Anniversary

Clark/Chloe futurefic
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.

"When can I look?"

Clark Kent grinned. His wife Chloe looked funny with a green silk scarf tied over her eyes, her nose wrinkled up in dismay. She was an investigative reporter, and she hated not knowing what was going on around her, even for a minute.

"In just a second," he assured her, lowering her feet to the ground and letting her stand up. She leaned into his chest for a moment, getting her balance, and he held her tightly against him, loving the feel of her body against his. They'd been married for several years now, but he found her just as sexy as ever. Maybe more so.

A few seconds later, she straightened up. "Okay, Kent, take this damn blindfold off."

"Yes, ma'am," he said mildly, and removed the blindfold.

She frowned at the large building in front of them. "Smallville High? Gosh, Clark, I kind of thought our high school days were behind us. And good riddance, if you ask me..." She turned her head and looked at him, and her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, my God. You're wearing a tux."

"You like it?"

She studied him, her hazel eyes appraising. "I haven't seen you in a tux since we got married... but yeah, I like it. You look good in a tux. Maybe you should start wearing them to the office."

He chuckled. "I try not to be quite that noticeable, Chlo."

He was a superpowered alien who flew around the city of Metropolis saving people, but he was trying to keep his identity secret, so he dressed and acted as unremarkably as possible when he wasn't wearing his costume. So far, no one had realized that mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and Superman were one and the same person. No one except Chloe, of course. But she'd known his secret since college, and she helped cover for him, just as she always had.

She gazed at him. "You're not wearing your glasses tonight, either."

"It's not like I really need them." Considering he possessed telescopic vision, microscopic vision, and x-ray vision, human glasses weren't really going to add a lot of acuity to his eyesight. "And no one's going to see me but you, because the place is deserted right now. Come on."

He put his arm around her and steered her toward the building, and they walked inside. The place was quiet, and he headed toward the gym, amused by the way he still knew his way around without having to think about it. Four years of walking these hallowed halls had burned an impression into his brain forever.

They paused at the door to the gym, and she laughed softly. "Awww. They're having the spring formal tonight, aren't they?"

"Yeah," he said gruffly.

"And it looks just like it did when we went together." She giggled. "Balloons all over the floor and everything."

"Actually..." He grinned sheepishly. "The decorating committee didn't put the balloons there. I did."

She laughed harder. "I guess you can blow up balloons faster than anyone else can."

Given his superbreath, that was certainly true. He pulled her into the gym. "Come on," he said softly. "We don't have a lot of time. The dance starts in about an hour. But I thought maybe..."

He paused by the stereo and pushed a button, and Remy Zero's "Perfect Memory" started to play. Her eyes lit up. "Hey, we danced to this song at the spring formal."

"Yeah, and it was interrupted in the middle. I figured maybe we could finish the dance this time." He offered her his arm, and they walked together out to the dance floor, balloons drifting aside as they walked. He put his arms around her and looked down at her. She was wearing a pink sundress, at his suggestion, and her long hair spilled down her back, shaded its natural light brown rather than the golden blonde she'd affected ten years ago. She'd been gorgeous in high school, but he thought she was even more beautiful now, and just looking at her made his heart melt. He loved her so much it hurt sometimes.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you that evening," he said softly. "I really am. In a couple more seconds, we would have kissed, and then maybe we would have been a couple all through high school."

"Or maybe not." She looked at him, her eyes very serious. "I was pretty insecure back then, Clark, and you were sort of a mopey dork."

"Gee, thanks."

"It's true, and you know it. I'm just saying things might not have worked out as well as you're imagining. We both had some issues we needed to work through. Maybe we were better off waiting to get involved till we were all grown up."

"Maybe." He sighed. "Probably. But I hate thinking of all that time wasted."

"It wasn't wasted." She squeezed him gently. "We were friends, Clark. Best friends. And there's nothing wrong with that."

He nodded, accepting the truth of her words. They'd been inseparable as friends, for years and years. But they'd gotten together romantically when it felt right to get together, and they'd never been apart since. Things had worked out for the best, really. Even so, he still couldn't get the memory of two awkward teenagers, on the verge of kissing each other on a balloon-covered dance floor, out of his head.

"It's been ten years," he said softly. "Ten years tonight, Chlo. Ten years since our very first date."

She smiled wryly. "It's a funny thing to commemmorate, Clark, considering how that date ended."

"Yeah. But it was great while it lasted." He looked down at her. "And it could have been even better if we'd actually managed to kiss."

"I agree." She grinned. "If you ask me, kissing makes everything better."

He agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly, so he lowered his head, very slowly. This time there were no interruptions. Their lips met and pressed together in a very gentle, soft kiss. Neither of them attempted to deepen the kiss, but time stopped anyway.

At last he raised his head, and she smiled.

"Ten years," she said softly. "And it feels like yesterday."

"An awful lot has happened since then, Chlo."

She looked into his eyes. "But I still feel exactly the way I did then. I've always loved you, Clark."

"Yeah," he admitted, his voice soft. "I've always loved you, too."

Because yes, there had been other women in his life, and other loves. But through it all, Chloe had always been the one constant. They'd always been there for one another. And when they'd finally admitted they were in love, it had been a simple acknowledgement of truth, a truth that had always been there. A truth everyone but them had already figured out a long time ago.

The song ended, and he stood there with her in his arms, staring down at her in silence. She looked back, her eyes alight with love and affection.

"So are we finished with this little stroll down Memory Lane, Clark?"

He thought about it and decided he didn't want to let her go quite yet. "Maybe one more dance."

She grinned widely, as if she'd been hoping he'd say that. "Okay."

The stereo began playing "Save Me," a song he'd always liked. Words flowed out of the speakers:

Somebody save me
Let your warm hands break right through me
Somebody save me
I don't care how you do it
Just save me
I've made this whole world shine for you...

And it was true, he thought, feeling her warm hands on the nape of his neck. She'd broken through him a long time ago. And she did make the world shine for him.

They danced, and kissed, and danced some more. All those years wasted, he thought, then shoved the thought aside, a little impatient with himself. Because Chloe was right. Their relationship had worked out great, and they might not have worked out so well if they'd dated in high school. Things had a way of working out for the best.

Anyway, they were together now. They'd always be together. Of that he had absolutely no doubt.

He pulled her a little closer, and kissed her some more.

-The End-