Instinctively, Lois's hackles were raised at any offer of help on one of her stories. She had worked hard, ever since she was a little girl, to be the best, and had a deep-seated fear of having that taken away from her, whether by her younger sister, against whom she had been pitted through most of her childhood, or by one of her colleagues.
Clark had famously scooped her once before, on his very first article with the Planet, and it had taken Lois a long time for Lois to forgive him for that. Intellectually, she knew he would never do that on purpose, but that didn't stop her gut reaction to his suggestion.
"I don't need any help, Smallville," the sharp words were out before she could stop them, even as she knew she was overreacting, and it would be smarter to take him up on it. Gritting her teeth, Lois tapped an impatient finger against the side of her keyboard as she closed her eyes and tried to reason with herself.
Clark was good with the homeless. Really good. Lois had a way with people, even with her reputation for being brash, but Clark was even better at relating, and that's what she needed here - someone people would open up to. He would get more information out of these particular sources much quicker than she could, and that was a solid fact. He was already well-known among the community as someone they could trust, whereas she was less known as not as reliable as he was, and if it further established his own work, she could do that for his career, right?
Besides - they worked well together. Lois enjoyed working with her husband, whenever they did. She just seemed to forget that part in the face of the dreaded shared byline. It wasn't that big a deal. She could do that. Lois sighed, letting go of her bluster.
"I would love your help, Clark... thanks." Lois smiled weakly. Considering his question, she stared at her computer again as if it would provide her answers, when really, she was searching for them internally. Lois had no idea what Clark did or didn't know about her past relationship with Lex, but chose, for now, to leave it in the past. She figured it would come up eventually, but it had so little bearing on her life now, Lois wasn't worried.
"Probably," she finally answered. It had been awhile since she'd spoken to him in person. "If he'll see me. He's been standoffish lately." 'Since the wedding', she didn't say, but it was more accurate. Sometimes he singled her out personally, and other times he avoided her like the plague, as though he were punishing her for daring to get married.