Vatman - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
Clark thought for a second and then snapped his fingers. He said, "He was holding that airliner up. Maybe he left handprints. I could go and see if they match."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"Want to go?"
As soon as he asked, Lois started to get excited. "Fly to Paris? The City of Lights? Me? I'd love to."
"Let's go early. There's this little bakery that makes the absolutely best croissants in the world."
Lois threw her arms around his neck and started kissing him, "You … are … the … best … husband … ever." The words were interspersed with kisses.
Clark lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. "If we are going to get an early start, I think we need to get to bed early."
"But I'm not sleepy."
He bounced his eyebrows and said, "Who said anything about sleep?"
She squealed in delight and kissed him again.
He carried her through the archway and laid her on the bed. They simply cuddled and kissed for a while.
Then slowly piece by piece their clothes came off.
Within minutes, Clark was caressing her breasts, kneading them and gently pinching her nipples and as he did her breathing began to be somewhat ragged.
His hand drifted down across her belly and started stroking her legs, skimming down her outer thighs and back up the inner thigh. As his hand traveled up her inner thigh her legs parted to allow him easy access. It was a feather light touch, barely perceptible.
After several minutes of this his lips left hers and she whimpered at the loss only to gasp when he made contact with the side of her neck and kiss a line down, across her shoulder and then his tongue licked out and circled her breast, finally taking her nipple into his mouth and sucking on it.
As he did that she let out a guttural groan and reached for him. Thi started a period of marital intimacy.0
When they were finished, he floated them up and over so that she would be on top After heaving another sigh of contentment, drifted off to sleep.
He lay there, under her and marveled once again at his good fortune. To have the woman that he loved so completely as his wife and the promise of children with Lois in the future was almost overwhelming to him. He drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 3
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they got up and dressed for the trip to Paris, Clark knew that he was going to be in trouble. It was going to be sheer torture to look at her all day and not be able to make love with her, every hour on the hour. She loved to tease him with her wardrobe and she must have thought that a trip to the city of romance called for a special outfit. Seeing how she was dressed he knew that he would be in a constant state of arousal and in the Suit that fact would be impossible to hide.
As soon as he did his spin change and stood before her, Lois smiled at his condition and said, “I can tell that you like what you see.” Stepping over to him she ran her hand over the front of his briefs. She was pleased to hear him groan in response.
He scooped her up in his arms and said, “If we don’t leave now, we won’t be leaving for a couple of hours.”
With mock innocence she giggled, wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.
Long before the sun came up in Metropolis, Superman, with Lois in his arms was flying eastward.
They were half way across the Atlantic when Lois gushed, "Ohhhhh … the sunrise is so
spectacular. It's just jumping up there. Incredible!" She buried her head in the crook of his neck and started nibbling on the skin just above the Suit.
He faltered slightly and Lois yelped as they suddenly lost altitude. He got himself back together and resumed the flight.
She asked, "What happened?"
"As if you didn't know. You distracted me. The way you are dressed is distraction enough, but nuzzling my neck that way was just too much."
Looking down at the expanse of water below them, contritely, she replied, "All right. I didn't wear my bikini, so I'll be good."
Arriving in Paris, they landed in a dark alley near Chez Morel and Clark spun into streetwear. He directed Lois to Amandine's boulangerie, a little bakery that was one of Clark's favorite haunts. He had discovered it while he had been in Paris during his world travels. Amandine was a motherly woman that had taken a liking to the itinerant American journalist. Clark made a point of stopping in occasionally when he was in Paris and had made special trips there to fetch treats for Lois.
As they rounded the final corner Lois stopped in her tracks and took in a deep breath through her nose. She let out a heartfelt, "Mmmmmmmmm, what a wonderful aroma!"
Clark smiled and said, "Welcome to Chez Morel." He reached for and opened the door. When he did, an early morning customer came bustling out. As he did, he tipped his chapeau to Lois and as he took in her trim figure, the décolletage displayed by the low scooped neckline and her long legs below the very short skirt which were accentuated by the stiletto heels she was wearing and said, with obvious interest "Bonjour, Mademoiselle, enchante!"
