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Nightfall Honeymoon TOC

To read Part 17G

Part 18G

Saturday – Mid-day

Lois pulled the Jeep Cherokee into a spot down the street from MJ’s Café.

“You so lost,” she told her husband.

“It was a draw,” Clark argued back. He dropped his voice when she met him on the sidewalk. “We finished at the same time.”

“You folded first,” she reminded him, nuzzling his neck.

“I did no such thing,” he retorted.

Lois knew he was arguing for argument’s sake and grinned.

You so won.

“You begged me to join you,” she said.

“That’s not true. I didn’t ‘beg’.” He pressed his lips together in a line. “I humbly requested your participation in the mutually agreed upon completion of said act,” Clark responded and then shot her one his best sheepish smiles.

He totally begged.

Lois raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “You lost. You’re paying for lunch,” she informed him, her hand on the door handle of the café.

Clark stopped her from pulling it open by pressing a kiss to her lips. “If I admit defeat…”

A-ha!

“It’s only because you had a head start. Next time, we start the bet from when we’re fully clothed and not…” He lowered his voice. “… when I’m blissfully...”

She smiled curiously. “Blissfully?”

“Always,” he said, finally allowing her to open the door.

They were immediately enveloped in one of Maisie’s huge hugs. “Jonathan! Martha!” she called so the whole restaurant could hear. You could take Maisie away from the Smallville Diner, but you couldn’t take the Smallville Diner out of Maisie. “The kids are here.”

Lois turned to Clark and mouthed, Kids?

He shrugged.

“Where have you been all week?” Maisie asked, and then answered her own question with a little extra rosiness to her cheeks. “Never mind. You two are still on your honeymoon.”

Lois received a grin from Clark.

Well, if he didn’t say it all in that one look.

Jonathan came out of the office and Clark – closing the gap in three large steps – hugged him. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Clark?” Jonathan choked out.

“Yeah,” Clark responded as his dad tightened the hug.

Maisie laughed and elbowed Lois. “You’d think that they hadn’t seen each other in a year.”

Lois winked back. “That must have been some premarital advice speech.”

Clark glanced over his shoulder and shook his head at her. “Minx.”

Martha skipped past the men. “Lois!” And suddenly, Lois found herself in one of her mother-in-law’s all-encompassing hugs. “Welcome to the family, sweetie.”

Not one to want her emotions get the better of her, Lois found she could not hold back the tears while in Martha’s embrace. That was what the Kents were now – her family.

More so than your own flesh and blood.

“Thank you so much, Martha,” Lois said, wiping away the tears from her cheeks.

“For what?” Martha asked.

For allowing you to seduce her son and become part of the Kent family?

“Raising such a wonderful man,” Lois replied and saw Clark and his father both turn and smile at her.

You’ve redeemed yourself from that earlier snarky comment.

“And the pasta. That tortellini casserole was delicious. You must give us the recipe for the sauce,” Lois insisted.

Oh, yes. It’s already a family favorite. Pasta and sauce. If they hadn’t have run out of it, they would still be in the apartment now.

Clark shot his wife a ‘shut up’ look and Lois wondered if he was reading her thoughts.

Martha smiled. “Clark has the recipe,” she informed Lois with a tap to her head.

Oooh-la-la. Many nights of pasta in your future.

The men walked up to them. Martha hugged her son. “Welcome back, honey. Do you want to sit out here or at the Chef’s table?”

At Lois’s perplexed expression, Clark explained, “In the kitchen.” He caught her eye. “Out here, if you don’t mind, Mom. We have some things to discuss.”

Right. Terms for the next winner-takes-all bet.

Lois covered up her grin with her hand.

Hmmm. What do you think we should have Clark do for you next?

The phone rang and Jonathan grabbed it with a wave at Clark. Martha kissed each of their cheeks and returned to the kitchen.

“What would you kids like?” Maisie asked, walking them over to a table.

They sat on opposite sides of a small booth. Lois didn’t even open her menu. “You know what’s good here, Clark. You order for me.”

He smiled at her.

“We’ve got pasta on special,” suggested Maisie.

