Lois loved an excuse to put on a good dress. Tonight's was blue, strapless, princess waist, with flared ruffles that gradually became a lighter blue. It was incredibly comfortable, and paired with her silver stilettos it was a perfect outfit. Her hair was gathered up behind her head in a messy French twist with her bangs whisked off to the side. It felt great to look so hot.
She looked around the banquet hall to the rest of the Daily Planet staff attending the fundraiser. Everyone looked nice and in the spirit of raising money for the hospital, even those who usually didn't get into it, Lois herself included.
Kat walked up to her and leaned down against her ear. "Lois, Lois, Lois…I didn't see your name on the Kiss-A-Thon roster. Don't you want to try and guess who the best kisser is at the Daily Planet?"
Lois faced the gossip columnist and raised an eyebrow. "Kat, I don't need to sell my lips for charity."
"Oh, don't think of it that way. Think of it as a chance to test the playing field for future reference."
"I don't date men at work."
"Yeah, that's what you said last time, and the time before that. Oh, gee, they were both Planet reporters."
Lois huffed and turned on her heel. She wouldn't deny that she'd given the Kiss-A-Thon some serious thought, but what were the chances of anyone being worth the kiss? It was going to be more fun to watch than to participate.
Perry walked up to the microphone and cleared his throat. "Well, seeing as everyone seems to be done with dinner, let's get this rolling. As you know, Luthorcorp, Queen Industries, and Wayne Enterprises will generously provide the money we raise tonight. Let's start with the Kiss-A-Thon since I know that's what you all want to see." Jimmy stuck two fingers in his mouth and did a trill whistle, and the room broke into scattered laughter.
Perry laughed, too, and pulled out a paper from his vest pocket. "Okay, just as a reminder, the contest works as follows: one of the men or women will be placed on a stool in the middle of the stage and blindfolded. Four members of the opposite sex will be brought forward and will kiss the contestant in turn. Money is earned based on the ratings given to the kisses, ten dollars per point on a ten-point scale, and then if the contestant can accurately pick who was doing the kissing an extra hundred points will be given. Are there any questions?"
The room stayed quiet, and a few people exchanged smiles.
"Our first contestant will be…Lois!"
Lois shot her eyes up and looked around the room. "What? I didn't sign up for the Kiss-A-Thon!" Her eyes narrowed and she searched for Kat in the crowd. Her face was triumphantly curled in a sinister smile. Lois rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to do it, Perry."
"Chicken!" Jimmy called.
The rest of the room muttered its agreement. Lois sough out Clark, and she found him standing in the back next to Bruce Wayne. He was standing taller than usual, almost as if something about Bruce Wayne's presence made him stand a little taller and prouder. He met her eyes and just smiled.
"Lois?" Perry asked. "Come on, honey, you going to tell me you're not at least tempted?"
"Tempted? To be kissed by these guys? Heh, no."
Jimmy started to chant, "Lo-is! Lo-is!" and was followed by the rest of the room, including Perry, Clark, and Bruce. With a sigh of resignation, she nodded and walked up to the stage, and wedged herself onto the stool. Her eyes made one sweep around the room before Perry blindfolded her.
"Okay, contestant number one! Lois, get prepared to guess."
Light footsteps padded on the stairs onto the stage and came to a shuffled stop in front of her. This one was hesitant. His breathing was erratic in a nervous way, and she heard him audibly swallow at least twice before a pair of lips came to match with hers. He wasn't bad at all, and Lois leaned into it, encouraging him. She touched his shoulder, not a very muscular one, and soon enough he pulled away, moving a great deal faster than he had the first time.
"Well, Lois?" Perry asked.
Lois smiled. "Give Mr. Olsen six points."
Jimmy released a heavy sigh from somewhere close to her. "Thanks, Lois."
"You're welcome, Jimmy."
"Great! Let's add one hundred and sixty dollars to our tally board. Contestant number two, let's have it."
These footsteps were heavier, more confident, and the whole kiss itself was over with quickly. Lois wasn't sure why they even bothered. The kiss wasn't even long enough to figure out the source. "A three? And I have no idea who that was."
"Add thirty dollars. And that was Max from copy."
Lois nodded, and tried to remember who Max even was.
"All right, contestant number three!"
He took a long time to reach the front, and walked with more confidence than Max had. His shoes clicked against the floor as he walked, as if he was deliberately forcing a heavy stride. He stood what sensed like about a foot in front of her before placing a hand to her chin and pulling her up to kiss him. She laughed and brought her hands up to rub his arms, and he slipped their mouths open to give her a little tongue. She moaned and pulled back. "Mr. Wayne gets eight points. Not the best kiss you've ever given me, Bruce."
"It's hard under pressure, Lois."
The room chuckled and Lois rolled her eyes, even if no one could see it.
"Add a hundred and eighty points to the total. And now let's have our final contestant come on up!"
Lois was running through her head who was left, and who would actually be willing to kiss her. She wasn't paying very much attention to his footsteps, so by the time she could hear him breathing in front of her, she wasn't really sure what to expect. He took a long, deep breath, then leaned in to kiss her.
His lips were light against hers at first, and she thought that was going to be end of it. But then, just as she expected him to pull back, he pressed his lips firmly against hers, molding them together. Lois moaned and opened her mouth, and he complied. His tongue lightly touched the tip of her lips and slowly slipped into her mouth. She rubbed her tongue against his, and a chill started up through her body.
She couldn't consciously remember making the decision, but she jumped up and mercifully the stranger caught her. The room gasped in surprise, but Lois was too busy to notice or care. She opened her mouth wide and her stranger met it perfectly. His strong arms held her up from the small of her back, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She tilted her head to change the angle, and he groaned deep in the back of his throat.
When she pulled back, gasping, she didn't try to wiggle out to the ground, and he didn't move to do so either. They stayed close together, gasping for breath. Lois tingled from head to toe.
Perry's voice was hesitant into the microphone. "Lois?"
She smiled and leaned against the stranger's shoulder. "A definite ten."
"And who is it?"
She lifted her a head a little bit. "Should I know this person?"
"Um…yeah."
Lois frowned and pulled the blindfold off in time to see Clark Kent put his glasses back on.
She stared at him. "C-c-clark?"
He laughed, but maybe not as hard as Bruce did from the sidelines.
Perry laughed nervously into the microphone. "Okay, then…that brings Lois' total earnings to four hundred and seventy dollars! Congrats, Lois."
The room applauded and Lois still hadn't taken her eyes off of Clark.
He smiled brightly. "Permission to kiss you again?"
"Permission granted," she said feebly. And so he did.