Rack 'em up!

By this time, Lois had released Clark and was bounding along the sidewalk at a brisk pace, causing Clark to have to lengthen his stride to keep up. They'd stepped out of the main entrance to the Daily Planet before taking a left and walking for a block and a half and crossing the street. The destination was a bar named O'Malley's. The name might have suggested the place to be an Irish theme pub but it was just a regular bar. Clark recognised it as the place where she'd offered to buy him a drink in the alternate universe. He had to blink at the eerie similarities between the two worlds.

Loud rock music could be heard from outside, briefly becoming a din every time somebody opened the door. O'Malley's was a place where Lois often liked to hang out after work because they had a great happy hour and there never seemed to be any trouble. It helped that the bar staff looked like amateur boxers. Even the waitresses looked like they could handle themselves, pretty though they were. Lois pulled the door and Clark held it open as she stepped inside.

"Smallville, you'd better leave your inner boy scout at the door because tonight, we are gonna drink our worries away."

Clark fought to make himself heard over the music as he followed Lois to the bar which was heaving with punters. The beer on tap was flowing freely and there was a wide selection of hard liquor. On the wall above the bar was a giant television screen showing a football game, and there were smaller screens dotted around showing music videos or other sports like basketball. To one side was a games area with two slot machines, three pool tables and an oche leading to a dartboard. All had a game in progress. Around the games area were a number of signed photos of Metropolis Sharks players past and present, framed shirts and other memorabilia including a 6-foot tall canvas painting of the Sharks' greatest player captured in his greatest moment - leaping for joy, eyes closed, arm in the air holding his Sharks helmet in triumph as a roar of jubilation escaped his lips - the Hail Mary in the final seconds which resulted in the touchdown that claimed the Championship game for the Sharks for the first time in over two decades. The other side of the bar had a seating area plus a staircase that led to a mezzanine level with additional seating including private booths that overlooked the main floor. Lois had never been upstairs but she was sure there was a bar up there too, probably with more exclusive drinks on offer.

"Lois, I appreciate what you're trying to do but you don't need to take me out just to make me feel better. I'd really prefer to just go home."

Lois turned to face him, reaching over his shoulder the way she had when they left the bullpen.

"Nah ah, no time for introspection. We both need to let our hair down and just have some fun. I promise, you'll gain a new perspective on life afterwards. Now, I'm gonna grab us a couple of beers and try to snag a pool table."

She nodded to the bar girl - Wendy - behind the counter who smiled in greeting. Obviously she knew Lois was a regular. Unbeknownst to Clark, she was also one of Lois' sources for updates on the activities of the higher-ups in the Mayor's office. A lot of deals were negotiated at O'Malley's, and people could be very loose-lipped when it came to the finer details. There was a reason why alcohol tended to make people lose some of their inhibitions.

"Hi Lois. Well well well, who's the handsome hunk of man over there with you? Nice work!" said Wendy as she lustily gave Clark the once over.

"Wendy, hey. This is my good friend Clark Kent," Lois replied as she yanked Clark by the arm to stand closer to her. "I'm here to show him a good time and take his mind off problems at home. No room for the Goody Two Shoes act."

"Uh huh," said Wendy, obviously trying to picture Clark naked. "What can I get you both?"

Before Clark could begin to utter a protest or order something safe, Lois requested two bottled beers and asked to play on one of the pool tables when it was free. With that, Lois headed towards the games area with Clark following behind again. Moments later, Wendy brought over their beers and it was about then that the group using the table near the back finished their game.

"Alright Smallville, be a dear and rack 'em up while I visit the rest room."

Lois slinked off in the vicinity of the rest rooms as Clark watched her go. He admired her effervescence and appreciated her wanting to help him out but at the same time, he wondered how competitive she might get over a game of pool. He'd never actually played her at pool before but she was usually very competitive over everything. As a teenager, she'd once spent an afternoon at an amusement arcade clearing all the high scores on a game of Space Invaders, if Chloe was to be believed, and a simple game of Monopoly with Clark and Chloe had almost turned into a wrestling match as they quibbled over whether the dice had landed showing a 3 or a 6. He began to rack up.

