Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Clark/Chloe
Season 8, after "Turbulence"
Rating: Adult. If you're under eighteen, please go elsewhere now.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Title image by writrgurl. Thank you!!!
Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We belong, we belong
We belong together
-"We Belong," Pat Benatar
He could hear her crying.
Clark Kent rolled over in bed and stared at the ceiling. He had to be at work early tomorrow morning, but he'd been lying here listening to his best friend cry for the past twenty minutes.
The odd thing was that his best friend was in her apartment, five miles from here.
He sighed. Ordinarily he didn't invade his friends' privacy by listening in on them with his superhearing. But his thoughts had wandered to Chloe, as they all too often did in the hazy moments before falling asleep. And the moment he thought of her, he'd heard her sob.
And since then, he somehow hadn't been able to stop listening.
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the soft, heartrending sound. Chloe deserved her privacy. If she wanted to talk, she'd pick up the phone and talk.
Yeah, right, an inner voice jeered at him. When's the last time she talked to you about what she was feeling?
He rolled over again, burying his face in the pillow. It was true. She'd dropped by the farm this morning, and they'd talked again this afternoon, but their conversation had mostly been about, well, him. She hadn't given any hint that she was having troubles with Jimmy, or that she was unhappy in any way.
But Jimmy wasn't with her, even though he'd been released from the hospital. Clark's superhearing told him she was alone.
And she was very definitely unhappy.
He sighed, then got up, put on his red and blue outfit, and headed for the Talon at top speed.
*****
"Chloe?" He knocked, very firmly. "Let me in."
A silence. Then the sound of splashing water-- an effort to wash her tears off, he guessed. Footsteps heading toward him, and then she was opening the door with a smile.
"Hey, Clark, what's up?"
He frowned at her. "I'm not stupid, you know."
She blinked at his stern tone. "Um... what?"
He brushed past her, annoyed. "I know you've been crying," he said.
She closed the door behind him, starting to look a little annoyed herself. "Listening in on me, Clark?"
"I couldn't help it. Anyway, washing your face didn't do a lot of good. Your eyes are puffy. I could tell you'd been crying even if I was deaf."
She raised a self-conscious hand to her face. "Fine," she answered, a little grumpily. "So I was crying. So what?"
"What's going on, Chlo?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, please." He scowled. "You haven't been crying for twenty minutes over nothing. Where's Jimmy? I thought he was coming home tonight."
She lowered her gaze, studying his workboots as intently as if they held the secrets of the universe, rather than his size fourteen feet. "He decided not to come home," she said, very softly.
Well, he supposed that explained the crying. The sorrow in her voice made his heart ache for her. "Um," he said. "Are the two of you having problems, then?"
"Problems." She laughed, a soft, humorless sound. "That's one word for it, I suppose. He doesn't trust me, Clark, and I don't trust him. Not a great basis for a marriage, is it?"
"I don't understand, Chlo."
"He's never trusted me." She spun around and began to pace. "He's always thought you meant more to me than he did. And I guess maybe he was right."
Something warm began to burn inside him, but he tried to ignore it. "Um... okay," he said, trying for a noncommittal, talk-to-me tone. Because this wasn't about him. It was about her and Jimmy.
"And last night..." She sighed. "He claimed to have seen... something, and I didn't believe him. I couldn't. I mean, he was on drugs, Clark, and he was obviously seeing things that weren't there. The nurses, the doctors... we all saw him in the corridor, screaming hysterically about something that didn't happen."
"Well, that's not a lack of trust, Chlo. That's just common sense. If he was on painkillers..."
"But," she said, very softly. "If it had been you... I would have believed you, Clark. No matter how crazy it seemed, I would have believed you."
The warmth inside him expanded, and he stared at her. He'd always known that his close relationship with Chloe was something of a problem, that even though she cherished their intensely intimate friendship as much as he did, it wreaked havoc with her personal life. It was hard to expect any guy to tolerate her being so very close to Clark. They called each other all the time, they spent most of their free time together, they worked to solve problems together.
