Just a little Valentine's Day gift for everyone who's stood by the stories, even during the hiatus. Hope y'all have a good one yourselves. One of you in particular. Yea, you. You know who I'm talking about. *wink*

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The key slipped into the lock and the door swung open as Lois let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "Stop that, I'm serious! Stop it now, you're not playing fair!"

Clark's hands dropped from her sides as he chuckled, a deep rumble to her higher pitch. "Guess I'm learning from the best then huh?" Wagging his eyebrows, he pulled his jacket off, laying it over a stool at the kitchen counter.

Rolling her eyes she crossed to the refrigerator to put away the leftovers. Pausing a moment, like she did every time Clark was in her apartment, she remembered that first night. She'd almost lost him before she realized how important he would be to her. Brushing the bad memory aside she put the containers away before grabbing two beers.

Clark accepted one from her as he sat at the counter, smiling at his fiancée. He'd decided to employ the best means of actually surprising Lois, shock and awe, and surprised her at work with plans for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner. Lois had not made a big deal about the upcoming day, it didn't fit in her character. But Clark wasn't going to let it go by unattended. Every woman, whether they admitted it or not, took notice of this day. "Admit it Lois, you weren't expecting tonight."

She scoffed in response. "Well of course I was. What kind of boy scout would you be if you didn't work down the checklist of special occasions?" Leaning in across the counter she smiled. "I was totally ready for you."

Clark laughed again. "Yea, that's why you dropped those files when you walked up to your desk and found the roses."

Fighting her blush, Lois cleared her throat. "I just wasn't sure what they were about. Crazy fans, stalkers, all of them have been known to send roses. And you have been hanging around me a good bit lately Smallville."

"Ah yes, perhaps. But we both know I'm no stalker. And while I am a fan, I am not crazy. Well, beyond what must be the requiem to take dating Lois Lane head on." Smirking he took a swig from his beer, waiting for her response.

Her jaw set, Lois sighed. "Ok fine. You surprised me, just a little bit. Whitney told me Sunday night that you were pulling graveyard so he could take Lana out while your mom babysat for them. So what, you threw him under the bus to come and take me out instead? That's not being a good friend, tsk tsk tsk."

Clark shook his head. "Lois, come on. I'd never do that to Whitney. That's what the rookies are for. Them, low on totem pole. Me, big chief. Have power." Puffing his chest out, he grinned. "Plus it helps that all of your stories, along with the rumor mill, have the young guys afraid of me. They think if they take the last cup of coffee they'll end up going through a wall. Something about me busting in on a former deputy and beating him down in his apartment."

"Well technically that did happen. It just happened to be because the deputy was an evil mastermind who was playing both sides and put you and your family in danger. But details like that get lost in the retelling." Walking around the counter, she took his hand. "Now come on, we've had the romantic meal, and now you've got me alone in my apartment. What would you like to do with me Sheriff?"

Clark slipped his arm around her, pulling her close. "I think… I'd like to do something you want very much, but you'd never admit it to anyone." Leaning close, his lips brushed over hers softly. "I'm going to take you to the couch… and put in a good movie… and cuddle you within an inch of unconsciousness. Because even Lois Lane has a soft side."

Burying her face into his chest so he wouldn't see her grin Lois curled her body against his. Not for the first time, she was so glad someone had finally kept pushing their way in. "You ever tell anyone and I will have to kill you, you do know that right?"

Clark kissed the top of her head, stroking her hair. "Never. Wouldn't want someone else trying to woo you away from me."

"Not gonna happen Clark. Ever." She looked into his eyes as she said it, making sure he understood it. "Now, go pick a movie. I'm going to change, my feet are killing me. Does this whole Valentine's day package include a foot rub?" Biting her lip, she gave the best innocent face she could muster.

Clark couldn't help but laugh. "If you're a good girl, I'm sure it could be arranged." He watched her walk to her room before he crossed to the entertainment center. "Odds are I won't have to worry about it with that requirement."

"I heard that mister!"

Grinning, he crouched down to the row of DVDs, looking through the titles. Noticing the small hutch door at the end of the center cracked a bit, he reached over and pulled it open. "What the…?" Pushing it open more he pulled a stack of cases out. Romantic comedies, dramas, even a couple of musicals. "I think I just found Lois' secret stash. Leave it to her to be ashamed to let anyone know she likes 'Sweet Home Alabama'." He flipped through a couple others. "Or 'The Notebook'. OK, I'd hide that one too." Looking back into the hutch, he reached further back and found a box. He picked it up and went to sit on the couch, putting it on the coffee table. Opening the lid, his eyes shot open wide. "What… the… wow."

