30/Door number Two

Door number Two
Date of Scene:	19 February 2020
Location:	Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis:	Clark 'rescues' Lois from being stood up.
Cast of Characters:	Lois Lane, Clark Kent

---

Lois Lane has posed:
It seemed that Janet wasn't really joking around when it came to the suggestion of setting Lois up. Then again, was Janet ever joking around with those bright ideas of hers? So Lois had agreed to said date. She had been out of the office most of the day, leaving her free to go home and prepare for the date. She spent far longer than she cared to admit getting ready, which left her with enough time to head in to the office to take care of a few things before heading to her date. Besides, the Daily Planet was on the way.

She leans against the wall near her cubicle using it to support her while she sorts through her phone. She's dressed in a knee-length red dress, the curve-hugging type. It has a pair of sleeves that rest off the shoulder, while straps also hold it up. A simple string of pearls is around her neck, her hair remaining loose around her shoulders. Her makeup is visible, but light, not trying to look like she's trying too hard.

But she is trying. Lois hums lightly under her breath as she leans, glancing around the office which is, by now, mostly deserted.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark's been in Perry's office a long while. Finally, though, he emerges, looking tired but exhilerated, with a huge pile of folders in his arms, chin down on the top of them to be sure nothing slides as he carries the whole thing out towards the copy room.

There's a blink and double-take at Lois by the wall, fully taking in her outfit and the evident effort. /Oh/.

Clark swallows, though he doesn't drop the stack of papers. In fact - Lois won't know it, but him /not/ dropping anything? It's a bigger signal that she did catch him off guard: he forgot to be quite as extremely dorky. The reaction was just honest, nothing added.

"Big, uh, interview?" Clark asks as he crosses past her on his way to the copy area, slowing. He does shift his grip on the huge pile of folders, as if he might be losing his grasp on them, but nothing actually falls. "Could you get the copy room door, Lois, please?"

Lois Lane has posed:
"Something like that," Lois says, moving to get the door for him. "Don't drop those, Clark." She does, however, remain close in case he needs a hand with the paper. "Janet set me up on a date with someone and I'm supposed to head there shortly, I was just finishing up a few things."

She peeks over at him. "You're here late, get caught up in somethi--" She stops, the chime on her phone going off. "Oh, I should get this. It's probably him."

Clark Kent has posed:
Lois is going on a date.

Oh.

"That was ... nice of her," Clark says, politely, smothering however else me may feel about it. The papers are a good prop to hide behind, and he stops staring and heads through the door with the paper stack, setting the pile down on one of the low tables near the machines.

"Well, you look very---" interrupted by the chime as well, Clark stops talking. He only nods a little bit as Lois voices that she's about to talk to her newest possible Mr. Right, and busies himself straightening the papers and looking through the stack without particularly reading any of the labels on the folders.

Lois Lane has posed:
"Hello?"

It's not hard for him to hear the conversation. Even if he had normal hearing, the volume on the phone isn't particularly turned down, so even an average mild-mannered reporter is privy to the entirety of the dialogue. It's not long, a man's voice apologizing about the need to cancel and Lois very politely insisting it was fine. She hangs up before he has the chance to ask to reschedule.

"Right, forget I said any of that before now, Smallville. Back it up, you asked me if I had an interview, and then I obviously replied with 'I'm trying a new look for the office'."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark did glance up and over at her, looking more at her expression than anything else. Maybe he's listening, maybe he's tuning it out. But when she hangs up quickly Clark rapidly looks back down at the folders, re-straightening them out of their disarray that they really were not in. He picks the top one and opens it, just to look busy.

"Of course, Lois," Clark says immediately, voice empathetic, entirely supportive. Whatever she wants, he'll go along with, 100%. "It's a good look," adds the mild-mannered reporter a little lamely, but not necessarily without honesty. He does mean it. He watches her sort of sideways, brows revealing a quiet concern, but he isn't prying. Being pushy isn't his style.

Besides, knowing Lois Lane, she'll explode and tell him anyway, if she does want to talk.

Lois Lane has posed:
Yeah, he knows her well. Too well.

"You know, I don't have a problem if someone has an emergency come up, that's fine, things happen. You've blown me off with some excuses flimsier than most before, and I'm not saying I mind, I just..." She turns to fully face Clark. "A girl getting dressed up like this is an awful lot of effort. Really, I'm always impressed with the women who can get dressed up and go out every night. They've clearly not got this kind of workload." She gestures around.

"Anyway, sorry, just needed to get that out. I think I'm gonna go home and split a bottle of wine with myself."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark entirely abandoned the folders and papers without even pretending to be interested in them the instant that Lois made it clear she needed him. Clarked faced her as well, resting one hand on the paper tower, but gave her his undivided attention immediately. He listens, with an appropriate frowny-face to agree with her statements.

Generally Clark would be careful, and stay in character, keeping the spineless mild-mannered dweeb thing in mind, but earlier that day he had an experience. He'd stopped in to visit his family (Kansas isn't exactly /far/), and there'd been a little ray of light that shone down into the dark well he somehow has been forcing himself to stay in. He'd allowed himself to do some /good/, to help some people.

