An Unforeseen Bliss
"Lois!" His voice echoed in the dark alley.
He was dressed as Green Arrow. He was supposed to use his weapons if something happened, Oliver had told him. But right now, he couldn't quite think.
One of the thugs had violently thrown Lois on the wet floor, after receiving – from her – a deserved punch in the face.
He heard the green archery falling down the floor, but he didn't even care. She was in danger, he had to use his powers. Besides, he was disguised, after all, wasn't he?
While one thug immobilized her, the other pointed a gun to her head.
"Play the tough one now, sweetie!" one of them said, mockingly. Lois spat in his face.
"Does that feel nice?" she asked, affronted. The thug next to the one with the gun raised one hand ready to slap her.
"You stay away from her!!!" yelled Clark, angry. All of the muggers looked at him, surprised.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't the famous 'Green Arrow' the papers have been talking about!" said the bigger one (apparently the leader), walking towards Clark. Lois struggled, and they pushed her against the floor. She hit her head on the cinder block, passing out.
"Lois!" exclaimed Clark, worried. He turned to the thugs with his teeth gritted.
"Oh, he's angry!" mocked the leader. "What are you going to do? Shoot an arrow at us?" The thugs laughed. The leader looked amused at the archery on the floor. "And he already dropped his archery when he saw his poor girlfriend in danger! You're losing your way, Green Arrow, you're losing your way."
"Am I?" Moving with his super-speed, Clark knocked them all out in a blink of an eye.
He grabbed Oliver's archery and ran towards Lois, falling down on his knees beside her.
"Lois?" he called, nervous, passing one arm around her back and lifting her from the wet floor. "Lois, can you hear me?"
She opened her eyes and blinked. She faced him for a moment, then looked around, widening her eyes as she saw all the thugs unconscious.
"You did this by yourself?" she asked. Clark nodded, straightening his glasses and helping her to her feet. She made an impressed expression. "Guess someone will have to supply your stock of arrows this weekend."
Clark bit back a smile, relieved when he saw she was alright.
"Let's get you out of here." he said, thankful that Oliver's hood had a special piece that made his voice sound deeper, so she wouldn't recognize it.
He sighed as they walked out of the alley. Lois was watching him the entire time, and he regretted getting involved in that whole set-up. Well, it would be over soon. They were almost at the spot where Oliver had told him to stand with Lois, where he would appear and prove to her – fool her, more likely – that he wasn't Green Arrow.
Clark had agreed to help a bit reluctantly, since he still thought Oliver should tell her. But he couldn't quite blame him. He was nervous about her reaction, and Clark understood that very feeling. He had been there before. But he had seen that a relationship will never work unless you're able to tell the other person who you are. He tried not to roll his eyes. Lois was sure Oliver was Green Arrow, and she was right, so why couldn't Oliver just tell her, instead of planning that set-up for her?
But it was his choice, Clark thought. Lois was Oliver's girlfriend, not his.
Clark glanced at her, awkwardly. She was still watching him, with an unreadable look upon her face.
"Are you alright?" he asked, suddenly. "Does your head hurt?"
"No." she promptly answered, and kept staring at him.
They kept walking for another few seconds.
Clark heard Lois breathe out, frustrated.
Her voice was firm. "Okay, that's it."
Clark was really surprised when he felt her right arm grab his left one. She turned him to face her.
"Look," Lois started, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. "I'm glad you saved me. I really am – thank you. You've saved me twice already." Clark bit his lip, struggling against the will to say that he had saved her countless times before. But… she thought she was talking to Oliver. He felt bad. He cared about Lois, and he didn't like the feeling of tricking her. "I'm sorry if I've been… a pain in the ass, trying to discover your identity, but I just---" she choked for a second, looking down. A few seconds later, she looked up at him again, a guilty expression on her face. "If I had known it was you all along, I would have never tried to expose you like I did." Lois sighed. "I know our relationship hasn't been exactly like a bed of roses, but… we can try to make this right. I'm willing to give us another shot if you are. Are you?" Clark could just stare at her, unsure of what to say. Was he supposed to say something? Oliver hadn't warned him that this might happen. Clark looked around nervously. Where was he, anyway?
