Ficlet: Take Another Picture | Superman III | Lana Lang/Jimmy Olsen | Barely PG-13 | 1/1
Title: Take Another Picture
Fandom: Superman III
Pairing: Lana Lang/Jimmy Olsen
Rating: Barely PG-13
Word Count: 941
Prompt: For Porn Battle XI: reminisce, hair, hands, sweet, park, photo, smile; For the Superman Movieverse Pairings Challenge: Camera, Coffee, Friendship, Sincere, Kiss
Summary: Lana's a little down after the dust settles from the adventure that brought her to Metropolis. Unexpectedly, Jimmy makes it better.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything, I own nothing. Darnit!
Author's Notes: The first of my PB repostings. Originally posted here. And dangit, I need a Lana icon! Why don't I have one? Sheesh. ETA: Icons obtained! rizny, I love you and your amazing icon stash. &hearts Now I'm gonna have to add another icon package. XD
Take Another Picture
Lana couldn't deny that things hadn't gone the way she'd thought they might after she'd moved to Metropolis. With Lois back from her whirlwind vacation, it suddenly seemed like Clark was never around anymore, taking to following the raven-haired reporter around wherever she went. It was... odd. Unnerving. Even a little... disappointing.
Maybe that was the status quo, though. How was she to know, anyway? It wasn't like she'd been here with Clark since he'd come to Metropolis, and he didn't exactly owe her anything.
A glance at the ring on her finger as she typed up a memo for Mr. White, and she felt her cheeks flush with, well, shame. Both Clark and Superman had gone out of their way to help her, make her feel welcome and cared for, but that was where it all ended. She had a fantastic job at a world-class paper, she had friends here, she had Ricky, and that was a lot better than most folks had these days. She was blessed.
But that didn't do much to stop the little tickle at the back of her brain that insisted she'd been dumped. It-
“Miss Lang?”
Lana raised her gaze from the half-finished memo, her fingers pausing mid-type, to find Jimmy standing in the doorway to her vestibule-come-office, a steaming styrofoam cup in one hand.
“Are you all right?” he asked, looking concerned with a furrowed brow. The expression was adorable on him. “You seem kind of... lost.”
“Oh,” she said simply. She supposed that could describe the way she felt at the moment, not so much reminiscing-as nice as that might be-as wallowing in what she thought she might have lost.
Jimmy blinked at her lack of a more detailed response. “Um, okay. Would you like some coffee? I just brewed it.” Smiling softly, he held the steaming cup out to her.
Lana blanched for a moment as a shot of panicked realization traveled up her spine. “Oh God, I forgot to put on a fresh pot, didn't I?” she winced, accepting the cup. That's right, Lana, get fired in your second week on the job, she chastised herself. Good going.
“What? Oh, no, don't worry about it,” Jimmy assured her quickly, shaking his head and shoving his hands down into his pockets. “We all usually just take turns, whoever empties the pot puts on a new one. Just be glad you didn't get Lois's brew,” he finished with a dramatic shutter.
A long gaze down into her coffee as her nerves settled then, and Lana breathed in relief, not so much registering the crack at Lois's expense as filing it away for later reference. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Hey, you want to take your break soon?” Jimmy asked. “There's this great food cart in Centennial Park that you have just got to try. You're not a real Metropolitan until you've had their Metro Burger.”
Despite herself, Lana looked back up to meet Jimmy's gaze and smiled at his enthusiasm. “Sure.”
~*~*~*~
Out in the Park, Lana breathed in the fresh air-well, as fresh as city air could get, anyway-glad to be out of the office for just a little while, in the sparkling afternoon sun. If anything, it gave her a chance to clear out the funk that she'd been feeding for the last few days, and wow, what a head trip that had been.
The burger from the food cart turned out to be not half-bad, either. Not quite up to the County Fair standards, but it sure hit the spot.
Taking her crumpled burger wrapper when she was finished, Jimmy dropped their trash and empty drink cups into the nearest can, and turned back to Lana as they walked along, raising his camera unexpectedly. “Smile,” he said cheerily.
Lana couldn't help a nervous giggle as she tried too late to block him, the shutter clicking before she had a chance to raise her hand. “What are you doing?” she smiled, feeling that flush across her face again. “I probably have grease all over my face.”
Jimmy grinned at her as they kept on through the park. “A good photographer never misses a chance at the perfect shot.”
“I hardly think I'd make the perfect shot,” she pointed out, decidedly not grousing.
But Jimmy stopped her with a hand on her arm, his fingers warm through her thin shirt sleeve, and Lana drew up short, both of them paused in the middle of the broad path.
“I mean it,” he said, looking at her with a sincere expression that made her breath catch in her throat.
“Jimmy, that's really sweet, but-” she started to protest, when his hand slid up from her arm to her face, fingers gently tucking her hair behind her ear. Lana's brain ceased to function.
“You know, the light makes your hair glow like a wildfire. It's like the whole city's ablaze.”
Lana couldn't help sucking in a breath of surprise at the utter honesty of Jimmy's sentiment, but before she could try to protest again, he was suddenly leaning close, and his lips found hers in a gentle kiss, warm and firm. Parts of Lana that she hadn't realized had been sleeping awoke all at once, heat shooting straight to her core as her breath quickened, and it was only when Jimmy broke the kiss that she realized his hands were cupping her face as hers had moved around his back to pull him close.
They seemed to fit together perfectly.
“Jimmy?” she asked, her voice sounding very small and as far away as her earlier melancholy now felt, all her grumbling misery burned to ashes to blow away in the breeze as something new and unexpected rose up to take its place.
