Chapter Text
Lois Lane was a hard, tough woman. That’s who her father raised her to be. And it made her one hell of a reporter. It also meant she didn’t have many close friends; because part of making close friends was being vulnerable with them, and that—that wasn’t something she knew how to do… her father essentially trained it out of her for survival purposes. Showing vulnerability was the fastest way to let the enemy defeat you. And Lois Lane was the best damn reporter on this side of America, if not the entire country. So, she was absolutely not going to let anyone of her enemies coworkers see her vulnerable in any way beyond appropriate politeness, if that even counts.
Part of how she was able to do this was to always, always appear confident. Regardless of how she was feeling on the inside, she was going to tell other people that she had everything under control, and everything was going exactly as she wanted or expected.
But for some reason, that didn’t include Clark Kent. Which was ironic, because despite all the times he had seen her in all different forms of vulnerability, he was the cause of her current anxious predicament.
The day before, they had ended the night on a very positive note. Clark had finally! asked her out. They were going to dinner. Where? Lois didn’t know. It couldn’t be anywhere super fancy, as they had made their plans the night before. That left absolutely no room to make reservations anywhere.
That honestly allowed Lois to breathe easier, though. She was panicking enough about what to wear, having to worry about an extremely high dining dress code would have been too much. Clark would probably pick a more moderate finer-dining place, where a reservation meant nothing more than avoiding the wait.
She finally decided on a black dress that she had bought for a Kerth Awards Ceremony but hadn’t actually worn. She thought she looked amazing in it, and it wasn’t anything too over the top. She did her hair and makeup quickly, tugged on a pair of heels, and stood in front of the mirror to make a final decision about her outfit.
She turned this way and that to try and get every angle. She took a deep breath and admitted that she looked amazing. Clark would certainly appreciate this. Lois breathed a laugh when she had the thought that Clark probably appreciated how she looked when she was wearing an old pair of sweatpants and one of his ridiculously large hoodies. That thought lightened the pressure on her chest and she was able to relax her shoulders into a confident posture.
Just in the nick of time, too, because one glance at her phone showed that it was 7:19. Clark said he would pick her up at 7:30, which meant he would be here any minute. She suspected he would be early to pick her up. The only thing that would hold him up would be urgent Superman business.
Just as she was preparing her purse for the night, a little red clutch that complimented her dress, there was a knock at her door.
And just as she suspected, Clark was on the other side, holding a bouquet of flowers for her. Ever the gentleman. She smiled and kissed his cheek as she accepted the flowers, a beautiful arrangement of her favorites, and let him in. She dug out a vase for the flowers, filled it with water, dumped the little packet into it, and placed the bouquet in it. She brought the vase to what passed as her dining room table, which was essentially at the center of her apartment, thanks to her open floor plan.
“You look beautiful,” Clark stated with a smile when she finished placing her flowers where she liked them best.
She blushed, but didn’t look away. She knew he’d think that, and guessed he would probably say it, too. “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome.”
His smile turned a little shy at her response. “You know,” his smile sharpened with mischief, “I believe, if I am remembering correctly, I asked you a question last week that you never did answer for me…”
Lois was suspicious, but he asked a lot of questions throughout the workweek that were rhetorical and usually ignored by her, so she wasn’t quite sure where he was going with this. So, she sprang the trap. “What was your question?”
“You think I’m hot?” he asked, color on his cheeks, but mischievous smile wide.
A laugh burst out of her. “How do you remember that? You were burning with a fever!”
“I said ‘if I am remembering correctly!’” Clark insisted, the color on his cheeks turning brighter. “And I don’t recall an answer.”
“That’s because I told you that you took what I said out of context and then you passed out from your fever,” Lois told him, laughing harder.
Clark laughed. “Okay, but that’s not answering the question. That’s dodging it.” He cheekily cocked an eyebrow.
Lois rolled her eyes. Clark maintained eye contact. “I think you already know that answer to that,” she huffed as she rolled her eyes again.
“Do I?” Clark asked, expression changing from shy mischief to faux deliberation.
“I think you’ve heard many a ramble about my thoughts about your alter-ego. They haven’t really changed that much…” Lois admitted, referring to the many times she had gone on and on to anyone who would listen (Read: Clark) about how hot and handsome and sexy Superman was…. is.
Clark laughed, glancing down at his feet briefly before meeting her gaze with a confident expression, very Superman-like. “But maybe I want to hear you say it again. Do you think I’m hot, yes or no?” A beat passed. “I’ll make it easy for you. I think you’re hot.”
