This is my story for Lynn S.M.. It grew a bit out of proportions and now needs to be posted in two chapters. I'm going to post the second chapter in a few days, I think. RL did push me a bit behind my intended schedule, but I hope you'll like this little bit of WAFF anyway, Lynn.
You may imagine Martha's candle arch like this
Lynn asked for
Three things I want:
1) Humor (bonus points if the humor involves word play)
2) WAFF
3) Lois and Clark interacting with Jonathan and Martha. (This may be as
minor or as major a part of the story as you would like.)
Three things I don't want:
1) Anything more "mature" than a PG rating. (Translation: no sex,
cursing, or gory violence.)
2) Characters behaving in a plot-dumb manner. (Example: The entire
story revolving around a misunderstanding which would be cleared up
IRL by anyone with any sense at all via a quick conversation.)
3) A next-gen story
The word play part was a bit difficult, but I hope I managed that as well. This wasn't betaed, so all the mistakes are mine. A Secret Wish
December, 24th – around noonSnow crunched under the wheels of the rental car as Clark pulled into the driveway of the Kent farm. His heart was beating fast and hard while his gut twisted into an anxious knot. Was he really going to do it? He glanced over to the woman sitting beside him. If at all possible, his heart rate spiked even more. He took a steadying breath and forced a smile on his lips, hoping that she wouldn’t pick up on his nervousness.
It was going to be okay, he told himself. Problem was he wasn’t buying his own assertions. After everything that had happened during the past few months, it was a miracle in itself that Lois had even agreed to spend Christmas with him in Smallville. He should savior this to the fullest instead of ruining the best chance he’d gotten since meeting her for the first time.
Desperately searching for something meaningful to say, he ended up settling for the obvious choice. “Here we are.”
At least his voice had sounded sufficiently cheerful. Clark cringed inwardly and waited for Lois to call him out on his act. Why was this so difficult? She was his best friend and he trusted her implicitly. Perhaps she’d even welcome the news. Clark inwardly rolled his eyes at himself. Yeah, fat chance of that happening. He worked hard to stifle the sigh that wanted to escape his lips.
Lois looked out of the window, quite obviously lost in her own thoughts. “If you’d asked me a week ago, I wouldn’t have expected to ever see this place again.”
“You’re still okay with coming, aren’t you?” Clark tried to swallow past the lump that was building in his throat.
She turned to him, seeming a bit uncomfortable. “I guess I am. Let’s just hope I don’t end up insulting your parents again.” She cringed visibly. “What I don’t understand is why you asked me to spend Christmas with you and your folks. Shouldn’t you have asked Mayson?” Her lower lip seemed to be quivering slightly and she bit it, as if she was dreading his answer.
Clark was taken aback. “Why would I ask Mayson?”
She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brows, frowning at him. “You two went skiing together – I just assumed…” She trailed off and turned to look out of the window again.
It was Clark’s time to cringe. If he told her now that he hadn’t actually gone on that vacation with Mayson, he would need to explain where he
had been when she’d needed his help. And he didn’t want to tell her yet another lie. But they shouldn’t have that particular conversation in a rental car. It really couldn’t be more obvious that his Mom understood a lot more about relationships than he did.
Clark decided to settle for an innocuous answer. “I’m not in love with Mayson, if that’s what you think. I like her and we’ve had lunch a few times, but that’s it. And even if my feelings for her went deeper, it would never work out anyway.”
He heaved a small sigh, realizing that he should probably have that conversation with Mayson rather than Lois. But that was another can of worms he yet had to open. And he didn’t look forward to it – at all.
Clark focused his attention back on his companion. “You on the other hand are my best friend and you really shouldn’t have to spend Christmas on your own. I would have stayed with you in Metropolis. But Mom was quite insistent that we both come.” He cracked a smile, trying to cover up how uncomfortable his Mom’s insistence actually made him feel. This was ridiculous.
Lois replied to his smile with a timid one of her own. “Your Mom is a very nice woman. I should thank her for inviting me. I’m sure that spending Christmas with your parents will be a whole new experience. I just hope that I’m not going to ruin everything for you and your family. I was never able to really get into this whole Christmas spirit.”