While waiting for his pool buddy, Clark took a sip of his beer, grimacing at the taste. He'd never liked the stuff and made a point of avoiding it. He could consume alcohol to his heart's content with zero side effects but he still had to deal with what he considered to be the unpleasant aftertaste. Still, he was here and she was being really nice, so it was best to simply try and go with the flow.

"Ladies first!" snarked Lois upon her return, nodding to Clark to break off as she took a huge swig of her beer. She downed almost half the bottle in one go. Clark crashed the cue ball into the pack and the game was a-go.

The first game was over within a couple of minutes as Lois made light work of clearing up. Clark had potted just one ball. She was a leftie who packed a surprising amount of power, and lined up each shot like a chess grandmaster planning several moves ahead. It was clear to Clark that she'd wiled away hour after hour on a pool table at any one of the military bases where her father had been stationed, and that she'd learned a trick or two. He almost forgot he was playing as he lost himself watching her skilfully end the game. Every ball dropped clean into the middle of the pocket.

"You're really taking it out on that cue ball."

Lois looked up at him. "Yeah, I just pretend it's Lex's bald melon and take it from there."

Clark bristled at the mention of Lex. How had his friendship with Lex come to this? Lex had murdered his own father and covered up the fact, getting his minions to hide the evidence. Lionel Luthor may have been many things, but even he understood the need to be wary of Lex. He'd played his own part in bringing out Lex's darker side, and the heir to the LuthorCorp empire was becoming more and more tyrannical by the day. He'd recently bought the Daily Planet and overseen a programme of intensive - and illegal - monitoring of Daily Planet staff. People were fearful for their jobs, and Chloe had already been fired. Maybe Lois was next in the firing line. The mood at work was unpleasant as any dissenting voices were quashed without mercy.

"Lois, you need to be careful with Lex. I know how much you want to bring him down, but he's dangerous."

"Don't worry Clark, I'm going in with my eyes fully open. I know he's waiting for the opportune moment to pull the trigger. I just need to gather as much dirt on him as I can to put his activities in the spotlight."

She crashed another impeccable shot to break off, taking her anger out on the ball once more. Lex had binned several of her articles since he'd taken over as managing editor, even if they had absolutely nothing to do with him or his company. Slowly but surely, he was turning the Daily Planet into a LuthorCorp propaganda tool and he recognised Lois as somebody who'd be completely opposed to his way of doing things. He was attempting to gag the up-and-coming reporter and kill off her reputation before it built up a head of steam.

The second game was a tighter affair as Clark broke out a few impressive shots of his own, but a foul shot gave Lois the chance to clear up again. She did so with the same ruthless efficiency as in the first game, and was now 2-0 up. Clark observed with fascination her almost child-like glee with gaining victory. The girl who was so often belligerent and wilful could be incredibly cute too.

"Not that I don't mind continuing to kick your ass Clark, but what say you and I up the ante a little huh? Rack 'em up again while I get another round in," Lois ordered before heading back to Wendy at the bar.

As Clark racked up, he could see a group of men in suits casting their eye on Lois. They looked like typical ex-public schoolboys and probably worked as stockbrokers and the like, flaunting their wealth and treating women like sex objects. They must have been watching her with a little admiration of her prowess but more likely, her physical attributes. Clark could admit to himself that Lois was certainly eye-catching so he could understand that she would turn heads. Open leering was a different matter. He shook his head.

Lois returned to the table with Wendy in tow. The bar girl was carrying a tray containing ten shot glasses, each brimmed with tequila. Clark knew where this was going.

"New rules, Smallville. Each time one of us fails to sink a ball, we have to down a shot. If we foul, we have to down a double. No sipping, no cheating. I'm breaking!"

