Chlark Fanfic: On The Inside, Chapter 7
I have been trying to post this for TWO DAYS. A pox on LJ gremlins, and may the fleas of a thousand camels infest the armpits of my totally inept internet service providers. Grr! *shakes fist*
Anyway, here's Chapter 7 of On The Inside. Still no smut, people *hangs head in shame* but it's coming ((heh!) - I promise! :-D
Enjoy.
Title: On The Inside
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlark
Rating: PG13
Warnings: None
Timeline: Post-Failsday through Season 9 eps (Saviour - Crossfire)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Chloe tries to start life anew in another city, but Clark thinks she left her heart in Metropolis.
Feedback: …puts a smile on my face. J
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 7
The doorbell chimed sweetly. Chloe straightened, taking one last look in the mirror and checking her reflection before heading out into the hall and opening the door. Clark stood on the other side, a smile lighting up his face as soon as he saw her.
“Good to see you again, Chloe. You look beautiful.”
Chloe had to admit she was glad he’d noticed her outfit, as she’d chosen it with special care. She was wearing a dark orange patterned top over a chocolate brown skirt with an asymmetrical hem, and dark, knee-length boots. The entire ensemble had a brilliant effect and really brought out the beauty in her darkened hair.
She gave him a nod of acknowledgement as he stood in her doorway clutching a bunch of flowers. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
He glanced down at his outfit. “Back in my signature colours,” he said with a smile.
She nodded and folded her arms. “Yeah, they suit you; always have.”
“Thanks for agreeing to see me,” he said softly. “It means a lot.”
She shrugged lightly and inclined her head to the bunch of crimson tulips in his hands. “Are those for me?”
“Oh, yes. Here you go.” He handed her the blooms and she took a brief sniff, enjoying their delicate scent.
“Thank you. Come on in.” She turned and walked into the apartment, and he followed her in, glancing around as he did so.
“Have a seat,” she offered politely, heading to the kitchen.
“Thanks. It’s a nice apartment,” he said as he sat on the couch.
“And you’re still a terrible liar,” she mused as she arranged the flowers in a vase.
He had the good grace to flush. “It’s not bad, really, it’s just…” he trailed off and frowned, looking around.
“I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘impersonal’,” she supplied as she walked over to him and handed him a glass of orange juice.
He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. You don’t have any pictures up, or knick-knacks. It’s comfortable, but…”
“Sterile,” she said. “Like a hotel room, right?”
He didn’t reply and instead took a sip of his juice, but she could see that he was thinking the same thing.
“Feel free to be honest, Clark,” she said, sitting down opposite him. “As will I. I didn’t see the need to put up any pictures, considering the circumstances under which I came here.”
“And now?” he said softly.
She took a deep breath. “Oliver came to see me,” she said. “He told me all about Brainiac.”
He nodded slowly. “Oliver,” he murmured. “I should have known.”
“Why didn’t you tell me yourself?” she asked softly. “When you came to find me?”
He sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“I’ve been hanging with you for over ten years now, Clark,” she said. “I think we wrote the book on ‘complicated’.”
Clark put the glass down on a side table and stared at the ground. “I didn’t tell you because I…I was ashamed,” he finally said.
“You didn’t ask for Brainiac to infect you, Clark,” she said softly.
He shook his head. “You don’t understand,” he said, lifting his head and looking at her. “I was ashamed because I’d walked away from you when you needed me the most.”
Chloe laced her fingers together and breathed deeply. Clark had come clean on the one thing that had tortured her for months.
He continued. “After Jimmy died, I turned my back on you. There was no Brainiac then, Chloe. That was me, and I have no excuse for that. I’d promised to always been there for you, and when that was put the test…I failed. I’m sorry.”
It was the apology she’d always hoped for, but had never believed she was going to get. Clark leaving her after the funeral had scarred her deeply, and his subsequent coldness towards her had broken her heart all over again.
Today, it was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Maybe now, finally, she could begin the process of healing.
She glanced out the window and noticed the sun shining. Her lips curled upwards and she smiled, her first real smile in almost two years.
“You know what?” she said, turning to him. “It’s a lovely day for this time of year, and I’m feeling sort of peckish. How about we go for a picnic?”
Clark glanced up at her and grinned liked she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“That sounds nice.”
***
The open air was fresh and breezy, and the sunlight warmed their faces as they enjoyed their outdoor lunch. They discussed everything but the obvious, and the conversation eventually got around to the recently renewed Daily Planet.
“How goes things at work?” Chloe asked casually as she picked at some diced fruit.
“Challenging,” he answered. “Perry’s done a lot of hiring, firing and a general shake-up of the establishment.”
