Epilogue: Speak Now, Or Forever Hold Your Peace

The bride wore white. Superman could see her, through the door. Lois Lane was all alone for right now. His heart ached as he saw her twelve-week pregnant stomach; though the dress was cut with a high waist to conceal the bulge, it did nothing to hide it from his X-ray vision.

Gathering his courage, he knocked.

"Just a minute!" Lois called out as she fiddled with her veil. She cracked open the door...

"Oh," she said. "It's you."

Superman gave a tight smile. "Hello, Lois. I thought we might talk...just for a moment."

"Of course, of course, come in..."

He swept in. While not as tall as some NBA players, Superman had a presence. He could loom, quiet and perfect as a Grecian statue. Shut the door behind him.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," Lois smiled. He watched her fidget. They were six feet apart, and the world seemed to fill up with all the things they didn't say to one another.

"So..." she said. "What brings you..."

He closed the gap in the blink of an eye. His invulnerable body pressed against hers, his left hand on her lower back, right hand holding the back of her neck as their mouths met. Instinctively, Lois felt her body lean into his. There was a hardness that pressed into her swollen stomach, a hot breath they shared between them. An instant heat blossomed inside of Lois Lane in that embrace...for how long had she wished to be held like this, kissed like this.

Superman broke the kiss, and for the first time she sensed his hunger as his mouth moved to kiss her neck, his hand moved down to grab and squeeze her ass through the wedding dress. Lois knew she needed to fight back, to stop this, this was wrong, it was cheating, it was...

"I just had to say...before you walk down that aisle," he whispered, his whole body tense against hers. "If you want, we can be together. You and me. You don't have to marry Blaze. You don't know what she is, what she's done. She's evil...and she'll hurt you. Say the word, and we can go. Just you and me and the baby."

Lois took a ragged breath, her heart pounding. There is was. The unspeakable offer, the escape clause. If she was ever going to turn her back on Blaze, it would be this moment. Lois could feel all her choices had led her to this one moment. There was no turning back.

"I love her," she whispered. Buried her head in his shoulder, stupid tears coming to her eyes. "I really love her."

Superman's hand shifted...not without ****. His body straightened. Now she stood standing, her head against her shoulder, his arms around her...but it was a chaste hug.

"I know," he said, voice thick with sorrow. "I won't get in the way. I just had to try, you understand? I had to know...how things stand between us."

"Say you'll always be my friend," she murmured.

"Always," Superman promised Lois. "Through thick and thin. Until the end of the world."

The Man of Steel did not attend the ceremony. Clark Kent, looking slightly ruffled in his tuxedo, slid into a back pew on the bride's side at the last minute. The clergyman, a very traditional type, called out the challenge that most modern priests omitted:

"...if anyone here knows why these two should not be joined in matrimony, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

No one spoke. Not even a cough from the back pew.

The organ wheezed. Smiles, cheers, clapping. The blushing bride strolled back down the aisle, arm in arm with her new spouse...and Lois Lane's step felt lighter, a weight off her shoulders. No more worrying about what-might-have-beens. This was her life now, and she welcomed it.

"Hey," Blaze whispered. "Are you wearing panties?"

"No," Lois whispered back, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"Good, because before we hit the reception, I want to taste my wife's pregnant pussy..."

The newlywed bride smiled. The bridal party, she sensed, was about to get lost on its way to the biergarten. Because with Angelica Blaze Lane, one taste was never enough.