December 24, 2009 – Kent Farm 6:00PM
"You know, Lois, you could help."
Hearing the teasing voice of her boyfriend from the kitchen, Lois rolled her eyes from her perch on the comfortable sofa.
"I am helping, Smallville," she retorted before sinking her teeth into one of Martha Kent's delectably chewy peanut butter cookies.
"Really?" Clark replied, leaning against the wall at the entrance to the kitchen with an adorable smirk on his face. "I don't think sitting in front of three different plates of Mom's cookies while watching Rudolph qualifies as helping, Lane."
"Well you would be wrong," she said, washing down her cookie with a gulp of milk.
"Would I?"
"Yes. I'm performing a critical task right now."
"And that would be?"
"I'm making sure all the food is up to par before we go and pick up your mom later," she said, reaching for another treat, this time from a plate brimming with double chocolate chunk cookies.
"Seeing as how she made them and sent them ahead, Lo, I'm pretty sure they're more than fine," he said, attempting to hold back a chuckle. "Just admit it, you're getting in your share before everyone shows up tomorrow."
Swallowing the last bite of her cookie with a satisfied sigh, she replied, "Can you blame me?"
"Not at all," Clark said, striding over and snatching a chocolate chip cookie himself. "Besides, knowing Mom, she'll be ready to start a few new batches as soon as she walks in the door tonight. Even if it'll be the middle of the night when we finally get back here."
"Yeah, it sucks that she ended up having to stay in D.C. an extra day. Too bad she couldn't get an earlier flight."
"Well, Oliver offered his jet to fly her home earlier, but you know Mom, she doesn't want any special treatment. And she wants to be here Christmas morning so…."
"So we make a midnight trip to Metropolis."
"And I told you, you don't have to come, Lo. No need for both of us to be up all hours tonight," Clark said, silently hoping she'd finally acquiesce to not joining him. Not that he didn't want her there, but it was a trip he could make in a few seconds if Lois was tucked into bed and sleeping soundly. He could have his mother back at the farm by ten minutes after 12, rather than the 2 A.M. they were looking at with Lois insisting on coming along.
"No way, Smallville. I'm just as excited to see her as you are," Lois responded with a pointed look, indicating she wasn't about to have this conversation yet again. "As I've told you about a million times. Besides, I'm a night owl, you know that."
"Right," he said with a sigh, watching as Lois picked up the TV remote and began flipping through the various Christmas shows that were prevalent on every channel he got. "I guess I will be tonight too, relegated to the sofa again," he teased.
"Hey, I offered to take the couch," she protested, a slight grin on her face.
"Yeah, like Mom would let that happen."
"True," she agreed with a knowing chuckle. "And I doubt she'd go for us sleeping in the same bed," she mused absently, then snapped her mouth shut as the words she'd uttered hung in the air between them. Her eyes darted to him, then quickly back down to the plates of cookies. Feeling a blush beginning to creep ever so slowly up her neck, she grabbed another double chocolate chip cookie and took a large bite, studiously avoiding Clark's amused gaze.
"The same bed huh? I didn't realize that was an option."
He was rewarded with a patented Lois Lane death glare as she took another large bite of cookie.
"Because if it is? I vote for that one," he finished, laughing as he dodged a large sofa pillow she'd aimed at his head.
Taking a quick swig of milk, she rolled her eyes. "In your dreams, Smallville."
"Pretty much, Lane," he answered, the lopsided grin on his face causing her stomach to do about thirty somersaults. He took a few steps closer to her, reaching down to grab her hand and then pulled her off the couch. "Come on, I need your opinion."
"On?"
"The kitchen. Though I don't know why I'm asking what you think, since it's not like you helped at all."
"You're asking because you're a very smart man who knows the girlfriend always gets a say, whether she helped or not," she replied with a smirk as he pulled her toward the kitchen. They stopped in the archway and Lois looked around, stunned into silence for a moment before bursting out into a fit of laughter.
"What?"
"Really, Smallville? You don't think it's…a little much?" she said, gesturing toward various points on the ceiling.
"Hey, Christmas only comes once a year, Lois. I just wanted the place to look festive."
