Fic: Seconds to Midnight | Smallville | Clark/Lois | PG-13 | 1/1
Title: Seconds to Midnight
Author: saavikam77
Category: Smallville
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,036
Summary: Lois can't believe she's been trapped into attending the New Year's Gala at the Metropolis Grand Ballroom. With Clark.
Spoilers: Through 4.10 - Bride
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Notes: Just a quick ficlet for the challenge, posted on the fly from Panera. Happy New Year, everyone! :D Cross-posted to 12 Days. :)
Seconds to Midnight
Lois couldn't believe she'd been trapped into 'covering' the New Year's Gala at the Metropolis Grand Ballroom. Only Cat could have guilted her into filling in for the assignment. Not that it was just another Society Section fluff piece, mind you, this was one of the highlights of the year. Drunken heiresses and debauched celebs abounded at the glorified party, that Lois knew she was lucky indeed to have snagged the Planet invite to. Oh no, the problem was her escort for the evening.
“You want anything to drink, Lois?” Clark asked, touching her bare elbow lightly to catch her attention over the noise of the room and the music.
Pursing her lips, she shook her head. “No thanks, Smallville. I'm good.”
With a nod of acknowledgment and a small smile in return, he disappeared through the crowd to find a passing waiter, or at least to hit up the open bar set off to one side of the ballroom, and when he was finally out of sight, Lois heaved a sigh. He'd been the perfect gentleman all evening, of course, fetching her whatever she wanted, leading her in a few short dances, letting her take point in their work obligations, keeping a respectable distance. But that wasn't the issue.
Or was it?
Frustrated at the seeming stalemate they'd fallen into, she turned and made her way to the ladies room off the side corridor, glad to be out of the thick mass of humanity. She just needed to steer clear of him for a few minutes, get her wits about her. Think things through.
Several minutes spent pretending to preen in the mirror didn't seem to help, though. All she kept coming back to as she adjusted and readjusted her deep plum-colored dress with its plunging “V” neckline was the conversation she'd had with Ollie the night everything had gone to hell. He'd been more right than she'd wanted to admit, but now... after a disastrous month and a half in which nothing seemed to go right for anyone in their circle, it almost felt like she and Clark were destined to never get past the 'just good friends' phase of their relationship. If she remembered correctly, Chloe had once referred to this sort of thing as 'unresolved sexual tension'. Yeah. That.
Staring at her reflection, she wondered just what had happened to her mojo. She'd never been this flustered about a guy in her entire life! It was like she'd reverted to some emo teenager, angsting about the boy she'd never get because he was just too awesome for her.
And all this over Smallville? Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
With a final adjustment to the light ruffle of one barely-off-the-shoulder sleeve, Lois straightened up, then headed back out to the main ballroom. The Society piece still had to be written, after all, and with just a few minutes left until midnight at the most, there were bound to be plenty of drunken trust-fund babies to exploit on Cat's behalf-Ollie excluded, of course. Probably a good thing he wasn't there, anyway; she'd hate to have to drag him through the mud in the name of 'journalism'.
Craning her neck when she began her slow migration to the center of the room, a bitter taste on her tongue at the thought of her 'professional' reasons for being here, she sought out the best vantage point. Had to be on-guard for the countdown, had to catch who-was-kissing-who. Had to be-
“I thought I'd lost you!”
Startling as Clark's voice filled her ear, entirely too close for her comfort, she whirled on him. “Jesus, Clark, try not to give a girl a heart attack, would ya'?” With a roll of her eyes, she shook her head at him, trying once again to ignore the dashing figure he cut in his tux. And who thought things like that anyway? Clearly she was getting soft in the head.
“Sorry, Lois,” he smiled boyishly. “You just disappeared. I thought you might miss the countdown.”
“Well, I'm here now,” she snarked back. But then the sudden chanting started around them, and she couldn't help another startled gape as she moved to seek out any potential 'stories'. “Shit, I didn't realize it was that late. I've got to-”
“Don't worry about it, Lois,” came Clark's reassurance as he grasped one of her arms to pull her closer.
“Smallville, I-”
“...three, two, one.... Happy New Year!!”
A cacophony of cheers erupted around them as Lois found herself swept up into a heated kiss, warm arms encircling her, pulling her so close she could feel the thundering of Clark's heart in his chest. A hand slid up to caress her neck, then around to cradle her face gently as Clark kissed her. Soft, strong lips, searching and claiming, and she couldn't help but return the kiss in kind, the pit dropping out of her stomach entirely as the wind seemed to be knocked out of her by the suddenness of it all. She couldn't even be sure her feet were on the floor anymore, she was so lost in it.
As the familiar tune of “Auld Lang Syne” filled the ballroom, confetti falling all around them, Lois let go of all the anxiety and frustration she'd been carrying around for so long, simply letting the kiss take over, lips and tongues and a surprising heat that shot through her all the way to her toes. It seemed to go on forever, and God help her, she didn't want it to end. This. This is what she'd been wanting, probably since long before she'd ever admitted it to herself.
After a seeming eternity, Clark just barely pulled back from the kiss, his lips still grazing hers. “Happy New Year, Lois.”
“H-happy New Year, Clark,” she breathed back, feeling the flush of arousal on her cheeks. “You, uh, you wanna get out of here?” Forget the story, forget tact, she'd had enough of waiting for this. Holy shit, had she ever had enough.
