277/Ice Cream Symbolism

Ice Cream Symbolism
Date of Scene:	04 March 2020
Location:	Lois Lane's Apartment
Synopsis:	Lois and Clark discuss Lois running into danger, and Clark's reaction to Superman. It's confusing.
Cast of Characters:	Lois Lane, Clark Kent

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Lois Lane has posed:
'Hey. I owe you an apology. Come over?'

It wasn't a particularly friendly text that Lois was sending Clark, but it was straightforward and to the point. She didn't have to be particularly welcoming... she knew he'd come over anyway. So when he finally showed up, Lois opened the door... and immediately shoved a pint of vanilla ice cream into his hands, spoon included.

"Alright, we're having ice cream, come on." It's an instruction, more than a request, and she waits until he's inside before shutting the door and moving towards the couch, where she's got her own pint, this one chocolate chip cookie dough. She leaves an obviously open spot on the couch for him.

Clark Kent has posed:
The door opened, and so did Clark's mouth, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything, because he suddenly has ice cream in his hands. He fumbles the spoon a little bit, nearly dropping it-- it bounces off one hand and he snares it with the other, out of what looks like sheer luck.

"All right," Clark gives in, as she instructs him as he comes inside, using his heel to gently shut the door after him, and heads towards the couch. His expression is cautious, one brow up over his thick-edged glasses, but he comes and sinks into the open spot. His gaze is prompting, questioning, for her to talk first.

Lois Lane has posed:
Opening the top of her own ice cream, Lois digs in and takes a bite before looking over at him, her gaze looking the slightest bit guilty. "So, uh, I'm okay," she gestures at herself as if proof to explain things. "And I sent you a text that probably scared the crap out of you and I'm sorry for that. I panicked and that seemed like the best option. But it turned out just fine. I just didn't mean to scare you."

She digs into the ice cream again, proceeding to stuff her face with it to hide her guilty face.

Clark Kent has posed:
"It did scare me," Clark says, looking down at his ice cream that is currently unopened. He takes the time to look at her with a slight edge of puzzlement or dismay. Her partner's unhappy she went off alone, probably. "I didn't know what you'd meant. Before I had seen the text calling it off...." He trails off, and gestures a little, as if to show flight with a hand. Superman flew and all that. "That was already happening."

"I was nowhere nearby," Clark says, apology in his voice as he opens his ice-cream. HE would have liked to have been, but he doesn't say it.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois looks up from her ice cream. "I know. I wouldn't have sent it if I didn't honestly think I was in real trouble. I knew you'd figure out there was trouble and send him. You were really the only one who could help me..." She looks sheepishly into the ice cream. "It turned out okay, though, so I feel bad that the message went through at all. Cell reception is unreliable in that part of town."

She clears her throat. "So I'm sorry that I scared you, but I'm not sorry I did it. There was a very real chance that it wouldn't go so well so you might have at least had a chance of knowing what happened." She doesn't mean to imply how bad things were, but she can't help it in her phrasing.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark puts the lid aside of his ice cream, and digs at it with his spoon. He seems hurt - probably due to worry about her, or being excluded. "If something /had/ happened..." he gives her a look that has a quiet, mild plead in it, then eats some ice cream. "I'm not sure what to say, Lois," he sighs. "At least Superman responded, right? At least there's that. I'm really glad you're okay."

Lois Lane has posed:
"I know, I know, that's what he said. He said I should take you along next time," Lois purposefully avoids the details as much as possible. She doesn't want him to know just how close it was nor how much it shook her up. Sparing him from that seems to be the best method of things. "Besides, I always come back. I'm always okay."

She sets her ice cream on the table for a moment, getting to her feet as she heads to the kitchen. She puts a hand on Clark's shoulder for a brief squeeze as she passes before she continues to the kitchen. There's the sound of metal against glass, stirring for a moment and then she returns.

Leaning over Clark's shoulder a bit, it's evident what she's doing after a second. She spoons out a scoop of hot fudge and plops it in the divet where he'd already taken a bite. "You're trying something different this time, Smallville."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark does in fact know how shaken up she was. He held her close. It's almost strange to be back in the apartment in a completely different dynamic. That he doesn't inherit the things that happened before, soothing her. That he's also seeming to be shut out of the loop about it.

"Well, I'll agree with Superman," Clark decides, ruefully. "Smart guy." Ha, ha. He watches her leave, listening to the sounds, and chuckles when she drops fudge into his ice-cream. "I like my vanilla just fine," Clark points out, but doesn't argue, he stirs it around a little into a swirl shape, smiling at her softly.

Then, a question surfaces. "So Superman helped you?" In some way...

