It's The Thought That Counts 
By Missy Gallant <zoomer71@hotmail.com 
Rated: G 
Submitted: November 2002



Clark Kent closed the drawer to his desk and sighed in 
anticipation. It was a huge risk, but it was one that he 
was willing to take. He had just picked up the small object 
at the jeweler's this morning and it was perfect. At least 
he hoped that Lois would think so.

A few days ago she had consented to go out on a date with 
him, and since then, the air between them had been filled 
with stolen glances and anticipation. Clark couldn't have 
asked for a more romantic time of year in spite of the 
busyness and rush of the season. The date had been set for 
tonight, December 23rd -- a sort of neutral time. Close 
enough to Christmas to feel all the magic and wonder of the 
season but not so near as to lend that feeling of intimacy 
as one would have with family and lovers. And they could 
celebrate Christmas together and hopefully - he crossed his 
fingers as he thought about it - begin the next stage in 
their relationship.

Clark lifted his head in recognition as the heartbeat of 
his partner and best friend filled the newsroom. He had not 
seen her all day -- they'd kept missing each other 
throughout the morning. Superman activities had kept him 
busy early in the morning and when he'd finally arrived at 
the Daily Planet around forty-five minutes late, she'd 
already been there and was off to cover a small assignment 
that Perry had given her.

He turned his head to acknowledge her arrival and gave her 
a tentative smile as she met his eyes. She returned his 
greeting with an awkward wave of her hand as she plopped 
down in her chair. There was a ripple of excitement in the 
air between them that seemed to have grown larger in the 
last few days. Yes, times were changing and he could hardly 
wait to see where the winds would blow them.

*****

Lois furrowed her brow and shot a clandestine glance over 
at her handsome partner as she chewed contemplatively on 
the end of her pencil. Her heart had started that annoying 
pounding again in the elevators as she wondered whether she 
would see him at his desk. This whole starting-to-date 
process was very nerve-wracking.

She had to admit to herself that dating Clark was the 
single, most potentially dangerous risk that she had ever 
considered taking. Not the physical danger that she took 
from time to time in her profession, but it had the 
potential to be the worst federal disaster to strike her 
heart since... well, ever. Claude had never been her best 
friend, Paul had never curled up on the couch with her and 
*just* wanted to watch movies and hang out... They had only 
been out for their own self-interests -- only out for what 
they could take from her.

If there was one thing she knew about Clark it was that he 
was more concerned for her well being than for his own. He 
always placed her safety above everything, was always 
generous, giving and attentive -- the perfect gentleman.

That was, when he wasn't running off in the middle of 
conversations, investigations and disappearing for hours on 
end.

Still, she had agreed to go out on a date with him.

She had decided to use the bustle of the season to help 
mask her nervousness; everyone was jumpy this time of year 
and it would be a good excuse to hide behind. Everywhere 
you looked, the commercialism that came with the season was 
pounding you in the face telling you that you must love 
Christmas.

Christmas time was typically the season of hope and wonder, 
or so she was told. With her it had always dredged up 
disappointments. What should have been hers seemed always 
to be on the other side of the glass looking in: a stable 
happy family life, a relationship with someone who wasn't 
out for what they could take from her.

Subconsciously, it appeared that she was giving Clark the 
power to change the ambiance of the season for her -- or 
ruin it completely.

A hard nub of wood suddenly snapped off inside her mouth 
and she spat it out into her garbage can. Wallowing in the 
inadequacy of her relationships was not going to help her 
mood any. Clark could always cheer her up -- most of the 
time. He was looking rather perplexed at the moment too. 
Was he as uptight about this dating business as she?

It was hard to tell, but she suspected that under that cool 
exterior and business suit -- which were fitting him better 
and better these days, she noted with a slight flutter of 
her heart -- he was a bundle of nerves also.

It only stood to reason that he was as worried as much 
about this as she was. If he wasn't, then he was just plain 
being unfair. If she had to go through this torture of 
waiting and anticipation then it was only right that he 
should be just as miserable. She pushed her chair away from 
her desk and wandered slowly over in his direction.

"So whatcha doin'?" she asked, leaning up against his desk.

