Drabble 56 | Happy Anniversary
Jul. 8th, 2010 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
A/N: Future fic! They're married... and it's their anniversary. Not much more to it. I just wanted to write something that wouldn't be obliterated by SV canon. So I went well into the future for this one.
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Clark heard the alarm clock blaring in the background and opened his eyes. He watched, with some amusement, as Lois reached over to shut it off without bothering to open her eyes even a crack. Then she promptly rolled over and pulled the blankets up over her head, clearly trying to block out the morning light filtering through the shades.
“Lois, you need to get up,” Clark said, his voice husky with sleep, as his hand found the sheets and blankets, tugging them away from her face. “We’re going to be late for work,” he added, knowing it was probably the only thing that would make her leave the warmth of the bed.
“Five more minutes,” Lois mumbled and turned her back to him, pulling the pillow over her head to replace the sheets and blankets he’d just pulled away from her.
He gave her thirty seconds and then grabbed the pillow. Letting out a groan of frustration, she tried to wrestle it away from him. After a few seconds of tug of war, Lois sat up and brushing the hair out of her eyes, she glared at him. “I hate you.”
Clark grinned at her, unapologetically, and then got out of bed. “No you don’t.” He looked back at her and asked, after some hesitation, “Do you remember what day it is?” He wondered if, for the first time ever, she’d actually remember it was their anniversary.
Lois didn’t make any movement to get out of bed herself. She shook her head slightly, as though trying to clear the cobwebs. “Um… Wednesday?”
Clark considered reminding her that working until four in the morning was never a good idea when you had to get up at seven to get to work, but refrained. In the spirit of it being a special day. Not that his wife remembered.
“Ah… try again.” Clark gazed down at her, with an odd feeling of exasperated fondness.
“Thursday?” Lois asked. Her tone made it seem she was wondering why he didn’t just check the calendar.
Clark shook his head slowly. “No, it is Wednesday. I’m talking about….” Then, Clark stopped and considered her for a moment. He was pretty sure she’d remember after awhile. She, after all, was surviving on barely three hours of sleep. So, he offered a hint. “Is there something you need to remember about today, specifically? Think about it.”
Lois blinked for a second and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up. “Oh, my God, Clark! I can’t believe I almost forgot!” Lois exclaimed, with some horror.
Incredibly happy, Clark nodded, with a relieved grin. “You remember!”
“Yes. The meeting with Perry!” She leapt out of bed and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. Then she headed towards the hallway, saying over her shoulder, “You’re a lifesaver. Thank God you woke me up. He’d kill the story if I don’t get there by ten.”
“Wait, Lois,” Clark started, walking after her down the hall. “That’s not --.” Then, he stopped and added, with a sigh, “Forget it. Go get ready for work. I’ll make breakfast.”
Lois cast a confused look his way, but then shrugged and headed into the shower.
After inhaling the toast and eggs Clark had made (while he went and got ready – something that was only going to take him five minutes), she stood by the counter, finishing her third cup of coffee and reading the morning’s Daily Planet.
Clark walked into the kitchen, fixing his tie. “Lois, can you check the calendar to see when Jimmy’s birthday is?” He quickly reached out and poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to look at her. “I think it’s this month. Or is it next month?”
“Sure.” Lois leaned over and squinted at the calendar they kept on the wall. “Um….” She saw that they hadn’t actually changed the month in the awhile. It was still set at October. She quickly flipped to November and saw that a box had “Jimmy’s B-day” written in it. “Yeah, it’s the twenty-eighth.” Another notation on the calendar caught her eye – she saw that the box for the tenth was circled. She frowned in confusion. “Smallville, we have today’s date circled for some reason.”
Clark paused in the act of taking a sip from his mug. “We do? Why do you think that is?” He didn’t sound the least bit surprised.
Glancing back at him, she shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I never update this calendar. I never even use it.” Then she looked back at the calendar and a thought occurred to her. “Oh, wait.” She quickly made her way over to the desk they had in the living room and sorted through the drawer she kept the bills in. She saw the top bill and smiled triumphantly. “Smallville – you must have circled the date to remind me to pay the cell phone bill,” she called back to the kitchen. “It’s due today.”
Clark appeared at the archway that separated the kitchen from the living room. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms. His eyes were full of amusement. “You’re kidding, right?”
Lois glanced down at the bill in her hand. “No. I’m not. Why, did you already pay it?”
Closing his eyes briefly, he shook his head. When he opened them again, the amusement was gone and he just looked resigned. Then he turned back towards the kitchen. “C’mon, let’s go. Or we’ll be late.”
“So, what do you want to do tonight?” Clark asked casually, looking over at Lois as she flipped through the notes on her latest story. Her brow was furrowed and every once in awhile she wrote something down, completely unaffected by the movement of the car. When she didn’t respond, he let out a sigh and reached out to touch her leg to get her attention. “Lois.”
Lois jerked a bit in response. Her startled gaze turned toward him. “Um… what? Sorry, did you say something?”
“Tonight,” he said again, keeping his focus on the road. “What do you want to do?”
“The usual, I guess,” Lois answered, clearly confused as to why he was asking. “I mean, I have a meeting with a source. And I’m assuming you have….” She stopped and then finished opaquely, “… Your usual stuff going on.”
Clark bit back a smile. Even when they were in a car in the middle of Kansas, she wouldn’t say the name Superman, in fear that someone would make the connection somehow. “Are you sure? I asked Bart and Bruce to cover things for me. I have the evening off.”
“You do?” Lois asked, her attention still on her papers. She added a bit absent-mindedly, “That’s great. You should rest.” Lois pulled out a pen and wrote something down. Then she glanced his way again. “Why’d you ask them to cover for you, anyway? It’s a Thursday.”
“Wednesday,” Clark corrected her, rolling his eyes a bit. He ran his hand along her thigh, inching his way under her skirt. But when he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, he saw that her lips were pulled into a confused frown and that she wasn’t paying attention to him in the slightest. He let out a sigh and put his hand back on the steering wheel. “Lois.” When there was no answer, he finally threatened, “If you don’t pay attention to this conversation, I’m going to set your papers on fire.”
At that, she gave him an irritated look. “Smallville, I am paying attention. You’re taking the night off. It’s Wednesday.” Her gaze strayed back to the papers in her hand. “I can multi-task.”
With a huff of frustration, he grabbed the papers out of her hand and threw them into the backseat. In response, Lois let out a sound that was the cross between a squeak and a growl.
“Clark! I have a meeting with Perry in two hours that I’m not remotely prepared for,” Lois said, between gritted teeth. Unclasping her seat belt, she twisted and maneuvered herself until she was half in the front seat and half in the back, reaching for the papers.
“Lois!” Clark eyes widened when he saw what she was doing. He considered, for a second, pulling her back to her seat, but realized that not only would it be futile, he’d probably get into an accident in the process. So, with a sigh of resignation, he pulled over onto the side of the road.
“Thanks!” Lois said, in a grateful tone, as she settled back into her seat, the papers a bit worse for wear but clutched in her hands. “You can keep going now, I got them.”
Clark studied her for a moment. Then, using super-speed, he plucked the papers from her hands and folded them, putting them away in his inner jacket pocket. Two seconds later, he saw Lois blinking down at her now empty hands. When she looked back up at him, her eyes narrowed on his face and she didn’t look happy.
“Smallville. What is your problem? Not only are we going to be late for work, but when we get there, I’m not going to know what I’m DOING.”
“I want to take you out for dinner tonight,” Clark shot back and then winced at the annoyed tone in which he’d issued the invitation. This wasn’t exactly going as he planned. So, he softened his voice and tried again. “I mean… I have the night off. We’ve barely seen each other all month. I think – tonight, especially – we should just focus on each other.”
Lois’s lips pursed as she gazed at him thoughtfully. “That’s sweet, Smallville, but….” She pulled out her Blackberry and started scrolling through it. “… I have a meeting with a source tonight. And I’m booked in back-to-back in meetings all day. Can’t we do this on the weekend? Or next week?”
