Thanks to my wonderful betas – particularly with the help with the Lois flashback here. This one went through a ridiculous number of variations!
From Chapter 29
“So,” Martha said, sensing that it was time to change the subject, “you said Clark was away for a few days. Where is he?”
“He’s spending a few nights at the Lexor with Lois,” Superman said.
“At the Lexor?” Martha asked.
“Yeah, they’re in the Honeymoon Suite,” Superman said, finally deciding it was time for a bite of pie.
“I’m confused,” Martha said. “Didn’t you say…”
“This tastes wonderful,” Superman said, then noticing the distressed look on her face, he laughed. “It’s for a story. They’re doing a surveillance operation there. Undercover of course, and Clark is sleeping on the couch.”
He could see Martha relax, but a moment later she smiled and looked at Jonathan. “Well, we should call him,” she said to her husband. “This should be fun.”
Jonathan laughed heartily in response.
Chapter 30
“Can you hand me that?” Lois asked Clark.
He passed the camera to her.
“Are you sure this is the right placement?” she asked him, looking out the window to check for herself.
“Yes,” Clark said. “The living room of this suite overlooks the office on the left. The bedroom, the room on the right. That lackey guy has been doing stuff in the room on the right all day, so if something is happening tonight, it must be in there.”
Lois nodded. He was right. She was just nervous for some reason.
“Okay, I think we’re about…”
Clark cut her off by grabbing the camera, throwing it on the bed, and covering it with a blanket. Before Lois could ask what the heck he was doing, he grabbed her around the waist and threw her on the bed next to the camera.
“Clark, what are you…” her words were cut off. Clark Kent had climbed on top of her and stopped her torrent of words with a kiss. What did he think he was doing?
Why was he kissing her? Lois tried to calm the pounding of her heart. The adrenaline from getting thrown on the bed was clearly getting to her. That was it – the only reason her heart was pounding.
“Towels, ya?” came a voice from the door and Lois realized why Clark was kissing her. He was maintaining their cover. “Sorry,” the same voice said before Lois could hear the door click shut.
Clark had moved off of her a moment later. “Sorry,” he said, but he did not look the slightest bit sorry.
Lois had to admit, she was not sorry, either. Well, she did not need to admit it, at least not out loud. “Doesn’t anybody knock around here?” she asked instead.
***********************
“Have you ever lived with someone?” Lois asked as they watched the room across the alleyway.
Clark looked at her for a moment. How could he tell her that not only had he never lived with someone, but he was not sure how he would ever be able to? Unless he got married, of course. Even that, though, seemed like an impossibility a lot of the time given that he was in love with Lois and she was
most certainly not in love with him.
Then he remembered. “Yes,” he said smiling. “You’ve met my roommate, Superman, haven’t you?”
Lois smiled at him. “Very funny. That’s not what I meant and you know it. Not a roommate, but someone real.”
“No,” Clark admitted.
She responded with “Me neither.” They were silent for a few beats before Lois asked, “What do you think it’s like?”
“Why?” Clark asked. “Are you thinking of moving in with someone?” he teased. “My roommate perhaps?” He was not sure why he said that, he certainly did not want to know the answer to that.
Lois laughed. “No. Well, not yet anyway,” she said, but Clark could tell she was still joking. “I just wonder. You know.”
“I think it’s probably scary,” Clark said. “To be that open with someone else. Let them see you all the time. I guess I feel like if you live with someone, you need to be prepared to let down all your barriers. Let them see you when you first wake up with morning breath, when you’re angry, even without provocation, when you’re sad…”
“Yeah,” Lois agreed. “That would be sort of scary.”
Clark nodded his agreement.
Her voice quiet and introspective sounding, Lois offered, “I almost lived with someone once.”
“What are you two doing?” Lucy asked. Now that Lucy was a freshman, she was on the same schedule as Lois, and the sisters often went to Chad’s house after school to study.
Lois was not sure what Chad had told his parents about her mother, but they never seemed to mind having the girls over, often inviting them to stay for dinner. Lois and Lucy usually accepted. It was not like their mother even noticed if they were home (although on her worst nights she would forget that it was not actually Lois’ responsibility to make them dinner and get angry that it was not done).
It was early now, though, and so while the Andrews had told them they could stay for dinner tonight and they had agreed, the three were in the living room studying before dinner. Or at least, Lucy was studying.
