Previously from part 6
“I need to go back to Tokyo…to Clark. I think Clark and I can get more accomplished together. You should contact me by my cell phone. I’m going to get another one right before I leave for Tokyo with prepaid minutes so that no one can trace my calls. I’ll give you the number before I leave.” Lois then hesitated and said, “Oh, and Perry, one more thing…”
“Done…I’ll have a ticket waiting for you within the hour. But, Lois what about your wedding? I guess it’s safe to assume that there will be no wedding, that you’re not marrying Luthor.”
“Like you said Perry, you didn’t become Editor in Chief because you could yodel,” Lois smiled.
“When are you planning to tell Luthor?” Perry inquired.
“I’ll call him,” Lois responded, nervously. She then stood on her tip toes and gave Perry a kiss on the cheek.
“Uh, Lois, just for the record, Kent…Kent loves you unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. That boy’d walk on water for you, or die trying,” Perry conveyed.
“I know, Perry…now,” Lois responded sincerely.
“Be careful.”
“I love you, Perry…thanks.”
“You get outta here,” Perry demanded. Mr. Stern couldn’t close this Planet deal fast enough for Perry‘s sanity.
When Perry got back to his office, there was a voice mail from Mr. Stern. He now owned the Planet. Perry was ecstatic…a prayer had been answered.
And Now...
What A Husband Should Be 7/?
Continued
Lois left for Tokyo Thursday evening. She’d get there late Friday.
It was Friday, and Lois would be married tomorrow. Clark was more depressed than he had ever been. He didn’t want to see the sun rise. He just stayed in bed. He hadn’t eaten a decent meal in two days. He just wasn’t hungry. He hadn’t shaved. He just didn’t have the energy. His powers showed no signs of returning, which only depressed him more. He just slept a lot. He kept the blinds closed and the TV off. He didn’t want to accidentally hear about Lex Luthor’s grand wedding. He did occasionally listen to the radio. All he did during his waking hours was think about Lois so he tried not to be awake too much. But on the other hand, when he slept he dreamed about her. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.
Friday evening came too quickly for Clark. With the time difference, Lois would be Mrs. Luthor in just a few hours. And there was nothing he could do about it. He glanced at
the clock. 6:52 pm. He got comfortable in the bed and surrendered to sleep yet again.
As Clark slept, he had nothing but more dreams of Lois.
She was so beautiful. He was dreaming of her wedding except in his dream, he was the groom. In his dreams Lois would come walking up the aisle, smiling at him. She would stand next to him and whisper in his ear as he took possession of her hands how much she loved him and couldn’t wait to become his wife. She would say her vows with such love in her eyes and he would do the same. They would kiss and there would be magic.
In Clark’s dreams, they would get home and head straight for the bedroom, to begin an expedition into a world that Clark had never visited and one that Lois had never experienced the full effects of. He would lie on the bed and wait for her to make her debut from the bathroom as his new wife. She would approach the side of the bed and sit on the edge. She would first whisper words of endearment and reveal her deepest darkest fears and reservations. There would be no more secrets. Clark would assure Lois that there was nothing to worry about, that he was there for the long haul and that he would always love her and never leave her. Lois would touch Clark’s shoulder lightly and whisper his name…“Clark…“
Lois landed in Tokyo after 9 o’clock pm Friday night. By now, Lex would know that she was gone. She had to hurry. She hailed a taxi to Clark’s hotel.
By ten thirty Lois arrived at Clark’s hotel room. She knocked on the door. There was no answer. She listened at the door but there was no noise. Surely Clark had to be there. Perry had been talking to him.
“Clark…,” Lois called.
No answer.
Lois had no other way of getting into Clark’s hotel room so she resorted to going to the front desk of the hotel.
“Yes may we help you?”
“I’m Lois Lane and I cannot seem to get into my room. I think I misplaced my key. It’s room 501,” Lois responded fidgeting.
“Let’s see…we don’t have a Ms. Lane registered…”
“I know. My partner registered for us, Clark Kent…”
“Ahh, Mr. Kent. I remember you now. Here is the spare key. Have a good night, Ms. Lane. Sorry for the mix up.”
