Disclaimer: I Own Nothing
Author's Notes: Thank you everybody. It means a lot that you're all taking the time to read and give feedback on this. So happy you're enjoying it. Ever since a certain three-part series I did several months ago, I seem to have a hard habit getting away from angst, so then I wrote this. Glad you liked it. And those who didn't… oh well.
kerenziv – Thanks. Btw, Clark did know that Lois worked at the Planet before his interview, but since he was traveling the world, he didn't know that Lois now worked at the Planet, but Jonathan and Martha have known practically since she started. Bruce is an important character to me. He's his own entity and I want to utilize him appropriately and not always for the sake of plot points, I'm glad you liked him here.
Chapter 7 - Gossip
The Following Morning
"What do we got, Jimmy?" Lois asks as she and Clark made their way to their desks.
Jimmy hands both reporters their morning coffee. "The calls have been coming nonstop. Every news team on the globe wants to know how you got the exclusive with Superman"
"Superman?" Clark mouthed to Lois. He knew she wrote the article, but calling him 'Superman.'
Lois shrugged. "What's wrong with it?" She didn't know what the big deal was. "He's strong and he flies. He's the Nietzschean fantasy ideal all wrapped up in a red cape. And the 'S,' it's begging to be called…"
"Okay, Lois, I got it," he finished, a bit embarrassed by her accolades.
Lois grinned widely as Clark continued to blush. Jimmy on the other hand, noticed a different kind of change.
"Are you guys all right?" Jimmy asks.
"What do you mean?" Clark wonders, standing a bit awkwardly.
"Everything's fine, Jimmy," Lois clarified.
Jimmy doesn't believe them. Something is definitely different. "Miss Lane, are you glowing?" he momentarily forgot to refer to her by her first name as he saw the happiness on her face.
Clark chuckles and Lois hits him lightly on the arm.
"I am not!" she denied.
"What's going on here?" Perry interrupts loudly. "This is a newsroom NOT happy hour." Perry turns to Lois and is suspicious. "What's wrong with you?"
Lois furrowed her brows. "What?"
Perry eyes her intently and points to her face. "You've got a glow"
In the back, Clark has an even bigger smile while Lois fights to roll her eyes.
"I'm gonna go see if I can find myself some trouble," Lois says monotonously, turning to leave. Clark catches up to her and he's still grinning.
"I love you," Clark says quietly all the while trying to look discreet. He wasn't looking so good; he's dying to touch her again.
Lois crossed her arms. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Lois makes her way into the elevator with Clark right by her side.
"Every second of it"
"You sure you fight for truth, justice and the American way?" Lois asks him playfully.
The elevator door closes, and they're alone.
"I sure do," he responds, equally playful. Clark turned to her, and pulled her in for a long deep kiss. With arms wrapped around each other, "I don't know if I can do this?" Clark says, kissing her still.
Lois tilts her head to breathe, Clark's lips making its way to her neck. She sighs approvingly. "We can… we just… we have to lay low for a while"
Clark sighs, his head falling backwards. "It feels too long"
Lois smiles. "We've only been together for a couple of days." She brushed her hand through his hair like she did with him before. "I don't want to rush into this"
Clark is unconvinced, the smirk on his face showed evidence of that. "We didn't rush, Lois. We cheated to the finish line."
Lois laughs at the truth of his words. "We might've cut a few turns." She wasn't about to let him have the last word.
Lois and Clark jumped apart as soon as the elevator buzzed, the lovers occupying their own corner. They walked out of the elevator and through the crowd just the same way they walked in… side-by-side.
Streets of Metropolis
"So, you haven't told me yet why we're here"
"You're right." Lois smirks. "I haven't." She spots who she's looking for. "There he is." She points out to his direction and waves. "Bruce!"
Clark is surprised. Since arriving in Metropolis, Lois hasn't formally or informally introduced them to one another. Looking at him now, he begins to wonder what Lois saw in some farm boy compared to this billionaire. He could even give Lex Luthor a run for his money.
"That's Bruce?"
"Come on." She takes a hold of his hand and tugs. "It's about time you two meet. You've got a lot in common," she winked.
Clark sighed. "I doubt it," he responded low enough that Lois didn't hear him.
Clark watched as Lois hugged Bruce Wayne. They both smiled brightly. Clark knew he was overreacting. Lois loved him as much as he loved her. He would never question that, but he can't help feel somewhat inferior to this friend of hers. Bruce probably knew more about her than he did, and that certainly doesn't help how he feels.
"So you're Clark Kent?" Bruce shakes his hand.
"That's me." Clark forced a smile.
"I've wanted to thank you for helping Gotham PD with the Falcone case, I apologize it took this long for me to do so"
What would he care about a Mob boss being put to jail? A guy like Bruce Wayne didn't look needy.
