Hopeful Idiot – Ch11 - Lois Negotiations

It was Wednesday, so there was a nice, long weekend just around the corner. Hope couldn't wait. This week had already been a roller-coaster of emotional stress. What she really wanted was a nice, long hot bath with a glass of wine and a good book. "I wonder if my new blanket will make the water stay hot longer…?"

"What was that?" Clark looked over at Hope as she was installing Lois' new printer. He had been typing up an article on the newest lottery winner.

Hope popped up at grinned at him. "My new blanket—that you aren't getting back, by the way—will it keep bathwater hot longer?"

He blinked at his girlfriend. "Ummm…I honestly have no idea. I've never tried. Theoretically, I suppose so. Though water is an excellent conductor of heat. Between a hot water bath and that particular blanket, you might find yourself roasting." His face was troubled. "Call me when you try, okay? I want to be on hand to keep an eye on you."

Hope's eyebrows went up and her smile widened. "So, what you're saying is that my new boyfriend wants to watch me in the bath?"

Clark immediately went brick red, "That's not what I meant."

"Oh? Who's your new boyfriend, Faith?" Lois Lane's unwanted voice intruded upon their moment.

Hope turned to glare at her almost-doppelganger. "Clark is my new boyfriend. Is that a problem?"

Lois' eyes went wide and she looked between the pair, before settling on Clark. "She knows?"

"Yes, she does," Hope stated coldly. "Though, if I didn't know, you would have just roused my curiosity and thus detrimental to the beginning of a relationship. I'll say it again, you are a terrible friend."

Lois flushed slightly at the statement, "I was just surprised."

Hope snorted, going back to hooking up cords. "You're one of the best, if not the best, reporters I've ever seen. You wouldn't show surprise if a man was killed in front of you, but your desk-mate has a girlfriend and you get flustered. Sure. I believe that. Totally." Her sarcasm deeply evident.

The best reporter sighed, "It does happen. And you have to admit that he's in a caliber all his own."

Hope pulled back and got into Lois' chair to begin the software portion. "Actually, I don't have to admit that, Lois." She sighed, "I'm guessing you don't have any military background, and I'm not talking about getting news for an article. I mean someone you know personally being in the military. They have a very distinguished thinking process, which Clark possesses. He's unique in some ways, yes, but not in the ones that matter the most." She had lowered her voice so that only the three of them could hear her.

Lois looked between the couple and finally nodded, seeing the expression on Kent's face. "I stand corrected."

Clark cleared his throat after several long seconds when Hope didn't reply, "Actually, Lois, we wanted to talk to you. About your relationship with your friend." He paused. "Could we perhaps meet somewhere after work?"

Lois narrowed her eyes, thinking again of the article which had pissed her off so much the day before. "My place after work?"

"Sure Lois, that's fine."

+++++HOPEFUL++IDIOT+++++

"Why is she here?" Lois asked when both Hope and Clark walked into her apartment.

"Because we want to use you as bait. We look really similar and you love the limelight." Hope crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against a wall, doing her best to remain flat at the woman that got her dander up.

"Well, no, not bait per se. A…" Clark floundered.

"A decoy," Lois provided.

"Yes, a decoy."

"In exchange for what? You went and gave an exclusive to some stupid reporter and now you want my help?" Lois glared at him.

Hope hissed between her teeth. She'd known the woman would use this to her advantage. "What do you want?"

Lois looked at Clark, who still seemed sheepish. He didn't know how to react to two women fighting over him. "Exclusivity. Permanently."

Clark nodded, "I can agree to that." He'd already been expecting something similar, based on Lois' yelling (as well as Hope's yelling) the day before.

"Anything else?" Hope asked.

Lois looked between them. She was an excellent investigative journalist and she knew what she saw. The pair had formed a strong connection relatively quickly. She wouldn't break them up. Even Superman deserved happiness. Their expressions when they looked at each other were almost enough to give Lois a kind of jealous nostalgia. Lois sighed and shook her head. "No, nothing else." She paused as she thought things through. "Though…"

"Oh crap, here we go." Hope threw up her hands in annoyance. "What do you want?"

Lois took a calming breath. She knew the situation, and she knew the I.T. woman's personality enough that she was reasonably sure that most of the anger wasn't actually directed at Lois particularly, but at the situation she was forced into. It was a righteous anger; worry for Clark. "I was just thinking that if you want to sell this idea best, Superman would have to save me more. I do tend to get into difficult scenarios." She shrugged, not apologizing for how she made money. It made her happy. She'd made peace with that a long time ago. "Like rescuing me from the helicopter…and the thing with Zod. If you do that a couple more times, people will make the connection themselves without any more prompting. You'd be in the clear."

Hope tilted her head, "That's…actually not a bad idea."

Clark frowned, "Superman saved you because you needed it. Not because you're Lois Lane."

"We know that, but most people are morons, Clark." Hope explained. "It won't occur to them that Superman saves Lois more because she has a higher tendency to get into dangerous situations. They'll think Superman saves Lois more because he likes her. Correlation, not causation. But most don't understand that simple principle."

Lois nodded, "She's right."

"Another thing is that I actually live in this building. Just a couple balconies down," Hope gestured to the floor. "Thus—"

Lois nodded again, already making the connection. "Superman can visit you and people will think he's with me. Clever."

"It…doesn't bother you?" Clark asked hesitantly.

Lois shook her head, raising an eyebrow at him as if he were being dim. "Clark, you know as well as I do that reporters protect their sources. Usually in return for money, but exclusivity and protecting will do just fine. It's fair," she sighed, "and as your friend, I want you to be happy." Even if it isn't with me.

"So, just to be clear," Hope expounded, "I get to openly date Clark. Superman keeps saving you, and you act as my doppleganger to any interested parties."

Lois nodded, "I'm a failsafe. Hopefully it'll never be needed."

Clark was looking ill at all this talk of his friend being in danger, but also knew that it was in Lane's nature. In reality, this deal wasn't preventing her from going into danger any more than his pleading. Instead, it was providing her with an extra safety net. "I think I'll talk to Father about getting you an emergency beacon too."

"Too?" Hope raised an eyebrow at him, a smirk on her lips.

"He's got several things in the works for you," he nodded sheepishly. "I just figured a beacon to signal she was in trouble would be a good idea."

Hope gave a laugh, leaning in to kiss him on his cheek. "I think it's a wonderful idea." She looked over at Lois. "We all good?"

Lois nodded.

"Good," Hope looked back at her boyfriend. "I called your mother today for her pie recipe. You can have a piece or three while watching me take a bath."

"I like the sound of that," Clark began to escort her to the door. He was in the process of closing the door when he froze. "Wait, you called my mother?"

Hope laughed, "Well, I woke up in a different outfit than what I went to sleep in. Who else was I going to call?"

A pause. "You called my MOTHER?!"

+++++HOPEFUL++IDIOT+++++

AN: Okay, I'm estimating that 'Dawn of Justice' took about 2 years from start to finish. So, I've got some time to poke about. For the Hopeful Idiot pair, we're at about 1 year after the end of 'Man of Steel'.

Batman shows up after ~1.25yrs. Young Lex starts more actively manipulating things at ~1.5yrs. In the meantime, I'll mess about with the Reeves' movies, and perhaps the Nolan ones, now that everyone seems to really want Wayne in the mix. ^_^ We'll see what I can come up with.

Please review. I know its not perfect, but I love to see what you think of how things are going. Suggestions are welcome!