Lois had been lost in thought when the door swung open, and blinked as she took in Clark’s form. As the seconds waiting had turned into minutes she’d truly begun to think she was going to be adding this to the long list of times men had consistently disappointed her, so seeing him actually standing there ready to go was a surprise. She still wasn’t sure if it was a pleasant one or not. If he hadn’t shown up then at least she would have been able to push aside whatever it was that was forming between them to the side and forget about it, but it wouldn’t be so easy to do that with Clark actually showing up for this outing.
She could almost here Chloe in her head urging her to acknowledge what it was they were doing, but Lois quickly squashed down that nagging voice. She wasn’t giving a name to anything that was happening until she understood it all herself. She knew she had been falling for Clark back home, she’d acknowledged it to herself and while under the duress of a madman to him, but unlike what everyone else in this world seemed to like telling her, back home her and Clark did not seem fated to be. Which made her cautious about the feelings she had been developing for Clark here.
She didn’t want them to be forming simply because of who he was or because of what everyone else kept saying about Lois and Clark and her apparent destiny. But Lois knew she did enjoy spending time with him, whether at the office or outside of it. She liked learning about his world, about him and his history. No one else called her out on her bullshit quite like he did, no one else seemed to keep up with her banter or made her feel as safe as he had after the entire bomb incident. But she’d been hurt so many times before that she wasn’t sure she was ready to risk it all again, not if it meant losing the friendship they had going.
“As much as I love Jerry and his ability to find the best chocolates in town, I don’t think you want him to know that you can actually fly,” Lois pointed out, pushing herself off the wall. Though that could be kind of comical, even if it would probably land Jerry in a mental ward somewhere after he started telling the world that Superman was real. And then who would supply all that delicious chocolate she got every day? Best to leave Jerry out of it. She stepped forward, and reached out to smooth down his collar. “You’re kind of hopeless with clothes, Smallville, but I suppose I should be glad you’re not head to toe in plaid.”
Realizing what she was doing, Lois dropped her hands and offered her own smile before turning around to look out at the Lawrence skyline. Keeping her hands to herself was probably a good idea. “I’m starving so let’s get this show on the road.”