Lois had been through the wardrobe six times, and was starting her seventh when Clark walked into the bedroom.
"Lois, how long can it take you to pick something to wear?" he asked, hoping not to get a slap for raising the subject.
"Clark, it's bad enough that I have to choose from 80's fashion, but I have never been to one of these shindigs before so I do not know what to expect."
"Lo, it is a casual affair – jeans and shirt will do just fine." He commented.
"Clark, I need some Levi's but I cannot find any in Smallville. These other jeans that I bought do not fit so well."
"Come here." He said, motioning with his finger. "I will take you to Metropolis now if you like. They will sell Levi's there."
Her face lit up and she kissed him. "You would do that for me?"
"Of course I will. I will do anything for you." He beamed. He had never felt this level of contentment with Lana. There had always been so many underlying issues throughout their relationship, that he had never felt totally happy.
He would always find it amazing that Lois had barely flinched at finding out about his origins and had never asked for a demonstration of his powers.
"Shall we go?" He asked.
She nodded, and then found herself speeding out the door at breakneck speed. Less than a minute later, they were stood behind the Daily Planet Building in Metropolis.
"God, Clark…that was amazing!" she hugged him. "Thanks for sharing that with me."
"My pleasure. Now let's go shopping." He grabbed her hand as if it was something they always did. Lois looked down and then nestled into his shoulder.
Three hours later, Clark was flagging. "Lois, how long does it take to find a pair of jeans?"
"It takes as long as it takes." She shouted over the top of the changing room door.
"Yeah I guess but this is the 13th store, and you know 13 is unlucky for some."
"Well, obviously lucky for me because I have found the perfect pair." She came out in a pair of 80's jeans but which could actually pass for a pair from 2006.
He got up and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. We can go now."
She pushed him back down. "Hold your horses, Smallville. Now I have to choose a color."
He looked at her in disbelief. "Well surely you will be getting blue."
"There are five shades of blue. Now which one to choose!"
Clark got up, pulled out a bundle of dollar bills from his pocket. "Look we will take all of them."
She smiled. "You are so romantic."
He managed a weak and begrudging smile at first, but he was soon grinning. "I know…."
It was almost five by the time they made it back to Smallville. "We had better start getting ready." He said.
She said. "Do you mind if I shower first?"
He smirked. "We can just share one if you want." He replied jokingly and soon wished he hadn't.
"Ok then. You're on!" she said eagerly.
He suddenly looked nervous. "I was only kidding."
"I know, but it is not such a bad idea." She replied.
"Lois, we agreed to take it slow."
"I know but… I must admit sometimes I find it hard to resist you." She headed towards him.
He backed off. "Lois, I am just going to grab some drinks from the store. I won't be long."
Clark headed off as quickly as he could, leaving a frustrated Lois to shower alone. She headed to the bed where she had her clothes lay out, so she could decide on her final choice of outfit. She did not want to disappoint Clark.
Clark noticed a limo outside the foodstore. He went in and noticed a familiar looking man and a ginger headed boy standing beside him at the counter. "Lex, just decide. You will never make that ruthless business man if you cannot make a simple decision over a chocolate bar. In fact, forget it, you can go without. You are getting a little on the heavy side anyway." His father announced cuttingly.
Clark just looked at Lionel as he dragged Lex past him.
Joel, the owner of the store greeted Clark with a smile. "Hi Tom, how are you finding life in Smallville."
Clark smiled. "I feel quite at home actually."
"Pity the same cannot be said for those Luthor's. They would flatten this town if they could but we cannot let them win. I feel sorry for little Lex; he must not have much of a life at that mansion." Joel remarked.
"I guess not." Clark commented, thinking of the evil person he would have ended up if Lionel had found him.
Clark started to look in the fridge for some drinks when a young woman approached the counter. "Hi, are you the owner of this establishment?" she announced in a live and bubbly voice.
Joel nodded. "What can I do for you?"
The woman thrusted her hand across the counter. "Hi, I am Star…no second name….just Star. I am doing some readings tonight at the Shindig, and I was wondering if I could put a poster in your window."