"If by festive you mean buying out Main Street Florist's entire stock of mistletoe and hanging it at every six – inch interval on the ceiling, well then, well done Clark," she snarked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
He grinned, pushing her slightly forward so she was standing directly under one of the many strategically placed sprigs before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him.
"Are you complaining?" he asked, leaning down to barely brush her lips with his.
Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not complaining. But, just in case it wasn't clear, you don't need the mistletoe excuse to make out with me anymore. One of the [i]many[/i] perks of being my boyfriend."
"See, that's not entirely true. All this?" he motioned toward the green littering the ceiling, "It's me planning ahead."
"Hmm, color me intrigued. Continue."
"Okay, well sure, tonight, I don't need any excuses to kiss you whenever I want, right?"
"Right."
"But we aren't gonna be alone forever. Mom will be here later…."
"And Oliver and Chloe will be here tomorrow," she interjected with a slight nod, seeing where he was going. "So this is your way of making sure you can kiss me whenever you want when there's people around, and not make it look like you just want some action?"
"Basically."
She giggled, pulling him closer. "Subtle, Smallville. I'm sure no one will catch on to your brilliant plan," she said, her voiced tinged with sarcasm. Her eyes fluttered closed as he leaned into kiss her, loving the feel of his soft lips, warm against hers. She sighed softly as his tongue traced her upper lip, before flicking out her own tongue to meet his. One hand pressed against the small of her back while the other tangled in her hair, his palm rubbing softly against her jaw.
"Mmmm," she murmured, pulling back slightly. "You know, there's just one flaw in this scheme of yours," she managed to mumble out as his lips began to trail open-mouthed kisses down her neck.
"Hmmm?" he voiced, his lips finding one particular spot on her neck he'd discovered recently, causing her to close her eyes and tighten her grasp on his hair. He grinned against her soft skin in response.
"You're not gonna be the only guy in the room tomorrow," she replied a bit breathlessly, biting the side of her lip as she felt his teeth nip at a spot right below her ear.
Suddenly, he pulled back.
"What do you mean?"
She blinked up at him, her face flushed and her eyes holding a look of feigned innocence. "Well, what if Ollie sees me standing under one of your many kissing branches?"
Clark smirked in response, pushing her back against the wall. "Not an issue."
"And why's that?"
"Oliver knows better."
"Really?" she asked, disbelievingly, her breath catching slightly as he pressed his body closer.
"Yup. I believe the terms we discussed were along the lines of him maintaining a three foot distance from you at all times tomorrow."
Her jaw dropped, though she couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the satisfied look on his face. "You're kidding me, right?"
"No way. He's lucky it's only three feet. I wanted six but we managed to compromise. He thought he should at least be able to give you your present without having to launch it across the room. At three feet, he can just lightly toss it to you, no problem," he finished with a shrug and an all too proud-of-himself grin.
Her incredulous look melted into a fit of laughter, her head falling against his shoulder.
"Wow, Smallville," she breathed between giggles, "I'm impressed. Who knew you had it in you?"
"Hey, Oliver had his chance," he said, his voice taking on a slightly husky tone that caused shivers to run up and down her spine. "Mistletoe or not, he's not getting another one."
Her hand left his hair and trailed down his gray t-shirt covered chest, feeling the heat of his skin warm her hand.
"You didn't need to set up a restraining order to keep that from happening," she responded, her other hand reaching up to brush his lips with her fingertips. "Believe me, there's only one guy I want to be kissing under the millions of sprigs of mistletoe in this kitchen."
Clark leaned closer, her last words muffled slightly against his lips as they covered hers. His teeth grazed lightly over her bottom lip before his tongue flicked out to soothe it, causing Lois to pull him closer, opening her mouth against his with a soft groan.
Minutes passed, the only sound in the otherwise empty farmhouse being their lips repeatedly tangling, their sighs growing into pleasurable gasps of breath.
That was, until, a buzzing sound began emanating from the countertop. Or more specifically, the phone that was resting on said countertop.
Lois began to pull back, her eyes popping open, but Clark pushed forward, bracing his hand against the back of her neck to keep her from pulling away completely.
"Ignore it," he muttered between kisses. Sighing at the feeling of him pressing her into the wall, her eyes drifted close, happy to do just that.
Except, it didn't stop.