Lois corrected him, "Madame not Mademoiselle."
He looked at Clark and his face fell. He simply said, "Pardon," and passed on.
Lois smiled at his discomfiture and passed inside, followed by Clark.
Lois was overwhelmed when she was finally inside. The sights and smells that assaulted her senses literally took her breath away. Lois didn't know where to look first so she just started at one side and worked her way around. The space was large; on the left side stood a long countertop covered with colorful pastries; éclairs, crullers and tarts. On the right were more counters displaying all manner of breads: long elegant baguettes, thick country white bread, ring shaped breads called couronnes and sweet bread that looked like a muffin with a round dot on top, the fluffy brioche. Along the wall behind the counter were dozens of baskets filled with additional bread loaves, rounds and rings delicately sprinkled with herbs.
There were several staff members serving the early morning customers. They were all wearing white, white shirts, pants and aprons. They also had white kerchiefs covering their hair which most had pulled back in a bun or a pony-tail. Even their faces were white, at least mostly, but this was the result of flour and powdered sugar. Even though they worked the front, some of the breads were sprinkled for appearances and they got it on their hands.
As they entered, Clark heard a voice giving directions to the staff. The voice caught the attention of both Lois and Clark. When they both looked in that direction the owner of the voice spotted them. The owner was a tall woman who appeared to be past middle age, in fact her snow white hair, styled as it was, in a pixie cut, would place her age at well past middle age, but some of that could possibly be attributed to flour, although Clark knew that her actual age was something over sixty. When her bright blue eyes fell on Clark her face lit up and she exclaimed, "Bonjour Clark! Back in Paris so soon?"
Seeing Madame Morel's haircut, Lois started to think about how much easier it would be to take care of that short style. She thought she might just try it. It wasn't like it wouldn't grow back out.
"Just a short trip. While I'm here I'm supposed to look into that incident at the airport yesterday."
Madame Morel looked at Lois and asked, "And this is?"
"Mme Morel, se il vous plaît laissez-moi vous présenter ma femme, Lois." [Madame Morel, please allow me to introduce my wife, Lois.]
"Cette merveilleuse nouvelles. Elle est belle. Vous êtes un homme très chanceux." [Such wonderful news. She is lovely. You are a very lucky man.]
Lois didn't know much French, but she knew enough to understand that she was being talked about and blushed as a result. She said meekly, "Thank you. Clark has always told me about your shop and from time to time has brought me some of your croissants. Just looking around the shop with the breads and pastries is fantastic!"
Amandine laid a gentle hand on Clark's shoulder and said, "Show her around, pick whatever food you wish. Tell the ladies I said it is my wedding present to you."
"Madame Morel, vous êtes trop gentil" [Madame Morel, you are too kind"] Turning to Lois he said, "Madame Morel said to pick anything and that we should consider it to be a wedding gift. I just thought, we didn't have a wedding cake." Looking around he spotted a chocolate frosted muffin he said to Lois, "Perhaps a muffin."
Lois turned to Madame Morel, "Thank you, Madame Morel. That is very kind of you. Clark has told me so much about your shop. I've been looking forward to visiting it." Lois looked around, "Everything just looks so wonderful."
"Please, for the wife of my good friend, Clark, pick anything. It is yours."
The old expression, putting the fox in charge of the hen house would apply here. Everything looked so good that Lois selected representative samples of quite a few items. By the time they left they were each carrying several pink and white bags with delicacies. Lois was nibbling on a fresh cruller and sighing her pleasure at the warm bread.
Spotting a phone booth, Clark stopped, dropped a few coins in the slot and dialed. The phone was answered quickly by a feminine voice, "Sûreté nationale."
"Bonjour, c'est Clark Kent avec la Daily Planet. Pierre Delacroix est disponible?" [Hello, this is Clark Kent with the Daily Planet. Is Pierre Delacroix available?]
"Oui. Moment."
A mild male voice came on the line, "Delacroix."
"Pierre, Clark Kent. Could you help me? I'd like to examine the aircraft that Superman saved yesterday."
"Je crois que je peux vous aider. Me rencontrer à l'aéroport. [I believe that I can help you. Meet me at the airport.]
