Lois looked at the ring and Clark could hear the rapid beat of her heart as he got a hold of her left hand and felt the tremors. His own hands were shaking so badly that he was afraid he would drop the ring before he could put it on her finger.
"It's beautiful." She whispered.
"Not nearly as beautiful as the woman who's going to wear it." He told her honestly before he gave her a soft kiss. He slipped the ring on that now belonged to her, with his mother's blessing and kissed the finger that bore the pledge of their commitment. "I do love you Lois."
"I love you too, Clark." She pulled her hand out of his and curled her arms around his neck. "And just so you know, you have no idea what you're in for."
"I think I can handle it." He pulled her close, wanting so badly to feel her soft lips on his.
"We'll see about that." She laughed softly just before she kissed him, giving him what he wanted. "Now take me home before I ravish you right here."
"If I don't beat you to it." He felt his eyes tear as he gathered her close against his heart and made a promise to her. "I'll do my best to make you happy Lois."
"You already do, Smallville. You already do." And to show him how much she meant it, she kissed him.
~*~
He'd been quiet during the drive back from Metropolis and Lois couldn't help but wonder if maybe Dad had said something to him when they were leaving the Regent. It would be typical of the General to issue a veiled warning to his future son in law because she had no doubt that her father and his mother knew what they wanted to do that evening. She mentioned it to Clark as he took the turn off on to Route 31, but he assured her that her father hadn't said anything, he was just thinking.
"What exactly are you thinking about?" She asked as she scoot next to him to rest her cheek on his shoulder and sighed softly.
"Are you cold? I can turn up the heat."
"You keep me warmer than a heater can and don't change the subject." Lois tucked her hand through his arm and she could feel nervous tremors under her fingers. She shouldn't have smiled. But she did because she had a pretty good idea why and thought it was only fair to give him an out, if he wanted to take it. "There's nothing that says we have to do anything tonight. If you don't think you're ready, I can wait."
She was startled so badly that she sat up, when without warning he pulled off to the side of the road and brought the truck to a sudden stop. "You think I'm not ready?" The tone of his voice told her that he wasn't nervous, as she'd thought, but very tense. She could see it in the set of his jaw and in the way his hands gripped the steering wheel. "I've only been dreaming about it and afraid we wouldn't be able to."
"Clark?" His frankness really surprised her sometimes.
"Lois, I don't think you really understand what it is you do to me." He was frowning and then his eyes closed tight. "I've never wanted anyone the way I want you."
"Then do something about it." She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "I already told you it didn't matter where."
He pulled his hands off of the steering wheel and turned to face her. The look in his eyes was almost desperate, and Lois wondered if he was actually considering it. He grasped her arms in a gentle grip and she felt the tremors again as his eyes darkened with a passion that made her tremble. Not because she was afraid of it, but because she wanted to experience it so much.
"Not here." He whispered back insistently as he got his arms around her. "But I really need to kiss you."
"Then you need to stop talking." She'd never seen his eyes quite the shade of blue that they were in that moment before and she had the feeling that if she let him kiss her, they might very well end up celebrating their engagement in a place he didn't want to. But she didn't really care as she pressed her lips to his.
It seemed almost a reflexive gesture when his mouth opened a little wider and his tongue sought out hers. It wasn't the first time he'd ever taken the initiative with that particular intimacy, but Lois couldn't help but be amazed that her shy farm boy, because she still thought of him that way sometimes, would do it.
She caught his face in her hands and when she answered his kiss in the same way, he pulled away and grasped her arms again to hold her away from him. The look of absolute frustration on his face telegraphed quite clearly that he wasn't going to be able to wait much longer and his request was insistent. "Not here."
"Then get me home and we'll do it wherever you want." Lois answered just as insistently, keeping her hands on his face.
"Really?" He couldn't have been expecting that.
"Really." She nodded. "But I have a pretty good idea of where we're going to end up."
"You think so." Clark began to relax a little and the look of frustration began to subside as they teased each other.
"I know so Smallville, because I know you."
"We'll see about that." He challenged with a smile. "Because you may not know me as well as you think you do."
"We'll see." Lois replied as she brushed her thumbs across his cheeks and then gave him a light kiss. "But there's only one way we're going to know for sure and for that to happen, you have to get me home."
"I like how you say that." He kissed her once lightly and then again with a little more passion.
"I like how it makes me feel." She let go of him and gave him a gentle shove. "So put this truck in gear and let's get moving."
He leaned over and kissed her again because he couldn't seem to help himself.
She loved that about him.
"Moving." He checked his side mirror, pulled out onto the road and Lois scoot back over. She again tucked her hand through his arm, rest her cheek on his shoulder and couldn't help but notice that the tremors had stopped.
"Clark?"
"Mm-hmm?" He answered and she felt his cheek rub against her hair briefly.
"I love you." It was something she wanted to be sure he understood before anything happened between them.
"I love you too honey." He laughed softly, seeming to realize why she said it. "And tonight I get to show you how much."
"Well you set the bar pretty high the other night." Lois smiled at the memory. "I don't know how you're going to top it."
"You don't?" He chuckled and the deep sound of it sent goose bumps skittering up her arms. "I thought it would have been pretty obvious."