Clark's smirk was all mischief and adoration. “I thought you'd never ask.”
* * * * *
Author: saavikam77
Category: Smallville
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,036
Summary: Lois can't believe she's been trapped into attending the New Year's Gala at the Metropolis Grand Ballroom. With Clark.
Spoilers: Through 4.10 - Bride
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Notes: Just a quick ficlet for the challenge, posted on the fly from Panera. Happy New Year, everyone! :D Cross-posted to 12 Days. :)
Seconds to Midnight
Lois couldn't believe she'd been trapped into 'covering' the New Year's Gala at the Metropolis Grand Ballroom. Only Cat could have guilted her into filling in for the assignment. Not that it was just another Society Section fluff piece, mind you, this was one of the highlights of the year. Drunken heiresses and debauched celebs abounded at the glorified party, that Lois knew she was lucky indeed to have snagged the Planet invite to. Oh no, the problem was her escort for the evening.
“You want anything to drink, Lois?” Clark asked, touching her bare elbow lightly to catch her attention over the noise of the room and the music.
Pursing her lips, she shook her head. “No thanks, Smallville. I'm good.”
With a nod of acknowledgment and a small smile in return, he disappeared through the crowd to find a passing waiter, or at least to hit up the open bar set off to one side of the ballroom, and when he was finally out of sight, Lois heaved a sigh. He'd been the perfect gentleman all evening, of course, fetching her whatever she wanted, leading her in a few short dances, letting her take point in their work obligations, keeping a respectable distance. But that wasn't the issue.
Or was it?
Frustrated at the seeming stalemate they'd fallen into, she turned and made her way to the ladies room off the side corridor, glad to be out of the thick mass of humanity. She just needed to steer clear of him for a few minutes, get her wits about her. Think things through.
Several minutes spent pretending to preen in the mirror didn't seem to help, though. All she kept coming back to as she adjusted and readjusted her deep plum-colored dress with its plunging “V” neckline was the conversation she'd had with Ollie the night everything had gone to hell. He'd been more right than she'd wanted to admit, but now... after a disastrous month and a half in which nothing seemed to go right for anyone in their circle, it almost felt like she and Clark were destined to never get past the 'just good friends' phase of their relationship. If she remembered correctly, Chloe had once referred to this sort of thing as 'unresolved sexual tension'. Yeah. That.
Staring at her reflection, she wondered just what had happened to her mojo. She'd never been this flustered about a guy in her entire life! It was like she'd reverted to some emo teenager, angsting about the boy she'd never get because he was just too awesome for her.
And all this over Smallville? Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
With a final adjustment to the light ruffle of one barely-off-the-shoulder sleeve, Lois straightened up, then headed back out to the main ballroom. The Society piece still had to be written, after all, and with just a few minutes left until midnight at the most, there were bound to be plenty of drunken trust-fund babies to exploit on Cat's behalf-Ollie excluded, of course. Probably a good thing he wasn't there, anyway; she'd hate to have to drag him through the mud in the name of 'journalism'.
Craning her neck when she began her slow migration to the center of the room, a bitter taste on her tongue at the thought of her 'professional' reasons for being here, she sought out the best vantage point. Had to be on-guard for the countdown, had to catch who-was-kissing-who. Had to be-
“I thought I'd lost you!”
Startling as Clark's voice filled her ear, entirely too close for her comfort, she whirled on him. “Jesus, Clark, try not to give a girl a heart attack, would ya'?” With a roll of her eyes, she shook her head at him, trying once again to ignore the dashing figure he cut in his tux. And who thought things like that anyway? Clearly she was getting soft in the head.
“Sorry, Lois,” he smiled boyishly. “You just disappeared. I thought you might miss the countdown.”
“Well, I'm here now,” she snarked back. But then the sudden chanting started around them, and she couldn't help another startled gape as she moved to seek out any potential 'stories'. “Shit, I didn't realize it was that late. I've got to-”
“Don't worry about it, Lois,” came Clark's reassurance as he grasped one of her arms to pull her closer.
“Smallville, I-”
“...three, two, one.... Happy New Year!!”
A cacophony of cheers erupted around them as Lois found herself swept up into a heated kiss, warm arms encircling her, pulling her so close she could feel the thundering of Clark's heart in his chest. A hand slid up to caress her neck, then around to cradle her face gently as Clark kissed her. Soft, strong lips, searching and claiming, and she couldn't help but return the kiss in kind, the pit dropping out of her stomach entirely as the wind seemed to be knocked out of her by the suddenness of it all. She couldn't even be sure her feet were on the floor anymore, she was so lost in it.
As the familiar tune of “Auld Lang Syne” filled the ballroom, confetti falling all around them, Lois let go of all the anxiety and frustration she'd been carrying around for so long, simply letting the kiss take over, lips and tongues and a surprising heat that shot through her all the way to her toes. It seemed to go on forever, and God help her, she didn't want it to end. This. This is what she'd been wanting, probably since long before she'd ever admitted it to herself.
After a seeming eternity, Clark just barely pulled back from the kiss, his lips still grazing hers. “Happy New Year, Lois.”
“H-happy New Year, Clark,” she breathed back, feeling the flush of arousal on her cheeks. “You, uh, you wanna get out of here?” Forget the story, forget tact, she'd had enough of waiting for this. Holy shit, had she ever had enough.
Clark's smirk was all mischief and adoration. “I thought you'd never ask.”
* * * * *