600/Hardly Awkward

Hardly Awkward
Date of Scene:	18 March 2020
Location:	Lois Lane's Apartment
Synopsis:	Clark fixes a broken shower, and has to rush off, for 'reasons'.
Cast of Characters:	Clark Kent, Lois Lane

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Clark Kent has posed:
The weekend led to some time apart: without work structuring them being together a lot, and some various life errands, it's given both Clark and Lois some time to think on their own about what's happened over the last crazy week. There's something of a whirlwind of emotion, and having a little apart time was probably a benefit to them both.

That is, until the apart time came to sudden stop, as Lois's shower broke, dumping only scalding water! Clark's fixed similar things before, having shown to be pretty handy from his upbringing. And the opportunity to immediately show his usefulness as a best friend and boyfriend? Not lost on him.

Clark finished up what he was doing (burning building, orphans, etc), then came right over with his toolkit. On the way in, his gaze lingers on the white and yellow bouquet, and there's a silent curiosity there, but no actual question.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois, thankfully, hadn't been /in/ the shower when it was pouring hot water out. She had tested the temperature with her hand, which hurt quite a bit, and then she may have, afterwards, tried to fix it herself which meant touching a hot pipe and that was also a terrible idea. Her hand isn't really badly burnt, it's just red and hurts like heck when you put it under cold water. So, that hand stays shoved in the pocket of the hoodie she's wearing.

As Clark notes the bouquet, she flushes a bit. He didn't ask, but... she feels the need to give him an answer. No secrets, right? "From our caped friend. Pretty sure I won't be getting anymore now." There's a little disappointment there. Surprise flowers were always nice.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark's eyes move over the flowers and he gives her a bit more of a curious look: but he isn't prying, or asking about if she did break it off. Maybe he's just that trusting, or not worried about it. The smile he gives her suggests that as well - a calm, quiet little smile. "I hope it wasn't... rough on you. Or that you... have regrets," Clark says, approaching her, his free hand near hers, but he doesn't touch or anything. If she has regrets, well. That would probably cause distance....

But Clark finds his bravery and attempts to take her hand, securely, weaving fingers with hers - the hand that's not in a pocket, anyway.

Lois Lane has posed:
"Emotional things are never easy, so... yeah, a little rough. I don't exactly find myself enjoying hurting someone, much less someone important to me," Lois entwines her fingers with his, giving his hand a little squeeze. "But I have no regrets, not at all. Clark, I gave up /Superman/. If I can do that and have no regrets... clearly you're a catch." She winks at him, nudging him lightly with her hip.

The other hand stays safely tucked in her pocket. He'll never know.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark hasn't really noticed the hand thing so far, though he does step closer, to bump his near shoulder to hers, on the side where they have their hands linked. "Yes, refridgerator mover and plumbing repairs," Clark jokes softly. "Well out of the realm of things Superman deals with?" He smiles a little, inwardly amused. If she only knew.

"Lead the way? We'll get it sorted out," Clark offers, squeezing her hand a little, smiling down at her. Even with his slouching he's still really tall.

Lois Lane has posed:
"You can be my hero, Clark," Lois says, flashing him a smile. It's only a moment later that she tugs him in the direction of the bathroom, where the shower curtain is pushed far away from the plumbing to as to make it easier to get at. She doesn't release his hand until they make it there, and she gestures at the offending showerhead.

"Have at it, but be careful... it's really hot. Don't want you burning yourself." If only she knew.

Clark Kent has posed:
"So it's pure hot, right? We should just be able to replace the mixing valve," Clark says, "After we shut the water off to your bathroom." Once the first step is done, he comes back to climb into her shower, and pulls a screwdriver to open up the handle. And then her caution comes in, and he's smart enough to look at her more carefully.

"You weren't standing in the hot, were you?" he asks, concerned for her, and promptly looking down over her, then to her concealed hand. He gives her a frowny-Clark face, though it isn't disappointed: just fussing over Lois.

Lois Lane has posed:
"I wasn't /standing/ in it, no..." Lois is a pretty good liar. When she has to bluff her way through tricky situations, she can be convincing. It's saved her life more than once. But Clark sees her every day. He /knows/ her. And he knows that tone when she's not saying everything. Then she catches him looking.

Busted. "There's no burn, really, it's just a little red and sore," she pulls the hand from her pocket and presents it as proof (mostly so he worries less). "See, not so bad. I just didn't want you to worry too much. You /are/ cute when you worry, though." She reaches the good hand up to brush across his cheek.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark leans forward when she shows him, which just makes it a lot easier to touch his cheek. He blushes some, automatically when she touches his face, a brief little window into his positive reaction to her. She's still managing to repeatedly cause butterflies for the man. He smiles against her palm, eyes warming to her.

"Okay. Doesn't look bad. I'll be careful," he assures her. He seems distracted by her, though, not so much looking at the repair job at the moment. "Let me take the next injury, huh? It's my turn," Clark reminds her, with a softened playfulness.

Lois Lane has posed:
"You know I won't let you do that," Lois grins at him, her hand tracing along his cheek for a moment before letting it drop back to her side. "I've got to protect you." There's a flash of a smile in his direction while his attention's on her. "I don't know if you'll worry more if I go alone into danger or more if you're right there with me."

She's basically stuck to her promise of not just throwing herself into dangerous situations alone. The bank was just bad luck on her part. Wrong place, wrong time. At least that one's not on her. "But I won't let you get hurt."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark watches her, a funny look on his face. It's as if there's a tension in his eyes, through his brow, or jaw. Something about her worrying about him, the promises to keep him safe. To protect him. But he doesn't take it as physical protection, he takes it as something deeper. And a lot more meaningful.

