Drabble 22 | Double Date

[sanalayla]

“I don’t really think this is a good idea, Lois.” Clark fiddled with his tie uncomfortably and paused in front of the doors of the restaurant. He turned to look down at her. “This is really weird.”

“Why is it weird?” Lois frowned in confusion. She linked her arm through his and tugged him into the restaurant.

“Because you dated Oliver for awhile?” Clark reminded her. “And now we’re going out?”

“So what? You’re friends with him. I’m friends with him. You’re friends with Dinah. I can kind of stand Dinah,” Lois pointed out.

“Not very reassuring.”

Lois stopped in the lobby and looked up him at earnestly. “Look, Oliver’s a little nervous, OK? He wants to make this work with Dinah and he thought a double date could be fun. And we’re the only couple he knows… so, really, it makes sense if you think about it.”

“Again, not very reassuring.”

Lois rolled her eyes. “Give it a chance. It’ll be fun.”

Clark gave her a look that made it clear that fun wasn’t exactly the word he would choose.

=

“So, Dinah, how’s the new job going? I can’t tell you how sorry I was to hear that your radio show got cancelled,” Lois exclaimed, with a grin. She grabbed a bread stick and took a bite.

Dinah glanced at Ollie, who sat to her right and across from Lois. “Yes, I can see you're totally heart-broken, Lois. I’m pretty sure you were responsible for at least half of my hate mail.”

“Probably only a quarter,” Lois admitted with a modest smile. “I can’t take all the credit.”

Clark cleared his throat. “So, how is the new job, Dinah? Things working out with Chloe?”

“It’s going fine,” Dinah responded. She grabbed her glass of water and took a sip. “How’s your job, Clark?”

“Fine.”

Dinah smiled across at him. “Good.”

There was a silence at the table for a moment.

Oliver broke it by asking Lois, with a grin, “Well, I guess I should ask you how your job is going. Looks like you made it another week without almost getting killed. That’s a plus, right?”

“Well, you know, I do set the bar pretty low, Ollie. Just being able to breathe is an accomplishment within and of itself,” Lois shot back. She leaned in and added, with a sweet smile, “And I see you’ve made it another week without getting plastered and left for dead in an alley. Good job.”

Oliver cocked his head to the side and his lips curled amusement. “Well, what can I say? Dinah’s a good influence on me.” At that, he turned to Dinah and saw that she was giving him a glare. “Or not.”

Clark opened his mouth to say something, but then paused when he thought he heard a cry for help. He focused his super-hearing and realized that someone was hurt about two blocks away. He shot up. “Um… I need to go.”

Puzzled by the abruptness, Lois glanced up at him. “What?”

“To the restroom,” Clark clarified. “I’ll be back.”

Dinah stood up, too. “You know, good idea. I think I’ll go powder my nose.”

Oliver smiled at her and gave her a look. “Honey, your nose is fine.” He grabbed her hand and tugged to make her sit back down.

“No, it’s really not,” she insisted. She broke away and followed Clark out the door.

Lois blinked a bit. “Was it something I said? What’s going on?”

Oliver sighed. “We got into a huge fight before we got here.”

“Really, why?”

“She didn’t want to come here. Thought it was weird.” Oliver raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t get it. I mean, I told her I’ve moved on. You’ve moved on. You’re one of my closest friends – she’s got to get past this.”

Lois nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, Clark thought it was weird, too. I mean, we didn’t get into a fight about it, but he definitely thought it was bizarre.”

Oliver raised his glass of wine to Lois. “To new significant others and their crazyness.”

Lois clinked her glass against his. “Amen.”

=

Clark was just about to speed off when he saw Dinah next to him, in her Black Canary get up. He squinted at her in confusion. “Black Canary? What are you doing here?”

“What? Can’t a girl lend a hand to the Blur?”

“It’s nice of you to offer, but it’s just a mugging. I think I can handle it,” Clark pointed out. His lips quirked up in amusement. “You wanted to get away from the dinner.”

Dinah let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s not fair that you get to bail for a Blur related emergency and I have to sit through it.”

Clark nodded in sympathy. “OK, well, you’re welcome to come along. Two is always better than one.”

=

“I just don’t get it, Ollie,” Lois confessed. She rested her head on one hand, the third glass of wine starting to make its impact. “I mean… why is it so hard for them to get that we can just be friends? You know, I don’t have that many friends. I moved around so much.”

Oliver nodded and filled his glass again. “Yeah, I know. The whole army brat thing. That was HARD on you, Lois. People need to realize that. It was hard on me, too.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “My army brat-ness was hard on you? How did that happen?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Oliver waved his hand around and took another sip of his wine. “Sorry, wait, what did you say?”

“Never mind,” Lois answered, since she didn’t even remember what she’d been talking about.

Oliver nodded gravely. “Good idea.”

