Rules of Love
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 7
***
The next morning Lois and Clark sat in Perry’s office going over what had happened the night before with Lex. Perry was looking over his copy for the next edition, marking up the section for their follow-up on Luthor’s rise from the dead.
“Nice work you two.” Perry congratulated them, “Now I’ve said this before, but this time it’s an order. Take a few days off…” He looked at Clark and winked. “Both of you. I don’t want to see you until Monday ya hear?”
Lois smiled, sharing a look with Clark before taking his hand in hers, “You don't have to ask me twice.”
Perry let out a chuckle, watching as the duo disappeared into the newsroom. He smiled to himself, turning to his mockup in front of him. He had a feeling things would be quite different when the couple returned on Monday.
***
Jimmy walked down the long corridor with a large box in his hands, “Mr. Raul Borges?” He asked as the maid opened the door for him to enter the spacious home office.
The man sitting at the desk didn’t say anything, pointing instead to his desk. Jimmy nodded, then nervously chattered, handing Borges the clipboard and pen to sign for the delivery. “I'm sorry I got here so late, but you know how it is, working two jobs. The first one goes later than you thought, so the second one's always a scramble. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't need the money, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?”
Borges gave him a dubious look and asked, “Is there something else?”
“I guess not,” Jimmy said backing out of the room. He nodded to the maid and shook his head, “Tough crowd.”
***
Lois sighed, staring at her very full suitcase. She still had no idea where Clark was planning on taking her which made it impossible to pack. Clark himself seemed nervous about this trip. After last night she knew they both needed to get away and recharge. Her mind, however, wasn’t letting her do so.
A soft knock at the window caught her attention, and she turned to see Clark floating outside her window in his Superman suit. She smirked at him, walking over to unlock the window for him. “Superman, this is a surprise,” She teased.
He grinned at her, looking over his shoulder as he stepped inside, “Very funny.” He disappeared into a red and blue blur and reappeared in front of her in a t-shirt and khaki shorts. “You almost ready?”
“Not really. Someone won’t tell me where we’re going so it’s making it impossible to pack.” She gave him a pointed look.
“Okay,” he relented, “It’s warm.” He held up a hand to stop her, “And that’s the only clue I’m giving you.”
“I hate surprises.” She glared at him.
“So I’ve been told.” He teased, ducking as she threw a scarf at him.
***
Nigel waited patiently with Lucky Leon and his co-conspirator, Gregor who were watching one of the most notorious arms dealers through a hidden camera. “Amazing what you can sell to anyone on TV, no?” Lucky Leon asked, handing him a banana, “Banana?”
“No, thank you.” Nigel said curtly, “I’m trying to cut back.”
He turned his attention to Borges who was answering his phone, “Borges.” A moment later he jotted down a note. “Good. When can I expect delivery?” He paused then responded, “One p.m.? Fine. I’ve decided we’ll take Route 128 to 15. Don’t worry. I stand to make a lot of money off this shipment. No one’s going to know.”
“Except for us.” Lucky Leon chuckled to himself.
“Yes, and now we have the information we need from Mr. Borges,” Nigel said. A flicker showed on the screen, and he turned to Gregor and Leon, “What was that?”
“A short?” Gregor guessed.
Nigel groaned, watching as Gregor reached over to fiddle with the ‘short’ in question. “And now he knows someone was watching.” He looked at Leon, “Take care of it.”
Leon pressed a button and said, “Adios yourself, Mr. Borges.” A tiny red dart shot out into Borges’ neck. He slumped over on his desktop.
***
Clark held Lois in his arms, hearing the Polynesian music already as he flew through the light fog that hung over the islands below. He did his best to keep calm but knew it would be impossible to hide the anxiety that was slowly building inside him. Lois turned to him with a smile as they flew in closer, “Hawaii?”
He smiled up at her, “A change of scenery, remember?”
