Because I just can't let go of the Playing series (even though I SWORE Playing for Keeps was going to be the final story) here is a Christmas special. Warning: There is no angst, no bad guy, no plot twist, no ... well, honestly, there's really no plot. It's pure waff with a little bit of steam thrown in (and a whole lot of steam in the nfic version <G>).
Special thanks go to: Kristin (Singindre) who came up with the title by accident over a year ago. Since then I've never been able to get it out of my head, and eventually I had to write a story to go with it. Kathy, my always-incredible beta reader. My stories would not be the same without her. And Tracey, from whose house I am posting this. It took approximately 87 steps to get this story from my harddrive to the boards. Meanwhile, Tracey is delirious and quoting a mixed up version of The Night Before Christmas. She claims it is from the NyQuill she just took. I am suspicious and hoping she settles down for her long winter's nap soon.
Now, without further ado...
Playing by Heart
“Ready?”
Lois rolled her eyes as the eager note in Clark’s voice as he perched himself on the side of her desk.
“Give me one more minute. I just need to finish tweaking this paragraph.”
Clark continued to fidget as she typed until she stopped and looked at him. “Clark, really. It’s not like we’re going to miss our flight.”
Lois couldn’t help but smile at Clark’s excitement, even though she wished he wouldn’t hover over her while she was trying to edit her story. They had been lucky to get five days off in a row, starting with Christmas Day, agreeing to work Christmas Eve in exchange. They were leaving for Smallville to start their vacation as soon as she finished her story, and Lois could see that Clark was getting more and more anxious to get home as the afternoon wore on. He was like a kid on Christmas, she thought, grimacing at her own pun.
He’d been talking for weeks about how much fun they would have there and all the things he would show her. They’d been to Smallville together before – for Thanksgiving – right after they’d become a couple. But that had been just for a day. They’d never had a long period together there before. And now that were more settled in their relationship, it seemed a little different.
Lois struck a final key, sending the story on to be edited, and stood. “All right, let’s hit the road.”
Clark grabbed her coat and helped her slide her arms into it. “Are you sure you won’t need anything else?” he asked, as they headed for the stairwell. He had taken their bags out during a slow spot earlier in the day. Lois had laughed at his eagerness, but secretly she thought it was sweet that he was in such a hurry to go home and see his parents. It must be nice to have a relationship like that.
Just as Clark reached for the door, Lois stopped him and informed him that she needed to make a trip to the restroom before they left. Clark rolled his eyes at the further delay and waited at the door while she dashed back.
Lois hurried as fast as she could, eager now to get on the way, and hustled out of the restroom, running headlong into Mariel Turner.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“In a hurry, Lois?”
“Yep,” she replied, no longer scared of the gossip maven. “I’m headed home with Clark. We’re spending Christmas with his parents in Smallville.”
“That’s nice,” she replied, obviously uninterested.
Lois said good bye and hurried to Clark’s side, smiling at the gossip columnist’s disinterest. There was nothing more boring than a couple in love, she thought. When they’d first started dating, she and Clark had been the talk of the newsroom. Everyone had wanted to know when they had started dating, how serious it was, and how long it was going to last. But after a week or so, when people began to realize that there was no drama – that they were just a couple in love – the gossip began to die down. And the longer they stayed together, the less people seemed to care. Soon other scandals had stepped up to take their place, and everyone had all but forgotten how obsessed they’d once been with the person lives of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Occasionally Lois would still hear people commenting on her and Clark, but mostly they were jealous, wistful comments. And she had to admit, she didn’t mind flaunting their relationship every now and then.
“Okay, Farmboy. Let’s get out of here.”
They reached the roof quickly and Clark spun into the suit and then made sure Lois was properly bundled before cradling her in his arms. She snuggled against him, enjoying the thrill she always got from flying with him, and prepared for take off.
