Well, here it is, folks! I know it took a while to write, but hopefully you'll think it's worth it. And I know what you guys will be thinking when you finish reading this, and all I have to say is… "September."
August
"Okay, well, this is clearly a problem. I'm pretty sure that mashed potatoes shouldn't do that," Lois muttered to herself as she checked the consistency of her cooking by scooping up some potatoes in a slotted spoon… or at least attempting to do so. An article Clark had written had been nominated for an award, and, although he didn't want a big deal made of the nomination, Lois had decided to honor the occasion by preparing a special meal for him. Of course, this meant she had to prove that, all evidence to the contrary, she could indeed cook something that involved more complicated steps than ensuring that the powdered cheese was evenly distributed upon the macaroni, but so far, her attempts were not terribly impressive.
Staring morosely at the soup-otherwise-known-as-mashed-potatoes, it occurred to Lois that perhaps she'd been a little overeager in her attempts to make them creamy. Gazing at the end product, she couldn't help but wonder if she shouldn't just pitch the effort and start over, but the decision became a little easier when she realized that she didn't have any back-up vegetables with which to give it a second attempt. With a slight wrinkle of her nose, she shrugged and tentatively swiped a finger along the side of the pot in order to do a quick taste test. Her efforts may not look impressive, but they didn't taste terrible. They were perhaps a little bland, so Lois added some pepper and then a bit more before covering the pot and placing it aside on the counter.
Humming to herself, Lois bent to check on the roast in the oven. She decided that she didn't care if Clark had to drink his mashed potatoes out of a cup; as long as the roast managed not to spontaneously combust in the next three minutes or so, she would consider the evening a success. Through compulsive checking, she had managed to get her main course through the cooking process, and while it certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests, it looked delicious and smelled divine. And she'd only had to call Mrs. Kent a dozen or so times along the way.
Lois grinned as she opened a bottle of wine and made sure matches were handy to light the candles she'd set up earlier on the table. It was a beautiful evening. Dinner was going to be perfect. And, of course, Clark was late. With one last peek into the oven, she wiped her hands on a dishtowel and was just reaching for the phone receiver so she could call her date and tell him to hurry home when she heard the familiar peal of her cell phone ring coming from the other room.
She jogged into the bedroom and snatched her cell phone off the top of her dresser, where it had been placed as it recharged. The caller id said the Daily Planet, so, figuring Clark was calling her to tell her he was running late, she flipped open her phone and said, "Hey, handsome. Dinner's almost ready. You on your way home?"
"Lois?" the voice on the other end of the line wasn't the one she'd been expecting.
She said sheepishly, "Oh, sorry, Jimmy. I thought you were Clark, obviously. Is he there?"
"Actually, that's why I'm calling. Uh…I don't suppose you've been watching the news?"
Frowning, walked into the other room and hit the button to turn on the television. "No. Why? What's happening?" As she spoke, she grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until she got to the local news. She was so engrossed in trying to listen to the newscaster that she didn't register what Jimmy was saying to her over the phone. "I'm sorry, Jimmy. What was that?"
"I said, it's about Clark. He went to the Metropolis Museum of Art to cover that new exhibit that Mr. Luthor donated, as you know, and there was a…a situation."
"A situation? Define 'situation'," Lois demanded, although she was at that moment reading the text scrolling along at the bottom of the screen and knew very well what he was going to say.
"Well, I'm not quite sure what happened, actually, but some people have broken in and taken everyone at the exhibit hostage. And Clark's…he's still inside. Perry…"
Lois cut him off abruptly. "I can be downtown in fifteen minutes. Tell Perry that Clark and I will be filing the story together after he gets out of there." She hung up the phone and grabbed her stuff to rush out the door. Once outside, however, she muttered a curse and had to run back in to turn off the oven; it wouldn't do to make sure her partner was out of danger if she managed to burn down her apartment in the meantime.
She may have said she would make it to the museum in fifteen minutes, but by a generous application of speed and the disregard of all traffic signals and lights, she made it there in less than ten. It was frankly a miracle that she didn't get pulled over and arrested for reckless driving, and Lois prayed that her luck would hold just long enough to get Clark back.
As she approached the museum, Lois pulled her car over and hopped out, not caring that she'd double-parked and her vehicle would likely be towed. She raced towards the commotion and would have run all the way inside the building if it weren't for the fact that several police officers and members of the Metropolis SWAT Team were in her way.