Clark glanced up quickly and a broad, heart-stopping smile 
spread across his face. "Not much. Just going over our 
final copy for the Space Rats story," he answered.

"You haven't sent that in to Perry yet? Partner, I do 
believe you're becoming a slacker," she retorted 
offhandedly as she picked up his pencil holder and twirled 
the contents around in a circle.

"A slacker?" His voice rose a bit higher in amusement as he 
could sense by her body language that she was trying to set 
him up.

"Yes, a slacker," she stated matter-of-factly. "Slacker as 
in being late for work and failing to turn in assignments 
on time."

But it was much more fun to bait Lois then to fall victim 
to one of her traps. "Oh... I couldn't come in right away; 
I had to go pick up your present," he said casually.

"Present? Oh no, Clark! Don't tell me you bought me a 
present!"

"Yes, Lois, I've bought you a present. We've been partners 
for over a year and we're about to go out on our first..." 
he whispered the next word, ".date." What kind of gentleman 
would I be if I didn't get you at least a little something? 
My mother would be appalled if I didn't consider it; she 
raised me better than that. I'm not expecting anything in 
return so don't worry about me."

"Okay! Okay! I get the point," she interrupted his smug 
prattle. "Of course I've thought about getting you 
something; I've just been busy..." she continued less 
convincingly. If it weren't enough to have to find the 
perfect dress and the perfect hairstyle and makeup, now she 
had to wrack her frazzled brain for the perfect present for 
Clark.

Something to wipe that silly grin off his face. And he 
*would* have to bring up that four-letter word again -- 
date.

"Which is what we both should be -- busy. So get to work, 
Kent, before I have to shop for a new partner."

Without waiting for him to answer, Lois retreated back to 
her desk and immediately poured the rest of her coffee into 
the next potted victim to have the misfortune of sitting on 
her desk. Adding caffeine to her already jumpy nerves was 
not a good idea.

*****

Completely thrown off balance by Clark's offhanded 
proclamation that he had bought her a Christmas present, 
Lois felt close to wanting to call the whole 'date' thing 
off. But if she did that then she wouldn't be able to see 
what Clark had gotten for her. Although she claimed to be 
an all-star scrooge at Christmas time, when she knew that 
there was a present with her name on it, she applied the 
same principles to finding out its contents that she did to 
any of her cases.

Come to think of it, there hadn't been that many presents 
to scrutinize in her lifetime. Any gifts that she received 
as a child were laid unwrapped under the tree on Christmas 
morning and later in her youth her parents just took her 
shopping to buy her own gifts - not much mystery and magic 
in that.

There was the time a few years back when the whole office 
exchanged gifts and she had launched a full-scale 
investigation into the identity of her secret gift giver. 
It didn't quite go as well as planned; the whole office 
ended up avoiding her when she decided that staring down 
everyone she came into contact with would be the best way 
to see if anyone was trying to hide something. The person 
who had drawn her name was a researcher downstairs who had 
finally given her the present ahead of time in order to 
preserve office tranquility. That was the only year the 
Daily Planet attempted any sort of gift exchange.

Somehow she didn't think she'd be able to intimidate Clark 
into revealing his gift for her. More important to her 
right now was to make sure that her gift was of greater or 
equal value than the one he was giving her. She couldn't 
have him outdoing her. But she needed some sort of baseline 
to gauge what sort of present to get for him. So if 
bullying him to reveal his secret wouldn't work then she 
would have to resort to other measures. She'd bide her time 
until the moment was right, then she'd move in for the 
kill.

Clark Kent was dead meat.

*****

Lois waited for her partner to return from lunch and just 
after he sat down in his seat, she jumped up and stomped 
over to his desk to launch her plan.

"All right, Kent! I can't take it anymore!" She shot a 
withering glare at him and stormed into the conference 
room. Smiling smugly, she shut the door and waited. 
Three... two... one... The door opened and she grabbed him 
by the tie and tugged a bewildered Clark inside.

"Lois! What's going..." he protested but was cut off 
immediately.

"Okay, buster! You're not going anywhere until you give me 
some answers," she announced as she pushed Clark down to 
sit in a swiveling conference chair.

