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Metropolis glowed a warm summery pink in the approaching sunset, as Clark and Lois walked down the main road together. Clark’s palm, which was always dry, felt uncharacteristically damp in Lois's. The threat he was facing tonight would be his greatest test of nerve yet. With a smile, he led her through the glass doors of Lacey’s Arcade and Lois raised an eyebrow at him as they passed the closed sign pinned on the door and into the empty halls. This evening Clark had pulled more than a few strings to ensure that they had the place completely to themselves, and Lois gasped as her eyes lay on the centrepiece.
“Clark... what is this?" She whispered.
Sitting in the very centre of the polished marble floor was a stunning black grand piano, surrounded by rose petals that were scattered on the floor. Clark smirked and guided her over to stand in the curve of the instrument, offering a reassuring smile that betrayed his racing heartbeat. With a practised motion, his casual wear disappeared and in its place became his iconic blue suit. He swept his cape behind the piano stool and sat down, his hands coming up to the keys with acute delicacy, beginning a beautiful melody that filled the empty arcade all the way up to the glass ceiling.
Lois watched him play with love and awe, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She was so entirely lost in the moment that she had no idea that mere inches away, resting safely inside the piano's open, wooden belly, sat a small velvet box above the internal hammers thudding gently against the strings. The music increased with a trembling crescendo before slowly fading into the roof, and before the final chord had even cleared, Clark made his move. He nudged the stool back, ending the piece and stood up. Lois blinked away the tears pooling in her eyes, and Clark’s hand darted into the piano's housing with a blur, retrieving the velvet box while Lois’s eyes were closed, and he lowered himself onto one knee at her feet.
The velvet box clicked open, revealing a diamond ring that caught the golden sunlight, and Lois gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared down at the gemstone.
“Clark?”
"Lois, from the very first day we met and every day since, you have turned my entire universe upside down. You came into my life completely fearless, and I knew right then that you would change me more than I would ever know. I thought I knew what my purpose was on this planet, but then I met you." He paused, taking a steadying breath, his eyes locked onto hers with unwavering devotion. “I brought you here because this is where you told me that you loved me back. In that exact moment, you gave me an even greater purpose than protecting humanity. You are my whole life and my greatest adventure.” Clark reached out, taking her trembling left hand in his. "So, Lois Lane... will you marry me?"
"Oh, Clark. Yes," Lois nodded. “Of course, yes, Clark."
Clark grinned, and with slightly shaking hands, he slipped the ring onto her fourth finger, then rose to his feet and pulled her into a fierce embrace. As their lips met, the sheer joy radiating through Clark became impossible to contain, and he lifted them into the air. Lois opened her eyes, glancing down at the floor falling away beneath them as they rose higher, hovering above the grand piano and above them, the expansive glass skylight of the mall acted like a frame in the sunset. A beam of light pierced down through the glass, illuminating them in a spotlight. Slowly, the exhilarating weightlessness faded as Clark brought them back down, their feet touching down on the marbled floor.
Pulling back from his embrace, Lois lifted her left hand, her eyes tracing the delicate silver band embedded around the dazzling stone and turned it, completely mesmerised by the reality of what had just happened. Clark watched her with a boyish, lovestruck grin breaking across his face, and turned back to the grand piano. His cape bunched awkwardly beneath him as he forgot to push it behind him, leaving it to drape down across his knee as his fingers found the keys once more. Lois stepped closer, leaning against the side of the instrument and rested her left hand atop the edge where the ring glistened in the sunset. Her eyes drifted down from his relaxed, smiling face to watch his hands dance across the keyboard while his foot coaxed the pedal down into a rhythmic waltz. With every lift of his toe, the heavy fabric resting over his knee bounced up and down, and Lois leaned forward, resting her chin on the backs of her fingers with a giggle. This was Superman, sitting at a piano, but looking like a lovestruck farm boy who had just won the lottery.
Lois shifted from her spot to move around to the stool to share with Clark, and pressed herself warmly against him. Clark smiled, his shoulders relaxing even further as he leaned into her presence and tenderly kissed the side of her head. Down at their feet, the sustain pedal gleamed whenever the low sunbeams caught a glimpse of it under Clark’s boot, and Lois rested her hand on his knee, rubbing her palm across it with a tender touch. Lois watched as the lifting motion of his knee brought her engagement ring along for the ride, and the diamond sparkled in the last rays of sunlight shining from the glass skylight above them.
They were all alone, however, during the emotional proposal and high above the empty mall, almost hiding in the deep shadows of the second-floor mezzanine, a young journalist sat absolutely motionless and stunned. Jimmy Olsen sat staring down below at his two colleagues, but one was Superman? He let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for the last twenty minutes and put two and two together.
Clark Kent was Superman.
