By Alicia U. <lxu2@cwru.edu>
Rated: PG
Submitted: January 2004
Summary: In a romantic alternate ending to the episode "Season's Greedings," Lois sees Clark with new eyes.
This story is an alternate ending to Season's Greedings. The episode, written by Dean Cain, is probably my favorite episode of the entire series. The only part I was slightly disappointed by was the ending, so I tried to change it to my own tastes, completely getting rid of the feast Lois somehow conjured up and any reference to Superman. Thank you, Tricia, for beta reading this and its sequel so incredibly quickly. Both stories' titles were inspired by the song 'Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!' written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, copyright 1945.
***
Was it her imagination or was that a knock on the door? A knock. Definitely a knock.
She rushed to the door and flung it open. "Clark!" He was there! Someone had come to her Christmas party, and what a party it was. When no one had seemed to be coming, she had cancelled two of the pizzas, and now half a lonely pizza sat uneaten on her kitchen table. Some Christmas party. The atmosphere could hardly be considered festive. Depressing was more like it.
"Merry Christmas, Lois." He entered her apartment awkwardly, unsure what she expected him to do.
"You came!" Lois exclaimed. "I thought you were going home to be with your parents."
Clark shrugged. "My, um, plane was snowed in?"
"But it's not even snowing." Why did she have to challenge him on something so simple? He knew it was a lie. She knew it was a lie. They could have left it so simply, and she could have accepted the fact that he'd decided to spend the evening with her. Why couldn't she be grateful?
"Well, uh, I'm sure it will be. The Weather Channel's predicting a blizzard, I think."
"Oh, Clark, I can't believe you're here." She threw her arms around his shoulders in a friendly hug and helped him out of his coat.
He had shown up. How incredibly, delightfully unexpected! She hadn't realistically expected anyone to show up, especially when everyone had rejected her invitation; she had been sure she'd be spending another Christmas alone. It was okay, though. She was used to it.
But now she realized the intensely satisfying feeling of spending the holiday with someone who truly cared about her was absolutely incredible, something sorely missing all her life. Wait, it was Clark! Why was she surprised? Clark had always been the only person who cared for her. Why should she have doubted that he would change his plans to accommodate her wishes? He had noticed that she was down about the holiday season and had decided to try to make her feel better.
No one else cared for her the way Clark did. Why hadn't she noticed this before? Maybe she had, but she just hadn't acknowledged it. Either that or she had just been horribly blind, ignoring the signs that Clark was more than just her partner, more than just her friend. He was the one person in the world who really loved her.
Loved her? No, it was impossible.
Yes, it was so true. Clark was the only person in the world who ever showed her any compassion. He always put her needs before any of his own. That was why he was standing here in her living room tonight.
What did she ever do for him that could possibly compare to the things he did for her every day?
He had sacrificed a fairy tale Christmas celebration in Kansas with his parents, sure to be picture perfect, like one from a 'Courier and Ives' greeting card, to spend Christmas Eve with her, a sure rival for Ebenezer Scrooge. But why? How could someone give up a perfect Christmas at home with the people who loved him to spend Christmas with a Scrooge who often acted like she hated him?
Even his feeble excuse about his plane being snowed in hadn't changed the fact that he had chosen to be with her and her pitiful holiday celebration. Yet even through the year and a half of knowing each other, she had never given him any reason to do something like this for her. She'd never even been very nice to him, yet he was always so wonderful to her.
Why had she never noticed this before? Did he even know how much he meant to her? She knew she had never really openly expressed her feelings for him before. They were there, probably strong enough to match his, although she often had trouble showing them correctly. Clark meant more to her than she could ever properly express. And here he was again just when she needed him.
Lois slyly glanced at her partner. He was gazing at the tree — no! No, he was looking at her.
Their eyes met and locked together. She couldn't avoid it, couldn't pretend she hadn't been looking at him. What was she going to do? She was trapped. Maybe now was the time to act on her newly discovered feelings.
Lois had seen that look in his eyes before, but she had never really allowed herself to fully acknowledge its meaning. Clark cared for her like no one else ever had, and that look … it was one of pure, unconditional love. She felt cherished like she never had before. This was Clark, her partner and best friend. Could she be ready to consider something more?
