More Than Friends, Chapter 4

Clark/Chloe
Season 8, MHE for "Plastique" (SPOILERS for later in season 8)
Rating: Adult. If you're under eighteen, please go elsewhere now.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Read Chapter 3 here.

"There's one thing I don't understand," Clark said after a while. He'd been holding her silently against his chest, and now his voice rumbled in her ear, a low, comforting sound. "If it's Brainiac... well, why would he want you to marry Jimmy Olsen? I mean, did Milton Fine secretly have a thing for Jimmy, or what?"

She tried not to smile at the image his words conjured up, and shook her head against his chest. "I honestly don't think it had anything to do with Jimmy, Clark. I think it had to do with you."

"Huh," he said thoughtfully. "Okay, then. Why has he been working so hard to keep you away from me?"

She gave a sad chuckle. "The two of you are mortal enemies, remember? He probably wants to stay as far away from you as possible. Besides, he probably realized that you knew me well enough to figure out something was wrong if you got too close."

"Maybe," he said thoughtfully. His big hand stroked her hair, almost absently. "But I wonder..."

His voice trailed off into a long silence. At last she said, a little grumpily, "You wonder what?"

"Uh... since you've been back, Chlo, have you and Jimmy... uh..."

She stiffened in his embrace. "Of course not."

"You don't have to get all indignant about it." He sounded wryly amused. "I mean, the two of you are engaged, and you've been dating for a long time now. If I were Jimmy and I hadn't seen you in a month, the first thing I would have done is toss you into bed and make love to you for at least an hour. Maybe two."

Jimmy had made a halfhearted suggestion in that direction, right after she'd agreed to marry him, but she'd blown him off. She'd still been trying to figure out exactly why she'd said yes, and she'd been uncomfortably aware that she hadn't really wanted to make love to him. She still remembered the look of hurt in his eyes. Poor Jimmy.

"No," she answered, pushing her guilt away. It was unfortunate Jimmy had gotten caught up in all this, but it hadn't been her doing. She'd never meant to hurt him. "We haven't made love, Clark."

"Um..." He sounded like he might be blushing, just a bit. "Did the two of you, uh..."

"Make out? No. We haven't even kissed, beyond a peck on the cheek."

"Okay. See, that's interesting, because when you and I started making out, you started acting kind of, well... weird."

She sighed, remembering the voice whispering at the back of her brain. She could still feel the dark presence there, lurking, watching, trying to catch her off guard again. "Yeah," she agreed. "It was like the thing in my head didn't want me to kiss you. I guess he was trying to keep us apart. I kept hearing every insecurity I've ever had echoing in my brain. And the more we kissed, the worse it got."

"Okay. So maybe he's not just trying to keep you away from me in general. Maybe... maybe he doesn't want you to make love."

"What?" She lifted her head, blinking at him. "Why?"

"No idea," he said honestly. "But if I was going to make a wild guess, I'd guess maybe it might have something to do with endorphins."

"With what?"

He tugged her hair affectionately. "You were always writing articles instead of paying attention in AP Bio, weren't you? Endorphins, Chlo. Remember? They make you feel good. Your body releases them when you, uh... well, during..."

During orgasm, her mind filled in. It had been a few years since AP Biology, but her new computer-aided memory helped her pull up the information, word for word. Endorphins have an effect not unlike opiates on the brain, producing analgesia and a sense of well-being...

She frowned up at him.

"You think maybe endorphins are bad for Brainiac?"

"I don't know, Chlo." His big shoulders moved in a shrug beneath her hands. "Maybe they hurt him, or maybe they just help keep him at bay. Or maybe I'm totally offbase. I'm just speculating here. But he's been trying really hard to keep you with Jimmy, and away from me..."

"But if he was going to try to keep me away from anyone, you'd think it would be Jimmy," she pointed out. "I mean, Jimmy and I have been dating for two years. You and I haven't dated at all."

"So what? You said you weren't planning on agreeing to marry Jimmy, and when we kissed just now-- well, you didn't really act like you were thinking about Jimmy. Which of us have you been thinking about making love to, me or him?"

"Uh..."

The corner of his mouth curled up. "You don't have to answer, Chlo. But you know, if Brainiac's in your head, then you can't lie to him. He knows which of us you really want."

She nodded. He was right. Deep down, she knew which man she'd really wanted to make love to.

And it hadn't been Jimmy.

Run, the voice whispered. Clark will never love you. He'll leave you for someone else, someone prettier, and you'll be left alone again...

Ah-ha, she thought. Maybe Clark had hit on something, after all. The presence in her head was definitely not pleased with her current train of thought. It was trying to panic her again, playing on her fears to drive her out of Clark's arms. She pressed on, doing her best to ignore the voice.

"Still," she said. "He must have realized that if I married Jimmy, sooner or later we'd..."

"He's probably just playing for time," Clark said, his eyes dark. "Gaining strength. He probably intended to have taken you over entirely before you and Jimmy could get married."

"Oh, there's an encouraging thought." She shuddered, and at the little tremor that went through her, the thing in her brain whispered again, as if it drew strength from her fear.

Don't let him hurt you again. Run.

She stood her ground, mentally speaking, and refused to give in to her insecurities.

"Okay," she said, looking up at Clark. "So what do we do now?"

He looked down at her, and smiled a little.

"We do exactly what he doesn't want us to do," he answered. "We make love."

Read Chapter 5 here.