Close Encounters
A/N: First of all, I want to apologize profusely for the long, long time it took to get this out to you. Way too much going on in my life, including my grandmother breaking her arm, work, computer issues, family issues, and much, much more. So I am sorry and I hope it will be worth the wait. I know that it's really long, 26 pages in MS Word.
So originally, I had the title for this epilogue to be "Moments of Recollection" but I changed it to fit more of the content. I hope it will be appropriately titled. There are several "flashbacks" in this part, though not as many as I had first thought of putting in here. Some reference specific episodes in the show but others are of my own creation. I hope it all came together as seamlessly as I was trying for. Enjoy! And please remember that writers thrive on feedback/reviews. After all the time and effort it took to put this epilogue together and finish this story, I really would love to hear what you think!
References to the following episodes: Crusade (4x1), Crimson (6x13),
Epilogue – Moments of Truth
So that is the real story of how our young lovers met…and then forgot they had. Oh, they remember much of that summer secretly, but the details of the person they met and were so sure they loved stayed elusive. All memories of what the other looked like were fleeting and vague. Over the years, the AI of "Jor-El" allowed glimpses and feelings of déjà vu to filter through but never any details did it reveal... There were thoughtful gazes and stares, vague familiarity at odd moments and even early, inexplicable feelings of attraction that both fought ferociously.
At a time when the AI realized that something hadn't gone right with the training with Kal-El and that he would indeed need the help of humans to "fix" his son even though Kal-El said he understood his mission, Jor-El decided to give Kal-El's future mate the chance to help him…
*Flashback to the time of Season 4, Episode 1: "Crusade"*
A voice from the Kawatche caves...
"It is time to begin your destiny, Kal-El, but you are not yet ready. I will send you to those who could help you. If you are to meet, I will need to help her find you."
Out on Route 31
Lois Lane's middle name might as well have been "multitasker". At the moment, she was driving, drinking coffee and was on the phone with "information". "K-E-N-T, Kent, it's a farm. Do they even have addresses?" She took a swig of her coffee and then tut-tutted the person on the other end of the line. "Look! The last super genius I had on the line told me to turn right on Route 31. Now I'm totally lost."
"Ma'am, I'm not sure who you spoke to but I've been the only one trying to help you that I know of. Now what do you see around you? Are there any landmarks, street signs, anything?"
"Oh, about a billion stalks of corn," Lois quipped. At that moment, a bolt of lightning touched down a little too close and her phone went dead. She stared at it in disgust for a moment before rolling her eyes and tossing it aside. "That's just great," she muttered.
She flipped down the sun visor and grabbed the cigarette she had stashed there. Her reflection stared back at her with accusing eyes. "Ok, If you smoke this, you're going to spend the rest of the night hating yourself," she told her reflection. Nodding once in determination, she dropped the cigarette into her open purse and looked to reach for her Nicorette gum. Lightning struck again, this time seemingly right in front of the vehicle and she swerved off the road into a large cornfield.
As the vehicle finally came to a stop and Lois took a deep breath to calm her nerves, she glanced up at the sky. Her eyes narrowed as 3 streaks of lightning seemed to converge on the same point further ahead of her in the field. Those same hazel eyes flew open wide at the strange ball of…electricity? Lightning? She didn't know what it was but it was growing and coming towards her car. Her heart pounded in anticipation and horror as it seemingly exploded and sent a wave of energy her way. She ducked and cried out instinctively but then all was quiet and still.
Looking up through the cornstalks piled on the hood of the car, she saw a burned area ahead of her and something was lying in the middle of it. Jumping out of the car, Lois' breathing turned to panting as she realized it was a man and he was lying on his side, facing away from her…and he was naked. "Oh my god!" Something about his form, though…something that felt like déjà vu came over her, although Lois knew she had never experienced anything like this before. She shook her head slightly and brought her attention back to the present.
Lois moved towards the still figure. Then he stood up, still facing away from her, and for some reason, she felt drawn to him…like she should know this man. The feeling was so overwhelming that when she tried to speak, her voice came out weakly at first. "Are you-are you ok?" When he didn't answer, didn't even turn around, she moved cautiously forward. "What's your name?"
Then he spoke. "I don't know."
A shiver of awareness moved through Lois, but she ignored it. "I need to get you to a hospital."
"I am fine."
Lois snorted softly at that. "You've just been hit by lightning, you're stark naked, and you don't even remember your own name. You have a very loose definition of 'fine'." Then he turned around and her breathing hitched again. She swallowed and her eyes dropped lower of their own accord. She swallowed again and wrenched her eyes to the left. "Look at his face," she commanded herself. But when she looked back towards him again, her eyes refused to obey, raking up and down his beautiful form, pausing on his flawless chest. It was a full moment or two before she came back to her senses and remembered that he needed help.
"I have a blanket in the trunk. Don't move," she told him, taking one last glance at him before turning for the car. The fact that he didn't seem to mind her staring at him just added to her nerves. "I'll be right back."
"Wait," he called. She turned around and gave him a questioning look. "Who are you?" he asked.
She smiled as if it was his lucky day to have met her. "Lois, Lois Lane."
*End flashback*
But Lois wasn't the only one who felt the connection. Even though Clark, or Kal-El, had no memories of who he was or what he was doing there, he felt pulled to the young woman with hazel eyes who was "not very comfortable with uncomfortable silences" and who had a nicotine habit. He didn't understand his relief when she said she had given up smoking, not when she first mentioned it and not at any point it came to mind in the future. He didn't remember everything of their first few minutes in the cornfield but from their time in the hospital forward, he remembered everything fairly clearly. When he saw her sitting at Chloe's grave, he felt the pull towards her so strongly that he almost crushed the flowers he had brought to put on the grave in an effort to keep his hands to himself.
Lois too felt the moment between them and couldn't stop her eyes from darting to his chest that was now covered with a red t-shirt. As their eyes met, she suddenly resented the pull this stranger had on her. She had been down that road before, attraction to someone she couldn't have for one reason or another, and she would not end up with a broken heart again. So in an effort to keep him at arm's length and out of her heart, Lois resorted to sarcasm and jabs at Clark.
*Flashback to "Crusade", Chloe's graveside*
"Glad to see we've moved beyond the clothing optional stage of our relationship," she quipped, looking down at his body again. Was it her imagination or did he look disappointed at her? It was almost as if he knew that she was trying distance herself from him and he didn't like it. But Lois kept going. "I'm surprised you even remember who I am."
The meaning behind her statement was deeper than just the light bantering she was going for and Clark recognized it, and answered to it. "Chloe's cousin, Nicorette addiction, can't stand uncomfortable silences," he listed, moving closer to her.
