Title: An Honest Man
Author: UrsaLune
Category: Fluff
Pairing: Lois/Clark (Clois)
Rating: Teen
Summary: So typical of him, always being sunny on my morbid thoughts...
Author's Notes: It has a reference to LnC episode "All Shook Up". Feedback and Con-Crit is always welcome. Thanks to Gemrose at Divine Intervention board, for beta reading this.

— Now we know nothing is going to happen
— He’ll take care of it
— We’ll be fine…
— As you see Gloria, people are more than hopeful and they had gathered here to show their support to Superman. We are waiting…


Lois turned the TV off; she simply couldn’t stand watching the certainty people had that Nightfall would be destroyed at the hands of Earth's guardian angel. Not once had it crossed their minds that maybe the asteroid was a miracle even he could not pull off. They weren’t even aware of the possibility that he might fail… but she was.

He had never faced something like this before. She had seen the doubt in his eyes; the trepidation before his departure and for a second Lois had wanted to stop him; to stop him from going out in a useless fight, but she hadn’t. The man she loved would try and do everything for the safety of others and she could never pain him with her impulsive egoism.

How quickly ones plans could stumble… a week ago her biggest concern was how to get him to propose sooner than he was planning to, now odds were they would all die. She ought to share the unyielding faith the whole world had in his imminent success, but it was so hard to restrain the dread that gripped her heart at the thought of her love battling something that might be beyond his capabilities. Shivering, she tried to close her arms around herself, only to be halted by the furred bundle he had given her earlier, with a kiss to her forehead.

She had seen the plushy before, a bare glimpse; the week the desperate search for little Alondra had come to an end, after they had exposed a traffic network of very young children. The look in his eyes back then… a mixture of discouragement and righteous anger, still chilled her as much as the intended future of those kids had appalled her. Squeezing the spongy object, she inhaled the strawberries and… ~rain?~ fragrance, as she had seen him do a few days before. It was soothing, but left in its wake a yearning.

A baby’s present - that’s what her hands held - a bunny with long ears. Small and soft, it was perfect to cling on to. The stitches holding together the fabric that made it ,spoke of dedication and tenderness, as did the careful embroidery of green and yellow butterflies alongside a name on the ribbon at its neck. ‘Ariel’ , it read.

“Ariel…” murmured Lois and a smile broke on her lips. Ariel, their daughter’s middle name…

“A torrid night of love-making, for an insight of your thoughts?” Clark said jovially while reaching for her hand on the table; surprising her out of her musings.
“Eh! Oh, I don’t know Smallville; I get those pretty frequently you now, and, granted my thoughts weren't quite expensive, but I fail to see why you would rue to pay"
“I think that knowing what gets your eyes to shine like that is a very valuable information. And where it says that I shouldn't enjoy paying said price? Who knows, it could be one of your many suitors. I’ll need to know if I’m going to have to deal with him, wouldn’t you agree?”
“As if I would pay attention to any of those full of themselves fools” His laughed, but then he raised his eyebrows and stared compellingly at her. “You really want to know, right?” He nodded. She exhaled tiredly. “It’s just that back there at the park, you looked… I mean youmadeanicepicturewiththegirlinyourarms” Lois said.
“Pardon me?”
“You made a nice picture with the girl in your arms” she reiterated peeved with herself ~why did she always ended telling him this things ~. He seemed lost so she rushed to explain, “It’s this silly dream I have every now and then, you know, you holding a baby girl, and she’s so pretty…” He moved to the window and rigidly stood looking out, she felt like kicking herself ~ 'every now and then', sure why don't you tell him that every time he makes love to you you can help but wonder when you'll get that child in your arms ~ “Clark, is nothing, no more than a silly dream…”
“And she has the biggest and most beautiful olive eyes,” he said and walked back to her, his eyes pleaded with her to… ~ say more? ~
“Yes…” was her uncertain reply, the hand on her cheek was an encouragement. “Her hair is curled and black, like yours” He brightened up and then she could not stop “She also has your smile and temper, Oh Clark! She’s perfect, you call her Kikie… your parents are crazy about her...we love her so much she’s our world!”

His lips found hers instantly, the happiness he expressed to her was intoxicating; exactly the same feeling she got while she dreamed of their child. She craved that bliss and now she knew he did as well.

“Clark?” She pulled back a bit, “Can we have her? I know is kind of sudden but..." Before she could go on she was swiftly lift and lovingly laid on his bed while his mouth kept tugging at her lips.
Later, still in each others embrace, they kept musing on their daughter’s likeness.

“Keera Ariel Kent” Lois had to grin at his proud tone, and kissed him to let him know that she approved the name ~unlike the ‘kripto’ one~, sure it would take some months after she stopped taking the pill for her to get pregnant and the whole ‘not from around here’ thing could become an issue. But they were Lane and Kent, and there wasn’t anything they couldn’t accomplish if they put their efforts to it.

Staring at the beaded eyes of the bunny in her hands, she finally understood. It was his way to support her even from afar; an assurance of his return, a promise. He had yet to break a promise he made her. All of her fears hurriedly left her. ~so typical of him, always being sunny on my morbid thoughts ~. He was coming back, that was that. So how was she going to get him to hurry up with his proposal? During one of their usual old movie’s marathons, the father of the main character had told his son to turn the heroine into ‘an honest woman’ - she snorted at the cliché - but corny and all, the phrase had brought the realization that although she and Clark were planning on having a baby; he had yet to mention marriage. To Lois great amazement she felt disappointed; when had the prospect of becoming Mrs. Something grown to be so appealing?

Lois knew Clark well enough to be sure that he wanted to be married and then become a 'daddy' and to be truthful, so did she ~of course she'd prefer to be 'mommy'~. After days of racking her brain searching a reason for his vacillation, she remembered a conversation they had had ~eons ago ~ where she had made the statement ~would she ever learn not to be so rash? ~ 'Marriage is an old fashioned and sexist tradition that passes a woman down like an exchangeable property between her father and her would be husband. And I'm not going to perpetuate said tradition'.
That might be the cause, but one would think that after so many years knowing each other, he’d have figured out that she did not believe him to consider her an object, so breaching the ‘M’ subject was not going to send her running for the hills. She guessed that was the price for her brashness. Still, somehow, waiting for him to make up his mind was driving her crazy. Lanes didn’t wait; it did not suit them. ~Lanes also, take the initiative, so… ~ she might as well propose, ~it’s not like he’s going to refuse… he better not ~ and she really did like the sound of Mrs. Lois Lane-Kent.

She sat on his bed and began planning. ~Why waste any more time,? Right? ~ The west willow garden would make a nice backdrop and since their only guests would be family and their closest friends, it’s size was no problem. As for the ceremony, a judge would do… no scratch that, she wanted a priest, with Smallville the 'until death do us part' sounded actually kind of appealing. She had seen a simple but elegant ivory evening gown in her favorite boutique that she had been itching to buy; with the right accessories it would make a wonderful wedding dress. As for the legalities, she knew a certain billionaire who’d be Clark’s most likely best man candidate and who’d readily take care of everything if she promised him to make her dear cousin, Bridesmaid. ~like Chloe’d forgive me if I chose someone else, but what he doesn’t know… ~ Four weeks from the moment Clark lay foot in the apartment she was going to turn him into ‘an honest man’, even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming. After all, their Kikie was waiting.