Thanks to Carol, Beth, and Mark for all their help!
From Chapter 28
“Okay,” Lois admitted over coffee the next morning. “Maybe somewhere, buried incredibly deep inside me is some eensy weensy, microcosmic although highly unlikely possibility that I could feel some sort of unmotivated and completely unrealistic attraction to you.”
Clark grinned. He had not meant to tease her about this again, but it was hard not to. She was just so defensive about it. “As long as you're being honest with yourself, Lois.”
“Look,” she said, hands on her hips. “Just because for a day I thought I was in love with you, doesn't mean I was.”
“In love with me?” Clark asked, eyebrow raised. “I thought you were just attracted to me. Maybe infatuated. But you were in love?”
Lois groaned. “Clark, drop it, would you?”
“You're just upset that I didn't fall for you,” he teased.
Lois snorted. “I could not care less. It's not my fault you have no taste.” With that, she stood up and walked back to her desk.
Chapter 29
The first time Lois had thought about what her honeymoon would be like she was sixteen years old. Unlike her classmates, she typically did not get carried away with thoughts of weddings and princes and happily ever afters. She knew full well that wedding day promises were not always kept and few people got a happily ever after.
Sometimes, though, even she got a bit swept away with such thoughts.
Chad and Lois swayed slowly to the music coming over the speakers. Some of their classmates had complained that it was not fair that their junior prom was taking place in the school gym, but they did not care. It was a chance to be together, so they knew they would be having fun.
Chad buried his face in Lois' neck. “I love this perfume,” he whispered in her ear.
“I know,” she smiled at him. “That's why I wore it.”
Chad kissed her neck before backing away. “Lois,” he said softly, so softly she could not hear him over the music, she could only read his lips.
“Hmmm?” she responded absently.
“I love you,” he said, again so softly she could not hear him. She stopped moving. She must have misread his lips. He did not just tell her that he loved her. He couldn't have.
“What?” she asked in an attempt to clarify things.
He leaned forward to place his lips right next to her ear. “I love you.”
Lois could not help the smile that spread across her face. “I love you, too,” she said in reply.
She had been foolish that night. She thought that because they said that they loved each other, maybe they would get married and… have a life that was infinitely better than the one she had been living as a child. She knew better now, though. Nobody would call what she and Chad had a happily ever after.
Just because things did not work out with Chad, though, or Paul later, or Claude, did not mean that Lois would never get married. Maybe one day she and Lex… or she and Superman would get married. Her life could still work out the way she wanted it to as long as it was with someone like Lex or Superman, someone who could not… she meant - would not - hurt her.
Besides, she was a woman of the nineties. She did not need to wait for a man to propose before she could experience some of the luxury that came with getting married. Regardless of what Clark thought (and Perry and Jimmy), she was completely capable of taking a weekend off to pamper herself. And what better place to do that than in the honeymoon suite of the Lexor Hotel?
It had been a wonderful idea. So far, she had spent half an hour in the massage chair in the corner, ordered a decadent dinner through room service, and had a little too much of the free wine that came with the suite. Now, though… she was a little bit bored. Just a little bit, though. Maybe she would watch some television before taking a bath in the heart-shaped Jacuzzi tub.
Several clicks of the remote control later, Lois shut off the television. There was nothing on. With a sigh, she moved over to the tub and sunk to the bottom. Ah, that was better. She could probably relax in here for at least a half hour or so.
BBRRRING… Who was calling her? Who even knew she was here? Well, okay, she had told Clark, Perry, and Jimmy she was coming here, but they would not call her, would they?
“Hello,” she answered the cordless phone next to the tub. She was unsuccessful in keeping the annoyed tone out of her voice.
Not that it seemed to annoy Clark. He was laughing on the other end of the phone. “Clark?” she asked. When he kept laughing, she repeated, “Clark? Is there some reason you are bothering me when I'm off?”
