JUST THE TWO OF US
Lois got in the Kent house through the always-open kitchen door and found Clark sitting by the counter, with a bored look on his face, clearing a glass of eggnog and then thumping the glass over the counter like a drunk man in his favorite bar.
"Hey Smallville! What's wrong, did your wife cheat on you? I'll pay you another round and we can talk about it." She tapped his back and sat beside him, unsuccessfully trying to cheer him up. Paying better attention to his features now, she saw he actually seemed like disappointed. "Come on Smallville, it's Christmas! Even I get cheerful in Christmas!" she said, grabbing his both hands and shaking them.
Clark looked at her, with the same sadness in his eyes. He took his hands out of hers and sighed heavily before speaking. "We're alone, Lois."
"Well yeah, I could sense that, since there's no one else here!" She rolled her eyes and smiled. This wasn't a time for bantering but she couldn't help it. "Where's everybody?"
"Not here." He grumbled, while picking the bottle and refilling his glass of eggnog.
"Ok, Clark. This conversation is getting too deep and meaningful for me. I need more details" She waited for response, but he remained silently sipping his drink. That crankiness of his was really getting on her nerves. "WHAT A HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU SMALLVILLE?"
Clark snorted and turned to her, not pleased at all to give her the news. "My mom and Oliver just called. There's a snowstorm in Washington and they're stuck there."
Lois looked at him surprised. "But that charity event they attended there should be ended hours ago."
"But it didn't. Oliver introduced mom to some influential people, they started talking and lost their track on time. When they realized it was late, the storm was already falling heavily."
Now she understood his disappointment. Spending Christmas evening without her boyfriend and her mother figure would be too sad… But there was still hope.
"What about Chloe? Isn't she coming?"
"No, she isn't." Clark answered annoyed, staring at the wall in front of him.
"But- but why not?" Lois was almost desperate. This could not mean what she thought it meant.
"She called this morning to tell Jimmy invited her to spend Christmas with his family. She was so excited about how serious things are getting between them that I told her it was ok not to show up."
"Whoa, that means…" Lois looked around until she found a spot on the table to focus her eyes on. "…we're alone tonight Smallville."
"Yup." Clark emptied another glass with in a big gulp before turning again to look at Lois. "Just the two of us."
"Oh boy!" Lois stretched her arm to reach a glass for herself and filled it with eggnog just like Clark did. This was going to be a long night.
They stood like that for a while, until a delicious smell reached Lois's nostrils. It was the warm, inviting smell of baked turkey. She reached for the oven and found it there, calling her name. But if Martha was in Washington…
"Smallville, who cooked this turkey?" Lois asked him, intrigued. The question finally put him out of his lamenting state and made him move, worriedly, towards the stove.
"I did." He replied, carelessly, while checking if the turkey wasn't burnt. Lois looked at Clark as if he had two heads.
"Ok, now you cook?"
"I always did." He smirked, taking the shocker on her face as the best compliment possible. "You're the one who puts the house on fire whenever trying to make breakfast."
Lois ran to the dinning room and found the table all set. It was covered with all kinds of holiday themed food and candies. It all smelled and looked perfect. 'The guy is like a country chef or something!' was the first thought that crossed Lois's mind. When she saw him coming to the table with the turkey, a broad smile covered her face.
"A whole night of you spoiling me with your fancy farm cooking." She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head. "Hmm. It can't be that bad."
…
One hour later, both Lois and Clark were stuffed with all the food they could possibly have eaten. Lois stretched her legs under the table and tapped her belly, showing satisfaction.
"That was unexpected. Never thought you were such a great cook Smallville." Clark nodded in appreciation and smiled faintly. Their gazes met and they stood like that, smiling at each other for a moment, before Lois stood up and started speaking.
"You know what? I know people usually do it on thanksgiving, but I think the birthday-boy deserves a speech. I'm not much of a prayer person but I just feel like doing it tonight."
Clark nodded one more time and smiled, raising his glass of wine. "Go ahead. Speech!" Lois raised her glass as well and looked at the stars outside the window, taking a deep breath before she started.
"JC, Lord, I want to thank you for ever coming to this world just to save us. You didn't need to do it and we didn't deserve it as well, but you still came to our rescue, because that's what love is about: grace." She paused and looked aside to find Clark's supportive look. Her eyes went back on the stars. "I know that people usually think of Christmas and remember only of the presents and trees and Santa, but I want you to know that I think of You, everyday, and that I love You." She smiled at Clark one more time and continued, this time looking in his eyes. "And I want to thank You for this night. Even though many important people in my life are not here with me right now, as long as I have at least one of my loved ones near me, the Christmas spirit will make sense to me."