She pulled a chair up along side of him, crossed her legs 
with a flourish and swiped her pen from the conference 
table. Balancing her clipboard on her knees, she stared at 
him defiantly and said, "There is no way I'm going to let 
you outdo me in the gift department, so therefore I need to 
know a few things."

Clark then realized that it was all a setup; he wasn't in 
trouble, at least not yet. His simple mentioning that he 
had a gift for her had unleashed Mad Dog Lane. Her 
competitive nature was in a feeding frenzy and he was about 
to become its lunch. But not if he could help it.

"To start off, is the gift you have for me large or small?" 
she demanded.

"It's little."

"How little is little? Is it little as in monetary value 
little or small little like if you step on it it will break 
little?"

"Small little, but I'm not answering anymore questions 
about your present." He then whispered animatedly, "It's 
supposed to be a secret."

Okay, so his gift would definitely have to be bigger than 
the one he had for her. That was doable. "So is it edible?"

"Lo-is."

"Right, I forgot I dealing with Mr. Upright. So what's your 
favorite color?"

"Blue."

"You're a good cook; do you need any kitchen appliances? I 
suppose you know how all those contraptions work. That's 
your sort of thing. So...?"

"You're going to buy me a blue kitchen appliance?" Clark 
asked mischievously. "I guess it would go with my decor."

She lightly swat him on the knee with her clipboard then 
placed it on the table. "Behave yourself. Don't forget this 
is *my* interview, Kent!"

"Lois, is this an interview or an interrogation? Are we 
missing some bright lights in here?" He twisted in his 
swivel chair so that he was shoulder to shoulder with her. 
"Because all I'm going to give you is my name, rank and 
serial number."

"Smart aleck!" she shot back at him, holding eye contact. 
His eyes were twinkling and it could be so easy just to 
grab him and... "I already know that your tastes in ties 
are lacking and anything that I would buy would be a vast 
improvement."

"It's my way of walking on the wild side... can't a guy 
have a bit of fun?"

"'Wild side' is an apt description -- most of your ties 
belong lining a hamster's cage." At Clark's offended 
expression, she flashed him a cocky grin and continued her 
appraisal. "Clothes in general, fair to good; shoes, I 
won't touch those. Pajamas... how about pajamas?"

"Don't wear them... I mean, not all the time," Clark 
stuttered. "I just sleep in shorts..."

"Boxers or briefs?" Lois inquired automatically, then 
clamped her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry! That's too 
personal, isn't it?"

Clark leaned over and touched the side of her forehead with 
his and laughed softly with his blushing partner. "No, 
Lois, you could never ask me anything too personal."

She giggled a bit and stated, "I'd bet you're a briefs kind 
of guy."

"Lois!"

"And I bet that you're not going to wear that to dinner 
tonight, are you? You're gonna go home and change because 
we both have expectations about how each other's suppose to 
look. You'll be wearing something elegant, not too dark, 
charcoal suit. And I will be dressed in deep violet."

"Burgundy."

"Burgundy?"

"Or violet."

"That's what you've always dreamed of seeing me in, 
burgundy? I don't have much in burgundy. Um, maybe if I 
hurry, I can make it to Neiman's before they close. I have 
to go there anyway to get you a present, and it wouldn't be 
too much trouble, really." She frowned thinking of all the 
things she had to accomplish before Clark arrived to pick 
her up.

"Lois, you don't have to do that," Clark said guiltily.

She straightened up and looked him in the eyes and grew 
serious. "So what do you really want for Christmas, Clark?" 
She rose from her chair and walked to the window. "I mean, 
I never had that growing up, never knowing if what I bought 
for the other person was good enough for them..."

Clark followed her to the window and laid his hands on the 
back of her shoulders. "Anything you get for me will be 
wonderful, I'm sure..."

"But I don't want to get you just anything -- it has to be 
perfect..."

Clark turned her around so that she was facing him. The 
need for acceptance was clouding her eyes and he felt his 
insides turn over at the thought of all her past hurts and 
disappointments. He splayed his hand over her cheek and 
throat caressing them gently. "I want you for Christmas, 
Lois, only you," Clark replied, as he was drawn into her 
deep eyes. "You're perfect."