No, the buzzing kept, well, buzzing. Continously (except for all-too-brief respites where the annoying caller in question must have taken a moment to redial – really, couldn't he or she take a hint?). Finally, Clark pulled back with a groan, shaking his head slightly as if to get his bearings. He glanced back at his phone, then back at her, his eyes roaming over her flushed face, resting on her full, swollen lips.
"Don't move," he said, planting a quick kiss on her lips before turning and striding toward the offending phone. Picking it up, he inwardly sighed at the identification attached to the incoming call.
C-WT
Chloe. Watchtower. Which signaled this wasn't just a friendly "checking in to see what's up" type call.
With a slightly frustrated jab, he turned his phone off, knowing it wasn't a conversation he could have in front of Lois anyway, plus he'd be at Watchtower in the next few minutes to see what was up.
His eyes drifted back to Lois, whose breathing had slowed to a more regular pace. He quickly pocketed his phone, ready with the excuse he'd devised earlier in the day in case just such an emergency arose.
"Who was it?"
"Ben. I'm sorry, Lo, I forgot I promised I'd help him with getting his tree in and hanging some decorations. I really owe him for all he's done, keeping an eye on the farm with how busy I am at the Planet and all. I was supposed to go earlier but I guess I forgot."
"Well, you were distracted," she replied, her lips quirked up into a slight smirk. "Want me to come, I could help, it would get done quicker."
"No! I mean, you should stay here, put the finishing touches on the place. Besides, there's no point in both of us going out in this weather," he said with attempted nonchalance, gesturing out the frost covered window where a dusting of snow was beginning to blanket the ground.
"Suit yourself," she shrugged good-naturedly before heading to the fridge and grabbing the milk to pour herself another glass.
"Hopefully I won't be too long."
"Don't worry, I've got cookies, milk, and Christmas specials. I'm good, Smallville."
He grabbed his jacket, walking over to her quickly and planting a kiss on her cheek.
"When I get back?" he said, his eyes flicking toward the green-covered ceiling, "We'll give the rest of these a test drive," he finished with a grin.
Watchtower – Minutes Later
"What's up Chloe?"
"Finally, I was beginning to think you turned off your phone."
"Sorry," he said, a bit sheepishly. "I was busy."
"And since I know my cousin was at the farm with you, I'm going to just put a mental picture of you two chastely decorating the tree in my mind to define busy," she said dryly, a knowing grin on her face at Clark's sudden interest in the floor and the faint blush beginning to stain his cheeks.
"I guess this is kinda weird for you, huh?"
"Don't get me wrong, Clark, I'm happy for the two of you. But I don't need any visuals."
"Right," he replied, chuckling lightly. "So, what's going on?"
"This," she said, gesturing to one of the many large computer screens prevalent throughout the Watchtower. Looking on it, Clark saw an array of maps with more than a few spots marked with a red "x".
"These spots have been popping up all day. They're remarkably similar to the craters left by the Kandorians."
Clark's eyes widened. "How could there be more? Where would they have come from?"
"I'm not sure there are more. These craters could have been covered by something or hidden during the first scan I did. Or they could be completely unrelated. But I thought you should know."
"There could be more clues there," he said absently. "Does it look like there's anyone around them?"
"I can't really tell, it doesn't seem so, but there are some spots that are unidentifiable," Chloe replied, turning to look at him. "Look, Clark, I know it's Christmas Eve, and it's your first Christmas with Lois…"
"No, Chloe, you were right to call me. I need to find out as soon as possible what's there, it might give me some more insight to Zod and his followers," he said, but Chloe picked up on the flash of disappointment in his eyes.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to be totally happy about it."
He just smiled slightly in response, before adding, "Can you print out a list of the exact locations?"
"Sure," she said. "And look on the bright side, with your speed, as long as you don't find anything immediately dangerous, hopefully this won't take more than a couple of hours. What'd you tell Lois to get over here?"
"That I had to help Ben Hubbard with some Christmas decorations. That should give me some time," he said, glancing at his watch. "But the sooner I start…"
"The sooner you can get back to her. So, here's the first two, they're pretty close to each other."
Clark's eyes scanned the paper, and then with a quick gust, he was off, the paper Chloe had handed him fluttering harmlessly to the floor.
