Fanfiction for the_fallen_sky: The Secrets She Keeps, Chapter 3

[babydee1]

Title:               The Secrets She Keeps

For:                 The Fallen Sky
Pairing:           Chlark

Rating:            NC17

Timeline:        Season 6; after Wither

Disclaimer:     Not my characters (they belong to CW & DC comics), just doing this for fun, etc.

Summary:      Clark catches Chloe in a very embarrassing position. Literally.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



Chapter 3

The moment Clark’s mouth touched hers, Chloe felt like she’d been transported to an alternate plane of existence.  Memories of their passionate kiss on Dark Thursday swirled in her head, along with every sensation and emotion that Clark had ever aroused in her, making her head spin.

His fingers sifted gently though her hair, angling her face as his kiss grew more urgent and demanding.   Her lips parted under the pressure of his and his tongue slipped into her mouth and slid smoothly over hers, seeking a response.

And she wanted to, she really did; but as much as she was enjoying the kiss, that little warning bell in the back of her head began to peal and wouldn't quit ringing.

Just a few short weeks ago, he'd been pining for Lana, her rational brain warned. So why is he here now, kissing me?

Maybe because he wants to? her heart supplied.

Clark must have picked up on the distraction of her inner musings, because his right hand slowly stroked her from her hair all the way down her back, finally cupping a handful of her derriere and squeezing gently.

Despite her best efforts to remain unaffected, Chloe felt her knees weaken as a slow curl of heat pooled in her groin.  Stay focused, she reprimanded herself.  Her body already thrummed from unfulfilled desire, and the last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself in front of Clark again.  He’d already caught her masturbating; if she had an orgasm in his arms as well, she’d never live it down.

And she still didn’t know exactly why he was here.

She gently pressed a hand in the centre of his chest, and he lifted his head and stared into her eyes.

“That’s what I wanted to do to you,” he managed, breathing raggedly.

She maintained a calm exterior and raised a curious brow.  “So you were coming over here to kiss me?”

He nodded.  “Um… yeah, I guess.”

“Nice try.”  She left the circle of his arms, strode over to the apartment door and held it open.  “Get out.”

He blinked, surprised.  “Wait, what?”

“You are some piece of work, Clark, you know that?”

Bewilderment furled his brow.  “I don’t understand…”

“You know what? I blame myself,” she said bitterly.  “If I hadn’t been so goddamned stupid -”

“Chloe, what are you talking about?”

“You come over here and see me calling your name and - and doing stuff,” she said, reddening, “…and all of a sudden, you want to kiss me?” She shook her head.  “I get that with your potentially hazardous abilities, you must be super-sexually frustrated and all, but to use someone you call your friend to get off is reprehensible, Clark!”

“Wait a minute - you think I’m using you?” he said incredulously.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” she challenged.  “Passion borne of opportunity, nothing more.”

“No,” he said emphatically, his eyes darkening.  “No, you are so wrong.”

“I don’t have to listen to this.”  She gestured to the open door.  “Whenever you’re ready, Clark.”

He muttered something unsavoury under his breath and headed towards the door, but when he reached her, he gripped the door handle and pushed the door shut.

“We need to talk,” he said flatly.

“I’ve said all I want to say.”

“You’re not listening to me!”

“Because you’re lying to me!”

“I am not!  I wasn’t using you Chloe, I swear!”

“So why now?” she asked.  “What’s changed, Clark?  Why kiss me now, why today?”

“Because I want to!” he bellowed.  “Because I've always wanted to.”

“No you haven't,” she scoffed, waving a finger in his face.  “You've had your head up Lana's ass for the last five years, and you know it!”

He sighed and his shoulders sagged.  “That much is true.”

“So I was right,” she said numbly.  “This kiss was just one of opportunity.”

“Like that kiss you gave me on Dark Thursday?” he said silkily.

Oh, snap.  “It wasn't like that!” she said, immediately defensive.

“So how was it, then?” he challenged.

Chloe bit her lip and kept silent.  She wasn’t going to give Clark any more of her heart, and if she told the truth about that kiss, there would be no going back.

“I'll tell you what I thought it was like,” he continued, his expression softening. “When the world is falling down around you, a strange thing happens; it hard-wires you to focus on what's important, what really matters to you. That's what I thought that kiss was.  Am I right?”

She swallowed and managed a nonchalant shrug.  “Doesn't matter. I'm not the one you really want, anyway.”

“I'm not so sure about that.  I came back for you, didn't I?”

Her heart leapt with hope, but still she kept her feelings under wraps.

“I came back to the Planet for you,” he repeated.  “You're the one who brushed off our kiss like it was nothing, and proceeded to walk off with Jimmy Olsen without a backward glance.  Do you have any idea how much that still stings?”

