Author’s Note: I began this story in response to a ficathon assignment back in December 2009. (Yes, 2009!) I got it maybe 2/3 finished, then I started a new job which took all my free time and had to put the story on hold. I pulled it out every so often for the next couple years, making some progress, but then I changed jobs again, which once again required it to be put on the back burner. I honestly figured it would never get finished, but this past spring, the fundraising efforts for the L&C Fanfic Message Boards got me thinking about L&C again, and this time, I amazed myself by actually completing it. Of course, I have to appreciate the irony of, after taking 4 ½ years to finish a Christmas story, I finally wrapped it up in the spring and had to wait 7 months to actually post it. 
I hope you find it worth the wait. 
As a Christmas story, don’t expect any a-plot or bad guys. It’s just what I hope will be a fun, funny, romantic journey for our two favorite people.
My heartfelt thanks to Brenda, Corrina, and Erin for their encouragement and editing help over the years that it took to finish this! -- Kathy *****
Winter Wonderland
By Kathy Brown
Rated PG
Part 1/5
*****
The jingle of sleigh bells cut through the silence of the darkened bedroom. “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!”
Clark Kent opened one eye to squint at the jolly, heavy-set man standing next to his bed. “You know, when I was a kid, you used to do that outside my window.”
The man laughed, causing the bells he wore around his neck to jingle again. “I was a lot younger when you were a kid. Besides, there’s a foot of snow out there. I decided I could wake you up and stay warm at the same time.”
Clark grinned. “Merry Christmas, Dad.”
“Merry Christmas, son. Your mother is already busy in the kitchen, so you better hurry if you want breakfast.”
Clark inhaled, already savoring the delicious smells of their annual Christmas breakfast as he pushed back the covers. “Are you kidding? I’ve been dreaming of her cinnamon rolls for months!”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate hearing that,” Jonathan said, chuckling as he left the room and heading back down the stairs. He shook his bell-covered harness again as he entered the kitchen. “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!”
Clark laughed as his mother’s “Oh, Jonathan!” reached his ears, and he pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater before heading downstairs to join them.
Martha set a steaming mug of coffee in front of him as he slid into his place at the table and kissed his cheek. “Merry Christmas, honey.”
“Merry Christmas, Mom. Sorry I overslept.”
“You’re fine. I just pulled the rolls out of the oven. Besides, you were probably pretty busy last night, what with all the snow.”
Clark took a hearty sip of his coffee. “I was in Des Moines for a while helping to put out a warehouse fire, but beyond that, it wasn’t too bad. Rescued a bunch of motorists who got caught out on the interstate when the Highway Patrol closed it down, cleared a few ice jams in the river, little stuff like that. I think the holiday has helped; people are staying home.”
Martha placed a large bowl of scrambled eggs next to the rolls and joined her family at the table. Her eyes were twinkling as she watched Clark fill his plate. “Speaking of staying home … how was your evening with Lois last night?”
Clark smiled, completely unable to keep the sappy look off his face. After he and Lois had wrapped up the Space Rat story, he’d delayed his trip home to be with his parents on Christmas Eve to have dinner with his partner … and had ended up staying until well after midnight. “It was absolutely wonderful.”
“What did you two do?”
“We ate the great dinner she made, cleaned up, then took our wine to the couch and talked for hours. I know it doesn’t sound like anything special, but …”
“But it was special because you were together,” Martha finished gently.
Clark gave a contented sigh, lost in the memories. “Yeah.”
“I’m sure she was happy to have you there, son,” Jonathan said.
“I think so, Dad. I mean, I know she was happy to have company, but ... it just felt different this time. Like maybe … maybe she’s starting to feel the same things for me that I’ve been feeling for her for so long.”
“Well, you’ll be back in Metropolis in a few days,” Martha encouraged. “Maybe you can ask her out for New Year’s Eve.”
Clark sat back in his chair, a smile growing on his face as a plan took shape in his mind. “Actually, Mom, I might have an even better idea …”
*****
Lois Lane glanced at the phone on her desk for the countless time and then forced her eyes back to her computer screen as she continued her internal battle. It was a little past ten o’clock, and she still couldn’t decide just how early was too early to call someone on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, willing time to move faster didn’t seem to be doing any good.
It wasn’t that she particularly minded working on Christmas Day. The newsroom was always quiet and the typical lack of hard news stories gave her time to get ahead on the stories she never seemed to be able to finish before the last minute during a regular work day. Besides, working was what she
did and if her spending the holiday in the newsroom allowed other people – Perry, Clark, and, well, pretty much anyone with a family that wasn’t completely dysfunctional – to spend time with the people they cared about, it was a worthwhile trade. It was her own private nod to getting in the Christmas spirit. Even if publicly, she always insisted it was about the extra vacation days she’d be able to take later in the week.
Usually she didn’t have this much trouble concentrating on her stories, though. If things didn’t improve, she’d have little to show for her ‘catch-up day’. All she’d managed to do so far was focus on one thing, or should she say, one person. One very handsome, sweet, amazing person. And unlike the usual object of her affection, this one didn’t fly around in a brightly colored cape.