At her widened expression, he felt the blood rush to his 
cheeks as he realized what he had said without thinking. 
Closing his eyes tightly, he lowered his head against hers 
in embarrassment and sighed deeply. He hadn't wanted Lois 
to find out his true feelings this way. He had hoped that 
maybe later when he gave her his gift that...

A cry for help pierced through his thoughts and he shifted 
uneasily. Not now! Not after this blunder! He needed to 
explain, to see her reaction and to try to repair any 
damage that was done. But he had to go; the cries were 
getting more desperate.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. On impulse, 
he tightened the hand around her neck and pulled her in for 
a brief, but thorough kiss.

"I'm sorry, Lois, but I have to go," he blurted. "I'll pick 
you up at seven." He searched her face, trying to reach 
into her thoughts. Her eyes were ablaze with wonder and 
shock and she could barely nod her head in acknowledgment 
as she watched him speed through the door.

*****

Lois fluffed her hair one last time as she looked 
frantically at the clock. Two more minutes and Clark would 
be here. She had picked up the phone several times to 
cancel their date but she couldn't go through with it. 
Clark had never returned to the office that afternoon, 
although she heard later from Perry that he had been out 
covering Superman's latest rescue again.

Sometimes she wondered if Clark had Superman's beeper on 
him; he always seemed to want to disappear right before 
Superman appeared on the scene of an emergency. That could 
explain a lot of things but right now she had her thoughts 
full of her date with her partner.

Her knees had been weak all afternoon after that brief but 
oh-so-wonderful kiss that Clark had planted on her right 
before he stormed out of the conference room. So she had 
analyzed the situation, weighed her options and went 
shopping. Her gift purchasing was complete; now the rest of 
it was up to Clark.

A knock on her door announced his arrival. She straightened 
her dress and checked her lipstick in the mirror one more 
time, then raced to the door to let Clark in.

"Hi," she blurted while flinging the door open. Clark was 
standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, his 
jaw dropping at the sight of her in a black, elegant dress.

"Do you need more time?" he finally managed to squeak out. 
"I mean I can come back in few minutes..."

"Does it look like I need more time? Oh, my gosh! I know 
you said burgundy but I thought, uh, why be a slave to 
expectations. That's a charcoal suit, isn't it? Uh, you 
know, I could change. Um, I got a lot of really cute things 
in burgundy."

"Lois, you look stunning... I mean simply beautiful. I'm 
just speechless." Clark thrust the flowers at her and as 
she took them he stepped inside.

"You're not so bad yourself, farm boy," she said appraising 
him up and down. Remembering then how Clark had run out on 
her that afternoon, she moved away from him to look for a 
vase for the flowers. Once they were in water, she turned 
him, saying, "Clark, we need to talk," at the same time he 
said, "Lois, I think...

"Come sit down." He gestured for her to take a seat on the 
couch and then sat down next to her. "Before we talk about 
anything, I need you to open your present."

"You're not trying to bribe me into forgetting that you ran 
out on me *again* this afternoon, are you?"

"No, Lois. Just bear with me," he pleaded softly.

He presented her with a small, elegantly decorated box, 
then held his breath. This was it.

Lois unwrapped a velvet jewelry box and she looked up at 
Clark with a dozen questions in her eyes.

"Clark, this isn't what...?"

"No, please open it and I'll explain."

With trembling fingers she opened the lip and nestled on 
the soft material was a charm -- Superman's shield emblem 
on a gold elegant chain.

Taking a deep breath, he covered her hands with his and 
smiled at her nervously.

"Lois, you've been my best friend and partner for over a 
year now. I can't deny that I want more for us... my slip 
this afternoon gave me away. I know you've had major 
disappointments in your relationships and you have a hard 
time trusting people. I don't want to lose your trust in 
me."

"Oh, Clark! I do trust you." The tenderness in his 
expression amazed her as much as the tiny charm lying in 
the black velvet box.

"But I still hear a bit of doubt in your voice. Lois, do 
you ever wonder why I always seem to run off in the middle 
of things, why I had to leave this afternoon after I 
totally embarrassed myself? Staying and finishing our talk 
was so important to me. It was not because I'm afraid of a 
personal conversation with you -- that is so far from the 
truth. I couldn't believe that of all times..."