Clark's prediction was correct, but his reply made him wish he'd kept his mouth shut and merely nodded because it gave Lois an in to taunt him some more. She could be absolutely merciless when she wanted to be.

"Kinda like strip poker then."

Lois' eyes shot up as she chalked her cue. "Why Clark Kent, you've been holding out on me. Who knew the farmboy could be into such a thing?"

"Just because I've heard of it, doesn't mean I'm into it."

"Riiiight!" drawled Lois sarcastically.

Clark knew there was nothing for it but to cheat to get his own back on Lois. It would be subtle and he would make sure he also downed a few shots of tequila by missing a few shots on the table. Just a bit of extra power here and there, a little gust of super-breath to cause the ball to deviate, and a quick burst of super-speed to slow down a ball that was headed right for the bag. He wanted to see how annoyed Lois might get once she started to miss a few shots herself. After that, she'd have difficulty anyway having downed so many shots.

That is how it panned out. Lois ended up finishing most of the tray, yet was getting increasingly exasperated by her inability to make even the simplest shots on the table. Game after game saw Clark sink the black to finish the contest.

At some point during the proceedings, Lois had spotted the group of yuppie types leering at her. Experience had taught her that groups of guys ogling over a girl like a fresh piece of meat would usually bet each other to see who could get her, and they were very persistent - persistent and irritating. They would wait until any male company was nowhere near the vicinity before they moved in. Lois' first week at Met U had seen her face this situation three times. Of course, her spending so much time in bars and at frat parties increased the likelihood of all this, but she had built up a list of comebacks for anybody trying it on.

Clark had gone to the men's room so here was their opportunity. One of the guys sauntered over - the opening salvo that was always doomed to failure. Here was the wingman's wingman, a stocky fellow who was a fair bit shorter than Lois, and with a confidence born of inebriation which led him to believe he was the prize catch he really was not. Lois could tell that he spent way too much money on fake tans, hair gel and tooth whitener. He looked like a reject from a reality TV show, not that he was going to let that stop him and his small talk.

"Hi doll, me and my buddies were watching you play and I was thinking that maybe you could teach me. You know, a private lesson, show me how to chalk my cue, the best way to sink my balls, that kind of thing."

Lois grinned at him, inwardly cringing and rolling her eyes at his lame and unsubtle pick-up lines. She finished her shot of añejo to give herself time to think up the perfect retort. Then she let him have it.

"Well, Short Stack, you don't need me to show you. See, it's all in the wrists and you can practice your wrist action at home. Although, something tells me you're used to that."

The others started howling with laughter, yelling "Ooohhhh, burn!" at the way the pretty girl had shut their friend down, as he skulked his way back to the group. They would spend the next few minutes planning another strategy before someone else would step up to have a go.

Clark returned from the men's room and picked up his cue, ready to continue playing.

"Hey Smallville," Lois spoke in hushed tones so as to be out of earshot of the group, "I need you to do me a favour."

Upon his acknowledgement, she continued. "Half Pint and the guys over there are taking turns to make moves on me."

Clark didn't turn around to look at them as he knew which group she was talking about. "You want me to have a word?"

"No, I don't need you to fight my battles. I need to do something so that they won't try and chat me up."

"OK, what do you need me to do?" asked Clark.

"Stand behind me and grab my ass," ordered Lois.

If Clark had been holding his drink, he would have dropped his glass. She'd once threatened a beheading if he tried a stunt like that again, thanks to his evil doppelgänger Bizarro. Now she was practically inviting him to do it. "Excuse me?"

Lois rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, realising she'd need to labour the point. "If they think we're together, they won't be trying it on!"

"But why do I have to grab you?" asked Clark, worried all of a sudden.

"Because it will look more believable, dummy!" said Lois. As Clark stepped over to stand close behind her, she reminded him, "And remember, this is all for show. Don't be getting any funny ideas, Smallville."

