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Jimmy grinned at them. He wore a pair of old jeans and a work shirt embroidered with a moving van logo. The garage door was already open and Clark could see a mountain of neatly stacked boxes piled inside. He recognized Jimmy's scrawling print on the sides: dishes, clothing, photographic equipment, spatulas, plants.
Lois rolled her eyes. "Plants?" She said keeping her voice low as she addressed the earnest faced young man.
"Don't you like plants?" He asked. "I tried to think what should be inside each box."
"Sure, but you don't usually pack them up in brown cardboard boxes for a move. And just how many spatulas are we supposed to have that we need an entire box to contain them?"
"Oh. Well gee, Ms. Lane." Clark could hear the almost painful thumping of Jimmy's heart; he was such a gentle soul.
He winked at Jimmy and said to Lois, "I guess you're quite the cook, Mrs. Kent."
Lois gave him a mock glare, her hand on her hips, but even Jimmy could see the smile that threatened to break free.
Jimmy chuckled, and watched as Jason poked at the ground with a stick. Clark saw that the boy was examining an anthill, but he seemed to be in no danger of getting bitten, and he didn't think the ants needed the assistance of Superman. He watched silently, instinctively knowing that if Lois was aware of what Jason was doing, she would feel compelled to halt him.
Kurt Madison from Sports snorted as he approached them with a box in his arms. Clark knew that they were empty, but he could have at least made an attempt to appear as if they weighed something. Of course, Clark had a lifetime worth of practice at that skill.
Kurt nudged Clark's shoulder almost aggressively and said in a low, suggestive voice, "I wouldn't mind some intimate time with the little woman. Got to make it look authentic, right Clark?"
Clark clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles were white. He could no longer hear anything but the sound of his own beating heart. The traffic noise miles away, the couple fighting a block over, the cat hissing a protest nearby, even Lois' breath hitching when she saw him tense, faded into the background.
A muscle in his jaw ticked and he said in a low voice, "I don't want to ever hear you say anything disrespectful about Ms. Lane ever again. Do you understand, Madison?" His entire demeanor had changed in his anger. He was Superman wearing the thick glasses and casual clothing.
Everyone noticed the change. Jimmy's mouth was open in astonishment. Lois' eyes were wide, but she acted instantly. Clark had forgotten that he had an audience. He didn't think that Lois had heard what Kurt had said, and he had no intention of repeating it for her.
"Clark?" She laid her hand on his arm.
The sound of her voice broke the stillness, and the outside world came rushing back in. Clark glanced down meeting Lois' assessing gaze, calming him instantly. She was really concerned about him, and from the subtle tightening of her neck muscles, he knew it would only be a matter of seconds before she turned on Kurt. The sports writer was forgotten in an instant, overridden by his concern for Lois.
Lois hugged his arm. Clark moved tentatively for fear she would release him as he placed his large hand over hers. He felt the tension ebb out of her, but there was an angry glint in her eye as she watched Kurt stumbling back. He muttered insults directed at both Clark and Lois under his breath and got into the cab of the moving van.
"That guy's a jerk, Mr. Kent. I'm glad you set him straight. Wow! I thought you were gonna' give him a black eye. That would have been something. He had it coming to him." Jimmy said. He wiped the back of his forehead with his sleeve, and Clark grinned.
Jimmy blushed and then said, "Well, I better go. Gotta return the van before the Planet has to pay extra and before um, before I lose my ride back."
"Thanks Jimmy." Lois said gratefully.
Jimmy got into the passenger side of the van, and the vehicle disappeared down the street with a belch of black smoke.
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Lois un-strapped Jason so that he could explore the front yard while she watched Clark greet Jimmy and Kurt through the car's windshield. The two men were dressed as movers. They didn't even have matching shirts, but she doubted anyone would even think to notice.
Most people usually accept what they are presented on the surface level without looking any deeper. It was kind of a persistence of vision, the phenomenon that makes a series of still photos appear to be a moving image on the big screen. She figured that the mind couldn't accept the missing pieces of information and managed to fill in the gaps to create a whole.
Either way, Lois had found that she really didn't need to have a terribly convincing story, or even be that great of an actor for people to accept what she told them while she was undercover for a story. Most people had too much going on in their own life to give any thing more than a cursory examination.
She got out of the car, looking down the street and not really noticing anything unusual. They were alone. It was Friday; most people would still be at work. The clouds were dark and it looked like it was going to rain later this afternoon. She examined the labels on the boxes stacked in the garage and rolled her eyes.
She tried to picture stacks of potted plants spilling soil, their leaves compressed against the interior cardboard. There were just certain things you couldn't teach some people. Lois rolled her eyes. "Plants?"
"Don't you like plants?" Jimmy asked. "I tried to think what should be inside each box."
"Sure, but you don't usually pack them up in brown cardboard boxes for a move. And just how many spatulas are we supposed to have that we need an entire box to contain them?"
"Oh. Well gee, Ms. Lane." Jimmy stammered.
Clark shifted uncomfortably, as if in sympathy for the young photographer. Lois knew that he was about to do something that would attempt to put the young man at ease. Clark winked at Jimmy, looked at her with sparkling eyes, "I guess you're quite the cook, Mrs. Kent."
