She walked to the phone box at the end of the alley and paused for a while. It had just struck her that he could be watching her from the rooftops.
Her heart was pounding with excitement, much like a teenage girl with her first crush. She had not felt like this...ever.
She turned around to see a figure in the shadows at the end of the alley. She approached him slowly taking in his obviously muscular form.
"Hello." He said, startling her.
She walked back a few steps unsure by this new development but then took a deep breath and walked forward.
"I am sorry I startled you." The Blur announced, obviously through a modulator.
"Its...ok. I just did not think you would talk to me." She stuttered.
"You're nervous! You have to admit last night's conversation was a little one sided." He replied.
"Thank you for coming." She got closer to him than she had been last night. "I didn't think you would."
"Maybe I wanted to talk to you." Clark came out of the shadows.
"I can see you now." She smiled. "So have you been busy tonight?"
"No...not really. How about you?" He said, as he scanned her mask with his x-ray vision to see if he could see what she looked like underneath but he could not penetrate it. It was obviously lead lined.
"No, do you ever get sick of devoting your life to saving others?"
He chuckled. "This is not exactly my whole life."
"You mean you do other things." She asked interested.
"Yes I do other things." Clark knew he was being very open, which could leave him vulnerable but he felt like he had known Stiletto for ages.
"I am prying too much. I am sorry."
"It is ok. I would not answer your questions if I didn't want you to know." He told her. "It is nice to be able to talk to someone."
"Same here!" she replied.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them. "So how long have you been patrolling the streets?" Clark asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm pretty new to all this to be honest." She replied, her mind furiously thinking of things to talk about. "But you're not , are you?"
"No, I've been doing this for a while now."
"Why...I mean why do you do it?" She inquired
"I don't know really. I feel like I have this greater mission in life and I can make a difference."
"But you don't expect anything in return. You fight crime for the shadows but never take the thanks for it." She suggested.
"Knowing I have helped someone is reward enough for me."
Clark tried to look at her face but his eyes kept wandering down her slender leather encased figure. He really wanted to ask her how she managed to get it on.
"How can you run in that suit?" he asked. "It's a bit...tight!"
She looked at him. "Do you think it is too tight?"
He panicked. He asked himself why he had brought up the subject of her suit and now he was trying to work out how to answer her question.
"Umm..no, it looks fine." He stuttered back nervously.
"How about your suit? Why did you change from the red and blue?" She smiled at him, enjoying the fact she was making him squirm.
"I was worried I would be seen. I think the black look is better. What do you think?" he asked.
"I never really saw you close up in your red and blue, so I can't really comment." She replied. "Let's face it...you tend to run very fast so no one gets a chance to see you. How fast can you run?"
"Quite fast. I seem to be getting faster as I get older."
"Oh I see. You make it sound as though you are very old. How old..." she never finished her sentence as she realised she was being too nosey.
"I won't tell you exactly except to say I am more than 20 and less than 30." He chuckled.
"Well that narrows it down." She laughed back.
"Your turn, how old are you?"
"Ditto to your answer." She replied.
Again their night was interrupted by the sounds of police sirens. Lois noticed the Blur getting shifty.
"You go. Thanks for our chat. I enjoyed it."
"Me too. Maybe we can do it again sometime." He suggested. "How about tomorrow night?" He hoped he was not being too forward.
She smiled. "It's a date!" Then she paused and backtracked. "Well it is not a date...you know what I mean."
Clark sped off into the night, his head spinning in reaction to what had just happened. This was first time he had talked to anyone as the Blur, where he had felt able to open up. He could have followed her to find out who she was but he found the mystery an attraction.
He had finally admitted that he was attracted to this leather clad here, but then reminded himself 98% of the male population probably would have been too. But it was more than that, she listened to him and made him feel normal. She was not in awe of him.
Lois walked back to car, hoping she could get away before he followed her. She drove back to Smallville, completely overwhelmed by some type of undefined feelings running through her mind. If she did not know any better she would have said that she felt an attraction towards the Blur.
Lois arrived early the following evening. She waited by the phone box until the Blur appeared at the end of the alley. Her head had been in the clouds all day and unable to concentrate on the simplest of tasks. Luckily Clark had been on assignment with Tess all day which was a blessing because he would have realised that something was wrong.
She suddenly felt a whoosh past her ear. She walked up the alley. "I am going to get a reputation for hanging around street corners in tight leather outfits." She laughed, feeling more at ease with him the more she spoke to him.
He looked at her. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.
"Are you propositioning me?" she asked, but then wished she could take it back. She would no doubt have frightened him off now.