"All times what, Clark?"

"There's a reason why I have to disappear; there's a secret 
that is very important to me and the others in my personal 
life. Now it's time to share it with you. I've wanted to 
tell you for a long time, but the timing never seemed quite 
right. I couldn't begin the next step in our relationship 
without letting you know exactly who you'll be dating. No 
more secrets and excuses. Today I give you my complete 
trust. All of it. That's what this little Superman emblem 
is for," he spoke in an odd, but gentle tone. "Lois, I'm 
Superman."

"You're... Superman?" Her mouth hung open and her eyes grew 
wide in astonishment as his words sunk in. She sat very 
still for a few moments as the information began to process 
in its entirety.

All the pieces suddenly fit together. Clark was Superman! 
That was why he had run out on her countless times. Not 
because he was afraid or weird or being a jerk, it was 
because people's lives were in danger and he had to rescue 
them. And her!! Clark had saved her life countless times 
and she didn't even know it.

And it wasn't too long ago that she had rejected Clark, 
only to tell Superman that she would love him even if he 
were an ordinary man. Now that she was finally seeing Clark 
in a new light, she realized that he could be thinking that 
he was taking the risk of having her want him only because 
she now knew that he was Superman. Not because he was that 
ordinary man that she supposedly would have recognized, but 
the superhero whom she had idolized for so long. But he had 
taken that risk anyway and now, he had just proven that her 
instincts had been right in choosing the gift that she was 
about to give him.

"I think you should open this." She got up from the sofa 
and went around the back and dragged a huge box from behind 
it. "Please note; mine's bigger."

Pushing the coffee table out of the way, she shoved the box 
in front of him. "Merry Christmas, Clark, and no fair 
peeking," she said solemnly as she sat down next to him. 
"If I would have known this gift was for Superman, I would 
have wrapped it in lead."

Clark wanted to grin at that remark, but still couldn't 
quite read Lois' reaction to his confession of a few 
minutes earlier. Her heart was beating rapidly, but that 
could be from shock; he didn't know.

He tugged at the huge ribbon on top of the box and lifted 
the lid.

Another box. And another and another were place inside of 
each one. He would have been laughing if this moment 
weren't so serious. Lois wasn't lending him any clues as 
she sat there stone-faced and still.

Finally, he reached to what appeared to be the last box. It 
was wrapped differently and like its larger cousin, the 
first box, it was decorated with a colorful ribbon.

He sat up straight and looked at Lois. She motioned for him 
to open it but still didn't give him any clues to how she 
was feeling. Wiggling it from side to side, he heard the 
contents sliding back and forth.

After pulling the ribbon, he lifted the cover and pulled 
out a small twig of mistletoe.

"Lois?"

Lois felt her heart melt another layer at his quizzical 
expression as he held up the tiny sprig. Any remaining 
doubts about her present for him disappeared as she 
realized the significance of his gift to her. He trusted 
her enough to share the biggest secret in the world: that 
Clark Kent was Superman.

"Would you put this necklace on me?" she asked as her eyes 
fully met his for the first time since his revelation.

He placed the mistletoe back into its nest of tissue and 
fumbled for a few seconds as he removed the chain from the 
jewelry box. Lois leaned towards him and lowered her head 
for him to place it around her neck.

The mere touch of his hand on her neck sent a warming 
shiver of anticipation through her. She could tell his 
hands were trembling as he tried to fasten the tiny clasp 
and she knew he was just as affected as she was by this 
moment.

"Got it," he breathed shakily as he returned his hands back 
to his lap, a major accomplishment through the dizzying 
closeness of Lois.

She thoughtfully touched the charm as it lay on her chest, 
then removed the mistletoe from the box once again.

"Now for the instructions on how to use this little device. 
You see it's really quite convenient when you want someone 
to kiss you so badly that it's all you can think about." 
She placed the mistletoe in his hand and lifted it up over 
their heads and leaned slightly towards him. "I think you 
can figure out what to do next," she whispered only inches 
from his lips as her heart danced with excitement.

