Spoilers: Set in season 8 after Instinct – goes a/u but may have call backs to events in season 8.Plot: Clark is finally ready to close the book on his obsession with Lana. His feelings for a certain Lois Lane are growing and he finally builds up the courage to confront her with them... One problem, one of Lois's old flames has arrived back on the scene and she seems awfully excited to see him...
Clark entered his house with a new perspective and was amazed at what he noticed for the first time. Since his mom left, he had created a shrine to Lana. In fact in the kitchen alone he counted 23 presents she had bought for him and in the whole house there were 33 photos of her.
Everything had changed last night. No one reacted the way Lois had unless she had feelings for him. Maxima had come on to him strongly and he had been powerless to break the spell until Lois appeared. Even a psychotic woman had noticed a bond between them.
His own feelings for Lois were still confusing him and he needed to untangle them and find out if there was any chance for them as a couple. The first thing he needed to do was put away the ghosts of the past. He grabbed a box and carefully placed every memento of Lana into it. He was not going to get rid of them, just assign them to a corner of the attic until he had dealt with his feelings.
Lois had been a constant in his life for four years. Had someone asked him yesterday, he would have called her a constant annoyance but now the lines between love and dislike had become very blurred. She had been there for him when his dad died and a few months ago when the love of his life had walked out on him.
When he had clung to her the day Lana left, the feelings of despair and devastation had washed over him. Now though his mood was one of optimism, and in some ways excitement about what the future might hold.
That morning at the Planet was going to be different. He would keep his eyes open for any sign that Lois may think more of him than a work colleague.
She was already there working on a story, hard to believe when she had been in a flipped car the previous night but that was Lois all over. She was dedicated to her career as a journalist, but not to a point of being all she cared about. She was loving and caring, a quality that often went astray in the cut throat world of newspaper reporting.
He decided to try and get back into her good books with a maple donut and a latte from her favourite coffee shop,
"Hi." He smiled, as he offered her the bag and cup.
She looked at him. "Smallville, you don't need to apologise. I get the reason you were re-enacting a porn film in the elevator. You were not the only man to fall under her spell."
"I wasn't apologising, just wanted to be nice after all the trauma you went through." Clark explained.
"Which trauma was that – the car flip or walking in on you and the vamp making out. To be honest I don't know which was the most distressing." She smirked.
Clark decided to play devil's advocate. "Maybe you just wish it was you in the elevator with me." He said lightheartedly.
She looked at him. "Ever slobber over me like that and you will feel my fist across your face."
He looked at her for signs of joking on her face, but there were none.
"Lois, can we go out sometime?" he could not help himself.
"You mean on a date." She gulped nervously.
"Yeah, something like that or whatever else you want to call it."
She eyed him suspiciously. "I get it. Just because you couldn't score with that bimbo, you think I am the next best target. No thanks Smallville. Besides I am not 5ft 2 and I don't go by the name of Lana."
"Lois, just come to the farm for dinner tonight. There is something I need to say to you." Clark sounded sincere.
She was just about to reply a loud voice boomed through the bullpen. "Lois Lane, hot shot journalist."
Both of them turned around in unison. The voice had come from a tall blond haired muscular man with the biggest smile on his face. The swoonful looks he was getting from the other women in the bullpen told Clark that this man was obviously very attractive to the female sex.
It was more Lois's reaction which worried him.
She screamed. "Josh..." and ran up to him, jumping into his arms and she did not show any signs of letting go in a hurry.
In a split second, Clark knew his chances with Lois had gone from minus ten to nonexistent.
Clark could not believe the spectacle in front of him and he was slightly annoyed by Lois's lack of decorum in front of the people in the bullpen. Now she was giving Josh a kiss on the lips for everyone to see. Luckily it was a quick kiss, not a passionate one.
After what seemed like hours she separated herself from Josh and straightened up her blouse. Clark just stood there, unable to speak and even if he could, he would not have a clue what to say.
Lois seemed to notice his surprise so grabbed Josh by the hand and took him over to Clark.
"Clark, I would like to meet one of my dearest friends, Josh Stevens or should I say...Wait a minute, what rank are you now Josh."
Josh looked at Clark and offered his hand. "I am a Major, but I am not on duty so I am simply Josh."
Clark took his hand and shook it reluctantly.
"You are so modest, Josh. Daddy tells me you are one of the youngest Majors in the US Army." Lois announced proudly.
