Merry Christmas, everyone! This will probably the last chapter I post before Christmas. I won't have a lot of free time until after the holiday, so enjoy this for now.
Chapter 11: Confessions
Clark was positively giddy. A stupid grin spread across his face every time he looked over at Lois. He still couldn't believe that she was falling for Clark Kent, the man not the Superman. She had always ignored him, entranced by his impressive alter ego or consumed by her own concerns.
She certainly wasn't ignoring him now. If anything, she seemed almost too eager. His sloppy grins were mirrored on her face, and she kept finding reasons to casually touch him, little caresses on the hand and strokes against his arms and shoulders. As much as Clark loved her attentions, he worried that things may be moving too quickly.
Lois didn't know who he was, didn't know that he was Superman and Jason's father. If he let things go too far before he told her, she may never forgive him. Still, there was no harm in strengthening her bond with Clark before he told her the truth.
As things started to wind down for the day, Lois started to give him knowing looks. She and Clark started to gather their things to leave and headed toward the elevator. They stepped in alone, and Clark pressed the button for the ground floor. Part way down, Lois jammed the emergency stop. Clark looked over at her in surprise.
She threw herself at him; their lips locked in a passionate kiss with their arms wrapped tightly around each other. "I've been wanting to do that all day," she said. "So what's the plan for tonight?"
Clark smiled. "Telling you would ruin the surprise."
"At least tell me what I need to wear. Though, personally, I would prefer we wear nothing at all."
Clark blushed. "Lois!"
She laughed. "Am I offending your homespun values, Smallville?"
"Lois...as much as I would love to be naked with you, it might be better if we slowed things down a little bit. I don't want to rush into anything we might regret."
"Oh," Lois said. "I suppose you're right." She let go of him and undid the emergency stop. The elevator resumed traveling downward.
Right before they got off, Clark spoke. "It's casual, by the way."
"What?"
"Just dress casually."
Lois got a gleam in her eye. "Sure thing, Smallville. See you at eight. Be on time."
Clark groaned internally. She was not going to make things easy for him.
SSSS
When Lois got home, she called up her sister to thank her for keeping Jason an extra day. Lucy picked up on the fourth ring.
"Hey, Lo, what's up?"
"Just wanted to make sure it was still okay for you to keep Jason for one more night."
"Sure, I love the kid though I'm not sure why you need me to. Still needing time to recover?"
"Umm...not so much. I have a date actually."
"Oh my god, you're kidding. With Clark? Already? Last time we talked, you acted like you didn't know what you were going to do and now you're going on a date!"
"Woah, slow down there, Lucy. One question at a time."
"Fine, it's with Clark, right?"
"Yes."
"And how did that happen?"
"That's...a long story. Let's just stay it's pretty obvious we're more than friends. And now, we're going on a date." Lois tried to act nonchalant. "It's not a big deal. Just casual."
"Sure," Lucy said, unbelieving. "You haven't been on a date since you broke up with Richard, and now you are about to spend a romantic evening with your best friend. It's totally not a big deal."
"You do know that I am supposed to be the reporter, right? It's not your job to interrogate me. I ask the questions around here!"
"Fine, I'll lay off."
"Good, I need your help. I haven't been on a date in a while..."
"More like forever."
"...and I need you to help me figure out what to wear. What says 'I know you want to take things slowly, but I'd love if you changed your mind about that'?
SSSS
Clark knocked on Lois' door exactly at eight. He had worried that the multi-car pileup he had intervened in downtown at 7:30 would delay him, but he got ready at super speed and landed on Lois' apartment roof at 7:59, making it down to her door by eight.
"Come in!" he heard her yell through the door. He opened the door and strolled into the apartment. He had decided to act like himself tonight, not awkward Clark or Superman. Lois deserved to know the real man behind the masks.
Lois was still in her bedroom, so Clark leaned against the couch. He looked out the glass doors at the balcony. It still amazed him that Lois was able to get an apartment with a balcony on her salary. Clark's place was half the size as well.
He could hear rustling around from Lois' room followed by a load crash. "Lois, is everything okay in there?"
SSSS
Lois swore loudly. Stupid shoes. Why did they always have to be in the least reachable part of the closet? As she tried to pull them down, all the other things she had stuffed up there came toppling down with them.
She heard Clark yell from the living room. She quickly slipped the shoes on her feet and ran out to the living room. "Nothing's wrong, just a little accident in the closet."
Clark stood against the couch, dressed casually in jeans and a leather jacket. He smirked. "Lois, I don't know why you wanted me to be on time. You're not ready to go anyway."
