As they walked, his hands slowly and involuntarily stole across her waist to pull her closer and he reveled in this new feeling of closeness. He briefly wondered if he should remove his hand, but then Lois patted his hand on her waist and smiled up at him. And he was lost!

She was telling him something, he realized, and his gaze instinctively dropped to her mouth. He watched the way her mouth formed the words, how her entire face lit up when she laughed, the way she absently wet her lips with the tip of her tongue, and the hand on her waist tightened with a sudden impulsive urge to pull her into his embrace.

He almost did, but then she turned around to face him and started walking backwards, keen on explaining to him some weird concept on villain-psychology.

Not his favorite subject right now, but if *Lois* was talking about it - or anything, for that matter - then he was willing to listen. After all, wasn't her voice music in his ears?

Oh boy, he was losing it completely! He was in love - totally, irrevocably in love and he'd never felt that way with anybody else. He'd always known he loved her. Yet, at this moment he fell in love with her, again!

Yes, this was love! He loved her face, her smile, her style, the way she walked or talked or sometimes babbled to herself and he absolutely loved that she was letting him walk her home. And he loved the way she was explaining something to him right now, as if he were a lunkhead who could grasp anything.

He loved her. Period.

He smiled a slow smile. She looked up at him quizzically.

"What? Did I say something funny?"

“Lois, wait!” he called out to his partner, who looked over her shoulder and stopped walking. Clark reached her side, pretending to pant for breath and smiled at her.

“What?” Lois asked, a small smile twitching at the corner of her own mouth. Clark always brought out strange reactions from her, she thought. And his happy mood was so infectious, that it made even *her* want to smile back at him. And Lois Lane's smiles were precious - not everybody got them!

“I thought… I'd walk home with you. That's all.”

“Clark, your apartment is that way and mine is this way. I wonder why you want to walk me home,” she asked pointedly.

“Isn't that what friends do? Make sure their friends get back home safely.” Clark smiled that small, silly yet sweet smile of his and she couldn't resist his offer.

“Okay. But don't try anything funny!” she said looping her arm through his, repeating his own warning to her when Perry had ordered them to go undercover together as honeymooners.

Clark laughed out aloud and said, “I wouldn't dream of it!”

“Try dreaming of that, Kent and I'll rip out your spleen,” she said, laughing, eliciting a wide thousand-watt smile from her partner.

Lois didn't know why she felt so happy, so carefree with this man – her partner.

as far as public misbehaving is concerned, that barely rates an F

Clark took in the surroundings and his eyes gleamed with joy. Something about snow had always fascinated him.

Suddenly a little girl pointed at Lois and asked in a small voice, "You love him?"

Lois blinked twice, before turning beet red. Before today, she'd have answered with a 'No!' immediately, but now she wasn't so sure.

"We are friends," Clark answered for her

quote:
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as far as public misbehaving is concerned, that barely rates an F
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Ha! You won't say that if you read the *n* version!

but if there is an nfic version floating around somewhere, I think it would be very kind and seasonal of you to post it in the other folder...

that barely rates an F

"I think you're one of those people whose nerves get over-taxed if you relax," Clark muttered.

Lois Lane never kissed Clark Kent! Not if she was sane.