Lois attempted to keep the smile from showing, trying for a glare. She knew that Clark could see through her and for some reason she felt suddenly happy.
Jimmy chuckled, but it died when Kurt came back with a box in his hand and deliberately knocked into the back of Clark. Lois' eyes narrowed and a biting comment about a certain Neanderthal sports writer remained stuck in her throat.
She froze.
Kurt had said something so low that she couldn't hear it, but Clark obviously did and didn't like it one bit. His entire demeanor shifted, and Lois wondered if she hadn't ever really seen Clark before. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and tried with little success to swallow. Had she failed to look beneath the surface as well?
Clark's knuckles were white, his eyes flashed with fury. He seemed to have grown a foot in height right before her eyes. She edged closer to them and heard Clark say in a tone that was vaguely familiar, "I don't want to ever hear you say anything disrespectful about Ms. Lane ever again. Do you understand, Madison?"
She didn't have time to be mad at Kurt. All she could think of was how Clark had somehow become a force to be reckoned with. Lois was astonished, proud, but worried about the leashed power she could sense just beneath the surface. Whatever Clark was about to do, Lois knew that he would regret it.
"Clark?" She reached out for him, putting her hand on his arm. She could feel the tense muscles under the flannel of his shirt. Clark glanced down meeting her eyes and she felt a thrill surge through her, which escalated as he placed his hand over her own. His shoulders stooped so subtly that if she hadn't been looking for it, she wouldn't have noticed the change.
Whatever had happened was over just as quickly.
She hated the feeling that Clark was retreating, and she hugged him, trying to grab on to it as if she were losing something important. She glared at Kurt as he almost tripped in his haste to escape, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. The sound of the slamming door shook through her. The sports writer refused to look at them as he waited for Jimmy in the cab.
Jimmy's voice broke the tension. "That guy's a jerk, Mr. Kent. I'm glad you set him straight. Wow! I thought you were gonna' give him a black eye. That would have been something. He had it coming to him."
Lois watched Clark through all of this, trying to get a deeper glimpse behind Clark's thick glasses.
"Well, I better go. Gotta return the van before the Planet has to pay extra and before um, before I lose my ride back."
Finally she turned to the photographer. "Thanks Jimmy."
Jimmy left. The van drove away.
Lois couldn't contain her curiosity any longer, "What happened with Kurt?" She blushed when she realized she was still clinging to him. She let go of his arm quickly.
Clark opened his mouth to reply, but one of the neighbors chose that moment to come over for introductions. She was the Stepford type, blond, overly manicured, dressed for a "casual stroll" in heels for Gods sake. She had a small white dog on a leash that was probably more of an accessory than a pet.
"Welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Elizabeth, I live right next to the clubhouse."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Clark and this is Lois. That's Jason over there." Clark adjusted his glasses and gave the woman a warm smile.
Elizabeth gave Jason a perfunctory glance, and then she gave Clark a long assessing sweep with her eyes. Lois dug her fingernails into the palms of her hand. She wanted to slap the woman for such an insulting look. She could almost see the woman calculating how she would arrange time alone with Clark. "I always like new neighbors." She glanced into the garage. "You do a lot of cooking?" The peroxide blond gestured to the spatula box.
Clark cleared his throat, glancing quickly down at Lois. "Well, we came from a farm. Lois is a wonderful cook."
"How sweet, a farmer's wife." Elizabeth said condescendingly. She gave Lois a dismissive look and then returned her gaze to Clark almost predatorily.
Lois smiled tightly. She muttered under her breath that she was going to throttle Clark. It was too quiet for him to have heard, but there was a definite glint of humor in his eyes. That man! He was enjoying this wasn't he?
Jason came over to pet the dog. The dog licked his face while the adults were focused on each other.
Clark really did look good dressed more casually; his hair flopped forward almost concealing the top half of his glasses. Lois was furious that this woman would show such blatant interest in Clark. He was her husband . . . or at least he was pretending to be. Even so, the nerve! Lois stepped forward and took Clark's arm possessively.
"We're having a barbeque down by the pool tomorrow night. Why don't you come and meet the other neighbors." Elizabeth suggested.
"Honey, I think that sounds like a great idea, what do you think?" Clark looked at Lois.
Lois, felt a moment of satisfaction when she saw the disappointment flash in Elizabeth's eyes at Clark's endearment. As much as she disliked this woman and the way that she was ogling Clark, this was an opportunity that couldn't be bypassed.
"We'll be there." She had her work cut out for her. Lois would have to pursue leads as well as protect Clark from this woman's predatory claws.
"Why don't you bring dessert? We would all love something home cooked." Then she licked her lips. "It just makes me hungry thinking about it."
She walked away with an exaggerated sway to her hips. Elizabeth's blond hair bounced annoyingly. She disappeared around the corner.
"It just makes me" Lois mocked emphasizing the next word, "hungry thinking about it. God! What is with that woman?"
"I don't know Lois. She was just trying to be friendly."
"A little too friendly, I think. Clark you are such an innocent. Come on. Let's get inside before it starts to rain."
She pulled on his sleeve and Clark laughed softly under his breath.
This was going to get interesting.
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