Momentum: A Winter Holiday Tale

By Kathy Brown <kathyb@lcfanfic.com>

Rated PG

Submitted December 2002

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Author's Notes:

I still can't quite believe that this story is as long as  it is. It was supposed to be a short little holiday tale,  similar in length and tone to "Wine Wine Wine". I think I  did pretty well on matching the tone, but the length ...  well, I wasn't even close, LOL. It kept growing ... and  growing ... until I'm sure the IRC fanfic gang was totally  sick of me lamenting the fact that it wasn't done yet. <g>  Thanks for your patience, guys ... believe me, no one was  more relieved than I when it was finished! :)

I'd also like to extend a huge, extra special thank-you to  Sarah Luddy, beta-reader extraordinare, for being so  encouraging and helpful (and hysterically funny <g>) in her  comments, as well as to Meredith Knight for her fantastic  editing skills. Thanks, you two! :)

And to my readers, I hope you enjoy the story. I welcome  all comments, either public or private.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Kathy

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Part 1

Clark Kent stretched lazily as he lay in bed, his eyes  still closed as he hovered between sleep and wakefulness.  For a moment, he puzzled over the different feel of the  sheets and the smell of the room, but as his memories of  the previous night surfaced, he released a contented sigh.  He knew this place well -- he was in Smallville, in his  childhood bed ... and it was Christmas morning.

He had flown in late last night, well after everyone else  in the house had gone to sleep. After depositing his  Christmas presents under the tree so his parents would know  he had arrived, he'd carried his overnight bag up the  stairs to his room, brushed his teeth, and gone to bed. He  had fallen asleep with a smile on his face, visions of Lois  Lane dancing in his head.

Clark rolled onto his stomach and snuggled into the pillow,  sighing happily. Last night had been wonderful. He had sent  his parents on ahead to Smallville while he and Lois had  worked all afternoon to locate 'The Toy Man', Mr. Schott,  and to get the chemical-laden Space Rats pulled from the  shelves. His plan had been to rush back to Smallville in  time to join his family for Christmas Eve dinner, but  things hadn't worked out that way.

The desire to stay had sneaked up on him. At eight o'clock  last night, his presents had been wrapped, his bag had been  packed, and he had already changed into his Superman suit  for the flight, knowing that his parents had arrived at  home and were busy preparing the holiday meal. But as he'd  paced up and down in his living room, trying to convince  himself to leave through the window, he had finally  admitted that for the first Christmas in his life, he  wanted to be somewhere else besides Kansas. He'd wanted to  be with Lois.

The look on Lois's face when she'd opened her door last  night had been worth missing his mom's home cooking. She  had hugged him tightly and drawn him inside, then hurried  to the window when he'd explained that his plane had been  snowed in. When Lois had turned back to him after realizing  that there was no snow, the look on her face had nearly  made him forget to breathe. And when she'd let her hand  slip into his as they admired the star he'd brought for her  Christmas tree, his heart had welled up with so much  emotion, he hadn't trusted his voice.

He had been so close to kissing her then, as they stood  holding hands in front of the little tree. Lois had looked  up at him with those dark eyes of hers, eyes so deep that  he wanted to drown in them. Carolers on the street below  had interrupted them, breaking the moment, but not before  Clark had caught the glimmer of something in her eyes ...  something wonderful. He'd held onto that look, even as  they'd moved to the window to watch the carolers. He wanted  to remember it forever.

He had stayed for hours, enjoying her company. Lois had  been right when she'd told him he would get stuffed -- the  dinner had been marvelous. Lois later confessed that she'd  purchased most of it already prepared, but had insisted  that she'd made the stuffing and cranberry sauce by  herself. Knowing how Lois felt about the kitchen, Clark had  heartily praised the effort she'd made and, to his  surprise, he hadn't needed to exaggerate when complimenting  the food. He was pretty sure the grin on his face when he'd  gone back for a fourth helping of stuffing had clearly  conveyed how much he was enjoying the meal.

After dessert -- pumpkin pie with real whipped cream --  they had moved to the sofa to nurse the remainder of their  wine. Clark remembered how his heart had thumped in his  chest as Lois had chosen to sit close to him. Encouraged,  he had put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her even  closer still. They'd sat that way for a long time, talking  about everything and nothing, as soft Christmas music  played in the background. When the clock had struck  midnight, however, Clark had kissed Lois on the cheek,  wishing her a Merry Christmas. Then, to his surprise and  delight, she had turned towards him and pressed a gentle  kiss to his lips in return. The kiss wasn't passionate, and  it had only lingered for a moment, but the look in her eyes  as they'd separated had made him feel as if, for that  moment at least, he was the most special person in the  world to her.

This was the feeling he was reliving as he lay in his bed  Christmas morning, unwilling to wake completely and expose  the memory to the light of day. It was a wonderful,  incredible feeling ... the feeling of being in love. Maybe  it had been the wine that had caused her to kiss him, or  the fact that Lois had just been grateful not to be alone  on Christmas Eve. Maybe the kiss meant nothing to her and  she had already forgotten it. Maybe Lois would never feel  about him the way he felt about her, and they would remain  friends -- just friends -- forever....

But if Christmas was a time for magic, Clark couldn't help  but hope that there could be something more between them.

Slowly opening his eyes, Clark rolled to his back. Was it  possible that Lois might be starting to see him as more  than a friend? When he let himself hope, last night hadn't  been the first time he'd seen that flicker of something  else in her eyes. More than a few times in the last several  weeks, he'd caught her studying him, as if she were seeing  something that she hadn't before. But she had always looked  away quickly -- so quickly, in fact, that up until now,  he'd convinced himself it was just wishful thinking on his  part.

As it was, even last night Lois had pulled back, jumping up  nervously after they'd kissed, saying that she needed to  get the leftovers into the refrigerator. Not knowing what  else to do, Clark had risen with her and had helped to  clear the table. By the time the food was put away, she'd  been comfortable with him again, though Clark suspected  that it was only because he had been careful to slip back  into his friend role. When he'd finally left Lois's  apartment at a little before one in the morning, he had  only allowed himself to press a quick kiss onto her  forehead before wishing her goodnight. But the warm hug she  had given him in return had left his heart singing and his  body tingling all the way home.

Clark couldn't help but grin at the memory as he came  completely awake. The feeling of her arms around him always  made him feel so good, so deliciously, incredibly good. But  when it was Lois who initiated the contact, for no other  reason than she was happy to be with him ... it felt even  better.

So could it be that Lois was finally be thinking of him as  something more than just her best friend? She certainly had  seemed to see him differently last night, if the kiss and  the hug and the look in her eyes were any indication. But  if she did finally see him as a potential boyfriend, why  was she sending him mixed signals? Why touch him or flirt  with him -- even kiss him -- only to pull back with the  next heartbeat? It was as if she wasn't sure what she  wanted ... or whether he was even interested.

Clark mulled that over. Lois liked to flirt with him, yes,  but he rarely allowed himself to flirt back. It was an  unspoken rule between them, perhaps, but it was there. He  was her partner and her friend, and no matter how many  times she grinned impishly at him, how many times she  patted his chest, or how many times she linked her arm  through his as they walked, he couldn't respond, not in the  way he wanted to. He was *safe* -- good old Clark, always  there when she needed him. He was someone she could feel  secure with. And he loved that. He *encouraged* that. He  could think of nothing better than being the person Lois  trusted most, the person she thought of as her best friend.

Nothing better ... unless it was also being the person she  thought of as her boyfriend.

Lois thought of Superman in that way, that much was clear.  And because of those feelings, Clark had been able to  pretend, if only for brief moments, that there was  something romantic between them. As Superman, Clark had  been able to admit that he was attracted to her while under  the supposed influence of the pheromone compound. He  regularly came to her window late at night just to check on  her and say hello. He'd even been able to dance with her in  her living room after the charity ball last month.

These were all things that he couldn't do as Clark. As  Clark, he was always careful not to scare her off. Pushing  too hard, flirting too much ... it would worry her, make  her feel unsafe around him -- he knew her track record with  men. But at the same time, it was incredibly frustrating to  have her respond to Superman as a romantic partner while  viewing Clark as nothing more than a good friend.

Why couldn't she see that Clark Kent had so much more to  offer her than he could show her?

As the question hung in his mind, Clark realized that he  had answered his own question. Covering his face with his  hands, he couldn't help but laugh, even as he groaned at  his own stupidity. How could he have been so blind? Of  course Lois thought of Superman as a potential love  interest; he'd encouraged it! In the beginning, being  romantic with her as Superman had been his one way to get  close to her, his one way to act on even a fraction of his  feelings. But while Superman had been encouraging Lois,  Clark had done the opposite. Clark had let Lois believe he  wasn't attracted to her, even with the pheromones. Clark  had always been careful not to flirt too much, lest he  scare her away. And Clark had allowed Mayson Drake to cut  in the last time he and Lois had danced. Granted, he'd  partly been trying to make Lois jealous by showing her that  another woman could be attracted to him ... but wasn't it  just as likely that Lois felt he was off-limits now,  involved with someone else? How could Lois have seen him as  a romantic partner? All this time, he'd been completely  sabotaging his own efforts!

As the smell of his mom's special holiday pancakes wafted  up to his bedroom, Clark hopped out of bed and pulled on a  pair of jeans and a casual shirt. As much as he enjoyed  lying around and thinking about Lois, it was Christmas  morning and there were chores to help with before they  could open their presents. But as Clark cheerfully headed  towards the kitchen to wish his parents Merry Christmas,  one thought kept swirling around in the back of his head.

Maybe it was time to stop acting so much like Lois's friend  ... and start acting more like her boyfriend.

*****

By the time her desk clock reached eleven o'clock on  Christmas morning, Lois Lane had already been at work for  nearly two hours. The newsroom was operating on a skeleton  crew, most employees being home with their families, and  the feature stories for the day had been planned and  completed some time ago, mainly feel-good pieces  appropriate for the season. There was the occasional news  story to record for tomorrow's morning edition, but with  most of the city shut down for the holiday, all serious  investigations were temporarily on hold.

Lois didn't mind working on Christmas Day; it beat sitting  home alone. It also earned her New Year's Day off -- that  was her swap with Clark. He'd appreciated her willingness  to let him take today as a vacation day -- with her higher  seniority, she got first pick of which holidays she wanted  off -- but it had really been a no-brainer for her. Clark  had vacation plans and she didn't. He had to travel all the  way to Kansas to be with his family, while her family lived  here in Metropolis. Not that she was going to be seeing any  of them ... but still, they were local.

It had been difficult for her to admit that her family  wasn't going to get together at Christmas this year. Not  that their gatherings were ever more fun than a root canal,  but still, each time, she let herself hope that things were  going to be different that year ... that, for once,  everyone would get along and actually be happy to see each  other. But, of course, it was always just wishful thinking.

So this year, Lois had decided to do something more than  feel sorry for herself. This year, she had decided to find  her own Christmas. It obviously wasn't to be found with her  family, so she'd needed to think long and hard about what  was most important to her. In the beginning, she had  planned a dinner party for her friends, thinking it would  cheer her up, but as the days went by and her friends  either gave their regrets or made it clear she was their  second choice, it had been hard not to sink into her usual  late December depression.

The story on the Atomic Space Rats had given her just what  she'd been looking for, however. Oh, not the Rats  themselves -- the greedy behavior of most of the city of  Metropolis had only served to increase her cynicism. But in  the end, having spent time with some of the orphans who  lived with 'Santa', it had been just what Lois had needed.  Seeing the looks of delight on the children's faces as they  were given their presents lifted her spirits and made her  realize that Christmas wasn't about what you got from  others -- it was about what you gave, instead.

Still, it had been difficult to maintain her optimism when  she'd gone home to make dinner. At first, it had been fun - - Lois had picked up the food she'd ordered at a nearby  market and set about making the stuffing and cranberries.  The lady behind the counter had encouraged her to make her  own fresh cranberry sauce when Lois had expressed  disappointment that they only had the jellied kind at the  store. The woman had even written down a quick recipe for  Lois to follow on the back of her receipt and showed her  where to find the ingredients. And amazingly, it had been  pretty easy ... well, except for the fact that Lois had  forgotten to put the lid on the food processor at first and  had sprayed her cabinets with red berry pieces, but some  elbow grease had eventually gotten the stains out.

The stuffing had taken more attention. Lois had been amazed  to discover that it didn't automatically come inside the  turkey she'd ordered, so she'd pored through several  cookbooks from the library, comparing the recipes and  trying to figure out which would be the easiest to make.  She'd finally decided to be brave and tackle something a  bit more complicated -- adding chopped apples to the onions  and celery the basic recipe called for -- but she had  worked hard and forced herself to really concentrate on  what she was doing, and, amazingly, it had turned out  wonderfully! She'd actually found herself nearly as proud  as when she finished a big story.

But despite all this, as she'd lit the candles on the  beautiful table, dressed in a new black dress and with her  hair done, it had taken everything she had not to cry.  She'd had a wonderful holiday dinner on her table ... but  no one to share it with.

She'd been fighting tears when she heard the knock on the  door. Opening it, she had scarcely been able to believe her  eyes. Clark had come to dinner! Even more amazing was the  fact that he had deliberately missed his flight back to  Smallville to do it. Lois wasn't quite sure what to make of  the fact that Clark had skipped Christmas Eve with his  family just to be with her. At first, she'd believed his  excuse that his plane had been snowed in, but when she'd  rushed to the window and confirmed that there was no snow,  it was clear that he had deliberately missed his flight.  But why?

Initially she'd been worried that he was just feeling sorry  for her, but one look at his face had pushed that theory  aside. He'd actually looked happy to be there. And she had  been happy to have him. She would have been pleased if any  of her friends had shown up, but for some reason, it had  been extra special to have Clark there. He'd been the one  person she hadn't expected -- after all, everyone knew he  had plans to be with his family in Kansas. But as she and  Clark had spent the evening together, all Lois could think  about was how *right* it felt to have him there.

Maybe that was why she had taken his hand as they'd stood  by the tree, or why she'd found herself cuddling up closer  to him as they talked on the couch. Of course, neither of  these things was unusual in itself. After all, they often  shared affectionate touches with each other. It didn't  *mean* anything.

Did it?

Lois furrowed her brow. No, of course it didn't. Just  because she often found herself pressing her hands against  Clark's chest as she teased him ... and just because she  tended to link her arm through his when he walked her home  ... and just because she had felt surprisingly shy after  she'd given him a little kiss last night ... it didn't mean  she liked him. Not romantically. Right?

Suddenly uncertain, Lois picked up her coffee mug and took  a quick gulp. Of course she didn't like Clark romantically.  He was her partner. He was her best friend. He was the guy  she went to when she needed a flat tire changed on her SUV,  or when she needed a date to her third cousin's wedding, or  when she wanted to try out a new restaurant or to see the  latest romantic comedy playing at the movie theater and  felt like some company.

So, OK, he was also the guy she spent most of her time with  during the day, and the guy she ate dinner with every few  nights, and yes, fine, the guy she had breakfast with at  least twice a week ... but they weren't a *couple*!

Were they?

No, of course not!

// Then why did you kiss him last night? //

Lois flushed as she remembered how she'd pressed a gentle  kiss to Clark's lips as they'd wished each other a Merry  Christmas. What in the world had possessed her to do such a  thing? It must have been the wine, or her gratitude for his  keeping her company, or the warm, fuzzy feeling of  relaxation brought on by that stuff they say is in turkey,  or ... or ...

// Oh, just admit it already! //

She sighed. OK, OK, so maybe she did have a *little* crush  on him. After all, he was kind of cute ... very cute ...  drop dead gorgeous ...

Lois shook her head, anxious to derail that train. Even if  she did have a little crush on him, it didn't matter  because Clark didn't feel the same way about her. It was  clear that he only thought of her as a friend. He didn't  flirt with her. He never took her hand when they were out  walking. He'd never even tried to ask her out. No, Lois  always knew exactly where she stood with Clark ... he was  safe, predictable.

Good old predictable Clark. She always knew exactly what he  was going to do.

*****

Clark paced in front of the telephone in his parents'  study, trying to stop his heart from beating so fast. He  had no idea why he was so nervous; it wasn't as if he  hadn't called Lois a thousand times before.

// Get a grip, man; you're not asking her to the prom! Just  call to say you're thinking of her. What could be so hard  about that? //

But things were different now, or at least, he wanted them  to be. He didn't want to be safe anymore ... he wanted her  to see the other side of him, the side that got breathless  whenever she looked up at him through her lashes and whose  heart skipped a beat every time she put her hands on his  chest to flirt with him. But at the same time, he was  scared to death that he would frighten her away, that he  would come on too strong and she would get spooked and he'd  lose her forever.

// Baby steps, Clark, baby steps ... //

He took a deep breath and released it. Yes, that was the  way to go ... just take things slow and see what happened.  Not only would he be less likely to scare Lois off, but if  she did start acting skittish, he could back off with his  ego still left intact.

Clark gave himself a shake and set his jaw. He could do  this ... no problem. Now if only his heart would slow down  just a little bit. Picking up the phone, he dialed the  number he knew by heart and leaned against the desk to wait  for her to answer. By the third ring, he realized he'd  probably get her voice mail, but just as his mind started  racing to come up with a good message to leave, he heard  her voice on the other end of the line.

"Daily Planet, Lois Lane."

"Oh! Hi ... uh, it's me ... Clark." Clark rolled his eyes;  he really did sound like a teenager asking his crush out  for the prom. "I'm sorry," he quickly covered. "I was  expecting to get the voice mail so you just surprised me  when you answered."

"I was halfway to the coffee pot when I heard the phone  ring," she answered. "I practically knocked my chair over  trying to answer it before the call rolled over." She  started to laugh. "Good thing my coffee cup was empty."

Smiling at the picture she'd just painted, Clark finally  felt himself relax. This was all he'd needed ... just  hearing her voice made him feel better. "Merry Christmas,  Lois," he said warmly.

"Merry Christmas, Clark." Her voice was equally warm.

He sighed happily. Yes, this was definitely what he'd  needed. "So how's the newsroom? Any breaking stories drop  in your lap? Expose any of Santa's elves for taking bribes  yet?"

"Ha, very funny. No, it's pretty quiet. Not many people  here this morning, though a few more are supposed to be  coming in this afternoon."

"Well, I know you can handle anything that comes up. And  Lois," he added more seriously, "I really do appreciate you  working for me today. It was really nice of you."

"Don't worry about it, Clark," she answered sincerely. "I'm  just glad you could see your family. I'm sorry you didn't  make it for dinner last night like you'd planned."

"I'm not," he quickly reassured her. "I had a really great  time last night, Lois." His voice dropped a bit. "A really  great time."

"Really?" she responded, a little breathless. "I did, too."

From the tone in her voice, Clark could almost imagine her  ducking her head and smiling shyly. He smiled in return,  encouraged. "Mmm, I'm glad."

They sat in silence for a moment, neither knowing quite  what to say, until Lois finally gathered herself together.  "So when are you coming back to Metropolis? Tomorrow? Or  Tuesday?"

"Um, Tuesday night," Clark replied, shaking himself from  his thoughts. "I'd love to spend more time with my parents,  but I need to be at work on the 28th. Three days was all I  could manage."

"Maybe next year you'll have more vacation days saved up,"  she suggested helpfully. "Then you can stay longer."

It suddenly occurred to Clark that idea of spending more  than a few days away from Lois, even if they were just  partners, didn't sound very appealing. "Or maybe next year  we can both take some time off and you could come with me,"  he offered. Then, realizing how presumptuous she might  consider him, he quickly added, "I mean, if you aren't  doing anything with your own family again."

Lois gave a little sigh. "Oh, I wouldn't want to get in the  way of your family holiday. Your parents wouldn't want me  hanging around."

The wistful note in her voice made Clark's heart melt all  over again. "Lois," he said softly, "you could never be in  the way. My parents love you, you know that." Then he  smiled. "In fact, my mom just asked for your favorite kind  of cookies so she could make some for me to bring to you  when I come home."

That perked her up. "Oh! What'd you tell her?"

Clark laughed at the eager tone in her voice. "That  anything with chocolate would make your day."

"You know me too well, Kent," she laughed back. "So tell me  about your day so far. Did you open your presents yet?"

"Yeah, we did that first thing this morning. Then we had  breakfast and now we're just getting ready to go to church.  They always have a whole program planned for Christmas.  There's the service, of course, but then they have singing  afterwards. The adults don't always sing on key, including  me," he laughed, "but the kids are really cute."

"The biggest party in Smallville, huh?"

"You got it."

"Sounds like fun." She paused briefly and Clark thought he  could hear her moving things around on her desk. "So what  time does your plane get in on Tuesday? I can pick you up  at the airport."

Clark hesitated. He hadn't flown on a commercial airline,  but, of course, Lois didn't know that. "Uh ... no, that's  OK. I don't want to put you out."

"It's no trouble. I have a pen; give me the flight  information."

"Uh ..." he repeated, getting decidedly uncomfortable. "No,  really, it's OK."

Lois began to laugh at him. "Why are you being so  secretive, Clark? If you've forgotten the flight number, I  can get it for you. There can't be that many evening  flights in from Wichita to Metropolis."

"No! I mean ... Lois, you don't need to do that." He gave  himself a mental kick for what he was about to admit, but  he could think of no other way out, not without making her  think he didn't want to be with her. "I, uh, didn't take a  plane here."

That stopped her. "What? I don't get it."

Clark paced nervously. He hated lying to her so blatantly,  but he knew this was neither the time nor the place for  true confessions. His voice sounded embarrassed when he  continued. "Well, I kind of ... ran into Superman on the  way home from your place last night and I told him that I  was going to the airport to see if I could get on the first  flight out in the morning, and he offered to fly me here.  He said it was my Christmas present, since I didn't get to  ride in the sleigh with you and Perry and Jimmy yesterday."

"Oh." Lois considered this. "Wow ... he'll do that?"

"Give Christmas presents?" Clark asked cautiously.

"No, fly his friends places for vacation ... that's pretty  cool."

Clark relaxed; she was buying it. "I guess so ... anyway,  he's going to bring me back sometime Tuesday night but  obviously I won't know when exactly because it depends on  when he can get away."

"That makes sense." She paused. "Gee, maybe I should ask  for Tahiti for Christmas next year."

Clark blinked at her comment, then began to laugh. "You're  terrible!"

"You gave me the idea! As a matter of fact, I'll just have  *you* ask him for me ... that way, if he says no, I can say  it was all your idea and he won't think I'm an idiot."

Clark just laughed harder. "If I do the asking, you're  going to have to take me along!"

"Hey, you've got it. We'd have a blast."

To his surprise, she actually sounded almost serious.  "Really?"

"Sure. I mean, it might be hard to both get away from work  at the same time but if we planned in advance ... it'd be  fun, Clark."

Clark quirked an eyebrow, and gave the phone a suspicious  look. She had to be teasing him. "Well, yeah, of course, it  would be fun ... I'm just trying to imagine you taking a  vacation at all, let alone one with me," he responded,  grinning. Buoyed by her resulting laughter, he let himself  flirt with her, testing the waters. "You know, they have  topless beaches in Tahiti."

"I've seen you topless before, Clark."

Her quick response caught him so off guard that he began to  roar with laughter -- leave it to Lois to completely turn  the tables on him! He was still chuckling when his mom  poked her head into the study and pointed to the clock with  a smile. He nodded and held up one finger to let her know  he'd be off soon. When Martha just grinned and whispered,  "Say hi to Lois for me", before leaving theroom, Clark  couldn't help but blush. "Hey, I gotta go ... my parents  are ready to leave. My mom says 'hi', by the way. She's  probably wondering why I'm laughing so hard."

The smile in her voice was evident even through the phone  lines. "Have fun."

"I will." He sighed, content. "Merry Christmas, Lois."

"Merry Christmas, Clark. Thanks for calling."

"Thanks for answering," he added, his voice warm and husky.

To his surprise, he heard Lois's breath catch in her  throat, though she quickly covered it with a little cough.  "I guess I'll see you in a few days."

"Yeah," he agreed, though he really didn't want to wait  that long to talk to her again. He closed his eyes and took  the plunge. "Maybe I could call you again tomorrow."

To his surprise, her response was immediate. "Sure." Then  he heard her swallow, and she added, almost shyly, "I'd,  uh, like that."

Clark couldn't help but smile. "Well, OK, then ... g'bye."

"Bye."

As he carefully hung up the phone, Clark blew out a deep  breath ... then found himself completely unable to stop the  grin from forming on his face. As much as he loved being in  Smallville, he was suddenly counting the hours until he  could return to Metropolis.

Part 2

Clark got to work early Wednesday morning, eager to catch  up on whatever work he'd missed, but even more eager to see  his partner again. It had only been three and a half days  since Christmas Eve when he'd last seen her, and they'd  talked on the phone every day while he'd been gone. But it  just wasn't the same as seeing Lois in person.

Clark couldn't help but sigh happily as he thought about  how much he enjoyed working with Lois ... he loved the way  her eyes sparkled when she was excited about a story, and  how she babbled when she got nervous. And he loved the way  she furrowed her brow in concentration when she was lost in  what she was typing, and the way her hair fell across the  side of her face when she leaned forward to study the  computer screen. It always made him want to reach out and  run his fingers through her hair, to feel its softness. It  always looked so smooth and silky ... what must it feel  like, he wondered, if it were spread out against his bare  chest--

For the third time that morning, Clark smacked himself in  the forehead with the papers he was holding. He had to stop  doing that or he'd never get any work done today!

Still, it was so hard to concentrate, knowing that Lois  would be arriving any moment. He couldn't seem to stop  thinking about her. Talking to Lois on the phone last night  after he'd arrived home had been wonderful, but, as with  all of their recent phone calls, it had only strengthened  his resolve to try to move their relationship forward. He'd  started to smile the moment he'd heard her voice, and when,  not long into the conversation, she'd laughed and told him  about her latest interviewing coup, he had been struck by  an overwhelming sense of *rightness* ... not to mention an  overwhelming desire to see her again. Lois had clearly  seemed pleased to hear from him, too, and what was more,  beyond inquiring politely about how his flight with  Superman had been, she hadn't seemed at all preoccupied by  the superhero she'd been obsessed with for so long. This  fact both intrigued and encouraged him.

// "I was saving for Tahiti. But a date with Superman ...  that would have been a real adventure." //

A year and a half ago, Lois had spoken those words  dejectedly. She had just bid a few thousand dollars for a  date with Superman at a bachelor auction, yet had been  woefully outbid by several other women. As she'd drowned  her sorrows at the bar -- with her partner trying  unsuccessfully to cheer her up -- Clark had realized that  he would have given anything to have heard her talk about  him that way -- not as Superman, but as Clark Kent. But at  the time, he'd been convinced it would forever be a pipe  dream.

Yet not even seventy-two hours ago, during their phone  conversation on Christmas morning, Lois had suggested the  two of them take a vacation together to that very same  exotic location. OK, sure, they wouldn't really do it;  obviously she'd been joking. But the fact that she would  even bring it up, that she would even think about asking  Superman to take her to Tahiti -- with Clark! -- was  completely astounding.