She awarded him a smile as they landed behind a wooded area and large hill with trees and flowers around them. He quickly changed into his t-shirt and khaki shorts from earlier, donning a pair of sunglasses as he scooped her back into his arms which elicited a cry of laughter from her. He smiled, gazing at her in almost a trance as she looked back up at him uncertainly.
“What?” She asked, running a hand through her hair nervously.
“Nothing,” He said warmly, “Just admiring the view.”
Her cheeks turned a slight pink shade as she looped an arm around his neck, “I think you’re looking in the wrong direction, Farmboy.”
“No, I’m not.” He whispered, leaning in to kiss her.
***
Mayson threw her notepad across the room in disgust. Every account number she’d gotten from Sheldon Bender had already been closed. Every last red cent was missing, and now she had nothing left to track Gretchen Kelly and Nigel St. John.
Bill Henderson knocked on her office door, “I hate to be a bother,”
“Then don’t!” Mayson snapped irritably.
“Well, I just got a case fall in my lap that doesn’t jive right with me.” He laid the file on her desk, and she scanned it.
“Jimmy Olsen?” She scowled, shaking her head. “No, this doesn’t sound right at all.”
***
Lois stared out the room-length window by the queen-sized bed in her hotel room. She finished changing into a simple floral-patterned sundress and sandals. Clark was across the hall, getting ready for dinner. Today had been incredible. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago she’d been in Metropolis and now here she was vacationing in Hawaii for the weekend.
After checking into their respective rooms, they’d done some exploring of the main island. Clark had even talked her into trying to scuba dive. Though the gear was heavy and uncomfortable, it was amazing to see all the underwater creatures up close. The atmosphere here was so different from Metropolis. Where in the city everyone was in a hurry to go somewhere or do something here, they all were at ease. It was a much-needed change of pace for both her and Clark.
The past few months had taken a toll on both of them. It was hard to believe it had only been four months ago that he’d let her in on his secret. It felt like a lifetime ago. Everything had changed between them that night. She felt closer to him than she had with anyone.
She felt …ready. Ready to take that next step in their relationship. They’d come very close last night, though she suspected a lot of that had been fueled by fear of the unknown on both their parts. She knew it wasn’t entirely fear though. They’d come close on many occasions –many occasions where Clark had pulled back and stopped. Last night he didn’t though. The desperation and desire that had fueled their embrace had no end until they realized they had an audience. She had wondered countless times last night what would have happened if they hadn’t accidentally released the emergency stop. Would either of them have hit the brakes or would they have been checking into one room instead of two today?
“You ready?” She heard Clark’s voice behind her and turned to see him freshly showered and changed into a casual button-down shirt and khakis standing by the open door. Her eyes wandered up and down him, taking note of how well he seemed to fit into just about anything.
“Um, yeah, ready,” She said, meeting his gaze with a smile.
***
Mr. Darryl looked around the familiar looking office, taking note of the new occupant. A tall man with a white mustache and beard sat in the corner of the office and his boss—the boss, Bill Church Jr. sat at the desk. “You wanted to see me, Mr. Church?”
Church motioned to the seat in front of him, “Darryl, take a load off.”
Darryl did as he was instructed and Church leaned forward, grabbing a file in his hand, “We’ve got a new project we want you to takeover. Seems this Leon guy isn’t as bright as he seems on paper. He’s got the technology, but it’s murky at best. If we’re going to be using his technology to siphon information from these arms dealers and the NIA, we’ll need someone overseeing things."
The man in the corner of the room–his name escaped him–interjected, "We can’t kill everyone that notices a glitch. The body trail will set off red flags.”
“Yes, no need to bring the police on our trail any more than they already are." Darryl agreed. "I'll setup a meeting and get Mr. Leon on board with our adjustments."
"Oh and Darryl?" Church called after him, "Keep Leon happy, but if he starts to get squirrely, you know what to do."
"Always a pleasure, Mr. Church," Darryl chuckled, standing to his feet, file in hand. "Till next time?"