“We’re talking,” Lois said in response to Lucy’s question, and Lucy rolled her eyes.
“I know that,” Lucy said. “I thought we were studying, but you two are making too much noise.”
“Sorry, Luce,” Chad said. “We are studying, sort of. Lois and I need to start working on college applications and we’re trying to decide where to apply.”
“Oh, right,” Lucy said, sounding vaguely depressed.
“Met U is our first choice, Lucy,” Lois said quietly.
“It is?” Lucy asked, trying to contain her excitement.
“Well, it has both a great journalism department and premed program,” Chad said. “And of course, it’s near you.”
Lucy smiled, but the smile disappeared quickly. “But you’re not going to still want to live at home, are you?” she said to Lois.
“No,” Lois sighed.
“What are you going to do?” Lucy asked, even though she saw her sister start to say something else.
Chad smiled, “We’re going to get an apartment off campus,” he said, reaching over to give Lois’ hand a squeeze.
“Oh, right,” Lucy said, eyeing them carefully.
“Not for that!” Lois said, giving Chad a look. They had discussed it before. Given the lack of parental supervision they got, Lois felt she needed to set a good example for Lucy. Anyway, Chad had said he didn’t want to have sex yet. They were too young and if something were to happen, he couldn’t really support them yet. Lois agreed and wanted to make sure Lucy knew they were waiting so that she would think twice about sleeping with any boyfriends she had in the near future.
“I told you, Luce. We don’t do that,” Lois said quietly, so Chad’s parents could not hear. “We’ll be sleeping in separate bedrooms.”
“Oh,” Lucy said again.
Chad smiled at Lucy. “We think it shouldn’t be too hard to find a two bedroom apartment someplace on the bus route to the high school so you could live with us and still get to school.”
Lucy’s face broke out in a smile as she asked, “You want me to live with you?”
Lois nodded, smiling as well. “Well, we’d need to share a bedroom, but yeah.”
“But how will you guys get to school?” Lucy asked. “And how are you going to afford an apartment?”
“Damien is graduating from college this year,” Chad started, referring to his eldest brother. “He bought a car last year, but he said now that he’ll have a real job, he wants a new car, so he’s going to give me his old one and Lois and I can share.”
“And Chad’s parents are going to give him the money he would have spent to live in the dorms for the apartment,” Lois said.
“Is that enough for a two bedroom place?” Lucy asked.
“No,” Lois shook her head. “I’m going to ask dad for the rest.”
“You are?” Lucy was shocked. They almost never talked to their father.
Lois shrugged her shoulders. “I’m going to have to ask him for money anyway for college. The way I see it, he owes us. He’s the one that left us with mom all these years.”
Lucy nodded, looking sad. “You think he’ll say yes?”
Lois shrugged, “I don’t know, but we’ll think of something else if he doesn’t.”
“What if one of you doesn’t get in to Met U?” Lucy asked. “Like if you don’t get in,” she looked at Chad. “What will you do?” she asked Lois.
Lois looked at the couch cushion carefully, pulling at a piece of lint.
“We’re not going to college without each other,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry, Lucy. And really,” she said, finally looking up at her sister. “it’s not going to be an issue. I mean, Chad is graduating salutatorian and I’m currently ranked fifth. And our SAT scores are good. We’re shoe-ins for Met U.”
Lucy nodded, agreeing, but still worried. “But if for some reason Chad doesn’t get in and you do, you won’t go?” she clarified.
“No,” Lois said quietly while Chad took her hand. “I mean, I promise, we’re only looking at schools nearby – somewhere where you could live with us, even if you have to take city buses to school, but we really want to go someplace together.”
“Are you guys engaged or something?” Lucy asked suspiciously.
“No,” Chad said. “Or at least not really.”
“Not really?” Lucy asked.
“Well, we are kind of thinking that we’ll get married some day,” Lois said.
“But not until after college,” Chad added.
“Okay,” Lucy said, and then went back to thinking about the college choices. “And you really won’t go anywhere I can’t live with you?”
“No. I promise,” Lois said.
Lucy frowned, “But you guys are gonna have things to do at night, aren’t you? Even if I stay with you, I’ll be home alone at night.”