Clark stared at her, again wondering how he’d managed to marry the one woman on the planet who had no idea how to keep track of special occasions. “Check your calendar. Do you have something ELSE marked for today?”
With a confused frown, Lois turned her attention back to her calendar. After a few clicks, she shook her head. “Nope. But, I guess, we could get coffee in the afternoon. I have an appointment at 3:30 and another one at 4. Maybe in-between them?”
“Lois.” Clark shook his head, not knowing whether he should throttle her or laugh. “You don’t have anything ELSE down for today?”
“No.” Lois held it up and showed it to him. “But, you know, this is a new phone. My old one broke last week.” She leaned back and studied Clark, one brow arched in question. “You seem to think that I’m forgetting something. Care to share with the rest of the class?”
Clark opened his mouth to tell her that she’d forgotten their anniversary – for the second time – but then decided against it. This time, he wasn’t letting her off the hook. He was going to make sure that she mentioned it before he did. “No, nothing,” Clark lied, with a shrug. He turned his attention back to getting the car onto the road. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t missing anything. Coffee sounds fine.”
Clark could feel Lois’s eyes on him as she, undoubtedly, tried to process what was going on. But she must have decided that she didn’t have time to deal with it, because she just said, “OK, then. Can you give me my research back?”
“It’s in my jacket pocket. You can get it,” Clark answered, briefly, as he glanced her way.
Lois rolled her eyes as she leaned closer to him, her hand stealing into his jacket to pull the papers from the pocket. He breathed in her scent – a blend of lavender and vanilla – and it took most of his self control not to just turn to her and tell her that it was their anniversary and he was making her cancel all her plans. She must have sensed something because she froze for a second and then lightly brushed her lips across his jaw. Before she could pull back, he turned his head, angling so he could kiss her on the lips. After a few seconds, she pulled back and then put her hand on his cheek, making him turn his attention back to the road.
“Smallville, unlike you, I can actually die in a car crash,” Lois pointed out, dryly. “Let’s try to keep the making out limited to only parked car situations.”
Clark flushed a bit, but couldn’t help but smile. “Or we could just pull over and find a hotel.”
“The notoriously responsible Clark Kent wants to play hooky?” Lois asked incredulously. She let out a slight laugh and shook her head. Her focus went back to her research and she murmured, “I’ll take a rain check on that, Smallville.”
“Lane! I’ve been looking for you!” Randall Brady called out across the lobby. “You got a minute?”
Lois glanced at Clark and groaned. Even though Brady wasn’t technically her boss, anymore, she owed it to him to listen to what he had to say. He was now an editor in the international section and she needed him every now and then. “Smallville, you go on up. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Clark glanced down at her and shrugged, taking off before the words were out of her mouth. Briefly, she frowned, wondering why he’d been acting so weird all morning. He seemed distracted and also a little… annoyed. Was he really that mad that she wouldn’t drop everything to have dinner with him? After all, it was kind of his fault –he shouldn’t have just taken the evening off. He should have checked with her first….
Brady’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Lane, I have some information about that story you’re working on.”
Intrigued, Lois’s brow rose. “Really? What?”
The next ten minutes were spent exchanging information with Brady. By the time they were done, her mind was buzzing with the possibilities.
“Thanks, Randall!” Lois said, when they were done, with a bright grin. “This is going to make a huge difference to my article. I owe you one.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that, Lane,” Randall responded, with a smile of his own. He made his way to the elevator. “Going up?”
“Yeah.” She stepped in next to him and pulled out her phone to check the time. An hour to go before her meeting with Perry. “Floor seven.”
He hit seven for her and ten for him and as they made their way up, he asked, casually, “So you and Kent have big plans for tonight?”
Lois had been scrolling through her e-mail, but at the odd question, she looked his way. “No. Just the usual. Why?”
“I thought….” Brady paused and then shook his head. “Sorry, I guess I got it mixed-up.”
The elevator doors slid open when it got to her floor and started to head out. “Got what mixed-up?” Lois asked him, with confusion, over her shoulder.
“Never mind,” Brady answered, as the doors started to close. “See you later, Lane.”
As she entered her office, her gaze automatically went to the office right across the hall from hers. Through the glass window, she saw that it was empty. That meant Clark was probably out taking care of Superman duties or off working on some story. She checked her phone quickly to see if he’d texted or e-mailed her anything. He hadn’t, so he was probably still on the continent. Or even if he’d gone off the grid, it wasn’t for anything serious.
Putting thoughts of her missing husband out of her mind, she dumped her purse and briefcase on the cluttered desk and then took off her coat, throwing it over one of the spare chairs she kept across from her desk. Quickly, she went through her morning routine, booting up her computer while she checked her voicemail.
She frowned when she got to the fifth message. It was from Pergo’s, an exclusive restaurant in downtown Metropolis. They were calling to confirm the reservation for two for that night. They hadn’t gotten Clark on his phone, so they’d called her. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Clark must have made it months in advance, since it was impossible to get seats there at the last minute. But when they’d spoken this morning, Clark had made no indication that this was an evening he’d been planning for months.
She jotted down the information and went through the last of her messages. Finally, she turned her attention to her monitor to log in to her computer and froze in surprise. There were about ten sticky notes attached to the frame, each with a message like, “Call your husband.” “Tell Clark you love him.” “Wear something red tonight.” “Be there by 8.” Rolling her eyes slightly, she picked up her phone and quickly sent him a text. Yes, all right. I feel like crap. But I still can’t have dinner with you. Too busy. This weekend, I PROMISE we will do something.
She quickly hit ‘send’ and then removed all the sticky notes, shaking her head in fond exasperation. Sometimes she wondered how she managed to marry the one guy on the planet who was a hard-core romantic.
Clark read through Lois’s text and frowned. “How is it possible that she’s smartest person I know, but yet so incredibly out of it?”
Diana looked up from her notes and asked, curiously, “What are you talking about?”
“Lois,” Clark answered, irritably. As though that fully explained what he meant. At his friend’s quizzical expression, he added, “It’s our anniversary. She forgot. Again.”
“Well, I’m no psychiatrist,” Bruce said, with more than a little amusement infused in his gravelly voice, “But I think it’s not a good thing when your wife keeps forgetting the date you married her.”
“You would think that,” Diana retorted, before Clark could answer. “Lois is a busy woman. She probably has better things to worry about than stroking a man’s ego.” At Clark indignant look she added, “Sorry. But it’s true. There are all these stereotypes that women need to celebrate these milestones, but – in reality – men are so much more insecure about it.”
“I am not insecure!” Clark answered, feeling incredibly offended. “All I want is for my wife to say ‘happy anniversary’ to me before I say it to her. For there to be, at least, one year where she remembers first.” He let out a long suffering sigh. “Is that too much to ask for?”
“Apparently, when you’re married to Lois Lane, it is,” Diana answered, with a shrug. “Like I said, she’s a busy woman. Cut her some slack.”
Clark glanced at Bruce, seeking support.
“Don’t ask me.” Bruce shrugged, making it clear that no such support would be coming from his quarter. “I still can’t believe you’ve been married three years. Statistically speaking, eighty percent of marriages with two working partners end within the first year of marriage. And you have three jobs between the two of you. I’m shocked she didn’t dump you a long time ago.”
“Oh, really?” Diana asked, snorting in derision. “Is that the reason no relationship of yours lasts longer than three days? Because of statistics?”
“Careful, Diana. You’re almost sounding like a real woman, instead of the man-hating Amazon princess you claim to be,” Bruce shot back.
“Oh, I’m a real woman, Bruce,” Diana answered, her dark blue eyes flashing with challenge and a hint of amusement. “The question is - are you a real man?”
“Do I need to separate you two?” Clark interjected, more than little bemused by the exchange. “What’s going on with you guys?”
“Nothing,” Bruce answered, immediately. He smiled a bit at Diana. “Just an old disagreement.”
