By Jill <DrMcCoY97@aol.com>
Rated: PG
Submitted: July 2002
Summary: Lois' thoughts about Clark get the better of her in this alternate ending of the episode "Church of Metropolis," written in response to Wendy's 30-minute Episode Extension challenge.
A 30 Minute Episode Extension Challenge Fic: Church of Metropolis
Disclaimer: Lois and Clark characters are not mine. They and all other recognizable elements were borrowed (for a very short time) from Warner Brothers/DC Comics, etc and the people/person who actually wrote "Church of Metropolis". They deserve all the credit, I'm not nearly clever enough to come up with this stuff on my own. And thank you so very much Kaylle and Meredith, who so kindly agreed to BR this for me on IRC, caught my goofy grammar errors and convinced me to inflict this on FoLCdom. You guys are great, and very nice for needed ego boosts. <g>
***
Lois couldn't help but smile. She was dancing with Superman, the complete fulfillment of one of her favorite fantasies. And he was such a good dancer.
"I didn't even know you could dance," Lois said, realizing again how very little she really knew about the super-hero.
He grinned at her as he responded, "This isn't dancing…"
Lois looked questioningly at him, wondering what he could possibly mean. "It's not?"
He shook his head slightly, still grinning impishly, "This is." Lois gasped in surprise as she realized that they were slowly rising off the floor of her living room, still moving slowly to the music. She tightened her grip on his shoulder and hand, knowing that he would never let her fall, but wanting to reaffirm the contact, the strength of his arm wrapped around her waist and the warmth in his eyes as he looked at her.
For a moment he broke eye contact with her and glanced over her shoulder, towards the window, and she froze, knowing that he was going to leave her. Then she heard his indrawn breath close to her ear and she looked behind her, seeing her window snap closed, and her heart soared. He was going to stay with her! For more than his usual five-minute visit!
Lois laughed as he spun her around in mid-air and then dipped her backwards slightly. This was so nice, she'd never felt this close to Superman before, and he'd never allowed himself to be so at ease with her.
She allowed herself to relax further into his embrace, reveling in the feel of weightlessness as he continued to move them in small circles. He was a really good dancer. <But not as good as Clark> a small voice in her head piped up.
Well, no, not as good a dancer as Clark. Her partner was full of many surprises, and his dancing ability was one of them. Just in the short amount of time that they'd danced together earlier that evening, Lois had realized how skilled Clark was at dancing. But then, that dance had been cut short by that obnoxious blonde twit of an assistant district attorney. It just wasn't fair that Mayson had chosen that exact moment to decide that she had to dance with Clark. She'd had no right to cut in on Lois' dance, Clark was her partner, not Mayson's.
Lois' thoughts stopped short as she realized what she was doing. Here she was, dancing with the most incredible man in the known universe and she was thinking about her partner? What was wrong with her? If anything, she should be thinking about how nice it was to have this time alone with Superman. About how nice it was to be held in his arms while he twirled them slowly around her living room, not to mention the fact that they were suspended in mid- air. It wasn't every day that a girl got to spend the evening floating around her living room with a 'god in a cape'.
She lifted her head back up to meet his gaze, feeling a small thrill shoot through her when she found he was still smiling down at her.
It was always a thrill to fly with Superman, but being held in his arms like this, dancing with him…it was just so much more. He was right, this was the only way to dance! Free of the confines of gravity, completely separated from the Earth and moving freely in each other's arms.
<I wonder what it would be like to dance with Clark like this.> There was that annoying voice again! Why couldn't it just let her enjoy this rare moment with Superman? Why did it have to keep bringing her partner back to her thoughts?
<Because you're still feeling cheated out of that dance with him. And you're worried that Mayson is just going to keep trying to come between you and Clark.>
That's ridiculous! Mayson isn't a threat to my relationship with Clark, he'll always be my best friend. It's like I told Perry earlier, I'll never lose Clark.
<Oh, yes, Clark will always be your best friend…but that's not what you're afraid of losing and you know it!>
Oh, why won't you just leave me alone and let me enjoy myself right now? I don't want to be thinking about Clark right now, not while I'm with Superman. Why do you always have to be such a party pooper?
<It's not my fault you can't stop thinking about him. I'm in your head after all. And you know perfectly well that you're afraid that Mayson is going to come between you and Clark…and any chance that the two of you might have for a real relationship.>
Lois had spent months trying to hide from the feelings that she was developing for her partner, she still didn't want to admit to herself that what she was feeling for Clark might be more than friendship. But she couldn't resist the little hand of fear that gripped her heart when she thought of Mayson and the possibility that Clark might be interested in her. She shivered slightly at the thought, and then looked up as Superman abruptly stopped their slow movement through the air.