“Yeah?”
Lana smiled. “Take another picture.”
~*~*~*~
Fandom: Superman III
Pairing: Lana Lang/Jimmy Olsen
Rating: Barely PG-13
Word Count: 941
Prompt: For Porn Battle XI: reminisce, hair, hands, sweet, park, photo, smile; For the Superman Movieverse Pairings Challenge: Camera, Coffee, Friendship, Sincere, Kiss
Summary: Lana's a little down after the dust settles from the adventure that brought her to Metropolis. Unexpectedly, Jimmy makes it better.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own everything, I own nothing. Darnit!
Author's Notes: The first of my PB repostings. Originally posted here. And dangit, I need a Lana icon! Why don't I have one? Sheesh. ETA: Icons obtained! rizny, I love you and your amazing icon stash. &hearts Now I'm gonna have to add another icon package. XD
Take Another Picture
Lana couldn't deny that things hadn't gone the way she'd thought they might after she'd moved to Metropolis. With Lois back from her whirlwind vacation, it suddenly seemed like Clark was never around anymore, taking to following the raven-haired reporter around wherever she went. It was... odd. Unnerving. Even a little... disappointing.
Maybe that was the status quo, though. How was she to know, anyway? It wasn't like she'd been here with Clark since he'd come to Metropolis, and he didn't exactly owe her anything.
A glance at the ring on her finger as she typed up a memo for Mr. White, and she felt her cheeks flush with, well, shame. Both Clark and Superman had gone out of their way to help her, make her feel welcome and cared for, but that was where it all ended. She had a fantastic job at a world-class paper, she had friends here, she had Ricky, and that was a lot better than most folks had these days. She was blessed.
But that didn't do much to stop the little tickle at the back of her brain that insisted she'd been dumped. It-
“Miss Lang?”
Lana raised her gaze from the half-finished memo, her fingers pausing mid-type, to find Jimmy standing in the doorway to her vestibule-come-office, a steaming styrofoam cup in one hand.
“Are you all right?” he asked, looking concerned with a furrowed brow. The expression was adorable on him. “You seem kind of... lost.”
“Oh,” she said simply. She supposed that could describe the way she felt at the moment, not so much reminiscing-as nice as that might be-as wallowing in what she thought she might have lost.
Jimmy blinked at her lack of a more detailed response. “Um, okay. Would you like some coffee? I just brewed it.” Smiling softly, he held the steaming cup out to her.
Lana blanched for a moment as a shot of panicked realization traveled up her spine. “Oh God, I forgot to put on a fresh pot, didn't I?” she winced, accepting the cup. That's right, Lana, get fired in your second week on the job, she chastised herself. Good going.
“What? Oh, no, don't worry about it,” Jimmy assured her quickly, shaking his head and shoving his hands down into his pockets. “We all usually just take turns, whoever empties the pot puts on a new one. Just be glad you didn't get Lois's brew,” he finished with a dramatic shutter.
A long gaze down into her coffee as her nerves settled then, and Lana breathed in relief, not so much registering the crack at Lois's expense as filing it away for later reference. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Hey, you want to take your break soon?” Jimmy asked. “There's this great food cart in Centennial Park that you have just got to try. You're not a real Metropolitan until you've had their Metro Burger.”
Despite herself, Lana looked back up to meet Jimmy's gaze and smiled at his enthusiasm. “Sure.”
~*~*~*~
Out in the Park, Lana breathed in the fresh air-well, as fresh as city air could get, anyway-glad to be out of the office for just a little while, in the sparkling afternoon sun. If anything, it gave her a chance to clear out the funk that she'd been feeding for the last few days, and wow, what a head trip that had been.
The burger from the food cart turned out to be not half-bad, either. Not quite up to the County Fair standards, but it sure hit the spot.
Taking her crumpled burger wrapper when she was finished, Jimmy dropped their trash and empty drink cups into the nearest can, and turned back to Lana as they walked along, raising his camera unexpectedly. “Smile,” he said cheerily.
Lana couldn't help a nervous giggle as she tried too late to block him, the shutter clicking before she had a chance to raise her hand. “What are you doing?” she smiled, feeling that flush across her face again. “I probably have grease all over my face.”
Jimmy grinned at her as they kept on through the park. “A good photographer never misses a chance at the perfect shot.”
“I hardly think I'd make the perfect shot,” she pointed out, decidedly not grousing.
But Jimmy stopped her with a hand on her arm, his fingers warm through her thin shirt sleeve, and Lana drew up short, both of them paused in the middle of the broad path.
“I mean it,” he said, looking at her with a sincere expression that made her breath catch in her throat.
“Jimmy, that's really sweet, but-” she started to protest, when his hand slid up from her arm to her face, fingers gently tucking her hair behind her ear. Lana's brain ceased to function.
“You know, the light makes your hair glow like a wildfire. It's like the whole city's ablaze.”
Lana couldn't help sucking in a breath of surprise at the utter honesty of Jimmy's sentiment, but before she could try to protest again, he was suddenly leaning close, and his lips found hers in a gentle kiss, warm and firm. Parts of Lana that she hadn't realized had been sleeping awoke all at once, heat shooting straight to her core as her breath quickened, and it was only when Jimmy broke the kiss that she realized his hands were cupping her face as hers had moved around his back to pull him close.
They seemed to fit together perfectly.
“Jimmy?” she asked, her voice sounding very small and as far away as her earlier melancholy now felt, all her grumbling misery burned to ashes to blow away in the breeze as something new and unexpected rose up to take its place.
“Yeah?”
Lana smiled. “Take another picture.”
~*~*~*~