As they rose over the city and headed out past the suburbs, she let her mind wander. She was looking forward to their time in Smallville, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that she was nervous too. It wasn’t Martha and Jonathan, who’d never made her feel anything less than welcome. It was just the idea of a family Christmas making her nervous, she supposed. Christmas had never been a pleasant time of the year for her. As a child, she had been witness to her parents’ incessant fighting and their ploys to beat each other with bigger and better gifts. It had never occurred to either of them that what she and Lucy really wanted couldn’t be bought in a store. Once she was out of the house and on her own, Christmas was a lonely time that only served to emphasize what was missing from her life. And though Lois had told herself a million times that she didn’t care, it still hurt to watch happy families during the holidays and know that she would spend the evening alone in her apartment watching television or at the paper working.
But this year it would be completely different. She’d be surrounded by a family that loved each other; she’d be a part of Christmas traditions that stretched back years and years. She was a little nervous about staying with Clark’s family for so long, but they’d always done everything in their power to make her feel welcome and at home.
She’d been terrified to come for Thanksgiving. They’d only been dating for a couple of weeks, and she’d insisted that she didn’t want to intrude on a family holiday. But Clark had insisted, and she’d been so glad in the end that she’d accepted his invitation. The food had been wonderful, and Martha had loaded them down with leftovers. But the best part had been the company. After spending her childhood Thanksgivings refereeing fights and monitoring her mother’s intake of wine, she’d been glad to ignore the holiday as an adult. But Thanksgiving in Smallville had been wonderful. She’d helped Martha in the kitchen while the men had done the chores, and then they’d sat together at the table, lingering for hours. They talked about everything under the sun and Lois couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so comfortable.
“You warm enough?” Clark’s soft voice cut into her memories.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, snuggling into him embrace.
“You’re awfully quiet. Are you nervous?”
Lois hesitated. “A little.”
“My parents love you, Lois. You’re lucky I’m not the jealous type because sometimes I think they like you better than they like me. Every time my mother calls, you are the first thing she asks about.”
Lois smiled. “I love them, too,” she said.
“What about me? Do you love me?” he asked teasingly.
“You know I do,” she whispered, raising her lips to him. He dipped his head to hers and kissed her gently. Lois melted further against him, savoring his taste. Her hand dropped from his neck to caress his hard muscles through the thin spandex. The familiar thrill that she always got from touching him began to overwhelm her as the kiss deepened. She shifted in his arms, pressing herself to him more firmly and freeing one hand to explore under his cape.
“We have to keep moving if we’re going to make it in time for dinner,” Clark said as he pulled away, regret in his eyes.
“Come on, let me give you an early Christmas present,” Lois whispered seductively, outlining exactly what she had in mind, her lips brushing the sensitive skin of his ear.
Clark groaned and she could feel him tensing in anticipation. She smiled and sucked his earlobe into her mouth for just a second before letting it go and beginning to layer open mouthed kisses down his neck.
“Honey.... Oh, Lois.... Honey, we can’t.”
“We have time. We won’t be that late.”
Clark chuckled. “I’m just not sure this is such a good idea.”
Lois pulled back and looked him skeptically, eyebrows raised. He laughed then kissed her quickly on the mouth before continuing. “It sounds like a wonderful idea, trust me. But I’m a little worried about the logistics of it. I have to concentrate in order to maintain a consistent altitude. And if you are doing that...there is no way I’ll be able to concentrate.”
“Don’t you want to try?” she whispered, beginning to her assault again. She kissed along his jaw line, thrilling at each sigh and moan. “I know you won’t let us fall. You float us all the time.”
“That’s different. That’s just moving quickly from the floor to the couch or something. If I drop you six inches onto the couch, it’s not exactly going to traumatize you.”
Her tongue darted out, tasting his skin. “You’re not going to drop me, Clark. You’ve never, ever dropped me. Besides, it’s risky, that’s part of the fun. Don’t even try to tell me you’ve never fantasized about this.”
Clark groaned and dropped his head to the side, giving her mouth more room to explore. After another moment he unbuttoned her coat and began to tease her breasts through the soft material of her sweater. “We’ll never make it to Smallville by six. What will we tell my parents?”
“We could tell them that we were unavoidably detained,” Lois said hopefully. “At the paper.”
