Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Dark Side of Christmas - FINAL

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From Part 2:


Five minutes later, he’d done his duty. And he’d also managed to locate Lois. She was slipping out of the ballroom via a side exit. Something was telling him that she didn’t intend to come back. Leaving via the window, he hovered above the hotel and watched her progress. She went to the cloakroom and collected her thick winter coat, dumped her Susan Anthony mask and cap in a trashcan, and then walked out to the lobby. He heard her ask a busboy to find her a taxi, and the busboy’s reply that he would try, but he thought she’d have a long wait.

“It’s two days before Christmas, ma’am. Every cab company in town has more custom than it can handle.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he heard Lois say. “I’ll walk.”

Clark rolled his eyes. It was at least two miles to her apartment from here, and it had to be a couple of degrees below freezing outside. And, as a couple of white flakes floated past his face, he realised that it was snowing.

“Oh, Lois,” he murmured. “Impulsive as ever.”

He shook his head slightly, then headed towards her.


**********

Now read on...


This wasn’t one of the best ideas she’d ever had, Lois decided as she walked the first few yards from the hotel. It was cold. And it was starting to snow heavily - the effect of the freezing temperatures was to turn the snowflakes into near-icicles.

Just perfect.

She’d bet anything that Clark wasn’t out walking home in this weather. No; he was probably snug and warm in his apartment with Mayson - or in hers - making the most of their last evening together before Christmas. Unless... and she felt her heart wrench at the thought... unless he’d invited her to go to Smallville with him?

Her fists clenched. This wasn’t good. She was getting herself stressed again. Darth was right. She should just try to forget about Clark. Which wasn’t easy, seeing as she worked with him every day of the week and sometimes for very long hours, even well into the night when they were on a big investigation... heck, she saw more of Clark than most women saw of their husbands!

How was she supposed to forget how she felt about him, too, when he was so sweet on a daily basis? He knew just how she liked her coffee and kept her well-supplied when they were in the newsroom - and always made sure that he grabbed her one of her favourite doughnuts before they all disappeared. He frequently surprised her with a triple mocha latte from the Daily Java, or a double espresso when she’d had little or no sleep the night before. He always seemed to know just what to say to keep her going when she started to get dispirited about an investigation - or when she was feeling low generally.

He was about the only person in her life who made her believe that somebody cared that she existed! Well, apart from Perry, but he was more of a father-figure so he didn’t count. Clark was...

Clark was her only reason for believing that there could be more to her life than the Daily Planet.

So how was she going to come to terms with -

“Aren’t you going to say hello?”

The familiar voice jerked Lois out of her thoughts. Startled, she looked around her, acknowledging as she did so that she’d been walking along barely paying any attention to where she was going.

Darth Vader leaned casually against the corner of a building just ahead of her.

“What are you -? You left!” she exclaimed. And then she remembered that she wasn’t wearing her costume mask any more and that her long coat hid most of her nineteenth-century dress. “How do you know who -?”

“Do you think anyone could forget you?” he countered, straightening and drawing himself up to his full height. He looked even more imposing than he had in the ballroom. Broad, powerful, dark, forbidding...

Oh, god, she was alone with him on a city street, and he was a stranger, and even if she screamed what guarantee was there that anyone would actually come to her rescue? Mentally, she began planning a few Tae Kwon Do moves to take him by surprise if he did pounce.

He stilled. She wished that she could see his face just to know what he was thinking. With that enormous helmet, she couldn’t read his intentions at all.

Then he spoke again. And the teasing, humorous tone he’d used in most of their conversation had gone completely. “I swear to you,” he said softly, “you’re safe with me.”

Yes. Strangely, without any evidence of his good intentions, she actually believed him.

“You left,” she reminded him.

“I know. I really did have something I needed to do. But you left too,” he added. “You’re missing the unmasking.”

She shrugged. “I wasn’t interested. I’d already worked out who most people were.”

