So, Thanksgiving is done, Black Friday is over, my tree is up and decorated - the Christmas season has begun! I wrote this story for Laura to thank her friendship and support over the past year. I crafted it especially for her, knowing what she loves most in Lois and Clark fanfiction. She adores this story - I hope you all will, too.
You can find my stories as Groobie on the nfic archives and Susan Young on the gfic archives. In other words, you know me as Groobie.
I love it. The love between them shines out. The little bit of flirty banter is perfect.
Wonderful.
KatherineKent/Victoria Lois: "You put up with me for the same reason I put up with you. It's because I'm completely in love with you." Clark: "And I love you ... Did we just make up?" Lois: "I think so."
Sweet, groobie! We should let Laura make more suggestions for story challenges. A great continuation of that scene.
You nailed this:
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“This is delicious.” He tilts his head and arches his eyebrow playfully. “Where did you order it from?”
I try to summon my best mock indignation. “Hey! I’ll have you know it took a good ten minutes to transfer all of this food from the plastic containers onto my fancy dishes.”
This makes total sense for her character. I just couldn't see her making such a feast on her own without a hole in living room wall (where she tossed her gravy after adding too much corn starch) or without the fire department being involved. This is what I'm going to believe happened from now on.
I'm glad that they were able to get past their fears and admit the truth of their feelings once and for all. And yea to Clark for not keeping his secret forever and day (or 12 days) and letting her know in his own special way. None of that could / would have happened had her other friends hadn't ditched her.
A very sweet Christmas story that could easily substitute for a Thanksgiving on (if one didn't recall the episode on which it was based).
VirginiaR. "On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling" --- "clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
A lovely, waffy story with an original revalation and the first reasonable explanation I've ever seen for how that star came from "up there." There's a mall on the moon? Perfect!
Awwwwwwwww!!! You could not wipe the goofy grin off my face if you tried .
I. Love. This. Completely. Totally. Utterly.
When Susan offered to write me a story (which, come on, how awesomely sweet is that?!? ), I spent some time going through the show mentally. Thinking through my favorite scenes...those 'moments' when everything aligned perfectly on screen, when 'magic' was created before my eyes. I have the utmost respect for Susan--for her ablilty to bring humor and passion to life through her words--and the thought of pairing her ability with one of 'those moments' totally enthralled me.
SG...the end scene, that picture-perfect vision of Lois and Clark leaning head on head, in the window, snow falling, carolers singing. That moment as the episode comes to an end--it's beautiful. It's what I always throught 'love' looked like (so much so that as a teen, right after the show got cancelled, I actually printed off a screen cap of them standing, leaning on each other in the window...then--embarrassingly , and this is probably way too much information --blew up the image on a copy machine to a nice 8" x 10" size that hung on my closet door for years, not kidding ).
Anyway, SG's end is what first, immediately came to mind. And it kept coming to mind. So much so that I just had to throw the idea Susan's direction.
It's a perfect moment, there in front of the window...and it's also brimming with so much potential. Love is there, pure and beautiful. I've always wished/hoped/mentally begged for 'more'. What happened after those carolers moved on down the street? Did that huge meal ever get eaten? And most importantly...did anything else happen between Lois and Clark?!?
And now, thanks to Susan , I know! This--this story, this revelation, this amazing evening--is totally where my mind wanders to every time I think of this episode now.
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This is so much better than Arbor Day.
I cackle every time I read this. Hilarious!
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Somehow, despite the fact that I write for a living, words fail me around him. They get caught in my throat when I stare into his eyes; they’re stolen from my tongue when I cross into his personal space. And that’s okay, because we don’t need words – we never have.
The perfect irony--of words failing her. Lois Lane. World-famous reporter. Love this. And love the fact that a reporting team--that writes words for a living to communicate to the world--does not need words to communicate with each other. This is what WAFF is made of (sighing).
