Notes: I don't own Lois, Clark, any of their supporting characters from the show, or anything else you recognize. This is my first L&C fanfic, and it's set in early season 2. Some dialogue in this chapter is taken from "The Prankster," and there will probably also be lines borrowed from "Church of Metropolis" and later episodes in future chapters. None of that belongs to me. This is just for fun, and because the plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone until I let them out to play.
Special Thanks: to my awesome BRs, Corrina and Iolanthe, without whose help I never would have gotten this fic ready to post. Your suggestions and comments were invaluable...thanks a bunch!
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Yellow Rose of Kansasby IncompleteSong~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lois Lane was fuming.
How dared he? How *dared* he? It wasn't enough that he had tormented her with gifts which had seemed sweet at first, until the malicious nature of each had been revealed. It wasn't enough that he had humiliated her, terrorized her, threatened her life, and almost succeeded in carrying out that threat. Even though he was now on his way back to prison (from which he would likely *not* be getting paroled again anytime soon), he had still found a way to send her one last, twisted gift - a bouquet of yellow roses.
As if the gift wasn't bad enough, he even had the gall to include a card. "'From a special friend,'" she read, her anger and disgust clearly evident in her voice. "One final sick prank from Kyle Griffin."
Without another thought, she snatched up the bouquet and hurled it into the trash can beside her desk. She was so furious she didn't even register Clark's protest as she grabbed her cooling cup of coffee and poured it over the yellow flowers.
But she heard his next words loud and clear: "Those flowers cost me fifty bucks."
Lois felt her heart sink to around the level of her knees as she turned to look up at her partner. She almost looked away again as soon as she met his gaze, hating the flash of disappointment she saw there, and feeling that same disappointment twisting her stomach into knots. She had been wrong. The flowers hadn't been a final attack on her sanity by the madman she had just put away (again); they had been a sweet, loving gesture from one of the best men she knew...a man she cared about more than she was willing to admit.
"Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, leaning over and frantically digging through the can, but it was no use - the brown liquid had stained the bouquet beyond repair. "God, I'm so sorry...what you must think of me! I should have known better...it's just that he kept on sending all those gifts, and at first they seemed so nice - remember that ring, that was beautiful, until of course it made my finger almost fall off with itching so much - and so I just thought that this would be another one of the same, and they'd start out beautiful but then end up being filled with bees or something, and -"
She didn't realize she was babbling until she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up from her contemplation of the ruined flowers to see Clark standing there. "Lois...Lois, calm down," he urged gently, his concern mixed with a hint of amusement. "It's not your fault, really...I'm the one who should have known better. Sending you a gift like that without signing my name was a bad idea, especially after all of the bad surprises lately."
Lois tried to protest, but Clark kept talking before she could say anything. "As for what I think of you," he said, lowering his voice so no one but Lois could hear, "I'm pretty sure we don't have time for me to answer that right now."
He grinned at her, the twinkle in his eye making Lois smile back in spite of herself. Did he know just how dangerous that particular grin was? How it could completely turn her mood around in a moment and make her forget what she had even been upset about in the first place? She didn't think she'd ever known anyone with a more devastating smile than Clark Kent (though she never would have guessed that when she had first met him) - not Claude, though he certainly had been charming enough, or she never would have been so quick to jump into bed with him; and not Lex, though he had probably thought otherwise, or else assumed that his wealth and prestige could make up for any miniscule lack of charm. Not even Superman himself had ever unleashed quite as effective a weapon as that smile on the inner defenses of Lois Lane.
Not that she would ever admit that, of course, or let him see the effect a simple smile could have on her. Instead, she just grinned back at him, trying to lighten the mood. "Oh, I don't know about that," she teased, looking around the room for a moment before returning her gaze to her partner. "Perry's not even in here right now, is he?" She stood up impulsively, wanting to make sure no one else was close enough to overhear them. "Besides, we just put away a dangerous criminal...again," she added, rolling her eyes at the Prankster's persistence. "I think we've earned a few moments to discuss something other than work!"
Clark raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Lois Lane?" She made a face at him, swatting at his chest with one hand, but he dodged away and caught her hand in his. "So let me get this straight...it's okay for us to talk about something other than work if I'm complimenting you, but not for any other reason?"
