This is a vignette that I wrote months ago, but disliked so I decided to leave it on my hard drive and ignore it. Anyway, I mentioned it on IRC last week and LabRat very kindly offered to beta read it for me, so here it is! I still don’t think it’s a great fic, but I’m being nagged to post it, so deep breath...
Katie
Shall We Dance
***
As Lois stared at her Kerth awards, she sighed, reliving the various award ceremonies at which she'd won them. Each night had been amazing; her beaming pride obvious to everyone as her name was read out as the winner. The first award had been such a surprise; she'd still felt herself staring at it, over and over, weeks after the ceremony.
After the first two times, it had become something that everyone expected to happen. The award still meant as much to her, of course, but the surprise hadn't been there for the third year.
This year, however, had been a total surprise. The fact that Clark had received a Kerth over her was something she hadn't been prepared for at all. If anything, she'd been even more certain this year than she was last that she'd get a nomination. She glanced down a shelf in her display unit, eyeing the space she'd set aside the morning the nominees were announced. Somehow, she hadn't had the heart to fill the space up again.
The bluish light glowed softly on her face, and she turned her head slightly, away from her awards. Oh, she knew that Clark deserved his award, but when the truth was told... it hurt. Every since she joined the Planet, she'd been known as the best reporter there. Would she be regarded as second class now, while Clark took all the limelight? It seemed almost unthinkable, but there was that chance.
She was well aware that people had been talking about her behind her back, wondering if she was losing her edge since Clark came along. Those sort of newsroom gossip fodder comments didn't bother her, but the thought that people might think he was better than her... that was worrying. Clark had only been at the Planet for a little over a year; why was he winning awards over someone like her?
Telling herself that this was just a fluke, that she'd have another Kerth award for herself next year seemed like a sensible thing to do, but much as the thought whirled around her head, she found herself unable to believe it. Clark was a good reporter, she knew that. His writing style was good, especially when put together with hers.
But it hadn't been a joint award. Maybe that would have been easier to bear. Instead, it was all his. She remembered his face as his name had been read out; a mirror of hers at her first Kerth award ceremony. Such pride and happiness had been evident as he'd walked towards the stage to collect his award, she couldn't help but clap and be greatly happy for him. He had deserved the award, and seeing him receive his first one had been nice.
When he'd walked back to their table, Kerth in hand, she'd felt so proud of him. For a fleeting moment, she'd had an irresistible urge to hug him in congratulations, but as she'd moved her arms, she suddenly felt nervous and backed down, extending her hand in a handshake gesture instead.
She turned back to face her awards again as she recalled the rest of the evening. They'd both had a great time, and she'd enjoyed being there as his date much more than she'd expected to. Being there without being nominated sounded terrible at first, but with Clark she'd had a lot of fun.
She remembered being reluctant to leave at the end of the night. Her arm had been in his, and it was with sadness that she removed it to get in her jeep. She'd offered him a lift home, but he'd declined, telling her he needed the fresh air after being in the function room all evening. She swallowed hard as she wondered what would have happened if he'd accepted the lift. After they'd had such a lovely time being together, inviting him in her apartment to talk for a while longer had crossed her mind. Oh, not about anything in particular, just purely for the reason of being together.
Now he'd gone home, and she was alone, the glowing Kerth awards her only company. Gently she reached forward towards the open cabinet doors, closing them, letting her hand linger on the knob. The awards weren't the company she'd wanted tonight.
She'd wanted Clark.
The thought surprised her. After all, only a few minutes ago, she'd been jealous of him winning the award. Would she even have been able to talk to him without feeling envious of him? Or snipping at him maybe, without meaning to? It was certain that she wouldn't have talked to him about her fears that she was losing her touch. If he knew that, then surely he would work twice as hard to beat her, making sure he got in a Kerth-worthy story for next year, too.
No. Clark wasn't like that at all. He was her friend. Her best friend. He certainly wasn't the type of person to use her fears to better himself and get ahead of her. They were partners at work, now, and any story leads he had, he shared with her. If she did tell him that she was worried, no doubt he would reassure her. She could just picture him telling her that she had more awards than him, and that it should tell her something about her writing.
So why was she so adamant about not telling him? It seemed to make no sense. Oh, she could fool herself and say that it was because she wasn't really worried anyway, but that would be a lie. However, there wasn't really anything Clark could do about it anyway. He'd already won the award, he couldn't change that.
