Superman Movieverse Pairings Challenge!
It’s there and they all know it, the tension between them apparent even to both husbands. Lana keeps it under wraps most of the time. She and Lois are friends, they’ve married each other’s exes, they share parenting duties for all the kids from both couples. Most of the time, those reasons explain the closeness between the redhead and the reporter.
But there’s that tiny percentage of time when it’s not, when it’s much more than friends. Lois can drink all night without her personality changing, but get two drinks into Lana, and the strait-laced Midwestern girl is gone. Blitzed, grinning like a fool, she’s a different woman. A much less inhibited woman.
For Lana, that doesn’t mean drunk-dancing with a lampshade on her head. It mostly means she’ll talk in detail about things she would never mention sober, like how she’s so grateful Lois taught Richard that little tongue trick that drives her absolutely wild.
And there’s one more thing that changes with alcohol: the way Lana looks at her. Usually Lois sees affectionate amusement in those sea-green eyes, but as the drinks are poured there’s a lot more affection and a lot less amusement. Lana watches her almost reverently, with a lover’s eyes.
It’s a girl-crush, it happens. Lois isn’t freaked out by that, and she won’t call Lana on it later because she won’t embarrass her friend. After the first time though, Lana takes to drinking very lightly when they’re out on the town, as if she knows that Lois knows, and it’s scared her off.
Tension. In the beginning it was the tension of two rivals who both had claims to the same two men, but they settled that. Now it’s another kind of tension, more subtle, just as potent.
Out with the girls on a Saturday night, all of them raising hell, and Lois stops to chill in the corner of the bar. It’s been a wild night, live music and lots of alcohol, a break from her responsible life. Tomorrow she can be a wife and mother again. She puts the cold glass against her forehead, sighing.
Lois feels the weight of eyes on her, and looks up to meet Lana’s stare. Those eyes are absolutely steady, the look in them utterly sincere … and full of heat. The hair at the nape of Lois’ neck rises even as she glances at the glass in Lana’s hand. The liquid on ice is pale amber. “What’re you having, Lana?” Lois asks with forced casualness.
“Some kind of iced tea,” the redhead purrs back. “They’re delicious. Want one? I’ve had six, the bartender won’t make me another.”
Six Long Island Iced Teas… Oh, hell, Lana’s really drunk. Thankfully Lois has cab fare to get them both home. “C’mon, Red, let’s get out of here,” she says, hoping Richard won’t be too pissed when he finds out. Lois makes her apologizes to the rest of the gang, calls a cab, and gets Lana outside, hoping the cold night air will sober her up.
It doesn’t. She’s still watching Lois the same way, the look of a cat about to pounce and devour, and Lois doesn’t like that. She’s not prey. But when she tries giving Lana a mildly irritated look, just enough to remind her to lay off, the redhead only steps closer. She’s not falling-down drunk, just liquored up enough to put a sway in her step that was never there before.
Now Lois is nervous. “Red?” she says.
Lana catches Lois’ shoulders and leans in close. “Clark wouldn’t mind, and Richard would love it,” she murmurs.
“Lana, you’re drunk,” Lois says, making her voice stern.
It doesn’t deter the redhead. She leans in even more, almost nose to nose with Lois, their gazes locked. A breath away from Lois’ lips, Lana whispers, “I would worship you.”
That sends shivers down Lois’ spine she never expected. Wait, this was supposed to be just a one-sided crush, so why is her heart hammering, why is this warmth blooming low in her belly? She swallows, trying to think what to say, because she knows Lana’s about to lean in and kiss her and she’s not quite sure how she’ll react. One thing’s clear: she won’t be laughing it off.
Just then, the taxi’s headlights bathe them both in brilliant light. Saved in the nick of time, Lois sighs gratefully. “Come on, cheerleader. Let’s get you home. And no more Long Island Iced Teas for you.”
Once they’re in the back of the cab, Lana murmurs, “If this is the only time I’ll be drunk enough, then…” And the next thing Lois knows, the redhead has caught her chin and kissed her full on the mouth. Not a sloppy drunk kiss with more enthusiasm than accuracy, this is a kiss full of passion denied, and the heat of it burns Lois down to the core.
Lois breaks away, wide-eyed, and Lana grins lazily at her. Oh, shit. It doesn’t look like they’re going to be able to pretend this didn’t happen tomorrow morning.