"Merci. Je vais vous rencontrer là." [Thank you. I'll meet you there.]
Pierre Delacroix was there by the time they arrived. When they met him, Clark introduced Lois, "Police Inspector Pierre Delacroix, this is my wife, Lois Lane."
He took Lois's hand, bowed over it and kissed it. When he replied he spoke heavily accented English, "My pleasure. It was very lucky that you were here in Paris on assignment. I've read many of your articles on Superman in the international edition of the Daily Planet."
Lois retrieved her hand and said, "Thank you for meeting us."
Delacroix was a short man with a pleasant enough face and he thought of himself as quite the ladies' man. He was really giving Lois a once over taking in her slender shapely legs below her short skirt and the creamy flesh of her full bosom. Lois loved to tease Clark so for this trip she had worn a blouse that was so low cut that she had needed to wear a bra with demi cups. She had picked one with lifts to push her breasts up to tantalize him that much more. The overall effect could be seen on Delacroix, he couldn't tear his eyes away from Lois, "It is my pleasure. I have made arrangements for you to examine the plane. It is grounded until the repairs are made."
Clark took Lois's hand to reassert his possession and said, "Thank you. We just need to verify ... something, for our article." Having Lois there was going to help. He turned to Lois and said, "Lois, why don't you interview the Inspector while I check out the plane?"
Lois knew without being told that he needed her to distract the inspector while he checked so she pulled a notepad and pencil from her ever-present bag and started asking questions about the rescue.
Clark sauntered away and once out of sight zipped over to the plane and then seeing that he was alone and unobserved he floated up and placed his hands in the depressions made by the other Superman. They were a perfect fit. He floated back down and returned to Lois and the Inspector.
Taking Lois's hand in his, Clark said, "Thank you, Inspector. You have been most helpful. Come on, Lois. It's time for us to go. Please excuse us inspector. We have a flight to catch."
Lois flashed the inspector a grin reached up, stroked his jaw, leaned in slightly to give him a kiss on the cheek which gave him a close up view of her bosom and said, "Bye, Inspector. It was nice meeting you."
He was speechless and grinning like a fool. The sight of her cream colored mounds and her touch had put thoughts in his head. He was so distracted by her that it never occurred to him to think that there were no flights to the U. S. scheduled for that hour. Then he thought about his wife and how he wished she looked more like Lois Lane. Ah well, it was not to be. She looked the way she looked and no matter how much he wished she looked more like Lois Lane, she wasn't going to be changed. He had to accept that. Besides, a woman that looked that good would probably be vain and not even know how to cook. He had a good wife. She cooked his meals and did his laundry. They had three children. He shook his head and turned toward his car.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Once out of the inspector's sight, they had ducked behind a building and Clark had spun into the Suit. After picking Lois up and cradling her in his arms and Lois cradling their bakery bags they lifted off and headed for Metropolis.
Once they were over the Atlantic, Lois asked, "So, what did you find?"
"I found a set of handprints that could very easily be mine on the underside of the fuselage."
"Okay, but that really doesn't prove anything. So he has hands like yours, he still isn't you."
"I guess we'll just have to wait for him to show up again."
A few minutes later they landed on the balcony of their apartment and after setting Lois on her feet Clark spun out of the Suit and into his work clothes. They stopped in the apartment for a short time. Lois’s teasing had had the desired effect and they had a period of marital intimacy after Lois put most of the bakery items away and changed out of her stilettos into more comfortable heels. Then Clark to made their coffee before they moved out to the Jeep and headed for the Planet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois was still carrying one of the bags from Chez Morel in one hand, her coffee in the other hand and the strap of her bag over her shoulder as they exited the elevator.
When the doors opened they revealed that Cat was standing there waiting for the elevator. When the doors opened she saw Lois and Clark breaking from a kiss. She noted Lois's outfit and especially her top and said, "Looks like you've been taking my advice. Nice outfit, but isn’t it a bit much for the office?"
"Thanks, Cat. I'm trying. We went out early … and we were, uh, undercover.” Thinking about what had happened, Lois started to blush.
