Part 4: Just Married

They started by concocting a back story – just ironing out a few details on how they had supposedly met, how long it had taken for them to fall in love, and where they had gotten married. As they'd decided to stick to the truth as close as possible so that they could better keep their stories straight, it didn't seem like it would be hard to remember it all. In fact, the only real change Clark had to remember was that he and Lois had apparently run away together the night before and eloped.

And now he and Lois were standing in the reception area of the very lavish spa, trying to convince the receptionist that every word of their story was true. If the look on her face was any indication, they were doing an admirable job; she kept exchanging secretive smiles with Lois and throwing very significant glances at Clark.

Of course, if Clark had to say so himself, he thought Lois was doing a pretty damn good job of pretending to love him – no small feat for her since he knew that her hurt over the way he'd disappeared on her for several months had not gone away. Still, she didn't so much as hesitate as she scooted closer to him, throwing her arm around his back so she could tuck her body against his side. When she threw her head back and looked up into his face, her eyes conveyed a promise he wished were real, and her mouth presented a temptation he couldn't long ignore. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to check in, and then a bellhop appeared by their side as if summoned by magic.

"Peter here will show you both to your room," the receptionist said. "We hope you enjoy your stay, and if there's anything you need, let us know."

"Thank you," Lois said to the receptionist, though she didn't take her eyes off Clark as she did so.

"Ah," Clark said abruptly, figuring it was high time for him to pull his own weight in this charade. "Could you have someone send up a bottle of champagne and two glasses?" Lois looked surprised, so he bent his face close to hers and said softly, "I want to toast to my beautiful wife."

Lois laughed in surprise, though there was a gleam of appreciation in her eyes. With a small smile, the receptionist nodded. "I'll send someone right up."

"Thank you," he said as he glanced down at Lois again.

"C'mon, Tiger," she cooed in a sultry voice and a glance that made him really wish this wasn't all just an act. "You'd hate for the champagne to beat us to our room, wouldn't you?"

Caught up in the moment, Clark bent to brush a kiss across her lips, but at the last moment, she turned her face away and he hit her cheek instead. Her reaction took him by surprise, but, luckily, when he glanced around, he saw that nobody had seen the way she'd avoided his kiss. It was fortunate, but he made a mental note to bring that up with her later. They could hardly pretend to be deeply in love with each other if she shied away from his kiss.

"Of course not, pumpkin," he said, choosing a nickname he knew would annoy her. Sure enough, she glared at him but she couldn't contradict him in public. There were very likely going to be a few perks to this undercover gig that he hadn't even thought about yet.

Together, they followed the bellhop upstairs, but when they reached their hotel room door, Clark put a hand on Lois's arm to stop her from crossing the threshold. "Just a minute," he said, and the bellhop chuckled and stepped back, clearly anticipating what Clark was about to do.

Lois, however, didn't seem to have caught on just yet. "Why? Wha-aaaaah!" she shrieked as he scooped her into his arms. "What are you doing?" she squeaked in dismay as she clutched him.

"It's tradition!" he responded with a smile. "I'm carrying the bride over the threshold!"

"You're going to drop me!" she cried as he scooted through the doorway with her in his arms.

"Don't be sill-oop!" Perhaps he'd spoken too soon. As he carried her into the room, he tripped over the edge of the carpet and staggered forward, almost dropping her. With her shriek of mixed surprise and laughter, he managed to keep from dropping her as he tried to regain his balance. In the end, though, it was very fortunate that the big plushy couch was located just where it was, as Clark ended up toppling over onto it, with Lois still in his arms.

The two of them were howling with laughter as he held her trapped beneath his body. "Ah…s-sorry about that," he finally managed.

It took her another moment to get a hold of herself. "No problem, Sm…" she let out a half-cough as her eyes drifted past his shoulder to the bellhop, still in the room. "Uh…Smootchie," she finished lamely, and her face contorted for a split second into an agonized mask of where the hell did that come from? Recovering quickly, she teased him with a grin, "I love my big, clumsy husband."

"And I love my squirmy, balance-killing wife," he teased in return as he lifted his weight off of her and turned to the bellhop. He didn't really have to feign embarrassment as he said, "Ah…sorry to keep you waiting. Let me give you your tip."

"No problem, sir," the bellhop said indulgently though he was blushing a little. Thanking Clark graciously for the tip, he wished them both a good stay and left.

As soon as the door closed silently behind the bellhop, Lois jumped to her feet and darted towards her bag. Pulling out her files, she asked, "You ready to get started?" she asked as she rose to her feet and glanced through the stack in her hands as if checking to make sure she had everything.

"Absolutely," he said as he stepped closer to her. "Just one little thing."

Before she could protest, he framed her face in his hands and leaned down, capturing her lips with his own. Though she tried to pull away, he didn't let her, coaxing her with every brush of his mouth to relax and open up to him. It was only once she'd melted into his arms that he relented and took a step back, though it took every bit of strength of will he had to do so.

"Wh-what was that for?" she finally asked as she stared at him, lifting one hand to her mouth.

"We're pretending to be a couple," he explained gently. "What's more, we have to pretend to be completely infatuated with each other. That means you have to get used to kissing me; you can't just pull away every time I lean down to kiss you. You gonna be okay with that?"

He held his breath as he waited for her answer, desperately hoping she didn't call the whole thing off right now – not that he really thought she would, of course. She was too stubborn for that. But he honestly thought his heart might break if she made it clear that she was fine with pretending like she cared about him as long as she didn't have to actually kiss him.

Lois didn't help matters. Instead, she stared at him in silence for a few moments. Finally, she said softly, "Y-yeah. I'm okay with that. I guess."

Then, before the moment could grow any more tense or uncomfortable, she cleared her throat and strode toward him. "Here," she said brusquely. "We should…we shouldn't waste any time. Let's get started."

As she handed him the file, her hand trembled a little bit, causing the edge of the folder to slide along the ridge of his thumb. Sucking in a startled breath, he yanked his hand back, staring in shock at the blood that was beginning to swell through the cut.

"You okay?" Lois asked, noticing the cut. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry about that, Clark," she said contritely. "I didn't mean to give you a papercut. It doesn't look too bad, though. Just stick it in your mouth and I'm sure it'll be fine in a minute or two." Doing as she directed, Clark struggled to suppress the agonized moan that rose to his lips at the reality of his situation, and his eyes squeezed shut at the thought.

He couldn't imagine a worse situation if he tried. Lois had asked him to accompany her as she put her life (and admittedly his) in peril, and he knew – he knew – he wouldn't be able to rescue her if something went wrong. And something always went wrong when it came to Lois; it was one thing he knew he could absolutely depend on in life.

Beyond that, he also knew that she wanted an explanation for where he'd been for the last couple of months, but an explanation was the one thing he simply couldn't give. Even if he had a memory of everything that had happened since he'd left her behind that day in Smallville (and that was a big if, as he certainly didn't), he couldn't begin to explain to her why it had taken him so long to get home.

Even if he could explain to her how he'd ended up on the other side of the world – which he couldn't, as even he didn't remember – how could he possibly explain to her that everything had happened because of the powers he simply didn't seem to have any longer? If he told her he'd once had super strength, she'd want him to prove it. Of course she would; that was simply the type of person Lois was. And when he couldn't prove it, she'd shake her head and give him a sympathetic look that told him she thought he'd had one too many blows to the head, and that would be that.

Without his powers, without any idea of what really had happened to him, there was no way he could answer all the questions he knew Lois wanted to ask. And, worse than all of that, there was no way he could be sure that he'd be able to keep her safe, if it came down to it.

What was he going to do?