“No!” both Lois and Clark barked at the same time and then laughed at their hostess’s shocked expression.

Clark cleared his throat. “We had pasta for dinner last night, Maisie. How about a couple of my mom’s famous chicken sandwiches, home fries, and some iced tea?”

“Sounds great. Hey, Clark, isn’t that what you were eating that first day we shared lunch outside of Daily Books?” Lois asked him after Maisie had walked off.

His smile grew with his nod and he leaned towards her, whispering, “You’re too far away. I need to kiss you.”

She leaned forward so he could reach her lips.

“Maybe I should move next to you,” he suggested, his hand caressing her arm.

“Do you want to make-out during lunch?” Lois teased him.

His eyes smiled a definite yes!

“We have things to discuss, remember?” she went on, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small notebook. She lowered her voice to under a whisper, “I need to interview you about Nightfall.”

“Not here,” he mumbled back. “Home. Later.”

Lois closed her notebook and tucked it away. “I wish that reimbursement check from my insurance company would get here already. I’m going crazy without a computer. How are we going to type up our article at home? I guess, we’ll have to go into the office…”

“Or…” Clark reached across the table and took hold of her hands.

I like how he can’t keep his hands off you. You are so going to win the next bet.

“Or?” Lois raised a brow.

“I could pick up my old typewriter while we’re here and take that home with us,” he said and then bounced his eyebrows behind those dark-rimmed glasses.

Sigh. He has such gorgeous eyes. Where did his new glasses disappear off to?

She pressed her lips together as she kicked off one of her shoes. “I think you like that new futon mattress too much. What will you do when we move into a new apartment and that new bed I ordered arrives?” She took a sip from her glass of ice water Maisie had left on the table when she had seated them.

Clark’s jaw dropped. She loved his surprised face.

Lois pouted. “Are you upset? Did you want to help me pick it out?” She raised her shoeless foot to his knee and slowly glided it along his calf to his knee.

Surprised him again!

“Lo-is!”

“What? Did you think I was going to order something too soft or too… uncomfortable?” Lois lowered her voice as her foot reached his thigh, “Was I wrong when I figured that invulnerable meant that it didn’t matter what kind of mattress I bought? I figured that all you’d care about was how much clothing I wore or didn’t wear while lying on it.” She batted her eyelashes demurely at him. She slid her foot farther up his leg and smiled. “Was I wrong?”

Maisie brought their iced teas and Clark swallowed half of his in one gulp.

“Thanks, Maisie,” Lois responded for him.

The older woman spoke softly, “Cut it out, Lois, you’re killing the poor man.”

Clark started coughing as Lois rolled her eyes and lowered her foot.

“Are you okay?” Lois asked her husband innocently.

“Yep,” he said with a shake of his head. “Going to have to keep my shorts in the freezer.”

She laughed, slipping her shoe back on her foot.

***

Clark couldn’t believe that Maisie had said that to Lois. Didn’t she know about Pete? He thought Maisie knew everything about everyone in Smallville. Maybe it wasn’t common knowledge how close the two of them had become? Clark took hold of his wife’s hand. “I’m not going to die on you.”

Lois’s brow furrowed. “I know that.”

“Do you?” He gazed at her seriously. “I know you love me, Lois, but…”

“But, what?” she sounded positively terse.

Clark glanced down at their clasped hands. “Lucy told me about your bad luck with men…”

“Lucy told you what?” Lois spit the words at him.

“You didn’t marry me because of…” He tapped her hand against his arm. “My candy coating, did you?” His eyes met hers questioningly.

She pressed her lips together and tried to pull her hands from his, but he wouldn’t let go. “Is that what you think, Kal?”

Clark stiffened. “Are you going to call me by … my birth name every time you think I’m acting a dense idiot?”

She shrugged. “If the shoe fits…”

“If you are suggesting that it is my background that makes me a dense idiot, we’ve got a serious problem,” he told her. “I cannot help my background nor would I change it if I could.”

Lois pulled her hands free and moved over to his side of the booth. She caressed his face. “Nor would I.”