Noting Lois’s blush, Cat quirked an eyebrow and said, "Oh? Undercover, or undercovers?” before she ducked into the elevator.
As they descended the ramp, Jimmy shouted, "Hey, have you guys seen the latest?"
Lois replied, "What now?"
As she set down the coffee mug, Jimmy handed her a copy of the evening edition. It carried an account of a Superman rescue. After reading it, Lois decided that it could help The Secret if she played it up, so she asked Clark, "It's been three days since Superman has even been seen in Metropolis. Don't you find that just the tiniest bit odd?"
His reply was flat, "Not if there were no emergencies to be handled."
As they were speaking, Perry exited the elevator. He was wearing a ball cap and had a garment bag over his shoulder.
Clark said, "Morning, Chief."
Perry smiled and as he passed he tipped his hat to Lois.
Lois referred to the paper and said, "Look at this. In the last thirty-six hours Superman's saved that airplane in Paris, righted a sinking ship in Rio, rescued a busload of school children in Surinam, wherever
that is, and on and on. Never once talking to the press or even sticking around to see how things came out." Under her breath she said, in a tone so low only Clark could hear with his super-hearing, "No wonder you haven't been able to find him. He's been all over the place."
Jimmy had been eying the bag that Lois was holding and so Lois offered him the bag.
Jimmy dipped his hand in and came out with a croissant. He tore off a piece and popped it into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully then swallowed.
Jimmy asked, "I guess the question is … why isn't he
here? Why isn't he saving sinking ships or rescuing school children in Metropolis like he's always done?" The flavor of the croissant finally hit him and he said, "These are incredible. Where'd you get them? It must have been somewhere nearby, it's still warm."
Lois replied, "Oh, a little French bakery that Clark knows about. You know, Jimmy, Metropolis doesn't
own Superman. Maybe he's on vacation."
The word vacation triggered a memory and Jimmy suddenly realized that he had some things on his desk that he needed to give to Perry so he excused himself and hurried to pick them up. Once he had them in hand he checked to make sure that all were accounted for then headed for Perry's office.
Without even knocking he entered the office. When he did he caught Perry checking himself out with a hand mirror. Hearing Jimmy, Perry quickly pulled the mirror down and placed his hand over it as if to hide it.
As soon as he crossed the threshold Jimmy was speaking, "Chief, I got you those brochures on that white water rafting trip, but frankly, it looks a little dangerous ..." His speech faltered as he saw what Perry was doing and was somewhat startled by what he saw. Perry was wearing a toupee.
Perry affected his usual bluff and bluster as he replied, "Dangerous? Good."
As he was speaking, he lowered the mirror to his desktop and placed his ball cap over it to conceal it. Looking up, Perry caught Jimmy staring at him.
He was staring because with the hair piece, Perry bore a striking resemblance to Dan Rather. Realizing he had been caught he quickly dropped his eyes to the brochure in his hands.
Perry, having caught Jimmy decided that more bluster was in order and barked out, "Yes? You were saying?"
It was now blindingly evident that the Chief didn't want anything said about his changed appearance so Jimmy did his best not to look at his hair. "Uh ... oh, right ... those brochures ..." He almost literally buried his nose in the brochure so that he wouldn't be tempted to look at Perry's hair. As he looked down, he asked, "Chief? Everything okay?"
Perry was still in bluster mode as he answered, "Why shouldn't it be?"
Jimmy was relieved and yet not relieved. He kept his eyes down as he closed the brochure and then brought it up and hid behind it as he said, "Oh. Good. That's ... good. Anyway, they say that this trip is not for the faint of heart, solid swimmers, etc." He couldn't help himself and peeked around the brochure.
Perry caught him and he retreated behind it again. Before Perry replied, "Always hated swimming. Never much good at it either. Sometimes you've got to live out there on the edge."
Jimmy gathered his courage and his will power and lowered the brochure. He moved to the side of Perry's desk and as he laid it down he said, "Uh, I'll just leave these things here. On your desk, Chief."
Perry intercepted it and started to peruse it. While he did that Jimmy was examining his hairpiece.
