Previously:
She smiled at him and held her hand out. "Isn't this how your dream starts, Clark? You come home and I hold my hand out to you and smile?"
Clark had to take a deep breath of his own. "Yes," he whispered.
"Then what happens? See, I'm going to ask for lots of clarification - just so you know that I'm listening intently."
"Then I kiss you." He still couldn't quite make his voice obey him as he took the hand she was holding out.
"Show me." She tugged him closer to her and he came readily enough, kneeling next to her on the sleeping bag.
"Is this show or tell?" he asked softly.
"Both." Her smile widened. "First you tell me; then you show me."
He cupped her face in his hand as he told her, "I think we kiss for a really long time."
"You think?" she teased. "You don't know for sure?"
"Time is weird in dreams." He kissed her as his mind raced, wondering just how much of the dream he dared to show her.
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Part 9/?
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"So, in this dream of yours, where am I at in your apartment when you come home?" Lois asked, stroking her fingers over his cheek as she reveled in the softness of his freshly-shaven face. She had liked the stubble, but it was reassuringly familiar to have him look like himself again.
"It varies." Clark tilted his head to kiss the underside of her chin.
"Okay, then, where was I yesterday morning in your dream?" Lois tipped her head back, her hands moving to his shoulders to keep herself from falling over.
"Kitchen," he mumbled against the base of her throat. "You were in my kitchen, just holding a cup of coffee or something."
"So you kissed me in your kitchen." Lois sighed, picturing Clark coming into his kitchen and decisively walking over to kiss her. "What are you wearing?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you coming home as Superman?"
"I... don't..." Clark shifted closer to her. "I never really paid attention to what I'm wearing. No, I'm wearing my regular clothes, not the Suit."
"Do I ask you about where you've been?"
He laughed softly, his breath tickling her neck. "We don't really talk much in my dream."
"Then what happens?"
"Then I carry you to my bed," he whispered.
"We're already on our bed," she answered.
*Our bed* The words went over him like a palpable touch. "I lay you on the bed," he continued, easing her down so that her head was on the pillow, "and I kiss you some more."
Lois moaned her approval, wrapping her arms around him as he kissed her deeply. His body settled partially atop hers. His fingers stroked over her cheek and down her neck, stopping at the banded collar of her t-shirt.
"What?" she asked as she sensed his hesitation.
"It's just, uh, in my dream you were wearing a shirt with buttons."
She sucked in a breath at the thought of Clark unbuttoning her shirt. "I have one in my backpack. Do you want me to put it on?"
He shook his head. It was time to put a stop to this - while he still could. "No, that's okay. We've gone far enough."
A stab of disappointment shot through her. "We have?"
"This is about where I woke up yesterday." His weight shifted, moving away from her.
"No, it's not." She caught his arm to stop him from leaving. "You were touching me, Clark. I remember that part pretty well. I'm surprised you've forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten." His hand flexed against her shoulder, remembering all too clearly how it had felt to touch her.
Her grin told him she knew he hadn't forgotten. "Was my shirt on or off in your dream?" she asked.
He had to swallow to answer. "Off."
Lois rose up briefly and pulled her shirt off, then lay back down with her arms extended above her head on the pillow. "Like this?"
His mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Clark nodded slowly. "Yes," he finally managed to croak out. "Just like this."
He touched her shoulder, then traced his fingertips over the delicate line of her collarbone, his eyes fixed on the lush half-moon of skin and flesh not covered by her bra.
"It opens in the front," she whispered.
He swallowed and nodded his understanding. His fingers felt too large and clumsy for the task as he fumbled with the clasp. It made a soft click and he felt as though his entire universe had narrowed to the woman beneath him as he slowly moved the fabric aside. He thought he had seen her clearly at the waterfall but he realized now that he was wrong. This close he could see how fine her skin was. He could see the faint quiver as she breathed, could feel the warmth and softness of her body against his. Lois bit her lip, feeling a little self-conscious from the way he was staring.
"What about your shirt?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"In my dream you take it off."
Her hands fluttered over the solid sweep and hard curving muscles of his back to the hem of his shirt to pull it off. He helped her, lifting away from her just long enough to get rid of his shirt.
"Do I touch you?" she asked and smoothed her hand across the heavy muscles of his chest.
"Yes." He could barely speak.
"How?" She smiled. "Where?"
"Anywhere you want," he said with a sigh.
"Anywhere?" she asked, lifting one eyebrow. "Really?" Her fingers trailed down his chest until they were at the waistband of his jeans.
"Oh god," he said softly with a shiver. This wasn't a dream. This was real. This was real and it was thrilling and it was fraught with the possibility that they could ruin everything by going too far. "You, this, Lois, this is better than any dream." Not a dream, his brain screamed.
"This is real," he said, with a rough edge to his half-voice.
"Hmm...?" she murmured.
"Lois, please, listen to me," he said beseechingly, holding her shoulders and pulling his head back. The normally soft brown of his eyes had been drenched into deeper hues by the pull of his arousal. "I need you to make a decision for us."
"A decision?" she repeated in disbelief. "Why am I making a decision for us?"
"Because, of the two of us, I think you're thinking much more clearly."
"I'm not thinking clearly," she said with a laugh. "I haven't been thinking clearly for days."
He briefly closed his eyes and fought the urge to skip past this discussion. "Honestly, right now all I can think about it what I want to do to you."
"That sounds good." She pulled his head down to kiss him. "Tell me about that."
Clark turned his head to stall her. "No, please. We need to think this through."
Lois stared at him and tried to mentally shift gears. It was almost impossible. She couldn't believe he wanted her to stop and think in some kind of rational manner while they were both topless and her thigh was taking a perfect reading of his pulse through his jeans.