He relaxed at her loving expression.

“You’re right and I’m sorry, Clark,” she murmured, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I love all of you… candy coating and all.” She placed her hands on his chest. “Do I like that it takes a huge asteroid to give you a bump on the head? Sure. But I married you for all of you, not just one part of you, you silly goose.” Then a wicked expression came to her eyes. “Well…”

“Well, what?” Was there a something Super about him that pushed her from a maybe to a yes?

Lois’s hands glided up his chest and over his shoulders until she was hugging him. Her lips whispered into his ear, “If I had known what you were hiding under those red shorts of yours before we were married…” She moaned.

Clark gulped as he felt a flush crawl up his face. Oh, that.

She licked his ear. “Should we get lunch to go?” Her hand slid down his chest to his stomach.

He cleared his throat. “No…”

“Okay!” she said happily and a rush of cold air replaced her body as she returned to the other side of the table.

Maisie was right. All this teasing was killing him. Oh, but what a pleasant death it would be.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Besides my typewriter, there are some things I need to pick up from my folks.” He saw that his father was off the telephone. “Speaking of which…” Clark stood up and walked over to his dad. Thank goodness, the extra layers from his Superman suit made the results of his wife’s mechanisms less noticeable.

His dad glanced up at Clark’s approach and smiled. “Something up, son?”

Clark tried, with some difficulty, to keep his face its normal skin tone.

Clearly, Clark hadn’t faked his non-discomfort well as his dad pressed his lips together in attempt to keep a laugh from escaping. His father failed miserably. Jonathan lowered his voice, “Ah. The tortures of young love. Do you need me to make excuses while you visit your summer home in the Arctic?”

Unable to hide his beet-red face any longer, Clark glanced down at the floor. “No, that’s okay, Dad. I need to learn to control…” He gulped.

“Your wife? Yeah. Good luck with that,” replied his dad with what sounded like years of experience.

“Myself.”

“Oh, yes. Much easier to control. I agree. I went that route myself in my younger days…” Jonathan reminisced.

“Dad!” Clark snapped a bit more harshly than he meant. “Sorry. I… Do you have a minute to speak in private?”

“Always.” His dad led the way to his office.

Once inside, Clark shut the door behind them and handed to his father the stack of hundred dollar bills he removed from his checking account the previous day to use as a security deposit on the Clinton Street apartment. “For the café’s rent.”

Jonathan held up his hand as he sat down behind his desk. “Keep it, son. You’re a married man now. You have your own expenses. Your mother and I will figure something out.”

“Dad, today’s the first. You need October’s rent. Please. Lois and I will make do.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll have the Daily Planet’s salary soon and MDS promised to pay me all my back vacation pay.” Clark failed to mention it was in lieu of severance. He still felt bad about failing to contact his former employer after getting Perry’s job offer. “Please. It would help me sleep at night.”

His father looked like he was fighting another burst of chortles. “Yeah, right. Like you’re doing any of that now.”

“Dad!” Clark groaned.

The man grinned. “Nothing wrong with that, Clark. Enjoy the honeymoon while it lasts, because it doesn’t last forever. Or so I’ve heard.”

Clark knew enough about his parents’ relationship to know that they were still as very much in love as they were when they were first married, if not more so.

“You need the funds to get yourself a new apartment. You can’t live in a basement,” his dad reminded him.

And Clark’s parents were probably ready for Lucy to head home. Not that they would ever admit it.

“Lois and I looked at a place over on Clinton yesterday,” Clark told him. “A real dump with potential. I could fix it up like…” He snapped his fingers. “But Lois…” He shrugged.

“Hated it?” asked his father, glancing up from where he was bent down to set the safe’s timer.

“It’s growing on her.” The son smiled, remembering the afternoon delight from the day before. “It’s on the top floor and has a patio that faces a brick wall. Perfect really.”

“But…?”

How could Clark explain to his father that it wasn’t a good apartment for children? They didn’t have children, but after their carelessness on the honeymoon, one could be on its way. Should this be something to even mention to his folks? Especially without discussing it with Lois first? No. That would be a bad idea. “Let’s just say, it’s not a place with growth potential.”

