And with one day to go in January, I present the final chapter in my rewrite of the wedding arc. Will evilness reign, or will true love finally overcome? Keep reading to find out.
Want to see previous chapters? The TOC can be found
here. From Part 2:
To her surprise, though, Lois saw Clark's expression change to one of understanding. "I know what you mean. I was doing a patrol just now when I realized this is the last night I'll ever be able to fly through that window and surprise you. And I know that wherever we live, I can still fly through a window to see you." Lois laughed at this as Clark's hand came up to momentarily cup her cheek. "It's just hard to believe we really are leaving all of this behind. No matter how much I can't wait to be your husband, I am a little sad that this part of our life is over."
Lois pulled herself against Clark in a loose embrace. "I'll always remember the night you came in after you helped my uncle with his restaurant."
Clark smiled. "Dance with me?"
At Lois' affirmative reply, Clark took Lois fully in his arms and like the night almost two years before, blew the window shut as they danced with not even a floor to restrict them.
~
Part 3
One hour and counting, Clark repeated to himself as he finalized his bowtie. Pulling the cuffs of his tuxedo down, he looked in the mirror and decided he liked what he saw, if for no other reason than knowing that Lois would like what she would see. Shortly before he had left her apartment the night before, she had admitted to him that she loved having the opportunity to see him in a tuxedo again.
The only problem, as Clark saw it, was that he still had no idea where, exactly, the ceremony was taking place. Ellen had assured them she had found a place but refused to give any more detail than that. Most surprising to Clark had been his reaction when compared to Lois'. After her anger at her mother taking control at the eleventh hour, she had merely shrugged when her mother had told them she did not want to tell them where the ceremony was being conducted. Clark, on the other hand, had found himself arguing with Ellen Lane about how it seemed like it should be the bride and groom's right to know where they would be exchanging vows. Her response had been a pat on Clark's arm and a comment about Clark picking up some of Lois' more annoying traits.
"You ready, son?"
Clark turned to see his father standing at the door to Clark's bedroom in between the boxes of Lois' belongings. Clark nodded. "Yep. Now I just need to know where the ceremony is."
Jonathan nodded and walked over. He produced a small piece of paper. "This is the addendum that Ellen sent overnight to all the guests. She told me I could give it to you only when we were ready to leave."
Clark took the small invitation, which was rather impressive in the scope of its decorations given how quickly Ellen had produced them, and read the information. His jaw slowly dropped open, and he glanced at his father as he finished reading. "How did she pull this off?"
~
Lois Lane fiddled with the veil on top of her head for the sixteenth time in a ten-minute period. She was actually counting in a hopeless attempt to get her mind off formulating disastrous ends to this wedding. Martha sat across from her in the backseat of the car, Lois having been very specific about the fact neither she nor Clark was to be left alone for any length of time before the ceremony.
"Lois, it's going to be fine."
Lois brought her arms back down to her lap and glanced over at Martha. "I can't help it. Martha, the Daily Planet pays me to look at every possible angle of a story. And one thing I've learned as a reporter is that the best way to figure out how to write a story is to look at its history.” Lois’ hand began to reach up to the veil again. “When you factor in the history leading up to this wedding, Elvis sightings being reported at the Daily Planet have a better chance of occurring."
Martha smiled. "Given how much Clark has told us about Perry's love of Elvis, that doesn't sound like that far-fetched of an idea."
"It was a bad example." Lois glanced out the window as the car rolled to a stop. "What are we doing here?"
Martha smiled. "We're here."
~
The newsroom of the Daily Planet, in a twenty-four hour period, had been transformed into a suitable place for a wedding ceremony, according to the high standards of Ellen Lane. That Ellen could be pleased with a wedding in anything other than a church came as a surprise to many people, not least of who was the mother of the bride herself.
