Thanks again to Beth and Queenie
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As I mentioned in the FDK thread - I've got company coming and a 5yo who *wants* to help clean so I should take advantage of that
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Last timeLois looked at him with a raised brow. "You know how to Tush Push, Lane?"
Clark shrugged. "A friend of mine thought it would be a great way to meet girls."
"Did you?"
He grinned. "Define girls. I think they were all there looking for guys."
"Did they find them?"
"Define guys. I think Joe and I were the only two non-nerds there and I'm not entirely certain we fit in the non-nerd category."
"Oh, you're definitely not a nerd," Lois muttered under her breath.
"What?"
*~*19*~*Clark watched her as she examined his wardrobe. Or at least what he'd brought with him. She'd muttered something under her breath but without his superhearing he couldn't make out what it was and she refused to elaborate.
"So, how're you feeling?" she asked, in a desperate attempt to change the subject off whatever it was she muttered he was sure.
"Better," he said, willing to go along with it. "Not *super* but better."
She turned to look at him critically. "Your eye looks a lot better. Not better enough to be suspicious or whatever but better."
"I do *feel* a lot better. It doesn’t hurt at all to breathe even without having my ribs wrapped."
"Good." She turned to leave. "Wear the jeans and black polo shirt tonight. I'll see you in a bit. We have to stop at the Sheriff's office on the way."
Clark nodded and she shut the door behind her. He changed quickly and wondered where he'd end up sleeping. He'd enjoyed waking up next to her the last two mornings. He'd never woken up next to a woman before. That morning, he'd dozed off and on, hearing some of the comings and goings in the house long before she awoke. When he had woken up for good, he'd just laid there, watching her sleep and being grateful that she was okay.
He'd dated since he was sixteen – only one moderately serious relationship until Mayson two years earlier. They'd dated for over a year and she was the first person he'd seriously considered telling the truth about himself. He'd been talking it over with his parents when the idea for Superman was born. The speed skating suit had been his mom's idea and she'd been able to sew well enough to make a cape from a Halloween costume pattern. He wasn't quite sure where the idea for wearing his underwear on the outside had come from. A couple weeks later, after the Superman Foundation had been created to deal with the merchandise and everything else, he'd contracted with a well-known costumer for more custom-fitted suits.
He'd decided to put off telling Mayson until after he knew what kind of reception the superhero would get. She'd... not been crazy about Superman from the beginning. It had put a strain on their relationship from the start. She'd wanted to know more than he'd printed in his articles, but he wasn’t entirely certain her motives had been altruistic. There was some kind of... underlying disdain when she talked about the superhero. His suspicions had been confirmed when she'd barely thanked him for saving her life when he'd flown a bomb out of the courtroom where she'd been prosecuting a case. They'd worked... okay together during the earlier parts of the process – Superman was a witness – but it was almost like she tolerated him.
He wouldn't have wanted idol worship from her – like he got from so many other quarters – but at least a little bit would have been nice.
He'd started running off on her at inopportune times and that put even more of a strain on their relationship. She'd finally given him a – well-deserved – ultimatum and they'd broken up.
It wasn't so much the loss of the relationship that had bothered him as much as the loss of the idea of the relationship. Could he ever have a normal life? Becoming Superman had absolutely been the right thing to do. But was it fair to ask a woman to put up with his life? He'd gone out a few times after Mayson but nothing serious. Several of the 'dates' – like Toni Taylor and Antoinette Baines – had been in pursuit of a story. He drew the line at anything more... intimate than dinner for the purposes of a story, but he wasn’t above smiling and flirting a bit to get information.
And then he'd met Lois.
From the minute she'd looked at him, he'd been intrigued – though he didn't realize exactly what the feeling tugging at his heart was at first. But over the last couple of days, he'd come to realize that he wanted to try a relationship with her. He wanted to see if things could work out between them. The kiss that second morning was forever seared in his mind.
He sighed and headed out of her room without stopping to investigate it a bit, just to find out more about her. He went in search of Lois and a few minutes later was on his way to Smallville for his first ever Corn Festival.
"When's your mom supposed to get here?" Lois asked as they climbed out of his rental to see Dan.
Clark shrugged. "Her plane was late, I guess, so they should be here before too long but I'm not sure when."
He opened the door for her and they walked into the sheriff's office.
"The lovebirds are finally awake," Dan said, looking up from his paperwork.
"Don't start, Daniel," Lois warned. "We just want to make our statements and get going. I've got a lot to do."
He held out a hand as he neared us. "I don't think we've officially met. I'm Clark."
"Nice to meet you, Clark," he said, ignoring the offered hand in favor of digging through a file folder. "I'm Daniel."
"Nice to meet you, Dan."
"Please, call me Daniel or Sheriff Scardino."
He glanced at Lois who was trying not to smirk.
"Sure thing, Daniel."
He handed over two sheets of paper. "This is what you guys told me last night. See if it's accurate, make any necessary changes, sign and date."
Lois handed him one of the pieces of paper. "Did you find the body?"
Daniel shook his head. "No. They've been out looking since I left your house but nothing yet. Is there any chance he survived?"
Lois shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Well, we'll keep looking. I don't know that we'll dredge the lake or anything, but we'll look for a few more days at least."
Clark frowned. He wanted to know for sure this guy was dead, that he couldn’t come back to haunt him again later. If they didn't find the body, maybe he'd talk to his dad about conducting a further search.
He looked over the sheet of paper and it was as accurate as it was going to get. He and Lois had agreed on what they wouldn’t say about Superman and his ship and all of that. He signed off on it and handed it back to Daniel.
Lois had already given hers back so they turned to go.
"All right, Kent, show me how to paint this town red," he said, opening her door to his convertible.
She just glared at him as she climbed in.
"John Deere Green?" he asked, heading to his side of the car.
"Better," she nodded.
*****
TBC
