that direction often ever since she’d seen him kissing Toni Taylor a few days ago – Lois wiped the delicious image from her mind.
“And you have to wear a straw hat too,” she told him triumphantly. “And answer to the name of ‘Farmer Clark!’” she concluded gleefully, dark eyes glittering.
Clark rolled his eyes, feigning exasperation. “What if Perry won’t go along with this new attire that you’d have me wear?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Clark; if he could put up with your ties, I’m sure he’ll have no problem with this.”
“Okay, Lois, it’s a deal. If you win, I’ll wear suspenders and a straw hat to work for a week—“
“And answer to ‘Farmer Clark,’” Lois interrupted, not about to let him forget that little detail. Maybe she should get it in writing. This was just too good to pass up.
Clark rolled his eyes again. “And answer to ‘Farmer Clark,’” he amended. “I really don’t understand why you find it so amusing that I grew up on a farm.”
“So what will you get if you win, CK?” Jimmy asked Clark.
Lois gulped as Clark’s gaze became intense. “If I win, Lois, you have to go out on a date with me.”
Her mouth dropped open. Several seconds went by before she reminded herself to close it again.
A date?
No way.
With Kent?
No, no, no way! Anything but that! It wasn’t that Kent was repulsive. No, the problem was … her partner was the exact opposite of repulsive. A part of her that she refused to acknowledge even existed had known it the moment they’d met. His attractiveness had become cemented in her brain during their first shared meal together, an assortment of Chinese food that to this day Lois still remembered as tasting “out of this world.”
Lucky for her, Kent had caught the blatant hint she’d passed him, in the form of a nonchalant “don’t fall for me, Farmboy, I don’t have time for it,” and had run all the way home with it. He hadn’t given her another single long, lingering look since the night they’d shared that amazing Chinese food together. And lucky for her, she’d had Superman to keep her plenty distracted.
So why in the world was he asking her out now? Well, asking wasn’t exactly what he was doing. He was one-upping her on the terms of their bet!
“A date? As in you and I … going somewhere together?” Oh, please let her have misunderstood him!
“Yeah. If I win, let me take you out to dinner, Lois. No work, no ruses, just the two of us sharing a meal together.” He made it sound so easy.
And she suddenly learned something about herself. Everyone was absolutely right about her. She was way too competitive for her own good. Nodding, Lois’s voice was strangely high-pitched as she replied, “Okay.”
“This is going to be great!” Jimmy exclaimed. “I’ve gotta tell the Chief about this!”
Neither Lois nor Clark paid any attention to Jimmy as he bounced off in search of Perry.
************************************
Lois entered the Halloween shop, her eyes widening at the enormous display of costumes. It would take her until this time next year to look through all of them.
There were just so many to choose from.
The shop was overflowing with the typical assortment of Halloween ghouls and goblins, adult themes, humorous costumes, children’s costumes … Lois even spied several pairs of suspenders. Smiling, she picked up a pair. Completely certain that she would win their bet, Lois threw the suspenders into her basket and moved on down the aisle. Wrinkling her nose at the distasteful playboy bunny costumes, she quickly moved on to the next aisle over.
Bingo!
It was perfect.
No, it was more than perfect. It was a risky choice, Lois realized. The costume was bound to be a popular one, and more than one person would likely be wearing the same costume. If she lost their bet she’d have to go out on a date with Clark, an idea that Lois grudgingly admitted wasn’t such a bad one. But there simply wasn’t any other costume choice. No one would look as good in it as Clark, except for the person who wore it on a regular basis, of course.
Smiling from ear to ear, Lois found Clark’s size, and tearing the costume off of the rack, she cheerfully dropped it into her basket. This was the closest she’d ever come to getting her fantasy.
************************************
“Wow, I have to admit that I like it. I wouldn’t have thought of dressing as Cleopatra.”
Clark grinned at her, pleased that he’d picked out a costume that Lois liked. The moment he’d laid eyes on the costume, he’s known that it suited her. It was glamorous, elegant, and tasteful. She’d also be a knockout in it.
“You did good, Kent. But I’m not sure that you topped this.” She pulled the costume she’d chosen for him out of a large plastic orange bag.
It was the last thing he’d expected. Although, when he thought about it, he really shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Lois … I can’t wear that!”