Lois was pleasantly surprised. "I guess this means that your synapses are all firing again."
Clark's hesitation in an explanation was what helped build the wall between them stronger. He was the one to put up a barrier this time. When she just stood staring at him, he was the one uncomfortable with the silence and decided it was time for a subject change. "Chloe was my best friend. You're not the only one who misses her," he told her.
His words helped Lois fortify herself against his blue eyes and those butterflies that had fluttered in her stomach. She decided to add to that wall. "I'm just the only one doing something about it," she told him. Her words had the desired effect and the spark between them changed its nature.
*End flashback*
Clark called her on enjoying doing things on her own and she told him, with a raised chin, that her father raised her to be independent and self-sufficient. His sarcastic answer back established their relationship and put it squarely in the 'frenemy' territory. But even as they traded barbs at each other, they couldn't help the smiles and found that the bickering was just considered a safe way to interact. The fact that they only seemed to act that way with each other made the relationship just as special as if they were already acting like the soulmates they were.
Time went on and they got used to having each other around. Even though Lois knew Clark was too young to be the man she had met in Metropolis over that summer, her memories of Kal popped up at the oddest moments, and almost always when she was thinking of or around Clark. When she learned he was adopted, it birthed an idea that wouldn't go away and finally, she brought it up one evening while they were mucking out stalls in the barn.
*Flashback*
Clark was intently watching what he was doing with the pitchfork, mindful of where he dumped each forkful of dirty hay so that he didn't dump it over Shelby who was sitting outside the two stalls he and Lois were working on. Lois had sneezed a couple of times and glared occasionally at the retriever which made Clark hide a smile. She might be a tad allergic to Shelby but she was also sensitive to the hay dust that was stirred up by their work. But that didn't slow her down and Clark admired the way she didn't shirk chores or even complain about them, except to occasionally egg him on of course.
Lois had something on her mind and she couldn't seem to get rid of it, and that something had to do with the tall, dark farmboy working in the next stall. Her eyes would dart to his broad back now and then, and as he turned slightly so she got a view of his profile, she decided to bring up that something. After clearing her throat a couple of times, which he must have put down to her allergies, she was still drawing a blank in trying to find a way to bring up the subject subtly. Huffing after a minute or two, she finally decided to just go for it.
"So Smallville, you're adopted right?" she asked.
He paused in his work and looked so surprised for a minute that Lois had to bite back a grin. Yeah, this way might be more fun anyway. She always got the best answers from him using a direct approach.
Clark blinked a couple of times and then he smiled down at the hay. He had been aware that she had been trying to bring up something for the last few minutes, and he had waited for her to speak first, knowing she would when she was ready. His adoption had been one of the last topics he would have thought was on her mind, but with that opening question, she had once again turned his mind upside down. One thing he could say for Lois, one never had to wonder what was on her mind; she would willingly share when she was ready…whether you were ready for it or not.
"Yeah, what of it?" he asked lightly, as he resumed working.
"Well, it's just…Chloe told me a couple of weeks ago, I don't remember how it came up, and I was wondering…" she hesitated and Clark knew it was going to be big.
"Whatever it is you want to know, Lois, go ahead and ask. It's not like it's some big secret," he told her. Then he hid a small grimace. Well, the fact he was adopted wasn't a big secret.
"Well, have you always known you were adopted?" Lois asked curiously.
Clark shrugged as he bent over and scooped up another load onto the pitchfork. "Yeah, my parents never hid that from me. If you want to know if I'm glad I know, I am. I don't think I would have appreciated finding that out when I got older."
"Does it make a difference in how you feel about your parents? The Kents, I mean?" Lois asked, stopping and leaning on the handle of her own tool to look at him.
Clark stopped as well and mirrored her stance, looking a little puzzled. "What do you mean? They're my parents, always have been, the only parents I've ever known."
Lois nodded. "Yeah, of course they are, and no one could ask for better parents but did it ever make you feel…I mean, didn't you ever…not that you'd ever want to hurt your mom or dad but did you ever…"
Clark's eyebrows went up in question and he leaned his face closer, waiting for her to spit it out. "Did I ever what, Lois? Use the adoption card to get what I wanted? Throw it in my parents' faces that I wasn't really their son?"
Scowling, her face reddened a little and she shook her head at herself. "No, that's not what I meant, although I'm sure that probably happened once or twice as well. What I meant was…" She huffed a minute and then suddenly went back to work, viciously stabbing at the hay. "Forget it. It's none of my business and you probably don't want to talk about it anyway."
Clark stepped over to the low wooden wall that separated the two stalls they were in and after setting the pitchfork against it to the side, he rested his arms on the top. "No, Lois, I don't mind talking about it. What is it that you want to know?" he asked, wondering at this point just what was on her mind.
Huffing again, Lois stopped and blew her bangs out of her face. "Well, for one thing…have you ever tried to find your re—I mean birth parents? I mean, do you know anything about them? Are they alive or dead? Were they married and wildly in love or were your beginnings…well, less than romantic. Aren't you curious about where and who you came from?" she finally blurted out.
Clark stared at her for a minute as he thought about how to answer her questions. He couldn't exactly tell her the whole truth, but he didn't want to lie to her either. Lois had a nose for sniffing out lies and half-truths. She was easily angered and disappointed by the first but many times would let the latter slide if she thought it was important to the other person to leave it alone.
Picking up the pitchfork again he hefted it back and forth between his hands, not meeting her eyes. He shrugged again. "Of course I'm curious and I'd like to know more, but my parents…my birth parents are dead, Lois. I'll probably never get the answers to most of the questions I might ask."
Lois paled a little and for the first time since Clark had known her, she seemed to not know what to say. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Clark, are you sure they're dead? Both of them?" she asked. When he nodded, she squeezed his shoulder lightly before she realized what she was doing and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I'm sorry, Smallville. That must be hard. I mean, the General and I don't exactly mesh most of the time and I think I've even mentioned once or twice that I couldn't believe we were related but I know we're family. I understand where I get a lot of my…" her mouth snapped closed. "I'm sorry. That probably isn't helping."
She started to turn back to the hay but his hand on her shoulder stopped her. When Lois looked up at him, Clark was smiling. "It's ok, Lois. It was a long time ago and unlike you and your mom, I don't remember them at all. I have to accept the fact that there are some questions about myself that I will never get answers to."
"But don't you want to find all the answers you can? I mean what if you have other relatives out there? Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings? What if you have a brother or a sister out there somewhere? Don't you want to look into it?" Lois asked, full of enthusiasm on the subject. She didn't admit even to herself the ulterior motive she had in wanting to find out if Clark had a brother out there. It would certainly explain why he reminded her of Kal. What if Kal had been his older brother?
