J is for Jet Set
part 3
by Pam Jernigan
Table of Contents from part 2:
"So, go on, get out of here." Perry waved them irritably toward the door of his office. "You've both got some comp time coming to you, after the hours you worked on that Metro Club thing. If you run through that I'll cover it somehow. Just don't go home and don't go anywhere anyone could find you. Wear your beepers! If you don't get paged, call in tomorrow and I'll let you know how it's going." ****
"--and phone calls." Lois exited the Daily Planet's lobby, still explaining to Clark all the ways they could continue to do their jobs outside of the newsroom. "And research at the library," she added. "You know, we tend to think that the Planet morgue has everything we'll ever need to know, but the library has all that and more."
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised, Lois," Clark replied in a more subdued tone.
They reached the sidewalk, and Lois halted, undecided where to go first. She glanced at Clark, but he gestured for her to lead the way. After a moment, she decided to turn towards her apartment. There were some things she wanted to pick up before officially disappearing. "So what do you want to tackle first, Clark? I grabbed a couple of file folders, so we have some leads to follow up on."
"Actually, Lois," he said, glancing sideways at her as they walked. "I should probably visit my folks for a little bit."
"Oh." But how could they work together if he was in a different state?
"Well, it's just that they had a big thunderstorm go through last night," he explained, seeming almost embarrassed by the explanation. "A really big one; I just saw it on the newswire. And those things usually knock things over."
"Oh. Do they?" City-bred Lois tried to visualize the possible damage but could only come up with an image of Toto swirling in a tornado.
"Yeah, they do." Clark sounded faintly amused, now. "Trees, mostly, but trees fall on houses, cars, power lines... It's usually not a huge emergency or anything, but there's a lot of cleaning up to do, and I like to give my Dad a hand when I can. He'll tell you he can do it all himself, and I guess he could, but I kinda feel obligated to help out, you know?"
"Yeah, I can see that," Lois replied, her steps slowing a little. She tried to conceal the pang of disappointment that went through her at the idea that he would be spending time away from her. She told herself not to be ridiculous; she didn't have any claim on his time, and it sounded like his parents needed him. "I know what you mean, Clark -- like I do things for my mother sometimes. Not much, I admit, but that's because she doesn't want me to and if I try she's never happy about how I do things. But that's just my messed-up family. I'm sure your folks are a lot nicer. Not that it'd be difficult, but still. Anyway, I'm guessing it won't take you long."
"No, it shouldn't. At least I won't have to ask you to cover for me, considering."
She looked up at him, then swung her gaze back to the sidewalk ahead of them. "Well, okay, you do that. I'll grab some things from my apartment, and then... we could meet later or something." She tried to sound offhand about it.
They reached a street corner, and Lois realized that if they were both walking home, their paths would diverge here; Clark's place was west and south of hers. "Well, this is where you turn, I guess," she said, slowing to a halt.
Clark glanced at her. "Yeah, I guess it is. I'll still walk you to your building, though. Door to door service, remember?"
It surprised Lois how much she wanted those few extra minutes of his company. Old reflexes kicked in. He was going to have to go sooner or later, and she abruptly decided she'd rather it was sooner, so she could get the painful moment finished. "No, that's okay, Clark." She smiled at him, taking one sideways step away. "I'll catch up with you later. Beep me when you're done."
He looked unsure, and she had a hunch he was debating with himself whether to leave her so quickly, or go against her wishes. It comforted her a little, that he wasn't looking forward to leaving her. "The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be finished," she said lightly.
"Yeah, I guess so," Clark replied, shifting his weight to his other foot, turning slightly away from her.
Lois indulged herself, briefly, by walking back to him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, but then immediately turned and started walking away. "I'll see you later, Clark."
"Definitely," Clark promised. He stayed still, though, she thought; but told herself it was just that he was waiting for the "walk" sign on the corner. She had to smile at that. Couldn't have Superman jay-walking, now could we? Come to think of it, maybe she should be listening for sonic booms, not footsteps.
"Come with me."
Lois stopped, and turned around slowly.
Clark walked over to her, his face serious. "We can work later, right?" She searched his face as he gained confidence. "Please? I just... well, I was looking forward to spending some time with you today."
Lois felt a warmth grow, somewhere near her heart. She stepped a little closer to him, reaching out to lay her fingers lightly on his arm, drawn by an almost palpable desire to touch him. His sincerity was obvious, and he looked endearingly anxious for her reply. "Are you sure? Wouldn't I just get in the way?"
"Lois, you could never be in the way. And then we could talk for a while, just you and me without anyone nearby to overhear the wrong thing." He grinned, suddenly. "Besides, I'd kinda like to show off for you."