“What are you talking about, Clark? I know you’re not nearly as big, or as muscular, but you’ll still fill the costume out nicely.” Lois felt her cheeks grow warm at the small admission. Truth was he’d probably fill out the tight spandex too well.
His eyes caught and held hers. Lois wasn’t sure what to make of the look he was giving her. It was just a costume! It wasn’t like she was asking him to attend the Daily Planet’s annual Halloween party naked or anything!
Don’t go there, Lane!
Lois quickly threw the stray thought, along with the unwelcome – though completely delicious – image out of her mind. Maybe she’d go rummaging through the trashcan of her mind later tonight once she was alone, tucked snugly into her bed and inside the privacy of her apartment.
Mmm, now that was a thought!
Lois forced her mind back onto the conversation when Clark started speaking again. “I can’t wear it, Lois. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to pick something else out.”
“Are you insane? Today’s Halloween! You’ll be lucky to find a Mickey Mouse costume left on the racks. And I’m sorry to say this, Clark, but I don’t think you’d look good with big ears.” She shot him a devilish smile, but the stubbornness refused to budge from his eyes. Lois’s teasing smile disappeared. Sighing, she asked, “What’s wrong with the Superman costume?”
“Nothing, Lois. I just can’t … wear it.” If Lois had to describe the expression painted on her partner’s face, she’d say that Clark looked like a frightened little puppy trapped in a dog kennel.
“Why not?” she asked in exasperation.
That was such a loaded question.
And there was no simple answer. Clark felt nervousness rise as he returned her gaze. He was trapped between a rock and a hard place on this one. What had he gotten himself into? “I can’t wear it, Lois. Find something else, anything else.”
“I can’t do that. If you refuse to wear this costume then I’ll have to consider you the loser of our bet,” she said sweetly. “Are you ready to wear those suspenders yet?”
He couldn’t lose this bet. Not when winning it meant that he’d get the chance to take her out on a date – would get the chance to show her that there was more to Clark Kent than met the eye.
Clark sighed in resignation before reaching out to take the costume from her. “I’ll go put it on, Lois. Then you’ll see why I can’t wear it to the Halloween party.” Was he actually going to do this? Was he actually going to tell Lois that he was Superman? Part of him had wanted to tell her all along. He’d fallen hard the moment he’d laid eyes on her. If there was anyone he wanted to share this with, it was her.
But was it too soon? Did he know her well enough? Could he trust her? The answer was a resounding “yes” to all three questions. It was definitely too soon. He certainly wasn’t ready to tell her and if he was honest with himself, he probably wouldn’t ever be. And as far as knowing her went, he felt like he’d known her all of his life. He definitely knew her well enough to trust her with his secret.
Clark stared at himself in the mirror several minutes later, his heart drumming a loud, raucous beat. The costume wasn’t as flattering or comfortable as one of his own suits. But there was simply no denying that he was Superman while wearing it.
Sure, he could just flat out refuse to wear the costume and lose their bet, lose the chance to go out on a date with her. But they’d had an agreement. Lois wasn’t likely to let him off so easy.
Besides, a large part really wanted to tell her. He was tired of lying to her.
Clark gave his reflection a courageous nod. Removing his glasses and smoothing his dark locks into the slicked back style that Superman wore, he left the safety of his bathroom. He felt like he was marching to war as he entered the living room. She was going to be so angry. Clark’s eyes settled on Lois. She had taken a seat on his sofa while he’d been changing. She quickly rose at the sight of him, her eyes glittering with confusion and … something else.
“Superman?” That single word sounded like it had been torn from her mouth. She took a step away from him, shock written all over her face.
“I’m sorry, Lois. This isn’t how I imagined telling you. But I’m sure you can see why I can’t wear this costume out in public, not as Clark Kent anyway.”
Lois opened and closed her mouth several times, struggling to find words.
Oh, god . . .
It was the only thought swirling around in her mind. Her brain’s functioning power short-circuited as she stood stock-still, unable to do anything but stare at the man who had become her fantasy. Only now he was wearing a cheap Halloween costume.
Good god, she’d picked out a Superman costume for … Superman.
Lois laughed, eliciting a wary and confused expression from the Man of Steel. She couldn’t help it. Laughter bubbled up, flowing over the surface of her sanity and filling the room. She’d have to be brain dead not to see the irony of it all.