Looking around quickly, she saw the person who seemed to be in charge and ran up to him. "Lois Lane," he said with a resigned sigh as he saw her approach. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"
"Clark's in there," she said shortly, not willing on this particular occasion to indulge in the usual banter back and forth that she normally would have entertained.
"We know," he said seriously, but he sounded a bit sympathetic as he continued, "And we're dealing with this situation. Now I really need you to stand back and let us do our job." When she looked inclined to argue, the sympathy faded from his voice as he said sternly, "If I catch you trying to sneak into the building or doing anything else that might interfere in police business, I will have you arrested and taken down to the station. I mean it! I understand that Clark's in there, but we're working to get everyone safely out of the building. Understand? Now, Officer, would you escort Miss Lane behind the tape, please?"
Lois frowned, but she allowed herself to be taken behind the security tape strung around the area. She even forced herself to stand still and assume an innocent expression on her face for a few minutes, until the officer who'd been charged with ensuring she stayed out of trouble got called away. The minute he'd taken his eyes off her, however, she darted back through the crowd and began to circle the building, trying to find a way in.
It was no use; the place was surrounded. However, she noticed the SWAT team van was parked nearby. Maybe inside it, Lois could find an extra vest and other equipment she could use as camouflage to make her way into the museum. It wasn't the best plan she'd ever had, but it was the only one she could come up with at the moment, so she looked around as casually as possible to ensure nobody was looking her way and quickly but carefully began to make her way over to the van.
She hadn't quite reached it, however, when she heard a familiar sound above her, and she looked up to find Superman hovering there. "Lois, what are you doing?" he asked, but the way he was looking from her to the van made it clear that he already had a pretty good idea of where she was going and why. He crossed his arms over his chest and landed in front of her, blocking her way to her destination.
"I'm looking for a way in, of course. Clark's inside, and I'm going to make sure that he's okay," she said matter-of-factly as she looked toward the building again and then demanded, "Why aren't you in there?" She knew it was unfair to always expect him to come to the rescue and take care of difficult situations, and normally she tried to be conscious of the fact that he couldn't save everybody. But this wasn't just anybody in danger, and just this once, she didn't care that she was being unfair.
Superman looked pained for a moment. "There's Kryptonite in the exhibit hall, Lois. I can't go in. But I promise you that I've been working with the police to come up with a plan to handle the situation. We're going to get everyone out of there alive."
"Okay, you do that," she said tersely as she moved to brush past him to approach the SWAT van again, but he blocked her once again.
"I can't let you do that, Lois; I can't let you go inside. You need to stay out here where it's safe," he said sternly.
Lois scowled and glared at him. "Let me put this all in perspective for you, Superman. You're standing between me and Clark, and he needs me. You've been a good friend, but don't you dare get in my way."
He tried to reason with her. "If you go in there, it's just going to make the situation worse; Clark may even do something foolish if he thinks you're in danger."
"I need to get him out of there, Superman. I need to see that he's okay," she said somewhat desperately, fully conscious of time passing while she had this conversation.
"He's okay; I promise you he hasn't been injured in any way. I need you to trust me to take care of this situation. He'll get through this."
"Superman, ask me to trust that you'll stop a meteor from obliterating the planet, and I'll do it gladly. But when it comes to Clark's safety, don't ask me to have faith that he'll be okay. I can't take anyone's word for it, not even yours. I have to see for myself."
Superman sighed. "Ten minutes. Give me ten minutes to take care of the situation before you try to storm the gates. Please?"
Lois frowned and turned her attention back to her companion. "I'll give you five. Or I'll try to, at any rate. But if he has so much as a scratch on him when he gets out,so help me…" She let her threat trail off, but he seemed to get the point as he flew away.
The next few minutes seemed to take an eternity as Lois looked anxiously toward the building; she was having a hard time trying to keep her word. With a quick glance at her watch, she noted with a groan that only three minutes had passed, and she didn't know how she'd manage to wait the whole five.
Suddenly, shots rang out from inside the museum, and Lois forgot her promise entirely. She seemed to forget to breathe in that moment, and it wasn't a conscious decision that had her running towards the front entrance until she was grabbed from behind. A police officer had seen her rush forward and moved to intercept her, and, after struggling against her constraints for a moment, she prepared to stomp on the man's instep and deliver a swift blow to the solar plexus. She didn't care if they charged her with assaulting a police officer later as long as she saw Clark right now.