Diana’s lips curved up, as well, and she must have decided to drop it. She turned to Clark and said, briskly, “Look, why don’t you just tell her it’s your anniversary? Why let foolish pride get in the way of a perfectly pleasant evening?”
“Because it’s not about pride or ego,” Clark replied.
“Then what’s it about?” Diana asked, clearly confused.
Clark tried to find the words to explain why it mattered. Before he could, Bruce offered, “It’s symbolic. It’s an anniversary of the day they decided to be together for the rest of their lives and Kent just wants Lane to show him that she holds it in the same regard he does.”
Surprised that his hard-core bachelor friend had been so insightful, Clark considered it. And then nodded. “Yes… I guess that’s it.”
Diana glanced between the two of them. “Men are such sentimental fools.”
Bruce shrugged. “One of my ex-girlfriends said something similar during a break-up speech. In her case, it was a one-week anniversary, but I guess the reasoning still holds true.”
Clark let out a groan. “All right. Let’s just focus on the task at hand so I can go back to my day job. I have to get an article into Perry by the end of the day or he’ll have my head.”
Bruce and Diana nodded. Bruce pulled out a packet of papers and started, “So, here’s an analysis of where things stand with LexCorp’s subsidiaries and….”
Perry and Lois had been arguing for an hour. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was not winning. And Lois Lane hated to lose.
So, she tried one last ditch effort to save her story. “Perry, let me just meet with this source tonight. I think he’s the key. His information, combined with what I learned from Randall, will MAKE this article. I’m telling you.”
Perry leaned back in his seat and considered her for a moment. And, then, succinctly stated, “No.”
“But, Perry!” Lois began to protest, but he cut her off.
“No, Lane. It’s too dangerous and I don’t think the article you’ll get out of it is worth the risk. Insurance premiums are already too high and you almost got killed twice already this month.” He shook his head and grumbled, “Just go out and have a nice dinner with your husband and leave this story alone.”
Confused, Lois stared at her boss questioningly. “How did you know Clark wanted me to go out to dinner with him tonight?”
“Well, it is your anniversary,” Perry replied, with a slight shrug. “Don’t have to be an award-winning journalist to piece two and two together.”
“It’s not. It’s not my anniversary.” With dawning horror, Lois blinked at him. Blindly, she pulled out her phone and checked her calendar. Sure enough, her anniversary was listed for ten days from now. “See? I have it down for the twentieth. Today is the tenth,” Lois exclaimed, triumphantly brandishing the phone in her editor’s face.
Perry looked decidedly unimpressed. “If you say so.”
“I do!” Lois affirmed firmly. Then she glanced down at her phone and immediately became plagued with doubts. She suddenly remembered all the odd things Clark was saying in the morning and how annoyed he’d looked when she turned down his dinner invitation. The post-it notes on her monitor. The odd conversation with Randall. The dinner reservations he must have made months in advance. “Um… it isn’t, is it?” Lois asked Perry, doubtfully. “I mean… is it really the tenth?”
“Are you asking me to tell you if it’s your wedding anniversary, Lane?” Perry asked, with gruff amusement. “Because that strikes me as a bit odd.”
“No, it’s just…” Lois voice trailed off as she analyzed her phone again. “This is a new phone. It’s possible something got screwed up in the transition.”
Perry stood up and ordered, “Lane, forget the story. Focus on your personal life.” He walked towards the door and opened the door for her. His sharp gaze softened as a bit as he looked at her. “Take it from someone who knows – Pulitzers are all well and good, but they don’t keep you warm at night.”
With a slight nod, Lois acknowledged what he was saying and silently left, heading back towards her office. When she got there, she stopped in her tracks when she saw her sister sitting in her chair, with her legs propped up on the desk.
“Luce!” Lois exclaimed, with surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Lucy swung her legs down from the desk and reminded her, “We have lunch plans today.”
Lois rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone again. Sure enough, she had Lucy listed as having lunch with her on the twentieth. “Oh God,” Lois groaned. “This is not good.”
Lucy’s eyes widened with alarm. “It’s not that big of a deal, sis. If you need to re-schedule, it’s fine. I’m still in Metropolis for a few weeks.”
“No. It’s my phone.” Lois wrinkled her nose in disgust as the offending object in her hand. “It’s giving me all the wrong info. Anyway, listen – is today my anniversary?” She looked at her little sister expectantly.
Lucy’s brows shot up. “Why on earth would I know if it’s your anniversary? I was drunk for most of your wedding. I have barely any memory of it.”
Lois thought back to that day. It was true. The General had provided an open bar and most of the guests had gotten plastered, Lucy included. “Right, good point.”
“Why do you need to know if it’s your anniversary?” Lucy asked curiously. And, then, realization must have dawned, because she let out a delighted laugh. “You forgot! Again! Isn’t this the third year in a row? And you’ve only been married three years.”
Lois winced. “Wait, that’s not precisely true.” Knowing full well her tone was a little defensive, she explained, “Last year, I was kidnapped on the day of my anniversary. So it clearly doesn’t count. And the first year, Smallville just happened to remember five minutes before I did.” She didn’t bother to add that she probably wouldn’t have remembered at all if Clark hadn’t woken her up with some fantastic morning sex and murmured happy anniversary in her ear. Luckily for her, she’d bought his present weeks in advance and happened to have it in the drawer in her bedside table.
“Okay, then.” It was clear from her dry tone of voice that Lucy wasn’t buying her story.
“I’ve just….” Lois let out a sigh and leaned against her desk. “I’ve been working on this story for the past month – I’m surviving on barely any sleep.” She rubbed her eyes a bit and added, in a dejected tone, “And Perry just killed the story, too.” With a final glance at the phone, she shrugged. “So, frankly, I’m shocked I even remember my name at this point, let alone my anniversary.”
Lucy looked a little more sympathetic, but still asked, “Didn’t you choose a day you wouldn’t be able to forget or something? And you still forgot?”
“No, I…” Lois hesitated and then explained, “It’s the same date as the day we became an official couple and the day he proposed.” With a slight eye roll, she admitted, “I told him we should choose that same date for the wedding.”
“How romantic,” Lucy commented mockingly. And, then added, wryly, “You really chose it so you’d only have one date to remember, didn’t you?”
Lois opened her mouth to deny it, but then snapped it shut, knowing her sister knew her too well. She let out a defeated sigh. “Yes. But, please don’t tell Clark that. He thinks me choosing that date was the most romantic thing I’ve ever done.”
“So, let me get this straight…” Lucy considered her with a thoughtful expression on her face. “You didn’t just forget one anniversary. You forgot three in one go. Man, you really are the General’s daughter.” Lucy let out a peal of laughter at the thought.
Lois made a face. “Very funny. Besides, you’re the General’s daughter, too,” Lois reminded her. “When was the last time you celebrated an anniversary with a guy? Oh, wait, you don’t ever get that far.”
Lucy stopped laughing. “Hey, low blow.”
“Sorry,” Lois said, not feeling the least bit repentant. “Excuse me while I figure out a way to get myself out of this mess.”
“Why don’t you just ask Clark?” Lucy said, in response. She started digging around in her purse and pulled out a candy bar. At Lois’s questioning look, she explained, “Looks like we’re skipping lunch. I’m hungry. You want one? I have another.”
Lois weighed the calories against the stress. It was a quick decision. “Yes, I want it.” She took the bar from her sister and took a bite, sighing at the instant soothing affect of chocolate. “Anyway… yeah… I can’t ask Clark. He’ll give me that look.”
“What look?” Lucy asked curiously, as she took a bite of her chocolate.
“The look he gave me back in high school when he found out I hit Shelby with my car," Lois said, cringing a bit at the memory. “Not a pleasant look, let me tell you. Like, literally, I've just run over his dog."
“Yeah, right,” Lucy snorted in response. “Clark adores you. You could be a serial killer and he’d figure out a way to dismiss it as an endearing quirk.”