"Well, that is your father's guidance." Josh smiled. He had a killer smile with perfect white teeth. Clark could tell he looked after himself.
Lois realised she had not introduced Clark. "I am so rude. Josh, this is Clark Kent, my partner at the paper."
"Nice to meet you. I think General Lane mentioned you. Did Lois used to live with your family? He always joked how much Lois got on your nerves."
"Did he now?" Lois interrupted. "So it has been years since I saw you. What are you doing in Metropolis?"
"I am spending the next few weeks on a US Army recruitment drive." Josh explained.
Lois seemed disappointed. "I was hoping that you had come to see me."
Josh smiled. "Why do you think I volunteered when your father suggested it? I hope you will show me around to see what the town has to offer."
Clark was getting more jealous by the second. Why couldn't Lois be like this with him? Then he reminded himself that Lois and Josh could not be that serious or she would have stayed with him.
Josh looked at his watch. "I need to check in at the office. Do you want to do lunch?"
"Yeah, I know the perfect place downtown. I will meet you at the train station at 1pm." Lois replied.
"Perfect. Clark, why don't you come too?" Josh asked.
Lois interrupted again. "He does not want to come and be totally bored senseless, do you Clark?"
Clark smiled hiding his disappointment at Lois's indifference. "Guess not." He replied.
Josh left...
"So Clark, what story are we working on today?" Lois asked.
Clark wanted to know more about Josh but decided to play it cool and be subtle.
"The serial mugger story."
"Oh yes, I remember. 27 bag snatches in two weeks." Lois remarked.
"But also he has injured quite a few of his victims in the struggle." Clark added ."I am surprised Green Arrow is not on this on."
"I think he is out of town, or at least that is what my sources tell me." Lois replied, not wanting to let Oliver's secret out, although she was pretty sure that Clark knew. "Anyway we have this new superhero on the streets."
"Which one?" Clark asked innocently.
"The one who has been zooming around saving people all over the city." Lois explained.
A voice interrupted. "I am going to get the first picture of this new hero." Jimmy announced confidently as he joined them in the conversation.
"I can't wait." Lois smiled at Jimmy.
"I am disappointed I missed the love fest this morning." Jimmy laughed. "Who is the new guy?"
Lois saw the look on Clark's face. "He is not my new guy, rather an old flame."
"From what I heard, it looks like the flame never got extinguished." Jimmy continued.
"Can we talk about something else?" Lois was bright red.
"One of the latest victims is still in Met Gen. Shall we see if we can go and talk to her." Clark suggested.
"Good idea, as long as I am back by 1pm. I don't want to miss my lunch date."
"You two must have been serious. At least your father would have approved of him." Clark probed for more information.
"He actually set us up. I never thought my father would set me up on a date at 17 years old." Lois replied.
"So what happened?" He asked, deciding to go for the more direct approach.
"Josh got posted to Afghanistan and then straight onto Iraq on an extended tour of duty. I never got to see him."
"Well you can make up for lost time." Clark could not believe that he was telling her to go for it with Mike.
"We'll see." Lois replied, noticing again that look of disappoint on Clark's face.
"Shall we go?" Clark asked abruptly.
"Ok."
The lady at the hospital did agree to talk to her but she could not give them any further information.
When they got back to the Planet, Lois was rushing around. "I am going to be late. I will see you later." She smiled at Clark, and rushed out passing Chloe on the way to the lift.
"Hi Chloe. Can't stop...got a date." Lois got in the lift.
"A date?" Chloe asked Clark for some answers.
"With this old flame of hers – Josh."
Chloe looked surprised. "Not Josh Stevens. "
"What do you know about him?" Clark asked.
"Not much. Lois would never open up about the year she spent with him and I never found out why. But whatever was between them ran very deep." Chloe explained.
"So there is not much hope." Clark whispered, not realising Chloe had heard him.
"For you and Lois...I honestly don't know. Josh made one big impression on Lois and I don't think she will let him go that easily."
Lois was full of herself on the return from her lunch.
"Hi Clark. Missed me?" she quipped. The good mood gave Clark cause for concern. Her lunch with Josh had obviously gone well.
"Of course." He answered honestly. "Did you have a nice lunch?"
"Yeah, it was so good to catch up. He is one of those friends who you can on with again the minute you see them even if you haven't seen them for years."
"How long is he in town for?"