Clark frowned and shook his head. "No, Lois, I don't. I think that if I had other relatives out there somewhere they would have tried to find me by now or my parents would have left me in their care or a way to contact them."
Lois eagerly shook her head. "Not necessarily, Clark, and if you had siblings, maybe no one was willing to adopt all of you. We could look into it, at least. I could help and I'm sure if we ask Chloe she would be more than happy to…"
"Why can't you just drop this?" Clark barked out, his expression darkening. "I don't want to look into my past or my adoption or my blood relatives and I don't want you or Chloe or anyone else doing it either. So just drop it ok?" He turned his back on her and started stabbing at the hay, considering the subject closed.
Lois, however, was reluctant to let the subject die. "But, Smallville…"
"No! It's my decision, Lois. So back off and leave it alone!" he snapped angrily. He threw the pitchfork down and stormed out of the barn.
A couple of hours later after dinner, Lois climbed the stairs to the loft and waved a white handkerchief. She paused at the top step and Clark stopped bouncing his tennis ball, his eyes darting to her face. His own face was carefully devoid of expression. Lois suppressed a sigh and moved a step closer.
"Hey, I'm waving a white flag here, Smallville. Can we call a truce, at least for the moment?"
Clark grunted noncommittally and Lois did sigh. She came over to sit on the floor beside him instead of the couch behind him and he obligingly slid over a couple of inches so she could rest her back against the couch too. She sighed again and he juggled the ball between his hands, trying to decide if he should speak first or wait for her to do so.
After biting her bottom lip for a minute, Lois finally cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Smallville. I didn't mean to be so…Lois-like," she said with a self-depreciating smile. "I know that I have a tendency to latch onto something and not let go; the General calls it something like a bulldog latching onto a pant leg."
It was Clark's turn to sigh. "I'm sorry, too, Lois. I didn't mean to bite your head off. It's just…this is an issue I've been dealing with all my life. There are no easy answers and maybe no answers at all. I've come to accept that."
"How will you know unless you try, Clark? I mean, there has to be a way to find out something. I mean it's not like you just fell out of the sky one day," Lois said.
Clark barked out a laugh at the irony of her statement but then covered it with a cough. Turning his head slightly, he bumped her with his shoulder. "Just let it go, Mad Dog," he teased. Then he turned a little serious as he added a soft, "Please."
Lois looked into his eyes and swallowed. Giving him half a smile, she glanced down at her hands. "Ok, ok. It's your life and your past after all. I have no right to try to force you to find answers." Then she looked back up into his face. "But if you ever change your mind, Smallville, and you want my help…all you have to do is ask."
He grinned and briefly squeezed her hand with his. "Thanks, Lois. You're a good friend."
She grinned back. "Yeah, just don't tell anyone. No one would believe it coming from you anyway."
*End Flashback*
The closest they ever came to stumbling onto the truth was during the time they secretly named "The Valentine's Day Fiasco". Lois had bought a lipstick made with red kryptonite and aphrodisiac oils and other ingredients and things got interesting. The red kryptonite somewhat thinned the barriers Jor-El had put up in her memories of that time long ago. Although not really remembering all the details even still, Lois' heart seemed to recognize what her mind did not.
*Flashback to "Crimson", Kent Farm, Kitchen*
Clark swallowed as Lois moved towards him, taking in her outfit from the knee-high, high-heeled black boots to the short skirt and the low cut blouse. How was it that a pair of boots could completely change the way he looked at Lois Lane, even momentarily? Stopping in front of him, Lois took his hand in hers and studied it for a moment. "How is that I've never noticed what big, strong hands you have, Smallville?"
Chuckling a little nervously, Clark felt his hand start to sweat and he pulled it away abruptly, taking a small step back when he realized she wasn't joking around. "Lois, what's going on?" he asks. Next thing he knew he was holding something from her. "You made me a mixed CD," he stated, confused. His brain didn't even register her comment about White Snake doing power ballads before Lois was invading his personal space again.
"I will kill you if you tell anyone this, but there is nothing I love more than slowing dancing with some big, strong arms around me," Lois told him and suddenly he found himself holding her in his arms, and he was unnerved to find that the feeling was more familiar than he'd ever have thought possible. It was like…coming home. "Just like yours', Smallville."
And then Lois laid those red-K enhanced lips on Clark and the small bit of exposure was enough to bring Kal out, though not as strongly as that summer.
*FLASH to an empty office at the Daily Planet*
Lois pulled back from Clark's kisses yet again. "Wait…wait a minute." She looked at him puzzled. "I knew I had kissed you before." Her eyes narrowed and she smiled a little. "In the alley." She jabbed Clark and her grin widened as she made the connection. "You're Green Arrow."
Clark smirks at her. "Hardly. I was just pretending to be so that you wouldn't know it was Oliver." He moved in to pick up where their lips had left off but Lois shoved him back again.
"Oliver? Oh my god. All those times he disappeared." She moved around him to look out the window at the city below and realized that she had misjudged yet another man she had allowed access to her heart. "What is my deal with emotionally unavailable weekend warriors?"
Something inside of Lois recognized and was drawn to the self-confidence, bordering on cockiness, that Clark displayed while showing off his powers and in his boldness in claiming her lips and body before being distracted with the Lana and Lex engagement party. She never got a chance to wonder why it seemed familiar before she was hit by the antidote and her memories of everything she had done while under the red-K lipstick's influence were wiped out.
It was unnerving to realize that she had yet another night that she didn't remember exactly what she had done with a young man. It was her memories and nerves over waking up in Kal's bed that summer with no idea whether they had done anything more than slept that had driven her to ask Clark to make sure she hadn't screwed up their friendship.
*FLASH to "Crimson", Loft of the Kent barn*
"Well, I guess it's best that neither of us remembers," Lois said, sitting on the couch in front of Clark, her legs stretched out in front of her. "I mean, I can't even really picture the two of us…uh…" She noticed that he was waiting for her to continue and she suddenly had to ask. Unable to meet his eyes, Lois let her own slide down towards her shoes. "You don't think…that we…" but she just couldn't finish the sentence.
Her hazel eyes jumped to his face and he just grinned at her, raising his eyebrows and obviously amused. "Think that we what?" he asked, enjoying her discomfort.
Lois huffed, rolled her eyes and pressed her lips together. Taking a deep breath, she jumped up to stand in front of him. "You know…that we…"
He just grinned bigger and chuckled, even as Clark felt his own cheeks heat up slightly. He leaned towards her just a little more. When she didn't seem to be joking and just raised her eyebrows and shrugged, Clark decided to let her off the hook. "No, Lois." She sighed and closed her eyes in relief and he couldn't help adding, "I think I would have remembered."