Lois raised her brows at the thought. “I don’t think so. But thanks for that vote of confidence.”
“Have you seen the way he looks at you?” Lucy persisted. She settled down on one of Lois’s spare chairs and propped her legs up on the desk. “I swear, it’s like he forgets anyone else in the world exists. You do the same thing. It’s a little disgusting, really.”
Lois flushed a bit at that. “Lucy, if you don’t have anything productive to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Lucy let out a laugh at that, knowing full well she’d embarrassed Lois.
Then, in an effort to change the subject and also because she’d hit upon the solution, she exclaimed, “I’ll just look up our wedding announcement.” With that, she skirted her desk and sat down at her computer, hitting a key to pull up the search engine. And then groaned in dismay when she was faced with a frozen screen. “That’s just great. My computer crashed again. Damn it.”
While she bent down to do a hard re-boot of her computer, Lucy said, “Okay, well, how about this? Just give him some spectacular sex tonight. Pretend like that was your wedding present all along. Maybe a strip show?”
“I can’t. I just did that last week,” Lois told her, a bit absentmindedly, since her focus was still on her computer.
“You did?” Lucy paused in the act of popping the last of the candy bar in her mouth. “Man, maybe I should re-consider my stance on marriage.”
Lois didn’t bother to respond, since her computer screen had just come up. With a sigh of relief, she pulled up the DP archives page and started to type in her name to run the search. The results came up and she groaned when she saw 1302 results come up. “Damn it,” she muttered under her breath. “I’ve written too many articles.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Clark said, with more than a little amusement.
Startled, Lois glanced up from the monitor and saw her husband standing in her doorway. “Oh, Clark….Hi.” Longingly, she looked at the monitor. So close, but so far. All she needed was an extra thirty seconds to refine the search. She sent her sister a glance, silently telling her to stall Clark.
“Hi,” Clark answered, with a slight smile. His gaze shifted from her to Lucy and his smile widened. “Hi, Lucy. How are you doing?”
“Hi, Clark.” Lucy shot Lois a look that made it clear she was on her own, while she got up and brushed chocolate crumbs off her pants. She grabbed her purse and then went up to Clark to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m doing great, how are you?” She didn’t wait for a response and was out the door in a flash, saying over her shoulder, “I’ll call you, Lo.”
There was silence in the room for a few moments after Lucy had left. Lois pushed her chair back and stood up, skirting the desk to stand in front of Clark. “Soo….” Lois started, wondering what the best way to broach the subject was. “How’s your day going?” Lois finally said, with a bright smile.
Clark stuck his hands in his slacks’ pockets and stared down at her, his expression inscrutable. “It’s going fine. How’s your day going?”
“Fine,” Lois echoed. Then, she said, impulsively, “You know, Smallville, I think we should definitely go out tonight. To the dinner.”
One brow rose coolly as he asked, “Really? What made you change your mind?”
Lois blinked, trying to decide if she should take a gamble. She was reasonably sure today was their anniversary, but what if she was missing something? If only Clark had just waited an extra thirty seconds. She’d have gotten confirmation.
“Lois?” Clark said, a bit impatiently. “What made you change your mind?”
“Well, I think you’re right,” Lois answered slowly. “We barely saw each other this month. We should take some time, hang out… you know…” She looked at him and saw that he was completely unmoved. So she added, “It’s our anniversary?”
At that, Clark’s lips twitched. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
Lois took a deep breath. “Oh, telling. Definitely.”
“Right.” Clark nodded slowly. “You know this doesn’t count. I know you forgot.”
“Smallville.” Lois rolled her eyes. “I know, I’m sorry. But it wasn’t me. It was my phone – it randomly moved my reminder to a different day! And then there’s that story I was working on and --.”
“Wait,” Clark interrupted, his voice laced with frustration. “What you’re saying is that the only way you’d remember is if your calendar reminded you. Why can’t you just remember the actual date?”
“It’s a random day in November,” Lois shot back, defensively. She crossed her arms. “I mean, if you think about it, the twentieth and the tenth are very similar. The difference of just one digit, really, if you think about it.”
“Lois.” Clark’s eyes narrowed on hers. He was clearly not buying it. “You’re the one who chose the date.”
“All right, fine.” She uncrossed her arms and stepped closer to Clark, stopping just a few inches away. “I’m sorry, Smallville,” she said, with complete sincerity. “It’s just… I’ve been working such long hours lately and… well… I just totally forgot.”
Clark shook his head slightly. “You really don’t care about these sorts of things, do you?”
“I care that you care,” Lois countered.
“Clearly, not that much,” Clark pointed out dryly. “Or you would have bothered to remember.”
“The thing is, Smallville….” Lois took a deep breath and then released it. “I really don’t think the anniversary matters. I mean, I think every single day we’re married is special. I like being married to you and I don’t see the point in setting aside one day out of the year to celebrate that, when I think it’s great every day,” she explained earnestly. She put one hand on his chest and moved in closer. With a slight shrug, she finished, “I just think it’s redundant.”
Clark stared down at her for a moment and then pulled his hands out of his pockets. Grasping her by the waist, he pulled her in closer and dipped his head down to hers, taking her lips in a searing kiss. Her arms stole around his neck, as she tried to keep up. After a minute, she had to break away for oxygen. “Wait, so you forgive me?” Lois asked, breathlessly.
Letting out a slight laugh, Clark asked, “What do you think?” He pulled her in closer so she was flush against him. And then he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Let’s get out of here. Perry gave us the rest of the day off. He said something about how you needed to work on your priorities.”
Lois cocked her head to the side to look up at him teasingly. “Really? Whatever will we do with all of our spare time?”
Clark’s eyes darkened to a deeper blue. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
Lois laughed and pulled back to get her purse. When she started to toss her phone into it, Clark grabbed it out of her hand and put it back on the desk.
“No phone until tomorrow morning,” Clark said firmly and put his hand on her back to steer her towards the door.
Lois stopped at the doorway and turned around. “OK. But then none of this, either,” Lois challenged, tapping her finger against her ear to indicate super-hearing. “If I’m off duty tonight then so are you. No… extra curriculars.”
Grabbing her hand, Clark linked his fingers through hers and his lips curved up into a playful smile. “It’s a deal.” Then he leaned in and said, in a whisper, “But can we start that rule five minutes from now? Right now, I want to fly you to our hotel room.”
“Hotel room?” Lois blinked in surprise as Clark tugged her towards the elevator that led to the roof. “I thought we were going back to the farm.”
“No,” Clark answered, as he punched the button. As soon as the doors slid shut, he pushed her up against the wall and started to kiss her, his lips leaving a blazing trail of heat as he moved on to her neck. He stopped kissing her long enough to say, “I got us a room at the Ritz.”
Lois’s fingers tangled in his hair and she mumbled incoherently, “Hhhmm… cool….”
When the doors opened on the final floor, Clark grabbed her around her waist and practically carried her out of the elevator, pushing her up the stairs to the roof so quickly, she was taking the steps two at a time. By the time she pushed open the door to the rooftop, she couldn’t contain her laughter.
“What are you laughing about?” Clark asked her, his own lips curving up in response.
Lois stared at him and then held out her hand to take his. “Nothing. So, the Ritz and Pergo’s, huh? What else do you have in store for me?”
Clark swept her into his arms and looked down at her, desire darkening his eyes to a deeper hue. “Actually, chances are you’re never going to get to Pergo’s. I may never let you leave the hotel room.”
Lois felt a thrill of desire shoot through her at his words. She bit her lower lip and her eyes strayed to his lips. “I like the sound of that.” Then, suddenly, she realized something. She let out a sound of dismay. “Wait. I didn’t get you anything.”
Clark looked taken aback, but then he grinned. “Yeah, you did. What you said back in your office. It’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” With that, he shot up in the sky and when they were safely covered by the clouds, he added, “And, three years ago, you married me. You really don’t have to get me anything else ever again.”
