Knocking On Heaven's Door

by Nicole Wolke <NKWolke@t-online.de> AKA Ckgroupie on IRC

Rated PG-13

Uploaded January 2001

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We got a little glimpse in "Brutal Youth," but haven't you guys ever asked yourself how the honeymoon of Lois & Clark *really* was? We learned that our two newlyweds never left for Hawaii and also that these two weeks were really "super." However the rest remained in the dark. Did they really stay in the room all the time? In this story, you're going to find out.

I think I should place a little warning though: The story has absolutely *zero* action. Nothing clouds the pleasure, no Superman activity, no nothing. And that is exactly the second reason for a warning, because "pleasure" they do have. Plenty of it! It is, of course, not nfiction, but for those who don't want to read about the love-life of a certain Kryptonian and an American reporter: stop here. Any further reading is pointless.

A big thank you goes to Pitty, Tina, Angelika, Gizmo and Sigi, my fellow German writers who were my beta-readers in this story. Without you guys a certain scene wouldn't have made it here into the story and should I hear any complaints, I'm going to forward them to you <g>!

The quote at the end of the story is from Corinthians 13, 1-8. Another big thank you to the subscribers of the Fanfiction list for their help with the translation of it.

Last but certainly not least, I want to thank my editor for doing another wonderful job with helping me with this story!

Feedback, good or bad, is really appreciated. Send your comments to NKWolke@t-online.de

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Knocking On Heaven's Door

The day had been incredible. Now that he thought about it... the day had been really, really incredible. Of course, there was that moment of panic, of dreadful fear, when Myrtle held that instrument in her hand and just a small red button separated him from the deepest abyss in his life. And naturally the abolition of the curse and with that, the journey into the souls of their forebears hadn't been all easy, but all that dissolved now in the background of the happiness he felt right this moment. It was true. Finally, finally it was true. They were married. From now on they belonged together, not only in their hearts, but also in the eyes of the world. His name inseparably joined with hers. If somebody was going to say one name, it would from now on automatically contain the other one, too. Wow.

Clark looked into the eyes of his wife and still couldn't believe it.

"Hmmmm," she murmured. "That's what I call getting carried over the threshold."

Clark felt his skin starting to tingle all over at the sound of her voice, deep and seductive. God, he was so crazy about her! And today it was finally going to happen...He chuckled softly and answered in the same tone: "You ain't seen nothing yet."

Carefully he lay down next to her on the bed and slowly started to kiss her. Tenderly, sweetly, patiently. He loved kissing her and could have done it forever. Lois responded in her own passionate way, as she always did and which had nearly driven him insane during the last months of their engagement. But tonight he would be allowed to enjoy it. Tonight he wouldn't have to fight against it anymore. He groaned softly as her lips separated from his and immediately there was this feeling of longing again, of never getting enough.

Lois smiled a little when she saw his happy eyes only inches away from her own. Her glance traced downwards to his mouth. Hmmm, his mouth... So sensual with, for a man, very full lips and that little dimple right next to them twitching and always ready for a smile. She sighed happily and was about to just give into the urge to kiss those lips which attracted her so magically, but there still was something...

"Wow, I'm beat," she moaned a little breathlessly.

Clark looked down at her uncertainly. "You're kidding," he said pleadingly. "Please, tell me that you're kidding."

Lois grinned inwardly and sent him the best innocent glance she could muster. However he knew her too well. The corners of his lips twitched slightly and in his eyes the well-known sparkle of genuine amusement appeared. He lifted an eyebrow and waited. Lois laughed.

"Don't move," she smiled and tapped him playfully on the nose. Then she wound her way from under him and out of the bed.

In a flash she ran into the living room where their bags were waiting for them to leave for Hawaii and grabbed one of them. She threw a promising glance at Clark and he grinned back, while he groaned in playful despair. Obviously she was up to something.

In an effort to distract himself, Clark started to arrange the bed and got the bottle of champagne that he had chilled for them.

"I know it's our first time and everything," he said partly to her in the bathroom, partly to himself. "And I really want it to be special. I mean, if you had your heart set on Hawaii, I would underst..." He turned around and the words died on his lips. Lois had come out of the bathroom and was now standing in the door. And obviously she wasn't about to go to Hawaii.

For a moment all Clark could do was stare, unable to speak anymore. She was so beautiful and so sexy. He felt a wave of excitement break over him.

Lois felt a little bit self-conscious. For a long while she had stood in the bathroom, afraid to go outside. 'This is it,' she thought while she watched herself in the mirror. Would she be able to meet his expectations? Critically she eyed herself from head to toes. She had always been confident about herself. Her legs were a little bit too thin for her own taste, but on the other hand they were long and slender and a lot of people had complimented her about them, so they couldn't be so bad after all.

Suddenly she smiled. A few days ago she had caught Clark staring at her legs and she thought about how dizzy his heated gaze and how the realization of what lay behind it had made her feel. No, she didn't need to worry about Clark finding her desirable.

The black teddy she was wearing now was a present from him and it had surprised her not a little. Never would she have thought it possible for him to be so bold as to buy her lingerie! As he confessed, when he gave it to her, he had seen it in the window of a little shop in Paris and had been haunted from that moment on by picturing her in black lace.

He didn't really want to buy the teddy, but somehow he'd returned to the street again and again and after ending up in front of the window for the fifth time, he finally gathered all his courage and entered the shop. The cool and businesslike way of the saleswoman helped him over his embarrassment and somehow he managed to pay without - as he told her - 'blushing too much.' On the way home, though, he was repeatedly tempted to hurl his delicate cargo into the sea, because he had no idea how he was supposed to give it to her.

Lois smiled, thinking about the evening when he had finally given the teddy to her. It had been one of their most romantic evenings, neither broken by Superman-activity nor by the buzzing of their beepers or the phone. They had been making out all evening and somehow their caresses had gone slightly out of control. The heat and passion between them was increasing by the second and at one point Clark whispered huskily in her ear how much she was driving him crazy.

"Wait until I put on the good lingerie," Lois had chuckled softly and was astonished when Clark blushed at her remark.

"Clark, what is it?" she had asked him in amazement and eventually, almost reluctantly, he told her about his purchase from Paris.

Lois thought it was cute that he was so embarrassed about it. "Hey, you aren't the first guy who has bought underwear for his wife," she grinned.

"I know." He sighed and shook his head with that crooked smile he sometimes had. "Maybe it's because of my upbringing in Kansas, but I somehow felt totally "wicked," you know." He glared at her when she broke into a fit of laughter, but couldn't stop himself from grinning, too. Shaking his head, he gazed at the silk garment in her hands and added softly: "I just couldn't get the picture out of my mind... how you would look wearing it."

He had been right. She looked good and she felt sexy and that was the most important thing. Why was she worrying? It was the moment they had been waiting for so long and dreamed about for months. It was going to be wonderful.

But, as she was standing in front of him now, she felt another rush of uncertainty hit her and she suddenly felt shy as a schoolgirl. Hastily she got rid of the transparent blouse she was wearing and took a deep breath. "What did you want to say?" she asked softly.

Clark awoke from his reverie and spun at super speed out of his suit and into black, silk pajamas. The shirt was unbuttoned and hung loosely from his chest. In his hands he still held the two champagne glasses. "Didn't spill a drop," he grinned proudly and winked at her.

Somehow these simple words were exactly the right thing to say. Lois felt the uncertainty falling away from her and only the happiness remained. Quietly she went to him and smiled as she took the glasses from his hands and put them down next to them. "I don't want anything to cloud this moment," she whispered.