They were pretty much joined at the hip. And that was a hell of a lot to expect Jimmy Olsen to cope with.
"It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong," he said gently. "If you know for a fact he was hallucinating..."
"Clark." Her voice was very quiet. "Remember when I tried to kill myself?"
He hesitated, because he didn't like thinking about that night, but then, reluctantly, he nodded.
"Everyone thought I was crazy," she said, still very softly. "Lana, Lois, Lex... if it was up to them, I'd be in Belle Reve now. But you... you believed in me. You knew I wasn't crazy, even though I'd slit my own wrists. You got me out. You saved me."
He nodded stiffly, uncomfortable with the reminders of that night.
"And if you claimed to have seen something-- I'd believe you, Clark, just like you believed me. But Jimmy... I just don't believe in him that way. I don't have, I don't know, the faith in him I have in you."
"And so..."
"And so I think maybe Jimmy's right," she whispered. "The two of us don't belong together."
He did the math in his head, and came up with an answer he liked an awful lot. "What about me and you, Chlo?"
She blinked at him. "What about us?"
He'd been trying to remind himself this wasn't about him, but about Jimmy and Chloe, but he knew it wasn't true. On some level, it was about him and Chloe. He looked at her, very intently, and asked the question he'd wanted to ask for a long time.
"Do you think we belong together?"
He could hear her crying.
Clark Kent rolled over in bed and stared at the ceiling. He had to be at work early tomorrow morning, but he'd been lying here listening to his best friend cry for the past twenty minutes.
The odd thing was that his best friend was in her apartment, five miles from here.
He sighed. Ordinarily he didn't invade his friends' privacy by listening in on them with his superhearing. But his thoughts had wandered to Chloe, as they all too often did in the hazy moments before falling asleep. And the moment he thought of her, he'd heard her sob.
And since then, he somehow hadn't been able to stop listening.
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the soft, heartrending sound. Chloe deserved her privacy. If she wanted to talk, she'd pick up the phone and talk.
Yeah, right, an inner voice jeered at him. When's the last time she talked to you about what she was feeling?
He rolled over again, burying his face in the pillow. It was true. She'd dropped by the farm this morning, and they'd talked again this afternoon, but their conversation had mostly been about, well, him. She hadn't given any hint that she was having troubles with Jimmy, or that she was unhappy in any way.
But Jimmy wasn't with her, even though he'd been released from the hospital. Clark's superhearing told him she was alone.
And she was very definitely unhappy.
He sighed, then got up, put on his red and blue outfit, and headed for the Talon at top speed.
*****
"Chloe?" He knocked, very firmly. "Let me in."
A silence. Then the sound of splashing water-- an effort to wash her tears off, he guessed. Footsteps heading toward him, and then she was opening the door with a smile.
"Hey, Clark, what's up?"
He frowned at her. "I'm not stupid, you know."
She blinked at his stern tone. "Um... what?"
He brushed past her, annoyed. "I know you've been crying," he said.
She closed the door behind him, starting to look a little annoyed herself. "Listening in on me, Clark?"
"I couldn't help it. Anyway, washing your face didn't do a lot of good. Your eyes are puffy. I could tell you'd been crying even if I was deaf."
She raised a self-conscious hand to her face. "Fine," she answered, a little grumpily. "So I was crying. So what?"
"What's going on, Chlo?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, please." He scowled. "You haven't been crying for twenty minutes over nothing. Where's Jimmy? I thought he was coming home tonight."
She lowered her gaze, studying his workboots as intently as if they held the secrets of the universe, rather than his size fourteen feet. "He decided not to come home," she said, very softly.
Well, he supposed that explained the crying. The sorrow in her voice made his heart ache for her. "Um," he said. "Are the two of you having problems, then?"
