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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 2,122 Likes: 1
Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 2,122 Likes: 1 |
Comments go here.
Corrina.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,018
Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2005
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Well done, very well done. Quiet and lovely.
Framework4
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509 |
Oh, Clark. ![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/midi/konfus/a050.gif) I wasn't expecting him to throw the contest by writing such stereotypical greeting card sentiment. I'm so glad that Lois called him on it. It isn't fair to her, if he let her win. I kind of hoped he would submit the one (accidentally) that he wrote about loving his best friend.  I'm almost sorry that Lois never got to read it, because it was so beautiful. Disappointment engulfed him as he began to type.
He wasn't particularly aggrieved at having lost the competition. In fact, he'd accepted defeat as the only possible outcome as he'd penned his devoid-of-thought ditty that didn't even warrant inclusion in the most banal of cards. I have to agree with him here. If he wanted the dinner so much, he should have tried harder. If I were Lois, I would be slightly offended. If she were honest, she'd known that everyone would assume she'd written it for Superman. She'd shamelessly used that knowledge as her cover.
But she hadn't expected that her blatant affection for the superhero would hurt Clark. I'm glad she's thinking about this. He moved into her kitchen and filled the kettle with water.
"Do you think Perry's greeting-card idea will work?" Lois asked as Clark dug out a teapot from where he'd stashed it the last time they'd shared tea together. "Will we sell many cards? Make some money to help pay for respite care?"
"We have to try something," Clark said. "Those families need help."
"What if we're all terrible at writing poetry? Some of what has been bandied around the newsroom is woeful."
Clark nodded his agreement. "But it's not all bad," he said. "Your poem is good enough for a card."
Lois expected him to continue, saying something more specific about her poem or its intended recipient, but he didn't. He took down the caddy of tea and spooned the leaves into the pot. "I'm sure you could write something, too." Wait a minute. Lois invites him into HER apartment for some tea, and then MAKES him make it? Oh, Lois, that's just plain rude. That would be like inviting someone to dinner and then expecting them to cook for you. I mean, I could see if he asked to stay and have a cup of tea to have him make it himself, but *she* asked him to stay and *offered* him tea. She should make it. That's just wrong. And she says that she loves him. Ha! Actions speak louder than words, Lois. "Guess I just can't put words together as well as you can." Liar! "That's not true. You write the sentimental stuff far better than I do." Again, happy that Lois called him on it. "Not this time." He looked up from the teapot with a grin. "You won. Fair and square."
"Your poem read as if you'd jotted it down while waiting for the elevator, five minutes before we were due to face off," she said.
His look of laboured innocence confirmed her suspicion. Lois has every right to feel slighted. Clark didn't think his hand had shaken as he'd accepted the envelope from Lois, but his heart has been thundering hot liquid cannons through his veins. I like this imagery. It was a photograph - Lois at her desk, her chair pushed back, one shapely leg crossed over the other, her head tilted a little, her chin up, her mouth curved to a smile. She looked as if she were in the grip of laughter.
She was laughing with him, Clark. He was standing at her desk, focussed on her, as they shared a moment of amusement.
Focussed on her …
Clark's breath stalled. He had tried so hard to keep his feelings safely hidden behind the mask of friendship, but in this photo, they were laid bare, obvious from his eyes, his mouth, his posture … every single thing about him portrayed his affection, fascination … adoration, even … for the woman who held his attention.
Had Lois seen it? In this photo? Or in him? His actions? His face? How long ago had she seen this photo? Why had she chosen this particular picture? To give him? Now? In a card? I'm guessing she thought the same thing about her posture. His world contracted … collapsed … reeled … as all the implications of Lois Knowing rioted through his mind. "Wh…what do you mean?" It's funny that he jumps there first in his mind, and not what she actually means. "Your drive and your passion inspire me … Your heart beats so daring and bold … Your fire warms the depths of my lonely soul, When sorrow has scraped it cold."
When he raised his head, a tear was skittering down her cheek. He rammed his hand into his pocket to keep from leaning over and brushing it away.
"You see?" she said in a wobbly voice. "You push back the walls to find me. No one else does that. Not even Superman."
Clark re-visited her poem again, pulling it from his memory line by line. Her hero. Protecting her. Understanding her. Hearing her. "You wrote that for me?" he asked. "Clark? That's how you see me?" His poem only works to clarify her own, but I still like his unrequited love poem from Part 1 better. He was going to disappoint her, and that knowledge felt like the twist of a knife through his heart. "I try to be honest," he said. "And I try to be true to myself. But …" He swallowed, fortifying his wavering conviction. "But I have two secrets that no one knows … except my parents. I'd … I'd like to share them with you." Two? "I have to know that you will still want to kiss me after you know my second secret." Oh. THAT secret. Clark shook his head a little. "The real poetry from my heart is short and doesn't rhyme and isn't original at all," he said. "But it is the truth."
"Oh?"