Then the front doors flew open and the hostages came rushing out, escorted by members of the SWAT team. Lois stilled and held her breath anxiously until, in the very rear, she saw Clark emerge from the building. With a grunt of surprise, the officer behind her shifted to better support her weight as she sagged against him suddenly with a soft sob of relief that was stifled by the hand she had pressed hard to her mouth.
Though she renewed her struggle to get away after a moment, the officer only released her when the hostages had safely made their way to the police barricades, and Lois ran towards Clark as soon as she had her freedom. He caught her as she threw herself against him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and clutched him desperately while the two of them kissed. He didn't let go when she began to cry against his shoulder; he just stroked her back slowly and murmured comforting things in her ear. She didn't think she'd ever been so terrified in her life, and Lois had been in any number of frightening situations. Through her tears, she scrutinized him closely for any injuries, but it seemed that Superman had been telling the truth. He appeared completely unharmed.
The next couple of hours passed in a bit of a blur. She stood next to Clark and refused to move from his side as he spoke with the police officers, answering an endless stream of questions about the course of events inside the building. Actually, there wasn't much concrete information he could offer. According to his statement, he'd stepped out of the exhibit hall to use the restroom shortly before the press conference was scheduled to begin. He was therefore not present when the gunmen had entered the building and taken the people in the hall hostage, and so Clark was unaware of what had happened at first. Once he found out, he knocked out a lone gunman standing guard in the hallway and tried to find a way to contact the police without the use of his cell phone, which he'd left with his reporter's notebook on his chair in the rear of the exhibit hall.
The exits were being guarded, he explained, so he made his way to a room away from the occupied hall and had looked through the window to see the police officers stationed outside. At that point, he'd broken the glass and was trying to find some way to signal them when the situation had been resolved.
Clark told this story so many times, Lois was sure that every police officer this side of Gotham had it down verbatim, and she finally lost her patience. "Look, he's already told you this," she finally cried out in frustration. "If you have any other questions, you can contact us at the Planet tomorrow. For tonight, I'm getting him out of here," she declared as she stared down the officer trying to take his statement one more time. It took her a while to get her point across, but she was finally allowed to escort Clark back to the car that had somehow mercifully not been towed. Though she wanted to go straight home, she reluctantly drove instead to the Planet to file their story as she'd promised.
She didn't think she'd ever been so anxious to quickly write up an article in her life, but it was actually something of a comfort to fall into the familiar routine. In doing so, she finally managed to let go of the remnants of the terror she'd felt, although she was still reluctant to let Clark move from her side. By the time Perry finally approved the story and granted the two of them a release, she felt completely drained and more than eager to get home. They didn't speak much during the drive, but she never once let go of Clark's hand the entire trip. Finally, as they pulled up in front of her apartment, she turned to the man in the seat next to her and released his hand to caress his cheek instead. "Hey, you," she whispered. "You really okay?"
"I'm fine," he assured her, meeting her gaze directly. "I promise you, I'm perfectly okay." He paused and then said with a bit of a smile, "Well, I am a bit hungry."
Lois began to give a shaky laugh when she remembered her meal. "Oh, damn it!" she cried and jumped out of the car to run up the front steps. Maybe there was something to be salvaged. Unfortunately, when she made her way into the kitchen, she found the only thing to be done with her meal would be to stare dejectedly at it. She'd been so excited at the prospect of making Clark a special dinner tonight, but now her roast was so dry, she was sure it would crumble into dust if she even tried to slice it. She could probably regrout her bathroom with her mashed potatoes. And her gravy looked like a rather alarming science project.
She was still staring morosely at the remains of the meal when she heard Clark enter the kitchen behind her. "I'm sorry about dinner, sweetheart. You know, I bet if we stuck it in the microwave…" he suggested as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Lois appreciated the attempt, but she might as well accept that there was really nothing to be done. "It would still be poison. No, it's okay; I know it's ruined. But I did not become one of the top reporters in this town by giving up so easily!" As she spoke, she defiantly lifted her chin and moved away from him to stalk over to the refrigerator as if she were prepared to engage in battle. She had sworn she would make something special for Clark, and she was determined to follow through.