***
Lois stared at the fire rings that lit up from the live luau show. She watched in awe as the hula dancers moved around them as the band played music in the background. The dancers were beautiful with long dark hair and the dark sun-kissed tone skin with the traditional coconut bras and long grass skirts swaying to the music. She noted some of the male patrons seemed to be ogling the dancers a bit longer than was necessary, but not Clark. Every time she looked at him, his focus was on her. Another thing that made him so different from any other man she’d met.
It was so different from what she’d expected when Clark had suggested getting away from it all. Though she was finding it was hard to know what to expect. Every time she thought she had him figured out he’d take her breath away with something new.
“So, not what you expected, huh?” Clark teased, looking over at her with a broad grin.
She looked up at him from her glass and smiled, “No, definitely not.”
“Good.” He flashed her another smile before fiddling with his glasses, “I was thinking after the show we could go over to Mt. Mauna Kea. It’s supposed to have a great view.”
“Okay,” She nodded, reasoning aloud, “Not sure how much we’ll be able to see in the dark though. If you haven’t noticed, there are no lit walkways leading up the mountain...
at all.”
“Let me worry about that.” He answered with a knowing look. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but Clark was up to something. He kept fiddling with his glasses like he was nervous about something. She watched him cautiously over the top of her glass, trying to figure out what he could possibly be up to.
***
A tall man with curly red hair that identified himself as ‘Gregor’ handed Mayson the log book for Lucky Leon’s deliveries that day. She silently cursed when she saw the familiar name assigned to the delivery of Raul Borges’ delivery that evening. Usually, this was done by the detectives. Usually, she didn’t get involved with investigations until the case arrived on her desk, but given who the suspect was there was nothing usual about this investigation.
“Thank you, Mr. Gregor. I can assume you’ll be available to testify as to when Mr. Olsen left the factory for his delivery route?” She prompted, watching his face tense slightly then spread into a smile.
“Anything to help, Ms. Drake.” He looked over his shoulder, “If you’ll excuse me?”
Henderson walked up to her with a sigh, “What do you think?”
“I think we need to talk to Mr. Olsen,” She sighed, “but it’s not going to be a pretty conversation.” She frowned, looking over at the man she’d just been interviewing. There was something off about his reaction, but that wasn’t enough to hold her boss off on going forward with the case if he decided to make the arrest. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she wasn’t sure how to prove what her gut was screaming at her: Jimmy Olsen didn’t do this.
***
Lois stared up at the large white globe shaped building in front of them. “You brought me all the way to Hawaii to look at an observatory?”
“Not just any observatory. Maua Kea Observatory. It’s supposed to be the best place in the world to look at the stars.” He said with a smile. “Besides your last visit to an observatory didn’t turn out that bad, did it?”
“Well, no…” She said, following him up the steps. “Is this one of those weird Smallville quirks?”
He laughed, holding the lantern in his hand as they approached the front door. To her surprise, a man was waiting at the front who seemed to recognize Clark. “Makai Kent. Everything set.” He pointed to a door in the dimly lit lobby they stood in and nodded.
“Thank you,” Clark said with a smile.
Lois watched the man return to his desk and then looked at Clark suspiciously as he led her to the door that would open up to who knew what. “Something tells me you planned this mysterious adventure.”
“Well, I can’t give away all my secrets.” He grinned back at her as he opened the door for her.
She stepped inside, taking a breath as she looked up at the large circular glass pane ceiling where hundreds of stars shone brightly back at her. “Wow,” The entire room was lit up by the white sparkling gems painting the clear night sky through the glass.
“Pretty amazing, huh?” He whispered in her ear.
She glanced to the corner of the room and saw a picnic basket set up in the corner—much like their first date at the Metropolis Observatory several months ago. “A picnic, huh?” She smiled back at him, “You don’t have any other earth-shattering news to share, do you?”
