The Gift, Chapter 6

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.
Read Chapter 5 here.
Read the story from the beginning here.

He'd screwed up, so badly. Chloe's eyes were golden ice, and her body language said clearly how angry and upset she was. He'd obviously made a serious mistake in keeping his distance, in trying to give her space, and he didn't know how to fix it.

No, wait. He did know how.

He reached out, grabbed her by the shoulders, and kissed her full on the mouth.

*****

"So what happened with Lex?"

Ollie sighed, and buried his face in his hands. "I told you, I killed him," he said wretchedly. "I put a bomb in his truck, and it blew up. He's dead, and it's all my fault."

She put a comforting hand on his back. Beneath it, she could feel his heart thundering, could feel his body trembling. "Why did you do that?" she asked, very softly.

"He's done so many bad things," Ollie answered, his voice muffled by his hands. "So many people dead, or hurt... so many manipulations..."

"No, Ollie." She let her voice grow implacable. "Be honest. Why did you really kill him?"

He lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes filled with stark sorrow and guilt.

"Because his father killed my parents," he answered.

"I see." She didn't stop stroking his back, but she gazed at him, unblinking. "The sins of the father shall be visited onto the son, is that it?"

"Something like that." His gaze flickered away, as if he couldn't bear to meet her eyes, and he stared out the window into the darkness. "It was wrong, Lois. I know that now. Hell, I knew it when I did it. I killed a man in cold blood. I'm a murderer. And... I don't deserve you."

"Ollie," she said, very gently.

He looked back at her. She could see the guilt etched into every line of his face. He looked weary, almost exhausted, as if the guilt was a burden he could barely manage to carry any longer. "Yeah?"

She hesitated a moment, then told him the truth.

"Lex isn't dead."

*****

Chloe was stiff in his arms for a long moment. And then, slowly, she relaxed into his embrace. Her arms went around his shoulders, her body pressed against his, and her lips parted. Very shyly, her tongue slipped into his mouth and touched his with a feather-light caress.

His heart pounded wildly. This was right. This was how things should always have been between them. Keeping his distance, trying to stay away from her, had been wrong and stupid. She meant too much to him for him to ever keep her at arm's length again.

From now on, she was going to be in his arms as often as possible.

He swept her up in his arms and headed for her bed.

More to come...