To Do Lists

By: CarolM <carolmfolc@gmail.com>

Rated: PG

Submitted: October 2007

This was written in response to a 'write a fic from a title' challenge on the boards. The title in question was actually "Clark's To Do List" but this is what came out!

Thanks to Missy for the title suggestion and for betaing for me!

This is set in early S2.

*****

Lois grumbled as she looked at her to do list. There was no way she'd ever get it all done – not even if she crossed off "Talk to Superman". The superhero, it seemed, had been in Asia overnight after a train wreck in Japan was followed by a mudslide in China. She'd seen him after big rescues and knew that, even though he seemed invulnerable, they took a lot out of him. It wouldn't surprise her if she, or Metropolis, didn't see him the rest of the day.

So what else was on the list? If talking to Superman wasn't going to happen, then she needed to get some other things done. She picked up the notebook and stared at it.

1. Finish story on LexLab scandal.

Check. She just wished Clark had been here to help with it. He wasn't answering his phone. As much as she hated to admit it, he was pretty good – and as much as she hated him editing her copy – occasionally he had a good idea or two.

2. Talk to Bobby about Hob's Bay story.

Check. She'd brought him 5 courses from his favorite Italian restaurant. And what had she gotten from him? Nothing. A big fat... well, almost nothing. He'd given her a little bit of information – that there was a warehouse involved, but that was it. He had feelers out...

3. Get a new plant for desk.

Check. Her last one had finally died from all the coffee she poured in it. She'd picked one up on the way in.

4. Talk to Superman.

No check there. In fact, none of the rest of the items on her list had checks.

5. Pick up dry cleaning.

Easy enough – she'd pick it up on the way home from work. If she got out of here early enough, before they closed.

6. Stop at grocery store for milk, eggs, and chocolate.

Another thing to do on the way home.

7. Work on outline of novel for NaNoWriMo.

National Novel Writing Month was in just a few weeks and she hadn't even started her outline. It was rolling around in her head but... 50,000 words in one month... Well, she did write that much in most months – any reporter worth her salt did, but this had to be fiction. She'd started several novels over the last few years, but this time she actually wanted to finish one. Her eyes took on a dreamy quality. Maybe this year she'd write about Superman. Last year's novel had been about Superman sweeping an intrepid reporter off her feet and they'd run off to Vegas, where they overcame the little 'alien' obstacle and gotten married – no "A" plot, pure unadulterated, romantic, Superfluff.

The more she thought about it, the more she thought that Superman wasn't the best topic for this year. A romance novel, sure. But not about Superman and not without some sort of "A" Plot. Maybe two intrepid reporters against a masochistic billionaire running Gotham City – because if it was set in Metropolis, that would be too obvious – with a superhero, of course, but not Superman. Superman was bright and colorful, someone darker would be less obvious – but with Superman's character, not like the comic book character, Batman's. Maybe not darker after all.

Magnificent Man? Wonder Man? Fabulous Man? Tremendous Man? Marvelous Man? Fantastic Man? Splendid Man? Superb Man? Brilliant Man?

She hated that she had to use the thesaurus on her computer. Clark would have been able to spout those off the top of his head. Splendid or Superb Man would go along with the S on his chest, but maybe it would be better to change what she had been told was his Kryptonian family crest.

Brilliant Man?

As much as she hated to admit it, that described Clark Kent to a T. The dreamy quality in her eyes deepened. Clark was brilliant. He was wonderful and tremendous and fabulous and splendid and superb and...

She sat up straight. Clark was her best friend and she had admitted that for some time, but when had she started thinking of Clark as marvelous?

She turned as she heard whistling behind her. Yep, there he was. She studied him as he stopped for a cup of coffee and a handful of donuts.

She realized he never had answered the question she'd asked him over a year ago – how did he eat like an eight-year-old and look like Mr. Hardbody? She wouldn't call him Mr. Hardbody again, but she didn't remember ever seeing him working out or hearing him mention the gym. Oh, sure he played sports with Jimmy and some of the guys, but most people would have to work out 2-3 hours a day to get abs like that.

His brown hair fell in waves over his forehead, a wide grin split his face as he spoke with Jimmy, laughing over some joke or another. And how could she ever have thought his eyes looked like mud? They were a gorgeous chocolate brown. If only she could get him to take those glasses off every once in a while so she could get a better look at them.