“No problem,” Lois responded. “And thank you,” Lois added as an after thought as she walked away from the desk towards the elevators.
Lois arrived back at Clark’s hotel room door and slid the key into the lock. The green light flashed and the door clicked unlocked. She was pretty positive that Clark was there. She was pretty sure that she had seen the pine colored Lexus outside in the designated parking space for Clark’s room.
Clark’s hotel was dark and quiet…too quiet. Lois didn’t see any signs of living in the hotel living room so she quietly slipped into the bedroom.
Clark was in bed, very still, shallow respirations, apparently asleep. Lois went over to the bed and sat on the side of it. There was a little moon light breaking way through the drapes. She looked down at Clark, where the moon light was shining and gasped, almost out loud. Even in the dark Clark looked so…terrible…so unkept…so pale. He had lost weight and had dark circles around his eyes. He hadn’t shaven and he wore a troubled expression, even in his sleep. Lois tried to fight back tears but lost the battle. Tears rolled down her face as she gently touched Clark’s hair in a feather-like way.
“Oh, Clark…what have I done to you…my best friend. I know that I’ve hurt you so much,” Lois choked out in almost a whisper.
Lois started to bear her innermost thoughts and feelings to Clark in his sleeping form.
She whispered to him, “I have been such a fool to believe that Lex meant well. He is a lying scheming criminal and I had to let my stubbornness take control of me…I know that I turned you down without even considering you…your feelings. I think I may have dismissed your feelings too soon, Clark…and I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just wish I had the chance to make it up to you.” Tears were now coming down Lois’ cheeks full force.
She continued to stroke Clark’s hair and whisper to him. Suddenly Lois needed for Clark to be awake, so that he could see the love and admiration that she had for him and maybe he would understand how she felt. Clark could always seem to understand her better than she understood herself. She wanted Clark to know that she had come back for him…to him…to hear him say that he forgave her for being such a hussy and to hear him say again that he loved her, that he would always take care of her and that he always wanted her in his life. She couldn’t say that she loved him in the way that he loved her, but she did care about him. She knew that he was her best friend, if he’d still let her be in his life. And Clark would have never say “I told you so.”
“Clark…Clark…” Lois started as she touched his shoulder.
Clark opened his eyes at the sound of his name. Was he dreaming? He was so disoriented. It as dark with just the moonlight. Then he heard it again.
“Clark…”
Slowly Clark turned over to face the direction that the voice was coming from. He knew that voice and he could feel her presence. No he wasn’t dreaming.
“Lois? “What are you dong here? I thought you left. Aren’t you supposed to be getting…going to marry…him?” Then anger set in. “Why are you here? You should leave.”
“Clark, just let me say this and then I will leave if you want.“ Tears continued to fall freely from Lois’ eyes.
Clark, feeling defeated, reached over and brought Lois’ face to his chest and cradled her there. Yes she was home now. His heart went out to her.
“Say what, Lois? You know I can’t stand it when you cry. It’s okay…it’s going to be alright,” Clark said softly into Lois’ hair as he hugged her. “What did he do?” Clark wasn’t sure that he wanted to hear the answer if it meant that Luthor had hurt Lois in some way.
“Clark...Lex wants to kill you…and me if I get in the way. He is the reason that you cannot get back to the US…he had your identity erased. He didn’t want you to interfere with our wedding. And whatever happened to Superman…Lex...he is responsible. I saw the Kryptonite cage when I sneaked into Lex’s wine cellar. Superman’s cape was still in the cage in the middle of the floor…” Lois rambled.
At the mention of Superman, Clark cringed. “Lois, how do you know all of this?”
Lois explained to Clark how she went to Lex towers and how she stumbled across the information. She also relayed to Clark that she was almost certain that no one saw her but the quicker they got to work on things, the better off they’d be.
There was still something that Clark had to know. He was taking a chance here, but he felt like he couldn’t be hurt any more than he already had been.
“Lois…are you…are you still going to marry Luthor tomorrow?”
“No…Clark. How could I marry someone who tried to kill Superman…who tried to hurt the most important person to me in the world…my best friend…you? You were right all along…Lex is evil. How could I marry someone like that?” Lois responded earnestly.
