TITLE: BEAUTIFUL LIE

AUTHOR: AriesFireGirl1985

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own smallville

TAG-LINE: If she looked hard enough, she’d find what it was she was looking for.

AUTHORS NOTE: First attempt at a one-shot. Please be kind ;)

“I just wanna keep on believing every little thing you ever said to me
All was true, and I want to be sure you adore me too
I don't wanna know when it ended for you
I want to be able to sleep at night
I want to hold my head up high
I want to feel like you were always mine…
… But it was all just a beautiful, terrible, wonderful, horrible, beautiful lie
And it's so easy to believe”

-LYRICS “Beautiful Lie” by Esthero

---

She looked at him from across the crowded Newsroom. So calm, cool and collected, typical Clark. Only she could see the difference. The way the black rimmed glasses never sat comfortably on his face, his way past average build, the size of his hands-which he’d always put down to ‘country-living’ and ‘farm work’. Only now Lois Lane had the evidence to prove otherwise.

It had all started a week ago, over two mugs of coffee, an overdue article, Mr Wong’s special fried rice and a friendly argument over who was the better reporter.

“It’s obviously me.”

Clark had looked up from his computer “In your dreams maybe.”

Lois had scoffed out loud “Don’t hate the player!”

“Obviously lack of sleep has made you highly delusional, and since I love you, I’ll forgive you for talking crap.” Clark went back to typing.

“Crap? Fine, I’ll prove it.”

“..and how exactly are you going to do that?” Clark leaned back and stretched.

“Well, let’s have a contest.” Lois put her feet up on the desk and crossed her legs. “Let’s see who can make front page with their story.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? Cos’ you’re just setting your self up for failure.”

“Talk is cheap, buddie.” She said tossing a piece of crumpled paper in his direction. “Besides, I think I have my story.”

“Oh, really.” Clark leaned forward “what is it?”

“A good investigative reporter never reveals anything, but you would know that if you were half as good a reporter as I am.

Clark laughed, and got up “Want another coffee?”

“No, I’m good.”

At that point Jimmy Olsen walked past; he was fiddling with his camera. “Whass’up Lois?”

“Just the man I wanted to see.” She gently grabbed his arm. “Clark and I have waged a bet-It’s to see who can come up with a better story.”

Jimmy smiled “I thought you guys were a team.”

“Some days more than others…anyways I’m gonna need your help for what I have planned.”

“Which is?”

“Jimmy, I’m going to expose Superman.”

---

She looked down at her engagement ring. Lies, all lies. Everything he’d ever said to her as Clark and as Superman had been complete Bullsht. She wanted to scream. Punch him and scream like a banshee. She’d always been honest with him; there wasn’t a thing that Clark didn’t know about her from her great-great grandmother’s date of birth to the exact details of how she’d lost her virginity.

Lying to him about anything didn’t even seem like an option, because she loved and respected him. And that’s what it all amounted to.

“Play that again Jimmy, this time zoom in.”

They had been going over camera surveillance tapes from all around the city, all day.

“What are we looking for Lois?”

“Clues, I guess. As to who he is, where he goes…”She pressed pause on the keyboard. “Did you just see that?”

“No.”

“Superman just tucked something away.” She pressed play. ”See, there it is.”

Jimmy paused the tape, and squinted. “What do you think it is?”

“Go, a little further back.” Lois instructed. Jimmy pressed re-wind “Ok, there .Press play.”

The pair watched intently, but the action was far too fast for either to grasp any substantial detail.

“…maybe we should watch in slo-mo, and zoom in a little bit more.”

Jimmy did just that.

Again .they watched intently, waiting to pinpoint the inconspicuous object.

“Glasses?” jimmy said softly, still squinting at the screen “I think they’re…glasses.”

“A superhero with bad sight, highly unlikely.”

Together, they watched the tape three more times. They managed to deduce that the object that Superman seemed to tuck away, were in fact some form of eye wear.

---

Lois studied Clark’s profile .It was all so obvious. How had he managed to fool her for close to four years? Maybe somewhere in her subconscious she’d always know, maybe she just hadn’t wanted to believe. She could feel the bile rising in the back of her throat. He was her lover, her friend and her most trusted colleague. They had been entwined in each facet of each others lives, and still she didn’t know him. That was probably what hurt the most, not that he’d lied but that he’d given her the illusion of complete truth and sincerity.

She’d given him all there was-her mind, body and soul. He’d given her his body, sure. The sex had always been mind blowing, but her new found revelations only served as proof of the fact that she didn’t have his mind or his soul, because if she did he wouldn’t have been able to lie to her for so damn long.

“C’mon Lunch is on me.” Clark took her hand “How’s the story going?”

“Just fine.”

“Yeah I bet.” he joked.