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I think he knows. I think he’s always known, even before I knew it myself. His hope, his persistence, his faith in the face of every obstacle I threw in his way that one day I’d know what he has always known – it’s the only thing that makes sense. He has had every reason, every opportunity to lose faith. And yet, here he is, his hand on my waist and his head tipped against mine, and he must know how I feel, how I’d stand here forever if it meant this feeling would never go away.
I believe this completely. Clark knew. Felt it deep within himself. Right from the beginning. He finally saw in Lois himself--for the first time in his life he could completely relate to someone. Understand that her struggles, were, in such a way, his own. His love for Lois--unwavering--is one of the things that makes Clark so wonderful. And I really do think that he saw that Lois 'cared', in some way, in some form, early on.
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He gently puts his hand against my arm to halt my non-stop babbling. “You didn’t have to go through all the trouble. I would have come even if it was just turkey sandwiches.”
I breathe deeply, steeling myself against his honesty. I know he would – I know he did. He’s a terrible liar; there’s hardly a flurry of snow on the ground, so it’s all too obvious that he changed his plans for me. And that makes me love him even more.
He would have come if they were eating week-old leftovers . Clark's statement is such a mirroring of his 'snowed in' excuse. I adore those gentle white lies that show his heart.
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I press the issue, because this might be the right time and it’s definitely the right place. “I think I already met him.”
Clark closes his eyes briefly and I can hear his breath catch, then he carefully cuts through a piece of turkey, clearly avoiding any acknowledgement of my words.
“I think I met him and didn’t realize what I had. I think I was so afraid of accepting everything we could have together that I ended up hurting him so badly that he’ll never try again.”
. This is the stuff that 'gets' me...such angsty, on the cusp of 'everything' type of WAFF. The emotion is so strongly created in these three paragraphs.
Oh! And I have to bring up one of my favorite little bits of detail that I drooled over when e-mailing between you and me, Susan. The 'time' and 'place' repeat throughout! --this would be me, while reading the first time.
How you weave these words...may it be a right or wrong 'time' / a right or wrong 'place'...it adds such a punch to the story. I am amazed by details like this, how they add so much depth and creativity to a piece of writing. I really love how they are used above.
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I wonder if three small words are the right things to say. I stroke my hand against his cheek, and I watch his eyes hopefully dilate as he lets out a slow breath. I try to speak, but my emotions squeeze tightly in my chest and the only thing that escapes my lips is, “Wow.”
Clark’s face transforms and brightens – his eyes glitter playfully. He laughs lightly and says, “Yeah.”
Who would have guessed that three small letters would be enough?
And then going from 'three small words' to 'three small letters'? --yep, me again. What a cool/awesome idea of detail .
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"Is there a mall on the moon that I don’t know about?”
Ha! . Great line!
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'The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.’”
A fierce sincerity is blazing from his gaze – it’s clear that he needs me to interpret his message. So I take my time and consider the quote. “Superman’s planet exploded. He travelled through the galaxy and ended up here. But despite all of his powers, when you get right down to it, he’s really no different from you or me.”
Clark inhales, then slowly blows out the breath; I must have said the right thing. He nods slightly, then pushes away from the table. As he crosses to the window, he says, “’The cosmos are within us.’”
Combining these awesome quotes, with the star gift, with bringing Lois and Clark together...wow (sighing, again). How it all comes down to them being the same--when for so so long each of them has felt completely alone. Bridging that loneliness...how much as a teen I hoped and prayed to find 'that' with someone. So beautifully romantic, Susan .
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"There’s nowhere I’d rather be than by your side.”
I have to look away because his sincerity causes my heart to race. I deflect in order to gain a moment to regroup. I cock an eyebrow and say, with a wry, droll tone, “Well, I was going to throw you out the window.”
He smiles as he shrugs. “I’d survive the fall.”
ROTFL . This back and forth might go down as one of my favorites, EVER. It's utterly romantic, completely sweet, and perfectly ironic--all thrown together in a seriously funny way. This bit will be on 'repeat' in my mind for a few days now, definitely.