Jonathan’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you looking for a place that is? Already?”

Clark shrugged.

“Is Lois?”

Clark had assumed his father’s use of ‘you’ in his previous sentence had included Lois. He didn’t know quite how to answer that inquiry. Was Lois actively trying to be a mom? Absolutely not. But that sparkle in her eye when Kal had kissed her tummy and asked if she could be pregnant, had told him she wasn’t completely adverse to the idea if the event had already occurred.

Jonathan sent him a reassuring smile at Clark’s lack of an answer. “You’re both young, son. No need to rush. Plenty of time before you need to worry about growing your new family. You need to get to know yourselves as a couple first.”

Clark placed a smile on his face. “Right.” He completely agreed but the choice may have been taken out of their hands. He gulped. Was he ready for such a step? He knew he wanted children, but so soon? He and Lois needed to discuss this topic sometime when they were out of bed and not so easily distracted.

He decided to change the topic. “Dad, have you seen my wedding ring? I left it here with my glasses and wallet when I went to battle Nightfall the first time.”

Jonathan smiled sheepishly. “I locked it in the safe for you, Clark.”

“Why didn’t you give it to me the other day?”

“I didn’t think of it, actually,” admitted his father. “What with the wedding, Nightfall, and you losing your Clark memories and all. I forgot I put it in here for safe keeping.”

Clark nodded. “Dad, I didn’t just lose my memories of being your son; I lost all of my memories.”

“You didn’t seem to want that part of your life back,” his father said softly.

Clark winced. Maybe Lois was right. His Kal side was an idiot. “Dad, I love you and Mom. I wouldn’t lose you for the world. Truthfully, and I know this will sound crazy, but I was just scared of Lois. Frightened that she wouldn’t love me. Terrified she wouldn’t want me or even like me, if I was just…” He lowered his voice. “Superman.” He shook his head. “Ridiculous, I know. I knew as Superman nothing could hurt me, physically. But losing the love of a wife I couldn’t remember, but knew I loved with all my heart, scared me stiff. It was nothing personal against you and Mom. I’m afraid I wasn’t really thinking with my head.”

Jonathan sat back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “Is that what Superman thinks with, son?”

“Dad!” Clark admonished him. “I meant my heart.”

“Right,” his dad replied, clearly not believing him. Then he winked at his son to let Clark know he was only teasing. They both laughed.

The safe beeped. His father typed in the code and reached in to retrieve the ring. Before Jonathan could shut the safe again, Clark super sped the rent money inside. Jonathan might not want to take the funds on principle, but as his father had reminded him recently, Clark could be quite stubborn. Where did Jonathan Kent think his son had learned it?

Jonathan handed him the ring and Clark slipped it on his finger, happy to have it back.

“Lois is probably wondering what happened to you,” said his dad, standing up. “Unless there was something else?”

Clark cleared his throat and glanced back at the closed door of the office. “You didn’t tell Mom about out little talk before I left for Niagara, did you?”

His father winked at him. “What talk?”

Clark exhaled with relief. Lois’s teasing remark about a premarital conversation between father and son had actually occurred. His father had given him some good advice about women, marriage, and how best to treat his wife. Clark wished he hadn’t forgotten some of that advice over the last few days. But he never wanted to admit that the conversation took place – that he had actually needed that advice – until it was time to have the same talk with his own son. Clark smiled. Son. He liked the sound of that.

He wrapped an arm around his father’s shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the greatest, and I love you.”

“I love you, too, son.” Jonathan seemed to glow from inner happiness at hearing these words from Clark. “I don’t need to tell you you’re the greatest, do I?”

Clark chuckled as they returned to the dining room. “Between you and Lois, I’m going to have to start buying bigger hats.”

Lois glanced up at their approach. The sandwiches and fries were already on the table.

Her husband slid into the booth and took Lois’s hand in his as a greeting. “Miss me?”

She smiled. “Every second. Clear everything up with your dad?”

