AN: Inspired by a fantastically fun to play verse on my rp journal between Lois Lane from Smallville, and Leonard McCoy from ST XI. A transporter accident has him trapped in Smallville in the 21st century. Lois finds him, takes him in, and despite themselves a relationship begins.

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"Die evil zombie freaks, die!" Lois pounded at the control pad to her games console like a woman possessed, eyes widened and fixed upon the flat screen before her. Shifting in her seat, perching on the edge of it, she could feel his eyes upon her. Awfully distracting. At least, that was what she was going to blame. The game was beating her because of Leonard, pure and simple.

Even though Leonard was sat with his eyebrows knitted together, only cocking upwards with each colorful shout emanating from his girlfriend, directed towards her game. He held a borrowed copy of a medical textbook in his hands, eyes scanning over the pages in a mixture of wonder and amusement. So many things in there that would be expanded upon, so many illnesses he had only heard of and never encountered, due to their being cured thanks to alien research or technology.

He raised his gaze from the pages before him, lips twitching in amusement as he looked over at her. "You do realise that shouting insults at it won't help you, don't you?" he asked, having to bite the inside of his mouth to resist the almost overwhelming urge to snark further.

Lois rolled her eyes at him, shot a pointed stare and pressed the pause button on the game pad in the hands. Raising it to point at him with the end, she wasn't going to hold back on her snark.

"It makes me feel better. I'd like to see you do better, Spaceman," almost a challenge, of course. She highly doubted Leonard would even give it a first thought, never mind a second or third. Her previous attempts to get him to join in had resulted in an almost-tirade - each time - as to how he was too old to play video games and wouldn't know one if it hit him square on the forehead.

With a snort and roll of his eyes, Leonard gave her a look of pure disbelief over his book, the tattered pages stilled as he paused in his reading. "Wouldn't have the first clue where t'start."

Which set off a little light bulb for Lois. He didn't outright say no, no chance in hell, get lost or any other colorful variant that he had previously shot back with. Maybe, just maybe, she was finally wearing down his reserve. Not that it was something she actively worked on. She just thought he might find some sort of fun in these games too, if he gave it a shot. A previous discussion had enlightened her to the fact that her games consoles were no longer used in his century, having been replaced with things such as holodecks (which sounded major cool, even if strange to her).

"Well, move your cute butt over here and I'll show you," she countered, shifting on the sofa and patting it, making and presenting the ample space to him. She herself leant forwards to take hold of the second controller, settling back on the sofa with one leg tucked under her. Waving the controller up by the wiring, her look was challenging, daring and sure. She wanted to see if he was finally going to loosen up enough to play a game with her.

To her surprise, despite this front of confidence, with a heavy sigh he rested a bookmark in the pages, closed up the book and sat up right. "Will this finally stop you whining at me every time you play?" he rose as he spoke, shifting from the chair to the sofa, awkwardly taking the controller in his hands, holding it upside down in the process.

Reaching to shift it in his grip so it was held correctly, another pointed look followed. "First of all, I don't whine. I offer, and explain the reasons why you're a taller version of grumpy when you say no. Secondly, you might even enjoy it."

"Like a hole in the head, am sure," he muttered.

Lois simply ignored his little complaint, pressing a few buttons on her controller, and then his, to include him in the game.

"Listen up, Spaceman. I'm on the last level and so it's really very important that you follow my lead and don't die too much until the end, alright? The zombies, you just need to shoot, and follow my lead," she settled, ready to turn the game back on when she felt Leonard jabbing her side, expectant look on his face.

"First of all, why the hell do I want to shoot these zombies? Secondly, how do I? An' thirdly, if you're on the last level, why do you need me to swoop in an' help you?" he knew the third point would hit a nerve, but sometimes he enjoyed that. Not that he liked to annoy her; he just liked being able to test his will against hers. She was a good match for him in that sense; she stood her ground, debated and argued in a way that made him feel alive.

"It's a game. They're gonna kill you if you don't kill them, Spaceman. And look," she leant forwards and pressed a few buttons on the controller, muttering to him what they did as she did so. "Third point? I don't need help. But now you're finally actually holding one of those controllers, I'm going to savor it. Now shut up and put up." With an amused, almost wicked grin, Lois resumed the game, leaning towards the screen all over again, pressing at buttons furiously.

Leonard held his own on the game. In fact, 45 minutes passed and he more than carried his own. Lois, on the other hand, was sat with her arms folded tightly across her chest having lost all of her lives, eyes fixed firmly on her boyfriend as he played the game, his own eyes on the scereen, hands almost lazily moving over the control though it meant nothing to him to play. As the game flashed up the boss at the very end of the game, Lois' eyes widened, hands reaching out wildly for the controller.

"Oh God, please let me do this. You don't know the game; it's taken me forever to get this far!" she practically pleaded, though Leonard shook his head, lips curling.

"I got this," was his simple reply.

And he did have. With surprising ease, he completed the level, finishing it off, completing the game. As Lois sat, open mouthed, staring at him, he rested the controller down and rose up, moving towards his seat to take hold of the previously discarded book.

Lois' eyes followed him and then rose to the screen. Of course, she snatched the controller up ready to input her details onto the high score screen. She'd gotten them that far; it was her right! Right? Right.

Burying his nose back into the book, she would have missed his shit eating smirk had her head not snapped towards him to see him, upon her eyes falling on the high score screen.

"How in the hell is your name already on there? Four times?" she asked suspiciously. "You hate video games. In fact, even though you're from the future, you hate technology which is the most ironic thing ever." She still, to this day, had to battle with him over the cell phone she gave him to use. He still couldn't - or perhaps refused to - master texting. Which meant a copious amount of voice mails left on her phone by him when he needed to reply to a message of hers, or simply leave her one himself. She was almost thankful for how they tailed off when he began working in the mail room at the Daily Planet. Too busy to use the phone as often. Besides, if he needed her, she was an elevator ride away.

"It is?" he replied, lifting his gaze, trying to set his face into a more serious, less playful expression. He was unable to hide the amusement in his eyes, however, even as he raised a single shoulder in a brief shrug.

"Answers, Spaceman."

Once more, he rested his book aside and leant forwards, rubbing his five o'clock shadow with his fingertips in mock thought. "See, Lo. What else do you think I got up to those months before I worked?" his lips twitched with the need to smile, which eventually won out. Winning smile on his face, eyes lit up in amusement. "Seems I ain't all bad with technology, huh? Got a few surprises in me yet, Lo."

That, she certainly wouldn't argue.

"Well, will you play Masters of Doom 4 with me then? I'm stuck on this one level where--"

"Already done it. I can teach you, though. Hope you're ready to be schooled, Lane."