Clark felt his throat getting dry all of a sudden and he swallowed hard when she stroked her hands over his chest and pushed the shirt from his shoulders. "The moment we're destined for," he said softly and followed her when she lay down on the bed.

"That's what makes it so special," Lois murmured and Clark couldn't resist any longer. He kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Clark Kent," Lois whispered as their lips parted, her voice catching slightly,

Clark looked down at her and was overwhelmed by the depth of his feelings for her. And at the same time he suddenly felt so happy and full of joy about everything that was waiting for them that night and in their whole future together.

"I love you, Lois Lane," he said, smiling.

*****

Perfection. Perfection had to feel exactly like that. So soft, warm and flexible in his arms and so wonderfully adjusting to his own form. Clark stroked his wife's hair tenderly, careful not to wake her, as she was sleeping soundly next to him, pressed close to his body. From time to time she sighed in her sleep, snuggling her nose into his shoulder and every time she did that, Clark felt his heart flip over with joy. He knew he wanted to fall asleep like that in the night and to rouse the same way in the morning every day from now on.

After making love they had lain on their sides next to each other for a while, perfectly still and just gazing into each other's eyes. Clark felt as if he had never seen Lois more beautiful and he was overwhelmed by the intensity of his emotions in that moment. He wanted to put these feelings into words, but found he couldn't so instead only pulled her close to him and told her how much he loved her.

With a contented little sigh Lois laid her cheek on his chest. "I love you, too, Clark," she murmured sleepily. "I love you so much." She had attempted to fight her tiredness but it had been futile. "It's our honeymoon night, Clark, I *can't* just fall asleep on you," she protested sleepily when he whispered a tender 'sleep well' in her ear, but he just smiled.

"We've got so much time, Lois," he said. "A whole wonderful life long." So gratefully she had closed her eyes and had fallen asleep.

No wonder she was exhausted. It had been a very stressful day and surely the electric shock which Myrtle had given her had weakened her, too. How far away that all seemed to be now. So much had happened.

He shook his head, a happy smile on his face. He still felt as if he was dreaming. They were married and they had made love for the first time. 'What an amazing experience,' Clark thought, stretching his body a little bit and sensing with renewed surprise the sweet laziness in his body that was so new to him. He felt wide awake but at the same time he felt as if he was still sleeping. Perfectly quiet and perfectly content.

He turned his head and glanced over to the clock next to his bed. Almost six in the morning. Time to get some sleep, even for Superman. Superman... Clark smiled a little bit. 'Superman is on vacation,' he thought.

Superman hadn't been there tonight. Actually, he had totally forgotten about him. That was new to him. Since he had invented the man of steel he'd had a firm place in his thinking. He was always there and even when Clark wasn't flying around in the red and blue suit, a part of him always remained alert and ready to help in case that his powers were needed. Because of his second identity Clark had always felt as if he was leading two lives, being two separate persons in only one body. But tonight everything had been different. It had been only one man who had made love to Lois, only one soul that had opened up to her, as it had never been able to open up to anyone else before. Finally he could be himself, didn't have to hide, could use his superpowers without being measured because of them and show weakness without losing strength. Didn't they even fly at some point during the night? He couldn't remember. All he could remember was Lois. Her responses, her voice and the expression in her eyes when they came back to reality. And he remembered his feelings. Never had he thought that it could be like that. He smiled happily. There was a person now that knew both his sides and accepted them equally and who knew and loved the whole man - Clark - without any barriers or limits.

Obviously he had fallen asleep at some point in the morning after all, because he awoke when Lois moved. For a moment he was perplexed but then a feeling of comfort and happiness spread through him. Everything was wonderful. They were together, they were married and they were on their honeymoon. He glanced at the clock and noticed that he had slept longer than expected, because it was after ten already. Time for breakfast.

Gently he tried to get out of Lois' embrace and arranged her carefully next to him. She opened her eyes, smiled sleepily and firmly snuggled closer to him again. Suddenly standing up seemed impossible for Clark and he decided that breakfast would have to wait a little bit longer. He stroked the tousled hair from her face and kissed her tenderly.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he greeted his wife.

"Mhmm," she murmured comfortably. "Am I going to wake up this way every morning from now on?"

"We'll see," he smiled. "If you're a good girl..."

She chuckled. "And here I was thinking you loved it that I wasn't 'good' last night." She stretched herself languorously and Clark watched, fascinated, as the blanket she had wrapped around herself moved downwards a little bit.

"Oh, I loved it, without a doubt, honey," he said longingly and pulled her close to him again. "Are you very hungry?" he asked carefully.

Lois raised her eyebrows. "What would you say if I'd answered that with a 'yes'?"

He let go of her, desperation in his eyes. "You are?"

She broke into a fit of laughter. "No, I..." She couldn't finish her sentence, because suddenly she found herself lying under an alien who had apparently gone out of control and who, in a magical way, was able to banish all coherent thought from her mind. She felt dizzy and the room started swirling slightly around her. Never in her life had a man been able to rouse such feelings in her life, never...

She opened her eyes and gasped. No wonder the room was moving before her eyes. They were floating on the ceiling!

"Uh... Clark?" She made a halfhearted attempt to lead his attention away from her neck and to their very unusual position, which took supreme concentration, because he... what he was doing there was so... oh yes, he was doing that so well!

"Hmmm?" he murmured against her skin and let his lips wander a little bit lower.

'Forget it... just continue that way,' Lois thought happily and closed her eyes.

*****

Some time later they lay next to each other on the ceiling, both staring into space with wide eyes.

"Wow!" Lois sighed in delight. "That was-"

Clark felt a proud grin settle on his face. "I know," he said happily.

Lois shook her head, still feeling a little bit dazed.

"I mean..." Clark started, but he wasn't able to put into words what he meant. Instead he just touched his head against her hair.

"Exactly," Lois smiled. She moved carefully. God, her arms felt so heavy! Even the simple act of raising one of her fingers seemed to be impossible right now. At the same time though, she was feeling so *good*. "Hmmm," she purred. "The only thing I'd like more would be..." she stretched the word significantly and didn't finish her sentence.

Clark turned to her and softly kissed her temple. "More?" he whispered longingly in her ear.

"Yes," Lois grinned.

Clark didn't hesitate to comply. Tenderly he took her face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly.

"You know," he murmured between kisses, "I could still make those reservations in Hawaii." But Lois just laughed in that deep and sensual tone that made his skin tingle in response.

"We are not leaving this room," she said emphatically and pulled him into another deep and passionate kiss.

The next minutes passed in pleasant tenderness with a promise of more, until suddenly the loud rumble of Lois' stomach reminded them that humans couldn't exist on love alone.

Clark raised his brows. "Time to return to Earth." He smiled and looked pointedly down into his bedroom.

Lois giggled. "Beam me down, spaceman."

Clark carefully floated her down and settled her into the pillows. With a swift kiss he rose. "Don't move," he demanded. "Breakfast will be served in bed."

The contented chuckle from his wife told him that she was very much okay with that arrangement. She wrapped herself in her blanket, closed her eyes, and relaxed.

Only now did Clark notice the room's appearance. Was it possible that they had been a little bit careless with their clothing yesterday? He fished his sleeping shorts from somewhere under his bed and put them on. Then he bent to collect the other pieces of clothing that were spread all over the room.

As he picked up the black teddy Lois had been wearing he felt a sudden heat wave wash over him. He shook his head. 'Definitely not cured yet of my Lois addiction.' He smiled inwardly.

As he was making coffee, scrambling eggs and preparing a fresh fruit salad in super speed, he caught himself humming. Usually he was good at avoiding that because he didn't find his singing acceptable to other human beings, but today it somehow seemed almost impossible not to produce some sounds. He shook his head as he noticed that he was singing the Beatles' "Why don't we do it in the road". Well, why not? Actually, today he was ready to do it almost everywhere with Lois... Wow, he knew he was in love. He'd had time to get used to that condition for nearly three years now, but today's symptoms were completely new...