Throwing open her refrigerator door, she stuck her head inside and rooted around. The prospects were not promising, as the only food she'd bought at the store recently were the ingredients for the night's dinner. In fact, the only thing she found that even looked like it could become a decent meal was a box of Chinese takeout from down the street.
However, since she couldn't remember the last time she'd ordered Chinese food, she was willing to bet that she really would be serving Clark poison if she offered it to him.
With a sigh, she grabbed a loaf of bread and a jar off one of the shelves. Turning, she asked with a wry smile, "Well, how do you feel about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?"
Clark grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Would you believe they're my favorite?"
What should have been a laugh came out as an odd choking sound as she tossed the ingredients in her hands on the counter and ran over to Clark to wrap her arms around him again. Looking up into his face, she demanded fiercely, "What would I have done if anything bad had happened to you, Clark? Don't you ever scare me like that again!"
He held her tight for a moment until, embarrassed by her display of emotion, she pulled away and returned her attention to dinner with single-minded purpose. Behind her, she heard Clark clear his throat awkwardly, which was something he'd done fairly frequently over the past couple of months or so. The first few times he'd done it, she'd thought he was gearing up to tell her something. However, since he never followed through with a dramatic confession (in fact, he generally changed the subject abruptly), she had come to assume that she was mistaken.
This time, he stammered, "A-actually, there is something I really should tell you. I should have told you a long time ago. And I meant to, really; it just never seemed like the right time. Not that tonight's really the right time," he admitted before he cleared his throat again.
"Oh, yeah?" she asked distractedly as she frowned into an almost empty jar of peanut butter. She was pretty sure she'd bought a new one not too long ago; she just had to figure out where she'd put it. Since the cabinet to the right of the stove was the most likely place, she leaned down and began to rummage through it as they talked.
"It's about Superman." At these words, she paused in her search and glanced at him over her shoulder, a curious expression on her face. This seemed only to make him more nervous, because he stuck his hands in his pockets for a moment and stammered. "W-well, really, I guess you could say it's about me."
She straightened, turned to fully face him, and raised an eyebrow expectantly, but he didn't say anything else. He seemed to be having difficulty putting his thought into words, and she wondered what kind of confession he could make involving Superman that would warrant this nervousness on his part. As a thought occurred to her, she smiled and decided to take pity on him. Stepping towards him, she said indulgently, "It's okay, Clark. I think I know what you're going to say."
"I doubt it," he responded glumly.
With an reassuring smile, she contradicted him, "No, honestly. I suspected it for a while, but it's really rather obvious. I mean, you're just not that good at pretending. In fact, I hate to tell you this, but you're actually pretty terrible at keeping it a secret."
The doubt written on all over his face mingled with a bit of incredulity and a tinge of relief. "And you're not upset?" he asked slowly, as if he couldn't quite believe his ears.
"Upset? No, of course not!" She shook her head briefly and then returned to the cabinets to resume her quest, talking all the while. "I don't know why you were so nervous about telling me. It's really nothing to be ashamed about."
"Ashamed?" he repeated, clearly surprised by the adjective. "I'm not ashamed, I just…"
"In fact, I'd bet it's perfectly normal. I'm sure if you asked around, you'd find that you're not alone."
In disbelief, he parroted, "Alone?" Then he interjected, "Lois, I don't think you under…"
She cut him off as she caught sight of a familiar looking jar tucked in the back of a cabinet. "Aha! I found it!" Then, as she stretched on her tiptoes to reach the desired object, she continued, "Anyway, I know why you'd be jealous of Superman, but you really don't have any reason to be."
"I don't?" he asked, sounding both surprised and curious before correcting himself quickly, "I mean, I'm not!"
"Clark," she said firmly as she laid the jar of peanut butter on the counter next to the bread and jelly and turned her attention to him once more. "Look, I know that I used to have a…well, an odd sort of relationship with Superman, so I understand why you'd feel the way you do. But I think I need to make something clear. Whatever it is that I had or felt for Superman didn't end because I couldn't be with him." She paused a moment and looked him directly in the eyes before saying, "It ended because I realized I don't want to be with him."
When she said this, Clark's mouth snapped shut, and he looked at her in shock. She had figured that this confession would be a bit of a surprise for him, since she'd been pretty vocal about her admiration for the man in primary colors at one point in her life. Still, Clark must have been suffering under the mistaken belief that she still felt the way she once had, because he seemed rooted to the spot as he croaked, "You don't?"
