Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Lacey, and believe me, she wishes I didn't. Everyone else belongs to Warner Brothers, DC Comics and all sorts of people that are not little old me.


Four

February. Another month Lacey hated. It wasn't the fact that Valentine's Day was involved. She loved Valentine's Day. Not for the romance, but for the sales. Candy sales were always great. Plus she had a soft spot for buying cute plush toys when she saw them. It was the fact that pink was used. Pink was her color bane.

She was staring (more like glaring) at pink at that very moment as she kicked the vending machine in front of her. "Give it to me, you son of a bitch!" Lacey knew deep in her heart, that the pink hearts that someone had plastered all over the machine were the true reason she couldn't get what she wanted.

A hand gave the vending machine a slight tap and the bag of Skittles that the machine had been holding hostage fell where it was supposed to. Lacey squealed in delight and snatched her breakfast from the machine.

"Thanks, I-" Lacey's gratitude froze as she noticed who her savior was. A very handsome man with dark hair was standing next to her with an amused smile on his face. Lacey knew right then and there that she had to have died.

Bruce fucking Wayne had just saved her Skittles.

"Holy shi… I mean.. um.. Hi. Thanks." Lacey wanted to bang her head on the vending machine. She half-heartedly offered him the candy. "Um.. You're welcome to them…"

Bruce chuckled. "No thank you. But maybe you could point me in the direction of Perry White's office?"

Lacey reeled in her fangirl impulses and nodded. She wasn't going to go starry eyed and fangirl now. "I can show you, but he's not in right now."

"That's alright. I can wait."

She nodded again and led him to Perry's office, ignoring the whispers of some of the newsroom. Lacey noticed Lois looking up from her computer with very curious look. Lacey just shrugged. What else could she do?

Lacey pushed open the door to Perry's office and led Bruce inside. Then she gestured to one of the chairs. "Please, have a seat, Mr. Wayne. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?" Me? Lacey mentally winced at that.

He smiled at her. "Coffee, please."

Lacey nodded. "I'll be right back."

It was when she was pouring the one and only Bruce Wayne his coffee when Lacey was nearly startled to death.

"Was that Bruce Wayne I saw in the chief's office?" Clark asked.

Lacey jumped and knocked over an empty coffee mug, which Clark promptly caught. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Clark Kent, the portrait of innocence. He set the mug back on the counter and joined Lacey as she headed back for Perry's office. "What's he doing here?"

"Do I look like I know?" Her reply came out sounding bitchier than she intended. "Sorry. I don't mean to be shrewish. But he rescued my Skittles and I'm trying not to become some kind of drooling fangirl."

"Fangirl?"

Lacey shrugged. "Billionaire playboy. Uber hottie. Do I really need to say more?" Nope. She wasn't going to mention the Batman thing. She'd already told Clark a handful of information to look into on his own about the vigilante just last month. That was enough.

Clark frowned at her even though she couldn't see him. "Wait a minute, you actually-"

"Hey, you should ask him about the Batman." Lacey interrupted him. She was not about to talk about her tiny little crush on Bale/Bruce/Batman. "He's Gotham's local prince, maybe he has some good gossip." She quickened her pace and returned to Perry's office, where she handed Bruce his coffee. "Here you go, Mr. Wayne."

Clark's frown increased as he followed her inside, and he forced himself to stumble and run into the doorframe.

Both Lacey and Bruce looked up. Lacey snickered, which made Clark feel a little better. Bruce stared at him with mild interest.

"Oh, um, sorry. I didn't-" Clark stammered an apology while mentally sizing Bruce up. But even Clark winced at how that sounded in his head. He really did spend too much time with Lacey.

"It's not a problem." Bruce stood up and offered his hand. "You're Clark Kent. I've read some of your work. I'm sorry I missed out on meeting you the last time I was here."

Clark was genuinely surprised and showed it, even as he shook the hand. "Really? I mean, it's nice to meet you. Bruce Wayne, right?"

Lacey watched the pair with awe. The two big heroes of the world meeting each other for the first time, and she was the witness. Oh man, she wanted to squeal in delight. But she remained grounded as she picked up a few things off of Perry's desk. She let the boys have their little conversation all while letting her mind wander to random thoughts.

"I wonder if Batman brings his special someone a field mouse on Valentine's Day.. or maybe a nice selection of flying insects?"

The room went silent. Lacey frowned and looked up, her cheeks turning a slight pink. Clark was grinning at her while Bruce looked skeptical and amused at the same time. Lacey's hand went to her forehead and she groaned. "I said that out loud, didn't I."

Bruce chuckled. "You have an interest in Batman?"

Lacey shrugged and tried to pretend she had some dignity left. "He's like Superman, only not. What do you think of him, Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce noticed both Clark and the secretary, who he had yet to get a name from, watching him with interest. The flighty rich boy act was needed. "Someone dressed as a bat clearly has issues."

Lacey nearly died. He said the line! But instead of dying, she did the only thing she could truly do. "Well, duh." She was going to go on a tangent. The look in Clark's eyes told her that he knew her tone of voice well. "He's dressed as a frigging bat."

Lacey started pacing as she spoke. "I'm not saying the whole freaky bat thing doesn't work, because it does. I'm just saying that a bat isn't that scary. Now Darkwing Duck? That's scary."

Both men stared at her as if she were crazy. Though they were strangers, they exchanged a look of understanding.

Bruce spoke slowly. "You think Darkwing Duck is scary." It wasn't a question.

"Hello? He's a duck in a blazer, cape, mask and fedora.." She left a dramatic pause. "..with no pants." Lacey placed her hands on her hips. "See? No. Pants. Do you see what I'm getting at? If Batman really wanted to scare people, he'd run around with a mask and no pants. Of course that could just give him an entirely new and creepier fan base."

They stared at her with their mouths slightly ajar, and Lacey could only smile sweetly. "What do you think, Mr. Wayne?"

He never had a chance to answer, as Perry finally showed up. Lacey was unceremoniously sent out of the office, but she had more than made up for her fangirl weaknesses from earlier.

It was going to be a great day.