Ch19-Back to good…
Daily Planet, Metropolis
Clark Kent was helpless to stop the smile as it spread across his face. From the moment he exited the elevator onto the newsroom floor, his senses were assaulted by the sights and sounds of the newsroom in full swing.
Telephones rang incessantly. People moved by so fast they looked like blurs of color even to his eyes. Printers, fax machines, and computers beeped continuously. In a word— it was chaos, and it was a symphony to his ears. Clark felt like he'd returned home after being away for so long. He stood at the elevator door a moment longer, closing his eyes and soaking in the activity around him for a moment longer.
"Jimmy! Where's my pictures, son? We got us a story to run!" Perry White's drawl cut through all other sound in the room and rang clear as a bell.
Clark opened his eyes to see Jimmy Olson, up and coming photographer extraordinaire, nearly trip over himself in his sprint to Perry's office.
"Coming right up, Chief!" Jimmy yelled as he opened the office door.
Clark sent Perry a small wave as they made eye contact for the brief second his door was open, chuckling at the surprised look on his chief's face.
"Great Caesar's Ghost! Kent, get in here!"
Perry's exclamation served to announce his arrival to the rest of the staff working around him. Clark was met with a sea of smiling faces, pats on the back, and handshakes as he walked through the throng of co-workers. He opened the door to Mr. White's office and greeted his boss with a brief handshake which Perry quickly turned into a short man-hug. Clark chuckled as he caught sight of Jimmy's shocked expression.
"Good to have you back, son." Perry told him.
Once released from the embrace, Clark replied. "Sorry, Perry. 'Fraid I'm just passing through. I have to meet with another informant who promises me more information about what's going on with Luthor and his allies."
"Ah, that's m'boy—chasing down the story like a pack of hound dogs on one of mama's Sunday biscuits!" Perry beamed like a proud father. "Speaking of which, you're doing some really great work on those research editorials you're sending in. Sales are through the roof with the all the government's secretive work and the attacks by Luthor and his gang—people are clamoring for any shred of info."
"Yeah, C.K. I read a couple of the drafts you sent in—great stuff." Jimmy piped up from his seat on the couch. Clark's smile was wide as he reveled in hearing Jimmy call him by the moniker.
"Thanks, both of you. If it's alright with you, boss, I was hoping to do a little work in office today before leaving again." Clark gave Perry a quick look to gauge his response.
"Knock yourself out, Kent." With a pat to the back, Perry ushered him back into the newsroom to get started.
He sat at his desk and simply took in the moment for a while longer. His smile continued, even as he heard the distinct voice of the office cougar, Cat Grant, as she prattled on about her weekend's activities. Same old, same old, he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by a couple entering from the elevator waiting area.
"You were great, Richard. Even my dad was impressed by the way you handled the battalion commander—demanding to see the corporal or else his illicit affairs might somehow find their way on our front page. To be honest, it was kind of hot!"
"Well, I hated having to resort to threats, but we need this info. The world has a right to know what's going on around them." Richard responded, obviously enjoying her attention.
Clark swiveled in his chair and faced the approaching pair, both of whom were still oblivious to his presence. He waited patiently, an amused look on his face. Lois had her arm linked in Richard's as she continued singing his praises. Richard was about to respond again when he happened to glance in Clark's direction. His smile faltered slightly and he noticeably stiffened. Lois, peculiar as to why his behavior changed so abruptly, followed his line of vision. Where Richard's reaction had been one of shocked surprise and a bit of unease, Lois was the complete opposite. Her smile beamed as she took in the sight of Clark.
"Well look who decided to return to the land of the living. How are you, Smallville?" He had barely stood to his feet before she gave him a warm hug.
Clark answered as he returned the hug, "I'm good, Lois. I assume you're doing about the same?"
To Richard's surprise, the hug lasted no longer that a simple hug between two friends who hadn't seen in each other some time, and Lois returned to his side immediately after. After exchanging initial pleasantries with Lois, Clark then turned his attention to Richard.
"Richard. Good to see you, man. How's everything?" Clark offered his hand.
Richard shook of his initial shock, shaking Clark's offered hand. "Everything's great, man. Just staying busy, y' know?"