“Working hard?” Clark asked through his laughter.
“I'm taking the weekend off, Clark.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
There was a pause before Clark spoke again. “Sorry, Lois. I didn't really think you'd be able to do it. But congratulations. You are having fun … relaxing?” Clark asked with a note of skepticism in his voice.
He sounded weird… maybe even… sincere? Still feeling on guard, Lois replied, “Yes, I am currently taking a bubble bath. Nothing more relaxing than that.”
“Oh,” Clark replied, his voice sounding a bit high pitched.
“Clark, are you all right? You sound weird.”
“I'm…” Clark paused and Lois heard him take a deep breath. “I'm fine, Lois. I'll let you get back to your…um… bubble bath.”
“Thanks, Clark,” Lois said smiling.
She turned around to hang up the phone, but rather than turn back around to keep relaxing, she was transfixed by the image out the window across the way. Was that Senator Harrington? Exchanging something with that other man?
***********************
“Okay, you guys have three nights,” Perry said.
“Guys?” Lois asked. When she asked if the Planet would put her up in the honeymoon suite for a few nights in the hopes of seeing more of whatever was going on with Senator Harrington, she had meant alone.
“Yeah,” Perry said, looking at her quizzically. “You and Clark. This is a major surveillance operation. You're going to need help.”
“Did you say "Clark'?” Lois asked, her heart sinking. If it was Jimmy, it would not be so bad. She could push Jimmy around. Clark was not as amenable to that as Jimmy was. She probably would not be able to convince him to leave at night so she could take another bubble bath. Not that she would do that if the investigation was going well, anyway.
“I heard him say "Clark',” Clark said with a grin. Lois shot him a look.
“He definitely said "Clark',” Jimmy smiled. Well, until Lois shot him a look. Then he stopped smiling and started staring at his feet.
“Chief,” Lois protested. “I can't share the suite with Clark. How would it look?”
“Like we were honeymooners, dear,” Clark said, wrapping an arm around her and squeezing her hip.
She pulled away forcefully, glaring at Clark.
“Clark's right, Lois,” Perry said, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. “You need a cover. This one is perfect.”
“Just don't try anything funny!” Lois demanded as she looked at Clark.
Adopting a look of pure innocence, Clark smiled. “Who me? No, I think I need to be more worried about you.”
***********************
Clark whistled while he packed. Three whole days with Lois. This could be a great building block for their relationship - or it could be pure torture. He was not sure which was more likely.
Superman poked his head into Clark's room. “You're in a good mood today,” he remarked.
Clark turned to him with a smile. “I'm about to spend the next three days at the Lexor with Lois. Should I be happy or should I be scared?”
Superman laughed. “With Lois, a little bit of both is always a good idea.” Clark smiled in response and Superman added, “While not 100% pleasant, my stay with Lois was great. Really.” He could see Clark's shoulders drop a little as he relaxed.
“Great,” Clark said, swinging his packed bag over his shoulder. “I'll see you in a few days.”
“See you,” Superman said. He watched Clark leave somewhat wistfully. He missed that - both the excitement of working on a case and the ability to leave the house without being thronged with reporters. Maybe he would go visit Martha and Jonathan tomorrow. He could use a few hours somewhere where he could be Clark.
On the other hand, this was not really the worst thing in the world. If he remembered correctly, Lois had not needed Superman all that much during the time she was at the Lexor. Keeping some distance from Lois was important right now. He was not sure what had happened during that kiss last week, but it had scared him a little. Yes, distance from Lois was a very good idea right now.
***********************
“Things that you'd find at a barbeque,” Clark said.
For a moment, Lois was silent, but only for a moment before she exploded with potential answers. “Grill, charcoal, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, paper plates, soda, lighter fluid, blankets, ants, um… um…”
Clark watched the timer carefully while Lois jumped up and down trying to think of more things you might find at a barbeque. “Spatula,” she cried, then fell silent again. She stole a glance at the timer. There was still time. One more thing, she encouraged herself. Just one more.