“What’s a good idea?” Lois asked. She tried to focus in on the bread and took one. “Maybe we should have waited until we ate to drink all the wine.”

Oliver looked at the empty bottle. “Oh, you know, you’re right. We should get more wine.”

=

“I just don’t get it, Clark,” Dinah said, kicking at the stray can in the alley. They’d both changed back into their regular clothes and were walking back to the restaurant as civilians.

“What don’t you get?” Clark asked, glancing down at her.

“Why doesn’t Oliver see how odd it is that he’s still so close to Lois?” Dinah let out a frustrated sigh. Then she considered Clark thoughtfully. “And why doesn’t it bother you as much as it bothers me?”

Clark was silent for a second. Then, he answered truthfully, “I trust Lois. I trust Ollie. And I also know that being upset it not an option. Lois doesn’t have many friends, so I’m not going to be mad at her for being close to the few friends she has.”

“Of course she doesn’t have many friends. She’s Lois,” Dinah muttered under her breath.

Clark chuckled. “You say that, but I know you like her.”

Dinah stopped in front of the restaurant door and admitted, “It’s not about whether or not I like Lois. Or trust her. I do trust her. I also trust Oliver. What I just think is that it’s not possible for two exes to be friends without bringing baggage to the table.”

“Or maybe you’re jealous,” Clark responded calmly. “I mean, it would be okay if you were. It’s not an emotion we can control all the time.”

“I’m not jealous.” Dinah’s eyes flashed with emotion. She turned and went into the restaurant, walking quickly towards their table.

Clark shrugged and followed her back in.

The sight that greeted them made them stop in their tracks. Both Ollie and Lois were doubled over laughing. Clark looked at the table and counted three bottles of wine; two empty and the third well on its way to joining that status.

=

Lois looked up and a delighted grin spread across her face when she saw Clark. “Schmmalllville!”

Clark frowned slightly. “Lois.”

“Dinah!” Oliver grinned, too, and tried to stand up. His chair toppled over in his attempt.

“No, please, don’t get up on my account,” Dinah lifted one hand and glared at him. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.” She turned to Lois. “I see you guys started without us.”

“We left plenty for you, Dinah,” Lois responded, beaming a bit. She gestured to the third bottle. “See?”

Dinah nodded. “I do see.” She glanced up at Clark. “We should probably get them home.”


“Yeah,” Clark agreed. He reached out to grab Lois’s shawl from the back of her chair and her purse. “Why don’t you go tell the waiter that they should put the bill on Ollie’s tab? I’ll meet you out front with both of them.”

Dinah was just about to go when they were interrupted by an elderly couple. The woman exclaimed, “Lois Lane! Oliver Queen! So good to see you together again.”

Dinah immediately turned back around, one brow quirked in annoyance and disbelief.

Lois peered up at the person who called her name. “Mrs. Wisherspoon!” She grinned and stood up, giving the lady a hug. “How good to see you!”

“Witherspoon, dear,” she corrected her. She looked Lois up and down and seemed to immediately glean that Lois was a few sheets to the wind. She smiled indulgently. “Oliver Queen, come give me a kiss. I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Ollie managed to navigate the chair better this time and wobbled to his feet. “Of course, Mrs. Witherspoon. How are you doing?” He leaned down and pecked her on her papery cheek.

“Are we going to see you both at the annual children’s benefit?” Mrs. Witherspoon’s gaze sharpened on him. “I assume I can count on you for a generous donation, Oliver.”

“Naturally. Whatever you want.”

“Hhmm… how about one million dollars?” Mrs. Witherspoon asked, her hand going into her purse. She pulled out a notepad. “Can we count on Queen Industries?”

“Yes, I’d be delighted!” Oliver responded. He took the notepad and scrawled something on it. “Happy to make the kids happy.” He turned to Clark and Dinah, shaking his head sorrowfully. “Sick kids, you know. Very sick.”

Content that she’d accomplished her goal, Mrs. Witherspoon turned to Lois. “My dear, I am so happy that you two patched things up. Aren’t you happy, Miles?” She poked her husband in the ribs, who seemed to have fallen asleep on his cane during the whole exchange.

He immediately woke up and exclaimed, “Yes, dear.”

“See? Even Miles is happy. I always told him that you two were perfect for each other. Always told him you would have beautiful children together.” Her smile faded and she became a little stern. “But, Lois, you need to stop drinking like this with Oliver – not good for your health or any babies you two might want to have. Women aren’t made the way men are – you can’t drink like he does.”

Clark choked out, “What?”

Dinah exclaimed, “What?”

Lois scowled at Mrs. Witherspoon and crossed her arms. “I can so too hold my liquor. I can hold it better than Ollie. Just ask him who always wins at beer pong.”