She walked into that one.
"You know what I mean."
"I know what you mean." Was it possible to hear a smile? "I think the best thing for tonight is not think too much about what we're doing. That's what made the other night so special because we didn't think, we just listened."
Lois sighed quietly and nodded in agreement as they continued down the road and neither said anything else as they got closer to the farm.
They'd said all that needed to be said and to say anymore would intrude on a moment that didn't need any more words. They were about to continue the next part of their journey together and Lois wanted to revel in the idea. And because Clark wasn't talking, she suspected that he did too.
She wasn't aware that she'd fallen asleep until she felt Clark's hand on her arm, giving her a gentle shake. "Lois, we're home."
She blinked a few times, waking up slowly, wondering where the house had come from and when she'd fallen asleep. His warm hand brushed her cheek and when he laughed, she frowned. "What's so funny?"
"You." He answered. "All I said was that I wanted to wait until we got home and then you fell asleep before we got here. A guy's ego could get bruised, you know."
"I'll make it up to you." She promised him as she sat up.
"I know you will." He nodded his acknowledgment before he opened his door and stepped out, closing it after him.
Lois stayed where she was, knowing he'd want to be the gentleman and open her door. And when he got around to her side of the truck, he opened it and as she held out her hand, Clark shook his head with a soft smile. "That isn't exactly what I had in mind."
"What exactly did you have in mind?" She looked at him curiously.
His face flushed as he reached in for her, getting an arm under her knees and the other behind her back. "A dress rehearsal."
She looped her arms around his neck as he pulled her into his arms and out of the truck. "A dress rehearsal for what?"
"Our wedding night." Lois' own face flushed at the husky sound of his voice and knew he didn't strictly mean carrying her over the threshold.
"Where exactly will our wedding night be?"
That was something they were going to have to talk about.
"Wherever you want it to be." He kissed her. "As long as we're together, I don't really care."
"We've got time to figure it out." She kissed him back. "But in the meantime, my toes are getting cold and I'd really like to be in front of a warm fire."
"I think I've just been insulted."
"With you." Lois gave him a stern look. "As if I needed to tell you that."
"It's always nice to hear." Clark laughed as he shifted her in his arms and elbowed the passenger door closed. He walked up the front path, stepped up on to the porch and stopped in front of the door. "Would you do the honors? My hands are kind of full."
"If you insist." She made a point of making it sound like a big deal.
"We can stay out here because the cold doesn't bother me." He shifted her again. "But you might lose a few toes."
"All right." Lois rolled her eyes and pulled the screen door open. Clark held it with his foot as she reached for the knob and with a twist the front door opened. The warmth of the central heating brushed against her cold feet and she wiggled her toes; that felt good.
But not as good as Clark would.
He got her inside and leaned his back against the door to close it. He then set Lois on her feet before walking into the living room while she hung back in the front hall, shrugging out of her coat. "I can build a fire the Kryptonian way or the human way; it's your choice."
"You decide." She told him as she hung her coat up and tried to keep a straight face as she employed a sleight of hand, hoping he wouldn't see through her ruse. "Because I'm going upstairs to get ready for bed."
"What?" His startled look when he turned to face her, his coat clutched in his hand, assured her that he hadn't. "You're going to bed? Now?"
"I didn't say that." She followed him into the living room and stopped in front of him. "Consider this part of the dress rehearsal."
"Lois." He looked at her suspiciously as he tossed the coat onto the back of the couch. "Wedding nights don't usually have the bride going to bed without the groom."
"Clark, build our fire the human way and then get that bottle of champagne you hid in the back of the refrigerator. By the time you do all of that, I should be back downstairs."
"How-" He looked perplexed.
"You're as sentimental as they come and to celebrate something like this requires champagne."
"You knew I was going to propose." The look on his face was of disappointment and Lois shook her head to reassure him that she hadn't suspected.
"I have to admit, it did cross my mind. But I figured with Christmas coming up in a few days, your mom probably bought it for dinner."
"Mom doesn't really drink."
"You don't either." She shrugged. "But Dad still does on occasion and seeing him at the Regent earlier, I realized that it was probably for him, but then you proposed-"
"No Lois, it's for us." He reached for her and Lois's heart started to flutter when she saw his eyes darken again and he pulled her close. "And I think it's time for you to get upstairs."
"I won't be long."
"If you are, I'll just have to come up after you." His lips were a hair's breath away from hers. "But that could be fun too."
"Why don't you just come up with me?" She offered an alternative and held her hand out to him. "We can just skip the preliminaries."
"But I like the preliminaries, Lois." He gave her the most innocent look she'd ever seen from him and Lois couldn't help but laugh as she dropped her hand and turned for the stairs. What she didn't expect was the feel his hands on her arms as he stopped her with a feather light kiss on her shoulder. "Don't you?"
Oh, boy.
Her eyes closed at the feel of his solid body behind her and the softness of his lips as they slowly skimmed up toward her neck. Lois' head dropped back against his shoulder and she felt the strength in his hands as they slowly traveled up her arms.
"What are you doing?" She asked needlessly because she knew exactly what he was doing, preliminaries.