Clark sprinkled his food with salt and popped a fry into his mouth. “He didn’t want to take the money. He said we needed it for our own place. Gave me the ‘you’ve got a wife now’ speech.”

“I’m such the ‘little woman’ and I can’t possibly take care of myself,” Lois drawled in a Southern Belle voice as she rolled her eyes in agreement with her husband. “I’d much rather keep living in my basement apartment than have your folks lose this place.”

He squeezed her hand and smiled. She always said the right thing to make him double his love for her.

She pulled her hand free and picked up her sandwich.

“But I can’t, Lois,” Clark told her and then rushed on to explain. “I love you, but personally, I hate your apartment.”

“Oh, really,” Lois inquired.

“I hate that I can’t come and go as I please.” He lowered his voice. “As I need to.”

She nodded. “I know that, Clark. I told your mom after that first night I spent here – upstairs in their apartment…” She stared him in the eye as she licked her lips. “You know, in your bed – that we’d have to find another place soon. You need to be closer to heaven.” Lois picked up a fry, dipped in ketchup, and nibbled it down to her fingers.

Clark gaped at her, his sandwich hanging in front of his open mouth. Eventually he remembered to chew. He did so slowly as he thought about her words. He wondered if she realized what she had admitted to him and whether or not he should respond. Finally, he couldn’t resist. He swallowed down his bite of sandwich and said, “You told my mom what? When?”

Lois sucked her lips into her mouth as if hesitant to respond and then, leaning towards him, she blurted out, “I had said it in jest, Clark.”

For some reason, he didn’t believe her. Clark thought it had something to do with the sparkle in her eye when she had lied to him. “You told my mom, less than two days after our first real kiss, that you wanted to move in with me?”

She shot him a embarrassed grin, then shrugged. “I was in love at first kiss. So sue me.”

“First kiss? Like that first kiss in Receiving when you were trying to show Cat and Claude that you knew what a real man was?” He took a sip of his iced tea. “I never thanked you for that bit of confidence in me, by the way. Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Lois sipped her drink as well. “And let’s just say, that first kiss released hidden desires inside of me that I didn’t know existed.”

Clark raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“What? You want to break up with me, because I saw a future with you from the beginning?” she mocked him.

“Never.” He lifted up her hand and kissed the back of it. He really wanted to kiss her lips, but they were too far away. “I could have done without all the torture though.”

“You could have done without the torture? Clark, you were lying to me!” She shook her head in disgust. “Don’t do that again.”

It was a command and not a question, so Clark decided not to answer it and move the topic back to where they should live. “So, have you thought any more about the Clinton Street apartment? Or…” He gulped, before lowering his voice. “Do you think we should look for something more family friendly?”

“Well…” Lois thought about his question, dipping another fry into ketchup and putting it into her mouth. “You could zap-zap me with your vision gizmo and see if you see anything…”

“Vision gizmo?” he asked incredulously.

Lois shrugged.

“I don’t know if I would recognize what we’re looking for at this early date,” he whispered across the table.

“Then we’ll wait and see. Either we stay at my place – and be extra careful – for the next month or so and look at moving in November when we know for sure…”

Clark did not want to stay in the basement apartment for another month.

“Or we move on with our life and if something…” She took a sip of her drink. “… develops, we deal with the repercussions then. We’re probably stressing over nothing.” She waved a hand. “I once had a doctor who said because of my backwards-facing uterus it would be more difficult for me to get pregnant.”

His jaw dropped as he stared at her. He snapped his mouth shut and took a quick glance around to make sure no one had overheard her. Then, in a soft voice, he said, “It’s possible that it wouldn’t matter, because I might have Super swimmers.”

Lois pressed her lips together for a moment and focused her gaze on his. She took a bite of her sandwich and continued to bore her eyes into his.

He was dying to know what she was thinking.

Finally, she said, “Honey, if your swimmers were all that Super, wouldn’t I be full of holes from where they escaped?”

Clark felt all the blood drain from his face. “I… I … Oh, God!... No!” That scenario had never crossed his mind. They would never be able to make love again with that fear buzzing around in his imagination.

