A stiffening jolt of fear lanced through Clark as he looked around remembered where he was and knew now was the time to speak. “My only agenda is to build a committed relationship with you based on trust, because I trust you with my life … my heart and my greatest secret.”
She leaned forward. “Secret?”
He took her small hands in his, leaned over and a tiny puff of air passed seductively over her cheek when he whispered tenderly in her ear, “I am the Man of Steel … Superman.”
Lois gasped, pulled back and without a word, gently removed his glasses and with one trembling hand, smoothed back the ebony locks of hair that always lay across his forehead. Doe-shaped brown eyes looked over his features and the realization of his words were suddenly mirrored in the shock of her expression.
“Clark … I suspected … but thought the idea was impossible.”
He gave her a lopsided grin and said, “Over the past year or so, I’ve learned that nothing is impossible.”
She was about to say something more when the PA system went on:
All passengers for Alieanor Airlines Flight 1077 bound for London will commence boarding at Gate 31 in ten minutes.
They looked at each other. This was the defining moment which could send them on a lifetime path together or a single wrong word could propel them spinning away from each other on a wholly separate trajectories.
Clark refused to allow that to come to pass, Lois had lost so much trust; first with Paul and then with Claude. Giving her this information … this dangerous gift was the best way for her to know how much he trusted her.
“Lois …?”
Tears started rolling down her cheeks and through the watery mist she could hears his words coming out in a torrent, the usual deep rumble was more of a stammering babble. “I… I should have told you sooner! Please, I have to ask your forgiveness. We… were in the middle of the investigation and I wanted to talk right after the Daae press conference, but you wanted to wait! Lois, honey, please… say something!” In the midst of this wild confession, he took her hands again and held them as if both their lives depended on it.
She took in a shuttering breath. This was the most physically powerful individual on the planet and he was begging for her forgiveness? How could that be possible? This had to stop immediately.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks she whispered, “Clark, it’s okay. I’m a little angry with you for not telling me sooner, but I’m relieved to know what really happened between you and Lana. You’re right we should have talked sooner. Friday night was a serious case of incredibly bad timing. If I hadn’t spent so much time at the Third Street Market looking for just the right ingredients to cook dinner I could have been at your place a lot sooner and when Mrs. Daae showed up, we as a couple could have nicely asked her to leave.”
“Oh? Why do I get the feeling that nicely is not the word you really want to use?” He asked with a tiny hint of amusement.
“I No …we together can be very nice.”
He released the breath he did not realize he was holding. “Yes. Together, because that is what couples do.”
The shadow of a smile touched Lois’ lips. “So it is official? We are a couple?”
With a slow nod he said. “Yes. Sharing a life with you is what I want more than anything.”
“I want the same, a commitment to you.” She sighed, gazing so lovingly into Clark’s gentle brown eyes and saw true love, shining and eternal in there depths. Tears of sheer joy sprang into her eyes and spilled down like drops of refreshing dew.
He took her face in his hands and gently wiped the moisture off her cheeks. His voice returned to the gentle, sexy rumble she remembered that from ill-fated night in her apartment and chills raced through her body as she heard it again. Suddenly she was very much aware of the handsome man sitting so close, the scent of his cologne, the warmth and concern in those beautiful, soulful eyes.
“Yes. Now there is something else couples do …” Clark Kent leaned over and touched his lips to hers, softly at first, then she opened to him and the kiss went on for tender moments; the thrill of wanting, of tingling emotions and jittery nerves all blended and stirred into a spicy cocktail of sheer bliss. This was the way each imagined a sharing a kiss could be; without reluctance and hesitation, the reality was far richer than a fragile fantasy.
With the greatest unwillingness, they separated, yet eyes were locked, eager for their lips to meet again.
All passengers for Alieanor Airlines Flight 1077 bound for London will commence boarding at Gate 31 in five minutes.
Suddenly, Lois’ eyes grew wide with alarm. “My luggage!”
“What?”
“My luggage! It’s aboard the plane. There’s no need for me to go to London. I’m not leaving my boyfriend behind, not when we just got together. But we have to get my luggage, some of my best outfits are in there!”
Clark whispered in her ear, “Lois, calm down, I can fly us there, we can have dinner at a local pub. The Princess Louise should be open by now, it’s a great place for intimate conversation, especially in the early afternoon. It’s a Classic historic pub with vintage glass, mirrors and cubicles that will make you feels like you've stepped back in time. When the plane arrives, we can go to Heathrow and pick up your luggage.”
She pulled back and looked at him. “Being with you is going to make my life very different isn’t it? Are there any places we can’t explore?”
He gave a wide grin. “None that I can think of. The only problem might be not getting the scoop on international events. People would want to know how we could be in those places when we are supposed to be here.”
They looked at each other remembering their jobs and a certain Senior Editor and suddenly they groaned.
“Oh Clark, Perry thinks you dumped me for Lana. He is so angry with you right now.”
He ran his fingers through thick black hair, he hesitated and said. “I gathered as much when Catherine and I talked. He …he threatened to fire me.”
“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have told him! But at the time …”
He squeezed her hand, “No, don’t worry, he didn’t, but the bullpen staff was sure shaken up! We can explain everything to him when we come in to work tomorrow.”
A smile tugged at Lois mouth. “Yes, its best we explain to Catherine and Perry at the same time. After all, when she and Arthur come back from Fiji after their honeymoon, she’s going to be our boss.”
