Selective Memory (3/?)
Part III
Lois ran her hands over her hair, squeezing the excess water onto her back. Releasing a tired sigh, she turned and leaned into the spray of water streaming from the showerhead, dousing her face and hair once again.
She felt cool air on her back and froze. The shower curtain had been shifted. She spun around so fast that she slipped and started to lose balance but Clark reached out and stabilized her. Awkwardly pushing past while holding his arm to stay upright, she reached out of the curtain and grabbed the first thing she could reach to cover herself up with.
She grimaced when she realized that she had wrapped Clark’s flannel shirt around herself, and as it was getting drenched in the continuing downpour, it wasn’t providing her as much cover as she would have liked.
“What are you doing?”
Clark seemed to be amused by her antics. She was looking everywhere - up, right, and left - but down. “I thought I’d help you scrub your back.”
Lois looked to where his hands were still bracing her arms with disdain. She didn’t know how the hell he could have snuck up on her like that. Seeing his grin reappear, she decided that she’d had too much and stepped out of the tub, splashing water everywhere.
Clark reached behind him and turned off the water. As he followed her out of the shower, a towel hit him in the face. He laughed and wrapped it around his waist. They both stood facing each other dripping.
“We don’t take showers?”
“Oh, we take showers,” Lois sputtered. “Separate showers!”
“You still have soap on you…” he informed her, reaching out to show her where she’d missed.
“It’s okay,” she replied, taking a small step back. She couldn’t turn around because the shirt she was clutching only covered her front. “It’s just soap.”
Clark was perplexed with her reaction. He was pretty sure that they did more than take showers. The closet in his bedroom was divided into space for both of their clothes for one thing, and there was an eye-mask on the table next to one side of the bed. He was pretty sure that the blue mask decorated with lace and glitter wasn’t his.
“You don’t have anything to be ashamed of,” he told her. “You’re beautiful.” His eyes took on a mischievous glint. “I especially like the butterfly.”
Lois silently screamed. She had forgotten that there was mirror behind her. “Clark… could you step outside so I can get dressed?”
He nodded disappointedly. “I’m sorry that I startled you.”
Lois thought about his dejected expression as the bathroom door closed behind him. The doctor had said something about Clark needing to put things in place on his own, but she couldn’t see how his confusion was helping anything.
After dressing and attempting to restore some type of order to the bathroom, she went into the bedroom. She looked around warily; she was still a little shell shocked from the way he had popped up behind her before.
“So, what do you want to do?”
Lois jumped as Clark appeared from the other side of the bed. “I… what were… Um, I’m going to go to bed. What were you doing?”
“Push-ups,” he replied as if was what he did every night. Looking at his build, Lois realized that it just might be. “I had some pent up energy.”
Lois forced a smile and released a nervous laugh. He was so not good at subtlety. “Okay, well, now that you’re good and tired…” She waved a hand toward the door.
Clark’s grin widened. “You mean I don’t get to shower with you or sleep with you?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
Lois coughed. “Beca… because this is your parent’s house.”
“They’re not here.”
Her mouth dropped open at his forwardness. This whole situation had her unsettled. He was not acting like himself and it was disconcerting. “They could be… they could come home at any minute.”
“You said that they would be gone for a couple of days.”
One of her eyes twitched briefly. She wished that his amnesia would have affected his short-term memory instead. “Okay, here’s the deal: I don’t get any sleep when you’re in the bed so you sleep on the couch. You kick… and flail. The snoring is unbearable.”
“Good try. I know the real reason.” Clark smiled and stepped closer.
“You do?”
He nodded and smirked. “We’re waiting. If we’re going to make it to the wedding night we have to avoid tight spots. I get it.”
Lois’s eyes popped. He wasn’t amnesiac, he was delusional. “You sleep on the couch,” she repeated, grabbing a pillow from the bed and tossing it at him.
He laughed as he caught the pillow and moved forward. “No Good Night kiss? That can’t be against the rules.”
Lois kept him at bay with a Heisman stiff-arm to the chest. “You’re not yourself. I wouldn’t feel right about… taking advantage of you like this,” she told him, fighting to keep the smugness out of her voice.