“It’s just dessert. Come on,” He tugged her arm gently, pulling her into the center of the room. She took a seat next to him on the blanket that was folded out next to a large telescope. He pulled a small box from the basket and opened it, revealing several assorted fruits dipped in chocolate of one kind or another. “Here.” He offered her a chocolate covered strawberry dipped in crushed nuts.
“These are delicious.” She took a bite, looking around at the starlit room then turned back to Clark who was watching her with a smile on his face. “What?” She asked self conscious under his gaze.
“Nothing.” He murmured, taking a bite of his own chocolate covered fruit. “Enjoying the view.”
She blushed, seeing his gaze was still directed at her and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He’d done the impossible on this mini vacation. Made her forget the trauma from last night and this past week. He’d recreated their first date in the middle of paradise and had been the perfect gentleman throughout all of it. She had come to discover that was just Clark. He found joy from doing things like this that made her happy. She had fallen for him so completely and sitting here with him underneath the starlit sky she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be.
“This is pretty incredible that you put all this effort in for one evening.” She began cautiously, feeling her heartrate hike a bit. “Thank you. I think we both needed to getaway and this…” She gestured to the room, “...is amazing.”
“You’re amazing, Lois,” She met his gaze, feeling the heat from it hit her like a wave. His hand brushed against her cheek again, and he whispered, “I love you, Lois.”
“I love you too.” She said, looking up to meet his gaze.
“I don’t think I could have gotten through these past few days without you.” He cracked a smile, “Or even these past few months. I know it’s only been four months since I brought you to the Metropolis Planetarium and let you in on my biggest secret.”
“You trying to go for a do-over?” She asked, looking at him quizzically, trying to break the tension with a joke. He seemed really nervous about whatever it was he was trying to say.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” He reassured her, taking her hand in his.
“What is it?” she asked, looking at him in concern.
“Lois, you’re everything to me.” His fingers wedged themselves between hers, tightening into a joined fist as he continued, “You save me from myself so many times. Everything I'm able to do...every life I save, I'm able to do that because of you. I honestly don't think Superman would exist without you."
She awarded him a smile, "Somehow I doubt you'd be able to stand by and not help when needed." She reached up to stroke his cheek.
"Yeah, maybe," He looked up at her, meeting her gaze slowly, "Lois, these past few months have been the best months of my life. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You've been my best friend for so long. For a long time, I thought the scariest thing would be to let you in on what I thought to be the most dangerous secret known to man. You could have walked away, but you didn't." He stroked her cheek, and she felt a flutter in her stomach as she let him continue.
"You forgave me." He whispered, running his palm along her jawline. "I know it couldn't have been easy, and I know we've had our ups and downs these past months, but I want you to know how much I love you...how much I need you. Every day I wake up, and I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you in my life." He cracked a smile at her as he continued, "Even if you did try and push me out repeatedly in the beginning.
She laughed, toying with the collar of his shirt, "You were beginning to get to me. I wasn't very good at letting people in back then."
"I noticed." his eyes twinkled with laughter behind them, but his tone remained serious as he continued, "I love everything about you, Lois Lane. I love how passionate you get when trying to right a wrong that's been done. I love the way you never give up on anyone...even if they don't deserve it. I love your laugh, your smile...every tear and frown that makes you, you."
He ran his hand down her shoulder and smiled ruefully at her as he took her other hand in his. "I know there are probably a thousand reasons why I should just stop there…” His voice wavered slightly. “But I can't because..." he took a deep breath, "We agreed no more secrets. This is something I've wanted to ask for months now. I love you, Lois. I always have and I always will. I told you before I want forever, and I want it with you." He pulled out a small velvet box from his pocket.
“Clark,” She moved her hand to her mouth in surprise, uncertain how to process what was happening.
He opened the box and pointed it at her. The solitaire diamond stared back at her with a glimmer. She met his gaze, still trying to process what was happening when she heard him finally speak the six-word phrase she knew to be coming. “Lois Lane, will you marry me?”
~To Be Continued in “Rules of Guilt”Comments and Rants Go Here