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois sets the fudge on the table, giving him a small look. "You don't ever want to try something else? Live a little dangerously?" As if a swirl of fudge were dangerous. She remains where she stands for a brief moment, then gives him a nod. "Yeah, Clark, he did. You did the right thing. Those instincts of yours helped a lot and I'm very grateful." He's offered a smile, a genuine look of appreciation, and then she moves to go back to her seat.

Picking up her ice cream, she takes another bite. "You can come with me next time. And I know you're going to worry and tell me it's a bad idea, but I'd rather go and listen to that then leave and have to come back to that look from you."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Your conscience seems to have developed laringitis, so I'll be the stand-in," Clark offers mildly, without actually pressuring too much. But then he lifts his eyes, and there's a funky little firmness in the gaze. Maybe chocolate swirl gave Clark a little bit of a backbone temporarily. But it isn't the only time: he often gets this way when it comes to /real/ issues, or his traditional upbringing.

"Okay, I'll believe you," Clark says, tentative, but there's trust there. He'll accept that she'll bring him. He moves a hand to bump his fist once against her knee, and gives her a sideways smile.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois' smile looks a little less guilty this time as she glances over at him. "I will do my very best to make sure, even if you can't come along, that you know where I'm going." There's the slightly guilty look again. "Because sometimes situations come up, you know." She might take him along, but there's no guarantee that there's not going to be an unplanned opportunity. Still, she flashes him a reassuring look. She's not trying to scare him. But the guilt is still there.

She digs into her ice cream.

Clark Kent has posed:
"You seem a little different, ever since Superman came back," Clark broaches, cautiously, but willing to move the conversation a little bit. His curiosity, maybe, is also getting the better of him. And he's trying something a little bit different with his fudge, there: daring to direct the topic towards Superman, which is, in fact, a bit of a risk at this point.

Also, of course, Clark needs to judge about if he'll tell her... how easy WILL that be, if he does it?...

Lois Lane has posed:
"I suppose I am, a little," Lois admits... almost shyly, for a second. Ice cream is proving to be a perfect distraction, and she takes another bite. She'd mentioned her feelings about Superman to him before, but it was when she was emotional and she wasn't sure if it was a good idea when she reflected on it. Did it make him awkward, at all? On the other hand, he was her best friend. She could tell him anything.

"You're the only other person at all that knows how I feel about him. How much he means to me." She looks at him, setting the ice cream aside for a moment. "It's a good different, right? I don't want to be the kind of person who edges someone out accidently because they've found someone they want to be with. Are you okay?"

Clark Kent has posed:
"Me? Yes, Lois," Clark says, dropping his eyes down into the ice cream. However good his acting is, though, she does in fact know Clark. Best friend of a decade goes two ways, and the evidence is there that he is reacting oddly to the information. It's not jealousy, though: some sort of odd acceptance. But more importantly, that he did care about it.

"Superman being alive changed everything," Clark observes, seeming to have recovered a little from whatever it was. He hasn't closed off: it's probably hard to sort out exactly what's up with Clark. "The fudge is good."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois watches him very carefully. It's very true. Sorting out what's wrong with Clark is hard. The problem for him is that she's a stubborn reporter who follows up on her leads. So she doesn't let it go. In fact, she scoots a tiny bit closer to him on the couch, ice cream still in hand. It remains a convenient distraction whe needed.

"Superman being alive did change things," she agrees after a moment. "But don't think for a second that I'm losing my best friend over it. I'm not going anywhere, Smallville." She purposefully sets her spoon down so she can have a free hand to give him a little pat on the knee. "I'm still the same person you've been working with all these years. You think I'd just forget about you because he's back? Clark, I see you every day. You think that doesn't count for something? Whatever it is, it's alright."

There's a sudden laugh. "Unless I'm reading too much into this and you're talking about something completely different." She's reaching for the spoon again.

Clark Kent has posed:
"I mean... holding the secret about him must be driving you crazy," Clark says, with a chuckle and lift of brows. He glances down as she pats his knee, and sets his ice-cream aside. He didn't have much of it, and doesn't feel like hiding behind it at the moment. So it was put down on the table, and he rubs his hands together, as if to warm them.

"I remember he was special to you. I didn't know what happened to that, after burying him, letting him go," Clark explains. "I wasn't thinking of a competition of who is closer to you with somebody that's barely around, until now," he jokes with her.

Lois Lane has posed:
"I mean, yeah, it is. It's hard to keep a secret about something so important, but you do it /because/ it's that important." Lois seems to consider this for a moment as she retrieves her spoon. She digs into the ice cream before continuing. She's still using hers, at least for the moment. That is, until she hears him talk. What's intended as a joke hits close enough to home that she needs to focus. The ice cream and spoon are set on the table, and she turns her entire body a little so she can face him more fully.

"Clark, it's not a competition. It was never a competition. You don't have to be Superman to be close to me. You've always been right here with me. Right here at my side. You're /always/ going to mean something. You are no less important today than you were last week, or the week before."

