Work Text:
Everything was fine.
Clark Kent got to the Daily Planet, ready to begin another day's work. He could feel the hot cup of coffee in his hand, but as soon as he took a sip, he made a face. He missed Lois’s favorite place, (the one on the other side of the city) but without his powers, he had to make do with the shop across the street.
“Kent! Feeling better today?”
He flinched at Perry’s voice and gave him a small smile. He wasn’t used to his boss being concerned about his well-being, but he guessed it was to be expected, considering this was the first time in over a month he had shown his face here.
“Yes, Mr. White, I’m actually...”
“Fantastic, now get to work!”
Some things never changed, he guessed. Making his way to his desk, he turned on his computer, set his coffee aside, and checked the pile of papers waiting for him…
…and immediately frowned when his elbow bumped against the cup, spilling its contents all over the floor. He blinked several times, processing what had just happened. In the past, "lucky" reporter Clark Kent would have reacted with surprising speed, saving the coffee just in time. But now, he was just normal reporter Clark Kent.
He spent fifteen minutes walking to the supply closet on the floor below, grabbing a mop, sweeping the floor, muttering under his breath because it didn't seem to clean anything at all, and then returning it. By the end of it, he felt tired, like, incredibly tired. He looked at the desk next to his, where the green jacket hanging over the chair made him smile.
Lois had told him she had something important to do today, wishing him good luck on his first day back at work and promising she would see him very soon.
The way she had said those last two words made him shiver. He suspected something was going on, so he made her promise she wouldn’t do anything crazy, or rather, crazier than normal.
“It’s something I have to do, okay Clark?”
“Lois,” he had told her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She blushed profusely, her eyes fixed on his face. “Superman can’t protect you anymore. Please, don’t put yourself in danger.”
She looked away, but he pressed his forehead against hers and repeated:
“Please…”
She pecked his lips, laughing softly when his cheeks turned red.
“Worry not, Smallville, I won’t put myself in danger.”
“Promise?” he insisted.
“Promise,” she confirmed, pecking him again.
“What the heck are you doing, farm boy?”
The voice of Steve Lombard brought Clark crashing back to the present. He shook his head, realizing he had been sitting in front of a blank document for the last ten minutes…
…with Lois’s jacket over his lap.
“I… I…”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Cat Grant said. Clark’s blood ran cold, people invading his personal space out of nowhere was scary now that his super-powered reaction time was gone. “The guy misses Lane, leave him alone.”
“It’s still a bit weird, though,” Steve insisted and Clark squeezed Lois’s jacket again, yes, it was weird, but he needed her close to him somehow. “You gotta admit that.”
“And Lane’s attitude while he was gone wasn’t weird?” Cat replied.
The young reporter raised an eyebrow at that, coughing slightly. He didn’t want to pry too much into Lois’s business, but the thought of her being sad (or furious) while he was gone made him sad and furious, so he tried to ask for details in the least suspicious way possible.
“W-weird? Wh-what do you mean by that?” he stuttered.
Great. He couldn't even manage a normal question.
“Oh, she was mopey, like, end-of-the-world-scenario mopey!” Cat dramatically exclaimed.
“She almost bit my hand off when I pointed out she spelled 'reassurance' with three R’s!” Steve said while shivering.
“Same! Not to mention she threatened to ‘kick my ass into the next dimension’... whatever that means,” Cat added, lowering her voice, “when I suggested hiring one of the interns for a more permanent position.”
“And why would you suggest that?” Clark asked.
The two adults stared at him before bursting into laughter, as if he had just told the best joke in history.
“Why do you think, Smallville?” Cat huffed.
“Reminder: don't call him that. Lane is the only one who gets to call him that,” Steve muttered.
“Right, right. Forget I said that, or she’s gonna pull my hair again. She notices when I use that word, she’s psychic like that.”
“I think you mean psychotic,” Steve said, and Cat nodded several times.
“Why would you suggest promoting anyone?” Clark interrupted, getting tired of hearing them call his girlfriend psychotic.