Clark gave her an exasperated look. “That’s what you chose to respond to? You are drunk.” He grabbed a hold of her waist and pulled her in closer to him. He leaned down to smile at the elderly woman and her husband, who seemed to have fallen asleep again. “Hi, I’m Clark Kent. I’m actually Lois’s boyfriend. She’s not dating Oliver anymore. And that,” he indicated towards Dinah, who had seemed to fallen into a deep, silent, rage, “Is Oliver’s girlfriend.”

Mrs. Witherspoon stared up at him for a moment and then her lips pursed in disapproval. “You’re much too tall, young man. And you are much too blonde,” she added to Dinah. “I don’t like this.” With that, she swept off, leaving Clark to stare after her in amazement.

Lois giggled. “Too tall. Too blonde. Hilarious.”

Oliver looked at her and then cracked up, too. “Oh, God, that reminds me, Lo. Remember that time we had to sit at their table at that dinner? And you fell asleep when she was talking to you? And, then, when she poked you with her fork, you woke up and yelled out that football play?” Oliver let out a loud laugh and then plopped down the chair like the exercise of laughing was too much for him. He looked up at Clark and added, in an off-hand way, “You know, because she does that. Yells out football plays in her sleep. It’s so funny.”

Clark stared down at him silently for a minute. He stood very still and then admitted quietly, “No, I didn’t know that.”

Oliver’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Really?” He tried to focus in on Lois. “Did you stop doing that, Legs?”

Dinah rolled her eyes. She grabbed Oliver’s arm and helped him to stand up. “No, genius,” she murmured under her breath. “He doesn’t know that because they haven’t slept together, yet.” She shot Clark a look of apology. “We’re going to go, Clark. Good luck getting Lois home.”

=

Her eyes felt like sandpaper, but she managed to pry them open. Then the sunlight hit her and she immediately closed them again. After a second, she managed to sit up and then groaned, cracking open her eyes a tiny bit while she rubbed her pounding head.

Dropping her head into both her hands, she moaned, “I want to die.”

“Do you want to drink this first?” Clark asked, holding out a glass to her.

She peered up at him through her hair and accepted it. Taking a sip, she made a face. “No, I would rather just go straight to the dying, thanks.”

Clark settled onto the chair in front of her and studied her for a second. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been run over with a truck,” Lois admitted. She rubbed her eyes a bit. “What happened last night? Why on earth….” Suddenly, she stopped, the events of the nights coming back to her. She cracked open one eye towards Clark. “Did we meet Mrs. Witherspoon last night?”

“Yes,” Clark confirmed, smiling a bit.

“Oh my God,” Lois replied faintly. She buried her face in the pillow for a full minute. Finally, she came up to ask, “Did she… did we… did she talk about me having Ollie’s babies?”

Clark nodded. “Yes, I think she did.”

Lois groaned again. “Oh my God. I am sooo sorry.”

“Not as sorry as Ollie. He gave her a million dollars,” Clark reminded her. He couldn’t help but grin at that. “She’s laughing all the way to the bank.”

“Smallville,” Lois hesitated and then sat up. “I am so sorry you had to hear all that. Mrs. Witherspoon...”

“It’s OK, Lois,” Clark interrupted her. “I know. I mean, you and Oliver dated for awhile. It was bound to happen sometime.”

“You mean, it was bound to happen that we’d run into a batty old lady while we were both plastered out of our minds? I’m glad to hear you think these things are just to be expected, Smallville,” Lois answered dryly.

Clark laughed. “No, not that. Just the whole evening… it was… enlightening.”

Lois shot him an uneasy look. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I can’t say I wasn’t surprised to hear you call out football plays in your sleep,” Clark answered teasingly. “I mean, I know you like the game, but that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

Lois shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. “Well… in my defense, that was a really intense season. The Mavericks made it to the Super Bowl.”

“Didn’t they lose?”

Lois winced. “Sheesh, Smallville. Salt, open wound.”

Clark grinned. “Sorry.” Then, he became more serious and looked down. “I guess, more than anything, I just realized that even though I’ve known you for five years, in some ways, Oliver actually knows you better than me.”

Lois stared at him silently for a minute and then shook her head. “Ah, but, Smallville, see... that’s not true, at all.”

He glanced up and met her eyes. “It isn’t?”

“No way.” She stood up and sat down on the coffee table right in front of him, taking his hand in hers. “Ollie may know about some my… weirder… quirks, but you actually know me better than he ever did. You get me in a way that Ollie never did or even, really, tried to.”

Clark considered her for a second. “Are you just saying that?”

Lois rolled her eyes. “Smallville! When have I ever been known to just say something to make someone feel better?”

“Good point.”

Lois grinned. “And I can tell you one thing. Ollie does not know that I’m not wearing anything under this shirt. But you do.” With that, she got up and started for the stairs. “I think I’m going to check out your shower, Smallville.”

Clark waited all of one second before he ran upstairs to join her.