Chlark Fanfic: All The Way, Chapter 4
Some more Chlark for ya! In which Chloe has a meltdown, and Clark goes to incredible lengths to keep her sweet. :-)
There's some fusion between Obscura and Abyss, but I think it all dovetails quite nicely. Behold: the REAL reason Chloe laid one on Clark. (Tales of the Weird & Unexplained can kiss my healthy butt!!!) ;-)
Enjoy.
Title: All The Way
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlark
Rating: G (for now)
Warnings: None. Spoilers for Obscura (and a major correction of the Abyss flashback!)
Timeline: All Seasons. Works as a sequel to Daisychain.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Chlark: as they were, are and ever should be.
Feedback: …makes me squee. J
Author’s note: written for ellyfanfiction, who won a Chlark story from me in an auction.
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 4
The First Kiss: Pt 1
Pride can stand a thousand trials
The strong will never fall
But watching stars without you, my soul cried
Heaving heart is full of pain…
…Touch me deep, pure, and true gift to me forever
’Cause I’m kissing you…
- ‘Kissing You’, by Des’ree
***
“Wow,” Chloe breathed in awe. “That is huge, Clark.”
He grinned. “I know, right? And it feels even bigger from the inside.”
She glanced at him furtively. “Can I…?”
“Sure. After you.”
“Thanks.” Clark walked behind Chloe as she stepped into the barn and gazed around.
“Gee, you’re right; it feels like I’m in a cave,” she whispered. “Intimidating, but welcoming at the same time.”
Clark smiled. “That’s exactly how I feel. My Dad calls this place my Fortress of Solitude.” He paused and inclined his head towards the stairs. “Wanna come up to the loft? That’s where I spend most of my time.”
They walked up the staircase and Chloe’s eyes widened appreciatively as she got to the top and took in the converted loft, complete with homey touches.
“Wow…sweet set-up, Clark,” she said, nodding approvingly. “I can see why you’d spend a lot of time up here, though to be honest, I don’t know exactly what you’d…aaah,” she drawled with a grin as she spied the telescope in the window. “Now I know. Spend all your time spying on unsuspecting neighbours, huh?”
Clark swallowed. The way she put it made him sound like a creepy perv. “No, I…like to look at the stars,” he replied, surreptitiously tilting the angle of the device skyward and praying she hadn’t noticed.
“You must get a good view from up here,” she observed. “Which direction does the window face?”
“North.”
“Yeah, that means nothing to me, Clark,” she said derisively, heading over to the window and peering out. I meant where does it overlook - Granville, Norwood…?”
“Metropolis,” he said softly. “I have a clear view of Metropolis.”
***
Even before he’d answered, she’d seen for herself just what the view from the loft window was. Her light-hearted smile faded as she stared out into the distance, the city that she loved a silvery speck glittering on the horizon.
Slowly Chloe lifted one hand until it looked like she was holding Metropolis in her palm. She sighed, her shoulders drooping as sadness began to envelop her.
She’d put on a brave face for Daddy since moving here, but the truth was she missed her city. More than missed it; she was pining for it, and badly. They’d moved to Smallville a week ago, and in the entire time she hadn’t been able to source a copy of the Planet for herself. Granted, Smallville was a backwoods little town, but Metropolis wasn’t that far away. It wouldn’t be too much trouble for at least one of the local stores could bring in a few copies of the city’s daily papers, surely?
She swallowed. “You never did tell me where I could get a copy of the Daily Planet in Smallville,” she said, managing to her voice even.
“That’s because you can’t,” he replied quietly from behind her. “Smallville’s a community that supports its own, so everyone throws their weight behind the Ledger, which is the local publication. I’m sure once you get The Torch up and running, you can actually get one or two stalls to stock it and even sell it for you, but-”
“No Planet?” she said incredulously. “You’re telling me that in this entire town, I can’t get a copy of the Daily Planet? Seriously?”
