The Green, Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker style 5/10
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
A little later, Lois was eating a caramel apple and hanging on Clark's arm as they wandered around a bit talking of inconsequential things and laughing frequently. Finally they were approaching the test of strength booth that Clark had failed at so miserably earlier in the day.
With a look of pure orneriness, Lois said, "Okay, Clark, let's make this a day to remember," and pulling out a ticket, she handed it to the barker. In return the barker handed the hammer to Clark. Lois said, "Here you go, sir," as she handed him the ticket
Clark looked at Lois and then at the hammer and said, "Oh, no! You know I didn't do well with this earlier."
Lois was strongly convinced that things would turn out differently this time; in fact she was sure of it so she encouraged him, "Come on, Clark. It's only a ticket. What do you have to lose? Give it a shot."
Her encouragement helped him overcome his fears and he hefted the hammer. It was still something of a struggle for him to wield it. The result however was encouraging. As they watched, the weight climbed to 'Better Luck Next Time' and kept going, pausing at the 'Hercules' level before falling back down. The realization that he had spent most of the day in the sun hit him and encouraged him.
Lois was clapping enthusiastically at his performance and with that encouragement he pulled another ticket from his back pocket and as he handed it to the barker said, "Can I try that again?"
He took a good wind-up and whacked the pedal a good stroke. The weight passed 'Hercules' and reduced the distance between that and 'Superman' by half.
Lois pulled out another ticket and as she was handing it to the barker and in a upbeat tone said, "Okay, that was very close. One more," and she handed the barker another ticket.
A swing and a grunt and this time the weight traveled the distance and with a loud ‘clang' rang the bell! Clark was surprised and pleased. <My strength must be returning.> Dropping the hammer, he threw his arms up in victory.
Lois squealed in delight and jumping up and down, clapped her hands. She shouted, "I knew you could do it!" and running to him threw her arms around his neck. <I did know he could do it, but how?> "You did it!"
The next thing that happened was an even bigger surprise to Clark. The barker picked up two toys, a Superman doll and a black and white Teddy Bear with a red ribbon around his neck. He said, "You get your choice."
Clark was chagrined at the choices she was being offered and deep down in his gut he was sure he knew what her choice would be. Her infatuation with his alter ego made the choice almost certain. Her hesitation as she looked back and forth, weighing the options made him even more certain of the eventual outcome, but to his total surprise, as she reached for and took the bear she said, "I already have my Superman. I'll take the bear."
To his total amazement, she cuddled it to her breast and again reached for his arm. As she did she laid her head on his shoulder and said, "Why don't we head home?"
Clark smiled when she called the farm 'home' and said, "Anything my lady wishes. I am yours to command."
"Then, take me home. That's all I want right now."
Nodding, Clark started walking toward where the car was parked while Lois hung on his arm with one of hers and cuddled the bear with the other.
Unknown to them, a couple of Trask's men had been watching them.
Unknown to Trask's men, they were in turn being watched by a smallish man in a derby hat.
Trask's men watched Lois and Clark climbed into their car to depart and hurried to their car so that they could follow only to find that their car wouldn't start. The driver got out and opened the hood to see if he could determine the cause of the problem. His companion brought a flashlight and shone it into the engine compartment. The driver spotted the problem immediately. The wire from the coil to the distributor was missing. This was an obvious case of sabotage. Trask wasn't going to like this, not one little bit.
The dapper little man stepped over to a trash receptacle, dropped a black wire in and then disappeared into an alley. As he did he was thinking, <Things are progressing nicely. This way they will have the privacy that they need.>
And now:
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Chapter 05
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Clark drove the Mustang while Lois relaxed and played with her bear on the drive back to the farm. When they arrived, Clark noticed that the pickup wasn't there. After exiting the car he went around and opened the door for Lois. She took his hand as he assisted her from the car. He was thinking, <Something has to be happening here. She usually doesn't wait for me to get her door, let alone wait for me to hand her out.> As he was closing the door he received yet another surprise because she again took his arm. With her on his arm they strolled leisurely up to the porch. When they reached it, Lois said, "Let's sit on the swing. I really don't feel like going in just yet."