Clark nuzzled against her hair laughed. “They’d see right through that. But if you don’t mind explaining to my parents that we were late for dinner because we wanted to create our own version of the mile high club....”
“Fine,” Lois said forcing a note of disinterest into her voice. “We’ll just finish this later tonight.”
“Yes, later,” Clark started to agree before he realized what she’d said. “Tonight? In my parents’ house? With them right down the hall? Lois, I’m not even sure they’re going to let us share a room, let alone....”
Lois raised an eyebrow. “So what you’re telling me is that we might not be able to make love for nearly a week.”
One look at the horrified expression on Clark’s face told her she’d hit her mark. She let that sink in while she resumed her ministrations, nipping at his earlobe and gently massaging the firm muscles of his chest. After only another second she heard Clark groan and felt his grip shift until his hands gripped her waist. Then, in one fluid movement, he flipped onto his back and guided her to lie on top of him.
She raised her gaze to meet his and laughed at the abashed look on his face.
“You win.”
Lois laughed and wriggled against him, eliciting another groan. “Trust me,” she said, leaning forward to kiss the hollow of his throat, just above the collar of his spandex suit, “if this goes as planned, we’ll both win.”
*****
“Ready?” Clark asked, an immeasurable time later as he scooped her back into the familiar carrying position. “We are going to be so late. We’re never going to be able to explain this.” She reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. When she pulled back, his eyes were intense, wiping out any concern about his parents. “I love you,” he said finally. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” she said, stroking his cheek.
He held her gaze for just a second longer, then broke it, focusing on the path in front of them as he sped up, racing toward Smallville. Lois enjoyed the rest of the ride, watching the landscape beneath them change and cuddling with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend. Even after six weeks, she wasn’t sick of saying – or thinking – those words. In some ways it was hard to believe it had been that long already. It seemed like just yesterday they were stuck at a conference in Washington, D.C., pretending to be a couple. But, on the other hand, she felt like they’d been together much longer than that. She could hardly remember now what life had been like before him. Her days and nights were so much fuller with him in them. The empty shell of a life she’d been living before he’d wormed his way in now seemed like nothing more than a bad dream.
After they’d returned from Washington, things hadn’t been entirely without problem. She cringed as she remembered her thwarted attempt to break up with Clark “for their own good.” Luckily for her, he’d seen through her charade and known that she was just freaking out. Confronted with the reality of what it would be like to lose him and his insistence that he would never grow tired of her, her protests had crumbled.
Thank God. She shuddered thinking about what her life might be like had Clark simply let her walk away.
“You okay?” Clark asked, misinterpreting the reason for her trembling and warming her quickly with his heat vision. “We’re almost there.”
“I’m fine,” she replied. Fine. She was much more than fine, she thought with a smile. She was happier than she ever could have imagined. Since that night that they’d yelled and cried, fighting for their future, and then made love through the night and into the morning, nothing had ever been the same. After that, she’d opened herself up to him in ways that she hadn’t before – even after she’d told him she was in love with him. It was as if he’d broken through her final defenses.
The road since then hadn’t been totally smooth, but Clark had lived up to his promise. No matter what they fought about, he didn’t walk away. He stayed, and they worked it out.
In the distance Lois saw farms approaching, and she felt Clark begin to slow down. Before she knew it, they were landing on the back porch of the old farmhouse. The backdoor swung open before she was even completely out of Clark’s arms and within seconds, she was enveloped in Martha’s embrace.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re finally here!” Martha said when she finally pulled back. “We’ve been going stir crazy all day waiting, haven’t we Jonathan?” She didn’t bother to wait for Jonathan’s response before tugging Lois toward the door. “Come on in. I’ve already put your things up in Clark’s room.”
“Gee, Mom. It’s good to see you too.” Clark’s greeting, tinged with irony, interrupted Martha’s flow of chatter.
“Oh, Clark,” she said, giving him a quick hug. “You know I’m glad to see you too. But we see you all the time. You were just here earlier today. I haven’t seen Lois in weeks. You never bring her with you,” she admonished.