Lois’s throat tightened at the words. “Happy anniversary, Smallville.”
“Happy anniversary, Lois.”
_________
Clark heard the alarm clock blaring in the background and opened his eyes. He watched, with some amusement, as Lois reached over to shut it off without bothering to open her eyes even a crack. Then she promptly rolled over and pulled the blankets up over her head, clearly trying to block out the morning light filtering through the shades.
“Lois, you need to get up,” Clark said, his voice husky with sleep, as his hand found the sheets and blankets, tugging them away from her face. “We’re going to be late for work,” he added, knowing it was probably the only thing that would make her leave the warmth of the bed.
“Five more minutes,” Lois mumbled and turned her back to him, pulling the pillow over her head to replace the sheets and blankets he’d just pulled away from her.
He gave her thirty seconds and then grabbed the pillow. Letting out a groan of frustration, she tried to wrestle it away from him. After a few seconds of tug of war, Lois sat up and brushing the hair out of her eyes, she glared at him. “I hate you.”
Clark grinned at her, unapologetically, and then got out of bed. “No you don’t.” He looked back at her and asked, after some hesitation, “Do you remember what day it is?” He wondered if, for the first time ever, she’d actually remember it was their anniversary.
Lois didn’t make any movement to get out of bed herself. She shook her head slightly, as though trying to clear the cobwebs. “Um… Wednesday?”
Clark considered reminding her that working until four in the morning was never a good idea when you had to get up at seven to get to work, but refrained. In the spirit of it being a special day. Not that his wife remembered.
“Ah… try again.” Clark gazed down at her, with an odd feeling of exasperated fondness.
“Thursday?” Lois asked. Her tone made it seem she was wondering why he didn’t just check the calendar.
Clark shook his head slowly. “No, it is Wednesday. I’m talking about….” Then, Clark stopped and considered her for a moment. He was pretty sure she’d remember after awhile. She, after all, was surviving on barely three hours of sleep. So, he offered a hint. “Is there something you need to remember about today, specifically? Think about it.”
Lois blinked for a second and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up. “Oh, my God, Clark! I can’t believe I almost forgot!” Lois exclaimed, with some horror.
Incredibly happy, Clark nodded, with a relieved grin. “You remember!”
“Yes. The meeting with Perry!” She leapt out of bed and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. Then she headed towards the hallway, saying over her shoulder, “You’re a lifesaver. Thank God you woke me up. He’d kill the story if I don’t get there by ten.”
“Wait, Lois,” Clark started, walking after her down the hall. “That’s not --.” Then, he stopped and added, with a sigh, “Forget it. Go get ready for work. I’ll make breakfast.”
Lois cast a confused look his way, but then shrugged and headed into the shower.
*
After inhaling the toast and eggs Clark had made (while he went and got ready – something that was only going to take him five minutes), she stood by the counter, finishing her third cup of coffee and reading the morning’s Daily Planet.
Clark walked into the kitchen, fixing his tie. “Lois, can you check the calendar to see when Jimmy’s birthday is?” He quickly reached out and poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to look at her. “I think it’s this month. Or is it next month?”
“Sure.” Lois leaned over and squinted at the calendar they kept on the wall. “Um….” She saw that they hadn’t actually changed the month in the awhile. It was still set at October. She quickly flipped to November and saw that a box had “Jimmy’s B-day” written in it. “Yeah, it’s the twenty-eighth.” Another notation on the calendar caught her eye – she saw that the box for the tenth was circled. She frowned in confusion. “Smallville, we have today’s date circled for some reason.”
Clark paused in the act of taking a sip from his mug. “We do? Why do you think that is?” He didn’t sound the least bit surprised.
Glancing back at him, she shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I never update this calendar. I never even use it.” Then she looked back at the calendar and a thought occurred to her. “Oh, wait.” She quickly made her way over to the desk they had in the living room and sorted through the drawer she kept the bills in. She saw the top bill and smiled triumphantly. “Smallville – you must have circled the date to remind me to pay the cell phone bill,” she called back to the kitchen. “It’s due today.”
Clark appeared at the archway that separated the kitchen from the living room. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms. His eyes were full of amusement. “You’re kidding, right?”
Lois glanced down at the bill in her hand. “No. I’m not. Why, did you already pay it?”
Closing his eyes briefly, he shook his head. When he opened them again, the amusement was gone and he just looked resigned. Then he turned back towards the kitchen. “C’mon, let’s go. Or we’ll be late.”
*
“So, what do you want to do tonight?” Clark asked casually, looking over at Lois as she flipped through the notes on her latest story. Her brow was furrowed and every once in awhile she wrote something down, completely unaffected by the movement of the car. When she didn’t respond, he let out a sigh and reached out to touch her leg to get her attention. “Lois.”
Lois jerked a bit in response. Her startled gaze turned toward him. “Um… what? Sorry, did you say something?”
“Tonight,” he said again, keeping his focus on the road. “What do you want to do?”
“The usual, I guess,” Lois answered, clearly confused as to why he was asking. “I mean, I have a meeting with a source. And I’m assuming you have….” She stopped and then finished opaquely, “… Your usual stuff going on.”
Clark bit back a smile. Even when they were in a car in the middle of Kansas, she wouldn’t say the name Superman, in fear that someone would make the connection somehow. “Are you sure? I asked Bart and Bruce to cover things for me. I have the evening off.”
“You do?” Lois asked, her attention still on her papers. She added a bit absent-mindedly, “That’s great. You should rest.” Lois pulled out a pen and wrote something down. Then she glanced his way again. “Why’d you ask them to cover for you, anyway? It’s a Thursday.”
“Wednesday,” Clark corrected her, rolling his eyes a bit. He ran his hand along her thigh, inching his way under her skirt. But when he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, he saw that her lips were pulled into a confused frown and that she wasn’t paying attention to him in the slightest. He let out a sigh and put his hand back on the steering wheel. “Lois.” When there was no answer, he finally threatened, “If you don’t pay attention to this conversation, I’m going to set your papers on fire.”
At that, she gave him an irritated look. “Smallville, I am paying attention. You’re taking the night off. It’s Wednesday.” Her gaze strayed back to the papers in her hand. “I can multi-task.”
With a huff of frustration, he grabbed the papers out of her hand and threw them into the backseat. In response, Lois let out a sound that was the cross between a squeak and a growl.
“Clark! I have a meeting with Perry in two hours that I’m not remotely prepared for,” Lois said, between gritted teeth. Unclasping her seat belt, she twisted and maneuvered herself until she was half in the front seat and half in the back, reaching for the papers.
“Lois!” Clark eyes widened when he saw what she was doing. He considered, for a second, pulling her back to her seat, but realized that not only would it be futile, he’d probably get into an accident in the process. So, with a sigh of resignation, he pulled over onto the side of the road.
“Thanks!” Lois said, in a grateful tone, as she settled back into her seat, the papers a bit worse for wear but clutched in her hands. “You can keep going now, I got them.”
Clark studied her for a moment. Then, using super-speed, he plucked the papers from her hands and folded them, putting them away in his inner jacket pocket. Two seconds later, he saw Lois blinking down at her now empty hands. When she looked back up at him, her eyes narrowed on his face and she didn’t look happy.
“Smallville. What is your problem? Not only are we going to be late for work, but when we get there, I’m not going to know what I’m DOING.”
“I want to take you out for dinner tonight,” Clark shot back and then winced at the annoyed tone in which he’d issued the invitation. This wasn’t exactly going as he planned. So, he softened his voice and tried again. “I mean… I have the night off. We’ve barely seen each other all month. I think – tonight, especially – we should just focus on each other.”
Lois’s lips pursed as she gazed at him thoughtfully. “That’s sweet, Smallville, but….” She pulled out her Blackberry and started scrolling through it. “… I have a meeting with a source tonight. And I’m booked in back-to-back in meetings all day. Can’t we do this on the weekend? Or next week?”