Clark smiled and led her in that direction. Once she was seated he sat next to her. He received another surprise when she reached over and, taking his hand, pulled his arm up across her shoulders. Going with the flow he wrapped his arm around her and cupped her shoulder with his hand. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. She was still cuddling her Teddy Bear. Holding it out so that she could see it better she directed his attention to it and asked, "Do you want to know his name?"
Clark played along, "What is it?"
Smiling, she said, definitively, "Clarkie Bear. Clarkie Bear, this is Clark. Clark this is Clarkie Bear."
Clark nodded his head and said, "Pleased to meet you, Clarkie Bear."
Lois giggled and said, "You know, I think you are the only guy I know that would play along with me on something like that." Her tone became thoughtful as she continued, "You really are unique. A one of a kind." She was silent for almost a minute as she was making up her mind. "Clark, I had a good time today. I mean … I had a
really good time. Probably the best time I've ever had on a date." Shocked at what she had just said, she asked, "Do you mind if I call it a date?"
Smiling, Clark said, "I don't mind that at all." He thought for a few seconds before he asked, "If this was a date though, do I get a goodnight kiss?"
"Only if you really want one."
"Oh, I do," he said with feeling.
Lois shifted around so that she was facing him and closing her eyes leaned forward and puckered up.
Clark leaned in and gave her a very chaste, quick kiss.
Lois didn't move after he broke the contact. Her eyes remained closed and she maintained the pucker for almost a minute. Slowly she opened her eyes, one at a time, and asked, in a disappointed tone, "That's all?"
Surprised, Clark stuttered, "I didn't know how … I didn't want to take …"
This was just sooooo Clark. He didn't want to take advantage of the situation and didn't know how much she would allow. She decided that she would have to take the lead. She said, gently, "I know, because I know you." She leaned in and brushed his lips with hers. She came back and brushed his lips again, this time she lingered and slowly added pressure to the contact. She felt it when he followed her lead. Slowly she parted her lips and used her tongue to brush his lower lip. As he parted his lips her tongue circled his mouth tracing his lips. She released a sigh of satisfaction when she felt his tongue touch hers. Their tongues started a dance. Left, right, twirl. Lois deepened the contact and Clark continued to follow her lead. When she needed a breath she broke the contact and took a gasping breath before attacking his lips again. The next time she needed a breath instead of attacking his lips she started kissing his cheeks, chin, and forehead and anywhere else she could reach. In his turn he kissed along her neck. She released a sigh and tilted her head so that he had easier access. He continued up to her earlobe which he sucked into his mouth and started to nibble on it. As soon as he did this Lois felt a thrill move down her spine and a heat start to build in her lower abdomen.
Making up her mind, Lois dropped Clarkie Bear on the swing, shifted her position and sitting on Clark's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and twined her fingers in his hair pulling him back into another open-mouthed kiss.
They had been making out like this for almost fifteen minutes when the headlights of the pickup lit them up.
The young couple jumped apart like a couple of teenagers caught making out on the living room couch in the dark by the girl's father.
As Jonathan and Martha stepped up onto the porch, Clark still had his arm across Lois’ shoulders and Lois had her hands folded demurely in her lap. Martha was giggling and Jonathan said, "Don't let us interrupt. We're going to bed. You kids have fun."
In better light his parents would have been able to see the kiss swollen lips and the red flush in both Lois and Clark's cheeks, but it wasn't the flush of embarrassment, it was a flush of desire and excitement.
As soon as the door closed behind the senior Kents, Lois returned to her place in his lap and attacked his mouth with hers again.
After several minutes they separated and still sitting on Clark's lap, Lois laid her head on his shoulder and after releasing a happy sigh said, "Why did we wait so long? We have wasted so much time that could have been put to better use."