Lois's hands grabbed Clark's both arms, in an attempt to make him pay full attention on her.
"Hey, listen to me." she said, softly. Clark kept scanning the alley, looking for a glimpse of Oliver, nervously. "Listen to me." Lois cupped his face with one of her hands and made him look at her. "Oliver, I know it's you." Clark gulped, uncomfortable, she placed her hand on his arm again. "And I just want you to know that, even though I may not agree with some of your… uh… methods… I support you." She shook her head, admired. "I think it's wonderful that you use your abilities to bring justice into the world." Clark gulped, his heart racing, for some reason. He couldn't quite explain, he just… he liked what he was hearing. "I just wish you had told me sooner. It would have spared us from a lot of issues, wouldn't it?" Clark tried not to frown in awe. That was a side of Lois he had only seen glimpses of, and he had always admired. He watched her sigh, uneasy. "Everyone has the right to have their secrets. I can't say I wasn't a little upset when I found out, but Ollie, I'm not mad at you because you kept it a secret. I understand why you've never told me. But I want you to know that I'm here for you. You don't have to worry." She smiled slightly. "Your secret is safe with me."
Clark's heart raced, and he felt like it shouldn't have. For pity's sake, he knew she wasn't saying that to him. And he knew it was Lois. But what she was saying… was quite like everything he had ever wanted to hear.
Clark tried to ease his heartbeat. Screw the plan. He had to get the hell out of there before something else happened.
Something he couldn't get out of.
Clark had never noticed how hot that Green Arrow's costume was. He wondered how Oliver was able to use it. But then again, maybe the heat he was feeling had nothing to do with the costume.
He looked down at Lois, whose face had somehow managed to place itself inches away from his.
His glance slid from her eyes to her lips.
Oh, definitely, the heat had absolutely nothing to do with the costume.
Clark took a deep breath.
"I have to---"
Lois's expression turned serious. "Fine. You want a proof?"
He would never know how exactly it had happened. Her grip on his arms, covered by the green costume, had tightened, and the next thing he knew, she had pulled his body towards hers, making their lips crash together.
His arms clumsily danced around Lois's body, unsure of where to go, his mind being taken by a confusing fog; his body by the feeling of an unexpected stupor.
Clark heard an insignificant part of his brain telling him to let go, to go away before Oliver appeared. But when his arm wrapped itself around her waist in a firm hold, each and every coherent thought disappeared, fading into that dazzling haze.
Clark had butterflies flying all over his stomach when he felt her lips moving over his, enthralling him, daring him to respond.
He wasn't thinking anymore.
Her kiss was partly sweet, partly passionate, partly intoxicating. Completely Lois.
He didn't know what he was doing, maybe he wasn't thinking – or, maybe deep down, he was –, but Clark tightened the grip on her waist, kissing her back with the same eagerness, pulling her even closer to him.
She led her head to the other side, opening her mouth and allowing him to kiss her bottom lip. Lois pressed the fullness of her lips against his, making him feel something so intense – like he had never felt before. Neither had her.
Their noses were smoothly touching, and feeling tingles all over him and making her feel them as well, Clark outlined her bottom lip with his tongue.
She whimpered softly, and it made him feel in an exhilarating paradise. They stopped the kiss.
Their lips were left to brush delicately against each other.
Lois slowly pulled her head away, watching him carefully. She frowned, scanning his face with her eyes.
But he didn't care. If she had taken off the glasses, he wouldn't care – the rational thoughts weren't back yet. He just wanted to feel the taste of her kiss one more time, and he didn't know why.
Clark leaned in, searching for her lips again, but Lois jerked her head away, still on his arms.
"What---" she started, still facing him, confused.
Lois managed to get herself out of their embrace. She was still frowning, but it wasn't an angry frown. It was a hurt one.
That made the coherent thoughts reappear on Clark's mind.
He gulped.
Clark had gotten himself into a serious situation.
