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“I still can’t believe you chose… me. And that’s not me being self-deprecating or me fishing for compliments, but just me saying… I’m really glad. That it was me.”
Clark smiled. It was rare to see Lois let her guard down, even a little. They’d been talking like this for an hour. From where he watched, he could see her clenching the sides of her coat together. She’d have to be freezing by now, but she hadn’t let on to it for a second. He’d have to end the conversation soon so she’d finally go get warmed up.
“I’m glad I had the good sense,” he replied. “And you may not be fishing for compliments, but I do have one. Your work— it stands out. I can always see your passion, how much you care, your humility. And your drive and determination. Even before I worked up the nerve to call you, to talk to anyone, I already knew you were the only reporter I’d want by my side.” He realized he’s might have overstepped. “On my side, I mean. Writing my words.”
“And here I was thinking you just had a thing for loudmouth brunettes,” she joked, but he could see that she was affected by his words. He had a hunch her flushed cheeks weren’t solely a result of the cool autumn air.
“Well, if I’d been going off a beauty contest of all the journalists in the city who’d written me, you still would have ended up being the one I called.” It took a moment for him to realize his slip up. Clark was for flirting, the Blur was for being honest in relation to his super-powered double life. He’d just made the mistake of being too honest, just in a different way.
He watched her eyebrows raise at the comment, at her confidential hero informant making remarks way beyond their arrangement. And then she did something else. She grinned to herself.
He felt beyond conflicted. One part of him was relieved and excited that she was flattered, the other was jealous of… well, himself. He was supposed to keep the line between the two relationships he had with her drawn thick. He wasn’t trying to make competition for himself with himself.
“Alright, sweet talker,” she replied, letting out a small laugh. “I’m starting to fear we’ve strayed off from meaningful conversation. And as much as I’d love to stay and listen to the city’s savior tell me I’m pageant material, which— news flash, never— I’m sort of, kind of freezing my tail off over here. Which speaking of, think we could start doing this by you calling my cell? You can block the number if you want, and I swear I won’t have anything traced. I could even get a burner or prepaid phone or whatever. But, y’know, these nights are only going to get colder, and that might not be noticeable to you, but-“
“ Lois, ” he said to stop her ranting. “I’ll call you. On your cell phone.”
“Ok,” she nodded, despite not knowing he could see it. “I’ll… wait for you to do that. Until next time?”
“Until next time,” he returned, pulling the phone away from his ear until he heard her speak again.
“Wait!” she said. “Do you need my number?”
He almost said no, before he thought better of it. “Of course. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”
“Sure you’ve got bigger things on your mind. Besides, I’m sure a resourceful guy like yourself could have managed to find it. But why make it harder on yourself? You’ve got places to be, people to save.” She leaned against the phone receptor as she spoke, reciting off a number he already knew by heart.
“I guess that’s true. Thank you for looking out for my time like that.”
“Well, it’s not like you can be trusted to look out for yourself. That’s why you need me,” she said, and now he was sure he wasn’t the only one overstepping the boundaries he’d silently set up for himself. “Not that you, ya’know, ne-“
“I do.” He couldn’t bear for her to feel like she couldn’t or shouldn’t let herself be vulnerable with him— either version of him. And it was true— he had recently started to realize just how much he did need her. Even if she’d be better off if he didn’t. And that wasn’t as recent a fact as it was a discovery. “Bye then? Until I call.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Talk later.”
And then she hung the phone back in its place in the booth as his arm dropped to hang at his side.
Now that he wasn’t going to be bound to their pre-planned meeting times, he knew Lois Lane and the Blur were going to be talking a lot more frequently. He wouldn’t be able to help himself.