Looking up suddenly, Perry caught him staring. Jimmy hastily turned away and left, closing the door behind him as Perry examined the brochure.
Seeing that Olsen had left, Perry picked the mirror back up and looked at his reflection. He was apparently pleased with what he saw because he started to smile.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois and Clark were speaking in low tones as they left the elevator, "I mean what's going on with this guy? Why is he gallivanting all over the world? Is he trying to avoid any possible confrontation with you? I could leave messages for him to call me with every correspondent and news bureau of ours worldwide. Maybe we could talk to him then."
"Lois, you're brilliant!"
As they neared her desk, she replied, "I'm glad you finally realize that. Uh, what'd I say?"
He waited for her to sit down then he leaned against her desk and said, in a low tone, "We need a way to lure him out into the open. We need to trap him."
Her voice went up a notch in volume, "Wait a minute. For a trap you need …"
"Bait," he said, matter-of-factly and nodded.
Her voice went up another notch, "You want to use me as bait," she stated flatly, incredulously.
Clark looked around to see if they were attracting attention before he said, "If he is anything like me he won't be able to resist you. Let's follow through with your plan. Leave messages with all of the out of town bureaus for him to contact you."
"If he can do everything you can do …"
"Don't worry, I'll be there."
Shaking her head in disbelief that she would be putting herself in this position, again, Lois put the plan into operation making call after call and sending numerous e-mails. She was wary, but convinced that Clark would be there to protect her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
During the midday lunch hour, a familiar figure in a familiar red, yellow and blue uniform was streaking through the sky. Clouds flashed by as he exceeded Mach 2 the problem was that he was low in the atmosphere and the sonic boom created by his passage followed close behind him and it was very disruptive. He dove toward the ground and flew through the canyon created by the skyscrapers of the city. The individual flying so fast and low was actually looking behind to see just what effect the boom he was creating was having. He saw pedestrians covering their ears because of the loudness. He saw a waiter at a sidewalk café startle and drop a tray full of drinks. There were several near collisions resulting from startled drivers. Seeing this he laughed out loud and let out a whoop as he zoomed up above the spires of the city once more. In his exuberance he did several barrel rolls.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
While Lois was making her contacts and leaving massages, Clark had gone downstairs. He exited the elevator and carrying some photos he approached Lois's desk. "Lois, do you have a magnifying lens? These are some stills I got from our Paris bureau."
Reaching into her desk drawer she pulled out a magnifier. Clark handed her a still photo to examine. She gave it a close perusal and then seeing several people nearby when she looked around said, "Sure looks like Superman to me."
He nodded in agreement and said, "Me too."
"People are going to think that we're fans looking at our hero. Before we were married, I had to have been the biggest Superman fan in Metropolis. Maybe we should join the fan club." He gave her a look of disbelief before in an undertone she said, "It'd help with the secret. You'll get a button. Who would ever think that a Superman fan would actually be Superman? Think of it as camouflage."
Thinking about how Lois's mind worked, Clark shook his head and returned to his desk. Lois got up and followed him, sitting in his guest chair she slowly crossed her legs causing the short skirt to become just that much shorter. She watched his eyes move to her display and smiled at the attention, before she continued, "It's crazy, really." She dropped her voice to a whisper, "I still have a hard time believing that I, little old me, I … am married to the one and only, Superman."
"Maybe not the one and only any more."
"I can't believe that even before we were married I had the gall to believe that Superman was mine ... uh ... Metropolis'. I really had no idea. I mean, unselfishly speaking, I suppose Superman should belong to the world. But then again, selfishly speaking ... I thought this was his home and now that we are married, I know it for a fact. It's amazing. You're amazing."
He reached out and took her hand in his, "Wherever you are is where my home is, Lois."
The tender tone and the sentiment expressed was pushing her close to tears as she said, "That's what is so mind boggling, that I mean that much to you. I'm nobody."
"Oh, quite the contrary, Lois, you are the most special woman I have ever known. You complete me. Without you, I'm only half a man. I love you."
As a single tear of joy trickled down her cheek, she smiled a gentle smile and leaned in for a kiss.
comments go here TBC