Clark’s heart went out to her. She had told him about the way her family had celebrated Christmas. It was no wonder that she felt insecure about the holiday.
“You’re not going to ruin anything, Lois.” He gave her hand a quick, reassuring squeeze. “Christmas isn’t some competition you can either win or lose.”
He winked at her before he pressed down the accelerator to drive the rest of the way to his parent’s farm. On their way, he was deeply lost in thought. Could he really do what his mother expected of him? Wouldn’t he end up ruining Christmas for Lois, just like her parents had done before him? Did she really deserve this kind of treatment, when all he wanted was to show her just how magical this time of the year could be? How had he ever arrived at this point?
***
A week earlier…Clark quietly landed on his balcony and spun out of his suit. Out of habit, he adjusted his glasses before he entered his living room, gazing at the snippet of paper in his hand. His Mom had been unusually secretive this year, not to mention very late to do their annual game of Secret Santa. Well, quite frankly, the Santa wasn’t all that secret in a family of three people, where Clark always ended up having to buy a present for his father. But he enjoyed the game anyway.
Something about this year was different, though. Clark clearly remembered the impish glint in his mother’s eyes as she’d handed him the folded wish list. It was only a week until Christmas, not much time to get any Christmas presents. That was quite odd for his Mom, who usually had no problem organizing her household, her husband’s appointments and a charity bazar for the Smallville church all at the same time.
“Martha, what’s this?” Jonathan had called her out on her strange tardiness. “Christmas is just a few days away! Why didn’t we do this weeks ago?”
Clark chuckled to himself as he remembered his mother’s reaction. “I have my reasons. If this bothers you so much, why didn’t
you take the initiative.” Then she had let out a huff. “Besides, I know exactly that you buy your presents last minute anyway. Do you really think I don’t know why you always keep sneaking off into town the day before Christmas?“
His Dad had sighed in exasperation, but had said no more. It had probably been a wise decision, because it was never a good idea to challenge Martha Kent. And maybe that was just the reason, why Clark got this uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he started to unfold his father’s wish list.
He stared at the neat hand writing and gasped. It wasn’t his father’s. And he couldn’t believe what it said.
<This Christmas I want you to bring Lois to Smallville. And I want you to tell her your secret.>Clark blinked a few times as if that could change something about the words that danced before his eyes. He stumbled to his sofa and collapsed there. This was insane on so many levels that it didn’t bear thinking about! After this whole Luthor disaster he’d barely managed to repair his friendship with Lois. He couldn’t dump his secret on her now, much as he would have liked for her to know. She wasn’t ready. Heck, he wasn’t ready for any of this.
Clark crumbled the piece of paper in his hand and picked up his phone, quickly dialing the familiar number.
His mother picked up immediately. “Kent Residence.”
“Mom, I just read your note,” Clark croaked. His throat was awfully dry all of a sudden. He ran a nervous hand through his hair.
“Really?” She chuckled lightly. “Actually, I expected you to call much sooner. Getting slow, are we?”
Clark rolled his eyes. “You’re serious about this?” He couldn’t keep the exasperation from his voice.
“As a heart attack,” she deadpanned.
For a moment, Clark hoped that she would start laughing at him and yell something along the lines of “April’s Fools”. But she didn’t and it was the wrong time of the year for that anyway, so where did that leave him? Clark sighed, took off his glasses and set them down on the table.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But why now, Mom? I… I can’t tell her! I mean, is Dad in on this?”
“Of course not,” Martha snorted. “If it was his decision, you’d never tell anyone.” Her voice had turned softer and Clark could just imagine the gentle, loving look in his mother’s eyes that conveyed more than anything how much she loved him. He knew she didn’t want him to lead such a lonely life.
“It’s not his decision, but it isn’t yours, either,” Clark pointed out. “Why are you asking this of me, Mom? I simply can’t tell her, yet!”
He got ready to name all the reasons why telling Lois his secret was a terrible idea. But the sound of Martha’s sharp intake of breath rendered him silent quite effectively.
