It had been a slow news week, and Lois was seriously considering braining herself on the conference room table where she was sat in their daily staff meeting being assigned to do a follow-up article on fruit flies, of all things. The original piece had to have been one of the most boring pieces of journalism she'd ever been assigned, but what could she do? There had been no Superman sightings of note in fact, Clark had been home all night the last three days. She knew this because she was with him... well not with him, but with him as in hanging out as friends, they'd watched the Robin Hood parody that had been released earlier that year. Clark's parents had given it to him as birthday present back in May and, due to work, they'd not had a chance to sit down and watch it until a few days ago. The next night Clark had come to her place to help keep her awake as she slogged through her oh-so-thrilling report on fruit flies. The only thing of note from the article was that there was going to be a county wide application of malathion, which was set to be disbursed that weekend by aircraft.
It was supposedly supposed to be harmless to people and pets, yet everyone in Metropolis County has been instructed to keep their pets inside while they solution is being sprayed. Jimmy had questioned the reasoning behind this considering the purported safety of the pesticide when the whole if the newsroom's attention was diverted to the beautiful people and their entourage exiting the elevators into the newsroom.
"What in the Sam Hill is all this?" Perry demanded, irritated that his meeting was being interrupted.
"Don't you remember?" Kat questioned him, "Marketing is allowing the Eu de Perfume people to use the newsroom as a backdrop to promote their new fragrance, 'Exclusive!' They set it up months ago."
"I don't remember that at all," Perry protested, "You'd think they'd run it by me before taking over my newsroom."
"I'm pretty sure they did, before agreeing to it," Kat pointed out then noticed two of the beautiful people exit and strike a pose, "Oh, and they brought in Elle Taylor and April Stephens as the spokes models! I've got to get an interview!" She exclaimed, "Do you mind?"
"Alright, go right ahead," Perry shrugged, "Apparently I don't have control of my newsroom anymore. You have your assignments, just do your best to work around all this hullabaloo. Use the conference room or work from home, if you must, but make sure your stories are on my desk by deadline."
Lois couldn't help but groan when she realized they'd set up the main staging not more than 10 feet from her desk. She'd gone to get coffee only to find Clark and Jimmy leaned against her desk, invading her workspace watching the models 'work,' if you could even call it that.
"This is what is wrong with society today." She huffed, "Open any magazine and they all say the same thing, you have to look and dress a specific way or else you won't be beautiful or accepted. It's disgusting!"
"Yeah, but if this is wrong, I don't want to be right," Clark muttered distractedly as he watched one of the models walk past him.
"You think she'd go out with me?" Jimmy asked, nodding toward a model around his age who was having her hair and makeup touched up while Kat interviewed her.
"Ugh, men!" Lois grumbled, going through her notes, "I'm never going to get anything done with all this going on."
"Then, why don't you take the day off?" Clark suggested, "Call it a mental health day or say you have an appointment, or something."
"Because it's a workday," Lois pointed out, as if it weren't already obvious.
"Oh, c'mon, don't tell me you've never played hooky!" Clark challenged, turning to face her.
"No, I've never seen the appeal," Lois shook her head.
"You know, not letting yourself be tied down to obligations for a day. The thrill of being someplace or doing something you normally wouldn't do." Clark tried to explain, "It's fun... you do know what fun is, don't you?" He teased.
"Yes, I know what fun is!" She rolled her eyes, "I was a lot of fun in school, I had chess club, math club, I was even the president of the debate team."
"What a surprise," Clark muttered under his breath, causing Jimmy to snicker.
"And you know I can have fun," Lois protested, "You both do! I mean, despite my initial reluctance the corn festival last month was very enjoyable. We had fun there, right?"
"Okay, okay, I concede the point, Madame President," Clark teased, "But if you don't want to play hooky, you could just work from home, Perry did suggest it as an alternative to the chaos."
"The jeeps at the shop and I don't really want to trust a taxi to get me back here, in afternoon traffic, in enough time to make deadline," Lois protested.
