It only took Clark two days to text Mack about his plan, and she shook her head as he instructed she wear something nice and meet him on the roof. Realizing her usual little black dress had been thrown out when she had been shot, she settled on a knee-length blue sundress she had, making a mental note to go clothes shopping for a new date night dress. Not that this was a date, of course; she simply wanted to comply with what Clark asked. Taking the time to touch up her make up, she decided to leave her hair down before heading up to the roof. The sight that greeted her took her breath away: twinkle lights decorated the edges of the roof, with a table set for two complete with white tablecloth and candle. If this is what he did for his friends, she could only imagine the sort of treatment Lois got to look forward to. Ignoring the sour feeling in her stomach at the other woman, Mack moved towards the table, less than surprised to feel a breeze behind her.
"This is all really pretty, Clark." She turned to see him in a suit, glasses left behind in his apartment. He looked awfully dashing, and Mack could feel a light blush rising at the thought. He moved to pull out her chair, and she couldn't help but laugh even as she took the offered seat.
"What?" He seemed genuinely confused, only inspiring more laughter from Mack.
"I just-" She took a breath to gather herself. "I don't think I've ever actually seen someone do that, outside of a movie anyway." It was his turn to blush as he pushed what looked like a metal cart closer to the table, a covered dish taking up space in the middle. On a lower shelf of the cart appeared to be a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses.
"Seriously? Man, what kind of guys have you been seeing lately, Mack?" He set to work pouring wine and serving the food, which looked to be something homemade and reminiscent of his family. The smell alone made her mouth water, and she briefly wondered if she could snag the recipe from him or his mom.
"Um, none." Her tone was joking, but she was serious; her love life was far from successful, and she found that she didn't want to settle with just some loser who wanted nothing more than a consistent booty call. Clark's eyebrows rose in surprise as he took his seat across from her.
"Oh. I'm really sorry to hear that." She waved off his concerns, taking her first few bites of the food. It was heavenly, as she had learned most of Mama Kent's food was, and she was quick to take a couple more. Clark chuckled before following her lead, and they ate in comfortable silence for awhile. It left Mack plenty of time to think, though a decent amount of her thoughts were dedicated to convincing Mama Kent to publish a cookbook. When the food was almost gone, she chose to slow down, looking up at her friend.
"You really didn't have to go through all this trouble, Clark." He gave her a sheepish smile, and she wondered how anyone with his abilities and looks could still be sheepish about anything. Finishing her glass of wine, she was a bit surprised when he got up from the table and moved behind the air conditioning unit on the building. She waited patiently, pouring herself another glass of wine as she considered that he may have had to run off for hero business. He returned shortly, however, another covered dish in his hands that he set right in the middle of the table. Her curiosity didn't last long, as he removed the cover to show a rather large lava cake with two big scoops of vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Mack's eyes widened at the dessert, a smile growing on her face as he produced two spoons.
"I figured we could share." His grin matched her own as she took a spoon and started on the dessert, unable to hold back a groan of happiness at the flavor. Clearly, he understood her love for chocolate; she often joked it was her only truly feminine trait.
"You are honestly the best, Clark." His cheeks flushed again as he mumbled his thanks around a bite of lava cake. As they enjoyed the cake, Mack made it a point to make small talk, asking about work at the Planet and any current Superman things he was comfortable talking about. When it came to his hero identity, she could swear she saw a weight lift off of him as he shared. She supposed having a secret like that was hard on someone, especially someone as open and honest as him. Making a mental note to ask him more often, she listened as he told her all about how he had been hearing more and more about the vigilante across the bay, The Bat. The cake and ice cream didn't last too long between the two of them, and soon he was offering her his hand with an excited look on his face.
"I wanna show you something, if that's okay." Slowly, with a fair amount of caution, she gave him her hand, nervous excitement building in her stomach as they approached the edge of the roof. "You trust me, right?" It was like a scene straight out of one of her favorite romances, and of course she nodded. He tossed his jacket aside, rolling up his sleeves, and she took a moment to appreciate how well his shirt fit over his form. Mack figured if she was going to be thinking these things about her friend anyway, she may as well enjoy them. Slowly, giving her a chance to decline or step away, he slid one arm around her waist, holding her against him securely. "You're gonna wanna hold on pretty tight." Knowing she couldn't hurt him, Mack moved her arms around his neck and held on with all her might, having a fairly good idea of where this was going. He bent his knees before pushing into the air, taking off slower than usual but still fast enough to take her breath away. It wasn't long before they were above Metropolis, and she chanced a look down at the city. It was gorgeous from up here, lights everywhere.
"Wow…" She knew Clark could hear her, even over the roar of wind around them. He flew them around for a short while, showing her a side to Metropolis that not even the best pilot could show her. When they finally landed back on the roof, she was completely blown away. "Clark, that was amazing! God, it felt like I never wanted to come down." He smiled at her words, and she noted that neither of them had let go of the other. There was a beat of silence before she found her best friend pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, both hands around her waist now and holding her close. I was only too easy to fall into the feeling of him wrapped around her, her eyes drifting shut as she returned the kiss. However, it didn't take long for her mind to catch up, and she found herself pulling away rather violently.
"Mack, I...I'm sorry." Clark looked just as bewildered as she did, one arm still reaching for her as they both tried to catch their breath. Shaking her head, Mack gave her most convincing smile, knowing it likely wasn't as good as usual.
"Forget it. It'll be our secret, okay?" Not waiting for his answer, she turned to head inside, running a hand through her hair as soon as the door was closed behind her. All the way back down to her apartment and even once she was in bed, she kept playing the kiss over in her mind, wondering if it had simply been due to the atmosphere. Deciding it didn't matter as long as he had Lois, she did her best to force it from her mind, closing her eyes and willing herself to a deep sleep.