Lois just studied him hard for a minute before nodding once. "Yeah…course you would. Highlight of your life."
But Clark couldn't let it go at that. He just couldn't allow this perfect opportunity to bust her chops pass by altogether. So, just as she reached the loft stairs he called back to her. "Although, I did find something." As she froze and looked back at him nervously, he moved over to the desk and opened a drawer, pulling out the gift she had given him and he had not looked at twice. "I think you made it for me." He handed her the mixed CD.
Watching her turn it over and redden a little, Clark felt a small grin fill his face again. He just waited for her comment, readying a comeback of his own. But then she swallowed and her eyes filled with an emotion that he couldn't name, but it was partly shock. "White Snake." Her blush deepened. "Wow. I must've really liked you," she said without a hint of amusement. As her eyes floated up to his, suddenly, Clark didn't find it funny anymore.
*End Flashback*
There were long periods when that time in their lives never came up at all, but others…there were other times that it came back to them just as emotion filled as if it had just happened. For Lois, it came up whenever she heard from Wes Keenan via email or telephone and the last time she saw him before he died. It came up sometimes when she would come up to the loft at night to talk to Clark and his silhouette would be outlined as he looked off into the distance. The first time she saw him in the long, black leather jacket. Odd moments and wrong times, but she would quickly dismiss it and it got easier to let go, though it did seem to reinforce some emotional walls she had put in place. Over time, she forced herself to let go of the mysterious man she met in Metropolis and even learned to be able to enjoy listening to White Snake again. It helped that aggravating Clark with her love of hair bands and metal music was a happy side effect of getting over Kal.
*Flashback to "Dominion", Season 10*
Lois and Clark's new apartment, Metropolis
Lois adjusted her mother's blue bird near the window just as Clark came in carrying another box. "Hey, Lois, where can I put this box?"
"Well, I don't think that requires any super sleuthing. It does say, 'living room'," she told him as she pointed to her handwriting.
"No, I can decipher your scrawl; I'm just thinking it was mislabeled," he told her with a questioning look. He tilted the box towards her and smiled.
Lois smirked back as she grabbed the top object and yanked it out. Turning it to face Clark, she said, "If you're talking about my White Snake throw pillow, loving everything about me includes the sentimental." She slugged him with the pillow as she moved around him to place the pillow in the perfect spot…on the couch. Feeling the need to explain, she added, "I made this from my 8th grade concert t-shirt."
After putting it smack dab in the middle of the couch, she turned back to find him looking amused and horrified at the same time. "And I talked to Oliver, and he told me how smoothly he and Chloe fused their hero green and geek chic."
Deciding there were other battles to be fought and won, Clark decided to let her have this one. "Don't worry, my 'for better or for worse' will include your love of hair metal," he told her reluctantly. She narrowed her eyes at him to let him know she didn't find his joke humorous. He just smiled in return before changing the subject.
Same place, Kent apartment, after Oliver and Clark come back from the Phantom Zone
Lois gave a forced little laugh as she recounted bits and pieces of the last 3 weeks, waiting for any word of Oliver or Clark. She couldn't hide how worried and heartbroken she had been at the thought that she might never see him again. She glanced at something behind Clark. "I, uh, brought the pillow with me for downtime because…well, it reminds me of you now. Silly, huh?"
*End flashback*
For Clark, every time he thought of or came into contact with red kryptonite, he wondered how clear his memories were of that time. When Jonathan started having heart problems, the guilt over how his actions that summer affected others, including the mysterious woman he had met in Metropolis would hit him. He thought of her when he had put away the silver hair comb that Coop had given him. And when he couldn't seem to commit to Lana, even when they seemed to have a clear path, a feisty brunette flitted through his consciousness before he forced it back again. It was the guilt that he always seemed to hurt those he loved that kept him from pursuing his feelings for or a relationship with Lois for a long time. Because he knew, deep down, that she was the one for him, the end of any searching for someone who could handle the truth about him and all the baggage that came with it.
*Flashback to "Finale", the day of the Lane/Kent wedding…the first one*
Clark and Lois's apartment, Metropolis
Clark forced himself to the door of their apartment, his heart shattering into a million pieces at what he was going to have to do. He tried to tell himself that Lois had been right. She had been the one to see what he hadn't. He tried to console himself with the fact that she would be ok because she had accepted what had to be before he had so she was more prepared for what was coming than he had been, though he should have known that with Lois Lane, nothing came easy…not loving her, not marrying her…and not letting her go.
He had to do this…before he lost his nerve. "Lois," he called through the door. He waited about a nanosecond and when he didn't get a response right away, he decided to barge through the door. "Lois."
Just as Clark started pushing the door open, he found an opposing force on the other side, shoving it closed again. "Careful there, Prince Charming. It's bad luck to sneak a peek at the bride before you get to the altar," she called to him from inside the apartment. "I know that technically you saw me this morning but…the rules only apply when the wedding is officially on."
His heart flipped over in his chest and then plummeted to his stomach. "On?!" No, not now. He had waited for her to come to her senses and change her mind to marry him and now she changed it, just when he had come to the conclusion that she was right?!
Shifting nervously, Clark moved closer to the door, stuttering. "Lois, I-I thought you called off the wedding."
Lois huffed a little nervous laugh. "Don't have a cow, farmboy…but I read your vows."
'No, this was NOT happening!' Clark thought, his heart back up in his throat. He started to pace in the hall.
"And I know that that is against the rules, but a little birdie bridesmaid gave it to me, and…" He heard her sigh. "They were beautiful, and I realized that I was a fool because I was…well, what we have is a gift, and I was trying to return it…when we're a perfect fit."
Clark swallowed, his mind spinning. Only Lois Lane could make him so sure they should be together one minute, completely convinced that they shouldn't be the next, and then turn that decision right back around all over again. So which was the right path?
"So here's my vows. Now we're even." Her voice came from right up against the door and a piece of paper slid out from under it.
Clark stood there looking at them for what felt like a long time but was really only a moment before bending down and picking them up. He didn't let himself look at them, trying to gather his courage again. He moved to stand right next to the door. "Lois, sometimes you can see things that I can't," he paused, not wanting to continue. He blinked a couple of times. "And you…you walked away I thought because you couldn't bring yourself to be the one to stand in the way of my destiny," he added, unable to completely come right out and say it.
Before he could continue, she jumped to defend herself. "Well, here's the thing about that…I can be loud, and at times I'm a little bossy. So someone might wonder why a person of your godlike caliber would be with a woman who is so imperfect." She paused and his heart broke a little at her self-criticism. But then she continued. "Well, don't take this the wrong way but you come with some baggage of your own."