Granted, he himself had called her that plenty of times, but she was his girlfriend, when he said stuff like that, it was endearing!
“Duh,” Cat replied, rolling her eyes. “Because a certain star reporter had been missing for over a month!”
“I was sick!” Clark retorted. “And besides, I’ve been working from home occasionally!”
“Pfft, first of all, we all know Perry hates the concept of working from home, and second of all, your first assignment back in the field was at the Humanitarian Gala a week ago, Kent,” Cat scowled at him.
“And you also know how Perry feels about sick leave, Kent,” Steve immediately added. “One week max, then he starts looking for a replacement. Olsen tried to cover for you while you were away, but if it wasn’t for Lane, you would’ve been fired a long time ago.”
The jacket in Clark’s hands felt tremendously heavy now and he squeezed it even harder as he asked, “What did she do?”
Both reporters shrugged.
“All I know is that she screamed at him. A lot,” Cat responded.
“Pretty sure she threatened to quit if he kicked you out,” Steve added.
They kept talking, commenting on how Clark had hit the jackpot by dating someone as fierce and loyal as Lois, but he wasn’t listening anymore. He had told her not to put herself in danger, completely unaware that she had already put her entire career on the line. They were human now, with regular jobs and fragile lives and she was willing to sacrifice that too?.
While he had been recovering, she had sworn his job was safe, insisting Perry had ordered him to take as much time as he needed to rest. He should have realized she was lying to him, but he couldn't blame her for this. He was the one who had failed by keeping his distance, spending endless hours sleeping or quietly watching television with her, Jimmy, and Kara, pretending everything was fine, instead of talking to her about his problems like he was supposed to.
He closed his eyes, grateful he wasn’t Superman right now, or he would have ripped Lois’s jacket to shreds without even meaning to. He desperately tried to think of an excuse, no matter how ridiculous, to leave the office, find his girlfriend, and kiss her until he ran out of breath.
“Kent! They need you at the morgue!”
Once again, a loud voice startled him and he looked up to see Perry’s scowling face. Cat and Steve were already nowhere to be seen, of course they had flee away as soon as their boss approached.
“Kent, you hear me?” the Editor-in-Chief barked, snapping his fingers in front of the reporter's face.
“I… Yes! The morgue… wait, my old office? What for?”
Perry let out an audible chuckle at the word office, only to immediately spin around and march away, shouting over his shoulder:
“Beats me! Some guy, a really angry one, mentioned a mess, and he’s asking for you. So get down there, pronto!”
Sighing in defeat, Clark stood up and shook his head. As much as he wanted to run out the door, he had a job to do. He couldn’t throw away everything Lois had done for him by getting himself fired.
He started walking away, only to freeze when Steve’s voice called out:
“Hey, Kent, are you gonna drag that thing around with you all day?” he snorted.
Clark realized he was still clutching Lois’s jacket. And honestly? Why shouldn't he?
“Maybe,” he replied, draping the jacket over his shoulders as he walked out of the room.
This was his job, he had to do it. Once the clock struck five o’clock, he would fly back to his apartment, make sure Lois was fine, and…
Right. He couldn’t fly anymore. He would have to wait for the bus, which would take an eternity.
His head hurt as he tried to calculate how long he’d have to wait until all of this was done, so he gave up and pushed open the morgue door.
He immediately stopped breathing the second he looked around. There were flowers in every corner of the room: lilac and daisy garlands hanging across the chalkboards, giant sunflowers taped to the walls, and enormous vases that looked far too heavy to be transported by a single person. He took off his shoes; even without his super-strength, he didn’t want to step too hard on the rose petals covering the floor.
He walked over to the desk in the center of the room, smiling brightly when he saw a note:
“Happy first day back at work, Clark.”
And if that wasn’t sweet and loving enough, he suddenly felt two soft arms wrap around his waist as the most wonderful voice in the universe whispered:
“You gave me a surprise like this once, Smallville…”
He turned around, unable to utter a single word. Lois had one of the biggest, warmest smiles he had ever seen as she added:
“…I figured it was about time I did the same for you. Do you like it?”
