This little vignette is dedicated to Saskia for her 22nd birthday. She’s a good friend and a fantastic BR
… although she hasn’t seen this. And Sas… sorry for the white lie I told you two days ago… You know I couldn’t write this in two days :p . Happy Birthday!!!!
Many thanks and a big hug to Missy for Beta-Reading
I don’t own any of the characters, they’re property of Warner Bros and DC Comics. I’m only borrowing them for fun.
A day in the Library The library clerk observed how the young man got out of the woman’s way. She was fuming, and although the clerk didn’t know her, her face said a lot. There weren’t many of these in the library, usually people came calmly and relaxed, looking for a book to spend some of their spare time. However, it was none of her business.
Lois strode into the library trying to reach her destination. She should be with her next scoop, and where was she instead? In the public library, looking for books. Sometimes she didn’t know how Perry White’s mind worked. She was close to having the evidence that would prove that Luthor wasn’t the charming businessman that everybody thought, and behind that façade, hid a cruel and ruthless criminal mastermind. Her investigation had gotten her behind the steps of a shadowy figure that everybody called the Boss, and Lois was sure that he was Luthor. The only problem was that the investigation hadn't moved forward; it was in the same place as last week.
After thinking that, Lois calmed down a bit. Perry wasn’t stupid, that was sure, weird maybe, stupid never. However, who would have thought that he peregrinated regularly to Graceland? When you saw him in his office you would never think that… unless he came up with one of his endless Elvis anecdotes. Lois smiled at that. She had heard her fair share of them. Dismissing the King and his number one, or maybe two, fan from her thoughts, she decided it was time to find the famous books.
Perry wanted her to interview this new author. He had never been interviewed before, and he had chosen the Daily Planet to give his first. Despite of that, the guy seemed to be a really normal guy, a bit press shy, but nothing else. She had put Jimmy to investigate with his computer skills about him, of course. And she found precisely that. A normal guy who had been born in the middle of Kansas in a little town called Smallville. His parents were a couple of farmers, however he had managed to get a cum laude at Midwestern U in journalism. He wasn’t married, and he didn’t appear in the gossip circle, to her surprise. Even Cat didn’t have a clue about how he was. His first book had been a surprise, settled in the first place of the best selling books for weeks. And the second beat the best selling premiere ever… until his third would be published. And this was the main reason for the interview. Perry had told her that Kent had accepted to give an interview only if it was with the Planet, and Perry wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. The book critic wasn’t the correct man for the interview so the editor chose Lois… but there was a problem: She hadn’t read the books yet, and she needed to do it in order to ask some questions when she was with him. Lois had heard good things about the books from many people, including Perry, and even Lucy had read them, which made Lois think when had been the last time she had seen her sister reading something different from her horoscope or the TV Guide. And the third book was long awaited since it would finish the trilogy.
Lois walked between the shelves. It had been a long time since she had dropped by the public library. When she started to work at the Planet, she used to come here to pick a book for her spare time. Then she had morphed into a workaholic, and only her articles were important to her. She was twenty-seven, and she had been working the last three years without a vacation… except a couple of weeks last year when she broke a leg. Was she forgetting to live? Maybe she should go out a bit more, not with the intention of finding a man, but having some fun.
She looked the letters in the shelves and saw the L and began to look backwards to find the K. There she looked for the author she was interested in. Kent, Clark Kent. There was only one book, but she picked it. Reading the title she noticed that it was the second book. Disappointed, Lois frowned. She wasn’t going to read the second part without reading the first. She probably wouldn’t understand anything!!!
It was bad luck since there weren’t too many people in the library. That didn’t mean anything. She should have queried the database first. At that moment, she noticed that somebody was looking at her. When she glanced back at him, he blushed. He wasn’t looking at her; he had been staring at her. He was a young man, in his mid-late-twenties, and well, she was fairly attractive woman. Why shouldn’t a guy like him stare at her: Today she was wearing a nice outfit, although the skirt wasn’t too high above the knee. Darn!! And the guy seemed normal… and he was gorgeous… even with the colorful tie he was wearing with his suit and the glasses, which didn't seem out of place. He was perfect. A Greek god. Now Lois realized that she was the one staring at him. The guy walked up to her.
<Come on, now guys come to the library to find a date? >
“Were you looking for a book in particular?” he asked.
