Work Text:
It was a usual Friday morning at the Daily Planet. The floor was busy, reporters were at their stations; typing on their laptops, on their phones with their sources, and sipping on coffee.
Among the loud noise and a crowded room, Lois Lane had noticed that her coworker was missing. It wasn’t unusual for Clark Kent to be late for work, it would actually be considered odd to see him on time. His absence was never questioned by anyone and so he was used to getting away with disappearing from time to time.
It was true that no one cared about where or why he went. But the constant occurrences that Clark was never around when Superman happened to be on the news, lately it had been making the sharp, intelligent, and very curious Lois Lane pay close attention to the coincidence. Her desk was right behind his, which made it easier to see that he was not there when she turned around to watch the TV and see what the news was saying.
With her back on the TV, she heard how the news anchor was talking about Superman. She brought her hands back from the laptop’s keyboard and after a moment shifted her eyes down to her phone, which she kept next to her computer.
A tap on the smart phone gave Lois a glance at the time; it was nine in the morning. She twirled on her office chair, a grin on her face as her eyes fell on the empty desk right behind hers; Lois rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I wonder if making bets with one selves is as lame as interviewing yourself…”
“What’s that?” Jimmy also sat nearby. He hadn’t caught what Lois had thought out loud, but was interested to watch Superman on TV.
Observing how her coworker rolled his chair closer to the TV made her smile and so she also brought her attention upwards to the screen that was mounted on the column nearby.
The news was broadcasting how Superman had saved the life of a truck driver. The footage from the truck’s camera was being replayed while the news anchor talked about the incident: The video showed a truck that seemed to be out of brakes. It had gained speed at the bridge at the city limits and was on its way to crash when the Man of Steel flew to stand in front of the heavy vehicle and with his bare hands stopped it from causing an accident.
“That was sick!” Jimmy was grinning as his eyes shifted to Lois who was unimpressed.
As the news moved along to the next subject, Lois and Jimmy rolled their chairs back to their desks.
“Kent, you’re late.”
It was the voice of the paper’s editor-in-chief that made Lois tilt her eyes up and smile to herself.
Clark Kent apologized on his way to his desk. He was holding a paper bag in his hand, the logo from a popular bagel shop was printed on it.
With a smile he greeted his coworker. Once she was facing his direction, he offered a gentle “Morning Lois”. His eyes were on hers, appreciating the small curve that had adorned her lips as he presented her with the paper bag.
“Good morning, Clark.” Her warm gaze stayed on his eyes for a moment before she fully smiled back.
The brief moment was interrupted by Jimmy, who twirled back around on his chair to join the duo. “Did you see how Superman just saved that trunk driver from killing himself? It was awesome!”
Clark smiled at how proud Jimmy sounded.
Picking on her bagel, Lois held it in her hand and with her fingers opened the two lids to see what it was made of: it was an everything bagel with soft-scrambled eggs and ham. She tucked her hair behind her ear and brought her eyes up to Clark, “Hey, just because you happened to find me eating this kind the day we met, it doesn’t mean that’s my go to flavor, you know?”
“Maybe not.” He followed the banter, “But it does mean that you like it, so why risk it with something you won’t like?” Clark figured; “Like my Ma always says; ‘If ain’t broken…”
“—Everyone says that.” Lois had yet to erase the smile from her lips, “God, I swear you sometimes are so weird.”
By unintentionally siding with Lois, Jimmy pointed out: “I mean, why don’t you just…wait for it…ask her?”
Clark moved his eyes from Jimmy to Lois who raised her eyebrows and grinned. She then took a bite of her bagel. Seeing her happily take a bite made him feel his cheeks warm. It also prompted him to admit; “I just like that cute little face she makes when I bring breakfast and she hasn’t eaten yet.”
With a mouthful, Lois appreciated it, “you are doing the lord’s job!” Once she swallowed, she continued, “But also, we are investigative reporters and our job is to find out the truth.” With a smirk she hinted, “You can just ask around…like the good old times.”
“I hear you.” His dimples adorned his face as he smiled, “But, I’m not really the kind of reporter who wears his fedora hat when getting my favorite coworker a bagel.”
Lois was quiet. She kept smiling as she brought the bagel to her lips, her eyes on him. “Fair enough…” She offered in a low voice.
“Now, if you excuse me, I can’t really start the day without some coffee.” He kept eye contact for an instant before turning around and finding his way to the coffee station just around the corner.
