2:05 PM

Smooth Kent, real smooth.

Clearing his throat, Clark took a step into the closet.

"What's wrong?" he said, silently thanking whatever deity he could think of that his voice had returned to its normal pitch.

"Stupid staples," she grumbled, standing on her tiptoes to add to the already too effective picture she was making.

He moved to stand behind her, realizing too late that if he wanted to maintain any semblance of confidence that this wasn't the best move he could have made.

Talk about a view.

Leaning back against the opposite shelves, he allowed himself a moment to enjoy it. Okay, sure, she was currently sort of struggling to find something, but hey, he was a man. Even if he wasn't human, it didn't mean he didn't appreciate the curvy figure he was currently feasting his eyes on.

Of course, it was certainly easier since she didn't know he was checking her out. As his eyes slowly moved down the length of her incredible legs, they suddenly stopped.

Staples.

On the second shelf from the floor.

"Smallville, you still there?" she said, adding in another long reach and frustrated sigh for added effect.

Wrinkling his brow slightly, he looked up at her.

She had to have seen them.

What are you up to, Lois Lane?

There was no doubt in his mind she was up to something. The question was, what?

Judging from the way she was putting herself on display in front of him, and a lovely display it was, it certainly seemed like a way to get to him. Why, he had no idea.

But two could play at this game, and over the years, he'd certainly been able to give as good as he got from her.

"Clark?" she called, and he notes the tiniest hint of frustration in her voice.

Lois' fingertips were lightly grabbing the edge of the top shelf. She was starting to get pretty tired of standing in this ridiculous, yet easy on the eyes for his benefit, position. What the hell was he doing anyway?

Had she turned around at that point to see the answer to that very question, she would have seen the sexiest of grins adorning his handsome face as he took a step toward her. He stepped up the first step of the stepstool, then the second, so he was right behind her, causing Lois to catch her breath, having not expected to feel him so close to her.

But even that didn't prepare her for what happened next.

"Lois, why don't you let me get them?" he said, managing to sound confident even though his heart was doing its own bit of racing at being this close to her. He reached up and gently placed his fingers on the bare strip of skin between her skirt and her top, softly grasping her waist.

The warmth of his fingers stunned Lois, and she felt the balancing act she'd attempted on her tiptoes start to fail. She could feel his grip tighten slightly, and she could tell he was attempting to lift her off the stool and set her down but his method of doing that, touching her with those large, strong hands of his with a heat that practically melted her skin?

This was so not her plan.

She let out a small squeak as she felt her ankle give and her legs started to buckle slightly. She lifted one of her hands from the edge of the shelf in an attempt to balance herself but of course, she only made things worse as she began to fall backwards toward Clark.

Feeling her in trouble, he immediately stepped back one step and brought one arm down to her legs, quickly scooping her up in his arms and stepping down onto the floor.

All she felt is the side of her body pressed against his chest. One hand pressed tightly against her waist as he cradled her to him. One hand firmly holding her legs.

And her heart pounding ridiculously hard.

She bit the side of her lip and looked up at him, noticing the tiniest hint of a smirk on his face as he looked down at her.

She didn't know whether to wring his neck or kiss that smirk off his face.

Where in the hell did THAT come from?

Clearing her throat, in an attempt to banish all thoughts of slamming Clark Kent up against one of the shelving units in their current location, she managed to mumble the word, "Thanks."

"No problem," he said, and she detected a hint of…something…in his voice. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

He put her down, setting her easily on the floor, then crossed his arms in front of him, leaning casually against the shelf. She quickly tugged her shirt down, placing her hands on her hips as she noticed the way he was looking at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, so what are you just standing there for?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

Shaking her head with a note of frustration, she lifted one hand toward the top shelf of the opposite unit.

"My staples?"

Seeing his chance to rattle her cage more than a little bit, something he has absolutely loved to do since they day they met, Clark took a step toward her, causing Lois immediately to step back.

