Thanks again to Kathy!
Last time:
Jonathan pulled the meat slicer out from under the counter and dug around the fridge for the ham. He expertly situated it and began shaving off thin slices.
"I guess that leaves me with the cheese," Clark said.
Martha pointed him towards the grater and he easily found the block of Colby Jack.
He began grating and a few seconds later was down to just the end of the two pound chunk. He looked up to see everyone staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
Lois shook her head. "Show off," she muttered.
He glanced at her parents who had gone back to what they were doing. He leaned over and whispered. "Tell you what, I'll show off for you later all you want."
Lois blushed and kept her attention on the bread dough she was rolling out. "I'll hold you to that," she whispered under her breath.
"Good," he whispered back and wondered how long before they could get away.
*~*7*~*
Lois was sure he could hear her heart racing at the thought of him showing off with his powers later.
When they were alone, she was sure.
Their first night together as a married couple.
Alone.
In Clark's apartment.
Their apartment?
With that fertility statue still sitting on the bed, she was sure.
The bed.
With that thought, she was sure her blush deepened as she rolled out the dough.
"Clark, would you mind taking the ham slices and cutting them into one inch squares for us?" her mom asked.
Lois was grateful that he moved away from her. The warm bulk of his body as he whispered in her ear made her almost want to haul him off to her room and forget that her parents would be standing in the kitchen wondering what was going on.
She took a deep, calming breath before her gaze flickered towards Clark as he stacked the ham slices and cut them into squares. The soft material of his T-shirt clung to his back and arms. What she really wanted to do was just stop and admire the play of the muscles visible under the fabric.
No. What she really wanted to do was...
She shook her head slightly and went back to rolling out the dough. By the time Clark was done cutting ham, it was ready. They worked together to spread the pieces of meat around the two foot square bread dough. Lois was sure she felt a spark each time their fingers touched.
How was she going to survive until they could get back to Metropolis?
She'd never felt like this before. She'd only ever been with one man before – though they'd dated for a long time and had been together on a fairly regular basis after that first time. And it had always been... nice but she'd never understood the women on television or movies – or even some of her friends – who couldn't wait to drag some guy off to bed.
But now...
Her mother was talking.
Lois looked up. "What, Mom?" She tried to ignore Clark's shoulder brushing against hers.
"Are you about done?" Martha had a slight smirk on her face.
Lois looked to see her mom's Stromboli finished and she was starting to roll out the third and final piece of bread dough. Lois quickly turned back to hers, finishing speading the cheese over the top of the ham then sprinkling some dill, basil and oregano over the top. She deftly rolled it, pinching the ends and sides together.
"I thought Clark was the only one with superspeed," her dad commented, earning a glare from Lois.
"I think they're anxious to get back home," Martha whispered to him. "Though why they decided to stay and have dinner with us if they flew off to get married is beyond me."
Lois' eyes flew up and she looked at Clark, whose eyes were just as wide as hers.
"What?" she managed to squeak out.
"You think we didn't notice the rings Lois is wearing?" Martha asked.
"When did you notice them?" Lois asked back, fiddling with the still unfamiliar adornments.
"About thirty seconds after we pulled in," Jonathan told her with a chuckle. "Well, as soon as you got close anyway. She mentioned it to me before we got out of the truck."
Martha smiled. "You brushed your hair back and they caught the sunlight." She reached for Lois' hand to get a better look. "They're beautiful," she told Clark with a smile. "He has good taste." That was directed at Lois as Martha pulled her into a hug.
Clark laughed. "They were my grandma's. Gramps gave them to me a long time ago."
Lois looked over at him. "Do you want to tell them or do you want me to?"
Clark shrugged. "Up to you." His arm went around her shoulders and pulled her to him. "I will if you don’t want to."
She sighed nervously. Her parents had seemed happy for them so far but... She took a deep breath and started to speak. "Well, in Florida if you tie your elephant to a parking meter you have to pay for it just like you would a car. And in South Dakota a horse can't go into the Fountain Inn unless they're wearing pants. In Nebraska, you can't go whale fishing, but there's no whales in Nebraska, I don't think. Or Utah either."
Clark pulled her slightly closer to him and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you really remember all of those from that article?"
"No. I looked some more up today," she said with a shake of her head. "I was trying to find one in particular and found out that in Wyoming you have to have a permit to take a picture of a rabbit between January and April and you can't ski drunk. Idiots aren't allowed to vote in New Mexico, which seems pretty logical to me."
Clark squeezed her again.
"Anyway, we wondered if there might be some grain of truth to the sleeping in Lowell County thing so we went to see Uncle Joe," she said quietly.
"I take it there was?" Martha asked.
Lois nodded and explained what Joe had told them about how it worked.
"So you two are legally married because you slept in the same bed together last week?" Jonathan asked skeptically. "Not that we don't like you, Clark, we do..."
"We think you're *super*," Martha interjected with a grin and everyone else groaned.
"...but this seems a bit sudden."
Lois reached out with both of her hands and covered his. "We know it's sudden, Daddy, but it's honestly what we both want."
Jonathan stared at her face for a long moment before nodding. "Then we're happy for you." He stood and pulled her into a big hug. She rested her head on his chest. She'd always felt so safe in her daddy's arms. It was one of several reasons she'd come home after everything with Lex. "We love you, little girl."
Tears filled her eyes at the term of endearment. He hadn’t called her that in a long time. "I love you, too, Daddy. And I'm so glad that you're happy for us. We're happy about this. I promise."
"I'm so glad, Princess." His arms tightened around her. "My little girl's wedding day," he whispered. "Not exactly how I pictured it, but we are happy for you."
"Thank you. I'm sorry you didn't get to walk me down the aisle and everything."
"You're happy. That's the most important thing."
"We talked a bit about having a real wedding soon," she told him, not moving from the safety of his embrace.
"Then it would be my honor to give you away. But if you don't, I'm just happy that you're happy."
Tears filled Lois' eyes. She should have known they'd understand.
They were the world's best parents after all.
******
TBC