Lois walked out of her bedroom in a t-shirt and sweats with the Smallville Sheriff's Department logo, a gag gift from Lana so she wouldn't have to steal Clark's. "Did you find a movie Smallville, or do I have to take… charge…" her voice trailed off seeing him staring into the box on the table. "NO!" With a mighty leap she dove over the back of the sofa, grabbing for the box. But it was too late.

Clark held it away from her, staring at her with an expression of incredulity written on his face. "Lois. Is this what I think it is?"

"NO! I was just… someone asked me to hold onto it. It's Lucy's! You remember my sister, you met her once when she had that layover last year, and she stopped by the Daily Planet. It's hers, she has to travel a lot, it's hard to take around airports and keep packing and unpacking."

Clark shook his head. "Unh uh, I've heard that way too many times to believe it. Lois this isn't something you just stored up and forgot. There's no dust. It's been taken out again and again, you've been in this recently I'd bet." Rubbing a hand over his face, he slowly reached into the box again and pulled out… a sharpened piece of wood.

Lois shook her head. "I swear it's not what you think."

Clark took the wooden stick in his other hand and reached back into the box, pulling out another DVD case. His face burst into a wide grin, laughter about to bust out of him. "You're a Buffy fan!"

Lois twisted around to a sitting position, arms crossed over her chest with a huff as Clark dissolved into hysterical laughter. She rolled her eyes when he actually fell off the couch, still clutching the evidence. "You know… it's not that funny. Stop it. Shut up Clark!" She grabbed at the items in his hands, putting them on the table before smacking him on the chest and forearms. "Just stop it! It's not that big a deal!"

After he managed to get control of himself, Clark pushed up to sit back on the couch, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Not a big deal? You're hiding it like a dirty little secret, tucked away in the dark corner. Why?"

Rubbing a hand over her face, Lois rested her cheek on her hand. "It's just… everyone sees this hardcore bitch, the reporter, the military brat. And I like that. I like the edge it gives me, I like how they take me seriously from my reputation. Or if they don't, they will very soon. And come on, if anyone knew that I watched Buffy? That kind of thing kills the mystique."

Clark shook his head. "It doesn't. It just humanizes you Lois."

She threw her hands up. "Exactly! That kills it! It weakens the perception of me."

Clark sighed and reached over, picking up the wooden stake and checking it out. "It's ok for some people to see the human side of you Lois. I hate to shock you, but it's already happened. It happened when you were babysitting Kyle, and Lana and Whitney came home to find you two asleep on the couch with Winnie the Pooh playing on TV. It happened when you showed up at the farm on Mother's day when I was stuck helping Sawyer on another case and you didn't want mom to be alone." He leaned in closer to her. "For the record, she figured that you did that because you didn't want to be alone either. But it meant so much to her."

Lois' face softened a bit. "Me too."

Clark grinned. "So, why Buffy?"

Lois stared at him, brow raised with disbelief on her face. "Seriously? You, the guy who busted open a major scandal and found evidence that brought down a multi-BILLION dollar crime syndicate because you saw a guy eating a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich… and you can't figure out something that simple?"

Clark just shrugged his shoulders. "It's my day off."

Rolling her eyes, she laughed softly at that. "Like you know how to take a day off. Anyway… she was a tough chick who kicked ass. I was an impressionable teenage girl with nothing but male role models. She was awesome to me. I didn't have to act like one of the guys, I could still be me and be a hardass. And she had great taste in shoes."

Clark couldn't hold in his laugh at that. "Well, I guess that does make sense." Twisting the stake in his hand he looked back to her. "And this?"

She shrugged. "Just a little souvenir."

He laughed again. "I can't believe you scoured E-Bay for something like this. Did you use a fake name on the account? Have it sent to a Mailboxes, Etc. so it couldn't be traced to you?"

Lois grabbed it from him. "Hey I will have you know I stood in line to get this! They only handed out 100 that year at Comi…" She shut up quickly, realizing she'd said too much.

"You went to a comic book convention to get that? Oh this is too much. You are hardcore into this aren't you?"

