Am seriously considering a couple of tylenol pm and bedtime in about half an hour but did want to get this posted...
Thanks again to Kathy
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Last time:
"I've got to go, Martin. I'll call you back."
Clark's hands stilled, though Lois' were still busy picking up some loose change. He knew that voice.
He looked up to see her standing there, snapping her phone shut.
"It figures," she muttered under breath. He was sure Lois hadn't been able to make out what she was saying.
"I am so sorry," Lois said, holding out a handful of change. "Where do you want this?"
The other woman ignored Lois' outstretched hand, choosing instead to cross her arms in front of her.
"Clark Lane. Fancy running into you."
Clark stood, sighing heavily as he did so. "It's good to see you."
She turned to Lois, finally extending a hand. "Hi. I don't believe we've met."
Clark sighed again. "Lois, this is Mayson Drake. Mayson, this is Lois Kent, my new partner at the Planet."
*~*14*~*Lois' heart stood still.
Mayson.
Clark's ex-girlfriend.
The one who'd been in love with Clark, but could hardly stand Superman.
Of course.
Who else would it be?
"You're an assistant DA, right?" Lois asked, trying her best to paste a smile on her face. It hadn't escaped her notice that Clark hadn't given Mayson any sort of designator – like ex-girlfriend or old friend or whatever – but he had given her one.
New partner at the Planet.
Nothing more.
What did that mean? If anything?
"Right." She shoved the things Clark handed to her into her bag. "I'm going to need to talk to you sometime soon, Clark, about the Ladderman/Harrison thing. Superman, too, if you can give him the message."
Lois didn't miss the note of disdain that crept into the other woman's voice when she mentioned Superman.
"Why don't you like Superman?" she asked Mayson suddenly.
"What?" both of her companions said in unison.
Lois shrugged. "I can hear it in your voice. You don't like him."
Mayson's eyes narrowed. "Why should I? Sure, he hasn't done anything too untoward yet, but that much power with, literally, no restraints on him whatsoever... Who's to say he'll always be... magnanimous with what he can do?"
Lois raised a brow. "Has he ever given you any reason to believe that?"
Mayson shook her head. "No, but..."
"Then why are you prejudging him? What about the whole innocent until proven guilty thing?"
"Do you really think that applies to a man who can fry any of us with his eyes?"
"Doesn't it apply to everyone?"
Clark put a hand on Lois' arm. "Lois, we've got to get going – Perry's waiting for us." He turned to the other woman. "Mayson, we really are sorry for running into you and I'll get back with you on the case and tell Superman when I see him."
She felt the pressure of his hand on the small of her back. "Nice to meet you, Mayson," she called as they walked away.
There was no answer.
"What was that about?" Clark asked quietly.
She looked up at him, but he wasn't looking at her.
And he looked kind of mad.
Lois shrugged. "I don't like her and I was curious."
"You didn't like her, sight unseen, and you took the opportunity to take a dig or two."
"So I didn't like my boyfriend's ex before I ever met her. Is that really such a shock?"
She lengthened her stride slightly trying to get away from him a bit, but he kept up easily, his hand still resting on her back.
"I guess not, but was it really called for?"
"Probably not, but I did it anyway and it's over, so why don't you drop it and you and your new partner can get to work?" She knew she was snapping at him, but for the moment she didn't care.
He stopped and his hand on her elbow stopped her in her tracks.
"What?" she asked, looking pointedly at his hand.
"What's this about?"
"What?"
"The attitude. You're snapping at me and I have no idea what I did, if anything, to deserve it."
She sighed. "Nothing, okay. You did nothing. Can we go to work now?"
"Not until you tell me what's going on."
"Is that all I am?" she asked, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "I've been in three real relationships in my whole life and, except Josh which was in high school, they ended in complete disaster and so I'm not sure that anything I learned from them applies to us if we're going to end up different than those did. I mean, I know you're not going to throw yourself off a building and even if you did, it wouldn't matter. And I know you're not going to propose to me in the middle of the Corn Festival without knowing that I'm going to say yes and, essentially, only in the hope of getting sex from me. But we really don’t know each other very well and I'm just not sure about what you mean when you say something or why you say it and how can I really be sure that you really want me, only me and aren't some smooth-talking player and really do have a girl in every city – or at least more than one in this one – because I've known you less than a week and..."
She'd started walking at some point during her speech, but she suddenly found her way blocked and her lips occupied.
He pulled back, his hand cradling her face as he looked at her, his eyes gentle. "Whatever it is I said or didn't say, I'm sorry. But, Lois, it's you and me from here on out. I *don't* have any other women in my life, not romantically anyway. I'm falling for *you*, no one else. Not now, not ever. I get why you didn't like Mayson before you even met her but I don't know what I did or didn't do. Honest. You have to tell me, because I have *no* idea."
She stared at him for a long moment before deciding that he probably really didn't understand. "You said I was your partner at work. That's it. We run into your ex-girlfriend and you don't call her anything but you call me your work partner and don’t say anything about our personal relationship and I don't know what that means and I don't like being insecure and that's how I'm sounding and..." Her voice trailed off at the look on his face. "What?"
His amused grin widened. "You're babbling."
"I'm not babbling. I *don't* babble."
"Lois, honey, you were babbling like a brook. It didn't mean *anything*, honest. I know that Mayson's had a few very short, very disastrous relationships since we broke up and I didn't want to get into all of that. That's it. I promise. And you already knew she was my ex-girlfriend. There was no reason for me to mention it."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, Clark. Honestly, I'm new at this whole non-dysfunctional relationship thing."
"Me, too. But we'll figure it out. Together, but you have to talk to me." They'd started walking again, hand in hand. "And don't automatically assume the worst in whatever."
Lois nodded. "I know and I'm not normally like that but everything is just changing and... I'm more than a bit out of my comfort zone and it's throwing everything off."
They stopped walking as they reached the Planet.
"Just let me know what I can do to help," Clark said softly. "I am so glad you're here and I’m looking forward to getting to know everything about you and seeing what happens with us, but I don't want it to be any harder on you than it has to be."
"Take me to see my folks tonight?" she asked. "I know it's only been a couple days but I miss them."
"Of course."
"Thank you." She tugged on his hand. "Now we have work to do."
*****
TBC