"What time, Lois?"
"All of the time we've been together."
"I really can't answer that question. I mean, we have been together."
"I know, but we could be so much farther along in our relationship by now."
"How were we to know we were going to start a relationship?"
"How does anybody know? When Perry teamed us up it was like a blind date. How does anyone on a blind date know how things will work out? They go out and see if they get along. We've been together now for months. We've done stakeouts together. We've shared take out. We've watched movies together. I've even slept over at your place and this is only our first
official date. As far as I'm concerned, it's not the last. I have to admit, I was being cautious … very cautious. Especially after what happened with Claude …"
Gently, Clark interrupted, "I'm not Claude."
Lois pulled back and placed her hands on the sides of his face, making sure he was looking directly in her eyes as she said, "I know you're not. You couldn't be more different from Claude if you tried and the nicest thing is, you don't even have to try. All you have to do is be you, Clark Jerome Kent, the one and only. The most gentle, caring, honest man I have ever met. Do you want to know the truth?"
"You can always be honest with me, Lois. You know that."
"Yes … yes, I do. Truly, I thought you were
too good. You were too good to be true. I had a hard time believing that anyone … any
guy could be as good as you appeared to be. I was afraid that one day the mask would fall off and you'd be just like every other guy I've been involved with. I'm not afraid of that anymore."
"What changed your mind, Lois?"
"Not what … who. Maisie. When she said that about you all of my fears disappeared. Here was someone that has known you all of your life. I had been worried that you were playing a game. Pretending to be someone you weren't. I just knew that sooner or later the mask would come off, it had to. I knew that if someone is playing a game, they could do it for days or weeks, maybe for a year, but all of your life? I don't think so. If she can say ‘With Clark, what you see is what you get.' I just have to believe her. You, Clark Jerome Kent, are the real deal."
Clark said, "I'll have to be sure and thank Maisie the next time I see her."
Smiling, Lois said, "Ever since Claude, I've been afraid to let my guard down. I built these walls around my heart to keep others out. Since I met you … since I started getting to know you … those walls have been slowly coming down. Your gentle assault on those walls has made them crumble like so much cardboard. Until now, I've been fighting … fighting hard … to keep them up; now, I realize that I don't need to. I have a confession to make. I'm going to say something that I never thought I'd be saying to anyone. I think I'm in love with you, Clark Kent."
She could barely make out his smile in the dark as he said, "Lois, I too have a confession. Remember, early on, right after we were partnered, you told me not to fall for you?"
Lois bobbed her head in agreement. "I remember. It was too soon … too soon after Claude. The wound was still too raw."
"Your caution came too late. I had already fallen for you. I fell for you the first moment I laid eyes on you. I was in Perry's office being interviewed and this beautiful, brunette tornado swirled in and took my breath away. From that moment on, I was yours."
Lois smiled and said, "Really? I have to admit, I was attracted to you too, but that just made me put the walls up higher. I refused to let that attraction affect me, in case you turned out to be just like Claude." Lois sealed this revelation with a kiss.
He didn't know if it was a result of the exposure to the green rock or if it was just being normal, but he suddenly realized that he was tired, actually, he was exhausted. Reluctantly breaking from the kiss, Clark said, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I think we need to get some shut-eye. Tomorrow could be a big day. I think we need to go back to the Irig farm again and this time snoop around some."
"I agree with you, partner." She disentangled herself from his neck and stood up. Reaching down she retrieved Clarkie Bear saying, "Come on little guy. Clark's right, it's time for bed."
Clark chuckled and opened the door for her and hand-in-hand they entered the house. As she headed upstairs she paused on the bottom step, released his hand and said, "Goodnight, Clark," and leaned in for a final kiss.
As they kissed Clark reached up and touched the side of her face in a gentle gesture and when they broke the kiss, he said, "Goodnight, Lois. Sleep tight."
