Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Ficathon: North Wind (For Toomi8) 1/1

Author's Note: This story is set during season three and is meant to take the place of "Home is Where the Hurt Is". The story is actually five chapters in length but I have posted it all as one because I didn't want to flood the boards. It was inspired by a song called "North Wind" by a Canadian folk singer named Aengus Finnan. The song can be found on youtube if you're wanting to listen to it.

Summary: Set during season three (and taking the place of "Home is Where the Hurt Is"), Lois is feeling out of place and restless as the winter season ramps up to Christmas. When Clark suggests calling Lois' parents and inviting them for Christmas, Lois is forced to confront her feelings about the holidays. With Clark's help, they can both move forward.

The requests that Toomi8 had were:

Things she didn't want: Married Lois and Clark, Lex Luthor and Death

Things she did want: A natural phenomena, Hot Apple Cider and Laughter.

This might not be exactly what you were expecting but I hope you like it nontheless.

Thank you SO much ksarasara for your feedback and help editing this!





Some time ago, I made for the north wind.
Drawn by the wild and two hazel eyes…
-North Wind by Aengus Finnan



Lois Lane shivered and pulled her winter trench coat on, fastening the buttons one by one. She’d had to dig it out of her closet this morning, noticing as she left her apartment that the weather had turned and the world seemed to have changed overnight. Fall seemed to have flown by. Gone were the glorious reds, browns, yellows, and purples of the leaves that fell softly around her feet as she chased down leads with her partner and now fiance, Clark Kent, for the Daily Planet.

The air, once mild with a slight chill, had turned cold and almost hostile. She hadn’t noticed the leaves were gone and the trees were now bare, but somehow she felt it. She felt in her bones the change in season. Winter had come, unannounced and unbidden. And she didn’t feel ready.

She checked her watch, trying to shake the melancholy that had suddenly snuck up on her. It was a crisp Tuesday afternoon and she and Clark had been working on a story involving a potential dog fighting ring. He’d had to rush away for a rescue right before they were due to speak with Bobby Bigmouth. She’d told him that if he was able to meet her, she’d be at their favourite cafe for lunch. So far, he hadn’t arrived and, although Lois understood why, a part of her was disappointed all the same.

She always felt this way at this time of year. Something about the end of Thanksgiving triggered a restlessness that she couldn’t seem to shake. The worst part was that she seemed to be the only one feeling it.

All around her, there seemed to be an air of excitement and anticipation. Stores had swapped out their Thanksgiving displays for Christmas garland and heavy discounts designed to lure bargain hunters. Christmas music pumped out of every speaker, and Lois could swear that even the people around her seemed to be dressing the part, as she noticed an influx of red and green all around her.

She glanced down at her beige wool coat and frowned. She felt the icy chill of the wind on her cheek once more and decided to go inside the cafe. She hadn’t worn her hat today – a kind of tiny rebellion against the truth of the season in front of her. She wanted to love all of this. She truly did. She knew Clark did and that every year he tried to share it with her. Even before they had started dating or gotten engaged, he’d tried his hardest to include her in the magic he would swear he saw.

But she never saw any of it. As much as she tried, it was never there. All she saw was cold and slush and harried people running to and fro with all the consumerist trappings of the season. She sighed. All the tinsel and holly in the world could never make Christmas feel the way it was supposed to.

She found a table and picked up the menu. She stared at it without really taking it in. Fortunately, they’d eaten at this cafe so many times she knew the menu in her sleep. The waiter approached and asked if she was ready to order.

“Could I have just a few more minutes?” she asked, glancing once more at the door and wondering just what sort of emergency had required Superman’s services. “I’m waiting for my fiance.” She felt a small flush of excitement rush through her as she said that. And while she didn’t think she would ever tire of it, she couldn’t wait to refer to him as her husband.

Now that she was looking forward to. More than she ever thought she would. After all, with the kind of home life she’d had, marriage had never really factored into her life plans. Not after seeing the kind of hell it could be. She’d always just assumed that was the way it was for everyone – well, maybe not to the extent her parents had taken it, but she’d never thought of marriage as something that could make people happy.

And yet Clark made her deliriously happy. Every time he looked at her, smiled at her, or touched her she was reminded that she was loved, cherished, and wanted. No, not wanted. To Clark, she was necessary. The strongest man in the world needed her. It was something she didn’t think she would ever get used to but was happy to spend a lifetime trying.

She just wished she could manage to summon up the same enthusiasm for the holidays. After all, Clark loved them so much, and every time he tried to share that love with her, she felt like a wet blanket raining on his parade.

It seemed like everybody was in the club except her. She shook away her brooding thoughts just as the door opened and Clark rushed in, adjusting his tie the way that told her he’d just changed back from his alter ego into his regular work clothes. She grimaced at the tie of choice this morning and made a mental note to buy him some new ties for Christmas. She could do that at least.

“Sorry,” he said as he approached the table. “There was a fire. I had to make sure I got everyone out. Have you ordered yet?”

She shook her head and tilted upwards as he reached down to give her a long, lingering kiss. From the fact that he seemed happy to see her and not upset, she assumed it meant he’d gotten everyone out of the fire unscathed. She was glad. She’d seen him on the days when he arrived at a rescue too late.

He sat down and grabbed the menu as well, though he too didn’t look at it. He seemed to only have eyes for her – something that filled her entire body with warmth.

The waiter approached once more, pad in hand after seeing Clark’s entrance and introduced himself as Joe.

“Can I tell you about our seasonal menu items?” Joe asked politely. Lois blinked a moment and looked at the menu again, taking it in for the first time. Sure enough, the menu had an additional full page insert full of drink and food items designed to fit the season. Of course they did. Joe was still speaking, though Lois only partially paid attention.

“We have eggnog, hot apple cider, peppermint hot chocolate…”

“Coffee is fine for me,” Lois interrupted, setting the menu on the table face down. “Low fat cream, one sweetener.”

“I’ll have…” Clark studied the seasonal insert carefully. “Would you recommend the eggnog or the apple cider?”

Joe thought about it for a moment. “I’m partial to the eggnog myself, but the cider comes with a cinnamon stick and has been really popular with customers. Plus, it’s pretty cold out, so if you’re looking for something that will warm you up, that will do the trick.”

“Sounds good to me,” Clark said with a smile. He looked at Lois, who was trying not to roll her eyes. He didn’t even feel the cold. “You sure you don’t want some apple cider?”