Rolling his chair closer, Jimmy observed how Lois still kept her eyes following Clark to the coffee machine. “Have you ever wondered if he’s always late because he went out of his way to bring you a bagel?”
There was only time for Lois to give him a look. She rolled her eyes and before she knew it, Clark was back with two mugs of coffee.
“Figured the one on your desk is probably cold.”
This was an almost every day thing. Clark always brought her fresh coffee when he went to refill his and yet — just like with breakfast — it was a little gesture that always caught her by surprise.
“Tha-thanks.” Her soft eyes moved from the Daily Planet mug in front of her to the smile in his face and then made contact with him. Lois took the mug from him and brought it to her lips.
“Does sugar get cold? Asking for a friend.” Jimmy made a face as he watched his coworker go for that first sip.
“Mm.” Lois made a face at the taste for her beverage; “This is more like sugar with coffee than the other way around.” Upon admitting so, she exchanged a smile with Clark.
“How can you drink that stuff?” Jimmy would never know.
Without breaking contact with Clark, Lois shrugged one shoulder and grinned; “what can I tell you? I like my stuff sweet.”
Clark smiled at that and the two shared a moment.
“Okay, break’s over!”
It’s the sound of their boss’s voice that made Jimmy roll back to his desk and keep working on the few photos he had on his screen.
Perry was now standing next to Clark, his hand on his shoulder. “Wanna fill me in on your whereabouts this morning?” He was curious about something; “Your logs show that you actually clocked-in at eight.”
Having stayed nearby, Lois gave them a playful “Hmm…”
Clark fixed his stance and addressed his boss’s concerns. “I was at the bridge for that truck incident? I got an exclusive with Superman.”
Lois started laughing at that. Perry eyed her for a moment, he chuckled as he fixed his jacket.
Ignoring her, Clark continued, “—I got all the details about what happened early this morning. You know, how Superman was quick to jump into helping.”
“Did you take a selfie with him?” Now that was something she would pay to see; “That would be the cherry on top for your article!” Lois waved her hand in the air as she offered a suggestion for his headline: “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s my Best Buddy Superman!”
By accidentally selling the pitch to Perry, he started to nod with a smile. “I like that.” He started pointing at Clark as he officially assigned him the piece; “We can use that interview to bring quick free clicks to our website! I want it by ten.” He checked his smart watch to make sure that was reasonable. “Good job, Clark!” He patted his back as he walked away.
“Oh, for crying out loud!” Lois rolled her eyes and went back to work.
Clark was left with a proud smile on his face. He then teased; “Aww. Don’t be like that. I’ll give you credit for the headline.”
****
The local news was covering a story about an alarming fire at a lumber factory not too far from the Daily Planet.
Lois, Clark, and Jimmy had gathered by the TV. They were sipping on their afternoon coffee as their eyes were on the TV above their heads.
In an alarming note, the anchor shared that the fire had gotten out of control and the firefighters were having trouble evacuating the place: half the workers were still trapped in the building with the lumber quickly fueling the fire.
Once Clark stepped away, Lois’s attention moved from the screen to him. Her eyes followed him out of the room and watched him open the door to the staircase.
She quickly took notice of how Jimmy was still glued to the TV screen. Lois then shifted to face the window and started counting; “One-two-three…” It usually took her to count until about fifty to see Superman flying across the sky.
Today was no different.
“IT’S SUPERMAN!” Jimmy pointed at the TV as the news captured the Man of Steel flying through the clouds
“Oh, Jimmy…” Lois rolled her eyes.
Eyes back on the screen, they watched how Superman jumped right into helping people.
The crowd around the area started to grow as people gathered around to watch their favorite hero in action. They cheered every time someone was carried out of the crumbling building. Superman was fast as he worked on saving everybody and once the building was evacuated, the metahuman used his frost breath to blow some cold air into the building and ultimately kill the fire.
The few reporters and crew watching at the Daily Planet clapped along with the loud cheers that fed through the news broadcast.
“That was sick!” Jimmy was impressed.
Side eying him, Lois had to ask: “Is there anything Superman does that isn’t ‘sick’?”
“Nope.” Jimmy laughed and went back to work.
With an amused smile still covered in her lips, Lois brought her mug to her lips. She made a face upon feeling it had already gotten cold.