He half rolled his eyes before they closed against the truth of her words and he hung his head, unable to come up with a response to that. Opening his eyes, he clenched his jaw and forced himself not to interrupt. "And it's made me a better person. Just like being with me will make you a greater man…and a super hero…I hope."
Clark had to say it. He had to ask. "Lois, what if you were right? With your family not being here and the doubts you had yesterday…maybe the stars aren't aligned."
His super hearing picked up her soft snort. "Well, believe me, it's a buzz kill that the Chief of Staff whisked daddy away to some hush-hush meeting, but…I'm a big girl. I can walk myself down the aisle." Clark's heart melted at the obvious pain in her tone. "As my mom always said, 'The ones you love are always with you.'" She laughed a little and he moved back to the door. "And right now, my dad would be telling me that I should have laid out all my clothes the night before so that I wouldn't be whirling around like a dervish…and mom…she's reminding me that I need to breathe and take in every moment so that I can remember them forever." He felt her move closer to the door again. And then she asked it…the question he had been avoiding thinking about. "What would your dad say, Clark?"
His mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to reply and he shuffled against the doorframe. "Not sure he would say anything, Lois." A small smile formed on his face as he thought back on the man that had raised him. "That's just kinda the way it was with my dad, you know? I always knew exactly what he was thinking."
A moment or two passed before she said anything again, but when she did, it made his heart squeeze again. "Clark, what did you mean about the stars not aligning?" she asked as if she was afraid she might already know the answer.
Clark glanced down as he tried to form an answer and her vows caught his attention. Instead of answering, he found himself reading them...the red ink corrections making him smile at how 'Lois-like' it was. When he was done, he lowered the paper, lost in the memories of their relationship and thoughts of how stupid he would be to let her go…to walk away from the best thing that had ever happened to him. Her voice snapped him out of his stupor.
"Clark?" she called, a touch of panic in her voice. He turned to face the door and heard her sharp intake of breath when he didn't answer right away.
Placing his hand against the door, he used his imagination rather than his x-ray vision to see her pressed to the other side of it. "I'm here," he told her softly. He heard her release her breath in relief and he wished he could hold her, grateful he hadn't told her how close he had been to ruining it all. "I'll see you at the chapel," he told her.
But Lois must have guessed what he had meant by his earlier words because there were tears in her voice as she answered him. "Yeah…see you there."
*End flashback*
Eventually, all thoughts of "Jo" and "Kal" were covered over with thoughts of "Smallville" and "Lois" and our two love birds grew closer. It wouldn't be until many years later, after the learning of other secrets and other people floating in and out of their lives…after a complete commitment that they would learn the truth…
Kent Farm, A couple of years after the "Finale"
Lois sighed as she looked at the pile of boxes that was growing in the living room of the Kent farm. When she glanced over and caught the expression on her mother-in-law's face, she forced a bright smile. "Have I thanked you yet for allowing us to move all our junk in here until we can get moved into the new house, Mom?"
Giving a small smile back, Martha Kent nodded. "Several times, Lois, and I'm happy to have you both, you know that. You're welcome to stay as long as you need." She couldn't help but glance a little hesitantly at the boxes that were stacked all over her home. "This is your home as much as it is mine. It's why I had signed the deed over to you two when you got married."
Lois followed her gaze. "I know it looks like a lot, but Smallville and I will have this all cleared away in no time…as soon as we figure out what to do with it all." She sighed before adding, "I just can't believe that I screwed up with the landlord of the apartment. I could have sworn I gave him that signed lease and check for another two months."
"It's no wonder you forgot, Lois, with everything the two of you have had going on lately. Superman's been busy, the League has been busy and I've noticed that the headlines on the front page of the Planet have had yours and Clark's bylines almost daily lately. It's amazing that you're still standing. Maybe some time here on the farm will be good for the two of you," Martha suggested. The timer on the oven dinged and she moved to check on the casserole she had cooking for their dinner.
"I just wish it didn't feel like we were invading your space. I mean, you probably are just now getting used to the peace and quiet around here after retiring from the Senate last year and here come your son and daughter-in-law bringing chaos," Lois apologized, sniffing the air appreciatively. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of Martha Kent cooking.
"Not to mention a whole lot of junk," Clark added from behind an armload of boxes as he entered the back door. "I'm just glad we were able to move the closing of the house closer. At least we won't have to be here taking up space for more than a couple of weeks." He lowered them to the floor and looked to make sure there was a clear path through all the disorder. "Lois, how did we have all this stuff crammed into that little apartment? I've been bringing things out here to the farm for two days, in between work and having to take care of my other work, and there's still our bed and the other pieces of furniture to take the storage facility you rented."
Lois grinned sheepishly and let out a nervous laugh. "Amazing huh? Who would've thought?"
Her tone caught his attention and Clark's penetrating blue gaze shot to her face. "Lois?" he asked in a tone that reminded her a lot of Ricky Ricardo's when he was questioning Lucy.
"Well…" Lois tried for a lightly flirtatious tone. "You see, Smallville, when we moved into that apartment and had temporarily put the farm on the market, and your stuff and your parents' stuff and my stuff were all…" she searched for the right word. She huffed a little in exasperation at herself. Lois Lane wrote for a living for Pete's sake. "discombobulated," she settled on.
Clark's expression turned amused. "'Discombobulated?'" he teased.
She raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to comment on it. "Yes! I mean, I had to rush to get it all sorted and some stuff got mixed up and then you and Ollie were gone off to the Phantom Zone and I had to put that apartment in order all by myself and…"
Recognizing that she was stalling for time, Clark called her out. "Lois."
"I rented the storage facility a long time ago, Smallville," she said, blurting out her confession. At his confused expression, she sighed. "I've had some stuff stored there since I first went to Metropolis…back when I went to Met U. Some of this was there and I've been bringing it out here hoping you wouldn't notice so I could go through it."
Clark hung his head and laughed, shaking his head. "You mean to tell me that we have to sort this junk to figure out which stuff you should even keep?"
Stalking over to one particularly large box that caught her attention, she waved in the direction of his handwriting on the side of it. "Don't you me which stuff we should keep, Smallville?" she asked. When his eyes widened at the label on the side of the box she was pointing to, she gave him a self-satisfied smirk.
"Where did you get that box?" Clark asked as he moved to stand beside it protectively.
Shrugging, Lois eyed it, curiosity filling her face. "It was mixed in with a bunch of other boxes that were sitting in the apartment while you were gone to the Phantom Zone. Why? What you got in there, Smallville?"
He bit back a groan at the openly curious tone in her words. Now, he'd have to be really careful. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Clark shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing really. Just a bunch of stupid memorabilia that wouldn't mean much to anyone except me. I don't even remember what's really in that box. I'll probably end up throwing it in the barn, or the attic, or maybe even out altogether."