She shook her head, and attempted a smile, though she feared it didn’t come out that way. The waiter wrote down both of their requests. They ordered the usual food items and the waiter left them to their own devices.

An awkward silence stretched in front of them until Lois decided to fill him in on the information she’d gotten from Bobby Bigmouth. Clark listened and offered his opinion here and there. They had enough, it seemed, to write the story up as soon as they got back to the Planet as soon as one or two other things could be corroborated. Lois felt the old familiar rush of a story on the verge of being written and she held onto that feeling. That feeling she could trust.

When she’d finished updating him, the waiter returned with their drinks. Lois poured the cream and opened the sweetener packet while Clark stared in almost childlike delight at the cinnamon stick in his drink. It was incredibly unfair that he could eat or drink whatever he liked and still look as incredible as he did.

“You know,” he was saying as he took his first sip. “We should bring Bobby some of this next time. He’s a pretty good informant after all and…‘tis the season.”

“So it appears,” she agreed noncommittally. He gave her a curious look.

“You okay, honey?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice. “You seem a little…I dunno…down?”

“I’m fine,” Lois said with a wave of her hand. “I just missed the memo where we seemed to go from Thanksgiving to Miracle on 32nd Street.”

"34th Street," he corrected.

"You know, I like you editing my rants even less than my copy," she said, though with no anger behind it.

Clark gave a soft chuckle and reached out to squeeze her hand. She felt reassured and heard, which she appreciated.

“They do seem to decorate earlier and earlier every year, don’t they?”

Lois nodded and let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “It just kind of snuck up on me,” she admitted. “We’ve barely had time to catch our breaths since we’ve gotten engaged.”

“It has been a lot,” he agreed. “There was you getting my powers, the woman who claimed to have had Superman’s love child…”

“The world almost being taken over by Nazis,” Lois continued, ticking the events off on her fingers, “not to mention Lex Luthor’s illegitimate son trapping us in a virtual reality world and trying to kill us…and all of that before Thanksgiving!”

They both laughed and the world suddenly seemed right again, at least for now. She gave him a long, lingering look as if trying to memorise every feature of his face. He was so beautiful.

“I guess I just wanted some time alone with you to enjoy being engaged before all of this…” she gestured at all the seasonal decor.

“Thanksgiving was nice,” Clark pointed out. And he was right. He’d flown her to Smallville for Thanksgiving with his parents after Lois had admitted that she would not be seeing any of her family for the holiday. In the last few years, she’d spent most major holidays on her own. She’d reached out a few times to her mom or Lucy, but it became more and more clear to her as she got older that any holiday was less stressful without her family involved. It was a sad lesson to learn, especially after seeing the warmth and laughter that seemed to permanently live within the Kent family farmhouse.

This year, Clark had pointed out it would be their first Thanksgiving as an engaged couple, insisting that it be spent together. Lois was only happy to oblige. She’d had a wonderful time watching the parade on television and eating the delicious meal that Martha had cooked. She’d attempted to offer her services in the kitchen but was eventually exiled by Martha, who insisted she could do it faster on her own. Lois, who was under no illusions about her cooking skills, had to agree and she’d ended up joining Clark on the couch as he watched the football game with his dad.

“It was nice,” she agreed. “Thanksgiving in Smallville….we should do that every year.”

“Speaking of,” Clark said and Lois could tell by the sound of his voice she might not like what he was about to say. They were briefly interrupted by their food arriving and Lois took a big bite of her club sandwich in order to brace herself for whatever was coming next.

“I thought we could maybe talk about what we’re doing for the Christmas holidays,” he said, and she noticed he tried to keep his voice mild. She watched him carefully as she swallowed the bite of sandwich and took a sip of her coffee. “Since we’re engaged, I wondered if you’d maybe want to invite your parents, and I could invite mine and we could host.”

Lois nearly choked on her coffee.

“You…want to invite my parents for Christmas?” she asked, wondering if she’d suddenly entered into an alternate dimension or if Clark had been replaced by a clone. “As in…both of them in the same room together? For a meal?” Surely he wasn’t serious.

He gave her a hopeful smile, and the sinking feeling in her stomach told her he was.

“We’re going to be married in a couple of months,” he reasoned, “and I’ve only met them both once and very briefly. We weren’t even dating then! I want a chance to get to know them before we get married. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

“Clark, there’s a very good reason why I haven’t wanted you to spend any time with my parents before the wedding,” Lois said. “It’s because I want there to actually be a wedding.”

“They can’t be that bad…”

“Besides, they can’t be in the same room together without wanting to rip each other’s heads off,” Lois interrupted, on a roll now. “You put a Christmas turkey in front of them, and all hell will break loose.”

“I just want to get to know them,” Clark insisted, looking at her with those deep brown eyes she had so much trouble resisting. “After all, they made you. There has to be some good there.”

Lois gave a sharp laugh.

“They thought the same thing about the nuclear bomb,” she shot back. Clark gave her that look again, and she felt her shoulders slump. She knew she was going to end up disappointing him, but she just couldn’t see herself wanting to spend her Christmas listening to her parents lob insults at each other in front of the Kents and her fiance.

“Just…think about it?” he asked her, and she found herself nodding despite herself. The answer would be no, of course, but she could pretend to consider it for his sake. Maybe she could convince him to fly out for dinner before Christmas for brunch with her mother. Ten minutes around her, and Lois was sure he’d abandon the idea of inviting them for the rest of their lives.

Clark, happy with her response, leaned over and kissed her softly.

“I love you,” he said. And she knew he meant it. It was all she needed.






I thought I’d be tall when I made my stand
But there was a child, ‘neath these northern skies…
-North Wind by Aengus Finnan

One Week Later…

Lois sighed as she rifled through her closet looking for the perfect dress for the annual Daily Planet Christmas party. She wasn’t sure why it mattered what she wore. She had several options in her closet that she knew would take Clark’s breath away and put out a suitable holiday vibe. A slim-fitting, fallen-shoulder pencil dress, a strapless black party dress, a deep burgundy halter dress, and many others stared back at her. She made a frustrated noise and closed the closet door, sitting down on the bed.

She didn’t want to go. She’d been to this party a million times. She felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, going through the motions on autopilot. They would arrive at the Planet, which would be decorated as if a Christmas store vomited all over the place. Christmas music would play in the background – the same twenty-five songs on a loop – while people struggled to shout meaningless small talk over it while exchanging generic gifts.