She studied the mental picture of him as he moved out of her line of sight. The well-formed arms had held her on a regular basis against that strong chest as she cried or when she was scared or startled during a movie. She felt safe in those arms. Safer than she'd ever felt. Even safer than she'd ever felt with Superman.

Oh, sure he was handy to have around when sitting on a nuclear bomb or if bullets were flying around, but Clark... Clark was real, very real. And he didn't belong to the world.

"Lois?"

A voice broke through her reverie. "Huh?" She looked up. There was Clark, smiling at her and offering her a cup of coffee and a donut. She suddenly felt a bit shy. "Oh, hi, Clark."

He pulled up a chair, flipped it backwards and straddled it. "What's up?"

She smiled at him. "Nothing. Just going over my 'to do' list."

"Is there anything on there I can help you with?"

"No, not really. And don't you have your own list of things to do today?"

"Well, yeah, I do."

"Okay. Tell you what. Let's trade lists. You do mine and I'll do yours. I don't want to do mine." She held out her hand. "Hand it over, Kent."

He laughed. "No can do."

"Why not? You don't think I can handle writing up the dog show?"

"You weren't even there, Lois."

"So, I can make it up. I have covered dog shows before and they're all pretty much the same. Just tell me who the winners were and I can wing it from there."

Clark laughed. "I already wrote up the dog show, but that's not it. I don't have a list, per se. It's all in my head."

"You don't make a 'to do' list every day?" She was incredulous. There was no way she'd get near as much done as she usually did without a list.

"Oh, I have a list. I just don't write it down. It's all..." he tapped the side of his head. "... up here."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You can remember your to do list without writing it down?"

"Yep."

She shook her head. "I've tried that. It doesn't work. I inevitably forget something. Usually the most important thing. How come you don't?"

He grinned again. "Photographic memory."

She groaned. "Figures."

*****

Clark hung up the phone and glanced at the clock. It was almost six in the evening and he was ready to go.

"So did you get it all done?"

"Hmm?"

"Your to do list." Lois perched on the edge of his desk. "Did you get it all done?"

"Oh, that. Let me think..." He silently reviewed his list. "Nope. Not all of it. Most of it but not all."

"So tell me what you have left and maybe I can help."

"Oh, it's not that big a deal. Not much left really. How about you?"

"Well, I need to pick up my dry cleaning and stop by the store and..."

"And what?"

He watched her sigh. "I have to work on my outline for NaNoWriMo."

"Ah, that. Mine's done."

"YOU?! You are going to try to write a novel this year?"

"Yep. Finished the last two years. Didn't find out about it until about halfway through November the year before that and only ended up with about 40,000 words."

She glared at him. He cringed just a bit. She couldn't have been happy about that. He'd groaned when he saw her novel outline for last year. A Superman romance. Fortunately, they'd been so busy that she hadn't actually written much of it.

"How on earth did you finish last year? We were so busy last November! I barely hit 10,000 words!"

"But Lois, last year wasn't your novel all about Superman?"

She sputtered. "How did you know that?!"

He grinned at her. "I guessed. I'd imagine you spent too much time daydreaming and not enough time writing."

She sighed. He was right. She'd daydreamed the month away.

"So what was on your list?"

"Uh..." Should he tell her what was on his list? Some of it was safe enough, but not all of it. Especially not the one thing that was on the top of his list every day, but somehow managed never to get done.

"What, Clark? Something embarrassing? Did you forget to return that movie today?"

He groaned. She would bring up one of his most often used excuses.

"Let's see... I had to write up the dog show..."

"Done."

"I had to write up the Superman story from last night - the Asian stuff..."

"You did that. I meant to ask you how you got that story."

"I, uh, ran into Superman earlier."

"You always manage to do that."

He shrugged. "Drop off my dry cleaning."

"Did you get that done yet?"

"Yep."

"Next?"

"Um, finish my NaNoWriMo outline."

"I thought you already did that."

He winced. She'd caught him on that one. "Well, it needed some tweaking."

"Uh huh. What else?"

"Ask you if you want to go to dinner with me."

She blinked, caught off guard. "Dinner?"

"Yeah." He lightly grasped one of her hands in his. "Not just two partners going out to dinner, or even two friends, but us. I want to take you to dinner."

She smiled shyly at him. "Just us?"

