Title: Assault on Kent Farm
Author: Nadia Mack
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I Own Nothing. Oh, and spoilers for the upcoming season. If you're spoiler-free don't read if you know what's good for you.
Author's Notes: It's been a while since I wrote a fic, so I hope I haven't totally lost my touch. Feel free to critique.

Clark Kent sat dejectedly on his sofa watching reruns of I Love Lucy on the television, a bowl of warm popcorn on his lap and a large bottle of soda on the living room table. Ever since the arrival of his cousin, Kara, whom he didn't really believe existed after another girl had impersonated her, his life had gotten a lot more complicated than he ever expected it to be.

She was absolutely out of control.

Not in the crazy-send-her-to-a-psyche-ward type of control, but more like a stereotypical teenager bent on making him grow gray hairs before he reached 25 out-of-control. IPods, vintage clothing, motorcycles… dates… Clark sighed. He didn't like her dates at all. A few months into being a big-brother figure and already, he was compelled to hit every guy who rang his doorbell.

"Hey, Smallville!"

Clark looked over and an unexpected smile came over him. "Hey, Lois," he said, sitting himself upright to clear the little mess of popcorn he made on the sofa. "What are you doing here?"

She sat down on the space he made for her. "Heard your cousin was spending the weekend with your mom in D.C. Thought I'd come here and continue the task of driving you insane," Lois said teasingly. "What's on?"

His expression turned sheepish. "I, um, stuff."

"Reruns of Lucy, huh?"

When he felt he was clear of any disparaging remarks from her, he answered. "Yeah." He handed over his popcorn as soon as she made herself comfortable.

"I love this episode," she squeaked adorably. "Vitameatavegamin! I remember spending an entire summer with my sister watching this show. We must have butchered the word before my eight-year-old self was finally capable of pronouncing it."

He stared at her, trying to hide his smile. If anyone had told him that his quest for solitude in his own home would turn into a possible day of watching old reruns with the ever charming Lois Lane, he would never believe it, especially if it occurred a year or two ago. A woman who has constantly and deliberately put him on edge, and with little thought to how he may feel, he should be outraged.

"So is this what you call driving me insane?" Clark asked with a twinkle in his eye. "I think your slipping."

Two dimples appeared on either side of her mouth. "I thought I'd keep it light today."

"I didn't think you had it in you."

"What can I say?" Lois said with an exaggerated stretch of her arms out wide. "I'm just full of surprises." Her body moved sideways, her feet crossing at the ankles before settling over Clark's lap without a second thought while her back rested on several throw pillows piled together at the other end of the couch.

Clark could have rolled his eyes at her obvious expression that could've been similar to an explorer conquering a new world, but the look of pure content on her face kept any such ideas from coming to fruition. For one, he was grateful for her these last few months. Lois was one of the first to truly welcome Kara without too many questions, and it also helped that Kara took to her a hell of a lot more quickly than any of them.

Although, there were many of times he hated seeing them together. Perhaps hate is too strong of a word. Dislike. Yes, that's a better word. Kara and Lois had similar characteristics he could only describe with words such as strong-willed, stubbornness, defiance and arrogance.

For all intents and purposes, Kara was supposed to be the oldest out of everyone, but because of complicated circumstances, he ended up becoming older while she remained undiscovered near a dam and in a state of frozen animation, making him just a tad bit older and he felt that Kara resented him a little for that. She butted heads with almost everyone she meets, and practically everyone he likes to associate with, sans Luthor.

Then the one person she butted heads with butted her head right back, much to Kara's surprise. Because she couldn't reveal her powers, an argument that seemed endless between them (and gave him another new level of respect for his parents) even now, it didn't stop the constant fight for female dominance between Kara Zorel and Lois Lane, but it was obvious that the two females enjoyed hanging out and soon their heat matches quickly mellowed out and the two became friends sharing mutual respect for one another.

He attributed the quality of easily making friends with Kara in Lois's many years of experience with her own baby sister, Lucy Lane. If it wasn't for Lois, he and Kara would not probably get alone as well as they have been lately.