Lois laughed, now resting both hands against his chest. "Well, how can I resist that? You'll have to tell me what to wear, though. I'm not sure I have any farm clothes."
"I can do that," Clark said, smiling, as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her that last fraction of an inch closer. He just looked at her for a moment, with an expression that made Lois's heart flutter. He leaned forward to give her a quick kiss on the lips, drawing back almost immediately.
That wasn't enough. She reached up for him and kissed him back, and this time the kiss was longer, more lingering, blotting out all thoughts from her mind.
When they separated, Clark was smiling at her more intimately. Even after the kiss they'd shared, she was struck by the strength of his feelings for her. He hugged her softly, then pulled one arm back, turning so they were both facing the same direction -- the way to her apartment. Lois fell into step happily, the file folders nearly forgotten at her side. Work could wait.
****
Clark followed Lois into her apartment, drifting over to the living room area.
"I've got jeans, of course," Lois said, halfway to herself. "Is it going to be cold?"
"Well, it's a sunny day, but it is October... wear layers. My mom used to wrap me up like an onion." He chuckled at the memory. "But that was before we both realized it wasn't necessary."
"I guess not," she said. "But that reminds me -- Clark, are your parents going to have the foggiest notion who I am?" She watched him closely, chewing her lip.
"Sure they will, Lois. I have to admit, I've mentioned you a few times, talking to them... I haven't told them *everything,* though."
Her lips twisted wryly. "And I'm sure you've said lots of nice things about me while I was being such a bitch to you."
He smiled slightly. "You weren't that bad. We were starting to be friends, I thought..." Her expression softened. "Actually, in a way," he grinned, "it was a step up from how you treated me when I first started. "
"Oh, yeah, that'll make me feel better, Kent!" she retorted, but he heard the hint of laughter in her voice.
"Oh, I don't know. Even back then, I told them you were beautiful, brilliant... and stubborn."
"Stubborn?"
"Well, actually," he grinned. "I think the term I used was 'pig-headed' -- but I meant it in the nicest possible way."
She laughed. "I'll just go get changed, okay? And then we can head over to your place so you can change, too -- if you don't mind having me there."
"Why would I mind?" Actually, he wouldn't mind "having" her here, there, or anywhere, but that was definitely getting ahead of himself. "But I could just, um, run over there and be back before you're ready."
"Oh!" She paused on the way toward her bedroom, and looked briefly startled. She grinned at him. "I forgot."
"I can see I'm going to have to make more of an impression on you!" he called after her as she left, disguising how much he loved the idea that she'd actually forgotten he was Superman.
****
Lois hoped she wasn't taking too long with changing, but it had taken some time to find her old jeans and decide on a casual-but-still-attractive shirt. It had been hard to come up with one, since she didn't do casual very much. Or attractive, either, she ruefully realized -- it had seemed much safer to dress down most of the time and thus forestall any unwanted advances. Thank heavens it hadn't worked on Clark.
That reminded her, they *still* hadn't had a chance to work together. They'd barely been in the office for fifteen minutes before getting thrown back out again. And then, in all her worries about how she was going to work with Clark, she hadn't given a thought to how things would appear to others. Two days ago she'd been pushing him away, not very subtly. If she started kissing him in the newsroom, Lois was certain at least some of the staffers would faint dead away. And she could just imagine the sneers from Cat.
Did she want to be dragged through the gossip mill again? She wouldn't mind so much if she didn't feel so insecure about the whole relationship.
She picked up a light sweater to take along, then suddenly realized she should be packing for overnight. Sure, they'd only be in Kansas until lunch or so, but she wasn't supposed to come back to her apartment before tomorrow sometime. Sighing at the extra step, she went to get her duffel bag.
Where was she going to sleep, anyway, she wondered as she began packing. She was tempted to think that she and Clark could share a hotel room somewhere, platonically, just to share expenses... but even the world's champion at self-deception couldn't get herself to fall for *that.*
This relationship of theirs was fairly topsy-turvy, Lois decided. She'd never before gone on a first date with a man she'd already slept with. Her body was all in favor of repeating the experience, too, but her heart and head were more cautious. She didn't want to turn into a clingy, emotionally dependent, and desperate woman, unable to survive without her man. She was in bad enough shape as it was, wanting to spend every minute with him. If they made love again, she might lose it completely.
She was probably over-stating the danger, she told herself. But until she could be more sure, she didn't want to risk it. She finished packing the bag and headed back toward the living room.
When she entered, the first thing she saw was Superman. Sitting on her sofa, to be precise, with his red boots up on her coffee table, channel-surfing. "You need a pair of sunglasses," she said, chuckling. "Just to complete the look."
He startled, pulling his feet back down to the floor and turning around with a sheepish expression. "Hey. Um..." His eyes widened. "Nice outfit."