“Time,” Clark said right as Lois screamed, “Frisbee!”
“So?” she asked.
“Six points. You got charcoal, hamburgers, ants, blankets, lighter fluid, and paper plates. You missed children, football, watermelon, and Frisbee.”
“Hey! I said Frisbee!” Lois insisted.
“Not before your time was up,” Clark said smirking. He loved the competitive side of Lois. It had taken some cajoling to get her to agree to play a game, but eventually even she had to admit that nothing was happening next door at the moment and staring at an empty office was pretty boring.
They had started with card games until Clark won a hand of gin rummy causing Lois to rip up her cards in frustration. Then they had moved on to Monopoly, where Lois happily bankrupted Clark. Now they were onto Outburst and Lois' competitive juices were really going.
“That's not true,” Lois said, but she pouted as she said it, so Clark knew she knew she should not get the point.
“Fine!” she said, grumpily. “Your turn.”
Clark bit back a laugh when she grabbed the card viewer out of his hand.
“Books You Read in School,” she said, her voice still grumpy.
“To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse 5, Catch-22, 1984, Animal Farm, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Pride and Prejudice, A Brave New World, Clockwork Orange, Hamlet, MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Tale of Two Cities,” Clark paused, trying to think of the books on his bookshelf that were in English. “The Good Earth, A Separate Peace, The Scarlet Letter, Great Expectations, A…”
“You have them all,” Lois interrupted, passing the card reader back to him, still grumpy. “You probably own all those books, don't you?” she asked.
Clark suddenly felt like the school dork and felt his face flush slightly. “Well, yeah, they're good books.”
Lois laughed. Clark was not sure what was so funny about it, so he just watched her for a few moments, finally asking, “What is so funny, Lois?”
“You are so wholesome, Clark” Lois said still smiling.
“Why do you say that like it's a bad thing? Like it makes me boring?”
Lois sobered. The response that had come to mind immediately was “Because it does,” but even she knew that was cruel and it was untrue as well. “We should get back to work,” she mumbled.
***********************
“Superman!” Martha called happily as she opened the backdoor. “What brings you by?”
“I just…” Superman floundered for words, not sure he wanted to admit how lonely he was getting. Finally he decided to tell her the truth, or sort of. “Clark is gone for the next couple of days. The apartment feels too quiet when it's just me,” he said, not admitting that even when Clark was not gone, he felt lonely. He missed his family and his friends – basically, his life. Life here was exactly what he had feared when he started being Superman back in his own universe years ago. He had become little more than a cardboard cut out of a superhero that bore only a passing resemblance to Clark Kent.
At home when things for Superman were busy and he felt this way, a reassuring hug from Lois would make it all better, Emily putting her hand in his as they crossed the street, or Jory snuggling into his side while they read a book together. Those things had never felt as far away as they did here.
“Superman?” Martha asked and Superman had to smile slightly. Like his mother, this woman was intuitive.
“I just wanted to see a friendly face,” he explained.
“Well, come in. Jonathan would like to see you, too.”
Superman came in and inhaled the smell of a freshly baked apple pie. It smelled like home here. He wondered how his parents were doing. He had to admit he missed them less than the rest of his family as he had developed a relationship that was similar with the Jonathan and Martha Kent here, but they still weren't his parents. He tried to remind himself that however long he had been here, he would be returning to his life just moments after he had left it, so nothing had really changed for his parents yet.
“Superman,” Jonathan said, getting up with a smile. “What are you doing here?”
“He's lonely,” Martha said and Superman smiled again. Even though he had tried to soft pedal it, she had known what he meant.
Jonathan came over and gave him a brief hug before motioning to the table. “Well, then sit down. There's nothing better than a slice of Martha's apple pie and a glass of buttermilk for loneliness.”