The sound of the elevator broke Clark from his thoughts,  and it wasn't long before his hearing picked up the  familiar heartbeat he'd been waiting for. By the time the  doors slid open, he was already gazing eagerly in her  direction, and when he saw her face brighten as their eyes  met across the newsroom, he felt his heart skip a beat in  anticipation. Now if only he could only be sure he wouldn't  make a fool of himself. How would Lois react to a little  extra attention on his part? Still, if the last few days  were any indication, it was time to take advantage of the  momentum he'd begun building on Christmas Eve.

Forcing himself to relax, Clark gave Lois a warm smile as  she approached his desk. "Hey there, partner! I've been  waiting for you to get here and brighten my morning."

"Well, hello to you, too," Lois responded with an amused  smile as she passed him on the way to her desk. "You  certainly look chipper this morning. Vacation must have  done you good."

"Could be, could be ... but I am definitely happy to be  back." Clark leaned back in his chair, the picture of  confidence, and grinned at her. "This place is kind of  habit-forming."

"Don't let Perry hear you say that," Lois replied with a  laugh, setting her briefcase down and hanging her coat on  the coat-rack next to her desk. "He'll ask you to move in."

Clark wrinkled his nose in amusement and ran a hand over  the top of his desk. "The sleeping surface would be a  little hard for my tastes. Besides, I prefer my own  bathroom."

"Good choice," she answered, chuckling as she walked back  to his desk. As she often did when they talked, Lois hopped  up onto his desk, smoothed her skirt, then crossed her  legs. "I've slept here before and trust me, it's not all  it's cracked up to be."

Emboldened by Lois's positive response so far, Clark  allowed his eyes to sweep over her body. It was harder than  he'd expected to not let his gaze linger on the long nylon- clad legs crossed only inches away from him, but he was  careful to make sure his look was admiring, not leering.  Still, there was no denying that Lois had a fantastic body,  and her short skirt definitely proved the point. "Doesn't  seem to have done you any harm," he responded with a slow  grin, finally meeting her eyes. "Sleeping here, I mean."

Lois raised an eyebrow at his examination of her body, but  she was clearly amused rather than offended. She tossed her  hair, obviously in a good mood. "Yeah, we first-class  reporters have nerves of steel, what can I say?" she  responded in a breezy voice.

Chuckling, Clark placed his hand on the desk next to her  thigh. "Seems like you'd need a *body* of steel to lie on  this thing," he teased, knocking on his desk for emphasis.  "I'd definitely need a pillow."

"That *is* the pillow," she laughed. "You sit in the chair  and put your head on the desk; you don't clear the whole  thing and lie down!"

"Oh, is that how it works?" Clark answered in mock  innocence. "Well, see, good thing I have a first-class  reporter around to show me the ropes."

Lois rolled her eyes. "What would you do without me?"

He grinned at her. "I don't intend to find out."

"Smart boy," she told him, grinning back.

They smiled at each other for a moment, enjoying the  company, but Clark didn't wait long to jump back into the  conversation. "Well, no matter where you were sleeping, you  don't seem any worse for wear after working over  Christmas." He gave her another once-over, his voice  becoming more complimentary, more sincere. "In fact, you  look really great. Is that a new suit?"

"Well ... yeah," Lois responded, surprised but clearly  pleased. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Then she glanced  at his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Except for that tie."

Surprised, Clark looked down at the little Santa-hat-clad- snowmen decorating his chest. "Hey, it's the holiday  season! I like it."

"Of course you do," she answered, patting his arm in a  patronizing way.

Clark laughed out loud but couldn't help but tease her in  return. "Now let me get something straight ... you notice  the tie but you completely ignore the present on your desk?  I think you're slipping, Lois."

Lois turned to follow his gaze. "A present? For me?" She  quickly spied the rectangular holiday tin next to her phone  and jumped off Clark's desk with excitement. "Oh! Is that  what I think it is?"

Clark laughed as Lois quickly crossed the aisle to her desk  and eagerly pried off the container's lid. "It is if you  think it's cookies from my mom," he responded.

Lois was already biting into one, however. Her face was a  picture of sheer delight. "Oh, *Clark*," she gushed. "These  are *wonderful*."

He couldn't help but grin as he joined her at her desk.  "I'm glad you like 'em. My mom makes the best chocolate- chip cookies," he answered proudly.

Lois looked under the top layer of cookies. "Oh, and  brownies, too!"

"Brownies?" Clark stepped in closer and craned his head  over the tin in surprise. "Hey, no fair," he protested. "I  didn't know she'd made those, too. Those are my favorites  and she didn't give me any!"

The corners of Lois's mouth quirked at his exaggerated  pout. "Well ..." she stalled, "I guess if you're nice to  me, I can give you some." Then she smiled and broke off the  corner of one. "Here," she said, lifting it to his lips.

Clark opened his mouth and let Lois feed him the bite of  brownie. His face instantly matched her expression of  delight, though he honestly couldn't tell if it was more  from the rich taste of the brownie or the way she was  standing so close to him, feeding him so intimately ...  either way, it was sheer bliss. "Mmm," he sighed, closing  his eyes.

"I'm glad you like it," she murmured.

When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that Lois was  looking up at him, her hand placed affectionately on his  chest. Clark swallowed as he stared into her eyes. She was  so incredibly beautiful. And even though he was sure it was  just his imagination, he could have sworn that Lois had  actually sounded a little breathless just then. Suddenly a  little breathless himself, Clark couldn't stop his gaze  from flickering to her mouth, completely captivated by the  way she absently ran the tip of her tongue over her lips.  He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss  her right then, and felt himself begin to lean towards her  almost imperceptibly.

"Hey, guys, what do you have there?" a cheerful young voice  called out suddenly from behind him.

Clark startled and took a half-step backwards. "Oh, uh, hi,  Jimmy," he fumbled.

Lois stepped back as well, looking a little flustered.  "Yeah, hi, Jimmy." She quickly made the quarter-turn back  to her desk and placed the lid back on the tin. "Um, how  was your Christmas?"

Jimmy looked at Lois quizzically. "It was fine ... but you  knew that already. We talked about this yesterday,  remember?"

Lois just stared at the young man for a moment, then  blinked, as if just realizing what he'd said. "Oh, yeah...  sorry. You went to your mom's, right?"

Jimmy nodded and expanded his friendly smile to include  Clark. "Yeah, we did the big family dinner thing on  Christmas Day," he answered brightly. "My Aunt Marie and  Uncle Ron came over with my cousins Tim and Sue ..."

As Jimmy rambled on about his family's Christmas, Clark  pasted an interested smile on his face, but inside, his  thoughts were racing between excitement over being so close  to Lois and disappointment over being interrupted. Had he  really been imagining things, or had Lois seemed to be  leaning towards him after feeding him the brownie? He  couldn't really be sure, but it had almost seemed like she  had been caught up in the intimate gesture as much as he'd  been.

Clark gave himself a mental shake. No, clearly it was his  imagination running away with him. They were at work, after  all, and if there was one thing he knew about Lois, it was  that she was very protective of her reputation when it came  to relationships with her co-workers. She'd been burned  before, that much he knew for sure, and it had even seemed  to make her swear off all men for awhile. At least, that  was what he'd been able to put together when he'd first  joined the Planet's staff, between some overheard gossip  and things that Lois herself had told him.

Still, he couldn't deny the fact that the two of them had  become much more than co-workers in the year and a half  that they'd known each other. They'd started out as rivals,  in a sense, until he'd been able to convince Lois that he  wasn't a threat to her professionally. Before that,  however, he'd had to convince her that he was her equal --  neither a hack, nor a doormat to be bossed around -- which  had made the early weeks of their working relationship  interesting, to say the least. But they'd become friendly  with each other within a few weeks, and definite friends  within a few months. He could honestly say that he now  considered Lois to be his best friend, and he was pretty  sure that she felt the same way about him. They'd certainly  had some tests to their friendship -- primarily her  engagement to Lex Luthor last spring -- but they had come  through them together, and in the end, their trials had  only strengthened their feelings for each other.

Not that it did him any good right now, however, with Jimmy  having inserted himself in the conversation. Clark might  not know exactly what to do to make Lois reconsider his  position as a platonic buddy, but he certainly knew it  didn't include flirting with her in front of any of their  co-workers. No, he was already treading on dangerous ground  by hoping she might be willing to date him at all. Making  her uncomfortable at work -- or worse, the object of  speculation or gossip -- was a sure-fire way to lose not  only her friendship, but possibly their professional  partnership as well.

But it wasn't a race, Clark told himself firmly, as he  politely managed to excuse himself from the conversation  and return to his desk. Yes, he was anxious to have Lois  see him as boyfriend material, but it wasn't something that  he was going to be able to do in a single conversation, no  matter how many compliments he paid her on her appearance  or how many chocolaty treats he left her. He wanted a  relationship, not a seduction.

Though he had to admit that sometimes, especially when Lois  caught his eye from across the aisle and smiled at him the  way she just had, it was really hard to be patient.

*****

At a little after five o'clock that afternoon, Lois leaned  back in her chair and rotated her neck against the kinks  that were forming. She'd been steadily busy all day, but  now that she'd finished typing up her article covering a  series of break-ins that had occurred over the weekend and  sent it to Perry, she could finally sit back and relax.

All in all, it had been a pretty quiet day in Metropolis,  which was good, considering half the newsroom staff was  still out on vacation. The news never stopped, not even for  the holidays, but that didn't mean that those reporters and  support staff with families didn't want to use their  vacation days. Unfortunately, that often meant extra work  for the people who remained in the newsroom.

Today, however, had been a pretty good day. It was  certainly nice to have her partner back. It was amazing how  much she had missed him while he'd been gone, especially  considering how long she had fought even having a partner.  Not that Lois couldn't work alone, far from it. She'd even  taken the opportunity to do some legwork on some of her own  investigations while Clark had been on vacation; after all,  just because they were writing partners for many of their  stories didn't mean that neither of them ever worked  independently anymore. But still, these last three days in  the newsroom hadn't been the same without Clark.

Lifting her head, Lois studied her partner as he talked on  the phone. He was thoroughly engrossed in his conversation,  which seemed to be a phone interview from the way he was  taking copious notes as he listened. It certainly hadn't  taken long for Clark to get back into the swing of things  at work, she mused. Still, his vacation seemed to have done  him a world of good, if his happy and relaxed attitude  since he'd come in this morning was any indication. He  seemed different today for some reason, though she couldn't  put her finger on exactly how.

It was probably just Clark's positive feelings over the  holiday season, Lois thought with a smile, shaking her head  as she remembered how infectious his grin could be.  Lunchtime, especially, had been very enjoyable, even though  it hadn't been anything more exciting than the two of them  catching a table at their favorite nearby Chinese  restaurant. The food had been the same, the atmosphere had  been the same, but Clark had just seemed more ... well,  *Clark*, today. He'd been more solicitous than usual,  smiling at her a little more often, cracking a few more  jokes ... why, exactly, Lois wasn't quite sure, but  whatever it was, she wasn't complaining. For some reason,  Clark's good moods often seemed to rub off on her.

Of course, the fact that he had brought her chocolate this  morning might have had something to do with her good mood - - chocolate *always* made her happy. Lois got a slightly  dreamy look on her face as she remembered how incredible  Martha's cookies had tasted. Sheer heaven! And though Lois  hadn't tasted the brownies yet, Clark's earlier reaction  had let her know that they were equally delicious. His eyes  had darkened, his breathing had become more shallow, and  she could have sworn she'd felt his heart-rate increase  under the gentle pressure of her hand on his chest ... then  the tip of his tongue had reached out ever so seductively  to capture the last bit of taste from those gorgeous lips--

Lois jerked herself alert in her seat. Where had *that*  thought come from?? She gave her head a shake to clear it.  'Chocolate, Lois, you were thinking about chocolate,' she  reminded herself firmly. Clark's look of pure rapture when  she'd fed him had no bearing on this train of thought,  regardless of how completely it had captivated her or how  accelerated her own breathing had become-- With a slight  gasp, Lois quickly rolled her chair back from the desk.  Darn it, she had just done it again!

She shot Clark a guilty look, hoping that he hadn't seen  her abrupt awakenings from her daydream. There was no way  she could explain *that* one to him. Thankfully, though, he  was still fully occupied with his phone call. Lois breathed  a sigh of relief ... then immediately fumbled for the  cookie tin and grabbed a brownie for herself.

The chocolate did the trick, and by the time Clark had hung  up the phone a few minutes later, Lois was back to her old  self again. She smiled serenely as he caught her eye. "Busy  day, huh?" she asked, nodding to the notepad in front of  him.

Clark nodded. "Yeah, that was my source down at the Mayor's  office. I had him looking into a few things last week and  he finally got back to me."

"Looks like he had a lot of information ... you were on the  phone a long time."

Putting his hands behind his head, Clark tipped back in his  chair and gave Lois a grin. "Checking up on me?"

Lois's eyes widened slightly as she remembered how closely  she had been watching him a few moments before, but she  quickly reminded herself that Clark had been oblivious to  that. Still, the best defense was a good offense. "Just  making sure you can keep up with me, partner," she threw  back cockily. "I've already finished my stories for the day  ... you were just being too slow, is all."

"Oh, is that right?" he asked with an amused smile. "And I  suppose you've just been waiting around for me."

"Me? Waiting? Never!" she exclaimed, giving her head a  shake of what she hoped looked like astonishment over the  question. "I wasn't waiting at all." To prove the point,  she shut down her computer, then turned off her desk lamp.  "In fact, I was just getting ready to leave for the day."

"You're leaving?" Clark asked quickly. A little too  quickly, she thought vaguely. And had he sounded almost  disappointed?

Lois furrowed her brow. "Why? Do you need my help with  something?" she asked, pausing in the middle of gathering  her belongings. Then she added, a little too quickly  herself, "'Cause I can stay if you do--"

"No, no ... I just--" He shook his head, clearly struggling  for his reply. He finally waved his hand in a casual  motion. "I was just wondering ... what are you doing for  dinner?"

"Oh," Lois answered, puzzled over why such a simple  question would perplex him. She shrugged. "Nothing, really.  I've got a fridge full of leftovers that I need to eat."

"Leftovers from Christmas Eve?"

She nodded, then gave a resigned laugh. "They're going to  go bad before I can eat them all, though ... I had no idea  how much meat there was on a whole turkey!"

Clark smiled. "You did get a pretty big bird ... looked  great on the table, but there was a lot of food. Not that I  minded," he added quickly. "That was a *great* dinner."

"Thanks," she said sincerely. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. It  will be a shame to have to throw it out."

After only the slightest of hesitations, Clark grinned. "So  how about I come over and help you eat some of it?"

Lois sat up straighter. "Seriously? Yeah, that'd be great.  You think the food will still be OK, then? I wasn't sure  how long it could stay in the refrigerator. I forgot to ask  you about that before you left."

Clark nodded. "I'll check when I get there, but it should  be fine. Still, we should get everything into the freezer  as soon as possible. Do you want the turkey frozen in large  chunks or meal-sized portions?"

Lois just stared at him. "What's the difference?"

With a laugh, Clark shut down his own computer and began  straightening his desk. "Don't worry; I'll take care of it  when I get there."

"Definitely a better idea," Lois replied.

Just as she was putting on her coat, however, Perry stuck  his head out of his office. "Lois? Can I see you for a  minute, please?"

"Me, too, Chief?" Clark asked, starting to rise from his  seat.

Perry shook his head. "No, just Lois ... it won't take  long."

Lois shrugged at her partner. "I guess I'll be out in a  minute and then we can go."

"Sounds good to me," he said warmly.

Part 3

A little over two hours and a couple of generous servings  of dinner later, Clark stood at Lois's kitchen counter, his  shirt sleeves rolled partway up his forearms and his hands  working the last bit of meat off the turkey frame. Foil- wrapped packets of sliced meat were stacked beside him,  along with a very doubtful-looking Lois holding a black  permanent marker.

"Now you want me to write *what* on these, exactly?"

"I told you ... you write what's inside and today's date."

With another look that clearly indicated she'd thought he'd  lost track of his senses, Lois nevertheless took a foil  packet and labeled it. "And why am I doing this, again?"

Clark made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh and  shot her a sideways look. "Because months from now, when  you're digging through your freezer in search of more  Monster Choco-Chunk ice cream, you're going to come across  all of these little foil packets and have absolutely no  idea what's in them."

Lois set down the first packet and picked up another one  with a roll of her eyes. "Some of us have excellent  memories," she said pointedly.

"Some of us do," Clark replied, "but you're not one of  them." He quickly moved his hips out of the way of her  swatting hand, laughing. "Hey! Don't hit the guy up to his  elbows in dead bird."

By this time, Lois was laughing, too. "You keep pushing  your compulsive tendencies on me and you might end up  joining that bird."

"Compulsive tendencies, ha! You'll thank me come spring,  when you're pulling out beautifully sliced turkey meat for  dinner."

She snorted but kept labeling the packets. "And I suppose  you're going to expect to come over and help me eat it  again?"

"Well, someone needs to make more stuffing," he said with a  wink.

Lois pointed the open-tipped marker at him. "You didn't  seem to mind my stuffing on Christmas Eve, Mr. I'll-Have- Fourths! Not to mention the two helpings you had tonight."

"Well, anyone can get lucky once ... but for the future, we  can't be too careful about food poisoning, now can we?"  When Lois audibly gasped and pretended to lunge at him with  the marker, Clark laughed and quickly jumped out of the  way. He shook a turkey-covered finger at her. "Geez,  careful with that thing! That's permanent ink."

Satisfied that she'd gotten a sufficient reaction, Lois  just smirked at him. "Come a little closer and I'll show  you what it looks like on your shirt," she dared. "I have  all sorts of ideas for things I can write on there."

"Ooo, she's getting tough." Laughing, Clark took a step  towards her, waggling his fingers. "Wonder what turkey fat  looks like in hair. Why don't we find out?" With that, he,  too, lunged, reaching towards her head.

Lois squealed loudly and jumped back, but quickly put  herself into a self-defense position, wielding the marker  like a sword. After a beat, Clark mimicked her, wielding  his ... fingers, which made them both laugh out loud.

"I think what we have here," Clark finally mused with a  grin, "is an old-fashioned stand-off."

"True," Lois observed, "but turkey grease can be washed  out." She gave him a confident look. "Can ink?"

Clark pondered this for a moment, then straightened. "All  right, you win," he agreed. "Ink beats grease."

"Is that a new form of rock, paper, scissors?"

"Just finishing labeling the packets, please!"

Lois chuckled and returned to her place next to him at the  counter. When she got to the last package of meat, however,  she furrowed her brow. "Why did you put all the little  chips of dark meat together instead dividing it up into a  bunch of smaller packages like you did for the slices?"

"Because that's for the soup."

If she'd looked at him before like he were crazy, this  time, her incredulous stare was even worse. "The *what*?"

It was Clark's turn to roll his eyes. "You heard me, the  soup ... you can't just throw away the turkey carcass  without making soup."

"Oh, trust me on this one, Clark ... yes, you can."

He chuckled. "Just get me that storage bag, OK?" When Lois  handed him the large zipper-topped bag from the back of the  counter, he began filling it with bones. "See, we'll just  put these into your freezer with the meat and we can make  soup out of it later this winter."

Lois looked horrified. "I don't want bone soup!"

It was his turn to stare at her as if she was nuts. "God,  Lois, I'd smack my forehead if I didn't think I'd get  grease in my hair ... you don't eat the bones! You use them  to make broth. Haven't you ever made soup before?"

"Yeah," she responded dryly. "It's called opening a can.  Sometimes I even go a little wild and heat it up."

Giving the sky his best 'give me strength' look, Clark  began to wash his hands in the sink. "There's more to life  than processed food and carry-out, Lois. I would think  you'd have figured that out, after all the trouble you went  to on your Christmas dinner."

"Ah, but I bought most of it ... let's not get crazy here."

Clark turned off the water and accepted the hand towel Lois  was holding out for him. He couldn't help but smile. "Tell  you what, let me get a little crazy on the soup and then  you tell me which tastes better."

She gave a long-suffering sigh, but the smile on her face  gave her away as she began filling her freezer with the  packages of meat. "Deal."

Clark, however, was on to more important matters. "So do  you have any more of that pumpkin pie? I think we've earned  our dessert, don't you think?"

Lois shook her head apologetically. "Sorry, it was the  first thing to go." After thinking for a few seconds,  however, she disappeared into the living room. When she  returned a moment later, she was holding a familiar tin.  "But we have cookies!" she said brightly.

"Perfect!" Clark exclaimed. As Lois pulled down two clean  plates from her cupboard, Clark opened the refrigerator  door. "Got any milk?" he asked.

"Yeah, there should be some," Lois answered, placing a  cookie and a brownie on each of their plates.

"Found it." Clark pulled out the half-empty container and  set it on the counter. "Is it fresh?"

"Of course it's fresh," Lois responded a little indignantly  as she pulled down two glasses.

"OK," he said, twisting off the plastic cap and giving the  container's opening a sniff, just in case. Deciding it  smelled fine, he poured them each a drink.

Lois put her hands on her hips as she watched him. "I can't  believe you just did that."

Clark glanced over at her as he replaced the cap. "What?"

"You sniffed my milk."

"So?"

"I just told you it was fine, and you still smelled it! In  some countries, that's probably considered a dueling  offense." The smirk on her face belied the annoyance in her  tone.

Clark started to laugh. "Lois, you forget who you're  talking to here."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

He returned the milk to the refrigerator and turned to her,  grinning. "It means that I have personally witnessed at  least three different occasions where you have pulled your  milk out, taken a drink straight from the carton, *cringed*  ... and then *put it back in*!"

Her mouth dropped open, but he could see she was trying not  to laugh. "I have never done that!"

"Have so!"

"Have not!"

He offered her one of the glasses, his eyes twinkling. "You  want it or not?"

After looking at him speculatively for a moment, Lois  finally took the milk and carried her plate to the table.  "Well, OK ... but only since it smells all right."

Clark was still laughing as he joined her.

As they enjoyed their dessert at the table, however, a  silence came over the room and Clark noticed that Lois  looked a little melancholy, lost in her own thoughts. He  studied her, concerned. She'd done this a few other times  since they'd left work tonight, but so far, she'd refused  to tell him exactly what it was that was bothering her. It  had all started after she'd come out of Perry's office,  just before they'd left.

"Hey," he said softly. "You OK?"

Lois woke from her thoughts and gave him a little smile.  "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"If this is about the food poisoning crack, I was just  kidding."

"What?" She waved him off. "Oh, no ... it's not about  that."

"Then it is about something." Clark studied her for a  moment, debating whether to mention his theory of when it  had started, then deciding to go ahead. "You had that same  look on your face at the Planet, right before we got on the  elevator," he said, his voice quiet. When her face  registered her shock -- and acceptance -- he knew he'd  guessed right and instantly became more concerned. "Is  everything all right, Lois? What happened in Perry's  office?"

At his question, she sighed, resigned. "I guess you're  going to find out soon enough."

Clark sat up straighter, now getting really concerned.  "Lois? What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong," she quickly reassured him,  standing up from the table. She gave him a pat on the  shoulder as she crossed into the living room. "At least, I  hope not."

He followed her with his eyes. "You say that, but you still  look nervous."

She turned to him, perplexed. "I do?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah. Well, at least you do to me," he  added. "Come on, Lois, you're worrying me here. I know you  well enough to tell when something is bothering you."

She sighed again, but this time there was a ghost of a  smile on her face. "Yeah, I guess you do," she said softly.  She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a few sheets  of paper. "I guess I should just show you."

When Lois returned to the table, Clark took the papers from  her outstretched hand. "What are these?"

Lois sat down in her chair and began to fiddle with her  empty plate. "It's running in tomorrow morning's Lifestyle  section," she finally answered. "That's what Perry called  me into his office to tell me."

"It's yours?" At her nod, he continued, confused. "Why are  you worried about it?"

Lois just shook her head. "Just read it."

With a puzzled look, Clark began to read the text she'd  given him. He started out by skimming, but when he reached  the middle of the first page, he sat up straighter and  began to re-read from the beginning, not wanting to miss a  single word. While he'd been in Smallville, Lois had  returned to the Coates Orphanage alone and had interviewed  the director as well as several of the children. The  article that had come from these conversations was not the  hard-hitting news story that Lois Lane was famous for  writing, but rather, an insightful, compassionate essay  sure to encourage the citizens of Metropolis to consider  opening their home to a child in need of a family.

When Clark had finished reading, he sat back in his chair,  stunned. "Wow ... Lois, I don't know what to say."

"Are you mad?" she asked quietly.

"Mad?" He was now even more confused than before. "Why in  the world would I be mad? Lois, this is amazing."

She flushed a little. "I wouldn't say *amazing* ..."

"You'd prefer outstanding? Brilliant? Awe-inspiring?"

His gentle teasing earned him a smile, but Lois was clearly  still concerned about something. "Clark ..."

Clark furrowed his brow, puzzled. Lois wasn't normally this  reticent about her stories -- actually, she was *never*  reticent about her stories, especially not ones that were  this good. "I'm missing something here ... why did you  think I'd be upset? I'm *thrilled* about this, Lois."

"Even though it was your story to begin with?" she asked  hesitantly.

Clark raised his head, understanding finally dawning. "Ohhh  ... is that what this is about? Lois ... no. Geez, I love  that you wrote this. I told you--"

"I didn't want you think I was trying to take over your  story, that's all." Clearly relieved, her voice began to  return to its normal tone as she explained. "I wasn't even  planning to submit it until after you got back. I figured  we could work on it together. But Perry started reading  over my shoulder and he liked it, and ... well ..."

"And he decided to run it in tomorrow morning's paper,"  Clark finished for her.

"Yeah. Though only in Lifestyles ... he said it was too  touchy-feely to make it into the city section."

Clark couldn't help but grin. "Hey, isn't that what you  always accuse me of writing?" At her embarrassed  expression, his smile turned reassuring. "Don't knock  Lifestyles ... this is going to impact a lot of people,  Lois. You should be proud that Perry wants to highlight it.  I know I'm proud of you."

Lois sighed in relief. "So you liked it?"

"Liked it? I told you, I'm thrilled!" Clark leaned forward  and covered her hand with his. "Lois," he said intently.  "What you did ... going back to the Coates Orphanage and  spending more time with them, writing about them on such a  personal level ... it's incredible." He stared into her  eyes, once again in awe of the amazing woman before him.  "And it means a lot to me that you would follow up on it  like that."

Her voice became more serious. "He told me what you did,  Clark."

"Who?"

"Santa--" She broke off in mild amusement. "Now you've got  me doing it! The director of the orphanage--"

Clark smiled. "I know who you mean."

"He told me what you did ... how you worked with Superman  to get all those toys donated."