Lois had no idea how they ended up so close to each other, but there they were, nearly pressed together. Lois pressed a hand to Clark’s chest and looked up at him through her lashes and gave him what he wanted, “Yes, I think you’re hot.”
And wow, if they kept this up, dinner probably wouldn’t be what they did on their first date. And that would be very un-Clark-like. So, Lois very pointedly pushed away from him and went to finish putting her things in her purse.
She went into her bathroom under the guise of checking her makeup to give Clark some extra time to cool off. After applying just a touch more bronzer, she decided Clark should have had enough time and rejoined him in the main room.
“Ready?” he asked, holding her coat for her.
“Where are we going?” she asked in lieu of answering as she allowed Clark to help her into the coat.
“How’s The Capital Grille sound?” Clark answered her question with a question.
“Ooh, fancy,” Lois commented. “You know how to treat a girl.”
Clark huffed a laugh. “I’m glad you think so.”
Lois didn’t want to ask, but she almost thought Clark was a little insecure about his choice of restaurant. That would be ridiculous, right? The Capital Grille was an excellent choice for a number of reasons. It was a nicer place without being too pricy, he probably made a reservation to avoid a wait, and she perfectly fit the assumed dress code. He did too, in his dress pants and suit coat. Surely he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t want anything fancier than what he had chosen. No, she knew he knew her well enough. If he was feeling a little insecure, it was because he was as nervous as she was. She almost forgot she knew him as well as he knew her.
Coming to that conclusion, and grabbing her purse, she repeated his question, “Ready?” to tell him she was now ready to walk out her door.
He smiled at her, nodded, and offered his arm. She returned his smile and slid her arm through his. They made sure her lights were off and her door was locked before they made their way through the city on foot.
It was a little bit of a walk, but the way was through Centennial Park, which had its winter decorations up, and was so much better than taking a cab. Of course, Lois enjoyed the relaxed time with Clark. That was the best part, in her opinion. Something she was sure he reciprocated, if the twinkle in his eyes and the smile on his face were anything to go by. They talked about everything and nothing on their way and it almost seemed like they arrived at The Capital Grille too soon.
As she guessed, Clark had made a reservation, and they were immediately led to their table. It was a booth for two that was nearly in a corner. Not secluded but still private. Since it was a booth, there wasn’t a chair for Clark to pull out for her, and the idea that he might get put-out by that nearly made her giggle; as it was, it did bring a smile to her face.
Clark noticed and immediately asked, “What?” in a light tone that almost had a laugh in it.
“Oh, nothing,” Lois answered as Clark, once again being quite the gentleman, helped her out of her coat. She slid into the seat and waited for him to do the same before she continued, “Just that there’s no chair for you to pull out for me, Mr. Gentleman.”
Clark laughed. “What can I say? My Ma taught me right.”
Lois’ smile widened. “Absolutely she did. I should send her flowers for doing such a good job with you.” Clark grinned before picking up his menu. Lois copied him. After looking at the menu for all of two seconds, she knocked her menu against his, gaining his attention. “How hungry are you?”
Clark raised an eyebrow, curious, no doubt seeing the plotting in her eyes. “I can eat?” he answered, unsure of what exactly she was asking.
“Wanna split two very different dishes to expand our experience?”
Clark laughed. “And how does my hunger level have anything to do with sharing our food?”
Lois shrugged. “I dunno. Just figured it was a good starter?” Clark gave her a look. “Okay! I know, I steal your food all the time. I get it.” She laughed, returning back to the menu for a beat before looking back at him. He was still looking at her. “Well? What do you say?”
He shook his head, laughing. “What do you want?”
She shrugged again. “I don’t know yet. What were you planning on?”
“Some juicy piece of cow,” he answered.
“Okay, so I’ll get some seafood then.” She nodded, making up her mind on that and flipped to the seafood section of the menu. She heard his chuckle and imagined he was also shaking his head in amusement. The thought made her smile wider.
The food was great. But Lois and Clark both thought the company was way more amazing. Lois didn’t think she could eat anything else and was content sipping her wine and talking with Clark. She pointedly pushed her plate to his side of the table. He, of course, picked up on what she was telling him, and finished the rest of her food.
“No room for dessert?” he asked, taking a sip of his own wine.
Lois groaned. “Ohhh, no. I don’t think I could do a cheesecake, or whatever they serve here. If we get dessert, it should be from that ice cream place on the other side of the park.”
Clark laughed. “The Super Scoop?” he asked.