"Just what you think I'm doing." He confirmed it as he stopped just below her ear and she heard him inhale lightly. Her stomach clenched when he exhaled just as lightly and her knees began to shake at the feel of his warm breath caressing her skin. "Don't you like it?"
He knew damn well she did, he had to.
All she could think to do was nod, because the feel of his hands and his lips on her skin was making it nearly impossible for her to think.
"Good." He whispered in her ear and turned her around again to face him, pulling her close against his body and the look in his eyes was sincere. "I just want to make you happy Lois."
"Then there's one way I can think of for you to show me." She held his gaze as she reached up and wedged her hands in between them to slowly begin undoing the buttons of his tuxedo jacket. "So how about it?"
"Only if you help me." He smiled back at her as the last button came loose and with a shrug, Clark was out of the jacket and dropped it on top of the coat. "And so far, I like what you're doing."
"It'll get better." She smiled back at him as she fingered the buttons of his dress shirt.
"Wouldn't you like some champagne before this goes too much farther?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "It seems a shame to let it go to waste."
"We can always have the champagne later." Lois leaned up and kissed him. "Right now, I'd rather have you."
He nodded at her answer as he got his arms around her waist. "I just didn't want you to think I was depriving you of a proper engagement celebration."
"Clark?" She curled her arms around his neck and he smiled at her.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
"Make me." He issued a challenge that he knew she couldn't pass up and Lois pushed herself up on her toes to prove him right.
"Fine." And she proceeded to shut him up. But he didn't seem to mind as one of his hands slipped to the low of her back and continued to skim down her dress until he cupped her backside and pulled her close against his body.
She drew in a sharp breath of surprise at his boldness, and couldn't help but wish that she'd never get used to it.
"Lois?" He whispered against her lips.
"Hmm?" She answered with a brief kiss and felt his quickening heartbeat against her breast and was compelled to press her chest into his. Which seemed to compel him to press her even closer into him, blatantly showing her what the proximity of her body was doing to his.
"I like the way you feel." He stated the obvious and further illustrated it when his lips brushed across her cheek and stopped at her ear. He nuzzled the shell before moving to a spot just below her earlobe and continued to nuzzle her there.
Oh, my god. Lois's knees began to shake even as her hands began to roam across his back, as much to have something solid to hang on to as to feel his body under her eager touch.
It seemed the longer that they were together and with every step closer they'd taken toward intimacy, he'd learned what she liked and learned to use it to his advantage.
And hers too, when it came right down to it.
He tracked soft kisses down her neck and into the lee of her shoulder as his hands moved up to find the zipper pull of her dress. She was vaguely aware of what he was doing, but couldn't fully register it in her mind because she was distracted by the feel of his soft hair in between her fingers and against her skin as she rubbed it with her cheek.
Lois felt a gentle tug as Clark pulled on the zipper and a draft of cool air began to caress her skin, making her shiver with cold. "If we're going to do this down here, I really wish you'd get a fire going."
No sooner had she requested it, than she felt the warmth and heard the crackling of burning wood. "Better?" He looked into her eyes with a smile.
"Much." She smiled back. "You're a handy guy to have around, Smallville."
"Well, it helped that I set it up before we left for Metropolis." He gave her a sheepish look. "I just figured one way or another; you'd want me to start a fire."
He was, in her.
"Lois?"
"Yes?" She looked at him and brushed his hair back.
She loved doing that.
"Don't move." He grinned at her and dropped a kiss on her mouth. "I'll be right back."
"What?" Where in the hell did he think he was going?
"I'm about to prove you wrong."
"Wrong about what?" She frowned at him.
"About where we're going to end up." He laughed softly. "You're so sure we're going to end up someplace else, but I've got another idea."
"Such as?" Lois' heart began to flutter furiously because it was becoming altogether clear exactly what he was getting at and she could feel an anticipation build.
"I think you know." He kissed her again and in a rush of wind, he was gone. But seconds later he was back, standing next to a makeshift bed in front of the fire. "Never let it be said that I never tried to do anything romantic."
"What's all this?" She played dumb as she turned to survey his handiwork. It was all a part of the game that they were playing with each other but it was all good, because the outcome would have them both winners.
"I'd think it would be pretty obvious Lois." He folded his arms across his chest, and it wasn't the first time that she noticed how sexy he really was. Not that she'd tell him that, yet. "Wouldn't you?"
"Do you have any idea of how cliché that is?" Lois put her hands on her hips and raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "In every cheesy, romantic movie I've ever seen, they always end up making love in front of a fire."
"Well if you'd rather not." He bent down to pick up a pillow and Lois stopped him.
"Don't you dare move a thing." She walked toward him as he straightened up with a smile. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before."
"I'm not just anyone Lois." He took her face in his hands and his eyes had teared. "I'm the guy who loves you beyond reason and I'd do anything for you."
"It does seem a shame to let a perfectly good fire go to waste." She reached up and brushed at a tear that had rolled out of the corner of his eye. "Which we would be doing if we went upstairs."
"We can go up later if you want to." He told her and his face suddenly flushed. "We've got all night and all kinds of options, don't you think?"
