By Tracey <supertlc19@aol.com>
Rated PG
Submitted March 2001 (written May 2000)
Summary: The author's version of Lois and Clark's first kisss, set between the "almost first date" and the real one.
This little story takes place during the second season, when Lois is realizing her feelings for Clark go deeper than friendship. It takes place somewhere after The Phoenix but before Lucky Leon. It is my version of Lois and Clark's first kiss, very different from the way it happened on the show. Usual copyrights apply: characters belong to DC Comics, TNT, etc., and any reference to other stories is completely accidental on my part. Comments welcome and appreciated at supertlc19@aol.com
***
"Fine!"
She spun around, well aware that the entire newsroom had been listening to their argument. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish some copies for Perry," she told him icily, flipping her dark, chestnut hair over one shoulder. She left Clark standing by his desk, hands on his hips.
Lois picked the Morton file up off her desk and stomped off towards the copy room. Perry said he needed these copies by noon. It was almost quarter of now, and she had things to do. Where was Jimmy when you needed him?
Her heels clicked loudly against the tiled floor of the hallway as she made her way down to the copy room. She pushed the door open, grateful that no one was inside. She wasn't in the mood to wait in line. She and Clark had just had a huge fight about what their next move was in the Morton investigation.
On one hand, Lois was sure that the crooked politician was filtering funds from city hall into his own personal bank accounts, but apparently Clark thought differently. Well, that wasn't totally true; he did agree that something smelled fishy about Henry Morton, but he seemed to think that it had something to do with the large amounts of campaign money going into Morton's account from various businesses around town. They both agreed that they needed to find some proof. To Lois, that meant breaking into Morton's office and trying to find some bank records that would prove his guilt. To Clark, that meant asking Bobby Bigmouth if he'd heard anything about dishonest deals on the street. Clearly, they were at an impasse.
She laid the first paper on the machine and closed the lid, but before she could hit the copy button, she heard the click of a door closing. She knew without turning around who it was.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Clark."
"You barely let me get a word in edgewise, Lois. Would you just listen to me for one second?"
Lois was silent. She didn't turn around, hoping he'd take the hint and leave.
She heard Clark sigh. "You are the most stubborn person I've ever met. Why do you insist on taking unnecessary chances?"
She whirled around. "Why do you insist on trying to protect me?"
"Because," Clark said, his tone exasperated, "you are my partner. You're my best friend, and I don't want you to get hurt. You can't keep risking your neck like this. You don't know who's going to come after you if the wrong people find out that you were snooping around Morton's office."
"Do the words 'let it go' mean anything at all to you?" She hit the copy button hard enough to break it. Luckily, the machine seemed to sense that if it did break, it might lose more than its copy button. It complied and the copy appeared on the other side.
"I'm not going to let this go, Lois. Great reporter or not, you're going to get stuck one of these days, and no one's going to be there to bail you out. I'm just saying that sometimes you need to be careful. Sometimes you need to do things the conventional way."
"What, like you? I'm sorry, Clark, I hate walking on eggshells. That's not how I work."
Clark threw his hands in the air. "I'm trying to make sure you don't get killed, and all of the sudden I don't know how to do my job, and I've become the bad guy. That's not fair, Lois, and you know it."
She gathered the copies up in one fell swoop. "This conversation is over."
One step towards the door proved Clark felt differently. He blocked her path with his body.
"Let me through." She moved to the side, trying to get past him.
He grabbed her arm. "Lois, you are the single most frustrating person I have ever known. Most of the time, I can't decide whether I want to strangle you or kiss you."
Lois' eyes widened and flew to meet his. "You what?"
Only at her startled gesture did Clark realize he had actually voiced his last thought aloud. Instead of becoming embarrassed though, he was actually kind of enjoying the shocked look on her face. For once, it was nice to catch Lois Lane off guard. In fact, he loved it.
"You heard me. I can't decide whether to strangle you or do this."
In one of the boldest moves of his life, he leaned down and covered her mouth with his. For a moment, she was totally still. In shock, probably, he thought with a smile. He had shocked Lois Lane.
That was the last coherent thought he had, though, because then his mouth and his brain both realized exactly what he was doing. He hadn't kissed her in a long time, but now he knew the memories didn't do her justice. She felt amazing.
Lois, on the other hand, was stunned. There was no other word for it. Clark Kent was kissing her, not the way friends kiss, but the way couples kiss. His lips were moving against hers, soft and demanding at the same time, urging a response from her. She didn't know when she began to kiss back, only that it felt so good that she couldn't help it. She heard him groan dimly in the background of her dazed mind, and she felt an answering moan rise in her throat. He slipped his tongue against her bottom lip, and she gasped, moving her body closer to his. Somehow her arms had found their way around his neck and his around her waist. The copies fell unnoticed from her grasp and fluttered around her feet like dry leaves on a cool autumn day.
Suddenly Perry's loud, gruff voice cut through their passionate haze. "Lois! Where are my copies? Kent! Where the in the Sam Hill are you two?"
Lois and Clark hastily broke apart at the sound of their editor's voice coming from the newsroom. Clark slowly opened his eyes. He found himself staring into dark, starry eyes and felt an amazing urge to reach down and nibble at her lips again. Forget Perry. He had more important things to do.
Her breath came fast, and her mouth felt tingly and moist. What on earth had just happened? One minute they had been arguing, and the next minute he had been kissing her. And then the minute following that, she had been kissing him back. Swallowing hard, she straightened her suit jacket and skirt. "Umm, we'd better go see what he wants."
"Yeah, see what he wants," Clark echoed, still unable to take his eyes off of her.
She was still staring at him as well. "Clark…"
He cut her off. "Have dinner with me tonight."
If it was possible, her heart began to beat even faster. "Like a date?" she whispered, remembering the first time he had asked her out. She had thought a long time about her answer, finally agreeing; unfortunately, that date had turned into an 'almost- first date' instead of a real one. The real one hadn't happened yet, and she was beginning to think it never would. But now he had changed all of that with one statement.
He grinned, knowing she was thinking about his earlier attempt to ask her out. "Yeah, like a date."
His smile made her heart flutter, the way it always did. She didn't even have to think about her answer. "Yes," she agreed softly.
His smile got wider, and he reached out to take her hand. She smiled as well and met his hand half way. Together, they made their way into the newsroom.
A moment later, Hank, the daytime janitor, came by the copy room door. He came to an abrupt halt when he glanced into the copy room. He shook his head as he looked at the mess. What kind of person would make all of these copies and then leave them scattered on the floor? he wondered. Sighing, he lifted the broom from the cart. They were having a staff meeting tomorrow morning; he would mention the mess to Perry White then.
THE END