By Alicia U. <lxu2@cwru.edu>
Rated PG
Submitted February 2004
Summary: The latest installment of the author's "Let it Snow" series, beginning with "Let it Snow" and continued with "Let it Keep Snowing," finds Lois and Clark making a momentous decision about their future in a familiar place, the snow.
***
She looked at her watch again for what must have been the thirty-second time this hour. Shoot! It was 7:32. He was already two minutes late. This couldn't bode well for their evening's plans!
Clark wasn't usually late — not for such an important night — not for Valentine's Day. He wouldn't want to miss a second of something so important. Plus, he had the tendency to be Mr. Early Bird, always the man to get to his destination a full fifteen or more minutes ahead of time.
Unless …
No! Not now.
Superman. What else?
And of course it had to happen on Valentine's Day. It had to be something major to keep him away from her on this very important night.
If there had been some kind of emergency that was keeping him from her tonight, then she would have to admit that the world hated her. All the Earth's forces had to be plotting against her in sync to ruin such an important night.
And, yes, she did have that kind of luck. Of course some disaster had ruined her perfect night with her boyfriend.
She sighed deeply. Oh well, it was only fair. After all, she was the luckiest woman in the world.
Even though he was Superman to the world, more importantly, he was Clark Kent. Her boyfriend. The love of her life.
Before she turned the television on to check for reports about Superman, Lois smoothed her long burgundy dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Burgundy. Not a color she often wore, but she remembered Clark telling her once how much he liked the color on her, and how he always fantasized seeing her in a long, burgundy dress.
She had to oblige. Tonight was supposed to be the most perfect night together. She had planned to satisfy more than one of Clark's biggest fantasies in just one night. A night to remember.
It was their first Valentine's Day together as a real couple, and she intended to make the most of it. She had never been in a real relationship, where Valentine's Day had actually meant something. Now, it was different than anything else she had experienced. She had never been in a real relationship before because she had never been in love.
But now she was absolutely, head-over-heels in love with Clark Kent, her partner, the 'Hack from Nowheresville', her hero! She had never thought it possible, but Clark had wormed his way into her deepest affections.
God, she loved Clark, but sometimes it felt like she just put up with Superman since he tended to ruin her big plans.
No, she loved Superman, too — because he was a part of Clark, too. He wouldn't be complete without his Superman side, and he would no longer be the man who had stolen her heart
She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone in her life. More importantly, she trusted him implicitly, and that was what made their relationship so special. She had never gotten to a level like this with a man before. If she let her mind wander into uncharted, scary territory, she could even start to believe that this relationship might even turn into something to much more.
Their love was real. It had the potential to be ever- lasting. It was still so early in their relationship, but she was beginning to believe that it might be heading into something far more serious than she had ever imagined.
Clark was the first real, truly good man she had ever been with. And he was the first man she had ever truly loved.
Tonight had the promise of being absolutely amazing.
She had a sneaking feeling that Clark was planning something huge — even bigger than her gift to him. He had been secretive and sort of nervous all week, like he was trying to hide something.
Huh, like he could ever hide anything from her. He was so bad at keeping anything from her.
Ever since he had told her his secret, he hadn't been able to hide anything from her. That was how she knew he had something up his sleeve.
The problem was that she was absolutely dying to know what it was.
Suddenly, there was a knock on her door, and she ran to open it, momentarily forgetting all of her thoughts.
"Clark! There you are! I was worried about you." To soften her words, she leaned in to kiss him before she moved away and let him in.
Clark looked absolutely fantastic in his charcoal gray suit and bright red tie — in honor of the holiday, no doubt. What was she talking about? Didn't Clark look wonderful in anything he wore?
He smiled his sheepish, crooked grin at her obvious concern. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he made his way through the door. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said as he handed her a large bouquet of twelve long-stemmed red roses.
"Oh, Clark, they're beautiful!"
"Not as beautiful as you are."
She smiled sweetly. "Thank you," she said, planting a series of soft kisses on his face.
"You know if you keep this up, we may never make our reservations."
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And that's a problem?"
"No … not at all. There are plenty of restaurants in the world!"
And she was right. What was the rush? They could eat dinner anywhere in Metropolis or anywhere in the world!
***
"Hey, you ate it all!"
"You certainly looked like you liked watching me eat it as much as I enjoyed eating it."
At least Clark had the decency to look sheepish.
"Well, uh," he stammered.
