Good morning everyone! Well hopefully this is the part that a lot of you have been looking forward to <crosses fingers>...
This part actually requires a little bit of explanation about how it came about and what not... This part has been written since the very start of House almost. I think I had the first 3 parts written when I wrote it. <g> However, so I don't spoil the part... I'll put the notes at the end. <g>
As I mentioned in the fdk thread for part 18, there are 23 parts now total... but that's if I split part 20 and 21. As it stands, part 20 is only 5 pages... but part 21 is 9 pages. So if I combine them, that makes a whopping 15 page part. If you have any opinions on this, speak now or forever... well, you know. <g>
Okay, here we go!
Table of Contents From Part 18:
Lois snorted. She didn’t mean to do it so loudly, but both men turned to look at her. “Sorry.” Her cheeks flushed and she flashed Clark a smile. “Private joke.”
Clark returned her smile and then grimaced – in other words, no more donuts for breakfast or midnight runs for Twinkies and Ho-Ho’s. “But my body hasn’t ever seemed to rely on food in the past,” he contended.
Klein nodded. “That might be true, for the most part. I couldn’t be certain without running further tests to see just what benefit your cells derive from physical nourishment. But for right now, with your body in a weakened state, I think it would be good for you to eat healthy. It certainly isn’t going to hurt anything.”
Clark couldn’t really argue with that.
Klein walked over to a table and began clearing books, papers, and various pieces of equipment off of it. “I’m assuming that you will want me to do the procedure here.”
Clark nodded at him and his palms begin to sweat. He felt Lois grab hold of his hand once again and when he looked up into her face, she smiled reassuringly at him.
“I’ll need to give you several more shots of anesthetic in the wound, and even at that, I’m not sure that you won’t feel some of it.” Klein set an armful of items down on the counter and spread his hands apologetically. “It would be better to put you out, but I don’t have the equipment and I’m not trained as an anesthesiologist.”
“I understand,” Clark assured him, with more strength in his voice than he felt. “I know you’ll do the best you can.” He felt Lois squeeze his hand gently and he squeezed back.
“Okay, then,” Klein said nervously, picking his clipboard up again and making more notes in it. “After I get done cleaning the wound, I’ll give you another injection of antibiotics. You’ll be sore when the anesthetic wears off, but with the Kryptonite removed and the wound cleansed, you should start to feel better soon.” He set the clipboard down and looked up at them awkwardly. “I don’t know if you have a place to stay, um nearby, but I would suggest that you rest for the remainder of the day. Don’t do anything too strenuous. In fact, it would be better if you took it easy for the next several days.”
“Don’t worry, Dr. Klein,” Lois assured him. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Klein nodded. “Let me explain what I’m going to do and then I can gather up what I need and we can get started.”
*************
PART NINETEEN
*************
Clark winced as he lay down on his bed. That hadn’t been at all pleasant. Dr. Klein was right – he had been able to feel some of what the doctor was doing. There had definitely been some pain. And his side did hurt now that the anesthetic was wearing off, but it also felt better too, somehow. Probably because the Kryptonite was gone.
“Clark,” Lois’s voice came from his kitchen. “You don’t have much in the way of ‘health’ food in here. But there is a can of chicken noodle soup. I’ll make that for you and then I can run to the store and get a few things.”
He didn’t want her to make a fuss over him. He could certainly fix himself a cup of soup. “You don’t have to do that, Lois. Really. I just want to lie down for a little bit and then I can fix myself something to eat.”
Lois came walking in from the other room, holding the can of soup in her hand – an eyebrow raised defiantly. “I am capable of making soup, you know. It doesn’t require any cooking skills. I promise it will be edible.”
Clark almost laughed but he held it in since he knew it would hurt. “No, it’s not that,” he protested. “It’s just... well, one of us needs to go in to work. Perry just got the paper back up and running and we shouldn’t both be gone. I’m fine, really. I just need some rest. It would be good for you to go in to work – get your mind off things.”
“But, Clark...”
“No buts. I promise I’ll take it easy.” He almost felt the need to cross his fingers on that statement... but he would take it easy, for the most part. He just had one little errand he wanted to run, and she couldn’t be around when he ran it. “I’ll even let you pick me up some healthy food from the grocery store on your way home tonight. Deal?”
