Well... since nobody's started this yet...

Oh em gee! Clark's taking a mighty big risk right there being all advice-y about this subject! Mr. Brave Pants.

I love a good holiday themed story! Can't wait for the rest!

Well, let's see, it's a month that ends in Y so Sue S must be writing another adaptation of The Phoenix. I love how you can rewrite this episode 100 times and it never, and I mean NEVER, gets old.

Good ol' Valentine's Day type massacre to report on?

Awwwwwwww. Poor Supes.

Oh nice start. I can't wait for more. Laura

oh oh oh!!! so happy i checked this before i went to bed! cannot wait for more!!

I haven't read L&C fic in such a long while, but this caught my eye and I just had to fit it in today!

And totally loved it too!

Cannot wait for part 2 and 3

Howdy! I've got a million of 'em! I think it's because that's the first episode where both of them have given up on fighting the attraction between them. There's no zigging while the other zags. There's just lots and lots of delicious unresolved sexual tension and so many ways to spin it. My only quibble with the episode is Luthor's hokey resurrection. There had to have been a better way to write that. I just don't want to waste any brain cells on it when I can think about L/C on that couch instead.

Funnily enough, I didn't actually set out to write a Phoenix-based story (I rarely do, it just turns out that way). I wanted to do something for Valentine's Day. And then I saw that Phoenix aired two days before VD and I was forced (FORCED, I tell you!) to rewatch it and see what I could glean for inspiration. It's always slightly bothered me that they completely glossed over how Lois must have felt with her sociopathic ex-fiance back from the dead. By the next week, in Top Copy, it was like someone had hit the reset button and nothing had accrued. So, you know, maybe at first you wouldn't feel anything because you were shocked. But eventually that has to sink in and give you pause to think.

Absolutely! Lois claims never to have cared about him. Isn't that easier than admitting that you did sorta, kinda like him enough to agree to marry him? There has to be some little corner of her heart that felt something. Plus, despite her tough exterior, Lois has a lot of empathy. She can feel sorry for him in general. It must have hurt a lot, going splat and being pieced back together. In the actual episode she told him that she felt he had "suffered enough". So she does feel sorry for him on some level.

Again I would say "Absolutely!". He's constantly showing up at her apartment (to dance, to check in on her, to admire her trophies, etc.) She's awestruck by Superman, but she's also relaxed enough around him that his popping up at her apartment at odd hours doesn't faze her. That says to me that they talk with enough frequency for her to refer to him more than once as "a friend". Also, most of the time after he's rescued her, he sticks around at least long enough to ask if she's okay. Since he was busy hauling Lex out of the tunnels, I'm assuming he didn't get a chance to ask her (as Superman) how she was coping with Lex's reappearance in her life.

To be fair to Clark, Lois brought the subject up. He tries to dance around the subject in a neutral way and tells her that she really ought to talk to Clark about it, not him. Not that it would save him in the least if she figured it out right then and there.

Laura - If you thought the start was nice, you're in luck. The middle and the end are a lot more fun.

Sarah - I'm glad I posted before you went to bed!

DW - You haven't been reading fic? Where have you been? Welcome back!

Thanks to everyone who's commented. I'll have the next part up by tonight!

Sue,

I read this first thing this morning using my bberry and was tempted at that point to create the FDK but didn't trust the bberry to do it.

Delightful story and you say it gets better!

I have a hard time imagining that. This was tremendous.

Can't wait for parts 2 and 3.

I'm off to bed in 2 hours, think you can make it by then? Pretty please??

(And can I be the first to vote for some sort of nfic epilogue type thingy?? Oh you just know you wanna!)

Sue! Just read the first part and can't wait for more! I've always thought that they glossed over the whole issue of Lois' feelings after Lex comes back. And Clark's feelings, for that matter. You'd think he'd be pretty angry and upset at Lex's return, not to mention his concern for Lois being alone with him.

And I actually just opened the thread and read the story without looking at the author. When I went back to the board to look for the fdk folder, I saw that you wrote it. I literally said out loud, "This is a Sue story!!!"

I can't wait to read the rest!

~Kristen

Great start to this! Can't wait for part 2! Wonder how/if/when Clark/Superman will get caught with his feet in his mouth... maybe? I'm all for WAFF too, of course.

Ooo! More feedback!

Gr8 - I make no promises about an epilogue. But the thought may have crossed my mind.

Kristen - Like you, I've always wondered how Clark felt about Lex's return. That's just fodder for another Phoenix story. Next time…

One of my favorite times in the series - S2 Church of Metropolis/The Phoenix... love anything set in that period. Love hearing Lois's thoughts about him carrying her to the bedroom and how his smile makes her go weak (while similtaneously making her annoyed - lol). I so firmly believe that she fell in love with him light years before she was even slightly ready to admit it.

Interesting convo she's having with Superman... I can't believe Superman told her to tell Clark that she just wanted to be friends. That's living dangerously, Clark! Knowing how terrified she is of relationships, I'd have been afraid she would've been like, "Okay, good idea!"

I love holiday stories, especially well-written ones, and so I'm looking forward to each part of this, Sue. I've always been a fan of your writing!

Can't wait for part 2.

Tracey

What a great story based off one of my favorite episodes--can't wait to read the whole thing!

Had to laugh--even though it was sad, too--at her thinking that her fish wouldn't be buying her chocolates on Valentine's Day.

I love the comparison between Clark and Claude and the description given for Clark. Also, the paragraph explaining her life-view, including that best friends will turn into bitter enemies--is just heartbreaking.

What a great conversation between Lois and Superman. I felt bad for Clark there, trapped between not saying enough and saying too much. I love that he encouraged Lois to be honest with Clark (himself) even if that did mean she would tell him she only wanted to be friends. Very selfless, thinking of her first.

And the line about wanting to be Clark's everything but not wanting him to be hers--chills ran through me.

So glad she's going to go see Clark! Hope he'll be there by the time she gets to his place.

I'm happy to have a little catching up to do!

Tracey - How nice to see you again! I love that time period in the series, too. So many possibilities. Regarding the conversation with Superman - I just can't see him using his alter ego to push Lois into his arms. I think he'd be careful to keep it neutral (telling her it's a decision that only she can make) or err on the side of caution (telling her to just be friends if that's all she was comfortable with). She is terrified of relationships, but in his own way, so is Clark. He only gets one shot at getting it right.

AntiKryptonite - See my rant above about the Superman conversation. When it comes to Lois, sometimes Clark is a little too selfless. ('Contact' comes to mind.) Thank you for picking out the line about being everything to Clark - it was one of my favorites.

Thanks for the comments - they're very much appreciated!

Doh! I'm glad she happened to see this to crack her carefully built walls. Good to get her mind rolling.

This made me chuckle. What a list of grievances.

<vbg>

Pesky superhearing...

Oh I think he loves you just a little bit more now!

I love her brutal honesty here. So true to Lois.

I especially like that he points out his love of her recklessness while at the same time his need to be so cautious. Plants the seed nicely for Lois to take a chance with Clark. I like the double meaning of SM being careful in general and having to be careful around Lois specifically.

On to part 2...

Thank you, Emily! You saw how the sausage gets made on this one, so it means a lot to me that you still like the story.

Don’t they have vending machines stocked with Double Fudge Crunch Bars?

Michael

Aw, Michael! I had thought you had skipped this story - I was so excited to see that you were still reading me!

Love the picture of the chocolates! Between that and all your comments, I was giggling a lot.

Thank you!

Glad I could make you laugh. And no, I was just behind in my FDKing

Michael