TOC Swear to God, This Time We're Eloping (4/4)
Lois didn't waste a second, jumping off the chair and pulling Clark with her. This was it! In less than five minutes, they would be married.
"Come with me, please, dears. Can't waste any time trying to wake the drunkards up." The woman began walking towards another door and Lois and Clark quickly followed her. "Do you have rings? We have a splendid assortment of..."
Lois pulled the two boxes out of her pocket and cut the woman off as she said, "Right here."
"Very good," the woman said. Then she opened the door to the Tunnel of Love. "Please, go through and give your license to Barry. He and Elvis will sign it as your witnesses and then we'll take care of sending it to the state. We *are* a full service chapel." Her saleswoman demeanor softened and she said, "Congratulations."
Clark still had to laugh at the thought of Elvis witnessing for them. Originally when he had suggested it, he'd meant it as a joke. Then after they noticed that just about every chapel in Las Vegas had an Elvis impersonator available as a witness, he just went with the idea. If Perry were there, he would have died. No, he would have wanted to be the witness that dressed up as Elvis if he knew it was an option.
The receptionist practically pushed the couple through the door and slammed it after them. Yes, this place was certainly efficient. Lois and Clark wouldn't want it any other way. Their word of the day was "efficiency."
The Tunnel of Love was in the same décor as the lobby, with thousands of tiny star lights and mirrored walls. A small, bald, antediluvian man was standing behind a pulpit. Elvis -- or someone dressed to look like him -- was sitting on a chair beside him.
"Look at that guy!" Lois whispered. "He must be 90 years old!"
"Oh, Lois, so what if he's old. He can do the ceremony for us, can't he? And that's all that's the only important thing. It's good to have experience, isn't it?"
Lois raised her eyebrows at her fiancé's comment, but decided not to challenge him. It wasn't a big deal. If this man was willing and able to perform their ceremony, she wasn't going to complain -- as long as it was legal.
"Welcome," the small, ancient man said as the couple stumbled through the door. "I'm Barry Grande and I will be performing the ceremony." He reached out to shake both Lois and Clark's hands. "May I have the license?"
Clark handed over the license. Barry pulled out an old-fashioned quill pen and scrawled his name on the paper. He handed the pen to Elvis who signed his name under "Witness."
"Sorry to rush, but we *do* have a reputation to maintain," Barry said to the couple. "Please join hands." He wasn't wasting any time!
Lois reached out and Clark grabbed her hands. It was really happening! Even though it wasn't the most romantic wedding he'd ever been to, it was legal.
Without any opening remarks, Barry looked at Lois and said, "Do you..." He trailed off, unable to quite read the license.
"Lois," she said quickly.
Barry smiled at her gratefully and continued, "Oh, yes, right. Do you, Lois, take..."
"Clark," he supplied, not wanting to waste any time.
"Right, take Clark to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
The words, "I do," rolled right off Lois's tongue. They were the two sweetest words that she had ever said in her life. Never before had anything feel so good to say.
Barry smiled at Lois and said, "Clark, please place the ring on Lois's finger."
Clark slowly took the ring box, opened it, and slid the ring on Lois's finger, his hand shaking. The memories of their failed wedding were still fresh in his mind, as was the image of him placing the ring on the Lois clone's finger. But this was real -- he was sure that Lois was not a clone.
Lois could no longer contain her tears as she felt the cool gold band slide down her finger. She was wearing a wedding ring and in a matter of seconds, she and Clark would be forever legally bound together. It was finally happening!
Without giving Clark a chance to recover, Barry continued, "And do you, Clark, take Lois to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do," Clark whispered. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed the tears falling down Lois's cheeks. He hardly ever cried, but he could feel the tears of joy welling up in his eyes, too.
"Lois," Barry said, calmly as if he did this every day, "Please place the ring on Clark's finger."
Lois smiled at Clark through her tears and felt all of the tension in her body float away. She quickly opened the ring box and took Clark's large, gold band out. She softly ran her finger over Clark's outstretched hand before she slid the band onto his finger.
Clark took a deep breath as he felt the metal band slide onto his ring finger. He felt himself relax fully, as his eyes connected with Lois's. Finally, they really were a married couple. Any lingering doubts evaporated. No one else in the world could have that particular look of unconditional love for him in her eyes.
