Enough, a smallville fanfic

ENOUGH

Oliver Queen "Oh, don't worry about it, Clark. You know, I mean, if I lived under the same roof with such a beautiful woman I probably would have masked my feelings under sarcasm too."

Lois "Feelings?"

Clark "Feelings?"

Clark sighed. Oliver Queen had just left his loft, after a very strange conversation.

"Is that why you hate me, Clark? Because I'm just another silver-spoon bad rich boy?"

He didn't know if he hated Oliver. He just knew he didn't quite like him.

Oliver wanted to save the "poor" people and return what other rich ones had taken without permission. But for that, he stole as well. And if he did that, he was just as bad as the other well-heeled guys. That was what Clark didn't think it was correct.

Also, his arrogance was quite annoying.

He was a modern Robin-Wood, as Chloe had told him and as Lois had written in her article.

Lois.

Clark frowned as he climbed down the stairs of his loft, headed to his house. He was worried about her. Her new boyfriend had a secret identity and was keeping it from her.

Another thing he didn't like about Oliver. Even though he wasn't exactly innocent on the whole "honesty" topic. God knew how much he had screwed things up with Lana because of this. Well, he had learned his lesson. At least now he knew that it was NOT possible to keep relationships where you're not able to tell the other who you are. On his next relationship, he would not let that thing be between him and the one he loved. Whoever that one would be.

Well, anyway, Oliver had made one good point, though. A disturbing point, for that matter, that surely made him think.

"There's a whole world of people out there, Clark. They need us. With your potential… you can't wait for them to come to you."

He looked up at the starry sky above his head, while he walked towards the kitchen's door.

All this time, Clark had used his powers to save the ones he loved. The ones that were close to him. But after what Oliver had said, he was really wondering if he shouldn't aim higher. Use all of his potential to save not only the ones he loved. But all the ones that needed.

His train of thoughts was suddenly interrupted. Standing outside the kitchen's door, he heard voices inside the house. A thing he found very strange, since his mother was at a congress meeting.

Quietly, he entered at the house. There wasn't anyone at the kitchen. The sounds were coming from the next room. Approaching the door that gave access to the living room, Clark was going to use his super-hearing. But he didn't even need to start. The voices were loud enough. Besides, he knew one of them very well.

"No."

"Oh, c'mon, Lois. You know you want to."

"Oliver, I have already told you, I can't." Clark could feel the grin on her voice. "

"What can be better than a trip to Cancun and a few margaritas?"

"Discovering Green Arrow's identity!" Lois replied, excited. Clark walked a little more closer to the door, in a way that he could see the scene going on his living room.

Lois was sitting at the dinner table, her notebook opened and a copy of 'The Inquisitor' on top of it, even though she wasn't paying attention to any of them. Oliver was standing beside her, with a secure smile plastered on his face, apparently very confident that Lois would go to another country with him a few weeks after their first meeting.

"If you pack right now, we can go on my personal jet and we'll be there by morning."

"You LOVE to flatter yourself, don't you?" said Lois.

"Well, what's the fun of being rich if you can't exhibit yourself to your girlfriend?" replied Oliver, leaning his hands on the table and looking down to her.

Lois widened her eyes and Clark started to feel a bit uncomfortable being there, watching them, unbeknownst by both.

"And who gave you the consent to call me your 'girlfriend'?"

"Actually, your friend Clark told me I'm your 'new boyfriend'."

Clark kept his ears more aware as his name was mentioned.

"Well," started Lois, and Clark couldn't help but smile as he watched her turn on her 'defensive' mode. "For your information, I have to give you that permission, not Clark. He has nothing to do with my love life."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that…" Oliver's voice was low, but Lois caught that. So did Clark. What was that supposed to mean?

"What was that supposed to mean?" asked Lois, in union with Clark's own thoughts, her eyebrows raised just as his. Clark frowned as he saw Oliver smile knowingly. He could swear he had glanced to the door that gave access to the kitchen, but in the next moment, Clark was sure he had imagined it.

"Nothing, nothing. Forget it. Just, c'mon, Lois, forget this obsession about the Green Arrow---"

"No!" she said, so firmly it surprised Oliver. "I almost found out who he was, that only gave me even more determination to do it." Lois faced him. "Why are you insisting so much in making me give up on what you call my 'obsession' about the Green Arrow, anyway?"

"No reason," Oliver said, in a way that made Clark thing he had one hell of a cold-blood. "I just think it's arduous for you."