She played absently with the fabric of her bedspread, wondering just when she had become so cynical. Clark would be here any moment. He'd be wearing one of his nicest suits with the deep green tie she had mercifully bought him. He was looking forward to the party, of course, and the last thing she wanted was to bring down the mood. He looked forward to these functions with an innocence that still surprised her. He somehow saw past the trappings and the noise and found joy in nights like these. Lois wanted to find that same joy. She kept hoping that maybe some of it would rub off on her. After all, Clark seemed to fit in effortlessly wherever he went, whereas she was well aware she was an acquired taste.

She had Perry and Jimmy, of course. The two of them plus Clark made up her entire circle of close friends, and she didn't really do acquaintances.

Clark, on the other hand, seemed to know everyone's life story, from accounts to research and everywhere in between. She envied his seemingly flawless ability to fit in anywhere. For an alie,n he belonged in a way she never really felt she did.

A knock on the door shook her from her maudlin thoughts. He was here! She wasn't even dressed! She threw on a robe and scrambled over to the door to let him in. She raced back into the bedroom as he entered and made himself at home in the living room.

"Lois?" She heard him say curiously to her retreating form.

"Sorry, I'm not ready!"

"It's five-thirty," he pointed out, though he didn't sound annoyed.

"You can't rush perfection," she teased, trying to force herself to be excited. She was going out for the night with her gorgeous fiance. What did it matter why?

She took one more look in the closet and decided on the strapless party dress. Lois was a firm believer that you couldn't go wrong with a little black dress, as she couldn't find it in herself to wear anything more festive.

She slipped it on and applied her makeup while she made small talk with Clark in the other room.

"So who did you get for the Secret Santa?" Clark was asking. "I got Amanda in legal. Found a nice pen set that I think she will like."

"Oh no, the Secret Santa!" she exclaimed aloud as she applied her mascara. "I got Steve in the classified section! I was going to get him a pair of gloves and I completely forgot!"

The familiar sound of Superman's whoosh told her that he'd decided to run her secret Santa errand. Her heart filled with love as she exited the bedroom just as he arrived back with a small box, perfectly wrapped.

"You didn't have to do that," she said softly. He'd already spun back into his suit for the party. He said nothing for a moment, looking at her instead with wide-eyed wonder. Lois flushed slightly under his gaze. She wasn't used to being looked at with such complete and utter devotion. "Well, say something, or I'm going to think you hate it."

"You look incredible," he rasped, and Lois felt her entire body go weak for a moment as his eyes darkened. Despite the fact that they had agreed to wait until the wedding to make love for the first time, she considered seducing him. From the look on his face, it wouldn't be that difficult, and as an added bonus, they wouldn't have to go to the party. It was a win-win. No, as appealing as that sounded, she didn’t want the motivation for their first time together to be getting out of a Christmas party.

She took a tentative step closer to him and placed her hands on his chest, running them slowly up his body until they wrapped around his neck, and drew him down to kiss her which he did – more than willingly. He deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing ever so delicately against hers, sending jolts of heat throughout her body. She briefly reconsidered her stance re: seduction.

When she pulled back, he gave a soft laugh.

“I need to compliment your outfit more often,” he said, his voice deep and clearly affected by their kiss.

“Yes, you do,” she teased back, absently playing with his tie. “You look good, too. Really good. Not that you don’t always look good, but with the suit and the tie and you smell really nice and…”

“Honey,” he interrupted her rant gently and with great affection. “As much as I enjoy hearing you extol my virtues in such detail, we should probably get going.”

“Yes, right…” she said as she reached over and grabbed the small clutch she was bringing as well as the last minute Secret Santa gift Clark had managed to get for her. She glanced at it with a small grimace. She hated these sorts of things. She always found herself being peer pressured into participating even though she had no desire to, and she couldn’t understand why. She usually got someone she barely knew and vice versa and ended up buying them some useless knick knack that they would only throw out a week or so later. At least, that’s what she usually did with the assortment of bath bombs, candles, and other random paraphenalia under the twenty dollar spending limit that she usually received.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as they left her apartment and hailed a cab. She wanted to be able to have a couple of glasses of wine, so she left her Jeep behind.

“I was just thinking about the pointlessness of these gifts,” she said, gesturing towards both of their Secret Santa presents as they climbed into the cab. “They only ever end up in the landfill. Why do we continue to do it?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s just nice to give and receive a present,” Clark said, as usual sounding mildly baffled by her ‘bah humbug’ approach to the holidays. “Don’t you like getting presents?”

“Not the kind of stuff that usually gets given at these events,” Lois replied practically. “There’s only so many shower massagers, loofahs, and hot chocolate gift sets that a girl can tolerate.”

“I don’t know,” Clark said, giving her a rather heated look, “Now you’ve got me thinking of all the potential uses of a shower massager.”

“Oh, well I think I got rid of that one,” she said, all of a sudden feeling rather breathless. “But if I get another one, I’ll let you know.”

They were interrupted by the taxi pulling up to the Daily Planet building, and the two of them made their way onto the elevator and eventually into the bullpen, where the entire place had been transformed for the party. The room was awash in red and green, with wreaths and holly, and mistletoe strategically placed around the office. Lois made a mental note of all of their locations for later. Most of the tables and desks that could be moved, had been, to allow for the party guests to mingle with one another, and in the middle of the room was a modest Christmas tree. Tinsel and garland hung from the stairs and railings, and Christmas lights were strung up everywhere, blinking incessantly.

It was just as bright and aggressively cheerful as she’d imagined, and she found herself wincing slightly as Ralph staggered up to them to say hello as he did every year when they arrived at the party, regardless of whether they wanted him to or not.

They weaved their way around Ralph and made their way down to the central area in the bullpen, where Perry seemed to be holding court telling various jokes – many of them about Elvis. Lois smiled affectionately at her boss. She’d never tell him this, but one of the few things she did look forward to was seeing Perry relax and be social. She knew how hard he worked every day, and it was refreshing to be able to just talk to him about things that didn’t involve stories and deadlines. He’d been more of a father to her than her own had been, and she valued his wisdom and friendship in a way he would never know.

“Oh, Lois! Clark!” Perry exclaimed. “Did you ever hear about the one about the two Elvis impersonators, the frog, and the block of ice?”

“Many times,” Lois said, with the first genuine smile of the evening. “But I love the way you tell it.”

Perry smiled widely and launched into the set up for his joke while Clark shot her a look that seemed to say the same thing. A lady walked by with a tray of drinks and she reached out to take a glass of red wine.

“....and then the Elvis impersonator said, ‘marry him? That’s not even my frog!’”

