I've wondered for weeks how I was going to explain how this happened, but every time I tried, it sounded so pathetically whiny. So after more than ten months, and with deepest apologies to Elisabeth, I'm just going to post the second half of my 2008 Holiday Ficathon writing assignment and hope the FoLCs will forgive me. I pray the ending will help to make up for the wait.
Thanks to Kathy and Carol for the beta comments and for not flogging too hard when I missed my deadline. Repeatedly.
Part 1 can be found
here (with edits!). You will need to read the first half for this to make sense. The story follows directly after the ending of "Season's Greedings" by Dean Cain. As many will notice, I also stole some lines from “We Have a Lot to Talk About” by John McNamara.
~ - ~
Lois Lane was in a foul mood.
The predominant mood at the Daily Planet was hardly festive. The Christmas Eve night-crew grumbled about being stranded by the storm, while the Christmas Day crew – those few that had made it into the office – complained about the difficulties of getting to work. Everyone, however, had sensed Lois’ irritability the moment she’d stepped off of the elevator and had been smart enough to give her a wide berth. If any of them wanted to complain or find a sympathetic ear, they did it out of her earshot; everyone knew to avoid Mad Dog Lane when she had *that* look about her.
Well, almost everyone. No one bothered to warn Ralph. Despite the early hour, he’d already taken advantage of the holiday spirits and, clueless to the warning signs, had tried to use the season of good will to his advantage while Lois was refilling her coffee mug. The resulting verbal castration and the remains of Lois’ cold coffee dripping down his face and staining his shirt garnered him more than one look of pity.
Lois plopped back down into her desk chair, still seething from her interaction with Ralph. Taking out her frustrations on the office oaf had been gratifying, but hadn’t really made her feel better. She’d done her best to concentrate on her work, but it had done nothing to ease the pain in her heart. Clark and Mayson were getting married. There wasn’t anything she could do about that either.
Reflexively, she shoved the thoughts of Clark and Mayson away and reached over to fiddle with the police scanner on her desk. After hearing an update about the city’s snow removal efforts and one dispatch for a minor fender-bender, Lois turned the volume back down and reached for her rolodex. If there was anything newsworthy happening anywhere in Metropolis today, then Lois Lane was going to find it.
A frustrating hour later, Lois slammed her handset down. She’d heard more out-of-office recordings today than she had in the past several months. How could *everyone* be out of the office today? There ought to be a law against it. Even her special sources were out celebrating.
Undaunted, she checked her emails and then rifled through her files trying to find something, *anything* that she could turn into a story, but found nothing. Defeated, Lois sighed as she slumped back in her chair, rocking it back and forth with her foot. She allowed her eyes to roam across the nearly deserted newsroom, looking for inspiration. Her eyes passed over the small congregation of coworkers at the coffee station and past Perry’s darkened office to rest on Clark’s desk.
Without her volition, her thoughts returned to last night’s dinner. A small, wistful smile played at the corner of her mouth as she remembered her partner’s quick wit, their dance and her impromptu performance. Clark had been there for her, whether she wanted him to be or not, and he’d become indispensable to her, both professionally and personally. She’d had few good friends in her life and no others like Clark.
For a moment, her thoughts turned to anger as she wondered if Clark had been toying with her last night. She thought he had been flirting with her, but less than eight hours later, he proposed to another woman. It just didn’t *fit* with what she knew of him. Her angry thoughts dissipated as quickly as they’d grown as she realized that she had misread his actions, seeing only what she wanted to see. Clark was a good man and would never treat any woman that way. Clark had spent Christmas Eve with her because he was kind, generous, and knew she had been alone. He had only wanted to help her experience the true Christmas spirit.
She had no doubts that Clark had been interested in her when he’d first arrived in Metropolis. She even suspected that his declaration of love last summer had been genuine. He had wanted more than friendship with her, but she’d been too slow to act, too stubborn to accept the wondrous gift of his love due to her fears. The most caring, gentle, and honest man to ever show interest in her and she’d missed it.