Jimmy had followed a hunch after hearing that Clark had called in a massive favour from someone regarding Lacey’s Arcade, and so had snuck along later that day to see what his friend was up to. He certainly hadn't expected to stumble upon such a huge guarded secret. Looking through his camera lens, Jimmy couldn't help the massive smile spreading across his face. He had not only found out something about Clark no one else knew, but also that Lois Lane was in a relationship with him- and Superman. His camera was filled with multiple shots from the first piano note that Superman had played, to the moment he had knelt on one knee and allowed his vulnerability to appear. Jimmy had quietly snapped the shutter button as the couple rose into the air, lit by the golden light of the sunset- realising that Lois had been dating Superman just as long as she had been dating Clark- well, duh, he thought to himself. He had always wondered if there had been something between the man in blue and his colleague, and now it was all too clear.
Shaking his head fondly, he adjusted the focus and framed the final solo below. Through the viewfinder, the image was devastatingly adorable. Superman, slightly slouched at the piano and sitting beside him, Lois Lane, looking pinker than Jimmy had ever seen her, pressed against her husband-to-be. Jimmy snapped one last photo just as the sun faded away, leaving the couple in shadow, and he tucked his camera away with a smirk. The photos would never see the pages of the Daily Planet and would never become a celebrity snap. Instead, he decided the photos would become a private wedding present. Careful not to make a single sound that might give away his position, Jimmy shimmied back into the shadows of the corridor and found a way out, leaving the newly engaged couple entirely to their music and moment.
Clark took a moment to turn on the prepared fairy lights inside the piano before developing the final passage of his composition. The rolling melody filled the empty hall, wrapping around the columns and mall benches like a blanket, and as Lois sat beside him on the stool, the sheer romantic setting of the evening finally broke through her tough facade and hot tears welled in her eyes, blurring the sparkling diamond on her finger. She didn't try to blink them away or wipe her cheeks; she let them fall. As Clark shifted his right hand to strike a high, delicate chord, a single teardrop dropped off Lois's chin and landed with a tiny splash right against the back of his hand. Clark stopped the melody and looked aside at her, spotting the wet tracks on her cheeks.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Lois buried her face into the crook of his neck with a small chuckle. “I just..." she whispered. "I spent so much of my life chasing stories and looking for awards that I never actually stopped to find anyone, but now I’ve found someone who adores me.“ She reached up, her thumb gently tracing his jawline. “And I never thought it’d be Superman too.”
Clark let out a soft chuckle and wiped away her lingering tears before pressing his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he gathered the words to explain the absolute depth of his feelings. “Lois, when I first walked into the Daily Planet, I was terrified. I was a simple guy from Smallville trying to figure out how to fit into a world that felt too fast and too loud. And then... I saw you," he pulled back to look at her. “You were a literal force of nature- barking orders for a lead and refusing to take 'no' for an answer. I remember thinking that I had never seen anyone so fiercely alive and independent. I spent my entire life on a farm, helping my parents and locals, but all the while wondering where I really belonged. The moment I met you, I knew that you could help me. For years, I’ve carried the weight of this dual life, and it’s been hard, but even when you only knew me as Clark, I always knew in my heart that if anyone could handle the truth of who I really was, it was you. I knew my secret would always be safe in your hands.” Clark leaned in closer. “I love you, Lois. I love your brilliant mind and your impossible bravery, but above all else, I love your kindness. You aren't just getting Superman in the engagement; you're getting all of me. My family, Clark and Superman- they all belong to you. You are my heart, my home, and my future. And I promise to spend the rest of my life being the man you deserve."
Lois’s breath hitched again, but this time, there were no words left to say. She reached up, weaving her fingers into his dark hair, and pulled him down to kiss her. When they finally broke apart, both of them were out of breath. Clark glanced up toward the skylight where the sky was turning indigo now that the sun had gone down.
"As much as I love this piano..." Clark smirked. "I think it’s time we went home."
Lois smiled, her hand resting flat against the emblem on his chest. "Lead the way, Superman.”
With a fast blur, he reset the mall to how it looked before they arrived as if no one had ever been there, and came back to lift her into his arms before they found a secret way out of the arcade. The flight back to Clark’s apartment was a quick and beautiful ride under the emerging stars, and Lois extended a hand out, feeling the wind dancing through her hair.
When they finally touched down inside Clark’s lounge, the city hummed below them, entirely unaware of the monumental change that had just occurred in their hero’s life. Clark flicked on a lamp, casting a warm glow over his leather chair and looked down at the diamond on Lois’s finger. It was really happening. They were engaged.
Clark looked up with a smile. “So," he murmured, pulling her gently towards him, "how does Mrs Kent sound to you?"
Lois smiled back. “Professionally, I’m keeping Lane, but to us, that sounds wonderful.”