Lois walked towards him and tried to find a way to put her feelings into words. "I was infatuated with Superman because…well, I can't imagine any girl wouldn't be at some point. But I realized at some point that I could never really have a relationship with him, and, frankly, I wouldn't want to."
An unreadable look crossed Clark's face at her words. "Why not?" he asked softly.
With a little shrug, she sighed. She didn't know how to explain to him the epiphany she'd had a while ago, but she knew it was important that he understand. "I know it sounds petty, but, well, I decided that I needed more from a relationship than he would ever be able to give. No matter how close we became, he'd never really…I don't know…he'd never really be mine. He'd never be with me, because he'd always have to be ready to fly off somewhere.
"Superman is a wonderful fantasy, but the problem with fantasies is that the reality tends to be somewhat…disappointing. I could fly with him to places I've never been, but what could we ever actually talk about, other than the plane he'd stopped from falling out of the sky that day? Plus, it's not like we could ever really date, since it's not like we could go out in public together."
"But what if he could, Lois?" he asked, and she wondered at the sudden urgency in his question. "What if he could do all of those things?"
Lois raised her hand to rest it against his cheek as she gazed into his eyes. "Then I still wouldn't want him. I love you, Smallville, just the way you are." His eyes still looked troubled, so she shook her head slightly and sighed. It was a constant mystery to her that he never seemed to realize just how amazing he was, but then, she still couldn't believe she'd been so blind to it for so many years. "He may be superhuman, but you," she paused and gave a short laugh. "You take my breath away." She leaned forward to give him a soft kiss on his cheek and said firmly, "You have nothing to be jealous about, believe me. I would take Clark Kent over a hundred Supermen any day."
Clark stuck his right hand in his pocket again and looked down at his feet for a moment before he met her eyes once more. "I love you too, Lois."
"Good," she said with a cheeky grin as she stepped away from him. "Just remember that tonight as you're eating dinner. But I tell you what, just because of the occasion, I'll make the sandwiches extra special and even toast the bread for you." As she spoke, she turned away from him and put a few slices of bread in the toaster. "Now, I want you to go sit down and relax. I'm going to take care of everything tonight. Well, if you want, you could light the candles for me. I put out some matches earlier. I'll come out and join you in just a minute."
Dinner was as special an affair as she could make it. In the future, she'd try to bear in mind that red wine really wasn't the best compliment to peanut butter and jelly; white would be far more appropriate. However, with the way Clark seemed to be enjoying the dinner, you'd think he was eating a meal straight from Le Cordon Bleu.
When they'd finished eating, she shooed him out of the kitchen while she took care of the dishes. Instead, she suggested he put on a movie, and as she put the last dish on the rack to dry and wiped her hands on a towel, she heard music playing softly and knew that he'd taken her up on her suggestion. With a quick glance around to make sure everything was in order, she left the kitchen and saw Clark sitting on the far right side of the couch. He smiled over at her as the movie started, so, as quietly as she could, she moved next to him and perched on the arm of the sofa. Without a word, he leaned back and laid his head against her stomach, as if taking comfort from her presence.
"Scoot over," she whispered quietly, and when he'd done so, she lowered herself into the spot where he'd been sitting and gestured to him. At her invitation, he lay on the sofa and rested his head in her lap, and she smiled contentedly to herself as she absently stroked his brow and ran her fingers through his hair.
They remained that way through the course of the movie; Lois couldn't seem to stop touching Clark, as if constantly assuring herself that he was there and unharmed. When the end credits began to roll across the screen, she looked down at the man lying in her lap and expected to see that he'd fallen asleep, but she saw with some degree of surprise that his eyes were open and he was still staring at the screen as if he hadn't noticed that the movie had finished.
"Hey," she said softly, a note of concern in her voice. She waited until he'd twisted to look up at her, then she offered, "Penny for your thoughts?" as she gently stroked the frown line that had formed between his brows. "Is everything okay, Clark?"
"It's fine," he said shortly, but his frown deepened. "Hey," he said suddenly as he lurched into a sitting position. "Do you want to get out of town this weekend? We could go somewhere. I just…I want to go somewhere, anywhere that isn't Metropolis."
Lois looked at him in concern as she said slowly, "Well, okay…I guess we could go to Smallville if you want. We haven't visited your mom in a while. Unless you'd rather go someplace else?" He was acting so oddly, even for him, that she wasn't sure what he wanted.