"Then I guess, you're just gonna have to find a way to deal with it," Clark shrugged and got up to amble over to his desk, only to be stopped by a woman about 15 years older than him with bottle blond hair. She was holding an atomizer and spraying samples of perfume around the newsroom, causing everyone around her to choke on the scent.
"Oh my God, that's awful," Clark protested.
"What is that?" Jimmy groaned.
"Smells like something died!" Lois groaned, using a file folder to waft the awful smell away from them.
The woman looked back at them with a coy smile, "It's my newest scent, I call it 'revenge,'" And with that she flounced away to spray other hapless victims.
"Smells more like Eu de Sweat Socks," Perry commented, joining them.
"The sad thing, is that it probably costs something like $300 for a quarter ounce," Lois scoffed, "These companies charge so much for this stuff, you practically have to sell your first born to get the newest 'it' scent."
"We'll just have to turn the fans on, open some windows," Perry brainstormed away to rid the newsroom of the foul scent. "Until then get some work done. This is a newsroom, not a social club, I don't pay you to sit around jawing all day."
"Yes, Chief," Clark nodded and nudged Jimmy to get off of Lois' desk so they could all try to get back to work.
Lois had been watching Clark working at his desk for a while now, and despite her best subtle attempts to gain his attention, he seemed resolute on ignoring her. She watched as his fingers danced across his keyboard, his hand's gentle caress over the pencil he was using, she let her mind drift off for a moment, imagining a variety of scenarios, many involving the desks both in the bull pen and the large conference table, although her favorite was in his bed or hers, him taking his time to study her body memorizing every pleasure point on her body to be revisited and exploited for years to home. She could practically feel his hands, callused from years of working on his parents' farm, his touch alone sending her to new heights.
She let out a soft moan and opened her eyes, hoping no one had heard her, well except for one person currently seated at their desk, six feet away, working. Wait, was that a smile she just saw on his lips, knowing she now had her chance she pulled out her compact, reapplying her lipstick and adjusting her clothes to show her assets before standing and sashaying over to Clark's desk. As she sat, she did so in a way that allowed for her to flash him more than a little leg, thanks to her wrap skirt.
"Clark?" She purred seductively.
"Just a minute, Lois, I..." Clark's voice trailed off as he noticed her precariously perched on his desk, her hand casually running up and down her bare thigh. His eyes widened in shock and he swallowed thickly as he took her in. Not only had she adjusted her skirt just right to show as much leg if she dared, not that there was much more to dare with, but she had unbuttoned her blouse to show off her cleavage, the last button secured resting just over the clasp of her front closure bra. He didn't even need his x-ray vision to see that once she leaned toward him, her shirt opening even further to invite him to look down her shirt. If he had been a lesser man, one who had not grown up with the Kents as parents to teach him to treat a woman with dignity, respect, and honor, he might have just given into the temptation.
"What'cha doin'?" She inquired breathily.
"Working on my story covering the dock strike," Clark did his level best to not look anywhere but her beautiful mocha eyes. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Never better," She sighed leaning in closer to him, invading his space.
"Oh... kay...?" Clark arched an eyebrow at her, "Was there a reason you made such a production of coming over her dressed like... well, that?"
"There was a very good reason," She nodded, trailing her finger along his jaw, "I just wanted to tell you how devastatingly handsome you look today."
"Me?" He looked at her skeptically before a look of comprehension came over her face, "Oh, I see, what do you need? A ride to the airport? A 'date' so some gala? A home cooked meal..."
Lois shushed him, pressing the pad of her finger to his lips, "Shhh, I don't need anything, just you."
"Lois, I really don't have time to play games right now," Clark protested, taking her wrist firmly in his hand and lowering her hand from his mouth as he spoke, "I have to finish this piece by deadline and I'm already down to the wire here. We can talk later, okay?"
"Promise?" She looked up at him, hope and love evident on her face.
"Scout's honor," Clark confirmed before she relented and walked away. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to put the finishing touches on his article.