Clark's eyes widened slightly and he felt himself blushing  a bit under the intensity of her gaze. He sat back a little  in his seat, letting his hand slip off hers. "Oh, well ...  I didn't really do much. Superman--"

Lois shook her head, cutting him off. "You worked together.  Santa told me. He said it was all your idea." This time it  was Lois who leaned forward, covering Clark's hand with  hers in imitation of his gesture. "And he told me that you  bought that big Christmas tree in their play room with your  own money, that it wasn't donated by a business the way you  said it was."

Caught in the tenderness of her gaze and the softness of  her touch, Clark found himself unable to answer for a  moment. Finally he gave a small shrug and responded softly,  "Every kid deserves a tree at Christmas, Lois. I just  wanted to give them that."

Lois nodded. "I know." Her voice grew even more tender.  "See, I didn't do anything special, Clark. I just wrote the  story that I knew you wanted to but weren't here to do."  She gave his hand a little squeeze. "And I want you to know  that I think what you did was pretty terrific."

"Wow," he breathed, staring into her eyes. He hadn't  thought it possible, but suddenly, he loved her more. He'd  started out trying to compliment her, to show her how much  he loved her work ... and she'd turned it around to make  him feel like a hero. "How did I get so lucky to meet you?"  he whispered.

In response, Lois just smiled and sat back. "Just won the  friend lottery, I guess," she replied impishly.

Laughing, Clark suddenly found he couldn't get the grin off  his face. Yes, he definitely loved her more.

They talked for several more minutes about Lois's  experiences at the orphanage, but it wasn't long before  Clark noticed the time. He sat back reluctantly. "I can't  believe it's almost eight o'clock. Seems like I just got  here."

Lois glanced at the clock. "It's still early; you don't  have to go."

Clark picked up their plates and empty milk glasses and  carried them over to Lois's sink. "Unfortunately, I do ...  I've got a ton of stuff to catch up on after being gone."

"Unpacking?" Lois guessed as she followed him into the  kitchen and began rinsing out the glasses.

He nodded. "Yeah, and laundry and paying bills and a whole  bunch of other stuff." He also knew he had to spend at  least a few hours patrolling this evening, having gotten by  with the bare minimum over the days he was in Smallville.  But this, of course, he didn't mention out loud. "So what  are you going to do tonight?" he asked conversationally as  they made their way back into the living room.

"Oh, I don't know, nothing exciting." Lois waved at the  television. "It's Hepburn and Tracey night on the Classic  Movie Channel ... I think I'll pop some popcorn and watch  some of it."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, putting on his coat. "What's playing?"

"I think they're starting with 'Woman of the Year', then  'Pat and Mike', and ending with 'Guess Who's Coming To  Dinner'. You know, early, middle and late, of the ones they  made together." She smiled. "Gotta love Hepburn and  Tracey."

Clark grinned. "See now, I wouldn't have guessed you would  like 'Woman of the Year'. Doesn't the hard-bitten newswoman  try to give up her career to be with the man she loves?"

Lois waved him off, refusing to take the bait. "Yeah, yeah,  but that's just the end ... I just try to ignore that part  and enjoy the rest. And you have to admit," she added with  a grin, "that the scene with her making a mess of the  kitchen, well, that could be me."

"No comment!" Clark laughed. "I like it, too ... it's not  exactly politically correct in parts, but for the early  1940's, it was pretty revolutionary, with the gender role  reversal and all."

She nodded. "And, of course, the acting is top notch." Lois  gave a contented sigh. "You can just see them falling in  love."

"Which they were doing in real life as well," Clark added,  feeling himself melt as he saw the happy expression on  Lois's face. For all her bluster about being 'all work and  no play', he knew that there was so much more to her than  being 'Mad Dog Lane', and her secret addiction to sappy  romantic movies was no exception. He felt honored that she  was letting him in on this little corner of her life.  "Hepburn and Tracey ... theirs was one of the great love  affairs," he finished softly, staring into her eyes.

Lois met his gaze for a long moment. "Yeah," she whispered,  then, flushing slightly, she added, "And, well, you have to  love movies where the characters are reporters, right?"

Clark smiled and lowered his gaze. "Yeah, gotta love  those... like Cary Grant in 'Once Upon A Honeymoon'. He was  a reporter in that one, wasn't he?"

"Yup," she answered. "Though my all-time favorite movie  reporter is Clark Gable in 'It Happened One Night'." Lois  sighed again, her eyes dreamy. "I love that movie."

"You know, I've heard of that one but I've never seen it,"  Clark said, leaning against the front door. "I know it's a  classic, but I've never managed to catch it. It's a really  old one."

"1934," she clarified immediately.

Clark raised an eyebrow, impressed. "You even know the  year? And here I didn't know you were such an old movie  buff."

Lois gave a little shrug. "I'm not, really ... I just love  that movie." She shook her head with a smile. "And I can't  believe you haven't seen it! It's funny and romantic and  sweet ... oh, Clark, it's *you*." As soon as the words were  out of her mouth, however, Lois stilled, as if realizing  what she'd just said. "Uh, I mean, you know," she fumbled,  "with him being a reporter and all."

Clark stared at her for a moment with a little smile on his  face. Despite her attempts to cover it up, he was pretty  sure she'd meant that as a really big compliment. His smile  grew more pleased at the realization. "And with the star  being named Clark and all," he added, letting her off the  hook.

"Right, Clark Gable ..." Lois trailed off and tucked a  strand of hair behind one ear. "Anyway, if it's ever on,  you should see it. I think you'd like it."

"I'm sure I would," he answered softly. Clark glanced over  his shoulder to the door. "Well, I guess I should go ...  let you watch your movies."

"Yeah ... I guess so."

Clark hesitated as he noticed the way she was staring up at  him, waiting. He couldn't help but remember the last time  he stood in this doorway, saying goodbye for the night. On  Christmas Eve, he had pressed a gentle kiss to her  forehead, unable to risk pulling her into his arms and  kissing her the way he'd always dreamed of doing. Tonight,  as well, he longed to lower his mouth to hers, but the fear  of scaring her off, of ruining what momentum he'd built,  was very strong. Uncertain, he turned and opened the door,  then paused again. "Lois--"

"Clark--"

They each chuckled as they spoke at the same time. "We do  that a lot, don't we?" he said with a smile.

"I guess we do," she agreed.

"Well, anyway ... I had a really good time tonight."

She smiled. "Me too. Thanks for ..." She gestured towards  the kitchen. "Helping me with the leftovers.

"Anytime." When another pause fill the air, Clark glanced  once more towards the open doorway. "OK, I'm gonna go."

Lois worried her bottom lip with her teeth, watching him.  "Good night, Clark."

He exhaled, then gave her a warm smile. "Good night, Lois."

She smiled back, just as warmly. "Have fun with your  laundry."

His grin came easily and he felt himself relax. "Have fun  with your movies."

"Thanks," she said, then to his shock, she impulsively  stepped forward and gave him a hug.

Clark caught his breath in surprise, but it didn't take him  long to wrap his arms around her and return the gesture.  Almost of their own volition, he felt his eyes drift closed  as his cheek brushed against her hair, and he inhaled  deeply, taking in her scent and recommitting it to memory.

All too soon, Lois stepped back. Still, it didn't take  super-powers to notice that her eyes seemed to have  darkened and her face was slightly flushed. Giving her a  slow smile, Clark ran his hand gently down her arm. "Good  night, Lois," he murmured, then forced himself to back out  of the open door before he did something he knew could risk  everything. Still, a shiver went through him when he heard  the breathless quality in her voice as she replied ...

"Good night, Clark."

*****

As the closing credits of 'Woman Of The Year' rolled across  the television screen, Lois absently lifted a piece of  popcorn to her lips, barely noticing that the movie had  ended. Despite her usual enjoyment of Katharine Hepburn  movies, she just didn't seem to be able to concentrate  tonight. Instead, her mind kept drifting to her partner and  the time they'd spent together this evening.

Clark had been wonderful, really wonderful, about her  orphanage story. She'd been quite worried about what he  would think, whether he would be upset that she had picked  up where he had left off with the children, so his  reactionhad been a relief. Not that Clark had seen the  Coates home as simply an opportunity for a story -- Lois  was pretty sure that he would have never written about his  own involvement in the efforts to give these children a  proper Christmas, if he had written about them at all.  Still, after seeing how wistfully he had looked at some of  the orphanage's residents, and hearing about all the time  and money he had donated this week, Lois had realized that  these children were very important to him ... and that he  would want to do more to ensure they would not be  forgotten. And sure enough, Clark had been nothing but  supportive of her work. He had complimented her writing,  and had seemed genuinely moved when he'd realized she'd  continued the work he had started.

Smiling slightly, Lois shook her head in disbelief. Truth  be told, she was kind of amazed herself that she had felt  drawn to the children. She certainly had never been very  enamored of them before. In fact, a year or two ago, she  probably would have dismissed the very idea of doing a  story on how orphans can get lost in the system as being  not worth her time as a serious journalist. But there was  something about the way Clark had interacted with them,  something about the way 'Santa' had described them as being  drawn to her partner, that had made her want to get  involved as well.

Not that she should have been surprised that children would  be drawn to Clark. There was just something about him ...  the way he smiled, the way he laughed, the way he always  looked people in the eye when they spoke to him. He always  made Lois feel as though she were the most important person  in the world to him when they talked. It was no surprise  that other people would have the same reaction to him.

The way he had looked at her tonight, for example -- it had  been captivating. Had he always gazed at her like that and  she just hadn't noticed it before?

It was certainly possible ... for some reason, she'd seemed  a bit more aware of Clark recently. Oh, he'd always been  warm and friendly and affectionate with her, there was no  doubt of that. But lately ... this month, this week, today,  especially ... he'd seemed even more, well, *more*. His  smile had seemed brighter, his expression more fascinated,  his tone more affectionate. It was almost as if he was  starting to think of her as something more than just a  friend ...

Setting the half-empty popcorn bowl on the coffee table  with a thump, Lois shook her head, quickly dismissing the  thought. Clearly her mind was playing tricks on her. Clark  had always been friendly towards her; it was just his way.  He was like that towards everyone! Nothing had changed  between them.

The fact that she had started to notice these little  changes in his demeanor after they had shared that little  kiss on Christmas Eve, well, it was just a coincidence ...  or all in her imagination. That he had been there for her  when she'd needed him was clearly making her see things  that weren't there. Clark's feelings for her hadn't  changed.

Still, she could have sworn that the look she'd seen on his  face once or twice today had looked vaguely familiar ...  the way he had rested his chin on his hand and watched her,  smiling the most fascinated smile ...

// "Don't fall for me, farmboy, I don't have time for it."  //

Catching her breath as the words surfaced from somewhere in  her memory, Lois sank more deeply into the couch. A year  and a half ago, soon after they'd first met, she'd spoken  those words to him after seeing a similarly enamored  expression on his face. But could that possibly have been  the same look she'd seen on his face today?

No ... that was impossible. Clark was her best friend, her  partner ... and that was all she felt for him, as well.  Sure, she found him attractive and wonderful to be around.  But they were merely friends, just as the hug she'd given  him tonight as he'd been leaving had merely been a friendly  gesture.

Just an affectionate hug, between close friends ... nothing  more.

And the fact that she had closed her eyes and inhaled his  scent as they'd held each other ... the fact that her body  was still tingling from the memory ... meant nothing at  all.

Part 4

In the newsroom Thursday morning, Clark's fingers flew over  the keyboard, his eyes riveted to his notebook as he typed.  Before he'd left for Smallville, he'd been looking into the  city's redevelopment plans for a run-down section of the  waterfront area, and his few days away from Metropolis had  put him a bit behind on his deadline. Fortunately, his  source at the Mayor's office had come through with the  final piece of information he'd needed yesterday afternoon,  and it had turned out to be just the link he'd needed to  tie the parts of his story together. He knew that he should  have typed it up yesterday, right after he'd hung up the  phone, but he'd been more than a little distracted by the  fact that Lois had agreed to have dinner with him. But he'd  bargained with himself that getting in a little early this  morning to work on the story would still allow him to make  his deadline. Fortunately, Superman hadn't been needed this  morning and he'd been able to get in bright and early.

With a flourish, Clark finished the last few paragraphs of  new material and sat back with a satisfied nod to review  what he'd just written. It was only then that he realized  that Lois was leaning against the edge of his desk, holding  two mugs of coffee in her hand.

He blinked, startled. "Whoa, I'm sorry; I didn't see you.  How long have you been standing there?"

Lois just chuckled. "Long enough to realize you were lost  to the world."

Clark grinned sheepishly. "I guess I was just--"

"In 'the zone'," Lois finished for him, smiling. "I  recognized the look in your eye so I didn't want to  interrupt." She handed him his mug. "Here, I got you some  coffee."

With a grateful expression, Clark accepted the drink.  "Thank you. I haven't had any yet this morning." He shook  his head. "I must have really been distracted. I didn't  even see you get my mug."

"It was on the corner of your desk," she explained  offhandedly, taking a sip from her own steaming drink. "I  just picked it up as I went past. No big deal."

Clark, however, couldn't help but feel exceedingly pleased.  Lois's dismissal notwithstanding, he thought it *was* a big  deal. He was usually the one who took the time to pick up  her empty mug from her desk in the morning, not the other  way around. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time she  had made such a gesture. A little tingle of delight went up  his spine, just as it had last night when she'd initiated  that great hug. "Mmm, perfect," he said warmly, taking a  sip. "Just the way I like it."

Lois gave a teasing roll of her eyes, even as the corners  of her mouth quirked into a smile. "I don't know how you  can drink it like that," she commented. "Full-fat cream and  two sugars ... I swear, Clark, I gain two pounds just  making it for you."

Encouraged by the way her eyes were twinkling at him, Clark  allowed his gaze to sweep across her body for a brief  second. "Well, I certainly can't see it anywhere," he  replied, flashing her a flirty grin.

Lois's eyes widened for a moment at his obvious compliment,  then she ducked her head slightly and blushed. When she met  his eyes again, however, she was clearly pleased. "Good to  know."

His grin broadened even further, but he hid it by taking  another sip of his coffee. Amazingly, she seemed to be  responding to his attempts to flirt with her, both  yesterday and today, and it made him feel warm all over.  Dinner last night had been wonderful, as well, and he  longed to pick up where they'd left off. But right now,  they were at work and he dared not risk pushing her too  fast, especially when they were in the newsroom. Baby  steps, he reminded himself. Baby steps.

"So what do we have going on today?" he asked, forcing  himself to turn the subject back to work. "Any new and  breaking stories to keep us busy?"

"Well, I don't know about you," Lois replied, "but I'm  going to spend the day with a couple of the restaurant  inspectors with the Metropolis Health Department."

Clark nodded in recognition. "I remember you pitching that  idea to Perry a few weeks ago. You finally got it set up,  huh? I think it sounds really interesting."

She nodded. "I think so, too. Should make for a good  story." Then she lowered her voice and added  conspiratorially, "I'm hoping they'll find some really big  violations."

Clark couldn't help but grin over her excitement. "You  know, most people would hope that they don't find *any*  violations. We eat in these places, Lois!"

She looked at him like he was nuts. "What profession are  you in, Clark? Clean restaurants don't make for good copy."

"My mistake." He chuckled along with her. "So what time do  you leave? Lunch time?"

Lois glanced at her watch. "No, I'm supposed to meet them  at ten. I'm probably going to have to leave Perry's update  meeting a bit early, actually."

As if on cue, Perry stuck his head out of his office and  barked out, "Story meeting in five minutes, people!"

Nodding to their editor, Lois stood up and walked back to  her desk.

It suddenly occurred to Clark, however, that with Lois out  on a story, this was probably going to be the last time  she'd be in the newsroom today. He'd been hoping to take  her out to lunch again, then maybe to float the idea of  getting together again tonight, but now it looked as if he  wasn't going to have that luxury. If he wanted to see her  tonight, this would be the time to ask. Yet he didn't want  to come on too strong, or make it seem as if he were asking  her out in the middle of the newsroom. Still, if he could  make the invitation sound casual ...

"Hey, Lois," he called across the aisle. "You wouldn't  happen to know how to ice skate, would you?"

She glanced up from the papers she'd been gathering. "Yeah,  I guess so. Why?"

He picked up the notepad and pen he'd need for the meeting  and walked over to her desk. "There was an article in the  Lifestyle section last week," he explained, careful to  keeping his voice natural, "about all the places to go  skating in Metropolis. Turns out they have open skating  over at Boulderman Center in the evenings and I thought it  might be fun to go."

"I used to go skating there when I was a kid," she  answered, smiling a bit at the memory. Then she wrinkled  her nose and continued doubtfully, "I don't have skates  anymore, though."

"I don't have any here, either, but the paper said they  have a rental booth right there."

Lois considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, it  sounds like fun. We should go sometime." She placed her day  planner on top of some file folders and picked the stack up  in preparation for the meeting.

Clark hesitated as their colleagues began to file past them  into the conference room. Lois was already moving towards  the open door and he knew his window of opportunity was  closing. "How 'bout tonight?"

That stopped her. "Tonight?"

"Yeah, like maybe around seven?" Clark swallowed as he  noticed the perplexed look in her eye as she turned towards  him, and he couldn't help but feel dismayed. He had clearly  just crossed the line and come on too strong. She didn't  look angry, but neither was she answering his question.  Quickly, he continued, trying to make it clear he wasn't  pressuring her. "I mean, unless you have other plans."

Lois furrowed her brow. "No," she started slowly. "It's not  that ... it's just that I'm not sure how late I'm going to  be working tonight. I have no idea how late health  inspectors work."

"Oh. Oh!" Clark relaxed, relieved that her reluctance  didn't seem to have anything to do with him. "They didn't  tell you how late they would be working?"

She shook her head, then thought for a moment. "Tell you  what ... let me call you this afternoon and let you know  how it's going. I should have a better idea of my schedule  then."

Clark nodded as they slipped into the room just as Perry  was about to start the meeting. The idea that she seemed  interested, and was going to call him later, perked him up  significantly. "Sure ... I'll just keep my cell phone on,  so you can reach me if I have to go out."

Lois pulled up a chair and sat down. "Sounds good."

*****

"Thanks, Superman, we really appreciate your help."

Clark smiled at the state trooper's comment before making  his way towards the car which was sitting the middle of the  road. Fortunately, there were no injured people to attend  to -- a car had simply broken down in the center of the  three-lane expressway. But occurring at the peak of rush  hour traffic, it had caused cars to back up for several  miles before the police had arrived. Fortunately, Superman  had been passing overhead on his way back from responding  to a bank alarm, and had offered to lend a hand. It wasn't  a big job; it wouldn't take more than a few seconds. But it  would allow the road to be cleared much faster than waiting  for a tow-truck.

Carefully levitating the car, Clark lifted the vehicle over  his head and floated towards the snow-covered median  dividing the north and southbound portions of the  expressway. He could hear cheers coming from the people in  their cars as he gently set the car down on the shoulder,  but he didn't let them inflate his ego. He was glad to help  where he could, and he couldn't deny that, at least today,  he was happy to have the distraction.

He had worked steadily on his city redevelopment story for  most of the day, confirming his source's information and  incorporating the changes that Perry had suggested when  they'd conferred on the story. Still, the time had passed  slowly without Lois, or at least, it had once mid-afternoon  had arrived and his phone had remained stubbornly silent.  Hearing the bank alarm at about five-thirty had almost been  a relief as he'd sought to fight the slight depression  coming over him. The stalled vehicle on the expressway had  been but one more welcome distraction.

But now things were quiet again, and as he stood in the  median, watching traffic begin to flow in the darkening  December evening, Clark could no longer deny the proof that  afternoon had long since passed ... and that Lois had never  called. Clark wasn't upset with his partner for getting  tied up with her story; after all, she had been quite clear  about the fact that she wasn't sure what her schedule was  going to be for the day. And it wasn't as if they had set  up their plans in advance -- he had certainly sprung the  ice-skating idea on her from out of the blue. Still, he  couldn't help but feel disappointed that their evening  together wasn't going to happen.

Hiding his private thoughts, Superman smiled congenially as  he shook the hands with the police officers and the owner  of the stalled vehicle. But in the back of his mind, Clark  couldn't help but wonder if his behavior over the last few  days had somehow turned Lois off. He'd been careful not to  come on too strong, to keep things light and friendly, even  while letting his eyes twinkle at her a little more than  usual and his grin become a little wider. And Lois had  seemed to respond. Several times yesterday, he'd caught her  studying him when she thought he couldn't tell, only to  flush slightly when they did make eye contact. And last  night, after their conversation had ranged from silly to  affectionate to caring, Lois had given him that wonderful  hug as he'd left. Even this morning, she'd seemed more  attentive than she had been in the past ... getting him  coffee, ducking her head and looking at him from under her  lashes when he'd complimented her appearance, patting his  arm affectionately when she'd left the story meeting early  ... it was enough to make him want to pull her into his  arms and kiss her until they were both gasping for breath  ....

Clark sighed. This wasn't getting him anywhere. He just had  to be patient, as hard as it was. If Lois was acting  skittish after he'd attempted to see her two nights in a  row, then he'd just have to back off. He could find other  things to do in the evenings. Superman was always needed  somewhere. Maybe he could even expand his patrols to other  cities for a few days to try to distract himself out of the  fact that Lois wasn't as interested in spending time with  him outside work as he was in spending time with her ... he  could even start tonight ...

Just then, a faint buzzing reached his ears. Although in  the middle of shaking hands with the final police officer,  Clark couldn't help but look startled as realized where the  noise was coming from.

The police officer also recognized the sound and it didn't  take him long to zero in on the source. He craned his head  to look behind the superhero. "Um, Superman? Your ... cape  is ringing."

Eyes widening slightly, Clark quickly reached behind his  back and fumbled with the phone which had been clipped to  the back of his belt. "Uh, excuse me," he said to the  officer, trying not to look as flustered as he felt. "I  need to ... take this call." Without waiting for a  response, he flew straight up into the air with a whoosh.  Only when he was sure he was high enough to ensure his  privacy did he answer the phone. The last thing he needed  was for anyone to hear Superman taking Clark Kent's phone  calls. "H--hello?" he asked cautiously.

"Clark?"

Lois's voice was like music to his ears and he couldn't  help but smile and sigh in relief. "Hi!" he said brightly,  glad that he had decided to take to the sky. "I was  wondering when I'd hear from you."

"I'm sorry ... I meant to call earlier."

"That's OK; I figured you just got busy."

"Yeah, I did, but it's been going really well. As a matter  of fact, we've finished up the inspections for today and  are getting a bite to eat so I can ask some background  questions."

"Oh ..." he said slowly, his good mood over her call  beginning to fade -- he should have known better than to  hope things would have gone smoothly. Still, he knew that  her job came first and he wasn't about to make her feel  guilty for it. He was careful to keep the disappointment  out of his voice when he responded. "Well, that's great,  Lois; I'm glad the story is going well. You have a good  evening, then, and I'll just see you in the morning."

To his surprise, Lois's voice sounded almost as  disappointed as he felt. "You don't want to go skating  anymore?"

Clark furrowed his brow in confusion. "I thought you were  calling to tell me you couldn't make it." He hesitated.  "Unless ..."

"No, no," she interjected quickly. "I still want to go. I  was just calling to see if we could push it back a little.  Maybe eight o'clock? Or seven-thirty?"

He brightened immeasurably. "Yeah, sure! I mean, whatever  you want ... what time would be best for you?"

"Let's say seven-thirty," Lois responded. "I think we're  about to get served, and I don't have that many questions.  But I do have to get home and change ... how 'bout I just  meet you over there?"

Clark couldn't help but break into a smile. "Great! I'll  see you then."

"OK! Well, I've gotta get back ... see you in a bit."

"OK, bye. And thanks for calling," he added quickly, trying  to catch her before she hung up.

"Bye, Clark."

Almost in a daze, Clark clicked his phone's off button and  returned it to its position on the back of his belt. Lois  had called ... and she still wanted to see him tonight! He  broke into a huge grin and couldn't help but turn a  somersault on his way back to the ground. Patrolling could  wait. He was seeing Lois again!

When Superman landed in the median once again, the officer  he'd been talking to studied him for a moment, then grinned  knowingly. "Hot date tonight, huh?" he said, eyes  twinkling. Only much later did Clark realize how the deep  blush which had crossed his face had said more than any  words of response ever could have.

*****

Lois raced up the steps of her apartment building and,  after fumbling with her keys for a brief moment, rushed  through her front door. Dumping her briefcase and coat onto  a chair, she hurried into the bedroom, kicking off her  shoes and cursing slow taxi drivers as she went. How in the  world had it gotten to be past seven o'clock?? She had less  than twenty-five minutes to change her clothes, freshen up,  and get halfway across town in time to meet Clark. She was  never going to make it!

Flinging open her closet door, Lois began rifling through  her hangers, trying to decide what to wear. Finally  spotting a promising combination, she pulled out her newest  pair of jeans and a white cotton turtleneck and tossed them  onto the bed. Slipping out of her work pants and blouse,  Lois quickly changed into the casual clothing, then paused  to examine herself the mirror. She couldn't help but preen  a bit as she turned to look at her backside. As they had in  the fitting room when she and Lucy had gone shopping, the  jeans looked as if they'd been painted on, showing off  every curve.

As Lois bent over to retrieve her hiking boots from the  bottom of the closet, however, any hint of a smile quickly  left her face. With a grimace, she gingerly mimed a few  skating moves in front of the closet but quickly gave up.  How had she let Lucy talk her into buying these? The jeans  showed off her figure, that much was true -- but she could  barely breath, let alone move!

Peeling the tight denim from her legs, Lois quickly  replaced them with her oldest, most comfortable pair of  jeans and sighed in relief. Now these she could skate in!  Tucking her turtleneck into the waistband, Lois walked back  to her closet to find a sweater to wear, but once again,  she hesitated as she caught sight of herself in the mirror.  The jeans were certainly very comfortable ... but as worn  and baggy as they were, they didn't exactly look  attractive.

Lois gave herself a mental shake. Why in the world did it  matter if she looked attractive? She was just going  skating. OK, sure, she was going skating with Clark, but it  wasn't as if they were going out on a date or anything ...  so why was she acting as if they were? She forced herself  to ignore her reflection as she set about looking through  her warmer clothing. Finally deciding on a dark violet wool  sweater -- she'd often been told the color brought out the  best in her complexion -- Lois made her way into the  bathroom to comb her hair and brush her teeth, even as the  words, 'it's not a date, it's not a date', kept running  through her head. Still, she couldn't help but add a little  extra mascara to her eyelashes and blush to her cheeks  before leaving the bathroom. After all, even if Clark was  just a friend, it didn't mean that she couldn't look nice  for him.

As she made her way back into the bedroom and picked up her  hiking boots, however, Lois frowned once again as she  caught sight of herself in the mirror. From the waist up,  she was satisfied -- the extra mascara really made her eyes  stand out -- but from the waist down ... it wasn't the  image she wanted to present.

Suddenly, a light bulb went on in her head and Lois made  another dive for the closet. From behind the stacks of  unread magazines on the floor, she pulled out a box she had  almost forgotten she had. Her old skiing clothes! How could  she have not thought of this earlier?