"Yeah, I saw some of you guys' proofs. Great work." Clark said genuinely.
Lois cut off any response Richard would give. "Forget all that—what is going on here?" She gestured to his locks. "Decided to forego grooming in lieu of…what?"
Clark looked up as if he could see what she was seeing, shrugging his shoulders in response. "Guess I haven't had much time for that."
"Riiiight, and of course this has nothing to do with Diana, huh?" Lois teased.
Clark blushed. Did Diana like the longer hair?She never said anything about it.
Lois leaned in closer and whispered to him. "She likes it, trust me. Just don't go all Grizzly Adams on us."She chuckled at his sigh of relief. "How is Diana, by the way?"
Hearing mention of another woman's name eased Richard immensely. Over the last few months of his and Lois' increasing time together, he had to admit he was still unsure if Lois and Clark's parting of ways was permanent. Judging by the look on Clark's face at the mention of this Diana, there was no doubt he and Lois had both moved on. It seemed like Clark was glowing—was it possible for a man to glow?
"She's…incredible." His answer was short but spoke volumes.
Lois smiled at her friend.She was truly happy for him. He seemed…more carefree, relaxed in his own skin. "I'm glad to hear it. Tell her I said hi, okay?"
"Sure. You're not leaving, are you?" Clark asked.
Richard piped in. "You could say so. We're just passing through between stops. Got a return flight to DC in a few hours, but you know Lois. She couldn't bear the thought of being in Metropolis and not stopping by The Planet to do a little work." He leaned in closer to Clark. "To be honest, I think she just likes to pop in and check on Perry. I think I should be offended."
"Hey!" Lois swatted him, taking in the scene of the two men laughing together. This is nice, she thought. "Anyway…how long are you in town." As if realization suddenly dawned that something could be amiss, she gave Clark a questioning glance. "Is everything alright?"
He shook his head, "Everything's fine. Lois. I'm in-between stops, myself, and wanted to stop by." He took in her sigh of relief.
"Well, I'm going to drop in on Uncle Perry for a bit." Richard announced, excusing himself from the two, but not before placing a quick kiss to Lois' cheek. She blushed in response.
"Guess that was for my benefit, huh?" Clark asked, gesturing for Lois to have a seat at her desk.
Lois shrugged as she sat, "Never mind that. What's going on with the League? I saw that you guys have been pretty slammed lately." She queried in a hushed tone.
"We're staying busy, that's for sure. It's obvious Lex and his goons are trying to wear us down, distract us. But we haven't quite figured out the angle on this one." He replied from his perch atop her desk.
"What about the off-world travel?"
"John has the Corps monitoring that but it's so random. There doesn't appear to be any reasoning behind it. We're staying alert, though."
"Well, good. Let me know if I can do anything to help. Chloe's gonna be meeting us in Washington later today to assist in the research and I know she'd love to help." Lois added.
Clark smiled at the mention of his good friend, "Lemme guess—Jimmy's going to be in Washington with you guys, too." Lois nodded. "Guess that's why he wore the spiffy bow-tie, huh?"
Lois laughed at this, "I guess. I just wish he would speak up already and ask Chloe out."
"Don't worry, I'm willing to bet the Kent Farm that Chloe beats him to the punch." Clark stated. He and Lois had a good laugh over the image of Jimmy's baffled face as Chloe took matters into her own hands.
Gotham Midtown Bridge, Gotham, USA
Kal floated above the structure, smiling as he recalled his time at The Planet today. It was really good to get back, even if only for a short time. While he did get a good deal of work done while there, he also made sure to use his resources in order to plan a wonderful night out for himself and Diana. Now the only obstacle hindering their date from commencing would be this meeting with Bruce. He hoped to Rao that Bruce would have used their time apart to realize what an ass he was being. Not likely.
"Well, what's a handsome man like you doing hanging out in a place like this?" Came the melodic voice behind him.
He smiled as he turned and greeted his visitor. His breath caught as he took in the sight of Diana. Although her light yellow summer wrap dress with a dark gray ribbon waist was simple, she made it appear heavenly. As a matter of fact, Kal thought she looked like an angel, hovering in the air as the wind current billowed both her hair and dress.