"Okay...what?" she asked.
"I need you to think very carefully and tell me if this is what you really want."
"Are you kidding me?" She laughed. "You can't tell what I want?"
He gave her an embarrassed grin. "Trust me, I know what we both want. I'm just worried we might be going too fast."
"I don't think I want you to leave this all to me," she said as it dawned on her that he might be right. What if they were moving ahead too quickly?
"We've established that my decision making skills aren’t the best where we're concerned. I want you to decide for us."
Still dazed from his kisses, she tried to think. What was there to decide? Hadn't she made her decision ages ago? Hadn't she already given her soul to him? Hadn't she already told him that her choice was made?
"You," she told him. "I choose you. Isn't this worth any risk, Clark?"
In answer he kissed her. It was enough. He had almost lost her once by thinking too much - he wasn't about to do that again. His long arms pulled her closer, tightening around her waist to draw her even deeper into his embrace simply to feel her pressed against him. Their kisses became a delicious dance of soft skin and heated tongues - tasting, stroking, drawing them into a feverish embrace that would break and pause only to draw them even closer in the cool air. Clark found his hunger for her only increased as he fed on her sweetness - drawing it from her with his mouth, his devotion, his need.
Lois sighed into their kiss, mesmerized by the low musky scent of him and the sure tender strength of his mouth. "What happens next?" she asked.
"This is where I woke up," he admitted hoarsely.
"What if you hadn't woken up? What would have happened?"
He placed several soft kisses on her nose, cheeks and eyelids. "I'd touch you..."
"Where?"
"Everywhere," he told her as he angled for another kiss of her mouth.
"Would you really do anything for me?" she asked breathlessly.
"Anything," he answered.
"What if I asked you to fly me home? We could take a shower and make love on my bed."
Clark went absolutely still, not certain he had heard her right. "Are you asking me to do that?"
She looked into his eyes, dark with need. No matter how fast he flew it would take too long to get there. "No," she finally said. "I just wondered if you would."
"Anything you want, just ask."
Reality seemed to crash around him as he heard the rasp of someone's tent being unzipped. After a few seconds another tent opened. He brushed the hair back from her forehead and then kissed the ridge of her eyebrow.
"It's stopped raining," he said softly.
"Has it?"
His desire had quickly turned to disappointment. There was no way in the world they could keep going, not with most of the group beginning to gather outside.
Her hand smoothed over his cheek. "Clark," she said, her voice much thicker than normal. "What's wrong?"
"It's stopped raining," he told her again. "Everyone is coming out of their tents."
"Oh. I guess, uh, I guess we should get dressed," Lois said and sat up. Her hands were shaking as she pulled the front of her bra closed and for a moment she despaired being able to close the snap. She felt suddenly embarrassed but she couldn't pinpoint the cause of her discomfort.
Clark put his shirt back on and then pulled on a flannel shirt. Lois watched him dress, feeling shy as she struggled to get her shirt turned right-side out.
Clark exhaled slowly, feeling the awkwardness as he searched for something to say. "I, uh, I'll see you out there," he said softly.
When she came out of the tent, Clark was nowhere to be seen. She looked around camp curiously - where could he have gone?
"I think he went for a walk," Dave said to her and pointed at the trees. "I saw him head that way."
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Clark hadn't meant to leave camp. He had waved to the others and then taken the trail behind their tent that led to the overlook. The further he traveled from camp, however, the dizzier he felt.
Lois had said she was willing to take this step. But if they did there was no going back. He would never be able to pretend that it hadn't happened, that it didn't mean everything. This was all or nothing, did she understand that?
His heart skipped as he realized that she did understand that. She had meant it. She hadn't just said 'yes' to making love, she had said 'yes' to him. To them. To 'us'. She believed in 'us'. She was willing to risk everything for 'us'.
He gradually picked up speed until he was running as a blur and then he shot into the sky. It was likely everyone would hear the boom, but no one except Lois would give it a second thought. He flew higher and higher until the mountains were far below him, then he headed for the peak they had hiked the day before. He settled onto it, searching for and finding their camp far below on the other side of the lake. She was down there - the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with.
He had known this since almost the moment they first met. It had been a long and uncertain road to get to this point, but they were here now.
"Us," he said out loud. "Lois, I believe in us."
His head tipped back and he laughed, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.
There really was an 'us'.
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Lois turned and caught sight of him as he came out of the trees. Clark wondered if she had a sixth sense for him now, if she could feel his presence as surely as he felt hers. Their eyes met and he saw a faint smile play at her lips as he approached. She moved over a little and he took a seat next to her on the log.
"Hey," she said softly. "I was afraid you had left me."
"That will never happen," he said, feeling the words like a promise.
Lois took his hand between hers, lacing her fingers with his. She couldn't seem to take her eyes away from him. It wasn't just the shave - he looked completely different to her now. This man had touched her and had shared a side of him that, until now, she could only have imagined. He was a different person to her now. She could understand his hesitation earlier - becoming intimate with him was changing everything.
"Where did you go?" she asked softly.
He leaned close enough that his words caressed her ear. "I'll tell you later."
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When Lois came into the tent that night her hat was sitting on the pillow. She let out a delighted laugh and wondered just how far away the wind had carried it.
"You found my hat." She leaned forward and kissed him.
"Yes." Clark raised his hand to hold her head for another, longer kiss.
"Thank you." She reached out and picked up the hat. Then she gasped. Beneath it was a black velvet box. "Oh," she said, caught off guard.
Clark cleared his throat nervously. "Doesn't that belong to you, too?"
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End 9/?