Digging through the box, Lois quickly tossed a bonus find - - a pair of warm wool socks -- to the floor by her boots,  but it wasn't long before she'd located her quarry. Holding  up the black ski pants, Lois smiled triumphantly. Insulated  for warmth, the stretchy material fit in all the right  places, yet still allowed her the freedom of movement she  needed to be active outdoors. Quickly exchanging her baggy  jeans for the black pants, Lois grinned as she looked in  the mirror. Yes, this was *exactly* what she'd been looking  for.

With one last glance towards the clock -- and another  moment of panic when she realized that she was definitely  going to be late -- Lois pulled on her warm socks and  hiking boots, then grabbed her ski jacket from where it had  been hanging in the back of her closet. Putting it on over  her sweater, Lois couldn't help but admire herself one  final time in the mirror. The jacket was hip length,  functional, but kind of sexy, too, when layered over the  tight black pants. Perfect!

Rushing back through the living room, Lois dug her driver's  license and some cash out of her wallet and zipped them  into her jacket pocket, then grabbed her car keys and  headed out the door. One quick trip back to the apartment  later, to pick up a pair of fleece gloves for her hands,  Lois finally started her car and pulled out into traffic,  eyeing the clock doubtfully. It wasn't completely outside  the realm of possibility that she could make it halfway  across town in six minutes ... but only if she could fly  like Superman.

*****

At seven forty-five, Clark checked his watch for what  seemed like the dozenth time, trying not to appear as  anxious as he felt. He'd been waiting on the sidewalk  outside Boulderman Center for the last twenty minutes, but  even with surreptitious use of his super-vision, he hadn't  seen any sign of Lois.

Not that this in itself meant anything was wrong. After  all, Lois had been busy working on her story, and it was  certainly possible that she'd just gotten delayed. She had  told him she'd been running late when she called his cell  phone, so he knew he should be completely surprised that  she wasn't here yet. But knowing this didn't stop him from  fidgeting as he waited for her to arrive.

Sitting on the cement wall encircling the plaza area, Clark  tried to relax. He still couldn't believe Lois had agreed  to come tonight. When she hadn't called him this afternoon,  he'd been sure she was going to beg off, or worse yet,  stand him up all together. But if anything, having Lois  call to suggest an alternate time had been even better than  her initial acceptance. If she didn't enjoy their time  together as much as he did, she could have easily used her  work schedule as an excuse to get out of seeing him. Yet  she had gone out of her way to suggest an alternative time.  Yes, definitely encouraging.

Of course, that didn't mean that Lois shared his interest  in becoming more than friends. Clark had deliberately  avoided any mention of the word 'date' when he'd made his  skating suggestion this morning, out of the fear that such  a label would only send Lois into a tailspin. No, as far as  Lois was concerned, getting together tonight was nothing  more than a friendly outing -- the idea that tonight might  be a date would surely never even enter her mind. Clark  sighed to himself ... in a way, he envied her that. He  didn't seem to be able to get the idea of dating Lois *off*  his mind.

Still, as much as he would love to just come out and  confess his feelings for her, he knew that actions could  speak louder than words. When the time was right, he would  summon the courage to tell her how much she meant to him,  that he was interested in pursuing a deeper relationship  ... but in the meantime, he had to content himself with  moving slowly, with treading that fine line between showing  his interest and scaring her off.

As engrossed as he was in his thoughts, it took Clark a  moment to realize that someone was calling his name. When  he looked up, however, pulled out of his musing by the  familiar sound, he saw Lois on the sidewalk across the  street, waiting for the traffic to clear so that she could  cross. Brightening, Clark waved, then hopped to his feet as  she darted in front of a few slower-moving cars to join  him.

Clark met her at the curb. "Hey, you made it!" he exclaimed  with a smile.

Lois's cheeks were pink from the cold night air. "Sorry I'm  late," she said, a little breathless after her sprint. "It  took me longer than I'd expected to wrap up the interview,  then I had go home to change clothes."

He couldn't help but grin. "You didn't want to skate in  work clothes, huh?"

"I spent most of the day in restaurant kitchens," Lois  said, wrinkling her nose. "I had some things splashed on my  pants that I'd rather not think about."

Clark gave a mock shudder as they moved to the middle of  the sidewalk, away from the street. "Sounds like you got  your wish for bad conditions, then ... did you get your big  headline?"

"Nothing as big as I'd hoped for," Lois answered, "but I  did get a lot of really interesting information. Maybe I'll  hit the jackpot tomorrow, but even if I don't, I think it  will be a great story."

"Well, if you're writing it," Clark said matter-of-factly,  "I'm sure it will be." Then, taking in her attire with a  sweep of his eyes, he couldn't help but add, "Besides, I  love what you've changed into ... Lois, you look  fantastic."

Lois glanced down at herself. "They're my old ski clothes,"  she explained. "Do you think they look all right for  skating?"

Despite the question in her voice, Clark couldn't help but  think she looked very pleased with the fact that he'd  noticed her attire. He knew, of course, that he'd barely  been able to think of anything else since he'd caught sight  of her, but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to  study her figure more closely and he let his eyes roam over  her body appreciatively. "Are you kidding me?" he asked,  making his approval clear. "Those black pants ... wow."

The grin on her face told him this was the response she'd  been looking for. "Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself."

Clark flushed a little as he saw her gaze travel over his  body the way his had just done to hers, but he couldn't  deny the warmth that spread through him at her approving  look. He hadn't dressed in anything special -- just a pair  of jeans and a sweater, with his tan field coat buttoned  over the top -- but Lois made him feel as if he was wearing  a tuxedo. Hmm, come to think of it, she didn't usually pay  him this much attention even when he was wearing a  tuxedo....

Filing that thought away for future pondering, Clark picked  up on something else that Lois had said as they began to  walk down the sidewalk. "So did you say you're going to be  meeting them again tomorrow? The health inspectors?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm meeting them at nine o'clock in  their office before we go out. They said I could tag along  next week, too, but I don't know if I need more than two  days with them. I have some background research to do and  some follow-up phone calls to make, so I might want to get  started with that instead of doing another day in the  field; we'll see." Lois seemed as if she were going to say  more, but was soon distracted by the well-lit plaza beside  them. "So, did you go in and check out the lights yet?" she  asked, craning her head to catch more of the world-famous  holiday light display through the landscaping. "Since I  kept you waiting?"

"No, I figured I'd wait till you got here," Clark  responded. He gestured towards the plaza entrance, just up  ahead "We can walk around and look at everything together  before we go skating, if that's OK with you."

Lois nodded. "Sure, that's fine. I guess it is pretty  impressive, especially if you're new in town." Then she  added, a bit dismissive, "Me, I've lived here my whole life  so I don't really get excited about those kinds of things  anymore."

"Oh, really?" Clark shot her a sideways look as they  walked, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Pretty old- hat for you, huh?"

She shrugged. "Yeah ... plus, you know, Christmas isn't my  thing."

Suddenly recognizing the false bravado he'd heard from Lois  before on the subject, Clark bit back the teasing retort  that had first come to mind and let his expression soften.  Unmindful of the message he might send, he slung his arm  across her shoulders and gave her a friendly sideways hug.  "Well, thanks for coming with me, then," he said  disarmingly. "I've always wanted to see it, and going with  you will make it even more special."

"Well ... thanks for asking me," Lois responded, a flicker  of surprise crossing her face. She soon relaxed into the  hug, however, and even slipped her arm around his waist for  a moment to return it. "I guess it has been a while since  I've really been able to see the display."

Suddenly keenly aware of the way they were holding each  other, Clark felt his heart begin to thump in his chest. It  felt so good, so right, to walk with her this way, and Lois  seemed equally comfortable with their closeness. All too  soon, however, they reached a break in the wall and found  the cement steps that led down into the plaza. Knowing it  would be awkward to descend with his arm around her, Clark  reluctantly let it fall from her shoulders and gestured  down the steps. "Shall we?"

Lois smiled up at him. "Let's go."

As they reached the plaza, however, the full effect of the  light display hit Clark, distracting him from any  disappointment he felt over losing Lois's touch. "Wow," he  breathed as he gazed up at the huge Christmas tree that  stood in the center of the plaza, behind the ice-skating  rink. "It's beautiful."

Despite her earlier dismissal, Lois seemed equally  enthralled. "So many lights," she admired breathlessly. "I  always figured the tree seemed big when I was a kid because  I was so small ... but it's just as amazing as an adult."

"I've seen it on TV, but it's not the same thing as being  here," Clark agreed.

They began to walk towards the tree to get a closer look,  but it wasn't long before Lois was pointing to another  section of the plaza. "Clark, look at how they have all the  other trees decorated ... and the train ... Oh! And look at  those big angels!"

Clark couldn't help but grin as he noticed that Lois seemed  to be as caught up in the impressive display as he was.  "The paper said they have over thirty thousand lights, with  all the decorations. I couldn't even imagine what thirty  thousand lights looked like until I got here!" He looked up  again. "And they said the tree is eighty-three feet tall.  That's amazing."

"I watched them put it up one year," Lois commented, "years  ago. They used this big crane ... it was pretty  interesting."

"I bet it was."

They walked around for a few more minutes, discussing their  favorite parts of the display, but it wasn't long before  they found themselves back at the skating rink. Leaning  against the chest-high wall that separated the ice from the  rest of the plaza, they watched the skaters for a moment,  taking in the scene. "So why didn't you come here last  year?" Lois asked conversationally. "It was your first  Christmas in the city; I figured you'd do all the tourist  stuff."

Clark turned so that he was facing her, his elbow resting  on the wall. "I guess," he answered, "it was one of those  things I knew I wanted, but hadn't made it a priority."  Clark studied Lois's face for a moment, then continued a  little more quietly. "And by the time I realized how  important it was to me, the opportunity was gone."

Lois met his eyes, searching them. "But you always knew  there'd be another winter, didn't you?" On the surface, her  words seemed innocent, but Clark was almost sure he could  see the hint of something else, a different question in her  eyes.

"I wanted there to be," he answered quietly. "But I guess  once you realize how important something is to you, you  don't want to waste any more time in pursuing it." He  stared into her eyes. "At least ... not if you don't want  to live with regrets."

They stood in silence for a moment, their eyes locked, then  Lois rested her chin on her hand and gave him a little  smile. "So why is skating here so important to you?"

Clark gave a little chuckle. "Ah, well, you see, when I was  about six, I saw a movie set in Metropolis, and they showed  people skating at this very plaza. I thought it looked  wonderful and I begged my parents to take me skating there  the next day." Clark smiled. "My parents just laughed, of  course, since obviously I had no idea how far away  Metropolis was from Smallville. All I knew is it looked  really neat."

"So what you're telling me," Lois responded, her eyes  dancing, "is that the whole reason you're in Metropolis now  is because of a movie you saw when you were six?"

He laughed. "Amazing where childhood fantasies will lead  us, isn't it?" Then he smiled and met her eyes again. "So  what about you ... you said you came skating here when you  were a kid?"

She nodded, smiling back. "My father and Uncle Mike used to  take Lucy and me skating here a lot when I was little.  Uncle Mike's daughter Katie is five years older than me,  and she'd come too. I thought she was so grown up ... she  even took lessons. I loved watching her skate."

"Sounds like a nice memory."

Lois's expression turned a little melancholy.  "Bittersweet," she admitted. "After my parents divorced,  Uncle Mike would bring us by himself sometimes. He tried to  get my dad to meet us, but he never showed up. Eventually,  it got too depressing and we just stopped coming."

Clark stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say.  There was nothing he could do to make up for all the time  she lost growing up, time that should have been spent  having fun instead of tiptoeing her way around physically  absent and emotionally unavailable parents. That he had no  basis for understanding what that must have been like for  her only made him marvel at the way she had come through  it, at the amazing person she had become despite her  upbringing. Yet instinctively, he knew that words were not  needed. Clark pushed off from the wall and held out his  hand to her. "Come on," he said with a warm smile. "Let's  go make some new memories."

Part 5

Lois eyed the ice doubtfully as she clung to the railing at  the edge of the rink. Her rental skates fit fine, and the  blades had just been sharpened that morning, according to  the man behind the counter. But none of that made up for  the fact that she hadn't ventured onto an ice rink in  years.

Looking up, she saw Clark out on the far end of the ice,  halfway through what he had jokingly called his 'warm-up  lap' while waiting for Lois to finish tying her skates. He  smiled and waved at her as he took the turn and began  making his way back towards her, and Lois couldn't help but  give a rueful smile in return. She hated to admit that  someone was better than her at something, but Clark was  clearly more comfortable on ice skates than she ever would  be.

Come to think of it, he looked darn good out there, she  mused, his gloved hands linked casually behind his back as  his skates glided smoothly over the ice. His jeans were  neither too loose nor too tight, Lois's fashion sense  pointed out, remembering back to her clothing decisions  from earlier that evening; though there was no mistaking  the muscular thighs hidden beneath them. Clark definitely  wore his clothes, even casual clothes, very nicely, and  Lois couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked this  evening. The tan jacket he wore seemed to be a bit more  appropriate for late fall than the middle of winter, but  she had to admit he didn't seem to be at all bothered by  the night-time temperature. His jacket must have been  better insulated than was evident from the outside, she  surmised. Either that, or Clark was simply hot-blooded  enough to not be bothered by the cold.

Completely unable to stifle the grin that came to her face  when she thought of how 'hot-blooded' Clark might be, Lois  summoned her courage and pushed off from the wall, stiffly  taking a short stride and letting herself glide a few  inches. She'd been able to do this as a girl, she told  herself sternly, as she tried to make her muscles relax ...  it would surely all come back to her once she'd had a  little time to practice.

Rotating her right foot slightly to the outside, she pushed  off a bit more aggressively, letting her left skate support  her, and was pleased when she felt herself move a foot or  so forward. Encouraged, she changed feet, and pushed off  with her left foot, repeating the motion with a similar  positive result. Lois felt herself begin to relax. This  wasn't so hard ... in only a few short strokes she had  moved -- Lois craned her head to look back over her  shoulder and grimaced -- a whole two feet away from the  edge.

With a sound of disgust, Lois whipped her head back to the  front and pushed off a lot harder with her right foot,  impatient to make some more progress. Unfortunately, the  abrupt combination disrupted her balance and, almost  immediately, Lois found her arms and legs flailing as she  struggled to stay upright. "Ahh!" she gasped, despite  herself.

As soon as the sound was out of her mouth, however, Lois  felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind,  holding her steady. "Whoa," came the calm but amused voice  of her partner. "You almost lost it there for a second!"

"Tell me something I don't know," she muttered back.

Clark moved in front of her, letting her keep a steadying  hold on his arm. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I didn't  realize you were so close to being ready. I should have  waited for you."

Lois shook her head but didn't loosen her grip on his  sleeve. "That's all right. I just need to get comfortable  on the ice again. It's been a long time and I need to  remember how to do it."

"Well, how about a refresher course?" he asked with an  encouraging smile. "Here, give me your hand."

Lois put her hand in his, but kept her gaze down on the  ice, her brow furrowed in concentration as she moved her  feet. "This seemed easier when I was a kid," she admitted.

Clark gave her glove a little squeeze. "You're doing  great," he said as they glided a few feet. "Don't try so  hard ... just relax."

"Easy for you to say," she retorted, but she couldn't help  but notice that she did feel a lot more stable holding on  to him, and she felt her muscles begin to relax.

"Good," Clark responded, obviously noticing the change in  how she was carrying herself. "Now you're getting it."

Lois chanced a glance up at his face, and couldn't help but  smile when she met his eyes. She'd half-expected him to be  laughing at her ineptitude, but instead, she found nothing  but encouragement. "Thanks, this helps."

His smile grew even warmer. "I'm glad."

Twenty minutes later, Lois found herself having a much  easier time of things. Clark had helped her remember how to  stop and how to turn, and it wasn't long before her balance  improved and her strides began to lengthen as a result.  She'd even been able to let go of his hand and make it all  the way around the rink on her own. She grinned  triumphantly at him as he applauded. "See, I told you I  could do this!" she exclaimed.

"I never doubted you for a moment," he answered with a  grin. Then his expression turned a bit mischievous. "OK,  next lesson ... skating backwards." As he spoke, he began  to skate backwards in front of her, keeping them face-to- face.

Lois's eyes widened slightly as she watched him. "How in  the world do you *do* that?" she asked, astounded by the  way his skates seemed to carry him so effortlessly. She  watched as his feet worked in unison, moving side to side  on the ice. She tried to imitate the motion going forward,  but only succeeded in almost losing her balance again.

Clark quickly took her hands, steadying her. "Here, let's  try this." Moving them off to one side of the rink, away  from the other skaters, he turned them around so that she  was facing backwards. "Keep your skates straight ... good!"  Skating forward, he pushed her along with him. "See, now  you're skating backwards," he said, grinning.

Lois couldn't help but laugh as she glided along the ice.  Her ears were freezing, her hair was blowing into her face,  and her leg and back muscles ached from the work they were  doing, but somehow, she was having a great time. Letting  Clark do the work, she concentrated on keeping her skates  straight; then, in an effort to distract herself out of  falling, she began to sing along with the music being piped  into the rink from a loudspeaker mounted above their heads.  "Oh, the weather outside is frightful--"

"Oh, come on," Clark chuckled, "it's a beautiful night."

"But inside, it's so delightful--"

"I refuse to believe you'd rather be at the movies."

Lois laughed at his running commentary, but kept singing.  "And since we've no place to go ... let it snow, let it  snow, let it snow."

With that, Clark laughed out loud and brought them to a  stop at the edge of the rink. He glanced pointedly up into  the sky, then back at her with a grin. "The ice is better  when it's not snowing."

"Oh, and I suppose you are an ice expert, Mr. I-Grew-Up-In- Kansas?" she said, taking his hand and starting to skate  side by side again. "Do they even have ice in Kansas?"

"Do they have ice in Kansas?" he asked indignantly. "Lois,  it's the Midwest, not the tropics! I'll have you know I  spent much of my free time in the winter on the ice. I even  played on a league one year."

Puzzled, Lois furrowed her brow. "They have figure skating  leagues?"

The way that Clark's jaw dropped told her that she had  clearly guessed wrong. "Figure skating leagues? Figure  skating leagues??" He gave an incredulous laugh, clearly  more amused than annoyed. "Ice hockey, Lois, ice hockey!  The mainstay of every red-blooded North American boy from  Canada to-- Well, OK, it's more popular in Canada than  here, but we still killed a lot of time that way." Letting  go of her hand, he mimed holding a hockey stick in front of  him and darted out ahead of her on the ice, chasing an  imaginary puck. "Kent goes for the steal, breaks around the  outside, he sees his opening, he shoots--" Executing a  quick turn so that he was moving backwards, Clark lifted  his hands over his head in imagined victory, fists pumping.  "HE SCORES!!"

Laughing hard at his antics, Lois let herself run straight  into Clark, not even bothering to slow herself down. Coming  to a stop, she placed one hand on his chest so she could  use the other hand to wipe the laughter-induced tears from  her eyes. "You are so weird!" she choked out.

"Works for me, though," he responded with an impish grin.

Even as she rolled her eyes, however, Lois knew that she  wouldn't be able to get the smile off her face. She  couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed this much,  but somewhere in the back of her mind, she figured it was  probably another time she'd been with Clark. For whatever  reason, he seemed to be able to tease her out of her  seriousness and get her to have fun. And tonight was no  exception. "With moves like those, you're wasted in  journalism," she exclaimed, teasing him. "You should have  turned pro."

"Yeah, I'm a legend in my own mind," he replied good- naturedly. Starting to skate backwards again, he pulled her  along with him, pretending to 'dance' on the ice as they  once again moved closer to the loudspeaker piping in  Christmas music. "And what about you, Miss I-Can-Melt-Snow- Looking-That-Good-In-Ski-Clothing? Do you actually ski, or  just sit around the fire letting your many admirers buy you  hot chocolate?"

Lois felt her jaw drop open at his comment but she didn't  seem to be able to stop herself from following it with a  pleased laugh. Was Clark actually flirting with her? If it  had been any other man, she would have known it with  certainty, but this was *Clark*. Even more amazing was the  fact that she seemed to be responding to it ... and it felt  wonderful. She felt her eyes twinkling at him. "I'll have  you know that I learned how to downhill ski almost as soon  as I could walk. We used to take a lot of skiing vacations  when I was little ... it was something my parents enjoyed,  back when they enjoyed things together, so they made sure  Lucy and I learned how very young." From the tone of  Clark's voice, she could tell that he was impressed. "Wow,  you must be pretty good then."

Lois gave a little shrug, but she couldn't help but preen a  little under the admiration in his eyes. "Yeah, I guess so.  I've defeated my share of mountains, at least. So how about  you? Do you ski?"

Clark's response was less assured. "Ah ... I can get down  the hill, but it isn't always pretty," he admitted.

Lois cocked her head. She couldn't imagine Clark not being  to do something physical. He seemed like such a natural  athlete. "Now you *have* to explain that," she encouraged.

With an amiable laugh, he continued. "I didn't learn until  I was in college -- not a lot of hills in Kansas, you know  -- and as an athlete, I found I could muscle my way through  just about anything the mountain threw at me--"

Understanding dawned. "But because of your strength, you  never had to learn proper technique," she finished for him.

Clark gave a sheepish shrug. "Exactly."

Lois gave a knowing smile. "I knew guys like that ... it  always seemed so unfair. I remember this one guy in  college; he'd never even been on skis before but by the end  of his first day out, he was going down the black diamonds.  Don't get me wrong -- he'd usually be a human snowball by  the bottom," she added with a grin, "but he had such a big  ego that he'd just pick himself up and head back to the  lift. After awhile, I couldn't even watch ... I was sure he  was going to break something!"

"Well, I never broke any bones," Clark interjected,  laughing along with her, "and I did try to keep the snow on  the slopes. But I have to admit, I probably took runs that  I had no business taking early on."

She shot him a teasing grin. "Good thing I didn't know you  back then ... I probably would have hated you." Suddenly  Lois felt herself being lifted off the ice and spun around.  Though she was being held securely in Clark's arms, she  couldn't help but give a little shriek in surprise, which  she knew full well was the intended reaction.

"Then I guess I'm glad you didn't know me back then," he  teased back, his eyes dancing as he set her back down.  "Though I have a feeling you were way more competitive on  the slopes than you're letting on. You were probably the  one buzzing by that guy so he'd fall over and turn into the  human snowball."

Lois felt her jaw drop. "How-- How did you know that?" she  gasped.

Clark laughed out loud. "I knew it!" He spun them around  again, more gracefully this time. "Mad Dog Lane, separating  the boys ..." He pulled her closely to him for a moment,  molding their bodies together and letting his voice drop an  octave in the process. "From the men."

Lois caught her breath at his intimate display, but  couldn't deny the warm shiver that traveled down her spine  as their bodies met. Not wanting to be outdone, however,  she quickly responded, matching his amused tone. "Maybe  I'll just have to take you out on the slopes sometime," she  countered, her eyes sparkling. "See what kind of man you  really are."

The heated look in his eyes told her exactly how well her  comment had hit the mark, but the good-natured smile on his  face assured her he wasn't going to challenge her on it.  Instead, Clark let go of her hands and began to skate in  circles around her, a mischievous look in his eye. "Is that  before or after we go to Tahiti?" he said in her ear as he  came up behind her, grinning.

Feeling the back of her neck begin to tingle from his warm  breath, Lois quickly put her hand up to quell the tickle.  "Oh, it would have to be after the beach," she responded,  not wanting to let him get the best of her. "You couldn't  swim if you had a cast on your leg."

His resulting laughter made her grin, but he kept circling,  clearly showing off. "Pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?"  he chuckled as he buzzed by her again, a little bit closer  this time.

Lois just continued to skate straight ahead, keeping an  amused eye on him even as she pretended to ignore his  playfulness. "I'd say you're the one who's pretty sure of  himself," she said, making her voice sound as if she didn't  have a care in the world. "I'll be sure to remind you of  this when I see you turning into a human snowball."

The sparkle in Clark's eye as he crossed in front of her  again showed that he was enjoying their banter as much as  she was. "Snowballs melt in the sun," he tossed back  teasingly. "Maybe we can combine the trips." He gave a  playful tug on her jacket as he moved behind her once  again. "Or maybe we can find a hot tub near the slopes."

Quickly turning her head to deliver her retort, Lois was  surprised to notice that Clark was no longer beside her,  where she had expected him to be. When she turned her head  back to the front, however, she gave a little gasp of  surprise as she found him positioned right in front of her,  a big grin on his face. Instinctively trying to avoid a  crash, Lois yelped and turned abruptly to the left, but,  much to her chagrin, she almost immediately lost her  balance. As she felt her skates fly out from under her, she  automatically squeezed her eyes shut as she saw the ice  rushing up to meet her.

When she landed, however, Lois was amazed to discover that  instead of cold, unforgiving ice beneath her, she was half- sprawled on top of something warm and firm. Carefully  opening her eyes, she found herself looking directly into  the anxious face of her partner. "Are you OK?" Clark asked,  cradling her protectively against his chest. "God, Lois,  I'm sorry ... I was just fooling around. I didn't mean to  make you fall."

Still trying to catch her breath, Lois shook her head as  they sat up. "It wasn't your fault, Clark. I tried to turn  too fast." She gave a sheepish shrug. "Guess I'm still not  as good on these things are I used to be."

Clark's face showed his relief, but his gaze stayed locked  onto hers. Lifting one hand, he used a finger to gently  brush some stray hairs away from her face, then tucked the  hair behind her ear. "I think you're wonderful," he  whispered.

Rendered almost breathless by the unexpected intimacy and  tenderness of his gesture, Lois felt her face begin to  flush, even as a thrilling warmth began to travel down her  spine. Sitting here on the ice, wrapped in Clark's arms,  she could almost imagine they were the only two people  around, instead of in the middle of a plaza full of people.  It was the way he always made her feel every time he looked  deeply into her eyes like that, she vaguely realized. How  did he do that? And how did he make her heart speed up just  from his touch?

Lois stared into his eyes for what seemed like forever, but  it wasn't long before other skaters began to pass by them  and ask if everything was all right. Clark quickly waved  them off, but when Lois noticed the curious looks they were  getting, she couldn't help but giggle. "I think we've had  enough skating for one night," she said, blushing a little  under the intensity of Clark's gaze. "I'm getting pretty  cold."

His face breaking into a slow, warm smile, Clark helped  Lois up. "How about some hot chocolate, then?" he asked,  keeping hold of her hand as they made their way towards the  exit.

"That sounds great," Lois answered. As they reached the  padded area circling the ice, however, she found herself  dropping gratefully onto the bench where they had sat  earlier to change out of their boots. She rubbed her gloved  hands together and shivered. "Oh, I'm freezing," she  exclaimed, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.