Lois rose expectantly when he came in with a tray in his hands. "Room service really isn't bad here," she praised, "and I've never seen such an attractive waiter Is he included?"

Clark chuckled and put the tray next to her. Then he slipped under the covers again and pulled her into his lap. "If you want, you even get fed in this hotel," he said amiably. "Along with some other things..." Carefully his hands moved towards the regions they'd just discovered yesterday evening, but Lois slapped him gently on his fingers.

"Will you stop," she said, mock-seriously. "Just because you're an alien who doesn't need food or water don't think you may distract me from this really wonderful looking breakfast."

Clark grinned unrepentantly and left his hands where they were, but at least he didn't move them.

"Oh boy, I'm really hungry," Lois sighed and dove into her scrambled eggs. She glanced at him curiously. "Don't you really need to eat? Never?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Clark shrugged. "I've never gone without food so long that I felt hungry. Maybe I would become hungry after a while, but I definitely know that a few days without eating or drinking have no effect on me at all."

"Wow," Lois murmured, impressed. "A man who doesn't need to eat *afterwards*."

Clark chuckled softly. "Well, maybe it is reversed with Kryptonians and we can't eat *afterwards*. Actually today I have no appetite at all. And besides," he pulled her closer into his embrace, burying his face at her neck and breathing in the scent of her skin, "you are too much of a distraction."

"Mhmm," Lois smiled and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she pushed him away gently. "Later," she said severely. "I'm not finished yet."

Clark complied and let her eat in peace. Now and then he took a couple of grapes for himself, or allowed her to give him a fork of scrambled egg, but it was obvious that it was more because he enjoyed getting fed by her than because he was really hungry.

Eventually Lois leaned back. "Better now," she announced. "I'm satisfied and fit for new deeds."

Clark smiled and put the tray away. "What would you like to do now?" he asked. "Did you really mean the 'we are not going to leave the room' thing?"

Lois watched him thoughtfully. "Well, almost," she then conceded. "I mean we don't have to fly to Hawaii. We can have a great honeymoon here, too, can't we? I would love to just spend two weeks alone with you, without other people and without Superman. You think we could manage that?"

Clark nodded firmly. "Superman is not here," he said. "I promise that I'm going to try my very best to keep him away."

Lois smiled tenderly and stroked a lock of hair out of his face. "I know that it won't always be possible, Clark. You don't need to worry about it. I know that Superman always requires part of your attention, but the remaining part of it I'd like to have completely to myself for the next two weeks, okay?"

"Okay," Clark nodded. "In fact, it's a pleasure, ma'am."

He kissed her again and for a moment they just enjoyed the luxurious feeling of having all time in the world for each other. Eventually Lois loosened their embrace and stroked her finger over his grinning face. "Not that I want to complain," she said reproachfully," but you really *scratch*!"

"Oops, I'm sorry," Clark murmured with a sheepish smile. "I guess I forgot all about shaving today. But now that you mention it..." He pushed her from his lap and got up. "Do you want the first turn in the bathroom or shall I?" Suddenly he remembered something. "Or maybe we should go together?" he asked hopefully.

"No, no, let's save that one for later. " Lois grinned. "Otherwise we really won't leave this apartment today. You go first and in the meantime I'm going to think about what we could do."

*****

"I've made a list about what I would like to do on our honeymoon," Lois announced proudly when Clark returned a few minutes later. "Now I'm going to shower and while I'm in there, you're going to make a list, too and afterwards we compare, okay?" She didn't wait for an answer but instead hopped from the bed. "I'll be right back and no peeking!"

Clark chuckled and shook his head. Sometimes she was too cute. Excited and happy like a little girl in one moment, tough and ambitious in the next and in both, she was wonderful. He good-naturedly took a piece of paper and a pen and brooded over the list for a while. What would Lois like to do? He wanted her to have the most wonderful honeymoon imaginable, he wanted to see her happy and he wanted the two weeks to be unforgettable for both of them.

As Lois appeared next to him some time later, he was still thinking. "Not that easy," he sighed.

Lois sat down across from him, got herself a pen, too and watched him expectantly. "Okay let's have it. What's on your mind for the honeymoon?"

"Sex?" Clark asked, a little insecure, and blushed.

Lois giggled. "Good one," she praised. "That was my first choice, too."

"Well it wasn't that difficult considering that we're on our honeymoon," Clark said modestly. He looked down on his list and raised his brow. "What's your next choice?" he asked.

"More sex," Lois grinned.

"Oh you! Woman of my dreams." Clark sighed, overwhelmed. "I can see it, we are totally in sync."

"Of course we are, honey, that's part of being newlyweds." Lois laughed. "But what about we skip that particular item and all related possibilities for now and come to..." she looked down on her list, "number ten and following?"

Clark laughed too and obediently turned his page around. "Moonlight swim," he read aloud.

"Oh yes, I have that, too... yes, here-- swimming. Number sixteen." She checked it. "Shopping," she announced.

Clark sighed. "I knew it," he remarked and checked another item on his list. "Candlelight dinner in a romantic restaurant?" he asked.

"Oh, yesss." Lois nodded frantically. "I love that." The next thing on her list made her hesitate slightly. "Playing?" she finally asked expectantly.

"I thought we skipped items one to ten?" Clark replied, confused.

Lois shook her head. "Not that sort of game. *Real* games... Backgammon, Scrabble ... you know..." She sighed when she detected his slightly horrified gaze. "Okay, it was worth a try..."

"No! No, honey, of course we're going to play, if that's what you want," Clark hastily assured her. After all he wanted her to have the best honeymoon imaginable, didn't he? "How about strip poker?"

Lois chuckled and nodded her okay. "What else do you have on your list?" she demanded.

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "Not that much," he murmured, embarrassed.

"Tell me."

"Well, I couldn't think of anything else so I just wrote: 'Anything Lois wants'."

"Oh, Clark, that's so sweet," Lois smiled. "And look what I wrote here..." She showed him her page.

"Anything Clark wants," he read.

Being on a honeymoon really was great.

*****

A few hours later they sat at a table in a small café.

"Hmmm," Clark murmured appreciatively. "I would never have thought that shopping could be so nice." His glance fell on the countless shopping bags next to them. "Did we really buy all this?" he asked, surprised, and grimaced. "I didn't even notice!"

"Wait until you see what shop I'm planning to visit next." Lois grinned promisingly and sipped at her cappuccino.

"Oh no, I'm not going in there," Clark protested desperately half an hour later.

"Come on, Clark. You are going to love it!" Lois pulled at his arm. "Now don't be silly!" But he refused to move.

"Lois, please, I'm not going in there. I would be the only man in that shop!" he begged.

At that moment the door to "Madame Giselle," Metropolis' most exclusive lingerie shop, opened and a man stepped outside. In his hand he had a package with a red ribbon.

"See?" Lois said pointedly. "Speaking of being the only man inside. And," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Do I need to remind you who bought me that black teddy I wore last night?"

"That was in Paris! On another continent!" Clark tried a last desperate attempt. "That was totally different. What if there's someone in there who knows us?"

Lois laughed. "Well, then he'll know where I buy my underwear. So what?"

"Oh boy." Clark sighed and surrendered. "But only because we're on our honeymoon!"

"Hi, may I help you?" a friendly, middle-aged assistant asked them as they closed the door behind them.

Lois explained that they just wanted to look around and that she was searching for something special but didn't know what yet.