Ellen, unwilling to admit defeat and end up in thrice-weekly counseling sessions after another failed wedding, had suggested the idea to Perry two nights ago. After some hesitation on his part, she had gotten approval to spend the day before the wedding turning the newsroom into an acceptable place for her daughter. When she had sat down and thought about it, she began to realize that, realistically, she could not imagine any other place for Lois to get married given the inordinate amount of time Lois spent on her job. More than that, though, Ellen was entranced by the idea of her daughter and Clark tying the knot and beginning their life together in the very place where it had all started three years previous.
And now, scant minutes before the ceremony was schedule to begin, she couldn't help but look around in a stunned reverence at the change that had come over the venue. Multi-colored bouquets of flowers, strips of a white gauze fabric and a large sign that the rest of the newsroom staff had insisted upon hanging adorned the walls and ceiling. The guests had all arrived and were sitting in chairs brought in just for the ceremony, which was to take place between the normal location of Lois and Clark's desks. Now all that was left to do was actually make sure the wedding happened.
Ellen turned as the elevator doors opened, revealing Clark and his father. Jonathan, having seen the Daily Planet in all its wedding bliss late last night, was his normally stoic self. Clark, though, was amazed at the transformation. Ellen walked over and couldn't help but notice with pleasure the awe in Clark's eyes.
"Ellen, did you do all of this?"
Ellen found herself shaking her head. "Well, I helped out a little here and there."
Jonathan gave a short laugh. "Don't let her fool you, Clark. She's the mastermind behind all of this."
"It's the best wedding gift we could have received. Thank you."
Her smile, if possible, grew wider on her small face. Ellen Lane was in her element, and for once, the only things she heard about it were good. Her calm demeanor, however, lasted only seconds. "Now, follow me. Lois should be here any second, and you need to be ready."
~
"This has got to be a joke, right? My mother arranged this?" Lois asked as she walked through the revolving door into the Daily Planet's main lobby. "She constantly nags me about the long hours I keep and then she arranges for me to get married at work?"
Martha, trailing behind Lois, laughed. "She wanted to make sure that your and Clark's wish of having this be your wedding was kept."
Stepping into the elevator, Lois grinned. "And where else would the hottest in town get married but in the bullpen?"
~
"We are here today to finally join Clark and Lois -- "
"Lois and Clark."
"Excuse me, Ms. Lane. We are here today to finally join Lois and Clark," the minister added additional emphasis to the two names. "In holy matrimony. In my years of presiding over weddings, I would have to say that these two truly take the cake - no pun intended - in regards to patience and difficulties in simply arriving down the aisle. That said, I've been informed by the mother of the bride to try and get through the ceremony as quickly as possible lest another disaster keep these star-crossed lovers apart."
Light laughter ran through the crowd, though it seemed more relaxed than nervous. Guests had been overheard joking to each other before the bride and groom arrived about feeling the need for life or accident insurance just to make it through the ceremony. Perhaps the only funny part had been that deep down, no one was kidding.
The minister, a lanky many in his fifties whom Clark had met last spring while writing a story on declining attendance in Metropolis's churches, had agreed to do the ceremony even after the destruction of the church which he had called home for over twenty years.
"If you'll excuse me, though, Mrs. Lane, there are a few things I'd like to say first." The minister cleared his throat. "I've been reading the Lane and Kent byline for over three years now. And they've proven to be, even in a world where journalism is often corrupted and truth obscured, lights in the darkness. These two people standing before you today have shown time and time again their love for humanity in the work that they do.
"The thing about love is that it's not easy. Whether it be fighting to uncover the truth about dishonesty to print within the pages of the Daily Planet or entering into a lifetime agreement to love and respect one other person for the rest of your life, it's not rocket science. It's something much more complicated than that. Sometimes the challenge is just getting to where you want to be in the journey and fighting when it would be easier to give up."
The minister took a moment and looked at the assembled before focusing on Lois and Clark.
"Real love survives. Survives any joy, any sorrow ... all the rights, all the wrongs. But more than that, though, love is universal. That is why it is so appropriate these two people, these two reporters, stand in the very place where they daily show their love for all people to exchange their vows of love to each other."