He seemed to consider her suggestion. "Smallville's fine. Smallville's perfect, actually," he said with a relieved grin, and he seemed to relax a bit.
Lois smiled back at him as she reached for the remote to turn off the television. "Then we'll leave tomorrow after work. Actually, since we both have some personal time coming to us, why don't we take the day off and leave early tomorrow morning? But, for now, it's late and I think it's time to go to bed," she said as she reached out to take his hand, and they walked together towards the bedroom.
The next morning, they got up early and Clark called in to the Planet to let Perry know they'd be taking the day off before they packed up the car and set off. Though Lois was normally a bit reluctant to leave the city for even a few days (she hated to feel like she would miss out on any potential story), she was actually looking forward to getting away this time. The two of them had definitely earned some time off, and, if Clark's increased tension of late was any indication, they sorely needed it as well.
"Oh, look!" Clark said excitedly as they pulled into Smallville and saw a sign posted at the side of the road. "It's the last week of the county fair. Feel like going? It's still pretty early; my mom isn't expecting us until about dinnertime."
Lois rolled her eyes. "Be still my beating heart," she murmured softly, but Clark must have heard her, since he chuckled.
"Oh, come on, Little Lo. It could be fun," he teased her, using the pet name that only her dad was allowed to use without retribution.
Lois turned to glare at him, but then she said in a sugary sweet voice, "You know, you seem to think that I like you or something, so you can get away with these things. But I just want you to know, I know where you sleep, and I also know several appropriate ways to exact revenge."
He grinned over at her and raised his eyebrows. "Ooooh…promise?" he asked suggestively.
"Oh, you wish, Smallville!" she said with a laugh as she punched his arm. Then, with an exaggerated sigh, she said, "Okay, if it means that much to you, I suppose I can tolerate attending the fair for a while. But the first corn husking competition I see, I'm out of there."
"You should know by now, Lois, that there's more to Smallville than corn," he admonished her, then he paused. "We have soybeans as well."
As she laughed, he parked the car and they got out. Lois braced herself. Attending the Smallville County Fair wasn't her idea of a great way to spend an afternoon, but Clark seemed so excited about it, she couldn't quite bring herself to refuse him. She only hoped the experience wouldn't be completely unendurable.
A while later, Lois tossed her empty plate in the trash and rubbed her full stomach. Her former reluctance had faded after five hours of munching on food she would never normally contemplate putting in her mouth (who had come up with the idea of deep frying an Oreo, she had to wonder) and watching Clark show off his manly prowess (or attempting to do so, at least) at carnival games like the Ring Toss. Though she never would have believed it was possible, she had to admit that she'd actually been enjoying herself.
"Hey, look at these!" she cried suddenly as she stopped to gaze at some handmade quilts on display. Though the quilts were beautiful, she was actually more interested in finding an excuse to move into the shade for a few moments than she was in examining the items on display. Though it was the last day of August and, thus, autumn was just around the corner, you wouldn't know it by the weather. It was now the middle of the afternoon, the blazing sun overhead was definitely making it much hotter than it had been when they'd arrived that morning, and Lois sadly hadn't dressed appropriately for the occasion.
As she fanned herself with her hand, Clark spoke behind her. "Hey, do you need something to drink? It is pretty hot out here."
"Hm? Oh, well, some water would be nice, I suppose," she replied as she turned to face him, temporarily distracted from her perusal. If he was feeling any ill effects from the heat, she certainly couldn't tell by looking at him. The man didn't even seem to have broken a sweat. "You want me to go with you?"
"No, that's okay," he said. "I can handle it, if you want to look around some more. I'll just be a few minutes."
Lois agreed and turned back to the objects on display. She moved from booth to booth, looking at the various objects for sale. She finally stopped at one and lifted a handmade necklace up for closer inspection. It was beautiful, a thin line of silver intricately wrapped around green and red stones, and it occurred to her that maybe Mrs. Kent would like it.
At the thought, she looked around for Clark; she wanted to ask him his opinion of the necklace. He was standing a little ways away, scanning the crowd for her, and she waved to him to get his attention.
"I'm back. I have your water," he said as he jogged towards her and came to a halt about six feet away from where she was standing. "What's that?"
"Oh, I was thinking your mom might like it. What do you think?" she asked as she turned to show it to him.