“Oh, so you figured me out too, did you?” he enquired, and the amusement was back.

She shook her head. Snow was gathering on his head and shoulders now, making the dark outfit less stark. If they stood here much longer, she thought, stifling an almost hysterical giggle, he’d turn into a snowman.

“You’ve unmasked, Lois Lane of the Daily Planet,” he said. “I think it’s only fair that I do the same.”

He knew who she was? She had no idea that she was that recognisable. So who was he? Someone she knew? Oh, that was a scary thought - she’d confessed her deepest feelings about Clark to a guy she knew? Frantically, she mentally went through all of the men she knew who would fit Darth’s general height and build. Not Ralph. Oh, thankfully not Ralph. Eduardo? No, he wasn’t tall enough. And nor was Jimmy.

Oh, god, if this was anyone from the Planet she’d be mortified. She’d have to consider quitting. Moving to a different city. A different country!

Darth’s hands were on his helmet. Involuntarily, she squeezed her eyes shut. And then opened them again immediately.

The helmet was off. And she was looking straight at... Clark.

[img]http://images7.fotki.com/v133/photos/1/11220/134028/DarthVader2-vi.jpg?1103480915[/img]

Her jaw did a rapid downward movement. “Wha -? How -? You! All along - you - and I - I told you - ” Articulacy deserted her. Humiliation flooded her. And her gaze flitted past him, seeking escape.

Warm, firm hands, no longer in gauntlets, landed on her shoulders, holding her firmly and preventing her escape. “Lois. Please, don’t. You know, you got it all wrong.”

“All what? That I thought you were an honourable man who wouldn’t... wouldn’t play that sort of despicable trick on someone?”

“I didn’t do it deliberately,” he said calmly - and, somehow, even through her anger and mortification, she knew that he was telling the truth. “I didn’t even know you were at the ball, Lois. And I only realised that it was you under the Susan B Anthony costume once we started talking. I thought about telling you it was me, but... well, I was just enjoying our conversation. You know, all that banter about Star Wars. It was just too much fun to spoil it by telling you it was me.”

“Oh? And how do you explain luring me into all those confidences?” she threw at him, now feeling herself shake - from anger or from cold, she wasn’t sure.

Clark slid his arms around her, drawing against him. Even angry and humiliated as she was, she needed the warmth he offered too much to resist.

“You took me completely by surprise with that stuff,” he told her soberly. “Lois, I had no idea! You seemed sad, and I wanted to cheer you up - then you started talking about this guy, and I was... oh, heck, I was crazy with jealousy and I wanted to find out who it was. And I almost fell over when I realised you were talking about me. That’s why I said I wasn’t staying for the unmasking, by the way. I knew you’d be horrified when you realised it was me.”

One part of what he said jumped out at her. “Jealous? You? Why?”

His expression was rueful, and he raised his gaze to the heavens and back again. Snowflakes settled on his glasses, giving his eyes a blurry look. “I told you, Lois, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not interested in Mayson. I never was. She’s a nice woman, but... she’s not you. And, as you can see, I’m not with her tonight.”

Her heart was doing nervous flip-flops. “Then... what are you saying, Clark?”

He released her, and his hands cupped her face, warm against her chilled skin. “Haven’t you guessed, Lois? I still love you. I’ve always loved you.”

She swallowed. His beloved face loomed above hers, gazing down at her. Snow dotted his dark hair now as the flurries grew thicker, but she didn’t care. Clark loved her. Clark loved her?

“M...me?”

“Yes, you,” he whispered. “And if I’d had any idea at all that you felt the same...”

“Oh, shut up,” she exclaimed, half-laughing, half-choked with emotion. And she reached up and did what she’d dreamed about for a very long time - she kissed him.


*********

Lois. In his arms. In his heart. Holding him. Kissing him.

Kissing... oh, wow, this was even better than flying. He slanted his lips over hers, returning her kisses fervently, drowning in the sensation of her body pressed against his, her soft lips under his, loving the tiny whimpers she made as she tried to get closer to him.