He took a breath, and he spoke the words that were branded on his heart. "I love you, Lois." Awwww. Nicely said, Clark. Although, since this is his first secret, which he's already told her, shouldn't this come before his second revelation? I was a bit surprised by the Superman reveal. I liked the simplicity of it, but it almost seemed unnecessary in a story about them discovering their shared love. Plus, Lois accepts it too easily, that it feels a bit of a non-issue that has given him so much stress. Maybe if Clark had been intending to tell Lois when he came over, because of how her poem to Superman had made him feel... I don't know. I'm a bit confused on why he feels it's necessary to tell her his secret now. It's almost as if he wants to lose her, wants to risk everything before they go further, wants to prove to himself that she really doesn't love him. I don't know how to explain it. I liked the story, but something feels off or missing from this ending.
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
---
"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Dec 2004
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Aww I loved it. Oh so sweet!
Superman: I hear you've been looking for me.
Lois: All my life.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,082 |
Wonderful!  So sweet, so romantic...so perfect!
You can find my stories as Groobie on the nfic archives and Susan Young on the gfic archives. In other words, you know me as Groobie. 
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,945 Likes: 28
Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,945 Likes: 28 |
Back again! "Thank you for being my hero, My rock when storms abound; For pushing back walls to find me, And hearing my cry, though I utter no sound." So…Superman? Also…walls! tell-tale signs of devotion that might have leaked into Lois's expression. Considering the rest… LOIS: Oooooh! Clark is such a wonderful narrator. I wish he could recite more poetry to me! ![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/smilie/liebe/f025.gif) "The intended recipient is self-evident. And it's too specific for a greeting card." Also, wouldn’t that card still get sold many millions of times on Superhero day? "For all the little things you do, A 'thank you' I want to say; And wish you a very happy time, On this, your special day." Awwww! They figured the second poem was his and had deemed it pathetically inferior to the first. Naaaah! They might just think ‘Lois’? "And scores me a research lackey for a day," Lois said as she lifted her poem from Clark's hands. "Then everyone's happy."  But he was devastated at having lost the chance to spend an evening with Lois. Well…maybe if he had spent more effort? If he had gone for broke? If he had written to Wonder Woman, instead? Someone who had the simple luxury of living just one life.
Being just one person.
How easy that must be. Clark couldn't be jealous, could he? Of Superman? Why shouldn’t he? Superman and Clark were completely different people. She had feelings for both of them.  CLARK: So, there *is* reason for jealousy? And they were very different from the feelings she would always have for Superman. So…brotherly love? His 'poem' had been corny and shallow. Clark Kent didn't write 'corny and shallow'. He just didn't. No one knew that truth better than Lois did. Lack of motivation was surprising. And disconcerting, if Clark preferred to do her research rather than have dinner with her. Oops? As much as her competitive nature had wanted to win, a part of her - a small, but not easily silenced part - would have been OK with losing.
Not losing, maybe. But having dinner with Clark … Would he kiss her goodnight?
And if he did, would it be a light touch to her cheek? Or more? Oooooh! If she were honest, she'd known that everyone would assume she'd written it for Superman. She'd shamelessly used that knowledge as her cover. Oh my. Huh. What? Lois Lane jumped first and thought second. Mostly, these days, she didn't think at all.
She just called for Superman. She needed to find Jimmy.
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The soft tap on her door snatched Lois's gaze from the card. She quickly pushed it into the envelope and shoved it out of sight under a pile of newspapers. Ooooh! Nice setup. It wasn't nothing. It would have taken her most of the day, and her current sense of accomplishment regarding her feature article would probably be teetering on the edge of panic. "Thanks, anyway," she said. Awww…she got the school nerd to do her homework "Guess I just can't put words together as well as you can." /cocks eyebrow/ "Have you seen Superman today?"
"He wasn't at the library." Ouch! She perched on the sofa and thrust the envelope towards him. Oh boy. And awaited the disclosure of her destiny.  It was a photograph - Lois at her desk, her chair pushed back, one shapely leg crossed over the other, her head tilted a little, her chin up, her mouth curved to a smile. She looked as if she were in the grip of laughter.
She was laughing with him, Clark. He was standing at her desk, focussed on her, as they shared a moment of amusement. I wonder if Lois knew about the picture or just squeezes Jimmy until he found one. "Everybody knew you wrote this poem for Superman." Clark skimmed the words like fingertips running over broken glass. "I don't push back walls."
"Yes, you do." Walls around your heart. Lunkhead! Also, Wedding Walls "Wh…what do you mean?"
"You can't work it out?"
