I feel like blech [physically and emotionally] but have to leave for work in 30m. So I'm going to post hoping that some FDK will lift my spirits when I get home in a few hours
. Don't get me wrong - it's nothing major and I'll be just fine, but I could use a bit of a pick me up
. See FDK thread for posting schedule.
BTW, watch out for something that might resemble something sort of like an A plot sometime soon.
Also - probably not a huge deal but... I've had the year 2003 throughout and it should have been 2002. That also makes Halloween on a Thursday. IIRC, the text mentioned Wednesday, but in 2003 it was a Friday... Go with Thursday now that I have the year right
.
Thanks - as always - to my fabulous betas: Alisha [who has some great fic in he works - seriously - nag her; she just sent me some more the other day and it's great!], Beth, Nancy and CarolynK.
Special thanks to Nancy who spent way more time than necessary helping me figure out which plane was best and which seats were best for my purposes. Seriously. Emails upon emails...
Last time:
Clark
Lois said she wasn't sure why but was exhausted and took an afternoon nap in her room. Lana, Joe, Sam and I played Trivial Pursuit. Sam won. But it was the Millennium Edition and he'd lived through a lot more of the millennium than the rest of us. We didn't mention that part to him though.
Joe and I brought more wood in for the fire.
We all had leftovers for dinner. Except Lois who woke not feeling much better and without much of an appetite.
Sam had bought a new TV for the great room – a big HDTV that I was sure cost almost as much as a year's tuition at Met U – as well as a DVD player, so we all watched 'Miracle on 34th Street' as a way to get us in the holiday spirit. I noticed Joe and Lois sitting closer together than they had been recently. Maybe things in their world were getting better.
We only had a couple more weeks of school and then Lana and I would be heading home for the break. I wondered what Lois was going to do. She'd let it slip a couple weeks earlier that her dad's girlfriend was the reason she'd had to move out and why she really wasn't looking forward to Christmas like she usually did.
I was looking forward to going home and seeing my family and finding a way to buy Lana a ring without anyone knowing and talking to her dad and getting ready to propose when we went to Europe on the school trip right before the first of the year. We wouldn't get to spend New Year's at home because we had to leave Metropolis December 29, but a two week trip through Europe with Lana was worth it.
I couldn't wait.
*~*18*~*
December 2002
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
It was Christmas Break and I had to be at home.
I flopped on my bed and stared at the sheer canopies that draped down from the four posts. Left over from my 'princess' phase when I was a kid, I hadn't bothered to redecorate when I outgrew it. Redecorating took energy away from more worthwhile pursuits and was too trivial to mess with.
I looked around and noticed a few things seemed slightly off.
Had someone been in here? Maybe Vicki had cleaned up or something. It wasn't anything I could put my finger on, but something just seemed... off.
I sighed and curled around a pillow. Even after all the things he'd said over Thanksgiving and even though I'd slept in his arms and felt safe and loved, Joe had met someone new. Maybe. Well, he'd met someone and wanted to get to 'know her better', he'd said. Of course, I'd told him that I wasn't sure I agreed with his assessment that we always ended up back together for a reason.
It just meant that he'd be getting lucky over Christmas and I wouldn't. Not that I would have if he hadn't found this other girl, but that wasn't the point.
After he spent the night in my bed, I'd found myself wondering what it would be like if we did... I hesitated to even think 'make love' because I loved him, but I didn't *love* him – at least not at this point in my life – but I also knew that it wouldn't be 'just sex' either – we meant too much to each other regardless of our romantic attachment or detachment or whatever.
What would it be like to sleep in his arms after we'd done that?
What it would be like to do that with him?
I sighed. I wasn't going to think about that anymore. I was going to go to sleep and try to forget that I was here with the wicked almost-stepmother who was bound and determined to make my life miserable.
She'd mentioned the possibility of a summer wedding the last time I was here. Daddy hadn't mentioned it at all, but that didn't mean anything. I was still relieved she hadn't come to the cabin for Thanksgiving with us. The more time I spent with her, the more I hated her and hated that she was pulling the wool over my dad's eyes.
And now I was going to be living at home for two weeks.
Was it possible I could avoid her until then? Somehow I doubted it. Daddy would expect us to eat together sometimes and then there was Christmas. I was sure I was expected to get her something really nice or something like that.
I was going to have to go shopping. And I hated shopping. Especially when I was shopping for someone I loathed. And I had no idea what on earth I could get her that both she and Daddy would think was appropriate.
I closed my eyes and prayed sleep would come quickly.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I hugged Mom tight for a long moment as I stood in the kitchen of my childhood home.
"Oh, Clark, I've missed you."
"I know, Mom. I've missed you, too." I hadn't flown home often – less than once a month, really, and I hadn't been back since right after the whole thing at the cabin when they wanted to see for themselves that I was okay.
"Did you drop Lana off on your way here?"
I squeezed her a bit more tightly, before letting her go. "Yeah. She was anxious to get home, though she did say she wants to come over sometime next week to see you guys."
Mom frowned. "We're going to Kansas City next week. Didn't I tell you that?"
I groaned. "Yeah, I just forgot."