“Come again? Fiji? Who is going to be our boss?” Clark asked, his mouth hanging open in surprise like a fish freshly plucked from the water.
His partner proceeded to explain what had happened in the newsroom on Friday night after they had gone. Needless to say, Clark was genuinely surprised.
“So, the bullpen is going to be run by Catherine. After all is said and done, she is the perfect person for the job. But what about Arthur? He’s going to move here?”
“Yes. Apparently Lex Luthor has asked him to be his partner with the Space Station Prometheus coverage. Considering that Lex is going to be ‘busy’ for the foreseeable future, it’s a good bet that Arthur will be handling everything. Since the Senior Editor is his wife …”
“The Daily Planet will have the inside edge on everything that’s going on up there!”
“Exactly! Oh, I would give anything to be the fly on the wall when Lex hears about that! He was so smug about newspapers covering the construction of the space station when I interviewed him!” A pleasant smile spread across her lips. “The next few days are going to be so exciting!”
“Isn’t the possibility of a Pulitzer exciting enough?” Clark said with a twinkle in his eye.
Lois sat still for a moment, then gave Clark’s hand a squeeze. “Not so long ago, even having my name mentioned in a sentence with Pulitzer Prize was more than enough for me. But now sharing my life with you gives my life a meaning and richness I never knew existed. Come on let’s go. I suddenly have a taste for fish and chips!”
They stood up. Lois picked up her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. “I exchanged my dollars for pounds, so dinner is on me.”
A deep chuckle escaped his throat. “When I take a lady out, it’s first class. I pay.”
“Nothing doing buddy, besides, transportation is your part of the deal!” They laughed, appreciating this new way of doing things, of sharing life.
They walked for a little ways, weaving easily through the crowds, looking for the exit. Clark grew silent, than he said tentatively.
“There is so much to tell you, a great deal is exciting. Some of it is going to seem rather fantastic. For one thing, we have met or at least saw each other years before, when Larkin Airport was closed down by a blizzard.”
She snapped her fingers. “I thought that was you! For the longest time until today I could never remember. By the way, who is your friend with the bowler hat? Someone should tell him we are on the edge of entering the Twenty-First century, he looks like he’s dressed for the Nineteenth.” Suddenly, she stopped, her face grew very still and said. “If you were with me at the museum, who flew Lex Luthor to the hospital?”
Clark said very carefully. “That – that is a very close friend of mine and the Woman in Red who attacked Tempus is his wife. There’s also someone else. The man in the old fashioned clothes, that’s Mr. Wells. They are all very anxious to meet you. Maybe we can get together at my place tomorrow and have dinner?”
“These are friends from your past?”
“Yes. Most definitely the past, but the present and future as well. You’re going to like them as much as I do.” Clark said, the expression of his face a very odd one.
“All right, what is it about them that makes them so special?”
With that odd smile, he replied, “He is like my twin brother and she is like your twin sister.”
Uncomprehending, Lois said, quizzically, “But, I don’t have a twin sister. I just have Lucy.”
“It will take some explaining. It all started in the past, my past when I received an offer I just couldn’t refuse.”
Shaking her head in amusement, Lois said. “Kansas, nobody has as many secrets as you do! Speaking of the past, my Aunt Rita says the three agents Daae was supposed to have killed have re-surfaced.”
Intrigued, he cocked an eyebrow and said. “Really? Where have they been all these years?”
“That’s just the thing. Aunt Rita’s not completely certain it is them. Because, if it is, they haven’t aged since the day they disappeared. The Swiss government and Rita have requested we not look into it, still I was thinking, since we have an easy form of transportation. We could go to Zurich say and poke around? Ask a few questions? Unofficially of course!”
He knew where this line of reasoning was going, Lois Lane was hot on the trail of story. A mystery nearly two decades old. “Uh huh. The story won’t end up in Perry’s computer? Especially since the Swiss government is asking us not to get involved?”
Lois’ face was a study of pure innocence. “No. I was thinking it could be part of the Kent/Lane… family chronicles. Besides, I’ve been wanting to get a new watch. Maybe while we are in Zurich I could pick one up?”
“We can also get some jewelry while we’re there.” He said with knowing smile.
“Really? What kind?” Lois asked in a silken voice.
“Let’s talk about it when we get there.”
“Okay.” She gave him a sly smile and said playfully. “Say, since we can travel anywhere, what plans do you have for our honeymoon?”
With an arched eyebrow, he replied, “I know this little island. It’s off the major shipping lanes, uninhabited and clothing is optional.”
She closed her eyes and sighed dreamily. “Sounds perfect.”
“Somehow I get the sense that life with Lois Lane is going to be anything, but boring.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a tiny squeeze, hearing the sound of their children’s laughter in her voice.
Again those passing by them in the concourse thought this young couple was drinking in the joy of being together after so long apart. But no, this was a fresh, tantalizing union of something special and new. There would be questions to answer and many long talks, yet for now there was this touching and sharing and joining of hearts and minds.
Not so far away, a man in a bowler hat looked at Lois Lane and Clark Kent, consulted his watch, smiled and walked with a jaunty stride down the concourse. He was soon joined by a man and woman who looked remarkably familiar to the couple going in the opposite direction.
The End
Last edited by Morgana; 11/20/22 10:31 PM. Reason: Editorial changes