As soon as she'd been seated, Clark had continued on to the  rental booth, but it wasn't long before he returned with  their boots. Hearing her lament, he set hers on the ground  in front of her with a sympathetic smile. "Here, put these  back on ... the guy in the rental booth had a little space  heater, so they shouldn't be too cold." Sitting down next  to her on the bench, he expertly worked off his skates,  replacing them with a pair of chunky tan work boots.

Lois tried to get her skates off as well, but found it  difficult to untie the frozen laces with her nearly numb  fingers. Rubbing her hands briskly against her legs, she  tried to get them limber enough to do what she needed to  do. Once again, however, Clark came to her rescue. Seeing  her difficulty, he quickly knelt before her and proceeded  to unfasten her skates. Lois moaned in appreciation as the  stiff, cold leather was removed. "Thanks. Those are not the  most comfortable things," she told him, finally able to  slip her wool socks back into her hiking boots. To her  relief and surprise, they were toasty warm inside. "Oh,  that must be some space heater! These feel wonderful!"

Clark just smiled as he picked up both pairs of skates.  "Hold on, I'll be right back." True to his word, Clark  returned a moment later, having traded in their rentals for  two steaming cups of hot chocolate. Sitting closely beside  her, he handed her one of the cups. "Here you go," he said  brightly. "Guaranteed to warm you up."

Lois accepted the cocoa and sighed appreciatively as she  took a sip. Swallowing, she let her eyes crinkle at him.  "Guaranteed by whom, exactly?"

"Well, by me, of course," he answered blithely. "Everyone  knows that cocoa is an essential part of warming up after  skating."

Chuckling, Lois took a few more sips, but it wasn't long  before she shivered again against the cold. "No fair, it  didn't work!" she announced with a grin.

Clark laughed. "Ah, this case calls for drastic measures, I  see." Shifting his cocoa to his left hand, he put his right  arm around her, pulling her even closer to him. "When I  make a guarantee, I make a guarantee!" When they were as  close as they could be on the bench, he began to run his  hand affectionately over her back.

Lois couldn't help but lean into him, releasing a husky  sigh of contentment as she felt her body begin to warm. She  felt Clark's head tip to one side, resting against her  hair, and she heard him sigh contently as well. Resting her  free hand on his thigh, Lois absently traced a gentle  pattern with her fingers. "Thanks, Clark," she murmured,  "this is wonderful."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their hot  drinks and letting their closeness warm them up, but it  wasn't long before the beverages were gone and Lois knew  they should be going. "Come on," she invited, giving his  thigh an affectionate squeeze before pushing against it to  stand up. "Let's find my car and I'll give you a ride  home."

Clark stood with her, only then letting his arm fall from  her back. "Find it? Did you lose it?" he asked, clearing  his throat.

"No, but the parking garage was full so I had to park on  some side street. It's about four blocks from here."

"That's not too bad," Clark commented as they left the rink  area and made their way back through the plaza's Christmas  light display. "It's a gorgeous night for a walk."

Lois tipped her head back to look up at the black night  sky. She couldn't see any stars, with the brightness of the  nearby lights, but she could tell the sky was free of  clouds. "I bet you hate that," she mentioned off-handedly  as they reached the sidewalk. "That it's so hard to see  stars here at night. I remember when we were in Kansas last  year, I couldn't believe how many stars you could see."

Clark was checking from side to side to make sure that  traffic was clear, and he rested his hand possessively on  the small of her back as they crossed the street, moving  away from the plaza. He gave her a little smile as they  began to walk down the block. "I told my dad once that the  only stars you can see in Metropolis are the ones getting  out of limos." He looked up at the sky for a moment, with  what Lois thought was a slightly wistful expression, but  when he met her eyes again, she could see only tenderness.  "I know of some places, though, where the stars seem so  close, you feel like you could reach out and touch them.  Maybe someday I'll get to take you there."

Feeling close to him, Lois took his arm as they walked. "I  think I'd like that," she said softly.

Clark covered her hand with his. "I would, too."

They walked a few more minutes in silence, just enjoying  each other's company, but it wasn't long before Clark  glanced down a side street as they passed. There was a nice  residential area tucked behind the small shops and  restaurants on the main road, and outdoor Christmas lights  could be seen twinkling on the homes and front porches. One  block had an especially bright display, and Clark did a  double-take. "Wow, look at that house down there."

Lois began to chuckle when she looked to where he was  pointing. "That guy probably keeps the electric company in  business. I wonder what the neighbors say ... think it  keeps them up at night?"

Clark gave a little laugh. "I don't know ... other people  on the block have a lot of lights on their houses, too, so  maybe they don't mind. Wanna go look?"

"What, just walk around, looking at houses?" Lois said  doubtfully. "It's not really on the way."

"Oh, come on," he coaxed, sliding his arm out from her  grasp to take her hand. He gave it a playful tug. "We'll  take the long way to the car."

Lois hesitated again, but when she saw the eager look on  his face, she finally gave in. "All right, all right," she  laughed. "I swear, you're like a kid at Christmas, Clark."

He grinned as they turned down the block towards the  lights. "Well, it *is* Christmas, Lois ... just consider me  a big kid."

"And not a Space Rat in sight ..."

It wasn't until they had reached the middle of the block  that Lois realized she and Clark were still holding hands.  They were each using their free hand to point out  decorations for the other one to look at, but neither of  them had seemed interested in letting go with their other.  The realization gave her pause. Over the year and a half  that they'd known each other, she had often linked her arm  through Clark's as they walked; it had become a common  gesture of affection for them. But even as close as they'd  become in the last several months, holding hands while  walking was something new.

Of course, Clark had also been holding her hand when they'd  been skating, but that was different, she thought. After  all, he'd just been helping her keep her balance on the  ice, hadn't he? Not that she had minded ... even through  two gloves, her hand felt good nested in his larger one ...  but why was he holding it now?

Lois chanced a glance at Clark as they walked, trying to  gauge his expression without letting him know she was  studying him. He looked content, admiring the homes that  they'd passed, but in the next moment, he glanced at her,  as well, and their eyes met. He smiled almost shyly at her,  an expression that nearly took Lois's breath away.

With an equally shy smile, Lois looked away, pretending to  notice another house. But inside, her heart was racing. The  way Clark had looked at her just then ... it was a look of  far more than just friendship. Yet how could that be? Clark  was her partner, her best friend. He hadn't asked her out  on a date tonight; they were just two friends getting  together to go ice-skating. She knew this -- she had even  emphasized that fact to herself while she was getting ready  tonight. But even as they neared the street where she had  parked her car, Lois couldn't deny that even if this wasn't  a real date, she was having one of the best times of her  life.

As they rounded the corner of the next block, Lois's car  finally came into view. "There it is," she said, pointing.  "I'm right over there."

Clark nodded. "That wasn't such a bad walk, was it?"

"No, I'd say it was a very nice walk, actually," she said  softly, chancing a glance up at him through her lashes.

In response, Clark gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and Lois  actually felt butterflies in her stomach for a moment. "A  very nice walk," he agreed with a smile. His expression  grew more distracted as they drew closer to the car,  however, and Lois found herself glancing at him with  curiosity. He looked as if he had something more to say,  but couldn't find the words ... or summon the courage. As  they neared the parked SUV, however, Clark finally seemed  to find his tongue. "I think there's a diner around the  corner," he blurted out, sounding almost a little nervous.  "Are you, um, interested in getting something to eat?"

Lois couldn't help but give him a smile. "Yeah," she  answered. "I think that would be nice." And she gave his  hand a little squeeze as well.

*****

Securely settled in their booth at the small diner Clark  had found, Lois wrapped her cold hands around her warm  coffee mug and took a careful sip of the hot brew. As it  turned out, neither of them had actually been very hungry,  but they'd decided to share a slice of apple pie in  addition to getting coffee. There were only a few other  patrons in the restaurant, and the waitress had been  friendly as she'd taken their order, but had also seemed  distracted by the young man sitting at the counter, with  whom she kept exchanging flirty glances. Lois and Clark had  shared a conspiratorial whisper once the waitress was out  of earshot, debating whether the man was an existing  boyfriend or someone whom the woman had just met that  night. But even after Clark had been proven right -- the  young man had kissed the girl and called her "sweetheart"  when she'd mentioned that their three-month anniversary was  coming up -- Lois couldn't help but smile across the table  at her partner as she thought about what a wonderful time  she was having. "This was fun ... tonight, I mean," she  said. "Skating wasa great idea. I never would have thought  of it."

The expression on Clark's face was warm. "I'm glad you said  yes ... it's been something I've been wanting to do for a  long time, and doing it with you made it all the more  special."

The sincerity in his voice made Lois suddenly feel a bit  shy, and she lowered her gaze. She could see his hands  resting on the table top, not far from hers, and she  couldn't help but remember how it had felt when he had held  her hand tonight. In fact, she found herself wondering what  it might be like to hold it again, only without their  winter gloves in the way. Stifling the thought, she instead  raised her eyes back to his and responded to his comment,  astonishing herself when she heard the flirtatiousness in  her tone. "So what else have you been wanting to do in  Metropolis that you haven't gotten around to yet?"

Clark seemed to ponder that for a moment, but the smile  never left his face. His nervousness from earlier -- if  that had been what it was at all -- had passed as soon as  they'd begun teasing each other about the waitress's love  life, and the confident twinkle in his eye that he'd had at  the ice rink had returned. "Well, actually, now that you  mention it ... "

Lois leaned forward expectantly. "Yes?"

"I want to go out on New Year's Eve ... to one of those big  dance club parties."

Lois blinked, surprised. She wasn't sure what she'd  expected him to reveal, but that certainly wasn't it! "You  mean like one of those things you see in the movies, where  everyone gets all dressed up?" she asked.

Clark took a sip from his coffee then shook his head. "No,  I've done that before ... I mean something more fun, less  formal. There were a bunch of advertisements for clubs in  the paper this morning and I noticed there's one not too  far from my house that looked like fun. It's called 'The  Top Hat' ... ever hear of it?"

Lois sat back in her seat and started to laugh. "The Yuppie  Ballroom?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized, still chuckling. "Yes, I've  heard of it ... it's a very nice club. Gosh, it's been  forever since I've been there. That's just what we used to  call it when I was in college, the Yuppie Ballroom ... it  was popular with the MBA crowd, the young doctors, lawyers,  that sort of thing. Still is, as far as I know."

"Well, I'm not a doctor or an MBA," Clark defended, clearly  not sure what to make of her reaction. "But I am young,  professional, and--" He smiled. "Well, kind of urban. The  important thing, though, is do they have a good New Year's  Eve party? Or would you recommend somewhere else?"

"I've never been there for New Year's Eve," Lois admitted.  "But I think Lucy has ... as I recall, she really liked it.  Well, at least I remember her saying that the club was  better than her date, though come to think of it, with  Lucy, that could mean anything," Lois added with a little  roll of her eyes.

Clark gave a little laugh, then rested his chin on his  hand, watching her. "So ... you want to?"

Lois cocked her head quizzically. "What?"

His gaze softened. "Do you want to go out dancing ... on  New Year's Eve?"

"This New Year's Eve?"

This time he laughed out loud. "Yes, this New Year's Eve.  Geez, Lois--" He stopped abruptly and grimaced, suddenly  looking more than a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry ... you  probably already have plans." He sat back in his seat. "I  shouldn't have assumed--"

Lois sat forward. "I don't have plans," she said quickly.  Then she caught herself and blushed. "I mean, I don't have  any this year ... not that I never have plans, because I do  ... on New Year's Eve, I mean ... I usually go out and do  something ... with someone ..." She trailed off lamely,  aware of how ridiculous her fumbling sounded. "Just not  this year, is all."

When she looked back and Clark, however, she found his gaze  had warmed even more. "So, is that a yes?" he asked, a  smile growing on his face.

Lois ducked her head, suddenly feeling shy again. Where did  that feeling keep coming from? It wasn't like was asking  her out ona real date ... this was *Clark*, after all. It  was just dancing. With her best friend. On New Year's Eve.  She looked back up at him through her lashes and smiled.  "Sure. It sounds like fun."

His smile widened into a grin as he stared into her eyes.  "Great."

Just then, the waitress brought their order, setting an  extra large piece of warm apple pie between them, along  with two forks. Lois couldn't help but steal a glance at a  very pleased-looking Clark as she picked up her fork.  "Yeah, great," she said, grinning back.

*****

It was after midnight by the time Lois finally crawled into  her bed, but even as she turned off the light and burrowed  under the covers, she didn't seem to be able to settle down  enough to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she found  herself remembering something else that had happened over  the last four hours ... and the smile simply wouldn't leave  her face long enough for her to rest.

Sighing happily, Lois closed her right hand over her left,  remembering the sensation of holding Clark's hand as they'd  walked through the neighborhood streets, and she wondered  for the dozenth time what it could have meant. She knew  that it wasn't uncommon for them to express affection for  each other in their daily lives. After all, Clark often  rested his hand on her shoulder as they worked at the  computer together and he frequently placed a gentle hand on  the small of her back as they hurried across a busy street.  And the affection wasn't one-sided -- Lois couldn't deny  that she often took Clark's arm as they walked down the  street or that she had developed a habit of snuggling up  against him when they watched videos together. But still,  holding hands while walking was something completely new  for them.

Not that it hadn't been nice to walk with Clark like that.  On the contrary, it had made her feel connected to him in a  way that was at once unexpected yet familiar ... and what  was more, from the way Clark had smiled when he'd caught  her eye, she was pretty sure he'd been feeling the same  way. But that only brought Lois back to the question which  had been pricking at the edges of her mind all evening long  -- had tonight, despite all of her earlier admonitions to  herself, somehow turned into a date?

For no single reason that Lois could point to, it had felt  like one. Clark had been especially attentive all evening,  and his behavior at the rink -- his showing-off and general  playfulness -- had definitely had a flirtatious quality to  it, one to which Lois had found herself responding. Then,  on top of the hand-holding and numerous other affectionate  looks and touches, Clark had paid for everything. Not that  it had been an expensive evening -- skate rental and hot  chocolate would hardly have made a dent in his wallet. But  even at the diner where they'd stopped for dessert, he had  picked up the check. And what was more, Lois had let him!  Oh sure, she had made the token reach for her money when  the check had come, but Clark had waved her off with a warm  smile and a quiet, "I asked you." And Lois had let it drop!  She'd even given him a warm smile and a thank-you in return  ... and had she actually felt her eyes twinkling at Clark  as she did so??

Lois groaned as she rolled over in bed. Clark had acted  like it was a date. *She* had acted like it was a date. But  had it really been one? And how could she find out without  making a total fool out of herself with him in the morning?  She could just see it now -- "Hi, Clark, how'd you sleep?  Glad to hear it. Hey, by the way, did we go out on a date  last night?" Another groan escaped her lips, this time  combined with a laugh. What in the world was happening to  her?

Of course, it was probably for the best that he hadn't made  it clear it was a date, if, in fact, that was even how he'd  seen it. If Lois could get herself this worked up over a  casual get-together, imagine how she'd react if Clark had  actually announced, "Lois, I want you to go out with me!"  Lois laughed out loud as she imagined the panic-stricken  expression that would surely have covered her face had  Clark actually asked that. No, as hard it was not knowing,  it was better than being asked out of the blue.

Plus, there was always the possibility she was simply  misreading the whole situation ... Lois had certainly been  wrong about men before. More than once, she had been  certain that a man was trustworthy, only to find out that  he had considered her nothing more than a conquest. Not  that she believed that about Clark ... if nothing else, a  year and a half of friendship had proven that he was the  most reliable and caring man she'd ever known.

Besides, a man simply didn't wait around for a over a year,  let alone enter into a deep friendship with a woman, if his  only goal was a one-night stand. No, if Clark had romantic  designs on her, he would clearly be interested in a serious  relationship. In fact, knowing Clark the way she did, she  could imagine that he'd prefer to take things slowly with a  woman he was interested in, afraid of rushing into  anything. He'd probably develop a friendship first, then  drop subtle hints as to his intentions, like calling her  just to say hello, or bringing her Christmas cookies from  his mom ... or ... or ... or taking her hand as they  walked.

Lois whimpered and buried her head under the covers. How  had she started out trying to convince herself that Clark  wasn't interested ... only to come to the conclusion that  he might actually want a long-term relationship with her?

And why wouldn't her heart stop fluttering every single  time she thought about it?

Part 6

At a little after ten-thirty on Friday night, Superman  landed gently on Clark's balcony, his boots coming to rest  quietly on the dusting of fine snow that had accumulated  during the daytime hours. Floating a bit so as not to track  snow onto his floor, Clark wearily pushed open the door to  his bedroom and went inside. If he had felt any guilt about  neglecting his Superman duties this week, he was certainly  making up for it today. It seemed he had barely seen either  the inside of the newsroom or his apartment since five  o'clock this morning.

Fortunately, he had turned in his story on the city's  redevelopment plan to Perry as soon as he'd arrived in the  newsroom, which had given him the perfect excuse to be away  from his desk most of the day. Since he didn't have any  other stories in progress, it was only natural that he'd  want to hit the streets to come up with something new. As  it was, he'd been able to write up several Superman stories  over the course of the day, including a bank robbery that  had made page three of the evening edition's city section.  It wasn't the same as a front page headline, but it was  enough to keep his by-line active and his editor content.  Even better, though, was the fact that assisting the police  with their investigation of the bank robbery had helped him  chance a brief meeting with Lois this afternoon.

Smiling as he thought of his partner, Clark spun back into  his casual sweat pants and t-shirt and moved into the  kitchen to make some tea. It had been lonely in the  newsroom during the few hours that he'd spent there, with  Lois away from the paper for yet another full day. The fact  that he was longing to talk to her again after their  wonderful evening ice-skating together last night had only  made him more aware of her absense. While it was true that  seeing her mainly in the evenings this week had contributed  to the special feeling of the times they did get together - - as well as feeding into his fantasy that they were  'dating' -- Clark couldn't deny that he'd been missing his  partner in the newsroom. Between his Christmas vacation,  their separate story assignments, and Lois's upcoming days  off, Clark figured that this was going to be the longest  they'd spent working apart since he'd arrived at the  Planet.

It had been after the main excitement was over in the bank  that Clark -- dressed as Superman -- had run into Lois on  the street. He had been just inside the police tape,  helping to scan the sidewalk in front of the bank for  evidence, when he'd heard her voicecoming from around the  corner. She'd been engrossed in conversation with a man and  another woman, and Clark had correctly surmised that the  three of them were on their way to inspect the Chinese  buffet restaurant he knew was a few doors down. When Lois  had seen Superman at the bank, however, she had hesitated,  clearly torn between the story she was already on and a  potential new one.

Clark still remembered how his eyes had widened as they'd  made eye contact, and it had been all he could do to  maintain a professional distance, even as he had briefly  filled her in on the robbery. Every fiber in his being had  wanted to break into a broad smile and allow his eyes to  twinkle at her, but he knew he couldn't risk it. Superman  was one of the biggest obstacles to having Lois see him --  Clark -- as something more than a friend, and the last  thing he needed right now was for Superman to distract Lois  by grinning at her like a darn fool.

Lois, however, had knocked him for a loop by *not* fawning  all over him. Though she had been friendly with the  superhero, and had astounded her awe-struck companions by  making casual introductions, her attention had clearly been  focused on the bank robbery -- and more specifically, on  whether there was a story to be had. For his part, Clark  had felt a mixture of relief and disappointment over Lois's  all-business attitude. Though his hopes for a future with  Lois clearly included her coming to prefer Clark, he had to  admit that he got a little thrill every time Lois looked  adoringly at Superman, and it had been a bit disconcerting  not to be on the receiving end of it this time. But any  disappointment he'd felt had vanished, however, the moment  he had assured her that the Planet was already in  possession of a scoop. "As a matter of fact," Superman had  dropped casually, "Clark just left a few minutes ago to go  write up what the police know so far."

And then it had happened. At the mere mention of her  partner's name, Lois Lane had smiled a smile so warm, so  beautiful, that it had been all Clark could do to keep his  own adoration from registering on his face. Instantly, her  posture had relaxed and she'd agreed that if Clark was on  the job, the story was clearly in good hands. And then she  had rendered Superman even more speechless by grinning and  telling him, "If you see Clark again today, be sure to tell  him I said 'hi'."

The words themselves were nothing special -- Clark knew  that anyone could be expected to offer greetings through a  mutual friend. But the look in Lois's eye as she'd said it,  the warm grin on her face, had looked very familiar. They  had held the very same expression Clark had seen on his own  face in the mirror this morning, as he'd remembered how  much fun he and Lois had had the night before.

Clark sighed happily as he set his mug on the coffee table  and flopped down on his living room couch. Last night had  been wonderful, as special as he could have hoped. He'd  been a little uncertain when he'd seen how tentatively Lois  had taken to the ice, worried that the frustration of  learning something new would ruin her night, but Lois had  proven herself to be a real trooper. She had thrown herself  into relearning the necessary skills, unused since  childhood, and had proven both what natural athleticism and  a good attitude could do. Not that Clark had been  completely unhappy about her initial unsteadiness -- it had  proven a perfect excuse to stick close to her all evening,  holding her hand as they skated together. And  interestingly, Lois hadn't seemed to mind that at all,  either. There had been several times when she'd even  initiated the contact, grabbing onto his arm or placing a  steadying hand on his chest when Clark had been quite  certain she'd been in no immediate danger of falling. But  Clark definitely hadn't protested. If anything, it had only  encouraged him further.

Thinking back on his behavior, Clark rolled his eyes even  as he smiled. He could have been a teenager full of raging  hormones, the way he'd been showing off for her on the ice  last night, with histeasing and touching and circling.  Well, at least the raging hormones part was right, he mused  with a little laugh. When they'd been cuddled up on the  bench and Lois had begun running her fingertips over his  thigh, it had been all he could do to stifle a moan. Every  nerve ending in his body had been on alert, having her  molded so close to him, and it had almost been a relief --  almost, though not quite, he thought, grinning ruefully --  when they'd finished their hot chocolate and started back  to Lois's car.

Still, between his sexual attraction and Lois's  affectionate behavior at the rink, Clark had felt confident  enough to risk taking her hand again as they'd walked. He'd  held his breath as he'd done so, covering it with a playful  tug as he'd coaxed her into taking the side streets, but  when she'd smiled and come along willingly, he felt as if  his heart were swelling in his chest. And when Lois made no  move to let go of his hand as they walked, he'd wanted to  shout with joy.

Of course, he had later experienced a few moments of  nervousness when suggesting they get a bite to eat instead  of going straight home. He'd fully expected Lois to beg off  ... it was getting late, after all, and she'd practically  come straight to the rink from work, stopping home for only  a few minutes to change her clothes. But when she'd  accepted, and actually had seemed pleased that he'd asked,  his confidence had soared once again. Their light banter in  the restaurant, as well as their frequent eye contact and  the way their knees kept brushing against each other under  the table, had sent his hormones into overdrive again, and  he had actually worked up the courage to ask Lois out for  New Year's Eve.

And she'd said yes!

The realization of that made Clark break out into a large  grin. Lois was going out with him on New Year's Eve!  Granted, once again, he hadn't specifically come out and  said it was a real date, but he was becoming more convinced  than ever that Lois was starting to return his interest.  Several times when they'd talked, he'd seen her dip her  head and blush a little under his gaze, then look back up  at him through her lashes in a way that always set his  heart racing. And from the way she'd given his hand a quick  squeeze as they'd said goodbye in the car in front of his  apartment, he couldn't help but hope that she was signaling  her acknowledgement that something had changed between  them.

Clark looked longingly at the telephone. He wanted to call  her, just to hear the sound of her voice, but a quick  glance at the clock dampened his enthusiasm. At nearly  eleven o'clock, it was simply too late to call without a  good reason. Not that Clark didn't think talking to Lois  was a good reason, but he wasn't sure she would agree. No,  it was better not to call, he thought, disappointed but  trying to convince himself. After all, he didn't want to  come on too strong. He could go more than twenty-four hours  without talking to her in depth ... they'd done it before  many times. Granted, not since he'd decided he wanted to  pursue a relationship with Lois, but there was something to  be said for playing hard to get ...

Sighing, Clark picked up his television's remote control  and began running through the cable channels, hoping to  find a program that would take his mind off Lois.  Unfortunately, nothing was doing the trick. Infomercials,  old sitcom reruns, music videos, political analysis ...  even a recap of that afternoon's college football Bowl game  failed to keep his attention. As he reached the Classic  Movie Channel, however, Clark paused. That was what Lois  had been watching the other night, wasn't it? Taking a sip  of his tea, Clark watched the tail end of the credits of an  old black and white movie, wondering if another Hepburn and  Tracey movie would be coming up next. The title of the  upcoming film, however, had Clark sputtering for a moment  as he choked on his drink. "It Happened One Night", with  Clark Gable, was starting in five minutes.

A slow grin began to spread across Clark's face as a plan  began to form in his mind. He had already decided it was  too late to call Lois without a good reason... but didn't  alerting her to the fact that her favorite movie was about  to start constitute the perfect excuse? Reaching for the  phone, Clark laughed out loud, even as he chided himself  about rationalizations. Playing hard to get was fine, but  he now had an excuse to call his partner ... and he wasn't  about to argue with fate!

He'd barely finished dialing, however, when Clark was  interrupted by a knock at his front door. Startled at  first, Clark's puzzled expression turned to one of delight  as he quickly replaced the handset and bounded up the  landing steps to open the door. His partner was standing on  the other side, holding an unopened box of microwave  popcorn.

Clark pulled open the door. "I was just trying to call  you!" he exclaimed, thrilled by this unexpected turn of  events. "'It Happened One Night' is on TV right now."

"I know, that's why I'm here!" Lois said with a grin as she  bustled past him into the apartment. Noting that the  television was already tuned to the right channel, she  plopped herself down on his sofa and beamed at him. "You're  in for a treat!"

Closing the door behind him, Clark happily trotted down the  steps to join her. "Funny, I was just thinking the same  thing," he replied with a grin of his own.

*****

For the first time in her life, Lois found herself watching  the opening credits of her favorite movie ... and not  paying the least bit of attention. She still couldn't quite  believe that she had actually come to Clark's apartment  tonight. She had been longing to see him all day ... which  was exactly why she'd intended to stay away. After last  night's realization that Clark's feelings for her may have  expanded to something beyond simple friendship, Lois had  told herself that she was going to lie low for a while, to  give herself time to reflect on this possible change in  their relationship, and to figure out how she felt about  it. Instead, she hadn't even been able to stay away from  him for twenty-four hours.

Not that she hadn't tried to resist ... she'd actually  paced in her living room for twenty minutes after seeing  the movie's title in the television listings, trying to  convince herself that a phone call was all that was needed  to get Clark to watch the movie. It would have been much  safer just to call, Lois had told herself over and over  again. But for the first time in a very long time, Lois  wasn't sure she wanted to be safe anymore. Ever since she'd  begun to suspect that Clark was interested in pursuing a  romance, she'd been experiencing emotions that she hadn't  thought she was capable of ... and it was a heady feeling.