Her eyes lingered on Clark’s nameplate until unwelcome tears stung her eyes as she realized she’d accepted her deeper feelings for Clark at the same time that he had been falling in love with Mayson. She knew Clark well enough to know that if he was serious enough about Mayson to spend the night with her, then he was in love. His decision to propose wasn’t an impetuous decision either; his love was real and long-term.
‘It could have been me,’ she thought sadly. Mayson now had something that would have to remain in her dreams – a good, honest, kind man that would be devoted to her for the rest of her life. Lois dropped her head into her hands and groaned out loud. Clark may have spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with her, but he’d be sharing the rest of his life with Mayson Drake.
A Christmas morning proposal was such a Clark thing to do, too. There was no mistaking the look of hope on his face or the shape and size of that box. Any woman would be fool to turn Clark down and Mayson was no fool. The ache in her chest that accompanied that thought was not just for her stolen future, but for the eventual loss of his friendship. She hadn’t dared to risk what she had for something more and now she had neither.
No. She didn’t want to think about what she’d lost. She swiped away the moisture from the corner of her eyes and stiffened her back. She started shifting through the files on her desk again when the police scanner crackled to life. Lois heaved a heavy sigh of relief as she heard about a fire – possible arson and robbery – at a downtown jewelry store.
Glad to have a distraction from her depressing thoughts, she grabbed her bag and shrugged into her long coat on the way to the elevator, barely avoiding a collision with a surprised looking Perry on his way out.
“Lois? What’re you doing here? I thought I told you to take the day off.”
“I gave it to Myerson,” she tossed over her shoulder as she dashed into the elevator.
“Then where’re you going? It’s time for the sing-along.”
“Not now, Perry. I’ve got a lead.” Lois’ terse answer, punctuated with repeated jabs at the elevator button, faded as the doors slid shut.
- - - - -
Clark stretched one clenched fist above his head and rolled through the chill Christmas air. After the first spate of weather related emergencies, Superman’s day had settled into relative peacefulness. As he’d predicted to his parents, he’d been needed as Superman several times as impatient motorists had hit the icy streets. He’d spent half an hour clearing the airport runways so that the stranded travelers could get home to their families before he’d zipped away to rescue two foolish boys that had tried to skate on the too thin ice covering Hobbs River.
He’d also taken time to stop at Coates Orphanage to see the kids, as well as visit his apartment long enough to open Christmas presents with his parents before another traffic incident had called him away. Later, he’d seen his parents safely to Aunt Opal’s and promised to stop by for Christmas dinner. Although it wasn’t the Christmas day they had all planned, it hadn’t been too bad. All that he needed to make his day complete was Lois.
He breathed in deeply and sighed in contentment, the grin of a man in love glued to his face. He as sure that the motorists he’d helped could tell he was besotted, but he didn’t care. He was positive that Lois was beginning to see him, her partner and best friend, as something more. He couldn’t remember ever feeling quite this hopeful about his life, not since he’d first come to Metropolis and met a certain brunette whirlwind named Lois Lane.
Now that the roads had cleared and the good people of Metropolis didn’t need their resident superhero, he couldn’t keep his thoughts from his feisty partner. The smile tugged again at his lips as he recalled her sultry display for the twentieth time. She certainly seemed interested in him last night, but could he be reading more into her looks, her words, and her actions than really existed? Did he understand the tenderness in her gaze and her lingering touches correctly as a desire for more than just friendship?
Maybe her playfulness last night hadn’t really been flirting. Maybe it was simply a joyful expression of gratitude. Clark started to panic as he second-guessed himself. He had just started wondering about the return policy for his impulsively purchased diamond engagement ring when the shrill call of a siren and a cloud of dark smoke interrupted his anxiety attack.
He sighed with relief. Too much time on his hands was making him feel unsure of himself. He needed to be confident. He needed to be sure. He shook his head; he needed to tend to his duties and put this fire out. Clark turned in mid-air and whooshed toward the business district amid a swirl of snowflakes and a sonic boom.