She smacked him on the chest. "Look, just because I have an appreciation for a good story, and a really good show, that doesn't mean that I was hiding something from you. You don't tell me about all the things you are into, I had to find out the hard way when I tried to surprise you during WrestleMania night and found you and Whitney wearing those t-shirts and yelling like rabid monkeys. That was embarrassing. And it was cold wearing nothing but that coat. Not that you noticed, you were busy ogling the divas."

Clark grunted. "I was not ogling. That was Whitney. And so what if I watch pro-wrestling, it's a guy thing. Not like I'm some uber fan."

Lois raised her brow in disbelief. "Clark, you were wearing an elbow pad that had a bull on it, and Whitney was wearing some weird kind of mask."

"Hey, Rey Mysterio is a legend in the making, don't knock the mask." He shifted in his seat. "And don't turn this around on me, you're the one who was actively hiding this. Jeez, next thing I know you're gonna start spouting the benefits of Spuffy or something."

Lois rolled her eyes and stood up, putting the stake back in the box. "Well of course I would, who am I supposed to root for, Angel? That big, broody…" The lid dropped from her hands and she turned so fast she almost lost her footing. "You said Spuffy!"

Clark looked at her, shrugging. "So?"

She was pointing at him, one hand on her mouth. "Spuffy! How do you know what that is? Oh my god, you follow the show too! How could you give me that much crap about it?"

Clark stood up, hands out in front of him. "No no no, I didn't watch it that much. I didn't follow it like you did. Ok yea, I watched a few episodes here and there, but come on. I was a teenage kid in Kansas and she was a hot girl who fought martial arts in tight clothes. I would have been more worried about myself if I didn't watch it here and there."

Lois advanced on him. "Just watching it a couple of times, you wouldn't know what Spuffy is. Come on, admit it. You love the show. You watched it a lot didn't you?"

Clark shook his head again. "No, I didn't watch Buffy that much. I mean… maybe I read that word on a website or something, and it just stuck to me. You know some TV site."

She grinned. "Oh no sir, some random news site wouldn't have that on it. Only sites for fans of Joss Whedon or his shows would. What were you doing on those…? OH MY GOD! Your gun case in your house! I knew one of those looked familiar! You've got Mal's revolver from Firefly. I can't believe you watched Firefly."

Clark stepped back up to her. "Hey, that was a good show! It was different, and it had great characters and it deserved better than getting canceled after half a season."

Lois fell back onto the sofa. "Wow. How did I not know I was engaged to a Whedonite?"

"Apparently I didn't either. So much for the intuitive police skills and the reporter instincts huh?" He chuckled, pulling her to sit next to him again.

Leaning against him she scoffed. "Yea well, I found out about your wrestling fetish, so at least I had one up on you."

"That was a complete accident and you know it Lois, you don't get to claim it."

"Yea Smallville, well so was you finding that box. But I did use intuition to figure out how you knew what Spuffy was, so I win." She smiled up at him and Clark finally relented, nodding. She laid her head on his shoulder. "So how did you come across that if you were more of a Firefly fan?"

"On those sites you run into a lot of crossover between fans. A lot of talk about Spike, saying he was funny and he was a great addition. I might have caught up on most of the episodes when Spike got more involved."

Lois nodded, then looked up at him. "So, Spike or Angel?"

"Spike without a doubt. Angel was just a whiner. And I think he had a problem admitting that Buffy didn't need him to save her every time. He couldn't handle having a strong woman. Spike was smart enough to accept that. And I think it's something he loved about her. I can relate to that." Tilting Lois' head up, he kissed her softly.

Smiling against his lips, Lois pulled back suddenly. "So… did you ever pick a movie? I think I have a good one in mind." When he shook his head, she hopped up from the couch and went back to the entertainment center. Reaching into the spot he found the box, she pulled out another couple of cases. Holding one up, she smiled as the big grin grew on Clark's face. "I take it that's a yes?"

Clark nodded quickly, pulling her close again when she sat down after putting the DVD in. "A woman after my own heart."

"And don't you ever forget it buddy. Now shut up, it's starting."

Clark chuckled as he leaned back and watched the beginning of "Serenity" start up. Leaning down, he kissed her once more. "Happy Valentine's Day, Lois."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Smallville."

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A.N.: And a Happy VD to all of you too! Share your VD with someone special! Thanks for reading!