“Oh, Lois...” he groaned against her mouth, then felt his body shake as she took advantage of his parted lips. She was soft and beautiful and responsive. She tasted delicious. He felt warm and loved and dazed and delirious... he never wanted this moment to end.

And then she shivered.

And he remembered that they were out in the snow in below-freezing temperatures and that, although he never noticed the cold, Lois had to be suffering. Breaking the kiss, he gathered her more closely against him. “We should really do this somewhere warmer,” he murmured.

“Ye...ah...” Her teeth were chattering, he realised.

“Come on.” Decisive now, he turned her and, keeping an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, he began to walk. “If I don’t get you home in the next couple of minutes you’ll turn into an icicle. What the heck were you thinking of trying to walk?”

“There aren’t... any taxis,” she pointed out.

“We don’t need a taxi.” He grinned at her.

“Oh! You mean you drove?” She stared at him. “Did you hire a car or something?”

“Nope. Come on.” And he led her into an alley between two office-blocks.

It was time, he’d decided. He’d revealed himself to her in one disguise, and she hadn’t torn him limb from limb. It was definitely time that he trusted her with his other disguise.

“What the heck are we doing in here?” she demanded. “Clark... it’s an *alley!* It’s dirty, smelly... god knows what that is over there... It’s disgusting!”

“Don’t worry about that.” He waved dismissively. “Just listen for a minute. Remember when I had to run off at the ball?”

She shrugged. “What’s that got to do about anything?”

“I need to tell you the reason I ran off.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Do we really need to do this now? In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s freezing and we’re standing in a filthy alley in the middle of a blizzard!”

“I said I’d get you home as quickly as I can. And this is the quickest way I know how.” He smiled, hoping that his nervousness didn’t show. “Lois, the reason I had to run off at the ball was that I was late for... another appointment.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you’re always running late for appointments, Clark! They don’t need to wait until you die to call you the late Clark Kent!”

“Lois,” he said intently, calling her attention back to him and trying to emphasise that this was important. “My other appointment. It was to accept the cheques on behalf of the charities.”

“What?” She looked baffled, then gave him a look which suggested that she thought he’d lost his mind. “Are you sure that costume didn’t cut off your oxygen supply or something?”

“Just watch.” And he whirled, his heart in his mouth.

When he slowed, he realised that Lois was swaying. He swept out an arm and caught her, tugging her into his arms again.

For about the first time since he’d known her, Lois Lane was speechless.


*********

He... Clark... Superman... How?

If she’d thought she’d been shocked a few minutes earlier when she’d realised who was beneath the Darth Vader costume, now she was stunned. Staggered. Disbelieving. Bewildered. Traumatised.

She found her voice, but couldn’t do very much with it. “You... I...”

But he was paying her no attention. She was being swept up in his arms and held against his chest in a very familiar manner. Against Clark’s chest. And Clark was floating upwards, defying gravity as he glided through the snow and the dark sky.

Clark could fly. Clark was Superman. But none of it made sense. How could it make sense? Clark and Superman were two different people. Of course they were. She’d known them both for a year and a half, after all. She’d talked to both of them more times than she could remember. She knew Superman better than just about anyone... well, better than anyone except Clark. She was Clark’s best friend! She’d know if he could fly... and... and see through walls and hear stuff from miles away and run at the speed of light and lift weights far too heavy for any normal man and... and...

...and it all made perfect sense. Clark frequently did things which he couldn’t seem to explain and which just seemed part of his weirdness. How many times had he warned her that someone was coming? Caught something just in time to stop it falling on top of her? Acted like he’d been somewhere she knew very well he couldn’t have been?

Had she ever seen Clark and Superman together?

Clark was Superman. Yes. Now that he’d shown her, now that the initial shock of discovery was wearing off, it all made perfect sense. As if scales had fallen from her eyes, Lois now saw everything she’d missed before. Everything she’d ignored, or written off.