7:00 PM – Kent Farm
Lois rolled her eyes as they fell on the large kitchen clock.
"Ever the Boy Scout, huh Smallville?" she said, the affectionate smile at the thought belying her slightly sarcastic tone. Knowing Clark, he wouldn't leave the Hubbard farm until every last bit of tinsel was perfectly placed on the tree with Ben Hubbard's seal of approval.
With the familiar Peanuts theme song emanating from the TV, a signal to her that one of her favorite Christmas specials was starting, she plopped a couple of marshmallows onto her steaming cup of hot cocoa and prepared to snuggle up in front of the fire with the large throw that adorned the back of the couch. It would do, at least until her farm boy returned and could take over the task of keeping her warm, anyway.
She was about to settle in when the doorbell rang loudly, echoing through the farmhouse. Setting her mug down on the counter, she went to answer it.
Following a slight shiver at the blast of wintry air that greeted her with the whipping open of the door, her brow furrowed, not recognizing the person in front her.
"Can I help you?"
The visitor's eyes took her in quickly but appreciatively, a smiling tugging at his lips.
"Yeah, I'm looking for Clark. But I'd totally understand if he wanted to blow me off for you."
"And you are?" Lois said, ignoring the man's innuendo.
"A friend of his," he answered. He felt a bit more confident saying that now than he had before seeing Clark again a couple of nights ago at Watchtower. The conversation they'd had seemed to somewhat clear the air between them, though he still felt a massive amount of guilt for his part in all that had gone down last summer. "Bart Allen. And you must be Lois Lane."
Nodding slightly, she gestured for him to come in.
"I've heard that name before," Lois said, tilting her head to the side in thought. "Not from Clark though. From Chloe."
"Yeah, me and Chloe go way back," Bart said with a wink, earning him an eyeroll from Lois. "And may I say, your family has some good genes, if you two are any indication."
"Not shy, are you Bart?"
"Not at all. So, Stretch around?"
At that, Lois burst out laughing. "Stretch? Oh man, I'm [i]so[/i] using that," she said through her giggles. "And no, he's not actually. He had to go help his neighbor with something."
Bart quirked an eyebrow. "On Christmas Eve?"
"Well, you know Clark."
"Boy Scout to the last," Bart said, smiling at Lois' nod in agreement.
"He's been gone awhile though, let me give him a call, see how long he'll be," Lois said, reaching for her cell phone that had been resting on the counter. As she hit speed dial, she noticed Bart's gaze fix on the containers of cookies sitting on the kitchen island. He turned to her, gesturing toward the delectable treasures.
"Are those Mrs. K's cookies?"
Lois grinned. "They are. Help yourself."
Bart snagged one, happily munching away. After a moment, Lois' brow furrowed, catching his attention.
"He's not picking up," she muttered quietly. "Weird."
Stopping mid-chew, Bart looked at her for a moment, his brain suddenly putting together that what Lois thought and where Clark actually was might not be one and the same.
Not to be deterred, Lois walked over to the refrigerator, scanning it for a small scrap of paper.
"You know what, Lois? It's not a big deal. I'm just on my way out of town and stopped by to say goodbye. Just tell him I'll talk to him soon," Bart said hurriedly, standing up and beginning to walk toward the door.
"Don't be ridiculous. You came all the way out to the boonies to see him. I'll just call over to Ben's and see how long he'll be," she said, punching in the number that was written on the small piece of paper.
"Really, Lois," Bart said nervously, "It's not a big deal."
She simply held her hand up in response, before speaking into the phone. "Hey Mr. Hubbard, it's Lois Lane…yeah Merry Christmas to you too. I was wondering if Clark was still there? He isn't picking up his cell and I wanted to ask him something."
Bart cringed inwardly as Lois' face fell slightly as she listened to the man's response on the other end of the line.
"Oh, yeah…I must have misunderstood. I'm really sorry to have bothered you….oh I'll give him your best wishes, you can count on it," she said, her tone polite yet as icy the kitchen's windows. "Have a good night," she finished, before snapping her phone closed.
Placing it on the counter, she regarded it for a moment, before exhaling softly, attempting to get herself under control. Finally, she looked back up at Bart.