“I’ve told you million times, I can’t bring Lois when I can only have a few minutes to spare. I have to fly much slower when I have her with me.” Clark rolled his eyes and smiled at his girlfriend, making it clear that he was only joking about being hurt by his mother’s reaction. Deep down she knew he was thrilled.
“Yes, yes. That’s what you tell me. You’ll just have to find more time to fly out slowly then.” With that she ushered Lois through the door, chattering about showing her the decorations she put up, leaving the men out in the cold.
“It’s beautiful,” Lois said, taking in the quaint living room, trimmed with greenery and red ribbons. A tall tree stood in the corner, draped with white lights but devoid of ornaments. “Where are the ornaments for the tree?”
Martha nodded in the direction of two large boxes sitting next to the fireplace. “We thought you and Clark would want to help with that, so we saved it for last.”
“Oh! That’ll be such fun,” Lois said, suddenly very excited at the prospect. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d decorated a tree.
Just then Clark made his way into the living room. “Is dinner almost ready? It smells great.”
“It’s been ready,” Martha said, her voice tinged with amusement. “We were just keeping it warm for you.”
“Sorry, the flight took longer than expected,” Clark said as Lois simultaneously responded, “We got held up at the office.”
Martha raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press for an explanation. Instead, she smiled as she ducked out of the room, leaving them alone.
“Well, that went well,” Clark said, rolling his eyes.
“She doesn’t seem mad....”
Clark snorted. “I’m not worried about her being mad. I’m more worried about her pressing for details at dinner.”
Lois laughed in spite of herself and slipped her hand into his.
“Oh, good,” Clark said, taking in the tree. “Mom left the tree undecorated. We can do that after dinner.
“Yeah, she said she thought we’d like to help.”
“Decorating the tree was always one of my favorite parts of Christmas so after I moved out, my mom started waiting for me to come home to do it.”
“That’s really sweet.”
“Yeah, it’s a nice tradition.” They stood quietly, looking at the tree for a minute before the quiet moment was interrupted by Martha’s announcement that dinner was being served. Clark led Lois back into the kitchen where wonderful smells were wafting out of the oven. Martha moved everything to the table and within minutes they were eating a delicious meal. They lingered over the food, chatting about the stories they’d been covering in Metropolis and the latest Smallville gossip. Finally Lois thought she couldn’t eat another bite.
“I’m going to gain ten pounds this week,” Lois said as she finished her second helping of mashed potatoes. “And you know what? I don’t think I care. I’ll just go the gym extra when I get back. It’s worth it.”
Martha laughed and stood to begin clearing the plates.
“I’ll help,” Lois said, rising.
“Nonsense. Jonathan will help me. You and Clark go get started on the tree, we’ll be there in a minute.”
“Really, I don’t mind. I can—”
“Go.”
“There’s no use arguing with her when she uses that tone,” Clark said, taking her hand and tugging her toward the living room. Lois followed hesitantly and watching as Clark slipped a Christmas CD into the stereo and then began digging into the boxes of ornaments.
“Come on,” Clark said, taking her hand and tugging her to kneel next to him.
She’d been expecting boxes of coordinating crystal and silver ornaments stored in little individual boxes, like the ones her mother had paid the housekeeper to put on their tree each year. Instead she found a jumble of brightly colored decorations, some in boxes, some loose and wrapped in tissue paper. As she unwrapped each, she examined it carefully.
“Did you buy these when you were traveling?” she asked, when she came upon a cashe of ornaments bearing the names of cities across the U.S. and Europe.
“The older one, like these,” he said, indicating a couple from Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas, “we bought on family trips. It was a tradition. Every time we went on vacation, no matter where we went or what time of year it was, we found an ornament with the name of the city on it. Sometimes we didn’t have many options, so we wound up with some really cheesy ornaments.” Clark held up a hula girl with “Honolulu” emblazoned across on the sand beneath her feet as evidence, then placed it on the tree with the others.
“Did you make these?” Lois asked, holding up a delicate origami swan and gesturing to the pile of equally intricate animals.