Susan, I told you when I first read this, and I have to say it again...this is, honestly, one of the best gifts I've ever received. From anyone. The time, the thought process, the creativity involved goes...just 'beyond'.
And how perfectly 'me' this story is--you know what really gets me about the show, what I love, and what touches me the most. You couldn't have crafted a better story as a gift .
Your friendship is the best gift of all--but...this story is pretty close behind it . Amazing Job!
WAFF all around. Thanks for the great story. A Carl Sagan quote in a romantic situation? I would've bet against it but it was well done and I'm happy to be proven wrong.
What a wonderfully WAFFy and sweet story! I loved back in July when I got to read it the first time, and even more now that there's snow on the ground outside.
You capture them so, so well -- their nervousness, their shared affection, and the anticipation that they're on the brink of something life-changing. <sigh>
A few favorite bits:
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It all hurts too much, not because of how it feels, but because I know now how it feels when it’s gone.
The black emptiness, the icy cold void that shrouded my soul when I thought he had died. When I cried over his lifeless body on the floor of that back street casino and felt all the light and color pour from my very being. The sudden certainty that without him, I was no longer me.
That is achingly beautiful. <sniffle>
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I’m so angry at myself for being such a coward, for waiting for him to decide that this is the right time and place.
Because he won’t – he’s not going to. He risked the words before; he touched the fire that day in the park and I burned him.
I love that she's able to recognize this, and that she can recognize how her actions hurt him.
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I pat my hand against his chest. “You’re gonna love it. I have everything you could possibly want: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce. I even have a pie; well, two, actually. Apple and pumpkin. I mean, pumpkin’s traditional, but isn’t that a vegetable? Why would anyone want vegetable pie? So I got apple, too – you know, the kind with the crumbles on top?”
He gently puts his hand against my arm to halt my non-stop babbling. “You didn’t have to go through all the trouble. I would have come even if it was just turkey sandwiches.”
I breathe deeply, steeling myself against his honesty. I know he would – I know he did. He’s a terrible liar; there’s hardly a flurry of snow on the ground, so it’s all too obvious that he changed his plans for me. And that makes me love him even more.
Awwww! I love the babbling. I suspect he would have shown up even if all she had was water from the tap. And I love that she recognizes that Clark came simply to be with her. And that she loves him even more for it.
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I draw my eyes away from him and survey the table. “I know it’s stupid. I just wanted the perfect Christmas for once.” I sink into a chair, and Clark sits opposite me with his hands folded politely in front of his plate. “I thought if I had all this food and invited a bunch of friends, then maybe I’d wipe out some of my bad Christmas memories and capture some of your good ones.” I shrug. “Lame, huh?”
Clark reaches his hand across the table and takes hold of mine. “Not at all.” His thumb strokes absently against my skin, making my heartbeat flutter. “I’m sorry more people couldn’t make it.”
I shake my head. “Honestly, the only person I really wanted to come is here.”
His face glows, but then he tries to suppress his smile as he teases, “I don’t see Superman.”
I lean forward and whisper conspiratorially, “I didn’t even invite him.”
Love the banter! Love the UST! I also got a kick out of her admitting that she didn't really cook it, and his teasing that she's mastered the fine art of takeout. Ha! Which then leads into this:
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“Mother always said I’d never get a man if I didn’t learn how to cook a decent meal.”
I see Clark gulp down a bite of food, and it seems like he’s considering his response. Then he quietly says, “Maybe you just need a man who knows how to cook for himself.”
I can’t let that easy opportunity to tease him pass by. “Know anyone who qualifies?”
“I might,” he says before sealing his lips shut and looking pointedly away from me, as if he’s doing his best to neutralize the grin that’s threatening to overtake his face.
I press the issue, because this might be the right time and it’s definitely the right place. “I think I already met him.”
Clark closes his eyes briefly and I can hear his breath catch, then he carefully cuts through a piece of turkey, clearly avoiding any acknowledgement of my words.
“I think I met him and didn’t realize what I had. I think I was so afraid of accepting everything we could have together that I ended up hurting him so badly that he’ll never try again.”
