This chapter is much happier and slightly less conflict ridden.
Thanks for the feedback.
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“Clark Kent!” Lois yelled loudly to the spacious barn. There was a clunk, and then a muffled curse. Clark’s head popped out from beneath the large green tractor, his hair endearingly ruffled and his glasses askew.
“Lois?” Clark hastily stood; brushing the dirt self consciously off his jeans. He reached up to fix his glasses, leaving a smudge across his right cheek. He was completely oblivious to it. Lois’ heart melted slightly.
She walked slowly to him. When she was a mere two feet away, she brought one hand up to rest on his shoulder and looked up at him earnestly. He stood, frozen to the spot. Was he dreaming? The spot where her fingers casually rested on the soft flannel of his shirt burned. Nope, not a dream.
“I don’t know whether to strangle you or kiss you.”
Clark’s eyes widened. He would prefer the latter. Very much. At Clark’s owlish stare, Lois sighed, frustrated.
“I also don’t know whether the heck you listened in on the phone with my conversation with my father or not,” When Clark opened his mouth to speak, Lois hastily continued. “And I don’t care anymore. You were there when I needed you, again. You’re a strange one, Clark Kent, but…” Lois trailed off, unable to find the right words to express her jumbled feelings.
With another aggravated sigh, Lois bit the bullet and moved her hand from Clark’s shoulder to his neck. Before he knew what exactly was happening, she had stood on her tip toes and shoved his neck forward, their lips meeting in a kiss.
Clark remained frozen for about a millionth of a second before he responded with equal vigor, letting out a soft groan as his desires cumulated into the kiss. He moved one hand to tangle in her hair and the other to gently pull her closer. After a few more blissful moments, Clark’s kisses became shorter and gentler and finally he pulled back an inch.
“You—I—We--” Clark’s grip on her loosened, in case she wanted to slip away, but he kept a tentative hand on her back.
“Are you always this articulate after you sweep a girl off her feet?” Lois was unable to keep the smile from her face. That kiss… who knew underneath that passive exterior… her thoughts trailed off and she bit back a giggle.
“I think you did most of the sweeping,” he said, slightly breathless. He rested his forehead against hers. “You forgive me?” As soon as he said it, he wished he could take it back. Kent, you damned idiot. Why do you feel the need to question every gift you receive?
But he had to know. Had to be reassured that the kiss meant something to her. If it had affected her one thousandth of the way it affected him…
“I do, Clark,” Lois answered. “Heaven knows you don’t deserve it,” she gave him a small smile to take the bite out of her words. “But you’re a pretty hard guy to forget and ignore.”
Clark merely took her cold hands in his larger ones and rubbed them lightly.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
Sighing, this time in contentment, Lois pulled her hands from his and instead wrapped her arms around Clark in a hug. Lois gently pressed a kiss on his neck as he spoke, his throat rumbling.
“Lois would you go with me to the Smallville Winter Carnival? It’s tonight actually, sort of short notice I know, but I hadn’t been planning to go before…” Clark broke off and then continued. “But now after… this, I was just thinking… you know its pretty fun. They have a Ferris wheel and hot apple cider and…”
Lois watched in slight amusement as Clark went on nervously. She silenced him with a feather light kiss. “I’d love too, that sounds like a lot of fun.” She pulled back a little from his embrace and her eyes sparkled up at him. “I’ve missed you; we have a lot of catching up to do.”
The sun was just dipping into the horizon when Lois and Clark bundled up and slid into Clark’s truck. Clark leaned his head out the window to speak with his mom and dad.
“You guys sure you don’t want to ride with us? I’ve got room in the back.”
“No, you two go on ahead, your mother and I will probably make an appearance later. Besides you two will probably have a later night than we will,” Jonathon answered for the two of them as he wrapped an arm around Martha’s slim shoulders.
Lois blushed slightly and Clark merely grinned.
“All right then, bye Mom, Dad, you two have fun.”
As Clark shifted the truck out of park and backed out of the driveway, Lois watched in a sort of fascination as Martha and Jonathon leaned in for a quick kiss.
“Are your parents always so…” Lois searched for the right word as they traveled down the ancient, but neatly preserved and cared for road. “In love?”
Clark didn’t hesitate. “Yup. Since I can remember. Enough to make you sick, huh?” Clark gave her a good natured grin and she couldn’t help but smile back.