"But of course." The lady nodded politely. "Maybe you'll find something in our new collection. We just got some new pieces from Paris this morning. I'm sure there will be something you'll like. And your husband, too," she added with a wink.

"Lois, do I have a red face?" Clark whispered as the assistant went away briefly to get a selection of those new pieces she had been talking about.

Lois giggled. "No, you haven't," she assured him. With great interest she bent over the garments that the assistant laid on the counter. "Wow," she said. "These are really beautiful."

Clark caught himself glancing, too. She was right. Lois would look great in them. For a moment he lost himself in a fantasy with a lot of black silk in it and even more Lois, but suddenly his wife, who had wandered through the room, detected something she liked.

"Clark, look!" she yelled over her shoulder and waved a tiny bra. "Do you go for green?"

Clark saw the assistant give him an interested glance and felt his blood rush to his ears. "Uh..." he stuttered.

"But, no," Lois exclaimed triumphantly. "Right... I know something better!" She whispered something to the clerk.

"Oh, yes," the saleswoman announced proudly. "I think I have exactly the right thing for you. It's a little unusual, if I may say so, but I'm sure you will look fabulous in it." She winked at Clark again. "You have good taste."

"Uh... thank you," Clark murmured, confused and feeling like an idiot. What on earth could Lois have told her?

The two ladies disappeared to the changing rooms. Lois mouthed him a "no peeking" across the room and Clark obediently sat down in one of the chairs that were arranged around a little coffee table in the middle of the shop.

Still not able to completely relax, he glanced at the other clients. To his great relief there hadn't been many people in the shop when they entered, but now they were not alone anymore. Clark noticed with surprise that there were almost as many men among the customers as there were women and suddenly he didn't feel as out of place anymore. Maybe Lois was right and he was too naive.

As he absentmindedly leafed through one of the catalogues that had been lying on the coffee table, a short, overweight man took a seat next to him.

"Hey, nice!" the man commented and pointed at a picture in Clark's catalogue.

"Uhm... yes," Clark closed the magazine with an audible snap. The little man bent over to him and whispered, "*I* prefer leopard-skin though, you know."

Clark raised his brow and had to bite down on his lower lip to stop himself from laughing. Leopard-skin? The man looked as harmless as an overfed dachshund and he went for the jungle look? He cleared his throat. "Uh... well... yes, that's nice."

The man nodded, a dreamy expression on his face. "That's the best," he said firmly.

Suddenly a deep voice roared, "Arthur, I have everything I wanted. Let's go."

Clark looked up and saw a gigantic woman, at least 6 feet 5 inches tall with an equally impressive girth, standing next to them.

The little man hopped from his chair and happily grabbed the shopping bags that he had stored under it. "I'm coming, sweetheart!" he cried and followed his wife to the door.

Clark watched them leaving. 'Leopard-skin.' He shook his head. 'With that woman! Oh my god, I would be terrified!"

He was happy when Lois reappeared next to him only a few minutes later. A mysterious smile was playing around the corners of her lips.

"What did you buy?" he asked curiously when they left the shop, but she just grinned.

"I'll show you later," she promised.

Suddenly Clark couldn't wait until "later." He stopped her, closed his arms around her and pressed her slightly against the wall behind them. "Let's fly home," he urged.

Lois chuckled softly. "Fly? That urgent?"

He nodded, kissed her and pulled her with him around the next corner. "Much more urgent," he said, spun into the Superman-suit, scooped her up in his arms and took off.

For some reason Lois didn't get to show Clark her newest purchase from "Madame Giselle." When they arrived at Clark's apartment, the surprise was completely forgotten. They just barely managed to get *out* of their clothes. Modeling was out of the question for the evening.

*****

Lois awoke first on the following morning. She leaned on her elbow and looked down on her husband. He looked so happy. His face was relaxed, the little laugh-wrinkles around his eyes smoothed, the sensitive mouth opened just a little bit. As always there was that stubborn lock of hair falling over his eye that made him appear so young and boyish.

Never before in her life had Lois thought about male beauty. Of course she knew if a man was attractive or not, and of course she knew the common standards to judge about it. There were men she thought were more attractive and others she thought were downright ugly, but never in her life had a man seemed to be so really *beautiful* to her as Clark did.

In the beginning she thought it was because he was an alien and therefore had an immaculate body. After all, *everybody* knew that Superman was perfectly built. She had figured that out when she first laid eyes on the man of steel, long before she had known that he was also her partner Clark Kent.

When later she fell in love with Clark and discovered his secret, she started to get a little bit worried about it. How was she, a normal woman, supposed to keep up with unearthly perfection? Of course she was good-looking and some people even called her beautiful, but what was all her beauty compared to Superman? Cat Grant had called him a "God in a cape" and the more she saw of Clark, the more she thought that the gossip columnist had been right. He was just... perfect.

But then she suddenly realized not only that she saw perfection in Clark, but also that he thought *she* was the most beautiful being that ever wandered on earth's surface. How could that be? Objectively viewed she wasn't more beautiful than many others and there were countless women who were much prettier than she was. Was he only blind from love? And would he get over that blindness someday?

She noticed something astonishing though. It was so much more than physical fascination that turned Clark into the incarnation of beauty for her. It was not only a collection of well-shaped body parts that built his attractiveness. No, mainly she saw his body always as a mirror of his soul and neither one was dividable from the other. His strength and power were in his muscles and smooth skin, but at the same time they were in the goodness in his eyes, the tenderness in the soft line of his hands and the humor in the little dimple next to his mouth. It was that certain mixture of soul and body that made him unique and that she recognized as if his body was a missing part of her own.

Suddenly she had to laugh about how deeply in thought she had been, staring down on him for the last few seconds. "My sleeping prince," she whispered and kissed his cheek gently.

"Hmmm, nicely said," Clark murmured sleepily, before his strong arms grabbed her and pulled her close to him. He rolled on his side and Lois snuggled contently in a comfortable spoon-position. "Sleep, my queen," Clark whispered in her ear. "The prince is tired."

He buried his face at her neck and a few seconds later Lois knew by his deep breathing that he was asleep again.

She chuckled. 'I guess I've worn the prince out,' she thought and closed her eyes too.

*****

Lois awoke to the smell of baked ham and fresh coffee.

"You know what I've been thinking?" she asked, putting her arms around Clark who was standing at the stove, and laying her head against his broad shoulders. "We could take advantage of the fact that we didn't fly off to Hawaii and move some of my stuff from my apartment over here."

"Come on, we're on our honeymoon," Clark protested. "You don't want to waste this special time moving, do you?"

Lois raised on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Of course not," she cooed. "But I only have clothes for Hawaii with me and nothing appropriate for an Eastern climate. So if you don't want to have a sneezing bride, we have to pay my place at least a short visit."

An hour and a half later Lois unlocked the door to her apartment. "It's weird," she told Clark. "I've only been away for two days, but I'm already feeling out of place here."

Clark smiled and looked around as if he was seeing the room for the first time. "You know," he said dreamily, "it's almost a pity that you're going to give it up now. I've always had this little fantasy..."

"Oh yes?" Lois asked with raised brows. "A fantasy about my apartment?" She flung her arms around his neck. "Shoot."

He chuckled softly. "Well, actually it started a little before we got here, you know..." he told her, a little embarrassed. "We're sitting in your car. We're on an assignment, I guess. Well, and then suddenly you turn around and ask: 'Your place or mine?'"

Lois broke into laughter. "Your place or mine?! Come on, Clark, that's disgusting! I would never say that!"

He laughed too and shrugged his shoulders. "It's a fantasy, Lois. People do weird things in fantasies."

