Yippee! Thank you for posting, Erin. When someone mentioned this fic in another post, I was so hoping that either you or CC would publish the story here.
"No!" Her response was immediate and she bolted up straighter in her seat. "I want to be there to see his body language and hear his tones. Sorry to say, Clark, but you tend to give people the benefit of the doubt about their truthfulness..."
She glanced around at the unmoving vehicles in disgust, and then mentally rewound what she had just said. She squeezed her eyes closed for just a second. Which one of them was guilty of giving too much benefit of the doubt? Certainly not just Clark. She'd done her fair share of that in recent months.
Almost as if he had read her mind, his quiet answer, "I know, Lois," reached through the phone. "I understand."
She shook it off. Now was not the time.
I think that these lines do a great job of giving us the timeframe for the story. Clearly, Lois is still feeling 'off' due to her almost marriage to Luthor and the uncomfortable situations with Clark and Superman. An angsty time if ever there was one.
The slight movement sent a twinge through her lower back, and she massaged it lightly. Was she hurt? Should she move?
Uh, oh. She's going to be feeling that one tomorrow. If things aren't too weird between them, dare we hope that Clark will offer a back-rub? Please?
That look, or rather, her interpretation of it, had caused her a lot of heartache. She would never be that stupid again. And though it had been a long while since they’d been face to face like this, she still wasn’t ready to see him or that look. Not now. Not yet.
I loved this. Clark really did dig his own grave where Lois was concerned. How else was she supposed to interpret his constant attention while in the suit, if not that she was special, that he liked, maybe even loved her?
The driver approached the officer immediately, gesturing to Lois as he went. "She caused this whole thing! I want her ticketed so her insurance company pays for my new car." He turned back and sneered at her. "Should have stayed home today, honey. Made yourself useful in the kitchen."
Lois gasped, and her mouth fell open in shock and disbelief. No words came. Anger, hot and searing, surged through her body, and before she knew what she was doing, she lunged. If nothing else, she was going to show him which one of them should have stayed home today.
Go ahead Lois, rip his heart out. I hate arrogant jerks like that...
"Oh...no." She closed her eyes and did a mental double-take. Red Land Cruiser. Red cape. She hadn’t matched them, had she? They weren’t really the same exact shade?
She turned once again to watch it being pulled out of sight, and to confirm what she already knew. "That’s...not good."
oh ... dear. I'm with Lois, that is definitely not good. Realizing the depth of her obsession for Superman so closely after being manipulated and fooled by the world's biggest criminal, can't be good for her ego.
And actually, now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember the last time she *had* been in dire peril. It was almost as if, in the wake of Lex Luthor’s death, all the criminals in town were on vacation.
Or Lois has lost her edge and she's not out risking life and limb for her stories anymore.
"I’m sorry," she said to Clark, having some trouble of her own meeting his eyes.
He quirked a good-natured smile. "About?"
"You did all the work today." And he had. She’d been useless.
"Special circumstances," he said. "No problem."
In better times, he would have teased her. Reminded her how lucky she was to have him as a junior partner. That the hack from Nowheresville could come in handy on occasion. But not now. Not anymore.
"So, do you want me to stick around? Walk you home?"
"No." She didn’t. She wasn’t any more ready to be alone with Clark than she was to be with Superman. "I’ll be fine. See you in the morning."
So sad, so lonely. Clark's trying to be the friend that she needs, but she's just not ready for it.
Great story so far - please post part 2 soon.
BJ (who is hoping that the title of the story means that we can expect some smoochies soon
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