"Sorry, I'm not sure when Clark will be back," she said simply, though her voice had a distinct hint of hurt and a trace of anger.
"No problem," he said, "I'll catch up with him some other time." Heading for the door, he grasped the handle, ready to open it, before turning around to face her once more.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon."
Exiting the house, he stopped on the porch, closing his eyes briefly.
And here he'd thought things were on the way to getting back to how they were with Clark. Messing things up with his girlfriend, albeit unintentionally, wasn't going to go over well.
Figuring he'd better give him a heads up, Bart raced toward the Watchtower. Seconds later, he arrived in the midst of the technological haven with a gust of wind following him.
"Bart!" Chloe exclaimed, startled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were heading to Mexico for the, how did you put it…Navidad?"
"I was, but…I need to see Clark. You know where he is?"
Another blast of wind blew through the Watchtower doors and materialized into the imposing figure of Clark Kent.
"He's right here," he said. "What's up?"
Bart took a deep breath. "I um…well I sorta screwed up."
Clark simply quirked an eyebrow in response.
"I didn't mean to," Bart continued, hurriedly.
"What'd you do?"
"I was planning on heading down to Mexico, but 'tis the season and all, and since we kinda smoothed things over the other night, I figured I'd stop by the farm and say adios."
"You stopped by the farm? So you met Lois."
"Yeah. Nice work, by the way. She's smokin'," Bart said with a grin, slightly sidetracked before he noticed Clark's eyes narrow in response. "Anyway," he continued quickly, "she said she didn't know when you'd be back from your neighbor's, so she tried to call you, but you didn't pick up."
"I left my phone here," Clark stated, gesturing toward the device sitting on Chloe's desk.
"Yeah. And when you didn't pick up I figured some emergency had come up and the neighbor thing was a cover, so I told her not to worry about it and that I'd catch you later. But, she said since I'd come all the way out there…."
Clark's eyes widened questioningly, waiting for Bart to continue.
"She said," Bart said a bit haltingly, "she'd call your neighbor, to see when you'd be back."
Widened eyes closed slowly as Bart's words hung in the air.
"So she knows I was never there," Clark said quietly.
"I'm sorry, man," Bart said. "I really am."
Clark ran a hand roughly over his face. "It's not your fault. You're not the one who's lying to her. And even if I have my reasons, I'm still the one doing it."
Silence fell over the room, the only sound the humming of the various computers running in the background.
"So, how mad was she?"
"Well, she tried to cover, but she didn't seem too happy," Bart replied.
Clark sighed, before turning to Chloe. "How many more of these things do I have to check out?"
Bart looked back and forth between them. "What's up?"
"Remember those Kryptonian crop circles I told you about the other night? I found more of them earlier. Clark's checking them out."
"Find anything?"
"A set of dog tags with a Kryptonian symbol, but that's it so far."
"So…basically, you're running around the globe checking out empty craters? Because, seriously man, if that's it, I'll take over for you. I can check out the rest."
Clark looked at him quietly for a moment, seeming to weigh his friend's offer. Then he shook his head.
"I can't ask you to do that Bart."
"You didn't. I offered."
"But I don't know what's out there, in any of them. So far I haven't found any sign of life around them, but that could change."
"And if it does, I have your cell number. I'll contact you and you can be there within seconds. Granted, not as fast as me but…," Bart trailed off, a grin on his face.
"It's nice of you to offer, Bart, but…"
"Come on, Clark. I owe you," Bart interrupted quietly. "To say the least. Let me do this. I promise, the minute anything funky comes up, I'll let you know. And anything I find I'll bring back here for you to check out."
Clark glanced at Chloe, who smiled and nodded slightly, then back at Bart.
"Thank you," Clark said sincerely. "But I'll have my phone on, alright? Just in case."
"You got it, Stretch. Now go home and make things right with the lovely Lois."
Ready to do just that, Clark blurred out of the Watchtower and, within seconds, was sitting in the driver's seat of his truck, which he'd parked down the road from the farm.
He sat there for a few moments, leaning his forehead against the wheel of the truck.
Already he'd managed to come up with an excuse to cover his cover story.
But that wasn't entirely the point.
He felt guilty for lying to her. And he knew the reasons he had were valid. To him, anyway.