"Of course I can. So you are a writer." Joel replied naively.
"No, a psychic and fortune teller." She replied, beaming and friendly smile.
Joel looked at Clark with a puzzled and embarrassment look. "Oh, I am not well versed in that type of thing."
"Well, maybe you could come and have your palm read, or I could do the tarot cards with you."
"I don't think the wife will be too impressed if I do." Joel replied lightheartedly.
Star noticed Clark listening in. She went over to him. "Maybe you could have a reading tonight." She went to shake his hand, as she seemed to with everyone.
She paused suddenly. "Oh, you definitely have to have a reading. I think you could be very interesting. You are definitely not from around here are you?" she winked at him, and walked off.
Clark stood there in shock. Had she just been flirting with him or had she really seen something? One thing was sure, he was not going to attempt to find out…
Clark arrived back to the apartment, and when he heard the shower running, he knew he had no chance of getting in for at least another hour. He glanced at his watch, realising that they would be running late for the meal if she did not hurry up. He tried to shout and warn her that time was not on their side but she did not reply. All he could hear was the the words of Is this Love echoing throughout the apartment.
Normally Lois annoyed him when she sang but there was something different in this rendition. It was as though she was asking herself the question. He lay down on the bed and spent the next five minutes listening to the words, and he found himself questioning his feelings towards Lois. One word would describe Lois – she felt like home. There was something comforting, relaxing and welcoming about her; almost like arriving home to a roaring log fire on a cold winter's night.
He felt his stomach jump a little at the thought. His thoughts soon turned to the vision of Lois inthe shower. He checked himself for getting carried away; after all he had turned down the chance to experience a shower with Lois. He instantly regretted that decision and got a momentary feeling of impending doom that his relationship with her would go the same way as the one with Lana.
But then the realization hit him – Lois wanted him, and the responses from his body left him in no doubt that he wanted her. Even so, he knew Lois would never push him to take their relationship to the next level even if the frustration killed them both first.
He had always hidden behind his powers as the reason not to embark on a sexual relationship with Lana, but now he realised subconsciously that had just an excuse because it did not feel right. How could he have been that intimate with someone he could never be honest with, and by the same measure had never been completely honest with him? His relationship with Lois was the real deal; where both could bare their souls and lay all their secrets on the table without fear of anger or recrimination.
He could not completely put his fears of hurting Lois to one side, but for some reason he trusted himself, and more importantly he felt that trust was returned without question. He thought back to the flashbacks where he had seen a first-hand account of his father's relationship with Louise. Had Jor-el's powers hurt her… no they hadn't.
If his decision hadn't been made, it soon was when he heard muffled groans coming from the bathroom. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself He started to use his superhearing, not that he needed it for long.
Her moans were becoming more audible, as her pleasure levels started to increase and indeed Clark's. He knew he needed to act, but at the same time he felt he was intruding on her privacy.
He knocked on the door gently at first, but as before Lois was too caught up to notice the interruption. Becoming increasingly impatient, he pushed the door slightly.
"Lois, can I come in?"
He could feel her embarrassment at being caught. "Clark…this is not such a good time." She muttered from the shower.
He ignored her protests before off his shirt and tossing it on the floor. "Lo, I regret my earlier decision, can I join you?" He asked nervously, half expecting a rejection due to his earlier rebuff.
There was no reply… just the slight movement of the cubicle door as it opened. He could not see much as the escaping steam enveloped him.
"Lo, are you sure about …" but before he could finish, he felt an arm snake around his neck, and pull his head down violently.
Within seconds, her lips were on his, devouring every inch of his mouth.
The shower had been an intense experience for both Lois and Clark but they had moved the action to the bed for round two, then… suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Lois flopped onto Clark's chest. "God…bad timing. Who is it?"
Clark lifted his head up, and scanned the door. "It's Rokk and Imra."
"Fabulous. Guess we are not going to get rid of them quickly." She sighed.
"They don't look too impressed. I hope Imra is not reading my mind at this precise moment because I won't be responsible for what she sees." He smiled. "Why don't you go into the bathroom and pretend you have just got out of the shower."