Lois wasn't fooled by his act. "Good, then you won't mind if I look to see what all is in that box."
She reached around him for it but he intervened and shoved it further into the corner of the room. At her raised eyebrow, he smiled guiltily. "Nothing that can't wait until later, Lo. Dinner's almost ready and we don't want to start unpacking right now. Right, mom?" he looked to his mother with a pleading expression and she bit back a smile.
"Right. We'll be ready to eat as soon as the table is set and the drinks poured. You two can sort through all this later," Martha said, turning to the counter to hide her amusement. There were times when Lois and Clark were at the farm that they seemed to revert back somewhat to the way their relationship started. It made her nostalgic and she blinked at the thought of the passage of time.
Late that night/Early the next morning…
Lois stifled a yawn and blinked a couple of times as she staggered to the stairs. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she skipped the stair that creaked and listened for a moment half way down. Not hearing anything and not wanting to wake Martha, she whispered softly into the dark. "Smallville? You down there?"
The only answer was the hum of the refrigerator and she sighed as she made her way to the bottom of the steps and towards the left over pie that was calling to her. Clark must be out on Superman business. Her mouth was watering and she could almost taste the pie when an excruciating pain slammed into her toes on her right foot. She let out a cry before slapping her hand to her mouth, covering several choice words. Leaning up against the island, she cradled her sore toes with the other hand and glared down at the box that had obviously moved into her way.
Several minutes passed and the pain subsided to a throbbing ache and Lois gingerly made her way towards her original destination. After fishing out a fork and transferring a slice of the blueberry pie onto a small plate, she pulled a glass out of the cabinet and set it on the counter. Lois grunted and scrunched her eyes shut at the blinding light from the refrigerator as she blindly reached for the milk.
Lois was in the middle of filling the glass when a hushed voice startled her. "Lois, what are you doing?"
She was so startled that she dropped the glass container, and there would have been glass shards all over the place in addition to the milk that spilled if it weren't for the super-fast reflexes of her husband. "Damn it, Smallville! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she stage-whispered, her heart pounding furiously.
Clark finished filling her glass and placed the milk container back in the refrigerator before turning to his wife and pulling her into the circle of his arms. She barely made out the whites of his teeth as he flashed a grin and her eyes narrowed at him. "Sorry," he said without a hint of remorse in his tone. His eyes darted to the pie and then back to her, trying to decipher how grouchy she was.
"Don't even think about it," she growled at him, snatching up the plate and glass and hobbling over to the island. Lois dropped onto one of the stools.
Clark paused in the middle of getting down a plate as he looked at his wife in concern. "Lo, you're limping. You ok?"
Talking around a big mouthful of pie, Lois nodded. "Yeah, just stubbed my toes on that box over there," she told him, jabbing in the direction of said box with her fork. "I thought we were careful to keep the pathways clear."
Grabbing his own plate and glass, Clark dropped onto the stool next to her. "I thought so too but obviously you're marching down your own path again," he teased. At her glare, he hid another smile and walked over to the box. "I'll move it." Picking it up, his keen eyesight caught her scrawl on the top. "Lo, what's in this box? I can't make out what it says and it's your handwriting."
Switching on the light over the stove and blinking a couple of times, Lois moved to see what he was talking about. Her face softened for a second before she cleared her throat and took the box from him. "Nothing for you to worry about. Just some old junk of mine. I'll go through it later and probably pitch most of it."
His super senses picking up on the way her heart rate accelerated, Clark reached to take the box back, giving her a knowing grin. "Well, in that case, you won't mind if I look and see what's in it then."
Snatching the box out of his reach unless he really tried, Lois narrowed her eyes at him. "As a matter of fact, I do mind. It's personal." Seeing the look in his eyes, she added, "And no cheating with the x-ray vision!"
He chuckled and teasingly reached again for the box. "Oh, come on, Lois. I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other anymore."
Dodging his hands, she couldn't help smiling at their play until he finished his thought. "Oh ho! You want to go there, Mr. Kent! Then I think it's only fair that you let me see what's in that big box over in the corner," she said with a darting glance at the box he had rushed to keep from her earlier.
His eyes narrowed at that and he pursed his lips. She gave him a cocky grin, knowing she was bluffing, so his answer to her challenge surprised her. "Alright, Lane, I'll show you my hand if you show me yours," he told her, folding his arms over his chest.
Now it was Lois' turn to narrow her eyes at him. She waited a heartbeat before squaring her shoulders and coming to a decision. "Alright, Smallville, I'll see your challenge. You wanna do this now or in the morning?"
"It's late…or early, depending on how you look at it. We don't have to work, but the rooster will be crowing sooner than you think and it's been a long couple of days moving everything in," Clark said softly, looking at the clock. "Maybe we should wait until the morning."
"What's the matter, Smallville? Hoping I'll forget all about this after some sleep? Are you so afraid for me to know what's in that box?" Lois dared him, setting the box down and mirroring his stance.
He waited a beat and then snorted softly. "Let's do it. We each open our own box and go through the contents…together," Clark offered.
"Explaining each item in the box to the satisfaction of the other party?" Lois countered.
Clark nodded once in answer and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her decision. Lois bit her bottom lip as she looked down at the box at her feet and then over at the one in the corner. Tilting her head at her husband, she added to the rules. "But we each get a free pass on one item that we don't have to explain."
"Deal," he said, spitting into his hand and stretching it out to her. Lois bit back a grin and did the same before shaking his hand to seal the deal.
Never ones to do anything half-way, Lois made some coffee while Clark took the two boxes into the living room and then popped a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Once they were both settled on the couch, their respective boxes in front of them, they each took a breath to relax inexplicable nerves in the soft glow of the lamplight.
Taking a deep breath, Lois nudged him and nodded towards his box. "You have the bigger box. That means more stuff. You should go first."
Clark shook his head. "Not necessarily. Could just be bigger stuff. We should open them together."
Rolling her eyes, Lois yanked at the tape holding the top of her box closed. "Oh for crying out loud…" she muttered. "There. It's open," she declared, pulling back the flaps.
Clark opened his box and looked down inside…and smiled at the object lying on top. "I'll go first." He pulled out his old football helmet. "Need an explanation for this one?"
"Hardy-har-har. No, and that's cheating."
"It's not cheating, Lois. It was the first item in the box!" he said with a grin. "Your turn."
Huffing a little, she looked over the side of the box and chuckled, pulling out the object on top. It was a Green Arrow action figure still in the original packaging. Holding it up, she grinned at him. "Ollie sent this to me when it first came out. He said it was cooler than the Superman action figure because it came with a pair of shades for the buyer and he has a bow and arrow while Superman's didn't come with anything."