“No, they were a gift. I spent a month teaching English to young kids in Japan. In exchange, they taught me to make a few origami animals, but nothing that intricate. On my last day, they presented me with these as a going away gift.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Lois said, examining the paper creatures closely. “They’re so detailed. It’s amazing.”
“I know. I love them. They weren’t really intended to be Christmas ornaments, obviously, since the kids don’t celebrate Christmas. But I couldn’t resist. I knew they’d look great on the tree.”
Clark continued sorting through the ornaments as Lois hung the animals on the tree.
“Oh! This is one of my favorites,” Clark said, holding up a tear-shaped transparent glass bulb with a design painted in a beautiful, rich blue color. When Lois looked closer she saw that the painting was of couples skating in the foreground and windmills in the background.
“This is really beautiful,” Lois said, taking the ornament to examine it.
“I bought it in Amsterdam. There is this cool little Christmas shop that is open all year long. When I heard about it, I had to stop by and pick out an ornament. I figured it would be practically empty since it was the middle of July, but it was packed with tourists. The store had every ornament you can imagine. I chose this one because it was one of the more traditional pieces. I love the Delft blue.”
“Yeah, the color is amazing. It’s so vibrant.” Lois admired it for another moment, then stood hung it on the tree before rummaging through the box again. “Ooh, this is pretty,” Lois said, holding up a delicate bird made of thin metal and painted in bright colors. She ran her finger over the soft fan that made up its tail. “Where did this come from?”
“Czechoslovakia. It was a gift too. When I backpacked through Europe the first time, I met this sweet elderly couple who lived in a tiny village and rented out their extra rooms. I stayed there for about a week and wound up becoming really close to the couple. I made a point to visit them regularly after that. I stopped by just before Christmas a couple of years later and admired this ornament. When I left, she pulled it from the tree and told me to keep it. I told her I couldn’t accept it, but she said she wanted me to have it. It was such a typical thing for her to do; she was so generous. She said she could see that I really appreciated its beauty. They didn’t have any children of their own, and I think she saw me as the son they never had. That was the last time I ever saw them. When I came back in the spring, they were both dead. The neighbor said she’d died first, in January, and her husband hadn’t lived past the February. I always thought he just lost the will to live after she died.”
Lois tried to swallow around the lump that had formed in her throat. Clark reached out and took the bird from her, finding a spot for it on the tree. She was surprised to see that it didn’t hang from a string like most of the other ornaments, but fastened to the branch with a clip at the bottom, making it appear that the bird was sitting on the branch. It was even more striking in the tree than it had been in the box. She could see why Clark had been drawn to it.
The next ornament she pulled out was nestled in layers and layers of tissue paper. “Are you sure there’s something in this box?” she asked, holding it up to test the weight. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
Clark smiled. “There’s something in there. Be gentle when you find it.”
“Oh wow,” she said, pulling out a blown egg. “There’s an entire scene on here. It’s the nativity.”
“I found it in France and I just had to buy it.”
“Well, it’s certainly better than a miniature Eiffel tower.”
“Yes, and it reminds me of my childhood.”
Lois looked up from the ornament expectantly and waited for him to continue.
Clark rolled his eyes self deprecatingly. “My mom used to have this little nativity set carved out of wood. It was really beautiful, and it had been a gift or something. It was really special to her, and she always put it out on display. When I was really little, she didn’t put it out because she was afraid I would choke on the pieces, but once I was old enough not to stick things in my mouth, she put it out again. I knew it was special and that I wasn’t supposed to touch it, but I was so enchanted by the little people – especially the baby Jesus.”
“Oh no. What did you do?”
“I kept carrying him around everywhere. Every time Mom looked at the nativity, Jesus would be missing. And she’d come find me, and sure enough, there he’d be. Well, finally she sat me down and told me that this was something that was really special to her and that she didn’t want me to play with it because I might lose it. So I promised I wouldn’t touch it anymore.”
“But....”
“But it just kept calling to me. It was so cute. Such a tiny little baby. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt just to carry it around a little bit. I was wearing my overalls that day, and they had a little pocket in the front, so I put Baby Jesus in there while I went out to do my chores.”