"Yeah. Just you and me. And maybe some pasta."

"I could go for some pasta."

Clark stood and offered her his arm. It tingled a bit where she lightly grasped the inside of his elbow. "And maybe chocolate cake for dessert?"

"You do know the way to a girl's heart, Kent." They headed towards the elevator, unaware of the dozens of sets of eyes on them. "So, what else was on your list? Besides asking me to dinner?"

"Ah, I need to, um, call my mom about getting a couple of stains out of a suit or two." What he didn't tell her was that they were bomb stains in his Super Suits.

"Wouldn't the dry cleaners take care of that?"

"Ah, not these."

"Well, what kind of sta..."

Clark had never been so glad for the arrival of the elevator. He moved his hand to the small of Lois' back, smiling slightly as he heard her heart rate increase slightly. He had more of an effect on her than she wanted him to know.

*****

An hour and a half later, it was all Clark could do to stifle a groan as Lois ate a bite of his chocolate cake.

He loved her.

With all his heart, he loved her.

It hadn't taken long after he met her to realize it. He could only hope that she was starting to feel the same way.

They left the restaurant and he tucked her hand in his elbow again, his other hand protectively over the top of it.

She leaned in to him slightly, sighing softly before speaking. "So, did you get the rest of it all done?"

"What?"

"The rest of your list."

"Oh. Most of it. I still haven't talked to my mom."

"Right."

They were in Centennial Park, nearing the fountain that stood in the middle.

"Anything else, Clark?"

He took a deep breath and turned to look at her. "Just this."

He cupped the side of her face in one hand and gently lowered his lips onto hers. His other arm encircled her waist and he pulled her closer to him. He felt her hands slide up the length of his arms, until they were around his neck and she returned his kiss.

It was long moments before they finally broke apart.

"Wow." It was barely more than a whisper, but Clark's super hearing picked it up easily.

"Wow is right." He smiled down at her, unwilling to let her go.

"That was on your list?"

He had to be honest with her. "No."

"But you said 'just this' and then kissed me."

"That wasn't the last thing on my list. I just wanted to do that before you decide to stop speaking to me all together."

She looked puzzled and rightly so. "Why would I stop speaking to you?"

"Because of the last thing on my list."

"What is it, Clark?"

"It's the only thing on my list that doesn't get done most days."

"So every day you have some... thing on your list that will make me want to stop speaking to you?"

He grimaced a bit and kissed her lightly on the lips one more time. "Yeah. It's been the one thing that's remained undone for months now."

"I'm thinking I should be sitting down for this." Lois sat on the edge of the fountain. "What is it, Clark? You're starting to scare me."

"Lois, I've wanted to tell you this for a very long time. I know you're probably not ready to hear this, but I love you. I have since the moment you barged into Perry's office during my interview." He held up his hands. "I know it's too soon for you, but I wanted you to know."

"Clark..."

"No, let me finish. I couldn't tell you at first, because I didn't know you. The only people who ever knew about this were my parents. And I think maybe Perry suspected from time to time - he didn't become editor because he could yodel, you know - but, I've never actually told anyone. No one. We've gotten so much closer over the last few months and I've wanted to tell you this for a long time. It seems like I've wanted to tell you this forever. I just never knew how."

"Clark, just tell me please. Nothing can be worse than what I'm imagining."

He sighed. "Maybe it's better if I just show you."

He stepped back and took a deep breath. He reached up and took off his glasses. "Does this help?"

She stared at him. "Clark, I always knew you had nice eyes and I've wanted to see them up close without the glasses, but what is it I'm supposed to be seeing?"

He handed her the glasses. "Hold these for a minute."

He crossed his arms in front of him, took another deep breath and started to spin.

When he stopped, he was Superman.

He heard Lois gasp and he finally risked looking at her. "Do you hate me?"

She looked at the glasses and then at him. Then back at the glasses and then back at him. "A pair of glasses. I was fooled by a pair of glasses."

"No, Lois. You weren't fooled by a pair of glasses. It was a pair of glasses and a flashy suit and a bigger than life superhero persona. You weren't supposed to see that Clark Kent was Superman. No one was." He looked around and spun back into his regular suit. "I love you, Lois, and someday I want to marry you, but I can't even begin to think about doing that until you know the whole truth and nothing but."

"Truth and justice, huh?"