Lois removed her hand from the doorknob and made her way back to the sofa, intent on finding ice-cream to eat. It was a sure-fire way to make her feel better, she knew.
As she reached the sofa, a knock on the door disturbed her. She sighed, wondering who could be knocking on her door at this time. She quickly walked over to it and pressed her eye to the peephole, looking out. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw who was standing outside.
Clark.
What was he doing here? She looked down to check she looked fine, and then suddenly wondered why it mattered what she looked like. It was only Clark, after all. Another knock, this one a little louder, made her jump slightly, and she began undoing all the locks, quickly opening them and opening the door.
"Clark!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I had such a great time with you tonight, Lois," he replied, moving closer to the door. "I wanted to spend a little more time with you. If you're not heading to bed yet, that is."
Lois smiled inadvertently and momentarily wondered if he'd somehow sensed that she was feeling alone. But that was dumb, of course he couldn't have. Still, she was glad to see him, and smiled. "Come in," she beckoned, opening the door wider.
"It was a great ceremony tonight," Clark said as he walked into her apartment. Lois shut the door and followed him. "Different to what I expected, though."
"How so?" she asked. She knew he'd never been to a Kerth awards night before, and was interested to know just what he thought they would be doing there.
"I thought it'd be more like a ball, with dancing," he replied.
Lois raised her eyebrows. She didn't know of any award ceremonies where dancing took place. Although, truth be told, dancing sounded like a good idea. It wasn't something that she did often. "Dancing?" she repeated. "What gave you that idea?"
"I have no idea! I guess I just like dancing," he told her. "It was still a great evening, though. I had no idea how exciting collecting an award would be!"
"Oh, it's great. It's so exciting every year. I can hardly wait to do it this yea..." she trailed off, realising that it wouldn't happen this year. She drew in an embarrassed breath, hoping that Clark wouldn't realise what she'd said, and at the same time, knowing that he had. There was an awkward silence between them and she closed her eyes briefly, hoping that he wouldn't dwell on it. Clark didn't need to know that she was disappointed not to win.
"Are you okay, Lois?" he asked gently, and she felt his hand on her shoulder. "I know you were expecting to win."
She mentally kicked herself again for making such a stupid mistake. She'd been thinking about Clark winning over her just before he'd arrived -- so why had she suddenly disregarded that now? She could of course just laugh it off, say that it was just something that seemed routine now, and that's why she'd said it. But that sounded ridiculous even to her own ears. What was she going to tell him? It would be so easy to just lie, to tell him that everything was fine. After all, why would she even think of telling him anything else?
She sighed. "You deserved that award, Clark," she replied, lowering her head.
"But you're unhappy about it?" he pressed.
She remained silent, still looking at the ground. How could she answer that? She opened her mouth to try and attempt to form an answer, but suddenly she felt a gentle hand under her chin, bringing her head back up to face him. For a moment she looked into his eyes, touched by his tender gesture. He seemed to understand her perfectly. "It's not that I'm unhappy about it, Clark," she told him.
"Then what is it?" he questioned, removing his hand. She didn't return her head to its previous position; somehow she drew strength to carry on from Clark's expression. It urged her to continue. All her instincts told her to break away from his gaze, but she found it impossible. His eyes were so gentle and calm. Suddenly she had the weirdest feeling of warmth inside her, something she hadn't ever felt before.
What was that? Why was she suddenly finding it so difficult to tear herself away from Clark? Even though she knew he was successfully breaking down all her barriers, why wasn't she trying to run, to protect herself from letting him in? It was rare that she told him her deepest feelings, but now... now she almost wanted to.
She drew a deep breath and continued. "I just wonder if this is how it's going to be from now on. You being the best reporter... me... me just hanging behind while you scoop up all your Kerths." She raised a hand to her face and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She certainly hadn't intended to get upset over all of this. What would Clark think of her now? He'd only ever seen her as being a totally confident reporter. If he knew she had insecurities, would that affect the way he looked at her?
He moved both of his hands to hold her shoulders, staring at her with a serious face. "Lois, listen to me. You're never going to be trailing behind. You should know by now that you're an amazing reporter! Everybody at the Planet thinks so," he told her. "And I respect you so much. Right from the moment I began working with you."
Giving him a weak smile, she tried to let his words sink in, but doubt still filled her mind. "But we can't both win the award, Clark. It's not that you don't deserve Kerths, because you do. I just... I just never expected anybody else to come along who was on the same level as me. And now I'm worried I might be losing my edge."