"How's the Planet?" Clark wondered curiously. "Are you behaving?"

Lois threw him a lop-sided grin. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said mysteriously.

She was flirting with him.

Clark gulped. He was flirting with her too. He didn't know when he started to consciously be aware of it, but he had a very strong feeling that Kara's excessive remarks upon the matter were partly the catalyst for it.

Mostly though, he was confused. He'd known Lois for over three years, and never in that time had she ever indicated an interest in him romantically (and that's not counting the times she didn't know they kissed each other), that and his unhealthy obsession over Lana no doubly help keep their relationship very platonic.

Until recently, he was becoming very aware of her. Every word that came out of her mouth was worth listening to. Every gesture made a world of difference. Her laughter became his laughter. Her smile easily puts a smile to his face. Her eyes, more expressive than he ever allowed himself to see, were the striking color of green.

In truth, everything about her was attractive. But there was no point in finding this woman intriguing. She would never think of him more than just the farmboy she'd become best friends with. After A.C., Oliver (a man she was clearly in love with) and it bothers him to even contemplate it, this Grant editor guy from the office, alien powers be damned, he couldn't compare.

"Don't you have plans this weekend?" Clark asked.

"If you call spending the day tracking down potential stories and spending all night putting together to meet the morning's deadline a weekend, then you're right, I am slipping."

A smile touched his slips. "So you don't have any plans?" he pressed, but not without wondering why.

A giggle erupted from between her lips but he soon realized she was reacting to a scene of Lucy slurring through her lines after taking a mouthful of her promotional tonic, a scene that even he had to admit, made him laugh every time he saw it.

SMACK!

Clark blinked and then his eyes turned to Lois who continued to lounge, her hands holding onto the pillow that he was pretty sure was responsible for the attack. He gave her a challenging look that she more than gladly returned.

"You're going down."

"Give it your best shot, Clarkie."

Oh, she played dirty. "Don't say I didn't warn you," Clark said, grabbing his own pillow for ammo.

Both of them jumped off the couch, each taking one side. Hands armed with pillows and ready for battle when a flutter in his stomach assaulted his concentration. That moment of distraction cost him his ear when Lois quickly thwacked the pillow right by his head.

"1-0," Lois yelled, disappearing into the kitchen with another pillow in her hands. "Best out of 11!" she added just for sportsmanship's sake.

Now she was really going to get it.

Clark chased after her hitting her square on her back. This went on for a few more hits until they both ended upstairs, Lois sitting against the closed door of the bathroom to catch her breath while Clark sat on the other side of it, waiting for her to open the door so he could take the winning point. Pillows still clutched on both of hands and ready to react at even the smallest of movements.

"9-10, game point," Clark reminded her smugly. "You can't stay in there forever." He promised himself after the second point that he wouldn't use his powers. It was only fair even if Lois didn't necessarily play fairly.

His ears inadvertently picked up noises behind the door and he forced himself not to x-ray through it just to see what she was up to. Pride and integrity won out and he stood, waiting for the inevitable. He was sure she was up to something and he wasn't going to be caught off guard. No way. Not this time.

A second later, the door swung open and Clark stood dumbly at the sight of her.

SMACK!

Lois ran under his outstretched arm and hit him again in the back before disappearing into his bedroom, the door closing just as he managed to turn his head and faintly hear her triumphantly declare herself the winner.

Ten minutes later he glared at her.

"Come on, don't be a sore loser!"

"That wasn't playing fair," he said, crossing his arms and looking the picture of a man who just got the rug pulled under him. "You can't… just… do that."

He was flustered and she used that to her every advantage.

"It's not as if you hadn't seen them before."

His face turned an embarrassingly deep shade of red. "Still!" he exclaimed, jaws clenching and thumping his fist down like a judge with a mallet but then he caught the pure look of innocence on her face and he quickly got sucked into it. The fluttering in his stomach came back ten-folds and he was forced to name it the "Lois feeling."

