Hopeful Idiot – Chapter 08: Overthinking & Lois

Once the meeting plans had been made, all Hope could hear resounding throughout her head, was Clark calling her 'my Hope'.

She'd had enough brain power to drag him away from the bullpen, and even remembered to push play on the insanely-loud "Jungle Sounds" Youtube video before she asked him about the article. (Very proud of herself for remembering both.) Then he'd been clueless and she'd lost her cool for a bit. She'd even said 'please'. Twice! She'd almost cried! (Still might if this evening went worse than expected.)

Then he'd called himself 'your Idiot', which she didn't really have a problem with…not really. He had called himself that; it was inviting her to use the more personal form of address. But then he'd called her 'my Hope'. Twice. She hadn't called herself that, inviting him to do so in the future. Nope, he'd called her that all on his own. Twice.

Hope rubbed her forehead. "How am I supposed to take this?" she whispered to the air. It was an intimate connection she had not initiated. A pet name like that was practically a we've-been-dating-for-six-months thing. They'd officially been dating only a few hours. Unofficially dating for a week. (Though, you could make the argument that they'd been unofficially dating since that stupid email…which would put it at two months.) Any way she thought about it, it was too soon!

Was this a male thing? A Kryptonian thing? Or just a you're-his-first-girlfriend thing? Or maybe it was a Clark thing? Some combination of the above?

And if he was at the 'my Hope' stage, what did that mean for their plans tonight? He'd agreed…but what did he have in mind? Hope had been thinking of meeting his mother…but that didn't mean it was what he was intending. Did she dare ask? No, she'd let it alone for now. See what happened tonight first. Then ask if things didn't… Who knows?!

With all this second-guessing, Hope was starting to think she was having an overly female moment (overthinking relationships being a very female trait). "Don't panic until there's a reason to panic," she assured herself. "Just let it be for now. Let it be."

How about she contemplate what 'dress warmly' meant! Let's overthink that phrase instead… "Warm for October? Warm for February? Light sweater or heavy coat?" Hope began to pull up worldwide temperature forecasts. "Wait, he flies. He's taking me flying. The higher you go in the atmosphere, the colder it gets. Maybe I'm just dressing for the flying part…" Oh yes, overthinking the 'dress warmly' comment was much more relaxing!

"I'm starting to think we're both idiots," Hope muttered to herself as she pulled up another page and asked for temp gauges based on elevation.

+++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++

Lois Lane silently seethed all day. Most of her mind was fuming at one article in particular. SUPERMAN GIVES EXCLUSIVE was all over the internet that morning. Perry White had already called the entire bullpen into his office and yelled at them for not getting the exclusive themselves. Clark had the decency to look halfway sheepish, but Lois was livid. And she couldn't say anything while everyone else was around! So she seethed and fumed for hours.

And what was with Kramer? Lois hadn't seen it herself (it had occurred before she came in that morning) but the bullpen had been buzzing about the incident ever since. Kent hadn't said a single word about the subject, just shaking his head or shrugging noncommittally whenever anyone asked. Even Lois herself! Didn't Kent know that such behavior was unacceptable? Friends shared things like that! While they hadn't said it explicitly that they were friends, she'd thought it was fait-accompli, given that she knew he was Superman. She'd defended him against the United States military for crying out loud?! He'd saved her life twice! Didn't that count for something?!

So, she fumed. And seethed. For hours.

Finally, it was quitting time and people began to pack up to go home.

"Kent? Can I talk to you privately?" Lois gave herself a mental pat on the back for her voice keeping such an even tone.

Clark blinked at her a couple times as his mind refocused, "I kinda have plans tonight, Lois. Can it wait?"

"No," she said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, Lois." He nodded slowly. "Is there something wrong?"

Lois Lane looked around. Seeing that Mr. White was going to be staying longer, she gestured for them to go into a conference room. Clark didn't comment, just followed her. When she closed the door behind him, turning to glare at him with all the hositility she'd kept pent up all day. She shoved the article at him, he didn't budge an inch, which made her all the madder. "WHAT THE HELL, CLARK?!"

+++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++

By the time six o'clock came around, Hope had second-guessed herself into a right state. Between the 'my Hope'-ing and the 'dress warmly'-ing, she wanted confirmation on at least one thing before she drove herself crazy. Why she didn't just send an email, she wasn't sure, perhaps because their last conversation had been private, but this felt like something she wanted to hear in-person.

So, she waited patiently (okay, semi-patiently) until the evening edition had been posted (and thus when most people began to head home). Then she made her way down to the main bullpen, hoping to catch her idiot before he left.

Thus she was walking down the hallway towards that area, when the sound of someone yelling at the top of their lungs reached Hope's ears. A female someone. Yelling at Clark.

Hope wasted no time, her mind already narrowing along with her eyes. Even at a half-run, Hope heard the female response clearly, even if she didn't hear her idiot's replies (they being at normal volume) until she was right on top of them.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU?! – SHE'S A FEMALE REPORTER, OF COURSE IT MATTERED! – AND WHY DID YOU GIVE AN EXCLU—"

"That's enough," Hope said as she pushed open the conference room door. Just as she suspected, Lois Lane had literally cornered her boyfriend. Probably had chased him around the table too, if he'd been unwise enough not to stand his ground. Hope did not have that problem. She knew how to handle women like Lois. "I heard you as soon as I got off the elevator, Ms. Lane. Such behavior is more appropriate to a private residence, not the workplace."