Almost in a dream-like state, Lois extended her hand to him and her fingers slipped through his. Their hands intertwined and a bolt of electricity passed between them.
Wow! Lois had never felt something like that before. Where had the energy come from? This was Clark. She'd touched him, held his hand, even kissed him before, but had never felt such an intense sensation. Her heart had never fluttered so wildly. Her stomach had never housed so many butterflies. Now she was really seeing him for the first time and allowing herself to fully acknowledge the depth of love she saw in his eyes, and, almost more importantly, her own feelings for him. This was not an easy thing to do, but Clark had wormed his way through the countless protective layers she had erected through the years and had finally broken through to her heart.
What was wrong with her? This was Clark, her best friend … nothing more. This was crazy. Why was she so nervous? They spent twelve hours a day or more together. Why had she never felt like this before?
She had. No, no, she hadn't. Never! This was CLARK!
Who was she trying to convince? Those feelings were completely imaginary. She couldn't feel that way about Clark! It wasn't possible.
Why was she trying to stop her newfound feelings? One thing was for sure: they weren't at work now, and it was impossible for her to hide or pretend. Her soul was bared, stark naked before him. She was completely vulnerable for the first time in a long time. Clark had succeeded in burning down all her walls, destroying all her protective barriers. It was time for him to prove himself her hero or break her heart.
As Lois argued with herself, she subconsciously moved her body ever closer to Clark. It was like a magnetic force brought them together.
Lois couldn't fight it, even if she wanted to. At this point, though, she didn't want to do anything to stop it.
Was it the glasses of wine she'd had at dinner? Could it be an after-effect of the Space Rats? What if she really had feelings for Clark that were now magnified by her roller coaster emotions? All of her hidden emotions had surfaced at once like an erupting volcano. It had taken her by surprise and had so completely overridden her rational mind.
Whatever it was, Lois knew she actually wanted to be close to Clark, to touch him, to feel his hands exploring her.
She felt her body pressed up to his and turned her head up to meet his eyes. Instead, she unconsciously stood up on her tiptoes so their noses touched and she whispered, "Thank you," before her lips met his.
Euphoria. Amazement. Shock.
The feeling of her lips against Clark's was something she had been missing all her life. Yes, they had kissed before, but for some reason this was different. Maybe it was because she now felt something different towards him. He was no longer just her partner, and possibly her best friend. Now he was her savior. Yes, Superman had saved her physically countless times, but Clark was always there for her emotionally, no matter how hard she tried to shut him out.
He knew her so well. He was always there for her. He sacrificed his own plans to make her happy. He always did anything he could to satisfy her.
She had never acknowledged her feelings before today. Fear of his intense love had always made her stop short of the complete realization that Clark was always there for her, the man she always turned to, no matter what the situation.
But now she looked at him with a new inner sight where she could almost see into his soul. He loved her. Now she knew she was right. Clark had always loved her, yet she hadn't even noticed.
As she kissed him, it took him a second to respond. He was obviously in shock and wondering what had come over her.
She would just have to show him how much she appreciated him, how much she needed him, how much she wanted to thank him.
When Clark finally responded, he surprised her with the intensity of his kiss. It was filled with hunger and pent-up desire that she had never realized he'd hid from her for so long. His hands roamed across her back and tangled in her hair in a manner that made her shiver and ache for more.
Lois gasped as Clark tentatively parted his lips and daringly allowed his tongue to dart out like a snake and beg for admission into her mouth.
She parted her lips eagerly and let his tongue enter. Before she knew it, their mouths were engaged in an erotic tango, a power play, each wanting to prove how many feelings of pleasure they could induce in the other.
From their previous kisses, Lois had known Clark had an incredible knack for kissing. However, she hadn't completely realized just how well he kissed, how many emotions the sheer feeling of his lips pressed against hers could bring to the surface.
Lois's arms had found their way around his back, and as their kiss deepened, she tightened her grip, trying to pull him as close as possible. She needed to feel every part of him as close to her as possible. If only she could bond their bodies together so they could feel like this forever more.