Despite both of them having heard the joke, they both laughed heartily, and she felt the tension drain from her body. Standing here, listening to Perry tell jokes and Jimmy rattle on about the last camera he had purchased, with Clark by her side, Lois felt at home. She was able to block out the music and the din around her and concentrate on the people who mattered most to her.

Clark wrapped his arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck gently as Jimmy switched topics to describe the new girl he was dating.

Perry looked at them with mock sternness and said, “Hey, you two, no canoodling in my newsroom!”

“Are you kidding?” Jimmy teased, “Ever since these two got engaged, that’s all they seem to do!”

“Sorry, Chief,” Clark said, throwing a grin at Lois that told her he was anything but. He took the gift she still held in her hands for Steve from classifieds and smiled that heart-stopping smile of his. “I’m going to go put these in the Secret Santa box.”

For the next hour or so, Lois was able to forget how much she disliked these parties and just enjoy herself. Clark helped immensely with that. He never seemed to leave her side for long despite the scores of people who seemed to want to talk to him – many of them young women from various departments. A Lois from another life might have been jealous, but every look he gave her, every touch, every whispered endearment brought home one irrefutable truth – his heart belonged firmly to her.

And she liked that feeling. She even liked the apple cider that was passed around along with the wine and the fact that Perry could make her laugh so hard her cheeks hurt. Next to Clark, she could feel like she belonged, and that was a rare feeling.

A few hours into the party, she found herself needing to catch a breath of fresh air outside the front of the building. She’d left Clark telling two girls from the obit section about a story they’d covered in which Superman had averted some crisis or another. Lois had had to stifle a yawn and excuse herself, and now she was drawing the fresh air into her lungs in large gulps.

She’d been enjoying the party, but it was also draining. She craved the crispness of the night air – the temperature having dropped even further now that it was dark. She was cold, but somehow she didn’t mind. She watched for a moment or so as the cars whizzed past, the streetlights glinting off the paint. Though it was dark, the night sky seemed full of colour – brightly coloured cars with their headlights blazing, the puddles on the ground from when it had rained earlier throwing back their reflection and the parcels and bags people carried as they walked past – most talking excitedly. It was a different world, and Lois found herself coming back to the realization that she was only watching it.

She sighed and went back inside the Planet. She’d been enjoying herself. The last thing she wanted to do was lose that feeling by being brought back to reality. She came in just as Clark had finished telling his story, and he gravitated to her like a compass being called home. He must have seen something in her eyes because he touched her face gently, giving her a questioning look.

“Everything okay?” he asked softly. She nodded, not knowing how to describe the feeling of ‘otherness’ she seemed to have almost constantly.

“Just needed some air,” she replied. He wrapped his arms around her waist in response, dipping down to give her the gentlest of kisses. His eyes were dark and hungry.

“Dance with me?” he asked.


I've had my fill of chasing my shadow.
I wore him well
And he wore me down
I miss the hills
And soft rolling meadows
I stayed for a while
Now I'm leaving this town
-North Wind by Aengus Finnan

Lois wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow she found herself wrapped tightly in Clark's arms as they swayed in a circle to some old Bing Crosby Christmas song.

She never felt so safe as she did when she was in his arms. There was something about the way he held her – gentle but with an underlying strength that was hers for the taking if she needed it.

She could feel his heartbeat, steady and reassuring against her cheek. His body was warm and he smelled faintly of peppermint. Lois wondered if it was from the hot chocolate making the rounds or if he had a Christmas themed cologne he'd worn for the occasion. She wouldn't put the latter one past him. Either way, she loved it.

She loved him.

"I'm so glad we came," he whispered in her ear. His voice was a deliciously warm rumble – like rich dark chocolate – and Lois enjoyed the shiver that passed through her.

"Me too," she said and was surprised to find she meant it. At this moment, being in his arms, she was glad they had come.

He moved his hands to cup her cheeks and she tilted her head to look up at him. She secretly loved the way her entire face seemed to fit in the palm of his hand. Every single part of her seemed made to fit him and vice versa. And although she wasn't in a major hurry, she was eager to test that theory to its absolute fullest.

"I love you," he whispered tenderly, pulling her in for a kiss that was sweet and full of promise.

She sighed into him and reached up to thread her hand through his hair, wanting more of the love, reassurance, and passion that simmered just below the surface.

When they broke apart, she felt a grin spread across her face.

"What is it?" he asked, though he had a silly grin on his face as well.

"We weren't even under the mistletoe," she said with a giggle. Clark looked to the sprig of mistletoe directly to their left and gave her a mischievous smile.

"We can fix that," he said, taking a large step to the left and pulling her into another breathtaking kiss.

Lois melted into him once more as the kiss deepened in intensity. She pressed her body as close to him as she could and felt him do the same. His hands roamed slowly, torturously down her shoulders, her sides, and her lower back. He clutched her hips tightly, and she let out a breathy sigh as his lips made their way down her neck.

Were they still in a public place? She felt like they were in a public place. Oh God, his hands felt so good. His lips felt so good. She felt that familiar tension in her lower body building.

It wasn't until she heard a loud whistle and Ralph drunkenly yell at them to get a room that she and Clark came crashing back to reality.

Reluctantly, they both stepped back, their breathing heavy.

“I guess we got carried away,” Clark said with a sheepish smile that was both boyish and extremely sexy. “I don’t know how you do it to me. One touch and…”

“I know,” she agreed softly, taking his hand and leaning her head back against his chest. “It’s the same for me. I’ve never felt anything like it. Should we…sit down? I think people are looking at us.”

“I can’t really do that right now,” Clark said through slightly gritted teeth. Lois blinked in confusion, and then understood his meaning. The effects of their kiss were clearly still with him.

“Okay,” she said as she shifted her lower body away from the area in question. “Will you hold me?”

“Of course,” he replied as he kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes and let the crowded newsroom melt away. They were still for a minute before Lois gave a soft sigh and pulled back. The spell had broken and the world washed over her again – loud and unnaturally bright.

They made their way back to one of the lounge chairs that had been arranged at the side of the bullpen and for a few moments they sat in silence and people watched.

It had reached that time of night – the time Lois hated the most at these parties – when things were clearly winding down and most people were a few drinks in and didn’t want to admit it. Lois usually made her excuses to go home by this point, but she was enjoying being with Clark and she didn’t want to leave.

She suddenly realized that she couldn’t wait until she no longer had to go home without him.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Clark said softly as he reached over to brush aside a tendril of hair that had escaped her updo. She shot him a tentative smile.