“Lois?” he asked, cautious, hesitant. “I was expecting shouting, not … laughing.”
The look on his face only made her laugh harder. She’d been working with Superman for the past few weeks! He’d sat beside her, had worked with her on stories, and had edited her copy! He’d thrown her in a dumpster full of garbage just last week!
“I’m sorry, Clark. I just … I can’t ignore the irony in all of this. I picked out a Superman costume for Superman.” Her laughter settled down to a chuckle. As she stared at Clark, cheap Superman costume and all, she suddenly realized that she didn’t have a drop of anger in her.
How could she be angry with her partner when she had treated him so horribly? Apparently, The Man of Steel also had a backbone of steel to have so easily put up with her during the past few weeks that they’d worked together.
“Come on, partner. Let’s go find you another costume. We’re running out of time.” Lois couldn’t hold back one more chuckle upon seeing the dumbfounded expression on her partner’s face.
Clark spun out of the cheap Halloween costume and back into his normal everyday clothes. It was his turn to chuckle as the dumbfounded expression traveled from his face to Lois’s instead.
How did he do that?
************************************
“If The Dark Knight ever catches wind that I wore a Batman costume for Halloween, I’ll never hear the end of it.” Clark complained as he followed Lois through the revolving doors of the Daily Planet.
They’d spent two long hours scouring the Halloween shops, department stores, and even a few thrift shops, but in the end Lois had been dead set on choosing a Batman costume. For some reason unfathomable to Clark, she had found it almost as amusing as choosing a Superman costume for … well, Superman.
“Oh, you’ll live Clark. Besides, we were running out of time. As it stands, we’re thirty minutes late anyway.” Lois pushed the button to summon the elevator. She turned to look at him and a slow, almost seductive, smile fluttered across her face. “I think you look good in black.”
Clark was suddenly grateful for the Batman mask he was wearing. Feeling his cheeks growing warm under the black mask, Clark sternly told his heart to calm down.
But, damn! She was flirting with him, had been for the past week if he stopped to think about it. “You really were jealous last week when Toni Taylor came by my apartment, weren’t you?”
The elevator doors opened. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Kent.” Lois tossed a grin in his direction, and then stepped inside.
The party was starting to wind down a couple hours later. Jimmy had been polling all night, getting everyone’s opinion on their costume choices. Sauntering over to where they were sitting, Jimmy slapped Clark on the back happily. “My man, looks like you’re going to get to take Lois out after all. You won!”
Clark grinned at Lois, his grin turning into a full-fledged smile when she groaned. Jimmy disappeared through the thong of party-goers as quickly as he’d come, probably in search of the young brunette from advertising he’d been chasing all night.
“Since it wasn’t entirely my fault that I didn’t win the bet,” Lois started, leaning closer before continuing in a whisper, “I mean, how was I supposed to know not to pick out a Superman costume for you? – will you at least wear the suspenders for me?”
Clark threw his head back and laughed. “What is so appealing about me wearing suspenders? Is it supposed to be a joke about farmers?”
“Clark, trust me. When I think of you in suspenders, the word ‘farming’ doesn’t come to mind.”
“Then why do you want me to wear them?”
“I think suspenders would look sexy on you.” Clark’s eyes widened slightly at her words, and Lois felt her cheeks growing warm at the admission. “Besides, I don’t feel that it was a fair contest.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“Well, there’s obviously more men here at the party than women. Of course the men are going to vote for Cleopatra over Batman!”
Clark chuckled, his laughter reaching his gorgeous eyes. “If you say so, Lois.”
“Oh, come on, Clark! Please? Just the suspenders, you don’t have to wear the straw hat.”
Clark’s eyes darkened. “Only if you’ll kiss me at the end of our date,” he said huskily.
“I can do better than that.” Lois backed up her words by grabbing him and meeting his lips with her own, heedless of the whistles that sounded throughout the newsroom.
A little thrill traveled down her spine at the groan that sounded in the back of Clark’s throat. Several sweet seconds ticked by before they parted. Lois dazedly looked into his eyes. “Can I still call you ‘Farmer Clark?’”
“If you kiss me like that again, Lois, you can call me anything you like.” Their lips met again, and Lois forgot all about suspenders and straw hats.