"Yes?" Lois murmured and started kissing his neck. "Tell me more."

"Okay, well we're going to your apartment and you start to open all those countless locks you have at your door, but I'm totally impatient by now and.... ah... Lois, that's good... and... mhmmm... well... then I just break your door and drag you into the room."

"Aha! So you play the big strong man a little bit, huh?" Lois whispered in his ear.

Clark became aware that she somehow had managed to unbutton his shirt without him even noticing it. A familiar heat began spreading through his body. "Mhmm," he nodded and pulled her firmly closer.

Lois chuckled softly and pressed against him. "Tell me the rest of your story, Clark," she whispered.

But Clark wasn't in the mood for talking anymore. "How about I show you?" he murmured and allowed his hands to start to wander. Lois chuckled again and he pulled her closer to him again and kissed her passionately. His left arm pressed her firmly to his hips while the right hand unerringly found the clasp of her bra under her t-shirt and opened it with one brief movement.

"Wow," Lois murmured against his lips. "You've gotten very practiced by now, Mister, hm?" She struggled with his shirt, getting distracted from time to time by the emotions he was creating in her with his kisses. Finally she managed to concentrate enough to push it over his shoulders, but when she tried to totally get rid of it, she showed a little bit too much enthusiasm and they suddenly lost their balance.

For a second they tipped, then tumbled down onto Lois' carpet. Luckily for Lois, Clark had enough presence of mind to roll them over in the air, so that he hit the ground first and they ended with him lying under her.

Lois, who wasn't hurt at all, didn't hesitate to continue her task. She sat up and fumbled with Clark's belt, but Clark chuckled. He sat up, too, rolled her over and looked down at her, grinning. "Hey, it wasn't like that. I was the 'big strong man,' remember?"

Lois smiled. "Ohhhh," she purred and raised her arms above her head. "Well, in that case..."

Suddenly a familiar voice came from the door. "Lucy, your father has better things to do besides drive around the block *four* times, just to end up in the same parking space he could have had the other three times we passed it -- Oh my god!"

Speechless, Lois and Clark stared up into the shocked faces of the whole Lane family.

"Uh... hi," Clark stuttered and hastily brought both of them to their feet. "We... uhm... didn't hear you coming."

"So we noticed," Sam told them dryly. He shook his head, but couldn't suppress a grin. "If we had known that you kids were here, we would have knocked of course." He turned to Ellen and Lucy, who obviously were as speechless as Lois, and laughed. "I guess the surprise we were planning for the two lovebirds on their return from Hawaii won't be able to top this."

Lucy tore her gaze away from Clark's fascinating chest and looked toward her sister. My God, Lois didn't tell her that Clark was such a splendid specimen! Under the mild mannered outfit of his business suits she would never had guessed! In revenge, she decided to torture her older sister a little bit.

She snickered. "So what were you two doing here?"

Lois grimaced and didn't answer, but Lucy just laughed and winked at her new brother-in-law, who had fished his shirt from the ground and was buttoning it up.

"I never knew you were such a wild guy, Clark" she teased. "On the carpet in the living room, all over my sister..."

"Shut up, Luce," Lois snapped. Her composure was slowly returning. "What are *you* doing here, by the way?" she asked her mother, who still hadn't found her voice.

"We could ask you the same," Ellen replied dryly. "Aren't you two supposed to be in Hawaii?"

"Uh... yes," Clark murmured. "We just..." he helplessly glanced at Lois.

"... missed the plane," she cut in and shrugged her shoulders.

"I wonder why?" Lucy grinned innocently and giggled when Clark blushed.

Lois decided that she'd had enough family for one day and ignored her sister. She took Clark's hand and dragged him towards the door.

"Well, and you know what? We really have to go. We don't want to miss another flight." She nodded briefly to her parents, then rushed down the hall towards the elevator.

"Oh my god," she sighed when the elevator doors closed behind them. She sent Clark a sheepish grin and searched under her T-shirt for her bra, which was still hanging loosely around her.

Clark chuckled. "Oh my god," he agreed.

*****

The flickering shine of the candles that were set up everywhere was the only light that illuminated the room when Lois returned from a short trip to a grocery shop two days later. A table, festively laid for two, was standing where just a few minutes ago a game-board had been bearing witness to Clark's latest defeat in Scrabble and Beethoven's violin concert was playing softly in the background.

"Wow." Lois sighed, impressed.

She looked around for her husband and found him standing in the kitchen. "Why do I get the feeling that you somehow arranged our sudden lack of cream soda and therefore my necessary dash to the grocery store?" she asked him reproachfully.

Clark laughed. "Everything is allowed in love," he apologized and went into the next room. When he reappeared he had two bottles of cream soda with him and was looking slightly guilty. "Even Superman needs a few minutes to prepare all that."

"Speaking of which," Lois asked, "What exactly is 'all that'?"

"The next item on our list," Clark explained. "Go and dress up, honey. I've made reservations for a candlelight dinner in an especially romantic restaurant, tonight."

Lois smiled happily. "Hmmm, I love the way you think." She went to the door, but turned around as a thought struck her. "Do you have any special wishes about my dress?"

"I have complete faith in you," Clark assured her. "As long as I may take it off you later."

Lois laughed and disappeared.

Clark had really outdone himself. Not only had he cooked a four-course meal that was beyond comparison; he also had already put on a charcoal suit when Lois reappeared into the living room half an hour later.

He poured champagne into two glasses and went to her. "Wow, Lois," he murmured enraptured. "You look...*gorgeous*!"

Lois smiled happily. Of course she would never have admitted it, but she had taken great care in the selection of her wardrobe for the evening. Several dresses had been tried and disapproved in front of the mirror by her until she finally had decided on the black dress that she was wearing now. It was exactly right. Simple enough to avoid looking overdressed, but at the same time so exquisitely cut that it showed the observer much more skin than he expected at the first glance. The expression in Clark's eyes clearly told her that he loved her choice.

'And wait until you see what I am wearing underneath,' Lois thought with a slight grin. 'You'll love that even more!'

"Mhmm, Clark," Lois groaned an hour later. "How am I supposed to stay in any kind of shape, when I married a man who cooks better than Paul Prudhomme? You are my downfall!"

Clark chuckled. "Don't worry, honey. That was a really light dinner, almost no calories. And if you really worry about your body, I can think of a way to get rid of all those calories." He grinned challengingly at her.

Lois raised her brows. "Ah ha, where's the good, shy farm boy all of a sudden?" she asked in mock shock.

Clark went around the table and held his hand out to her. "I was thinking of dancing, sweetheart," he grinned. "Why do I get the feeling that you were thinking of something entirely different?"

Lois laughed good-naturedly and let herself be led to the middle of the room by him. There he took her in his arms.

"Do you realize that we've only danced a very few times?" Lois murmured when the first notes of "Fly Me To The Moon" filled the room.

"I noticed, yes," Clark nodded and pulled her even closer. "And never before could I dance with you the way I longed to."

Lois looked up to him. "What did you want to do?"

"Something like this." He smiled down at her and Lois felt her feet leave the floor.

She smiled too. "We did float one evening, remember? And it was the same song..."

"Of course I remember," he answered, sobering. "But it wasn't the same. You didn't know who I really was and I... I was a coward and an idiot and never in my life have I been so close to just letting it happen. I loved you so much even then and you were so... so... responsive that evening. You were there in my arms just like now and you looked at me as if I was the most incredible wonder on earth. Only it wasn't me you were looking at but that silly suit I had created to remain near to you and that somehow ended up pulling me away from you at the same time. Afterwards I was happy that I had to fly away to a rescue." He grinned a little sheepishly at her. "Do you know that I had to spend more than three hours in the Arctic to regain at least a little composure?"