“But you can let her grief for her best friend, when she could have known that Dillinger’s bullet couldn’t possibly have killed you?” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. Before Clark had a chance to defend himself, she went on. “This woman was the only one who was on Superman’s side when you were accused of causing the heat wave. She saved your life when she dug that kryptonite bullet out of your shoulder. Do you really want to repay her loyalty with lies?”
Clark slowly exhaled, realizing just now that he’d held his breath through his mother’s entire speech.
“It’s not that simple, Mom,” he said weakly.
Clark could well imagine the expression on his mother’s face, though there was no way to see it through the phone. The slight furrow of her brows, the way she pursed her lips shortly before she would call you out on your bluff. The slightest glint in her eyes could say so much more than a thousand words. Clark knew that he wouldn’t be able to make her see things from his point of view, if she was set out to make
him see reason.
“Why not?” Martha asked softly. “Do you think she would reveal your secret to the world?”
“No, of course not.” He exhaled slowly. “It’s just… It’s too early. She doesn’t… I’m just not sure about her feelings for me, yet.”
“She loves you, Clark.” He could almost see his Mom smile in sympathy. “I’m sure of it. But even if I’m mistaken, she’s your best friend. Don’t you think she should know rather than be lied to all the time? There is only so much even a deep friendship can take.”
He chewed on that statement for a moment, rolling it around in his mind. When he finally spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. “What if I’m not ready, Mom?”
“It’s your decision,” her voice was soft. “If you feel that this isn’t the right moment to tell her, I can’t force you to do it. But you should consider that if you keep your secret too long, the day might come when it’s too late to heal all the wounds caused by lies.”
***
Present Day… Clark parked the car next to his father’s pick-up truck. He smiled at Lois, who nervously chewed on her lower lip. “Hey, don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. ”
She nodded feebly, but then straightened herself. A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. “You’re right. What could possibly happen? Last time I was with your parents, I stuck my foot in my mouth so many times that I can’t possibly do any worse now, can I?”
Clark laughed. “That’s the spirit.” He winked at her and got out of the car.
If he only had a means to reassure himself that this year’s Christmas wasn’t going to end up in a disaster. Was it right to tell her his secret in a place where Lois had no chance to escape from if she felt the need to? Clark felt his resolve waver, like so many times during the past couple of days. Ever since his Mom had given him the assignment to tell Lois his secret, he was teetering between embracing the idea and flat out dismissing it. Fortunately for him, a Kryptonian didn’t need as much sleep as a human man. Otherwise he’d probably have reached zombie status by now, given all his sleepless nights.
Clark sent a silent prayer to Heaven, hoping for divine advice on the subject, because frankly, he was at a complete loss as for how to even approach the subject.
Straight on? *Lois? I’m Superman?* That sounded far too presumptuous for Clark’s taste.
Automatically, he went around the car to open the door for Lois. He was so deeply lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize she had already climbed out. He ran into her and just in time reached for her shoulders to keep her from falling into the snow.
“Sorry,” he muttered, blushing furiously.
And before he even knew what was happening to him, besides being utterly mortified, he felt a completely different emotion taking hold of him. A jolt of electricity seemed to rush through his entire body, setting every nerve ending into high alert as he felt Lois so close to him. He was acutely aware of the soft scent of soap and perfume, mixed with the underlying flavor that uniquely belonged to Lois. His hands tingled with the sensation of her small frame in his strong arms. Clark’s eyes came to rest on her lovely lips that right now looked so very kissable that he felt like he could never ever take another breath again.
And for a long moment there he was thoroughly tempted to go through with his impulse to close the distance between them and place a soft kiss on her velvet lips.
But he couldn’t. It was impossible. He had invited her to spend Christmas with a friend. That was all he was to her, maybe even all he would ever be. Only time would tell if his mother was right, if Lois’ feelings for him actually ran deeper than she let on. And most importantly, he couldn’t steal a kiss from her now if he really intended to tell her his secret. That would be unfair on so many levels that it just didn’t bear thinking about.
With tremendous effort, Clark let go of her arms. His entire being mourned the loss of contact that had affected him in a way only Lois could. He was just helpless against the spell she had cast on him the moment she had walked in on his interview. And now he was smitten to her for better or worse, no matter if she’d actually give him the chance to commit to her officially.
