I’m behind! Let’s see if I can catch up all in one morning...
“Out like a light. I am the undefeated champion of bedtime,” he crowed, sliding his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.
LOL! I love that!!
“I feel like we’re really both winners here,” she countered, placing the pot and towel on the counter and twisting in his grasp until she faced him. She slid her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss.
“I suppose I’ll share my victory with you,” Clark conceded with a smile, before dipping his head to steal a longer kiss. “I have an idea of how we can celebrate.”
Lois laughed, stroking the hair at the nape of his neck and basking in his love.
Awwwww!
“This is awfully cozy,” she said, perching on his lap and dipping her head to kiss his neck.
“This does not look like working,” he teased
Haha! That’s just what I was going to say!
“Perfect.” He squeezed her arm gently and dropped a kiss on the top of her head before turning his attention back to his grading. Lois closed her eyes and took a couple breaths to slow her galloping heart and then began to dig in.
Gah!!!
“Yeah, she’s clearly the standout student in my class. I was thinking about offering to mentor her, but then I thought…what she really needs is a fierce, determined, brilliant woman to mentor her. Someone who has risen to the top of her field and could give her insight not just on writing and investigating, but also on navigating the boys club of journalism.” He looked at her expectantly and scooted closer with a winning smile.
Awww, I love it!
“If you’re trying to distract me, it’s not going to work,” he teased, as they separated. “Also, I happen to know she’s a Lois Lane superfan.”
“Oh really? And how do you know that?”
“Because the first assignment I give my 101 students is always an essay on why they want to study journalism and what kind of reporting they want to do. She wrote me a ten-page manifesto on your career. Ten pages in which, I would like to point out, my own contributions were little more than a footnote. It was quite humbling really,” he told her, eyes twinkling.
Lol! Wow! That’s awesome.
He beamed at her, and her breath caught in her throat. She tugged on his tie again, lifting her face to his, and he didn’t hesitate. Her hands slid around his neck, urging him on as his lips caressed hers.
Suddenly he stiffened and pulled back muttering, “Not now.”
Damn emergencies! ;P
followed by the soft sonic boom that meant he was in a hurry.
That’s a fantastic detail!
“What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me?”
“I always forget how beautiful you are when you’re in the zone,” he said softly. “No matter how many times I see it, you always take my breath away.’
GAH!!! LOVE IT!!
She paused and looked up to meet his gaze. “Don’t fall for me, Farmboy,” she teased.
“Too late,” he whispered.
LOL, AWWWWWWWWW!
“Home,” he replied with a chuckle. “It’s almost midnight, Lois. If I stay any later, you are going to be cursing me when your alarm goes off.”
Lois’ heart dropped into her stomach. Suddenly everything was clear and the fog of her writing was fully lifted. She knew exactly where she was, and how they had gotten here.
“Oh my god,” she whispered softly, tears pooling in her eyes. “I forgot.”
“Forgot what?” Clark asked, obviously concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“I just… For a minute I forgot you had another home. I just thought… Oh god. This should be our life right now. This should be every night.”
OHHHHHH this is heartbreaking!!
“Hey. It’s okay. I know. I know.”
She folded herself into his arms, trembling and crying softly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I did this to us. I broke us.”
Ohhhhhh! Poor Lois!!!
“No,” he said firmly, pulling her back until she looked at him. He waited until he seemed sure that she was listening and then continued. “You did not break us. The world broke us. Life broke us. This is not your fault. I do not blame you, and I won’t let you blame yourself.”
Love this.
She shook her head, curling her arms around her knees and breathing hard and fast. “Not then. But later. She’s right. She was absolutely right.”
“Later when? Who was right? What are you talking about, Lois?”
“Dr. Booker. The sunk cost. She said I was scared to try again, not because I was afraid we would fail, but because I was afraid we would succeed. Because that would mean admitting I was wrong about needing a divorce to begin with. And I’m scared she’s right.
“When I told you I wanted a divorce, I really believed it was the only way. I still think it might have been the only way. We were hurting each other, and I was scared we were going to hurt the kids. I had to make it stop. It was a wake up call.
I don’t even know what to say...but this whole part... this whole convo, actually... my heart is a little bit in my throat.
“I told myself it was because I was being strong and doing the right, hard thing. But maybe it really was because admitting that meant admitting I never should have signed those papers. And the longer it went on, the more it was my fault. The longer we were apart for no real reason, the more damage I’d have to admit to causing. And I couldn’t bear to think about that. About putting us through all that for no reason. About all those wasted months and years. I had invested in this belief that the divorce was necessary, and I couldn’t cut my losses. Oh my god. What did I do?”
Just heartbreaking. All of it.
You weren’t trying to hurt us. You were trying to protect us. All of us.
Oh, Clark... how can you be so strong? Thank goodness you are!
When the storm passed, and she lay still in his arms, he finally spoke again. “We can’t get those years back. And we can’t know what might have happened if we could go back and do things differently. Maybe we weren’t ready then. Maybe it had to be now. Maybe we needed to travel the path we did back to friendship and then more.”
“Do you really think so?” she asked, raising her head.
He cupped her cheek and took a ragged breath. “I don’t know, Lois. I don’t know anything. Except that I love you, and I’m so happy to have you back. I don’t want to waste our happiness trying to figure out who’s to blame or feeling guilty about the past. I don’t want to waste anymore time. I just want to love you and be happy.”
How is he just so...? GAH.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “Please.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. “I love you.”
“Tonight, I mean,” she pleaded softly. “Please stay. Just hold me. I can’t bear for you to leave. I need you.”
He nodded, swallowing noisily. “Okay.” He stood, tugging her up off the couch and threading his fingers through hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
GAHHHHHHHHH
His glasses were off, sitting on the nightstand where they’d rested every night when this was his room too.
Love that little detail!
He stroked her hair, sifting his fingers through the silky layers. She closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep but her body tingled everywhere it touched his, and the way he was playing with her hair was not having its intended relaxing effect. She lifted her head to look at him and found him looking at her with a fire she wasn’t expecting.
Hah! I thought that might happen!
“Clark?” she whispered, and then his mouth was on hers. Her hand tangled in his hair and he flipped her onto her back, hand starting at her waist and blazing a trail up until it cupped her cheek and held her in place, deepening the kiss. Her leg wrapped around his thigh, pulling him tight to her.
GAH! ^^^ (<-- my makeshift fire emoji, lol)
Desperate for his touch. Desperate for this to be real.
It is, Lois! It is!!
He kissed her fiercely, and then pulled back to look her in the eye. “Do you love me?”
“God yes,” she whispered. “More than anything.”
“And you’re going to keep loving me?’
“Forever.”
“And you aren’t going to run away from me?”
“Never.”
“That’s all I ever wanted. The rest is just details.”
OMG I might die... GAH!!! *melts*
“I love you,” she whispered with each of his kisses. “I love you, love you, love you.”
And I LOVE this here! Lois reassuring him and herself that this isn’t at all like one of their post-rescue couplings.
She listened to the steady beating of his heart beneath her ear and sighed contentedly.
LOVE
“JP is awake. He’s not out of bed yet, but I hear him stirring. I’m going to have to leave soon.”
She whimpered, and he chuckled softly. “I know. I don’t want to go either. But I also don’t want to explain this to our five year old,” he said.
“Can you stay until he gets out of bed? Can you listen for him?”
I love this!
Oh, happy sigh! Lots of feels for Lois, but I’m glad she got it out!!