"Oh, I dunno…just waiting on the woman of my dreams to sweep me off my feet." He joked.
Diana floated closer to him, taking in his choice of charcoal gray slacks and a crisp white button shirt. She enveloped him in an embrace, loving the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her and drinking in the scent that was all Kal.
"You ready for this?"
She could feel his rumble of a request vibrate through his body as she continued to hold him. She nodded in response. They flew together to the east wall of the Wayne Manor before dropping out of sight and circling around to the surrounding forest. They landed a quarter mile from the mansion, at the mouth of a cavernous mound, appearing to be a mountain of solid rock to the untrained eye. The two waited patiently as an undetectable security camera scanned their forms for recognition.
"Bruce is nothing, if not paranoid, wouldn't you say?" Diana joked.
Once the scan was complete, a small crevice appeared in the rock surface, Kal led Diana through the opening, which was actually much larger than it initially appeared. They took flight once again to expedite the trip from the opening to the heart of the cave. As usual, Bruce was awaiting their arrival, seated in the monitoring section of the cave. What was most unusual was that he was out of uniform and dressed casually in a cashmere sweater and slacks. Kal and Diana exchanged brief glances as they touched down before the man. Kal made sure to take hold of Diana's hand, a sure sign of his feelings before this meeting even began.
"Thank you both for agreeing to meet with me." Bruce intoned as he stood from his seat. Taking notice of their intertwined hands, he gestured for Diana to take his seat.
She declined his offer politely, "We won't be staying long. We have other plans for tonight."
"Well, I suppose I shouldn't have expected you to want to stay for any length of time, given the way I've treated you guys." Neither of the two responded, preferring to see where this would go. Bruce sighed in resignation. "I suppose I shouldn't expect either of you to be chatty, either. " Still no response. Bruce clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly paced the floor before them. He opened his mouth once, reconsidered what he would say and paced a few moments more. Diana raised an eyebrow at his stalling. She really did not intend to spend her entire evening waiting for his to draw out this meeting. Kal gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, sensing her increasing irritation. She closed her eyes for a moment and let him soothe her. More silence from Bruce.
"Oh my god, Bruce. Just get it over with, will you." A voice sounded from the shadows.
Bruce stopped his pacing and gave an irritated sigh. "I was about to do that, sweetie, when you decided to interrupt. And I'm pretty sure I asked to do this alone….honey." His smile was tight as he spoke the terms of endearment.
Selina's lithe form appeared from the shadows, dressed tastefully in a black pencil skirt and wine colored button top. The staccato of her stiletto heels echoed in the cavernous room. She walked past her frowning man and greeted the couple before her. "Diana, so good to see you." She enveloped the woman in a warm hug. "You too, big guy." She did the same with Kal.
Bruce cleared his throat exaggeratedly. "Selina… if you're done-"
She cut him off with a kiss to the lips, much to his embarrassment. Kal chuckled at his shocked expression.
"Sweetie, let me help you out." She whispered into Bruce's ear. She turned to face Diana and Kal. "What Bruce was trying to say was he's sorry for acting like a total a-hole. Of course, we would have all aged ten years by the time he got it out."
"Thanks for your help, honey, but I certainly wouldn't say I acted like an 'a-hole'. Honestly, I don't even think that term is in my vocabulary." Bruce defended.
Diana chimed in. "No. I think a-hole would pretty much sum it up, Bruce."
Kal laughed out loud. Bruce glowered at them all.
"Save your stink-eye for the bad guys, Bruce. Look, why don't you just tell these two why you reacted the way you did and we can get on with our plans for the evening." Selina encouraged.
Bruce cut his eyes to his guests quickly before speaking in hushed tones to his lady. "Um, hon, I wasn't going to go all into that. I just wanted to apologize and -"
Selina looked at him incredulously. "Oh my god, Bruce. You weren't going to tell them?"
Kal and Diana exchanged questioning glances. He raised a finger to remind them of their audience. "Hey, guys? Anybody want to clue us in over here?"