"Let's start here and see what happens after that." Lois fingered the bow tie she'd tied so carefully earlier that evening and pulled on it. When it came undone, she pulled it from around his neck and tossed it toward the couch.
"Agreed." He nodded and reached around to finish unzipping her dress. He then hesitated, as though unsure of what to do and started to laugh nervously. "This seemed so much easier the other night."
"That's because we hadn't planned on anything, it just happened." Lois grasped his arms to get his attention. "Clark, don't think about how this is going to end up. Just think about what you want to do to get there."
"I don't want to hurt you." And there it was.
The reason for his sudden hesitance, his Kryptonian strength and what it might do to her.
"Don't worry about Kal-El's strength, Clark." Lois shook her head to try and reassure him. "Just think about how much you love me and why we waited so long for this. But we won't be able to find that out if you start worrying about hurting me, because I know you won't."
"Lois."
"Clark." She caught his face in her hands and kissed him. "Stop thinking."
"You'll tell me if-" His face turned crimson with the unspoken request.
"I will, but you won't." She looked him square in the eye. "You won't because this is all about our love and wanting to express it in the most basic way that we can."
"It's just that-"
"No." She shook her head again. "Trust yourself Clark and trust your love for me."
Lois could see the turmoil in his eyes and decided that if they were going to get any further along that night, she was going to have to lead the way. So she got her arms around his waist and tugged at his shirt until the tail came loose, she then reached in front and pulled again.
He still had his arms around her as she reached up for the top collar button and began to undo it. One by one, she pushed the buttons through the buttonholes until his shirt hung open, showing her a well-defined chest that was the result of years of farm work.
And it was all hers.
He still wasn't moving, but a quick glance up at his flushed face told her that he was following what she was doing. She reached around her back and got hold of his arms and stepped back, lifting one of them to undo the cufflink. She did the same thing with the other and when she had them in her hand, walked to the coffee table and set them down for safe keeping.
When she turned back to continue her heart hitched at the sight of his bare torso, the shirt now on top of the tuxedo jacket and tie. She could see the thumping of his heart and it mesmerized her, that he would react that way because of her. "I think I can take it from here."
A jolt of electricity shot down her spine at the sound of the rough huskiness in his voice as he reached for her and hauled her against him. They were through playing games and he seemed to have overcome his hesitance when he kissed her.
And it was a kiss like no other he'd given her. It was an insistent demand that she open her mouth for him and when she did, he thrust his tongue in seeking out hers.
Lois began to realize as they kissed so intimately that their first time might not be as romantic as he'd wanted it, but it was going to be so much better. She'd finally get to experience the passion he kept such a tight reign on and she wanted to encourage it as much as possible.
So she loosened the belt buckle and his pants at the same time he was pushing the dress off of her shoulders and she dropped her arms so that both articles of clothing hit the floor at the same time. The sound of it got her to stop and the sight of the two of them made her laugh.
If anyone had walked in on them at that moment, the scene would have looked slightly ridiculous. Clark's pants were down around his ankles and he was left wearing only his boxers, socks and shoes. She was down to a thin lace teddy, thigh high stockings, her mother's pearls and heels, with her dress around her ankles.
Only they could make a screwball comedy out of what was supposed to be their romantic moment.
"Lois?" He was trying so hard not to laugh.
"Yes?" She snickered, not having the same will power that he did.
"This could only happen to us."
"I know." She agreed with a nod and stepped out of her dress. "But it's what makes this us, I guess."
"I guess." He laughed softly and bent over, untying his shoes and then stepping out of them and his pants, tossing the trousers on the growing pile. He sat down on the arm of the sofa and pulled his socks off as Lois put a hand on his shoulder for leverage as she pulled her shoes off and then her stockings.
And there they were.
He stayed seated and reached for her, bringing her close to him. Her breasts were in his line of sight and she saw him swallow nervously. "Are you wearing anything under that?"
"No." Came her straightforward answer. "I figured the less the better."
"Why?"
He couldn't be serious. "Clark, we were going to do this tonight whether we were engaged or not and I just didn't want to hold things up."
"Oh." He tried to sound casual about it, but she could see how pleased he was that she'd done it and she leaned in against his lips to whisper.
"So where were we?"
"Where would you like to be?" He whispered back.
"Naked on a bear skin rug?" She suggested breathlessly.
"How about naked in front of a fire instead?" He stood up slowly, no doubt making sure that she felt his arousal as he did.
"I'll take it." And her face burned with the sensation of it.
"I thought you would." He kissed her before picking her up bodily and carrying her to the spot he'd prepared and set her back down.
Lois went down on her knees on the soft pallet and held out her hand and after Clark took it he followed her. He drew her to him and kissed one of her shoulders as he slipped the thin strap down to her arm. He then kissed her other shoulder and when the other strap fell, she felt the lace and satin brush against her breasts as the garment slipped down to her waist.
The look of awe and wonder on Clark's face as he looked at her gave Lois such a womanly satisfaction that she could hardly stand it. And as he took each of the straps in his hands and gently unhooked them from her elbows, her heart skipped a few beats as he turned her and lay her down.