His lip quivered for the briefest moment, and before he could help it, he burst into tears. Lois’s smile instantly transformed into sheer panic as her hands rushed to his face.
“Oh no, not tears! I didn’t anticipate tears! I don’t have a contingency plan for tears!”
He held her tight. Superman was gone, but Clark Kent was still strong enough to lift Lois Lane, even if only ten centimeters off the ground. He buried his face in her neck, and Lois laughed out loud, giving him the perfect opportunity to kiss her right then and there.
When they finally pulled apart, she muttered, “Lucky for you, my plans did anticipate kisses.”
He didn’t reply. As they stood there, Lois noticed her jacket on his shoulders. She gently pulled it off, then tossed it onto a nearby chair.
“What were you doing with that?” she asked, her voice soft and endearing.
“I missed you. A lot,” he confessed without hesitation.
“You’re impossible, Smallville,” she whispered, her heart melting.
He pulled her close and hugged her once again. He wasn't sure if she had left her jacket by his desk on purpose, she was only wearing her white tank top and the direct contact with her bare skin sent alarms blaring straight to his brain, and judging by the knowing look his girlfriend was giving him, she definitely noticed.
Doing his best to ignore that rush of heat, he lifted her and began spinning her around while she clung to his neck. As he held her, he couldn't help but wonder how long all of this had taken her. Perhaps Cat was right when she said Lois was psychic, because his girlfriend whispered:
“I’ve been working on this for about three hours. Jimmy paid for the flowers and Kara helped me with the vases. It took her a bit to understand the romantic meaning of flowers, though, apparently, expressions of care and love on Krypton are accompanied by hand-to-hand combat.”
“I’m not going to fight you, Lois. I’m way too tired!”
She laughed even louder at that, and he kissed her again, just because his ears burned every time he heard the sound of her giggle.
“We should leave the fighting round for the bedroom, then?” she suggested with a wink.
He was actually sweating now, wondering if it was normal for humans to catch this kind of fever all of a sudden.
“Lois…” he muttered, flustered.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she whispered, then immediately bit his left ear. He stumbled back, instantly dropping her, as the woman laughed yet again.
“You’ve been doing that a lot ever since the Humanitarian Gala,” he accused, pointing a finger at her.
She swatted his hand away in a playful way before replying, “What can I say, Smallville? Being turned into a cat woke up certain animal instincts in me.”
Wanting to prove her point, she pushed him against the door. He hugged her again, but whatever mischievous thought she had vanished the moment she looked at his face.
“You still look… sad,” she said.
“I’m thinking about all the things you’ve done for me ever since I lost my powers. You’ve been so patient and kind… You threatened Perry with your resignation, Lois!”
“Ah, so you heard those rumors. Look, I know you’re gonna say I’m crazy and that I shouldn’t have done that, but...”
“No,” he cut her off, taking her hand and kissing it briefly. “What I’m going to say is thank you, Lois Lane. Thank you for sticking with me and not giving up. Thank you for protecting me when I can’t protect anyone else.”
She turned around, pressing her back against his chest and grabbing his arms, forcing him to hold her close as she whispered:
“I don’t know, Clark… this feels pretty protective to me right now.”
“You know what I mean…”
“I do,” she confirmed, looking back at him without letting go. “So what if you’re not as strong, or powerful, or fast as before? I still feel safe when you’re around, I always will.”
He kissed her neck, grinning when he felt the way she shivered at the contact.
“Right here, in our old office? How scandalous, Mr. Kent!”
He ignored her teasing, simply murmuring, “I love you, Lois Lane,” as his only response.
“I love you,” he repeated as she playfully slipped out of his embrace.
“I love you a lot,” he said once more, chasing her around the desk until he caught her hand and pulled her against his chest.
“I love you, so, so much,” he said again.