"No, of course not!" he replied, not sure whether he wished he could proposition her or not. "I was just wondering if you want to go somewhere to sit down and relax a bit more."
"Oh I see." She said. "I'd like that. Where did you have in mind?"
He pointed up at the sky.
She stared at him in disbelief. "You mean fly."
"No, I am sorry to disappoint you but I can't fly...well not yet anyway. I was going to jump up there. Do you trust me?"
"Completely." She walked towards him.
He grabbed her and scooped her up in his arms. Then he squatted down before launching himself in the air. Lois felt like the bottom was coming out of her stomach as she quickly saw the ground disappear from below her.
A second later they were on top of one of the oldest buildings in Metropolis.
"That was amazing." Lois shrieked with excitement. "It was like one of those theme park rides, only a million times better."
"Thanks. I just thought we could come up here to get away from it all and have somewhere to sit. He motioned for her to sit on one of the walls. He took a seat next to her, but was careful not to get too close.
"What is this place?" she asked when she had calmed down.
"I call it the Crow's Nest. I come here so I can watch out over the city to look for signs of trouble." He explained.
"I don't know how you can see or hear anything. The cars look like ants."
"I have super hearing and can zoom in on things." He replied.
"You are full of all surprises. It is so beautiful up here. Thank you for bringing me up here."
"You're welcome!"
"So what other surprises do you have?" she asked.
"You'll just have to wait and see." He said, not sure if he meant that comment to sound as flirty as it did. He cleared his throat. "Do you have any powers, other than the ability to squeeze into an incredibly tight leather suit?"
She was enjoying his obvious flirting and had lost count of how many times he had checked her out since they met up ten minutes ago. "No, I'm a one trick pony." She laughed.
Lois was a very guarded person with her feelings but this masked persona seemed to allow her to let go of her inhibitions and go places normally never would.
"Why do you keep checking me out?" she asked outright.
"You certainly don't beat around the bush." He fired back. "I am just appreciating the quality of the sewing." He joked.
"You'd better be careful, your girlfriend or wife may get jealous."
"Maybe both will." He replied seriously, calling her bluff.
She froze. "You mean you are married and have a girlfriend. I guess it makes sense because you can blur in and out of situations. So is that why you thought you would bring me up here." She started to sound annoyed.
"Calm down! I was kidding. I am 100% single."
"Oh I see. I suppose women can't cope with your double life." She replied.
"Actually it was quite the opposite with my ex-girlfriend. She could not deal with me being more powerful than her and she found a way to match my powers. That was the cause of our final break up but when I look back now, I can see that we were never meant to be." He revealed.
"She sounds a little shallow, if you don't mind me saying. She should accept you for who you are, not what you can do. Your powers don't define you as a person, do they?"
"No, not really but my powers will always be an important part of my life. Maybe I should place an advert in the dating column." He replied.
"I don't think you have to resort to such desperate measures. There will be someone out there for you." Lois reassured him.
"Well for a moment I thought there was but I don't think she is interested. I didn't treat her with the respect she deserved. "
"What did you do?" Lois asked, a hint of jealousy evident in her voice.
"I took her for granted and did not make my feelings clear, mainly because I was confused by what I wanted. I should have acted on my feelings rather than run off the way I did."
"You sound like me. I normally flee at the first sign of anything developing."
He looked at her, and took one of the biggest risks of his life. "So why aren't you running now?"
She held his gaze. "Because I don't want to."
He stood up and offered his hand. "Are you feeling what I am feeling?"
She took his hand, and decided to risk her heart on a man she barely knew.
Their lips nervously drifted towards each other, until they brushed gently. Lois tilted her head to an angle to gain better access but their masks were still getting in the way. Slightly frustrated, they both pulled apart.
"This isn't working too well." He admitted. "I'm sorry, maybe it was a bad idea."
She looked at him. "Maybe if we took our masks off it would be easier."
He seemed to tense up at that suggestion. "I don't think we're ready for that."
"You're right. Shall we just rewind a bit and go back to talking? Kissing seems to just complicate things." She explained.
"Good idea!" He replied, wondering if this had been a blessing in disguise. He wondered if all this was just down to pure physical attraction. After all he did not know Stiletto as a person. To him she was a stunning body in leather bodysuit. He did not yet know who the person was underneath the disguise, but he knew one thing – he wanted to find out and continue this fledgling relationship.
Lois should have been disappointed by the false start but she was actually relieved. It had pulled them back from maybe making the biggest mistake of their lives. The Blur was this amazing selfless individual who chose to dedicate his life to saving others, but...did that necessarily make him good boyfriend material. It was as though that kiss had jolted them back to reality.
