The Gift, Chapter 1

Clark/Chloe, Clark/Lois (Chlark wins in the end), Oliver/Lois
Season 9
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.

"Let's face it, Smallville. This just isn't working out."

Clark Kent blinked, startled, and his eyes focused on the beautiful brunette seated across from him. "Uh," he said, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Lois. I just... I guess I was daydreaming a little. It's been a long day, and I'm tired..."

She looked at him sympathetically. She looked gorgeous, wearing a green silk dress that was a little too low cut, as well as earrings that were beaded to resemble huge, dangling Christmas trees. Lois possessed a certain flamboyance that veered precariously close to tacky, but he liked it. He liked her. He liked her a lot.

He just didn't like her quite the way he liked... well...

She leaned forward. His gaze should have been drawn downward to her abundant cleavage, but for some reason it wasn't. She stared at him.

"Were you listening for Chloe?"

"Listening?" He blinked some more, so hard that the candle flame lighting their table flickered. He hoped she didn't notice. "For Chloe? Chloe's not here, Lois, she's probably at home..."

In the background, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" began to play, echoing his half-articulated thought. Home, he thought. Home was where Chloe was. He remembered that Chloe had always liked that song, and a throb of longing pulsed in his chest, so hard it was like a physical blow. He flinched.

"Clark." She sighed, and the use of his real name let him know she was serious, for once. "Come on, Clark. I know you think I have air for brains, but I have figured out you've got some unusual abilities, you know. You can hear things from a long ways away. And you can hear Chloe from even further away."

Blink. Blink. Damn his eyelids. They just wouldn't stop. "I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Please. Our date last week? We were talking at the Talon, and you suddenly broke off and cocked your head like you heard something, and then excused yourself. And then Chloe called me fifteen minutes and mentioned she'd been near the scene of that bombing in downtown Metropolis, and I heard your voice in the background. Even if I did have air in my head, I'd be able to figure out that for you to get from Smallville to Metropolis in fifteen minutes means you have some special talents."

"Uh... that must have been some other guy you heard..."

"Please. I saw you on the news footage, too. Sing me another song, Smallville. The old one's off key. Look, it's nothing to be ashamed of, okay? Half the population of Smallville has odd abilities. It's the only place on the planet where being weird is perfectly normal."

He frowned, recognizing that he was out of luck. It served him right for stopping to talk to Chloe, allowing himself to be caught on camera. This was why he was supposed to be a blur around disasters. I'm an idiot.

"Fine," he said, a little huffily. "So I went to Metropolis. But it didn't have anything to do with Chloe. I heard the explosion, and there were people in trouble--"

"And I saw the look in your eyes that day. It was the Chloe look."

"The what?"

"The same look you had just now. You're listening in on her."

He lifted his chin a little. "I am not. I wasn't. I don't even talk to Chloe all that much any more. I mean, we'll always be friends, but that's all."

"Bull."

He blinked again, despite himself. The flame flickered and went out. She frowned at the candle in brief puzzlement, then went on.

"You're crazy about Chloe, Smallville. The more we go out together, the more obvious it is. Every time you talk about her, your eyes light up. And sometimes you get this sad look on your face, and I know, I just know, you're thinking about her."

"Chloe and I are not--"

"Smallville, you lie like a rug. Of course you are. You're crazy about her, and the only reason you're staying away from her is the Jimmy thing. Right?"

He sighed. Three candles at tables surrounding them went out, and Lois looked impressed.

"She's still grieving for Jimmy," he said softly. "She's not interested in me that way."

"Smallville, you are a moron."

"Gee, thanks, Lois."

"I'm serious. If she'd loved Jimmy all that much, do you think the two of them would have gotten a divorce?"

Another sigh, three more candles extinguished. People were starting to look in their direction rather oddly. "After he died, she started to talk about him like he was a saint..."

"She has guilt, Smallville. I don't know exactly what went down with Jimmy and Davis, but for some reason she blames herself for Jimmy's death. She's not grieving for him so much as she is punishing herself. And I think some of the punishment is keeping you at arm's distance."

He cocked his head, thinking about that. "Do you really think so?"

"Yeah. I do. Look, Smallville, we've been dating for a month now..."

"Uh, Lois, listen--"

"Shut up," she said, smiling slightly. "I'm not stupid, Clark. Or maybe I am. I know better than to get involved with a guy on the rebound, but you... well, you're a special guy. And for a while I was able to convince myself that Chloe was over you, and you were over Chloe. But the more I watch the two of you pining, the more I see that's not true."

"Lois..."

"Do not give me the it's-not-you-it's-me speech. I hate that."

"Um... but it's true. You're a nice girl, Lois--"

"Ouch," she said, wincing theatrically. "There's nothing better than being told you're nice."

"I'm sorry." He stumbled awkwardly over the words. He sucked at this kind of thing. "I mean, you're great. Really. It's just..."

"I get it," she said with a sigh. "Believe me, I do. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Sometimes a new person is just something to distract you from the person you really want."

"Lois..." He stared at her, feeling like a first-class heel. "I never meant to--"

"I get that too." She was apparently determined to never let him finish a sentence. "I know you didn't say to yourself, Oh, I can't have Chloe, so I'm going to go ask out Chloe's cousin! It's not a conscious thing. I know. You were just trying to move on."

"But I didn't mean to..."

"Squash my heart like a roach on a kitchen floor? Don't worry, Smallville. You're a great guy and all, but I really think my heart is going to survive the experience."

He bowed his head and stared at the table top. "I'm really sorry," he said.

"Don't be. Dating doesn't come with guarantees, Clark. You go out with someone, and sometimes you discover they're the perfect person for you, but more often you realize they're not. Doesn't mean it was a wasted month. I've had fun. And we're still friends, right?"

He lifted his eyes and smiled at her, his first genuine smile of the evening.

"Better friends than ever, Lois."

"Well, there you go." She offered him a real smile, too, wide and bright and without a trace of her usual snark. "It wasn't a waste."

Read Chapter 2 here.