“Did he recognise you when he saw you working there?”
“He did indeed, and shortly after I got summoned to his office.”
“Uh-oh. Good or bad news?”
“Honest news. He’d gone through my application, and pointed out the obvious; that I clearly wasn’t qualified for the job for which I’d been hired.”
“Someone finally noticed,” she muttered to herself, reddening when she realised Clark would definitely have heard her. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
He smiled. “It’s alright. I was actually quite relieved; most of the folks in the bullpen had wondered the exact same thing, and some had even confronted Tess about the wisdom of employing a farmer to do a reporter’s job, but she’d threatened them with unemployment if they probed any further.”
“What did Perry do?”
“He went through the few articles I’d written, and said that while there was potential, I wasn’t quite ready for features and editorials just yet. At the same time, he said it was redundant to put me in the mailroom. So he took me out of the bullpen, and now I work as assistant to Trevor Jones on the seventh floor.”
Chloe nodded thoughtfully. “That sounds fair. Trevor’s a brilliant journalist.”
“It is, and he is. I’ve learned a whole lot more in the last month that I have since I started working there.”
“Good for you,” she said, smiling.
He took a sip of water and continued. “Thanks. You should put in an application, you know. With all the front page articles on your resume, I’m sure he’d employ you in a heartbeat.”
Chloe made a wry face and shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do. He remembers you too, you know.”
She glanced up in surprise. “He does?”
“Sure. He asked how my blonde reporter friend from high school was, and when I said you’d moved away, he said he hoped you were still into journalism because you were pretty darn good.”
She brightened. “Perry White said that?” she said, pleased.
He nodded with a smile. “Every word.”
“It is tempting, I must admit,” she said, “but I don’t know. It would be too awkward there, I mean with Lois and all…”
“Lois no longer works at the Daily Planet,” he said softly.
Her jaw dropped open in shock. “What?”
“Perry said her work wasn’t up to scratch, and let her go.”
She blinked in surprise. “Oh, wow. How did she take it?”
To her amazement, Clark smiled. “You know Lois; water off a duck’s back. But she’s quite happy where she is now.”
“And where’s that?”
“Features Editor at the Inquisitor.” He grinned. “She always knew how to sniff out a good scandal.”
“It’s good to see she’s doing well,” she said honestly. “I thought she’d be more cut up about it, to be honest; I mean, you two broke up not too long ago, and then she loses her job…”
“She bounced back pretty quickly. I think it helped that I was finally honest with her about …well, everything.”
Her eyes widened. “And by everything, you mean…?”
“I told her I was The Blur.”
“Whoa,” she breathed. “Talk about a day of shocks. How did she react?”
“Well, she nursed a sore wrist for a few days after making the mistake of slugging me,” he said, chuckling. “But she took it pretty well. Funny thing is that she was already thinking of breaking up with me anyway.”
“She was? Why?” she asked with a frown.
Clark looked sheepish. “Because she realised she didn’t really understand me, and sensed that I was keeping secrets from her.”
“Gee, where have I heard that one before?” she said with her trademark snark.
“Not a word, Chloe,” he said with a grin as he shook his finger at her. “She was also peeved to realise that you knew my secret, and was offended that I didn’t trust her enough to tell her.”
Chloe frowned. “But you’d just told her. Surely that counted for something?”
Clark’s face reddened. “Chloe, I only told her my secret because there was no other way to get her to understand everything that had happened, and she realised that,” he explained. “She wasn’t too pleased to discover that I’d only been attracted to her because of a computer program.”
She winced. “Ouch. What did she say to that?”
He grinned. “That I was too high maintenance for her, and she was far too smokin’ hot be saddled with a hick like me.”
She chuckled. “Now that sounds like Lois.”
“She also said she could finally understand why Lana was always going on about secrets and lies, and thinks I don’t seem to know what I really want.” He glanced down, and his voice went very low. “Or rather, ‘who’.”
“Wait, she thinks you’re secretly still lusting after Lana?”
He shook his head. “No. She thinks I’m secretly yearning for you.”
“Me?” she said incredulously, and laughed. “That’s crazy, you’ve never wanted me.”
“You don’t know that,” he said carefully.
She snorted. “Clark, you’ve known me for over a decade, and in all that time, I’ve never even been a blip on your emotional radar.”
“Why do you think Brainiac went after you, Chloe?” he said softly. “Why would he go through the trouble of creating a program designed to physically separate us?”
Her heart stuttered as she realised what he was hinting at. “You tell me,” she whispered.
“Because he knew what I refused to acknowledge or admit to myself for a long time now,” he said, and then swallowed hard before looking straight at her.
“I’m in love with you, Chloe.”
***
Chapter 8…