“Just thinking that for next year’s Christmas party, we will be here as husband and wife.”

He grinned that silly grin that seemed to happen every time she mentioned the fact that they were so close to being married. Come to think of it, she grinned that same silly grin at times.

“Which means that at the end of the night, we go home together.” His voice deepened ever so slightly on the last word and Lois felt that familiar excited flurry at the idea of being closer to him – the kind of close they might have gotten earlier if they had been at home and not in the middle of the Daily Planet bullpen. The kind of close they had almost gotten on numerous occasions the last few weeks.

“That will be nice,” she said, though the tone of her voice suggested that it would be much more than nice, as did the heat in his gaze. How could he make her feel like this with just a look?

She knew that if she didn’t leave soon, that look might just be her undoing, so she made a show of glancing at the clock and stood up.

“You heading home?” he asked, sounding disappointed. “I thought we could talk some more.”

“I think we’re all about to turn into pumpkins,” she said, gesturing towards the party goers who had been filing out of the Planet in stages, their dresses and suits rumpled, hair flat, and makeup fading.

She looked at him curiously. “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Just wondering if you thought about what I said,” he said and she could tell by the tone of his voice that it was a conversation they’d already had and she’d already tried to avoid. “You know…about inviting your parents up so I can meet them before the wedding.”

“Can we talk about this tomorrow, Clark?” she said, feigning a yawn and feeling terrible about it. “I’m beat.”

“Will we?” he asked, and he no longer sounded hesitant, which made her nervous. She hadn’t expected him to push the issue, especially not now when the mass exodus of the Daily Planet party had left them almost entirely alone but for the custodial staff, who were already cleaning up the fallen decorations and tinsel. The place looked like a bizarre kind of Christmas Mardi Gras.

“What are you saying, Clark?” she said, sitting up a little straighter. Don’t do this, she begged inwardly, don’t make me have this conversation. Not now. Not yet.

“I’m saying, do you plan on even inviting them to the wedding?” he countered and she felt her heart drop. He obviously was planning on going there. She couldn’t even blame him. Not really. It wasn’t as if he was asking something unreasonable. She bit her lip as he continued, trying to keep the emotions that threatened to surface at bay. “And what about when we have kids? Are you planning on having your parents in our lives at all? In their lives?”

“I don’t know, I…” She looked away as tears pricked her eyelids. Her voice was thick with emotion as she spoke. “I haven’t thought it through, I know, but you don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand,” Clark pushed, and she could hear the love – the sincerity – in his voice, which only made it worse. He wanted to know. He wanted to see all the sides of her – even the ugly ones. But Lois couldn’t bear the thought of it. After all, he was so beautiful.

She stood up, wiping away the tears that had started to traitorously roll down her face.

“I can’t do this, Clark,” she said. “Not tonight. I have to go.”

She made her way towards the door, not looking back to see if he followed her but knowing he had. The night air was a shock to her system, even as she pulled her coat on.

“At least let me fly you home,” he said helplessly as she reached out to hail a cab. She met his eyes, the cold air stinging the tears on her cheeks.

“Not tonight,” she told him as a car pulled up. “I don’t feel much like flying.”

She climbed in and closed the door. As the cab pulled away she watched his reflection grow smaller through the window. He didn’t follow, but she knew he wanted to. She told the cab driver the destination and forced herself to look at her hands, determined not to cry until she reached the safety of her apartment.


But this night is clear, and so full of wonder
And lord I am tired, of walking alone
All of my dreams, they’re going under
I carry my pride like a weathered old stone
-North Wind by Aengus Finnan

Once home, Lois dropped her keys and purse on the floor and immediately changed out of her dress into her comfy flannels. She wiped her makeup off with a ferocity that scared her and noticed that her hands trembled as she did so.

Drawing a shaky breath, she made her way into the kitchen, where she put the kettle on, determined to make herself some tea.

She would not think about the conversation she'd had with Clark. She wouldn't think about the way her parents seemed to be able to ruin everything even when they were nowhere to be seen. She certainly wouldn't think about that look in Clark's eyes as he tried to reach out and the way she'd shut him out.

She had spent the blissful few months of their engagement pretending that nothing could touch them. She'd allowed Clark's parents to adopt her into their loving family, all the while ignoring her own.

She kept telling herself she'd call her mother and father next week and tell them. But next week came and went, and she was loath to disrupt the happiness she'd found with Clark.

Things were so perfect. The last thing she wanted was for the dysfunction of her parents to intrude on the life she'd built. She'd tried so hard. What she had with Clark was so healthy, so pure. She’d wanted it to stay that way.

She’d been hoping to hold off on having to introduce him to them until after Christmas. The holidays were difficult enough for her as it was without adding the complication of a father who had been largely absent and a mother who did nothing but rant about the failure of her own marriage while making passive aggressive remarks about the way Lois lived her life. The only small mercy was that her mother was no longer drinking. If she had been, Lois was pretty certain that she wouldn’t still have her in her life at all.

But Clark was right. If she wanted to have any chance of making their marriage work, she couldn’t keep hiding the ugliness that was her family life.

The sound of the kettle’s whistle told her the water was boiled, and she plopped an orange pekoe teabag in a cup. She was too upset to bother with some of the more complicated loose leaf teas in the cupboard.

She sat down on her couch and tried to think of anything but the fight she’d had with Clark. Was it a fight? Did that count? She wasn’t sure. She had never navigated a relationship like this before. She’d never been with someone that she loved this deeply. She’d almost married Lex Luthor and they had never once fought. Why did that bother her? Surely fighting wasn’t something to strive for in a relationship. That’s exactly what she’d seen destroy her parents.

And yet, surely, never fighting wasn’t healthy either. Wasn’t that what she’d been doing up until tonight? Avoiding a confrontation with Clark because she wasn’t ready to show him her demons? She closed her eyes and took a sip of the tea and grimaced as she realised she’d forgotten the sugar. She didn’t have the energy to go back for it. She was using all of that energy to keep herself from thinking about that crushed look in Clark’s eyes when she'd told him she didn’t want to fly with him.

She couldn’t think about that or she would shatter completely. He’d tried so hard to understand, and she had pushed him away. And even as she did so, a part of her hoped he would follow her anyway.

That was ridiculous wasn’t it? She’d asked him not to. She’d set a boundary and he’d honoured it. So why did it hurt so much? Why did she find herself looking at her window every five minutes, hoping to see him out there?

She’d told him she wanted to be alone, but she’d desperately hoped he wouldn’t listen.