Lois stepped closer, the final inch of space disappearing between them and reached up to wrap both of her arms tightly around his neck, her fingers tangling urgently into his thick, dark hair at the nape of his neck. He bent over slightly to meet her level and they kissed again. Clark clutched her waist, needing to be closer to her and lifted her entirely off the floor as Lois let out a muffled gasp against his lips. Clark moved his mouth over hers with a heated intensity, and Lois ran her hands up his suit to his collar, the hard stone of the ring pressing sharply into the muscles of his neck and grinned. Without breaking the intensity of the kiss, Clark moved. His heavy boots stumbled blindly backwards as he took Lois with him through the lounge and into the kitchen, his senses entirely overwhelmed by the taste and scent of her skin. Guided only by the memory of the layout of his apartment, he forcefully shoved the stools aside and set her down onto the cold, flat surface of the countertop. Driven by a raw, impatient passion, Clark swept the nearest items off the island, sending the soap dispenser flying onto the floor. Lois gasped into his mouth at the sudden aggression and shifted her weight on the counter, pulling him closer by the neckline of his suit and locking her thighs firmly around his hips. Clark’s hands lowered to the base of her spine, and pressed kisses under her jaw down her neck, focused solely on the feel of Lois’s fingers threading through his hair and the taste of berry lipstick on her lips, but most importantly that she would be his wife.
Morning sun crept softly through the gap in the curtains of Clark’s bedroom, painting the walls in a pale honey light. Lois opened her eyes and glanced across at the man lying beside her, breathing silently against her shoulder. Smiling as she shifted her head against the pillow, Lois lifted her left hand and gazed at the sparkling gem casting a tiny rainbow up on the ceiling and allowed a soft giggle escape her lips before snuggling deeper into Clark's arms.
“Clark?” Lois murmured into his neck and kissed him as he slowly woke up.
“Morning, Lo.”
“I need to get back to my apartment. So, I’ll see you at work.”
“Want me to drop you off?” He asked, drowsily.
Lois giggled. “Are you awake enough?”
“Always,” he smirked. “Get dressed, I’ll be ready in a blink of an eye," and he went back to sleep, smirking as Lois elbowed him.
Later that morning, Clark and Lois were settled at work and The Daily Planet was in full swing. Since they had sat down at their desks, they had been trying to act completely normal despite their recent engagement. They got on with work, but every time their eyes met, a silent grin passed between them, betraying their secret romance. As Lois typed, the sunlight coming through the window caught the edge of the ring and sending a glittery sparkle over the desks to the right of her, and right as Cat Grant strutted past holding a fresh cup of espresso. Cat froze, and her eyes widened, zooming in on Lois’s left hand like her namesake.
"Holy crap!” Cat squeaked and pounced on the edge of Lois’s desk.
Before Lois could pull her hand back, Cat had grabbed her wrist and was examining the ring.
"Lois Lane! Where did that come from?”
"Cat, please?“ Lois hushed her.
"That’s a diamond,” Cat gasped, but her voice still carried across most of the newsroom.
“It’s nothing.”
“That is not, nothing,” and Cat turned her head slowly to stare at the back of Clark’s head, which was ducked low and she grinned. “Did Clark buy you this? It’s gorgeous. I didn’t think he had such good taste.”
Lois’s blushed a deep crimson, but still couldn't stop a grin from tickling her lips. "Yes, Cat. Clark and I are engaged."
Steve clapped Clark on the back. “Whoa, Kent! It’s about time.”
“Steve, take it down a notch,” Clark sighed.
Cat immediately launched into a barrage of questions about dresses, then laughed thinking about Lois even being in a dress. Clark turned in his chair and mouthed "I'm sorry" while Steve continued to congratulate him. Once their closest colleagues had finally dispersed and Cat had gone back to her desk to look up wedding venues, Jimmy stepped over to Clark’s desk.
“Congrats, Clark.”
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Clark smiled, then looked over his shoulder back at Lois, who was trying to drown herself in coffee.
Jimmy slipped an envelope onto Clark’s desk and cleared his throat. “Um, Clark?“
"Yeah?” Clark replied.
"I have a terrible confession to make,” Jimmy said smoothly and opened the envelope, subtly pulling out the freshly printed 6x4 taster photograph, and slid it face-down onto Clark’s desk. "I followed you yesterday on a hunch that you were chasing a lead, and I saw… well, the other you.”
Clark frowned slightly, sliding the photo towards himself and flipping it over. His heart almost stopped. The photograph was stunning, but also terrifying- the interior of Lacey’s Arcade was bathed in the deep amber glow of sunset, and dead centre was of himself and Lois kissing passionately while ten feet off the ground, his cape shaped into a beautiful wave around Lois’s waist.
Clark stared at the photo in mild terror and looked up at Jimmy, his mind racing for an explanation. "Jimmy... how? Why did you take this?” He hissed under his breath.
"I'm sorry, Clark." Jimmy hopped up onto the side of Clark’s desk and lowered his voice. “I was going to leave as soon as I saw you enter with Lois, but then the cape appeared and I saw you move the ring with super-speed. When you started the speech, I had to capture it,” he whispered with a huge smile breaking across his face. "Your secret is a hundred per cent safe with me, Clark. I swear. I won’t tell a soul. But man, that was the most beautiful proposal in the history of Metropolis."
Clark looked up at the young reporter and tucked the photo away, standing up to give him a reassuring hug of gratitude. “It’s alright, Jimmy. Thanks.”
Across the aisle, Lois looked over with a raised eyebrow and caught Jimmy’s eye. He nodded at her, and Lois smiled as she twisted the ring on her finger, accepting that their secret was now known by another, but someone too who was also Clark’s best friend.