Hello, this is my first time posting in this mb. I like soap operas because they give us a delightful, ridiculous diversion from RL, so I thought...why not
?
Recognizable characters are not mine, not even Gwendolyn. Everyone else is. I'm just having fun for a while.
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As the Planet Turns
by windfall
rated Pg
rebegun June 2003
What would L&C have been like if it was a soap opera, with twists and turns, secrets and deceit, unrequited love and hate, amnesia, etc. etc.? Oh, wait a minute…
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Clark knocked on the door of Lois' apartment, then waited for the usual sounds of various locks being turned. Nothing happened. He knocked again, then gently called out.
“Lois? It's me, Clark.” He waited again, but again, there were no sounds from other side. He was just about to lower his glasses to peek inside, when he finally heard the sound of feet shuffling on the floor. A few seconds later, he heard the familiar "click, click' of locks being undone. He smiled when she opened the door, but his smile instantly faded when he saw the look on her face.
“Lois, what's wrong?” he exclaimed. Her whole face was distorted from sobbing, there were tears still streaming down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and puffy.
“Clark! It's…I…oh Clark!” she began sobbing again, and he immediately pulled her into his arms, holding her securely against his chest. He led her to the couch and sat her down, still holding her tightly. After a moment, she lifted her head from where she'd been sobbing against his neck. “It's so sad! I never expected it to happen! I never…even…saw…it…coming!” she cried, beginning to lose control.
Clark simply held her, stroking her back and murmuring in her ear. It was tearing his heart out to see her so upset, and to not even know what had upset her made it even worse! What had she not seen coming? Was something wrong with her? Was she sick? The very thought squeezed his already aching heart.
“It's okay, Lois, I'm here. I'm right here,” he soothed. He risked dropping a kiss on top of her head, figuring if it startled her, he could say it was simply a friendly gesture of comfort.
“I'm so glad you are!” he heard her whimper. After a moment, her sobbing lessened, then finally stopped. She pulled slightly away from him, and he released his tight grip, but kept his arms around her. She lifted her head, and looked into his eyes. Hers were still red and puffy from crying, and he wanted nothing more than to take her pain away; to see her beautiful smile.
“You want to tell me what's wrong, now?” he asked gently.
She gazed into his eyes, so dark and full of warmth and understanding. He was so sweet, and thoughtful, wanting nothing more than to help her. How did she get him for a best friend?
“No,” she said, unconvincingly, and lowered her lashes. A finger under her chin brought her gaze back to his.
“Lois, come on,” he prodded gently. “We're best friends remember? You can tell me anything! If something, or…someone has hurt you,” he sighed. “I want to know. I want to help,” he finished softly.
She nodded, knowing he was right. She could tell him anything, even this. She sat back, and Clark released her, except to hold her hands.
“You're right, Clark. Okay, here goes,” she said, and took a deep breath. Clark gave her hands a reassuring squeeze, then prepared himself for the worst.
“Jack broke up with Gwendolyn!” she blurted out, then struggled to stifle another sob. “He dumped her, just like that,” she snapped her fingers, “for no good reason.”
Whatever Clark had expected to hear, that was not it. “What?” he asked, confused.
“He thinks she's not in love with him anymore, so he left her!” she explained tearfully.
Clark tried to process what she'd said, but after a moment, realized he had no idea what she was talking about. He formed his next words carefully, not wanting to offend her in her current state.
“Lois,” he smiled weakly. “I'm really sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about,” he said evenly.
She realized he really didn't know, which only seemed to make it worse. Her face crumpled up again, her head dropping onto his shoulder as a fresh wave of tears began.
He sighed and lifted his eyes to the ceiling when she started to cry again. But he had the feeling that, as upset as she was, nothing he could have said would've helped. So, he just held her, rubbing her arms and back, and decided to wait it out.
When he glanced down, however, something caught his attention. Lying on the coffee table was an empty cassette case. He reached over to pick it up, and as he looked at the label, his eyes widened.
“Lois, were you watching this when I came over?” he asked slowly.
She again lifted her head from his shoulder to see the cassette case in his hand. She nodded, sniffling.
“This is why you were crying when I got here?” he asked again, this time with a trace of disbelief.
“Um-hmm,” she replied, looking at the case like it was an obituary. “I couldn't believe it. She loves him so much, and he just…walked away,” she shook her head hopelessly. She looked at her partner, expecting to find his eyes full of sympathy. Instead, he looked like he was trying not to laugh.
Clark couldn't believe it. Of all the things he'd thought that had caused her such distress, and she was crying over a soap opera! He stared at the box in his hand for another few seconds, then couldn't hold it in any longer. He started laughing.
Lois stared at Clark in disbelief. He was laughing at her! How dare he; couldn't he see how upset she was?!
“Clark Kent! Just what do you think you're laughing at?” she demanded indignantly. Clark forced himself to stop laughing to look at her, but the angry look on her face broke his resolve, and he lost it again. Furious that her "hack from Nowheresville' partner could laugh at her pain, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and stared straight ahead.
After a moment, Clark was finally able to stop. With tears in his eyes, he addressed his livid partner. “Lois, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I don't mean to laugh at you. It's just, when I tried to imagine all the things that could've upset you like this,” he sighed, hoping she'd see the humor in it, “an episode of "The Ivory Tower' is not what came to mind.” She continued to stare straight ahead in stony silence. "Apparently not', Clark thought, so he decided to go with a sincere apology. “Lois, I am very sorry for laughing at you. You were obviously affected by something, and I shouldn't have treated it so lightly,” he said softly.
He watched her, hoping she'd accept what he said, fearful she'd boot him out the door. But, after a while her body language relaxed, and she turned to face him.
“Apology accepted, Kent,” she finally said, if a bit grudgingly. She reached over to grab a tissue from the box on the table, then dabbed at her eyes, which were still slightly red.
Clark sighed in relief. He was trying very hard to earn her trust, and the last thing he wanted was to alienate her. But despite his apology and her acceptance, something was bothering him.
“Lois, why *were* you crying over a soap opera?” At her thunderous look, he held his hands up in surrender. “I'm just curious. Honest.”
“Well,” she began, uncertainly. She'd never been asked that before. “It was just a very sad episode. Gwendolyn has been in love with Jack for so long, and it just seemed as if they might finally be together, but her sister told him to stay away from Gwendolyn, supposedly because she's engaged to someone else, only no one told her that,” she fumed, and Clark recognized the beginning of a full-blown Lane babble. “Isn't that just like how some people treat women? Going around making decisions for them. But of course Gwendolyn isn't really engaged to another man, her sister just said that so Jack would leave Gwendolyn alone so she'd have a chance at him, the tramp!”
Clark grinned.
“And what's worse than that is that Stephanie, that's Gwendolyn's sister, isn't really her sister at all!” Lois said excitedly. “She just happens to look exactly like Stephanie, only Stephanie was killed in a car accident when she was eleven and Gwendolyn was nine. Gwendolyn has no memory of the accident, you know, amnesia, so she has no idea that Stephanie isn't really Stephanie! Her real name's Amanda, or something like that. Anyway, Stephanie is the evil villainess whose job it is to subtly ruin Gwendolyn's life, and Gwendolyn is the poor, innocent good-girl who has no clue that her loving sister's really a vicious snake.”
Clark watched in utter amazement as Lois explained the day-to-day goings on in her favorite soap opera. He had never found them worth watching, but obviously, they held a deep fascination for his partner, which in turn gave him another precious glimpse into Lois Lane's mind.