He looks directly at me – his eyes bore into mine – and I’m flooded with a flash of nerves that steal my breath and overwhelm me, because I can see everything he feels, and the purity and depth is unimaginable, like nothing I even remotely deserve.
I flee – I can hardly believe I’m doing it, but I find myself suddenly transported to the kitchen where I’m struggling to breathe and desperately trying to contain my emotions.
It's perfect! And perfectly them. <sigh> I could just paste the rest of the story in. <g> The kissing, the confessions, her realization of why he's always disappearing… Most of all, though, I love how it's so important to him to establish a link with not just Lois, but all of the cosmos. So, even though they were born on different planets, they're still made of the same star stuff. There's a link between them that isn't just romance or chemistry. It speaks to Clark's longing to belong and it makes me ache for them both.
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“Put it back, please.” I don’t look at him, but can sense that he hasn’t moved. “It’s mine. It belongs here. I love it.”
What an awesome declaration of love! And then it becomes even more bittersweet when they talk about his parents.
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“You know, light is like a cosmic time machine.” I see him nod slightly out of the corner of my eye before I continue. “So even though Superman is here, and his planet is gone, the light from his star is still reaching out to him.”
Clark looks curiously at me but says nothing. He’s waiting, no doubt, for an emotional outburst, for the kind of painful rejection he’s felt before. How he can stand here with me after all I’ve done to him in the past is beyond my comprehension.
“Your parents...” I nudge my head towards the night sky as I give him a weak smile. “Your birth parents...they must have loved you very much. To send you across the galaxy, to give you a chance that they didn’t have.” I try and contain my emotions because I want him to hear me, to understand me; I need to express my thoughts in words that are so hard to formulate. “But they reach out to you every night.”
So beautifully put! It makes me think about a line from the Watchmen, one of the characters talks about how the light from stars takes so long to reach us that all we ever see of them is their old photographs.
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I have to look away because his sincerity causes my heart to race. I deflect in order to gain a moment to regroup. I cock an eyebrow and say, with a wry, droll tone, “Well, I was going to throw you out the window.”
He smiles as he shrugs. “I’d survive the fall.”
His joke catches me off guard and I laugh, and then he laughs, and the tension between us evaporates.
Love this! And then you have the awesome banter with her loving Clark and tolerating Superman. Hee! And it end with a kiss.
Perfection!
Lois: You know, I have a funny feeling that you didn't tell me your biggest secret.
Clark: Well, just to put your little mind at ease, Lois, you're right. Ides of Metropolis
Loved this! So, you can do PG waff. And apparently you can do it pretty well, too
Originally Posted by groobie
He stands, looking out the window at the twinkling lights that shine down from above. I catch his profile and note the way his spine holds him rigidly upright, arms crossing his chest with his face tipped upward. His stance is regal, majestic, aloof and distant, as if his thoughts are as far away as the suns that sent their rays to Earth millions of years ago.
Thanks for the Carl Sagan quotes, I didn't know him (I have put them in my "valuable quotes" book). How cool it is when reading fan fiction makes you learn new things? P.S.: Laura, you're one lucky girl!
What a wonderful, WAFFy story. Whoda thunk the sentence, "I tolerate you, Superman" could be so romantic?
Although I'm just singling out that line, I could easily quote the entire story when listing parts I liked. This story is everything a non-A-plot, WAFFy, L&C fic should be.
“It’s permanent,” he says. “Real and solid and true.” I hear him sigh before he takes the star from my hand and turns it over. “But you could throw it to the ground and shatter it into a million pieces.”
Just like Clark's love.
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“I love you too, Clark.” I sigh dramatically, then add, “I tolerate you, Superman.”
Perfect answer!
Cuidadora
"Honey, we didn't care if you were a Russian or a Martian... You were ours... and we weren't giving you to anybody." ~ Martha in Strange Visitor
"A love that risks nothing is worth nothing." ~ Jonathan in Big Girls Don't Fly
Thank you all, so much, for your support of this story! Honestly, your positive feedback means the world to me.