Truthfully, he had enjoyed every second watching his girlfriend devour the rich, chocolate cake — the way her tongue darted out of her mouth to catch the crumbs on the corner of her lip, the way she circled the fork in her mouth, making sure she got every single crumb, the way her eyes showed a look of pure ecstasy as the sweet, chocolaty treat traveled down her esophagus.
Aah, it was pure bliss, and he enjoyed each and every moment. Maybe it had been a hint of what was to come later tonight. He could only hope so!
Lois reached out to take Clark's hand. "Do you still want to taste it?" she asked seductively.
He grinned and nodded anxiously. Yes, he definitely wanted to taste it. There was no question about it.
"You have to come here to taste it." Smiling at him, she whispered, "Or I can come to you."
She stood up and moved around to his side of the table cat- like, and before he could protest, she sat down on his lap.
"Mmm, I like this seat better."
"Lois! People are looking at us!"
Like she cared.
"It's Valentine's Day," she whispered. "No one cares."
She softly brushed her lips against his, letting him taste the remnants of chocolate still remaining.
"Mmm delicious," he groaned, savoring the taste of her lips. "Let's get out of here." He reached a hand behind her head and pushed her lips against his, longing to taste them again.
It really was too bad they had decided to go out to dinner. He could have flown anywhere in the world to get her a Valentine's Day dinner, but she had decided on a restaurant in Metropolis.
Now they both were really regretting their decision. But hindsight was always twenty-twenty.
If they had been at home, then they wouldn't have to worry about being in public, and they wouldn't have had to cut their kiss short before it became too passionate. There would have been no one looking at them disapprovingly when she decided she wanted to let him taste her dessert.
Then again, the tension was half the fun. And he could always get them home in less than five seconds should the need arise.
"Oh yeah," she whispered as she nodded. As her head bobbed, her lips brushed against his again and their noses rubbed together.
"Yeah."
"Okay." Again, she nodded, but made no sign of budging. Clark made such a wonderful seat.
"You have to get up first. You're sitting on my lap."
"Right." She kissed him one more time on the lips, short and sweet, before she got off his lap and walked back over to her side of the table.
"Right," he repeated, longing to feel her lips against his again.
He got up after her, still feeling the spark of electricity that had jolted through his skin when he felt the friction of her dress against his pants. If the emotion was this intense with their clothes on, it was bound to be infinitely better when their bare skin brushed against each other and their separate bodies melded into one.
As Clark helped her into her coat, his hands lingered on her shoulders momentarily, and she leaned back against his chest, letting her eyes gaze out the window. "It's snowing. Again," she said, sighing loudly.
"I think it started again while we were eating," Clark answered. "It looks like it's coming down pretty hard."
"I swear! This is the most snow Metropolis has had in all the years I've lived here!"
"Seriously? In Kansas, we can get more snow than we've had here all winter in a day or two!"
Lois turned around to face Clark, and put her hand on his chest flirtatiously. "Well then, aren't you lucky you moved to Metropolis?"
He looked into her eyes and nodded. "I am lucky." Looking into her eyes, he said, "Very lucky," no longer interested in snow.
They each knew how lucky they were that he had come to Metropolis. More lucky than they could even imagine.
If he hadn't decided to move to the big city, not only would the world not have a Superman, Lois Lane and Clark Kent wouldn't have each other. And neither would have survived the frigid world without the other. It would have been a disaster.
"I'm lucky, too," she whispered, inching her face closer to his.
When their noses were just millimeters apart, Clark whispered, "I love you, Lois."
"Happy Valentine's Day." By the end of her sentence, her lips softly, teasingly brushed against his. "Let's get out of here," she whispered.
She turned around on her heel and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door.
Although he followed her willingly, he caught himself looking out the window again and cursed mildly to himself.
The elements might have just thwarted his plan. Stupid Mother Nature!
"Are you going to be okay walking?" Clark asked as he looked down at Lois's feet. She was wearing a beautiful long, burgundy dress and small, strappy shoes that didn't provide much protection from the snow and ice.
Of course it hadn't been snowing all day. Nor all week. It had to start as they were eating dinner, and of course it had decided to continue just when they were ready to leave.
She shrugged. "I'll be fine. A little snow has never stopped me before." Then she leaned back against him and whispered, "Besides, my boyfriend can warm me up just by looking at me."
"True." He touched his glasses self-consciously.