As they sat next to each other on the couch, Lois chanced a  glance at her partner, watching him as he watched the  movie. His hair was a little mussed, as if he'd just come  in from outside, as he well may have, considering his  casual clothing and athletic shoes. Had he been working  out? He smelled clean and fresh, but from the way his  biceps and pectoral muscles bulged under his t-shirt, she  could imagine him having just come from the gym where he'd  been lifting weights. As her gaze traveled up his neck to  the strong curve of his jaw and his chiseled profile, Lois  felt her heart-rate increase. How was it that she hadn't  noticed immediately how devastatingly handsome Clark was?  She'd always known he was attractive to other women, but it  was only in the last few weeks that she'd admitted to  herself just how much his good looks affected her  personally. Last night, she'd amazed herself by getting  breathless from nothing more than the touch of his hand or  the sparkle in his eyes, and tonight, his grin alone made  her tingle.

Feeling a shiver go down her spine just from the memory,  Lois averted her gaze and wrapped her arms around herself.  The slight shudder of her body hadn't escaped Clark's  attention, however. "Are you cold?" he asked, turning  towards her.

Lois stilled at his question, a little embarrassed that he  had noticed her discomfort, but at the same time, relieved  that he had misinterpreted it. Cold was the last thing that  she was feeling ... to the contrary, the more aware of  Clark she became, the warmer she seemed to feel. Almost as  warm as she'd felt last night, in fact, when Clark had  pulled her close to him on the bench and she'd snuggled up  against his body ... and she couldn't help but wonder how  it would feel to have him do it again. "Oh ... just a  little bit chilly," she lied.

Clark's brow furrowed in concern. "I'm sorry," he said,  moving as if to stand. "Let me turn up the heat."

Lois's eyes widened. Whoops! That was definitely not the  intended effect. She quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him.  "No, no, that's OK," she said, hoping her voice wouldn't  squeak. "I'm sure I'll be fine soon."

A brief look of puzzlement crossed Clark's face, but it was  quickly replaced with a smile as he settled back into the  couch. "Well, at least let me warm you up," he offered,  wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her a bit  more closely to him.

Lois couldn't help but smile triumphantly as she snuggled  into him. "Thanks, Clark," she said, resting her head  against his shoulder.

"You're very welcome," he murmured, pulling her closer  still.

Stifling another shiver at the husky tone in his voice,  Lois slipped off her shoes and curled her legs beneath her  on the couch as she tried to concentrate on the movie. She  succeeded for a while, laughing with Clark over the  bantering of the characters, but it wasn't long before she  became even more aware of their position. Her knees had  fallen to one side as she'd relaxed into him, and they were  now resting directly over Clark's thighs. Lois couldn't  help but notice how intimately their bodies were molded  together, but she didn't dare chance another look at Clark  to see if he had noticed it, too. Still, from the way he  was holding her, she had a strong feeling that he was as  acutely aware of her as she was of him.

Lois closed her eyes on a contented sigh as she marveled at  how good it felt to be with Clark like this. She was  feeling incredibly attracted to him right now and part of  her couldn't help but wonder what it might be like to kiss  him, really kiss him. But at the same time, Lois held back,  feeling almost guilty for her thoughts. What if she had  guessed wrong, and Clark wasn't as interested in her as she  was starting to suspect? Was it wrong to feel this way  about him? After all, he was her best friend, the best  friend she'd ever had, and it almost felt like she was  cheating on their friendship by developing a crush on him  like this. Still, as Lois began to get drowsy, the number  of late nights this week finally catching up with her, she  found herself burrowing even closer to him, wondering what  it might be like to have Clark as more than just a friend  ...

*

In a dreamy haze, Lois sat on the foot of her bed, watching  the credits roll on her favorite movie, then turned to the  man lying beside her. They'd been watching a little  television together before going out for the evening, but  Clark had fallen asleep while he was waiting for her. With  a smile, Lois reached out to brush back a lock of dark hair  that had fallen casually over his forehead, and felt a  mixture of tenderness and passion fill her veins. She knew  Clark was attracted to her ... very attracted. It was clear  in the way he looked at her and spoke to her, in the way  that his eyes sparkled when he teased her and softened when  he complimented her. And the affection -- and desire -- in  his touch was obvious.

So far, she'd been holding back, but his obvious crush had  caused her to develop one of her own. After all, what  wasn't to like? Clark was smart and funny and attractive  ... amazingly, breathtakingly attractive. Lois sighed  contentedly, tracing the contours of his cheekbones with  her fingertips. The more time they spent together, the more  drawn to him she'd become.

Still, something was holding her back, no matter how strong  the feelings had become. She had a boyfriend, after all,  and she didn't want to cheat on him. He was safe and good  to her. He kept her company and he made her feel secure.  She didn't want to lose him, but if she gave into these  feelings for Clark, she could do just that -- lose him,  forever. So she hung back, as hard as it was, even when  Clark looked this wonderful, when he left her tingling with  the faintest touch, and when his very smile could make her  heart flutter in her chest. Lois loved her boyfriend, she  really did, which was why she'd been so loyal to him all  this time. But in her heart, she knew that something was  missing. He was ... too safe. Too predictable. She loved  him, but she wasn't in love with him. He offered  companionship, but no romance.

But as Lois was quickly coming to realize, she wanted  romance ... she wanted to be in love. Clark offered her  that, or at least a chance at that. Yet it was risky,  dangerous ... her boyfriend was her best friend and she  didn't want to lose him. But Clark looked so wonderful,  lying here on her bed, waiting for her.... Where were they  going again? Ice-skating? Swimming? She could drown in his  eyes....

Thoughts of her boyfriend faded, along with her reluctance.

Lois fluffed her hair in the mirror then turned back to  Clark. She smiled softly and leaned over him. "Wake up,  sleepy head," she whispered tenderly, then lowered her  mouth to press the barest whisper of a kiss against his  lips.

She didn't think he would awaken, she'd spoken so quietly,  but his eyes fluttered open just as she lowered his mouth  to his. Lois stilled momentarily, uncertain, but Clark  slowly lifted his head to complete the kiss. His lips were  so soft, it felt at first as if they were barely kissing,  but then the tip of Clark's tongue gently brushed against  her bottom lip. Lois opened her mouth, caressing his tongue  with hers, then moaned quietly as Clark pulled her down on  top of him, cradling her in his arms as she were the most  precious thing in the world to him.

A feeling of heat built in her heart, but quickly dropped  into her abdomen, where it swirled, leaving her breathless.  These whispers of kisses, so soft, so tender, made her feel  more desire than she'd ever felt in her life. This was what  she'd wanted ... this was right ...

This was Clark.

*

Lois awoke with a start, then stilled, struggling to get  her bearings. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings  ... she was lying on Clark's couch, her head cradled in his  lap as she faced the television. Through sleepy eyes, she  could make out an unfamiliar black and white movie  flickering silently across the screen, casting a faint  light in the otherwise darkened room. The sound of Clark's  steady breathing reached her ears, and if it hadn't been  for the gentle way his fingers were stroking her hair, she  might have guessed that he had fallen asleep, too.

Lois closed her eyes once again, trying to hold onto the  feeling that she now realized she'd experienced in a dream.  Normally, she'd have felt embarrassed about dreaming of  kissing Clark while he was with her, but the feeling inside  her was too pleasant to let go. She wanted to hold onto it,  to remember it, to enjoy it. Her lower body still felt warm  and full from the effects of the kiss, and she couldn't  help but inhale deeply as she replayed it in her mind.

All too soon, however, the memories began to fade as she  came more fully awake, and Lois stretched slowly out on the  couch. She felt Clark stir above her, and she slowly rolled  to her back to look up at him. His eyes were at half-mast,  proving to her that he'd been resting, but his expression  was warm. "Mmm," Lois murmured. "When did I fall asleep?"

"About an hour ago," he murmured back, still stroking her  hair. "Maybe a little more."

"I missed half the movie."

Clark shook his head. "It's OK," he whispered. "I watched  it for you. You were right; I liked it."

Lois gave him a sleepy smile. "I knew you would." A moment  later, however, she looked at him more closely, remembering  something. "Did you ever say 'wake up, sleepy head'?"

Clark gave a quiet laugh. "A little while ago, when the  movie ended. I didn't think you heard it."

Lois sighed, pleased. "I didn't really ... I said it to you  in my dream."

"You were dreaming about me?"

"Mmm," she replied, smiling. "We were watching the movie in  my bedroom but you feel asleep."

He gave a little grin. "I didn't know you had a TV in your  bedroom."

Lois laughed. "I don't. But you know how dreams can be.  Things happen in them that could never happen ... in real  life." Her words trailed off into a whisper as she felt her  gaze flicker to his lips and she remembered once again what  she'd been dreaming about. "Do you ever dream about me?"  she whispered, almost breathless.

"All the time," he answered, his voice low and husky.

Lois returned his gaze, getting lost in his eyes just as  she had in her dream. She could feel the warm pressure of  his left hand where it rested on her stomach, and she  slowly covered it with her own hand. Absently tracing  gentle patterns on the back of Clark's hand with her  fingertips, she echoed the tender movements of his right  hand in her hair and wondered if it felt as good to him as  it did to her. It would have been so easy to stay, to  cuddle back into his arms and fall asleep with him holding  her ... but while the idea was enticing, it was also  dangerous. "It's getting late," Lois finally whispered  reluctantly. "And we have to work in the morning."

Nodding, Clark released her hand and helped her to sit up.  He smiled reassuringly, making her wonder if he could read  her mind. "I know ... and my couch can't be as comfortable  as your own bed."

Lois gave him a little smile as she slipped her shoes back  on. "I don't know about that ... I did have a pretty nice  dream."

Clark gave her a slow grin. "I'm glad to hear it."

As Lois reached for her purse, however, intending to dig  out her car keys, she stopped suddenly. "Oh, shoot, I  forgot ... I need to call a cab."

"You took a cab here?" he asked in surprise. "What's wrong  with your Jeep?"

Lois shook her head. "Nothing ... I just loaned it to Lucy  this evening."

Now Clark looked very surprised -- and very amused. "Now  wait a minute," he said, chuckling. "Is this the same  sister you swore would never be allowed to even wash your  car, let alone drive it?"

Lois laughed, even as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, she  was begging and I finally gave in. She has a friend from  high school who just had a baby and she wanted to go visit  her in the hospital. The subway wasn't very convenient, and  I figured that even Lucy couldn't get into too much trouble  in a hospital parking lot." She gave him a rueful smile.  "Though I'm fully aware I may live to regret those words."

Clark grinned. "Well, it's not like she's taking it on a  stake-out in Suicide Slum."

Lois's jaw dropped as she pretended to be outraged at his  implication. "I'll have you know I take very good care of  my vehicle!"

He nodded in agreement. "Sure you do ... your car needs to  be in good shape to drive over curbs and sidewalks when  traffic is being too slow."

"That was once!" Lois exclaimed, then shook her head when  she saw that he was laughing. "Just wait, Kent ... I'll get  you for that."

"I'm counting on it," Clark replied, shooting her a flirty  grin.

Lois smiled but didn't dare let herself respond to the  comment. Feeling the way she felt right now, it would be  far too dangerous. "So are you going to call me a cab," she  asked him sweetly, "or am I going to have to use Claudette  Colbert's trick in the movie of showing some leg out on the  street?"

Clark looked her up and down, not even trying to hide the  appreciation in his gaze. "If I call the cab, will you show  me some leg?" he teased. He caught Lois's hand as she tried  to smack him and laughed out loud. "OK, OK, one cab coming  up."

It didn't take long for him to make the arrangements, and  Lois was pleasantly surprised to find that the dispatcher  had only predicted a short wait. Although her nap had taken  the edge off her sleepiness, Lois was still tired and more  than ready to crawl into bed. Tonight had turned into  another late night, and although she had enjoyed the  company immensely, she knew tomorrow night would be busy as  well. Pulling her coat from where she had draped it over  the far end of the sofa, Lois stood and handed it to Clark,  letting him help her into it. "So we're still on for  tomorrow night, right?" she asked, slipping her arms into  the sleeves.

"New Year's Eve? Absolutely," he replied. "I can't wait."  As he rested his hands on her shoulders, however, she heard  him pause, then he continued a bit more slowly. "You know  ... the party at the club doesn't really get started until  late ... at least nine o'clock." His voice took on a more  hesitant tone. "Would you, um ... I mean, would you like to  ..."

Lois turned to face him. "Like to what?"

He looked into her eyes. "Would you like to come over for  dinner tomorrow night, before we go out? Say maybe around  seven?"

Lois swallowed, her new-found realization of Clark's  intentions giving her pause. Clark had cooked for her  several times in the months that she'd known him, and she'd  never interpreted his invitations as having romantic  undertones. But things were different now. No longer could  she pretend that friendship was the only thing between  them. By accepting this invitation, Lois knew she was  signaling her willingness to explore the possibility of  more, at least in her own mind ... and it was clear from  the earnest expression on Clark's face that he was looking  for a signal as well.

The imagery of her recent dream flickered unbidden into  Lois's mind. Though she'd initially been confused by the  contradictions within it -- she had no absent boyfriend who  she was loyal to over Clark -- the meaning was so clear to  her now. There was only one man in her dream, and only one  man who, she had come to realize, mattered above everyone  else in her life. But the question still remained ... was  she willing to risk cheating on Clark, her best friend, to  take a chance on Clark, her potential boyfriend?

Finally making her decision, Lois let out a breath she  hadn't even known she'd been holding. "I'd love to come for  dinner tomorrow, Clark," she said softly.

Clark, too, exhaled as he broke into a smile, and Lois  realized just how anxious he'd been. Did she do that to  him? Make him nervous? Or was he simply responding to her  the way she had been responding to him over the last few  days ... by getting breathless just from looking into her  eyes? Either way, she felt a tug in her heart, a yearning  to give him the sign he was looking for, to let him know  that she felt it, too, whatever it was that was happening  between them. Before she could make a sound, however, the  beep of a horn outside Clark's apartment interrupted them.

"There's your cab," Clark murmured, sighing a bit as he  looked over her shoulder to the door. "That was fast."

Lois couldn't help but smile as she heard the  disappointment in his voice. She felt the same way, but it  was good to know that at least she was reading Clark's  signals correctly. She pulled her coat more tightly around  her. "I guess I should get going then."

As he accompanied her up the landing steps, however, Clark  grabbed his jacket. "I'll walk you out," he said, slipping  it on as he opened the door for her.

Lois glanced up at him as they stepped into the cold night  air and, after a moment's hesitation, slipped her hand into  his as they walked towards the street. Her heart skipped a  beat when he immediately met her gaze and smiled. She  detected a note of questioning in his eyes, but even more,  there was a look of wonderment and delight that made her  feel as if she were the most precious woman in the world.

All too soon, however, they reached the curb and Clark  opened the door to the cab. Lois stood in the cradle of the  door for a moment and nearly forgot to breathe when Clark  took both of her hands in his. "I'm so glad you came over  tonight," he murmured, looking deeply into her eyes.

She couldn't help but match his tender expression. "So am  I," she whispered back. "I had a wonderful time."

"Me too," he said, giving her a little smile, even as his  gaze flickered to her mouth.

Lois felt her heart begin to pound in her chest, and she,  too, found herself watching his lips even as she began to  lean towards him. She could see the longing in his eyes ...  he was going to kiss her ... really kiss her ... and she  was going to kiss him back. As she felt his warm breath on  her face, her eyes fluttered closed, waiting ...

"Hey, lady, are you getting in or not?" the cab driver  suddenly barked. "It's freezing out there and you're  letting all the cold air in!"

Lois's eyes flew open and she saw that Clark looked at  shocked as she felt. She watched as he closed his eyes  briefly, jaw clenched, and knew that was he was surely  mentally cursing the man for breaking the moment. The idea  was suddenly too much for her, and she began to giggle, her  body shaking with barely suppressed laughter.

When Clark's eyes opened, she began to laugh even harder at  the befuddlement on his face, but it wasn't long before he  began chuckling as well. Lois gave his hands an  affectionate squeeze as she laughed. "Good night, Clark."

Shaking his head with a rueful smile, Clark squeezed her  hands in return, but after a moment's hesitation, he  quickly released one in order to cup her cheek. Leaning  forward, he pressed a quick peck of a kiss to her mouth,  then backed away. "Good night, Lois," he replied.

Lois grinned at him, even as she slipped inside the cab,  letting Clark close the door from the outside. Giving the  driver her address, she couldn't help but look over her  shoulder as they pulled away from the curb. She watched  through the rear window all the way down the block, as  Clark stood on the curb, smiling after the cab.

Part 7

At a little before seven o'clock on Saturday evening -- New  Year's Eve -- Clark found himself humming along with the  jazz music playing in his apartment as he worked over his  stove. Lifting the lid from the pot on the right rear  burner, he stirred it carefully, then made a minor  adjustment to the temperature underneath to bring it down  to a more gentle simmer. Satisfied that the main course was  progressing nicely, he returned his attention to the  vegetables on his cutting board.

Catching himself glancing at the clock for the fifth time  in as many minutes, Clark reminded himself to concentrate  on the meal he was preparing, not on the fact that Lois  could be arriving at any moment. He would have been more  than happy to spend the entire time remembering how good it  had felt to hold her last night as they'd watched the  movie, or how wonderful it had been to share that all-too- short kiss as she'd entered the cab, but he knew just how  distracted it could make him. As it was, Superman had  nearly knocked over the cellular tower on top of the  Metropolis Grand Hotel this afternoon because he'd been too  lost in his romantic fantasies to watch where he was going!

With a quiet chuckle at the memory, Clark set about slicing  carrots and recalled how surprised -- and pleased -- he'd  been to see Lois in the newsroom today. He was scheduled to  work the entire weekend because of his earlier vacation,  but Lois's time off was supposed to have started today, so  he hadn't been expected to see her at all until tonight. To  his great delight, however, she had ambled her way into the  newsroom a little after ten o'clock in the morning, looking  adorable in a pair of jeans and a sweater, and claiming  that she wanted to get a headstart writing up her story  notes for her health inspection piece.

Since Clark had been busy working up a background piece on  a corporate embezzlement trial that would be getting under  way after the holidays, they hadn't been able to spend a  great deal of time together. Still, there had been a long  enough lull in the day's activities to allow them to  exchange a secretly amused glance as Jimmy had lamented the  fact that he'd have to spend all day cleaning his apartment  if he wanted to invite Angela over for New Year's Eve, as  well as share a commiserating smile later when Perry had  launched into yet another Elvis story. Even better,  however, was having Lois suggest they grab a sandwich for  lunch and eat it together in the conference room. Although  neither of them had mentioned their movie-watching from the  previous night -- or the good-night kiss they'd briefly  shared -- in between bites, they'd laughed themselves silly  over some of the stories Lois had collected during her  field investigation, and Clark had found himself thinking  yet again how lucky he was to have her in his life.

Of course, Clark had been forced to leave a few times over  the course of the day to change into Superman, but  fortunately, it had always been during moments when Lois  had been busy enough with her own work not to have noticed.  This had been quite a relief to him, to be sure ... Clark  was well aware that his "disappearing act", as Lois had  recently started calling it, could seriously derail any  relationship between them if she wasn't in on his secret  identity. Fortunately, it hadn't been an issue this week,  between Superman being in relatively low demand and Lois  working away from the newsroom, but Clark couldn't deny  that he was finding himself thinking more and more about  sharing his secret with her. And, even more amazingly, for  the first time in his life the idea of telling someone else  didn't totally terrify him.

Smiling softly, Clark rinsed a handful of mushrooms in the  sink, readying them to go into the stew. His whole life,  he'd been hiding who he was, yet it seemed that from the  moment he'd met Lois, he'd been drawn to her. There was  something about her that made him want to tell her  everything ... and from the way things seemed to be going  between them, maybe sooner than he'd expected. But not  tonight ... as often as he found himself fantasizing about  having Lois as his girlfriend, or even his wife, he didn't  want to get ahead of himself. He still wasn't sure when --  or if -- she would come to return the deepest of his  feelings. Though, Clark had to admit, he was letting  himself get more and more hopeful with each moment he and  Lois spent together.

Last night, in particular, had gone so well that it was  hard not to take it as a sign that his campaign to woo her  was working. He'd been so careful to move slowly these past  several days, ready to back off the instant he noticed any  reluctance or discomfort on her part ... but last night, it  had been all he could do let her get in the cab with only a  peck instead of kissing her senseless. The way she had  molded herself against him as they'd watched television had  left his heart pounding and his body aching for more. In  fact, Clark thought with a rueful shake of his head, the  fact that she had fallen asleep in his arms was the only  thing that had prevented him from giving in to his desires  and covering her mouth with his during a particularly  romantic part of the movie.

Clark gave a low growl, his hands stilling over the  counter, the carrots he'd been slicing completely  forgotten. Did Lois have any idea what she did to him? Was  she even aware of how strongly it affected him when she  nuzzled into his neck as she drifted off to sleep or let  her fingertips trace gentle patterns over his thigh? While  it was true that Lois had often flirted with him over the  last several months, he'd never really believed that she'd  meant anything by it before, or interpreted her  affectionate touches as any type of sexual signal. But last  night -- this entire week, really -- things had been  different. Lately, it had seemed as if she'd gone out of  her way to touch him, and to get him to touch her. He even  suspected that she'd been pretending to be cold last night  as an excuse to cuddle so close to him on the couch -- not  that he'd needed much prompting! And when she'd taken his  hand last night as he'd walked her out ... his heart had  soared.

Still, the insecure parts of his psyche couldn't help but  worry ... was it possible that he was simply projecting his  own hopes and desires onto Lois's behavior, and reading  signals that weren't really there? Was it possible that she  had merely accepted his good night kiss, instead of  welcoming it? Clark shook his head, refusing to give into  the thoughts. God help him, he really did believe that Lois  was interested in something more than friendship. And  tonight, he was going to make sure she understood that he  felt the same way.

Tonight, Lois Lane would find out what it was like to  really be romanced by Clark Kent.

*****

At ten minutes after seven o'clock, Lois stood on Clark's  doorstep, biting her lip nervously as she waited for him to  respond to her knock. Though she'd made a conscious  decision last night to accept his dinner invitation,  knowing full well that she was sending a signal that she  was romantically interested in him, she'd found herself  getting more and more nervous the closer she got to his  place.

Lois had finally admitted to herself that she was longing  for romance in her life, that she wanted candlelit dinners  and slow-dancing and good-night kisses. And Clark, indeed,  was bringing out romantic feelings in her that she'd  thought she'd buried long ago. His brief good-night kiss  last night had been wonderfully sweet, but her doubts and  fears continued to simmer below the surface when she wasn't  with him. What if she had misinterpreted his intentions?  Was it possible that he was having second thoughts about  what was happening between them? Certainly he hadn't  attempted to kiss her or touch her in the newsroom today.  At the time, she'd appreciated him not drawing attention to  their budding romance at work, but could it be that he was  actually embarrassed about it? Perhaps, for Clark, tonight  was only about two friends getting together on New Year's  Eve because they had nothing better to do ... or maybe he'd  been regretting he'd asked her out at all ...

As the door swung open, however, and she saw the delighted  expression on Clark's face, she felt her anxiety begin to  fade. Almost despite herself, she gave him a shy smile.  "Hi."

"Hi!" he exclaimed, clearly pleased to see her. "Come on  in."

"Thanks." Lois stepped onto his landing and pulled off her  gloves, shoving them into her coat pockets. "Sorry I'm  late."

After shutting the door behind her, Clark helped her off  with her coat. "No, you're fine. Dinner's not even ready  yet."

Lois nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to walk from the  landing to the living room. "I hope you didn't go too much  trouble ..." As she glanced around Clark's apartment,  however, Lois trailed off, her eyes widening at the sight.  "Clark, your apartment looks amazing!" she gasped. And  indeed it did. He had moved his table from its normal  position near the wine rack, giving it center stage between  the kitchen and the living room, and an elegant table  service had been laid out over layers of dark plaid linens.  Several tall candles flickered on an array of beautiful  candlesticks, while another arrangement of candles  decorated the coffee table. In the dimmed light of the  living room, soft jazz music was playing quietly in the  background, and Clark's large Christmas tree was twinkling  with hundreds of tiny multi-colored lights. Only his  kitchen, where Lois could see evidence of food preparation,  was brightly lit. The stage was not set for a blatant  seduction -- thank goodness, Lois thought, for such a  display might have had her bolting for the door, as nervous  as she was already feeling -- but this was clearly more  than just a friendly meal. This was something special.  "Wow," she said breathlessly.

Clark was echoing the word, but instead of studying the  apartment, he was gazing at the woman before him. "Wow," he  said, appearing almost stunned. "Lois, you look  incredible."

Lois felt her cheeks begin to warm as she met his eyes. She  had chosen her outfit with great care this evening, not  even trying to deny to herself that she was hoping to make  an impression on Clark. Her black skirt was just long  enough not to be labeled obscene, and while the cut of the  gray knit top she'd chosen was conservative, it clearly  showed off her curves to their best advantage. She'd also  retrieved her lone pair of stylish black high-heeled boots  from her sister, knowing that they would do the same for  her legs. For her hair, she'd forgone the curly look she  usually used for dressy occasions, choosing instead to  style her hair into soft face-framing waves. It was a  younger, more carefree look, but for some reason, it had  been just what she'd wanted for this evening. And from the  way Clark's mouth was hanging open, she had apparently hit  upon just the right combination.

She smiled, pleased with his reaction. Then she noticed the  way he was dressed and felt her breath catch in her throat.  He wasn't showing off his body the way she was, but between  Clark's dark charcoal dress pants and black button-down  shirt, Lois was sure that he'd have every woman in the  dance club competing for his phone number when they went  out later that night. "Thanks ... you look fantastic  yourself," she added, swallowing. "Black is definitely your  color."

Clark blushed slightly. "Thank you." Resting a gentle hand  on the small of her back, he accompanied her down the  landing and into the living room. "I'm just putting the  finishing touches on the meal ... would you like a glass of  wine while we're waiting?"

"That would be wonderful, Clark." As they neared the  kitchen, Lois inhaled, taking in the enticing aroma in the  air. "Mmm, whatever it is, it smells delicious."

Pausing at the table, Clark poured two glasses from an open  bottle of wine and handed her one with a smile. "Thanks,"  he said. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

Just then a beeping sound could be heard from the stove,  and Lois watched as Clark moved to the counter and silenced  a small electronic timer. Turning to the stove, he lifted  the lid off one of the two large pots simmering on the back  burner and stirred the contents. "Does ten minutes sound  all right, to start eating?" he asked her. "The stew is  pretty much done, so I could start the noodles anytime."

Lois watched wide-eyed, amazed at his proficiency in the  kitchen. He had actually cooked something with multiple  ingredients? "That sounds great ... but Clark, if I had  known it was going to be this much work for you, I would  have suggested we go out to eat. I didn't mean to put you  out."

He looked up in surprise. "Put me out? Lois, no ... I love  doing this stuff. My mom got me a French cookbook for  Christmas and this was the perfect excuse to try out a new  recipe." He shot her a grin. "Besides, I read your story  notes ... do you really want to eat out now that you know  what goes on in restaurant kitchens?"