At the quick glance toward her laptop, to make sure the screen was locked, she walked to the coffee station to refresh hers. She poured a new mug with hot coffee and as she let sugar pour down into it, her eyes got distracted by the clear sky of the afternoon and the shape of the clouds.
Lois bit on her lower lip once she caught a red and blue object approaching the building. She tilted her head and kept her eyes on it…on him. Up close, she was proven right: that had been Superman and it had been impossible to miss the yellow S symbol on his chest.
She kept her attention on the window and adjusted as she tried to look up, once he had flown over the building.
“That’s way too much sugar, even for you.”
It was the sound of Clark’s voice what snapped her out of the distraction. “Mm?” Looking down to her mug, Lois found that she had emptied half the sugar container over her coffee, “Oh…” She wrinkled her nose.
They made eye contact for an instant as they shared a smile, she then narrowed her eyes at him and tilted her head to the side.
“I think there’s still enough sugar left to fix it, though.”
Lois nibbled on her lip as she snorted.
His eyes were still on her, keeping his attention on the soft glance she was offering as he poured a new mug of coffee with his one hand. Clark then added as much sugar as she usually liked. A second mug of coffee was served, he liked his black.
It was until he pushed the mug intended for her across the counter when Lois brought her eyes down. She took the mug and hugged it with her hands.
They took the first sip, smirked at each other against the ceramic, and in unison commented: “I can’t believe you can drink that.”
They laughed.
Clark cleared his throat and even if there wasn’t anything to stir in his coffee, he still used a stir stick to distract himself away from her penetrating glance. “So, um, what’s your favorite bagel?” As he slowly brought his eyes back up, he found her grinning at him. “I heard you when you said I should ask around, but I’m old-fashioned.” With a shrug he figured, “Maybe that’s not your style, but—”
A low voice interrupted him, “—I kinda dig old-fashion, though.” Lois then confessed, “I’ve actually grown to REALLY like everything bagel with eggs and ham.” After sharing a laugh, she continued, “It surprisingly keeps my stomach happy for longer, so it won’t hate me that much when I inevitably forget to have lunch.”
“Hey, here’s a thought.” He pursed his lips as he suggested, “How about we make sure you don’t forget to have dinner tonight and go grab a bite?”
Lois blinked and slowly nodded, “Yeah…sure.”
“Do you like sushi?”
“I-I actually don’t trust anyone who doesn’t.”
After taking a sip of his coffee, Clark nodded. “Okay. It’s a date, then.” He smiled at her as he slowly walked away. He smiled against his mug as Lois was still standing behind him, left slightly stunned.
Follow-up plans had Lois and Clark agreeing to meet at the sushi bar for dinner.
Upon arrival, it had surprised Lois that he was already there. She spotted him at a table for two in the corner; a quiet space that gave them some privacy from the busy Friday night rush. They shared a smile and a wave once they saw each other.
“Hi.” She greeted him once at their table. Her eyes grew big as they fell on him and watched him standing up, “Oh…you-you don’t have to do that.” Lois rested her hand over her chest now that he was standing next to her; he was about a foot taller than her.
Clark shifted on his feet and offered the chair across from his seat, “Please.” He waited for her to sit before he took his seat.
This was a gesture that left her in awe. She tilted her head up, her eyes followed him as he sat back down and adjusted on his chair. She was wearing her thick long hair loose, so she tucked a strand behind her ear as they shared a light chuckle.
He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands on his lap. Clark looked down, missing how her eyes took a moment to appreciate the dimples that always grew in each corner of his lips when he smiled. His hands moved from his lap to the table where he found the menu and brushed his fingers over it.
Once he looked up, her eyes shy away and looked down. She brushed her arm and after clearing her throat brought her sight back up.
They shared a quiet little moment, briefly smiling before they chuckled.
“Here’s a fun fact,” Clark shared as he tapped the menu, “I didn’t really try sushi until after I moved here, to Metropolis.”
She snorted. Clasping her hands together, she smiled. Her elbows were resting over the edge of the table. “Haven’t I known from the beginning that you are from a tiny town from somewhere in the south or was it in the Midwest?” She shook her head, “I’m not surprised, though.”
With a laugh, Clark followed the bit, “You seriously want me to believe you don’t remember the name of my hometown?” Lois shrugged so he continued, “You’d keep calling me that for like a month!”