Clark stared at her, again wondering how he’d managed to marry the one woman on the planet who had no idea how to keep track of special occasions. “Check your calendar. Do you have something ELSE marked for today?”
With a confused frown, Lois turned her attention back to her calendar. After a few clicks, she shook her head. “Nope. But, I guess, we could get coffee in the afternoon. I have an appointment at 3:30 and another one at 4. Maybe in-between them?”
“Lois.” Clark shook his head, not knowing whether he should throttle her or laugh. “You don’t have anything ELSE down for today?”
“No.” Lois held it up and showed it to him. “But, you know, this is a new phone. My old one broke last week.” She leaned back and studied Clark, one brow arched in question. “You seem to think that I’m forgetting something. Care to share with the rest of the class?”
Clark opened his mouth to tell her that she’d forgotten their anniversary – for the second time – but then decided against it. This time, he wasn’t letting her off the hook. He was going to make sure that she mentioned it before he did. “No, nothing,” Clark lied, with a shrug. He turned his attention back to getting the car onto the road. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t missing anything. Coffee sounds fine.”
Clark could feel Lois’s eyes on him as she, undoubtedly, tried to process what was going on. But she must have decided that she didn’t have time to deal with it, because she just said, “OK, then. Can you give me my research back?”
“It’s in my jacket pocket. You can get it,” Clark answered, briefly, as he glanced her way.
Lois rolled her eyes as she leaned closer to him, her hand stealing into his jacket to pull the papers from the pocket. He breathed in her scent – a blend of lavender and vanilla – and it took most of his self control not to just turn to her and tell her that it was their anniversary and he was making her cancel all her plans. She must have sensed something because she froze for a second and then lightly brushed her lips across his jaw. Before she could pull back, he turned his head, angling so he could kiss her on the lips. After a few seconds, she pulled back and then put her hand on his cheek, making him turn his attention back to the road.
“Smallville, unlike you, I can actually die in a car crash,” Lois pointed out, dryly. “Let’s try to keep the making out limited to only parked car situations.”
Clark flushed a bit, but couldn’t help but smile. “Or we could just pull over and find a hotel.”
“The notoriously responsible Clark Kent wants to play hooky?” Lois asked incredulously. She let out a slight laugh and shook her head. Her focus went back to her research and she murmured, “I’ll take a rain check on that, Smallville.”
*
“Lane! I’ve been looking for you!” Randall Brady called out across the lobby. “You got a minute?”
Lois glanced at Clark and groaned. Even though Brady wasn’t technically her boss, anymore, she owed it to him to listen to what he had to say. He was now an editor in the international section and she needed him every now and then. “Smallville, you go on up. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Clark glanced down at her and shrugged, taking off before the words were out of her mouth. Briefly, she frowned, wondering why he’d been acting so weird all morning. He seemed distracted and also a little… annoyed. Was he really that mad that she wouldn’t drop everything to have dinner with him? After all, it was kind of his fault –he shouldn’t have just taken the evening off. He should have checked with her first….
Brady’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Lane, I have some information about that story you’re working on.”
Intrigued, Lois’s brow rose. “Really? What?”
The next ten minutes were spent exchanging information with Brady. By the time they were done, her mind was buzzing with the possibilities.
“Thanks, Randall!” Lois said, when they were done, with a bright grin. “This is going to make a huge difference to my article. I owe you one.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that, Lane,” Randall responded, with a smile of his own. He made his way to the elevator. “Going up?”
“Yeah.” She stepped in next to him and pulled out her phone to check the time. An hour to go before her meeting with Perry. “Floor seven.”
He hit seven for her and ten for him and as they made their way up, he asked, casually, “So you and Kent have big plans for tonight?”
Lois had been scrolling through her e-mail, but at the odd question, she looked his way. “No. Just the usual. Why?”
“I thought….” Brady paused and then shook his head. “Sorry, I guess I got it mixed-up.”
The elevator doors slid open when it got to her floor and started to head out. “Got what mixed-up?” Lois asked him, with confusion, over her shoulder.
“Never mind,” Brady answered, as the doors started to close. “See you later, Lane.”
As she entered her office, her gaze automatically went to the office right across the hall from hers. Through the glass window, she saw that it was empty. That meant Clark was probably out taking care of Superman duties or off working on some story. She checked her phone quickly to see if he’d texted or e-mailed her anything. He hadn’t, so he was probably still on the continent. Or even if he’d gone off the grid, it wasn’t for anything serious.
Putting thoughts of her missing husband out of her mind, she dumped her purse and briefcase on the cluttered desk and then took off her coat, throwing it over one of the spare chairs she kept across from her desk. Quickly, she went through her morning routine, booting up her computer while she checked her voicemail.
She frowned when she got to the fifth message. It was from Pergo’s, an exclusive restaurant in downtown Metropolis. They were calling to confirm the reservation for two for that night. They hadn’t gotten Clark on his phone, so they’d called her. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Clark must have made it months in advance, since it was impossible to get seats there at the last minute. But when they’d spoken this morning, Clark had made no indication that this was an evening he’d been planning for months.
She jotted down the information and went through the last of her messages. Finally, she turned her attention to her monitor to log in to her computer and froze in surprise. There were about ten sticky notes attached to the frame, each with a message like, “Call your husband.” “Tell Clark you love him.” “Wear something red tonight.” “Be there by 8.” Rolling her eyes slightly, she picked up her phone and quickly sent him a text. Yes, all right. I feel like crap. But I still can’t have dinner with you. Too busy. This weekend, I PROMISE we will do something.
She quickly hit ‘send’ and then removed all the sticky notes, shaking her head in fond exasperation. Sometimes she wondered how she managed to marry the one guy on the planet who was a hard-core romantic.
*
Clark read through Lois’s text and frowned. “How is it possible that she’s smartest person I know, but yet so incredibly out of it?”
Diana looked up from her notes and asked, curiously, “What are you talking about?”
“Lois,” Clark answered, irritably. As though that fully explained what he meant. At his friend’s quizzical expression, he added, “It’s our anniversary. She forgot. Again.”
“Well, I’m no psychiatrist,” Bruce said, with more than a little amusement infused in his gravelly voice, “But I think it’s not a good thing when your wife keeps forgetting the date you married her.”
“You would think that,” Diana retorted, before Clark could answer. “Lois is a busy woman. She probably has better things to worry about than stroking a man’s ego.” At Clark indignant look she added, “Sorry. But it’s true. There are all these stereotypes that women need to celebrate these milestones, but – in reality – men are so much more insecure about it.”
“I am not insecure!” Clark answered, feeling incredibly offended. “All I want is for my wife to say ‘happy anniversary’ to me before I say it to her. For there to be, at least, one year where she remembers first.” He let out a long suffering sigh. “Is that too much to ask for?”
“Apparently, when you’re married to Lois Lane, it is,” Diana answered, with a shrug. “Like I said, she’s a busy woman. Cut her some slack.”
Clark glanced at Bruce, seeking support.
“Don’t ask me.” Bruce shrugged, making it clear that no such support would be coming from his quarter. “I still can’t believe you’ve been married three years. Statistically speaking, eighty percent of marriages with two working partners end within the first year of marriage. And you have three jobs between the two of you. I’m shocked she didn’t dump you a long time ago.”
“Oh, really?” Diana asked, snorting in derision. “Is that the reason no relationship of yours lasts longer than three days? Because of statistics?”
“Careful, Diana. You’re almost sounding like a real woman, instead of the man-hating Amazon princess you claim to be,” Bruce shot back.
“Oh, I’m a real woman, Bruce,” Diana answered, her dark blue eyes flashing with challenge and a hint of amusement. “The question is - are you a real man?”
“Do I need to separate you two?” Clark interjected, more than little bemused by the exchange. “What’s going on with you guys?”
“Nothing,” Bruce answered, immediately. He smiled a bit at Diana. “Just an old disagreement.”