"You aren't---" She was trying to form a sentence, but Clark could see it was hard. "Everything I said was---" She breathed out, hurt and frustrated. "You're not Oliver?"
"You're damn right, he's not."
Lois and Clark jumped and turned to face the smirking blonde man standing beside them.
"Oliver!" said Lois, astonished. Clark couldn't manage to say one single word. He could just face him, not knowing what to say.
"So, we seem to have a situation here!" said Oliver, with that smirk Clark had never liked. Lois thought Oliver was talking to her, but he was looking at Clark.
"I---that was---" babbled Lois, confused, to Oliver. "I mean, I thought it was you, I---" Clark gulped when she looked from Oliver to him, and Clark felt his stomach twist at the mix of emotions that flashed through Lois's eyes.
Disappointment. Daze. Fascination. Embarrassment.
Pain.
Clark was a mix of emotions as well. First, he was feeling guilty. He had kissed his friend's girlfriend, after all. It had been a mistake. One hell of a good mistake. Clark felt the unbelievable will to laugh. Second, he was feeling sick of himself because he had taken advantage of her mistake. Third, he was feeling stupid, because he hadn't been able to make the plan work. But most of all, he was feeling confused. Perplexed, amazed and completely mystified by the incredible rush of feelings she had so unexpectedly produced on him.
"I can't believe you let me kiss you." said Lois, trying to sound harsh, but not being able to do it. "Who are you?"
"You'd be surprised if you knew." said Clark, losing himself in her wary eyes and smiling at her, forgetting for a second that Oliver was there.
"I bet she would." said Oliver, still looking at Clark.
"You knew I was thinking you were Oliver." she stated, narrowing her eyes, focusing all of her attention on the man dressed as Green Arrow, in front of her. "And you kissed me back."
"Oh, stop with that, you liked it and you know that." replied Clark, unable to contain himself, but he regretted doing it as soon as he saw her eyes getting wet.
He closed his eyes when he suddenly felt Lois's hand hitting his face.
He felt pain. Not because of the slap. He couldn't get hurt, he was the man of steel. But he was still hurt. Because she was hurt. Because he had hurt her.
Lois Lane was never beaten easily. But he had taken advantage of her, and she knew it.
Clark turned his face back to hers, seeing the pain, the anger and the disappointment in her eyes. He felt his stomach utterly twist as he noticed that her disappointment wasn't all because she had wasted a speech and a kiss. Clark could see it in her eyes, clear as water: that kiss had thrilled her as much as it had thrilled him. She was hurt because it wasn't with Oliver. Because she didn't know who the 'mysterious kisser' was.
Lois glanced awkwardly at Oliver, who was now staring at her.
"My car is parked a few streets from here."
"I don't want to go---" Lois started to argue, uncomfortably. She had been fooled, she was feeling like trash. She wouldn't be able to stand being alone with Oliver after what had happened.
"You're cold and wet, Lois, you're gonna get a cold. Go. I'll catch you."
She started to walk towards the car. But she looked back one last time. And this time, the look on her face was different. It troubled Clark even more. It was, at the same time, hurt, amazed and had this hint of… recognizement. She frowned.
Clark broke the gaze. She kept walking and entered at the car.
He turned to Oliver. Both men stared at each other for a moment. Oliver was looking at him with a mix of anger and amusement on his face.
"I know why she kissed you." he started. "But why did you kiss her back?"
Clark frowned. Not even he knew the answer.
"I'm sorry." he said, simply. Oliver laughed.
"About what? About screwing with my plan or kissing my girlfriend?"
"Hey, technically, the plan worked, and for the record, she kissed me---" started Clark, defensively, but he knew it was useless.
"---because she thought it was me." said Oliver. He watched Clark, narrowing his eyes a bit arrogantly. "How can you deal with that, Clark? Kissing a woman who you know that wasn't supposed to kiss you?"
Clark felt his blood warming.