Lois gasped, not believing he brought that up. She found it hard not to smile around him so she closed her eyes and took a breath. Once she managed to keep a stoic stare she scratched her hair, “That’s how long it took you to impress me.”
They laughed and brought their eyes back to their menus.
“Smallville.” Her voice was low as she kept her attention on the menu. “You are from Smallville, Kansas.” She turned the page of her menu, her eyes still on it. “It’s been about three years since you started at the Daily Planet, hasn’t it?”
Clark nodded. “That’s how long I’ve been living in the city, too.” He joked; “I was fresh out of the country when Perry hired me.” He then shared a little about himself, “It took me five years after graduating college to get my big break.” Once she smiled, he continued, “I did build some experience and made some connections back home.”
“You could have always done that here.” Curious, she had to ask: “What took you so long to move out?”
He genuinely confessed, “I don’t know.” Clark found her eyes and scratched his chin as he added, “I guess I enjoyed my life in the country. Who doesn’t like waking up at three in the morning to milk cows and gather eggs? I was living the dream!”
She laughed. However, upon noticing that he wasn’t laughing along, she cleared her throat and leaned over. “Wait, you are not joking?” She covered her mouth upon seeing him shake his head.
Clark was smiling. He met her half way, now that she was still leaning against the table. They were just an inch apart, their eyes fixed on each other as he suggested; “If everything goes well on this first date and a few more to follow…I’ll take you home and make you the most organic breakfast you’ve ever had.” Upon noticing how her eyebrow curved at the sound of it, he continued, “all ingredients would come from my parents’ farm. I think you’d like it.”
“I-I don’t think I have ever had a home cooked meal in my life.”
Licking his upper lip, he admitted, “I was actually very tempted to make you some breakfast for dinner tonight,” he tapped her hand, “But I didn’t want you to think I’m weird.”
“Breakfast for dinner IS weird.” Lois felt her cheeks warm and rubbed on her earlobe hoping that would distract her mind and to avoid her cheeks turning pink. She rewinded a little, “A-about that first date thing you just said…”
“I thought my intentions were clear.”
Lois found herself smiling again, this time she even giggled. Her eyes fell down to the hand that she still had over the table as she found his hand close to hers.
“Is that okay…?” His voice was low as he tried to find her eyes.
She bit on her lip, her fingers shifted as she lightly moved them forward towards his touch. “Yeah…” she tilted her eyes back up. “Yeah.”
Her smile was contagious and so Clark smirked back. He shifted his hand and allowed his fingers to brush against hers.
“Are you guys ready to order?” A young server was at their table, with a pad and pencil in hand.
Clark gestured for Lois to order first.
“Um, yeah. I’ll go with the Dragon Roll, please.” She then motioned towards the ad over the table that had the sake sangrias at 2X1, “wanna go for it?” At his nod, Lois added an order of sangrias to their order.
Once she was done ordering he took his turn, “I’ll go with the California rolls, please.” He offered as he took both menus from the table and handed them to the server.
“One Dragon, one California, and a special sangria coming right up.” Their order was read back to them.
“Sounds good.”
****
Upon getting served, Lois and Clark smiled at their server and smiled down to their food; it all looked so good.
She opened the pack of chopsticks to her right, he grabbed the fork. Lois side eyed him right away. Amused and curious about what he was to do, she held her chopsticks midair and fixed her attention on him. She rested her chin over her hand and smiled over.
“—What…?” He smiled, a roll of sushi in his fork as he gently dipped it in the soy dish close by.
Licking her lips, Lois shook her head. “It’s just…you aren’t really going to eat with a fork, are you?”
“A fork is more practical than a spoon for sushi, don’t you think?”
With a little giggle, Lois brought her chopsticks close and pinched his nose. “You are such a smartass.”
His eyes fell on hers as he chuckled along. “I also have no idea how to use chopsticks.”
“No…?” Lois found that hard to believe. She leaned into him and softly wondered, “How-how do you eat your Chinese?" Her fingers played with her lip as she looked up into his eyes.
“Also a fork.”
Lois let out a gasp, teasing him at how unacceptable that was. She brought her chair closer and took the chopsticks to his right. Taking his hand in hers, Lois guided his fingers to properly hold onto the set of chopsticks, “It’s actually very easy.”
Their faces were an inch apart, their eyes sharing a soft glance. Lois got a little distracted upon contact, her fingers got lost in the way his hands felt now that she was allowing her fingertips to brush against his. Her head tilted a little to the side and her brows twitched at the perception of how strong his hand was, yet it felt warm and it worked as a magnet to hers.