It was nearly 7:30 that evening when Clark heard a knock on his door. X-raying the door revealed Lois dressed in a trench coat and barely anything underneath. A mix of curiosity, concern, and more than his fair share of dread washed over him. He let out an exasperated groan as he pushed himself up off the couch, slipped on his glasses, and headed toward the door. "Lois, what are you doing here? It's late."
"I have a secret," Lois smiled up at him coyly, pushing past him, slipping off her coat to reveal a short, strapless dress that clung to her body enough that he didn't need his x-ray vision to know she was likely not wearing anything underneath it.
Clark just stood there flabbergasted at what was going on. His heart was in his throat as she slowly stalked toward him, her hips swaying seductively with every step until she was in front of him again, she gave him a mischievous look before speaking again.
"Do you want to know my secret?" She purred, running her hands up his muscled torso and leaning in ever so slightly, "I know you have secrets, too," She traced a serpentine pattern over his chest as she looked up to meet his eyes, "I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours."
Clark gulped and tried to compose himself. Rao help him, he was tempted to just give in to this fantasy come to life. The metaphoric devil on his shoulder was prodding him to take her into his arms and, for the first time with anyone, into his bed. As tempting as doing that was, there was a quieter voice, but it was the one which spoke with the most conviction, telling him that if he took advantage of her, neither of them would forgive him. He knew in his heart of hearts that, if he were patient, he would someday have this for real.
With a sigh, he took her hands in his own and lowered them, "Lois, we can't do this, I can't do this. I won't take advantage of you when you're not in your right mind."
Lois stepped back as if she had been slapped, wrapping her arms around herself and looking as vulnerable as he'd ever seen her, "What's wrong, don't you want me?"
"Lois, you have no idea how much I wish this was real, that you were doing this because you truly wanted to," Clark groaned in resignation.
"But Clark I am doing it because I want to," Lois insisted.
"I really wish that was true," He shook his head sadly. In an effort to create some distance, he took a seat in a chair in his living room, "I think you where effected by what ever it was that made the whole newsroom drunk on love. Normally I'd look for anything out of the ordinary, but pretty much everything today was strange."
"Like that strange lady with the awful smelling perfume?" Lois suggested. "Didn't smell like any flower I've ever known."
"I think it was animal-based," Clark mused out loud as his eyes widened, "Of course, she dosed everyone with pheromones!"
"Phero-what-now?" She gave him a confused look."
"Pheromones, the scent most animals give off to let others in their species they are looking for a mate," He explained. "Now all we have to do is figure out her name."
"Miranda Davies, or at least that's what her profile in Vouge said," Lois shrugged, climbing into his lap, and snuggling up. Soon, soft snores began to rumble against his neck. He reveled in the feeling of Lois in his arms, all 127 pounds of human perfection. Not wanting to wake her, he levitated out of his chair until he could put his feet down and floated them over to his room. Pulling back the sheets, he laid her down and covered her up. She looked so innocent as she slept, and he couldn't resist reaching out to move a piece of hair that had fallen over her face back behind her ear but allowed himself no other contact.
Once he was sure she wouldn't awaken, he opened the door to the linen closet, grabbed a spare blanket, and returned to the empty side of his large bed to retrieve his spare pillow before heading back to the living room and making up the couch. He didn't know if the amorous effects of the pheromone-laced perfume would still be in full-force when Lois awakened, or if it would have faded from her system by morning. He sincerely hoped it was the latter because he wasn't sure he could keep resisting her advances, he was only Kryptonian, and aside from Kryptonite, Lois Lane was his only weakness.
He slipped into the bathroom to get ready for bed, thankful that he'd already set his pajamas in the small room so as to not disturb Lois. He quickly brushed his teeth and changed into his blue plaid pajama pants and an old University of Kansas t-shirt before returning to the living room. Settling down on the couch, he debated a few moments over removing his glasses. He couldn't be sure but, when Lois had claimed she new his secret, he was almost certain she'd traced the pattern of his family's crest. Figuring he would hear her before she made it out to the living room, he removed his glasses and set them on the end table to try to get some sleep.