Chapter Text
Clark was in a bit of a pickle, to say the least.
He had unceremoniously left the Daily Planet half an hour earlier for an... emergency. In that, some criminals got their hands on dangerous tech for a bank heist in downtown Metropolis. That tech took advantage of a solar flare that Lex Luthor conveniently predicted about a week before. This whole thing had his name written all over it.
Thankfully, Superman came to the rescue, but Clark Kent was still on the clock. Thus, Clark had to get back to the Planet ASAP.
He desperately needed an excuse for his absence. He could tell Perry that he was first on the scene, maybe that he got another Superman exclusive? It was public knowledge by then that he was Superman's favorite journalist. Still, that wouldn't work. How could Clark Kent have known about a crime happening halfway across Metropolis?
Maybe a family emergency? No, he'd never call anything down on Ma and Pa, that'd be disrespectful and dishonest. He could call in sick? Maybe say it was the new restaurant they went to for lunch that day? No, that would risk getting the restaurant in trouble, and also would be dishonest. What should he say?
"-ark... Clark?" A familiar voice came from in front of him. His ever curious coworker turned girlfriend, Lois Lane.
"Lois!” He yelped. “I mean- Lois, hey!" Good going, Kent.
"Are you ok? You ran out earlier," Her questioning tone sent Clark a twinge of guilt. He was expecting her to give him one of her signature ‘Lois Looks’ and a quip about how he was `skipping work’. He guessed he didn't know her as well as he thought. Their relationship was still new, after all.
"Sorry about that, Lo."
She looked around a bit before gently pulling him down by the tie, brows furrowed. "You know you can tell me what's going on, right? If someone did something to you-"
"Lois," He rested his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders, "I'm fine, I promise."
Lois gave him an exasperated sigh as she let go of his now wrinkled tie. The back door he had entered through led to one of the Planet's storage rooms. It was still and dusty in there, he didn't want Lois getting sick.
"Let's go back?" He pointed in the direction of the main hall.
"Let's go back."
On the way, Lois stopped for a moment. "By the way, Clark. Were you outside earlier?" She asked, still facing the main hall. Her tone gave nothing away.
"No..?" Clark trailed off. Clearly the wrong answer, judging by Lois' cold hand on his forehead. A hand that was quickly withdrawn with a hiss after touching him.
"I knew it! You have a fever. You’re so red… If you weren't in the sun- actually even if you were, this is insanely high-" She rambled on, fussing over him.
Let it be known, Lois Lane is not a worrier, meaning Clark must have looked pretty darn sick.
"Lois, I'm alright! I told you." Clark pleaded as she dragged him along past their coworkers to Perry White's office. "It's just- Hay fever!" Good going again, Kent. Really on a roll here. Hay fever? That's the best he could come up with?
"Hay fever? Really, Clark? That's the best you could come up with? You're burning up!" She scolded. Under her current upset mood, he could tell she was seriously worried.
“Clark, I know you, if you think you can still work like this, you're wrong. I'm taking you home.” That was final, he could tell.
She took his hand and started leading him out of the storage room. He let himself be led, it was clear nothing he said would convince her that he wasn't sick. That, and it distracted from his mysterious absence.
At this point, Lois was marching through the main area of the Planet, the writing hall, with a very red Clark in tow. On the way to Perry White's office, he caught a glimpse of his close friend Jimmy looking in his direction with moderate concern. He gave him a thumbs up. Jimmy looked at him in slight disbelief before turning back to his computer to work.
Lois opened Perry's door with barely controlled force.
"Lane, I thought I told you not to-" The man started. Lois pushed Clark over to him. Clark, once more, let himself be pushed. His conscience was already beating him up for lying to Lois (Superman is a different story). He just hoped that Perry would send him back to work again, maybe let him off with a warning about running off without proper explanation.
"I'm taking him home, he's got Hay fever." Her statement left no room for arguments. Lois’ voice was actually quite calm, he guessed it was the journalist in her.
Perry scrutinized Clark for just about 3 seconds. "He looks fine to me. Now, if you would-"
"Touch his face."
Perry leveled her with an unimpressed look, before placing the back of his hand on Clark's cheek. Needless to say, he gave the same reaction as she did. Unfortunately for Clark, Perry actually looked like he was considering sending him home. This never happens. Not with Clark, because he's never sick.
"Go ahead. " He conceded after a minute of consideration. From the corner of his eye, Clark could see Lois's body relax minutely. As they left the room, Perry called after him sternly. "And don't come back here tomorrow with that fever, Kent!"
This was going well. Now his girlfriend, his boss, and probably the whole Daily Planet thinks he's got Hay fever. He didn't want to lie to them, he didn't even know the symptoms of hay fever. Oh gosh, the temperature was probably because of overexposure to the sun via solar flare. That's why he felt stronger earlier.
He groaned in the passenger seat, agonizing over the situation. It was unavoidable, really. There's no excuse he could have given Lois to ease her concern, and there was no way he could just- let the heist happen. No way.
They were on the road for nearly twenty minutes when Clark noticed something off.
"Lo, we just passed my apartment. Where are we-" He started, slowly turning to his girlfriend, who hadn't spoken to him since before she spoke with Perry.
"Mine. Do you really think I'm letting you stay home alone with a fever that high? You're lucky I'm not taking you to the hospital." She scolded him sternly. With the way she'd been looking at Clark, he felt like she was the one with laser vision.
Somehow, at his stature, he was still able to shrink further into his seat as he quietly told her the truth. "I just run hot..."
"Clark Kent, do not insult my intelligence." Was her warning as they pulled into her parking space. She wasn't dragging him around anymore, she knew she didn't need to at this point. Clark had already accepted his fate.
Ever quick, she led him to the elevator, checking his temperature on the way there. The couple got in and began their ascent to the 11th floor.
"I should have a thermometer in the bathroom." The brunette mumbled to herself as they waited.
Clark was sweating bullets by the time they got in, literally and figuratively. Lois had already sat him down on the sofa and gone for a thermometer. All he knew was that Lois was dangerously close to finding out he was Superman.
‘Why?’ you might ask. Aside from the deadly fever, Clark was also an abysmal liar. You'd think he was good at it, considering the 3 years he'd been Superman-ning so far. In reality, Clark just avoided situations where he needed to lie. And when he did, it was usually brushed off because ‘Clark Kent? There's no way that guy's Superman,’ was the Planet's general consensus.
Clark couldn't lie to Lois, not in this state.
Reentering the living room, Lois held a thermometer in one hand and a cold, damp rag in the other.
“We need to get your temp down.” She pointed the thermometer at her boyfriend, “Open your mouth.” She didn't actually wait until he did. She kind of just, shoved the thing in his mouth.
“How are you feeling?” She questioned him after a few moments.
“Mmff ffn-” Clark started, before she took the thermometer back out of his mouth.
“I'm fine! I swear, Lo just let me explain,” He started, mind running a million miles an hour, trying to think of something to say.
“106°? Clark, we need to go to the hospital. Now.” She was definitely panicking now.
“Lo!” He begged. She was definitely spiraling, understandably so. He just wished she'd hear him out.
“No, no, you're not distracting me now. You shouldn't be able to think,”
“Lois, I'm Superman.” Good going, Kent. Good going.