Dance of the Seven Veils

By Erin Klingler <erinklingler@cableone.net>

Rated PG-13

Submitted October 1999

Summary: Clark's response to Lois's pheromone-induced dance leads Lois to consider whether to discard the costume ... or save it for a later date?

This story takes place the morning after Lois does her rather seductive <g> dance for Clark in the episode "Pheromone, My Lovely." This has no A-plot to speak of. It's just a short story I pulled from my list of story ideas when I was starved to write another fanfic. Hopefully it'll curb my appetite until I have time to finish my next big drama fic that I'll sooner or later have time to finish. <g> I hope you like this one, though! ;)

Note: For those of you on the fanfic list who read this when I first posted it there, I've made some changes as well as lengthened the story since so many of you were clamoring for me to give you some closure.  Hope you like the new ending! ;)

Feedback (public or private) is always welcome.

***

"I can't believe I *did* that!" Lois muttered in complete embarrassment as she stormed into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. "What in the world has gotten into me?"

When she'd left Clark's apartment only minutes before, she'd felt utterly humiliated. But by the time she'd reached her apartment, her feelings had evolved into anger. Now she was bordering on a full-blown traditional Lois tantrum.

"The Dance of the Seven Veils?" she raged, her lips twisting disgustedly around the words. "Who knew I could even do that *stupid* dance? Let alone perform it for some guy I hardly know!" She stomped through her apartment on her way to her bedroom, yanking off her overcoat and kicking off her shoes as she went.

Not that she hadn't done her fair share of bold and headstrong things before, she reminded herself. She'd dressed up in that ridiculous chicken costume with all those bright yellow feathers when she'd gone undercover, slipped on that slinky gown and seductively sung her rendition of 'I've Got a Crush On You' on stage in front of a roomful of leering men--not to mention Lex Luthor!--and yet those were only the beginning of the dozens of other despicable things she'd done in her lifetime! But, she had to admit, showing up at Clark's apartment in that skimpy costume and performing the seductive dance for him had really taken the cake.

By the time she reached her bedroom, she'd already managed to strip off half the costume and she sat down on the bed to pull off the rest. With one last angry yank, the costume came off and she threw it disgustedly across the bed, silently vowing never to do anything so embarrassing again in her life.

She reached over and yanked open her top dresser drawer, nearly sending it toppling to the floor, and grabbed the first articles of clothing she touched. As she pulled on the gray tank top and faded jeans, she tried to pacify herself by remembering how understanding Clark had been about the whole thing.

He'd been great about trying to ease her embarrassment, making sure to reassure her that she hadn't been herself last night, that it was the the perfume that had affected her. But that hadn't lessened her humiliation. Instead of Lois Lane, star reporter, she may as well now be known as Lois Lane, cheap floozy.

Flopping backward onto the bed, she grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her face. *I acted like some girl who'd do anything to seduce a man!* she thought sickened. *But this time it wasn't just any man. It was Clark. My partner and friend.*

She groaned. *I may as well move to the Himalayas!*

When she'd calmed down a bit, she slid the pillow from her face and took a couple of deep breaths. *You'll get over this,* she reassured herself. *You always do when things like this happen.*

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something glittering and turned her head to get a better view.

The costume.

The sun was streaming in through her bedroom's partially opened blinds and reflecting off the rhinestones, making the sheer gold and green fabric shimmer in the light.

Knowing that the costume was just an ugly reminder of her humiliating night, she sat up in disgust, preparing to grab the costume and chuck it into the nearest garbage can. But before she could, something stopped her.

Confused by her sudden change in emotion, she stared at the costume for a long minute, attracted by the shimmery bodice and filmy green veil. She reached out to touch it, fingering the delicate beadwork and stitching. If it hadn't been tied to such a despicable act of passion, she'd have thought it was almost...pretty.

A smile slowly formed on her face. Clark must have liked the costume, too, considering his hormone-induced plea when she'd woken up that morning. Or at the very least, had liked the way she'd looked *in* it.