And then, as if she’d summoned him, he was there, tapping gingerly on the window. Lois stood up and let him in, feeling oddly nervous and off-kilter as he walked in and spun out of the suit into a t-shirt and jeans.

Her heart twinged ever so slightly as she took in the sight of him dressed so casually. Somehow, she found it more striking than his well-fitting suits or even a tux.

She suddenly felt as if she were standing on a precipice. He’d come. Despite her pushing him away, despite the fact that they had (maybe) fought, he had come. And looking into his eyes, she saw no traces of anger or hurt. She just saw worry and love. And for some reason, that brought all the emotions she’d been trying to push down to the surface all over again.

“I’m sorry!” they said in unison.

Lois laughed, and that laugh turned into a strangled cry as she collapsed, sobbing, into his arms.

He held her without saying a word. She clutched his soft grey t-shirt and felt her chest heave and his shirt go damp with her tears.

When she finally had nothing left to give, she stepped back and turned away, wanting to grab some tissues so that he didn’t see how red and splotchy her face had obviously become.

Instead, he reached out and touched her chin gently enough to turn her back to face him, capturing her lips in a gentle and slightly damp kiss.

“I love you,” he whispered when they parted. Her breath hitched and she fought to keep herself from dissolving all over again. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. You told me not to come, but I…I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t leave you like that. Not when it was all my fault to begin with.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said quietly. This time she did step back and turned to retrieve a box of Kleenex from the night table. “And I wanted you to come. More than anything.”

He looked a little surprised. “You did? But you said…”

“I know,” she responded with a small laugh. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked, clearly a bit baffled by the unwritten relationship rules with which they appeared to be operating under.

Lois realised they were both still standing and gestured for them to sit down on the couch. They did, and she allowed him to fold her into his arms.

“For knowing what I needed,” she told him once she felt the familiar and comforting weight of his arm around hers.

“Are you…” he hesitated, and she could see that he wasn’t sure how much to say. She cringed inwardly. She’d done this…made some topics taboo. “Are you ready to talk? About your parents, I mean? It’s okay if you’re not. I just need to know where the line is.”

“There shouldn’t be a line, Clark, I’m sorry,” she said, feeling completely defeated.

“Hey,” he said softly, reaching out to cup her face once more. “Look at me.”

She did, and almost drew away from the love that stared back at her.

“If you say there’s a line, there’s a line,” he promised her firmly. “If you aren’t ready to tackle this, then that’s okay. You can do this on your own time. I’m not going anywhere.”

“No, I need to talk about this,” she replied, grateful beyond words at his offer to just leave things in her hands. She took a deep, shuddering breath and stared at him for a moment, trying to think of where to start.

“You know I’m not a big fan of the holidays,” she said finally. He gave a small nod, and she took that as her cue to continue. “A lot of that, as you may have guessed, has to do with my family. You know the basics, but I don’t think I’ve ever told you what things were like for me around this time of year and why I can’t seem to find the same magic that you seem to see everywhere.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve put too much pressure on you,” he said regretfully, and she shook her head.

“You couldn’t know,” she replied. “I never told you.”

She’d never told anyone. She’d kept these hurts close to her – a way of protecting her against the unknown and the fear of ‘what if’. But she had to let go of those things if she was ever going to stop feeling like an outsider looking in at the world.

“When I was eight, my grandfather on my mother’s side became very ill. My grandmother had died years before that. I never knew her, but my mother was very close to her father. The illness took a toll on her, and my parents were fighting more than usual, which was still almost all the time. She hated that my father worked such long hours, and when he was home, we all found ourselves walking on eggshells, afraid of disturbing the peace.”

She paused a moment as if trying to gauge his reaction. She wasn’t sure why she’d decided to start with this specific story, only that it had felt like something he needed to know. He reached out and squeezed her hand, but otherwise said nothing. She understood. He was giving her the space she needed.

“The entire lead up to Christmas was tense. My mother was always at the hospital, and when she wasn’t, she was fighting with my father. Lucy was too young to really remember what it was like, but I felt like an afterthought – an inconvenience next to all of the more important things going on. As a result, Christmas got lost in the shuffle. I soon learned not to even bring it up, and the conversations I did overhear, well…let’s just say that was the year I learned that Santa wasn’t real.”

“Oh…” Clark let out a breath, and she could tell that he understood some of the enormity of what she was saying. “I’m sorry.”

“That wasn’t the worst part, though,” she said, waving that memory away though it still sat heavily on her heart. “The worst was Christmas day. My mother spent half of it at the hospital getting special permission for my grandfather to come over for Christmas dinner and the other half cooking and losing her temper. My cousins had come to visit and my mother had set up two tables – one for the adults and one for the kids. Even then, I didn’t have much patience for people my own age, so I insisted I was old enough to sit with the adults. My mother disagreed, and like any eight year old, I threw a fit.”

She closed her eyes and attempted to slow her racing heart as she got closer and closer to the part of the story that even now was hard to think about, much less voice out loud. Eventually, she took a breath and continued.

“It was a huge fight and everyone heard it. My mother eventually banished me to my room for dinner, which was bad enough, but after she marched me in there, she told me that I had ruined the last Christmas she would ever have with her father.”

Lois looked down, tears gently rolling down her cheeks now as she relived that memory and what came after it. She looked back up at Clark.

“He died the next day,” she said. She wasn’t sure why, but it felt like a confession. “I…blamed myself. I thought if I’d just been nicer, if I’d just sat at that stupid table…”

She trailed off, unable to speak for a moment and Clark pressed an excruciatingly gentle kiss on her forehead.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, his jaw tight and an emotion in his eyes she couldn’t place. “You were just a kid.”

“I know,” she agreed, nodding her head. “I know. I do. But you know to this day, my mother has never said she was sorry? For any of it? She’s never said she was sorry for the fighting, or the drinking, or for making me take on responsibilities no child should ever have to.”

She laughed tearfully and wiped her cheeks.

“After my father left, she just kind of…deflated. Something went out of her. Nothing Lucy or I did seemed to make any difference. The drinking got worse and Christmas became more of a chore than anything else. It was just something she needed to get through. I remember one year, she didn’t feel like wrapping so she went out to the store and bought these plastic grocery bags with pictures of presents on the side that zipped up and just put all the gifts in those. Lucy and I woke up that year to a tree full of plastic bags and nothing to unwrap.”

“How old were you?” he asked, and she was beyond grateful for the fact that he wasn’t looking at her with pity. She didn’t think she could bear pity.