"I don't think you've lost your edge. I doubt you ever could. It's just a part of you," he reassured her. "And I have a feeling that we'll both win next year."
Lois gave him a quizzical look. "How can we both win?" she asked.
"We're partners now, Lois. We're such a good reporting team, I think that any awards we win will be joint ones. We'll get them together," he told her sincerely. "If that's okay with you, that is. I know you didn't really want a partner."
Partners. The word ran through Lois's mind and a genuine smile shone through. His words rang loud in her head. She remembered that when they'd first started working together, she *hadn't* wanted a partner. Not at all. But now, now they'd become best friends, she loved having one. More than she'd admit to anyone. The thought of winning a joint award with Clark suddenly became very appealing.
Before she thought it impossible for Clark to reassure her, and yet he'd done it in just a few words. Grateful for his support, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into the hug she'd wanted to give him at the ceremony.
"Thank you, Clark," she whispered. "Thank you."
He simply held her for a few minutes, returning her embrace as she dropped her head to his chest, trying to get her heart rate back to normal. It had been foolish to let herself get upset over the awards, but she was glad she'd told him of her worries. She should have known from the start that if anyone could make her feel better, it would be Clark. He always knew the right things to say to her. Even though she didn't always let on everything to him, he always seemed to know her inside out.
And being in his arms felt wonderful. Even though they were just hugging, she felt so safe and protected. All her fears were put to rest when he was holding her. As their friendship had grown, Clark had started to hug her more. Such gestures showed his friendship for her, but some of the time... she was sure there was something more there. Something more than friendship.
Often she would get this feeling when they were alone together. Sparks often seemed to pass between them when they were close, and eye contact was often prolonged. It wasn't something she ever pursued; for all she knew, it could just be her overactive imagination. And even if it wasn't, it didn't necessarily mean it was something she'd want to act on.
Oh, but it felt so good! Was this the way she should be thinking about her best friend? Maybe it was just because she was upset. Maybe there was nothing more than just caring in his embrace. But why did she often feel something too? Some indescribable need to be close to Clark? That wasn't just something she felt when she was upset.
Lois shook her head. Clark was her friend, her best friend. Even though she’d never had a best friend before, she knew that they meant a lot. Maybe her feelings towards him were nothing more than pure friendship; after all, lots of people felt close to their friends. Surely it wasn’t unusual for her to want to be close to him.
And how did she want to be near him! Especially on a night like this, when she was upset and vulnerable. Not that she’d ever let him know, but being close to him could soothe her pain away like nothing else. When he held her in his strong arms, she felt so safe, so protected from the world that all her troubles melted away to nothing.
But, there was only so long that she could be in his arms. Already, she felt herself longing to stay there for much longer than she was able to. Oh, but she didn’t want to let go! Wrapped up in his tender embrace felt wonderful, and she wasn’t ready to let go, still needing further silent reassurance from him. His words had been more helpful than she could say, but being held by him gave her just that little bit extra she needed.
She replayed their conversation in her head, and thought back to what Clark had told her before. How he loved dancing. She loved dancing too, and it had been a while since she'd done any. She was sure that dancing with Clark could be quite an experience. She remembered briefly dancing with him at one of Luthor's balls, but that had been when they'd first met. On that occasion, she'd only stayed with him for a minute or so, before heading off to do some investigating.
If she could only relive that evening, she mused. He'd told her that he'd been taught by a Nigerian princess, something which she'd shunned immediately, but thinking back, he seemed to have been totally serious. If another chance to dance with Clark arose, she was sure she'd make the most of being with him. Now things were so different between them... now, she didn't want to let him go. Not just yet. And dancing would be the perfect opportunity to be held close to him for longer.
Briefly, she wondered if she was going crazy. Lois Lane wasn't the type of person to cling to a man. But that was before she'd met Clark. Already, the way she felt about him had changed so much. He was the only man she'd trust to tell anything to. And the only man she could stand to be this close to without wanting to let go. No, she wasn't going crazy. She was...
She was falling...
She shook her head and raised her it from its spot on his chest as looked up at him. The same look was in his eyes again, the look she was trying not to overestimate. "Dance with me, Clark?" she asked softly.
"There's no music," he replied, keeping his arms firmly around her.
"Do we need music?" she enquired.
He seemed to understand her need to be with him perfectly and began to move his feet, swaying them from side to side. His movements were slow, and she realised that was how it was going to stay. Moonlight shone in through the window, that and the pale blue glow the only light in the room. He held her gently as they turned around and she sighed softly into him.