With that, Lois picked up her cue and began to pretend she was having difficulty playing her next shot. Clark stood right behind her, though not close enough for her liking as she felt he wasn't selling it enough. She shuffled back and wiggled her hips, settling her ass right where Clark's hands were.

Maybe it was the drink but she couldn't help but notice how large and how warm Clark's hands were. And how nice it felt. They practically enveloped her ass cheeks whole, the heat penetrating the thin fabric of her pants as though they weren't there. Clark started to get into his role a bit more, taking Lois' cue hand and showing her the best way to hold the cue for this shot, and her other hand to show her how to create a bridge over the ball directly in front of the cue ball. These simple movements had resulted in him leaning in so his groin was touching her ass. To anyone observing, they were undoubtedly a couple.

Lois found herself closing her eyes and revelling in the sensations of Clark's touch as his hands returned to her posterior, briefly flushing before quickly snapping to her senses. Taking a glance at the yuppies, she could see they'd now lost interest and moved to another area of the bar. Her plan had worked, but at a cost. There were now feelings of jealousy that Lana was the regular beneficiary of this sort of contact. Wait, what? This is definitely the drink talking!

Realising Clark was still basically cupping her ass, she cleared her throat. Clark jolted back like he'd been scalded, and Lois was suddenly very aware of how cool her ass felt without Clark's hands on it. However, they'd got rid of the problem so her little plan was a success.

For the next twenty minutes, the two of them simply played pot shots to clear the table rather than get competitive. Lois had forgotten about her problems at work so this evening had turned out to be a godsend. She noticed however that Clark's face had begun to darken. His mind was definitely returning to thoughts of Lana. Spotting Wendy, she called her over to order another couple of shots of the amber nectar.

"You're doing it again," she pointed out to a distracted Clark.

"Doing what?"

"You're worrying about Lana."

"I'm not. I was just thinking."

"Look," sighed Lois. "I hope Lana pulls through so you guys can have your little church wedding and start your life with the white picket fence and all your little babies running around, but I don't think Lana's cut out to be a farmer's wife."

"What makes you so sure that's what I want?" asked Clark. Truth be told, he had often envisioned exactly the life Lois had just described but even he had doubts as to whether settling down this way was ever going to happen, or indeed whether or not it had any real long-term future.

"I just mean…I've seen your mom help out around the farm and I just can't picture Lana taking on some of those tasks. Maybe I'm painting her wrong but she's always struck me as the type who wants to expand her horizons. She went to Paris and then she went to Met U, so clearly she pictured a life away from Smallville. You should too."

Clark was curious about what Lois was trying to imply. Did she have doubts about his ability to run the farm?

"In what way?"

Wendy came over with their drinks. Downing her next shot of añejo in one, she began to explain. "Well, you have this need to help people, and you always stick up for the little guy. I don't know, if you joined the police force or became a fireman or maybe did some training to become an EMT or something, that might help to broaden your horizons and get you away from the simple farm life."

"Is that so?" Clark wondered why Lois was so concerned about his future.

"Yeah. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to want to run the farm. After all, it's been in your family for generations. I just think you could do with looking outside the box. You might like what you find. Take me for example. I was dead set against becoming a journalist but now, I can't imagine wanting to do anything else."

"I'd have to think about it."

"That's all I'm asking, Smallville. You don't have to decide right away. Look, when Lana comes back, you guys should talk it over so at least you know where you stand. If you ask me, I think Lana would be open to the idea. You never know, she might like a man in uniform!"

"Lois Lane, career counsellor huh?" smirked Clark, making Lois smile back.

"There are many strings to this bow!"

Clark looked over at menu board beside the bar. They served food upstairs. He and Lois had already finished an entire bottle of tequila between them and he was certain Lois would try and finish off another one. He found that he was enjoying her company but if he could get her to pace herself and eat something first, it would at least give him the chance to rid his mouth of the sweet yet acrid taste of the alcohol.

"Hey, are you hungry? We could get something to eat."

"You read my mind. I'm told they do a great cheeseburger here, but you have to go upstairs."