In the dark, he couldn't see her thoughtful expression as she ascended the stairs.
Once she had disappeared upstairs, Clark removed his shirt and after shucking his jeans pulled on a pair of sweats. After he lay down on the couch he went over the happenings of the evening in his mind, a very broad smile playing on his lips.
Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he heard the soft footfalls of a woman coming down the steps. In a quiet tone he asked, "Mom, is that you?"
For long seconds, there was no answer and then he felt soft hands on his. In the near darkness he saw a vague form of soft pastels. A baby blue shortie nightie, pink legs and arms. He blurted out, "Lois?"
She hissed, "Shhhhhhhh. Not so loud. Come with me. I need your help with something."
Lowering his tone, he asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Yes, and I need your help to solve it. Come on." Hand-in-hand they ascended the stairs. They followed the familiar path to his old bedroom. After they entered, Lois closed the door.
Once the door was closed, in a hushed tone, Clark asked, "What was the problem? How can I help?"
She replied by moving into his arms. She put her arms around his neck and brought her lips close to his ear. He could feel her soft form pressing against his and her breasts crushing into his chest. He could feel her hot breath on his ear as she whispered, "I couldn't sleep."
He could feel his body responding to the contact and knew that he was going to have to exercise super will power if he wasn't going to make a major mistake. Willing himself to be calm, Clark sought furiously for a way to buy himself some time to regain a measure of control, he asked in a low tone, "Would you like a glass of warm milk?"
Shaking her head, she replied, "That won't help."
Feeling his control slowly crumble and knowing that he had to get some space and trying to distract himself by being solicitous of her well-being, he asked, "Are you cold? Would you like more blankets?"
She whispered in his ear, "No. There's only one thing that will help me get to sleep."
"What is it? I'll get it for you," Clark asked, thinking that he needed to get away from her before she detected his body's response to their proximity. If he could just get some distance, for a few minutes, he could get himself back under control.
In response, she pulled her body into even closer contact with his and not only whispered into his ear, but as she finished whispering she kissed the side of his neck. "I've already got it. More accurately, I've already got him. If I'm going to get any sleep, I need you in bed with me." She started dragging him in the direction of the bed.
Clark could feel himself losing the battle for control. If she was serious, he could be in big trouble. After the necking they had done on the swing, his emotions were at a high pitch and his whole body was vibrating like a tuning fork at her contact. The way she was dressed only added to his problem. She was wearing little more than a bathing suit as far as the amount of skin that her nightie covered. Nervously, Clark asked, "Uh, are you sure that's a good idea?"
Innocently, Lois responded, "Clark, I'm not proposing that we do anything other than share the bed. I just want to snuggle up to you so that I can feel your presence. To know that you're there. It'll help me sleep."
Hoping that he would be able to exercise enough control and thanking his lucky stars that he had sweats on and not his usual silk sleep shorts, he replied, "Okay, Lois, if that's what you want." They moved to the bed and they lay down, together. Lois scooted back and spooned with Clark while he wrapped his free arm around her. He kept his body half turned so that she wouldn't detect the problem he was having with his rebellious anatomy. After he had reached for and thrown the quilt over their joined bodies she sighed in contentment and in a rather short time her rhythmic deep breathing told Clark that she was fast asleep apparently still in ignorance of what she was doing to him.
As he lay there enjoying being in bed with Lois he heard her start to talk in her sleep. He believed that she must be dreaming as she said, "Clark, just look at him, Clark Junior. Isn't he beautiful? He's perfect. A little brown haired, brown eyed copy of you and he's ours. Now we're a family of more than two. I'm so happy. I love you so much."
What she said startled him and he mulled it over. After a time, marveling at the turn of events, he also fell asleep.
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In the morning, Martha and Jonathan tip-toed down the stairs so as not to disturb Clark. They moved into the kitchen and Martha put on the coffee.