Originally Posted by HappyGirl
the first reasonable explanation I've ever seen for how that star came from "up there."
When Laura gave me her list of requests, my first thought was, "Oh, no!" The end of SG is one of those untouchable moments from the show...so perfect in its own right that I was sure I didn't have anything to add. But then I realized there was one thing that always bothered me: where in the heck did that star come from? I don't think I've ever read an explanation for it. So answering that question became my goal, and Carl Sagan's "star stuff" became my central theme, and then I let the WAFF roll off my pen.
Originally Posted by HiddenMoon
So, you can do PG waff.
Well, it's not in my wheelhouse. But hey, even I can dial it back sometimes. Still, I do really enjoy playing on the other side of the boards!
You can find my stories as Groobie on the nfic archives and Susan Young on the gfic archives. In other words, you know me as Groobie.
If only one of them had a camera and could take a picture of us, we could freeze this moment in time.
KYLE GRIFFIN:
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Do we look like a married couple, like Clark has found his rightful place in my apartment, by my side?
Lois would make a great Sith Lady! The volatile temper. The tendency to overcook stuff. And I’m sure she could seduce even Superman to the Dark Side. . . . Okay, I’ll admit, reading this *after* a Star Wars marathon and Episode VII might have skewed my impression a bit
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Do they assume he’ll never leave, that the lights will eventually flick off and we’ll turn away from the window and head for the bedroom as they continue down the street in search of another couple to serenade?
Okay, then. I’ll be over yonder if that’s all right with you.
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pushing gently to see if there’s more than I’ve been willing to admit.
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And that’s okay, because we don’t need words – we never have.
Plus…/points at the whole Luthor/proposal fiasco/
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It all hurts too much, not because of how it feels, but because I know now how it feels when it’s gone.
Awwww…
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The me that embraces fire and heat and pain. The me that’s willing to put a name to it, claim it for everything it could be, risk touching it and being burned.
?
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And yet, here he is, his hand on my waist and his head tipped against mine, and he must know how I feel, how I’d stand here forever if it meant this feeling would never go away.
Or maybe he’s a creepy stalker with a Lois Lane fixation. KYLE GRIFFIN: Hey! Copyright infringement!
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But it’s here: this time, this place. And still, I hesitate, and I’m so angry at myself for being such a coward, for waiting for him to decide that this is the right time and place.
Wouldn’t it be awkward if she started to say them and he gets a Superman call?
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He sways imperceptibly closer to me, then swallows visibly before backing away and saying, “The food’s probably getting cold. We should eat.” His hand slides off my waist.
So I was wrong – it wasn’t the right time. But it will be – I’ll make sure it is before he leaves my place.
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He gently puts his hand against my arm to halt my non-stop babbling. “You didn’t have to go through all the trouble. I would have come even if it was just turkey sandwiches.”
TRANSLATION: I really hope the food is edible. Or not…well…poisonous.
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“This is delicious.” He tilts his head and arches his eyebrow playfully. “Where did you order it from?”
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I try to summon my best mock indignation. “Hey! I’ll have you know it took a good ten minutes to transfer all of this food from the plastic containers onto my fancy dishes.”
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“And besides, ordering take-out is a highly developed skill in its own right. You can’t just pick up food from anywhere – you have to do your homework and find the best places. So that’s research. And you have to order in advance, so that takes organizational skills.”
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“I think I met him and didn’t realize what I had. I think I was so afraid of accepting everything we could have together that I ended up hurting him so badly that he’ll never try again.”
There there…I’m sure Lex will try again once they have pieced enough of him back together for him to walk or, you know, talk.
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I smile shyly, because I can hear how sincerely he means that. Still, he did sacrifice time with his parents, who he only sees occasionally,
Well…weekends. Or, rather his days off, I guess.
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I clear my throat. “So, are you going to fly out there tomorrow?”
