CLOIS — DCEU
(FanFiction)
Summary: Lois and Clark talk about the baby.
────────────────────
They hadn't had much time to talk since Clark's return from the dead. He had to leave again to help the newly formed Justice League — as Lois mentally christened them — against Steppenwolf and his army of parademons who wanted to destroy the planet. She couldn't help but feel apprehensive about it, even though she knew it was Clark's destiny to be a hero and help people, and yet, her heart still ached after he left. She had already lost him once and couldn't bear to lose him again. Martha stayed by his side for the next few hours, waiting as anxiously for her son's return as Lois.
When Clark returned, night was already high in the sky. He landed a few inches from the porch of his mother's farm, his black suit gleaming in the yellowish light illuminating the space. Martha was inside preparing something for dinner. There were still some boxed utensils in the kitchen that she had left to pick up later, and during her son's absence, she and Lois had gone to downtown Smallville to buy some groceries. They had decided to spend the night in Smallville; they still had to come up with a good excuse for Clark's disappearance all those months, but they didn't want to think about that tonight.
As soon as Lois saw him arrive, she descended the few steps on the porch and ran into his arms. Clark greeted her with open arms and embraced her with such tenderness and longing that it didn't seem like they had seen each other just hours before. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth emanating from him, and wow, how she had missed him. She had missed his warmth, his scent, the way he held her in his arms. All those months had been cold without him, unbearable; now she just wanted to stay there, in his arms forever. Clark buried his nose in her reddish hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo mixed with her perfume, and let out a long sigh. He wanted to stop time here and never be away from her again. His heart ached at the thought of never seeing her again. While he felt the Apocalypse pierce his body during that fight, his only thought was her. He would no longer see her beautiful blue eyes when he opened them in the morning. Nor would he kiss her soft lips, the small freckles on her face, nor see her smile every time she woke up. Those thoughts hurt more than the thorn that pierced his body; the idea of never seeing her again was far more disturbing than any pain they could inflict upon him.
But it was all over, and now he was home. Truly home. With her in his arms, listening to her heartbeat — or hearts, they hadn't spoken about that yet.
When they parted, Clark held her face in his hands, observing every detail. She hadn't changed much in the last few months, but he could notice her paleness; she was thinner and looked like she hadn't slept properly in a while. But she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life, that would never change.
“How did it go?” She broke the silence first. She was quite curious. She was still Lois Lane, after all, still a curious journalist.
“Tense, I'd say, so as not to sound more frightening. Steppenwolf almost managed to carry out his plan and synchronize the three Mother Boxes, but Barry used his powers to rewind time, and with that, Victor managed to access the boxes and separate them.” He wasn't going to tell her the part where he was dead again for a few minutes.
“I'm glad to know everything went well. They seemed quite tense and somewhat desperate at the heroes' park. Was Bruce alright?” Not that she sympathized much with the Gotham Bat, but she was grateful to him and the others for bringing Clark back to life. This lessened her dislike for him somewhat.
“He almost killed himself trying to take down the parademons, but he was okay. I apologized for almost killing him earlier, I think things are good between us now.” Lois nodded with a smile. “I also managed to convince them on the way back to give you an exclusive interview.”
“Are you serious?” Her face lit up like it hadn’t in a long time. Clark smiled and nodded because he knew that would make her happy. Bruce and Diana had told him that she hadn’t gone to work since his death. Knowing this made him feel bad because he couldn’t imagine Lois away from the Daily Planet, away from her job, something she loved and was proud of. He needed to do something about it, so he managed to convince the others to talk to her. Okay, he had to promise to buy Arthur a case of beer afterward.
“Yes, they’ll talk to you about it later, but you’ll have to be a little patient with Arthur, he’s a bit grumpy.”
“I’ve dealt with worse people, he won’t be a problem.” Of course, Arthur wouldn’t be a problem for her. He knew his girl well enough to know she could handle 100 men just like Arthur.
“Dinner’s ready, come and eat.” Martha’s cheerful voice echoed from inside the house.
“We’d better obey or she’ll come after us by the ears.” Clark linked her arm with his as they climbed the stairs.
“Oh, I know she’s capable of that.” They smiled at each other.
“Do you believe Diana ripped Steppenwolf’s head off?” Clark said as he opened the screen door for her to pass through.
“She did that?”
“She did, she was very angry with him, the others said he made provocations about her Amazon sisters.”
“That’s why I like her.”
Dinner proceeded peacefully. Martha had prepared a delicious savory chicken pie with rice, creamed potatoes, peas, and orange juice. The three chatted about nonsense, not wanting any hint of sadness to permeate that pleasant evening they were having. Martha shared some childhood stories about her son that Lois didn't know, and even Clark was happy to hear them, even if some were embarrassing. But he was happy to see the two women he loved most smiling in the background. Martha made Lois have seconds, saying she was too thin and should eat more now. Lois didn't complain; she never argued with Martha about anything. Perhaps Clark's mother was the only person in the universe to whom she bowed her head and obeyed every order. In any case, Mrs. Kent's food was delicious.
When dinner was over, Clark and Lois washed the dishes so Martha could rest. Before going to bed in her old room, she hugged her son again, saying how happy she was to have him back. As soon as they finished doing the dishes, the couple went up to Clark's old room. Martha had left clean sheets on the bed. While Clark made the bed for them to sleep in, Lois went to take a shower. It had been a day of intense emotions for everyone; a few minutes under the water helped her relax a little. When she came out of the bathroom, it was Clark's turn. Lois put on one of his flannel shirts, sat on the bed, letting her hair down and running her fingertips through it. Clark came out of the shower minutes later wearing only sweatpants. He smiled at her when he saw her leaning against the headboard, and all he wanted was to spend the next few hours standing there watching her. He would never tire of admiring her beauty.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, raising her left eyebrow.