Martha placed a clean plate in front of him as he sat down.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I really appreciate that I can come here when I need some time away from being…” he motioned to the suit.
“Clark told us he's taken to calling you Clark,” Martha said. “I guess it must be depressing for everyone to refer to you as the superhero all the time.” Off of Superman's nod, she said, “Well, then, maybe Jonathan and I can call you Clark, too?”
“I would really like that. Thank you,” Superman said.
“You don't need to thank us, you know,” Jonathan said. “We like having you come visit. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you bear more than a passing resemblance to our son,” he smiled.
Superman laughed. “So I've noticed.”
“And if you ever want to talk, we're here for you. We know you're probably closer to Clark, but since there are often things you can't tell him, if you feel you can tell us, we'll listen,” Martha added.
When Superman did not say anything for a moment, Jonathan leaned over to place a hand on his. “You know the longest Martha and I have ever been apart is one night. And I missed her like crazy the whole time.”
Martha laughed. “And we spent most of the time we were awake on the phone anyway.”
Jonathan laughed, remembering that she was right. Then his tone sobered, “I imagine you must miss Lois so much that it feels like a huge aching hole in your chest.”
Superman nodded, suddenly at a loss of words, worried that he may burst into tears. Taking a deep breath he said, “The last time I was gone for a long time, it was only a week. And I came home once for a few minutes so I could see her.”
“I'm sure she's thinking about you,” Martha offered.
“She came for a visit. Did Clark tell you?” Superman said. “A few weeks ago, just before the whole thing with Trask and the kryptonite, Herb popped in and he brought Lois with him.”
Martha smiled. “It must have been really good to see her.”
“It was. But now…”
“You miss her more,” Martha supplied.
Superman smiled slightly. That was precisely right. He had missed Lois before terribly. Somehow, though, seeing her had made it worse – made the missing more acute or something. That was not to say that he was sorry she had come, of course. He would not have given up the visit for anything. Still, he did miss her more.
“Were Emily and Jory with her?” Jonathan asked.
Superman shook his head. “We thought it would be too confusing for them. I'm only going to be gone ten minutes or so in their timeline.” He laughed as he thought about it. “I think Em's too young to really understand time travel anyway, so she'd probably be angry at us, sure she was going to miss her party.”
Martha smiled, “I bet she was pretty excited. I still remember my first boy-girl party.”
Superman smiled, “Yeah, it was about all she could talk for a week before I left. I think, although she wouldn't tell us of course, that she had a crush on one of the boys there. Actually, I think my mom knew, but was sworn to secrecy as Em kept giving her looks and giggling when she came to help her get ready.”
Martha and Jonathan shared a look. “It will be fun to have grandchildren,” Martha admitted. “Not that we want to rush Clark or anything. But it will be nice.”
“He does have a long way to go yet,” Superman said. “I'm not sure how things will work out here, but for us, it took two years after I moved to Metropolis to get engaged and another year to get married. And then there were some issues with getting pregnant - we didn't think we could at first. So, all in all, about three and a half years from now if things are similar.”
“We waited nearly ten years for a son. Waiting three and a half for grandchildren sounds easy,” Jonathan said, winking at Martha.
“So,” Martha said, sensing that it was time to change the subject, “you said Clark was away for a few days. Where is he?”
“He's spending a few nights at the Lexor with Lois,” Superman said.
“At the Lexor?” Martha asked.
“Yeah, they're in the Honeymoon Suite,” Superman said, finally deciding it was time for a bite of pie.
“I'm confused,” Martha said. “Didn't you say…”
“This tastes wonderful,” Superman said, then noticing the distressed look on her face, he laughed. “It's for a story. They're doing a surveillance operation there. Undercover of course, and Clark is sleeping on the couch.”
He could see Martha relax, but a moment later she smiled and looked at Jonathan. “Well, we should call him,” she said to her husband. “This should be fun.”
Jonathan laughed heartily in response.