“Yep. That’s the one!” Lois licked her lips. “Mmm, I do love their Kryptonian Krunch.”
Clark’s expression was of wry amusement. “Are you trying to tell me something other than we should go get ice cream?”
Lois laughed. “No, seriously. That’s the actual name of the flavor. It’s a vanilla ice cream with frozen blackberries and raspberries, making it look red and blue… and then chocolate chunks.”
“Frozen blackberries and raspberries?” Clark asked, not quite making a face.
“Don’t hate! It’s actually very good.”
“I’m not hating,” Clark insisted, raising his hands, “I’ve just never heard of those things together in an ice cream. As toppings, sure…”
“Okay, I get it. I have to admit, I really only tried it because of the name… but! It is a good flavor. You should try it.” She was expecting Clark to look reluctantly amused, but he actually looked extremely interested. It took her off guard a little.
She must have given him a look because he was laughing as he quietly admitted that he loved trolling people when it came to his secret identity. Her jaw dropped when he asked, “How funny would it be for the resident Kryptonian to order an ice cream named ‘Kryptonian Krunch’ that was literally made with him as inspiration?”
“You’re so bad!” she whisper-exclaimed, whacking the table slightly to emphasize her statement.
He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Oh, just you wait. I can’t wait to let you in on all my jokes.”
“Clark!” she wheezed, barely able to believe him. The whole situation was hilarious because she knew, deep down, that he had a wicked sense of humor. She couldn’t wait to get to see this other, very private, part of Clark Kent.
He explained some of his trolling bits to her as he paid for their dinner. And she plotted other ways he could troll people as they wandered through the park to The Super Scoop.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been here. You saw a place called ‘The Super Scoop’ and didn’t decide it was prime trolling opportunity?”
He shrugged, smile lighting up his face. “Guess I just never found the right motivation to try it out.”
He started looking at all the different flavors as they waited in line. Some of the flavor names made him giggle. Lois loved this playful side of him. He was so very precious to her.
She briefly struggled with the idea of him being considered precious. To her, precious implied delicate and fragile. Things Clark definitely wasn’t. But then Lois considered that diamonds were considered precious jewels, and then she didn’t have any qualms of calling Clark precious.
He might be invulnerable and seemingly all-powerful, but she wanted to protect and care for him in whatever capacity she could. And she knew Clark thought of her the same way; he had acted on that desire on way more occasions than Lois would care to recall, let alone admit.
These thoughts were turning very mushy, so Lois slid her arm through Clark’s, squeezed, and pressed herself against him. He leaned against her and flexed his arm slightly, squeezing back.
She looked up at him and met his gaze. The soft smile on his face was gorgeous.
He shifted, removing his arm from her grasp to wrap it around her waist, hugging her to him. She copied the motion.
Normally, she wasn’t a fan of PDA. But here, in this moment, with him, she couldn’t care less. Besides, it was just two people who were starting a romantic relationship leaning on each other. It wasn’t like they were kissing or anything.
That got her thinking.
“So,” she started, not whispering, but still keeping her voice low, “are you my boyfriend now?”
Clark hugged her tighter. “I’d like that,” he answered, pressing his cheek against her hair.
She leaned further into him in response. “I’d like that, too,” she confirmed, sealing their defined relationship-with-titles. He kissed her crown to signal his agreement to these terms.
And that led her to, when they got to the register, tell the ice cream scooper person that, “My boyfriend wants to try the Kryptonian Krunch. And I want… the Metallo Mint.”
“Metallo Mint?” Clark whispered, apparently bamboozled. “I hope that doesn’t have Kryptonite in it…” he mumbled.
Lois was trying so hard to not laugh. And she was sure it was showing on her face. She elbowed him in the stomach. He, of course, was completely unaffected. But it got him to stop as he was interrupted by a laugh.
Since she was the one at the register, doing the ordering, she reached for her purse to pay. But Clark, damn superpowers, whipped out his wallet faster than she could blink and paid for their ice cream before she knew what was happening.
When they walked away from the register, Clark insisted that he hadn’t used any superpowers. How could he? He was in full view in public and had a secret identity to protect, after all.
He looked so innocent.
Lois squinted at him in disbelief and mentioned how he used superspeed to have the fastest typing speed like ever known to man. He had the gall to look sheepish. She raised her chin in victory at that.
They walked through the park, enjoying their ice cream. It was winter, and therefore, cold outside, but Lois was walking pressed against Clark, who was insanely warm, so she was fine.