Clark steps towards her slowly, and lowers his head to kiss just next to her lips softly, then more directly, with a courage he normally doesn't really show. Perhaps her words brought it out in him, caused some spine to show up out of the usual more mushy style Clark tends to be so prone to.

Lois Lane has posed:
She did want to protect him. Lois had done it before, and she'd do it again in a heartbeat. While she had been using it as an example, the running into a dangerous situation, it wasn't really the actual danger she needed to protect him from, it was the fear that she believed him to have, the reason he ran away so many times. He needed someone to assure him he was okay.

It's a different kiss, and she's aware of it. The stronger, more direct kiss seems unusual for him, but certainly not unwanted. She returns the kiss, her good hand resting on his side, simply enjoying the moment.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark reins himself back after a few moments, allowing the shyness to come forward to the front, and he breaks the kiss, though he stays close - whisper close, really, and smiles in brief bashfulness.

"I /will/ fix the shower," Clark assures, feeling silly for a moment. He lifts his hand with the screwdriver in it, briefly fixing his glasses up his nose a little: a common expression when he's feeling a bit exposed.

Lois Lane has posed:
As his glasses are pushed up, it provides Lois the perfect spot to plant a kiss, right on the tip of his nose. "Good. Because if you don't fix it, I'll just have to come over and use your shower," she makes the threat as if, somehow, that were a tragic thing. Also, she certainly could call a plumber, but it's more convenient to have Clark fix it.

Clark Kent has posed:
"You're welcome to do that, if this goes wrong," Clark amends, immediately, with his open helpfulness. It isn't specific to being in a relationship with her - that would have been his automatic offer even years ago. He likes to help.

He smiles at her kiss to his nose, and then somewhat shyly goes back into the job he'd set out to do - as if the blushing were still an area where he's shy. He makes relatively short work of removing the escutcheon plate, offering her the screws from the handle to keep safe while he checks the valve.

"We're in luck, it just looks like it got loose here," Clark gives. Technically he knew that, he might have looked through the wall, like a cheater.

Lois Lane has posed:
Even if Clark's a cheater, Lois has no way of knowing. She simply looks impressed with her lack of plumbing knowledge. She knows this is more his ballpark and a skill she's unfortunately lacking. Given that she'd already tried to fiddle with it herself, she's grateful he's there to do it properly.

With the screws safely in her hand, she's making herself useful as she stands there. She's keeping him company too. "You know," she teases. "If this doesn't work out that's more than enough of an excuse for me to stay over for a couple of days." After all, who knows how long a plumber takes? Clearly long enough for her to have a flimsy excuse.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark peeks at her sideways while fiddling with the valve. He blushes again. He's torn, actually. Her staying over for a bit -- might make it hard to do Superman things. Well, not just 'might': it /WILL/. All of this is going to come to a boiling point. How long can he evade, and have to run off? The excuses are MUCH harder, to run off during a date, let alone during an evening at his own house.

But the offer is tempting. Because he's wanted a real relationship with Lois for years. And here it is, offered, and he's still hung up into his secret double-life. 007 never had it this hard.

"I... yes," Clark ends up saying smiling. "Let's test this." Maybe when he's not standing in it. He climbs back out.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois holds a hand out to help him out, and it's there even if he doesn't take it or need the assistance. It's just there to be helpful. "I won't be in your hair too long, I promise." It's a chance to really see how things go. To spend some non-work hours together with no worry of when to go home. She drags herself from her thoughts and looks back at the shower.

"Alright, you be careful if you're testing it. I don't want you burning yourself." Don't make her mistakes, is all she's saying.

Clark Kent has posed:
"I have a good nose for danger. You know there's danger if I've relocated," Clark assures her, able to make fun of himself, with a quick little smile. He's not serious... or is he?

He turns the water back on, and then does a careful test, trying the different tempratures. "I think you're back," Clark says, turning the water off, flashing her a very pleased look. It isn't proud, necessarily, but relief of some kind. He's so glad he could do something! "No supermen required," he says, as he reassembles the rest of the handle, and extends a hand to ask for the screws back.

Lois Lane has posed:
"Well, you run away from the danger and I'll run towards it. We can meet in the middle somewhere," Lois jokes, stepping back to let him fully retreat from the direct area around the shower. She's not far, though. She's been enjoying the proximity lately. That proximity was one of the first things that even gave her an inkling that there might be more feelings than she thought. So she treasures it.

"You're right, just a boyfriend with a bit of mechanical skill. Thank you for this. I definitely owe you something. Maybe I'll get you some kind of present to thank you."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark darts a glance to her when she references him being her boyfriend. It consistently gets a reaction, and a little bit of color from him. It means something to him. Clark finishes fixing the handle, adding the screws back in, then turns to her more fully.

"If you want to," Clark answers, and then leans in, lingeringly close. "I love you, and I'm glad to do anything I can," he says, his tone quiet, smile in his voice, even if his expression is more of a subtle gentle one. He moves to kiss her cheek, as well. "I have something I need to do," Clark mentions. Funny he didn't mention it before. Mostly because he just heard it. "But I can pick up food and come back...?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois enjoys watching him blush, which is a good thing given that she's pretty good at making said event occur. So she grins when he reacts. When he's close again, her grin melts to an affectionate smile. "Maybe I just want an excuse to buy you something," she says. "But thank you all the same. I know you're happy to help, but it's very much appreciated."

While the fact he has something to do comes as a mild surprise, it doesn't phase her. "Yeah, of course," she smiles again. Still just as genuine. She's not annoyed. "Some food would be great. Pick up whatever you like. /Suprise me/."

Clark Kent has posed:
"You're difficult to surprise, but I'll give it a try," Clark agrees. He might make a detour by way of China. Not that he can tell her where he got the food from, of course. Another kiss is offered - this time to the back of her uninjured hand. He'll hurry back. Back in a flash, really.