A Job Well Done

By Supermom <no1supermom@hotmail.com>

Rated: PG13

Submitted: November 2001

Standard disclaimers apply, blah, blah, blah.

I've had two lines of dialogue running around in my head for the last few weeks and couldn't decide what to do with them. Crys posted the following on the Fanfic List and I decided to try to see if I could incorporate those two lines into something for the challenge.

"Okay... lemme throw this out there. On the X-man lists - in light of the tense atmosphere since Sept 11 - they've requested that authors make at least one attempt at useless fluff. I think that would be very nice to see here. THEREFORE, I challenge our authors to take a few minutes this weekend to write us some totally useless fluff - Lois and Clark, no crisis, no villain, no plot... just a slice of life going right. Maybe something funny or something sweet... but something light. We could all use something that's less intense than the world around us!"

Here's my effort. Hope you enjoy! :-)

******

She watched him as he reclined on the window seat in his bedroom, watching the sunrise. He was obsessing...*again*. Lois had become aware of Clark's propensity for obsession early in their relationship, and while it bugged the stew out of her at first, now she realized it was just part and parcel of the fabric from which he was cut. At first she had taken some of it personally -- afraid that her aggressive nature or her win-at-any-cost attitude had upset him, and that his obsessing sessions were really internal arguments about whether to dump her and her high- maintenance ways or keep trying.

He'd kept trying. She grinned wryly as she thought of all she'd put him through. But Clark was like an old watch commercial -- he took a lickin' and kept on tickin'. And he kept on working at the Planet and he kept on being Superman and he kept on loving her. Any one of those would have been a full-time job for a normal man. But he shouldered it all. And *that* was why he obsessed.

He worried about everything, including her. It was sweet of him to do it, and she really did appreciate it, but sometimes it was downright annoying to walk in and find her boyfriend so deep in contemplation that he didn't even notice her come into the room. Then she would have to shake him back to reality and inevitably she would comment on his obsession. He would deny it and she would assure him he really was doing it and.... Suffice it to say that it was often a real mood breaker.

Today he was doing more than obsessing -- he was in a real funk. An explosion in a methylamphetamine lab in the Hobbs Bay area had set blocks of tenement row houses on fire, destroyed several businesses, put some of the harbor area at risk, and left several dead bodies in its wake.

They had been about to sit down to a cozy dinner that Clark had prepared when he heard the first explosion. Clark's special hearing had honed in on the location and it hadn't taken long to realize how bad the situation was. As he spun into the Suit, he told Lois to go ahead and eat without him. And Lois told him not to worry about dinner - - she'd keep a plate warm for him.

As she followed the progress of the fire on the TV news, she soon realized that Clark's dinner might dry out like the Sahara before he got back. Taking it out of the oven, she carefully wrapped it in foil and placed it in the refrigerator; it could be quickly reheated in the microwave when he returned.

The news coverage painted a critical situation and she knew that Superman wouldn't leave until he'd done everything within his power to help. She also knew from experience that when he returned home, he would need some reassurance that he had done his best, regardless of the outcome. As the minutes stretched to hours and the hours stretched to midnight, Lois settled on Clark's sofa with a pillow and blanket to wait for his return.

******

It was three in the morning before Clark had been able to leave the bay area. He was filthy and stunk like death. He'd tried so hard but.... The tears stung in his eyes as he remembered carrying the body of a small child out to the paramedics. She'd been so young and innocent -- and living with parents who manufactured drugs with no apparent concern for the safety of their child. Apartment houses could be rebuilt; businesses could be started up again; the river would continue to flow into the bay. But....

He stripped off the Suit and stepped into the shower. The scalding water and soap washed away the filth and grime and even relaxed his overly tense muscles, but nothing could wash away the memories. Words like "maybe" and "what if" and "perhaps" played in his mind, and even though his rational side told him to ignore the words, his irrational mind kept replaying them.

When the water finally began to run cold and the bar of soap was reduced to a sliver and his mind could handle the words no longer, he shut off the faucet and stepped from the shower stall. After quickly drying off, he padded to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of sleep shorts before collapsing on his bed. Sleep mercifully overtook him, but it was not a restful sleep. And after a few hours of tossing and turning, Clark finally waved the white flag of surrender and crawled from the bed to sit in the window seat. Perhaps watching the new day begin would lift his spirits.

A sudden movement in his peripheral vision caused Clark to look toward the living room. Lois stood in the doorway, her hair mussed, her clothing rumpled, but gorgeous as always. An involuntary smile curled his lips -- it always did when Lois was in the room.

"Hi," she said shyly. "I hope you don't mind that I camped on your sofa. I thought you might like some company when you got back."

"I'm glad you did. After last night, I needed to see something beautiful this morning."

"Bad, huh?"

Clark merely nodded, the sadness in his eyes telling Lois the whole story. Lois watched him huddled on that seat and felt her love for him grow a little stronger. She moved across the room and sat beside him, reaching out to take one of his hands between hers. She brought it to her lips and gently kissed the palm.

"You did everything you could," she whispered.

He nodded silently.

"It would have been much worse without you," she continued.

He nodded again in agreement.

Moving closer, Lois leaned toward him and brushed her lips lightly against his. "You are the most incredible man," she continued.

Lois began kissing down Clark's neck and then angled the line of her assault upward to the sensitive spot behind his ear. She felt him shiver as she kissed and nibbled. His strong arms wound their way around her waist and pulled her closer as he bent his head to kiss her cheek.

Pulling back a bit, Lois once again moved her lips to Clark's and kissed him gently, running her tongue along the seam of his lips, requesting entrance. At the same time, she ran a finger down his throat. She rested her palm against his chest and felt his heart pounding.

Once again she ran her tongue across his lips, and with a soft moan Clark granted her entrance. Their tongues danced and tangled as their pulses increased. Lois ran her hand further down Clark's body and began to trace the line of hair that ran south from his navel.

Breaking from the kiss, Clark nuzzled Lois' ear and slid his hand through her dark silky hair. "Why Miss Lane, are you trying to seduce me?"

Lois heard his question and suddenly the old doubts set in. "If you have to ask, I'm obviously not doing a very convincing job of it, am I?" she responded as she pulled away from his embrace. Paul, Claude, Dan. Clark's question evoked memories of all three men. Would they never stop intruding on her happiness with Clark?

Clark saw the dark look settle across her face and knew exactly what she was thinking about. Or rather *who*. Damn them all for hurting her. Damn them for making her doubt her femininity. Damn them for making her stop her current assault on his body and senses. He raked a hand through his hair and made his decision to act swiftly and decisively.

Clark grabbed her roughly and pulled her back to him. He slanted his mouth across hers and kissed her with a ferocity he didn't know existed within him. Taking one of her hands, he placed it against his lower abdomen and pressed it to him.

"Does that convince you?" he growled. "And how about this?" he asked as he snaked his hands under her blouse and let them rest against her back, pulling her closer still. "And this?" he questioned as he moaned another kiss against her lips.

Tears pricked against lids as she heard and saw and felt Clark's reactions to her. "Clark..." she began.

"Don't, Lois," he interrupted. "Don't question. Forget them, because they don't matter any more. You and me...that's all that matters now. I *need* you Lois -- more than I've ever needed anything. You complete me. You excite me. You arouse me. You make me forget all the ugliness in the world."

Clark rubbed a thumb across her lips and felt her tongue dart out to taste it. He shivered at the contact and grinned at her.

"And you definitely seduce me, Lois. You've seduced me from the very beginning. You're doing a great job. Just please don't stop," he begged.

"Never," she whispered against his lips as the sun rose on a new day.

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