"I told you I studied dancing from a Nigerian princess," he told her with a smile.
"I can tell," she replied. Silence fell between them again as he continued to sway with her. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in his arms, letting go of the world around her.
Suddenly she wondered just what she was doing. Clark was her best friend! This wasn't a way in which she should be behaving around him! Okay, she had gotten a little... upset... over the Kerth award, but that was no excuse for her to just run into Clark's arms. Sure, there was nothing wrong with hugging him, but this type of behaviour was what people who were more than friends did. And she and Clark certainly weren't more than friends.
Or were they? She'd already acknowledged that sometimes Clark's looks seemed to contain more to them than she thought. But the idea seemed to be absurd.
However, it could be true. And honestly... would it be such a bad thing? Recently she'd spent a lot more time with Clark just hanging out; watching a movie or just sitting close and talking. Both were things she very much enjoyed doing with him. In some respects, they already acted like a couple who were dating -- often being very close to each other, and of course, the hugging. Being so near Clark felt absolutely wonderful, better than she'd ever admit to him.
Of course, none of it mattered. She'd never ask him if he had greater feelings for her; after he'd told her he'd lied about being in love with her after her almost wedding to Luthor, she didn't dare ask him again.
Besides, did she even feel anything for Clark? Sure, being close to him felt nice, but was she attracted to him? Did she... did she love him? The question was a scary one, and one she knew she didn't really have an answer to. She'd thought along such lines before, but had always dismissed such musings as being ridiculous.
There was the time she'd been about to tell him she had deeper feelings for him, though. Briefly she wondered what would have happened if she'd gone first, and had told him how she felt. Afterwards, she'd told herself that those feelings were only products of her heightened state of emotion after nearly marrying Lex. There was no way that she, Lois Lane, could fall in love with Clark Kent.
Or could she?
More to the point, had she already done so? Just a few minutes ago, she'd almost admitted to herself that she might have fallen in love with him.
Slowly she brought her head up from Clark's chest and looked at his face. He instantly turned towards her, halting his gentle side-to-side movements. For a long moment they looked deep into each other's eyes, as if trying to search souls. At first Lois felt nervous of being inspected at such close quarters and tried to lower her head, but Clark's hand again came up and held it in place, in thee same manner he'd held it earlier.
If she'd had any doubt before, suddenly it all dissolved. There was no question as to what she was seeing in Clark's eyes right now.
Love.
Such love shone in his eyes that she almost forgot to breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped by Clark saying her name softly.
"Lois," he began, not moving. "I have something to tell you."
***
A myriad of thoughts rushed through Clark's mind. What was he doing? He'd come to see Lois because he'd thought she was maybe a little apprehensive about leaving him tonight. Not to tell her that he was in love with her! As they'd danced silently together, he couldn't help but feel that Lois wasn't totally okay over the Kerth issue. He felt bad for upsetting her, and had tried his hardest to reassure her, and while she seemed grateful for that, there still seemed to be something else.
He'd noticed the Kerth awards lit up in her cabinet and had chuckled inwardly as he was reminded of her earlier comment that they were at the bottom of a cupboard. He hadn't said anything about them, though, given that there obviously was a deeper issue right from the beginning. He'd been shocked at how easily she'd told him of her fears, but pleased that she had. It showed that she'd come to trust him with her fears and deep emotions.
Her request to dance with him had been a strange one, and one that had taken him aback. But she seemed so desperate, he'd accepted without question and had continued to hold her close as he rocked them around gently.
Then, suddenly, Lois had moved her head to look straight into his eyes. When she did, something had happened that he couldn't explain. He'd looked right back at her, trying to convey to her that she was safe with him. There had been a questioning look in her eyes, but he had no idea what she was trying to figure out.
At one point, shyness seemed to take over her and she'd begun to move away from him, ready to look down at her feet as she'd done earlier that night. Instinctively, he'd reached out and held her in place, continuing to look into her eyes. There was such emotion there, and yet they were emotions that he couldn't figure out. What was she feeling?
Something seemed to pass between them for an instant. A sudden warmth suddenly rose in Lois’s eyes, somehow making the urge to tell her his feelings irresistible. He'd never been with Lois like this before, holding her so close to him and just not letting go. Oh, they'd hugged before, but nothing like this. He felt such a rush of love for this woman that it was almost unbearable to keep it inside him any more.
He suddenly became aware that she wasn't responding to what he'd said, instead she was still looking at him, waiting for him to continue.