"Well, it's not." said Lois. Then, she realized how rude her tone of voice had sounded. "Besides," she added, with a grin, leaning forward herself, now. "If we go, who knows what you'll do to me?"

"Who knows what YOU will do to me?" replied Oliver. They shared wide smiles.

Clark felt strangely bothered. He wasn't quite sure of why, but it didn't thrill him that anyone else could banter and flirt with Lois. For him, that was a benefit of THEIR relation---friendship.

"Well, allright," said Oliver, with a mopey voice. "Since you won't accept it, I'll just go."

Lois slapped him slightly on the arm. Again, Clark felt bothered. He thought she only used to hit HIM.

"Oh, don't go all sulking-heartbroken on me, Mr. Queen." she said. Oliver smiled and took a hold of her hand.

"Yes, ma'am." He kissed it, and Lois smiled. "May I kiss you goodnight?"

"Not until I give you the permission to call me your girlfriend." said Lois, smiling teasingly. Oliver smiled back and leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth. Clark turned his head to the other side. The idea of him kissing Lois wasn't exactly pleasant, and for some reason, he didn't want to watch it.

"Bye." she said. Clark looked at them again just in time them walking towards the front door. Clark could only hear their voices now.

"Bye, Lois. I'll see you Monday, then?"

"Yeah, I'll drop by your nice little apartment."

Clark watched Lois come back and sit down again, with a disturbing smile on her face.

He decided to wait a few moments before walking in. He didn't want to look like he had been hearing their conversation all the time. Even though he had.

Clark watched Lois come back and sit down again, with a disturbing smile on her face.

He decided to wait a few moments before walking in. He didn't want to look like he had been hearing their conversation all the time. Even though he had.

Lois was now reading her article.

"You know, decent journalists shouldn't be seen admiring their own articles." said Clark, when he finally judged to be a decent moment to walk in. He watched in amusement as her challenging expression took over her face as she looked at him.

"Decent people shouldn't make comments about what they don't know anything about." she said. "Like telling Oliver that he is my boyfriend."

"Well, isn't he?" he asked, in defense. Lois shifted uncomfortably on her chair.

"For your information," she started, closing the newspaper. "That's none of your business."

"Sorry." said Clark. Lois rolled her eyes, but she stopped it as she saw he really was. "And, uh, about what I first said about decent journalists, you have all the right to admire your own work."

"You read it?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah." he answered. "And it's really good, Lois." Clark smiled as he saw that her defensive mode was turned off by his sentence. "I'm glad you have finally found your calling, and I can tell you that it is, because you're really good at it." Clark really meant it. "In spite of a few typos here and there, of course." he added, with a smirk, but he knew Lois had gotten the big picture.

"Thanks." she said, still astonished by the sudden compliments. "It's good to know somebody supports me." Then, she looked down at the copy of The Daily Planet, that was a few inches away from The Inquisitor. Clark caught the shadow of sadness that passed by her eyes. He knew what she was thinking about. As he opened his mouth to say something, Lois kept talking. He let her. "It was weird when she didn't care much about my first article a few weeks ago, since she was the one that kept saying I should become a journalist, but I thought that she was just in a bad day." Lois sighed. "Or she really is not pleased about the idea of me being in the same biz that she is or she's in a bad day everytime I stop by the Daily Planet."

Clark sat in front of her. "Lois---"

"Yesterday, when I stopped by to ask her if I could access the Daily Planet's databasis and she asked what my story was about, I…" she stopped, as if she felt disgusted with herself. "I didn't want to tell her, Clark. I don't know why, I just… with all the competition she has been building, I felt like… like if…"

"Like if Chloe was going to steal your story?" Clark completed. Lois looked at him.

"Yeah." She shook her head. "I feel terrible, but still, somehow, I know I'm not wrong."

"You don't trust her?" asked Clark, cautiously, pushing it slowly, since he knew how Lois get when someone went through her walls. That was exactly what he was doing right now. But she was letting him.

"Of course I trust her, she's my cousin, for Heaven's sake. It's just…" Lois seemed to be looking for the right words. "There's this… new side of her… that I've never seen before. I don't think she sees me as a cousin anymore, I think she sees me as… as a rival, or something!" she finished, a bit desperately.

"Lois, she doesn't see you as a rival." said Clark, finally.

"Oh no? Then why she looks threatened everytime I walk into the room?"