It turned out not to be much of an emergency after all and there wasn’t much for him to do. The building, a jewelry store in the business district, was empty and the built-in sprinkler system had kept the fire contained to the western wall. Superman put the remaining flames out as the fire fighters and the police arrived on scene, and then worked with them to assess the cause of the fire. He was finishing his discussion about the smoke and water damage with the storeowner when he heard Lois cursing – something about the snow, rookie policemen and the freedom of the press. Clark smiled, bid the owner a merry Christmas and turned toward the door.
- - - - -
Lois knew there was a story here, if she could just find the right person to talk to. She stared daggers at the retreating back of the policeman. Ha! Police*boy* is more like it. When did they start letting prepubescent children onto the force, anyway? She’d report his badge to the police chief, of course. Right after she got this story.
Recognizing that the detective was trying to exit the store without talking to her, Lois grabbed his coat sleeve. “Hold on, Zymak. I need the real story on the robbery.”
“Lane,” the detective sighed. “For the last time, there was no robbery attempt. It was a small, *accidental* fire caused by faulty wiring in a set of Christmas lights.”
“Are you sure? Maybe someone planned it that way. Did the wiring catch fire because someone tampered with it? Maybe someone had a grudge against the owner. Oh! Maybe it was a diversion for something else. Did you find any accelerants?”
“Lane, we’ve been over it; the firemen have been over it, twice! Superman has confirmed it. No laws have been broken. It was just bad luck and an old string of lights.”
Lois scowled as Zymak tried to turn away, but held tight to his coat sleeve and brightened again as she thought of another angle. “Perhaps the manufacturer should be bought in for questioning for selling a substandard product?”
“Old decorations. Period. Now, I’m going to write up the incident, close the case and rush home so I can spend the rest of Christmas with my family. I suggest you do the same.”
“I’ll look into it,” she called after Zymak’s retreating back. “I’ll bet they’re using child labor or sweat shops to make poor quality decorations. It’ll be the exposé of my career. We’re talking Pulitzer!”
Zymak kept walking, a raised hand his only acknowledgement to her rant.
Lois clenched her jaw against the urge to vent her frustration at the detective as he walked away. In the place of a primal scream, she settled for viciously kicking the brickwork under the storefront window. Unfortunately, instead of feeling even a smidgen of satisfaction from the act, her other foot slid on a patch of ice and with a windmill of arms, she felt herself falling.
Lois expected to hit the cold, hard sidewalk with her backside, but she was surprised and pleased when a pair of strong, spandex-clad arms encircled her and lifted her back to her feet.
“Whoa, there. I’ve got you, Lois.”
Lois turned to thank her rescuer and when she slipped again on the same patch of ice, grabbed tightly to his forearms to keep her balance. “Superman! Just the person I wanted to see.”
Clark flashed her a warm smile before remembering that he was in the suit and he tried to modify his soppy grin into something more restrained, but he was afraid it didn’t really work. His heart skipped a beat at how beautiful she looked bundled up in her winter coat and scarf, a pink tinge to her cheeks.
“Merry Christmas, Lois.”
Lois’ welcoming smile tightened into a slight grimace at his greeting, but at least she managed to keep from rolling her eyes. She forced out a lackluster, “You, too,” before releasing his arms and taking a careful step back.
“Are you working?” Superman asked lightly.
“Of course,” she replied. “What else would I be doing?”
“I thought you senior reporters got important holidays off? Why are you hard at work on Christmas?”
Christmas again. What Christmas had to do with *anything* was beyond her comprehension. “Well, you don’t take vacations from your job,” she defended hotly. “Why should I take time off from mine?”