She looked up at him, seeing that the look on his face had changed distinctly, from the soft smile to a look of concern. "Lois? Are you all right?"
She dropped her eyes from his, unable to meet his concerned look, knowing that she had no way to explain the look of sadness that she knew had to be on her face. No way to explain why her mood had changed so abruptly, other than to tell him that she'd been thinking about another man while she'd been dancing with him.
They were still hovering about three feet above the ground, but when she looked away from him, Clark slowly lowered them back down to the floor, releasing her and moving slightly away from her.
"Lois, what happened? Did I do something wrong?" he asked anxiously, trying to figure out what had changed her mood so quickly.
At that, she did look up again, seeing the anxious look in his eyes and needing to reassure him that he'd done nothing wrong. "Oh, no, Superman, it's not you. Really! It's me. I was just…thinking."
"You were thinking? What were you thinking about that could have made you look so upset?"
"Clark," she said softly, so softly that he wasn't sure that he'd have heard her without his enhanced hearing.
He looked at her incredulously. "Thinking about Clark made you upset? What did Clark do that could have possibly made you this upset?"
She couldn't lie to Superman. She didn't want to risk whatever chance she had for a relationship with him, a chance that had been looking even better after his visit this evening, but she couldn't lie to him.
"No, Clark didn't do anything to make me upset. It's just some things that have been happening lately. Things have been changing in our friendship and I'm not sure what to do about the changes, or how I feel about them." Superman looked very confused, and Lois could understand, she felt pretty confused herself. But she knew that she hadn't been very clear about what she was thinking.
She took his hand and led him to sit next to her on the couch, continuing to hold onto his hand while she talked. "Superman, I need you to understand how much I care for you and how special you are to me. But I've also started to realize over the last couple of months that I have feelings for Clark that go beyond just friendship." She lowered her eyes again at this point, not really wanting to see the expression on his face when she told him that she was beginning to have feelings for another man.
But the look on Clark's face was one of sheer joy. He'd waited for so long, hoping against hope, that Lois could eventually come to feel the same for him, Clark, as he did for her. And now it sounded like she finally was.
At this point though, Lois was in full babble mode, her confusion and insecurities surfacing and just allowing the words to tumble out of her without any editing. "And I don't want you to think that I didn't enjoy dancing with you, because it really was wonderful, and I'd really like to do it again. And I know you must be thinking that I'm a complete idiot telling you this when I should have just been enjoying spending the evening with you. And I really do love you, it's just so frustrating and confusing because I'm starting to have all of these feelings for Clark that I don't understand, and I think that I might be starting to love him too, but I don't know if he feels anything for me, and I don't know what-"
Clark stopped the flow of her words with his lips, pressing them forcefully against her own and slipping his hand behind her neck to hold her steady for his kiss. Lois froze for a moment then responded easily, returning his kiss with as much force. She couldn't help herself, despite the confusion of her thoughts and feelings at this point, the presence of her attraction and feelings for Superman were undeniable. His lips moved almost frantically against hers, his tongue slipping forward to stroke her bottom lip, requesting entrance. She granted it freely, moaning into his mouth and pulling herself closer to him as the kiss deepened, her arms moving of their own volition to wrap around his neck.
Clark pulled slowly away from the kiss, he'd only done it stop the babbling, but once his lips had connected with Lois' he'd been unable to temper the amount of passion. And hearing her say that she thought she might be starting to love Clark had just pushed him past the point where he could control himself.
Lois sat back slowly from where she was pressed against Superman's body, the glazed look in her eyes changing into a look of alarm and confusion again. But Clark just smiled at her, reaching for her hand and lacing his fingers with hers.
"Lois, I know you're confused about your feelings right now, but I have something I need to tell you. It's going to change a lot of things, but it's something you need to know and I think it might help clear up your confusion." A shadow of doubt crossed Clark's face at that moment though, knowing full well that the disclosure of his secret would help clear up any confusion Lois had about her feelings for the 'two' men, but it also might mean that she would hate him for lying to her.
But he had to tell her, "Lois, I am Clark."
Another wave of confusion ripped through Lois, followed by anger that Superman would make fun of her intelligence so callously. But then she looked closer at his face and saw the honesty, and a touch of fear, in his eyes and knew he was telling her the truth.
She was angry, and she fully intended to yell at him for keeping this a secret from her for so long, but that could wait until later. Right now she just felt a sense of relief, the confusion over her feelings for Superman and Clark melting away.
She smiled at him. "Ok, that makes things so much easier." Then she leaned forward and kissed him again.
THE END