He hadn't had such great experiences in the past with people knowing. They ended up changing. They ended up hurt. They ended up dead. And maybe it was wrong that he placed the blame on his secret, on who he was, but he did.
So, he kept her in the dark. Which, in a way, was incredibly frustrating because he honestly wanted to share that part of himself with her. In a perfect world, one where he could predict the future and know that his secret wouldn't harm her, wouldn't ultimately change her, or where she wouldn't eventually grow tired of a life of sharing him, he would tell her without hesitation.
But in this world? Fear still held him back.
He turned the key in the ignition, allowing the windshield wipers to swish away the loose snow that had accumulated on the windshield. In a matter of minutes, he'd pulled into the farm. Seeing her car there, he couldn't help but grin.
Lois Lane wasn't one to wither away when she was ticked. No, while others may have stormed out after catching him in his lie, she was going to make him face the music.
And face it he would. With a deep breath, he got out of the truck and stomped up the steps. Turning the doorknob, he told himself to let her take the lead (not that she wouldn't anyway). She had no idea he knew he'd been caught, which would be a whole other explanation to get into, one he wasn't sure he was ready to have.
Upon opening the door, he saw her. Sitting on the couch quietly, the Christmas specials that had been blaring from the television before now silenced. The sound of the door seemed to jar her from whatever reverie she'd been in, and she turned to face him, her expression blank.
"Hey," he said, reaching up to brush a few snowflakes from his dark hair. "Sorry I took so long."
She regarded him silently for a moment, watching as he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it on one of the kitchen stools. Then she stood, making her way toward the kitchen, arms crossed in a defensive stance Clark knew all too well.
"Answer me something," she said quietly. "Honestly."
"Okay."
"Do you want me here?"
If a heart could physically be broken, his would have at the uttering of those words from her lips. If there was one thing he wanted, more than anything, it was that she never doubt his feelings for her.
"Lois…"
"Because, look, we've only been dating a month. If you're having second thoughts, if you've changed your mind about us, now would be the time to tell me," she said, her directness belied by the hurt he saw in her eyes.
"I haven't. I promise."
"It doesn't feel that way. Not when you lie to me about where you're going and then proceed to disappear for a couple of hours," she shot back, apparently unconvinced. "I called Ben, and imagine my surprise when he seemed completely oblivious as to why I would think you were there. I mean, here I was, trying to be all considerate to this friend of yours that stopped by, trying to find out when you'd be back so he would know whether or not to stick around, only to find out that I'm a complete idiot because my boyfriend not only bailed on me on Christmas Eve, but he lied about why exactly he was bailing on me."
"Lois…"
He took a few steps toward her, reaching out to take her hand, but the glare she sent him in response to that move caused his arm to fall back to his side.
"Lois…I'm sorry I lied to you."
"Really? Then why did you?"
He felt the guilt swirl in his stomach as he readied himself to feed her the story he'd come up with. It was a plausible one, he knew. It would work, there wasn't any doubt in his mind.
So, why wouldn't the words leave his lips?
"This would be the part where you answer me, Clark," she snarked, clearly not amused at his silence.
"I can't," he said softly.
And that was the truth. Because as many times as he'd given her excuses for his disappearing acts before, for some reason, this was different. Maybe it was the obvious hurt in her eyes, maybe it was her completely closed-off stance.
Or maybe it was, in that moment, watching her struggle to give him time to explain, to hear him out and give him the benefit of the doubt, he realized he was being selfish.
Because for all of his reasons, as valid as they were in his mind, none of them gave her any say in the matter. He wanted to keep her safe, he wanted her not to change, and yet those reasons were mostly for him. He knew from experience – she could handle it. She would stand by him, as far as his secret was concerned.
But he couldn't guarantee that she'd be by his side as more than just a secret keeper. He couldn't guarantee down the road that she'd want to live the life that came along with being with him.
He realized, though, in a moment of clarity as he watched her glare at him impatiently, that the alternative wasn't exactly guaranteeing him a future with her either. Their current situation being exhibit A.
"I'm a coward," he finally said quietly.
Rolling her eyes with a sigh, Lois took a step toward him. "Clark, I may be ticked at you right now. However, while you are many things, a coward isn't one of them."