Clark really must not have liked it, as he looked almost pained and shook his head. "I don't know, Lois. I don't really think it's my mom's style."
"Oh. Are you sure?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side and frowned at the object in her hands, giving it a considering look. "I thought it was pretty."
"Trust me on this, Lois. It's nice, but it's not something my mom would wear," he assured her, so she handed the necklace back to the woman running the booth and shrugged.
She rejoined Clark's side, and they wandered around some more. After a while, they decided to head in the general direction of the exit, since it was getting close to the time when Clark had told his mom to expect them. However, when the passed the Superman Strength Challenge, Clark turned to her with a grin. "You know, it would be a shame if you went to the county fair and went home without a prize," he said as he gestured to the game.
Lois rolled her eyes smirked. "And here I was getting all depressed that my man hadn't won me a silly alien doll," she teased him as she gestured to the prizes on display.
Clark laughed and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the carnie in front of the booth. "You say that now, Lois, but I have it on good authority that women can't resist a guy who wins them a stuffed animal in a display of manly strength."
She shook her head. "Oh, dream on, Smallville, but if ringing a silly bell on a pole is what it takes to satisfy your fragile male ego, you go right ahead. I'll stand over here and prepare to swoon in admiration." As he released her hand to give some tickets to the carnie in exchange for a mallet, Lois stood to the side and clutched her hands to her chest in an exaggerated display of concern.
With a slight tilt of his head, Clark examined the target as if pondering the right amount of force required to achieve his objective. Then he reared back with the mallet and swung it forward to hit the platform. His effort wasn't quite enough, however, as the metal disc traveled about three quarters of the way up the pole.
Standing back, he turned and handed the last of his tickets to the carnie. With a quick look at Lois, he swung back again, and, this time, his efforts were rewarded as the bell at the top of the pole clanged. He looked so proud of himself that Lois couldn't help but laugh as she stepped forward and, batting her eyes in admiration, cried fawningly, "My hero!"
"See?" he asked as he grinned down at her. "I told you that you wouldn't be able to resist."
"Take me, take me now, big fella!" she demanded as she fanned herself wildly. She was so preoccupied with teasing Clark, in fact, that she almost missed the carnie asking if she wanted to pick out a prize. Turning her attention on the rows of stuffed animals hanging from racks on the back of the booth, she pondered which one to choose.
Behind her, Clark said suddenly, "Uh…you know, Lois…I think I'm going to need some more water. You go ahead and pick out your prize; I'll be right back." And before she could even turn to respond, he'd disappeared.
Lois returned her attention to her task. Finally, she picked a medium-sized tiger doll and pointed to it, and though she'd mocked the prizes earlier, she grabbed the stuffed animal the carnie handed over and clutched it to her chest as if she were actually pleased that Clark had won it for her. Turning around, she realized that Clark had yet to return, so she began wandering around in search of him. He couldn't have gone too far, since a concession stand willing to sell water wasn't exactly hard to come by.
"Did you have a good time?" she startled when she heard Clark ask suddenly from behind her. Before she could turn to face him, he'd wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head.
Lois chuckled and relaxed against him. "Well, I've eaten my own body weight in elephant ears, fried Oreos, and corn on the cob, and now I have Herbie here," she ignored his amused snicker at the impromptu naming of her stuffed pet, "to use as bragging rights the next time I tell all my friends about how amazing my boyfriend is. I honestly don't think I could possibly have had a better day," she said teasingly, but there was more than a bit of truth to her words.
He hugged her tightly for a moment, and when he loosened his grip, Lois turned in his arms. "So did you…," Lois began, but she trailed off when she got a good look at him. Somehow, in the last few minutes, his clothing had become slightly disheveled, and a fine layer of dirt dusted his shoulders. "Oh, Clark, what am I going to do with you?" she asked in exasperated amusement as she brushed the dirt off his shirt and straightened his clothing. "You're the only person I've ever met who could get dirty going to grab a bottle of water."
"Actually, I was hoping you'd marry me," he replied, surprising her, which was only fair, since even he had a stunned look on his face, as if he'd gotten caught up in the moment and hadn't intended those words to come out of his mouth.
Her hands stilled on his shoulders as she met his eyes and she asked a bit breathlessly, "What?"
Clark sighed and closed his eyes. "I really didn't mean for it to come out like that," he said ruefully as a look of mild regret crossed his face.