Barry spoke again, "By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Barry smiled at them with a twinkle in his eye and said, "You may kiss the bride."
Clark leaned his head down to his new wife and covered Lois's lips with his. They melted into each other's arms, ready to begin their journey to explore this new world together. A world that was so much brighter and more promising than the world they had faced alone.
Their kiss could have lasted an eternity, but they were suddenly drawn back into the real world when Barry cleared his throat loudly and said, "Congratulations. I hope you're very happy together." He touched both of them on their shoulders and gave them a hearty push. "The exit is to my left. Have a nice day."
The newly married couple was stunned to have their first moment as husband and wife so rudely interrupted. Wow, they hadn’t been kidding when they used the word 'express'. Before Lois and Clark knew it, they were back out on the street.
"Wow," Lois breathed. "We did it!" The tears of joy were beginning to subside, but the intense happiness remained.
Clark, too, was overcome with emotion, as he grabbed her around the waist, picked her up and spun her around. Then he pressed his lips to hers and they shared their second kiss as a married couple. This kiss was more intense than the first had been, both tongues tangoing with a long pent-up passion.
When they finally came up for air, he rested his head against hers, and looked into her eyes. "We sure did," he whispered confident that they, indeed, were legally married.
"I love you, husband," Lois whispered playfully, as she trailed her hand down his chest. The word 'husband' rolled off her tongue pleasurably. That one simple word had taken on an entirely new meaning. Clark was her *husband* -- not her boyfriend or her fiancé. They were finally husband and wife.
Clark felt his heart racing. "I love you, too, wife," he whispered. Then he captured her mouth with his again, picked her up and twirled around unable to contain his excitement. He couldn’t believe how amazing it felt to be able to call Lois his wife. They *finally* did it.
"Let's get out of here," Lois breathed as soon as Clark set her back on the ground. Now that they were married, she was desperate to begin their lives as husband and wife. And they couldn't do that on the busy streets of Las Vegas -- at least not without getting arrested.
Clark was just as anxious as Lois to begin their lives together -- possibly even more anxious. Without a second thought, he exclaimed, "Hawaii, here we come!" He grabbed her hand and started to walk back behind the Marriage License Bureau, where they had landed initially. It didn't matter that they didn't have reservations in Hawaii or any luggage. They could find somewhere to stay when they got there. And as for clothing, he wasn't planning on wearing much of anything.
"In a hurry, I see, Mr. Kent," Lois teased, as Clark spun into his Superman suit. She couldn't really make too much fun of him, because she was just as desperate as he was.
As Superman, but still wearing his wedding ring, Clark smiled sheepishly at his wife. "Come on, honey, let's go!" Then he grabbed her and swept her up into his arms. "Hawaii, here we come!"
Lois put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. She wanted to start their honeymoon as much as he did, but her conscience was starting to get the better of her. She wanted to spread the good news of their marriage all around the world -- starting with its catalyst. "Are you sure you don't want to stop in Smallville first to tell your parents what happened?"
Clark shook his head. Although he did want to tell his parents, other things were more pressing at the moment. He had waited so long, he felt like the wait was going to kill him. Yes, he was just going to explode right there. "No..."
"Clark!" Lois interrupted. She knew that he would regret it if they didn't go to Smallville before they left for their honeymoon. He hadn't even wanted to elope without telling them. "It will just take a few minutes. Even if you don’t want to tell them, I do."
"Okay a *quick* stop in Smallville," Clark agreed. Why did Lois have to make so much sense? This was the one time he wanted to throw caution to the wind and run away with his wife. But she was right. Of course he wanted to share the good news with his parents, especially to thank his mom for planting the seeds of this idea in Lois's mind.
"Thank you," Lois said into his ear. "I love you."
Was she trying to tease him? She had to be deliberately trying to make him lose control. When he took off towards Smallville, he silently hoped that his parents wouldn't be home.
A few seconds after they left Las Vegas, Clark landed in one of the Kents' fields. He put Lois down and quickly spun back into his 'Clark' clothes. Then they quickly walked towards the farmhouse.
Clark still couldn't help but wish that his parents weren't home. However, when his Superhearing picked up his mother's voice, he knew that he had hoped in vain. Even though he would rather be in Hawaii starting his honeymoon, he also knew that he was happy that they were going to talk to his parents.