"She has kissed you a lot of times before. Correct me if I'm wrong, but considering that, the moment she kissed me, she must have noticed I wasn't you." Oliver watched Clark, surprised by his uncharacteristic ruthless tone. "Still, she didn't pull away when I kissed her as well. How can you deal with that?" Clark smiled victoriously when Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Oops." He said, stunned with his own bitterness. "Hit somewhere, did I?"
For one second, Clark thought Oliver was going to hit him. And for another second, he wished he had.
"You give me back the costume some other day. I don't think I can quite stay with you in the same room right now."
Oliver gave him one last look and walked away, joining Lois on his car.
He turned to the other side.
Clark had no idea when he had gotten so hostile. Especially towards supposed friends. Especially when he had made a mistake.
He had no idea when he had lost his ability to get out of complicated situations.
He had no idea when Lois Lane had started to take over his mind that easily.
Lois had always hated uncomfortable silences. And this one was certainly on top 5.
Oliver kept driving, looking straightly to the road in front of him, with a half amused, half annoyed smirk on his face. Lois couldn't stand that.
She opened her mouth to speak, but for some reason, she couldn't. She didn't know if she'd be able to reply to whatever Oliver might say.
Lois looked at the other side. She sighed. Things had went wrong that night.
She had made a fool of herself. She was so sure the Green Arrow was Oliver. And it turned out he wasn't.
Definitely wasn't, she thought, biting back a smile. She had felt humiliated. Yes, she didn't regret slapping Green Arrow. But she had to admit, he certainly knew how to kiss.
Well, if Lois was curious to find out his identity before, now she positively wouldn't rest until she found out who he was.
Lois shook the thoughts away, looking at Oliver.
He must have felt so bad, seeing her kissing someone else. But it wasn't her fault, she thought he was Green Arrow! Every lead pointed to that fact!
How could she have been so wrong?
"You kissed him back."
His voice woke her up from her reveries.
"Excuse me?" she said, surprised.
"You kissed him back." he repeated, still not looking at her.
Lois opened and closed her mouth a few times, like a fish out of the water. She cleaned her throat and tried to articulate an answer.
"No. I kissed him. He kissed me back."
"No. You kissed him, he kissed you back, and you kept kissing him." Oliver corrected. Again, Lois sat speechless for a few seconds. "Why?" he asked.
"Why what?" she replied, trying to gain some time.
"Why did you keep kissing him?" insisted Oliver, sounding a bit impatient, now.
Lois breathed in and out, looking for an answer.
She couldn't find one. So, she just said it, honestly and simply, what was exactly on her mind.
"I don't know."
Oliver glanced at her for the first time, and Lois saw he noticed she was being honest.
"There has to be a reason." he insisted, focusing his eyes on the road again.
She exhaled, bothered. "Look, Oliver, I know you must be pissed off and it's not like I can't blame you." she started. "But I thought it was you, I really did, I was so sure about that, I just wanted you to know that I support you, even if you were the Green Arrow, and well, then you---he---started to get all nervous and I wanted to prove I was telling the truth, so I just---"
"You felt something." said Oliver, calmly.
"What?" she asked, lowly.
"That's why you kept kissing him when he kissed you back. You felt something." he repeated.
"And what gave you that idea?" she asked, trying not to sound guilty.
"You're freaking out. You tend freak out when you feel some things around---" Oliver suddenly stopped, not wanting to say too much. Lois narrowed her eyes curiously. "Around some people. Besides," he continued. "I was there. I saw everything." He looked briefly at her, and Lois felt her stomach twist at she caught the slight flash of pain on his eyes. "I saw how you just… melted… when he kissed you back." Oliver chuckled sardonically. Next, he mumbled random things that made no apparent sense to Lois, things like "Not that I am that surprised, but still…" and "He should have done something before…"
They were arriving at the Talon already. Oliver parked the car in front of the coffee shop, leaned one hand on the window and looked at her.
"You're home." he said. Lois stared at him for a few seconds.
"Oliver, I'm so sorry if I hurt you. But I really thought it was you."
"It's okay." he quickly said, but she knew it wasn't. "It's not you I'm angry at."
There was something on Oliver's sentence that made Lois realize something.
Her eyes popped open.