“I’ve asked that, myself,” Clark responded. “Lois, you don’t know what this means to me. I’ve done nothing but fret over this whole thing. Your safety is important to me and I knew that Luthor would have done something horrible to you. And I wouldn’t have been there to help you,” Clark said as he continued to hold Lois.
“Clark, I know I dismissed you rather abruptly, without thinking before. Please forgive me, Clark. Let me be your best friend again.” Lois looked down, embarrassed.
Clark just continued to hold her. “You’ve never stopped being my best friend and I lo…you mean a lot to me, Clark responded, almost slipping up.
“I know that you would have never left me here and I hate myself for leaving you, Clark.”
“Lois, when do you think Luthor will find out that you’re gone? We have to get ready for what he may try. He wont take too kindly to rejection.”
“Well, Perry is working on your identity thing and…”
“Lois, Luthor is dangerous and you mean too much to me for me to allow anything to happen to you,” Clark said in a serious tone. He then went out on a limb…again, knowing that he shouldn’t. “Listen, I love you Lois.” There he’d laid the foundation…again.
“I know. That is the one thing that I have no doubts about.”
“Then why Lois…why? If you’re not in love with him and you were going to marry him, why couldn’t you marry me? I’m your partner, your best friend. You know me. You trust me. My life is an open book to you. I’d not hiding any deep dark secrets.” Clark almost went apneic as soon as he said that. He’d briefly forgotten that he was harboring a secret and Lois would be furious about when she found out what. But he’d deal with that later…he hoped.
“Clark, I don’t know. I guess I’m just afraid,” Lois said sadly.
“Afraid of what? You know I’d never hurt you or betray you. I’m in love with you Lois.”
“Afraid of things going bad and losing our friendship, I guess. Clark, you’re the only true friend I’ve ever had. I need you in my life. I always seem to destroy relationships…romances. After a few dates with me, men seem to run away. Claude came back and told the whole newsroom that he’d slept with me and what a horrible lay I was. Paul wouldn’t even speak to me after that night with him, but the whole male population on the campus of Metropolis University knew about what happened. I swore to myself that I’d never let anyone hurt me again. So, I don’t get emotionally involved. Lex was safe, as far as emotions were concerned. I didn’t love him so he couldn’t hurt me…at least not emotionally.”
Clark’s heart went out to Lois. But he had to make her understand. He would never hut her or betray her, no matter what. And she would never have to be without him because he couldn’t stand to be without her.
“Lois, you don’t have to worry about that. I would never betray you like that. For me this is forever. For God’s sake, I’m 29 years old. I know what I want…who I want. If you’re indifferent to emotions then humor me. Let me show you how wonderful it can feel to be loved, the way that I love you. I don’t want to possess you, I just want to love you".
“But Clark…what about…you know…sex…I mean…surely…” Lois stuttered, now sitting up and looking into Clark’s eyes. Surely you’d get tired of this friendship thing and start looking elsewhere for…your needs.”
“Lois, I would want to make love to you, but I would want you to want to as well. But, I would never ask you to do something that you’re not ready for. You know that. I will wait for you as long as it takes,” Clark assured Lois, with his palm placed on her cheek and inadvertently wiping away stray tears with the pad of his thumb. “I would never go out and cheat on you under any circumstances, and I would expect the same from you. Everything I want is right here sitting next to me, in my arms.”
Clark had an after thought and decided to just plunge in. “Lois, what about Luthor? What would you have done when he wanted you…I mean…sexually? You could only be too tired or have a headache for so long before he took it upon himself to just…help himself to you.” Clark could feel Lois tense at that thought. It nauseated Clark to even say it.
“I don’t know. I guess I never thought that far. But after what Paul said and what Claude said, I’m sure that he’d have only wanted me once,” Lois responded with a disgusted laugh.
“Lois, don’t do this to yourself. The problem lies with them, not you. I think you’re the most beautiful thing in the world. When you love someone it’s not just about sex…it’s the emotions that go with it,” Clark assured Lois.
“Oh Clark…”
“So, what do you say…about getting married? To me?” Clark asked hopefully.
tbc…
