Previously:
Clark couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't even move. His hands, which had been balled tightly into fists, numbly fell open. His entire body seemed to have shut down, leaving him shaky and weak.
"Lois," he finally managed to say. His eyes blinked open and found hers. "I love your control issues."
<><><>
Part 11/?
<><><>
As they ate dinner Lois went through a mental list, trying to find the word that best described her current state. Besotted - that came close. But it didn't quite capture the urgency that she felt, sitting next to Clark with his leg pressed close against hers. Just the heat of his thigh next to hers was liquifying her insides. The dreamy haze of desire she had felt for him since that afternoon was becoming a long-term condition. She couldn't concentrate on anything else. There was a conversation going on around the fire, a lively one from the sounds of it, but she couldn't follow a single word.
Clark leaned forward, intent in whatever it was he was telling the group and she took advantage of his new position to run her hand over his back. She started at his waist and worked her way up his spine, her fingers numbering each of his vertebrae along the way. When she got to his neck she brushed her fingertips over the bare patch of skin above his collar.
His head turned and their eyes met. The look he gave her sent a flare through her stomach and up her spine. Her lips parted in a silent gasp and she saw his eyes follow the movement. Her fingers slid into the short hair above his collar and his eyelids fluttered briefly before he looked into her eyes again.
"Soon," he said, so softly that she read his lips more than she heard him speak it.
"Hey, Clark," Rich said, "you're on water tonight. Can you bring back a couple of buckets so we can get dinner cleaned up?"
Clark gave Lois a regretful smile, his hand squeezing her knee, before he stood up to complete his chores. Lois watched him walk away, admiring the easy grace of his gait. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered their session in the tent that afternoon. She stood up, muttering an excuse to the others to return to the tent.
As Clark came back from the lake he saw her shadow cast against the side of their tent by the lantern inside. She was sitting there, unmoving. He set down the buckets of water he was carrying and walked over to their tent. He cleared his throat softly and asked, "Is it okay to come in?"
"Yes." Her shadow didn't move.
He unzipped the tent's flap and looked inside. She was sitting cross-legged on the sleeping bags, the ring box held loosely in her hands. His chest tightened in nervous anticipation.
She looked up at him as he came inside, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Did you know that Dave told me not to strip for you until you gave me the ring?"
Clark settled opposite her, unconsciously mirroring her position. "What? When was this?"
"A few days ago." Her forehead furrowed for a moment. "It seems like a lifetime ago. You want to know the sad part about that advice?"
"Uh... sure." He didn't really want to know, but it seemed impolite to say so.
"I didn't exactly follow it, did I? I mean, I let you get me naked before you gave me the ring."
He broke into a grin. "Lois, I didn't give you the ring because I got you naked. Or to try and get you naked."
She shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. "I know that. And, at the time, I wasn't exactly doing much forward thinking. Even if you thought I was capable of making a decision."
His heart lurched in his chest. "Are you sorry that it happened?"
Her eyes turned liquid and she looked as pained as he felt. "No! No, Clark, I will *never* be sorry for what's happened between us the past couple of days. That's not what I was saying at all. What I meant was..." She raised one hand and nervously pushed back her bangs.
He took a slow, deep breath and waited for her to continue.
Lois turned the box over and over slowly as she spoke. "I didn't sleep much last night. I couldn't. I just kept thinking about you and me and everything we've gone through to get here. And then, today, at the waterfall, I, uh, I made my decision. I mean, I already knew my answer; I just finally accepted that it was my answer." She shook her head somewhat ruefully before holding the box out to him. The slight tremor in her hand as she did so sent a cold stab of fear through him.
He hesitated for a moment and then took the box from her with a heavy heart and a small nod. "I understand," he told her. He cursed himself silently - he had pushed her too hard. He had blown it.
Her dark eyes sought his out. "Ask me."
For a second or two he didn't move, his mind racing to comprehend that he hadn't understood her gesture at all. She was looking steadily at him, her eyes expectant. Hope bloomed in him and he glanced down, opening the box so that the diamond inside sparkled in the light from the lantern.
"Lois." He had to swallow to find his voice as he pulled the ring free of the box and looked into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"
For a heart-stopping moment she didn't move. Then her face split in a grin and she nodded. "Yes," she whispered.
Clark exhaled and his hands shook a little as he lifted her hand to slide the ring on. This was real - he could scarcely comprehend it. Lois Lane was going to marry him. He raised one hand to the back of her head, leaning forward to kiss her softly. Then he ran his thumb slowly over her lower lip as if to seal the kiss there. There was a roaring sound in his head and it took him a few seconds to realize that it was everyone around the campfire, clapping and hooting at them.
Lois giggled and kissed him again. "I think they can see our shadows. We could leave the light on and give them a real eyeful."
Clark switched off the light. "And risk having Rich lecture us for indecent exposure? I don't think so."