“So, I’m guessing there’s no Kryptonite in there?” Clark asked, entirely joking, but with a semi-serious tone of voice.
Lois hummed. “No, I don’t think so.” She turned slightly, further into him, and held up her cone, offering it to him. “Want some?”
He shot her a smile and leaned down to try it. She pressed it into his face to smear it against his lips, making them both laugh.
He straightened away from her assault and began licking his lips to clean the ice cream off. Then the smile suddenly fell from his face and his eyes drooped half closed and he seemed to falter, almost curling into himself slightly. His mouth dropped open as if he was struggling to breathe and he took a few gasping breaths.
Her eyes widened, at first, not understanding what was wrong. But then, after exactly three seconds, she caught on. And she whacked him firmly on the chest with her free hand. That smacked the smile right back onto his face.
“You got me,” she breathed, almost harshly, grudgingly admitting to having fallen for his act.
He chuckled deep in his chest. “I was worried I’d scare you. Glad I didn’t… much.”
She shook her head and took a bite of his ice cream as revenge. Of course, he was fast enough to see it coming and stop her if he really wanted, but he let her have it. And she really should have expected him to capitalize on the opportunity to smear ice cream on her face, too. She clicked her tongue as he burst into laughter.
“Ugh. I walked into that one,” Lois grumbled the complaint. She couldn’t keep her smile hidden for any significant amount of time, though.
Clark wheezed. Nodding, he managed through chuckles, “You did.”
Lois didn’t quite know when Clark managed to calm his chuckles, but they fell into this intimate moment. They were both smiling and very close to each other. It really was to be expected that they slowly leaned toward each other and met in a kiss.
Suddenly, Lois wished they hadn’t gone to get ice cream, because now she couldn’t really wrap her arms around him while she was holding her cone. But she didn’t want to just waste the ice cream and just… drop it.
Fortunately for her, Clark solved her problems by breaking the kiss, but not the moment. He leaned back, more straightening up than backing away, and smiled at her, love plain on his face.
And she was once again completely enthralled by him. Here he was, a kind-hearted gentleman with the powers of a sun-god, and he was in love with her, a simple reporter. Now, she knew that Clark thought the world of her and would protest vehemently the idea that she was simple anything. But that thought kind of ruined the complete romanticism of the moment for her; so, she ignored it for the time being.
He pulled away from the kiss, straightening up ever so slightly.
He loved her so much. Time flew when he was with her, and yet it also moved so slowly, moments feeling like they were lasting forever. He never wanted them to end. A sentiment he had been feeling repeatedly over the past few days… weeks… well, months, really. Ever since she’d admitted—to herself, that he had overheard—that she was falling in love with him.
She was smiling up at him; it was a warm and soft smile, very romantic. And he smiled back. It was only natural, as the way she was looking at him was only making him fall deeper in love with her.
That was ridiculous. She didn’t have to give him any type of look at all for him to fall in love with her more and more… and wow, he was so very gone for her.
He looked up at the stars, then. Needing to cool his thoughts before he did something to make a fool of himself. He also remembered his ice cream at that moment, taking full advantage of its temperature to assist his endeavor.
And that’s when he saw how beautiful the stars were that night. And then he thought about how he could fly. And how he’d love to show Lois some of his favorite views, now that he could.
So, with ice cream still coating his lips, he looked back down to Lois and smiled wider. “Wanna fly?”
Lois was also enjoying her ice cream when she made eye contact with him. At his question, she paused with her cone in front of her face. Then, she dropped her arm slightly as she grinned in response. “I was hoping we could.”
Clark felt his smile turn to more of a wry grin. “Why didn’t you ask?”
Lois laughed, eyes bright. “Well, I was going to if you didn’t offer soon.”
Clark shook his head, now convinced his smile would never leave his face. “Alright. Let’s go.”
They worked on their dessert as they meandered through the park, enjoying the lights. Eventually, they crossed over to a small alley that was just dark enough for Clark to safely wrap his arm around Lois’ waist and lift them into the air, high above the skyscrapers of Metropolis. It was dark enough that they weren’t worried about being spotted, but they were still careful.
They ended up on the roof of the Daily Planet. Clark declared it a great place to see the city while they finished their ice cream. And it was. They sat on the edge, legs swinging thousands of feet above the sidewalk below, eating their dessert. Lois was pressed into Clark, resting her head on his shoulder. He had an arm around her waist. And maybe it was more than the spot that was great.