“Oh no, this can’t be good.”
“No, it’s not,” Clark said with a grin. “I was feeding the cows, and I leaned over too far and Baby Jesus fell out of my pocket into the hay. Before I could grab it back, the cow ate it.”
“Your cow ate Baby Jesus?” Lois burst out laughing at the sacrilege.
“It looks wonderful so far,” Martha said, coming in the room, Jonathan on her heels. She stood back for a minute and looked at the progress they’d made, then looked questioningly at Lois, who was still laughing. When she glimpsed the ornament in Lois’ hand, her face broke out in a grin. “Ah, I see Clark has shown you his peace offering. It took him twenty years to replace the Baby Jesus he fed to the cow.”
“I didn’t FEED him to the cow! It was an accident!”
Lois laughed even harder. “So it’s really true?”
Martha motioned for Lois to follow her into the hall where Lois saw an intricately carved nativity scene on display. “Oh, it’s beautiful,” she said, her laughter fading. Then her eyes caught sight of the empty manger. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Did you want to murder him?”
“For a time, but it was hard not to laugh eventually. And he was so apologetic. He cried and cried.”
“Aww. And he did buy you the beautiful egg.”
Martha laughed, leading Lois back into the living room where Clark was commiserating with his father. “Yes, I’d long forgiven him by that point, of course. But I laughed and laughed when he presented the egg to me that Christmas.” Martha dropped to her knees and began to fish out more ornaments. “Did you see these?” she asked Lois, pulling out a smaller box.
Lois shook her head and took the box. She opened it, and a slow grin spread across her face as she took in the jumble of creations made of popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners.
“Oh! Did you make these?” she asked, turning to Clark.
He blushed. “Yeah, I wasn’t exactly van Gogh.”
“These are so cute!” Lois said, holding up a coupe of reindeer made of pipe cleaners. “Oh!” She dropped the reindeer and pulled out a frame made of red and green popsicle sticks. In the center was a picture of Clark as a small boy.
“Ah, yes. I love that one,” Martha said. “He brought that home from kindergarten, just as proud as can be. ‘Look, Mama! I made you a present. My teacher says I’m SOO handsome.’”
Lois burst into giggles as Clark turned eight shades of red. “Thanks, Mom. Terrific.”
“Oh, but, honey, you are so cute,” Lois said through her laughter.
They continued placing the ornaments on the tree, filling Lois in on all the stories behind them. Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the last ornament was on the tree.
“It looks perfect,” Lois said, stepping back and surveying the fruits of their labor.
“Not quite,” Clark said, holding up a final box. “We have to put the angel on the top.”
Clark opened the box and revealed a beautiful porcelain doll dressed in a white gown, complete with a sparkling halo.
“Oh, Clark. It’s beautiful,” she said, reaching out tentatively and stroking the delicately fabric. “Did you find this on one of your trips too?”
“Oh, no. This has been in the family for years.”
“My mother gave it to when I got married,” Martha explained. “Her mother had given it to her and so on. We always put it on last. When Clark was little, Jonathan would hold him up so he could put it on. Then, when he discovered he could fly, he’d ... you know.”
Lois smiled and placed her hand on Clark’s arm. She could just picture Clark eager to show off his newfound abilities. “Well, go on then, flyboy,” she teased.
Clark smiled and handed her the doll. Lois took it slowly, giving Clark a questioning look. Instead of answering, he simply rested his hands at her waist and levitated slowly upwards until they had almost reached the ceiling and the tree was within easy reach. Lois settled the angel on top, taking care to make sure it was properly secured. She turned her gaze back to Clark and kept her eyes locked with his and he lowered them again. When they were back on solid ground, she turned her face up to his and smiled as he captured her lips in a sweet kiss.
When they pulled apart a moment later, Lois realized that Clark’s parents were still watching. She ducked her head, blushing.
“It looks perfect,” Martha said, breaking the silence. “Jonathan, why don’t you come help me make some hot cocoa?”
Lois watched as the older couple exited the room quickly, then turned back to her boyfriend. “Thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Clark said, gesturing to the tree.