"You know who he is?" she inquired, surprised. She couldn't help but be interested. Oliver glanced at her, half amused, half displeased.
"Yes. And I ain't telling you."
"Who is he?" she insisted, focusing her eyes on the blonde man, driving, next to her.
Oliver shook his head, chuckling again.
"Like he said… you'd be surprised if you knew…" Then, he added in a very low voice "…the whole story."
He didn't notice, but Lois heard it. She didn't make any questions, though.
She was exhausted.
She got out of the car. Standing beside it, she turned to him and said "Thank you for the ride. Good night."
Oliver had the weirdest grin on his face.
"What?" she asked, confused and bothered.
"That guy must be one hell of a good kisser." he pointed. Lois felt a sudden heat warming up her neck and going to her cheeks.
"What makes you say that?" she asked, trying not to sound embarrassed. And failing miserably at it.
Oliver just widened his smug. "You didn't even remember to kiss me goodnight."
Lois immediately leaned in, but stopped in the middle of the way. She jerked her head back, awkwardly.
She couldn't do it, and she didn't know why.
Oliver merely kept smirking, and that's what bothered her so much.
"Goodnight." she said it again, entering at the Talon.
He was upset. She could tell.
Lois climbed the stairs to her apartment.
Their relationship was getting complicated.
She didn't know how long they would last.
Lois sighed, unlocking the door to her apartment and walking in, closing and locking the door again.
She took off her wet clothes and pants, taking her clothes off and going to the bathroom.
She needed a shower.
A cold shower, possibly.
Lois smiled.
She would have good dreams tonight.
But they sure as hell wouldn't be about Oliver.
Several knocks on the door early in the morning.
Lois did not enjoy that. She was already up, but still, that was annoying.
"I'm coming!" she said, in a bad mood.
She opened the door, to find a quite jumpy Clark standing in front of her apartment.
"Hey." he said. Lois raised an eyebrow.
"Hi. What are you doing here this early?"
"Lois, it's almost noon." he said, eyeing her at the word early. Lois shrugged.
"Early for me." she just said. Clark nodded, holding his hands on his back. She frowned. "Smallville? Are you feeling alright?"
He jumped a little. Lois frowned even more. She had never seen him this way.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just… well, I just dropped by to see how you're doing..." he said, walking inside. Lois closed the door.
"And why would you do that? We saw each other yesterday…" she said, raising her eyebrows again.
Clark seemed uncomfortable, and she had no idea why.
"It's just, uh, Oliver told me you were attacked by thugs last night, so… are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, tired, remembering last night, turning around, going towards the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. "Physically."
"And what does that mean?" he asked, in a rush. Lois turned to him again.
"I mean, something happened last night that completely troubled me. Other than being attacked by a group of bad ass muggers."
Clark gulped and tried not to smile, but she didn't notice it.
"Go ahead, tell me." said Clark, amused. Lois faced him, debating with herself for a moment whether she should tell him or not.
She took a deep breath, making a decision.
"Green Arrow was with me." she said. Clark nodded. "And… we kinda… talked. Well, I did most of the talking, actually…"
"And how would that disturb you emotionally? Since Green Arrow is Oliver, and everything?" he asked casually, sitting at her couch. Lois took a sip of her water and dropped it at the sink.
"Well… it turns out he isn't."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because we kissed."
"Oh." merely said Clark.
Silence.
Lois looked at him.
"So? Aren't you going to say anything, like how crazy I am to do that, how he might be dangerous and a possible psychopath? Just like the way you seem to do with every other guy that I kiss or date?"
Clark laughed for a moment.
"No, I don't think he's a psychopath. Or dangerous." he said. Lois frowned, smiling.
"When I think I have you pegged…" Clark smiled. Lois shook her head. "Well…" she started, sitting on the couch as well. "I kissed him. And he kissed me back. And I realized right then he wasn't Oliver. But… the thing is… I kept kissing him."
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't realize Clark was starting to blush a little bit.
"And what made you do that?" he asked. He wondered if he wasn't pushing a little bit too far.