“I love you too, Clark,” she whispered. She reached up and pulled his glasses off. He was about to protest that he could barely see, but she added, “You don’t really need them right now, do you?”
He tried to reply that he very much did need them, because his regular vision was abysmal, but she was already biting his ear again, so any objections he had fell on deaf ears.
He wasn’t entirely sure what happened after that. It was a whirlwind of kisses and bites, his girlfriend's nails scratching every inch of his back and him not caring about any marks she could leave there, but responding in kind with some hickeys on her neck. Her protesting because that definitely wasn't fair, then demanding he take his clothes off and doing it herself when less than ten seconds had passed and the task definitely wasn't done. Then her voice turning impossibly low as she demanded he keep his own voice down, something that was completely impossible given that Lois was here, with him, in their own little corner of the universe, doing things that any proper journalist would consider wildly unprofessional and risky, but doing them anyway because there was no way he could ever say 'no' to Lois Lane...
At some point, his breathing finally slowed down, Lois had covered them both in a large bed sheet that he had no idea where she’d gotten from, then rested her head against his bare chest. He looked down at his human savior, certain there were a million things he could tell her right now, yet knowing none of them would ever be enough.
“I love you,” he said instead, before instantly adding. “I’ve said that too many times today, haven’t I?”
“Not at all, Smallville,” she replied, moving again and now she was sitting on his lap, even without his glasses, he could see the way she looked at him and his heart was pumping wildly in his chest once more. “And I love you too…”
Without meaning to, he let out a quiet whimper. Immediately, he felt fingers running through his hair, a gentle, silent way of asking if something was wrong.
“I miss the sound of your heartbeat, Lois,” he confessed softly. “I can’t hear it the way I used to anymore.”
She didn't hesitate. She guided his head down, and he blushed furiously when his cheek made contact with her bare skin. He was immensely thankful that Lois chose not to tease him to oblivion (at least not now, she would definitely reference this later, probably in front of Kara and Jimmy, because she was insane). A few seconds later, he managed to hear the familiar rhythm.
“There it is…” he whispered, closing his eyes.
“It’s right here whenever you need it, Clark,” she said, giggling when he nuzzled her.
He felt her hands start to drift down his back and had to gently catch her wrists to stop her. Because as amazing as this had been, going for round two right now would be playing with fire, they were still in the basement of the Daily Planet, after all.
“Lois, I should probably get back to work…”
“Booooring,” she purred, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
“Lois, come on, I have to. Perry will wonder where I am. Actually, he’s the one who told me to come...”
Lois raised an eyebrow.
“...here, because someone…”
She raised the other eyebrow.
“...told him that there was a mess in… Lois, what did you do?”
She burst into laughter, that delightfully unhinged laugh of hers. Kara often mentioned that the world was lucky Lois Lane was ‘one of the good guys,’ because she would have been one of the most insufferable supervillains in history if she ever crossed over to the dark side.
The star reporter finally cleared her throat and stood up. Clark let out an annoyed huff as she took the sheet away to wrap it around herself, then, in a voice that definitely didn't sound like her at all, said:
“Look, White! Send Kent down here right now! We found a bunch of old boxes filled with documents from back when he was an intern, and everything’s a total mess! He needs to take care of it. It’s gonna take him all day, but it’s his mess, so he’d better get to it, chop chop!”
She immediately dropped the impersonation, returning to his side and pressing a soft kiss to his neck.
“You’re completely insane,” he muttered.
“I believe the word the newsroom prefers is psychotic, Clark.”
“That too,” the reporter agreed, pulling her close. “You’re insane, psychotic, cunning, smart, resourceful, brilliant, beautiful…”
“Right back at you, Smallville. Now, where were we... oop!”
He cut her off by pinning her down onto the floor of the morgue, sending her into yet another fit of laughter.
Considering this was his first official day back at work, reporter Clark Kent figured he wouldn't mind pulling a little overtime tonight. Nobody was going to complain about that.
Especially not his wonderful girlfriend, right?