Selina crossed her arms before her, staring pointedly at her boyfriend as she replied. "Of course, Clark. Bruce would be more than happy to tell you why he felt the need to berate you two for wanting to spend some time together in the midst of all this craziness. Wouldn't you, Bruce?"
To his credit, Bruce did not cower under her glare. In fact, he returned one of his own. "Of course." He replied coolly. After holding her gaze a moment longer, Bruce turned to his friends, an unreadable expression on his face. He cleared his throat twice before speaking. "I may have reacted a little…strongly… to your delayed response because I was angry at myself for also not responding as quickly as I could have."
Kal and Diana were thoroughly confused. Diana spoke up. "What are you saying, Bruce?"
"Well…I may have been… a little …indisposed, as well, when the initial alert went out." He grated out.
Kal cocked his head to one side, taking in his friend. He crossed his arms before him. "Indisposed how?"
"The how isn't what matters, Clark. I just wanted to say I'm sorry, okay? So can we leave it at that?" Bruce uttered quickly. He looked up to see three pairs of eyes waiting expectantly. He released a great sigh of resignation. "I… I…" He looked to Selina for support. She shook her head, giving none of what he needed. In fact, she grinned at his predicament. That little minx! He saw her mouth 'on with it' in between the fits of giggles she tried to contain.
"Bruce. Indisposed how?" Kal asked again, his tone brooking no argument.
"Alright, alright. I was busy with Selina." Bruce blurted out.
"Uh-uh. What he means is he was getting busy with me. Isn't that right, honey?" Selina was enjoying every minute of this.
"…Yes." Bruce replied tersely. He looked up to see enigmatic expressions on both Kal and Diana's faces. Time seemed to stretch on for eons as he awaiting their responses. When he'd had all he could take, he put up his hands in a gesture of good will. "Look, guys, I'm so-"
His apologies were cut off by the sudden bark of laughter from his two friends. Diana actually laughed so hard she had to lean on Kal to keep herself upright. Kal wiped tears from his eyes as his guffaws started anew. He bent over to rest his weight on his knees as he tried to gather himself.
"Wait. Wait. You mean to tell me that you two were—and he didn't—so he -" Kal couldn't complete a sentence as his laughter once again overwhelmed him.
Diana fared no better. "B-Bruce, you- and we- oh, that's rich!"
Selina was helpless to stop her own giggles as she took in the reaction of the two before her. Bruce rolled his eyes at all of them, clearly displeased at being the butt of the joke.
"Cute, guys. Real cute." He stated dryly. He waited a few more moments, hoping they would have gotten it all out of their systems. No such luck. "Okay! Okay, okay. Yes, yes, I'm an a-hole, okay?"
Diana burst out in a fit of giggles anew at the irritated look on Bruce's face. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, trying to calm Kal, as well. "Okay, okay. ((ahem)) Sorry, Bruce. It's just…strange to know that you reprimanded Kal and I for something you yourself were doing." She stated, mildly chiding him.
He heard the hint of sarcasm in her voice, shaking his head as realized they were responding much better than he assumed. He supposed laughter was exponentially better than the tense stalemate they'd been engaged in as of late. "I am truly sorry. Guess I projected my frustration and disappointment at myself onto you guys. I guess even The Trinity has their moments, huh?"
Kal, having composed himself, responded to his friend. "We do, Bruce. We do."
Bruce extended his hand to his friend. "So…are we good?"
Kal used the hand to pull his friend into a tight embrace. "We're good. Just don't let it happen again." Bruce couldn't miss the seriousness in his last statement. He nodded his agreement to the man.
Selina let out a short whoop! of celebration as she hugged Diana. "Good! I thought Bruce had succeeded in running off the first real girlfriend I've had in a while. I have wanted to call you so bad. We've much to catch up on!"
Diana laughed at the woman's enthusiasm, her eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "Selina, it's only been a few days' time."
Selina drew back from the hug, mock horror on her face. "I know, that's, like, months in gossip time!"
Bruce and Kal stood back, taking in the scene of before them. Bruce offered to take them all out for dinner as an extension of his apology.
"Sorry, Bruce, we really do have plans, but don't think I won't be cashing in on this dinner you owe us," Kal warned lightly.
Bruce shook his head, "I have no doubt you will."