Clark leaned against the door jamb as Lois retreated, thinking about her words. Had he been in his right mind, he would have recognized her tone of voice and realized that she was placating him. But, he wasn’t in his right mind - or his left mind for that matter - so he listened to her words and thought she was genuinely concerned.
“It’s scary to me too,” he stated flatly. “Nothing is familiar to me except you. I guess that’s why I want to stay close.”
Lois groaned internally. “Listen, Smallville, I’m not so sure you should trust that head of yours…”
He smiled at her use of the nickname. She had corrected herself earlier after he’d asked if it was a pet name. Her use of it now made meant that she was relaxing. “I can trust what I know about us and I can prove it. I remember the day we met.”
She chuckled. “I doubt that. You don’t even know your middle name.”
“You almost ran me over with your car.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Lucky guess.”
“You meet a lot of guys that way?” he asked, laughing at her expression. “Well, I remember that I was naked, and you liked what you saw.”
“I did not… look,” she finished lamely, adding the last part when he looked at her skeptically. She cleared her throat. “…I didn’t see a thing.”
Clark grinned at her obvious attempt at covering. “Well, I liked what I saw.”
Lois scoffed.
“I did,” he insisted. “You were flustered. It was cute. You made me feel safe. Like now.”
Lois started to run a hand through her hair but stopped when her fingers got tangled in the damp strands. Clark’s recollection of that day made her mind go back as well. That had been before the plaid… before learning who he was… before he became off-limits.
It also brought back the fact that she had, in fact, looked. Twice.
Since then, she had tucked him neatly away into the friend category, which had been quite easy to do once she’d gotten to know him. He’d always seemed to be a flight risk, which was why she took pleasure in keeping him on his toes. It was her job to help him get over himself.
Only now, he wasn’t the one that was rattled.
And he wasn’t himself.
Clark took her lack of response to be disbelief. “I felt that you were totally out of my league. I’m just glad I was wrong.”
Okay, enough. She was going to end this charade before she started to believe him.
“Clark, listen…” Lois was interrupted when her cell phone began ringing. From the sound of the ringtone, she knew who was calling.
Her cousin had impeccable timing.
Lois ran her hands over her hair, squeezing the excess water onto her back. Releasing a tired sigh, she turned and leaned into the spray of water streaming from the showerhead, dousing her face and hair once again.
She felt cool air on her back and froze. The shower curtain had been shifted. She spun around so fast that she slipped and started to lose balance but Clark reached out and stabilized her. Awkwardly pushing past while holding his arm to stay upright, she reached out of the curtain and grabbed the first thing she could reach to cover herself up with.
She grimaced when she realized that she had wrapped Clark’s flannel shirt around herself, and as it was getting drenched in the continuing downpour, it wasn’t providing her as much cover as she would have liked.
“What are you doing?”
Clark seemed to be amused by her antics. She was looking everywhere - up, right, and left - but down. “I thought I’d help you scrub your back.”
Lois looked to where his hands were still bracing her arms with disdain. She didn’t know how the hell he could have snuck up on her like that. Seeing his grin reappear, she decided that she’d had too much and stepped out of the tub, splashing water everywhere.
Clark reached behind him and turned off the water. As he followed her out of the shower, a towel hit him in the face. He laughed and wrapped it around his waist. They both stood facing each other dripping.
“We don’t take showers?”
“Oh, we take showers,” Lois sputtered. “Separate showers!”
“You still have soap on you…” he informed her, reaching out to show her where she’d missed.
“It’s okay,” she replied, taking a small step back. She couldn’t turn around because the shirt she was clutching only covered her front. “It’s just soap.”
Clark was perplexed with her reaction. He was pretty sure that they did more than take showers. The closet in his bedroom was divided into space for both of their clothes for one thing, and there was an eye-mask on the table next to one side of the bed. He was pretty sure that the blue mask decorated with lace and glitter wasn’t his.
“You don’t have anything to be ashamed of,” he told her. “You’re beautiful.” His eyes took on a mischievous glint. “I especially like the butterfly.”
Lois silently screamed. She had forgotten that there was mirror behind her. “Clark… could you step outside so I can get dressed?”
He nodded disappointedly. “I’m sorry that I startled you.”