"A few weeks depending on how successful the recruitment campaign is." Lois explained.
"Lois, I forgot to say I have a lead on the muggers. I have made contact with a police detective from the Met PD."
"Ok, what are we waiting for?" Lois said heading for the lift.
Clark followed her. The doors closed.
Lois looked at him with a peculiar expression. "Why do I feel I am waiting for you to ravish me in the lift. No, let me see, you only do that with red headed psychopathic women."
Clark looked upset. "That is not funny Lois. I was not in control of what I was doing."
"You're not kidding. Out of control would be one way of describing it." She giggled. "you looked pretty preoccupied."
Clark decided to turn the tables and make Lois uncomfortable. "Lois, why were you so upset when you found me and Maxima together."
"I wasn't upset, just shocked. " she answered defensively but somehow did not sound too convincing.
"Lois, can we talk? Why don't you come over the farm tonight? I'll cook dinner." Clark asked hopefully.
Lois got caught up in the moment. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Us..."
"That narrows it down. What exactly is it about us you want to discuss?" She probed further.
"It is awkward to discuss it here."
"Try me." Lois pushed him.
"Maxima told me that you and I had a connection." Clark explained without going in to detail.
"Of course we have a connection. We are friends and work partners."
"And is there no hope of being something more?" Clark asked.
Lois put up one of her infamous emotional walls. "This is about me moving in the farm isn't it? I am fine living with Chloe at the moment."
Clark made eye contact with her. "Lois, I mean...is there...hope...of being...something more?" He took a few steps towards her.
She did not move or retreat, in fact she waited...
With a few more steps, his lips had claimed hers. The desire to kiss Clark more was too intense for Lois as she used all the strength she could to push Clark against the other wall of the lift, not breaking lip contact at any point.
Just then, there was a bleeping noise to signal the lift had reached its floor. Lois suddenly jolted away from Clark, standing as far from him as she could.
They got out at the underground parking and got in the truck. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Clark asked.
"Nope, but..." she climbed on his lap, taking him completely by surprise. Their lips continued where they had left off.
In the midst of the passionate exchange, Clark whispered in her ear. "Lo, I love you.", and as soon as he had, he wished he hadn't. Within seconds Lois was back in the passenger seat putting her seatbelt on.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have landed that bombshell on you." Clark exclaimed.
"It is better you did. It stopped us doing something we would regret. And I am sorry Clark but I can't come to the farm tonight. I am meeting Josh to show him what Metropolis has to offer."
Clark looked disappointed but knew he had to accept it. "Ok, if you change your mind, you know where I am."
"Let's just go to the police dept and meet your contact." Lois said in a business like fashion.
"Ok." He drove downtown to the station.
Clark was upset with himself. Why did he have to say the L word to a commitment-phobe like Lois. No wonder she had clamped up. He was going to push her into Josh's arms at this rate.
The detective was waiting for them.
"Detective John Jones." Clark announced as he approached his Martian friend.
"Hi Clark."
"This is Lois Lane." Clark introduced his partner. "What have you got for us on this mugger?"
"This must be completely off the record. We found some DNA at one of the crime scenes. It is not from the victim. We have cross checked the database but drawn a blank so whoever it is may not have a criminal record or at least never been caught for anything." John explained.
"Detective Jones, how do you not know that this DNA has not come from the new mysterious hero blurring around the city at the moment." Lois asked.
"Don't believe all the rumours, Ms Lane. There may be no superhero. People just like to believe in something." John explained.
Lois excused herself to go to the ladies room.
When she was out of ear shot, John looked at Clark. "You can't allow yourself to get caught. Combing through police blotters at your desk every night, peeling back the sides of a bus in broad daylight, speeding into a crowded bar. You're so fixated on being a hero, you're not paying attention to who might be watching."
Clark was surprised by his speech. "Is this your idea of a pep talk?"
"It's not my identity that's at risk. Every day, I have to run faster and faster interference on these mysterious Good-Samaritan reports."
"Well, that just means I'm doing my job. Just have to make sure no one sees my face." Clark commented.
"You are not in Smallville anymore, Clark. Metropolis has millions of people walking the streets, every one of them watching for a miracle to change their lives, to give them hope. You are that miracle. And it's just a matter of time before someone discovers that."
What Clark didn't realise was that someone could be Lois Lane who had just decided to make it her mission to track down this new superhero, no matter what it took.