"Yeah, something like that." He sighed. "Of all the people I've ever known, you're the only one I've ever wanted to tell about me. All about me."

"Uh huh."

"No, really. And you're responsible for Superman too, you know."

She looked at him, glasses still in her hand. "I am?"

"Yeah. Remember how you suggested a change of clothes when I was dirty while we were investigating the Messenger thing?"

She nodded.

"That's what gave me the idea. A change of clothes."

"A change of clothes."

"That's all it is, Lois." He knelt in front of her. "A change of clothes. Clark is who I am. I can do all these things, but it's only because I'm Clark that it works. I couldn't be Superman without being Clark too."

She nodded.

"All my life, I've been different. From the time I was born. I wasn't born here. I was born on another planet, about to explode, and was sent away by my parents - to save me by sending me to another planet. The Kents found me and adopted me - under circumstances that most of Smallville still thinks are a bit sketchy. By the time I was 10, I could hear things I wasn't supposed to. By 11, I was fast. By the time I was 12, I could bench press tractors. At 14, I was doing weird things with my eyes and I started wearing glasses to help me control them. At 15, my mom found me floating in my sleep. At 18, I could fly. I could do all these things but all I ever worried about was someone finding out and sending me to some lab to dissect me like a frog."

"But you're invulnerable."

"Not until I was 9. I broke my leg when I was 7 and it healed, completely, in less than a week. When I was 9, I fell out of my tree house and didn't break my leg, when, by all rights, I should have broken both of them."

"I see."

"I went to college, played football, always careful to never be 'the best' or the fastest even though I knew I could play a whole baseball game by myself - pitch, bat, hold on the runner at first, be the runner at first, be the third base coach giving signals and still take a home run away from myself, tag up and score from first. But I couldn't stay. By the time I graduated, there were too many weird things happening around campus. The doors to cars ripped off and the occupants pulled out of a burning vehicle. Fires on the 15th floor of a dorm building mysteriously being put out before the firemen arrived. Things like that. I took off. I spent time on all 7 continents and finally landed in Metropolis a little over a year ago. I didn't know how I was going to keep up helping. I was hoping that maybe I could put a few months in here in Metropolis and then maybe become an overseas travel correspondent or something."

He'd long since let go of her hand and was pacing back and forth in front of her - aware of her rapid breathing and that her heart rate was well above normal. But she wasn't yelling at him or throwing things. Maybe that was a good sign.

"And then I met you. You barged into Perry's office and into my life and I knew, right then and there, that I never wanted to leave Metropolis. I told my parents about you that night. Mom knew that night too even though I wouldn't admit it to myself even. The next night, we had all kinds of spandex out and... you should have seen some of the things she came up with."

"I'd like that."

He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her. "What?"

"I'd like to see the other outfits your mom made."

"You would?"

"Sure. I love the Superman one - you know that - and I remember you telling Amy Platt that your mom made it for you. I'd love to see the others and hear what your mom was thinking when she made them."

"Um... I'm sure I'm going to regret telling you this for a very long time, but I think she still has them somewhere."

"Good. Take me."

"What?"

"It's still early in Kansas. Take me."

"You're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm mad all right. And I'll make sure you pay all sorts of penance, but for now, I want to see those other outfits."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay. I'll take you to Kansas."

He could almost see the wheels turning in her head, but he didn't dare ask what she was thinking.

He looked around, his vision unencumbered by his glasses. "Come here."

"What?"

"Come here."

"Aren't you going to do that spinny thing again?"

He grinned at her. "Nope. I've always wanted to take you flying as Clark and now's my chance."

"Aren't you afraid someone will see you?"

"Not if you hurry up. There's no one around right now."

"How do you kn... oh. Right. The vision gizmos."

"Yep. Vision gizmos."

"Come here." He smiled softly at her.

She stood and walked to him, holding his glasses in one hand.

He reached down and swept her into his arms, barely waiting until she put her arms around his neck to take off into the air.

*****

"Lois! I'm so glad to see you!" Martha instantly enveloped the younger woman in a big hug. "And Clark! Did Superman bring you two?"

Clark smiled at her. "She knows, Mom."

"Well, it's about time you told her! Come on inside, you two."

Ten minutes later they were all sitting around the kitchen table with fresh cups of coffee - made at super speed by Clark.

"...so I finally finished my 'to do' list. The only thing left on it most days was 'tell Lois the truth'."