Clark’s smile slipped at her petulant response. He knew Christmas wasn’t her favorite holiday, but after last night, he thought she would have changed her mind, at least a little. He was also taken aback not only by her utter lack of enthusiasm for the holiday, but at her response to his teasing. It was risky to act so familiarly while in the suit, but Lois didn’t seem to have noticed. In fact, she didn’t seem all that thrilled to see him at all. She was obviously in full-reporter mode, but even the vaunted hero’s arrival didn’t garner him his accustomed adoring look. Before he could find and appropriate response to her question, though, her face brightened as she reached into her bag and pulled out a pencil and notepad and started firing questions in his direction.
“Superman, what can you tell me about the fire? Was it arson? Did you smell any accelerants? Was the fire used in conjunction with a robbery attempt? Do you know how many thieves were involved and did they get away with any jewelry?”
As she continued with her barrage of questions, Clark’s eyebrows rose. He’d heard detective Zymak give his statement about the cause of the fire, and he felt confused about her insistence of foul play. Not wanting to disappoint her, he fumbled for an answer. “Well, there wasn’t really any, um…”
“It really was an accident, wasn’t it?” she conceded as her face fell. “There’s no story here, just a filler piece for tomorrow’s city section.” She dropped her hands and released a discouraged breath. She hated Christmas and slow news days and blonde district attorneys and…
“I’m sorry,” Superman answered lamely, shrugging into the ensuing awkward silence. He watched as Lois morosely stared at the pad in one hand. “Lois, what’s wrong?”
“What isn’t?” she mumbled. Then louder, “Nothing, really, except that there doesn’t seem to be anything newsworthy happening today. Unless…” She trailed off, eyeing the superhero speculatively. “What have you been up to today?”
Lois listened carefully as Superman filled her in on his morning and took careful notes. She asked a few questions about his work with the emergency services, but grew silent as he mentioned his visit at the orphanage, his description of his visit reminding her of Clark. A sad smile tugged at her mouth as she remembered his gallant efforts to organize the toy donations to the orphanage. Maybe she should give her partner these notes, since the orphanage story was just the kind of touchy-feely human-interest piece that Clark was so good at writing. Clark might be forever out of her reach romantically, but for the time being, at least he was still her partner.
Clark trailed off in his recitation, realizing that he’d lost Lois’ attention. Her sad expression tugged at his heart and did she just wipe away a tear?
“Lois, are you sure you’re okay? You look sad.”
“I’m sorry, Superman. I guess I got distracted. It’s just that, Clark … Nevermind. It’s not important.”
“Clark made you sad?” he asked. “But last night … I thought you and he had a nice evening together.”
“We did. It was nice - better than nice. It was wonderful. But then today…”
“What? What happened today?”
Lois shrugged, not wanting to talk about it, but Superman lifted his eyebrows in silent encouragement. She certainly had his undivided attention and was grateful for his friendship. She couldn’t remember the last time Superman had stuck around after a rescue just to talk with her. The fact that he cared about her warmed her heart a little.
Who knows? Now that Lois couldn’t have Clark, maybe she should try again to entice the superhero into a relationship. For the first time in months, she allowed herself to think about what it would be like to be Superman’s girlfriend, but try as she might, she just couldn’t dredge up the same feeling of excitement about it. She would probably always get a thrill from flying with Superman, but it surprised her that she couldn’t imagine him in the role of boyfriend anymore. She sighed.
“You know Clark’s my best friend, right?”
“And you’re his,” Superman smiled.
“For a long time, I thought he wanted to be more than friends. And I … well, I tried to tell him that day in front of the Planet and then again after you brought him back to life, but I was scared about what would happen! Now I’ve waited too long and there’s no chance that we can ever be together, because of … well, you and he are good friends, so you probably already knew that it wasn’t possible, didn’t you?”
Clark’s mind swam as he tried to make sense of Lois’ words. He was vaguely aware that she had asked him a question, but through the loops and twists of her monologue, he had clearly heard her say, “no chance we can be together” and he was still trying to process it. On the one hand, she seemed to be saying that she wanted to move their relationship forward and had, in fact, been thinking along these lines for months. On the other hand, she seemed to be saying that there was no hope of a relationship developing. Hope filled him with the knowledge that Lois liked him, *really* liked him, maybe even loved him, but his joy was tempered by confusion and uncertainty.