"Well, we have some shopping to do and Aunt Opal is meeting us there and we're all going to Uncle Joe's in Excelsior Springs to do Christmas with that side of the family one day."
"Yeah, I know. I'll call her."
"I do wish you were going to be here for more than two weeks though," she said, as she turned back to dinner. "You've been gone too long."
I stuck my finger in the sauce and noticed her wince out of the corner of my eye even though she knew I wouldn't burn myself. "Mmmm," I hummed as I tasted it. "I have *missed* your cooking. Lois' dad has a service that makes her food, too, and she shares sometimes, but even it's not this good. And the cafeteria is pathetic."
"You know how to cook," she reminded me.
"I know, but where am I supposed to do that?"
"Good point."
"And I'll be home for Spring Break and I'll be here all summer," I reminded her. I didn't tell her I was probably going to be getting married sometime this summer. Lana and I had talked about it and she'd indicated more than once that she would be happy to get married the summer after our freshman year. I felt a slight frown crease my brow. If we moved home for the summer, as planned, then got married in June or July, where would we live until it was time to go back to school? The thought of Lana moving into my room was both pretty freaky and slightly exciting at the same time. Or maybe we could get married just in time to go on a honeymoon before we headed back to Metropolis and maybe just stay here for a night or two.
I stuck another finger in the sauce and the old doubts about telling her about myself assailed me again. Would she understand? Should I tell her before I asked her to marry me or after? I wanted to propose in Paris because it seemed like something we'd always remember and would be incredibly romantic and all that stuff, but a school trip certainly wasn't the place for this discussion. The hayloft in the barn was probably one of the best places, unless I flew her to somewhere in the Andes or a deserted island or something like that.
I sighed. "I'm going to take my stuff upstairs."
I could feel Mom's eyes on me and knew that she knew something was on my mind, but I wasn't about to tell her what it was. I knew they thought Lana and I were too serious, too young despite their own life stories. I also knew that Mom would tell Lana herself before we got married if I didn't tell her myself. And Dad might disown me.
I grabbed my stuff and zipped up the stairs, anxious to be out of her eyesight.
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I'd seen Clark and Lana sucking face near the gate and was praying that I didn't have a seat near them. I wasn't sure what their seat assignments were but Joe and I were in the very back row in the two seats on the left side of the plane. I'd even promised him the window seat.
Joe had called me two days after I got home from the dorms for Christmas. It – whatever 'it' was – hadn't worked out with the new girl and he'd come running back to me. Okay, that might have been stretching it a bit. He'd asked if I still wanted to go see the new 'Lord of the Rings' movie that weekend. It came out the week of finals and neither one of us had had a chance to go yet.
We'd gone and he'd apologized to me, saying that he was looking forward to the plane ride because we could talk and asked if we could try to get seats for just the two of us. I'd gone online to find the best seats for something like this and on a 747 – if we weren't able to be upstairs like Daddy and I usually were – the best place was the back two seats on one of the sides. The seats still reclined, but did have moveable armrests so I could use Joe as a pillow, and were close enough to the side of the plane that he could rest on it.
Because we were at the back of the plane, we got to board first if we wanted to. I didn't. I knew we were going to be on board the plane for eons anyway – why get on any sooner than necessary?
Apparently Clark and Lana didn't realize this and they were among the first on board. Well, all of our group was in the back of the plane, so it made sense, but I still hoped they weren't either in front of or next to us.
As the departure time finally neared, Joe and I boarded. I groaned aloud when I realized that Clark was going to be sitting right across the aisle from me.
"What?" Joe asked from right behind me.
"Look who's sitting next to us," I told him, glad that we weren't close enough to our group to be heard by any of them.
"I thought you liked Clark," he said confused.
"I do. I don't like the person sitting on the other side of him. And they're probably going to be playing tonsil hockey over the Atlantic."
"And we won't?" I could practically see his grin as he whispered in my ear.
"It's possible," I conceded. "But don't hold your breath."
"I won't."
We reached the back of plane, said 'hi' to Clana – as I'd taken to calling them in my head since we got back from the cabin, regardless of what I'd said to Joe before – and stowed our stuff.
Joe leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Do you want me to take the aisle seat? I won't mind."
I nodded. "Thanks." Before I could slide into my seat, I heard the sickeningly sweet voice come from across the aisle.
"Lois. Joe." I turned to see Lana smiling innocently at us. "Would you two trade seats with us? Clark and I wanted to talk about something and would appreciate a little bit of buffer from anyone else."
Clark shifted in his seat, looking slightly uncomfortable.
Joe smiled at her. "Sorry, Lana. No can do. Lois and I already have a big, long talk of our own planned and since we thought ahead enough to get the seats..." He shrugged. "We're going to use them. I'm sure you two will have plenty of time to talk when we get to Europe." He paused, his brow furrowed. "Didn't you two just drive in from Smallville? What's that? A 20-hour drive?"
Lana covered well, but I was sure she was furious. She just wanted a little space to be slightly more alone with Clark.
I slid into the window seat and rested my head against the plastic.
This was going to be a long flight.