“It’s nice. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw my parents be civil to one another.” Lois looked at Clark, whose grip had noticeably tightened on the steering wheel.
“Your father…” Clark didn’t finish the sentence, the distaste in his voice evident from the two words. Clark’s usually warm eyes were stormy as he thought of sending Lois back to that man.
Noticing this and feeling strangely touched, Lois reached for Clark’s hand where it rested casually a top of the gear shift. He immediately lifted it and intertwined his fingers with hers, finding apparent solace in her warm grip.
The topic was forgotten as they neared Smallville. Clark pointed out a few landmarks along the way and soon they neared the downtown square where the fair was being held.
Clark had looked forward to the Smallville Winter Carnival every year since he could remember. It nearly outshone Christmas. Nearly. Not quite. But it was the pinnacle of Smallville’s winter society and the whole town always showed up. Clark pulled into an empty spot in the Valhalla Pharmacy parking lot and turned off the engine.
“I doubt we’ll get a closer spot than this, the carnival’s a few blocks down the road. You ready to walk?”
Lois nodded eagerly. Clark was grinning boyishly, his eyes gleaming. He quickly opened his door and made his way to Lois’ side, opening her door as well.
“Clark, chivalry died along with the knights,” Lois giggled as Clark extended a hand to help her down. “Don’t you know that?”
He shook his head playfully, refusing to let go of her hand. A large Ferris wheel twinkled merrily in the distance and the shouts and laughter of Smallville’s inhabitants reached the two teenager’s ears.
Lois playfully swung their joined hands back and forth. “So what does one do at a Smallville Winter Carnival? Husk some corn? Take bets on next year’s crop?” She walked a little closer to him, smelling the fresh scent of his cologne and the soap from his shower mingling with the sharp winter air.
“Nope, that’s in October, the Corn Festival.” Clark laughed in delight at the disbelief on Lois’ face.
“Smallville has a corn festival? What, do you guys perform ritual crop dances every year too?”
He tightened his grip on her hand and used his other to playfully tap her nose. “Nope, only every other year,” he said, relishing this freedom to laugh and joke. “And only the elders in the society perform them. We also light a huge bonfire and roast a sacrificial pig on a spit.” He said it completely deadpan and Lois burst out laughing.
The crowds on the sidewalks grew thicker as they reached the Carnival. A few people stared at her oddly for a moment, trying to place her. Clark ignored this for the most part, waving to a few people he knew, but mostly urging her forward. Lois had to fight down a smile. He really was like a little boy at Christmas.
Main Street was lined up with rows and rows of brightly colored tents, some selling typical fair food, some with games and prizes, and others selling homemade wares.
Lois and Clark walked through the first few booths, eyeing them curiously but not stopping. Lois was the first to fall under the spell, dragging a protesting Clark over to a fortune telling booth.
“Clark! Come on, let’s get our palms read!” Lois looked to see Clark hesitating and quickly kissed him on the lips. It was short, but sweet and Clark had to fight down the urge to pull her closer. “Please?”
“Oh alright.” He tore off four orange tickets from the reel he had bought and handed it to Stacy McMillen, the town’s librarian. “Guess we’re here to get our palms read.”
Stacy held back the purple curtain magnanimously and bid them enter.
Lois and Clark sat down cross legged across from a woman whose face was obscured by a thin veil. A quick glance down his nose revealed her to be Natalia McMillen, Stacy’s fourteen year old daughter. Clark quickly hid a smile and watched as Lois held out her hand.
Natalia took it, staring at the lines and ridges for a few long moments before starting in a dramatic voice. “This line, right here, leading up to your pinky means you crave speed and acceleration. You live off of danger and have a lot of pent up sexuality.”
Lois tried to pull her hand back in embarrassment, but Natalia kept a firm grip. Clark was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Lois’ startled expression.
“See how your ring finger leans in slightly toward your middle finger?” Lois nodded and Natalia continued. “That means you enjoy mental stimulation and you love to have fun.” She finally released Lois’ hand and turned to Clark. “Your turn.”
Clark held out his hand at Lois’ pointed stare and smiled good naturedly. He didn’t believe a word of it, but if it made Lois happy…
“This thick muscle by your thumb means you’re a courteous and kind person, as well as very passionate.” Clark blinked at this, unsure what to say. “You have a long life line… very long in fact.” Natalia looked at his hand curiously. “Wow, I’ve never seen anybody with a life line like that.”