Lois couldn't help but laugh. "OK, fair enough," she said,  taking a sip of her wine. "So what exactly are we having?"

Clark began adding egg noodles to the large pot of water  boiling on his stove. "I hope you like beef bourguignonne."

She gaped at him, convinced she'd heard him wrong. "You  made beef bourguignonne?"

"Don't look at me like that," he laughed. "It sounds harder  than it is, really." He adjusted the heat on each burner  then leaned against the counter, smiling at her. "But if it  impresses you, I can say it was really complicated."

Lois was still astounded. "I would definitely be  impressed."

Clark's smile broadened into a sexy grin. "It was really  complicated."

Feeling more than a little breathless from the way he was  looking at her, Lois found she had to stifle a little  giggle. Was the wine affecting her already? Giving him a  teasing smile, she pretended to fan herself. "Best pick-up  line I've heard all day."

Clark laughed. "Seriously, though, I really do enjoy  cooking. It relaxes me." He took a sip of his wine, seeming  to be picking his words. "Sometimes ... it feels as if my  life is racing by and it's all I can do to hold on."

Lois nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. "It gets crazy  sometimes, doesn't it? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love  the pace of the newsroom ... but sometimes ..."

"Sometimes you wonder if there isn't something more," he  finished. "And you feel this need to step back and  regroup."

"Yes, exactly!" Lois agreed readily, surprising herself.  This was something she'd often felt,but had never felt able  to voice, afraid that anyone she confessed to would take it  as a sign of weakness. Yet for some reason, she felt  comfortable admitting her feelings to Clark.

"I think that's why I like cooking so much," he continued  thoughtfully. "When I take the time make a special meal, I  feel like I'm slowing things down ... honoring the way  things used to be done. We spend so much time in a hectic  world, that sometimes I just need to reconnect to a simpler  time ... a time when food was meant to be savored and  shared, not just consumed on the run." When Lois just  stared at him, enthralled, Clark blushed. "I'm sorry," he  said, smiling self-consciously. "I didn't mean to get all  philosophical there." He shot her a lopsided grin. "This is  my first glass of wine, I promise."

Lois shook her head. "No, don't apologize," she insisted,  stepping forward to lay a gentle hand on his arm. "I  thought it was fascinating."

With a look of tenderness and appreciation, Clark covered  her hand with his. "Thank you," he whispered, looking into  her eyes.

"You're welcome," she whispered back, feeling herself lean  into him. All too soon, however, the timer on Clark's  counter beeped again, causing them each to startle  slightly. "I guess I should let you get that," she said, a  little sheepish.

Clark glanced at the stove and sighed. "Yeah ... I guess,"  he agreed reluctantly.

"I'll stay out of your way, I promise," she said, moving to  the other end of the kitchen.

His eyes instantly met hers, and his voice took on a husky  tone. "Lois, you could never be in the way."

Lois felt her cheeks begin to warm from the way he was  looking at her, but she knew from experience that she and  kitchens didn't mix. "It'd be safer with me back here," she  said with a little grin. "I don't want to take the chance  of messing anything up."

Clark chuckled. "OK, if you say so. I'm almost done  anyway."

From her vantage point at the far counter, Lois watched as  Clark moved expertly through the final meal preparations  and she couldn't help but be intrigued. How was it that she  hadn't noticed before what a strong physical presence he  had? His movements were fluid, graceful, and confident, and  Lois found herself smiling softly. He was a pleasure to  watch, even if she had no idea what he was doing as he  assembled the various courses.

Glancing around, Lois noticed a cookbook resting on the  counter by her arm, and she reached for it, wondering if it  was the book Clark had used to prepare their meal. As she  began to thumb through it, however, she found to her  astonishment that she couldn't read a word. "Clark!"

Having finished at the stove, Clark was retrieving their  salads from the refrigerator, and he smiled as he saw what  she was looking at. "I told you it was a French cookbook,"  he said. His tone was innocent, but Lois could have sworn  she saw his eyes twinkling with amusement behind his  glasses.

"Yes, but it's written in French!" she exclaimed as she set  it back on the counter and approached the table.

His eyes opened wide with pretend shock. "It *is*? I wonder  what it was that I actually made for dinner, then."

Lois tried to roll her eyes at him, but her laughter made  it hard to do it effectively.

Clark simply grinned as he set their salads down on the  table and refilled their wine glasses. When his tasks were  complete, he gave her an inviting smile and held out her  chair. "Come on, I'm ready to serve."

When they were both seated, Lois picked up her salad fork  and took a bite. The dark greens were so fresh and  flavorful, she would have sworn they were fresh-picked if  it hadn't been the middle of winter. "Hmm," she sighed.  "Clark, this is great."

He offered her a basket of warm French bread. "Thank you  ... I'm glad you like it."

"Seriously, though, can you really read it?" she asked,  curiously, still wondering about the cookbook. "Even though  it's in French?"

"Yes, I really can," Clark admitted. Then he gave her a  grin. "It would have been a funny gift if I couldn't,  though. Probably just the sort of thing my mom would do,  too. Just to tease me."

Lois laughed again. She was discovering that there was a  lot about Clark she didn't know. "So when did you study  French?" she asked as they ate. "In high school? Or  college?"

Clark shook his head. "Neither, actually. I took Spanish in  high school, then I studied a few other languages in  college ... German, Russian, Chinese ... but--" He took a  sip of his wine. "Most of them, including French, I just  picked up on my own when I was traveling."

"Most of them?" Lois asked, surprised and impressed. Had  anyone else told her such a thing, she would have assumed  he was either joking or flat out lying, but for some  reason, she just knew that Clark was telling the truth.  "Just how many languages do you speak?"

From the way he hesitated, Lois had the feeling she had  embarrassed him. "Well ... I like to joke that I can order  dinner in three hundred and forty-seven languages," he  finally replied, shooting her a little grin. "But that's  kind of an exaggeration since a fair number of those are  local dialects that I've picked up in various places." He  shrugged, his expression an adorable mix of pride and  modesty. "But I can pretty much get by anywhere in the  world."

"That's amazing," she replied, feeling more than a little  awe-struck. "You must have a real talent for it."

Clark nodded slowly, now looking almost perplexed. "They  just ... come naturally to me. I'm not really sure how to  explain it. I've been told that once you learn a few  languages, new ones come more easily, so maybe that's part  of it. But I don't know ... I guess I've come to the  conclusion that it's something you're born with, like  people who can figure out complicated calculus problems in  their head or what have you." He set his fork on top of his  empty salad plate, and gave her a self-conscious smile.  "Anyway, that's my theory."

Lois rested her chin on her hand as she listened to him  speak. She was seeing a new side of Clark tonight, a more  open, personal side, and she found it completely  fascinating ... and extremely attractive. There was so much  more to Clark than she'd ever imagined, and she couldn't  help but feel a little regretful for how she'd dismissed  him as nothing more than a small-town hick when they'd  first met. Why hadn't she taken the time to learn all this  about him before? "So what's your favorite?" she asked,  smiling across the table at him. "Of all the languages you  know."

"Hmm, that's a good question. No one has ever asked me that  before." He pondered for a moment. "I guess I'd have to say  Italian, though that could be because I was just reading  some poetry so it's fresh in my mind. But I think it's a  beautiful language to listen to ... it's so lyrical."

"You read Italian poetry?"

His eyes softened as he began to recite for her. "Trovommi  Amor del tutto disarmato ... et aperta la via per gli occhi  al core ... che di lagrime son fatti uscio et varco."

"Wow," Lois whispered when he had finished, feeling a  little breathless.

"It's from a sonnet by Francesco Petrarca," he explained  quietly, gazing into her eyes. "He wrote it in the  fourteenth century. 'Love found me all disarmed, and found  the way was clear ... to reach my heart down through my  eyes ... which have become the halls and doors of tears.'"

"That's beautiful," she murmured.

He reached across the table and rested his hand on hers.  "Almost as beautiful as you are."

Feeling her heart swell in her chest, Lois opened her mouth  to respond, but was interrupted by another beeping sound  from the kitchen. She watched as Clark sat back, giving a  little growl.

"Oh, for the love of-- I swear I'm going to break that  timer," he announced with a exasperated laugh.

Lois couldn't help but laugh with him, but she didn't miss  the heated look he gave her. "That sound is probably  telling you our dinner is ready, isn't it?" she asked.

Clark gave a heavy sigh, though a smile was playing on the  corners of his mouth. "I guess I should get it, huh?"

Lois gave him a coy smile. "You did go to all the trouble  of making it for me."

The corners of his eyes crinkled. "That I did." He winked  at her and stood up. "OK, beef bourguignonne for two,  coming right up."

*****

As she finished the final course of their delicious meal, a  sinfully rich chocolate mousse, Lois found herself watching  Clark appreciatively while they talked. Although they'd  been distracted from their poetry discussion, it hadn't  taken them long to find new topics of conversation. Indeed,  Lois couldn't think of another person in her life with whom  she'd ever been able to converse this easily. The  conversation had flowed easily from topic to topic, and  she'd found it a little amazing that they could discuss  everything from such light topics as the Christmas presents  they'd given and received this year, to more serious ones,  such as Lois's concerns over her sister not finishing  college and the challenges Clark had encountered in his  early freelance career. But no matter the depth of  conversation, Lois could honestly say that she'd never felt  this kind of connection with anyone before.

She also hadn't failed to notice that Clark had turned out  the main lights in the kitchen before returning to the  table with their meals, leaving them to dine entirely in  candlelight. The atmosphere, already charged, had become  even more romantic, and Lois had found herself wondering  how she ever could have doubted that he was interested in  her. They'd found several opportunities to initiate contact  with each other during the meal, whether it was the gentle  way their legs kept brushing against each other as they  shifted in their chairs, or the subtle yet meaningful  touches they kept exchanging during their conversations.  And more than once, Lois had felt herself getting lost in  Clark's eyes ... and had seen the same combination of  desire and affection reflected on his face.

Unable to deny the spark between them, Lois slowly ran her  hand through her hair as she listened to Clark mention that  the wine they were drinking had been one of his Christmas  presents. When he commented good-naturedly that he didn't  consider himself a collector, but neither did he seem to be  able to stop himself from trying new wines that caught his  attention, she couldn't help but flash him an intrigued  smile. "You have wide interests for a farmboy from Kansas,  Mr. Kent," she observed. "I must say I'm very impressed."  Her eyes twinkling, she looked at him speculatively. "Hmm,  so what else is there to learn about you?"

He shot her a flirty grin. "That's for me to know and you  to find out."

"Ah, a challenge! OK, let me think," Lois said, settling  back in her chair and studying him. "I already know you  double-majored in History and English in college ... and  that you attended on a football scholarship. Hmm, what  about high school? I bet you graduated at the top of your  class."

Clark just smiled. "Nope." When Lois lifted her eyebrows  questioningly, however, he acquiesced. "Oh, all right, all  right ... I was second."

She laughed. "Who was first?"

"Her name was Lana Lang." He rolled his eyes, even as he  gave a little chuckle. "She wanted it more."

With a smile, Lois took a sip of her wine, contemplating  Clark's response. "Was your high school competitive? In my  school, grades were so important to the top students that  even friends competed over who could do better."

He thought for a moment. "It wasn't really like that in  Smallville," he answered. "I mean, there was certainly some  conflict, because with only forty kids in a graduating  class, it's hard to avoid someone if you have a personality  clash with them. But at the same time, it can make everyone  a lot closer, too."

"Did you have personality conflicts with this Lana?"

Clark opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again.  "No comment," he finally said on a grin.

Lois laughed out loud. "No fair, no fair ... spill it! With  a response like that, you either hated her or dated her."  At the expression on Clark's face, however, Lois sat up  straighter. "Oh my God, you dated her!"

"How 'bout some more of that chocolate mousse--"

"Good try, Kent." She grinned at him. "Clarkie had a  girlfriend, Clarkie had a girlfriend," she teased. "Come  on, dish the dirt."

"Oh, geez, Lois. There's no dirt."

"You were farmers; there had to be dirt."

"Ha ha, very funny." But when Lois just looked expectantly  at him, he finally rolled his eyes in defeat. "Fine ... we  dated for six months; it didn't work out; we were broken up  by spring of our senior year. We went to different colleges  and now she's married to a guy who graduated high school a  year after us." He gave her an indulgent smile. "Happy?"

"Very. Now was that so hard?"

"No."

She smiled triumphantly. "Of course not. So let me guess --  she was a blonde?"

Clark looked confused. "Uh, yeah ... though she liked to  call it strawberry blonde, whatever that is." Lois rolled  her eyes. "How did I figure that out?"

"What does her hair color have to do with anything?" he  asked in astonishment.

"Face it, Clark, you like blondes ... every woman I've seen  you show interest in since you've been in Metropolis has  been a blonde. Toni Taylor, Linda King, Mayson Drake ..."  Lois trailed off as the name of the most recent woman he'd  been dating came out of her mouth. She was acutely aware  that this was a relationship that could be considered  'current' rather than 'old news' and she bit her lip.  Though it had always seemed to Lois that Mayson had been  doing most of the pursuing, Clark had definitely shown  interest in Metropolis's newest Assistant District Attorney  when they'd first met. Yet Clark was sitting here with her,  Lois, tonight, and in fact, the two of them had spent every  night together that Clark had been in town in the last  week. If he was currently dating Mayson, he certainly  hadn't made any time for her in several days ... but did  that mean he was no longer interested in the blonde  attorney?

"Well, the woman I'm taking dancing on New Year's Eve is a  brunette, so it's a non-issue." As if able to read her  mind, Clark had jumped in quickly, reassuring her and  lightening the mood with a warm smile, and Lois couldn't  help but smile back. "Come on," he said, standing and  picking up their now empty plates. "Let me get these dishes  cleared and we can move into the living room. I think we'll  be more comfortable out there."

Part 8

As she waited for Clark to finish stacking the dirty dishes  in his sink, Lois wandered back into the living room,  taking the opportunity to admire Clark's Christmas tree.  She'd known that he'd picked a full-sized one -- he'd  mentioned it when they were selecting her little 'Charlie  Brown' tree -- but she hadn't truly been able to appreciate  it until now. She had vaguely noted its presence when she'd  come over the night before to watch the movie, but the tree  had been dark, and sitting with her back to it on the  couch, it had been easy to forget it was even there.  Tonight, however, in the candlelit room, the beautiful  twinkling lights were impossible to ignore.

Yet if Clark's dinner and decor had been assembled with the  intent to set a romantic mood, the decorations on the tree  told the other side of Clark Kent -- the cozy side. It was  clearly not one of the fancy designer trees of Lois's  childhood, trees which had been color-coordinated and  painstakingly decorated by professionals paid to coddle  their wealthy socialite clients. No, Clark's tree was a  family tree ... decorated with a colorful mish-mash of  ornaments that spoke of love and cherished memories.

For not the first time since she'd known him, Lois felt a  pang of envy for Clark's idyllic childhood and the close  relationship he shared with his parents. She never would  have admitted it aloud, but meeting Clark's parents a year  and a half ago had been one of the turning points for her  partnership with him. They had been such wonderful people,  the Kents, and had clearly loved their son very much ...  and he had unabashedly returned their affection. Before  going to Smallville with Clark, Lois had never seen a man  hug his mother -- let alone his father -- with such true  fondness, and she had realized in a moment of blinding  clarity that any man raised by such good people would  surely have inherited many of their values. It had been  this, as much as any specific honorable behavior on Clark's  part, that had helped her begin to lower her defenses and  let herself think of him as a friend as well as a co- worker. It had been the beginning of a wonderful  friendship, one which had become more important to her than  she'd ever expected.

When she felt Clark come up behind her and place a gentle  hand on her back, Lois couldn't help but rest her head on  his shoulder. "You have a beautiful tree, Clark," she  murmured sincerely.

"Thank you," he replied, moving his hand to her shoulder  and pulling her a little closer. "There are a lot of good  memories on it." With his free hand, he gently straightened  a painted glass ball. "Every year when I was growing up, my  mom bought me a special ornament. We kept them in a  separate box with my name on it. I used to spend hours  figuring out exactly where each one should go on the tree."

Lois smiled softly, picturing Clark as a child, hanging  many of these same ornaments on his parents' tree. "I bet  you had a lot of fun." "We did. By the time I was a  teenager, I wasn't as interested, but my mom kept buying  them for me, anyway. She always told me that when I was on  my own, I would be glad I had them." He smiled. "She was  right."

"I have a feeling your mom is right about a lot of things,"  Lois said, echoing his quiet laughter.

He nodded. "Yeah ... she really is. She also must have  rubbed off on me because when I started traveling, these  were some of my favorite things to buy. I have one from  most every country I've stayed in. But you know what? My  favorites are still the ones my mom bought me when I was a  little kid."

Lois smiled, not at all surprised. "I like the picture ones  the best," she decided, fingering a homemade Popsicle-stick  frame. She leaned forward to get a better look at the photo  inside, of a pre-school-aged Clark sitting on a familiar- looking Santa Claus's lap, and laughed. "Is that your  father underneath that beard?"

Clark grinned. "Yeah ... he played Santa that year at the  lodge. I was so awed by the fact that I was meeting Santa  that I never even noticed that his glasses were the same as  my dad's."

She gave a little chuckle. "I guess it just goes to show  that we see what we expect to see."

Clark cocked his head for a moment, looking at her  curiously, but he didn't disagree. "I guess we do," he  murmured. He glanced briefly at the couch and his  expression turned more inquiring. "Would you like to sit  down?"

Lois looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "Sure," she  replied softly. "That sounds nice."

They made their way to the couch and sat down, but Lois  felt a momentary pang of disappointment when she noticed  that Clark had sat down a few feet away from her instead of  directly beside her. But as he quickly turned in his seat  to face her, she knew that she hadn't really lost his  attention. She held her breath as he stretched his arm out  along the back of the couch, then sighed as she felt his  fingers begin to gently stroke her shoulder. He gave her a  smile. "So you've got some time off coming ... any big  plans?" he asked.

Pulling her knees up onto the couch, Lois turned to face  him, returning his warm gaze. His touch, though not  blatantly seductive, felt really good against her arm and  she couldn't help but bring her fingers up to stroke the  inside of his elbow, playing with the sleeve of his shirt.  "No, not really," she answered. "I do have plans with my  sister on Monday, but other than that, I'll just be  sticking close to home."

Clark shifted slightly in his seat, moving a little closer,  and Lois couldn't help but notice that his eyes had  darkened and his breathing had become a little more  shallow. While the words that he spoke were conversational,  the husky tone that had crept into his voice was enough to  send a shiver down Lois's spine. "So what do you have  planned for Monday?"

She gave him a slow smile, letting her eye contact linger.  "We're going to a day spa," she explained. "It was our  Christmas gift from my mother, believe it or not. She's out  of the country till next month, but I guess she set all  this up for us before she left. It sounds really great,  though ... massage, facial, manicure, the works. They even  serve us lunch."

His mouth curved into a grin. "After all that luxury,  you're not going to want to come back to work."

"Mmm, not a chance," Lois replied, letting her eyes sparkle  at him. She stretched her arm out along his, her  fingernails lightly tracing a path up his inner arm to his  biceps. "I have to stick around to keep my partner in  line."

Clark's eyes were dark and intense when he met her gaze,  and she felt his muscle flex underneath her hand. "And do  you expect him to get out of line?" he asked, his voice a  low murmur.

Feeling her heart-rate accelerate, Lois swallowed. His  question was teasing, but the heated look on his face was  anything but ... and it made her want to launch herself  into her arms and attack his mouth with a ferociousness  that took her aback. She took a slow, deep breath,  valiantly trying to keep her wits, despite the strong  emotions warring within her. If she kissed him now, she  knew without a doubt that they wouldn't be doing anything  else for a long, long time. But would that be so bad? After  all, it wasn't as if there was anything else-- Lois caught  her breath as the thought reached the more coherent part of  her brain. "Dancing!" she burst out.

Clark blinked, surprised. "Excuse me?" Lois blushed deeply,  realizing that she'd voiced her surprise a little too  loudly. "Sorry ... I just remembered. We were supposed to  go over to the club at nine." She glanced at the clock.  "It's almost nine-thirty."

She watched as Clark sat back and took a deep breath, as if  he, too, were trying to fight a feeling he could barely  control. He slowly pulled his arm back to his body, making  Lois's skin tingle as he brushed against her. "I guess we  should get going, then," he said carefully.

Lois met his gaze, trying not to shiver at the way he was  watching her. "Do you mind if I ..." she trailed off, but  used her thumb to indicate the general direction of his  bathroom. "Freshen up a bit first?"

Clark shook his head. "Take your time."

Unsure whether she was more gratified or disappointed by  his easy acceptance, Lois stood up and retrieved her purse.  She gave him a little smile as she backed towards the  archway dividing his bedroom from the living room. "I'll be  right back."

*****

Clark blew out a deep breath as he stood over his kitchen  sink, washing the last of the dishes they'd used for  dinner. He didn't really care if they got washed tonight,  but now that Lois had left the living room for the  bathroom, he found that he was in serious need of  distraction.

The evening was going very well, and he couldn't deny that  he was thrilled about it. Dinner had turned out perfectly,  though whether it was the recipe or the fact that he'd been  so distracted by Lois that he'd hardly tasted a thing, he  couldn't be sure. Either way, she had seemed to enjoy the  meal just as much as he had, and even better, had seemed to  be equally enthralled by the company. The fact that she  kept touching him as they talked, not to mention the way  she would let her eye contact linger, was making him crazy  with desire for her. He was letting it show in his own  caresses and expressions, he was sure ... at this point, he  didn't think he could hide his feelings for her, even if  he'd tried.

But as much as he'd been dying to kiss her on the couch, he  supposed it was just as well that she'd remembered they'd  made plans to go dancing. Not that he wouldn't have given  the club up in a second if she were in his arms -- just the  opposite -- but, as he reminded himself sternly, he *had*  invited her out for New Year's Eve, and he was pretty sure  that rolling around on his sofa wasn't what she'd had in  mind when she'd accepted.

Clark gave a rueful grin. Even if it did sound like a great  way to spend an evening to him.

As he pondered that heady fantasy, however, he heard the  click of his bathroom door, and turned just in time to see  Lois make her way back through his bedroom. Clark couldn't  help but release a strangled sound of appreciation as he  watched her. She had reapplied her lipstick and fluffed her  hair while "freshening up", but to him, she looked just as  beautiful -- and incredibly sexy -- as she had before. Her  outfit alone was making him feel extremely warm.

Lois looked up at him as she entered the kitchen and gave  him a smile. "Sorry I took so long ... I was trying to  figure out the logistics of how we were going to do this."

Clark's eyes widened. "Ex-- Excuse me?"

She just gave him a funny look. "How we're going to get to  the club."

Exhaling, Clark gave himself a mental kick. "Oh ... right."  He pasted a smile on his face. "So what's the problem?"

"Well, I was thinking that, with the club so close, there  was probably no point in taking my car. I wouldn't be able  to find parking much closer than a few blocks away anyway."

"That's fine," Clark agreed. "Do you want to catch a cab?"

She shrugged. "I figured we could just walk ... if you  thought that was OK."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's fine with me. It's only about six  blocks ... maybe seven." Then, as another thought hit him,  he eyed her attire. "Sure you won't be cold, though?"

Lois shot him a grin. "Ah, that's why I wore the boots ...  I figured they would keep my feet warmer than a pair of  strappy heels."

Despite himself, Clark let his gaze wander appreciatively  over her body, lingering on the way her shapely nylon- covered calves disappeared into the black ankle-high  leather boots. When he met her eyes again, he couldn't help  but give her a sexy grin. "And here I thought you wore them  to warm me up."

Her eyes widened slightly at his provocative comment, but  she immediately returned his grin. "I guess that depends  ... did it work?"

Clark made a low sound of approval. "Trust me, you won't  hear me complaining."

Clearly pleased with his comment, Lois approached him, a  predatory look on her face. "Do me a favor then?" she  cooed, resting her hands on his chest.

For a moment, Clark found it difficult to breathe.  "Anything," he finally forced out.

She produced a small cylinder, then grinned up at him and  switched to the innocent voice that always seemed to send  his hormones into overdrive. "Would you carry my lipstick  in your pocket?"

After staring at her for a moment in shock, Clark started  to laugh. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Lois turned her face into a theatrical pout. "No ... it's  just that I'd rather leave my purse here so I don't have to  worry about it, and while I can get my ID and some money  into my pocket, the lipstick won't fit."

"You're actually serious."

Lois stepped back. "Well, I was, but if you're too manly to  carry lipstick, I understand. We can just stop back at my  place and I'll change into long pants ... something loose  and flowing, with adequate pockets--"

Clark made a lunge for the lipstick before she could get  any further. "Nope, I got it," he chirped, taking it from  her and slipping into his right front pants pocket with a  smile. "See, no problem."

With a grin, Lois took him by the hand and led him back  through the living room. "You're so easy to negotiate  with."

"I can think of another term for it," Clark muttered under  his breath.

"Oh, hush!" she exclaimed, laughing. She took the landing  steps quickly, pulling him behind her. "Come on, let's get  our coats."

Clark helped Lois on with her long wool coat, then reached  for his own jacket. "All right, let's go," he said  brightly, zipping it up in the front.

Lois, however, was watching him with wide-eyed  appreciation. "Wow, nice jacket," she exclaimed, clearly  impressed. "Is that new?"

Clark looked down at his most recent purchase, a hip-length  black leather coat. "Yeah," he replied with a smile. "I  just got it the other day. It was kind of my Christmas  present to myself. What do you think?"

She ran her hands down the sleeves, feeling the leather.  "So soft," she enthused. "And it's a great cut ... it looks  fantastic on you."

Pleased by her approval, Clark felt himself beam. "Thanks  ... I'm trying to spruce up my image a little. You think  this helps?"

From the way she was looking at him, Clark knew the answer  before she said it. "Oh yeah," she drawled. "*Definitely* a  good purchase."

*****

As the marquee-style sign announcing the Top Hat Club's  front entrance came into view on Seventeenth Street, Clark  found himself thinking that he couldn't remember a more  enjoyable walk through his neighborhood. The night air was  crisp, but the cloud cover overhead had prevented the  temperature from dropping more than a few degrees below  freezing. Though a chance of snow had been forecast, the  wind was calm, and, all in all, it had been a perfect night  for their twenty-minute walk.

They had chatted amiably as they'd made their way to the  club, laughing together over such varied topics as their  favorite songs from high school and the expression on  Perry's face when the most recently hired copyboy had  popped his head into the Editor's office to tell him that  he, too, was a huge fan of Elvis Costello. But what had  really made Clark's heart soar was the comfortable way they  had automatically taken each other's hand as they'd begun  their walk. What only a few days ago had seemed like a  risky declaration of romantic attraction now felt  completely natural.

As they took their place in the back of the short line that  had formed at the door, Clark reached into his back pocket  and produced two admission tickets. "I picked these up  yesterday," he explained to Lois. "I was worried they might  sell out."