Lois smiled. "No, I didn't know that. But you know what? You didn't deserve any better. *I* ate a whole bowl of chocolate ice cream that night. And if somebody ever tries to tell you that chocolate is a good substitute for sex... *I* assure you it's not. I was sick afterwards, but I was still as frustrated as before."

Clark playfully swung her around the room. "Luckily those times are over," he said and his eyes glittered. "No visits to the Arctic for me anymore and no chocolate ice cream for you." He laughed when he saw the horrified expression on Lois' face. "Hey, I only mean as a substitute for sex, honey," he said soothingly. "I would never deny you your chocolate. What do you think I am? A monster?"

Lois grinned. "No," she purred and pulled his face down to hers. "I think you are irresistible."

They came back to reality when the music stopped. "Another dance, Lois?" Clark asked, but she shook her head and he floated them down gently.

"I think it's time you get to see Madame Giselle's creation." She threw him a sultry glance over the shoulder while pulling him into the bedroom.

Clark was only too happy to follow her. He had completely forgotten about the surprise! Lois told him to lie down on the bed, an order he also obeyed willingly. He lay down and turned off the ceiling lamp, so that only the small lamp on Lois' nightstand illuminated the room.

"Now I'm really..." 'Curious' was the word he had meant to say, but the sentence died on his lips when he realized that Lois hadn't disappeared into the bathroom as he had expected, but instead started to undress right in front of him, an easy smile on her face.

He swallowed hard and had to loosen his tie. Why was it suddenly so warm in this room? Fascinated he watched as Lois opened the zipper of her evening gown with a practiced move and eased down the straps of the dress over her shoulders. She captured Clark's eyes with her own, as if she did not want to miss his reaction to her "surprise."

Clark involuntarily held his breath as the dress slipped down with a silky whisper and he finally was able to see what was underneath.

"What do you think?" Lois asked with a teasing voice and sent him another provocative glance under long, black lashes.

"Uh... Lois..." Clark stammered. "Uh...wow!" It was all he could muster.

Burgundy. He had always envisioned her in burgundy and she had not forgotten about that. No, she definitely hadn't forgotten about that!

An objective eye probably would have described Madame Giselle's "surprise" as a simple negligee with spaghetti straps, but at the same time, it also was the most exciting piece of silk Clark had ever seen. It was not so much the exquisite cut of the gleaming material that clung to Lois' body as if it had been made just for her, nor was it the delicate lace that lined the cleavage and left more to the imagination than it really showed. What made it perfect most of all was the combination of the deep burgundy color with Lois' light and creamy complexion and her dark and sparkling eyes.

Lois turned herself around once, enticingly slow. Then she stopped again and looked at him. "Well?" she asked, "What do you think?"

Clark raised his eyes and locked his gaze with hers. His eyes were dark, almost black. He reached his hand. "Come here," he said with a husky voice.

She went to him and sat down at the edge of the bed.

Clark tilted her face and took it in both hands, kissing her tenderly. "Oh, honey, " he sighed shakily. "If you're going to keep that up, I'm sure I won't survive our honeymoon. But what a wonderful way to go!"

Lois giggled against his lips. She pressed him back in the pillows and lay down on top of him. "We'll see about that, Superman," she grinned.

*****

"You got some room for me in there, mister?"

Clark grinned and pulled the shower-curtain away. "Sure," he answered kindly. "But I must warn you. No funny business in here! Got it?"

Lois shrugged her shoulders with dignity, causing the towel that she had draped around her body to drop to the floor, and joined him under the warm spray of water.

"So?" she asked expectantly while stroking back the strands of wet hair from her face. "How are we going to manage this?"

Clark looked down at her and watched fascinated as small water droplets fell from her hair down on her temple, stopped for a short moment at her long eye lashes, before they loosened again and ran down her cheeks, lips, throat, continuing its way deeper and deeper until...

He swallowed. "Manage?" he asked automatically.

Lois looked at him with an expression that told him she thought his question was incredibly silly. "As you might have noticed," she explained patiently, "this shower is way too narrow for two people. We can't move."

"Oh, I like it that way," Clark told her with a disarming smile. "That way I can feel you so much better."

Lois chuckled. "No, really? Now that you mention it, I can feel you really well, too..." She looked down his body and grinned. "And it's getting better by the second."

"Oops." Clark smiled, his eyes sparkling..

"What I meant was: How are we supposed to wash here?" Lois added and gave him a little tap on his fingers that had started a purposeful wandering along the curves of her body.

"That's easy," he purred and brought his hands back to the regions from where they had been expelled so rudely two seconds ago. "I'm going to wash you and you're going to wash me." He grinned enthusiastically and grabbed for the soap.

He started by lathering her hair. "You look like a little seal," he said besottedly.

"Is that a compliment?" Lois asked suspiciously.

Clark snorted disapprovingly. "Of course it is! Have you ever seen anything cuter than a small seal with its huge black eyes?" He looked down at her and placed a soft kiss on her nose. "And that's exactly what you look like."

Obviously he had come to the conclusion that a thorough cleaning was necessary, because he took his time and drew out the task enticingly long. After shampooing her hair, he started to lather the rest of her body in small, circling movements.

God, he did that well! Lois closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his hands on her skin. It wouldn't have needed much and she would have purred like a cat, she thought with a grin. Instead she called herself back to order firmly and remembered that she should start working as well. She snapped the cap off the bottle of shower-gel and got to the task at hand.

How smooth his skin was! She remembered the tattoo-artist who had told Clark his body was like polished steel a long time ago. Back then Lois had tried to appear totally unimpressed, but secretly she'd had to agree with her. Sighing happily she let her hands stroke over his chest, enjoying the feeling of his hard muscles under her fingers.

It was really not that surprising that it ended the way it did. Who were they trying to fool here? It was inevitable that ten minutes later Lois found herself pressed against the wall of the shower, her head thrown back, gasping for breath and clenching her husband's body with her own. Clark had buried his face at her shoulder and the furious movement of his chest showed that he was winded too.

For a long while they remained in that position, first motionless because of the exhaustion, then more and more out of a deep feeling of happy satisfaction and unwillingness to give up the contact and break the mood of the intimate moment. Clark nibbled tenderly at her throat from the bend of her shoulder up to that sensitive point just behind her ear, where he knew she loved to be caressed so very much. Lois enjoyed the feeling of being weightless which she got every time he scooped her up into his arms. He held her as securely and effortlessly as if she was light as a feather.

Eventually their eyes locked and together they sighed and smiled in soft regret. Clark reached behind her to the faucet and turned off the stream of water. He kissed Lois on the lip, then lifted her from the shower and put her feet down on the carpet.

Still unwilling to give up the physical contact he held her in one arm, while he reached over and took the large towel that was hanging there. He wrapped it around her body tenderly, before bowing his head once more for another kiss.

"Mhmmm, Lois," he murmured, caressing her lips with his own. "You are so..."

She would never hear what he was about to say, because right at that moment a loud and unmelodic whistling resounded and it came from the bedroom!

*****

Clark felt a chill running down his spine.

"Did you hear that?!" Lois whispered agitatedly. "Who is that?"

Clark directed his gaze to the wall of the bathroom. "Oh no," Lois heard him murmur softly. "I totally forgot about him." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's Jimmy," he explained. "I asked him to water the plants for me."

Lois wrung her hands. "What are we going to do now?" she asked with alarm. "What if he comes in here? I can't believe this is happening!"

Clark x-rayed the room again. "At least he's already working. Obviously he got water from the kitchen.

"Why didn't you hear him long before?" she hissed with an impatient glance. "That's the second time somebody has walked in on us! In less than two weeks! I thought you had super-hearing?"