He gulped noisily. "I think I have a very good idea on what 
to do next." His heart was pounding so loudly in his ears 
that he could barely detect the rapid beat of hers. She was 
absolutely breathtaking; her cheeks were flushed with a 
pink glow, her full lips had parted slightly and her breath 
was coming in rapid succession. The little charm lay just 
above the fullness of her creamy breasts reminding him that 
she knew his secret at last and was not afraid or upset, 
but gazing at him as he had always dreamed -- in wonder and 
passion and maybe even a hint of love.

The mistletoe dropped to the floor as they came together in 
the sweetest of kisses. Secrets and longtime fears melted 
in the slow fire of their passionate embrace. After a 
while, they separated and leaned back against the cushions. 
Clark picked up her hand and began playing with her fingers 
thoughtfully.

"Thank you," he said, his voice full of emotion. "You gave 
me the best present I could ever hope for."

"Yeah, that kiss was pretty spectacular. We just might have 
to have an encore."

"No, I'm not talking about the kiss... I mean, I agree that 
it was spectacular, but that you gave me the mistletoe 
without knowing that I was Superman. It was for me, Clark, 
and all I've ever wanted was for you to feel that way about 
the real me. Especially after I ran out on you this 
afternoon... "

"I was mad at first, but then I remembered the look on your 
face as you were leaving. You looked so pathetic and I 
realized that you wanted me, in spite of my flaws and 
imperfections. Believe me, I have them, not quite as many 
as yours, mind you, but we're all not perfect. I wanted the 
perfect gift for you and if you could want me in spite of 
my flaws, then I had to take one more risk with you. Clark, 
you're my best friend, the biggest risk in this whole 
dating business was that I didn't want to lose that... or 
you."

"I'm not going anywhere. Lois, you're not going to lose 
me."

"I think I know that now. Do you know how much it means to 
me to know that you're Superman? Not because of him, 
Superman, but that you trusted me enough to tell me. I 
might beat you up later for a few of those excuses, but 
right now, Clark, I think we need to practice using that 
mistletoe again."

"Oh, sure! I think it fell somewhere down here." Clark 
leaned over and looked for the mistletoe among the 
scattered boxes on the floor. His fingers brushed something 
and he pulled out another present tucked under the couch. 
It had his name on it.

"Lois? Is this another present for me?"

Lois gasped and tried to pull the gift away from him, but 
let go after a couple of seconds. "Oh, go ahead and open 
it. I wanted to be prepared for whatever answers or excuses 
you had for me so I bought a few extras just in case. But I 
think you should open this one up." Her eyes flashed 
mischievously as she folded her arms and watched him.

The paper crinkled and Clark rolled his head back and 
laughed as he pulled out a pair of bright blue boxer shorts 
with Superman's emblem printed all over them in bright red 
and yellow.

"I thought if you liked the mistletoe gift then these might 
be appropriate. I wanted to let you know that *you* were 
the only superman I needed."

Clark wrapped his arms around her again and drew her in for 
another long, lazy kiss. At last they pulled apart and 
Clark gazed dreamily into her eyes.

"I don't know if this is the right time to tell you, but I 
love you."

She touched his cheek with her fingertips and replied, "I 
love you, too."

They met each other hungrily this time, his hands explored 
the exposed skin on her back, hers tangling themselves in 
his hair and tugging him closer. Breathlessly, they ended 
the kiss and Lois snuggled up in his arms.

"So are you ready for Superman to take you out on the 
town?" Clark asked as his equilibrium found its equal level 
again.

Lois rubbed his chest dreamily as she replied, "Um... I 
think Superman needs to wait for another night. I seem to 
remember that I made a date with a very handsome guy named 
Clark Kent."

"I think I can live with that," he said as he rose from the 
sofa and pulled her after him to stand by her balcony.

Carolers had gathered beneath her apartment and were 
starting to sing their Christmas melodies. Snow fell in 
large white flakes, filling the air with crystal confetti, 
adding to the already romantic atmosphere. Lois snuggled 
her arms around his waist and laid her head against his 
chest.

"Clark, do you think once this season's over, the magic 
will end?"

"The magic will never end with you, honey; it's just 
begun." He kissed away a large flake that had fallen on her 
nose, then moved downwards to capture her waiting mouth 
once again.

The End.