All the usual disclaimers apply for this fanfic.
A few words first. To the ones who have read Keep on Falling, this is the long-awaited (?), well at least from me, prequel. It should have been posted as a one-shot but I felt that two or three short chapters were more doable because I always return to finish what I have started. This is being written for far too long and in reality it's but several small scattered thoughts molded into one hopefully humorous story. Real Life is not that forgiving anymore and "free" time is scarce. I hope you may laugh a bit as I did with the Keep on Falling. My goal is to have some fun and hopefully, although it's been 10 years since SR and I don't want to remember how many since L&C:TAoS, you will remember what was our drive behind a different Superman long before MoS and BvsS.
Not edited by a BETA. As I said I'm just having some fun time.
Chapter 1
We've been here once before.
There is this peculiar feeling during a hot spring day. The heat comes and leaves in waves as does the desk's fan rhythmic exhilarating tickling of sweat droplets, otherwise so unfamiliar on his once unmarred skin, made their way slowly through his collarbone. His undershirt was for once experiencing its purpose on a warm day and the feeling was admittedly not particularly as uncomfortable as he would have once thought it would be.
" , how was the meeting with the source?" Jimmy quietly breathed the last word, trying but as usually failing to seem discreet. In the newsroom there was no privacy and certainly no discretion. It was a wonder how he had managed to keep a low profile so far.
"As it always is this time of the year. Informative, and not at all funny." Clark sighed while absently rubbed his chair's leather handles.
With a short nod, Jimmy walked outside in the newsroom, leaving him once again with only company the sound of turning blades and the buzzing of Metropolis, which came from his office's slightly opened window. This uncommon heat of late March had refused to settle his stomach or mind. For the first time in years, he felt the clamminess of the heat mixing with the polluted city air and the stale air of the newsroom's carpet sticking on his skin, while at the same time also occupying his stomach with every breath he took. It was almost unbelievable that he had consented to this.
Looking back to the newsroom his eyes fell on the one and only cause of his present itching state. The one and only Lois Lane.
31 of March
"Lois…" he let out a distinctively whine that was not left unnoticed as he noted by her right raised in question eyebrow.
",…dear…," he added for a good measure, returning to his normal smooth voice which held the differentiating value of each letter with equal tenderness.
The raised eyebrow was followed by a significant tilt of her head, although her sharp hazels softened significantly .
"I have so far ignored the heat and everything that implies for my glands and clothes, but the itchiness is becoming unbearable! It turns and rolls and creeps you from undern-"
"Kent!" she snapped.
"We all agreed on this. That means you as well!" the words were seethed with no room for argument.
"Lois, show me yours." Clark asked as tactfully as he could.
An exasperated Lois Lane loosened her suit's top and slipped it from her shoulders effortlessly. Lifting slowly her left sleeve she revealed him the underneath of her forearm.
"A weak four, a strong two and a moderate five. Nothing that I can't handle." she added with a smirk.
His lips pouted with what he was seeing. 'You won this round Lane'
"Top Banana!" he exclaimed while unbuttoning his left sleeve.
"Excuse me?" Lois feigned ignorance by his sudden admittance. That was what it was after all. She hadn't heard it for the last nine years. No, eight years… after their second interview with Sammuel Plats.
"Don't push me Kent. You are way out of your league." she whispered and saw his lips turn slightly upwards only to morph when he uncovered his arm.
"Oh my…"
"I think we have a winner love. I'm no expert but I'd say a super three combined with a super seven solved the mystery. Not to mention the sensitive ten!" he grimaced when he poked the angry red skin.
"Clark. I think it's safe to say that we can call it a day from the Planet. !" she urged him of his chair and picked his jacket in a hurry.
The newsroom once again was left baffled by the sight of Lois ushering a mumbling Kent towards the elevators. His protests didn't seem to faze her determination nor the grip she locked on poor Jimmy Olsen. Pushing them both in the left elevator, the Planet returned to its peaceful buzziness leaving several employees shrugging but also certain familiar faces moving towards the gossiping corner.
"Shortness of breath? Coughing, wheezing? Feeling of-" the intern dully recited the list in front of him.
"Just a bit and my eyes feel funny. I thought it was the heat" he said dutifully avoiding Lois' once more exasperated expression towards heavens.
"I have been telling you that we need ! .serious!" blazing eyes met the glazed eyes of a 16-hour on duty intern who seemed to far off to take any her demands seriously.
A pen's retractable click was heard twice and the intern's eyes narrowed.
"Dizziness?"
Lois Mad Dog Lane had enough and her small structure did not pose any difficulty on jumping flat belly on top of the high waiting desk while grabbing the intern's wrinkled white coat by the collar.
"Listen to me you little tweet!" she hissed while her sweaty palms grabbed the intern's collar more firmly and tagged him towards her.
"Lois!"
"Miss Lane?!"
Two voices synchronously exclaimed whilst strong arms tried to retrieve her from the top of the waiting desk. The hands comforting familiarity would have succeeded if she had not detected the protective guarding of the left arm and its now apparent considerable weakness.