There's a long pause. A very long pause. "Unless you're trying to tell me something."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Tell you something?" Clark echoes, with a puzzled little look. He doesn't appear to be on that wavelength. "While I'm glad that Superman did come to help you, I'm frustrated that I couldn't. Wasn't there. Or could do anything. Me, Clark," he says, with a gesture towards himself some. Him as Clark was not useful beyond to send the big gun. "I wasn't by your side." Because she went off by herself without her partner.

"I'm sorry. I'll get over it. I always do," Clark says with a brief tease, but he's burying the impact of it, likely. He attempts to lean forward and squeeze her hand in a brief, mild way, and then collects his ice cream, attention on it, as if things were fine now. Best friends being just fine.

"With Superman, I don't want to be a naysayer or a worrywort. Just that he... Is back from the dead. We don't know what that really means, do we? Is he the same, after what happened?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois' brow furrows. Things aren't fine, even if he's pretending they are. "I know it's frustrating not being able to do anything. But you did something. You knew what that text meant and you made sure I got the help I needed. If you weren't there, who knows..." She stays facing him, even if he's trying to shrug it off. "Clark, don't shut me out just because you're comparing yourself to Superman."

Her ice cream is now completely ignored. There's no hiding on her end. "Yes, we do know. We know firsthand if he's the same. Because I've /talked/ to him. You think anyone would be exactly the same having that kind of trauma happen to them? I'm not the same. His death changed me, too. The /world/ changed." She frowns. "You might be scared of change, too."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark rubs the back of his neck with a palm, super awkward; his perfectly parted hair ruffles a little, but not much. "I mean, it's /crazy/ to compare to Superman. He's god level, he's not..." Clark looks between them, "us." He's not like them. Clark or Lois. He's doubling down on pushing Superman away from his secret identity: it's an old habit and automatic. Being uncomfortable makes it happen. Not knowing what to do.

"I haven't exactly talked to him," Clark replies. True. Sort of? Not untrue. "He obviously likes you best. Flowers. All the rest of it. Don't shut me out of his story, either," Clark warns with a brief but serious smile. She's getting all the Superman airtime (learning he was alive!), and off by herself on stories, not to mention the 'new job' she might go to: could that be the root of it? Clark being left behind?

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois actually looks hurt for a brief moment. So she reaches for the ice cream. "You think he's not a person? You think he doesn't have feelings? Imagine you know you're dying. Imagine how scared and alone you must feel. He hurts and feels /just like us/. This isn't some kind of us versus him thing, Clark. You don't see me flying around or stopping bullets, but somehow he finds something good in me, and I've found something good in him."

She's not eating the ice cream, she's just poking at it, stirring it around with her spoon. "Clark, I'm not cutting you out of a byline just because I--"

She stops before she finishes the sentence and abruptly moves on. "What's even up with you? I know you said I've been acting differently but... you're acting weird too. Pretty sure you're not kissing Superman either."

Clark Kent has posed:
It's very weird to have Lois defend Superman to Clark, and the flush isn't something he can control very well. So he just blushes, maybe out of embarrassment of being called out about Superman not being a person? Or something else?

"I didn't mean to say he's not a person at all. Just that normal people shouldn't try to compare, since we can't stop bullets," Clark says uncomfortably. "I just want to be a part of whatever important big change is happening. Like there's more you're not telling me -"

Oh.

"Like ... kissing?" Clark asks, promptingly, brows going up, but there's a curious little smile, not any actual jealousy. Clark's emotional track is all over the map due to the display of being worried. "That's more than a story, then. I just wanted to be included in the story, like we'd agreed," he says, and prods her forearm with his finger. Tell Clark the things, tell him, says poking finger.

Lois Lane has posed:
Well, Clark has somehow managed to turn the tide of battle, as Lois is now entirely caught off-guard. That was, perhaps, his intent and it was a successful manuever. Now she finds herself both flustered and unsure of what to say. /How/ to say. She shoves a very large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth so she has an excuse not to talk for a moment or two longer.

"Yeah, it's not like it was /just/ a story. I... care about him a lot. For some crazy reason he cares about me. So... we went on a date. We're trying things." The spoon is set down so she can rub her face with both her hands. "I'm not crazy for wanting this, am I?"

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark holds up two fingers to show a small fraction of space. "Little bit," Clark answers teasingly, but there's a smile in it. A real one; there's a genuine relief in it. Maybe he's happy for her. Maybe he's glad his maneuver to change topic away from his weird behavior. Both? Both.

"But I like your crazy. What is a date with Superman even like? That's a whole other article, for a whole other magazine," Clark asks.