"Hey, we talk about things besides work all the time!" Lois protested, trying to distract herself from the way her partner's hand still held hers captive. "What about last week, when you heard me talking to Lucy on the phone, and then you and I spent almost twenty minutes debating whether or not she was exaggerating about her new guy? Or yesterday, when..."
Clark laughed, holding up his free hand in defeat, though still not breaking their connection. "All right, all right, you've made your point!"
Just then, Lois heard a faint "Great shades of Elvis!" from the newsroom entrance, and she and Clark turned to see their editor returning, clearly already fired up about something. "Guess that means our break's over," she remarked, beginning to turn back to her desk, but stopping when she realized that her hand was still snugly fitted into Clark's. As she slowly pulled her hand free, she glanced up at her partner, and smiled almost shyly at him as their eyes met. "We really should talk later," she said softly, wondering how the mood had so quickly shifted from fun and playful to something much more serious. There was an intensity in Clark's dark eyes which she had only seen once before - when he had professed his love for her the previous spring. "How about at lunch?"
"Lunch sounds good," Clark replied, his voice equally soft. He began to turn, to go back to his own desk, but then paused. "Lois, about the flowers..."
But then he stopped again, his eyes taking on a distant look which Lois recognized all too well, having seen it more times than she could count over the last year. She sighed inwardly, knowing what was coming next. Sure enough, right on cue, Clark glanced down at his watch and then back up at her. "I'm sorry, Lois...I just remembered I'm supposed to be meeting a source this morning," he said.
For a fraction of a second, Lois was tempted to invite herself along; but she knew as soon as the thought came to her that she couldn't. Most of her anonymous "sources" were among the most paranoid people in Metropolis - they trusted no one but her, and they would have turned and run out if anyone, even Superman himself, had showed up with her at a meeting. She was certain that Clark's sources were the same. Whether or not he really was meeting a source, she still couldn't reasonably tag along with him.
Instead, she just smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Go on, then...you don't want to keep them waiting," she urged. "See you later...at lunch if not before."
"See you," he replied, and she saw one hand loosening his tie as he left the newsroom.
Lois sat back down at her desk, pretending to compile her notes for the follow-up to the Prankster story, but in reality her mind was miles away. She thought about everything Clark had said that morning...and what he hadn't said. He had sent her roses, which was incredibly sweet and terribly romantic. However, they were yellow roses, which stood for, as he himself had pointed out, no more than friendship. Did that mean that friendship was all he wanted with her? It certainly looked that way at first glance, especially combined with his retraction of his earlier declaration of love. And yet...the look in his eyes, when they had been holding hands a moment ago, had been anything but platonic.
Was it possible that the lie had come second, not first? That he really had been in love with her, and had lied about it after her aborted wedding to keep her from being uncomfortable around him? It was more than possible, she had to admit - it was extremely likely that that was exactly what he had done. The look in his eyes which she remembered from that day wasn't something that could be faked; it had been real, she was sure of it. He had been in love with her...but was he still? Or even if he wasn't, was there a chance that he might be again someday? Judging by the intensity of his gaze moments ago, the answer to at least one of those questions was "yes."
But was that what she really wanted? Clark was her best friend...did she really want to jeopardize that by looking for more?
Still deep in thought, Lois scanned the contents of her desk absently, her eyes not really registering anything they saw...until they caught, once again, a flash of yellow from the trash can beside the desk. She glanced down one last time at the poor stained roses - and that was when she saw it. A single, perfect bloom, untouched by the brown liquid which marred the others. Carefully, she reached down and plucked the rose, staring at it for a moment as a smile formed on her lips almost unconsciously.
"Lois!" She jumped, startled, having failed to see Perry approaching her desk. "I just heard on the radio there's some sort of crisis going on down at the hospital, a hostage situation of some sort. Superman just showed up, and I want you and Clark down there covering it...let's see if you two can get us another great Superman exclusive!" He looked over to see Clark's empty desk, and then turned back to Lois. "Where is that partner of yours, anyway?"
"He went to meet a source, Chief," she replied, quickly standing up. "Jimmy!" she called, seeing the young photographer nearby, clearly hoping to be included. "Grab your camera and let's go!"
TBC...