She watched him as his head came down and she closed her eyes in anticipation of where his lips were going to land. His gaze had shifted between her lips and her breasts and she had a pretty good idea of where he was going to end up.
She was wrong, on both counts.
His lips settled between her breasts and he dropped feather kisses on her skin as he slowly worked his way down her body. The soft undersides of her fullness, her ribcage and down to her belly button. The special attention he gave it had Lois trying to keep from hyperventilating as the sensations he was creating inside of her threatened to overwhelm her.
She arched against his mouth, which was what he seemed to be after in the first place because the next thing she knew, she was completely naked. His lips stilled suddenly and there could have only been one reason for it, the sight of her womanhood.
She pressed her leg against his shoulder to get his attention and when he looked up at her, he was absolutely stunned. "Get up here Smallville, it's my turn."
In less than a heartbeat, he was at her side and her hands were on the waistband of his boxers. She pushed them down as far as she could reach, skimming his bare skin as she went and he sat up enough to finish the job for her and toss them away.
Lois had meant to try and keep the moment light because she could see how nervous he was and she held up her ankle, dangling the discarded teddy. "I think you forgot something."
He was working his jaw and she got the sudden feeling that her attempt at humor had only ramped up the tension and when he snatched it from her leg and tossed it after his boxers, she knew she was right. He wasted no time in parting her knees and settling in between them before his body came to rest lightly on hers, his forearms bearing most of his weight. "You make me crazy."
"I know." She smiled back as she ran her fingers down his arms and lifted her leg up to brush against his. "And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"
His answer to her was to take one of her breasts in his mouth to suckle on it and caress the hard peak with his tongue. Lois nearly fainted from the erotic pleasure of it. Of having his manhood pressed against her bare skin, the feel of a hand bringing up her other leg to cradle him and the way his fingers lingered on the back of her calf and then slipped up to her thigh, and then-.
In response to that, her body began to prepare for what was to come as he lavished her other breast with as much attention as the first. And it was then that he began to move in rhythmic time against her hips and from the feel of it, he was more than ready.
And so was she.
~*~
It was the moment he'd been anticipating for months.
He had Lois underneath him, her arms curled around his neck and her warm, impatient body cradling his. It was the fulfillment of what they'd started the night his mother had come home unexpectedly and left him wondering if they would have the chance to see it through.
Now here they were, the house to themselves for the night and all the time in the world.
But Lois had had enough of waiting and when she kissed him, he felt her hips arch repeatedly up against his and before he could think about what she was doing to him, she'd taken him inside of her and she began to shake. "Oh, my-"
All he could manage was a startled whisper as her warmth surrounded him. "Lois."
"S-small-" It felt as though she was holding her breath and the feel of her rapid heartbeat against his chest increased the rate of his own. "ville."
It seemed like an eternity that they lay there, their bodies coupled, trying to adjust to the idea of the intimate situation they found themselves in and then he kissed her.
When he kissed her again, he felt the reflexive lift of her hips again that signaled to him that she was ready. And when he began to move inside of her, Lois caught her breath again and he leaned down to drop a kiss in her hair. "Honey, breathe."
"Oh, my-" She whispered again as she started to move against him, answering his gentle strokes with more urgent thrusts of her own, as though to tell him to pick up the pace.
Clark tried to keep things slow because he wanted to make it as pleasurable for her as he possibly could and not hurt her. But as with so much of what they did, they silently agreed on a pace together, because she seemed just as determined to make it as pleasurable for him. And to somehow reassure him again that he wouldn't hurt her.
As their tempo quickened and thrusts became more intense, his head dropped to her shoulder as he tried to remember how to breathe and his heart threatened to beat clear out of his chest as she kept arching into him. Because each time she did, his body matched hers with the same purpose of reaching that perfect moment, together.
'You wouldn't do that to me, would you Clark?' The remark that Lois had made to him months before came suddenly to his mind as their bodies strained to create a blissful friction between each other. And as that friction intensified, Clark remembered his answer. 'I wouldn't do that to you Lois.'
She began to hyperventilate as their momentum continued to build and he had to remind her again to breathe and whispered to her. "Don't rush it."
"Clark." Was all she was able to say between panting breaths and tears started to roll out of the corners of her eyes as she looked at him and whispered back. "I need you, now."
"I'm right here." He assured her quietly as he gave her a soft kiss and slowed their cadence so that he could catch his breath and waited for Lois to catch hers.
What he didn't realize when he did that, though was that slowing their pace would create a different friction all together that would finally bring them to the incredible bliss that they'd both been working toward.
"Clark, breathe." He heard Lois whisper; not realizing that he was holding his own breath as he felt her reach her peak. And when her release finally came with a breathless 'oh my god', he kissed her.
He wasn't far behind her when his own release came and she kissed him back as he continued to pleasure her body with gentle thrusts until she started to slowly relax and then he saw her soft smile. He rolled to his side, taking her with him to keep her body close to his and started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Lois looked at him with a puzzled smile; her breathing beginning to steady and he brushed the hair back from her face.
"I'm laughing because I'm happy Lois. I'm laughing because you made love with me and because you said you'd marry me."
"You know how to flatter a girl, don't you?" She rolled her eyes at him and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "I'm going to marry you because I love you and the sooner the better by the way. And I made love with you because I couldn't think of a better way to stay warm."
