Chapter 6 - A New Beginning
With Lois not there to supervise things, it took a little while to get things organized, but eventually, the photographer corralled the Kents for a photo shoot. Lana was going to sit to one side and watch, but Clark wouldn't have it.
"You're one of the family now, Lana," Clark said with a grin, "so get over here. Please?" Lana demurred but gave in when Jonathan and Martha enthusiastically seconded the idea.
The photographer took a number of family shots before concentrating on Jonathan and Martha, and finally, just on Jonathan. Martha looked on with adoring eyes as Jonathan posed. She rarely got to see her farmer husband all dressed up, but she thought he cleaned up just fine.
Martha snuck a peek at Clark and Lana, who were both still nearby, but off in their own little world. For years, Martha had privately wondered if he would ever be able to find that special someone, a someone who would have to be extra-special to deal with him and his heritage. Looking at Lana, Martha couldn't imagine anyone being a better daughter-in-law. Lana was going to work out well.
Once the last guests left, Clark and Lana took it upon themselves to clean up the Talon since Lois was incapacitated and the Talon staff needed the place to be spotless when they opened for business the next day. All that was involved was Lana locking the doors and staying nearby to act as a lookout while Clark used his super-speed to clean the place in no time.
Amazed as the mess disappeared as if by magic, Lana clucked her tongue and said, "You are going to be sooooo handy to have around the house, Clark."
Clark lifted the numerous trash bags with one hand and, as he headed for the back door, looked back over his shoulder and replied, "As long as I get to be the one sharing that house with you, then being handy is fine with me."
Lana locked up with the spare key she had always kept at Lex's insistence and they headed to Clark's place. From the darkness of the house, the Kents appeared to already be in bed, so Clark and Lana headed to the loft. They had left their heavy overcoats in the SUV, but Lana had a walking heat source beside her to help keep her warm.
"This super-speed of yours will also come in handy in our relationship, now that you've officially let me know about it."
"How so?" Clark asked, as they climbed the last few steps to the loft.
"I live a three-hour drive away from you right now, but for you, the trip might only be a fifteen minute run, so I expect frequent visits from you."
Clark led Lana over to the half-open Dutch doors where he turned to her and said, "Five minutes."
"Huh?"
"The trip takes only five minutes when I'm really in a hurry…which is roughly five times as long as the one minute it took for me to fall in love with you the first day we met."
Lana never tired of hearing Clark tell her how much he loved her, but now that she had experienced the bitter pain of their future breakup, his declarations of love were sweeter still. "I don't know if you heard this or not the day you got shot," Lana said, "but it's just as true today as it was then. 'From the first moment that I saw you, I knew that no one could make me happier than you.'"
The two of them fell into a kiss, one of warmth and building passion. Not sure if Clark was ready to resume a physical relationship with her, and not wanting to get all worked up only to be turned away yet again, Lana broke off the kiss and retreated to the couch.
Confused, Clark took a seat beside her and asked her, "What's wrong?"
"Kissing you like that, especially in this place, leads me to…" Shy about saying what she wanted now that the moment was upon her, Lana struggled to get her words out. "It leads me to want something more. Tonight of all nights, I want to be close to you, Clark. I want to celebrate our love, and the gift of life we've been given. What I want right now…is you. But what I need to know is, are you going to turn me away again? You're not going to hurt my body, so…"
The rest of Lana's words were muffled by Clark's lips pressing against hers. Soon, their tongues were questing, probing into each other's mouth. As Lana began pushing the blue suit coat from Clark's shoulders, he pulled back and said, "Not here, not now at least."
"Why not?" Lana asked. She was afraid Clark was still worried he'd hurt her and she was steeling herself to be disappointed once again.
"Because it's Kansas in January. If we do what we both want to do, you'll freeze your sexy butt off."
"Well, my 'sexy butt' thanks you for your consideration, but I want some lovin', Clark, and I want it right now. So what are you going to do about it?"
Clark stood, shrugged his coat back onto his arms, and picked her up. A second later, they were at the door to her SUV, where Clark instructed her to put on her overcoat. Once she had complied and locked the SUV again, Clark picked her back up and said, "Bury your face in my chest. It will be the only way to keep it warm." As soon as Lana did as she was bid, Clark was off like a shot. Five minutes later, they were standing at the door to the dorm room she shared with Chloe.
Lana grinned when she realized that Chloe was gone for the night in Smallville and likely wouldn't come back to Metropolis until Lois checked out of the hospital in the morning. Lana quickly fished her room key out of her pocket and unlocked her door. Still holding her in his arms, Clark shouldered the door out of the way and stepped across the threshold. Lana raised an eyebrow at that, but Clark just winked and said, "I'm getting in some practice for our honeymoon."
When Clark set Lana down, she wasted no time removing her coat and pulling Clark down with her to sit on her bed. As their hungry mouths moved closer together, Lana murmured, "Now, where were we?" and then her lips captured his with a passionate kiss as their clothes were sent flying. Soon, there was nothing between them except for the love they shared.
At last, Clark and Lana were together and moving toward the same goal, in life, as much as in bed. There were many special challenges ahead for them, from the everyday trials of a working marriage, to the real possibility of Lex becoming a host for Zod, to Lionel blackmailing Jonathan. But whatever challenges were set before them, they would face them together, now and forever more.