It was peaceful up there. They had the full view of the city. And it was vibrant, with the constant traffic and the well-lit billboards. It was really no wonder Metropolis was considered such a beautiful city.
And it was quiet. Sure, there was the constant buzz of traffic, but to a city girl, that was never-ending background noise. With that thought, she tilted her head, looking up at Clark. He was just finishing off the rest of his cone. She laughed softly.
“What?” he asked, laugh evident in his voice.
Lois shook her head against him. “Nothing,” she answered, not quite ready to admit how cute she thought he was. “Just… the city is so quiet. And,” she paused, considering, “I guess I wondered how loud it is for you?”
Clark tilted his head, gazing at her fondly for a moment, as if he was processing what she was asking. Then, he lifted his eyes skyward, considering his answer.
“Quiet,” he answered. “But not like how you said. I don’t hear anything happening. No sirens, and nothing that might require them. Rare, for nothing to happen.”
“No emergencies?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s nice.” He paused. “Well, there are a few calls being made to the non-emergency numbers, but I don’t hear sirens. I only hear the noise of a lively city at night.” He turned his head completely to the right, looking at something Lois knew she definitely wouldn’t be able to see. “Wow, that is one heck of a rager happening in that club three miles away.” He turned back to her. “Remember what I said about sirens? The police are probably going to shut that down here in a few,” he informed her, laugh bubbling out of him.
“It’s that wild?” Lois asked, laughing softly.
Clark hummed. “A lot of obvious underage.” He shook his head, as if in gentle disappointment. “Kids these days.”
“Hey, watch it, Smallville.” Lois swatted his chest lightly. “I was one of those ‘kids these days’ back in my day.”
Clark raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Oh, were you?” And he was definitely making fun of how she phrased that. No matter. He always made fun of her words. She ignored the part of herself that admitted it was well deserved.
“Well,” Clark started to change the subject. “Now that we’re done with dessert, let me show you things I get to see.” He offered his hand to her.
She smiled at him and didn’t think for even a second before she took it. And then they were off, soaring into the clouds. She gasped at the sudden change, but it was in pleasant surprise.
Clark flew her around the city, allowing her to see Metropolis in all its vibrant Art Deco-ness. The Daily Planet was, as she already knew, a shining icon in the heart of the city. It was enchanting. This moment, with her newly minted boyfriend, was so enriched in love. She loved him, he loved her, they both loved their city, and the view… it was incredible.
But like all good things, it did have to end. Clark promised to show her more, but it was getting late, and they were responsible adults with jobs they had to be at in the morning. She grumbled about it all the way back to the alley that had started at, though.
He gently set their feet back on solid ground. Unlike how they started their journey, now they were facing each other. Clark had both his hands on Lois’ hips and Lois had her arms around his waist.
“Had fun, I hope?” Clark asked, smiling softly.
Lois’ gaze inadvertently flicked to his lips. She didn’t even try to stop herself from leaning in and kissing him softly. And it deepened when he nearly melted into her.
When they finally pulled away, Lois answered, “Yeah.” She pulled her gaze from his lips and brought her eyes up to meet his. And God, his eyes were gorgeous, even from behind those color-dampening glasses of his.
“Good,” Clark smiled again. “I’m glad.”
They stood like that for another moment, before realizing a dingy alley wasn’t the best place to stay, for a number of reasons. So, they smiled at each other and turned to head back to the sidewalk.
Arm-in-arm, they made their way back to Lois’ apartment. Clark, a gentleman to the tee, of course obeyed every single one of the sidewalk rules. And yes, Lois was sure there was more than one. Puddles were a danger, too. And Clark definitely saved her heels some water damage, without even thinking about it, at least twice on the way back to her place.
They weren’t moving at a fast pace, but it didn’t take long before they were at Lois’ front door. She pretended she was struggling to fish her keys out of her purse just to have a few more moments with Clark. He, of course, wasn’t going to say anything and played along.
They were joking softly with each other as Lois finally unlocked her door. And they were so caught up in their own little world that they didn’t notice that Lois’ lights were on, even though they had made sure they were off when they left.
So, they were both shocked when a gruff, “Hello, Lois,” interrupted them.
Eyes wide, they both turned to see a man in a classic military uniform seated on the armchair that faced the entryway. Clark didn’t recognize him. But Lois did. And she didn’t seem very pleased at the unexpected visit, if the way she tensed up at Clark’s side was any indication.
But whatever Clark thought would happen, whatever he thought Lois was going to say, it definitely wasn’t the ghastly whispered, “General?”