Diana’s lips curved up, as well, and she must have decided to drop it. She turned to Clark and said, briskly, “Look, why don’t you just tell her it’s your anniversary? Why let foolish pride get in the way of a perfectly pleasant evening?”
“Because it’s not about pride or ego,” Clark replied.
“Then what’s it about?” Diana asked, clearly confused.
Clark tried to find the words to explain why it mattered. Before he could, Bruce offered, “It’s symbolic. It’s an anniversary of the day they decided to be together for the rest of their lives and Kent just wants Lane to show him that she holds it in the same regard he does.”
Surprised that his hard-core bachelor friend had been so insightful, Clark considered it. And then nodded. “Yes… I guess that’s it.”
Diana glanced between the two of them. “Men are such sentimental fools.”
Bruce shrugged. “One of my ex-girlfriends said something similar during a break-up speech. In her case, it was a one-week anniversary, but I guess the reasoning still holds true.”
Clark let out a groan. “All right. Let’s just focus on the task at hand so I can go back to my day job. I have to get an article into Perry by the end of the day or he’ll have my head.”
Bruce and Diana nodded. Bruce pulled out a packet of papers and started, “So, here’s an analysis of where things stand with LexCorp’s subsidiaries and….”
*
Perry and Lois had been arguing for an hour. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was not winning. And Lois Lane hated to lose.
So, she tried one last ditch effort to save her story. “Perry, let me just meet with this source tonight. I think he’s the key. His information, combined with what I learned from Randall, will MAKE this article. I’m telling you.”
Perry leaned back in his seat and considered her for a moment. And, then, succinctly stated, “No.”
“But, Perry!” Lois began to protest, but he cut her off.
“No, Lane. It’s too dangerous and I don’t think the article you’ll get out of it is worth the risk. Insurance premiums are already too high and you almost got killed twice already this month.” He shook his head and grumbled, “Just go out and have a nice dinner with your husband and leave this story alone.”
Confused, Lois stared at her boss questioningly. “How did you know Clark wanted me to go out to dinner with him tonight?”
“Well, it is your anniversary,” Perry replied, with a slight shrug. “Don’t have to be an award-winning journalist to piece two and two together.”
“It’s not. It’s not my anniversary.” With dawning horror, Lois blinked at him. Blindly, she pulled out her phone and checked her calendar. Sure enough, her anniversary was listed for ten days from now. “See? I have it down for the twentieth. Today is the tenth,” Lois exclaimed, triumphantly brandishing the phone in her editor’s face.
Perry looked decidedly unimpressed. “If you say so.”
“I do!” Lois affirmed firmly. Then she glanced down at her phone and immediately became plagued with doubts. She suddenly remembered all the odd things Clark was saying in the morning and how annoyed he’d looked when she turned down his dinner invitation. The post-it notes on her monitor. The odd conversation with Randall. The dinner reservations he must have made months in advance. “Um… it isn’t, is it?” Lois asked Perry, doubtfully. “I mean… is it really the tenth?”
“Are you asking me to tell you if it’s your wedding anniversary, Lane?” Perry asked, with gruff amusement. “Because that strikes me as a bit odd.”
“No, it’s just…” Lois voice trailed off as she analyzed her phone again. “This is a new phone. It’s possible something got screwed up in the transition.”
Perry stood up and ordered, “Lane, forget the story. Focus on your personal life.” He walked towards the door and opened the door for her. His sharp gaze softened as a bit as he looked at her. “Take it from someone who knows – Pulitzers are all well and good, but they don’t keep you warm at night.”
With a slight nod, Lois acknowledged what he was saying and silently left, heading back towards her office. When she got there, she stopped in her tracks when she saw her sister sitting in her chair, with her legs propped up on the desk.
“Luce!” Lois exclaimed, with surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Lucy swung her legs down from the desk and reminded her, “We have lunch plans today.”
Lois rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone again. Sure enough, she had Lucy listed as having lunch with her on the twentieth. “Oh God,” Lois groaned. “This is not good.”
Lucy’s eyes widened with alarm. “It’s not that big of a deal, sis. If you need to re-schedule, it’s fine. I’m still in Metropolis for a few weeks.”
“No. It’s my phone.” Lois wrinkled her nose in disgust as the offending object in her hand. “It’s giving me all the wrong info. Anyway, listen – is today my anniversary?” She looked at her little sister expectantly.
Lucy’s brows shot up. “Why on earth would I know if it’s your anniversary? I was drunk for most of your wedding. I have barely any memory of it.”
Lois thought back to that day. It was true. The General had provided an open bar and most of the guests had gotten plastered, Lucy included. “Right, good point.”
“Why do you need to know if it’s your anniversary?” Lucy asked curiously. And, then, realization must have dawned, because she let out a delighted laugh. “You forgot! Again! Isn’t this the third year in a row? And you’ve only been married three years.”
Lois winced. “Wait, that’s not precisely true.” Knowing full well her tone was a little defensive, she explained, “Last year, I was kidnapped on the day of my anniversary. So it clearly doesn’t count. And the first year, Smallville just happened to remember five minutes before I did.” She didn’t bother to add that she probably wouldn’t have remembered at all if Clark hadn’t woken her up with some fantastic morning sex and murmured happy anniversary in her ear. Luckily for her, she’d bought his present weeks in advance and happened to have it in the drawer in her bedside table.
“Okay, then.” It was clear from her dry tone of voice that Lucy wasn’t buying her story.
“I’ve just….” Lois let out a sigh and leaned against her desk. “I’ve been working on this story for the past month – I’m surviving on barely any sleep.” She rubbed her eyes a bit and added, in a dejected tone, “And Perry just killed the story, too.” With a final glance at the phone, she shrugged. “So, frankly, I’m shocked I even remember my name at this point, let alone my anniversary.”
Lucy looked a little more sympathetic, but still asked, “Didn’t you choose a day you wouldn’t be able to forget or something? And you still forgot?”
“No, I…” Lois hesitated and then explained, “It’s the same date as the day we became an official couple and the day he proposed.” With a slight eye roll, she admitted, “I told him we should choose that same date for the wedding.”
“How romantic,” Lucy commented mockingly. And, then added, wryly, “You really chose it so you’d only have one date to remember, didn’t you?”
Lois opened her mouth to deny it, but then snapped it shut, knowing her sister knew her too well. She let out a defeated sigh. “Yes. But, please don’t tell Clark that. He thinks me choosing that date was the most romantic thing I’ve ever done.”
“So, let me get this straight…” Lucy considered her with a thoughtful expression on her face. “You didn’t just forget one anniversary. You forgot three in one go. Man, you really are the General’s daughter.” Lucy let out a peal of laughter at the thought.
Lois made a face. “Very funny. Besides, you’re the General’s daughter, too,” Lois reminded her. “When was the last time you celebrated an anniversary with a guy? Oh, wait, you don’t ever get that far.”
Lucy stopped laughing. “Hey, low blow.”
“Sorry,” Lois said, not feeling the least bit repentant. “Excuse me while I figure out a way to get myself out of this mess.”
“Why don’t you just ask Clark?” Lucy said, in response. She started digging around in her purse and pulled out a candy bar. At Lois’s questioning look, she explained, “Looks like we’re skipping lunch. I’m hungry. You want one? I have another.”
Lois weighed the calories against the stress. It was a quick decision. “Yes, I want it.” She took the bar from her sister and took a bite, sighing at the instant soothing affect of chocolate. “Anyway… yeah… I can’t ask Clark. He’ll give me that look.”
“What look?” Lucy asked curiously, as she took a bite of her chocolate.
“The look he gave me back in high school when he found out I hit Shelby with my car," Lois said, cringing a bit at the memory. “Not a pleasant look, let me tell you. Like, literally, I've just run over his dog."
“Yeah, right,” Lucy snorted in response. “Clark adores you. You could be a serial killer and he’d figure out a way to dismiss it as an endearing quirk.”
Lois raised her brows at the thought. “I don’t think so. But thanks for that vote of confidence.”