"I don't know…" she answered. "That's what I told Oliver when he asked… he uh… kind of saw everything."
"Oh. How angry was he?" asked Clark, once again trying to sound casual. Lois narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, facing a spot at the floor.
"Actually, more upset than angry…" she explained. "And while he drove me back home… he had this… knowing smirk on his face…" She sighed. "He knows who Green Arrow is." Clark felt his cheeks reddening a little bit. Lois noticed, and she widened her eyes, looking at Clark, smiling. "You know who he is too!"
"I…" started Clark, trying not to look at her.
She sat on her knees and watched him, carefully. Clark faced her.
"You won't tell me, will you?" It wasn't a question.
"I, uh, promised to keep it a secret." said Clark. "But… you'll find out someday." He added, as she sat straight again, seeming a little disappointed. "I promise."
Lois looked at him and smiled weakly.
"I just…" she started, seeming unnerved. She looked at Clark. "If you tell Oliver I told you this, I swear I'll kill you…" threatened Lois, pointing a finger to him. Clark smiled, raising one hand in a silent promise regarding not telling anyone what she was about to say. Lois licked her lips, and it made Clark's heart skip a beat. "But that kiss? That was better than Oliver's ever was."
Clark tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't do it.
"Yeah, go ahead, mock me," said Lois, annoyed, taking Clark's smile as sarcastic. "If you had a kiss like that, you wouldn't be with the ironic smile, believe me."
His smile quickly faded away.
"I'm not mocking you," he said, fast. "I'm just…" He searched for the right word. "… surprised, to see you this…"
"Swept away?" she suggested, rolling her eyes. Then, she sighed. "Yeah, Smallville so am I."
She stood up and patted him on the shoulders. The place where she had touched was suddenly warm.
"So, I'm gonna go…" he said, standing up as well.
"'Kay." said Lois, grabbing her car keys and walking with him towards the door. "I'm gonna go as well, I have to drop by Oliver's apartment and try to… fix whatever it is that's broken in our relationship…"
Clark gave her a weird look.
"Sorry about that." he said.
"Yeah."
They started to walk down the stairs.
"Bye, Smallville. Maybe I'll stop by your farm tomorrow to talk to your Mom…" said Lois.
"Gonna tell her about the kiss?" he asked, quickly. "With Green Arrow, I mean."
"Actually, I was going to talk to her about something else, about my work at the Inquisitor…" answered Lois.
"Hey, speaking of the Inquisitor…" said Clark, as they passed by the Talon's coffee machine. "Will you write an article about that?"
Lois smiled. "I was thinking about it, you know… something like I spent the night with Green Arrow…" Clark blushed a bit, and once again, Lois didn't notice. "But then I decided to keep that very moment to myself." He smiled. "Besides," she added in a low tone, leaning in a little forward. Clark's smile faded away at their sudden closeness, and his heart started to feel a little giddy. "I spent the night with Green Arrow is a suggestive title. People might think I'm talking about something else."
Already at the Talon's front door, Lois grinned at him, and he smiled back, uncertain.
She turned around, heading to her car, playing with her keys.
Clark waited for her to drive away, then super-speeded to the farm.
"Sweetheart, hi!" greeted Martha Kent, as Clark walked through the kitchen's door. Suddenly, her smile faded, as she saw the confusion of emotions that flashed on Clark's eyes. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes---no---I don't know." he said, confused, joining his mother at the table, sitting down. Clark sighed, and Martha only waited. "Mom?" he started, taking a deep breath. "I need to tell you something."
EPILOGUE:
Lois looked around. The Talon was full of people.
She and Oliver were sitting at a table, drinking coffee in silence.
Lois sighed.
Once again, in silence.
She had gone to his apartment yesterday to try to fix things.
They had decided to keep trying and see where things led them to. But now, sitting there, watching him drink his coffee in silence, Lois was starting to think it wouldn't take them so far.
"Are you going to write an article about what happened between you and Green Arrow?" he asked, suddenly, looking up at her. She just faced him.
"Like I said to Smallville yesterday: I don't want to… expose this to anyone." she answered.