There wasn't much she remembered about last night, like where she'd found such a revealing outfit or how Clark had reacted when she'd arrived at his apartment wearing such a garment, but she definitely remembered Clark's words when she'd woken up that morning on his couch. His words still echoed in her mind:

"Lois, I can't take it anymore! If you really want me, I'm yours."

Unable to help herself, Lois laughed out loud. *Did Clark really say that?* she asked herself. If so, he must've been fighting to control himself throughout the night. And that could only mean one thing.

*He's feeling about me the same way I'm beginning to feel about him.*

She grinned. Maybe the costume hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

With sudden, newfound enthusiasm, she got up off the bed and went over to her closet, rummaging around the bottom of it momentarily before pulling out an empty box. Then she returned to the bed and gathered up the costume.

"It would be a shame to throw away something so pretty," she rationalized as she folded the fabric gently into the box. "Besides, who knows when an occasion might arise when I'll want to perform that dance again?"

With a mischievous smile, she carefully settled the lid onto the box to protect the sheer fabric inside and pulled a chair up to her open closet. Then she stepped up onto the chair, set the box on the top shelf and pushed it way back into the furthest, darkest corner of her closet.

Satisfied, she stepped off the chair, reached up for the chain and turned off the light.

***

Ten years later:

"Lois?"

Clark's deep voice suddenly sounded from the bottom of their brownstone's attic stairs, startling Lois in the midst of her attic-cleaning spree. Losing her grip on a box of old computer disks, she dropped it on her stockinged toe and quickly bit back a string of curses as she grabbed her foot.

A second later, Clark's dark head appeared in the attic opening and he smiled at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry, honey, are you okay?" he asked sincerely as he hurried to her side. "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering what you were doing up here."

When the pain in her toe subsided, Lois bent over to pick up the scattered disks. "Yeah, I'm fine," she sighed. "Next time, make some noise, will you? You nearly scared me to death."

Clark flashed her his usual, endearing smile and walked the rest of the way over to her. "Well, hanging out in a dark, spooky attic will do that to a person," he quipped, squatting down to help her collect the rest of the disks. "So, you never did answer my question. What are you doing up here on such a beautiful Saturday morning? The kids are at Mom and Dad's, we have the weekend to ourselves, and you're up here cleaning the attic? Have you finally gone insane?"

Lois laughed. "No, if the kids haven't made me insane by now, I don't think it's going to happen," she joked. "That was really nice of your parents to take the kids for the weekend, by the way."

Clark smiled and nodded. "Well, they've been talking for so long about doing it, and now that summer's finally here, I think my dad was chomping at the bit to take them fishing."

"I'm sure he won't be as excited when Jordan's insistent yelling scares all the fish away, or the fact that Lara's little-girl-squeals will drive him crazy when they do actually catch a gross, slimy fish." Lois shook her head sympathetically. "I hope he knows what he's getting himself into, that's all I can say."

Clark laughed and walked up behind Lois, wrapping his arms lovingly around his wife. "I'm sure he'll love every minute of it."

Lois sighed happily and leaned back against her husband. Even after seven years of marriage, she never tired of being in Clark's arms. They always made her feel warm, safe, secure, and loved all at the same time, and she knew that would never change. It was an amazing feeling.

"Mmmm," Clark murmured as he pressed his cheek against hers from behind. "Is this really what you want to be doing when we have a weekend to ourselves? Cleaning the attic?"

Lois smiled and turned in his arms so she could meet his gaze. "No, not really," she said mysteriously. "But as you will soon see, there's a method to my madness."

Clark looked at her in confusion. "I'm afraid you've lost me."

Smiling flirtatiously, Lois reached out to place her hands gently on Clark's firm stomach, the muscles there apparent even beneath the fabric of his T-shirt. Slowly, torturously, she trailed her hands up Clark's sides, making the muscles twitch involuntarily in response to her touch. Clark closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of his wife's touch.

After a minute, though, he reached up and covered her hands with his own, stilling them before they could cause further complications. "Lois, any more of that and I'll have to take you somewhere to solve the problems you're causing."

Lois grinned once again. "Not yet," she told him, pulling back and walking over to the wall of boxes near the one tiny window. "I'm trying to find something to...well, 'celebrate' our weekend alone."