“I was maybe fifteen. She said she didn’t think we would care since the presents were there, but it wasn’t about the presents. It was about being together when we unwrapped them. It was one of the few things left that I looked forward to…those few moments in the morning before she started drinking where we pretended we were a normal family and then that was gone and…”

She shook her head, not sure she could continue. He seemed to understand, and bent forward to capture her lips in a long, lingering kiss.

When they parted, he pressed his forehead to hers and Lois took the comfort he offered so freely and without condition.

“You get the idea,” she said eventually. He nodded and she saw in his eyes that he did understand. She stood up and took her mug to the sink running a hand through her hair as she did so. “I’ve been putting it off…telling both of them about the wedding. And I did mean to call them, but with Christmas…”

She waved a hand helplessly, trying to convey the sense of impending dread that such a conversation entailed.


“It’s okay,” he assured her. “We’ll tell them when you’re ready.”

“I appreciate that,” she said and then sat back down on the sofa next to him. He placed a comforting hand on her leg and gently ran it up and down her thigh. In any other circumstances a touch like that would set her on fire, but tonight it just calmed her, and that was just as important.

“I don’t understand how you do it,” she said softly.

“Do what?” he asked quietly.

“It’s not just that you enjoy the season, but you seem so at home. You get along with the waiters and the Santas. You order the apple cider with the cinnamon stick even though you don’t feel the cold, and you love the Christmas parties where Ralph spends half the night getting wasted on nog and telling everyone he loves them.”

“I can’t say that last one is the highlight of my evening,” he said wryly and she laughed.

“But you seem to just…belong.” She shook her head sadly. “I can’t seem to do that. I always feel like I’m on the outside looking in on a feeling I can never have.”

A moment went by that seemed to feel like an eternity before he stood up, then spun into the suit.

“I know exactly how that feels,” he whispered, holding out his hand. “Fly with me?”


So come on north wind, blow…
Blow this dreamer away.
And let no one ever know,
How much I long to stay.
-North Wind, but Aengus Finnan

“You’ll need to dress warmly,” he told her, as she moved into his arms. She nodded, feeling the spandex fabric rubbing against her cheek, but stayed perfectly still. She just wanted to feel his heartbeat for a moment longer and then she would get ready. After everything that she’d told him, she really wanted to fly with him.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she moved away from him, heading into her bedroom to find something warmer to wear. While her pjs were comfortable, they weren’t exactly warm, and he’d made it clear that wherever they were going was cold enough to warrant an outfit change.

She rifled through her closet finding her coziest fleecy sweater which she paired with some jeans. As she changed, she heard his voice outside the door answering her question.

“It’s a surprise,” he was saying. “I don’t want to say any more than that or it might ruin it.”

She exited the bedroom as he finished and felt a slight thrill run through her. Even though she felt completely emotionally drained, he could still excite her. And the look in his eye told her that whatever he wanted to show her was special.

“How’s this?” she asked. He gave a small frown and walked over to her main closet, pulling out a ski jacket and a pair of snow pants.

“You’ll need these,” he told her. “And a hat and gloves.”

She thought about asking why, but the look on his face told her she wouldn’t get far. Sighing, she did as he requested, inwardly cursing the fact that he didn’t feel the cold. It wasn’t fair.


When she was completely dressed, she turned to him once more.

“This better be worth it, spaceman,” she teased lightly and suddenly found herself grateful that she still could. She wasn’t broken after all.

Something flickered in his eyes as he lifted her effortlessly into his arms. A thrill went through her entire body every time he did that. And the way he was looking at her…she suddenly felt short of breath and they weren’t even flying yet.

“It will be worth it, I promise,” he said, and they lifted off from her window and into the night sky.

It wasn’t terribly cold at first. A bit windy, of course, but that was to be expected. As long as he didn’t go too fast, it was like riding in a car with the top down. She leaned her head against him and allowed the wind and the feel of him to wash over her.

No matter what happened, or whatever feelings of hurt, abandonment or feeling like she didn’t belong, melted away. Up here, with nothing but the clouds, the wind and the man she loved, she was free – above it all.

She was untouchable.

And yet, the way he touched her made her feel as if she truly belonged somewhere after all. He was her north star and she knew that if she got lost, he would guide her home. It was the best feeling.

Eventually, the air turned colder and colder. She shivered against him and he pulled her close and held her tighter. She tried to keep her teeth from chattering, but the wind on her face – comforting only moments ago – was now hostile and harsh.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice a comforting rumble. “Do you want to turn around?”

She looked up at him and smiled.

“I’m fine,” she promised him, snuggling as close to his body as she could get. “I’ve got you to keep me warm.”

They flew for a few more moments in silence before Clark’s voice broke the stillness of the night – a gentle whisper in her ear.

“Close your eyes. We’re almost there.”

She did as he said, feeling an unprecedented sense of calm come over her. It was strange. She was thousands of feet above the ground, in the arms of a man who could fly. On paper it sounded terrifying, and she’d never felt more safe – body and soul.

She could feel it as they began to make their descent. The slight change in altitude caused him to gently remind her to keep her eyes shut. She did so, humouring him. After all, it seemed to mean a lot to him that she see whatever it was he had to show her with fresh eyes.

It was a curious feeling as they landed. In a way, she was falling, cushioned only by the arms that held her. And really, that was the way their relationship had been right from the start. She’d fallen slowly, gently, and with perfect safety, though it hadn’t always felt like it. After all, she’d had her eyes closed the entire time.

And yet she’d seen him. She would always see him.

She felt his feet touch the ground first with a small jolt. He set her down with great care and she stood, feeling slightly wobbly in the knees. She felt lightheaded in a way that wasn’t entirely due to the flight and his arms.

They had landed, but they were at a higher elevation than they were in Metropolis. Her eyes still closed, she allowed herself to wonder where he’d taken her. The air felt different and she couldn’t place why.

“Okay, I’ve played along,” she said, and her voice felt foreign to her own ears – almost like it was intruding on the stillness of the night. “Can I open my eyes now?”


“In a minute,” he promised her. “Take my hand. It’s just a short walk.”

She did, and she allowed him to guide her towards their unknown destination. She felt the snow crunch under her boots, the quiet both peaceful and unnerving. It was as if the cold and snow had swallowed up all other sounds leaving just the two of them.

The only ones left in the world. Or at least, that’s how it felt.

Eventually they stopped and she could hear him spin out of the suit. They must be in a place where nobody could see them. She waited patiently until eventually his voice reached her ears, warming her despite the cold.