Lois scrunched her face up in disapproval, but then she let it fall into an uncertain frown. “Okay. But you have to promise to rest and do what Dr. Klein said.”
Clark held up three fingers with his right hand and mentally crossed his other fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
**********
As Clark walked out of his bathroom, he didn’t need his super senses to tell him that something was burning. It smelled like something was cooking. Then he heard Lois’s voice. She uttered a sharp explicative.
He had hoped to get a shower, get cleaned up and do a few things before Lois came back, but he was moving a bit slower after his trip downtown. That little jaunt had taken more out of him than he had thought it would.
But it would be worth it.
He walked into the kitchen to find Lois mumbling to herself as she used a spatula to scrape the contents of something that had once been edible out of a pan and into his garbage disposal. It was warm in the kitchen and Lois had removed the black dress jacket she had been wearing earlier; it was lying across one of his chair backs. She looked striking in just a pair of jeans and the short-sleeved, cream silk blouse that she’d worn beneath her jacket.
“Hi. I didn’t expect you back so soon,” he told her.
She looked up from the pot, a scowl lining her face. “It was a slow news day. Perry let me go a little early and I thought I’d come make you dinner. How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. A little tired, but my side actually seems to be feeling quite a bit better.” He glanced at the charred remains in the sink. “Do you need some help?” he asked, trying to hide a smile. There was another pot on the stove with something cooking in it. Maybe he could help her salvage that one.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “No, I do not need any help, thank you very much. Just get out of here and let me work.”
He walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders softly. “Maybe you should take a little break.”
She whirled on him and pointed at him with her weapon of plastic serving ware. “Maybe you should get out of here like I said, before I decide to use this spatula on you!” she growled. Lois was pretending to be mad, but the thought of her actually using her spatula on Clark threatened to break her facade. She bit her lip to hide a grin, but by the look on Clark’s face she was pretty sure it hadn’t worked. “Go on, get,” she told him with as much indignation as she could muster.
He backed away and held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “My, my, aren’t we a little sassy?” he asked, flashing her a playful grin.
“Sassy?” she squeaked. “I’ll show you sassy.” She lunged at him with her outstretched spatula.
“Hey!” he exclaimed, feigning indignation. “Don’t do that, you’ll get your spatula dirty.”
She snorted. “My spatula’s already dirty. What are you afraid of? Getting spanked by a girl?” She took another swipe at him, this time at his backside, and he dodged out of the way, reaching out to try and take the offending weapon from her. She spun the other direction and smacked him lightly across the butt with the back of her spatula.
“Ouch,” he hollered, grabbing for her again. This time he succeeded and wrapped her in his arms. She struggled against him, dropping her weapon. She continued to wriggle and managed to work her hands between their bodies.
“It’s my turn to torture you a little, farm boy,” she said, panting happily with exertion and smiling impishly. Clark let out a small chortle at her threat, which only incited Lois to make good on it. His chuckle turned into all out laughter as her fingers sought out places to tickle him, carefully avoiding his wound, but he refused to relinquish his hold on her.
Determined to get the upper hand, Clark turned her body, folding her into one arm and then used his other hand to tickle her in return.
“No!” she squealed, giggling hysterically. “You’re going to hurt yourself, Clark.” She laughed some more, almost too breathless to talk. “Dr. Klein... said you... should take... it easy,” she finally managed between giggles.
Clark laughed. “Oh, so now you’re worried about me? Is that it?” She only giggled again in answer. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Feeling much better.”
“No, Clark...” She sputtered and laughed again as his fingers found another spot to tease. “I think you should listen to Dr. Klein.”
“Really? I think you’re just worried that I might win this one. I don’t think you want to admit defeat.”
“Never!”
They wrestled with one another until they both ended up on the kitchen floor in a heap, breathing heavily.
Clark rolled them so that he was on top of her, ignoring a twinge of protest from his side, and he pinned her flailing limbs to the floor with a look of triumph on his face. Lois frowned at his delight before leaning up and covering his mouth with hers to wipe the smug grin off of his face. He tensed in surprise but soon softened as she began a thorough exploration of his lips, tasting them again and again.
