It's Friday again. Time for a brief visit in the MagiKal AU I can't believe it's my 20th already. Hope you'll enjoy.The Rules Of MagicClark sat on a park bench, waiting for Lois. She was running late. The cup of coffee he'd gotten her was cold already. Not that it mattered much. Clark felt a strange thrill as he imagined himself reheating the cup right before her eyes.
Houdini had stretched out, head resting on his paws and catching up on some sleep. His occasional whimpers indicated that he was dreaming. Sometimes Clark wondered what the dog was dreaming about. Did he also wish to go back to a life that was less unsteady?
Warm rays of sunlight caressed Clark's face. He, too, closed his eyes. It had been a long night. Together with Houdini he'd roamed the streets, but so far they had had no luck finding the Smart Kids. The city was too loud to reach out and try to listen for them. He couldn't bring himself to x-ray all the buildings either, because that seemed like an awful invasion of people's privacy. He already saw enough things he shouldn't.
A voice pulled him out of his idle musings. "Rough night, partner?"
Clark opened his eyes. Lois stood in front of him and pointed at the styrofoam cup in his hand.
"Brought one for me, too?"
Her smile was intoxicating, mesmerizing. It took Clark a moment to drag his gaze away from her lips that right in this moment looked so incredibly kissable that he felt slightly dazed.
"Yes, actually," he replied flustered. "But I'm afraid the coffee's cold already."
As he hastily straightened, his glasses slipped down his nose enough to allow him a glance over the rim. He smiled to himself.
With a grand gesture he removed the lid of the styrofoam cup and waved his hand over it.
"Just a moment, Mylady." He beamed at her. “I'm going to change that."Then he moved his hand in a slow circle above the cup. “Abracadabra."
Clark directed a quick burst of heat vision at the beverage and immediately steam rose from the cup. Lois gasped and her eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. Clark replaced the lid before he handed it to her.
"Caution, it’s hot," he said. "Artificial sweetener, low fat cream, just the way you prefer it."
Lois sat down beside him and took a careful sip. She flinched a bit. "And you tell me you're not a wizard? I swear this is hotter than they come from the machine. How did you do that?"
He winked at her. "This is not an interview, is it?"
"That depends.” She took another sip and let out a sigh of contentment. “Are you offering?”
Clark shook his head. “To be honest, I wouldn’t know what to tell you that could go on the record.”
The intensity of her gaze seemed to burn a hole into his skin. Clark shifted uncomfortably, regretting that he’d said anything.
“That bad?” She asked in a hushed whisper.
He shook his head again. “Not bad, but - ugh - it’s hard to explain.”
For a moment she kept looking at him as if there was more she wanted to ask. Clark felt the beads of sweat on his forehead and did his best not to jump up and run away as fast as he could. But then her expression relaxed and she turned her attention back on her cup of coffee.
“This tastes really good,” she praised. “You couldn’t - by any chance - use your magic to find us these Smart Kids, could you?”
She smiled at him and Clark felt all the pent-up tension seep out. His life held enough excitement already without a nosy reporter in the know, it seemed. But sitting on a park bench and talking about his powers - at least sort of - was strangely exciting.
“That’s what Houdini and I tried for the better part of the night,” he amended. “But it doesn’t work that way.”
She gaped at him. “What - are there more rules to your magic?”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed to set up more than two.”
She playfully slapped his arm. “Darn right, you’re not. But I’m going to make an exception for today, because I’m curious. Why am I always meeting you in parks?”
“Off the record?” he asked.
She let out an annoyed huff and threw her arms up. “I think we already established that. Off the record until you tell me otherwise.”
Clark took a deep breath and looked down at Houdini. The urge to run his hand through the dog's soft fur was suddenly overwhelming. He felt silly for craving the reassurance that he had at least one friend in this world who didn’t mind his differences. How would Lois’ view of him change if he revealed the truth about his lack of control? But he’d dragged the setter through the streets too many nights now. The poor dog deserved his rest.
“Okay,” Clark said quietly. He took another calming breath. “Sometimes my magic comes in bursts. I can’t control the when and only to some degree the how. These illusions I’m performing - they’re only a cover-up. I’ve invented these tricks to safely channel the bursts. If any of that were to happen in a building, the results could be disastrous.”
Lois stared at him, dumbfounded. “You mean, you never stay inside?”