Pleased, she put a little bit of swagger in her step as she crossed the room. "Thanks. So..." she gestured in the general direction of his 'S' and inquired innocently, "this is what they're wearing on the farm these days?"
Clark grinned, and stood up, turning off the TV. "Well, I had to change to fly over to my place and back, and in another minute we'll get going to Kansas, so... I'll change to 'farm clothes' once we get there."
"Oh, don't apologize," she said. "In fact, just stand right there for a minute." Feeling very daring, she walked right up to him, putting a hand on his chest to explore the texture of his costume. Then she raised her face to gently kiss him on the lips. She pulled away before he had much chance to react, suddenly feeling very foolish. "It's just that, um." Her other hand came up to run lightly along his upper arm to his shoulder, exploring the spot where the cape began. She looked up, shyly. "I've kind of always wanted to do that." Just having the freedom to touch Superman like this was very exciting.
His eyes darkened as he watched her. "Oh, well, if we're living out fantasies here..." he growled, then reached out to pull her closer as his lips sought and found hers once more.
Lois wound both her arms up around his neck and gave herself to the moment. The kiss was tender and sweet, but meanwhile her entire body was rubbing against his... and the thin material he was wearing was very little barrier. She moaned involuntarily, her knees weakening. She had dreamed of being kissed by Superman.
As the kiss deepened, though, Lois found it impossible to think of him as anything other than Clark. Her Clark. Her friend and sometime lover. Her future... some small part of her mind was scared of the idea, but that voice was easily drowned out by the part that told her this felt right. More right than anything she'd ever done before.
***
The kiss gradually tapered off by mutual consent until Clark finally pulled back, breathing heavily. "Um... we should probably get going."
"Yeah, probably." She didn't loosen her grip, though, turning slightly to lay her head against his chest.
"So... you need to let go," he prompted.
"Yeah, probably." She tilted her head upward and pressed a quick kiss to the base of his neck.
Clark closed his eyes briefly, then changed tactics. "We should go do this somewhere out of range of our beepers."
Lois's head came up. Her eyes were dancing as she stepped back and grabbed her full duffel bag. "Well, what are you waiting for, slowpoke?"
Clark rolled his eyes, took the bag, and then scooped her into his arms. There was a moment of confusion as they worked out the mechanics of getting out her window and closing it behind them, but then he sped them upwards. "Slowpoke, huh?"
It took Lois a moment to get her breath back, but by the time she recovered, she'd apparently forgotten about him. Instead, she was looking wide-eyed at the tiny city beneath them. "Wow. Clark, this is amazing."
"Yeah, it is," he agreed, tightening his arms around her just a bit. He glanced up to where the thinning atmosphere allowed him to see the bleak beauty of the stars, then returned his gaze to the vibrant beauty in his arms. "I never thought I could bring anyone up here. Well, except for my mom and dad," he joked. "But it's just not the same."
Lois wasn't deflected by his weak attempt at humor. "Do you come here a lot?" She turned to watch his face, eyebrows drawn down slightly as she tried to understand.
"When I want to think, sometimes. I love the noise and bustle of Metropolis, don't get me wrong, and I like being around people, but sometimes..." He hesitated, turning his head to stare at a nearby cloud. "Well, I just don't fit in, and sometimes I just can't stand to keep pretending that I do."
"Oh, Clark..." Lois's voice was full of sympathy, and her hand cupped his cheek, gently drawing him around to face her.
He pasted on a bright smile, regretting the moment of weakness. He just wasn't ready to bare his soul quite that much. "It's okay, Lois. And anyway... now I have you."
"Yes," she replied firmly. "You do. Now, I believe we're expected in Kansas?"
His smile softened and turned real. "Oh, yeah. Thanks... for the reminder." He began moving them westward, gradually increasing their speed. "And actually," he added, "we're not expected. I tried calling earlier, but the line was busy."
Lois stiffened in his arms. "You mean I'm going to meet your mother for the very first time, and she doesn't even know I'm coming?"
He glanced down at her. "You're not nervous, are you?"
"No, of course not."
He just kept looking at her, until she started to squirm.
"Okay, okay, so I'm a little nervous. Which is ridiculous, I know, when you think about all the shady characters I run into on a daily basis. I can deal with them, no problem. It's just..."
"That my parents *aren't* shady characters?" Clark suggested, amused at the thought.
After a startled second, she nodded. "Yes, that's exactly it. They're *nice*! I mean, I haven't met them but if they raised you they have to be nice, and, well... I don't... have much practice at that. At being nice, I mean."
Clark hugged her closer. "You do just fine, Lois. Really." And even if she did get somewhat abrasive, Clark was sure his parents would understand. He didn't think it would be helpful to say so, though, and the remainder of the trip was fairly quiet.
****
to be continued