"Miss Lane please refrain from attacking our interns! Driving eight of my promising interns away in the span of a mere six months has this institution struggling greatly." Dr. Klein gravely chastised the small female figure with the flaming temperament.
The intern's eyes, now wide awake and alert frantically travelled between his supervisor and the insane 'Miss Lane'. How could such a small, yet ferocious, creature drive away 8 interns he wondered.
"Selling biological weapons designed by the government itself isn't driving away Doctor." she matched his scolding tone.
"But it was a Kerth material article. Was it not Miss Lane?" he shot back hastily. After dealing with Lois Lane for over a year, he knew that his timid nature was not a good survival tactic to have when in close proximity to her.
Lois simply shrugged but she certainly didn't appear apologetic. The reporter in her as well as the woman could not be moved to feel anything else than pride for her fourth Kerth award and Clark's second for their collaborated article six months ago.
"Oh… oh… I think you should better follow me. Now." his eyes were tensed and focused at Clark's exposed left sleeve and now pale sweating complexion.
Clark nodded shortly and helped Lois get down from the desk to follow to his lab down a well-known corridor of Metropolis' S.T.A.R. labs. His right hand's fingers were soothingly rubbing Lois lower back in an attempt to calm her down but her tense muscles reminded him what the results would tell them today. What kind of future would define for them.
Dr. Klein ushered them in his pilled by notes and coffee cups lab, sparing a quick questioning place towards the lanky young man named Jimmy Olsen whom Lois Lane had absently grabbed his sleeve and guided in the lab.
The faded aroma of coffee and that of ink, as Bernard Klein held a fascination over fountain pens as his white coat could reveal, gave little comfort by its familiarity to Lois.
"Sleeves up!" he immediately ordered after firmly securing the door and closing the window's blinds.
Lois reaction was expected and appeared to be controlled by the small amount which has been administrated at her skin. The redness had spread but the minor swelling did not rival a nasty mosquito bite. Everything seemed to be in order but if his suspicions were correct Lois was not the culprit as they had very well suspected. Indeed Clark's arm was a flinch worthy sight to behold.
"When did you administer the serum?" he asked while reaching for various packages from the lab's cupboards.
"The serum at noon yesterday and the patches after breakfast today. We had no shower as instructed." Lois supplied. "It has not been 48 hours yet, is it even normal?"
Dr. Klein signed and looked between his most challenging cases in his career.
"I believe we have agreed to not label things as normal when it comes to your family Miss Lane. You were the one who made that request not long ago." his voice was calm but it was apparent that normality could not be applied here. Tentatively he moved Clark's arm under a sun lamp and proceeded after removing the rest of the patches to select the appropriate injection.
Clark's squeal should have not come as a surprise when the first injection was administrated but Jimmy was certainly surprised. Up to this point he could not figure out why his presence was required for an apparently gone wrong allergy testing.
"Jimmy?" Lois called, retrieving him from his thoughts. For the first time today he could see the tiredness she was plugged in since this morning.
"Could you take Jason from school and call the sitter for tonight? Tell her for an overnight service and call me back please?" she requested while quickly jotting down the sitter's number.
"Sure…" his gaze lingered for one more time on Clark's appearance and swelling forearm before squeezing his right shoulder while passing for the lab's door.
"Thanks Jimmy!" Clark slurred taking by surprise everyone in the room.
Clark Kent had just slurred. Now that was a first Jimmy chuckling thought getting out of the lab and heading to the exit of S.T.A.R. labs.
"Bernard he slurred! Clark Kent not Superman slurs!" she breathed.
"Don't say…" Bernard murmured. Clark's eyes were a hue lighter and he was slightly swaying only to rest his forehead on Lois left shoulder.
"Death by peanut butter! I guess" Clark chuckled.
Lois fixed a furious glance on Dr. Kleined and he instinctively took a step back.
"He stands correct if you contemplate it. The results are clear. Your son's allergy's were inherited by his father but apparently their reaction to the supplied medication is not the same. Fashinating but also quite encouraging." he concluded thoughtfully.
"So Jason's allergies will indeed fade?" her voice trembled after so many years of close calls, inhalers and peanut-less Halloweens.
"Will certainly decrease in intensity that is certain, as to whether they will fade I believe that once he reached puberty, he will follow his father's known path. Hard to say for sure but I'm highly optimistic" he concluded with a small smile.
"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!" Clark exclaimed taking momentary his forehead from Lois' shoulder and crashing back at it.
The dull pain made Lois wince and sign in exasperation, yet she tenderly ruffled her partner's hair.
"I think someone got the news with the appropriate excitement"
"Naturally… Will this last for long?" she asked biting the edge of her lip.
"The overnight sitter was an excellent idea. Especially after you take the same concoction of his shot in tablets." he replied her with a sudden overexcited manner.
The speculative staring Lois held on the tablets after she had safely put Clark to rest at his office's leather sofa, should have remained for a while longer before she downed them with a sip of a disgustingly cold mid-morning brewed coffee at 8 PM.
To be continued...