Clark rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Oliver didn't let me hear the end of that for a month." Then he grinned as he remembered why Oliver finally had let it go. "Until the Batman action figure came out, complete with the cool utility belt and you could buy the Bat mobile separately."
They laughed together and continued, swapping stories over objects that defined their pasts, both separate and together. There were groans and blushes and laughing and near tears. They were nearly to the bottom of the boxes and it was Lois' turn. She reached in and pulled out two objects at once. Holding up the one in her right hand, she turned widened eyes on Clark.
"I had no idea I still had this, Smallville! After all the chaos and trouble it caused…I'll put it out with the trash later today," she told him, holding up the silver tube.
He took it from her and smiled. "I don't know if that's the best idea. I know you don't really remember any of what happened but it wasn't all bad. Besides, maybe we should get Emil or Dr. Kline to do some tests on it…" Clark's smile turned flirtatious. "And it was a good color on you."
Lois blushed and rolled her eyes but she cleared her throat and put the red kryptonite lipstick aside. Holding up the other object, she waved it at him. "And what am I doing with this? I thought I made this for you."
Taking the jewel case from her, Clark laughed softly. He studied the cover. "I can't believe you still have this. I thought you would have thrown it out the day I gave it back to you." A thought struck him. "You know, I never got a chance to listen to it. Maybe we should put it on."
Lois snatched it back. "I don't know why I kept it either. I don't even know what songs I put on here without looking, but something told me to keep it." She dropped it lightly on the coffee table. "But I don't want to wake your mom so we can listen to it later."
Shrugging, Clark decided to let it go and reached in without looking for the next item in his box. What he pulled out made him swallow hard. It was a key…a key he had once given to a friend. He held it in the palm of his hand and looked down at it for a long minute.
"Hey, you ok?" Lois asked, placing her hand on his forearm.
He shook his head slightly as he came back to the present. "Yeah, but I think I want to pass on this one," he told her with a brief smile.
Lois frowned at the key as he put it on the table next to the CD but didn't comment. Instead, she took her turn and pulled out a photo frame. Looking at it for a minute, tears formed in her eyes. She sniffed a couple of times before showing it to Clark. "It's a picture of me and Chloe and…and my friend Wes Keenan." At his puzzled expression, she reminded him of who Wes had been. "You remember Wes. He was the Special Forces soldier who Lex tried to turn into a super soldier and he tried to kill me before…before you stopped him."
Clark's expression cleared and then filled with regret and sorrow for Lois and her friend. "Yeah, I remember. I'm sorry I never got to really meet him." He took the picture and studied it for a minute, something niggling at the corner of his mind. "When was this taken? It looks like you have dark hair or is that just a trick of the lighting."
Taking it back from him, Lois shook her head as she stared at the three of them. "No, it was dark then. This was taken the summer when dad came to Metropolis for some special assignment. It was my birthday and Wes was stationed there and he and Chloe and I spent the day at the zoo together."
"When was this? It couldn't have been too long before you and I met. You don't look that much different than when I met you…other than the hair," he asked, the feeling at the back of his mind getting stronger.
"It was the year I turned 17 so it wasn't quite a year and a half or so before, I guess." Lois let the memories wash over her and she couldn't believe the passage of time and how strong the emotions were that came back with the memories, even if she couldn't really name them. "That was…a weird summer to say the least, starting with that day."
"Was it a bad birthday?" Clark asked, placing a hand on her thigh and squeezing gently.
"Not bad, per se. The General had important things to do, as usual, but he gave me money to spend the day doing pretty much whatever we wanted. Chloe got a bad headache after the zoo and went home but Wes took me out for the evening and we stayed out pretty late." She looked at Wes' face in the photo and she almost seemed to forget where she was. "I was still smoking back then. He and Chloe were always begging me to quit," she murmured.
Snapping back to the present, Lois placed the photo aside. "I finally was able to quit, as you know, but it took more willpower than I ever thought it would."
Clark gave her a small grin. "Yeah, I remember. Nicotine addiction. Not comfortable with uncomfortable silences."
She grinned back and looked into his eyes lovingly. "Ok, farmboy, your turn," she nudged, using a nickname he hadn't heard in ages.
Still looking into her eyes, he pulled out a small object and glanced at it before quickly shoving his hand behind his back. "You know what? I think it's time we called it a night. I mean, we really should get some sleep and we can finish this…"
"Nuh uh uh, Smallville! We are going to finish this! Now what's in that hand?" she asked, trying to look behind him.
Clark pulled his hand back around to sit on it with the object underneath him. "In that case, I want to pass on that one."
"No way! You get one free pass and you already used it on the key! Now ante up!"
"Lois," he half groaned, half pleaded.
"Come on, Clark! We've already been through enough embarrassing stuff, now let's see it!" Lois said, getting excited and curious about his nervousness.
Sighing, Clark closed his eyes and then rolled them towards the ceiling as he pulled it out. "Ok, it's a comb, alright? I'm not even entirely sure why…"his words trailed off at his wife's face. Lois had gone completely still and had paled considerably. "Lo? You ok? What is it?"
Her mouth moved a couple of times, her eyes never leaving the object in his hand. "Wh-where did you get that?" she whispered.
Puzzled, Clark glanced down at it and shrugged. "Honestly? It's a little fuzzy. I think a friend of mine gave it to me the summer I had run away from home. I don't know why I held onto it all this time, but it's obviously real silver. I polished it once or twice and it cleans up beautifully." Lois still didn't move and he held it to her, trying to figure out what was going on with her. "You can have it if you want."
Lois hesitantly reached towards it before snatching her hand back as if the comb would burn her. Tears filled her eyes again, one spilling over to slide down her cheek unheeded. She dove into her box and pulled out her closed fist, clutching something to her chest. "When I was younger, about mid-teens or so…the General gave me a present for my birthday. They once belonged to my mother, who had gotten them from her grandmother. I was so careless with them! I lost one of them and…"
Unable to finish her sentence, her mouth having gone dry, Lois slowly opened her hand to reveal an identical hair comb to the one in Clark's hands. His puzzled expression turned to shock and then confusion. "Lois, I don't understand…"
Looking up at him, she stared into his blue eyes. "Clark. Where. Did. You. Get. That. Comb?"
He swallowed, the alarm bells clanging in his head. "An old homeless man that befriended me in Metropolis gave it to me before he died. He was killed in a mugging," he whispered.
Lois held her breath, something telling her to go deeper on this. Just as she started to say something, however, Clark winced and ducked his head, as if hearing something that was too loud, but she didn't hear anything. He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head into his hands, his fingers moving to plug his ears. Concerned, Lois reached up and touched his face.
"Clark?! What is it? What's wrong?"
