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"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jonathan Kent asked in an uncharacteristically serious tone, leaning forward with his arms on the kitchen table.
"Surer than I've ever been about anything," Lois Lane replied, leaning towards him from her spot across the table. "I never second-guess myself."
"Alright, then." Jonathan gave her a knowing smile. "On the count of three. One, two..."
"Three!" Lois triumphantly slammed her two playing cards on the table with a dramatic wave of her hand across the set. "Four-of-a-kind. Read 'em and weep."
"Pretty good," the older man observed, putting a finger against the side of his nose. "Unfortunately, not good enough. Royal flush." With that, he laid his king and ace down, matching them to the queen, jack, and ten that had been flipped over. Lois' queens, combined with the two on the table, were defeated.
"Oh, come on!" she cried, but couldn't deny she'd been beaten. "I had you. You were hesitating to go all in!"
"It's called a poker face for a reason, dear," he replied with a shrug. "Hand over you whole pile, please." He pointed to the sliding stacks of pennies to her left. "Or, we could try one last time? Double or nothing?"
Clark, who had been sitting at the third seat around the table watching, laughed and shook his head. "I told you he'd take you for everything you've got. He looks innocent, but that's how he gets you." He knew that Lois' competitive nature wouldn't let her give up, but he felt the responsibility to warn her anyway.
"You shouldn't have folded," she replied, collecting Clark's discarded hand along with her own and handing it over to Jonathan for shuffling. "Together, we could defeat him."
"Let her try," Martha Kent interjected, returning from the kitchen with more snacks and drinks. "Otherwise, your father will be gloating all night."
Lois grinned, ready to regain victory. "Then I accept your challenge. Double or nothing."
Clark threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Some people have to learn the hard way." He wasn't going to try to talk her out of it if she was this determined.
The cards were dealt once more, with every penny they used in the center. Clark and his mother spectated, making occasional commentary as the initial three cards were flipped over and the combatants studied their hands. Despite the mild trash talking, Clark was happy with his decision to have Lois officially meet his parents back in Smallville. It was very different from when they'd first been introduced, when Clark was sort of in the middle of dying after being attacked and went home to the farm to heal. Lois had spoken to Jonathan and Martha at the time, but it had been under a lot of stress, without any time for questions or pleasantries.
But this time was the real deal. Ma had made pot roast, they'd asked Lois all sorts of questions to get a feel for her, and she'd been friendly and cordial in return, including bringing a bottle of wine as a gift. It had gone great, until Pa had asked Lois if she liked playing cards. So here they were, deep in the finals of an impromptu poker tournament, and Clark realized what it was going to mean to have two hyper-competitive players in the family. Okay, he might be getting ahead of himself in that regard, but he'd never brought a girlfriend home before, so his intent was pretty serious.
The game continued, moving quickly since both parties were all-in. Finally, the last card was overturned and it was time for the moment of truth. Jonathan laid out his hand. Using the cards on the table, he had a full house - two of one kind and three of another. It wasn't the best hand, but it wasn't the worst, either. It was solidly middle-of-the-pack.
Now, it was Lois' turn. She smiled slowly, a cat before her prey. "Pretty good, but not good enough." After turning his words back around to him, she revealed her hand: a straight flush, all diamonds, using the six and eight she held with the five, seven, and nine on the table.
"I'll be damned," Jonathan muttered, then reached across the table for a sportsman-like handshake. "Fair and square. You shoulda warned me you brought home a pro, Clark."
Lois happily dragged the piles of pennies back over to her side. "I'll try not to spend it all in one place."
Martha laughed and rested a hand on her son's shoulder. "I'm so glad you brought Lois back to visit, Clark. She's the liveliest person we've had for company in ages."
Clark felt a flush creeping up his neck and he nodded, pleased. "I'm glad she came, too."
"Now, Clark," Jonathan insisted. "You hang on to this one. Even if she took me for all I had, she'd still be a delight to have in the family."
Lois decided that she liked how flustered that comment made her boyfriend, and regardless of how their relationship developed, she decided she was keeping Ma and Pa Kent as part of her winnings.