"You don't want to ask me to marry you?" she asked, confused. She wouldn't be surprised to find that his proposal, or whatever it was, had been a spur of the moment thing and that he hadn't meant to ask her. That didn't mean it wouldn't hurt to have him confirm that this was the case.
"No. Yes! I mean…Lois, I've been wanting to ask you to marry me for…well, a long time, actually. I've even been carrying your ring around in my pocket since…"
Lois interrupted him. "A ring? You got me a ring?"
"Of course I did! Did you think I was going to propose to you without one?" he asked, sounding a little exasperated.
She smiled. "I didn't think you were going to propose to me at all. Can I see it?" she asked and held her breath. She didn't particularly care what the ring looked like; it could have come from a Cracker Jack box for all she cared. But if he actually did have one, then he truly had been planning to ask her to marry him and wasn't just trying to spare her feelings now by pretending.
Clark stared down at her and slowly reached a hand into his right pocket; when he pulled his hand out again, there was something clutched in his fist. Swallowing visibly, he slowly opened his hand to show her the object inside. "Oh, Clark, it's beautiful," she breathed as she caught sight of the engagement ring he held.
When she looked up at him with a curious look, Clark said in response to her unspoken question. "I really was going to ask you to marry me, Lois. I was just…I wanted the moment to be perfect…or, if not perfect, at least halfway romantic. Blurting my intentions out at the Smallville County Fair with a thousand people around really wasn't what I had in mind. And before I asked, I was going to…"
Lois grinned and threw her arms around his neck in unrestrained joy. "Clark, I just found out that the man I love wants me to marry him, and you're worried I'm going to be upset because it wasn't romantic enough? You idiot! You could have thrown the ring across the table at me over breakfast, and I wouldn't have cared less! I'd have never let you live it down, but it wouldn't have changed my answer!"
Somehow, though, her enthusiasm didn't seem to relieve his mind. In fact, his tension only grew as he put his free hand on her shoulder and spoke seriously, looking down at her. "Wait, Lois. Before you give me your answer, there really is something I need to tell you. Something I've been trying to tell you, in fact. And I know it's entirely my fault that I've put it off for so long, and I know you're going to be upset when you hear this, but you really need to know before you…before we…before anything else happens. I need you to hear me out, please, before you…"
But whatever it was that he wanted her to hear remained a secret as Lois heard a gasp to her left and turned her head to see that the two of them were drawing a crowd. Apparently, the fact that Clark seemed to be offering her an engagement ring had not gone unnoticed, and people were nudging each other and whispering back and forth as they looked on. Clark seemed to realize the attention he had gathered at the same time, because, though a brief flash of irritation crossed his face, a smile quirked at the edges of his mouth and he gave Lois a rueful look.
She only shrugged and then tried to restrain her own grin as she watched him lower down on one knee, hold the ring up as an offering, and ask, "Lois Lane, would you marry me?"
She couldn't escape her burst of laughter as she cried out in joy, "Of course I will!" Cupping his cheek in her palm, she leaned down to kiss him and heard the crowd let out a collective sigh. A few people offered them congratulations as Lois drew back and Clark slipped the ring on her finger, and the two of them exchanged a somewhat sheepish grin.
If Clark had been searching for a private, romantic moment, then Lois had to say that he had certainly not attained the former, but she had no complaints at all with the way he'd accomplished the latter. She was so happy, she almost felt as if she were floating on air as they continued their walk through the fairgrounds, and Clark seemed to be sharing at least a fraction of her joy, if the grin on his face was any indication.
There was still a frown lurking behind his eyes, however, so Lois squeezed his hand reassuringly and said softly, "It's okay, Clark. You can tell me later, in private. I promise you, nothing you say is going to make me regret agreeing to marry you. For right now, though, I want to return to the farm; I think your mom should be the first one to know about this…well, okay, the twenty-first person, at least," she said with that same dopey smile she couldn't quite restrain.
Lois practically floated on the way back to the car, and, once inside, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off the ring on her hand. Not terribly long ago, she never would have believed that she'd find herself engaged to Clark Kent; nor would she have thought she'd be so happy to be so. Now, however, she couldn't seem to quell her elation.
As Clark got into the driver's seat beside her, she found that she was murmuring slowly to herself, joyfully trying out the sound of the words, "Mrs. Clark Kent. Lois Lane-Kent."