Clark certainly didn’t understand her reasoning. In fact, he had no clue why she thought a relationship with him wasn’t possible. If she wanted a relationship with him like he wanted with her, then what was the problem? He tried to puzzle through her words again, but still couldn’t come up with a reason, so he gave up and simply asked her.
“Lois, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Why can’t you and Clark be together? I think you’re perfect for each other.”
Lois’ eyes narrowed as she regarded Superman closely. His look of confusion was both genuine and a little adorable. It was obvious that he knew nothing about Clark’s intention to marry Mayson, nor did he suspect at how serious their relationship had become. Superman simply wasn’t that good of an actor.
Superman was close to Clark, probably even considered Clark his best friend, and Lois had expected Superman to know about Clark’s deepening relationship with Mayson. The fact that he didn’t soothed her heart just a little. At least she wasn’t the only one being left out of the loop. If Clark hadn’t shared his feelings with either of his two best friends, then the only possible explanation was that Clark wanted to keep his engagement with Mayson a surprise – or a secret.
She hesitated now that she was faced with telling Superman about what she’d seen. Maybe it was to give Clark the chance to tell them himself. More likely, she didn’t want to tell Superman about it because if she didn’t confirm it out loud, she could pretend that Clark’s engagement wasn’t real.
Lois’ expression softened and she smiled sadly. “It’s not my place to say. Look, I’m sure that Clark can tell you more than I can. Forget I said anything.”
“Forget …?” Superman paused mid-response as one of the firemen called his name. ‘Not now,’ he thought frantically. He was practically itching to figure out what was going on in Lois mind, but she had already taken a shuffling step back. She tipped her head in the opposite direction and shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ve got to get back to work anyway,” she said. She raised her hand that still held her notebook. “Thanks for the quotes.”
The fireman stepped in between them to ask his question, but Superman levitated a foot in the air in order to call out desperately, “I’m sure this’ll only take a minute, Lois. May I fly you there?”
“Thanks, anyway,” she said as she started to move away, stepping backwards. “But I think I’d like to walk.”
Superman continued to watch her as she turned around and started to shuffle up the street, kicking clumps of snow out of her way as she went. Clark felt more confused than ever. Last night he’d been so hopeful about Lois’ feelings for him, but now she not only felt that a relationship with him was impossible, but she also wasn’t enamored by her hero anymore either. She’d never turned down the chance to fly with him before! Something serious had happened and he was determined to find out what it was.
With a firm nod to himself, he settled back on the ground and focused his attention to the waiting fireman. The sooner he finished with his Superman duties, the sooner Clark could find out what had gone wrong.
- - - - -
As Lois sent her final story to the printer, she leaned back in her chair and stretched. It hadn’t taken long to write up the Superman stories; there wasn’t much to them, after all. For a few blissful moments, however, it had been enough to take her mind off of Clark. Now, though… Determined not to think about her partner again, she turned to look around the office and saw instead the cheery decorations she’d complained about a few days ago. She frowned as the multicolored bulbs and lights on the Christmas tree sparkled gaily, seeming to mock her inability to find joy in the holiday.
The sad thing was that she still *wanted* to love Christmas. She had had such high hopes this year and up until this morning, she had really gotten it. The much vaunted, but elusive spirit of Christmas had filled her heart with love and friendship and hope. Before she knew it, her eyes had filled with unshed tears. She had known how risky it was to open up her heart. She’d been hurt so many times in the past that she should have known something would go wrong.
Not this, though. She hadn’t expected Clark’s engagement. She had been so confident that she’d never lose Clark and now nothing would ever be the same. She felt hot tears sting her eyes and her throat closed up painfully at the thought. But she couldn’t cry, not yet. Taking a deep breath, she leaned over her desk and placed her head in her hands. She concentrated on forcing herself to breathe evenly and didn’t notice when the elevator arrived and disgorged its lone occupant.