Clark gulped. “Well…sometimes my Dad goes to town and comes back with them in the evenings. I can bring it to school for you the next day-”
“That’s not gonna help!” she cried, turning round, her eyes blazing. “It’s called the Daily Planet, Clark, not the Next Daily Planet! I don’t want to read day-old newspapers, because it’s old news!”
Clark jumped back a little, clearly startled by her sudden outburst. “It was just a suggestion,” he mumbled.
She ignored him and continued with her angry tirade. “Why do I have to suffer like this? I gave up everything I knew and loved to move out here, and the one thing, the one thing that I hoped for in return was a copy of the Daily Planet on the day. But this hick town is so darned backwards-”
“We’re not backwards.”
“…that they won’t even abide a little friendly competition?” she raged on, ignoring his interruption. “Well, that sucks! It just sucks, and I…I want to go home.” Her voice broke on the last word, and she started sniffing loudly.
Uh-oh, she thought wildly, trying to blink back the tears. She wasn’t going to cry; she was not going to cry. She was made of sterner stuff than this...
“Um…okay,” Clark said, feverishly wringing his hands. “If you tell me where you live, I’ll-”
And that was when she lost it. “Not that home! THAT home!” she yelled, pointing out the window. “Home to Metropolis, where the buildings are tall, and the pretzels are fresh, and the papers have the words ‘Daily Planet’ printed on the front of them. That’s my home!”
And then the tears began to fall. Defeated, she leaned on the window frame and sobbed, her heart feeling like it was breaking into tiny little pieces.
Great. The last thing she’d wanted to do was cry in front of Clark, and here she was, bawling her eyes out. She dashed her hand across her face, wiping tears from her eyes angrily.
“Please don’t cry, Chloe,” he pleaded. “Don’t be sad. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
“Oh, sure,” she sneered, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “What are you gonna do, run to Metropolis everyday and get a paper for me?”
Silence. Then: “If I have to.”
“Well, when you hand me a copy of today’s paper hot off the press, maybe then I’ll lighten up,” she shot back sarcastically, staring moodily out the window.
Clark didn’t answer her; probably best that he didn’t, because in the mood she was in she might bite his head off. I must be PMS-ing, she thought with a short laugh as a slight breeze lifted her hair. Poor Clark, having to bear the brunt of her pent-up frustration.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” Clark finally said, approaching her from behind. “You give me 50 cents everyday to cover the cost, and I’ll make sure you get your newspaper. What do you say?”
He rustled something in front of her face, and she leaned back to focus on the object in his hands.
And gasped.
Right there, in front of her face, in his hand, was today’s copy of the Daily Planet.
“Hot off the press,” he confirmed, tapping the date. “The Evening Edition, to boot.”
She stared at him, her eyes as wide as saucers. “How on earth did you-?”
“Don’t ask,” he pleaded. “Please, don’t ask. That’s the other part of the deal: you start asking questions, I stop delivering papers. That’s how it has to be.”
Chloe’s face fell. That was a tough one. As a budding reporter, she was always chock-full of questions, even when there was nothing to question. The sudden appearance of the Daily Planet newspaper in the loft, when she was sure it hadn’t been there before, had set all her investigative synapses firing at once.
Whatever Clark had done to get this paper for her was beyond the realm of explanation. From the tone of his voice, he was taking a huge risk by granting her wish, for which she was immensely grateful. No one had ever done anything like that for her before.
But to have all these questions and not be able to ask them was like waving a red flag in front of a bull, and daring it not to charge. She had to decide what she wanted more: the paper, or the story behind it.
“Chloe?” he asked, interrupting her internal dilemma. “What’s it to be?”
A smile lit her face and she lifted her eyes to meet his intense green ones.
He swallowed. “Well?”
She grinned. “Deal.”
He heaved a sigh of relief. “Cool. Shake on it?”
He extended his hand and she stared at it for all of a second.
And then she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him towards her and planted her lips on his.
***
Chapter 5…