Natalia released Clark’s hand, a little more reluctantly than she had Lois’ and waved them off. “I must regain my sensei before the next customer.”
As they walked out, Lois reached up to whisper in Clark’s ear. “Isn’t a sensei a karate instructor?” Clark nodded and Lois smirked. “I knew she was a fake.”
“Lois, give her a break, she’s fourteen years old.”
Lois stared at him curiously. “How’d you know that? She kept that veil on the whole time.”
Clark cursed again and thought quickly. “I-I recognized her voice, she’s the librarian’s daughter, Natalia. …I think,” Clark hastily amended.
Lois accepted that and held up Clark’s palm for her own scrutiny. “My, what a long life line you have!”
Clark rolled his eyes as Lois burst into a fit of giggles. They passed a booth selling cider and Clark stopped. “Are you thirsty?” Lois nodded and Clark bought two apple ciders.
They found an empty bench and sat down, cautiously sipping the hot drink. Lois closed her eyes in appreciation as the drink warmed her. “Mmm… this is delicious.” Clark nodded in agreement and turned to watch the crowds.
“So what would you like to do next?” He scanned the booths. “There are some ones down there selling crafts and clothing if you’d like to look at that. And down the other way are some more games.” He took a final sip of his cider and spotted a trashcan. He extended his arm in an over exaggerated basketball pose, and the cup sailed neatly in the wire bin. He turned to Lois with a big smile on his face and she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.
“Can you go two for two?” She handed him her empty cup. Clark jutted his lip in apparent concentration and Lois innocently moved closer. “If you sink this I’ll…” Lois whispered the rest of the sentence in Clark’s ear just as he released the cup. Clark gasped and it missed by a long shot.
“Guess I won’t then,” Lois said offhandedly as she gave Clark an impish grin. Clark stared at her wide-eyed, before hurrying to catch up with her, shaking his head.
Instead of taking her hand, Clark hesitantly slipped an arm around her shoulders. Lois sighed contentedly and snuggled a little closer to him. “Thank you Clark.”
Tilting his head, Clark met her gaze as they walked. “For what?”
Lois shrugged slightly. “I don’t know, for being you, I guess.”
Clark grinned, his heart full to bursting. After so many years of denying himself this pleasure… it was incredible. They wandered over to a few brightly colored tents and Lois left the shelter of his arm as she explored.
They stopped at a tent selling home made candles and had fun trying to find the most outlandish scent. They decided that Clark’s burnt popcorn find beat Lois’ fresh cake hands down and Lois gave him a quick kiss on his nose as a reward.
A few minutes later, a glass case caught Clark’s eye. Keeping a wary eye on Lois, who was examining a huge bookshelf of antique novels, he casually approached the case. The jewelry inside was all silver, some of it gaudy and ostentatious, but some quite beautiful. A silver locket caught his eye and he slid his glasses down his nose to examine it critically.
It was small and delicate, a throwback to an older age. The front was etched in a twining pattern and after checking that Lois was still occupied, he quietly asked the clerk to take it out of the case.
He checked the price, expensive but not unaffordable and bit his lip. He wanted to do something for Lois. Partly to make up for his grievous error re the phone call and partly because he had never had someone he cared about quite this much who wasn’t an immediate member of his family. The locket was beautiful, and if he closed his eyes he could vividly imagine Lois wearing it. Making a decision with one quick look back at the oblivious Lois Lane, he paid Mr. Bronici and slipped the box in his pocket.
He walked up behind Lois, who was standing in line by the makeshift cash register.
“What are you getting?” He asked curiously, the wind ruffling his hair.
“This Jane Austen book for Lucy,” Lois held up an ancient looking copy of Pride and Prejudice. “It’s totally not her style, but her latest kick is antique books. It’s a bit more worthwhile than collecting men, so I’m helping her jump start the collection.”
Clark nodded while Lois paid. “Sounds reasonable enough.”
She gave him a bright smile and grabbed his hand. “Now come on and I’ll let you drag me to that Ferris wheel you’ve been so excited about.”
Clark gave her a teasing grin. “Me? Don’t you try and put this on me, I know you’ve been eyeing it ever since we pulled in.”
“You just want to make out at the top.”
With a bright smile, Clark swung their joined hands slightly and gave an enthusiastic nod. “You bet I do.”