After a second, he let out a breath and paused before shaking his head and sitting up straight. His eyes shot to hers and for some reason, Lois' heart started to pound. "Clark?"
"Lois, did you get everything you wanted for your birthday that year?" Clark asked her in a voice barely above a whisper.
Her hazel eyes holding his blue ones, Lois didn't pretend not to understand which birthday he was asking about. "I didn't really want much. I met this guy at the club that Wes took me to. I told him it was my birthday…"
"And he apologized for not having a present for you, didn't he?" Clark said, leaning closer. Lois swallowed and nodded just barely. "Lois, have you ever heard of a future wish?" he whispered, not blinking.
Licking her lips, Lois's gaze dropped to Clark's before jumping back to his eyes. "Just once. That guy…he gave me one. He told me to…"
"Close your eyes," they said together. Then Clark picked continued when she had closed them. "Think about all the things you might wish for in the future, anything at all…cars, money, trips…love."
Lois' mouth curved into a disbelieving smile as his lips met hers. The kiss was gentle but firm, chaste but made her heart race…and over far more quickly than she would have liked. She kept her eyes closed even as he pulled back, her fingertips moving up to her tingling lips.
"Kal," she breathed.
"Jo," she felt against her lips as he kissed her fully.
Clark's lips moved over hers and he pulled her onto his lap, her legs straddling him. His arms wrapped around her waist and roamed up and down her back, up into her hair and down to clutch her butt. Lois pressed herself into her husband, rocking against him and unable to get close enough. Her hands gripped at his hair, raked down his back, back over his shoulders and down his flawless chest.
As the thought of his chest penetrated the haze, Lois lurched back. "Clark! It was you?! But how? I mean, you had that scar…and the apartment…the club…"
"I know! I can't believe it! All these years, I've never been able to remember…and now…god! I can't believe I found you! You're real! And you're mine!" Clark said, looking into his wife's eyes.
For the next couple of hours, the excitement of finding out the truth of how they met flooded over them and they talked in half sentences and explanations, answering questions and asking others.
"Now I know why I made that CD for you…"
"I can't believe I didn't remember and figure it out sooner!"
"Your parents must have been worried sick about you."
"I should have put it together with the hair metal, especially the White Snake."
It was just around dawn and the first crow of the rooster that they slowed down. Clark held his wife to his chest and drew his fingertips lazily up and down her back. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you that night by walking away. I know I did but I felt like I had to walk away before I really hurt you."
"Hmm," Lois hummed. "I was leaving anyway. I just had to find you to try to say goodbye. The General had gotten new orders and we shipped out two days later." She pulled back just enough to look up into his face. "Clark, whatever happened to…what was his name? Coop?"
Clark swallowed and looked down at her. "Franklin Cooper. He was mugged in an alley not far from the club late one night not long before that last time I saw you. I interrupted it and one of the kids ended up stabbing him. He died in my arms without a friend in the world, Lois." His voice broke on that last sentence and she reached up and cupped his face.
"He had you, Clark. He really appreciated your friendship, short as it was," she reassured him with a small smile. She reached up and kissed him softly before pulling back and clearing her throat. Her eyes dropped down to their clasped hands and she gathered up the courage to ask. "One thing I don't remember…" She paused, trying to finish the question.
"Yes?"
"Clark, did you and I…we didn't…that first night at your apartment, you and I didn't…you know…did we?" she finally got out.
Lois felt his chest vibrate and she slapped it lightly, knowing he was laughing at her which made him chuckle all the harder. "Lois, we've been married and 'you knowing' for a while now. You can't even bring yourself to say it?" he teased.
Pulling back, she rushed to defend herself. "This is different, Smallville! We were so young! I had been drinking, you were on red-k and…oh just forget it. I guess it doesn't matter. I just hate not knowing and I can't remember…"
Clark pulled her back into his arms and silenced her with his lips. After a long kiss, he pulled back and brushed back her hair. "No, Jo, we didn't make love that night. You fell asleep in my arms after talking most of the night," he told her softly.
She sighed and laid her head back on his chest. "I'm glad. I mean, I just wanted to know that I remembered our first time together, you know? It was perfect after all. So romantic."
Clearing his throat, Clark's conscience forced him to correct his wife. "Well, technically you slept with me before I slept with you," he reminded her. When she pulled back with a questioning look, he grinned. "In the future, remember?"
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You mean the future that never happened?" Then she squinted and took a deep breath. "I hate time travel. I don't know if that counts or not. I don't remember it and you weren't you…oh forget it."
They were quiet for a few minutes and then Clark thought of something else he wanted to know. "So, why don't you like hyenas?" he asked.
It took Lois a minute to catch up but then she answered after swallowing. "Daddy was stationed in Africa once and I saw a pack of hyenas take off with this woman's baby. He wasn't even 4 months old. They never found him. I still heard those bone chilling cackles for weeks afterwards in my nightmares." She shivered at the memory and he placed a kiss on the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her tighter.
"Clark?"
"Yeah?"
"Where did you get that scar? What happened to it?"
Lois sat back as she waited for Clark to answer, wanting to see his face. "Jor-El wanted to get my attention. Looking back, I don't think either of us handled each other well. I was so focused on avoiding being who and what I was, and Jor-El was just as determined to make me heel and do as he wanted me to do his way. It went away after I destroyed the red kryptonite ring and decided to come home with dad."
Satisfied with that answer for now, Lois moved back into his arms and they stretched out the length of the couch, just lost in their own thoughts for the moment. Lois was tracing lazy circles on Clark's arm and suddenly giggled.
"What?" he asked with a smile.
"Nothing. Just remembering how you deduced that I wasn't 60 years old or had a mustache," Lois told him. They laughed together softly and she pulled back to look up at him. "You know, you're pretty hot on that red kryptonite. You wouldn't believe how attracted to Kal I was," she flirted.
His heat vision flashed in his blue eyes momentarily before darkening with desire and a bit of mischief. "You know, I don't need red kryptonite to drop my inhibitions."
Lois raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
He tilted his head down to place his forehead against hers. "Yeah. I just needed a loud, brassy brunette to do that. What do you say we go upstairs and get in touch with my rebellious side?" he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows at her and squeezing her buttocks again.
Lois squeaked and giggled, capturing his lips. "You know, I just realized that I was 17 when I had my first up close alien encounter. I kinda liked it the first time around."
Standing up, he gathered her in his arms and moved towards the stairs. "Well, in the interests of interplanetary peace negotiations, I suggest another close encounter, this time definitely without clothes," Clark told her, nodding his head vigorously.
She gasped, reddened, and then threw her arms tighter around his neck, surrendering herself over to her husband. "Well, then take me to your leader and bring on the probes!" she declared, laughing.