"Sounds good to me," Clark grinned. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

But Lois shook her head. "Uh-uh. It's a surprise. But you can help me find it, if you're so eager."

"How am I supposed to help you find it if you won't tell me what it is you're looking for?" he asked, chuckling as he walked over to stand beside her.

She bent over to read the faded scrawl on several hat-sized boxes stacked in the corner. "Just look for a box that looks like it's never been opened that's labeled 'papers to organize,'" she told him.

Clark started to laugh. "Knowing your organizational skills, it's no wonder it's a box that looks like it's never been opened." Quickly he scrunched up his shoulder as Lois reached out to swat him.

"You jerk," she teased lightly. "Just look for the box, will you?"

He squatted down to read the writing on a couple of nearby boxes, but she waved him over to the far corner. "Over there," she commanded. "I can look through these."

He smiled as he did as she directed. Ever since the day he'd met her, she'd had a bossy streak. And he loved her for it. It was one of the things that made her his Lois.

Concentrating his attention on the boxes in the dark corner, he pulled down his glasses to help him read the writing in the dim light. It was several minutes before he found a smallish box in the corner, buried under several old blankets.

"Hey, I think I found it," he called out as he carefully reached down and lifted up the dusty box.

"You did?" Lois asked incredulously, instantly beside him. "Let me see." She took the box from him and turned it so she could see the barely visible letters in the dim light from the window. Then an excited smile lit up her face. "Yes, this is it! I can't believe it's still here after all these years!"

"What is it exactly?" Clark asked, dusting his hands off and resituating the boxes he'd moved. "I can't imagine you being this excited about old papers that need organizing."

Lois smiled mischievously. "That's not what's in this box. I only wrote that on it so nobody would open it."

"Oh, really?" Clark asked, grinning wickedly as he reached for the box. "It must be something pretty good then."

Lois laughed and maneuvered the box out of his reach. "You'll just have to be patient and see."

But Clark shook his head impatiently and made another attempt to grab the box. "Patience? Forget it. This is my weekend off."

He grabbed her around the stomach playfully with one arm and twirled her around, attempting to extract the box from her hands as she giggled crazily.

"Clark, don't you dare!" she squealed, doing her best to keep the lid from coming off. "It's supposed to be a surprise!"

He laughed along with her and finally wrestled the box away from her. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed victoriously. "Now let's take a look at what you've been hiding from me all of these years." He quickly backed up and held the box high above his head as she tried to get it back from him.

"Clark, I swear, if you don't give that box back to me, I'm going to resort to drastic measures!" she threatened.

"Oh, yeah?" he challenged, unable to stop smiling. "I'm Superman. What are you going to do to me?"

Lois put her hands on her hips defensively. "You think you're so smug. Do you really think there's nothing I can do to you?"

She quickly closed the distance between them and reached for his stomach again. But this time her fingers dipped below the elastic waistband of his sweats, causing his quick intake of breath and a rush of fiery sensations to overcome his senses. Once again she proved to him that the Man of Steel's powers were useless under the power of his wife's seduction.

Closing his eyes, Clark groaned against the pressure of his wife's hand. He tried to unclench his taught muscles, knowing that if she kept this up, surprise or no surprise, he was going to be useless at regaining control.

Unable to stop himself, he lowered his hands to take his wife in his arms, but he suddenly felt the box ripped from his hands. He opened his eyes to see Lois grinning at him triumphantly.

"That'll teach you never to challenge me," she said smugly. "Just a word of warning--never underestimate the power of a woman."

Knowing she'd won, again, he conceded with a smile. "I'll remember that." He followed her toward the attic exit humbly. "So are you at least going to give me a clue as to what's in the box?"

Lois paused on the attic ladder and thought for a minute. "Hmmm. Let's just say, the words 'exotic dancer' come to mind." She grinned at him wickedly.

Clark let that sink in for a moment before following Lois down the ladder, an eager smile on his face. "Exotic dancer, huh? I have the feeling we're in for an exciting weekend."

THE END. :)

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