And some of that mood has stuck in place, that willingness to come outside of himself, that fuels the next mistake:

"Let's go somewhere, then," Clark says.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois looks at him. It's a long look, one surprisingly hard to read on the expressive reporter. The look lasts long enough to feel a little weird but ends shortly before the level of awkward. "That is a terrific idea," she states, the tension in her posture positively melting away. "You and I are going to go somewhere. We're going to go somewhere nice, and I'm going to have a nice time out. Besides, we haven't chatted in a bit, right? It'll be fun."

Somewhere, in the back of her head, she's slowly processing the potential for awkwardness in all of this, but it's /way/ in the back.

Clark Kent has posed:
Not to worry, Clark will make /anything/ awkward. And the long look caused a lot of blushing, and a lot of shifting of weight, and the attempt to bail water out of his mistake: "I mean, just because, it would be a waste, and your effort, to, ah--"

But it's a terrific idea, Lois says, and Clark's able to roll with it. "Yeah, I mean, just because. Then you don't have to do the wine scenario. Yeah, we haven't chatted in a while."

"I mean, other than the thirty hour stakeout." That was thirty hours of chatting, not counting bathroom breaks and some naps....

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois gives Clark a 'hold that thought' look, proceeds to lift her phone up to take a selfie of the whole ensemble. She promptly then looks down at her phone, furiously typing something out. "I'm sending this to Janet so she can wave it around so that these guys know exactly what they're missing out on." She lets out a huff of air, then looks back towards Clark with a look that could only be described as grateful, if a little sad.

"You're great, Smallville. Really sweet. Thanks for offering to take me out." She pauses. "But if you don't think I've still got stories since that stakeout, you don't know me as well as you think."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Here, let me," Clark offers, extending a hand towards her phone, in request to let him take her picture, instead of a selfie. That way, she'll get full body. And Clark will get to take her picture. He backs off with her phone in hand, giving her a prompting smile. "One. Two. Three." He even squats for one of the pictures, to be sure she gets a really nice one, even if it's the bright light from the copy room in the background, and then approaches to give her her phone back. He wants her to have good pictures, even if the motive is to impress some other men. He just wants Lois happy, really.

"I should not have doubted you," Clark apologizes evenly, with a brief laugh. "Let me get my coat." He adjusts his tie one-handed as he walks back towards his desk. He pulls the coat on slouchingly, checking over the items on his desk to be sure he didn't forget anything.

Lois Lane has posed:
Taking her phone back from Clark, Lois smiles warmly at him. "Thanks Clark," she says, though she steps back to allow him to return to his desk and get what he needed. "I'd tell you that you should let Janet play Cupid for you but somehow I don't think it would work quite the same way. But maybe someone should set you up." Unfortunately, she doesn't think his problem is the meeting people part.

"I know this is going to sound a little weird but... find something that makes you smile, Smallville. I know things have been hard since you've gotten back and you aren't quite your usual self. Just don't lose sight of what makes you happy, okay?"

Clark Kent has posed:
"I don't know that lacking a cupid is really my problem," Clark chuckles softly, but it lacks amusement. There isn't necessarily a sadness to it though: he isn't entirely sure what his problem is, and so there's no sense of actual depression, as if he were holding something back. Maybe for the moment, he isn't. There's a lack of a wall there, while he stands near the desk and turns his keys in a brief rotation around his index finger with his thumb.

Still, he comes back, and pushes his glasses up, and gives her a dutiful little nod. Agreeable as always. "I won't, Lois."

Lois Lane has posed:
There's a very visible part of Lois that seems to want to say something. For a moment, it actually looks like she's about to open her mouth and say something, but the moment for it seems to pass for the moment, switching to something else. "Right, well, where are we off to? I'll treat you if you can actually make a decision on where to eat. Anywhere you'd like."

Clark Kent has posed:
"I can make a decision," Clark defends, then hedges, thinking about it. Because she called him out about it, he does in fact rise to the occasion. "Chez Villa," Clark suggests, uncertainly, lifting one hand, palm open, as if he were, indeed, trying to offer an idea, but is quite willing to adjust if she turns it down. There may be a sense of him being careful, yet pretending to just be easygoing.

Lois Lane has posed:
"Oooh, going fancy," Lois tucks her phone away in her purse, glancing at through the corner of her eye before it's safely stowed. "Excellent choice, sir, I'm sure your date will appreciate your class." She gestures in front of her. "After you." There's a few seconds where she's clearly thinking about something, then continues. "We're taking your car." That decision was not one easily come to.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark reacts to the decision, as well, with a very direct and curious look, brows sky high. He's driving? "Are you sick?" Clark teases her immediately. Still, he smiles and does lead the way when she asks him to do so, leaving the main area of the bullpen to head to the exterior doors, holding one open for her and stepping aside. That's not unusual behavior at all: Clark is very prone to being a gentleman, even if he has to jog to get to a door first. He didn't in this case.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois sticks her tongue out. "You're driving because I'm drinking and I doubt I could convince you to have anything so you might as well just be driver." She's verbally rolling her eyes. She follows him to the door and, although she's used to his holding open the door, makes it a point to stop, look at him, murmur a thank you, then slip out the door in front of him.