She looked up at the man holding her in his arms, close to his heart, as he took her home. Superman. And Clark. The same strong jaw. The same mouth. They both had the same smile, she remembered. And the same brown eyes, which could dance with laughter and brim with gentle caring.

No wonder she’d fallen in love with both Superman and Clark. She could just kick herself that she’d allowed herself to be so dazzled by Superman’s brilliance that she’d overlooked the wonderful man Clark was for so long.

“Lois?”

“Huh?”

“Seemed like you were on another planet there. I was trying to ask you if your window’s unlocked.”

“Oh!” Recalled to her surroundings, she realised that they were just above her apartment building. She tried to remember. “I think so. I mean, I wasn’t expecting...”

“I know.” He was smiling as she looked up at him. “That’s okay. We can land in the alley beside your place.”

And, just as he said it, he was gliding to the ground. “I’ll have to put you down now.”

“Huh...? Oh!” And she realised that she was still clinging to his neck. “Sorry!”

“Hey, I don’t mind! But I just need to...” He trailed off and became a blur again. And once more Clark stood in front of her, but not in his Darth Vader costume this time. Now, he was her partner, looking utterly gorgeous, clad in black jeans, a dark shirt and a pale jacket.

“How do you do that?” It was barely believable! One moment he was Superman, all resplendent in blue and red, and the next he was the familiar man she worked with every day. And the Darth Vader costume was nowhere in sight.

He gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll tell you some other time. Lois... are you mad?”

Was she? “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, I probably will be tomorrow. Right now,” she added thoughtfully, “I think I’m just... awed.”

“I’m still just Clark,” he said softly. “With a couple of added extras, I guess.”

As if compelled, she reached out and touched his hand with her fingertips. It felt familiar; the same hand she touched almost every day. His fingers closed around hers, his grasp warm and reassuring.

“If you’re not mad,” he said, “can I come inside with you?”

“Oh! Yeah!” she exclaimed. “I thought the whole point of this was to get me out of the cold...”

“It was.” In one smooth movement, he removed his glasses. Then his gaze seemed to sweep over her, and in the same instant she felt warm. Her breath caught. Could he possibly affect her *that* much with just a look?

And then it dawned on her. Heat vision.

“Come on.” Still holding her hand, he was urging her forward. “I seem to remember something about a private Christmas celebration, just for us... I’d really like that, Lois.”

“Me, too.”

They hurried around to her building, running through the snow and laughing as they lost their footing a couple of times. And then they were inside and suddenly silent as they walked along the hall to her apartment. Seconds later, they were inside and standing close, looking at each other, as if unsure what came next.

“Christmas!” Lois exclaimed, needing to break the silence, the sudden awkwardness. She hurried to her CD rack, searching for and finding a CD which she’d bought earlier in the week and then buried at the very back once Clark had turned down her invitation. She slipped it into her player, and moments later the sound of festive music filled the room.

“The Christmas waltz?” Clark enquired, amused.

“Well, it’s on the CD...”

He came over to her; his arms enfolded her. “Dance with me?”

“Oh yeah,” she breathed.

He held her close to his heart. His arms felt warm and strong and loving around her. Her Clark. Her Superman.

“I love you,” she murmured against his throat.

“And I love you,” he said into her hair.

“...It's that time of year
When the world falls in love...”

“This is the best Christmas present I could ever have, Lois,” Clark murmured as the first song died away and they stopped dancing, standing in each other’s arms. “You are all I ever wanted.”

“Me too. But I thought... I was so afraid that I’d lost my chance with you.”

He shook his head. “No. Never. If I’d only known... I really wanted to say yes, you know. But I’d already promised I’d go to the ball - both as Superman and Clark. I didn’t feel I could get out of it.”

That was Clark all over. Always taking his obligations seriously. Including those to her, which reminded her... “Why did you come back?”

