Secret Santa Gift for simplytoopretty
For the Chlark Pollyanna I had the honor of being assigned simplytoopretty . This story, on the surface, is almost the opposite of what she wanted, but hopefully it’s the stuff under the surface that she’ll like.
Title: Rewards
Pairing: Chlark!
Rating: PG-13
Genre: I don’t know what genre this falls under. It’s not a comedy, although it has a light tone. If one thinks about the implications it’s a little dark.
Warnings: Misrepresentation of scientific theory
Timeline: Season 9, but since I haven’t watched the show this season it doesn’t contain any spoilers for any episodes.
Word Count: 1,300
Rewards
Chloe hasn’t lain like this, under the Christmas tree, since she was a child. She’d forgotten what it’s like to gaze up at this angle through the branches and see the colored lights reflecting off the ornaments. It’s pretty and magical. It makes her feel like a child again.
Of course when she was a child lying under the tree she didn’t have Clark lying next to her, placing soft kisses on the back of her neck. All things considered, it’s better to be an adult.
“Are you cold?” he whispers in her ear.
She rolls onto her back to see the colored lights reflected in his eyes. It’s even prettier and more magical.
“No.” She smiles at him while she brushes a lock of hair away from his face. “I’m sweating. You gave me a work out.”
“The first of many,” he murmurs before kissing her again, this time on the lips.
For a moment she surrenders to him, to the warmth of his body and his demanding hands, but reality keeps poking at the back of her mind. They don’t have time for this.
“Your parents are going to arrive early to help set up. It’s your mother’s M.O.” Chloe pulls away from him. “And if it’s obvious what we’ve been doing…” She climbs to her feet and starts gathering their clothes discarded around the room. “I don’t think your dad would approve.”
The lustful expression falls off Clark’s face. “My dad?”
Chloe’s not sure, but she thinks there’s something in the tone of Clark’s voice, in the look in his eyes. For a second it seems like he’s lost.
But then that second passes. His lips curve into a brilliant smile, a smile that makes her feel warm inside, and he stands up. “It’ll be good to see my parents.”
“It’s always good to see your parents,” she agrees as she hands Clark his boxers. “It’s my family I’m worried about. You haven’t met my uncle. Military men can be rather opinionated.”
“I’ll handle him,” he reassures her.
“And then there are my cousins,” Chloe continues. “Lucy’ll be fine. She’s pretty easy going, but Lois…” She pauses to hook her bra. “Just be yourself. Eventually Lois will come around.”
“I really don’t care what Lois thinks of me,” Clark says as he slips on his pants.
“I care,” Chloe says plainly. “I want her to like you the way I like you.”
“I don’t,” he mutters.
“Okay, no.” Chloe laughs. “I don’t want her to like you the way I like you. That would be awkward, but I want her to approve of you. It’s important to me.”
“If it’s important to you…” He shrugs. “I’ll win her over. I know how.”
“You’ve never met her.”
“I know her type.”
Chloe retrieves her crumpled dress and tries to smooth out the wrinkles. It’s no use. “I can’t wear this,” she moans as she walks into the bedroom. “What should I wear?”
“Wear red.” Clark follows her, knotting his tie has he goes. “I like red.”
“Of course you do.” She throws open the closet door. “Red and blue. Everyone knows that.”
He glances down at his suit. “I’m tired of black.”
“You never wear black.” She turns to look at him. “When was the last time you wore black?”
He pauses for a moment and then chuckles under his breath. “Probably never. I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Chloe can’t help herself. Her eyes travel over Clark, studying him as if she’s never really seen him before. “You’re in an odd mood,” she says, “ever since you got back from the store. What is it about buying nutmeg that makes you so cynical?”
“I’m not cynical,” he corrects her. “I’m appreciative.”
“I guess I can’t tell the difference.” She starts rifling through the closet trying to find the perfect dress, or at least a dress only slightly less perfect than the one she was planning to wear. “And what are you appreciating?”
“My rewards,” he answers.
“Rewards?” She pulls out a dress and considers it for a moment. It’s red, like Clark wants, but it’s a little too slutty for this occasion, so she puts it back.
“Life gives us choices,” Clark explains. “When we make the right decisions we’re rewarded and our lives get better. If we make the wrong ones we’re punished and our lives get worse.”
“Who does the punishing and rewarding?” she asks as she pushes more dresses aside.
“I don’t know.” He sits down on the bed. “The universe, I guess.”
“You’re usually not this metaphysical.” Chloe pauses to consider a work ensemble. It’s red and not slutty, but if she wears it everyone will think she’s in reporter mode. It’ll immediately put her uncle on guard and she’ll never get him tipsy enough to ask him those questions about military spending.
“Not metaphysics,” Clark says. “Quantum physics.”