"Jonathan!" Martha exclaimed. "I think Lois and Clark are here."
"Martha, we did it!" Lois exclaimed when she saw her mother-in-law on the front steps. She started running excitedly towards the porch.
"You did it?" Martha squealed. She started running down the front steps and across the yard to meet them. She called back, "Jonathan, they did it!"
Jonathan's head poked out the door and he said, "Martha? What did they do? Lois and Clark are here?" Then he followed his wife to meet Lois and Clark in the yard.
Lois ran towards Martha and when they met, the older woman enveloped the younger woman in a big, warm hug. "We did it!"
Clark looked at his father, who seemed quite confused about the entire situation. He said, "Dad, Lois and I got married." And when Jonathan still seemed confused, Clark continued, "We eloped in Vegas."
"I got it, son," Jonathan said. He looked at Martha and said, "I was just tryin' to figure out how your mother had a hand in this."
Clark shrugged. Knowing his father, Clark was pretty sure that Jonathan was amused.
Then Jonathan confirmed Clark's thoughts when he reached out to vigorously shake his son's hand and said, "Congratulations, son! I'm so happy for you."
Martha added, "It's about time!" She let Lois hug Jonathan as she hugged her boy. "Congratulations, sweetheart."
"Thank you so much, Martha," Lois said excitedly. "I can't believe we actually did it." She moved back towards Clark. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
Martha looked from Lois to Clark. Even though she wanted them to stay and talk, she realized that this wasn't what either of them wanted right now. "Shoo!" she exclaimed suddenly. Then she thwacked Clark on the shoulder and said, "Get out of here, you two. I'm sure the last thing you two want to be doing right now is hanging around with two old curmudgeons when you could be on your honeymoon."
Clark started to protest, but Jonathan added, "Have fun, you two."
Then Martha said, "We'll have a big party for you when you get back."
"Are you sure?" Clark wondered. It felt like his parents were throwing them out. Wait, isn't that what he wanted a few minutes ago? Wasn't he hoping that they wouldn't be home before?
"Go!" Martha exclaimed in mock exasperation.
"Bye, Martha, Jonathan. Thank you for everything!" Lois called over her shoulder as Clark spun into his Superman suit, picked her up, and taken off.
"Hawaii, here we come!" Clark exclaimed after they were in the hair. He couldn't wait a minute longer.
Then Lois was struck with another thought, "Wait, Clark, let's go back to Metropolis."
Clark groaned deeply. She couldn't want to go to Metropolis! No way! Now this was just complete, utter torture. "You've got to be kidding, Lois. Can't we just call your parents, your sister, and our friends later?" He hoped that he looked just as desperate as he felt. "Much later."
"That's not why I want to go home, Clark," she said. Of course she wanted to tell everyone she knew that she and Clark were finally married, but that could wait. She had already told Martha, and that was the only person she felt compelled to tell right away.
Clark stopped in midair and shook his head in disbelief. What could Lois possibly want at home? They could have been in Hawaii by now.
"I left something *special* that you bought me at home. I wanted to wear it on our first night together." Lois batted her eyelashes him flirtatiously. She knew that Clark was dying to see her in it, and would not protest to going back to Metropolis for it.
"Is it the something special that I'm picturing?" Clark asked, as a mental image of Lois in the black teddy he had bought her came to mind.
Lois nodded slowly and planted soft kisses around his face as she said, "Mmmm, hmmm."
"Let's go back to Metropolis," he agreed quickly. He decided to savor the feeling of holding his new wife in his arms as he flew back towards the city. Besides, he couldn't fly very fast with Lois doing her best to kiss him completely senseless. It was hard for him to maintain his altitude with such a distraction.
As Lois looked at the ring on her finger, her mind drifted back to the wedding ceremony. It might not have been the most romantic ceremony in the world, but it had certainly been the fastest. "Three minutes. Wow," she said in amazement. "I can't believe we got married in three minutes."
"That was the *shortest* wedding ceremony I've ever been to," Clark agreed and shrugged his shoulders. He certainly wasn't complaining about its brevity. Since the ceremony had been so short, no one had been able to ruin it -- not even the ninety-year-old officiator or the Elvis-impersonator witness.
"Well, I guess they don't call it 'express' for nothing," Lois said with a smile. Then she rested her head against his and continued, "I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
"The ends far outweigh the means," he agreed before he kissed her again. Having her in his arms was too intoxicating for him to think about anything else.