It distracted her enough to forget what it was that she was going to do. All she could think about was how comforting, gentle, and soothing a hold of his hand would be. At the sound of Clark clearing his throat, she blinked and looked up.
“You okay…?” A cheeky smirk asked.
Blushing, Lois shifted her eyes away from him and used her free hand to rub on her neck. “I’m sorry.” She moved her gaze back to meet his, “It’s just that-it’s just that I would have thought that the hands of a farm boy would be rough and would be a little…callous.” She looked down to his hand and ran her fingers over his nails and fingers, “But-but yours are so-so gentle and smooth.” Lois couldn’t help but smile back once she caught his handsome smile and those dimples liking the observation.
With confidence, Clark teased her a little; “You can hold it if you want to.”
Lois rolled her eyes and straightened up. She cleared her throat and instead of guiding his hand to properly hold the chopsticks, she showed him with her hand so he could mirror how to correctly use them.
They dedicated a few minutes to practice and once he felt confident, Clark set his fork down. Her eyes were on him as he went for the first sushi roll and steadily brought it to the soy sauce dish and then to his lips.
A little victory was shared as he chewed on his bite and swallowed it. She clapped for him a little and he offered a high-five. “You are a natural.”
“It’s easier than it looks.” Clark admitted. His eyes fell on her hand now that she had rested it back on the table. “I mean, I won’t be catching flies with them anytime soon, but…yeah.”
Lois chortled, breaking eye contact as she felt her cheeks warm.
In a shy move, each of their hands slid across the table, eventually meeting half way. It was a quiet moment, shared while they ate. Her hand was facing up with her fingers curved just enough for them to brush his skin as he caressed her fingertips with his own.
His eyes went looking for hers as he asked to learn more about her. “I’ve told you about the charm of being a farm boy.” They laughed before he continued, “so, it’s only fair I ask: What is it like to be raised in the city?”
Lois leaned over and with a grin and a dry tone she confessed “I don’t know!”
Blinking he commented, “I thought you had been raised in the city?”
“More like military bases from all over, actually.”
“General Samuel Lane…” He nodded, recalling to have heard something about her dad being in the US Army.
“That’s my dad…” Looking down she shrugged; “He mostly operated in Asia and part of Europe.” Lois played her chopsticks in her hand as she twirled a sushi roll with them, “Chopsticks were kind of the only utensil I knew for a while there. To this day I still find it odd to see people use Western utensils to eat their sushi or whatever.”
Clark waited for her eyes to look up, “I have to admit, I wanted to ask you for something you’d like so did some of the suggested asking, and that’s how I learned you like Asian food.”
“Top notch research skills you’ve got there, Mr Kent.”
They laughed.
“—I didn’t know it was connected to your upbringing, though.”
Wrinkling her nose, Lois shook her head. “I mean, I was still raised as an American — even if technically born overseas; at a US Navy base.” She then leaned in, as if she was about to tell him a secret; “Didn’t really come to the US for the first time until I was older.”
Their lips shared a smile. Their fingers were no longer shy and had been flirting and playing together for a while now.
Clark intertwined his fingers with hers. “I would have never guessed you are a military brat.” Licking his lips, he shifted his head, “It does make kinda sense, though.”
After sharing a chuckle, Lois narrowed her eyes at him. She was still a few inches away from him, close enough to almost be in his personal space. It was Clark who leaned over, and brought them to share his space as his eyebrows rose up, wanting to hear what was on her mind.
“Are you for real? Like you aren’t bullshitting? …When you said you actually woke up at three in the morning to milk cows?” She parted her lips as he laughed, “...Don’t laugh!”
He licked his lips, “I just can’t believe you don’t believe me.”
“I didn’t say that!”
“You kinda implied it, though.”
“NO…no? I mean…I just…”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real cow, let alone be close to one.” Lois bit on her lip, “Is it true what they say? I heard they like kicking people.”
He laughed at her question, but undoubtedly found it adorable.
“—I mean, I don’t blame them, really.” She figured, “I guess I would kick too…if some guy would get all hung up on my breasts.” Lois cleared her throat and with a little flush added, “Without consent, of course.”
They laughed.