“Okay,” he said, “you can open them now.”

She did, and she gasped aloud at the sight that awaited her. She hadn’t been sure what to expect, but it hadn’t been this.

“Oh,” she breathed, her words a puff of smoke in the cold night air. “Oh, Clark...”

It was the most incredible thing she’d ever seen in her life.

They stood atop a mountain summit. Around them, she could see a dizzying array of snow covered peaks and valleys. They seemed to stretch out around her, making the land feel vast and never ending. Looking around at her immediate surroundings, she could see that they were, in fact, standing in a groove that had been carved into the side of the summit. Almost as if someone had deliberately hollowed out a part of the mountain that no one else could get to.

She gave Clark a questioning look and he gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. Somehow, knowing that this was a place Clark had reserved only for himself made it even more special.

The mountains on their own were beautiful, but it was the sight in the night sky that almost brought her to tears.

Looking up, a sea of colour surrounded her. Vivid hues of purple, green, deep blue, and yellow swirled around her – a panoramic vista of light and almost iridescent beauty.

Rivers of sea green and midnight blue appeared to melt into almost violently bright purples – like a flame dancing in the heavens. It was ethereal and almost unearthly. For once, she was able to feel what it must be like to be an alien – so far from her world did she feel right now.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Clark asked, breaking the spell of silence that Lois had found herself under. Somehow, it almost felt wrong to be talking here and she had to fight her own instincts to whisper.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said honestly. “I’d read about the northern lights, of course, but…”

They both fell into silence once more, as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin lightly on her shoulder. It was cold, but somehow she couldn’t feel it.

“Where are we?” she finally asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her. She knew there were a number of places that one could go to if they wanted to see the northern lights, ranging from Canada to Alaska, Iceland and beyond. She could see they were standing amid a mountain range, but beyond that were no other location markers.

“Sweden,” he replied. “This is the Scandinavian mountain range in Abisko National Park.”

He pointed to a small building far off in the distance.

“That’s the Aurora sky station. People come from all over the world to view the lights from there. There’s a hotel nearby, and of course the national park, but I like to watch them from here.”

“It’s incredible,” she murmured, still completely swept away by the sight above her. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“I’ve wanted to bring you here since we met,” he admitted and Lois noted the wistfulness in his voice. “I’ve been coming here since…”

He trailed off and Lois turned around to look him in the eye. His arms tightened around her waist, and she reached up and ran her gloved hand over his cheek. She could feel the warmth radiating from him.

“You’ve never brought anyone here,” she said with a sudden flash of realization. “Have you?”

He shook his head and Lois felt a rush of love sweep through her. She wanted to tell him how much it meant to her that he would share this, but something in his eyes urged her to wait.

“I understand what you said before…about not fitting in,” he told her. “I never told you why I left the Smallville Post, did I?”

“I just assumed it was because you wanted to travel,” she said. Then, because she couldn’t seem to help herself, she added, “and because it was Smallville.”

His eyes crinkled into the most adorable smile and he laughed.

“I was lucky,” he said, his voice halting and unsure, as if he wasn’t sure which parts of the story to tell. “I was found by the most amazing parents a guy could ever have. I grew up surrounded by love. I had friends and a community that I genuinely enjoyed being a part of. I had everything I could ever want, except…”

He looked away for a moment, then back at her and she could see a weariness etched in him that she’d never noticed before. A sadness she suspected had been with him for years.

“I was lonely.”

He admitted it as if it were some sort of shameful secret.

“When my powers really kicked in and my parents told me I could never tell anybody about them, I no longer belonged in the world I lived in. I became an outsider overnight. And the worst part was, even my parents had no idea what I was. Until recently, when I found that globe, I wasn’t sure whether I was an alien or some kind of experiment gone wrong.”

“Oh, Clark, I didn’t realise…” Lois said, feeling her heart lurch at the thought of Clark going through something like that at such a young age. She knew some of what he was telling her, but not all of it.

“As I got older, it became harder not to know,” he continued, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I became restless and hungry for answers. I wanted so badly to find someone else like me, that I decided I had to leave. I told my parents I wanted to see the world before I settled down. I didn’t want them to worry about me. And they would if they knew I was trying to find the source of my power.”

“And that’s why you travelled the world,” she filled in, feeling her heart break at the thought of how lonely that must have been. He nodded and she reached for him. He obliged and they shared a sweet and loving kiss.

“I went everywhere,” he continued. “Eventually, I came across this place. I’d never seen anything like it. I was so awed by it, so incredibly humbled, that I dug out this little nook on the side of the mountain and came here whenever things got too much or I began to lose hope.”

She nuzzled closer to him as he spoke, wanting to shelter him the way he’d sheltered her. He was wearing a light jacket, which she found herself unzipping, to reach in and wrap her arms around him. She could feel his skin underneath his t-shirt. It was warm like a space heater and she let out a soft sigh.

“Eventually, I found Metropolis and my job at the Planet. At first, I wasn’t sure how long I would stay. I needed some money, but I also longed to put down roots.” He reached down and lovingly caressed her cheek. “And then I saw you and I knew I could never leave.”

“Clark, I love you,” she rasped, feeling overwhelmed both by his declaration and by the beauty that surrounded them.

“I know,” was his simple reply. He gestured to the sky above them and Lois felt filled with awe all over again.

“I know what it feels like to be…apart from the world,” he said quietly. “To feel like you’re outside looking in. But when I come here and see this, I’m reminded that there are things in this world that we still don’t understand…things that defy science and logic and reason. I look at this sky or I hear you say you love me or I see you smile and…I’m not alone. Not anymore.”

“Never again,” she promised him, tipping her head up towards his lips. He took the invitation, and she kissed him this time with a hunger that surprised her.

“And neither are you,” he told her, tenderly stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I know it won’t always feel like it, but whenever you feel like that lost little girl, you say the word and I will bring you here. We can be outsiders together.”

Lois couldn’t speak. Her chest felt thick with emotion, and she was overwhelmed both by the love for the man in front of her and by the surreal nature of the place she found herself. Instead, she allowed him to fold her into his arms once more, this time quietly allowing the tears to fall on against his chest, leaving warm salty tracks down her face. This time, though, they were tears of joy.

“I’d like that very much,” she said finally. She looked at him, only to see a mirror reflection of the same emotion in his eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Lois,” he said. And even though it wasn’t Christmas yet, for the first time in her life, she understood how the rest of the world felt.

And that was enough.

THE END