"Clark?" said Oliver, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." said Lois. "He dropped by yesterday."
Once again, Lois saw that smirk take over Oliver's face – the one she was beginning to find very irritating. The one that always seemed to emerge when she mentioned Clark's name. Or nickname, for that matter.
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say something, Lois saw Martha Kent passing by their table, holding a cup of coffee to go. She was distracted. She hadn't seen them.
"Mrs. Kent!" called Lois. She turned around, surprised to see them there.
"Lois!" exclaimed Martha, unable to contain a big smile. "Hi!" Then, she looked at Oliver. "Hello, Mr. Queen, how are you doing?"
"Mrs. Kent, I believe that, since Lois is my girlfriend and since you're like a mother to her, you can call me Oliver." he answered, with a brief smile. Martha smiled a bit uncomfortably.
"Only if you call me Martha."
"Deal." said Oliver.
Lois watched Martha. She was acting different towards Oliver, for some reason.
"So, what are you doing here?" asked Lois.
"Oh, I just stopped by to get some coffee. I miss this place, you know?" she answered, looking around, kindheartedly. "Well, but I have to go, I have a lot of things to do around the farm, and I'll just, uh, leave you two alone."
Lois smiled at how much Martha suddenly sounded like Clark.
Smiling to them, she turned around, ready to leave. However, she turned to Lois one last time, remembering something.
"Oh, and Lois, Clark asked me to tell you that you forgot your laptop there." she said.
Lois chuckled. "That's right! I hadn't even remembered. Guess I just have a lot on my mind lately." She avoided Oliver's eyes. "Well, if you guys are busy, I can go to the farm tomorrow to pick it up." she said. "But… why didn't Clark come to tell me that by himself?"
Martha smiled enigmatically. "He has a lot of work to do, and… I guess he has a lot going on his mind lately too."
Ignoring Oliver's brief cough, Lois frowned.
"What's with the Kent's mysterious smiles?" she questioned, puzzled.
"What do you mean?" asked Martha, hiding her beam as fast as she could.
"Clark had the same smile on his face when he came to talk to me yesterday morning."
Martha didn't know why. She really had no clue, but for some reason, her gaze found Oliver Queen's. At in the exact moment their eyes met, she realized.
Her son had told her everything. He just hadn't told her that Oliver knew who was dressed as Green Arrow two nights ago. He knew very well who had kissed Lois.
Oliver smiled, slightly and strangely, with that smile that could light up a barn.
Martha glanced at Lois and said goodbye, telling her she could stop by the farm to get her laptop later. Then, she turned around and left the Talon.
"What was that all about?" asked Lois.
"That what?" said Oliver, sipping his coffee. Lois looked at him and clenched her eyebrows.
"Never mind." she said, shaking her head. "I guess it was just my imagination."
Oliver nodded.
He suddenly stood up.
"I have to go too." he said. "Lots of business to take care of."
He smiled at her and kissed her cheek. Then, he headed to the door.
Something suddenly came to Lois's mind.
"Hey, Oliver?" she called. He turned around.
"Yeah?"
"Did Green Arrow told you we were attacked by thugs?"
Oliver frowned.
"Uh… no. Why?"
"It's just… as you already know, Clark dropped by this morning to see how I was doing. He told me he knew that Green Arrow and I had been attacked by muggers, he said you had told him that." Oliver just watched her. "So," she continued. "I was thinking, if that happened, Green Arrow must have told you, right?"
"No. Green Arrow didn't tell me anything, and I didn't tell Clark anything about thugs." said Oliver, with a smile as enigmatic as Mrs. Kent's. And with that, he turned around and left the coffee house.
Lois frowned. Her mind was racing.
"But if Green Arrow never told Oliver about the thugs…" she said in a low voice, to herself. "And if Oliver never said anything to Clark… then how did Smallville knew about---"
She forgot all about keeping her voice down, her heartbeat echoing in her ears. Dropping her now empty cup of coffee noisily, her eyes popped open in realization.
"You've got to be freakin' kidding me."