The surprise layered in her question stung him. If she knew, she was mad. And he was in trouble. Lunkhead! Guilty lunkhead! She glared at him. "Are you deliberately being obtuse or are you really, truly, honestly that clueless?" Can he choose option c) Both? She leaned right over to his side of the sofa and clamped a fiery kiss on his shock-wilted mouth. She backed away, still glaring. "Now do you get it?" CLARK: ![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/smilie/konfus/k020.gif) He got that there were still two possibilities. Either she knew she had kissed Superman or …  LOIS:  "I think you're trying to tell me something," he ventured. I don’t think this is a good answer. "Have a wild stab at what a woman might mean when she gives a man a card … when she writes poetry calling him her hero … when she kisses him." CLARK: She thinks that he’s Superman? "You can't think of one single thing it might mean when a woman kisses a man?" Lois barked. CLARK: Is this like when a man kisses another man? "I can think of two," he admitted. "I'm not sure which it is." One would be that Lois is a Don? Lois raised her hands heavenwards as if pleading for strength. "Clark," she said, with admirable - and alarmingly sudden - composure. "If it's possible that we can still be work partners and if that's what you want, just give me back the card and walk out now and we'll both try to pretend that none of this happened." Oh boy. Maybe he should tread lightly now. "Your drive and your passion inspire me … Your heart beats so daring and bold … Your fire warms the depths of my lonely soul, When sorrow has scraped it cold." Why not enter it? It could mean Lana. Or Linda. Toni Taylor? Clark took a step closer. "Lois," he said, barely above a whisper. "I need you to push back the walls and find me." Awwwwww "But I have two secrets that no one knows … except my parents. I'd … I'd like to share them with you." That he’s a very patient man? "Have you ever wondered what Superman does when he's not flying around Metropolis in tights?" Play house with Clark? "Yes."
One word. One word that changed his life forever.
"Oh, my," Lois said, sinking into the sofa. "Superman has wanted to be with me from the start?"
"Not Superman. Cl-" Clark shook his head a little. "The real poetry from my heart is short and doesn't rhyme and isn't original at all," . "I have that sort of poetry, too," she said. Awwwwwww… And she was kissing him.
THE END  What a cute short, Corrina!  Michael
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,466
Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,466 |
Had to wait till late tonight to read Part 2--but was looking forward to it all evening  . Awww--yeah, it was wonderful, Corrina . Loved it! I was really curious to see where both Lois and Clark would go with their poems. If they'd play it safe--keep it really 'greeting card' like, or if they'd risk trying to tell each other something of what they feel towards each other. Clark, I could have seen it going either way--I was sure that he wanted to write something about Lois, but wasn't sure how he could really go about doing that (and in such a public way). Lois...hmm. I was hoping she'd take a leap, maybe say something not 'Superman' and get it across that she felt something more than friendship for Clark. But Lois being Lois--I just wasn't sure she'd take that sort of risk with her feelings. So, definitely, reading what Lois wrote was perfect . Very safe type of write-up for the newsroom--keep up the Superman expectation, but secretly, so much 'out there' to her friend (even if he didn't realize it at the time). Clark's poem was not up to par for him...and I love that Lois knew that. She knows him, knows that he is so much better than what was on that piece of paper. And I REALLY enjoyed how she confronted him about it at her apartment. The card Lois gave Clark--the picture on it...what a great touch. That visual of their mutual attraction/interest/feelings for the other. That, combined with her poem written inside, was a really wonderful way for her to lay it 'out there' for Clark. Great  . This line really sang to me: Clark took a step closer. "Lois," he said, barely above a whisper. "I need you to push back the walls and find me." --how he spoke what she had written. Love it! Wonderful part: Clark dropped his gaze to the paper he held and read the rest of his poem. "You are the definition of beauty, In the dictionary of my heart; Your love is the prize I will forever pursue, The treasure I've craved from the start."
Her tears had welled again, a duet this time, breaking from her eyelids in perfect synchrony. Unable to resist, Clark stroked one from her cheek. He looked into her eyes, and what he found there infused his heart with hope.
Drawn downwards, he left her eyes and concentrated on her mouth. It was slightly adrift and smouldering with invitation. He curved his hand around her neck and kissed her.
Her arms surrounded him, pulling him closer as her mouth caressed his with sweet confirmation of her words. --his poem, wiping away the tear, the kiss....lovely, lovely WAFFy goodness And a beautiful declaration: Clark shook his head a little. "The real poetry from my heart is short and doesn't rhyme and isn't original at all," he said. "But it is the truth."
"Oh?"
He took a breath, and he spoke the words that were branded on his heart. "I love you, Lois."
Her initial surprise melted into a slow-forming smile. "I have that sort of poetry, too," she said.
"You do?" he asked, not daring to hope.
She carefully placed his poem on the sofa and then looked directly at him. "I love you, too, Clark." --what a great 'moment' you created. This part was beautiful! Loved the story--Amazing! Laura
"Where's Clark?" "Right here."
...two simple sentences--with so much meaning.
~Lois and Clark in 'House of Luthor'~
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 55
Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 55 |
Loved the competition results - Clark basically throwing the competition rather than openly displaying his feelings for Lois was very in character. Lois definitely wins... but I love that she was upset about winning! Loved the part about jumping first and thinking second (or not at all) - definitely Lois! And I love that she called him out on not doing his best. So very Clark to immediately think she'd figured out his secret! And then Clark reads his poem, and I melt into a puddle of squee on the floor.  And stay there for the rest of the story. (Though I did un-melt enough to laugh out loud at "In tights?") Beautiful, beautiful job!
~*Monica*~
"Being with you is stronger than me alone."
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