Only Lois.
"You know how to flatter a guy, don't you?" He grinned as he tossed her words back to her. "Whenever you want to get married is fine by me. We can go to the courthouse in Granville and get married by a Justice of the Peace or we can get a minister and get married in a church."
"Smallville, we can't elope." Lois shook her head. "If we got married without a proper ceremony, it would break your mother's heart."
"Church wedding." He nodded and then started to shake his head in answer to his new fiancée's negative response. "No church wedding?"
"What would you say to getting married here?" She raised her eyebrows at him in question. "In the house?"
"If that's what you want."
"It is. And there's something else I want, but that's going to have to wait." She laughed softly and kissed his cheek before she put her head down on his shoulder. "You were wonderful."
His face warmed at her heartfelt compliment. "So were you."
"I didn't mean that, well actually I did." She turned her face into his chest and he knew she was smiling as she got an arm around his waist. "I meant that you kept your promise and stayed with me the whole way."
So she'd been thinking about it too.
"Lois, it never crossed my mind not to." He could have made a smart remark about always finishing what he started, but knew Lois wouldn't appreciate his attempt at humor. "Remember the other night and I promised you that our first time would be memorable and romantic? I wasn't just saying that for you, I was saying it for me too."
She leaned back to look at him and her smiling face was flushed in a way he'd never seen before, and it was because of him. "Thanks for helping me put the star on the tree."
"You're welcome." He smiled back. "Speaking of which, we really do need to finish decorating the tree now that we've taken care of each other."
"Agreed, but not now." She nodded. "We can finish it in the morning."
"Agreed." He sighed contentedly and then the unthinkable happened. He caught the muffled sound of his cell phone ringing and Lois laughed.
"One guess as to who that is."
Clark looked at her with disbelief and shook his head. "He wouldn't."
"There's only one way to find out." She looked at him with a shrug. "You have to answer it."
"What if I don't want to?" He knew he sounded a little petulant, but the last thing he'd ever dreamed was that a cell phone would interrupt his night with Lois.
"Clark if you don't answer your cell, he's just going to keep calling." She wasn't telling him something he didn't already know.
"I know." He looked at her with her flushed face and mussed hair and the feel of her bare skin against his and sighed again. "How about getting the champagne now and we can open it when I get off the phone."
"Don't take too long."
"You either." He grinned as he let her go and sat up, reaching for one of the sheets he'd brought down and got it around his waist before he stood up. He walked toward the ringing and located the phone in the breast pocket of his coat. A glance at the display confirmed that it was indeed Oliver Queen. "This better be good."
"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" A soft chuckle came over the line. "I had a bet with Jimmy that you wouldn't make it back to the farm and I was just curious to see who won."
Clark wasn't about to dignify that with an answer, and he certainly didn't want to be talking to Oliver when the sight of his fiancée walking to the kitchen in nothing but a bed sheet set his heart racing.
"She couldn't talk you into it, eh?" He kept laughing.
"That's none of your business."
"True."
"Is that the only reason you called?"
"Pretty much." Clark could almost see the smile on his friend's face. "We're just really happy for you, Clark."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now I think you probably have better things to do than talk to me, so as soon as we hang up, turn off your phone." He spoke slowly and insistently and then laughed again. "I can't believe you left your phone on. Did Lois leave hers on?"
Clark spluttered in embarrassment.
"Tell her to turn her phone off too. You just never know who's going to be calling at an inconvenient moment."
"Like now?" He frowned.
"Exactly." The laughter continued. "Well I need to get going because your parents are frowning at me."
"So am I." And he gave in to the sudden urge to laugh. "Thanks for everything Oliver, we won't forget it."
"That's what friends are for Clark." Oliver answered and which Clark barely heard as Lois walked back in to the living room, the champagne bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other.
"Yeah." He watched as she bent over to set the bottle and glasses down on the coffee table, giving him a generous view of her cleavage.
"Goodnight Clark." There was a brief pause. "And try to get some sleep."
The call disconnected and Clark turned off his phone before he set it down. "Lois, is your phone on?"
She straightened up and looked at him curiously. "Probably, why?"
"Would you mind if I turned it off?"
"Of course not, it's in my purse." She directed him to it and he reached in and turned it off. That should mean no more interruptions.
"Oliver had a bet with Jimmy that we wouldn't make it home." He shook his head in amusement, though he probably shouldn't have.
"Well, he almost won that bet." Lois smiled at him and Clark thought she'd never looked more beautiful as she pointed to the bottle. "So how about opening that and we can have our toast?"
"How about you kiss me first?" He approached her, watching as she slowly appraised him.
"How about you open that, we toast and then we can move this upstairs to the bedroom, or stay down here. It's your choice."
"Or you can kiss me first." Clark folded his arms across his chest and the flush that had colored her cheeks moved down her neck. He never would have taken Lois Lane as a girl who would blush so easily.
"Or you could open that champagne first." She put her hands on her hips and waited.
"Or we could make love again." He raised his eyebrows in question and Lois nibbled the side of her lip, a sure sign that she was trying to choose which she'd rather have.