Feeling his cheeks warm, Clark sniffed and adjusted on his chair. For her amusement, he shared; “I once had to run after our turkey across the field after it had decided to chase the mailman.” With a little nostalgia, he added; “Where I’m from; you didn’t have a childhood if you were never chased by one of those things.”
Lois was laughing so hard, she felt a little tear rolling from the corner of her eyes. “Turkeys will chase you down the street in Kansas instead of dogs, noted.”
“Oh no. Those will chase after you, too.”
****
By dessert, they were holding hands. They were sharing a cheesecake tempura, their chairs were close together so it was easier to use their forks to feed each other. They were laughing while they bantered and got to get to know each other.
With her chin slightly tilted up, Lois brought her fork to feed him the second to last bite of their dessert. She smiled as her eyes were on his lips and watched how he took the bite and moaned in approval.
“You’re right. The tempura gives it a great texture.” He approved as he pointed down to the last piece of cheesecake with his fork.
Her lips anticipated that last bite before her head leaned into his fork and Clark fed her the bite. Like her, he also observed how she enjoyed the creamy flavor of the sweet.
Once she swallowed and cleaned her lips with her napkin, Lois suggested; “For a second date, I would like to take you to this amazing Asian restaurant called Lung Mei.” With warm cheeks she continued, “I don’t know how weird it is to have two dates in a row to be Asian food, but I promise we can do the whole eggs, hash brown, and bacon for dinner thing on our third date.”
Clark was quiet, but he was smiling; grinning, actually.
Once she found him looking at her that way, she flushed and her eyes went back down. “That-that’s if you are up to a second date, of course.”
“I’m up for that second date you just proposed and third one, for that matter.”
The brief moment they shared was interrupted as the check was set next to their hands. They looked up to their server and thanked them. Letting go of the comfortable grip, they reached for the check at the same time. They looked up and tilted their heads to the side.
A back and forth between the check as they pulled the presenter towards themselves happened with their hands as a stare-down took place between their playful eyes.
“Please, allow me.” A low voice insisted.
Narrowing her eyes, Lois slowly took her hand back. “Fine. But I’m paying next time,” she negotiated.
“Deal.” Clark agreed as he brought his wallet out and paid for the check.
Once they both stood up from their chairs, their hands were drawn back to each other and they held hands as they walked out of the restaurant.
On the street, their fingers intertwined. “May I walk you home?”
A smile and a nod corroborated “I would like that.”
Clark walked her up to her apartment door. This was the first time he was seeing where it was that she lived.
Upon letting go of her hand, Lois leaned slightly forward toward him and her hands brushed the fabric of his shirt. Her fingers found the collar and played with it. She nibbled on her lip as her eyes found his, they shared a smile.
“Would you like to come in?” She invited him over with a voice that was barely above a whisper.
Nodding, he stepped to the side and let her get her keys. His eyes captured the dark and quiet apartment. Most of the furniture were shelves filled with books and some awards. He stayed by the door once she closed it behind them.
“I don’t know why, but I really thought we would be greeted by a cute Maine Coon.”
With a little chortle, Lois confessed “Oh, I’m not really a dog person.”
“No, that’s a cat.” Clark followed her to the kitchen across the living room where she brought two wine glasses out of her cupboards.
“Oh.” She guiltily wrinkled her nose, a bottle of wine in her hands. “I got a fern once, but it didn’t last me a week.” She closed her eyes as she pulled the cork out. Lois smiled and looked up at Clark as he held a glass in each hand for her to fill. “Maybe I should try to get a cactus next? Maybe it won’t hate me for forgetting to water it and just chill on its own.”
Clark laughed at that and followed her back to the living room. “I’ll keep that in mind and get you a moon cactus instead of flowers.”
They sat on her couch and adjusted close by. They simultaneously took a sip of their wine. They were sitting straight and quiet. Clark was holding his glass with both his hands between his legs, Lois had hers in her left hand.
He was about to give his glass another sip when her right hand took it away. Lois set both glasses on the center table, and upon turning toward him, her right hand ran behind his neck and pulled him into a kiss.
Their lips were warm but eager, kissing slowly but hungrily. Once she nibbled on his lower lip, they broke the kiss and shared a light smile. Their eyes were fixed on each other, Clark used his knuckles to brush her cheek and then his fingers tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her hand had stayed behind his neck, where her fingertips played with the hair over his nape.
This time, Clark was the one to kiss her. Once she parted her lips, he took the invitation to kiss her deeper and the warmth of the tip of his tongue found hers. Upon releasing a moan, Lois adjusted and shifted to straddle him.