Lois looked at him and replied with another question, “You work here?”
“Nah,” he dismissed. “I saw you when you picked out the book and you looked disappointed.”
“And you came to my rescue?” Lois asked seductively. Why was she doing that? She had never flirted with a guy before. She thought she didn’t know how to do it. With Paul, she hasn’t flirted, mostly pursued him, and with Claude, well… he seduced her. But now she was flaunting her femininity at this stranger... why? She didn’t need a man. But it has had been a long time since she had gone on a date… and Claude had been the last guy who had been more than a date. Panic lights flashed in her brain. She didn’t know him. She was not going to date a stranger. And having sex with him was out of the equation… although a part of her wanted to get him to help her with all her math equations… but at this moment, she had to think about literature.
“So, can I help you?” he asked again.
“Well, I needed the first part of this,” Lois told him as showed the book she had in her hands.
“Hmmm, maybe this could be useful,” he said showing the front of the book he had in his hands.
“Hey,” Lois smiled, surprised, “This is…”
“Here,” the man said, “Took it.”
“You’ve got it first, I couldn’t accept,” Lois replied, not believing how she was behaving. She needed that book!!! This guy was dangerous for her peace of mind. To any other guy, she would have been harsh and would have taken the book without asking. It was that smile that was making her knees melt.
“I’ve read it, and I have it at home,” he commented. “I think you need it more than me.”
Lois took the book and started to walk to the exit. He walked next to her, but neither of them said anything. When they arrived on the street Lois turned and said, “Thank you. I really need the book.”
“It’s nothing,” the man said.
“Would you like to get a cup of coffee?” Lois asked. <Say yes! Say yes!!! >
The guy's smile faded as he answered, “Oh, it would be fantastic idea… if I didn’t have a meeting in five minutes.”
Lois's smile disappeared at the same time too… it seemed that he was disappointed. Without saying anything else, both walked in different directions.
**
Lois came into the newsroom ready for her interview. She had read the books and she had liked them. No, loved them. Clark Kent's writing had impressed her. His words had touched her, and his descriptions and the character’s emotions were deep enough to touch her and made her feel alive… and think about the handsome stranger she had met that day in the library. She had been wondering about him. Before she began again, Jimmy took her back to reality.
“The Chief is waiting for you with that Clark Kent guy,” he told her. She left her purse on her desk and made her way to her editor’s office. She knocked before coming in, but not waiting for the answer, she came in. There was a man sitting in front of Perry White’s desk.
“You wanted to see me, Perry?” Lois asked.
Perry raised his look and said, “Ah, Lois this is Clark Kent. Mr. Kent, Lois Lane.”
As he stood up to greet her, Lois recognized him instantly. It was the same guy from the library and she could see the surprise in his eyes too.
“Ms. Lane,” Clark said, shaking her hand. “It’s a privilege to be interviewed by you.”
“Thank you,” Lois smiled at the compliment. “And I can say that after reading your books, I was anticipating this meeting. If you come with me, we can start in the conference room.”
“You know the way,” Clark said, and he followed Lois out of Perry’s office and in direction to the conference room.
When both were there, Clark spoke first, “I always pictured you older.”
“You read my work?” Lois asked, surprised.
“Yes,” Clark answered, “It’s only a matter of time before you win a Pulitzer.”
Lois blushed at the compliment. “Thanks.” She paused a bit. “Shouldn’t we start?” Why was she nervous? He was a normal guy. Handsome, gorgeous, attractive, good-looking, and yes, normal.
“Okay, shoot,” Clark said, smiling.
<Darn, that dazzling smile. If he keeps doing that I’m going to faint. > “Well, Clark, can I call you Clark?”
“Yes, please.”
Lois thought for a moment about her first question and knew in an instant what she wanted to ask him. But before she did, she needed to do something she had been dying to do since that day in the library. She stood up and walked towards Clark, and before he could react, she leaned towards him and kissed him. After a moment, he began to respond to her kiss, and the only reason Lois broke it off was that she needed air – the kiss had left her senseless and without her mind – she had forgotten to breathe. If their first kiss was this spectacular after catching him off-guard, then what would they be like when he properly kissed her?
Regaining her composure, she returned to her chair and asked the first question of the interview. "Okay, Clark. Do you have any plans for tonight?"
The End.