Lois Lane has posed:
Maybe he's teasing but there's a little bit of a twinge to it as Lois gives him a smile back. /Is/ she crazy? Clark was the only person she really had that she could ask about that with so it left the scales a little unbalanced.

"It's an article I'm never going to write is what it is," she says, simply. "Because that would be exploiting him." Sure, he was making a joke, but it's a little personal. "I wouldn't break his trust like that, either. Not for a story. Not when he's opening up to me." She smiles. "A story about Superman coming back is far different than sharing personal details."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Having Superman upset because we overshared in an article is not a fate I'd like to really consider. Not when we need to call him to save you," Clark says: his way of explaining that he doesn't want to put out information Superman wouldn't want. "I think anything we write should be cleared with him first." There's a firm certainty there, integrity: but that's normal for Clark, everything he writes is something he will absolutely stand behind.

"If Wonder Woman asked me to dinner, I'd be crazy to say /no/," Clark says, trying to help heal the twinge he read in her eyes. "She hasn't." There isn't sadness there, not really: he doesn't have a thing for his friend Diana. "If you want to have Superman put in a good word, though..." his blue eyes are sparkly. He's trying to make her smile. Then he sobers.

"Maybe he is alone, like you said. If you can help him return to being Superman..." Clark trails off. "That's a lot of responsibility on you."

Lois Lane has posed:
"Trust me, I'll always let him read what I'm writing. You don't let someone give you an exclusive on things and then piss them off, that's how you get on the list of reporters /not/ to invite to events." Lois stirs her ice cream, but takes a bite of it this time. "I could always ask him, if you're interested in her as a person and not as an icon." Now she's grinning a bit, waggling her spoon at him.

She frowns, just slightly, at his mention of responsibility. "No, it's not on me. It's on him. He's the one that has to choose when to return and how to do it. I just need to be there to help. He's always there when I need help, so all he's got to do is yell 'Lois' and I'll be there." She realizes how cheesy it sounds after a moment and shoves the spoon aggressively into her ice cream.

"You do deserve happiness, though. I don't..." She sighs. "We've been doing this for a long time together. I just don't want you to take the comfortable situation we've created and let it hold you back from having a life."

Clark Kent has posed:
"I have a life. And I'm working on improving my career," Clark points out. He also picks up his own ice cream, then extends for the fudge, adding a spiral of it... and then offering first dibs of his vanilla and swirl over to her to dip her spoon into. Clark's always very sharing and thoughtful.

"That's on me," Clark says, with a nervous lift of shoulders. Mild-mannered reporter may or may not be able to progress his career further. But that doesn't mean he can't still write stellar articles, unappreciated or otherwise.

"Does kissing someone help them be less of an icon?" Clark asks with mischief. Not letting that go.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois does partake of some of the vanilla and fudge, glancing back over at him. "I know, but... you're a good guy, Clark. I just want you to be happy. That would mean a lot to me. So if you're happy with this, the way things are, your career, all of that... okay. I'll accept that. But I want that to be what you want." She steals another bite from his ice cream.

"You make it really hard to really consider another job, you know that? Not that I'd necessarily take Tony Stark up on his offer, but even just thinking about moving on without you there feels... weird."

She does, after a moment, grin at him. "Kissing someone helps you know someone better as a person."

Clark Kent has posed:
"I think that's true," Clark says, his mischief remaining. His eyes fall to the chocolate swirl, and he draws a hand in, putting a smooch on his forefinger, and then extends the finger to poke between her eyes. "Nah, I already know you too well, my friend," Clark declares, drawing his vanilla back towards himself. He's having some again, eye down, which will allow her to process that however she wants without him staring at her. Clark's generally cautious with his personal space: he's more comfortable than he has been before. Something subconscious in there.

"So long as you're happy, moving on or not," Clark offers. He'll throw his own feelings under the bus, though it may be hard to tell if he's doing that now. "I'm done with this right now, putting it in the fridge," Clark decides, starting to get up. The way he says it asks if she wants him to take hers too.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois laughs, a little surprised at how he's fallen back into that strange comfort zone from the other night. "Oh yeah, how well do you know me, Clark Kent?" She raises an eyebrow. She pops the lid on her ice cream and hands it in his direction as he gets up. "Don't get all self-sacrificial on me by the way, Smallville. If you've ever got a problem, say it to me, don't just fall on your sword. Don't want to clean up that kind of stain on my carpet."

With the ice cream taken, she settles back onto the couch a bit.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark stacks one ice cream on the other, taking the spoons as well between two fingers of the same hand that he's holding the ice cream with. He passes around the couch, hand near her shoulder, but opts to just rest it behind her on the cushion some as he walks past.

"I will. Pretty sure together we can handle any problem that comes along," Clark offers, with a humility and perhaps a strange, quiet confidence. But then he's headed into the kitchen, trying to balance the ice-cream awkwardly...