“Nonsense,” came the voice of Mrs. Andrews behind them. “You’ll need to come over all the time, Lucy. With Chad being the last of our boys off to college, this place is going to feel empty. So, you’ll need to come for dinner and keep us company whenever Lois and Chad are busy.”
“Really?” Lucy asked.
“Yes. Now get washed up. All of you. Dinner’s ready,” she said.
Lois pulled gently on Chad’s hand as Lucy raced to the bathroom to hold him back.
“They know about Mom, don’t they?” she said.
Chad flushed. “I didn’t tell them, Lois. I swear. But Dad sort of ran into your mom a few months ago on his day off.”
“And they don’t care?”
“Don’t care about what?”
“That you’re dating me?” Lois asked quietly.
“Of course not, Lois. You are not your mother. I know that. My parents know that. Why would they care? What’s important to them is that you make me happy,” he said.
“I do?” Lois asked, although she knew full well that she did.
“Yes, you do,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her on the nose.
“Didn’t I suggest you two clean up for dinner?” Mrs. Andrews asked.
“Sorry,” Lois blushed, but Mrs. Andrews just laughed.
“It’s okay. It’s probably hard to believe, but Mr. Andrews and I were young once, too.”
“You did?” Clark was shocked. Lois had barely mentioned a past before, except for the reference to the guy who stole her story. “You almost lived with someone? When? Who was he?”
Clark’s litany of questions seemed to bring Lois out of her thoughts. “No one,” she said.
Clark said nothing, but looked at her quietly.
Lois stood up, walked to the window, “It was nothing. It didn’t work out.” Something in her stance or the tone to her voice made Clark decide to drop it. He hoped he would someday learn about him, that Lois would open up, but for now, he would let it go.
***********************
Clark leaned over to pick up the phone without taking his eyes off the paper in front of him. “Hello?” he asked.
“Clark?” his mother’s voice came through the line.
“Mom?” Clark asked, surprised to hear from her. He had not told them he was staying at the Lexor. “How did you find me here?”
“Why?” Jonathan asked. “Are you trying to hide from us?”
“No!” Clark insisted, then realizing he sounded defensive, he restated, “No, I just… I didn’t tell you I was going to be here.”
“It sounds like there are quite a few things you haven’t told us recently, Clark,” Martha said wryly.
“Mom, it’s not like that!” Clark insisted. “It’s…”
“Well, why don’t you tell us what it is like, son?” Jonathan asked. “Why you are staying in the Honeymoon Suite registered as Mr. and Mrs. Kent?”
“It’s an assignment, Dad,” Clark said.
“Right,” Martha said. “One where you and Lois are required to share a bedroom.”
“We’re not sharing a bedroom!” Clark insisted. “We’re taking turns on the bed.”
“Taking turns on the bed?” Jonathan asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.
Clark could feel himself flushing crimson. How could they still do this to him? He was twenty-seven years old and his parents could make him blush by asking these kinds of questions. Plus, he was not even doing anything wrong!
“Yes, Dad,” Clark replied, his voice tight to cover his embarrassment. “Lois slept there last night. I’ll sleep there tonight. We’re taking turns on the bed.”
“Clark,” Martha said, her voice soft. “We’re just teasing.”
Clark did not hear her, though. “Mom, Dad, I have to go. I think Lois is about to get herself into trouble.”
Before they could say anything else, he had hung up the phone.
***********************
“You’re back,” Superman said with a smile as Clark entered the living room.
“Yeah,” Clark said, putting his bag on the floor. “Did you tell my parents where I was?”
“Oh, yeah, I did,” Superman admitted.
“Did you tell them what I was doing?”
“Yeah,” Superman said.
Clark sighed. “So they were just teasing me,” he said.
“I thought they might do that.”
“The interrogation they gave me. I might as well have been fifteen again on my first date with Lana.”
Superman smiled. “But it was good?”
“The time at the Lexor?” Clark confirmed. When Superman nodded, Clark smiled. “I kissed Lois. I mean, not for real. It was just a cover when the maid came in, but I kissed her.”
“And?” Superman asked, smiling broadly.
“It was amazing. It was exhilarating. And…” Clark paused to think for a moment. “I think she was a bit breathless afterwards.”
Superman laughed. He remembered the kiss at the Lexor and Lois was breathless. It was good to know that some things were the same across universes.