It was Clark's turn to sigh. "Look, Lois. You're not a threat to anyone. Except for me, maybe, but other than that…" He was glad to see her smile at his taunt. Clark smiled back and kept talking. "She's just a little jealous."

"I figured that out!" Lois exploded, exasperated. "But Chloe has been on the business much longer than I have, she knows way more about it than I do, and I'm not even in the same newspaper that she is---"

"Yeah, but Lois, she has worked for it her whole life, and you're a natural!" Clark interrupted her, and she suddenly stopped talking. "It took her years to get a job at a newspaper. And you did it in a blink of an eye. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great, but it frustrates her that you could handle so easily with something that it took Chloe a long time to learn how to deal with."

"Well, frustrated or not, I don't know what reasons she has to be jealous of me." said Lois, but her tone of voice had lowered.

Clark snorted a bit. "I can number."

"Well, then do it!"

"Fine." he said, determined, making himself comfortable in the chair in front of her. He started to count on his fingers. "You're older."

"That's not a good reason."

Clark kept talking as if he hadn't heard her. "You write just as well as she does. When you get a story you're not afraid to go for it and dig until you hit China…" Lois rolled her eyes. "You are extremely stubborn and completely unabashed. You're not afraid to get what you want, you're sarcastic, yet charming---"

"You think I'm charming, huh?" she pointed, smiling. This time, Clark deliberately pretended he hadn't heard her comment. But he looked from his fingers to her hazel eyes.

"You have this… sparkle… in your eyes everytime you talk about your articles…" Lois looked down, and Clark took a mental picture of a slightly embarrassed Lois Lane. "You're funny, you're opinioned, you're yourself and you don't care about what everyone else thinks, you're brave, you're just... you." They both stood in silence for a moment, Clark observing her and Lois still looking down. "Chloe goes looking for action, but action, somehow, seems to look for you. You're like a model to her. But when she thought she was actually better than you at something, you proved her wrong."

"Okay, you didn't have to number so many…" said Lois, low. Clark smiled. "I just hope this weird things between us fades away. Because she's my cousin, I love her, and I don't want her to see me as a threat."

"She loves you too," said Clark. "And she doesn't see you as a threat."

Lois was still looking down. Not at her lap anymore, but to a spot on the table. A spot where two body elements had apparently found each other. Or better: ONE body element had found the another.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately." said Lois, alluding to one particular day after The Dark Thursday, where Clark had visited her at the hospital and the same thing had happened.

Lois's voice was calm, but the serenity didn't reflect itself in her troubled eyes. Clark looked from them to the same spot she was looking at.

Clark quickly removed his hand from hers, blushing a bit. "Um, sorry."

"It's okay."

Clark lifted his eyes only to see her with an adorable smile playing with her lips.

He looked away from her and his gaze stopped at her article again.

KIDNAPPED BY GREEN ARROW

She had been kidnapped by guys who were trying to find him, actually. But she thought it was his fault.

"I'm sorry I didn't save you." he suddenly said. Lois seemed to awake from whatever reverie she was in.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I didn't save you. You know, when you were kidnapped." Clark repeated. Lois beamed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, get over the hero complex, Smallville. You can't save me everyday." she said, a bit mockery, still smiling.

"I know." said Clark, looking at her. "I'm just worried that in one of those days, you'll be in such a danger that you'll not be able to get yourself out of it."

"Don't worry, Smallville. I can take care of myself." she said, but her mocking tone gone at his concerned words.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

In silence, Clark watched Lois look at him strangely.

"You're not going to hold my hand again, are you?"

They both laughed, but Clark never answered.

"So…" he started, changing the subject and pointing to her article and to her laptop. "What's with the freakin' obsession about Green Arrow?"

Lois smirked. "Jealous much, Smallville?"

Clark smirked too. "Not jealous. Just think your boyfriend might not be happy about it."

"My boyfriend has a name, and it's Oliver Queen. And for the record, he's not THAT upset. Or THAT my boyfriend."

"Oh, really?" asked Clark.

"Well, he is annoyed, but I guess it's just because I don't spend as much time with him as I would." Lois smiled. "You know, he asked me to go to Cancun and sip some margaritas for the weekend."

"And let me guess, you told him you'd be fussing around Green Arrow's identity the whole weekend." completed Clark, casually.

"How did you know?" asked Lois, astounded.

"I know you." said Clark simply, shrugging. After a while during which Lois played with her newspaper, Clark added "What about the 'boyfriend' part?"

