Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Spoilers: Season 8, very much "Doomsday"
Author's Note: I know Jimmy dying is still raw with a lot of people; we're united in our dislike of the producers and their choices. Aaron Ashmore will probably forever be Smallville's Jimmy Olsen to me, still this piece popped up in my head and begged to be written. I loved the Lois/Jimmy dynamic and hate the fact that the last time they got to speak was in Tess' office – of course they we're both in investigative-mode so at least that's something… So much potentiall for season 9 gone down the drain, *sigh*
The Other Olsen
o.
"You need to understand that I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're his brother."
Her heels clicked against the floor as she stalked her way through the bullpen, he almost had to run to keep up; camera dangling dangerously around his neck and at her sharp turn he stumbled and hit the side of a desk – it hurt but he ignored it with a grimace, this was not the time for pain.
"Uh, um, yes ma'am." Suddenly he hit something soft and stopping to look he realised that he'd run straight into her back, as if this day hadn't gone badly enough already.
"No, no, no, no. You do not call me ma'am, if you wanna be all 'official' call me ms. Lane, otherwise I've been known to answer to Lois – but not all the time, some days there are just people you want to ignore, you know?" He nodded his head furiously at this and she couldn't help a smile – he sure aimed to please, this one.
x.
She'd been against the whole thing from the very start.
When she glanced at the list of people applying for internship at the world-renowned newspaper for the first time she'd almost had a heart attack.
Or that's what it felt like. Her heart skipped a beat and then started pounding at twice its usual speed. A hand settled on the small of her back and started moving in soothing circular motion. Throwing a glance to her side confirmed that Clark had moved up next to her, clutching a steaming cup of coffee in the hand that wasn't calming her. She snatched it from him,
"Nice reflexes, Smallville." A wink, a huge gulp of the addictive brew, and she was almost starting to feel like herself again.
"What happened?" He looked scared and she wondered if the unpleasant surprise showed on her face, it probably did. "You went into some kind of overdrive; one minute you were fine and the next I thought your heart would beat out of your chest. It happened so fast you're lucky I had time to catch your coffee."
"It's… Jimmy." Her hand flew up and a finger landed on nr. 16 on the list, "James Olsen, photographer."
x.
With that list only being the first cut she'd pushed all thoughts of it away, he'd probably never get very far anyway.
The next time she was reminded of it was when they presented the lucky few who'd be working their asses off for the established journalists. Her eyes scanned the complete list and gave a sigh of relieve when the name she feared wasn't there.
"Turn the page." She looked confused at Clark and then down at her paper, sure enough the list continued on the back, and there he was "James Olsen, photographer". She wondered if she should try getting some overseas assignment during the summer or maybe just call in sick every day. She groaned, that wasn't her style at all, she liked to face things head on, typical.
"Maybe we should just try and make him feel comfortable. It is his brother." The size of Clark's eyes told her just how unexpected that suggestion was.
o.
"Uh, ms. Lane?" She'd been really still for some time and he was afraid she'd forgotten all about him, a not so pleasing thought, he was here to make an impression.
"Yeah, we're walking again." She threw a quick look at him – from his converse-clad feet up to his reddish hair – and he knew that she thought of his brother. Would he always live in his shadow, would his presence forever remind her of days when the other Olsen shot the news for her? Fiddling with the camera he suddenly wondered what he was doing there.
"Maybe I should just… work with someone else, or… I could try another newspaper. The Star accepts interns too and no one there… uh, they didn't know him."
Her back is still turned to him and she doesn't say anything for a really long time, so long that he actually starts to pull away, planning what to do with this unexpected day off.
"Why are you here?" And his first thought is that she's pretty when she isn't scary, but she looks sad and he has no idea of how to answer her question. Turns out he doesn't need to.
"No I don't mean it like that, you just… You have to realize that this opens some old wounds." He doesn't know where to look, she slips down into a chair, it's not hers but the owner isn't there at the moment so why should it matter? "I liked your brother, I really did. Sometimes it felt like he was my brother. I never got to say that, I didn't even get to go to his funeral." Maybe she'll cry, but it doesn't look like it, she's strong and he hopes someone will be there for her when she gets home.
He's snapped out of his thoughts, "What do they call you?"
"What?" She rolls her eyes.
"Your name. Do you go by James or what?" Oh, they're having that conversation.
"Dad mostly calls me Bart – if he talks to me that is. Most of my new friends call me Jimmy." He can see her flinch, even though it's hardly noticeable, maybe he felt it. He hates himself a little for saying it, for making her feel this. "You can call me anything you want." It's out before he even thinks of how it can be interpreted – he just wanted to make her feel better again – and he can feel heat spread all over his face, he never could stop the blush.
"How about I just call you Olsen for now and we'll see what happens, eh kid?" He figures she'll probably call him kid more often but don't really care, if he wants her to know he isn't just some kid he'll have to show her.
"That's fine." And he feels the need to tell her, "we didn't talk very much, me and my brother, but he mentioned you once, said that you were more bark than bite and that I would like you." He has her full attention and feel the need to continue- "This might sound, eh, weird, but when I got to know that my first assignment would be with Lois Lane and Clark Kent I was actually very happy." He crosses his fingers and hope that there wasn't any line crossing in his small speech. "I think working here is a chance for me to get to know my brother better, 'cause this place – and the people with it – was probably more of a home to him than with me and dad."
She looks really teary eyed now and shakes her heads a little. "Remind me to tell you of the time I made him come with me to confront Lionel Luthor dressed as maintenance workers and we ended up watering plants for 2 hours before he even showed up…" Maybe he can help her let go of some of the guilt she feels when thinking of his brother and they can help each other by remembering a person they both loved. A person who never knew exactly how appreciated he really was. "Let's get going you need to meet Clark."
Her face brightens as she says that name and when she hugs him (completely out of the blue) he can't help but notice how nice she smells, and he gives a mental sigh; it's so typically him to develop a crush on such a unattainable woman. "Thank you." They share a smile.
"Oh, don't call him CK."
AN2: Feel free to vent in a review, how did you feel about Jimmy's death?