He drops my hand, and an odd expression of shock crosses his face.
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Impulsively, he stands, accidentally knocking over his chair, and he grabs me. I squeal with laughter as he cradles me in his arms, shifting my weight insecurely as if he’s about to drop me.
Sounds like he practiced.
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I’m not sure what expression I wear, but it’s making him nervous; I can see the wary trepidation on his face,
So, her ‘Superman groupie’ expression?
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I think that when I get too close, when he comes too close to revealing his feelings, that he flies off to find a lid that will more securely fit the box around his heart
No, it’s actually the writers trying to torture the audience with UST.
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I try to speak, but my emotions squeeze tightly in my chest and the only thing that escapes my lips is, “Wow.”
Clark’s face transforms and brightens – his eyes glitter playfully. He laughs lightly and says, “Yeah.”
Who would have guessed that three small letters would be enough?
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and I need to find something to say before I surrender to the rising heat and crawl over the table to claim him.
That could work.
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His lovely present sparkles in the twinkling light from the tree and I clear my throat. “Thanks again for the ornament. It’s beautiful.”
Yes. Superman and how he had never actually died that night in the casino make for a very safe topic indeed.
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Clark nods and looks away as if he’s slightly embarrassed. “He heated the glass, let it cool in a mold, then cut the edges. It was kind of a pain in the butt.” He shrugs, then mumbles, “Apparently.”
Also, he wasn’t supposed to *sit* on it!
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“I think I just wanted you to understand. You, me, him...there’s something about us that’s all the same. ‘We are made of star stuff.’”
Did he just proposition…them…all three of them…together…?
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I gasp, holding my breath. Because it’s suddenly so clear: why he disappears, why I feel the same way about two different men, why it’s so easy in this moment to imagine him wearing a tight-fitting uniform.
Oh boy.
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they fall as my thumb caresses the engraving centered on the ornament’s other side – the letters C and K surrounded by a heart.
Ooooh! Nice one!
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“Deal,” he says with a wink. Then he leans slightly towards me and asks, “Am I really getting off that easily?”
Umm…
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“Oh, I reserve the right to be furious at a later date. Just consider this a Christmas miracle for now.”
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I know he does. I’ve known it all along. And since I never actually gave him a present tonight, I can at least give him the words I know he’d treasure more than any tie I could buy at the mall.
Well…considering how hard it is for him to buy a suitable tie, I’m not so sure
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“I love you too, Clark.” I sigh dramatically, then add, “I tolerate you, Superman.”
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“Eh,” I said with disinterest, “Everyone has their flaws.”
Yes, but his flaw can bring chocolate. And do interesting things on the ceiling.
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Two hydrogen atoms fuse in the core of a star, and the radiant energy consumes us.
And next they start talking like Mickey Mouse
Michael
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I wrote this story for Laura to thank her friendship and support over the past year. I crafted it especially for her, knowing what she loves most in Lois and Clark fanfiction. She adores this story - I hope you all will, too. 
This makes total sense for her character. I just couldn't see her making such a feast on her own without a hole in living room wall (where she tossed her gravy after adding too much corn starch) or without the fire department being involved. This is what I'm going to believe happened from now on. 
yea to Clark for not keeping his secret forever and day (or 12 days) and letting her know in his own special way. None of that could / would have happened had her other friends hadn't ditched her.
. 
), I spent some time going through the show mentally. Thinking through my favorite scenes...those 'moments' when everything aligned perfectly on screen, when 'magic' was created before my eyes. I have the utmost respect for Susan--for her ablilty to bring humor and passion to life through her words--and the thought of pairing her ability with one of 'those moments' totally enthralled me. 
, and this is probably way 
--blew up the image on a copy machine to a nice 8" x 10" size that hung on my closet door 
, I know! This--this story, this revelation, this amazing evening--is totally where my mind wanders to every time I think of this episode now. 
--this would be me, while reading the first time. 
. 
![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/midi/frech/g042.gif)
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That could work.![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/midi/verschiedene/b075.gif)