The minister glanced to Clark and nodded.
Clark turned to face Lois, his expression a little nervous but mostly softened by his clear adoration of the woman standing next to him. "Lois, I have loved you from the moment that I saw you. I love your humor, your passion, and the way you just dive right in, even when you shouldn't." A ripple of laughter flowed through the room as Lois grinned and glanced down at their clasped hands. Ellen, meanwhile, shook her head in knowing resignation. "Because you refuse to just watch the world, you demand that it be a better place, and because of you... it is. And today I want to give you as much of the world as I can, so I give you my
heart... my soul... our future."
An audible sigh wove through the room as Clark finished and slipped the ring onto Lois's outstretched finger. Lois looked down for another minute and when she finally gazed into Clark's eyes again, he could see the hint of tears kept closely in check.
"Clark, you're my best friend," Lois began, her voice losing the barest quiver after the first few words. "Until I met you, I never had a best friend, and falling in love with you has been so easy, I don't know why I fought it so long. You have such gentle grace, and such quiet strength, and mostly... such incredible
kindness. I've never known anyone with as pure a heart, and so today I give you my love... and my honor... and our life, together."
Lois slipped the ring onto Clark's finger and when she finished, he lightly squeezed the tips of her fingers.
The minister glanced around and smiled. "If no one has any objections or natural disasters- " He paused, though his look clearly said he dared anyone to speak up. "- I now pronounce you husband and wife."
As Lois and Clark leaned in for a kiss, the crowd broke into loud clapping, including a whistle from Perry. Jimmy glanced over at him, surprised.
"Trust me, son, that's about the only time you'll ever see me happy to see those two lovebirds kissing in my newsroom."
Jimmy nodded, amused by the large smile on Perry's face that clearly indicated his thoughts were not mirrored in his words.
~
"You know, Lois, I hate to say you were wrong, but I'm glad we invited your mother."
Lois glanced up from where she sat at the kitchen table to see Superman put a collection of boxes onto the floor. "I know. Even I’m willing to admit that for once, I was wrong. That ceremony was just ... "
"Unforgettable."
"Exactly. Are those boxes the last of it?"
"Your apartment is empty."
"Good. Spin back into the tux," Lois said, making a quick circular motion with her finger.
"Yes ma'am." And moments later, Clark stood there in a tux with an askew bowtie. Lois shook her head and walked over to fix it. Clark gave a mock sigh. "You know, maybe you could just take it off ... ?"
"How often do I get to see you in a tux?"
"It's strangling me."
"You're Superman. You'll be fine." Lois said before leaning in and giving Clark a long kiss.
Clark pulled back after a moment, a look of realization crossing his face. "This is the moment our life together really starts, isn't it?"
Lois glanced around for a moment. "Yeah ... it is," she replied, a small smile playing across her features.
Clark was leaning in for another kiss when his eye caught what Lois had been looking at on the table. "Is that what I think it is?"
Lois grinned. "Let's just say I think I'm beginning to see the appeal."
Clark nodded. "I knew you'd come around."
"Don't expect it on a regular basis, farm boy."
"I wouldn't dream of it, honey." Clark tightened his grip around her waist. "I love you."
Lois barely got out the echoed reply before Clark's lips met hers, and they began to float among the boxes representing their newly joined lives. All the while the newest entry to Clark's newspaper scrapbook dried: the front page of the Daily Planet with a picture of Lois and Clark after their newsroom ceremony with the headline "Workaholic's wedding" closely followed by the subtitle "Daily Planet's top reporting team ties knot in newsroom service after destruction of church."
End
Notes
- You’ll notice extensive amounts of borrowed dialogue from the actual show, esp. the episode “Swear To God, This Time We’re Not Kidding.”
- For those of you anticipating some sort of evilness, I apologize – this story was purely waffy.
- As per the original challenge, the end was left in such a way as to stay with the continuity of the series (in essence: Soul Mates would still follow this episode)