She never wanted this kiss to end, never wanted the feelings she was experiencing to wane. All of her neurons were firing with a frequency like never before. All of her senses were on high alert. She'd never felt like this before. It was so amazing; she wondered why they hadn't been doing this since the moment they laid eyes on each other. This was so perfect, so wonderful, so exhilarating. This was what she had been missing all her life.
Why had she never tried this before? How had she waited over a year to experience this? She had always been too scared to allow herself to fully surrender to love.
One thing was for sure; she wanted to do this over and over again for the rest of her life. What a Christmas present!
Since when had she lost control? She was breaking one of her biggest rules to herself. What did it matter? At this point in her life, she knew exactly what she wanted, and didn't need any stupid rules to govern her life anymore.
She wanted Clark.
His kiss felt so wonderful, she was ready to surrender to anything he was ready to do to her. How had she neglected this feeling for so long?
Suddenly, Clark pulled away and their lips unlocked. Lois moaned slightly, eyes still closed, as the incredible feeling of closeness was now rudely taken away from her.
"Clark?" she moaned.
"Lois?" he asked, equally surprised. "What just happened here?"
Lois opened her eyes slowly and looked at Clark again. He was so cute when he was nervous! Why hadn't she noticed this before?
She knew just how she wanted to answer him. That had been just the most incredible, literally soul-shattering kiss she had ever experienced in her life. She had discovered the most powerful emotion. Love.
Poor Clark. Since her mood change had been so abrupt, he was probably worried that he had taken advantage of her for some reason. Typical. She now realized that he had been serious when he had declared his love for her the previous summer and had been lying when he had rescinded his declaration. Stupid Clark. He had loved her in silence since then, and maybe since the beginning of their friendship.
How had she missed that look in his eyes? Even if she had been deliberately ignoring it, how could she have lived without his touch, without his love?
All she knew was she needed to tell him that she could now return his feelings.
Lois shrugged shyly and answered, "I don't know exactly." Yes she did! She had kissed him, and in the process had finally acknowledged the extent of her feelings for him. It was something she should have done a long time ago. Now she planned to fully make up for that long period of absence.
"I'm so sorry …"
She took a step closer to him and interrupted, "I kissed you."
"What?"
"Clark, I kissed you."
"Why?"
Lois reached up and touched his shoulders. "Because …" She inched up on her tiptoes and whispered, "I love you too."
"Oh my god."
"Merry Christmas, Clark." She closed the final inch between them and allowed her lips to capture his. His lips softened against hers and they shared another emotionally charged kiss. She could swear she heard fireworks and rejoicing music in the background as her mouth entwined with his again.
When the kiss finally broke, Lois did not want to let go. Her arms were wrapped around his neck as she reveled in the closeness of his body against hers. He was so solid, so incredibly masculine. How had she ever missed this?
Suddenly, Clark whispered, "It's snowing."
"Then you shouldn't go." Even if he wasn't planning on leaving yet — or ever — she needed to let him know how she felt.
"Hmm?"
"Don't go." She knew he couldn't have heard. It was a thought, a silent plea. She was finally being honest with herself. She wanted Clark Kent. "Stay with me tonight."
"Are you sure, Lois?" His voice was filled with doubt. "I don't want to do anything we're not ready for."
"Yes," she said simply. "I'm sure. I've always been sure. And we don't have to do anything but be with each other, to finally take advantage of the closeness we've always avoided. I want to spend my Christmas Eve with you, to wake up with you on Christmas morning." Lois grinned at him, happy to see the elated smile on his face. "I want to be in your arms watching the snow fall over the city."
"Are you sure?" Clark asked, obviously confused at her abrupt change in personality. In a voice full of emotion, he said, "There's nothing else I've ever wanted in the world. I've wanted to be with you since the moment I met you."
She met his eyes and nodded emphatically. "I guess it takes a little longer for me to come to my senses. Maybe it takes the magic of the holiday season to make me finally open my eyes."
Since he didn't respond, she grabbed his hand and led him to the couch, and settled in his arms. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Mmhm."
He wasn't looking out the window; he was looking right at her.
"Merry Christmas, Clark," Lois said as her lips met his again.
THE END