"Maybe we can sit down?" he asked weakly, totally unsure if proceeding was a good idea. Just half an hour ago, he'd had no intention of telling her in the near future. After all, it hadn't been long since she'd painfully rejected him in favour of Luthor. If he told her now and she once again rejected him... he didn't think he would be able to take it.
Lois slowly left his arms, and he noted she did so reluctantly. She moved over to the sofa and sat down. "About what, Clark?" she asked.
He joined her on the sofa, sitting close, but not touching her. This was his last chance to change his mind. There were other things he could talk to her about, without telling her the truth. Could his heart really take another let down? That wasn't guaranteed, though. Lois and he had become a lot closer lately, especially after her disaster of a wedding. He couldn't help but hope that maybe her feelings for him had increased too. Especially after the way she'd just looked into his eyes.
He turned to her and saw the expectant look in her eyes, and knew he had to tell her. While he never intended to do this for a long while, now seemed to be the perfect moment. "I have something important to tell you," he began. Just how was he supposed to tell her this?
"Okay..." she replied, seemingly confused.
"Lois, I've been thinking about our relationship for quite a time now. About how we've grown close to each other over this past year," he told her.
"We're best friends," she responded. "Aren't we?"
"Of course we are!" he exclaimed. "But... well, for me at least, my feelings for you... they run deeper than friendship," he told her softly.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. Lois didn't respond; instead her eyes widened slightly. He sighed gently as he tried to prepare himself for her to tell him again that she just didn't feel the same way about him.
He inhaled sharply when he felt Lois place her hand gently on top of his, giving it a small squeeze. "You do?" she asked, her voice lowered to almost a whisper. "You told me that you didn't before."
"I didn't want to ruin our friendship, Lois," he informed her. "If you thought that I loved you... that would have spoiled everything. I lied that day to prevent that from happening."
"You... you love me?" she questioned breathlessly, once again looking straight into his eyes. He noticed that her breathing and quickened, and wished that he could read minds.
"Yes, Lois. I've been in love with you ever since I joined the Planet," he replied. Lois continued to gaze at him as she had earlier, but made no immediate move to response to him. After a few moments, he said her name gently, trying to bring her out of the trance she seemed to have fallen into.
"I guess the question now is... how do I feel about you?" she wondered aloud.
***
She had been right. All those times she'd felt something between her and Clark had meant something. He was in love with her. And now... he was waiting for her to respond. She felt breathless, shocked by his revelation. While she'd just been about to ask him about his feelings, she hadn't been prepared for him to actually *tell* her that he was in love with her.
Quickly trying to organise her feelings just wasn't working. How could she possibly think over in just a few seconds how she felt about Clark? It was such a complicated subject... and yet after he'd told her his feelings, he deserved to know hers.
"Clark..." she started slowly, "I'm not sure how I feel about you. You're my best friend and I feel a lot for you - "
"But you don't love me," Clark interjected, cutting her off.
"Please, let me finish," she said with a frown. He gave a nod, sending out a silent apology to her.
"I know you must still be hurting from my rejection of you the last time you told me your feelings. But since then, I've been thinking of our relationship too. Lately I've been feeling something between us. Something... something more than friendship," she told him.
"You have?" he asked.
"I've been wanting to be closer to you... and just now, while I was in your arms, I felt so great. I didn't want to let go of you," she said quietly, still not totally sure of what she was feeling. Did she really want more from Clark?
"I didn't want to let go of you either," he admitted.
She smiled shyly at him. His face was so expectant; and she wanted to tell him that she was in love with him so much! But she was new at this, and the only other person she'd *thought* she was in love with had been Claude. However, these feelings were very different. That had just been a crush. Clark meant so much more to her. But, oh, she was so unsure of her feelings!
"I'm so confused about what I feel for you, Clark!" she exclaimed. "I do know that our relationship has been changing recently. But as for being in love with you... I just don't know!"
She felt his hand cup her face softly. "If you don't feel the same, Lois, you can tell me," he said softly. "I guess I was preparing myself for a rejection as soon as I'd told you."
"Clark... I wish I knew how I felt," she told him with a sigh. She closed her eyes, wishing she didn't feel so unable to figure out her feelings. "I've never been in love before. How can I tell if that's what I'm feeling?"
She opened her eyes again and saw him looking at her. "You know, I'm pretty new at this too," he told her with a half smile. "What does your heart tell you, Lois?"