"We will Smallville, just not now." She made her decision and then she kissed him. "Now what about that bubbly?"
"That isn't exactly the kiss I had in mind."
"All you said was a kiss." Lois gave him a pointed look. "You didn't say what kind of a kiss."
She had him there.
"Fair enough." Clark relented and picked up the bottle. Lois had the glasses at the ready for him to pour as he pried the cork off with a decisive 'pop'.
He filled each of the fluted crystal glasses, an anniversary present from his dad to his mom on their final anniversary, with the sparkling wine and put the bottle down. It seemed appropriate that his parent's anniversary glasses were being used to toast the beginning of his new life with Lois and Clark knew that Dad would approve.
He held up his glass and smiled at the woman he loved more than his own life. "Thank you for doing me the honor of agreeing to marry me."
"Thank you for giving me the honor of asking." Lois held up her glass to him and they touched the rims together before each took a sip. "And any kids we have better have your temperament."
"Only if they have your inquisitiveness." He countered.
"Better known as being nosey." She remarked dryly.
"Not nosey, Lois. Curious."
"Okay."
"Really?" Lois was agreeing with him?
"I'm not in the mood." She sighed.
"Well, what are you in the mood for?" Did he really have to ask?
"You." She smiled at him. "But only after you turn on the radio and find some Christmas carols to go along with this champagne."
"Feeling the Christmas spirit, are we?" Clark laughed softly as he walked to the radio and turned it on.
"Do you have any idea how handsome I think you are?" The sincerity of her question got him to turn around and she was completely serious. "And how happy I am to be living here with you?"
"Do you have any idea how beautiful I think you are?" He answered her question with a question of his own. "And how I wake up every morning thankful that I have you in my life?"
"I feel the same way about you." She put her glass down. "And I wonder what it is that I did to deserve this, to deserve you."
"You saved me Lois." He reached out for her hands and held them. "If it hadn't been for you, for your friendship and your love, I wouldn't have been able to move on from Lana. You refused to let me dwell on what I thought I'd lost and without even trying, you showed me that there was something so much better out there for me. And that something is you."
"I did that?" She swallowed and then he saw a tear roll down her cheek.
He got his arms around her and held her as she started to cry. Clark couldn't help but sigh and rest his cheek on her hair, rubbing her back lightly to comfort her. The last thing he'd wanted to do was make her cry and yet there she was. "I'm sorry honey, I didn't say that to make you cry. I just wanted you to know how important you are to me."
"No one has ever loved me the way you do." She sniffed and he felt her warm cheek rub against his chest. "No one has ever been as devoted to me as you have."
"Would it help if you knew that no one has ever loved me the way you do?" He stepped away from her only far enough so she would look at him. And when she finally did, he gently brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "Lois, I feel so honored to have your heart and I promise that I'll do everything in my power to protect it."
"That goes both ways you know." She ran a hand across his cheek. "For better or for worse, we're in this together."
"And there's no one I'd rather be in this with, than you."
"Well that's good to know, because you're stuck with me." And she punched him in the arm to seal the deal.
"And very happy to be." He leaned over and kissed her. "Now where were we?"
"Where would you like to be?" She asked him and Clark got a sense of deja vu.
Hadn't they done this earlier?
"How about drinking champagne in front of the fire? It could be kind of romantic." He suggested as he ran a hand down the one thing that was keeping his bare hands off of her bare back, and at the moment his hands were fairly itching to discard it.
"And there's something else we can do too that's kind of romantic." She lifted a suggestive eyebrow at him. "As has already been proven."
"We could." He nodded in agreement and felt his face warm with anticipation. "But you said that you wanted to have some champagne and listen to Christmas carols. So why don't we start with that?"
"I think I'd rather start with something else." She kissed his chin. "What do you think?"
"I think you're going to wear me out." He kissed her cheek.
"And just think how much fun it'll be." She laughed softly as she got around him and picked up her glass from the coffee table. "But you're right. I've never had champagne in front of a fire dressed only in a bed sheet."
"I'm not complaining."
"Well why would you? You're the one that got me in this situation to begin with." She teased.
"With a lot of help from you." He countered as he turned for the radio and found a station that had begun their annual Christmas carol marathon. He picked it mostly because Lois complained every year that if she heard 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' one more time, she was going to put Rudy's light out.
And as luck would have it-
"Smallville!"
"Yes, Lois?" He shouldn't have laughed, but the irritated look on her face was a sure sign that even though their relationship had changed, some other things never would.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Drink your champagne Lois and ignore it." He walked back to the coffee table and picked up the bottle, topping off her glass and his. "We've got a fire to enjoy."
"Among other things." She took his hand and led him back to their spot in front of the fire and carefully sat down. He handed her the bottle and as he sat down next to her, saw her reading the etching on the face of the crystal. "I didn't know that these were your parent's anniversary glasses."
"It was their last anniversary." Clark nodded. "After Dad died, Mom told me that she had the feeling he knew he wouldn't make it to their next one and wanted to do something extra special for her. He always did something that he put a lot of thought into, but it wasn't his way to spend a lot of money."
"Your mom must have been surprised." Lois observed and took a sip.