Lois’ cheeks, too, seemed a little flushed as she took a step back. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Clark wondered if their brief contact had been as momentous for her as it had been for him. Probably not, he quietly admitted to himself and bit back the heavy sigh that threatened to escape his lips.
He pulled his gaze from her face and headed for the trunk. “I’m going to get our bags.”
Hoping that the thunderstorm of emotions cursing through him didn’t show on the outside, Clark fetched their luggage and mere moments later joined Lois. Together, they went to the front door of the small farm house. His mother had a way of decorating the place for Christmas that almost made the air smell of cinnamon and cookies, while at the same time was completely unobtrusive. There was a fir wreath next to the door, adorned with red and green ribbons and small Christmas baubles. And she’d placed a small arch with lights in one of the windows that Clark had found in Germany several years ago.
Lois took in the decoration and let out a small sigh of relief. “This is nice, actually.”
Clark smiled at her. “See, I told you no one was going to shove Christmas in your face.”
Clark let his gaze drift across the old farm house. For him a feeling of home oozed from every beam and every ounce of timber the house consisted of. And gradually, with each step he took towards the house all the pent up tension flowed from his body and he felt himself relax.
As he pulled he screen door open and knocked at the front door, he actually managed the first genuine smile. It was full of the same giddiness that usually encompassed him during Christmas time.
Martha opened the door, a warm and inviting smile on her lips. “Welcome to the Kent Farm, Lois. It’s good to have both of you here.”
The coziness of the house and the kind welcome seemed to affect Lois in quite a similar way. Clark could practically see the tension flowing from her body. Her whole stance looked more relaxed than he had maybe ever seen her.
“Thank you so much for inviting me, Mrs. Kent,” she said fondly.
“Didn’t I tell you to call me Martha, dear?” Her eyes sparkled with warmth. “Come on in. It’s freezing outside.” She turned her back on them for a brief moment and yelled. “Jonathan, they’re here.”
Before Clark really knew what happened, they were both ushered inside and one after the other pulled into a very firm, very comforting hug.
“So glad you decided to take my advice,” Martha muttered into his ear.
Once again Clark’s insides turned into a knot. “I need to talk to you about that.”
Martha stepped back and threw him a firm glance that reminded him very much of the few times he’d been in serious trouble as a kid. Her eyes narrowed and her lips were drawn into a thin line, but she said nothing. Just a moment later, her infectious smile was back in place and she laid an arm around Lois to show her to her room.
Clark couldn’t help the impression that his mother was firmly taking Lois’ side in this. He heaved a sigh and picked up the luggage that lay forgotten on the floor. With a slight shake of his head, he tried to push the strange notion aside. Considering that Lois didn’t even know he had a secret or that he was thinking about telling her about it, she didn’t actually have a side, yet. Before Clark had a chance to mull over the problem some more, his father stepped into the living room.
“Uh, Lois, it’s good to see you again.” He gave Lois a warm smile. Then he turned to Clark and pulled him into a bear hug. “Welcome home, son.”
Lois looked a little timid as she was once again thrown into Clark’s family like that. “Thanks again for letting me stay with you.”
“You’re welcome.” For an awkward moment, he didn’t seem to know what else to say. Then he turned to Martha. There was something urgent about his tone of voice. “Why don’t you show our guest to her room? Clark, can I talk to you for a moment? In private?”
Lois had just been about to follow Martha, but then she spun around. Lines of worry creased her face. “You’re not going to drag him into the barn again, are you? Last time you did that, his allergies took him out for a full day!” She slapped her hand in front of her mouth and her eyes widened. “Oh, no, I’m doing it again. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did.”
“Don’t you worry, honey.” Martha bit back a laugh. “It’s winter. There is no danger of his
allergies working up.” She wriggled her brows at Jonathan, who was in obvious discomfort.
Clark couldn’t quite decide whether he was secretly amused or utterly mortified. His Dad sure looked pretty dazed. He watched as his Mom laid an arm around Lois to guide her towards his old room. Clark stared at his feet and heaved a sigh of relief. Hard as he might try, he could no longer deny that his life would probably be a whole lot easier if Lois knew. Else she was going to give his Dad a heart attack someday soon. The question was now how he was supposed to tell her.