Lois Lane rounded on the interloper. "You don't know what he did!"

Hope raised an imperious eyebrow, "It does not matter what Mr. Kent did or did not do. Your comportment is unacceptable for this environs." Big words made people stop and rethink. It almost forced a calmer attitude. Hope didn't know the psychology about why it worked, and she didn't really care; she just knew it did and used it to her advantage when necessary. "Once you are ready to discuss things rationally, I'm sure that Mr. Kent will be amenable. Though I would recommend a mediator. As it is, I think Mr. Kent and I will depart while you collect your thoughts. Perhaps you could put pen to paper for the next meeting to be as succinctly productive as possible. Mr. Kent, if you would please follow me? I wished to continue our previous discussion."

"Of course, Ms. Kramer," Clark immediately agreed and put actions to words. The pair left the conference room with the star reporter of the paper standing with her mouth open. "Thanks for the save," he whispered with a grin, "Don't see Lois speechless often."

Hope gave him a sideways capricious smile, "I doubt it'll work again, certainly not nearly as effectively, but the shock of it will almost always work once." It was such a dramatic shift in how Hope usually dealt with the woman that it left her literally speechless. "As for rescuing you, well, I figured turn-about is only fair. I owed you one. Now we're even."

Clark let out a bark of laughter, his eyes sparkling. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Hope giggled, the pair stopped in front of the building doors. "I was wondering how warmly I should dress. You were rather vague. We talking Alaska in spring? Or Hawaii in winter?"

His grin widened. "More along the lines of northern Alaska in December."

Hope blinked at him, "Good God, Idiot, how high do you usually go?" referring to the altitude.

"I don't do drugs," he instantly fired back.

It took her a split-second to realize what he meant. "Oh, you!" She rolled her eyes and hit him on the shoulder as she walked towards her apartment complex.

He laughed low, making her stomach twist nicely, as he kept pace. After a couple seconds of silence, he asked, "Did you know that you live in the same building as Lois?"

Hope grimaced at the news, "No, but I'm not too surprised. It's a good building, high reviews, nice security, all those good things people look for when out apartment-hunting. Law of Large Numbers and all that."

Clark tilted his head, making a mental note to look that up later. For now, he continued, "In fact," he said, "she's only two balconies above yours."

Hope stopped walking and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Do you have a point, Idiot, or are you just emulating your namesake?"

"Well, I was thinking," he mused thoughtfully, "If we are distancing you from my alter, then it's a good thing Lois is in the same building right above your own. People will assume that when Superman visits you—"

"—that he's visiting her. People usually see what they want to see. Clever." Hope nodded and continued walking. "You realize that this is setting her up as a patsy. I know I don't like the woman, but that is almost to the point of cruelty. It's certainly manipulative." Clark's eyes widened and Hope gave a very frustrated sigh. "We can't have it both ways, Idiot. Either we distance you from her so that she's less of a target, or we use her deliberately as a doppelganger for me." She looked at the sky and growled, "I don't have a problem with either, but if she's going to be playing as my double, then we should talk to her about it. Ah damn, we should talk to her about it either way. See what she thinks. The woman is manipulative as all hell. Shit!"

"What's wrong?"

"Sometimes, I hate having a conscience."

They stopped as they reached the entrance to her building. He smiled down at her. "I like that you think of all the angles. And I appreciate that even though you don't like Lois, you are going out of your way to think of her well-being and opinions."

Hope blinked at him, confused. "Well, damn, Idiot, all things considered, if we're putting the woman in danger on purpose, don't you think she should have a say?"

He nodded, "Of course I do. Most people don't think that way however. Not about enemies."

"Oh, phbt! Lois isn't an enemy," Hope snorted derisively. "She's a bane to friendships, but she's not an enemy. She's an excellent reporter. Horrible friend. Manipulative, absolutely. But no, I don't consider her an enemy." Hope didn't tolerate enemies. If push came to shove, Hope Kramer was a vindictive bitch. Fortunately for the world, that had only occurred once. So far.

Clark nodded, "We can talk to her tomorrow. I've got to do a patrol, first. I'll meet you tonight—as we agreed?" He quickly edited his speech when a man came a little too close for his comfort.

Hope smiled and leaned up to kiss him softly on the mouth. "Tonight." She had to walk away quickly, darting into her building, as she spent the next five minutes continuously licking her lips of his taste. "Good God in Heaven, Idiot, you taste like vanilla, nutmeg, and sunshine," she whispered to the empty elevator.

Said Idiot was already flying around Metropolis, but he'd begun to keep an ear constantly tuned to one particular voice saying his name. When he heard her comment, he grinned. 'That's fair, my Hope,' he thought, 'You taste like strawberries and rainbows.' Perhaps tonight he'd learn what she tasted like on the inside of her beautiful mouth. Would it be the same? Different? More nuanced? 'Perhaps more like fresh farm strawberries than the not-yet-ripe variety available in stores? Perhaps raspberries…'

A couple of bank robbers had to quickly reassure themselves that Superman was not, in fact, smiling happily when he apprehended them. No of course not. After all, what would Superman smile about?