She was a little lost for words after their awkward exchange so she decided to excuse herself for the night. But she didn't have to...The Blur was soon called on to perform another save.
"Can we meet tomorrow night and just talk?" He asked hopefully.
"Ok, same time, same place." She remarked.
"Definitely...see you then!" he bent over and kissed her gently on the cheek.
The following morning at the Daily Planet was a busy one, but neither Clark nor Lois was able to concentrate on work.
Clark looked over the top his computer to see Lois in a complete trance, so deep in thought; she did not seem to move a muscle.
"Lois, are you ok?" he asked concerned.
There was still no movement. "Lois..." he shouted louder to get her attention which he did, along with the rest of the staff in the Bullpen.
"What is it?" she snapped.
"I was worried about you. You seemed to be out of it."
"I have stuff on my mind." She replied impatiently. "Just because you have a cushy number and the most you need to worry about is the colour of plaid to wear when you get home."
"Lois, that was below the belt. What is troubling you?" he asked quietly.
Lois threw up the excuse to stop him asking questions. "Just women
problems."
He sat down in his chair. "Well, I'll stop right there. That's not my speciality."
"Sorry for my mood. I just feel my life is coming to a crossroads and I don't know which fork to take for the best."
He moved his chair around so he could see her better. "You're not thinking of leaving the Daily Planet, are you?" he was worried.
"No Smallville. This isn't about my work, it's personal stuff."
"Can I help?" he asked out of genuine concern. "It must be serious if it is bothering you this much."
She sighed. "Look Smallville, I'll tell you if you want to know."
"Whatever it is, you can tell me." He smiled showing his support.
"Ok...I have met someone."
That one sentence made his expression change instantly, but he knew he needed to put his jealousy aside and listen to her problems as a friend.
"Is it serious?"
"I would like it to be, but I have doubts about taking the next step." She explained.
"Oh I see. Shouldn't you be talking to him about it?"
"It's complicated!" She replied.
He laughed. "Wasn't that my line when I was dating..." then he stopped.
"Lana! You can say her name." Lois snapped.
"Sorry I didn't mean to bring her up." He replied sheepishly.
"And why not? Our little misunderstanding at the wedding has been cleared up. In fact she did us a favour turning up. It wouldn't have worked anyway so why dwell on it?"
Clark was going to answer but they were interrupted by the voice of Randall.
"Lane, Kent. Tess Mercer's office now."
Lois looked up. "Can't Randall ever use full sentences?" she suggested to Clark.
Randall stared at her. "I heard that Lane."
Lois and Clark scuttled into the elevator and took it up to the top floor where Tess's office was. All the way, they tried to work out what she would want with them, thinking through all the things they could have done wrong.
"I bet we are going to lose our jobs. Tess never wants to speak to you unless she wants to fire you." Lois replied down heartened.
"Lois, stop being so pessimistic." He replied.
Lois was annoyed at his comment and that's when the squabble starting carrying all the way into Tess's office.
Tess looked at them and waited for them to stop. "How do you two manage to work together? All you do is fight?" she announced smugly.
They froze when they realised what they were doing in front of their unimpressed boss.
Tess took a deep breath. "After that performance, I think I should fire you rather than send you on an assignment."
"Assignment!" Lois piped up excitedly. She always loved hearing those words especially since she was usually cooped up in the airless bullpen.
"Yes, you and Clark are going to Washington DC to spend a few days with a member of the Senate. I think it is important to see what they do for local people when they spend most of their time in the capital."
"But which Senator?" Clark asked realising there was two from Kansas, one of who was his mom.
"Your mother!" she looked Clark. "I thought it was important to send someone who could get the real story. I know you have family loyalties Clark, but I expect non biased reporting."
He smiled. "Of course! Do you want me to ring and ask her?"
"I already have. You are staying at her apartment."
Lois was thrilled. Her thoughts went back to the Blur and she just hoped he understood she would be going away for a few days. "So can we leave work early to go and pack for tomorrow."
"Who said anything about tomorrow. You are flying at 3pm which gives you 5hrs to get ready and on the flight."
Lois looked horrified. She had no way of letting the Blur know she was going to be away and could not meet him tonight. On the other hand Clark was disappointed that he could not meet Stiletto, but he knew she would think he had been held up on a job.
"Is something wrong, Lois?" Tess asked.
"I have something on tonight."
"Well if you really want to go, I can send someone else with Clark." Tess announced.
Lois knew she had no choice but to go...