Lois thought about his dejected expression as the bathroom door closed behind him. The doctor had said something about Clark needing to put things in place on his own, but she couldn’t see how his confusion was helping anything.
After dressing and attempting to restore some type of order to the bathroom, she went into the bedroom. She looked around warily; she was still a little shell shocked from the way he had popped up behind her before.
“So, what do you want to do?”
Lois jumped as Clark appeared from the other side of the bed. “I… what were… Um, I’m going to go to bed. What were you doing?”
“Push-ups,” he replied as if was what he did every night. Looking at his build, Lois realized that it just might be. “I had some pent up energy.”
Lois forced a smile and released a nervous laugh. He was so not good at subtlety. “Okay, well, now that you’re good and tired…” She waved a hand toward the door.
Clark’s grin widened. “You mean I don’t get to shower with you or sleep with you?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
Lois coughed. “Beca… because this is your parent’s house.”
“They’re not here.”
Her mouth dropped open at his forwardness. This whole situation had her unsettled. He was not acting like himself and it was disconcerting. “They could be… they could come home at any minute.”
“You said that they would be gone for a couple of days.”
One of her eyes twitched briefly. She wished that his amnesia would have affected his short-term memory instead. “Okay, here’s the deal: I don’t get any sleep when you’re in the bed so you sleep on the couch. You kick… and flail. The snoring is unbearable.”
“Good try. I know the real reason.” Clark smiled and stepped closer.
“You do?”
He nodded and smirked. “We’re waiting. If we’re going to make it to the wedding night we have to avoid tight spots. I get it.”
Lois’s eyes popped. He wasn’t amnesiac, he was delusional. “You sleep on the couch,” she repeated, grabbing a pillow from the bed and tossing it at him.
He laughed as he caught the pillow and moved forward. “No Good Night kiss? That can’t be against the rules.”
Lois kept him at bay with a Heisman stiff-arm to the chest. “You’re not yourself. I wouldn’t feel right about… taking advantage of you like this,” she told him, fighting to keep the smugness out of her voice.
Clark leaned against the door jamb as Lois retreated, thinking about her words. Had he been in his right mind, he would have recognized her tone of voice and realized that she was placating him. But, he wasn’t in his right mind - or his left mind for that matter - so he listened to her words and thought she was genuinely concerned.
“It’s scary to me too,” he stated flatly. “Nothing is familiar to me except you. I guess that’s why I want to stay close.”
Lois groaned internally. “Listen, Smallville, I’m not so sure you should trust that head of yours…”
He smiled at her use of the nickname. She had corrected herself earlier after he’d asked if it was a pet name. Her use of it now made meant that she was relaxing. “I can trust what I know about us and I can prove it. I remember the day we met.”
She chuckled. “I doubt that. You don’t even know your middle name.”
“You almost ran me over with your car.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Lucky guess.”
“You meet a lot of guys that way?” he asked, laughing at her expression. “Well, I remember that I was naked, and you liked what you saw.”
“I did not… look,” she finished lamely, adding the last part when he looked at her skeptically. She cleared her throat. “…I didn’t see a thing.”
Clark grinned at her obvious attempt at covering. “Well, I liked what I saw.”
Lois scoffed.
“I did,” he insisted. “You were flustered. It was cute. You made me feel safe. Like now.”
Lois started to run a hand through her hair but stopped when her fingers got tangled in the damp strands. Clark’s recollection of that day made her mind go back as well. That had been before the plaid… before learning who he was… before he became off-limits.
It also brought back the fact that she had, in fact, looked. Twice.
Since then, she had tucked him neatly away into the friend category, which had been quite easy to do once she’d gotten to know him. He’d always seemed to be a flight risk, which was why she took pleasure in keeping him on his toes. It was her job to help him get over himself.
Only now, he wasn’t the one that was rattled.
And he wasn’t himself.
Clark took her lack of response to be disbelief. “I felt that you were totally out of my league. I’m just glad I was wrong.”
Okay, enough. She was going to end this charade before she started to believe him.
“Clark, listen…” Lois was interrupted when her cell phone began ringing. From the sound of the ringtone, she knew who was calling.
Her cousin had impeccable timing.