Clark's simmering annoyance at being bested not once but twice was tempered considerably by the adorable sight of her skipping her way back down the steps to the living room. "What are you doing?" he asked wearily at the sight of her picking up the cordless phone.

"Calling for take-out," she said and then grudgingly admitted something else. "Okay, maybe taking off my top was juvenile, but you're a straight guy and I needed to distract you, so I'm sorry."

Clark let out a sigh of relief when she added, "Not about winning, of course."

"Of course," he replied dryly.

Lois threw one of those mega-watt smiles his way and a sudden realization struck him so powerfully, he needed to sit down. In fact, that's exactly what he did.

Sorting through his thoughts and feelings, he finally figured out what it was.

It was happiness.

She made him happy.

The knowledge floored him.

For so many years, he was cursed by the knowledge of a future he had no control of. A life of which tore him apart from the places and people he wanted to be. Yet as he watched Lois go through life with a radiant smile and an attitude that said, 'You Can't Stop Me' and without the selfishness that he could only associate too closely with the negative aspects about life, it only caused to make him admire her more.

That "Lois Feeling" crept up shamelessly at him again, and once it appears, it was hard to shake off.

"Earth to Smallville," Lois beckoned, her hands waving across his face like Daniel-son waxing a car. "You're just going to have to accept that you lost, and that I'm smarter than you."

His state of deep contemplation vanished and was quickly replaced with amusement. "You didn't follow the rules."

"What is this, the Olympic Games?" she laughed cordially. "It's a pillow fight, with a touch of Lois Lane-pizzazz. I can't help it if you're boring."

At one time, her words might have hurt him, but knowing her, 'you're boring' actually meant, 'you're a really great guy and a lot of fun to be around.' Yes, that's what it was and no one can make him believe otherwise.

"Achoo!"

Clark's attention snapped up to find Lois sneezing as Shelby situated himself comfortably on his back while she rubbed his belly. The content look on his cute-doggie face was enough to tell him that he was in dog heaven.

Clark smiled. "Why do you play with him when you don't even like him?"

Shelby barked at him as if he understood what he said and took offense while Lois just sat on the floor, shrugging.

"I guess he's lonely."

"He has me," he said, a little put out.

"Yeah, but you're…" it was obvious the word didn't jump out of her when she finally managed one. "Um… you."

"That was poetic, Lois."

And then Lois sneezed again. He didn't even bother by giving her a 'bless you,' but then that "Lois Feeling" came at him again like a force he wished would stop coming on so strongly. There was just something charming about Lois playing with Shelby even though it was a detriment to her health. That and she continued to insist she didn't like dogs.

With no other things to do than wait for their food to arrive, he joined her on the floor. One eye on the dog and the other to her just in case she wanted to start Pillow Fight v2.

"This is nice," Clark said. "I think Shelby's the best thing to happen to our family when my dad was still around, I guess I have you to thank for that."

"You mean after I ran him down and dragged him to the house?"

Clark laughed out loud and it was becoming obvious that this was a recurring habit around her. "Well, besides that."

"I'd say the same but I don't want it getting to Shelby's head. He's spoiled enough as it is." She continued to rub slow circles on Shelby's soft tummy, the retriever's eyes closing in and out of obvious tiredness. "He so has the right idea," she sighed.

"You can take my room if you're sleepy," he offered genuinely. Clark has noticed that she's been working a lot lately since she started working at the Daily Planet. "I'll bring your food up when it gets here."

"Thanks, but I'll be all right." As proof against this, she yawned. Looking guilty, "I'm going to make some coffee. It's the one thing I can do without causing a complete disaster in the kitchen." She got up after some very heavy protesting from Shelby. It was obvious who his favorite person is between them and Clark couldn't help but agree.

"Me too, buddy." He brushed his hand through Shelby's golden fur. "I know how you feel." He turned to see a glimpse of Lois working the coffee pot and sighed.

There goes that "Lois Feeling" again.

The End