“Huh?”

“Earlier. As Darth Vader. You said you wouldn’t come back - that you wouldn’t be there for the unmasking. And you told me outside that you didn’t want to stay because you thought I’d be embarrassed to know it was you. So why did you come back after all?”

“Oh, yeah. I... You sounded so hurt when I left. And I heard what you said as I walked away - that I was leaving just like every other guy. I couldn’t just leave - not after that.”

He deserved a kiss for that, Lois thought. In fact, she figured she deserved one too. So she reached up towards him. He clearly had the same idea, for he was leaning down to her. And in the next instant, their lips met.

It was only a strange sensation of something bumping against her head which made Lois break the kiss. And even then she was unwilling to pull away. But her head hit something again and she looked up.

“Clark! We’re almost on the ceiling!”

“Oops.” He gave her a rueful smile. “Sorry. That... can happen sometimes. If I get so carried away I lose control.”

“And you lost control now?”

“Oh yeah.” A dazed smile covered his face. And then they were drifting back down to the floor. “Now, where were we?” And his lips found hers again.

Lois had never thought a simple kiss could be so... dazzling. Passionate. Sensuous. She’d read trashy romance novels in which heroines felt weak at the knee when kissed by the hero, but she’d always dismissed such descriptions as over-active imagination on the part of the author. Yet here she was, in such a state that she knew it was only Clark’s hold on her which was preventing her sliding to the floor.

She never wanted the kiss to end. She never wanted to let him go.

But, a long time later, and very reluctantly, she drew away. Clark, his hair somewhat dishevelled by now, gave her a disappointed look. “It’s late,” she said regretfully. “I mean, maybe you don’t need to sleep, *Superman*, but I have to work tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Slowly, and with gratifying reluctance on his part too, Clark loosened his grasp on her. “I should let you go to bed.”

“It’s Christmas Eve,” she said softly. “I have a present for you... I was going to bring it to work tomorrow.”

His gaze held her. “I don’t want to spend Christmas without you.”

Lois bit her lip. “Me neither. But it can’t be helped - and it’ll only be a couple of days.”

“Come with me.” He caught her hands, held them.

It sounded wonderful, but... “I can’t. I’m working. All day tomorrow and the day after Christmas.”

“Oh.” His face fell, but only briefly. “You finish at five tomorrow, right? Come then!”

“But...” She began to shake her head. “I’d never get a flight out...”

“Hey, you have your own personal pilot here!” he exclaimed. “I’ll come and get you. And let’s talk to Perry and see if you can get the next day off - if you can’t, I’ll fly you back again, okay?”

She had forgotten. Her best friend - her boyfriend? - was Superman. She had no need to fly commercial ever again! But the best part of it was that she could spend Christmas with Clark. With a real family - a family who never wanted her to be anything other than who she was. A Christmas full of light and joy and happiness and belonging.

“I’d love to,” she told him, almost shyly.

“And my folks would love to have you. Especially now.” He squeezed their linked hands again. “I know they love you too.”

“I adore your parents,” she said wistfully.

“Hey, I’m happy to share!” he said with a grin. “Okay...” He sighed. “I guess I’d better go.”

She walked him, hand in hand, to the door. His gaze rested on her for a few moments before his hand came up to caress her cheek. “Goodnight, Lois.”

“Goodnight...” She wasn’t allowed to say any more. His lips covered hers again in a sweet kiss full of promise, and then, too soon, he left.

But she would see him tomorrow, she reminded herself. And she was going to get to spend Christmas with him, too. And, she was sure, many more special times in the future too.

Closing the door behind him, Lois leaned against it for a moment, her eyes closed as she relived that last kiss in her mind. Maybe it wasn’t so difficult to find out what was so wonderful about Christmas after all. All she’d needed was to see through a disguise or two. And, of course, to fall in love.


~ The End ~

Merry Christmas, everyone!