bakerstreet | quote prompt.

alt.

[ The train car's empty save for them and the sleeping homeless man with a twenty dollar bill they folded into his pocket. He smells of greasy fries and the musty coat he's using for a pillow. The train announcement sounds bored.

They took the long way around on purpose. It's raining heavily, and would've tapered off by the time they reach their station. Lo's been buried in thought since Nairomi with nowhere to focus it; her journal sits on her desk with an ominous bullet hole through it. He knows the look: she'll be making calls and lighting fires. Late nights, he doesn't mind. There's coverage on the Superman Study committee sessions saved on the TiVo, and he's rigorously kept up since the first broadcast.

She's far away. Clark curls his arm around her loosely. ]

Dinner at home?

[ lois has always been tireless in the pursuit of truth and justice, but she's tired now — not tired enough to stop, never that, but the kind of tired that comes from having more to lose than ever and being afraid to lose it. she's not scared for herself so much as for clark. that's not something she knows how to tell him, but she hopes maybe he understands it anyway, the way he seems to understand who she is, what's important to her, without having to ask.

there's a story there, something to be unearthed, and lois thinks if she can just figure it out, if someone can connect the dots (it doesn't have to be her, but — who else?) maybe it'll keep clark safe. maybe it'll keep superman safe, because he might be bulletproof, but he can still be hurt.

he curls an arm around her shoulders, and it's almost reflex to lean back against him, to seek out his warmth. she used to pride herself in standing alone; now she has this. ]

Hmhm. [ comes the first, non-commital answer. there are heavy thoughts pulling at her mind, and it takes conscious effort to look at clark and focus properly. the second attempt is more articulate: ] What did you have in mind?

[ lois is a terrible cook and always has been. ]

Mexican?

[ One of their favourite places is just down the block. The staff know him on sight and prepare the order the moment he walks through the door. Clark likes to be there as it's prepared. The smell soaks into his clothes.

He's found he likes the spicy tang, as well as Lo's exasperation when it affects her and not him. There's so much new about humanity that he's gleaned by being around her. The wonders don't cease.

Such as her, leaning back into him. ]

You just want to see me make faces again.

[ the accusation is a gentle and humorous thing. his taste buds are made of sterner stuff than hers. maybe that was to be expected, but lois would be lying if she claimed not to like learning about these differences. she thinks she could spend a lifetime with clark and still learn new things about him by the end of it.

and despite all that, she feels like she knows him. who he is at his core is as immutable as lois' own curiosity and search for the truth. ]

You got me.

[ He memorises every line of her face with each expression, and though he can recall it from memory it never holds up to watching her in person.

Clark sways lightly with the movement of the train. The announcement for the next station comes through. Five stops more to home. ]

I was going to put them on Instagram.

[ five more stops. lois thinks maybe she could take a nap, leaning against clark like this — but that would mean missing the way his expression lights up ever so slightly when he jokes. ]

You don't even have an account.

You never know. I have mysterious depths.

[ The sun might not rise tomorrow and Clark would be sustained on the light in her eyes alone. The laugh curves in crescents across the muscles on her face. He can track each one arranging.

She's beautiful. He thinks so often. ]

[ if lois were a less confident woman, she'd wonder what he sees in her. she's older than he is by several years, and she's only human. it's not a question she asks, though. ]

Do you? [ nairomi is a heavy weight on her mind still, too many questions that she does ask, that she thinks need to be asked and answered and soon, but when he looks at her like that, when he smiles, it's impossible not to smile back, to let that warmth in. it chases some of the shadows in lois' chest aside, leaving her to feel lighter. ] What do I have to do to get you to tell me all your secrets?

[ Her curiosity and determination. Two on a list that goes on forever. Even the way she's not fully relaxed now, still working on the problem, is endearing. Clark's not intending to distract her completely. Just enough that they can get home and talk about it properly if she wants to.

That compound was burning, and Clark hasn't had much reason to use the word ominous lately. ]

Oh, something drastic.

[ Karaoke. ]

[ she doesn't mind the distraction. lois thinks determination is a good thing, despite all the people in her life who've called her dogged, who've said she's too intense or not emotionally available or whatever. she's never cared for that (much), letting those words go ignored. justice is more important to her than whether someone thinks she's emotionally available. but sometimes, too much focus means she ends up turning in circles.

clark doesn't demand attention. maybe that's why she's so happy to give it to him. ]

That so? I don't know if I'm that interested in them.

[ lies. of course she is. ]

[ Determination is, largely, a good thing. Humans are very persistent.

And exhibit A, Lois Lane, backing down from a challenge? Whoa girl. ]

Really? I might have to write an article about that.

[ sometimes, it depends on what you're determined to do, lois would say. determination in a mass murderer is not that great. but in someone seeking justice? she'd be inclined to agree. ]

I should have known reverse psychology wouldn't work on you.

[ It's almost as though he's an alien. ]

There's a lot of other well-documented tactics you can use.

[ She would never have to. Only 'please', and not even that. Lois' consideration for him has no limits. It's implied in everything she says to him, or they do together. ]

[ it's almost as though he's an alien—but the effect he's having on lois isn't because he's not from this world. it is, she's pretty sure, because she's hopelessly in love with him in a way she wouldn't have expected falling for anyone at all. just looking at him, catching the warmth in his gaze, is enough to chase the dark clouds of nairomi a little further away. ]

Hm. What tactics could those be?

I'm not above accepting bribes.

[ Kisses from her. A light touch on his wrist in the office. The way she sometimes finishes his sentences and lights up girlishly. Her laughter infects him. ]

[ it's not meant as a bribe at all; lois can't read his mind after all to know he was thinking of it as an example of one: when she leans in to kiss him, barely more than a chaste press of her smile against his lips, it's just because she wants to, no ulterior motive involved. ]

Now that's good to know. But you shouldn't just give away your weaknesses like that, Mr Kent. Someone might take advantage.

[ Clark shifts closer to her, breathing it in. ]

I live dangerously, Miss Lane.

[ It's ridiculous coming from him, and he dissolves into silent laughter as the train announcement calls out their stop. ]

I can hardly believe it. [ lois' response is all dry deadpan, but her eyes are crinkling at the corners. but the announcement calls their stop before she can kiss him again, and lois moves to stand. ] Why don't you stop by the Mexican place, and I open up a bottle of wine already in the meantime and set the table.

[ His arm is still around her. ]

Sounds good, Lo. I'll be there in a jiffy.

[ who still says jiffy unironically? ]

[ this ridiculous man, and lois loves it as much as she'll make fun of it.

at the corner of their street, she twists out from underneath his arm, standing on tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. ] See you in a minute, Kansas.

[ go get some food. she'll be in the living room, two glasses of red wine with the open bottle next to them on the table, plates set out and something low playing in the background. it's more effort than lois usually makes with food when there's a story in her head, but—she wants ( needs? ) to spend time with clark, too. not to get too lost inside her own mind. not when she's scared of losing him, sometimes. ]

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