When she was pretty certain that she had him right where she wanted him, Lois used one of her martial arts moves to roll them so that he was now beneath her and she was straddling him. Then she resumed her attentions on him, getting her newly liberated arms in on the action. She smoothed her hands over his chest and down his abdomen, feeling the flexing and tightening of his muscles as her fingers came in contact with him. She flicked her tongue inside his mouth and moved a hand even lower, eliciting a groan from him.
Clark turned his face away from her, breaking the kiss, and took a couple of breaths. “I thought you said you were hungry.”
“Not for food,” she said breathily, attempting to kiss him again.
Hoping to change positions with her, he tried to squirm away from her, but his attempt was unsuccessful. “Come on, Lois, let me up,” he half-heartedly complained, trying to lean up and managing to rest on his elbows. “The floor’s... dirty.”
In response, she tightened her legs around him, not letting him get away. “Admit it, you like me because I’m sassy. There aren’t enough sassy women in your life.”
Clark thanked his lucky stars for that. He couldn’t handle more than Lois and his mom.
Lois smiled mischievously at him. “I wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if I was just some sweet girl who never put you in your place.”
“I like sweet girls...”
“I’m sweet,” she murmured, interrupting him. Her mouth was practically touching his.
“No, you’re not,” he argued weakly, feeling lightheaded from the position of her body against his and the easy manner in which she was teasing him. “You’re...” Lois stole his breath away, smothering his protest between their lips. She drew from him urgently, deepening the kiss and lingering against his lips until they were both out of breath.
Clark leaned back, resting his head on the floor beneath him, panting heavily. Lois followed him down, taking his lower lip into her mouth and savoring the feel of it between her lips before releasing it. “Mmmm, so what’s for dessert?” she teased.
“Dessert?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean you aren’t satisfied yet?”
She couldn’t stop herself from blushing and she shook her head softly. “No, and I don’t plan on stopping,” she gave him a wicked grin, “until I am.”
Clark’s other eyebrow rose to join the first one and this time it was his turn to blush. He was about to respond when Lois sat up abruptly and sniffed the air, cringing.
“Oh, no! The vegetables!” she yelled, jumping up and running for the stove.
Clark could smell it too. The kitchen was beginning to reek of the smell of dirty diapers. She must have had some broccoli in with those vegetables. He wrinkled his nose – yuck, or maybe some cabbage. It would take a while to get that smell out of the apartment.
He got up from the floor and walked over to inspect the pot she was now scowling at. It was beyond repair. The water had evaporated, cooking the food to the bottom of the pot and blackening it.
“I wasn’t really that hungry anyway,” she muttered, setting the pot in the sink and running some water in it so it could soak. “I was only cooking for you since Dr. Klein said you needed to be eating healthy.” She glared at the pan, making a face. “If he saw that, he’d think I was trying to kill you off for sure. Maybe I could call for some take out...” she offered, turning around to face him.
Clark was smiling affectionately at her. “No, that’s okay. I really wasn’t that hungry either.” Although, what she didn’t know was that it was his nervous stomach that was keeping him from having an appetite. He had been debating with himself all day long. Was it time? Should he wait? But now felt so right. “You’re right - why don’t we just skip to dessert?”
Lois raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what kind of dessert he had in mind. “Dessert?”
“Yeah.” His smile widened. “I got you some chocolate.”
Chocolate? “Oh.” That wasn’t really what she had been hoping for but... She watched quizzically as Clark left the kitchen and went into his bedroom to the window seat. He lifted the seat and pulled out a box.
No wonder she hadn’t found any chocolate anywhere – she hadn’t thought to look there. But, wait, he said that he had *gotten* them for her. So they probably weren’t there before.
Clark opened the door to his balcony. “Let’s air out the kitchen for a little while.” He gestured outside with one hand, “Care to join me?”
She smiled and stepped out into the soft, warm evening air. There was a gentle breeze blowing and it ruffled her hair slightly. The sky was growing dark but the lights from the city cast a shimmering glow that outshined the stars. She mused forlornly that if they were still in Smallville, they could have seen them. She turned and watched Clark step outside behind her, still holding the box of chocolates.