Clark chewed on his lower lip. “As little as possible. I live in a trailer so I don’t endanger anyone. Houdini seems to sense the bursts. He warns me before they come. But not always quick enough that I would manage to get outside.”
“I see,” she muttered.
The silence that followed was oppressive. Clark heard both their hearts beating rapidly. He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting that the next thing she was going to say was that their agreement was null and void, that tomorrow he was going to read the shocking truth about MagiKal on the Daily Planet’s front page. He should never have told her any of this. Good grief, he hadn’t even yet warned his parents that his secret was out. At least, she didn’t know the full truth.
“When I climbed up the stairs, I heard your breath of relief,” she whispered. “You said something like ‘I was beginning to wonder if this would ever stop.’”
“Sometimes I do,” he replied roughly. “Look, I would never want to hurt anyone.”
He couldn’t meet her gaze. His throat felt so dry, constricted with fear and a sense of loss, though he’d never really had her friendship in the first place. It had only been a very nice dream. One that was never going to come true.
She laid her hand on his. “I know that, Clark. Don’t you think I know that? I’ve seen how much you care about people when you saved the men and women who were trapped by the fire, when you saved me though you must have been scared of exposure.”
He looked up surprised, seeing her smile so full of tenderness as she reached out to run her hand along his cheek.
“You must feel so lonely, always staying for yourself.”
He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Tears were pricking in his eyes and he felt overwhelmed that she didn’t seem to condemn him. But then, little did she know how dangerous he could really be.
“Houdini’s keeping me good company,” he said quietly.
The setter, it seemed, had heard his name. He raised his head, then got to his feet and stretched before he turned and greeted Lois, graciously allowing her to stroke him for a moment. Houdini quickly moved over to Clark though, resting his head on Clark's knees and nudging him with his snout until Clark had started stroking his favorite spot. It was a welcome distraction.
Lois, too, seemed to enjoy the warmth of his fur, running her hand over the dog's back. Houdini closed his eyes in contentment.
"What about your rules, Lois?" Clark asked eventually. "You mentioned three of them."
She shifted a bit and cast her eyes down. An embarrassed chuckle escaped her lips.
"Oh, that. Well, it's not…" She trailed off. "I'm not all that good at abiding by them.
Clark gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "Care to elaborate?"
“Off the record?” she winked at him.
Clark chuckled. “Off the record.”
"Well, the first rule is to never get involved with my stories." She blushed. "You're living proof of how well that works."
His stomach dropped. "So, I'm a story to you after all?"
"Not anymore," she assured him. "But it started that way. Jimmy dared me to find out how your magic works."
"I see," Clark felt himself relax. "What's the second rule?"
She grinned. "Always get there first."
He chuckled again. "I don't think you've got any problems in that respect. And the last one?"
The blush on her cheek turned a shade of crimson. He couldn't help but notice that Lois looked incredibly sexy when she was flustered. Once again he found himself longing to run a hand along her cheek and place a kiss on her lips.
"Never sleep with anyone you work with."
Clark felt his own cheeks grow hot. Had she read his mind?
"I've broken all three of them," Lois admitted quietly.
Suddenly, she looked vulnerable in a way that was so unlike the tough reporter he’d gotten to know. She touched something deep inside him. There was that hint of pain in her gaze that she tried to hide from him but failed.
“That sounds like someone broke your heart,” he noted.
Lois heaved a sigh. “Yeah, someone did. His name was Claude, a French guy who had such a cute accent. I was stupid enough to think that he was in love with me. I fell for him pretty hard. We spent a night together and the next morning he was gone - and so was the story I had been working on. He even won a Kerth for it.”
She pursed her lips in self-reproach.
“That’s tough.” Clark’s jaw worked.
Suddenly, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and protect her from everyone and everything that might hurt her. But he knew that he couldn’t allow himself that kind of contact, much as he longed for it. The kind of feelings he was harboring deep inside his chest weren’t for him to give into. Instead he reached out and placed his hand on hers that rested between them. Even the gentle squeeze of comfort that he allowed himself to offer her sent sparks of pleasure through his body.
“I promise you I have no intention of stealing your story or breaking your heart,” he vowed. “Your friendship means a lot to me. I’d never want to risk that.”
She smiled at him and though he knew that he could never even have her, he lost himself in the alluring sight of her lips. Boy, he was in trouble.
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