Clark had secretly asked himself that already. Why hadn't he been able to hear either the Lanes or Jimmy in advance? He normally was able to hear the slightest movement around him, after all. He tried to remember where his ears had been during their lovemaking and blushed.

"Seems like I'm kind of fixated on you when we... you know," he whispered ruefully. "I just remember all those cute little noises you make when we're... well, you know..."

Lois didn't know if she should grin about the fact that her boy scout of a husband wasn't able to talk about sex even after two weeks of marriage, or if she should be mad about the allegation she discerned in his words. She chose the latter.

"I don't make any noises," she said with dignity.

Clark chuckled softly. "Oh, yes, you do," he whispered in her ears. "And you know what? I love it. It's a real turn on."

"Really?" Lois sent him a surprised glance.

Clark grinned and nodded.

Suddenly an unmistakable "Whoaaa, Lois!" coming from the next room reminded them that they were still standing in their bathroom and Jimmy was still watering their plants only a few feet from them.

Clark fixed his x-ray-vision on the wall and winced visibly. "Oh boy," he sighed.

"What is it?" Lois asked. "Why did he say 'whoa, Lois'?"

"Well," Clark murmured, "do you remember where Mme Giselle's surprise ended up yesterday?"

"No, actually I don't. Some alien tore it from my body at super speed!"

"Hey, that sounds pretty reproachful," Clark said insulted. "Yesterday you seemed to like it."

"Clark Kent," Lois whispered firmly. "Where is the negligee?"

His lips twitched. "It's on the little palm tree" he grinned. "Looks really good, if you ask me. I wonder if we should leave it that w... ah, Lois! Stop that!!"

Lois didn't pay attention. Instead she continued her little revenge. Clark was invulnerable, but she had long ago found out that when *she* touched him he was as helpless as any other man. She decided that her husband was having way too much fun with this awkward situation. He thought it was funny to be in the bathroom totally naked and with a photographer on the other side of the door? She would give him even more fun....

Unerringly she let her hands slip softly over his chest and stomach. "Hmm, Clark," she sighed in his ear. "You like the noises I make, huh? I like the noises *you* make, too... Let me see if I can get a little taste of those..."

"Lo-is!," Clark growled. "What if Jimmy... ohhh..." His voice broke when she replaced her hands with her lips and let them wander southwards.

"Yep, that's exactly the kind of 'oh' that I meant," Lois grinned, her lips against his skin. "You have more of those?"

"Ohh... yes," he whispered and bit down on his lower lip. He closed his eyes, his head spinning and the blood rushing in his veins. That felt so good... she was so..."Oh my god, Loisss..." he suddenly moaned louder than he'd intended.

"Shhhh," his wife chuckled, and, startled, he registered the slight pat on his behind. "Will you be quiet!"

*That* brought him back to reality. With one quick movement he lifted her, so that her face was once again on one level with his own. "You witch," he murmured between hungry kisses. "My revenge will be terrible."

Lois giggled and pressed herself hard against him. "Yeah, really?" she laughed, but then had to suppress a moan of her own and close her eyes when his lips found that certain point just below her ear that was so tender.

When she opened her eyes again she found him watching her with an amused smile. "You see, that's another thing I love about you, honey," he explained. "You're so passionate. You can't deny it."

For a moment they smiled at each other, and suddenly all amusement disappeared from their eyes. Instead they got dark and intense. Then Clark's lips were on hers again and she responded with the same devouring passion that made him go weak in the knees. Blindly he pressed her against the wall, not thinking about the numerous things on the shelf over the sink. With a loud crash the toiletries fell to the floor.

*****

Usually Jimmy wasn't a guy who paid much attention to the order or disorder in one of his buddies' apartments, but somehow he was surprised to find Clark's place so messy. Clark had always seemed to be such a neat person and then he went on a vacation without even making his bed? Very weird.

He had already noticed in the living room how many things were scattered there all over the floor, but the bedroom looked even worse, even on Jimmy's scale for that kind of thing! Apparently Lois and Clark had left the house in haste the day after the wedding and didn't have the time to clean it.

With a shrug of his shoulders he went to the window to continue watering the plants and absently stared at that strange palm tree that CK had there. Suddenly his eyes widened and with two fingers he lifted the burgundy, undeniably female garment that he had mistaken for a blossom.

"Whoaaaa, Loisss!" he stuttered, disconcerted. Wow, that was hot! To think about Lois in this garment probably wasn't very appropriate, but he couldn't help his thoughts going that route for a second and he suddenly felt very warm. No wonder CK had forgotten about cleaning his room! With Lois wearing *that* thing... he sure hadn't thought about his apartment!

Jimmy sighed, letting the garment drop down on the bed. CK was a lucky man and no one could be more happy about it than his friend Jimmy, but sometimes he envied him, too. Would he ever find someone as wonderful as Lois and have a relationship like his best friends had? He really hoped so, but somehow he just met girls who seemed wonderful on first glance, but who turned out to have nothing in common with him after a short period of time.

Suddenly something startled him out of his thoughts and he threw a surprised glance to the bathroom. Hadn't he heard a sigh coming from there? He listened for a second. Nothing.

Mad at himself, he shook his head. 'You probably sighed yourself,' he told himself. 'Every time you think about women you get depressed.' Decidedly he grabbed his watering can and was resuming his work when he heard a loud crash coming from the bathroom.

"Okay, *that* wasn't me!" Jimmy murmured and felt the hair rising on his neck. Who was in that darned bathroom?! Carefully he tipped to the door and listened. Nothing again.

'Okay,' he thought nervously. 'You're going in there, now, buddy. But be careful.' Once more he listened at the door, but there was still no sound. So hesitantly he opened the door and looked inside. The room was empty.

*****

"What is he doing now?" Lois hissed nervously.

Clark x-rayed the wall. "He's standing there with a sheepish expression on his face." He put his arms around his wife. "Are you cold?"

"Cold? I'm floating outside of my bathroom window, I happen to be wet and naked, it's October and we're on the east coast. No, I'm not cold," Lois answered sarcastically.

Clark sighed. It wasn't exactly his fault that they were in this situation but somehow he felt responsible. "It won't be much longer, honey," he soothed her.

*****

'How weird', Jimmy thought, 'they even forgot to close the window!' Unbelievable. Those two went on vacation to Hawaii and left the window open! CK really should know better by now--after all it wasn't so long ago that his apartment got robbed! Shaking his head, he went through the room and suddenly noticed something else. The shower! It was full of fresh water drops!

Jimmy's thoughts whirled. Did he somehow mess up the dates? Did Clark say they were going to be gone for two weeks or just for one? Suddenly he wasn't so sure anymore. How embarrassing! At least he was lucky that they seemed to have left the apartment pretty early today. He couldn't imagine how mortifying it would have been if he had walked in on them in the wrong moment! Hastily he turned on his heels and left the apartment. Why did such things always happen to him?

It was only when he was walking along Clinton Street that he suddenly remembered the open window again. He had forgotten about closing it. Should he go back?

Undecided, he stopped and glanced up to Clark's apartment. He couldn't really see the bathroom window though, because of the big tree in front of it. Well, that also meant that other people wouldn't notice the open window either. And actually, it wasn't his business after all. Clark should take care of his stuff himself!

Shrugging his shoulders he sent a last glance up and hesitated for a moment. Obviously CK had left something hanging out there to dry. Behind the leaves of the tree he could see something light. Hopefully that wasn't going to fly away! Once again he thought about going back, but then he shook he head. What concern of his was that? He would talk to CK about safety in a town like Metropolis when he and Lois came back from their honeymoon on Monday.