But this was not the time to dwell on that. Clark focused his attention on his Dad, who had apparently come out of his momentary stupor.
“Clark, you need to give me Martha’s wish list,” he urged. “I don’t know what your Mom was thinking! I can’t go to the local shop and buy you a dress shirt and a tie. I don’t even know your sizes and about that tie…” For some unfathomable reason his Dad turned beet root red as he mentioned the tie.
“Look, Dad, I can’t possibly give you Mom’s wish list, it’s…” He took a deep breath. Now it was Clark’s turn to blush. “…complicated. But what’s so bad about picking out a tie?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Jonathan hastened to say. But his denial was anything but convincing.
Clark frowned. “Spill it, Dad.”
Jonathan hung his head in defeat. “There is this new woman working in Miller’s shop.” His voice was barely above a whisper as he continued. “She’s moved here a couple of months ago after she married Jack Barns. Very nice lady, quite beautiful, too. And she really helped us with the church bazar last month.” Jonathan’s cheeks adopted a deep shade of crimson and he looked at his feet.
Clark still didn’t understand what was troubling his father so much. Jack Barns was one of the guys who had attended Smallville High with him. That meant his wife probably was in her late twenties, too, so what…?
Clark’s breath caught. “You don’t have a thing for her, do you?”
“Of course not!” Jonathan almost choked on his own spittle. “I love Martha. It’s not that at all.” He drew in a shaky breath. “I told you about the bazar. I was helping with the preparations and somehow ended up spilling the punch all over Mrs. Barns. And as I tried to help her dry up, I only happened to make it all worse. I’m quite fortunate that I didn’t end up on the receiving end of one of Jack’s punches.”
Clark had to bite his lips to keep from laughing out loud. It wasn’t that hard to imagine that scene. Jack wasn’t exactly known well for his patience and he’d gotten into several fights in his teen years. But the idea that Jack and his Dad would get into a fight over a girl was just ridiculous.
Jonathan made a face. “So, what do you say, Clark? Can’t we just switch the lists – I buy the present for your Mom as I usually do and you…” He trailed off.
“I get the present for myself?” Clark shook his head. “What Mom wants isn’t something you could possibly give her. That’s why she’s asked me.”
Jonathan heaved a sigh and hung his head. “This silly game is going to be the death of me, this year.”
“What kind of game?” Lois asked.
She and Martha came down the stairs and once again joined them in the living room. Jonathan was blushing all over again and Clark couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of his father. Who would have thought that his father, who’d always been his solid rock in the midst of a rather difficult youth, could be so thoroughly shaken by the thought of having to buy a tie? And here he’d thought that his assignment was the most difficult one his Mom could have come up with.
“Dad’s talking about our game of Secret Santa,” Clark explained. “Well, in a manner of speaking, at least. Ever since I’m an adult, each of us gets a present for one family member.” He looked at Jonathan who was nervously adjusting his glasses and raking a hand through his hair. “And this time, Dad’s a bit grumpy, because for him, the game ended up in a tie.”
Lois looked at them confused while Martha started to laugh.
“Oh, Jonathan, why don’t you ask our guest to help you solve your little problem?” She gave him a quick hug and a peck on his cheek. Then she addressed Lois. “My poor husband got into a little trouble with one of the local ladies and now he’s afraid to face her.” She smirked. “Would you mind terribly to act as his chaperone while he buys his son’s presents? There was something Clark wanted to talk to me about, anyway. And on your way, Jonathan can show you a little around. Smallville is a nice place during the holidays.”
Lois seemed a little hesitant at first, but then she obviously decided to take the bull by the horns. She nodded. “Actually, I need to do some last minute Christmas shopping, too.”
Jonathan’s face lit up. “Really? That’s great. Come on, Lois. We’ve got some shopping to do.”
“Then it’s settled,” Martha smiled. “I suggest we all grab a bite to eat and then off you go for some final Christmas preparations.” She winked at Jonathan. “Last minute, as always, I might add.”
To be concluded...