“You won’t be so smug when my exclusive story hits the front page.”

Clark and Lois found seats at the counter, next to an old lady who slowly ate tapioca pudding. The old lady’s eyes were transfixed on the TV screen situated on the wall behind the counter. On the screen was coverage, from earlier that day of Superman, saving two small children from a burning building.

Clark picked up his menu and scanned it. Lois watched the footage.

“I met Superman once.” The old woman stated to no one in particular.

Lois looked at her “Really?”

The old lady nodded.

“Did you get a really good look?”

The old woman nodded “He’s absolutely gorgeous, I asked him if he wanted to meet my granddaughter Felicity, she’s a Lawyer y’know.”

“Did he have any distinctive facial marks, scars…was he wearing glasses?”

“No-to all three, but just between us girls he has big beautiful hands. I bet he knows how to use them.” The old woman winked at Lois and began to laugh.

Lois smiled. “So, he didn’t want to go on a date with your granddaughter,huh?”

“No, she a lawyer y’know.”

“Well, it’s his loss.” Lois said picking up her menu.

“He has a lady-friend already.” said the old lady picking up her cup of tea.

Lois set the menu down immediately. “Did he tell you that?” Lois asked rummaging through her bag for a pencil and writing pad.

“Not in so many words, I get the feeling he’s real shy. But I could tell by the way he blushed.”

Lois looked up from her pad “Superman blushes?” She didn’t know why it surprised her, but it did.

“What was he like-height, weight, build?”

The old woman thought for a moment. “He was big…real big…about 6’5’’, of like him.” The old woman pointed past Lois. Lois followed her gaze.

“Just like that.” The woman pointed firmly at Clark, who was too busy deciding on what to order.

Lois nudged Clark. “Huh?”

“Honey, could you stand up a second?”

“Sure, but why?”

Lois turned back to the woman “Like that?”

“Just like that?” said the woman. “Mister, with the exception of the glasses, anyone ever tell you, you kind of look like Superman?”

“No, not really” said Clark.

---

Lois looked at the finished story on the screen of her computer and thought back to all the times Clark disappeared without a moments notice. Or all the lame excuses he’d come up with, like he had to use the toilet .Always whenever danger was about to happen. She had planned on phoning in sick today but she wanted to look Clark right in the eyes. He looked good today; well Clark looked good in anything-a plaid shirt, an Armani suit or a cape and tights.

“Hey Honey? I’m taking some clothes to the dry cleaners…” Called out Lois “…do you want me to take anything of yours?”

Lois didn’t live with Clark, testament to her fiercely independent nature, but she liked to stop by once in awhile to make sure his life was running smoothly.

Clark was in the shower and didn’t answer, Lois figured that he hadn’t heard. Ah,well. She’d said to herself. The Cleaners closed at five it was now twenty to five, she’d surprise him.

Lois opened his closet and started examining Clarks work suits. She folded two suits and put them into her bag, the next suit she went to examine, was tangles up with some clothes hangers. Lois twisted and pulled, to no avail.

She silently cursed to herself. She tried again, it seemed that the clothes hanger was caught on to a nook at the back of the closet, using her free hand Lois reached for the back of the closet and tried to locate the nook.

Lois didn’t have time for this, time was running out, and if Clark would only hang his clothes up properly she wouldn’t be wrestling with his closet at this moment in time. She pounded her fist against the back wall of the Closet. Something like a trap door.

Lois reached in and pulled out what felt like a few pieces of material. She looked down at what she’d managed to free. Lois paused.

“OMYGOD!” Lois had stared down at what appeared to be part of Superman’s costume. Somewhere between shock and anger, Lois ran her fingers over the infamous ‘S’

Lois walked into the bathroom she watched Clark shower. He hadn’t noticed her, his eyes were firmly closed and his hair completely slicked back by water. “Superman?” she whispered to herself.

That evening she’d gone over all the pictures she could find of Superman and, armed with a black biro she had drawn on glasses. It had all become as clear as day-Clark was superman, superman was Clark.

---

Clark came marching towards her. Hands held firmly behind his back.

“Look what I have.” It was a mock copy of tomorrow’s front page. On it was a story about the crime rate in Metropolis, preceded by the by line: Story by Clark Kent.

Lois looked down at the story still saved to her computer. She was pretty certain hers was the best. She’d probably have won an award or something. It was the best piece of journalism she’d ever produced, succinct, clear, hard hitting and above all …the truth. But Lois would never do that, not to the man she loved in spite of the fact he couldn’t be honest with her. That’s why she’d submitted a fake piece on the rising standards of inner city schools.

“I guess this means I’m the better reporter.”

Lois smirked, “not the best reporter, just a great liar” she thought to herself as she pressed ‘DELETE’.

THE END.