Of course, if she were being honest with herself, this wasn’t the first time Lois’s partner had consumed her thoughts so completely. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but over the last few months, she’d found herself thinking about him a lot … and in a very different way than in the past. While for months she’d been able to keep Clark Kent locked in that little corner of her heart labeled “friendship only”, it was becoming increasingly apparent that he’d already begun occupying a much larger space. And after spending Christmas Eve with him last night and getting a glimpse of how things could be between them if she’d only let him in, she was finding it completely impossible to want things to go back to the way they were.
Lois bit her lip as her gaze flickered to the television screen that was always on in the newsroom. The LNN anchor was finally winding down the lead story of the hour – the blizzard that had swept through the Central Plains overnight. In fact, the cable news stations had been able to talk of little else on this otherwise slow news Christmas morning. Much of Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa were under several inches of snow, with more predicted to fall. It was truly a white Christmas for those who lived there.
Lois had been more than a little worried when she’d come into the newsroom early that morning and learned of the snow. After all, Clark’s parents had just left Metropolis yesterday afternoon on their way back to Smallville and any delays would have put them right in the middle of the storm. Fortunately, a little investigative work had assured her that their flight had made it safely to Wichita before the airport had closed. She only hoped that they’d been able to complete the drive home to Smallville before the roads got too slippery.
Of course, this meant that Clark was now stuck in Metropolis, since all flights to Kansas had been cancelled. She felt a little guilty that his willingness to delay his plans with his family was now making him forgo those plans altogether. But she planned to make it up to him … and the first step of that plan was to resist the temptation to call him too early in case he was trying to sleep in.
But she had a refrigerator full of leftovers from last night’s dinner, and she knew just the right person to come over and help her eat them. It would certainly make the day go faster, knowing she was going to meet Clark at her apartment for lunch. And maybe she’d even be able to convince him to join her in the newsroom for the afternoon if he didn’t have any other plans … and then maybe they could spend the evening together again, too. She smiled just thinking about it.
The jangle of her phone interrupted her thoughts and Lois absently reached for the handset, trying to force her mind back to her work. “Daily Planet, Lois Lane.”
“Merry Christmas, Lois,” a warm voice replied.
Lois sat up straight in her chair, unable to stop the grin that was forming on her face. “Merry Christmas, Clark! I was just thinking about you!”
“You were?”
“Yeah … I was going to invite you over to lunch at my apartment today.”
He laughed, and she suddenly felt very warm inside. “That’s interesting because I was going to invite you over to dinner at my parents’ house tonight.”
Lois opened her mouth to respond, and then closed it again in confusion as his words filtered. “Wait a minute … where are you?”
“In Smallville.”
“Oh,” she said in a little voice, trying not to sound too disappointed. “I thought you were in Metropolis. How did you get to Smallville? I thought all the airports were closed because of the storm.”
Clark hesitated. “I … came with Superman. I ran into him last night after I left your place, and he offered to fly me here.” Then he continued quickly, his voice growing more animated. “But that’s actually why I’m calling. How late are you working tonight?”
“I don’t know; it’s pretty quiet. I should be able to skip out by five o’clock, unless something big hits. Why?”
“Because Superman would be happy to fly you out to Smallville, too. I know you’ve got the next few days off, so I was hoping you might come for dinner, and if you wanted, maybe even make a little vacation out of it. I’ve already talked to my parents, and they’d love to have you for as long as you’re able to stay.”
“Oh, Clark … it’s your family Christmas. I don’t want to impose.”
“You would absolutely not be imposing,” he promised. Then his voice softened, the sound of it making her stomach do a little flip. “I just had a really great time with you last night, Lois, and I guess I was hoping … well, that you might be willing to spend the rest of the holiday with me and my family.”
“You were?” she whispered, feeling a little breathless.
“I was. So will you come?” he asked hopefully. “Please?”
Lois hesitated, but it didn’t take her long to make up her mind. “OK.” She gave a delighted little laugh. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Really? Great!”
“What time should I be ready?”
“You tell me, and I’ll make sure Superman is there to get you.”
Lois laughed, her heart feeling so much lighter than it had just a few minutes before. “You give Superman his marching orders now, huh?” she teased. “You tell him where to be and he just shows up?”
Clark chuckled low in his throat. “Let’s just say he owes me a favor.”
“And you’re spending it on me?” Her voice was beginning to match his, low and flirty, but Lois just couldn’t find it in herself to stop.
“Are you kidding? That’s the best way to spend it.”
Lois blushed at the intimate tone of his voice and ducked her head, suddenly glad he couldn’t see her. If the mere sound of his voice could do this to her, what was she going to do when they were face to face? “How about six-thirty? Think he could be at my apartment by then?”
“I will do my best to make it happen,” he promised. “Can you stay for a couple days or just for dinner? I’m staying through Tuesday evening, but Superman could take you home earlier than that, if you need him to.”
Lois chewed on her lip for a moment, then threw caution to the wind. “Oh, what the heck; I’ll stay through Tuesday, too. I didn’t have anything planned for my vacation time, anyway. And it might be fun.”
“Might be fun? There’s over a foot of snow outside, Lois. It’s gorgeous! Currier and Ives, right outside my window!”
