70/Just a Friday

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Just a Friday
Date of Scene: 22 February 2020
Location: Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis: Lois encounters Clark doing way too much dutiful paperwork.
Cast of Characters: Clark Kent, Lois Lane




Clark Kent has posed:
The Daily Planet is dark and empty, save for a light in the back. The copy room. The project that Perry had given Clark (who did, in fact, pull in two interns, but they have since been allowed to go, given that it's Friday night) has spilled out a little onto the neighboring desks; stacks of things that are now completed, labeled in folders, and neatly stacked.

From the copy room there is a light, but currently no sound. An investigation will reveal a Clark, though, in one of the rolling chairs he'd brought in, leaning forward on his forearms (sleeves rolled to mid forearm) on the desk that is inside the copy room, resting his eyes. Or maybe napping. He's left his coat to one side, a twist of tie over it on the coatrack outside of the copy room: but that tie is not a warning for anything other than the work that's gone on inside.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois is certainly used to working long hours. She's also used to heading back to the office after she's gotten home to get paperwork or information that she needs to continue working at home. While she wasn't planning on working later, she was planning on getting ahold of some documents and information she had at the Planet. It would only take a second, so she hadn't bothered changing since her date. No point in changing clothes just to take them off again.

The dress is long and black, sinched up at strategic spots to make a very silhouetted form. It's covered in intricate black beadwork that tends to catch whatever light is directed to it to perhaps shimmer a bit. It's lovely, and certainly furnished by one Janet van Dyne. Only the lights necessary to light Lois' way to her desk are turned on, the rest left in the dark. But it's the light in the darkness at the copy room that attracts her attention.

When she reaches the copy room, she leans on the doorframe, watching Clark for a long moment. "Hey Rip Van Winkle," she says, though her voice is soft, not wanting to startle him if he's actually asleep.

Clark Kent has posed:
There's no response at first. Not immediately. That is the largest tell that he may have, in fact, been sleeping, or at least very close to sleeping. He's a light sleeper, for sure, regardless of that: it's rare that he's unresponsive to her for very long, in cases like stakeouts or similar.

"Hm? What?" Clark asks, coming to, and fumbling a hand over his face to fix his glasses. Two blinks and he's turning towards her at the doorway, fuzzy and a little squinted with sleep. There's a grogginess to it; he had been resting more than he'd intended to. "Lois. Hi." His hair is rumpled; usually his part is /just so/. He looks better with his hair more loose in a natural wave.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois had been about to move to go wake him up when he finally responded. She studies him from where she stands in the doorway. "Clark, it's a Friday night and you're sleeping on your work at the Daily Planet." She sighs, as if disappointed, but she smiles at him. "Your dedication is admirable, but you should be at home, sleeping." Now, she moves from the doorway to go stand next to his chair.

"Tell me at least you're working on something interesting or groundbreaking and not just paperwork."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Hummmmmm," Clark says, with a broad, deep yawn, but takes in her attire. That could mean several things that she may have been up to, not necessarily a soul-crushing option -- but he manages to focus on her question instead of trying to guess what she was up to.

"Yes. I spent most of the day chasing some leads about caches - and sales - of what I think is weaponry from the armies that occupied the city back in 2018," Clark says, his interest in the story carrying through in his tone with some excitement there. "Which is... magic relics, I guess," he continues. He sighs at the paperwork tower. "But I'd promised I'd get through this... so here I am. Nearly done, just that cabinet there; these are all sorted."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois seems interested, though she scowls at the paperwork. "You had good information and yet you still got roped into doing all this?" She makes a face at him. "Show some backbone, you have better uses of your time. That story is what you should've been focused on. Or at least having a nice Friday night." She's disappointed, but that's not fully on his shoulders, she's a little frustrated that he's getting stepped on.

"Clark, you've worked hard to get where you're at. You're dedicated, you get the job done, but is this how you want to live your life? Piles of papers?"

Clark Kent has posed:
"It's quiet back here; at least, after the interns went home," Clark defends with a soft chuckle, starting to move into working through the last of the papers even as she vents her frustration about it. Sooner he gets through it, sooner it's done!

"It gives me time to think about that story... and I've been on the phone a lot. I may as well be doing paperwork while I'm on the phone..." it's flimsy, and he knows that, but he did convince himself with that flimsy reasoning. But he smiles anyway. "No, I don't," Clark admits. He doesn't want to live his life in piles of paperwork. "But I do want have integrity, to do the things I say that I will do," he says, more gently. And that is, indeed, true: Clark tries to be as reliable as possible, true to his word. He loathes to break a promise!

"Besides, I might catch something amidst all this. A pattern we didn't notice before in these backlogs."

Lois Lane has posed:
There's still a disappointed look on Lois' face as she studies him, but she seems resigned that he's decided his own fate. "Well, if you made a promise and you're alright doing all this extra work..." She definitely doesn't believe all of his story, but if he chose to be entrenched in paperwork, she was going to let him. "I hope you find a pattern, then, this is... a lot."

She honestly isn't entirely sure how he does it. "I managed to get some connections in place, I'm going to do a piece on Wakanda. Did you know they're helping to keep a species of white rhino protected and allow them to repopulate? If you've got any pressing questions you're interested in, about Wakanda in general, let me know. I might work on it tomorrow? I'm still feeling it out."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Well, if you're really worried about it... have a seat while I finish this last bit. That way, I'll end up having had a nice Friday night, by having your company," Clark suggests. He pushes to his feet, without anything other than pretending to use the table for leverage to stand, and begins to dutifully work through the paperwork from the remaining filing cabinet, making the required duplicates and sorting each sheet out into the piles he'd designated.

"Wakanda? That's out of the blue. No, I didn't know that, about the rhinos. What a good project," Clark answers, curiously. "I could probably use your help on my weapons angle, though, but not if you're booked solid."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois is torn. On one hand, she could be kicking her feet up and relaxing with a good book to wind down for the night. On the other, there's Clark, being dutiful, all alone. It tugs on her heart strings. She moves, settling down on a chair. It looks like she's staying after all, even if she'd like to get out of the dress. It's been a long night.

"Yeah, I never thought of doing a piece on it but I found an unexpected connection and now that I have access to all kinds of information, I thought I'd make a story of it. I'm not sure what angle to take it, but there are plenty of options." She studies Clark as he works, mostly watching idly as she lets him get the work done. "I'll see what I can do scheduling wise. How pressing is that story? I believe my source is willing to be flexible around my schedule. Busy people make it work all the time."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Thanks for staying... to distract me," Clark says, with a softened little smile and hook of his head towards her attire. It's not entirely a flirt, but it isn't /not/ a flirt, either. Fortunately he plows on quickly into the stories angles.

"Well, here, let me go over what I have, and you can decide," Clark offers. The copy room is comfortable, pleasant: an old hat for the pair of them, as Clark goes into his evidence, sharing and going over his ideas, while the paperwork gets done.

The time flies, with the two of them working on a story, together in the tiny lit copy office in the back of the Daily Planet.