"Clark, they wouldn't even let us say our own vows," Lois protested. She had expected a quick wedding, but she hadn't expected not to be able to use the vows she had written.
"Well, honey, it was an 'express' wedding chapel. I think they cater to couples in a hurry. Remember, we did elope." When he realized Lois was not going to laugh, Clark continued, "Honey, you know, we could just say our vows to each other. The important thing that is we know how we feel."
"Really?" Lois wondered. She hadn't realized that Clark had written his own vows, too. "Right here, right now?"
"Sure," Clark said and kissed her again. Right now, he would probably give his wife the moon if she asked for it. He kissed her again as they floated down. When he felt his feet on the firm ground again, he set Lois down. The only problem was that although he had been aware enough to realize that they were in a secluded area, he had no idea where they had landed.
"Where are we?" Lois wondered as she surveyed their surroundings. "It looks like we're in the middle of a wheat field."
Clark laughed at her ignorance of farming. "Lois, you've been to Kansas enough times to know the difference between corn and wheat."
"What?" Lois wondered in a very confused voice.
Clark rolled his eyes and said, "Honey, this is a cornfield."
"Lois rolled her eyes in response and said, "Corn, wheat, how would I know the difference. They both look the same to me. They're both plants that grow on farms." Then she changed the subject, "Do you have any idea where we are?"
Clark laughed and said, "I have absolutely no idea. If I remember correctly, *someone* was distracting me."
Lois giggled innocently. Then she tried to deduce where they were. "Well we're somewhere between Kansas and Metropolis. It's somewhere with lots of farms." Then the answer hit her. "So maybe we're in some stupid, boring farming state with a lot of vowels like Iowa or Ohio or Idaho."
"Idaho?" Clark asked incredulously. Lois had to know her geography better than that. Okay, maybe Iowa and Ohio were between Kansas and Metropolis if he had flown a little off track, but *Idaho*? How could she confuse Idaho, the Northwestern state famous for potatoes, with Ohio and Iowa, two Midwestern corn-farming states?
"You know what I mean," Lois said flippantly. The only states that mattered to her were either on the East Coast or the West Coast. She tended to forget most of the states in the middle. Before she met Clark, she almost didn't realize that Kansas had any actual people living there.
Even though Clark sometimes thought his wife was slightly crazy, he decided not to make a big deal of it. So what if she thought all farming states were the same. "I know, honey," he agreed and then he kissed her softly.
"So, now we're in the middle of a *corn* field, even though it's not exactly the most romantic place, do you want to say our vows so we can get out of here?" It felt like something was crawling up her neck. Oh, gross, was it a bug? She slapped at her neck trying to kill the offending insect.
"Okay," Clark said trying to stifle a laugh at his wife's behavior. His wife. It still made his heart flutter every time he thought of Lois in that way. They'd finally done it. She really was his wife. "Do you want me to go first?" At her nod, Clark continued, "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
Lois smiled at him and nodded encouragingly. She knew exactly what he meant since she'd had her vows written for months. But she'd gone over them hundreds of times in her head so she knew them by heart.
Clark took a deep breath and gazed into his new wife's eyes before he began. "Lois, you're my best friend." He grinned at her and was rewarded when she reached out and squeezed his hand. "I've loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you, when you burst into Perry's office during my interview. It was at that moment that I knew you were the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And now I give you my heart, my soul, and our life together."
Lois felt a new batch of tears spring to her eyes, as she listened to Clark's heartfelt words. What had she done to deserve someone so wonderful? Oh, now he was looking at her, like he was expecting her to go next. Whoops, she had forgotten that she had to speak.
When Lois found her voice, she began, "Clark, you are so different from any other man I've ever known." The images of the other men in her life, from Paul to Claude to Lex to Dan flashed through her mind. Clark was not only different, but not even comparable.
She continued, "When I'm with you, everything I know about the world turns upside down. Falling in love with you has been so effortless, so natural, just so right. I don't know why I fought it for so long." She did know the answer. It was because she was stupid and pig-headed. Rather than dwelling on that thought, she continued, tears streaming down her face, "Our love is so strong, so pure, so different from anything I've ever felt before. And to celebrate that love, today I give you all the love in my heart forever."