As soon as he entered the elevator, Clark lowered his glasses and scanned the newsroom for Lois. There were few people in the office now. The few staffers that were working had been joined by a few of their colleagues for the annual sing-along in the conference room. Clark smiled as Perry sang Elvis’ “Blue Christmas” and Jimmy was laughing with his arm around Angela’s shoulder. Those not singing were talking softly over glasses of eggnog and enjoying the show. Everyone except Lois, that is. She was sitting at her desk, staring forlornly at the Christmas tree.
‘Perfect,’ he thought to himself. He could talk to her in relative privacy and – if he could work up the courage – ask her to join him for Christmas dinner. Right after he found out why she thought they couldn’t have a future together. It had been torture talking with the firefighter earlier and with half his attention still on Lois, he hadn’t been able to come up with an excuse not to join the men at the fire station for some quick holiday cheer. It had taken him the better part of an hour to get away.
The elevator arrived at the newsroom and Clark stepped out hesitantly. Now that he had arrived, his jumbled emotions sprang to the forefront. Would she be happy to see him? Would she accept his invitation for dinner tonight? Would she talk to him about her concerns? She *had* to know how he felt about her; she already knew everything about him – everything except his dual identity – so what was holding her back?
Clark looked toward the conference room again and saw that everyone else was still inside. Lois was alone, leaning over her desk with her head in her hands. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that neither Lois’ posture nor the slight waver in her breathing registered. Instead, he stole up behind her and leaned over her shoulder to ask softly, “Working hard?”
Lois jumped at the softly murmured question at her ear. Her eyes widened and her heart thundered when she saw that it was Clark, who jumped back to avoid a collision with her head as she stood up abruptly.
“Clark! What are you doing here?”
“Can you believe that my plane got snowed in?”
Lois tried to smile in response to his teasing reference to their dinner last night, but it was a pathetic attempt. She thought it would have been better if Clark hadn’t joined her for dinner last night, but had left for Kansas when he was supposed to, then he wouldn’t be engaged to Mayson and Lois’ world wouldn’t be crashing down around her. Unable to meet his delight-filled eyes, she ceased her inner babble and turned to her desk. She picked up a file with faked disinterest and forced herself to respond.
“That’s too bad.”
Clark’s smile faded a little at her lackluster response and at the glisten of tears at the corner of her eyes. It was obvious that she’d been fighting tears. Lois had told Superman that her sadness was due to something Clark had done, but he still had no idea what it could be. He was determined to get things out in the open, but Lois’ barriers were up at full strength. Getting her to talk might take a little finesse.
“So how did things go today? Any Pulitzer winning stories I should know about?”
“It was pretty slow, but I was able to get a few pieces together for tomorrow’s paper.”
“That’s right. You talked with Superman earlier.”
Lois looked up from her file, her feigned apathy replaced immediately with a frown. “You’ve seen Superman today?”
“Yes.” Clark congratulated himself on the completely true, if misleading statement. “He told me that you spoke to him. He seemed concerned about something you said.”
“What was that?” she asked warily.
“Well …” Clark paused. Could he ask her straight out? What if he really had misinterpreted her words from earlier? “He said you were concerned about our future relationship.”
“Well, who wouldn’t be?” she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. “I mean, we were best friends, Clark, but do you really think our relationship wouldn’t change with an extra person in the mix?”
“An extra person?” Clark swallowed roughly, trying to control the fear that was growing in his belly. “What extra person?”
Lois slapped the file on the desk and stood, crossing her arms defensively. “I stopped by your place this morning. I realized that you’d been snowed in for real and wanted to take you to breakfast. Clark, I saw you through the window.” At his bewildered look, she sighed impatiently. “You had company – someone that I didn’t expect to be at your place this morning – and an engagement ring.”