"Good for you, Clark."

"You're okay with it, Dad." It was a statement rather than a question.

"I've known for a while that you were going to tell her, son, and yes, I'm okay with it. I trust her."

Clark covered one of Lois' hands with his own. "That means something. Dad doesn't trust anyone. Sometimes I'm surprised he trusts me with it."

The foursome laughed.

"I trust you, Clark. I have since you were, oh, 21, 22. Something like that. Before that it was because I didn't have a choice." Jonathan's smile and teasing tone offset the words he spoke.

Lois wrapped both hands around her cup and took a sip. "Mr. Kent, I promise you, I'll never betray your trust. Even if I wasn't in love with..." She stopped abruptly.

"What?" The words came in unison from all three Kents.

Lois turned four shades of red. "Did I say that out loud?"

Martha laughed. "Honey, we've known that you love Clark for ages."

"You have?" It was Lois and Clark's turn to speak in unison.

"Of course, honey. Ever since you two came out for the corn festival. I told Jonathan then that someday you two would realize you were meant for each other."

"Do you think you could have told us that?" Clark sputtered. "Or at least me?"

Martha laughed again. "Of course not, Clark. You two had to realize it for yourselves."

They sat in silence for a few minutes with Lois and Clark refusing to look at each other.

Lois took a deep breath and pushed back from the table. "Okay, now that I've been thoroughly embarrassed, I want to see what I came here to see."

Martha and Jonathan exchanged a glance. "What's that?" Martha asked.

"Clark. In tights."

"Lois, you see Clark in tights all the time," Jonathan pointed out.

"Not these tights. Martha, Clark told me that the Superman Suit wasn't the first one he tried on, that there were others."

"Well, yes. I did make several others."

"Good. I want to see them."

*****

Clark groaned. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Yes." Martha and Lois spoke at the same time.

"Fine."

Clark picked up the first brightly colored outfit and left the room. He returned seconds later with a whooshing sound. Leopard print, orange briefs, green tights and a wide belt Clark still didn't know what to do with.

Lois grinned at him. "No. I want to see Clark in these, not Superman. Clark hair and..." She reached into her pocket. "...glasses."

Clark took the glasses and brushed his hair with his hands. "How's that?"

The flash nearly blinded him. "What was that for?"

"Blackmail." Lois shrugged as she set the camera down. "Now the next one."

This one was green and blue with a big yellow circle on the front and a green mask and a bright blue hat. Another flash.

Hot pink with an orange sash. Flash.

Superman blue with vertical yellow and red stripes, a big red circlie belt buckle thing. Flash.

"That's it, Lois. That's all of them."

"No, it's not. There's one more." Lois looked at him pointedly.

"What? Superman?! Lois, I can't..."

"Clark, if I have blackmail pictures of you in all kinds of superhero costumes and not as Superman... Well, that would be suspicious. Besides, didn't you ever see Lethal Weapon 4?"

Clark looked at her, puzzled. "Yeah."

"Remember, Martin Riggs - Mel Gibson's character - put the pictures of Danny Glover's character, Roger Murtaugh, in his skivvies doing the chicken dance up all over the precinct?"

"Yeah," Clark replied cautiously.

"Well, I'm sure I could find some way to put these up all over the newsroom if I needed to." Lois giggled. "With the appropriate captions of course."

Clark groaned. "Great. Can I at least get out of this now?"

*****

An hour later, they were airborne.

"You know, I really enjoy the 'S' Express, but I think I did like flying with Clark better." Lois' hand stroked the back of his neck.

Clark groaned. "Lois, I am Clark."

"You know what I mean." She ruffled his hair and then went back to stroking his neck.

Clark stopped flying abruptly and before Lois knew it, she was standing with him in the clouds. His voice was low and husky. "I can't concentrate on flying when you do that, Lois."

"You mean, I have that much of an effect on the Man of Steel?"

Clark's face was serious. "You have no idea, Lois."

She shuddered slightly and he wrapped his arms and his cape around her. "Better?"

She nodded and, face upturned, waited for him to kiss her.

He cupped her face in one hand and did something he'd wanted to do for a very long time.

He kissed her in the clouds, under the moon, beneath the stars, like his life depended on it.

Because, in some ways it did.

And, now, he could cross that last thing off his to do list.

Table of Contents

To Do Lists