Clark extended his arms and Lois sank into his welcoming embrace. "Thank you," she whispered.
He hugged her tightly and said, "No, thank you. Lois, without you, I have no idea where I'd be in the world. You are my anchor, my strength. You give me the power to go on when I've given up hope."
"Oh, Clark!" Lois sobbed into his shoulder. "I could say the same about you. You've saved me so many times, both literally and figuratively. I don't know where I'd be without you and I know I wouldn't be the person I am today had I never met you."
"Oh, Lois," Clark breathed. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too, Clark," she whispered. And then she decided that she didn't want to spend any more time in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, when they could be at home celebrating their love. But she knew that cornfields would always hold a special place in her heart after today. "Let's get out of here."
"Okay," he said and, as they started to drift up into the sky. She didn't have to ask him twice. As much as he loved telling Lois just how much he loved her, he did not want the first time they made love to be in the middle of a cornfield. However, he wouldn't protest to cornfield dalliances in the future.
Before they knew it, they were floating above the lights of the Metropolis skyline and then into Lois's apartment. This was it. They were finally home to spend their first night together as a married couple. At this point, Clark had completely given up any hope of going to Hawaii. His frazzled nerves could not take another flight with Lois in his arms, tempting him. Hawaii could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, they were going to stay in Metropolis in Lois's bedroom. He had a feeling she would agree.
"So..." Clark said, nervous about what came next. He understood the biological theory, but he wasn't sure how to begin. This was Lois and him. He should not be so nervous around her. But he was afraid that his inexperience would be a problem, though Lois had assured him repeatedly that it didn't matter to her.
Lois smiled at her new husband, noticing his nervousness, and said, "Let me change into something a little, well, less comfortable, but a lot more sexy." She knew that even though he was desperate to consummate their relationship, he was afraid he would disappoint her. It was something they'd discussed many times. She was sure that if she left him alone for a few seconds, he would overcome it himself.
Without waiting for a response, Lois went into her room to change. Clark found himself alone in Lois's living room -- a room normally so comfortable and familiar, but now it seemed completely foreign. What should he do? He decided that since Lois was changing, he should probably change too. But what did she want him to wear? Maybe his boxer shorts? Without any further hesitation, he decided that it was the best he could do. And he quickly spun out of the suit and into his boxers.
As he finished spinning, he realized that Lois was standing in the doorway. "Lois," he breathed gazing at her in that black teddy. "You look..." He tried to think of just the right adjective. For lack of a better word, he said, "incredible," because he didn't want to stare at her with his mouth hanging open.
"You don't look so bad yourself," she said as she walked towards him. And she definitely wasn't kidding. Her eyes lingered on his well-sculpted and utterly delicious chest as she walked towards him. He was the most perfect specimen that she had ever seen.
Clark narrowed the distance between them, although he felt the horrible pangs of nervousness in his stomach. He mentally slapped himself. Now was not the time to be nervous. It was time to let his primal urges take over and guide him to the intense satisfaction that he craved.
Lois started tracing the pattern of the muscles on his smooth, bare chest and felt the palpable desire for this man everywhere in her body. She half-moaned, "We've waited so long, Clark…"
"Too long," Clark growled. He couldn't believe that his patience had lasted so long. There were so many times that he had almost caved under pressure. And now he was about to get the ultimate reward.
"I love you, Clark," she said as she took a step back towards the bedroom, hoping he would follow her.
Instead, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. "Forever." He moved his face closer to hers, ready to kiss her.
"Always," Lois answered. Then she tilted her head up to his and gently touched her lips to his. Their lips met, beginning the journey that they had both dreamt about for so long.
As they kissed, Clark guided them to the bedroom, knowing what they both craved so badly. He slowly laid her down onto the bed and their bodies melted into each other and crested on a sea of passion. They both craved a fulfillment that drove them to each other as they ran on a sea of adrenaline rising on a wave of passion, both reaching levels of satisfaction like never before.
The End
Author's Note: Many, many thanks to my BRs Tricia and Rivka. Their comments and encouragement were absolutely invaluable. Also, thank you to everyone that was on IRC answering my crazy questions about weddings and Las Vegas. Some parts of Lois and Clark's wedding vows were inspired by the real vows said in "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding." Finally, the song Clark recited to Lois is called "Hey Baby Let's go to Vegas" and performed by Faith Hill.