"The floor show is over," Clark heard Rich say. "Let's all hit the hay. We've got a big day tomorrow."
<><><>
They changed into their pajamas in the dark and then nestled together in the bag. Clark held her against him, her left hand in his, her head tucked beneath his chin. Lois worried at the unfamiliar weight of the ring on her hand. It was loose on her - she'd have to get it sized when they got back. Over and over again she let it slip almost to the joint of her finger before she slid it back with her thumb.
"I'm going to miss this place," Clark said with a sigh.
"Me, too," she answered. "I'm going to miss having you all to myself."
"Lois, even if you have to share Superman, you'll always have me to yourself."
"I know," she said softly.
"But that's not what you meant, is it?" he asked. "The offer still stands - if you want me to give up Superman to be with you, I'll do it."
"And my answer still stands. I can't ask you to do that. I would never want you to do that. Not because of me."
He closed his eyes and his arms tightened a little around her. "It has been nice, letting the world get by without Superman. Do you worry that we'll never have a moment to ourselves?"
She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know if you've noticed this yet, Clark, but I'm pretty independent. I don't need someone to be there every minute of the day for me. When I told you that having you hold me at night was all I wanted, well, that was pretty close to the truth."
"What was the whole truth?"
Her cheeks grew warm. "Maybe I should amend how I wanted you to hold me."
"How?" he asked and kissed the edge of her ear.
"A lot like you did yesterday," she admitted with a soft laugh.
"I can definitely do that," he told her with another kiss just below her ear, "and not just at night."
He had hit a ticklish spot and she raised her shoulder to redirect him. "Isn't it night now?"
"Yes." Clark shifted, urging her onto her back so that he could kiss her better. "It's definitely night now."
Her hands went to the back of his head as she opened her mouth to him. Their kisses grew in length and intensity until they were both breathless. Both of them became restless, their hands stroking under each other's shirts in exploration. Lois tugged at the hem of his shirt and he lifted from her just long enough to remove it.
"Oh, mine, too," she gasped, pushing on his shoulder so that he would raise up long enough for her to get her shirt off. He helped pull it free of her arms and then let out a soft groan as his bare skin made contact with hers.
"I, this, I think this must be what it feels like to be drunk," he murmured as his arms went back around her, savoring the feel of her flesh against his.
"Why's that?" She hooked her leg over his to draw him as close to her as possible.
"Remember when I told you that being with you sometimes made me feel in danger? Maybe I should amend that to 'out of control' instead. You wouldn't feel nearly as safe with me if you knew what I was thinking." He shifted, letting out a soft groan as he brushed against her pelvic bone. The sensation was sweet torture. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"
"Oh," she whispered as the weight of his actions and his words hit her senses at the same moment. "This is really going to happen, isn't it?" Her voice shook with anticipation and just the slightest bit of apprehension.
"It doesn't have to." Clark lifted fractionally from her, afraid that he was rushing her.
"Oh yes, it does. I want this. I want you." Lois pulled him back, twining her arms around his neck to keep him where he was.
"What about a bed?" He couldn't stop touching her. He was awestruck by how small and soft and sweet she was.
"Hmm?" Lois sighed at his touch. She would know those gentle hands anywhere, under any circumstances. How many times had he touched her since they first met? How many times had he reached out to casually draw her attention to something? How many times had he soothed her and comforted her? He had touched her to tease her, to save her and - she was certain - sometimes he had touched her simply to touch her. Even now, touching her as a lover, his hands had the same unmistakable honesty that had colored every touch he had ever given her. He had been making love to her for years - she just hadn't recognized it.
"We can wait until we have a bed," he offered. Please, he thought. Don't want to wait. Be reckless.
"Wait two more days?" she asked incredulously. Was he serious? "No. Besides, everyone does this in a bed. We have the rest of our lives to do this in a bed."
"True."
"I like this. It's more... elemental."
Clark wished he could see her clearly; that there was some way to read her eyes and not just her body. "There's no going back from this, Lois."
She froze for a moment, caught by the depth of emotion in his voice. "Why would we go back? What would we go back to?" she asked shakily.
"If we do this, I will never be able to pretend like it didn't happen. I can't be platonic with you, Lois. This isn't just sex to me. This means *something*. This means everything."
Lois tried for levity, suddenly nervous by the depth of her own feelings and the realization that he was right. They could never go back to being just friends. "Is this one of your rules, Clark? What about the other girls you've slept with?"
"I've never slept with anyone."
"Oh." Lois closed her eyes, dizzy even though she was lying down. Her left thumb worried at the ring on her finger again. "I had no idea. Clark, I..."
He brought his mouth to hers and swallowed the rest of her words in a kiss. "I don't care, Lois. I don't care about anything that happened before we met." He kissed her again and the kiss became hungrier than the one before. "Look at it this way - at least one of us will know what they're doing."