"You're wrong," he said, his eyes rising to meet hers. "I don't want to lose you."
"Clark, we're having a fight. It happens. Couples can fight without ending the relationship, you know."
"I know…it's just, I haven't been fair to you," he said. "And I'm sorry for that. I thought I was doing the right thing, but the truth is, I was doing the right thing for me."
She furrowed her brow slightly. "I'm not following here, Clark."
"I know. But trust me, it will all make sense in a minute," he said, before suddenly bounding up the stairs. Lois watched him, a half-confused, half-annoyed look on her face.
"Don't think you're getting out of this by changing the subject!" she called up the stairs. She stalked over to the kitchen island, grabbing a peanut butter cookie and ripping off a huge chunk. She had polished off the cookie, her irritation increasing with each sweet bite, when she heard him come down the stairs behind her.
"Lois?"
She turned to face him, not realizing he was standing as close to her as he was. Which caused her eyes to be level with his chest.
And a symbol. A familiar one. One she'd seen burned into buildings all over Metropolis. Her gasp was audible as she finally, after a few moments of stunned silence, raised her gaze to his.
"You know, it's Christmas, not Halloween, Clark," she said weakly, leaning back against the counter for a bit of support. She knew it sounded silly, because it was fairly obvious what he was trying to tell her, but she needed to hear him say it.
He grinned momentarily, his own nervousness evident in his features. Reaching out, he took her hand in his, clasping it tightly.
"I'm the Blur, Lois."
The next hour, Clark would later recall, would be the quietest Lois Lane had ever been for any extended period of time. He told her of his origins, of his abilities, of his decision to use his powers the way he was, and how proud he felt that what he'd done had given the citizens of Metropolis a ray of hope.
When he'd finally finished speaking, she simply stared for a few moments, before finding her voice.
"When I asked you to explain why you'd lied to me, I sort of expected you to tell me you'd forgotten to get me a Christmas present. Congratulations Clark, you've officially surprised the hell out of me."
A light chuckle fell from his lips. "Yeah, an emergency came up."
"Well, I have to say, the cover story you came up with was pretty good – better than some of your other ones, looking back on it. I wouldn't have thought anything of it if you're friend hadn't stopped by."
"Actually, I'm glad he did," he said, before looking at her, a bit of anxiety in his eyes. "Lois, I know this is a lot to take in."
"That may be the understatement of the century, Smallville."
He grinned, relief washing over him at the sound of her nickname for him.
"We still have a lot to talk about," she said quietly, but reached over and gently squeezed his hand.
"I know."
"But we have plenty of time for that," she said, her free hand reaching up to caress his cheek. Sitting herself up on her knees, she leaned in, gently brushing his lips with hers.
"I like the sound of that," he said, smiling against her lips.
She pulled back, standing up and tugging at his hand. "But right now, you need to change. We have to leave here in t-minus 15 minutes if we wanna get to the airport on time."
"Yeah, about that Lo. Superspeed, remember? I'll just go pick her up myself later. It'll only take a few minutes."
"No way, Clark. All that talking we need to do? Think of it as us getting a nice head start on the ride to Metropolis. Now, go change out of your…uniform or whatever, and let's get going," she said, gesturing for him to head up the stairs. When he did nothing but smile adoringly at her, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, chop chop!"
Laughing, he sped up the stairs, quickly changing back into his regular clothes. He was about to blur back down to her when he felt his phone vibrate. His stomach dropping, he fished it out of his pocket, scanning the screen quickly.
All clear, amigo. Merry Christmas. Hope it's the first of many for you and Lois.
Smiling, Clark quickly punched a message back.
Thanks to you – in more ways than one - it will be. Merry Christmas, Bart.
He knew Bart wouldn't understand the meaning behind his text entirely, but that was okay. Next time he was in town, he'd tell him the story over burritos from Bart's favorite place in Mexico.
But for now, he had an inquisitive girlfriend to get back to. Speeding back down the stairs, he picked up her jacket and helped her into it before grabbing his own.
As they walked out the door, Lois grabbed his hand.
"You know Smallville, not that the black isn't sexy, but a little more color wouldn't kill you. Ever think about working some of the red and blue back in?"