“Have you seen the way he looks at you?” Lucy persisted. She settled down on one of Lois’s spare chairs and propped her legs up on the desk. “I swear, it’s like he forgets anyone else in the world exists. You do the same thing. It’s a little disgusting, really.”
Lois flushed a bit at that. “Lucy, if you don’t have anything productive to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Lucy let out a laugh at that, knowing full well she’d embarrassed Lois.
Then, in an effort to change the subject and also because she’d hit upon the solution, she exclaimed, “I’ll just look up our wedding announcement.” With that, she skirted her desk and sat down at her computer, hitting a key to pull up the search engine. And then groaned in dismay when she was faced with a frozen screen. “That’s just great. My computer crashed again. Damn it.”
While she bent down to do a hard re-boot of her computer, Lucy said, “Okay, well, how about this? Just give him some spectacular sex tonight. Pretend like that was your wedding present all along. Maybe a strip show?”
“I can’t. I just did that last week,” Lois told her, a bit absentmindedly, since her focus was still on her computer.
“You did?” Lucy paused in the act of popping the last of the candy bar in her mouth. “Man, maybe I should re-consider my stance on marriage.”
Lois didn’t bother to respond, since her computer screen had just come up. With a sigh of relief, she pulled up the DP archives page and started to type in her name to run the search. The results came up and she groaned when she saw 1302 results come up. “Damn it,” she muttered under her breath. “I’ve written too many articles.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Clark said, with more than a little amusement.
Startled, Lois glanced up from the monitor and saw her husband standing in her doorway. “Oh, Clark….Hi.” Longingly, she looked at the monitor. So close, but so far. All she needed was an extra thirty seconds to refine the search. She sent her sister a glance, silently telling her to stall Clark.
“Hi,” Clark answered, with a slight smile. His gaze shifted from her to Lucy and his smile widened. “Hi, Lucy. How are you doing?”
“Hi, Clark.” Lucy shot Lois a look that made it clear she was on her own, while she got up and brushed chocolate crumbs off her pants. She grabbed her purse and then went up to Clark to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m doing great, how are you?” She didn’t wait for a response and was out the door in a flash, saying over her shoulder, “I’ll call you, Lo.”
There was silence in the room for a few moments after Lucy had left. Lois pushed her chair back and stood up, skirting the desk to stand in front of Clark. “Soo….” Lois started, wondering what the best way to broach the subject was. “How’s your day going?” Lois finally said, with a bright smile.
Clark stuck his hands in his slacks’ pockets and stared down at her, his expression inscrutable. “It’s going fine. How’s your day going?”
“Fine,” Lois echoed. Then, she said, impulsively, “You know, Smallville, I think we should definitely go out tonight. To the dinner.”
One brow rose coolly as he asked, “Really? What made you change your mind?”
Lois blinked, trying to decide if she should take a gamble. She was reasonably sure today was their anniversary, but what if she was missing something? If only Clark had just waited an extra thirty seconds. She’d have gotten confirmation.
“Lois?” Clark said, a bit impatiently. “What made you change your mind?”
“Well, I think you’re right,” Lois answered slowly. “We barely saw each other this month. We should take some time, hang out… you know…” She looked at him and saw that he was completely unmoved. So she added, “It’s our anniversary?”
At that, Clark’s lips twitched. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
Lois took a deep breath. “Oh, telling. Definitely.”
“Right.” Clark nodded slowly. “You know this doesn’t count. I know you forgot.”
“Smallville.” Lois rolled her eyes. “I know, I’m sorry. But it wasn’t me. It was my phone – it randomly moved my reminder to a different day! And then there’s that story I was working on and --.”
“Wait,” Clark interrupted, his voice laced with frustration. “What you’re saying is that the only way you’d remember is if your calendar reminded you. Why can’t you just remember the actual date?”
“It’s a random day in November,” Lois shot back, defensively. She crossed her arms. “I mean, if you think about it, the twentieth and the tenth are very similar. The difference of just one digit, really, if you think about it.”
“Lois.” Clark’s eyes narrowed on hers. He was clearly not buying it. “You’re the one who chose the date.”
“All right, fine.” She uncrossed her arms and stepped closer to Clark, stopping just a few inches away. “I’m sorry, Smallville,” she said, with complete sincerity. “It’s just… I’ve been working such long hours lately and… well… I just totally forgot.”
Clark shook his head slightly. “You really don’t care about these sorts of things, do you?”
“I care that you care,” Lois countered.
“Clearly, not that much,” Clark pointed out dryly. “Or you would have bothered to remember.”
“The thing is, Smallville….” Lois took a deep breath and then released it. “I really don’t think the anniversary matters. I mean, I think every single day we’re married is special. I like being married to you and I don’t see the point in setting aside one day out of the year to celebrate that, when I think it’s great every day,” she explained earnestly. She put one hand on his chest and moved in closer. With a slight shrug, she finished, “I just think it’s redundant.”
Clark stared down at her for a moment and then pulled his hands out of his pockets. Grasping her by the waist, he pulled her in closer and dipped his head down to hers, taking her lips in a searing kiss. Her arms stole around his neck, as she tried to keep up. After a minute, she had to break away for oxygen. “Wait, so you forgive me?” Lois asked, breathlessly.
Letting out a slight laugh, Clark asked, “What do you think?” He pulled her in closer so she was flush against him. And then he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Let’s get out of here. Perry gave us the rest of the day off. He said something about how you needed to work on your priorities.”
Lois cocked her head to the side to look up at him teasingly. “Really? Whatever will we do with all of our spare time?”
Clark’s eyes darkened to a deeper blue. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
Lois laughed and pulled back to get her purse. When she started to toss her phone into it, Clark grabbed it out of her hand and put it back on the desk.
“No phone until tomorrow morning,” Clark said firmly and put his hand on her back to steer her towards the door.
Lois stopped at the doorway and turned around. “OK. But then none of this, either,” Lois challenged, tapping her finger against her ear to indicate super-hearing. “If I’m off duty tonight then so are you. No… extra curriculars.”
Grabbing her hand, Clark linked his fingers through hers and his lips curved up into a playful smile. “It’s a deal.” Then he leaned in and said, in a whisper, “But can we start that rule five minutes from now? Right now, I want to fly you to our hotel room.”
“Hotel room?” Lois blinked in surprise as Clark tugged her towards the elevator that led to the roof. “I thought we were going back to the farm.”
“No,” Clark answered, as he punched the button. As soon as the doors slid shut, he pushed her up against the wall and started to kiss her, his lips leaving a blazing trail of heat as he moved on to her neck. He stopped kissing her long enough to say, “I got us a room at the Ritz.”
Lois’s fingers tangled in his hair and she mumbled incoherently, “Hhhmm… cool….”
When the doors opened on the final floor, Clark grabbed her around her waist and practically carried her out of the elevator, pushing her up the stairs to the roof so quickly, she was taking the steps two at a time. By the time she pushed open the door to the rooftop, she couldn’t contain her laughter.
“What are you laughing about?” Clark asked her, his own lips curving up in response.
Lois stared at him and then held out her hand to take his. “Nothing. So, the Ritz and Pergo’s, huh? What else do you have in store for me?”
Clark swept her into his arms and looked down at her, desire darkening his eyes to a deeper hue. “Actually, chances are you’re never going to get to Pergo’s. I may never let you leave the hotel room.”
Lois felt a thrill of desire shoot through her at his words. She bit her lower lip and her eyes strayed to his lips. “I like the sound of that.” Then, suddenly, she realized something. She let out a sound of dismay. “Wait. I didn’t get you anything.”
Clark looked taken aback, but then he grinned. “Yeah, you did. What you said back in your office. It’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” With that, he shot up in the sky and when they were safely covered by the clouds, he added, “And, three years ago, you married me. You really don’t have to get me anything else ever again.”
Lois’s throat tightened at the words. “Happy anniversary, Smallville.”
“Happy anniversary, Lois.”