She nodded, and did as he suggested. He used his superspeed to get ready in less than second before he went to answer the door.
"Come in…" Clark smiled, as he stood back to allow them to enter.
"Things are not going to plan. We are having problems jumping in and out of this time. There is some sort of rift which is affecting our ability to do this. Jor-el believes that this could get worse the longer it takes to put the timeline back to how it was originally." Rokk explained.
"You need to do everything you can to get your parents back on track, or we will have to accept the fact that life will change beyond recognition." Imra continued the bleak view of events. "As soon as we have confirmation that the timeline is restored, you will automatically jump without warning. We will bring Lois and you to the Fortress where we will wipe her memory before sending you back to 2006 to the precise time you left. Be careful not to change anything else, as even the slightest change could have a huge impact on the future."
Clark looked at Imra. "We have been through all this already. We will get the job done, as planned."
The three of them had been so caught up in their conversation that no-one had noticed the door was slightly ajar. Lois stood back from the door, still trying to digest the bombshell which had just been dropped but she knew she had to make an appearance.
"Hi…am I disturbing anything." Lois said as she breezed out of the bathroom.
"No of course not!" Imra announced. "This involves you too."
Lois almost laughed out loud at that comment, but was saving her outburst for Clark later. "So what's happening?"
Rokk smiled at her. "We are just giving Clark an update… he can tell you everything. We are going before Betty returns and questions us about who we are."
Lois grinned. "I must say your outfits don't exactly help you blend, and in the mad fashion world of the 80's that is really saying something."
Clark looked at her, wondering where her sudden sarcasm had come from.
Imra smiled. "We will be back in a few days unless you jump first."
They left. Clark went over to Lois, and placed his hands around her waist, and kissed her deeply. She was mad at him, but the pressure from lips was weakening her resolve. She felt him walking her backwards towards the bed. "Now where were we?" he said seductively.
She stopped him in his tracks, pushing him away gently with her hand. "Clark, wait a moment. I am going to get my cell phone. Hopefully there will be enough battery on it, so I can record this."
He stood there looking at her nervously. "You want to make a home movie." But then his face changed to a look she had first seen in the shower, as though he realised that would not be such a bad idea. "Ok then…"
Lois bit her lip nervously before unleasing her anger at him. "Yeah I thought we had better film it so I know we are lovers when we leap back to 2006. I would hate to forget."
Clark stood bolt upright, shocked by the combination of sarcasm and venom in her voice.
"Lo, what do you mean?"
"You forgot to mention the part about the plan to mind wipe me on the return to 2006. Nice of you to tell me." She vented.
"I can explain."
"Can you? Because from here, it does not look good. Don't tell me… you would remind me of events after we jumped wouldn't you?"
Clark was so taken aback by her verbal assault that he made the mistake of pausing for a second or so to gather his thoughts. He needed to convince her that he would not hesitate in restoring her memory. She had captured his heart, and he would never let her go.
But it was too late, Lois had taken his silence as a 'no'. "Can I suggest a hypothetical situation? Say I turn out to be pregnant from our little tryst in the shower, what would you say to me when I could not work out who the father was, because I did not remember sleeping with you or anyone else for that matter?"
His stomach jumped nervously, but then he steadied himself. "Lo, I admit I would have gone along with the mind wipe for your sake, but now…everything has changed."
"I thought you told me your secret too easily." She interrupted.
"Lo, sit down, shut up and listen." He said in an authoritative voice which shocked her, making her fall back on the bed….
"I know this may be hard for you to accept but here goes. Three days ago I was in the barn waiting nervously to propose to Lana in the hope of saving a relationship which I thought was worth saving. Now here I am in 1985, with the woman who has annoyed the hell out of me on an hourly basis for the past 18 months. This has been a slightly overwhelming experience to say the least, and all I know for certain is one thing."
She looked at him. "What would that be?"
"That, you are my soul-mate…the only woman I have ever truly loved and will ever love."
Lois had only picked up two words in that last declaration – soulmate and love.
