Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic First Line Challenge - How Long?

I am posting my first story. I used one of Wendy's first lines to work from. GuineaPants very kindly betaed this for me and has been very helpful.

How Long?

"How long have you known you could fly?" Clark stopped, the bath towel on his head falling to the floor. He turned around slowly and gaped at Lois standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

“Lois w-w-what are you doing here? I didn’t hear you come in.” Clark could only stammer as he tried to pick up the towel to cover his glassless face.

“I asked how long have you been flying Clark or would you prefer me to call you ‘Superman’?” Lois all but spat out. Her chest was heaving as she drew in each short angry breath. “I am guessing this must be something that happened only tonight since we have been partners for over a year now and I didn’t know that you could fly. How could that little bit of news have slipped your mind.” The glare from her eyes rivaled the glare Superman gave to the criminals he routinely encountered.

Lois stepped away from his bedroom door and allowed Clark to enter and then turned to the sofa and sat with her arms folded. Clark wisely closed his door and dressed with haste, but not super-speed. He would be on his own for this conversation no super powers to protect him from whatever Lois had to throw at him and without his powers he really hoped she was only going to throw words his way. With an inward sigh he acknowledged to himself he deserved whatever she picked to throw at his head.

Clark knew that he had missed hearing her heartbeat because of his run in with kryptonite at his last rescue, well that was an attempted rescue because there was no one needing his help when he arrived at the location of the screams. A CD player was on and the screams he heard where coming from it. As soon as he got close to the player he felt the pains he knew meant kryptonite was around. When his hand hit the player as he moved back the small chunk of the green killer was lying behind it. Without any protection Clark was forced to leave the kryptonite behind and contact Dr. Klein at Star Labs to come and retrieve it as quickly as possible.

Dressed in faded jeans and a blue shirt he knew Lois liked, Clark emerged from his room to face his angry partner. Lowering himself to the other end of the sofa Clark faced Lois. “Lois I have wanted to tell you about Superman so many times but I was scared. “ Glancing at the wrath on her face Clark continued to talk. “I know I was wrong to wait so long to tell you but after the bombing and the… well the almost wedding I didn’t know how to say ‘hey Lois, guess what’.”

“Clark” Lois exploded, “I thought we were best friends, I have shared every secret in my life with you”, her voiced cracked, “I realize that I know nothing about you. Who are you if you aren’t Clark Kent?” Her deep eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Clark longed to reach for her and wrap her in his arms as he did anytime she was upset but he knew this was not the moment to fracture her resolve anymore.

“How did you find out?” Clark needed to know if her newfound knowledge was because of a mistake he made or not.

“I stopped by to tell ‘Clark’ that we have a meeting with Bobby Bigmouth in the morning and he wants those wonderful French pastries that we brought him before. I knocked and no one answered so I let myself in to leave ‘Clark’ a note and I heard the shower running. I heard ‘Clark’ singing in the shower and when the water went off and you walked out you had Superman’s suit in your hand and yet ‘Clark’ was still singing in that off key voice that I have heard before. I wondered why you didn’t know I was here. Didn’t your super sense detect me?” During her speech Lois never looked up from her lap. She continued to twist the note she had been writing in her hand.

“I didn’t know you were here tonight Lois because I had a run in with kryptonite and I am without my powers at the moment. I am not much of a superman right now. There might not be any French pastries if they don’t return by morning.”

“Are you alright Clark, are you hurt? How did this happen, where did it happen?” Lois reached out to touch Clark’s arm but withdrew her hand after a glancing touch. Her eyes searched his face looking for cuts or bruises.

Clark gently took her hand and held her fingers in a loose hold, one that she could pull out of very easily. “I heard a call for help on the way home from work and I took off to the cries. When I got there I didn’t see anyone and the sounds were coming from a CD player. The closer I got to it I could begin to feel the effects of the kryptonite. I stumbled away from it and was able to fly long enough to get to Star Labs and get Dr. Klein to pick the piece up and store it. Without my powers I couldn't hear your heartbeat to tell that you had come in.” Clark paused and looked at Lois with sorrow in his eyes. “I am sorry that you had to find out this way, and that I didn’t have the courage to come out and tell you once we had gone out on our date.”

Pulling her hand from his grasp Lois moved from the sofa and stood by the steps, Clark thought she was leaving but she turned to face him. “Have you heard from Dr. Klein to be certain that he has the kryptonite?”

“No, I was going to call him after I showered to be sure I had any residue off my skin.”

Clark could only watch as his partner morphed into her alter ego, Mad Dog Lane, and stalked to his phone. Snatching it up she marched over to him as a tiny smile began to light her face, “What are you waiting on, call him now Clark! Then you and I are going to have a very long chat, I have lots of questions.”

[Adding in story title to the header - LabRat]