Clark stood up and held her hands. "Lois, that was beautiful." He looked at her and she felt the world has never seemed so quiet. His blue eyes seemed so peaceful, so loving, and so full of admiration. She didn't deserve such man's admiration; he was so much better than her in so many aspects. And then she remembered it wasn't about deserving it, he just… 'Oh crap!'
"Wait, I'm not done." She had to break that romantic mood immediately, but she didn't want him to think she wasn't being honest; she had to think fast. She looked at the stars again, holding a grin. "And please, please, give me some less corny friends to love. That damages my reputation!"
Clark smirked at her, choosing to play her game. "Hmm, I'm one of your loved ones… So you do have feelings for me, don't you?"
She smiled with relief. "Sure Smallville, you make me feel like dancing!" She dragged him to the living room and turned on the radio. The local station had a Christmas special running. When Lois met Clark in the center of the room, a song by Brenda Lee was starting…
Rockin' around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop.
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Every couple tries to stop.
Lois and Clark started dancing some old moves, like fifties rock 'n roll steps. The more they looked at each other, the more they laughed.
Rockin' around the Christmas tree,
Let the Christmas spirit ring.
Latter we'll have some pumpkin pie
And we'll do some caroling.
Then they began to do the Pulp Fiction dance, just like John Travolta and Uma Thurman. Lois burst out to laughs when Clark combed his hair back with his fingers and put up a serious, mafia man look.
You will get a sentimental feeling
When you hear voices singing
"Let's be jolly,
Deck the halls with boughs of holly."
When Lois least expected, Clark held her in his arms and threw her up, making her twist in the air before falling back in his arms. She felt dizzy and excited like a child coming back from a roller coaster.
Rockin' around the Christmas Tree.
Have a happy holiday.
Everyone dancing merrily
In the new old-fashioned way.
The two of them panted with tiredness and joy when the song ended. Still laughing, Lois looked up to meet Clark's eyes, but what she saw made her blush instantaneously. Clark saw her sudden uneasiness and frowned.
"What's wrong Lois?"
"Look up." There it was, the mistletoe. His mother insisted on placing it there before she left to Washington and he never understood why. Maybe her sixth sense was more like a supernatural power and he didn't know it. Clark couldn't contain the smirk in his face when he looked down at Lois again.
"Well, you know what they say about breaking traditions, right?"
"No, I don't. What do they say?"
"That there's no fun in doing it." Clark whispered, already leaning in to kiss Lois. His lips brushed hers very softly, asking for permission to get closer. She moaned almost soundlessly and it was all he needed to her. He pressed his lips against hers with eager, caressing her mouth and teasing her. The moment Clark tried to break the kiss, Lois parted her lips and pulled him closer. That silly kiss had turned into a passionate, devouring, breath taking connection of bodies.
When they finally split apart, none of them could look at nor get their hands out of each other. They stood there, panting and giggling to hide their embarrassment; their foreheads leant against each other's. Lois was the first to collect enough courage to speak.
"Woo! Guess that eggnog is finally kicking!"
"Yeah, probably." Clark thought better to agree. He didn't know what had just happened and he was so not ready to face it as Lois.
A long pause followed that short dialogue. They kept still, thinking of the previous happening. None of them knew why did that happen nor why did it feel so good, but they felt it was undeniably magic. It felt so amazing to be in each other's arms like that, they didn't even know what they did to deserve such thing; but again Christmas showed life is not about deserving things, it was about loving people…
Loving each other…
"Hey Smallville?" Lois whispered, still a little breathless.
"What?" He inhaled her sweet scent with pleasure, while caressing her neck with his long fingers.
"Do you mind if I sleep in your bedroom?"
"You never asked before." She forced herself to pull him away and looked in his eyes for the first time since they kissed.
"Come on, it's Christmas! I was trying to be nice!" She punched his arm and burst to the stairs, never looking back. She was too afraid if she turned around and looked at those eyes again, she would run back to his arms and do something stupid.
"Merry Christmas Clark!" she yelled from upstairs. Clark threw himself on the couch and sighed, frustrated with the present moment, but surprisingly hopeful for the future.
"Merry Christmas Lois." He whispered, before closing his eyes.