She around and whispered, "I knew you'd come in handy eventually. Now come on! Let's go already!"
He looked down at her feet again and skeptically said, "Are you sure?"
She smiled at him. "I'll be fine. As long as you're with me." Then she looped her arm through his and said, "And we're off!"
***
As the snow continued to fall, Lois and Clark looked up into the sky, marveling at the tiny white crystals traveling through the air, grasping the other's hand tightly.
"How are you doing? Are you okay?"
Lois looked down at her feet and shrugged. "Is it bad that I can't feel my toes?"
"I told you this wasn't a good idea. I should have just, you know, flown us home."
She tugged on his bright red tie, pulling him closer to her. "I just need you to warm me up."
He was happy to oblige, wrapping his large arms around he, pulling her tightly against his chest.
Clark sighed deeply. This was perfect. The picturesque scenery, the most amazing woman in the world in his arms, the holiday meant for lovers.
And he had planned the perfect gift.
He had searched the Earth for gifts for her, but none matched his ultimate gift. He was going to give her his heart. For eternity.
The thought was incredibly exhilarating, yet utterly frightening. He knew he was making the right decision, but he wasn't sure how Lois would react.
He had been sure from the moment he had first set eyes on her that she was the woman he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. But he had almost a year and a half advantage on her. She hadn't known she loved him until Christmas Eve. Would she be ready to make a life-long commitment? After all, it had only been fifty-two days.
Was he jumping the gun, imposing his intense feelings on her when she wasn't ready?
His heart was positively racing. He was more nervous than he had ever been in his life.
She had to say yes.
The only thing he was sure of in his life was that he loved her with his entire heart, his entire soul, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to be with her, and only her, forever.
And that had to be enough.
His love was so strong, almost crippling. Yet it was the most amazing feeling in the world. He didn't know what he would do without Lois Lane in his life, and was sure that he never wanted to find out.
He wanted to spend every moment with her for the rest of his life.
Suddenly, he stopped walking, and looked into her eyes. She must feel the same way about him — she just had to!
"Clark?"
God, she was so beautiful. His heart leapt into his chest, and he prayed that she would say yes.
As the snow continued to fall around them, landing on their shoulders and in their hair, Clark took Lois's gloved hand and, wordlessly, he dropped down to one knee.
"Oh my god," she breathed, knowing what he was about to do, but not really believing it was real.
"I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone in the entire world."
A tear fell down her cheek, but Lois didn't notice. "I love you, too, Clark."
"Lois," he breathed his voice barely louder than a whisper, "will you marry me?"
"Yes," she said softly at first, but then she almost screamed, "Yes! I will marry you."
It was perfect. A perfect day. A perfect man. A perfect love.
They were meant to be together. There was no question about it.
"Really?" he whispered, not believing it could possibly be real. It had to be a figment of his horribly active imagination.
As the snow fell around them, Lois got down on her knees next to Clark and wrapped her around his neck. Before she kissed him, she said, "There's nothing else in the world I want more than to be your wife. I love you, Clark. I want to marry you."
"It's snowing. Do you want to go inside?" he asked, his voice showing his concern. She was positively shivering. "I could fly us home."
Lois shook her head quickly. "Let it snow, and keep snowing. I don't even care if it snows forever." She put her hands on his shoulders before she said, "All I know is that I want you. I want us. I want to be your wife."
It was the best Valentine's Day gift ever imaginable. They had given each other their hearts.
It was love. Pure, intense, absolute, never ending. Love.
As they leaned in to share a kiss to seal the deal, one tiny snowflake floated down between them. Clark tilted his head and softly touched his lips to hers, also capturing the tiny snowflake between their noses.
Snow. It had been so important to their relationship, and seemed to coincide with every momentous event in their lives. When she had realized she loved him. When he had told her the truth about himself. And now, when they had given each other their hearts for eternity.
He broke the kiss when he felt her shiver in his arms. "We should go inside. You're freezing."
She kissed him again, and when the kiss broke, she turned her head skyward. "It's perfect. Let it snow forever," she whispered.
THE END
Note: I would like to thank Wendy for the title and for reading this story and, well, strongly encouraging me to post <g>, and, as always, I'd like to thank Tricia, both she and Wendy were so encouraging, and, uh, threatening, that I actually almost feel confident that it is a worthy sequel to my other two holiday snow stories, 'Let it Snow' and 'Let it Keep Snowing'.