“You saw that? Look, Lois, I can explain…”
“What’s to explain? You obviously wanted to keep this part of your life a secret, but how long did you think you could keep this from me, anyway?”
Clark noticed that the news staff had begun exiting the conference room and most of them were paying close attention to their conversation. He leaned in a little closer to her and lowered his voice. “Lois, I know you’re mad, but could we go somewhere private to discuss this?”
“Mad? I’m not mad. I’m hurt. Discovering that you haven’t been completely honest with me makes me wonder if I even *know* you and that hurts. It really hurts and you know what? I *am* mad. Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Well,” Clark started hesitantly, looking around at their colleagues nervously. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, but the time just didn’t seem right. I really came over here to invite you to dinner.”
Lois stared at Clark in stunned amazement. “You’re inviting me to dinner?”
“Yeah. It’s a family thing at my Aunt Opal’s place, but everyone would be thrilled if you came.”
“What about Mayson?”
“Mayson who?”
Lois’s scowl deepened both at his guileless expression and at his subterfuge. “Your Mayson. Mayson Drake. What do you mean, ‘Mayson who?’”
“’My’ Mayson?” Clark stared at her in bewilderment. Nothing about this conversation was adding up. If she was furious about the discovery of his secret identity, why was she asking questions about Mayson Drake? Come to think of it, if she’d discovered his secret this morning, why hadn’t she said anything to Superman earlier? Clark threw up his hands in frustration. “Lois, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Lois’ eyes narrowed as she regarded Clark closely. His look of confusion was both genuine and a little adorable. It was obvious that he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Clark simply wasn’t that good of an actor. “I’m talking about your secret engagement to Mayson Drake. A blonde woman was sitting on your couch this morning and I saw you propose to her. What are you talking about?”
Clark’s eyebrows shot up as the pieces slid into place, creating a very different picture than he’d been imagining. He smiled in relief and stepped close to Lois. He cupped her chin with his hand and smiled at her. “You’ve got it all wrong, Lois. I’m not engaged to Mayson.”
Her anger was diffused immediately, swiftly replaced by relief and then confusion. “But I saw…”
“…Something that is going to take a lot of explanation and some significant groveling on my part. Trust me, though. I’m not in love with Mayson.”
“You’re not?”
He shook his head and raised his other hand to frame her face and stepped closer to her. “I’m not. I’m in love with someone else.”
Lois saw again that same look of unreserved adoration. Like the night before, she felt cherished and completely loved, but instead of scaring her, those deep emotions thrilled her, filling her with a deliciously warm feeling. It was like she’d been given not only a second chance at life, but all of those disappointing Christmases from years past were washed away with this one joyful gift.
“And who do you love?” she whispered.
His eyes twinkled as he grinned tenderly at her. “I think you know.”
Her breath escaped in a happy sigh as she smiled back at him. “I love you, too.”
Time stood still as she basked in the knowledge that Clark loved her. His answering sigh of contentment and happiness confirmed that he’d wanted to hear the words from her as much as she had wanted them from him. Her hands stole up his chest and slide around his neck as they inched closer to each other. Lois saw his eyes drop to her mouth and as she watched his mouth inching closer to her, she felt the warmth drop into a swirling anticipation.
She knew he was going to kiss her, but a little thought niggled the back of her mind and demanded immediate attention. She pulled her head back slightly and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What secret did you think I was talking about?”
Clark chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.”
It stole her breath when Clark reached around her to pull her body against him and bent down to kiss her. His kiss was tender, yet strong; an equal give and take that represented so well their partnership together. As he started to pull back, her hands slid into his hair and she pulled him down to her, unwilling to let him go. The second kiss was more demanding, but Lois welcomed it. She ignored the catcalls and whistles from her colleagues and let herself get lost in the feeling.
Christmas might just be her favorite holiday, after all.
The end
~~~
Here are the three things Elisabeth wanted in her fic:
1. L&C banter and/or flirtation
2. A misinterpretation
3. Free time
Merry Christmas, everyone!