"Good thinking," she commented. "New Year's Eve is a pretty  popular party night."

Clark flashed her a grin as they reached the front of the  line. "You mean we're not the only ones with such brilliant  ideas?"

"Keep it under wraps," she said with a wink. "We don't want  to ruin our reputation."

The man at the front door smiled as he stamped their  tickets, then handed them back to Clark along with four  small coupons. "Welcome to the Top Hat," he said, his  expression becoming more admiring as he included Lois in  his comments. "We have a coat check room set up just inside  the door so feel free to take advantage of that. Your  ticket price also includes two drinks from the bar, so be  sure to hold onto the coupons to give to the bartender.  We'll have a buffet set up a little later in the evening,  but in the meantime, enjoy yourself on the dance floor."

Lois glanced at Clark as they entered, clearly impressed.  "Wow, they really go all out on New Year's Eve, don't  they?"

"Yeah, it sounds really nice," Clark agreed, slipping off  his jacket, then taking Lois's coat from her. "Let's get  rid of these so we can go have some fun."

"Sounds like a plan," she replied.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked as they made their  way down the ramp leading into the main part of the club.  "Hit the dance floor?"

Lois looked around the busy club. "Oh, let's get a drink  first," she suggested. "I'm a little thirsty after our  walk."

"OK," he replied with a nod. "Let's go."

Quickly spotting the bar set up on one end of the room,  Clark took Lois's hand and began weaving his way through  the crowd, taking the opportunity to study the faces around  him. He quickly realized why Lois had dubbed the club "the  Yuppie Ballroom" in her younger days. The crowd seemed  mainly made up of people in their twenties and thirties,  the majority of whom were clean-cut enough -- and well- dressed enough -- for him to easily imagine that they spent  most of their days in a corporate or otherwise professional  setting. Clark even noted a few familiar faces -- a civil  engineer he'd once consulted with when a freighter had run  into a bridge piling and a couple of doctors whom he'd met  while transporting crime victims to hospital emergency  rooms -- though since they had all met him as Superman,  none of them would recognize him as Clark Kent.

As they reached the bar, however, Clark noticed that his  presence had not gone unnoticed. A group of lawyers from  the District Attorney's Office were sitting at a nearby  table, and a few women he knew to be friendly with Mayson  Drake were now giving him the once-over. Resisting the urge  to squirm under their curious looks, Clark made eye contact  and smiled in polite acknowledgment, but quickly returned  his warm gaze to Lois and gave her hand a squeeze. He knew  he hadn't done a great job of discouraging Mayson so far --  and truth be told, the pretty prosecutor's attention had  been a big boost to his ego at a time when he'd really  needed it -- but now that he knew who he wanted to be with,  it wasn't fair to let Mayson think she had a chance with  him. Not that he felt he had unfairly led her on ... their  "dates" thus far had consisted of exactly one lunch where  she had walked out on him, and a cup of coffee when they'd  accidentally run into each other at the courthouse while  the trial he was reporting on had taken a brief recess. Yet  it was clear from the number of times she'd dropped hints  that she'd like to go out with him -- and from the cool  looks her colleagues were now giving Lois -- that having  the news filter back to Mayson that he was seeing someone  else might be the easiest way to defuse the situation.

Trying to ignore the eyes he could feel boring into him, he  turned his full attention to Lois. "So what would you like  to drink?" he asked, holding up the free drink coupons with  a grin. "Money is no object. Literally." If he had hoped  his teasing would distract Lois from the looks of the other  women, however, he soon realized that he had failed. Not  only had she noticed the attention, but he could see a  flash of annoyance in her eyes as she glanced past him.  Clark looked at her with dismay. He knew from the way she  had brought up Mayson's name in his apartment that it might  be an uncomfortable subject with her, but surely Lois had  to realize by now that he only had eyes for one woman?  "Lois," he said, imploring her to understand. "Believe me-- "

When Lois returned her gaze to his, however, Clark found  that the words caught in his throat. Far from appearing  angry, Lois was now staring at him with a possessive  expression on her face. She stepped very close to him and  slowly ran her hands over his chest, making his heart beat  wildly. "Clark," she purred, "I've changed my mind ... I  think I would like to dance first."

Clark swallowed at the seductive look in her eye, even if  he did suspect she was only putting on a show for the very  people he was trying to avoid. But he couldn't deny that  she probably had the right idea, and it wasn't long before  he found himself giving her an equally sexy smile. "That  sounds like an excellent idea," he replied, running his  hands down her arms to take her hands. "Let's do it."

*****

Dancing had been a great decision, Clark thought, as he  watched Lois move her body in time to the pulsing beat of  the music. As much as he enjoyed ballroom dancing, it had  been a long time since he'd visited a club like this, and  he'd been looking forward to just letting go and having  fun. Of course, the fact that Lois was here with him -- and  was moving her body in ways that were suggestive enough to  make him sweat -- ensured that he was having the time of  his life.

Thanks to a disc-jockey who was playing a good mix of dance  tunes, neither he nor Lois had been interested in leaving  the floor for some time and they had frequently found  themselves flirting with each other as they moved. Whether  it was because of the way they kept brushing against each  other, or the lingering eye contact they were making, Clark  found he didn't seem to be able to get the smile off his  face.

By the time a group of slow songs came on, however, he was  more than ready to hold Lois in his arms. Gently pulling  her towards him, he marveled at how easily she melted into  his embrace and how brightly her eyes were shining. "Are  you having a good time?" he asked.

Lois smiled up at him, resting one hand on his shoulder  even as she held his hand with the other. "I'm having a  fantastic time," she assured him. "How about you?"

"Definitely," he agreed. "Tonight has been wonderful."

She smiled. "Well, if you were looking to spruce up your  image," she said, clearly remembering his comment from  earlier in the evening, "this obviously is the right place  for you to do it in. You're a great dancer!"

He dipped his head in acknowledgement. "You must bring it  out in me ... Lois, you look really good out here." His  voice dropped an octave. "*Really* good." From the way that  she pressed herself a bit more tightly against him as they  swayed in time to the music, Clark could tell that the  compliment had hit its mark.

"I could definitely say the same for you," she replied, her  voice dropping as well. After a moment, however, she began  to grin at him. "Of course, I'm not sure exactly what you  mean by changing your image. You're not planning on leaving  the suits and ties behind and joining a biker gang, are  you?"

Clark laughed out loud. "No, no, nothing like that." He  tugged on his earlobe. "And I'm not getting an earring, no  matter what Jimmy suggests." When Lois laughed with him, he  continued. "I just meant I'm trying to update a bit ... now  that I've got a regular paycheck, I've been buying some  nicer suits, cutting my hair shorter ... things like that."  He gave her a teasing grin. "Trying to look less like a  hack from Nowheresville."

Lois groaned and buried her face in his chest. "I'm never  going to live that down, am I?" she laughed.

Clark laughed with her. "Not on your life! I need something  to defend myself with when my brilliant partner starts to  overshadow me."

When her eyes met his, however, the teasing expression on  her face was gone, but the affection remained. "I don't  think you have anything to worry about, Clark," she  murmured, smiling softly. "You cast a pretty bright light  of your own." She brought her hand up to the back of his  head and began playing with the recently trimmed hair. "No  matter what the length of your hair is."

Clark couldn't help but release a sound of pleasure at the  way she was touching him, and he tightened his arm around  her waist. "Thank you," he murmured back. "That means a lot  coming from you." In imitation of her gesture, Clark ran  his fingers through the soft curls that were framing her  face. "I like these," he decided. "It's different from how  you wear it at work, but it suits you tonight."

Lois fixed him with an impish grin. "Just tonight, huh?"

"You know what I mean," he told her, laughing and refusing  to take the bait.

She laughed as well. "Yeah, I do ... Lucy likes my hair  like this, too, by the way. She's always telling me to do  something different with it instead of straightening it all  the time."

Clark gently twisted a curl around his finger. "Well, I  think you're beautiful no matter how you wear it."

"Awww, thank you," she said, clearly pleased. Then she gave  him a wink. "Now I can stand firm at the spa on Monday when  Lucy tries to talk me into cutting it."

Clark laughed at the grin on her face. "So what's Lucy  doing back in Metropolis, anyway? I thought she was in  California."

"She was just visiting. The guy she was seeing had invited  her to go home with him over the holidays, to meet his  family."

"Sounds serious."

"Yeah, that's what Lucy thought, too, until she got there  and found out his 'family' was his band of Hare Krishnas."

Clark felt his jaw drop. "You're kidding!"

Lois smirked. "She drew the line when, instead of eating  Christmas dinner, they brought her to the airport to  solicit donations."

After staring at her in shock for a moment, Clark burst out  laughing. "I'm sorry," he finally choked out. "I know I  should feel sorry for her, but I keep picturing her dancing  around the airport in one of those robes."

Lois dissolved into laughter as well. "You should have  heard us on the phone when she told me: 'I thought you said  he was an actor?' 'It turns out he wasn't acting!'"

When they'd finally composed themselves, Clark tried to  look sympathetic. "How's she doing? Is she disappointed?"

"Oh, well, you'd kind of have to know Lucy," Lois told him,  rolling her eyes. "She doesn't usually get upset, at least  not on the outside. She just moves on to the next one."

Clark chuckled. "So what's she doing tonight?" As another  thought hit him, however, his eyes widened slightly. "She's  not going to show up here, is she?"

Lois looked horrified for a moment, but she didn't make  Clark suffer for long before she laughed to reassure him.  "No, no... she's heading over to the far east side to meet  up with some girlfriends." Lois shook her head. "She says  there's a club over there with a really cute bouncer --  Johnny somebody. Mark my words, she'll be dating him by  next week."

Part 9

When the set of slow songs ended, Clark reluctantly  released Lois from his embrace. He had loved dancing with  her to the upbeat pop tunes earlier, but now that he'd had  the pleasure of holding her for so long, it seemed almost  torturous to let her go again. Seeing a similar look of  disappointment on Lois's face, however, was encouraging.

"Hey," he said, glancing over to the far end of the room.  "I think they've got the buffet set up now. Would you like  to get something? We could sit down and talk some more."

Lois's face lit up. "Yeah, that'd be great. I can finally  get that drink I'd been wanting, too."

Clark smiled at her as they left the dance floor. "We were  dancing for over an hour ... I think we've earned it."

"Definitely," she agreed, taking his hand. "I'm ready for a  break."

After waiting for Lois to down a glass of water at the bar  -- and noting with a vague sense of relief that the women  from earlier had apparently moved to another part of the  club -- Clark ordered them each a glass of wine, and they  made their way over to the food.

Setting her glass of wine down on the buffet table, Lois  picked up a small plate and began selecting among a variety  of hors d'oeuvres. "Now this is what I call Yuppie Chow,"  she said with a grin, spooning up a few sweet and sour  meatballs.

Clark laughed. "Oh, I don't know," he replied, spearing a  mini-hotdog. "Cocktail weenies don't really say 'high  society' to me."

"You and my mother would get along," Lois replied, rolling  her eyes. "She thinks they're an affront to the American  palate."

"Hey, I didn't say that," he defended, chuckling. "I  actually love them." He shot her a grin. "But then again,  I'm not exactly high society."

Lois grinned back. "Even now that you're sprucing up your  image?"

"Don't expect miracles, Lois!" he exclaimed. "I am a  country boy at heart, after all. Though if you think it  would help your mom to like me, I could pretend to hate  them."

She quickly shook her head. "See, that just proves you've  never met my mother. Believe me, Clark, if she doesn't like  you, that's only a point in your favor!"

Laughing, Clark finished filling his plate and retrieved  his glass of wine. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Her hands full as well, Lois shot him a grin, but as they  reached the end of the buffet line, she noticed that empty  tables were in short supply. "Uh oh," she said, "It's going  to be hard to find a seat. Wait, there's one!" Not waiting  for Clark to catch up, she hurried to the last empty table  for two she'd seen, but she wasn't quite fast enough. Just  as she was about to set her food down, another woman picked  up one of the two available chairs and carried it over to a  nearby larger table to join some friends.

Clark arrived at the table just as Lois was opening her  mouth to complain, and he cut her off. "It's OK, Lois ...  you sit, I'll stand." He quickly set his plate of hors  d'oeuvres on the table next to hers and pulled out the  chair for her. "Here you go."

Lois took the seat reluctantly, but stood back up quickly.  "No good," she announced. "Now we can't talk." She stepped  away from the table. "I have a better idea. You sit."

"Lois, no--"

"Clark! Just do it." She waved her hand at him in a "hurry  up" gesture until he complied. Then she sat on his lap. At  Clark's surprised look, Lois just laughed."Oh, quit  complaining, I don't weigh that much."

"You don't weigh anything," he responded, quickly deciding  he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I just  wasn't expecting it, that's all." When she made a move to  stand up, however, he grabbed her by the waist and held  her. "Don't you dare," he laughed.

Lois's giggle was like music to his ears.

"Of course, now I can't reach my plate," he added as she  began to eat, a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, I'll just have to feed you," she retorted, popping a  mini-quiche into his mouth to prove it.

Clark chewed and swallowed, a twinkle in his eye. "Mmm ...  that's pretty good. I'll have to patronize this restaurant  more often."

"You like the food that much?"

"It's fine ... but this is the best *service* I've ever  received."

Lois gave a long-suffering sigh as she spread brie on a  cracker. "Everyone's a comedian."

As they worked their way through their food, laughing and  talking the whole time, Clark noticed a large clock hanging  on the club's wall, no doubt in place to help the crowd  count down to midnight. "I can't believe it's already past  eleven-thirty," he said, shaking his head. "Didn't we just  get here?"

She looked down on him with a warm smile. "Time flies when  you're having fun, I guess."

He smiled back at her, wrapping his arms more securely  around her waist. "And I am definitely having fun."

"Me, too," she said softly.

Clark glanced in the direction of the dance floor. "You  want to head back out there?" he asked. "Get some dancing  in before midnight?"

She smiled. "I think that would be great."

His eyes crinkled. "All right, then."

As they arrived back on the dance floor, Clark was  delighted to find another set of slow songs had just begun.  He pulled Lois close, and sighed happily as she melted into  him. This entire week had been incredible, but tonight in  particular had been more magical than he could have ever  imagined. He loved her so much ... had loved her for so  long ... and now it seemed that Lois was finally starting  to return his feelings. Every time he looked at her, he  could see the expression she used to reserve for Superman.

Clark closed his eyes as they danced cheek to cheek,  wanting to remember this feeling forever, but he couldn't  stop the butterflies from fluttering in his stomach. In  just fifteen short minutes, it would be midnight ... and he  would be able to kiss Lois the way he had dreamed of doing  for so long.

*****

Lois closed her eyes as she and Clark danced cheek to  cheek. She had had more fun this week than she could ever  recall having, but it still all paled in comparison to  tonight. Between the romantic dinner at his apartment and  the amazing time they'd been having at the club, this was  the most magical New Year's Eve she could imagine. And she  knew it was all because of Clark.

How could she have ever denied the way she felt about him?  For so long, she'd tried to tell herself that her interest  in him had simply been physical attraction, or that her  feelings were nothing more than a passing crush. But  instead of fading away, her feelings had only become  stronger. And after this week -- this magical, wonderful  week -- she knew that she could no longer deny them.

Lifting her head to glance at the clock, Lois felt a little  shiver go down her spine as she noted the time. In only  fifteen minutes, it would be midnight ... and she and Clark  would kiss.

Lois inhaled as she felt a thousand butterflies begin  fluttering in her stomach. She'd kissed Clark before --  friendship kisses, goodnight kisses. But the few times that  they'd kissed passionately had been for show, either as a  diversion or a ruse. Tonight, however, would be different  ... this kiss would be real. Her gaze flickered to his lips  in anticipation. What would it be like?

Realizing that Clark was watching her, Lois raised her eyes  to his. The love she saw in his smile nearly took her  breath away. As the thought reached her, however, Lois  stilled. Love? Was love what Clark felt for her? And was it  what she felt for him, in return? Whereas only a few short  weeks ago, Lois would have dismissed the possibility, she  now found she couldn't get it out of her mind. She met his  gaze, searching his eyes. "Clark?" she whispered.

He stared tenderly into her eyes, as if willing her to see  what he was feeling. "Lois ..." he whispered back, his  voice husky. Barely had he spoken her name, however, than  Clark suddenly averted his gaze. She felt him stiffen as he  looked over her shoulder, then heard him sigh heavily. "Oh,  great," he muttered.

"Clark, hi! Imagine running into you here!"

Lois froze as the familiar voice came over her shoulder.  She suddenly knew exactly who had taken his attention away  from her. Mayson Drake.

Despite Mayson's obvious attempt to act surprised at their  presence, Lois couldn't help but narrow her eyes  suspiciously as she turned towards their unwanted visitor.  It seemed quite a coincidence that she would show up right  at this moment, after apparently not having been in the  club earlier in the evening, and Lois immediately suspected  the women from the bar. It had been all too clear that  Mayson's colleagues hadn't thought much of Clark being  there with another woman, and their warning expressions had  really gotten under Lois's skin. Even before she'd noticed  Clark's adorably dismayed expression -- dismayed not over  the fact that he'd been 'caught', Lois had quickly  realized, but by the glares that Mayson's friends were  shooting her -- she'd put on a show that had been certain  to leave them with their jaws on the floor. Unfortunately,  instead of letting it drop, the busybodies had clearly  called Mayson to come defend her territory!

As if on cue, the Assistant District Attorney smiled  sweetly at Clark. "May I cut in?"

To his credit, Clark immediately tightened his arm around  Lois's waist, making it clear he wasn't going to accept.  "Uh ... thank you anyway, Mayson," he said, politely but  firmly. "But no."

Mayson, however, was not so easily dissuaded. She turned to  Lois, fixing her with a cajoling smile. "Oh, come on ...  Lois, you don't mind, do you?"

Lois knew that the polite thing to do would have been to  just step away, to let Mayson dance with Clark the way they  had at the Church's Ball. But tonight, Lois wasn't  interested in being polite. What gall this woman had,  trying to horn in on her date with Clark! It was surely no  coincidence that it was nearly twelve o'clock -- Mayson was  trying to be the one Clark was dancing with when the clock  struck midnight! "Actually, Mayson," Lois stated coolly. "I  do mind."

The blonde's face registered her surprise. "You're  kidding?"

"No ... no, I'm not," Lois responded, feeling herself begin  to ramp up. "If you want to dance with Clark, you should  suggest that the next time you go out with him. But you  know what? Right now, *I'm* out with him and we're busy. So  if you'll excuse us, we'd like to get back to our date."

Mayson blinked at Lois's barrage of words. "Your ... date?"  she repeated slowly. She looked up at Clark, her blue eyes  seeking confirmation.

Clark had been staring at Lois in wide-eyed fascination as  she spoke, but at Mayson's question, his expression became  a lot more tender. "Yeah," he replied. "Our date."

Lois broke into a smile at his words, but as she watched  Mayson walk away, embarrassed and disappointed, she felt  herself blush as she replayed what she'd just said and felt  her doubts resurface. She'd been annoyed at Mayson, yes,  but was it possible that Clark really was dating both  women? After all, he'd never denied that he and Mayson had  been seeing each other. Was there a chance that he was just  being honorable by not leaving Lois in the middle of their  date, even if he would rather be with Mayson? "I'm sorry,  Clark," she mumbled, feeling obligated to apologize even  though she wasn't feeling very contrite. "I probably just  got you in trouble."

"What are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath, needing to vent. "I just messed you  up with Mayson, and I'm sorry, but you know, it just got to  me ... I mean, OK, even though I didn't like it, I did let  her cut in at the Church's Ball, so she probably figured I  would just let her do it again. But this *is* New Year's  Eve--"

"Lois--"

"--and you *did* ask me to come here with you ... and, OK,  so maybe it's not a *date* date, since you didn't  specifically say that when you asked me out, but we did  come together--"

"Lois--"

"--and if you want to take Mayson dancing next time you ask  her out, that's fine, but tonight--"

"Lois!"

She blinked. "I'm sorry ... what?"

Clark was grinning at her, genuinely amused. "There isn't  going to be a next time."

"What?"

His eyes softened. "I said, there isn't going to be a next  time. I'm not going to be asking Mayson out."

"Oh." Lois furrowed her brow. "Why not?" Before he could  answer, though, she launched into another monologue. "I  mean, I'm not trying to change your mind or anything,  because ... well, you know, she's never been my favorite  person and I've always thought you could do so much better.  But she is nice to you, I guess, and kind of pretty -- I  mean, if you like that blonde-out-of-a-bottle look -- and-- "

This time, Clark began to laugh out loud. "Lois!"

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Yes?"

He brought a hand up to cup her cheek. "I'm not interested  in Mayson."

The smile on his face nearly robbed Lois of the ability to  think. "You're not?" she answered breathlessly.

"No, I'm not." His thumb gently caressed her skin.

Lois stared into his eyes for a long moment, feeling a deep  longing building in her heart. Clark hadn't continued his  thought, but his eyes were speaking volumes. Was he  actually trying to tell her that he wasn't interested in  Mayson because he was interested ... in her? Almost as if  pulled by an invisible string, Lois began to lean towards  him and she watched Clark do the same. As his head dipped  slowly lower, Lois lifted her chin and felt her eyes  flutter shut. She'd been waiting all night for this kiss  ... and, finally, it was going to happen ...

Instead of the feeling of Clark's lips on hers, however,  Lois felt herself being jostled from behind as the crowd of  people around them began to move. As if coming out of a  trance, she looked around to see several tuxedo-clad men  circulating through the crowd, carrying boxes of streamers  and noisemakers. "Ten minutes to midnight!" they called.  "Only ten minutes to go!"

When Lois looked back up at Clark, she found his face an  endearing mixture of frustration and disappointment, and  Lois couldn't help but smile. "Ten more minutes," she  echoed, giving a sheepish shrug. She reached into a passing  box and half-heartedly pulled out a handful of streamers,  offering him some.

Clark looked back and forth between the offered papers and  her face, clearly torn. Then, suddenly, his face cleared.  "I don't want to wait that long."

Before Lois could register his declaration, Clark's mouth  was on hers. Surprised, she hesitated for the briefest of  moments, but it wasn't long before she was winding her  fingers through his hair, letting the streamers fall to the  floor. His lips tasted incredibly sweet as they pulled  against hers, and when they finally separated, Lois felt as  if she'd never been kissed so thoroughly in her life.

"Wow," she breathed, her voice coming in soft pants. "That  was--"

"Yeah," Clark agreed, breathing more quickly himself.  "Definitely."

Their eyes locked, but before Lois could respond, she heard  a cheer come up from the crowd and gave Clark a tremulous  smile. "I think we're getting closer to midnight."

He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm already seeing  fireworks," he murmured.

Relieved and thrilled by his declaration, Lois couldn't  help but grin flirtatiously, teasing him. "Maybe we should  just skip the countdown."

Clark lifted his head with a similar grin, but he pulled  her even closer. "And miss kissing you at midnight? Lois,  there's no *way* I'm letting you go right now," his voice  dropping into a husky growl.

At his sexy tone, Lois felt as if she'd forgotten how to  breathe for a moment. Still, she knew there was a topicthat  neither of them had addressed, and although she was almost  afraid of the answer, she needed to know before she could  let herself give in to everything she was feeling. "And  tomorrow?" she asked, her voice betraying her apprehension.  "What happens then?"

Clark's expression became more tentative -- and hopeful? "I  think that depends on you."

"On me? I would think it would depend on *us*," she said,  just as confused as before. "Just what are we, Clark?  Friends? Or ... something else? After this week, I'm not  sure anymore."

Clark took a deep breath, his expression growing more  tender. "Then how about I tell you what I'm sure of, Lois?"  he said softly, capturing one of her hands in his and  bringing it to his mouth to press a tender kiss to her  palm. "I'm sure that you are the best friend I've ever had,  and that there's no one else in this world I'd rather spend  time with. And I'm sure that you are the most amazing  person that I've ever met and I want to learn everything  there is to know about you." He swallowed, looking deeply  into her eyes. "I'm sure that a single smile from you can  brighten my entire day, and a single touch can set my heart  racing. And when I see you walk through my front door, I'm  sure I never want you to leave."

"Oh, Clark--"

He shook his head, his eyes imploring her. "Please, let me  finish or I may never get the courage to say this again."  When she nodded silently -- encouragingly -- he continued  with a soft smile. "The thing is, Lois, in my heart, we're  already together, and there's no one else I want to be  with. Everything I want out of a relationship, everything  I've ever dreamed of ... I'm already getting with you as my  best friend. All except one thing."

"What?" she whispered, her eyes large and luminous.

Clark cupped her face in his hands. "This."

Lowering his mouth, he kissed her again, but this time,  there was no hesitation from Lois as she wrapped her arms  around his neck and held him more closely to her. Gently at  first, their lips caressed each other, but it wasn't long  before they each moaned and, as one, took the kiss deeper.  When they finally separated, each gasping for air, Clark  dipped his forehead to hers. "Lois, I'm sure that what I  feel for you goes way deeper than friendship. I just need  to know if you feel it, too."

As the crowd around them began counting down the final  minute to midnight, Lois found herself melting into him.  She cupped the sides of his face and lifted his head so she  could look directly into his eyes. "I feel it, too, Clark,"  she promised, giving him an emotional smile. "I think I've  felt it for a long time, but I was just too scared to do  anything about it."

A relieved and delighted smile lit up his face. "Really?"  he asked, as if hardly daring to believe it could be true.  "You're sure?"

Lois's smile was just as dazzling. "I'm very sure."

As their lips met once again, Lois and Clark were oblivious  to the cheers and streamers that filled the air when the  clock struck midnight. The crowd around them had begun to  celebrate the first day of the New Year ... but for two  young lovers, it was merely the first day of the rest of  their lives.

Together.

______________

The End. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

______________

Author's Notes, part two:

As you may have guessed, "Boulderman Center" is my  Metropolis's version of New York City's Rockefeller Center.  If you've ever been there at Christmas time, you know how  amazing the decorations are. I based the descriptions Clark  gives -- the number of lights and the height of the tree --  on 2001's display, as reported in an AP newswire article  from last year. (Yes, I started the story before last  Christmas ... maybe if I had actually finished it then, it  would have stayed small and not turned into such a monster.  <g>)

The poem Clark recites was written by Francesco Petrarca in  the 1300's. The translation I used can be found on  <http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa021600a.htm>. It  is from the collection of verses, "Rime in vita e morta di  MadonnaLaura", which was translated into English as  "Petrarch's Sonnets". Petrarca's sonnets were inspired by  his unrequited love for a young woman (Laura), so it seemed  very fitting to me that Clark might be drawn to them.  Fortunately, we all know that Clark didn't have to wait  very long to have his unrequited love ... requited. :)

Thank you for reading my story. All comments are welcome  and appreciated!

Kathy Brown kathyb@lcfanfic.com

Table of Contents

Momentum: A Winter Holiday Tale

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9