“I was going to give this to you after dinner, but...” Clark opened the box. Lois got a glimpse of the label as he took the lid off and she recognized the brand. It was from one of the little specialty chocolate shops in Metropolis. The handmade stuff. Her favorite.
The box was filled with a dozen chocolates in various shapes and shades – light, dark, square, oval, oblong – with fancy designs stamped into the top of them. She was pretty certain they were the kind that had creamy centers.
“Mmmm,” she murmured, forgetting that she hadn’t really wanted chocolate a moment ago. She licked her lips in anticipation.
Before Clark realized how fast she could move when chocolate was involved, Lois had snatched one up and popped it into her mouth. He flinched momentarily before asking, “Don’t you usually check to see what the filling is, first? What if it was coconut?”
She wrinkled her nose. Yuck. Anything but coconut. But this wasn’t coconut - this was strawberry, her favorite. “Well if you know I don’t like coconut, then you wouldn’t have bought me coconut,” she answered knowingly. She closed her eyes as the sweet chocolate dissolved into every crevice and sensory pore, and for just a moment’s pleasure, she thought she was in heaven. Yes, these were her favorites – the good kind, the expensive kind. Lois smiled. Even with her eyes closed, she knew Clark was watching her.
And she was going to give him his money’s worth.
She slowed her consumption of the decadent treat, letting out a few soft moans of appreciation. As the last few vestiges of flavor slid down her throat, she licked her lips enticingly. When she opened her eyes, expecting to find him pleased with her enjoyment, she was a little surprised to see the anxious expression on his face.
Clark pointed at an oval one in the middle. “Try that one.”
Lois obligingly retrieved it, feeling an odd flutter in her stomach, and brought it up to her face for examination. It had some sort of seam running through it, almost as if two halves had been put together and then sealed. Was that how they got the cream in the middle? She had always just assumed they injected the filling into the hollow shell somehow.
Heeding Clark’s earlier suggestion, she broke into the chocolate a little to see what flavor it was. But the center, where there should have been cream-filling, was empty. “That figures,” she muttered – no filling at all. How disappointing. She was about to put the reject back and try another one but something sparkled, catching her attention. She scowled at it. What had she almost eaten? Glass? Nice. No cream filling and a nasty surprise instead. Maybe those specialty shops weren’t all they were cracked up to be. That shop owner could guarantee that she was going to write up an article about their poor inspection practices.
“You know, Clark, when you buy chocolate from a specialty store like this, you should really check the place out first. Is my next piece going to have a razor blade in it?” She quickly finished breaking the chocolate in two and shook it in her hand to extricate the offending article. When she looked down at what lay in her outstretched palm, she started in shock and the object spilled from her hand.
But Clark was faster. He reached out and caught the ring as it fell. And instead of the ring falling to the balcony floor, Clark knelt down to the floor in front of her, holding the ring out between his thumb and index finger.
Lois felt like her head was spinning. Was this really happening? Hadn’t Clark said he had always dreamed of proposing to her someplace special, with music playing softly in the background... and...
...yet this seemed perfect. She couldn’t imagine how much trouble he had gone to in order to have the ring put inside that chocolate...
“That didn’t go exactly the way I planned it,” he said softly. “But I knew that I couldn’t propose to you the way I had dreamed of - not after telling you about it and certainly not after the fiasco in Smallville. It had to be special.”
Propose... he had said *propose*! Somehow that word just made it all the more real. Lois didn’t think she could take another breath. Her heart was fluttering rapidly inside her chest and she felt light-headed, almost giddy. Could she do this? Was she ready for this? What if it was too fast?
No. No, what she had done with Lex; that had been too fast. She had hardly known him – as it turned out, she hadn’t known him at all – and yet she had agreed to marry him. She knew Clark – knew everything about him, knew him better than anyone else on the planet except maybe for his parents. And there was no one else that she’d rather spend her life with. So in light of all of that, how could she even think of turning him down?
She couldn’t. This is what she wanted. What she had even secretly fantasized about.