“Nothing, I’m just admiring your beauty” he said sincerely, shrugging.
“You’re such a flatterer. I’m pale and have deep dark circles under my eyes, there’s nothing beautiful about that.”
“To me, you’re still the most beautiful thing in the world.” He approached with a smile, sitting beside her on the bed. A smile also spread across her face.
Clark sighed deeply and raised his right hand to her stomach over her shirt. Lois followed his movement with her eyes, felt him lightly caress the area, and a smile widened on her face when he met her eyes.
“How long have you known?” he asked curiously. It couldn’t have been before the fight with Apocalypse; he would know, he would notice.
“A few weeks after her death. I hadn’t been feeling well, but I thought it was just a reaction to everything that had happened. But as the weeks went by it got worse, so I bought a pregnancy test but didn’t have the courage to take it until this morning.”
“So we’re going to have a child?” His eyes were filled with tears as he asked her. He had always wanted to be a father, but he didn’t know if he could because of his Kryptonian origin, and he also didn’t know if Lois wanted that. If it was her wish. She had always focused on her professional career, and Clark respected that. They had also never talked about the possibility of having a child, even though they had lived together for almost a year and had been in a relationship for a little over a year and a half.
“We will.” Her voice came out softly, although her eyes were also full of tears. She had never thought about the possibility of being a mother; God, she didn’t even know if she was capable of raising a baby. It had never crossed her mind. Perhaps it was because she was scared of the possibility of having a baby inside her that she refused to take that test before. But this morning it confirmed what she had known for a long time: there really was a baby in her belly. She was going to be a mother.
Tears streamed down Clark's face. His chest was filled with such overwhelming happiness that it felt like it would burst at any moment. He was going to be a father. He would have a child with the woman he loved. Nothing in the world could compare to the joy he was feeling at that moment.
Still caressing her belly over her shirt, he looked into her eyes again, seeing that she was also crying silently.
"Lo, do you want this?" He knew that having a child was a huge responsibility, he also knew that even if he was present, gave her all the support and fulfilled his role as a father, she would still have to go through all the pain of childbirth, all the symptoms of pregnancy, all the pressure placed on a woman.
"The baby?" she asked, confused. Clark nodded.
“We never talked about having children. And although I’m very, very happy that we’re going to have a child, if you’re not okay with it, I’ll be fully supportive. I imagine motherhood is harder for a woman and…”
“Clark…” the redhead cupped his face in her hands, making him look at her. She smiled and wiped the tears from his face. “Having this child, our child, is all I want in this world. I know he wasn’t planned, but he’s already very much wanted and loved. He will be very loved and will have the best father in the world.”
The hero smiled. He kissed his fiancée’s palm and then pulled her into a hug. Lois closed her eyes as her head rested on his shoulder and she felt him stroke her back, leaving a kiss between her shoulder and her neck. When they parted, their smiles could light up the sky, they were so radiant.
“Can I hear him?”
“Is it possible yet?”
“Yes, I heard his heartbeat along with yours, but it’s still very faint.” He rested his head on her belly — though he didn’t need to — while he felt her caress the dark curls of his hair.
“Is it a boy?”
“I don’t know, I want it to be a surprise.”
“So you don’t want to know the sex of your child beforehand?” he shook his head.
“I just hope he or she is healthy. I don’t know if my Kryptonian origin could harm him or her in any way.”
Lois held both his hands, stroking the backs of them in circular motions.
“Don’t think about it, our child will be perfectly healthy.”
She smiled broadly at him, and he returned the smile, pulling her into a kiss. Their lips met in a slow, tender kiss. Clark rubbed his nose against hers and rested their foreheads together as he gazed into the deep blue ocean that was Lois’s eyes.
“Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for?” she asked playfully.
“For everything. For finding me, believing in me, staying by my side, for loving me, and for giving me this family we’re building. I never imagined having any of this in my life, Lois. You changed my life.”
“You’re the one who changed my life. You made me believe in things I could never have imagined. You brought hope into my life, Clark, you make me believe there are still good people in this world, because you were the best person I ever knew. I hope our son or daughter inherits that from you.”
“Will he or she inherit your personality?”
“God, I hope not.”
“Well, I hope so. I hope he or she is as brave and fearless as their mother. You are the bravest person I’ve ever known, Lo.” He kissed the tip of her nose and Lois grimaced.
“Can you imagine when our child asks how we met?” Clark smiled. “So, son, your mother was crazy enough to follow me to an alien spaceship and was attacked by an alien robot and almost died. But I saved her life using my heat vision.”
“That sounds pretty romantic to me.” Clark said, still smiling. Lois rolled her eyes.
“It’s good that we have enough stories so he’ll never think his parents are boring.”
She mirrored his smile. Lois couldn’t stop her heart from beating so fast since his return. It still felt like a dream she would wake up from at any moment and find herself alone in their cold, empty apartment. She had pinched herself several times while he was gone to make sure it was all real. She still couldn’t believe they were there talking about their son and their future.
Clark could hear her racing heart, which made him pull her into his arms again and kiss her forehead gently, then her hair. He wished he could erase all the pain she had felt in the last few months because of him; he never wanted her to suffer, and if he could turn back time, he would prevent it from happening. But he couldn’t. But he had been given a second chance, and he would do things differently this time. He no longer felt the weight he felt before her death; all the fear, all the insecurity and uncertainty about himself had given way to hope. Everything can be alright, even if it doesn’t seem like it. We can still start over, not all is lost. Even in difficult times, we should never stop believing in good and having hope. He understood this now.
While holding the woman he loved in his arms and listening to her heart and his son's beating, he could not wish for anything more in his life. This was the meaning of complete happiness. And he had achieved it.