That position made it impossible to keep herself from leaning into him, pressing her chest against him. The sensation of being so close to each other burnt in desperation. The first ones to act up on it were Clark’s firm hands; he rested them over her back to push her further into him as he leaned against the back rest. His hands ran down to feel her butt as he kissed her deeper.
Pulling back, he gasped for air. Lois nibbled on his chin and caressed his ears with her hands as she smiled. She leaned in for another kiss, their lips exchanged a few pecks as her hands ran down his thick neck and went looking for the buttons of his shirt.
“Hey…” He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. “I-I..” He fixed his eyes on hers, looking back at her and how her eyes danced, giving him a moment to find his words; “I-I wanna do this right…I mean in a way where you and I…” His hands were motioning between them, now that he had let go of hers. Lois kept her head tilted while her fingers played with his messy curls. “—And-and not in a way that-that I will soon regret.”
Her eyes were gentle, but she still frowned and shook her head.
Clark sighed and looked down for a moment, his hands caressed her hips and thighs. “I-I’m talking about consent.”
Hugging his neck with her arms, Lois leaned back into him and kissed him again. “You’ve got consent…” She reassured him between kisses, “...In a few minutes, I’ll probably get very loud about how much consent you’ve got.”
Her kisses were intoxicating, so he kept kissing her as they talked against their lips. “There-there's a conversation to be had.”
Lois snorted into the kiss that they were exchanging. She smiled against his lips and with a light playful tone she reassured “I had the bees and the birds talk a long time ago.”
To that, Clark pulled back and got serious for a moment. “This is important to me.”
With her hands tilted up, she apologized, “All right. I’m sorry.” She cleaned the corners of her lips and adjusted, still straddling him. Her eyes fell on him, she was listening.
“—And honestly, I’ve never had this conversation with a-with a date before.” The firm grab he had on her hips didn’t let her move off him, he liked the feeling of his torso between her legs.
She nodded. Lois offered a light smile which was contagious. At the sight of his dimples, she used her knuckles to caress them.
Clark cleared his throat as he found words for what he needed to discuss. “I really like you. The idea of going out with you, having many dates to come, …is something that makes me excited. I think you are smart and beautiful.”
With her forehead resting against his, Lois reciprocated. “I like you too…” She smiled, “You are a gentleman, thoughtful, smoking hot, and a really good kisser.”
In a more serious tone, Clark took her hands in his and let out a shaky breath, “There’s something you need to know…before we give this a go.” He could feel his heart beating loud. He was not lying when he said he had never done this before, but something about feeling her close and kissing her felt so right, almost too right. It urged him to do things in a transparent way, “I-I brought consent up because…because there-there’s, I need you to…I need more than your consent to be with me, I mean the way you know me.”
Even if her fingers were tender when caressing his ears, he was very nervous. What he needed to tell her was a make or break type of deal, and that’s why he needed it on the table from the start. He had dated before, not much, but still, one date with Lois Lane had been enough to know that she wasn’t just any girl.
The silence that fell between them was interrupted by her soft voice. She was smirking as she tilted her head to the side. She took it in her hands to help him finish what he wanted to say: “Are you trying to tell me that you are Superman?”
Big eyes watched how she had curved her eyebrow up and her fingers were now taking his glasses off. A quick glance to the side had his eyes fall on the Pulitzer Prize that was neatly displayed on the bookshelf right next to the couch.
“For how long have you known?” A husky voice wondered.
“Mm.” Lois gave it a thought, “For a while.”
“The sharp journalist that you are, Ms Lane.”
“Eh. You are also terrible at it.”
They laughed.
Clark let out a shaky breath. “Who else knows?”
“I think Perry is onto you,” Lois nodded with her lips pursed. “I would keep it low around him for a while.”
They didn’t say more, nothing else needed to be said. They kissed again.
This time, the kiss tasted better. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Clark had gotten the consent that he needed to enjoy the moment and what was ahead.
With a firm grab, he cupped her buttcheeks and stood up. Her shoes dropped onto the floor as she straddled his hips. On their way to her bedroom, Lois worked on undoing his shirt and let it fall onto the floor. She then pulled her top over her head and tossed it to the side.
They shared a heated kiss.
Once at her bedroom, using the heel of his foot, Clark closed the door behind her.