She laughed, getting caught up in his enthusiasm. “I guess that means I need to dig out my snow boots, huh?”
“I would highly recommend it. But just bring what you have and don’t worry about what you don’t. Anything you’re missing, you can borrow from my mom. We’re well equipped to deal with the weather out here.”
“All right, then,” she agreed. “I guess I’ll see you this evening.”
“Great. I’ll see you at six-thirty.”
“Right. Well, I’ll see Superman at six-thirty. You, I’ll see after he drops me off.”
Clark blew out a slow breath before answering. “Right.”
“Good-bye, Clark.”
“Bye, Lois. See you soon.”
*****
At quarter to seven that evening, Lois found herself rushing around her bedroom, trying to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything important as she packed for Smallville. For all Clark’s joking that he could arrange Superman’s schedule, it was just as well her favorite superhero was late in picking her up. Her day in the newsroom had been ridiculously slow … until she’d managed to pry additional information about the Space Rat case from one of her police sources a mere twenty minutes before she’d intended to leave for the day. She was proud of herself for getting the follow-up story to the night editor before deadline, but the extra hour-plus in the newsroom meant that she was a lot less relaxed in her packing than she would have been otherwise.
Taking a deep breath, Lois surveyed the contents of her suitcase and mentally checked off everything she needed for a few days away: jeans, sweaters, pajamas, underwear, warm socks, slippers, plus her make-up and toiletry case. She’d dug out her boots, hat, and warmest gloves from the closet when she’d come home for a quick lunch of turkey leftovers, and they were now laid out next to the couch with her coat, waiting for her “ride” to arrive. Lois smiled as she zipped up her suitcase; hopefully Superman didn’t mind being used as a taxi service, even if she and Clark were two of his closest friends.
A whoosh and the sound of boots landing on her living room floor reached her ears just as she heard a voice tentatively call her name. “Lois?”
“I’ll be right out, Superman!” She quickly picked up her bag and carried it into the living room.
Superman looked a little distracted, but he returned her friendly smile when she entered the room. “Sorry I’m late. A cargo train derailed in Wisconsin and I didn’t want to leave until I was sure the response crews had everything under control.”
“No, no, you’re fine,” Lois assured him. “I was running late myself, so the extra time was helpful. Let me just get bundled up and we can go. Clark says there’s a foot of snow on the ground in Smallville.”
“I think even more fell this afternoon,” he replied as she slipped her boots over her thick wool socks. “I’m surprised there haven’t been more problems, but I’m certainly glad to not be needed.”
Lois buttoned up her coat, and then reached for her hat and gloves. “Must be the holiday. People probably knew the storm was coming and just decided to stay home.” When she turned around, she noticed that Superman was admiring the little star on her tree. “Thank you for that,” she said sincerely. “Clark told me that it was a present from both of you.”
His smile was warm as he glanced back at her. “You’re very welcome. It looks great on your tree.”
“It’s perfect; I love it. And I really appreciate your being willing to fly me to Smallville, too. I don’t … well, I don’t usually get to see my family over the holidays, so getting to visit Clark’s …” She trailed off, a little embarrassed. “Anyway, thank you for taking me.”
“It’s my pleasure, Lois,” he said softly. “Are you ready to go?”
“Ready,” she agreed, picking up her bag as Superman scooped her up in his arms. A moment later, they were outside her window, hovering a moment while he closed it, and then shooting up into the sky.
They lapsed into silence as they began to fly west, and Lois took the opportunity to watch the twinkling lights below them. “It’s really beautiful up here tonight,” she sighed contentedly. “I can see for miles.”
“I’d offer to take the scenic route,” Superman replied, “but we’ll be running into cloud cover pretty soon. There’s more snow in the forecast for the Midwest.”
“No, that’s OK. I’d hate to make the Kents wait dinner on me. Besides, you’re already being so generous by taking me there; I don’t want to impose on you any longer than necessary.”
“You’re never an imposition, Lois.”
She smiled. “That’s just what Clark said.”
“Well, then I guess it must be true,” he replied lightly. “Are you warm enough? I’m moving a little faster than I usually do when I fly with you, but I can slow down if it’s bothering you.”
“No, I’m fine,” she assured him, trying not to shiver as she hugged her bag more closely to her chest and tucked her head under his chin. “I guess the warm clothing is coming in handy for the trip, too, and not just the snow once I get there.”
Superman held her a little closer, even as he craned his head to look through the thick clouds beneath them. “Sorry. I’m trying to keep us above the storm, which doesn’t help with the temperature. We’re almost there, though, so you’ll be able to warm up soon.”
Lois smiled in anticipation, but it slowly faded as another thought presented itself. “I feel a little guilty that I didn’t get Clark anything for Christmas,” she confessed. “He gave up Christmas Eve with his parents just to keep me company, and now he’s invited me to visit for a few days. I just wish there was something I could do to show him how much he means to me.”
Superman didn’t respond for a long moment, but as they made their descent through the clouds, she could have sworn that he sounded a little choked up when he finally spoke. “Lois, I think it’s safe to say that spending time with you is the best Christmas present Clark could ever get.”
*****
