Good news and progress on multiple things
. Always good! even got the little girls' room clean so it no longer looks like Toys R Us blew up in it.
Thanks again to Kathy!
Last time:
He reached out to take her hand. "Does that scare you? That some Kryptonian woman is going to show up and try to take me away from you?"
She shrugged. "The thought crossed my mind."
He moved closer towards her until he could brush a soft kiss across her lips. "No one is going to take me from you. Lex Luthor has a better chance of waking up from his vegetative state than of some alien girl has of getting her hands on me." He kissed her again, lightly. "And that's all the kissing you're going to get from me tonight."
She rolled so she could see him better. "Clark, do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Never mention Lex's name while we're in bed together."
Clark chuckled. "Deal."
*~*9*~*
Clark woke to find himself curled around Lois, one arm around her waist holding her to him.
For just a minute, he let himself believe that this was how they woke every morning.
He hadn't moved when Lois groaned. "I'm hungry," she muttered. "Did we eat dinner last night?"
He thought for a second. "No. And you didn't eat lunch either, did you?"
"No."
He let go of her and rolled over. "Perry said to order room service so..."
Lois swung her legs over the end of the bed. "Sounds like a plan."
She headed towards the bathroom while Clark went into the other room to get the menu.
Clark flipped through the folder, holding it out to Lois as she entered the room. Ten minutes later, they'd ordered breakfast fit for a king.
"Can I borrow some more clothes?" Lois asked. "I think I'm going to go take a shower before we head to the Planet. I don't really want to go in wearing your clothes but..." She sighed. "I don't really want to wear what I wore yesterday either." She bit her bottom lip trying to decide what was the best course of action.
Clark levitated slightly and shook his head. "Sorry. I still can't fly. Probably by this afternoon or evening, but not yet. We could always stop somewhere and pick something up for you."
"That sounds like a better plan but until then..."
"Help yourself."
She sighed. "No. I'll wear what I wore yesterday. In case we run into someone or something." She disappeared into the bedroom again. After the bathroom door closed behind her, he zipped around the room, stopping when he was dressed for work. He tossed his suit over the back of the couch and buttoned the tiny buttons on the cuffs of his sleeves. For some reason, he had a hard time buttoning those when using his superspeed.
Two hours, and four stores, later Lois had replaced the clothes she'd worn the day before with new ones and they walked towards the Daily Planet building. Lois stopped on the sidewalk as Clark continued to walk. He stopped when he realized she wasn't with him.
"What?" he asked, moving back to her side.
She stared up at the globe. "I just can't believe I actually work here."
He chuckled. "Well, you do." He took her hand, linking his fingers with hers. "Ready?"
She glanced down at their hands. "Are we doing the 'married' thing here?"
He shrugged. "You are my girlfriend right? But if you're uncomfortable with it..."
"I don't want anyone thinking I got this job because we're sleeping together. Not that we're sleeping together really, but you know what I mean and they won't know that."
Clark snorted. "Anyone who knows Perry White knows that our relationship has absolutely nothing to do with you getting this job. If anything, it would have worked against you, except that you're too amazing a reporter for it to."
"Thanks."
He tugged slightly on her hand. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she muttered.
She still trailed slightly behind him, her hand nestled snuggly in his, as they walked inside.
"Name the seven dwarves."
"What?"
"It'll take your mind off being nervous. Name 'em."
"Piece of cake. Happy, Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Sleepy, Grumpy..."
"That's six."
Her brow furrowed in concentration. "Sleazy? Dippy? Bippy? Sloppy, wheezy... Joe? Steve?"
"It's *so* obvious," Clark said, grinning.
"To you maybe," Lois muttered.
"Bashful."
She rolled her eyes.
"Eight tiny reindeer."
"What?"
"Name 'em."
She ticked them off on her fingers. "Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Blitzen, Dasher, Cupid, Donner..."
"That's seven," Clark said, singsong, as they stepped into the elevator.
"Donner..." she repeated.
"You're stuck," he told her gleefully as the doors shut.
"I'm not stuck." She worried the tip of one finger with one from the other hand. "Rudolph!" she said triumphantly.
"He's not one of the eight tiny reindeer. He's a late addition."
"Oh." She bit her lip again. "Mittens? Buttons? Singer? Swinger?"
"You're stuck. Admit it."
She sighed. "Fine. I'm stuck."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight to him, his other hand resting on her waist. "Vixen," he said triumphantly.
"Right. Vixen."
"My vixen," he said softly, kissing her lightly.
The doors to the elevator dinged open and Lois moved away from him.
"I don't want everyone's first impression of me to be hanging off your lips," she said under her breath, walking out in front of him.
She headed straight for his desk and he followed in her wake. A number of eyes were on them and his hearing told him that the whispers were wondering if this was the woman Lane had finally met his match with.
"Ladies and gentleman!" Perry's booming voice caught everyone's attention. He gestured towards them. "The lovely lady who has just entered the room is none other than Ms. Lois Kent, the newest member of the investigative reporting staff. She's also the one who saved Clark's butt last week, so you can thank her – or not – later." Chuckles filled the room. "Stop by and say hi, but don't let it interfere with your work. And now I want both of you in my office," he said, looking directly at them.
Clark set the file folders back on the desk, gesturing for Lois to go first. He followed her into the editor's office.
"Have a seat." Perry sat in his chair as Clark shut the door behind them. "I read over your email and Jimmy's digging into all the votes from Harrington's committee in the last six months. Cat's following Harrington around. I've got... another source digging into Roarke. You guys got anything else?"
Clark shook his head. "Roarke was pointing to tonight on the calendar but... I'm not sure if it was a meeting or something else."
Perry sighed. "Okay. Well, get back there before long. Cat's supposed to call in if Harrington heads that direction."
"We keep an eye on them and work from there. Jimmy can bring anything he's got over to the hotel and Lois and I will go over it there."
Perry nodded. "That sounds good. Let me know if you come up with anything else."
"We will."
Jimmy opened the door and walked in, a big stack of folders in his hands. "Here's what I've got so far on Harrington and some stuff I dug up on Roarke while the Harrington stuff was printing and Harrington's recent committee votes and Apocalypse Consulting – they're the ones who've leased those offices." He plopped everything into Clark's lap. "And I'll be right back."
Lois and Clark both groaned.
"Guess I know what we're doing the rest of the night, apple dumpling," Lois said. "Some honeymoon," she grumbled.
Jimmy walked back in holding a garment bag. "Here you go, Chief. Elvis costume. White sequins. I couldn’t find the shop that had it on hold for you but I did find this one."
The two reporters exchanged glances. Lois had a sudden coughing fit and Clark felt the need to clear his throat.
"What in the king's name are you talking about, Jimmy?" Perry asked, frowning.
"Uh, Chief, I think we're going to head out," Clark said, hoisting the file folders in his arms as he stood up. "We'll call you if we come up with anything."
He hurried out of the office with Lois close behind him. They made it to his desk before they started laughing and couldn't stop.
*****
TBC
