Clark was nervous. Very nervous. How on earth did he ever get himself into this? Or, more accurately, how on earth did he ever let Oliver talk him into this? Sure, it was quite straightforward in theory: he'd disguise himself as the Green Arrow, show up in front of Lois while Oliver was conveniently and obviously present, probably confuse the hell out of Lois, and bada boom! Mission accomplished; Lois would be off Oliver's scent. If all went well, of course.

It hadn't. "Hadn't" here meaning that instead of Oliver, a bunch of thugs had turned up instead, all of whom were now enjoying a deep sleep suspiciously resembling unconsciousness.

Now Clark was silently standing face to face with Lois. Neither of them had spoken a word, for it seemed that to speak would break the strange new sensation of connection between the two of them. Clark knew, in some distant part of his mind, that he should have disappeared several minutes ago, but his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, a reaction no doubt caused by the bizarre electric current flowing between him and Lois. He could have almost sworn that his superhearing was picking up a faint sizzle.

The silence dragged on still, and still Clark remained. Lois was staring very intently into his eyes (not that she could see them), so deeply he imagined she was trying to read his very soul. He prayed very hard that she had not seen through his facade. Her expression was unreadable. This was definitely one of the times that Clark wished his powers included mind-reading.

Slowly Lois took one step toward Clark. Then another. And one more. They were so close that Clark could smell her fruity shampoo. So close that if he wished Clark could bend down and kiss her right there. He wouldn't have to bend far- Lois was much taller than Lana.

Clark shook his head as vigorously as he could under the circumstances. Where had that thought come from? He was standing about ten centimeters away from Lois Lane, and he was comparing her to his ex-girlfriend- thinking about what it would be like to kiss her? This was Lois, for heaven's sake. Annoying Lois, insulting Lois, hell-bent-on-making-his-life-miserable Lois! No matter how... well, beautiful, she looked in the moonlight. Had he never noticed before? Was he blind?

Lois startled him back to reality by whispering, "Oliver..." He couldn't tell if it was a question or not. He wasn't sure of much at the moment, except that being in such a close proximity to Lois should be making him feel much more awkward than it was. It shouldn't feel so comfortable... so right.

Lois took a deep breath to calm herself and strengthen her resolve at once. In one swift motion, she reached up, cupped Clark's face with her hands and drew his lips smoothly to hers. Clark, completely shocked, stiffened and felt his heart stop beating for an instant. Without thinking of the fact that Lois was Oliver's girlfriend, or that Lois might very well lose it if she knew just whom she was kissing, or even that for all they knew the thugs on the ground might soon regain consciousness, he let his heart guide him for once. His arms found their way to Lois's waist, and he held her as close as he dared while he kissed her, rather hesitantly at first, then more passionately as Lois wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed her lips to his. She parted her lips slightly and sighed as Clark's gentle tongue caressed her own. The world might have spun a couple of times within the few short seconds of their embrace for all they would have noticed. Finally Clark, panting slightly, broke the kiss and murmured, "Lois...," unsure of what he was trying to tell her.

Lois looked up at him, her hands still entwined in green leather, and said with a little hitch in her voice, "You're not- Oliver."

Clark didn't know just what to say to her half-pleading stare, so instead of speaking he gathered her in his arms again and rested his lips on her temple. "No," he whispered softly. "I'm sorry."

Lois stroked his cheek lightly with her thumb. She suddenly pulled away from his kiss and looked up at him from beneath her lashes and said firmly, "Don't be."

With these words her lips crushed against his again and she silently begged him to respond, a request he was only too happy to fulfill. He left a trail of tiny kisses along her jaw line, leading all the way down to her neck, but he soon found that he missed her lips too much to be apart from them for long. He breathed her name once more, and her hands gradually migrated to his chest while his were entangled in her soft hair. Lois could feel his warmth and muscles even underneath the leather of his costume. Somehow, she knew that strong, impressive body. Lord knew she had seen enough of it to recognise it! She paused in mid-kiss and Clark's eyes fluttered open to see her raise her hand and press her fingers wonderingly to her lips. Clark tried to brace himself for what he suspected was coming. He was so stupid. What had possibly possessed him to stick around after having taken out those thugs?

Lois's mouth only echoed the question plainly obvious in her eyes. "...Clark?" she whispered disbelievingly.

For a moment Clark deliberated over his response, wondering if there was any way to elude the inevitable discovery of his deception.

There wasn't.

"Whatever happened to 'Smallville'?" he asked weakly.

Lois's knees buckled without warning. She was vaguely aware of Clark crying out her name in alarm. Good thing Clark's strong arms were currently supporting her weight. Why had she become so dizzy? Ah, yes.

"Somebody PLEASE tell me I DID NOT just make out with Clark Kent," Lois groaned as she closed her eyes.

"Are you saying you didn't enjoy it?" challenged Clark.

"That's not the point, Smallville!" snapped Lois.

"Well, what is the point?"

"The point is- the point is- well, I know the point has something to do with why you were kissing me like that when you and I are kind of supposed to hate each other!"

"I don't hate you, Lois. In fact, I don't know why I didn't realise exactly how much I do like you until tonight. And I do, I do like you- a lot, actually." Clark said wickedly. "Do you... hate me?"

"I... I...," stuttered Lois furiously. "No, but-!"

Clark kissed her forcefully, tongue yearning to taste the sweetness of her mouth again. "But, what?" he murmured.

Lois blinked once; trying to focus Clark certainly had a talent for driving all rational thought out of her mind when she needed it most. "But..." she gave a low growl. "You're going to have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow, Smallville."

"Deal," Clark smiled. Lois grinned in spite of herself and leaned in for another passion-fueled kiss.