“Quantum physics?” She glances over her shoulder to see Clark fiddling with the end of his tie. “Between the two of us I suppose you’re the expert. What does this have to do with quantum physics?”
“There’s a theory that anything that can possibly happen does happen,” he explains. “You’re presented with a choice and in one dimension you make the right choice. In the other you make the wrong choice.”
“I see.” She nods her head. “In another dimension there’s a Chloe who decided to wear the slutty dress.”
“You can do that in this dimension too.” Clark stands up. “Wear the slutty dress.”
“It’s the wrong decision,” she says. “I’ll be punished and my life will get worse.”
“It’s no use trying to get you to wear it then,” he moans. “You’re the Chloe who made all the right decisions.”
“That’s a nice thought.” She smiles at him. “You must be my reward.”
“And you’re mine.”
She turns to continue searching through the closet, but is stopped short by a thought. “Somewhere there’s a me who made all the wrong decisions. Her life must be miserable.”
“Yep,” Clark agrees.
“Poor alternate dimension Chloe. If she knew about me she’d hate me.”
“She’d want your life,” he says.
“What if she came here and took it?” Chloe frowns. “What would happen to me?”
“You’d be okay.” He moves closer, standing behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “You’d go to her dimension and live there.”
“That’s not fair.” She rolls her eyes. “Here she’d be, living my life, enjoying rewards she didn’t earn and I’d be getting punished for things I never did.”
“You’re the one who makes all the right decisions.” He places a warm kiss on the side of her neck. “You’d fix her world. Everything would work out.”
She turns and snakes her arms around his waist. “But you’d come save me before I had to do that, right?” she teasingly asks. “I mean, it wouldn’t take you long to realize she wasn’t me.”
“She is you,” Clark says.
“Well sure, we started out the same,” she says while she takes a step backwards, “but we’ve had very different lives. All the hardships she’s gone through, they would make her… I don’t know… cynical.”
“Or appreciative.”
Chloe freezes as she stares up into Clark’s eyes. In the back of her mind a thought is forming, a thought she doesn’t want to think.
At this moment she’s faced with a choice, to think that thought or not. The irony is no matter which decision she makes, right or wrong, there’s no way her life will improve.
“Chloe,” Clark says, “you’re shivering.”
“I’m cold,” she whispers.
His lips curve into that brilliant smile of his, but this time it doesn’t make her feel warm. “That’s because you’re standing in your underwear.” He walks towards the bedroom door. “Get dressed. My parents will be here soon.”
The End
Title: Rewards
Pairing: Chlark!
Rating: PG-13
Genre: I don’t know what genre this falls under. It’s not a comedy, although it has a light tone. If one thinks about the implications it’s a little dark.
Warnings: Misrepresentation of scientific theory
Timeline: Season 9, but since I haven’t watched the show this season it doesn’t contain any spoilers for any episodes.
Word Count: 1,300
Rewards
Chloe hasn’t lain like this, under the Christmas tree, since she was a child. She’d forgotten what it’s like to gaze up at this angle through the branches and see the colored lights reflecting off the ornaments. It’s pretty and magical. It makes her feel like a child again.
Of course when she was a child lying under the tree she didn’t have Clark lying next to her, placing soft kisses on the back of her neck. All things considered, it’s better to be an adult.
“Are you cold?” he whispers in her ear.
She rolls onto her back to see the colored lights reflected in his eyes. It’s even prettier and more magical.
“No.” She smiles at him while she brushes a lock of hair away from his face. “I’m sweating. You gave me a work out.”
“The first of many,” he murmurs before kissing her again, this time on the lips.
For a moment she surrenders to him, to the warmth of his body and his demanding hands, but reality keeps poking at the back of her mind. They don’t have time for this.
“Your parents are going to arrive early to help set up. It’s your mother’s M.O.” Chloe pulls away from him. “And if it’s obvious what we’ve been doing…” She climbs to her feet and starts gathering their clothes discarded around the room. “I don’t think your dad would approve.”
The lustful expression falls off Clark’s face. “My dad?”
Chloe’s not sure, but she thinks there’s something in the tone of Clark’s voice, in the look in his eyes. For a second it seems like he’s lost.
But then that second passes. His lips curve into a brilliant smile, a smile that makes her feel warm inside, and he stands up. “It’ll be good to see my parents.”
“It’s always good to see your parents,” she agrees as she hands Clark his boxers. “It’s my family I’m worried about. You haven’t met my uncle. Military men can be rather opinionated.”
“I’ll handle him,” he reassures her.
“And then there are my cousins,” Chloe continues. “Lucy’ll be fine. She’s pretty easy going, but Lois…” She pauses to hook her bra. “Just be yourself. Eventually Lois will come around.”