"Lo, our 'tryst' as you called it was much more than that to me. It was the answer to the one question I have always asked. 'Am I destined to be alone?" and now I know that I will never be alone whilst you are in my life. And if you are carrying our baby, then I will be shocked but we will face it together." He said his words with so much conviction that she was left in no doubt about his sincerity.
"Clark… before you panic about a baby Kal-el, I can safely say I am not pregnant. I only gave you that example to explain why taking away my memory was unfair. I could not bear to have these feelings ripped away from me. For the first time I feel at home, and I don't mean in Smallville at the farm, but wherever you are. I have never said this before to anyone…I love you…"
His heart melted at those last three words, and he held her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go.
"Lo, I will tell you everything when we jump back, although I may have problems convincing you that we are together. Maybe we should make that movie." His eyes glinted again at that suggestion.
She smiled. "Only on one condition, we can have a few rehearsals…when we get back from our first shindig."
He kissed her. "You are on!"
An hour later, they had finally managed to get ready. Lois looked amazing as always wearing her new pair of jeans and a white shirt. Clark put out his hand and waited for her to take it. They set off.
Martha was sitting at a table near the dance floor. "Hi guys. Please join me. Can I get you both a drink?"
Clark smiled. "No I will get them. Do you want a beer with lime?"
"How do you know I like lime in beer?" Martha asked.
He stuttered a bit. "I thought everyone around here drank beer with lime. They do where I am from."
"Are you over 21?" Martha asked.
"No, you have a point there." He smiled back.
"I'll get them." A familiar voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Jonathan.
"No, don't bother. I am fine with my soda." Martha exclaimed and turned her back to him.
Both Lois and Clark could see the pain on his parent's faces, both realising the hurt they were causing each other. Jonathan looked upset, and turned around and walked away. Clark smiled and followed him out of the building.
Lois stayed with Martha. "Are you ok?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah, I will be fine. I can't turn off my feelings. We have so much history together and I love him so much it hurts." There were tears in her eyes.
"Would it not help to talk to him?" Lois suggested.
"I cannot look him in the eye after those things he said to me. Even if he had cheated on me, I think I would probably be able to work through it better. I have never seen so much hate and contempt in someone, and he made it very clear he meant every word."
Lois was lost for ideas. Whatever Brainiac had said to Martha had probably put her relationship with Jonathan beyond repair.
They were suddenly interrupted. "Martha, would you like to have this dance?"
Lois knew that voice anywhere.
"Lionel, would you mind if I declined your invitation?" Martha replied looking at Lois.
"Of course not! And who would this pretty companion of yours be? I don't think we have had the pleasure of meeting before."
"Lionel, this is my friend Lucy Mason. Lucy, this is Lionel Luthor." Martha smiled, as Lois felt Lionel take hold of her hand. She felt her flesh crawl, as he took hold of her hand and kissed it.
"Nice to meet you." She said through almost gritted teeth. "I would not expect to see such an influential man attend an occasion such as this."
Lionel was taken aback. "You know who I am?"
"Yes of course, your reputation precedes you." Lois announced, realising how prophetic that comment was.
"Martha, I was only passing by and noticed your car. I was wondering if you could come over to the mansion tomorrow so I can convince you to take that job. You would be such an asset to the company." He said enthusiastically.
Lois intervened. "I must say the Luthor Mansion looks amazing."
Lionel smiled. "Well, Ms Mason, why don't you come tomorrow and make sure I am offering Martha a good deal."
Martha nodded at Lois. "That's a great idea."
Lois realised this may be a chance to influence Martha's decision and convince her that taking the job was not such a good idea after all.
"Ok..why not!" Lois put on a false smile.
"Will you excuse me?" Lois said, deciding to go and see how Clark was getting on with his father.
On the way out, she passed a small Marquee which had been set up at the back of the hall. There was a sign… Readings by the one and only 'Star' ! Want to know the future… enter at your own risk!
Suddenly a couple appeared. The woman was ashen white, as though something had shocked her.
Lois stopped them. "Was it any good?" she asked the woman.
"She was… amazing. It was as though she could read my mind." She told Lois with enthusiasm.
Lois smiled unconvinced. "Well let's just see how good she is." She remarked under her breath and headed in to see what was in her future.