When it was ready, Jonathan peeked into the living room to see if Clark was stirring and if he wanted some coffee. To his utter amazement, the couch was empty. He called Martha over without saying a word. As she looked into the living room she spotted the empty couch and casting her eyes upstairs smiled a Cheshire cat smile. She said, "Unless he's out in the barn, he has to be upstairs. After what we saw last night, I'm not too surprised, are you?"
Jonathan was chuckling as he replied, "Not in the slightest. It looks like our boy after all these years has himself a girlfriend."
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A short time later, Clark came downstairs, by himself. As he entered the kitchen, Martha smiled and asked, brightly, "Where's Lois?"
Clark's hair was mussed and he hadn't realized it, but while they had been kissing, it had been dark and Lois had left her mark on him. There were lipstick smears on his lips and cheeks. Nonchalantly he replied, "Oh, she'll be down shortly. She's getting dressed."
Jonathan handed him a cup of coffee and indicated that Clark should sit at the table. Clark started spooning sugar into the coffee as Jonathan received his from Martha and moved to the table.
Once they were both seated, Jonathan asked, "What are your intentions with her Clark?"
As Jonathan was asking this question, Martha pulled out a small mirror and handed it and a cloth to Clark. He looked at his mom questioningly.
Smiling, she reached over and held the mirror so that he could see himself. As soon as he saw the red smears he looked embarrassed and started rubbing them off with the cloth. As he was doing this he answered his father's question, "I want to marry her, Dad. Last night she confessed that she loves me, Clark me. Not a word about Superman."
Jonathan looked at him and smiled before he said, "That's good because, you may not realize it, but you're already married."
It was a very good thing that Clark was still busy cleaning his face and hadn't started drinking his coffee yet because when his dad said that if he had been it would have been all over. "WHAT?!?!?"
Jonathan snickered and said, "Yeah, there's an old law, still on the books. The only reason I know about it was that it made the papers. I think it was while you were in Borneo. This young couple, they were ‘romantically' involved. Well, they decided to go camping. They wound up on public lands. The Game Warden found them, partially clothed in the same sleeping bag. He hauled them before the Magistrate. They were really worried, thought they were being arrested for being on public lands. The Magistrate asked for their ID and told them to sit over in a corner and wait. About an hour later he came back in and said, ‘I've got some papers for you to sign.'"
"Now, the boy, he wanted to find out if they were going to have to pay a fine or if they were being arrested and he asked as much. The Magistrate chuckled and said, ‘Once you sign these papers I'll let you know just what your sentence is.' They were in pretty much of a blind panic so they just signed where he indicated. Once everything was signed the Magistrate took one of the papers and made an addition then said, ‘Now for your sentence. The sentence is … life. You may now kiss the bride."
"What? He married them?"
"Yep, the forms he had them sign were a marriage license and a certificate of marriage. The extra notation he made was to add his name after her on the certificate of marriage. You see, the law says that if you spend the night with a girl, you are married to her. It is an old law, dates back to the early days of the settling of Kansas. There weren't many Justices of the Peace in those days and it made it easier that way. Technically, you and Lois are now married."
"But, I don't want it that way!"
Jonathan chuckled and said, "Only the four of us know. Your mom and I won't be saying anything."
"I plan to ask her, but I need to tell her about myself first."
Martha had been an interested listener and as she had listened she had moved over to sit on another chair.
Smiling, she reached into her apron pocket and produced a little paper wrapped packet which she placed on the table in front of Clark. She said, "I think you can use this."
Clark opened it and found an antique engagement ring.
Martha explained, "After what we saw last night, I knew that something had changed and you'd be needing it. I've been saving that for you for a long time. It was your Grandma Clark's ring. I'm sure she'd want you to have it."
Clark looked at it closely and with appreciation he said, "Thanks, Mom. I'm sure she'll love it." Hearing Lois coming down the stairs, Clark quickly wrapped the ring up and stuffed it into his pocket.