“I really don’t care what Lois thinks of me,” Clark says as he slips on his pants.
“I care,” Chloe says plainly. “I want her to like you the way I like you.”
“I don’t,” he mutters.
“Okay, no.” Chloe laughs. “I don’t want her to like you the way I like you. That would be awkward, but I want her to approve of you. It’s important to me.”
“If it’s important to you…” He shrugs. “I’ll win her over. I know how.”
“You’ve never met her.”
“I know her type.”
Chloe retrieves her crumpled dress and tries to smooth out the wrinkles. It’s no use. “I can’t wear this,” she moans as she walks into the bedroom. “What should I wear?”
“Wear red.” Clark follows her, knotting his tie has he goes. “I like red.”
“Of course you do.” She throws open the closet door. “Red and blue. Everyone knows that.”
He glances down at his suit. “I’m tired of black.”
“You never wear black.” She turns to look at him. “When was the last time you wore black?”
He pauses for a moment and then chuckles under his breath. “Probably never. I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Chloe can’t help herself. Her eyes travel over Clark, studying him as if she’s never really seen him before. “You’re in an odd mood,” she says, “ever since you got back from the store. What is it about buying nutmeg that makes you so cynical?”
“I’m not cynical,” he corrects her. “I’m appreciative.”
“I guess I can’t tell the difference.” She starts rifling through the closet trying to find the perfect dress, or at least a dress only slightly less perfect than the one she was planning to wear. “And what are you appreciating?”
“My rewards,” he answers.
“Rewards?” She pulls out a dress and considers it for a moment. It’s red, like Clark wants, but it’s a little too slutty for this occasion, so she puts it back.
“Life gives us choices,” Clark explains. “When we make the right decisions we’re rewarded and our lives get better. If we make the wrong ones we’re punished and our lives get worse.”
“Who does the punishing and rewarding?” she asks as she pushes more dresses aside.
“I don’t know.” He sits down on the bed. “The universe, I guess.”
“You’re usually not this metaphysical.” Chloe pauses to consider a work ensemble. It’s red and not slutty, but if she wears it everyone will think she’s in reporter mode. It’ll immediately put her uncle on guard and she’ll never get him tipsy enough to ask him those questions about military spending.
“Not metaphysics,” Clark says. “Quantum physics.”
“Quantum physics?” She glances over her shoulder to see Clark fiddling with the end of his tie. “Between the two of us I suppose you’re the expert. What does this have to do with quantum physics?”
“There’s a theory that anything that can possibly happen does happen,” he explains. “You’re presented with a choice and in one dimension you make the right choice. In the other you make the wrong choice.”
“I see.” She nods her head. “In another dimension there’s a Chloe who decided to wear the slutty dress.”
“You can do that in this dimension too.” Clark stands up. “Wear the slutty dress.”
“It’s the wrong decision,” she says. “I’ll be punished and my life will get worse.”
“It’s no use trying to get you to wear it then,” he moans. “You’re the Chloe who made all the right decisions.”
“That’s a nice thought.” She smiles at him. “You must be my reward.”
“And you’re mine.”
She turns to continue searching through the closet, but is stopped short by a thought. “Somewhere there’s a me who made all the wrong decisions. Her life must be miserable.”
“Yep,” Clark agrees.
“Poor alternate dimension Chloe. If she knew about me she’d hate me.”
“She’d want your life,” he says.
“What if she came here and took it?” Chloe frowns. “What would happen to me?”
“You’d be okay.” He moves closer, standing behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “You’d go to her dimension and live there.”
“That’s not fair.” She rolls her eyes. “Here she’d be, living my life, enjoying rewards she didn’t earn and I’d be getting punished for things I never did.”
“You’re the one who makes all the right decisions.” He places a warm kiss on the side of her neck. “You’d fix her world. Everything would work out.”
She turns and snakes her arms around his waist. “But you’d come save me before I had to do that, right?” she teasingly asks. “I mean, it wouldn’t take you long to realize she wasn’t me.”
“She is you,” Clark says.
“Well sure, we started out the same,” she says while she takes a step backwards, “but we’ve had very different lives. All the hardships she’s gone through, they would make her… I don’t know… cynical.”
“Or appreciative.”
Chloe freezes as she stares up into Clark’s eyes. In the back of her mind a thought is forming, a thought she doesn’t want to think.
At this moment she’s faced with a choice, to think that thought or not. The irony is no matter which decision she makes, right or wrong, there’s no way her life will improve.
“Chloe,” Clark says, “you’re shivering.”
“I’m cold,” she whispers.
His lips curve into that brilliant smile of his, but this time it doesn’t make her feel warm. “That’s because you’re standing in your underwear.” He walks towards the bedroom door. “Get dressed. My parents will be here soon.”
The End