Here we go
.
Thanks again to Kathy [who really was right about the rewrites but I refuse to admit I'm having fun with them :p ]
Last time:
"I haven't even taken you flying yet."
"And when exactly are you going to rectify that?"
"Now." He moved away from her taking her hand and leading her towards the door. She followed him, surprised when he led her to the stairs and then onto the roof.
He let go of her hand, stepping away from her before crossing his arms in front of his chest.
He turned into a blur that turned blue and red before coming to a stop. His arms were still crossed in front of him, but he was Superman.
"Wow," Lois breathed before he scooped her into his arms and lifted into the air.
*~*13*~*Clark had flown with people many times before. First with his parents and then with innumerable others after creating Superman. He'd even flown with Mayson once – though she hadn't known it was really him, of course.
But that was nothing compared to flying with Lois in his arms.
His mind started spinning at all of the places he wanted to go with her someday. He could take her to a deserted beach he knew of in the South Pacific for a picnic dinner, dancing under the stars in an Alpine meadow, standing on the top of Mount Everest in the off-season, hovering over a bubbling volcano but far enough away she wouldn't get hurt. He'd taken his parents to one of those deserted beaches several times before but he'd dropped them off, left in a hurry and not dared appear less than thirty minute *after* the agreed upon pick-up time.
As it turned out, that had been a wise move more than once.
Lois was trying to decide – he thought – between snuggling close to him and watching everything around her. She finally decided on watching everything. It didn’t surprise him.
"Enjoying yourself?" he finally asked as they neared Pittsdale.
She turned to look at him. The only word he could think of to describe the look on her face was 'glee' – childlike glee.
"This is *amazing*! I can't believe you'd do anything but fly – constantly!"
He chuckled. "I guess I *could* but..."
He decided quickly to the long way around – over the New Troy National Forest that bordered his grandpa's property.
"This is incredible," she breathed as they swooped down, close enough to the treetops that she could actually reach out and brush her fingers against the branches.
He dipped down again as they reached the lake – not close enough to touch because it was already too cool that high in the mountains – but close enough. He soared high into the sky, near the clouds and stopped to hover, the arm hooked below her legs releasing them so she was standing in front of him. He kissed her softly and she responded in kind.
"Do you trust me?"
"You know I do."
"Put your hands at your sides and close your eyes," he told her softly. "I'm going to move behind you and I don't think you'll even realize it because I can move that fast, but..."
She did as he asked and then nodded slightly.
In less than a split second, he was behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
"Open your eyes," he whispered.
Her gasp was everything he'd hoped for. He loved floating among the clouds at night, gazing at the stars, but just as often he floated over some remote part of wilderness watching the ground below, in awe of its beauty.
"Clark... I'm a writer and I don't have the words."
"I know."
He had them turned away from Metropolis and towards the rugged national park. Green mountains were below them like a carpet, broken only by the pristine blue lake that nearly rivaled Lake Tahoe in size, beauty and depth of color.
"Wow," she sighed. "This is beyond anything I could have imagined. Flying in a plane would be one thing, but here... it's just us."
"Just us," he said, pressing a kiss lightly into her hair. "I like that."
She sighed. "You do know we're going to do this often, right?"
"I hope so."
"But right now, unfortunately," she reminded him with a sigh, "we need to get my things from your grandpa's house and then get to work. I can't give Perry any reason to fire me and I'm sure we've got a newsroom full of work to do on follow-ups and stuff."
In just longer than the blink of an eye, they were standing on the balcony of the room Lois had slept in when they arrived. Clark took her suitcase from her, left and thirty seconds later was standing in front of her again, suitcase safely deposited on the roof of the hotel.
He held out his hand. "Ready?"
"To fly with you?" she asked. "Always."
He grinned as he scooped her into his arms, floating out the balcony door. He stopped long enough for her to slide it shut behind them. "Do you often fly with anyone else?"
She shrugged, trying to remain aloof as he took to the air. "Occasionally."
"Really? Like who?"
She rolled her eyes. "Justin, okay? The guy from the strongman bell thing. He's a pilot by day and he's taken me up in his plane a few times."
"He doesn't hold you like this does he?" Clark asked, holding her a little closer to him.
"No."
"Then that's fine with me."
A few minutes later, they landed on the roof of the Metropolis Grand. Clark put his Clark clothes back on and reached out to take the suitcase Lois had picked up.
He held her close with one arm as he zipped them to the floor of the honeymoon suite. He waited in the living room while Lois quickly changed into something more appropriate for work.
Once done, they took the elevator to the lobby to finish their checkout procedures. Lois waited in the lobby while he took her suitcase to the parking garage. Ten minutes after leaving the suite, they were walking the few blocks to the Daily Planet building, hand in hand.
Clark was pointing out some unusual architecture on one of the buildings when they ran into another woman.
She was talking on her cell phone, while digging for something in her purse and not paying enough attention to where she was going.
The contents of her purse scattered across the sidewalk.
"We are so sorry," Clark said instantly, squatting down to help pick up the assorted items now strewn across the sidewalk. "We weren't watching where we were going."
"I've got to go, Martin. I'll call you back."
Clark's hands stilled, though Lois' were still busy picking up some loose change. He knew that voice.
He looked up to see her standing there, snapping her phone shut.
"It figures," she muttered under breath. He was sure Lois hadn't been able to make out what she was saying.
"I am so sorry," Lois said, holding out a handful of change. "Where do you want this?"
The other woman ignored Lois' outstretched hand, choosing instead to cross her arms in front of her.
"Clark Lane. Fancy running into you."
Clark stood, sighing heavily as he did so. "It's good to see you."
She turned to Lois, finally extending a hand. "Hi. I don't believe we've met."
Clark sighed again. "Lois, this is Mayson Drake. Mayson, this is Lois Kent, my new partner at the Planet."
*****
TBC