Lois looked up at him. "Why do you want to know, Clark?"

"Just curious."

Lois sighed. "We're not on that stage yet."

"But you think you might be?" asked Clark. Lois frowned.

"Clark, what's with the questionnaire? Why do you even care?"

He shrugged once more. "Just curious."

Lois watched him for a moment.

"You don't like Oliver, do you?"

This time, Clark was caught on surprise.

"Well…" he started. "I can't say I'm crazy about him."

"You know him for about two days! What is that you find so annoying about him?"

"He's arrogant, over-confident and sarcastic." Clark smiled. "You sure deserve each other."

Lois raised one challenging eyebrow. "So you're not crazy about me either?"

Clark's smile widened. "More like you drive me crazy."

They exchanged two megawatt smiles. Lois, then, made an impressed face. "You tell me I'm a good journalist, you number a thousand qualities about me, you compliment me, confort me, grab my hand and now tell me I drive you crazy? You're really strange tonight, you know that?" Clark laughed. "I mean, not that you already weren't, but tonight? More than usual."

After a few seconds, Clark spoke again. "Another thing I find irritating about Oliver is the glances he kept giving you and me last night."

Lois nodded. "Actually, that bothers me too. You should see him when we're alone. He's all 'Mr.Knowing-smiles' when I talk about you---"

"You talk about me?" Clark asked, smiling. Lois rolled her eyes.

"Well, of course I talk about you, you're one of my best friends---"

"I'm one of your best friends?"

Lois narrowed her eyes. "Oh, Smallville, quit it." He smiled. "Well, anyway, I don't know what he was thinking when he mentioned you hid your feelings for me under sarcasm!"

"Yeah. Is just crazy."

They didn't mean to, but their eyes locked for a longer time than they should have.

"Crazy." repeated Clark, more to himself than to anyone else.

"So!" Lois broke the atmosphere standing up as if she had been electrocuted. "It's getting late, I gotta go."

She closed her laptop and picked her article like if it was her own son.

"Hey, can I keep it?" asked Clark, pointing to the newspaper. Lois frowned.

"Why?" she asked.

"Oh, you know," he started. "When you win the Pulitzer, I'll say I've got this straight from the author, and hey, maybe I should start collecting your articles. And, besides, I can always have fun drawing a moustache on your picture."

Lois hit him with the newspaper, but handed it to him.

"Shut up, Farmboy. But it's allright, you can have it." She gave him a bright smile. "Goodnight."

Lois started to leave, headed to the kitchen's door. She turned around one last time. "And hey, as an author, I have free access to the newspaper copies, if you're really going to start that collection."

Clark smiled at her, and she smiled back.

He watched her go, with a peculiar happy feeling in his heart.

Their relationship was still unique, no matter how much she bantered with Oliver as well. It still had that something special about it. That spark.

And that was enough.

Clark smiled.

At least for now.

Epilogue:

Oliver Queen watched the whole conversation in amusement.

The moment he had closed the door behind him, he heard Clark's voice join Lois at the living room. Curious, he couldn't help but open the door again and hide himself behind a wall next to the place where they were talking.

When she spent time with Oliver, 90 of that time was talking about Clark. No. Lie. Not 90. 80. Or maybe 85. Well, it didn't matter. It was enough to make Oliver feel a little bit jealous everytime she mentioned his name. Or his nicknames, for that matter.

He had inquired her if he was her ex, or something. Come on, nicknames? But she said that he wasn't, but that HIS "whiny" ex-girlfriend was now "hooking up with the most popular billionaire in the city". He had asked if she had feelings for him. When she snorted, Oliver raised an eyebrow. When Lois saw that he was serious, she stopped laughing and changed the subject. What made him smile knowingly.

Lois and Oliver had a nice chemistry. But what he had witnessed tonight between her and Clark Kent was different. There was something unique about them. A spark that had a potential chance to turn into a fire. A huge, massive and heated fire.

What he had witnessed was something else.

Was magic.

Oliver sighed a bit.

Lois wasn't his girlfriend. He didn't even know if she would get to be. But he had just watched the walls of the woman that was an emotional fort-knox just… crack down. By a farm boy with a kind heart, virtues, amazing abilities and who seemed to have a pretty good idea of what was right and wrong.

Clark and Lois sure had something big happening between them. Or would happen in the future, he didn't know. But Lois was a great woman, and Oliver wasn't willing to give up on her that easily.