"Problems." She laughed, a soft, humorless sound. "That's one word for it, I suppose. He doesn't trust me, Clark, and I don't trust him. Not a great basis for a marriage, is it?"
"I don't understand, Chlo."
"He's never trusted me." She spun around and began to pace. "He's always thought you meant more to me than he did. And I guess maybe he was right."
Something warm began to burn inside him, but he tried to ignore it. "Um... okay," he said, trying for a noncommittal, talk-to-me tone. Because this wasn't about him. It was about her and Jimmy.
"And last night..." She sighed. "He claimed to have seen... something, and I didn't believe him. I couldn't. I mean, he was on drugs, Clark, and he was obviously seeing things that weren't there. The nurses, the doctors... we all saw him in the corridor, screaming hysterically about something that didn't happen."
"Well, that's not a lack of trust, Chlo. That's just common sense. If he was on painkillers..."
"But," she said, very softly. "If it had been you... I would have believed you, Clark. No matter how crazy it seemed, I would have believed you."
The warmth inside him expanded, and he stared at her. He'd always known that his close relationship with Chloe was something of a problem, that even though she cherished their intensely intimate friendship as much as he did, it wreaked havoc with her personal life. It was hard to expect any guy to tolerate her being so very close to Clark. They called each other all the time, they spent most of their free time together, they worked to solve problems together.
They were pretty much joined at the hip. And that was a hell of a lot to expect Jimmy Olsen to cope with.
"It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong," he said gently. "If you know for a fact he was hallucinating..."
"Clark." Her voice was very quiet. "Remember when I tried to kill myself?"
He hesitated, because he didn't like thinking about that night, but then, reluctantly, he nodded.
"Everyone thought I was crazy," she said, still very softly. "Lana, Lois, Lex... if it was up to them, I'd be in Belle Reve now. But you... you believed in me. You knew I wasn't crazy, even though I'd slit my own wrists. You got me out. You saved me."
He nodded stiffly, uncomfortable with the reminders of that night.
"And if you claimed to have seen something-- I'd believe you, Clark, just like you believed me. But Jimmy... I just don't believe in him that way. I don't have, I don't know, the faith in him I have in you."
"And so..."
"And so I think maybe Jimmy's right," she whispered. "The two of us don't belong together."
He did the math in his head, and came up with an answer he liked an awful lot. "What about me and you, Chlo?"
She blinked at him. "What about us?"
He'd been trying to remind himself this wasn't about him, but about Jimmy and Chloe, but he knew it wasn't true. On some level, it was about him and Chloe. He looked at her, very intently, and asked the question he'd wanted to ask for a long time.
"Do you think we belong together?"
10 comments:
Oooh! This is an awesome start. I can't wait for more!
"Do you think we belong together?"
I do! I do!! I really do!!!
Please don't stop there, Elly! *pouts*
I love how you summed up the Chlark relationship. They trust eash other. They believe in each other. Nuff said. And the references you used were awesome.
Fantastic start. Please post more soon!
Regards,
Dee.
Mooreee!!! :D!
i've read almost all ur stories and love em keep it up keep the great chlark stories coming i love em
Yup, this is exactly why Chimmy never had a chance. Chloe's first priority has always been Clark.
Hahaha, awesome!
I just got done commenting on "Tears", and my mind was already wandering back to the exact same episode (Tomb, was it?) where Chloe knew the truth but everyone just wrote her off, just like Jimmy's situation now. No way would she forget that!
Please, Miss Elly, be a smallville writer. They need you so terribly.
-T
Do not stop! Please Elly call up the CW and tell them it's about time Smallville got a REAL WRITER!
What a cliffie!! I can't wait for the next chapter! Great job, as usual, Elly. Can we form a campaign to have you join the writing staff?? Who do we email?
Sarah
Pure Awesomeness, as usual. :)
These two totally belong together. Clark knows this, Chloe knows this, they just need a change.
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