"She was really touched at his thoughtfulness." He shrugged. "But even then she understood why he was doing it for her. Dad was a realist and knew that even if he took good care of himself, there wasn't a guarantee that his heart wouldn't give out anyway."
A wave of sadness washed over him and Clark felt his eyes tear and then felt Lois' hand in his. "I'm sorry Clark, I didn't mean to make you sad." And under her breath he heard. 'Nice going Lane.'
"Lois, it's okay." He gripped her hand to get her to look at him. "It's just that all of these good things have been happening with us and I can't help but wish that Dad were here to share in it with us and with Mom."
"I miss him too." She sighed.
"I know you do." He nodded and his ears picked up the sounds of 'White Christmas'.It was the Bing Crosby version and his mother's favorite, because it had been her mother's favorite. He held out his hand indicating to Lois to hand him her glass. "We can finish this later, because someone needs cheering up."
"You think so." She wasn't fooled by his ruse, but handed her glass to him anyway and he set it down next to his.
"I know so." Clark told her as he stood up and picked up the glasses. After he set them back on the coffee table next to his dad's cuff links, Lois handed him the bottle and he set it next to the glasses. He rejoined her in front of the fire and took her hand. "Lois?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"For what?" She looked confused.
"For being with me tonight." He told her with a smile. "It was better than I ever could have dreamed."
"I love you too." She leaned over and kissed him.
"Then prove it." He squeezed the hand he still held.
"I'd be happy to." And she kissed him again and proved it.
Again.
~*~
Clark had never really understood how it felt to be completely happy or to feel such a deep sense of contentment. But after having Lois accept his marriage proposal the night before and having the chance to finally make love with her, he understood.
And he understood with much more clarity why his parent's marriage had worked so well. They hashed everything out, good and bad, so that there were no secrets or resentment between them. He and Lois worked in much the same way and he knew that their marriage would be much like his parents.
One obvious difference though, was that he wasn't human. He had no idea of what that would mean as far as becoming a father because more than anything; he wanted Lois to have his children. He wanted to have the experience of getting the news that she was pregnant and to watch the life that they would create together, grow inside of her body.
He wanted the opportunity to be with her while she labored to have their child and hold it once it had come into the world. He wanted the chance to be the kind of father that his had been and pass on all the love and wisdom his father had imparted.
But for the moment, he was content to know that he was going to marry the woman he loved and if he let Lois have her way, it would be sooner than he thought. But he didn't mind.
'I think that you won't really be happy until you can call yourself her husband.'
Oliver's words came back to him again and Clark had to admit that his friend was right. It was something that hadn't even crossed his mind a year ago and now it seemed he couldn't think of anything else.
He started when he felt a pair of arms circle his waist and he heard her laugh. "Thinking about me?"
"Always." He turned in her arms and got his around her shoulders to pull her to him. "Always."
She snuggled against his chest and he sighed. Given the chance, he could spend the rest of his life like this, with Lois in his arms.
"Did I hear the phone earlier?" She looked up at him.
"You did." And he gave her a light kiss. "Mom called and wanted to know if it was safe to come home."
"And is it?" She asked suggestively.
"As much as I'd rather say no, she's already on her way." He shook his head. "And that leaves us enough time to finish decorating the tree."
"And by the looks of all the boxes out there, you're ready to go." She slipped out of his arms, kissed his cheek and turned toward the living room.
He followed behind her, as much to get a better view then anything. And a sudden glance over her shoulder told him that she knew exactly what he was doing and she blushed.
He loved it when she did that.
As they'd done with each other the night before, Clark and Lois took their time with finishing the tree. He told her about the special ornaments that they hung on the pine boughs and what the significance was to him and to his mother.
When they were finished, he helped Lois pull off all the blobs of matted tinsel and separate the strands before spreading them back out over the whole tree.
It was a big improvement over what it had looked like before, but Clark would always remember why the tree had started out looking so bad. And it would always make him smile.
But they still had one last thing to do.
He found the box with the star that had graced the top of the Kent family Christmas tree for as long he could remember. He pulled the fragile glass from its nest of cotton and tissue and brought it back to Lois. "Do you want to do the honors, or should I?"
"Let's do it together." She leaned up and kissed him.
"Together." He agreed as he offered her part of the star to hold and they reached up to place it where it belonged.
They stood back again; Clark taking Lois' hand in his and he felt both of their hands shaking.
"We did a nice job." He remarked at their handiwork.
"In more ways than one." She laughed softly.
"Lois."
"You really are a Boy Scout, aren't you?"
"And it's what you love about me, isn't it?" He brought the hand he held to his lips and kissed her fingers.
"One of the things." She replied coyly. "I have a list if you want to see it."
"I think I'd rather get the lights plugged in before Mom gets home." He let go of her hand. "And I have to get all those boxes back in the attic, too."
"I'll get the lights and you get the super speed going." He saw her glance out the window. "Because your mother is home and it looks like the General is with her."
"I'm gone." He told her and with several bursts of super speed, the boxes were back in the attic and he was headed down the stairs as he heard the front door open and the sound of Lois' cheery voice.
"Hi Mrs. Kent."
His life was perfect.