Ruth Sadelle Alderson

A snippet in honor of your costume. Also on AO3.


"You don't fool me."

Claire looks up from the (extremely boring) article she's writing about the city council's upcoming agenda. "Are you going to elaborate?" she asks when Lois didn't say anything else.

Lois slaps a piece of paper down on Claire's desk. Paper. Who does that? Even at the Daily Planet, nearly everything they do, except for printing the paper, is done digitally.

Then Claire really looks at what the paper was, and winces. Her prom pictures are just about the last thing she wants Lois looking at. "Where did you get these?"

"I'm an investigative reporter," Lois says. "Getting things like this is my job." She's half scowling at Claire. It doesn't make her any less attractive. "You're not the mild-mannered, quiet girl you appear to be, and I'm going to find out what you're hiding. Even if you turn out to be Superman."

Claire's had more than enough practice to contain her wince, but she does squeeze one hand into a fist below her desk where Lois can't see it. "I am a mild-mannered, quiet girl," she lies. It's amazing how much assuming a different demeanor will keep people from seeing the truth. "And what's your obsession with Superman anyway?"

The look on Lois's face turns into a full scowl. "It's not an obsession. No one knows who she is when she's not out saving the citizens of Metropolis. It's the story of a lifetime."

"You never talk about it like a story," Claire says. She stays calm, because that's more likely to rile Lois up. "You talk about it like it's personal. Why are you so obsessed with Superman?"

Lois says, "Because she kissed me and I want her to do it again," and then snaps her mouth shut. "Pretend I never said that." She grabs the printout of Claire's prom pictures and stalks off toward her office. Claire only lets herself watch for two seconds before she goes back to her incredibly boring story.