Title: Being Sick... Isn't That Bad
Author: Sweet Irony (Kim)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I owned Smallville, I'd run it into the ground.
Author's Notes: Please be kind- this is my first fanfic. This is a one-shot, so I didn't have to worry about commitment. Feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed.
"Hello, you are talking to a machine. I am capable of receiving messages. My owner doesn't need siding, windows, magazines, or a pool. She gives to charity through her paycheck, and she knows what she looks like without needing her picture taken. Her carpets are clean, even if you can't see them. If you're still listening to this, leave your name and number and there's a possibility that she'll get back to you."
"Hey, Lois, it's Clark," a fatigued Clark Kent voiced into the mouthpiece of his phone. "I need to come over to get the report you just had to write for Perry." Clark waited for a moment. "Lois, I know you're there. All you have to do is pick up the rectangular piece of plastic that serves as a telephone and talk into it. It's not rocket science."
Click. "Whatever, Clark. Do you want it or not?"
"Well, I thought I had made it clear why I was coming over," he retorted, stepping into the street to wave down a taxi.
"Are you coming right now?" Lois inquired. If he was, then she would have to clean up- fast. As was usual, her apartment was far beyond messy. Clothes and newspaper clippings littered the ground and dinner table, creating a slovenly mood.
"Yeah. I'm on 32nd street, so I should be there in about ten minutes. Have you eaten yet?"
"Clark, I'm sick. Thanks to you, I had to stay home today, so that's bad enough. Don't add to that and make me eat! I'm not some little girl who needs looking after- I can take care of myself." Lois was in no mood to receive any help or sympathy. She just needed to get that Kerth. Looking around, she sighed inwardly and began picking up.
"Lois, I've seen how you 'take care of' yourself. You put yourself in situations that could get you killed, you eat nothing but junk food, and you sleep an average of probably 4 hours a night. No, you're not going to be taking care of yourself tonight." Clark signaled for the taxi driver to pull over. "Now, I'm at 'Your Soup'. What do you want?"
Lois rolled her eyes to the ceiling and groaned. Clark was so stubborn. She was reminded of a younger Clark Kent, one who she had referred to as "Smallville". It was then that she realized that she was once again lying on the floor, with her legs arched in front of her; she must have unconsciously slid to the floor, weak. What's it going to hurt if I let the guy get me some food?
"Lois?" Clark called from his cell, anxious. Was she okay? "You there?"
"Yeah, Farmboy. Argh, just get me something small." She considered for a moment before adding, "Chicken Noodle Soup, I suppose. Isn't that what you're supposed to have when you're sick?"
A chuckle came from the other line as Clark waded through the people in front of the café to enter the building. "Okay, Chicken Noodle it is. I'll see you in a bit," Clark told her.
"Yeah," was all Lois mustered before hanging up. With a sigh, she dragged herself to her feet and resumed her slow pace of grabbing clothes and throwing them in her closet, where she could shut the door to hide them. Picking up a shirt she had gotten while shopping with her cousin, Chloe, she remembered the day vividly.
Flashback- May, 2005
"Lois, I we can't stay long- I've got a deadline at the Torch, and I really can't miss it this time; it's the last issue with me as the editor," Chloe sternly reminded her cousin, but her grin gave her away. "This coming from the girl who spent the last week at the Kent farm nursing a certain Farm Boy back to health?" Chloe responded with a smirk. Clark had drunken some drink containing Kryptonite, unbeknownst to him. Obviously, Lois hadn't known that- she just knew that the boy was sick. He had been throwing up repeatedly, and he sweated profusely. Lois had assumed it was the flu. "Oh, shut it, Chlo. As it is, I use their house as my own personal Motel 6. It was the least I could do," Lois refuted, calling to mind the comment she had used when trying to seduce the Kents into allowing her little sister to stay for a while. "Uh-huh. Right. You say that now," Chloe told her. She had seen the sparks between the two from day one. They had always been fighting when together, and yet they couldn't keep away from each other. Although Chloe was a whiz at science, it didn't take an A student to recognize the signs, like two magnets pulling and repelling. Whoever had said "opposites attract" was a genius. "Chloe, just because I was helping Clark doesn't mean anything happened between us. We still hate each other's guts." Lois looked at her cousin, seeing a lopsided grin on her face. "Seriously! And it's not like we could have any fun with his condition, anyway." Chloe looked at her cousin for a second. Lois could see the wheels running in her head. "No, I do not have any feelings besides putrid hate for the boy. You know that." "I know that you just said you have rotten hate for him. What, your hate for him rotted? You like him?" "No!" Lois said, acting appalled. She didn't need to know her true feelings- after all, Chloe still yearned for the boy. Changing the subject, Chloe looked into a store window and exclaimed, "Wow! Lois, look at that shirt! I bet you'd look awesome in it!" End Flashback
The day was crisp and clear, without a cloud to be seen. Of course, that didn't matter much when you were in a 5-story mall. The only ways to know the weather was to either walk out the large revolving doors, which served as an entrance for the large crowd of daily customers, or to look at the immense skylights, floors above.
"Relax, little cous. It's not going to hurt anything to have some fun."
Lois grinned, remembering the day. I looked after Farmboy then; I suppose he wants to return the favor, she thought, doubting her own mind. There was more to Clark Kent than she knew, but she wasn't stupid- Clark had other reasons for wanting to help her.