Lois took hold of his hand. “I’m okay. We’re compatible. Your aura protects me, remember?” She smiled. “Maybe your swimmers are Super in another way we didn’t think of. Like they have an innate sense of direction.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as he relaxed. “You know, we’re never going to make love without precautions again now, don’t you?”

She licked her lips. “Sure we will.” She closed her eyes and Clark could almost sense the feeling of oneness she was remembering from their night in the cave. Her eyes flashed open and Lois looked at him with such an intense expression of passion. He could hear her heartbeat quicken. Her skin was flushed. Her eyes were dilated. She wanted him. Then she blinked and focused on her sandwich and the expression was gone. “Someday, when we’re ready,” she murmured.

After that look, he was ready to push the table aside and take her at that exact moment. Clark took a cleansing breath and tried to concentrate on the conversation and lunch and not on making love with his wife. Not think of her mouth on his. Her hot and sweaty body. That little meowing noise she made. Failing miserably here, Kent.

He closed his eyes and thought about jumping into the freezing waters of the Arctic. Conversation. Right. What had they been talking about? “So, you do want kids?”

Lois’s eyes flicked back up to his. “Truthfully, yes. I always pictured an idealized future where I met a man with whom I would want to experience everything in life, including motherhood.” She squeezed their joined hands. “But, to be perfectly honest, Clark, I won’t make a good mother. Between my lack of patience and my role model…” He watched as she let that train of thought fade away with sadness. “Personally, I never thought I’d find… you.”

Clark picked up his sandwich and said, with nonchalance, “No matter how hard you try, Lois, you’ll never convince me that you’re the lucky one in this relationship. Sorry, I’ve got you beat, hands down.”

The sadness from her eyes disappeared and was replaced with love. His father, a genius. It helped that Clark hadn’t lied one bit with that statement.

“Can I ask you a question?” she said.

“Ask away.” He took another bite of his sandwich.

Lois giggled, embarrassed. Then she plunged ahead. “Why did Superman read Love Fortress International?”

He laughed, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “I had taken some newspapers from inside a few recycle bins,” he said, deciding not to mention that it had been a Met Star he had been stealing. “You know, to learn more about the wonder that is Superman.” He threw her a fake arrogant smile.

She rolled her eyes.

Clark continued on, “Tucked inside one of the newspapers was the copy of Love Fortress International. Curious, I skimmed through it. That article had detailed photos. I got quite an education.” He smiled naturally this time. He would always be thankful for that article. “You didn’t seem to mind.”

Lois blushed and looked down at her plate. “Did anyone see him…” She coughed. “… you reading it?”

“Sure. All the bugs, birds, and squirrels in the forest.”

She lifted her gaze back to his and smiled.

See, wife, he wasn’t a complete lunkhead even without his memories.

“So…” Lois said, taking another fry, dipping it in ketchup, and sticking it into her mouth. “I was thinking about the stakes for our next round…”

Clark grinned. He liked where her mind was going. “Really?”

“The loser cleans house for the week.”

He would probably be in charge of that anyway, since he could accomplish that task in seconds. “Not enough motivation for you to try and win. How about the winner makes dinner tomorrow night?”

“Dinner?” Lois gulped. “Clark, you really don’t want to eat my cooking.”

Clark pretended to revel in her discomfort. “You know you’re going to lose, don’t you?” he teased.

“Why don’t you make me dinner tonight, instead?” Lois batted her eyelashes modestly.

She really thought she was going to win, did she? Ha! He knew he could make her beg for it. He already had. “No, tonight’s no good. I’ve got plans. Dinner tomorrow night?”

“Plans?” Lois inquired.

“Yes, I know this great restaurant where they serve grilled fish…” he explained.

“Oh?”

“The restaurant is on the beach… Just off of Langosta,” Clark continued, wondering if she would recognize the name.

Her brow furrowed. “Isn’t that…” Her face lit up with bliss. “Clothing optional?”

Clark bit into a fry. This time, he wore the innocent expression. “Only if we decide to go swimming.”

*** End of Part 18 ***

Part 19G

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