"You didn't call me in here for staples, Lois," he said in a low but confident voice, taking another step toward her, and another…until her back is against the metal shelves. He took one more step closer to her, leaving barely a pair of inches between them. Lifting his arms, he placed them on either side of her, resting on the shelf that was lightly pressing into the middle of her back.

She felt her breathing become slightly faster as his head bowed slightly toward hers. Refusing to let him get the best of her, she lifted her eyes to his, meeting them head on.

"Oh really?" she challenged.

"Really," he said, then tilts his head to the side, his eyes moving down until they fall on the columns of boxes of staples. She followed his gaze, and when she realized what he was looking at, she felt herself turning a very bright shade of red.

"I didn't see them," she muttered, not at all convincingly as she fixed her eyes on the knot in his tie, refusing to look at his face for a number of reasons, one of which being she had no desire to see what she was sure is a very triumphant smile on his face.

"Sure you didn't, Lois."

Seeing the color in her face and noting her sudden fascination with his tie, he decided to push it a step further. Removing one hand from the shelf, he brought it up to her face and gently placed two fingers under her chin, lifting it so she had no choice but to meet his eyes.

"So, since it clearly wasn't for staples," he said, his thumb softly caressing her jaw, "I have to assume you wanted to get me in here for other reasons."

It would normally be at this point that Lois would give it right back to him. She knew how to push his buttons as well as he knew how to push hers.

But this wasn't normal.

Not only had she gotten caught in her little scheme, but on top of that he was so close to her she could barely think straight. And feeling his fingers tenderly stroking her skin was causing any coherent thought she had to fly out the proverbial window.

She could hear about one hundred different comebacks swirling around in her head. Something to put him off his game as much as he'd managed to get her off hers. But for some reason, by the time the words got to her throat, they seemed to die out in favor of simply staring into his amazing blue-green eyes.

Though, Clark couldn't deny he was enjoying staring into hers just as much. Not that he wasn't getting a huge kick out of the fact that he'd rendered her pretty much speechless. While he definitely won his fair share of battles with Lois, a Lois with a loss for words was something that rarely was achieved by anyone, let alone him.

Of course, he'd be lying if he said his calling of her bluff wasn't affecting him. And it would be pretty accurate to say that the one thought racing through his mind was how easy it would be to kiss her right now. All he had to do was lean in another inch or two….

And then he heard it.

All or nothing
That's what I want from you,
I'm gonna give you everything I got
Now what are you gonna do.

He blinked quickly, a groan escaping his lips before he could stop it as his superhearing picked up the telltale sound of Whitesnake that could only be coming from one person's phone. And if she wasn't meeting a source later that afternoon, he'd probably let it go. But as it was, he couldn't let even the delicious thought of putting this storage closet to good use get in the way of their burgeoning careers.

Particularly when he was already keeping a pretty big scoop from her.

He dropped both arms to his sides, and stood up straight, leaving Lois utterly perplexed as to his actions. Stepping back, he put a good amount of distance between them, and it was that bit of space that helped to clear Lois' confusion.

In the blink of an eye it seemed, she felt herself suddenly coherent again. She crossed her arms in front of her, a protective measure for herself as well as a show of defiance to him.

"What the hell was that, Smallville?"

"Lois…your phone."

"What?" she practically yelled.

"Your phone…it's ringing. It might be your source," he finished, gesturing toward the bullpen.

Tilting her head, she narrowed her eyes and stepped toward him.

"We are so not finished with this conversation," she warned, before heading out of the closet and hurrying back to the bullpen. Clark followed behind her, hearing her mutter to herself as she stalked back toward their workstation. He couldn't help but grin, congratulating himself on a job well done.

It's short-lived though, as he reached their desks and the next few seconds unfolded. He saw Lois grab her phone, not even looking to see who it was.

"Lois Lane," she said in her business like way. As the other person responded, he noticed the tension in her shoulders suddenly increase. He saw her free hand ball into a tight fist. And he noticed the flushed confusion he'd seen on her face morph into a look of concern and anxiety. A posture and a look that, he knew from years of experience, Lois Lane had for but one person.

She sighed softly, closing her eyes.

"Hi, Lucy."