She hummed contentedly and cupped his jaw before combing his hair back from his forehead with her fingers. "I'm pretty sure you already have a good idea of how this works."
"Show me."
Lois sat up, struggling against the sleeping bag to get one side unzipped and turned down. Then she stretched out along the length of him and slid one of her legs suggestively between his. "When we get home," she told him as she kissed the corner of his mouth. "We're going straight to your apartment. Well, I am. You can hang around outside for a minute."
"My apartment?"
"Yes. You can give me just enough time to get in there and start doing something domestic. Maybe I'll clean out your fridge or something." She shifted closer to entice him. "Anyway, I'll be doing that and you'll come home and find me there."
"What are you wearing?" Clark shaped out the taut muscles of her arms as she balanced herself above him.
"What do you want me to be wearing?" she teased.
"Ideally? Nothing." He caught her mouth, snatching a quick kiss from her before she lifted her head away.
"I thought you said I was dressed in your dream?"
Clark's hand went to the back of her head to drag her down for another kiss. "Is this my dream? I thought you were telling me about yours."
"In mine you're sitting on my bed and feeding me ice cream." Lois let out a little hum of happiness at the memory of that dream.
"That's right." Clark sighed. "I could go get us some ice cream."
Lois straddled him, bracing her hands on his chest as she shifted her body deliberately against his. "You're not going anywhere, mister. Not tonight."
"I love it when you're bossy." His hands went to her hips, pulling her forward just a little - yes, there. That was perfect. "So go on, you're naked and cleaning out my fridge when I come home. What happens next?"
"I, uh..." He felt so good beneath her that she had lost her train of thought. She shook her head to clear it before asking, "What are you wearing?"
"Me?" For a moment Clark pictured the scene perfectly in his head, seeing her turn to face him without a stitch of clothing on, like she had at the waterfall. "I'm wearing the Suit."
"Oh my god," she whispered. Even though it had been a few months since she had figured out his secret there were still times when the fact that Clark was Superman caught her unawares.
"Yeah, I thought you'd like that." His hips rose slightly to remind her of what she had been doing. "I tell you that I know you said you just wanted to be friends but I can't stop thinking about you. I don't want to be platonic, Lois. I want you."
"Superman? You're saying that to me as Superman?" Lois couldn't shake that image from her mind - Superman striding towards her and propositioning her. He's Clark, she reminded herself. Even if he's in the Suit, he's Clark. But the fantasy was so close to the fevered daydreams she'd had before she'd given up her crush on Superman that she was caught in its thrall.
"And then I pull you into my arms..." His hands rose to cup her shoulder blades and bring her down to his chest so he could kiss her. "...And I carry you to my bed."
"You're in the Suit?" She felt like a broken record, but she was still stuck on the image of Superman seducing her. Superman carrying her to Clark's bed...
"I'll wear the Suit until you tell me to take it off." Clark rolled them, skating his hand under the waist her pajama bottoms. "I'll do anything you ask, Lois."
"Superman..." she said in a choked whisper.
Clark pitched his voice lower, using Superman's authoritative tone. "Maybe we should get you out of these clothes."
"Yes, good idea." They worked them off together and then she gasped, "And you need to take these off." She tugged at the waist of his sweatpants. "I choose you, Clark. No matter what you're wearing." She kissed him softly. "But especially if you're wearing the Suit. Don't you ever give up being Superman."
He laughed against her lips. "I promise."
"No going back," she told him. "This is your last chance."
"You," he whispered. "I choose you."
<><><>
Clark had gathered her close against him, his hands stroking over her shoulders, her back, her hip, as he held her.
Lois smiled and snuggled against him. "So much for platonic."
"That wasn't platonic? Are you sure?" he teased.
"Pretty sure."
"Oh, you're talking about the Earth definition, aren't you? On Krypton 'platonic' means 'with great passion'."
Lois laughed. "You're making that up."
"Well, it could have meant that. I guess we'll never know." Clark tried to sound appropriately grave but failed miserably.
"They had someone named Plato on Krypton?" she asked dryly.
Clark laughed - she had him there. "Of course. Plato was our god of love."
"No wonder your eyes are brown. It's because you're full of..."
He cut her off with a kiss. "Don't go disparaging my planet's religion."
"No. Of course not. I would never want to make Plato angry."
He nudged her knee with his. "If you're up to it, I could show you a few of the rites."
She giggled. "Oh, so you remember them now?"
"It all came back to me earlier. After the virgin sacrifice."
At that her giggles turned into laughter. "Virgin sacrifice?"
"Yep. After the sacrifice it was traditional to take the high priestess and... well, it would probably be easier to show you." He leaned down to kiss her. "I hope you didn't need to be somewhere, because this might take a while..."
<><><>
End 11/?