"No, I'm ready."
"Lois, I'm not sure you'll want to wear those heels. We are walking to the restaurant."
Lois glanced down at her shoes. "Well, I'm wearing them anyway. I fought for them."
Clark's smirked turned into a real smile. "I suppose you can if you want though I think you look beautiful no matter what you wear."
"You're not too bad yourself, Smallville."
Clark kissed her softly. "We should get going."
The pair left the apartment hand in hand.
SSSS
Clark took Lois to one of his favorite restaurants, a little hole-in-the-wall that served the best Mediterranean food in Metropolis. They ordered their food and then Clark guided Lois to one of the small, intimate, corner booths.
It seemed to Clark that Lois hadn't given up on the seduction game she was playing earlier today. She was stunning. Tight black jeans highlighted her shapely legs and her red top clung to her in all the right places. He wanted her so much, but he knew now was not the time. Rushing things would only lead to regrets later.
Their conversation started out light enough, but Lois suddenly took a more serious turn. "Clark, if this is a date, does that mean we're dating?"
"Do you want to be dating?" Clark asked in reply.
Lois blushed. The only other person Clark had ever seen her blush around was his alter ego.
"I do." She scooted closer to him in the booth. "Though I really don't see how you could be doubting that after this morning," she said flirtatiously.
Clark could feel his love and passion for her take over as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. He still wondered about something though.
"Why now, Lois? We've been friends for years."
"I just...I guess...I never really noticed until now. I spent so long chasing after a man I can't have I ignored what I had right in front of me. Come on, you know me, Clark. I'm really not the greatest at self-reflection. But when Cat started pursuing you, I guess it got me to finally realize that I don't want to lose you to anyone else."
"Lois, what about that "man you can't have," what about Superman? When you told me about Jason, you told me that you still loved him, that he was one of the reasons Richard left. Has that changed?"
"I some ways no, I'll probably always have feelings for him on some level, but he's never around, Clark. He can't give me what I want. You're here, you're real. Clark, I think, no, I know that I love you."
Clark sat their in silence, shocked by her revelation. I have to tell her who I really am, he thought.
Lois took Clark's silent response badly. "Oh, god, I shouldn't have said that. I'm not really very good at taking things slowly, am I?" She moved to pull away.
Clark held her firmly to prevent her from leaving his arms. "Lois, I have loved you from the day I met you. I never thought you...you never showed any interest. I'm not upset at you."
Clark kissed Lois again, this time harder than before. Lois crawled into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. "We should probably get out of here," he whispered into her ear.
SSSS
Lois shivered a little as they left the restaurant. The temperature must have dropped while they were inside. Like most women's clothing, her top was not made for warmth. She felt Clark's jacket slip over her shoulders. The thing felt like it had been sitting on a heater.
She snuggled up against that heater. "You're warm, Smallville."
She felt his arm wrap around her. "It looks like it's going to rain. The weatherman had said the storm front was going to miss us."
"When are they ever right?" Lois said. She noticed he was now wearing nothing but a short-sleeve t-shirt. "Aren't you going to get cold without this?"
He shrugged. "I'll be fine. Like you said, I'm warm."
They hurried toward Lois' place, trying to beat the rain. Two blocks away, the rain suddenly poured down. They started to run, Lois regretting her choice of shoes. At least Clark's jacket kept part of her dry.
By the time they made it to her building, they were soaked to the skin. She glanced over at Clark as the rode the elevator to her floor. His hair hung in his eyes and his wet shirt clung to his torso like a second skin. He was far more built than she had imagined, every muscle firm and defined; the only other person who could compare was Superman. He stood there casually, completely unaware of how sexy he was.
Lois started laughing at the absurdity of it all. Clark looked at her oddly. "What's so funny?"
"You have..." Lois continued laughing, doubling over now. "You have no idea how hot you are, do you?"
The elevator stopped, opening the doors to her floor. She grabbed Clark by the front of his shirt and pulled him down the hall toward her door.
"Lois, you have no idea how crazy you make me. This isn't exactly taking things slow, you know."
"I think we moved past 'slow' a while ago."
Lois unlocked her door without taking her eyes off Clark. She pulled him inside before kissing him, her hands moving up under his shirt, against his strong muscles of his back. He pulled the kiss deeper, taking his jacket off her, and lifting her up, his hands cradling her hips.
"Lois, you have no idea how much I want you right now..."
She interrupted him. "I might have some idea."
"...but before we do anything, we really need to talk."