All of these thoughts flew through her head at the speed of light and probably wouldn’t have stopped there except that they were interrupted by Clark’s actual proposal.
“I meant what I said that day in the park and my feelings for you haven’t changed. I have been in love with you for a long time, almost from the moment we met. There’s no one else I’d rather spend my life with.” Clark took a deep breath before continuing, “You once told me that you’d love me even if I was an ordinary man, with no powers at all. Here I am, that ordinary man, and I’m asking you to let me love you... for the rest of our lives.”
Lois took in a shaky breath as she gazed through tear-blurred eyes at the ring – her ring. She brought up her hand, ready to extend it to him but yet not wanting the moment to end. Was he finished or did he have more to say? He hadn’t actually said the words yet... It was silly but somehow she wanted to hear the words. He had said them to her in Smallville, but they hadn’t been real then. She wanted to hear them again, when they really meant something.
Clark knew that it shouldn’t matter whether he proposed to her now or when, and if, his powers returned to him and he became Superman again. But somehow, it did. He wanted desperately to know that if his powers never came back, that Lois would still want to share her life with him - that she truly did love him for who he really was and not what he could do. “Lois Lane, will you marry me?”
Her heart melted. He had said them – the words she had never known she wanted to hear so much. “Yes!” she proclaimed happily as a tear slipped down her cheek. “Yes, Clark. I will marry you.” She held out her hand and he slipped the ring onto her finger. It glided easily but felt snug against her. He had guessed her size... and had been right. That small token of the depth of his attentiveness warmed her further.
Clark rose up from the floor and took her in his arms. “If I never lived another day, you’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.” He drew her in for a kiss and took a hesitant, loving taste of her lips.
“Mmm, but you’re stuck with me now, for the good and the bad... for the rest of your long life,” she murmured against his lips, brushing them alluringly with her own, beckoning him to claim them again.
And he did. He brought them together again, gently, their lips joining their two bodies as one. “Lois...” he murmured her name and the sound of it slid through her body leaving a liquid heat in its wake.
“Clark,” she whispered huskily, her voice thick with emotion.
Clark slipped his tongue between her lips briefly to take a taste of her and then smiled against her lips. “You know, you’re right. You are sweet,” he teased softly.
“Mmmm, you haven’t tasted anything yet,” she asserted, sliding her arms up around his neck.
“No, I haven’t,” he agreed, seeking to taste more of her. She tipped her head back as he moved his lips away from hers, placing soft, promising kisses across her jaw and then down her neck. She swore as she gazed into the heavens that she saw a shooting star overhead. Or maybe she had imagined it, because each time his lips made contact with her skin, tiny bursts of light seemed to flash in her vision.
“I’m so sorry, Clark,” she whispered as his tender kisses brushed lightly across her collarbone. “For everything, for being so blind...”
His lips came back to hers, to cut off her words, and then he murmured, “I’m sorry... for hiding from you for so long. If only I hadn’t been so proud. I should have told you the truth that night I came to you as Superman... about me, about Luthor... everything.” He kissed her again passionately, stealing away any response she might have had, his hands teasing away any insecurity from her body. “No more apologies. I don’t want to waste any more of our time together on what we could have done differently. What matters now is that we’re together, and we’re going to get married.”
They were going to get married. Clark Kent was going to be her husband. The thought thrilled her in a way that she had never thought marriage to any man could have. It certainly was a far cry from the hesitant uncertainty she had felt when she had accepted Lex’s proposal. It filled her instead with an uninhibited desire to be with this man. Where she had refused Lex’s advances, she welcomed Clark’s.
Clark’s soul was alight with unequivocal passion for the woman he held in his arms. She was to be his wife. After all the nights he had dreamed of her, longed for her... It had finally happened. She was in love with him - she wanted him to belong to her.
He let out a shuddery breath when he felt her hands reach for the top buttons of his shirt. He couldn’t repress a shiver as he felt her lips sweep across the hollow of his throat and suck softly against his skin. Running his hands up her body, he relished in the feel of each curve and turn of her through her thin silk shirt. She shivered as he touched the bare skin of her arms with his fingertips, and as he took her lips with his own once more, she made a small cry of pleasure in the back of her throat.