"Lois did most of the investigating," Clark explained, albeit truthfully. "I just helped to connect the dots"
"Regardless, thank you anyway"
"In that case, you're welcome." Clark still didn't know what to make of him, or if he had some kind of agenda. Bruce is very rich and powerful, and with all his experience with that kind of people, Clark always knew that there's always some kind of catch.
Lois watched the interaction with an investigators eye. She hadn't meant to, but she could feel that Clark was feeling out-of-place around Bruce.
"Why don't we get out of here and get some lunch?" Lois recommended, getting both men's attention.
"I have a brief meeting with a client." Bruce looks at his gold-silver Swiss watch. "Same place?"
Lois nods. "Sounds good." She looks at Clark as Bruce walked away. "There's this Italian restaurant called Vittorio's a few blocks from here. The food is absolutely fantastic. We'll meet him there in half an hour." She noticed him being very quiet. "Clark, what's wrong?"
Clark shrugged it off. "It's nothing," he says but Lois wasn't buying it.
They start walking, taking their time to get to their destination.
"Bruce is my friend." Lois wanted to assure him whom her heart will always belong to. "Contrary to what everyone else claims, he's a good man with a good heart"
"I'm not judging"
"But you're thinking it"
Lois knows how his mind works, and she wasn't about to let him get away with it.
"I'm not"
"Why don't you just ask me what you really want to know?" Lois insisted, she had nothing to hide from him.
There was a pause when guilt suddenly enveloped throughout Clark's face.
"We're you two ever together?"
Lois saw this coming, but she didn't realize how much it meant to him till now.
"Yes"
Clark wasn't entirely sure what to feel. He didn't expect her to say yes, but at the same time, he did. Clark always knew he thought about her. When he'd walk along market places or tourist spots, he's often imagined what Lois would say or do if she had been in his position. And he never truly thought about her so intimately until returning to Metropolis and seeing her for the first time at the Daily Planet.
She took his breath away.
"Oh." It was the only word he could muster the courage to say.
Lois saw the signs. He was withdrawing. Being quiet and keeping his feelings to himself.
"Is that all?"
"Let's just get this over with," he says his pace quickening.
Lois sighs. They've only been together barely 48 hours and already there was enough drama to make it on Dr. Phil.
Half an hour later…
A favorite in Metropolis for over 35 years, Vittorio's serves wonderful traditional Italian food, as well as great steaks, chops and seafood.
Lois and Clark walk into the restaurant, with Clark giving her the silent treatment. She couldn't believe how difficult he was taking this. She was never in love with Bruce, and she was pretty sure Bruce felt the same way, so why was Clark having such a hard time with this?
As if on cue, Bruce appeared.
"Bruce, you're here early?"
"Meeting got sidetracked and I was able to sneak out back," he joked, though there was some truth to the claim. Bruce looks over to Clark. "You guys ready to sit, I've got a table ready?"
Lois nods while Clark closely followed.
Once lunch was over, Clark excused himself from the table.
Bruce leaned in. "He doesn't like me, does he?"
"What gave it away?"
"Do you mind if I…"
Lois quickly caught on. "By all means," she gestured.
Bruce stands up from the table and walks out to find Clark outside.
Outside
"Great city, isn't it?" Bruce asked, as he walks up to Clark staring out into the bustling crowd.
Clark remained silent.
"You know, nothing is going on between us. There really hasn't ever"
"I've been told otherwise," he finally spoke out.
"Just because we spent one night together doesn't make us lovers"
Hearing Bruce say the word 'lovers' made Clark selfishly feel like striking down a wall.
"So I'm jealous, is that what you wanted to hear?" Clark admits shamefully.
"No," Bruce replied truthfully. "Did she ever tell you how we met?"
"She said in Russia"
"Is that all?"
"Yeah"
Bruce took a deep breath and explained. After he was finished, Clark looks at him surprisingly.
"She knew who I was, but she never held it against me. I probably would have been persecuted in that country if not for her."
"What's your point?"
Bruce smiled. "You may envy me for having been with Lois first." He pauses. "But I envy you for having her forever." Then he walks back inside, leaving Clark to his thoughts.
Inside the restaurant
"Okay, that took a long time. What were you two doing?"
"Exchanging notes," Clark showed up suddenly, giving Lois a quick kiss on the cheek before taking a seat back down.
Bruce chuckled and Lois could almost pass for horrified.
"You did not!"
Bruce raised his glass towards the two of them. "I plead the fifth"
Clark lifts his glass and taps it. Lois shook her head. Two against one. That hardly seems right. She's going to have to drag Clark away shortly to get the 411 on what exactly was exchanged between them.
The next hour or so was spent with the three catching up and getting to know each other.
To be continued…