*****

"No peeking!"

"I'm not peeking!" Lois muttered, insulted, but her husband just laughed.

"I know you, sweetheart," she heard his amused voice say. " You think I don't notice if you're taking a quick glimpse through those wonderful, long, black..."

"Okay, Clark, I get it," Lois interrupted him impatiently. "They're nice. What's your point?"

"...beautiful lashes," her husband continued unmoved. "But I do."

Lois sighed. "When are we going to be there?" she complained. "It's taking for ever!"

"Just a few seconds more, honey," Clark cooed. Lois felt them losing altitude and then finally landing softly.

"Okay," Clark murmured. "Now you may look."

Lois opened her eyes. "Oh wow! Clark!" she exclaimed.

They were in a small romantic bay. White sand, a couple of palm trees moving slightly in the summer wind and the ocean rolling in small, glittering waves up the beach. In the shade under the trees, Clark had prepared a picnic.

"Do you like it?" he asked eagerly.

She turned around and kissed him tenderly. "Of course I do. Are you going to tell me where we are?"

Clark nodded and led her to the palm trees. "We're on a small tropical island that I discovered just a few weeks ago, " he explained as they sat down. "And ever since I found it, I knew I wanted to bring you here."

Lois smiled. "It's so beautiful," she said. "Too bad I didn't bring a bathing suit though. Oh, and a blanket for the picnic. The sand looks wonderful, but it's a little uncomfortable to have it sticking all over you."

"Don't worry, I'm well prepared," Clark grinned. He took his cape off and laid it on the ground. "This is to protect against the sand and as for the bathing suit..." His eyes glittered adventurously. "You don't need one."

"I don't?" Lois raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Clark nodded. "There's no living soul on this island except you and me."

She threw him a provocative glance and leaned back on her elbows. "That means we'll be totally undisturbed here?" She stretched her body and Clark watched, fascinated, as more and more of her gorgeous legs appeared below the hem of her short dress. He nodded again.

"So what do you think we're going to do here? All alone?" she purred.

Clark chuckled and stretched out next to her. "What indeed?" he murmured as his lips met hers.

*****

"What do you think about a little swim? You know, to cool down?" It was an eternity later when Clark grinned down on his wife. "And then we can eat. Actually I had planned for us to do that first of all."

"Really? And who totally forgot about eating an hour ago?" She pushed away from him tenderly and pointed accusingly on her dress. "Look at me! I'm a mess!"

Clark chuckled. "You look cute," he said. He took her face in his hands and gave her a little peck on the nose. "Passionate," he added and touched his lips to hers in a soft kiss, "and utterly wonderful," he concluded grinning.

Lois shook her head, but chuckled, too. "You're blind, honey. I'm a mess, but it doesn't matter. After all," she suddenly giggled, "I bet the world hasn't seen its superhero quite like that before either." Her eyes sparkled as she directed Clark's glance to his own disarranged outfit.

"Oops," he said with a grimace. "You're right. I bet it would be a kick for all those who wonder if the suit really comes off." With a quick move he got rid of the rest of his clothing. Holding out his hand to her, he stood. "Come," he said. "Time for a bath."

Hand in hand they walked to the water.

*****

"Sometimes I get afraid, when I think about the fact that things won't be like that between us forever," Lois sighed much later, when they were sitting on the beach again.

The swimming had been wonderful. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard. She felt wonderfully silly, elated and playful and Clark's deep, chuckling laughter and his sparkling eyes told her that he felt the same way, as they wildly tumbled and splashed around in the water like children.

Finally they had remembered their enticing picnic though and had returned to the beach. Clark had surpassed himself with it. They had eaten like princes and now they were sitting on the cape, holding glasses of wine in their hands and dreamily watching the ocean in front of them.

"Why?" Clark asked.

Lois leaned with her back against him and enjoyed the feeling of security when he closed his arms around her. "Well, you know," she said, "now everything is just perfect. It's new and exciting. I'm afraid that someday things won't be as wonderful as they are now and that soon routine will come and get us. I guess we can't change it, but it is too bad that we can't stop time a little bit."

Clark shook his head. "I don't think so," he murmured. Resting his cheek against hers, he added, "That would mean it just goes downward from here, or that our relationship will get worse from now. *I* believe, though, that it's only starting."

"Well, in some ways, of course," Lois nodded. "But in other ways things will become a habit and some things will become boring. For example, our sex-life. I mean, look at us now. Right now it's overwhelmingly good, our hormones work in overdrive and we're totally crazy for each other. But it's unrealistic to believe it will stay that way. And isn't it sad to know that we won't be able to hold this wonderful feeling forever?"

She turned around and put her finger on his lips when he started to answer. "And don't get me wrong, Clark. I know that we're going to have many other emotional experiences and feelings of happiness instead that are only possible in a relationship as close as a marriage is. And I am happy about it. But there's also a little bit of melancholy in me. Right now I think our happiness is perfect and I would like to capture it."

Clark smiled, but still shook his head. "You're right, Lois. Our love *is* perfect right now. but you know what? I've thought that with every new stage in our relationship. There has often been a point where I thought I was perfectly happy, that it couldn't possibly get any better, only to find out that it could. Every new step in our love has made me more happy, even if I didn't think it possible before. So I'm sure it will continue that way." He touched his lips to her temple. "And I know that sometime our making love probably won't be as explosive and insatiable as it is now. But maybe we are going to detect things, emotions and sexual highs, that we have no idea about now, because we're not there yet. Maybe we're going to desire each other differently than we do now and maybe at some point in our relationship physical love won't have the same importance for us, but I'm sure about one thing. It *always* will be wonderful for me to love you."

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Lois. And the best thing about making love to you is the emotional closeness I feel between us. Of course, the physical feelings are wonderful and overwhelming, but they're not the reason I don't get enough of you. What I want again and again is this one emotion that only you can give me. The feeling that I'm not alone anymore, that you complete me."

Lois smiled, tears shining in her eyes. "Oh, Clark, I've told you before, you're the most romantic man I know. And you're right. Every step in our love has made it better. I guess I should trust in us and believe that it will always be like that, as long as we continue moving towards each other. Then it can't get worse, but only more beautiful."

"Exactly. That is the key, Lois," Clark whispered and kissed her softly. "As long as we don't turn away from each other, nothing is going to happen to our love. It is going to be for ever."

For a while they sat there without talking, Lois leaning back with her head on Clark's chest. They watched silently as the sun colored the horizon in a deep purple light, before it slowly sank down and the moon appeared, its silver light glittering in the dark waves of the water.

"You know what goes through my head a lot lately, when I think of you?" Clark hesitantly asked after a while. He looked down at her, tenderly stroking with one finger over her face, and quoted softly:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all thing, endures all things. Love never ends;"

He smiled a little self-consciously. "I think that pretty much expresses how I feel right now."

Lois looked in his eyes. "That's from the Bible, isn't it?"

He nodded, put his arms closer around her and buried his face in her hair. "I've always known that somehow everything in this world made sense, even if I didn't always see the reason behind some things. My own life, for example."

His cheek against her temple he tried to find the words that would explain to her. That would show her a little bit of the joy and happiness that filled his heart and soothed his soul. "This passage for example... I always liked it. But now that I've found you, I know for the first time in my life what it means." He looked down at her, his eyes bright with intensity. "My life is nothing without your love, Lois. *You* give me meaning." He stopped and Lois heard the emotion in his voice. "And I know that it sounds corny, but... but you give me heaven on earth," he concluded softly.

Lois felt tears rising in her eyes. "For all eternity," she whispered.

THE END

Table of Contents

Knocking On Heaven's Door

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10