Clark Kent has posed:
"I'll drive whichever car back that we take," Clark promises her, in his mellow way. "I could be convinced for a sip, if it would make you feel better about your vices," The offer is there: Clark doesn't directly mind, if it helps her not feel bad about being the only one imbibing. It's just not his thing to have any.

Clark follows out to the front, towards the parking area, just like they always do after a long day. It isn't different - not really. Some of the stress about it eases off. It's a friendly thing, it doesn't mean anything, right?

Lois Lane has posed:
Sure, it's a friendly thing. The only thing different is that the view from the back for Clark is very different when Lois is wearing a form-fitting red dress. "I'd rather you do what you feel like doing, Smallville. I'm going to have a few drinks, though, because you almost have to at a fancy restaurant. Tastes better that way." If anything, she's unaware that the view might be distracting as she walks.

"If you'd rather take my car, though, that's fine, I just cleaned it out on the off chance of having a guest in it."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark wouldn't look at her like that, though; they're friends. And he knows that. He moves swiftly to catch up to walk by her side. He looks at her sideways, and then holds out a fist. Rock, paper, scissors, is the offer, along with the smile on his face. In the cases where he doesn't just relax into what she wants because he honestly doesn't mind, there's always rock-paper-scissors.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois keeps walking, even while holding out her hand to play the game. She doesn't bother opening her fist, leaving it on rock, which promptly leaves Clark's paper as the clear winner. "Guess that means it's all you, Smallville." As she continues to walk, though, a small dip in the cement catches her heel. While it wouldn't be a big deal to catch her footing ordinarily, she's not used to a more restrictive dress and she teeters forward, unbalanced.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark was looking right at her, he still partially had his arm out to show his flat paper from his palm (in fact, does the man always throw paper? Is that his way of letting her decide?) -- and then she stumbles, and Clark's immediately there, one hand out and under her elbow and forearm with his own, in an attempt to secure and balance her to prevent her from falling.

Clark doesn't generally get particularly close or let people touch him - which may make his solid arm a bit of a surprise. "Whoa now; a skinned knee won't match that dress," Clark says softly.

Lois Lane has posed:
He's solid. Usually that's something Lois says referring to his reliability when it comes to the important things. This time, it's much more of a physical thing. He's within easy reach to catch her, so the level of surprise is simply caused by the fact that he just seems /solid/. The grip is firm and strong enough to surprise her. It also feels oddly familiar.

"Nice catch, Smallville." She does her best to regain her footing with a tiny bit of aid, straightening herself up shortly afterwards. "Guess it's a good thing you were here to save me, right?"

Clark Kent has posed:
"I think you would've had it, even without me; you'd land like a cat," Clark says, suddenly very shy, patting the back of one of her hands as he withdraws his helping hand, pat...patpat. Clark clears his throat, the humility evident in his expression and difficulty at taking the compliment. He also lets go of her rapidly and puts his hands in his pockets, as if to warm them, from the chill of embarrassment.

"If you need to change your shoes I'll wait," Clark says, opting to try to distract her with a soft little tease.

Lois Lane has posed:
There's the sound of a little laugh from Lois as she looks back at him. "I think you're giving me much more grace than I deserve credit for. But I appreciate your sentiment. I can talk my way out of a lot of trouble, but sometimes there are just some things you can't avoid without help. Like... skinned knees or human traffickers." She reaches down and pats her uninjured knee.

"No need to stop walking, Kent, my shoes are just fine, it's the ground that's got an issue with me."

Clark Kent has posed:
"I'm not sure if that's better or worse than a refridgerator having an issue with you," Clark considers, giving her a thoughtful look, as if he were indeed truly considering the depth of that. Ground or fridge?

"Wait. Human traffickers? I read your story --" Of coure Clark did, he reads all of her work. "Is there more?" He also gives her a somewhat direct stare, the shyness giving way to a knowing look. "I wish you'd called me in to give you backup."

Lois Lane has posed:
"I mean," Lois says slowly. It always feels weird to have to explain to Clark the messes she gets into the second he's looking the other way. "I wrote the story, it's exactly how it happened. I just sort of... happened to be there." She pauses. "Oh, if you ever need a photographer in New York, there's this freelance kid, Peter Parker. Smart. Knows when to run."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark turns to look at her, with a deep breath. He exhales it slowly. "Looooois," he says, in a very put-upon type of way. She ran into danger? Of course she did. Clark just looks at her a moment and then smiles and shakes his head, with a little laugh.

"Knows when to run? Kid after my own heart: survivalist," Clark suggests, but he does smile at Lois and briefly attempt to pat her forearm once with his palm. Just that, before drawing his hand back. Polite and friendly Clark, best friend always.

Lois Lane has posed:
There's something about that chiding that Lois enjoys, and it's obvious by the sheepish grin on her face. She's not bothered, though, and she watches both the pat of his hand and the way he retracts it. Clark: mild-mannered best friend.

Some things never change.