“It’s not just that. It’s this,” Lois said, making a sweeping gesture. “It’s tonight. It’s your family. It’s knowing I’m going to wake up tomorrow and be just as happy as I am right now. Thank you. For sharing them with me. For giving me a family.”
“They’re your family too now,” he said, drawing her in for another kiss. “That’s the way it works.”
Lois threaded her fingers through his hair and held him to her for another lingering kiss. Finally they pulled apart, and Lois tried to lighten the moment before his parents returned.
“Then I’m afraid you got a bum deal,” Lois laughed, only half kidding. “I wouldn’t wish my family on anyone.”
Clark’s dark eyes were serious. “I got the best deal in the world.”
“Oh, Clark.”
When Martha and Jonathan returned a few minutes later – a little longer than strictly necessary to make the cocoa, Lois thought with a smile – she and Clark were cuddled on the coach watching the fire. They sipped their warm beverages slowly, chatting about their plans for the morning and last minute preparations for the Kent’s annual Day After Christmas Party.
Lois felt her stomach clench a little at the thought of meeting and being evaluated by all of the people Clark had known and loved since childhood, especially when Martha told her how excited everyone was to meet her. She knew that it didn’t matter to Clark if she passed their inspection, but she wanted so much to be a part of the family, that she hoped she could make a favorable impression on their longtime friends.
It was a far cry from the way she’d felt the first time she’d come to visit. Things had been so different then. She’d only reluctantly accepted Clark as a partner; she hadn’t even been ready to call him a friend. She’d had nothing but disdain for the small town he’d come from, laughing at the simple ways of the townspeople. But even then much of her blustering had been just for show. She’d been jealous, she realized now, of the warm, tight-knit community that was so unlike the Metropolis she’d grown up in.
“Well,” said Jonathan finally. “I think we should head to bed. It’s awfully late, and the cows will need milking in the morning, Christmas or no Christmas.”
Lois started to rise, but Martha put out a hand to stop her. “You two enjoy the fire for awhile. And don’t worry about getting up with us. You’re on vacation; sleep in.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Clark said, drawing Lois back to his side.
They said their goodnights and the Kents started upstairs. Martha stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned back to face them. “I put extra blankets and pillows on Clark’s bed.”
“Oh, right,” Lois said, flustered. Somehow she’d forgotten to worry about sleeping arrangements. She shot Clark a desperate glance trying to figure out what to do. She desperately wanted to sleep with him. The thought of spending the entire week alone when he was right down the hall seemed torturous. Clark seemed panicked though, and Lois knew he wouldn’t want to push his parents to do something they weren’t comfortable with. Grudgingly she decided the best thing to do was just to deal with it, maybe they could persuade the Kents to let the share a room later. “I can just sleep on the couch,” she said finally.
Clark looked disappointed but resigned. “No, no. You take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”
Martha fixed them both with a weird look. “There’s no need for anyone to take the couch, that bed is perfectly big enough for two. I just set out the extra blankets because it gets cold in there at night.”
Lois and Clark exchanged a look filled with equal parts relief and confusion. “You are sleeping together, aren’t you?” Martha asked.
When both Lois and Clark stammered out incoherent replies, Martha laughed. “I’m not blind. I see the looks you two give each other. No use pretending anything.”
Clark dropped his head into his hands and muttered something that Lois thought sounded a lot like, “Leave it to my mother.”
“Thanks, Martha,” Lois said, her cheeks blazing.
“Oh,” she added as an afterthought. “The walls are thin, but with the door shut and us all the way down the hall...it’s pretty private. And Jonathan and I are deep sleepers, once we’re asleep, all the racket in the world wouldn’t wake us up.”
“Mother!”
Martha’s laughter floated down the stairs and she made her way up to the room.
Lois turned to face Clark who was burning with embarrassment. “She’s really something isn’t she?”
“I told you she loved you.”
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Do you love me?” Lois asked, knowing full well what the answer was, but looking forward to how Clark would prove it.
Clark smiled and bent his head to hers. “Oh yeah,” he whispered against her lips. “I love you.”
*****