The sound resonated deep within him and set loose a wave of yearning desire inside of him. He pressed her as he deepened the kiss and she yielded to him, slowly backing up until she made contact with the open balcony door behind her. The heavy door bumped into the brick retaining wall behind it with a soft metallic ‘thud’ as their bodies came to rest against it. Clark ran his hands across her shoulders, up her neck and into her hair, caressing it softly as his lips lapped lustfully at her sweet flavor.
He pressed against her gently, slipping one leg between hers and lifting against her. It elicited a groan from her and her hands groped at his body, finally cupping his shoulders and pulling him even more firmly to her.
Clark released her with one hand and braced it against the door, trying to steady himself as he continued his exploration of her.
He shifted his leg against her again and she whimpered his name, “Clark.”
Her eyes were dark with need. The look of longing in them moved him to put his hands low around her waist and lift her up into his arms.
Lois instinctively wrapped her legs around him. She draped her arms around his neck, seizing hold of his lips once more.
God he wanted her. Every part of him was crying out to hold her, touch her... make love to her. Almost... One small part of him was protesting just a bit in pain. He couldn’t hold her like this for much longer; his side wasn’t going to let him.
At that moment, he realized something. As special as tonight was, he wanted their first time to be nothing less than perfect... in every way. He didn’t want it to be a momentary passion, all too quickly lost and never again to be regained.
They had the rest of their lives to be together, to please one another, but there was only one first time. And he wanted it to be special. He had waited for her this long; he could wait a little longer.
Could she? What did she want?
Clark leaned back and gazed lovingly into her veiled eyes. “Would you be disappointed if we... waited?” he asked her hesitantly.
Of all the things she had expected him to say, that had been the last thing on her mind. A man, who had just proposed to her and who was obviously aroused, was asking her if she minded if they waited? It was unimaginable.
And unthinkable. She wanted him and she didn’t understand his hesitation. Was he afraid he was pushing her too fast? She had just agreed to marry him, after all.
Lois glanced down at where her legs were wrapped around him. Maybe he just wasn’t feeling well. “I’m sorry, Clark. I got carried away. Your side is probably hurting, isn’t it?” She released her legs from around him and let them slide down until her feet were touching the floor again.
She couldn’t miss the distress in his face. “No,” he protested, resisting her attempts to step out of his arms. “I mean, yes. But... that isn’t it.”
Lois frowned slightly at him. “Then what? Surely you’re not worried about going too fast? You just proposed to me!”
Clark smiled tenderly at her. “I just want our first time to be something wonderful... something special... perfect.”
Perfect. There was just something about that word. She smiled indulgently at him. He was such a cute farm boy sometimes. “It will be, Clark. It will be incredible.” She tried to lean in to kiss him again but he held back.
“I know. I just want to wait... you know, until we get married,” he explained carefully. “I want our first time to be when we start our new life together. It will make our honeymoon even that more special.” And he had to admit, it would give him a little more time to heal as well. He didn’t want their first time to be marred or hampered by anything.
Clark was a sentimental sweetheart and it made Lois smile. “Honey, that’s sweet and all, and I could understand if it was the first time, for either of us, but it’s not.” At the uncomfortable expression on his face, she continued, “Is it?”
He ran a hand through his hair nervously and Lois gaped. It was! It was his first time? He was a vir... he was a... he hadn’t ever...
“Clark? You aren’t serious, are you?”
He blushed and she gasped a small breath. “You are! But how is that possible? What about Lana? And the pond? The goodbye?”
The color in his face deepened and he looked away from her probing gaze. “I said Lana and I made out and we skinny-dipped. I never said... I mean we never...”
“But Clark, you traveled the world!” she exclaimed, becoming increasingly blown away by his revelation. “You learned how to ballroom dance from a princess. A princess!”
“Yes,” he answered almost shyly, “but it just didn’t feel right. I wanted it to be with the right woman, someone special. I’m not exactly human and I didn’t...”
“No.” She shook her head adamantly. “Don’t you ever say that, Clark. Not to me. Never again - not like that,” she told him, her voice brimming with feeling. “You are human, in all the ways that count; certainly more human than Lex ever was. The only thing different from you and any other person on this planet is where you were born. That’s all, you hear me?”