Lois inhaled deeply as she processed what he'd said. Her heart... her heart... wanted to be with Clark. She remembered his hand still on her face and brought her hand up to it. He let her take hold of his and she held it softly in her lap, playing with his fingers as she thought. After a moment, she raised her head, his lips suddenly catching her eye.
Suddenly she knew exactly what she wanted to do. Slowly she leaned forward and touched Clark's lips questioningly, gently kissing him. She pulled back for an instant to study his reaction, but no sooner than she had pulled away, she felt her lips being claimed back by Clark. He pulled her towards him, his hands going around her back as he held her next to him.
"Oh, Clark..." she sighed softly against his mouth as they kissed. She ran her hands through his hair, the silkiness feeling wonderful against her fingers. She wasn't entirely sure what had finally let her realise how she felt about Clark, but suddenly something had seemed to make sense to her. Whether or not it was their hands being entwined, the kiss, or just reaching into her heart didn't matter. She was in love with Clark.
And as they kissed, she realised that she'd known it all along. All she'd had to do was admit it to herself. If only she'd allowed herself to finish that thought earlier! But now, none of that mattered. Reluctantly, she broke her mouth away from Clark's and opened her eyes to be greeted with one of his beautiful smiles.
"Did you figure it out?" he asked tentatively.
"You have to ask?" she questioned, grinning slightly. She still felt slightly breathless from the kiss. She'd kissed Clark before, but they were only ever ruses. Even then, they felt great. But now, she realised, kissing Clark was one of the most exhilarating experiences she'd had. He was amazing. "Clark... I love you," she told him sincerely.
"Are you sure, Lois?" he asked.
She nodded her head. "Clark... I can't believe it took me so long to admit it to myself! But I do know now, for sure, that I love you."
He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad," he replied. "Because I don't think my heart could have taken another rejection."
She lowered her head. "I must have hurt you so much," she said sorrowfully.
"Hey, it doesn't matter now," he told her.
"Why did you take the chance?" she asked suddenly. Did Clark know that her feelings for him had been changing? If he was so afraid of getting hurt again, why did he run the risk of it happening by telling her about his feelings?
He cleared his throat. "When you told me about your fears tonight, I realised that you'd come to trust me with some of your deepest feelings," he said.
"I have done for a while now," she replied. "You knew that."
"I think my hopes were raised when you asked me to dance. There was something about the look in your eyes that... seemed like more than friendship, I guess," he finished.
"That's what I was thinking about you... there was something more in your eyes. It really got me thinking about our relationship," she said, smiling.
"So what do we do now?" he asked. "Most people date before falling in love with each other."
"We could call this our first date," she said, grinning. "After all, we're dressed up for it!"
"And we danced..." he added. "Which reminds me, why did you ask me to dance with you, Lois?"
"I wanted to be close to you," she told him, her voice lowered. "I was so touched by what you'd said about us being partners. And just so you know... I pretty much loved having a partner right from the start, even though I didn't tell you. I'm so glad you didn't give up on me... otherwise we wouldn't be here now."
"I'm glad I persevered with you, Lois," he replied, bobbing his head to give her a quick kiss on her forehead.
"Me too," she said, giggling slightly.
Lois turned her head towards the window. The night outside was so dark; and glancing at the clock, she saw that it was well after midnight. Yet, somehow, she didn't want Clark to leave. They fell into a comfortable silence, and Lois felt Clark's arm go around her shoulder. She sighed, leaning back into him. If only they could stay like this for the rest of the night. She'd only just realised that she was in love with him; she wanted more chance to savour the feeling of it.
"Would you like to dance again?" Clark suddenly asked, bringing her from her musings.
"Sure," she responded. She allowed herself to be pulled up by Clark, still staying close to him. She felt shocked to realise that her legs were a little shaky; she hadn't realised how much finding out that Clark was in love with her had affected her. And, of course, there was that soul-shattering kiss. She still felt her lips tingling from the heady sensation.
One they were in the empty space, she felt Clark wrap his arms around her, yet again bringing her close to him. She saw him smile at her, but he didn't begin to move instantly. "I don't wanna dance, Clark..." she whispered, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him.
Her hands dropped to his waist, holding him tight as she pressed her lips against his again, smiling when he parted his. She leaned herself into him, moaning softly as she felt his hands travel up her back and into her hair.
Suddenly he began to turn them around while they were sharing their intimate exchange, and once again they began to dance together in the moonlight. This time, Lois knew for sure; she was totally and completely in love with Clark Kent.
For life. And anything they did, they would do together.
The End.