As Lois came through the door, she took in the tableau, a close loving family at the table and it brought a tear to her eye. This was something that she really hadn't realized that she missed until she saw it being modeled in front of her and she wished, with all of her heart that someday, this would be what her family would be like. Lois had decided to wear her new dress again because to her it represented the changed relationship she now had with Clark. She smiled weakly at Clark and noting that he was still in sweats and a T-shirt said, "Don't you think you should get dressed, partner. We've got a big day ahead of us."
Clark stood and said, "You're right. I'll be right back."
As he was exiting, Martha asked, "Lois, would you like some coffee?" She hesitated for a second and added, “It isn’t one of those fancy lattes or anything, just plain home brewed coffee.”
Lois smiled and said, "Martha, you're a life saver. Yes, I'd love some. Thank you."
Jonathan asked, "So, what do you and Clark have planned for today?"
"We're going to try to find Mr. Irig. We think he's still around Smallville, somewhere, but first we need to call the chief."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jimmy answered the phone on Lois' desk. "Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen"
"Hi, Jimmy, It's Clark."
"Hi, CK! How's the investigation going?"
"We're getting the run-around from the government types. Same as usual. Is Perry around?"
"Sure, hold on, I'll get him." Jimmy pushed the hold button and hung up the phone before heading for the Chief's office.
The door was ajar so he just pushed it open and walked in. When he did he saw Perry, in a yoga-like posture on the floor, listening to what sounded like bird calls, falling rain and insect chirps. As Jimmy moved into the office, he stopped. A very curious expression crossed his face. With a hesitant tone, Jimmy asked, "Chief?"
Without breaking his pose or even opening his eyes, Perry said, "The Rain Forest, Jimmy. The sounds of nature promote harmony in all living things. There are no wild animals with high blood pressure.
"Still stressing, huh?"
Irritation and anxiety was evident in his voice as Perry denied, "Stressing? I am not ‘stressing'!" His voice rose half an octave and became more stern as he bit out, "What do you want?"
"Clark's on the phone."
Struggling to unbend from the position he was in and giving up in frustration he shouted, “Olsen, give me the phone!” Jimmy grabbed his desk phone and pulled of down so that the chief could reach it, “Kent? What have you got for me?"
In Smallville, Lois and Clark were both sitting at the kitchen table. Lois had her notepad open so that she could pass notes to Clark as he talked. "Chief, we might be onto something. We spoke with Wayne and he may have tried to pass us a message that he's in trouble. The ‘EPA' may or may not really be involved in this. We're going to be looking deeper into it."
"Are we talking ‘cover-up' or what?"
"That may be it. The EPA could be a cover for what's really going on. We're going to find out."
"In other words, this is a bigger story than we first thought."
"Could be, Chief."
"Okay, keep me posted." Perry hung the phone up. Slowly, with Jimmy’s help, Perry unfolded himself from the position he had been in and moved around behind his desk. He thought for a few seconds before speaking, "Uh, Jimmy, I think I need a photographer out there.
Jimmy smiled; he could see his big break on the horizon, "Ready, Chief!"
Perry continued as if Jimmy hadn't even spoken, "Let's see. What's Johnson up to?"
"Johnson's in Utah, but I'd sure …"
Perry interrupted, "I got it, Sevinson?"
"Winnipeg."
"Photographers! Just when you need one, you can't find one."
Jimmy offered, "Maybe there's a new guy looking for an opportunity."
"No, I don't want to take the chance."
Jimmy offered, "Somebody had to take a chance on you once, didn't they?
Perry looked up at Jimmy, weighing this small insurrection, but appreciating the desire behind it. Finally he said, "All right, all right. You can go."
Jimmy's face broke out in a wide grin and he impulsively hugged Perry, "Thanks, Chief."
Perry pulled away and said, "You're welcome, but don't ever … ever … hug me again."
Jimmy smiled again and left before Perry had a chance to change his mind.
comments go here TBC