Clark was surprised at the emotion in her voice. It made his breath catch in his chest and he had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. “Thank you, Lois,” he said softly. “But it is true. I didn’t want to take things too far. I was afraid to share myself like that with someone. You’re the first woman who’s ever known me completely... and accepted me for who I am.”
She was shaking her head. “No, I *love* you for who you are.”
He reached up and stroked her hair softly with one hand. “I know you do, honey, and I love you for it.”
Lois raised an eyebrow at him. “Honey, huh?”
He raised his eyebrows at her in return. “You said it first. It’s only fair.”
Lois opened her mouth to argue, but then she realized – she had said it first. She had gotten caught up in the passion of the moment and she had called him honey. She smiled coyly at him. “I guess you’re right.” She shrugged. “I kind of liked it, anyway.”
“Kind of?” He kissed her cheek softly. “Is there something you’d rather I call you?”
“I don’t know. What did you have in mind?” she teased.
“I don’t know. How about Baby? Or Sweetheart? I know...” He flashed her a playful grin. “Sex Kitten...”
Lois’s eyes went wide and she smacked his arm. “Clark! We haven’t even...”
He chuckled and captured her lips in a tender kiss. “Okay, honey it is,” he murmured into her mouth.
She broke the kiss and smiled impishly at him. “Watch it. I could come up with some names of my own for you... hmm... like Super Stud,” she said, giggling at the ridiculous choice of endearment. Clark let out a groan and she giggled again. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand and leading him over to the couch. “Let’s watch a movie until we fall asleep.”
Clark looked at her questioningly. “But you don’t sleep here anymore.”
Lois shrugged and sat down. “Just because I have an apartment doesn’t mean I can’t crash on your couch, does it?”
He shook his head as he joined her on the couch. “No, I guess not,” he replied with a smile. “But you know one reason I didn’t ask you to move in with me was because I couldn’t stand any more sleepless nights.”
“Sleepless nights?”
“Yeah. Knowing that you were in the next room, just one wall between us, and I couldn’t touch you. It was enough to keep me awake at night.”
Lois blushed. “You can touch me, and kiss me... You can... hold me, Clark,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and cuddling next to him. “We just won’t take it any further than that.”
“What if I can’t resist you?” he asked with a mischievous grin.
“That’s easy. I just won’t let you get any further.”
“Oh, really. You were the one pushing it a minute ago,” he reminded her.
She smiled wickedly. “Yes, but that’s before I knew you were a...” she lowered her voice, “virgin,” she said in a breathy whisper, making it sound like something totally different.
Clark groaned. Maybe he shouldn’t make it a policy to tell her *everything*. She was giving him a sultry smile and he knew, deep down, that he couldn’t ever hide anything from her again. She could see through him like polished glass.
And he wouldn’t want it any other way.
**********
To Be Continued...
Okay, now for the notes. I had planned all along to do a proposal scene in this fic and so had started writing it right away (so I could play with it as I went). However, Sue and I were talking one day about our favorite scenes in movies and, low and behold, we both just LOVE that scene in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back - the one where Han and Leia are on board the Millennium Falcon and they have the whole conversation that goes roughly:
L - Stop that, my hands are dirty
H - My hands are dirty too, what're you afraid of
L - Afraid?
H - You're trembling
L - No I'm not...
H - You like me because I'm a scoundrel, there aren't enough scoundrels in your life
L - No, I like nice men...
H - I'm nice men...
L - No you're not, you're...
And then Leia gets interrupted by a kiss from Han. <waffy sigh> That was very roughly paraphrased, so I could have gotten some of it wrong. Anyway, Sue was daring me to see if I could rework that scene into an LnC scene in one of my fics. So the result was what you read above with the spatula getting dirty <g> And then Lois saying Clark liked her because she was sassy, not enough sassy women in his life... he likes sweet girls... she's sweet... no she's not...
LOL!
Anyway, enough babbling on about that. Hope you enjoyed it. Just wanted to give the background on where it came from.
Thanks guys!
-- DJ