~*~
We were well over the Atlantic before Joe took my hand in his. "Can we talk now?"
I glanced around. Most people were either asleep or had headphones on or both so I nodded. "Sure."
He took a deep breath. "Since Thanksgiving, and really before that, I've been doing a lot of thinking. About us."
He'd shifted so that his back was to the aisle and spoke quietly.
"What about us?" I asked softly.
"We've been off and on for what? Three years now?"
I nodded. "Something like that."
"Do you ever wonder why we always find our way back to each other? I mean, I've dated other girls that I liked a lot – who knew how to kiss and whatever – but I've never wanted to date any one of them again after we broke up."
"Yeah. I know what you mean. But I never dated any other guys seriously or anything. Barely kissed the few I did go out with. Dan was the only one I thought might turn into something more and... Well, you know how that turned out."
He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. "I don't want you to think I'm saying this just to get in bed with you, I'm not. Not that I would mind someday, but I know how you feel about that and I don't want to pressure you into anything you don't want or aren't ready for or anything like that."
"Well, you also know I won't let you pressure me."
"I know. And I respect that, really, I do. That was part of what I was thinking about the last few weeks. I've slept with just about every other girl I've dated since I was sixteen. There hasn't been *that* many and it's not like it was ever on the *first* date, but after a couple dates..." He looked at our joined hands. "I don't want to get into all of my sexual history right now and you already know most of it anyway, but I wonder if that's not part of why we keep find our way back to each other. That it's not just about sex with us."
I rested my head on my seat. "I guess that's possible."
"And then... you almost died. And when your dad told me what happened... Did you know I called your house that night? He was so scared and so was I. I don't think I've ever breathed a bigger sigh of relief than when Lana told me you were okay. I started thinking then and after Thanksgiving, I started thinking more seriously. And you said you were happy the way things were, so I left it alone and I started dating Denise, but only a couple times because I didn't want to be with her. I wanted to be with you.
"Could we..." He took another deep breath and almost looked scared. "Do you think that we could try again? I mean, for real and not just so we have something to do on Friday and Saturday nights or whatever? I promise that I won't push you or anything, but I realized when I was going out with her this month... I kissed her and she kissed me back and she was willing to do a lot more than that and I just... I had no desire to do that with her. All I could think about was you and how I would rather be with you watching a movie than doing... other stuff with her."
He leaned over and kissed me softly. "Think about it for a while. I don't want an answer right away. I know it's something we haven't talked about in years, but I would like you to think about it and see if you think there might be a chance for us." He kissed me again – a long, soft, sweet kiss. Almost like our first kiss a couple years earlier. "I've got to go to the bathroom and then I'm going to get some shut eye, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay. And I will think about it. I promise." I stared at the blackness out the window while he was gone, but stood when he got back. "Why don't you take the window seat and you can lean on it? If you don't mind me leaning on you, that is."
He smiled. "Not at all." He settled in the window seat with one of the little airline pillows and a blanket. I handed him my pillow and he used it, too. One arm wrapped around me as I sat next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. We each pulled a rough airplane blanket around us. He kissed my head. "I do love you, Lois."
"I know, Joe. I love you, too."
"I know."
We closed our eyes and settled in for some sleep.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I wanted to shift uncomfortably, but Lana was resting on me and I didn't want to bother her.
This flying in planes things was for the birds.
*I* was meant to fly under my own power.
Really.
Of course, no one else would understand that, but that was okay. Lana would soon enough. We'd be in Paris and, in a couple days, she'd be my fiancé – there was nothing that I could think of that would lead to her saying no – and we'd have three days before classes started once we got back to the States. We'd talk about me and my alien-ness then. And then she'd understand.
And hopefully, she'd like to fly with me sometimes.
I sighed and shifted my aisle side leg slightly.
"You okay?" came a soft voice from across the aisle.
I looked to see Lois watching me, concern in her eyes.
I nodded. "I'm not real fond of flying and there's just not enough leg room in these things. Honestly. It's worse than your Jeep."
She smiled at that. "My Jeep has plenty of legroom."
"Only because you always drive."
"True. But Joe's Mustang has plenty of leg room, too, and I never drive it."
"Not in the back."
"You've got me there, but I've never been in the back seat of his car."
"Really?" I asked her, a gleam in my eye.
She glared at me.
"Sorry," I said immediately, a grin on my face. I sighed and turned serious. "I didn't mean to listen in a little while ago but..." I glanced around. "This isn't exactly the best place for trying *not* to listen in."
She blushed a bit. "I'm sure."
"So?"
"So what?"
"Are you going to give it another chance?"
She chewed on her bottom lip. "I think so." She glanced up at Joe, who was sleeping against the window, his mouth slightly open. She smiled. "He's my best friend. He has been for a long time."
"I'm glad. He really does seem like a good guy."
"He is."
We talked for a while longer, laughing and joking quietly as the sky in front of us lightened. We were landing at nearly noon, Paris time, so it would be daylight long before we landed. Fortunately, for those trying to sleep, most of the shades were pulled.
Lana and Joe both began to stir at about the same time, as did just about everyone else as we started our descent into Paris.
*****
TBC