If there was one thing she knew well, it was the pain of rejection.  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “I didn’t know you felt like that.”

“Well, I did.  You left with Jimmy, and I thought maybe I'd got it wrong, that you didn't really want me, after all,” he finished.  “So I backed off.”

He took her hands and led her to sit on the couch.

“Anyway, those are my thoughts on Dark Thursday,” he said.  “Now I want to hear yours.  Why did you brush off our kiss like that?”

She lowered her gaze to their joined hands, still very apprehensive about baring her soul to him.

“Hey,” he said softly, stroking her cheek.  “You know I won’t judge you, right?”

“I know but…” she drew in a shuddering breath.  “It’s really personal.”

He smiled.  “After what I saw and heard when I walked in here, I can handle personal.”  He paused and stroked her hair.  “Well, Chloe?  Why did you walk away from me after Dark Thursday?”

Chloe’s shoulders drooped, and she shook her head.  “I was just… tired. Tired of wanting you for so long and never getting noticed by you, so I decided to pay attention to the one person who did. That's all Jimmy's ever been, really; someone who isn't you, and could hopefully help me forget you.”

He swallowed.  “And our kiss?”

“It dredged up every single feeling I’ve ever had for you, and that terrified me,” she whispered.  “I couldn't face another rejection after that, I just couldn't; so I got in there first and dismissed it on my terms.  The rest is history.”

“But I wasn't there to let you down, Chloe, I was there to tell you how I really feel, and what you really mean to me. See, before the kiss, the last thing you said to me was that you might never see me again, and that really put things in perspective for me.”

Chloe frowned and tilted her head.  “In what way?”

Clark smiled.  “It’s quite simple, really; I love you.”

-----

Those was the last three words she’d ever expected to hear from Clark Kent.  Not when he’d spent five long years saying them about another woman.

Chloe’s shoulders sagged, and the careful bubble of hope she’d been floating in popped almost instantly.

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed, and shot to her feet, desperate to put some distance between them.  “There are easier ways to get laid, Clark.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, you’re doing it again!” he yelled.  “I pour my heart out to you, and you accuse me of using you?”

“You’ve never wanted me before today, Clark!  What am I supposed to think?”

“That I love you!” he shouted, startling her.  “That’s what you’re supposed to think when someone kisses you like I just kissed you, Chloe.  That maybe, just maybe, I’m falling in love with you!”

She paled.  “Are you serious?”

He took a deep breath.  “I think I love you,” he said quietly.  “No, I don’t think; I know.  I’m done with being cautious.”  He lifted his head and stared squarely into her eyes.  “I love you, Chloe.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I think you do,” he said quietly, folding his arms and getting to his feet.  “I think you love me too, and it scares you a little.”

“Why - why would you think that?” she asked hesitantly, inching away from him as he slowly advanced.

“Because I’ve spent the better part of the last few years trying to pretend I wasn’t attracted you, but ever since we kissed on Dark Thursday, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head,” he replied with a smile.  He stopped in front of her and she leaned back against the wall for support.

“Well, you know,” she said lamely, waving her hand with a shaky laugh.  “That was just-”

“Stop it.”

She blinked.  “Stop what?”

“Stop trying to explain the kiss away like it was nothing,” he said firmly.  “I’m onto you now, Chloe.  That hand thing you do?  You do it every time things start to get serious between us.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Yes, you do,” he challenged, smiling.  “You did it after the tornado. ‘I think we should just be really good friends,’ dismissive hand wave.  ‘It was the end of the world, it meant nothing,’ dismissive hand wave.  ‘I’m not expecting us to hook up or anything,’ dismissive hand wave.  See a pattern forming here?”

She reddened and lowered her gaze.  “I didn’t want you to feel pressured into dating me after the tornado,” she whispered.  “If you really wanted to be with me, you would have fought for me.  But you didn’t, so…”

“Oh, Chloe.”  He reached for her trembling hand and squeezed it gently.  “Do you have any idea how hard it is for us guys to work up the courage to ask a girl out?”

She shook her head.  “No.”

“Well, I’ll tell you now: it’s terrifying,” he clarified.  “Our palms sweat, our hearts thump; we’re full of hope and yet braced for rejection at the same time.  And if we make a move, and a girl says no, we take her at her word.  No means no, and all that.”

“Oh,” she said blankly.  “I never thought of it that way before; I just… well, I figured you really wanted Lana.”

He regarded her warily.  “Do you know why I dated Lana?”

“Other than the fact that you were utterly and completely obsessed with her?” she said with mock sweetness, and he chuckled.

“I was a kid with a crush on a pretty girl,” he replied with an embarrassed smile.  “And for the record, I went out with her because unlike you, she said yes.”

“Oh.  So, you’re saying you’re actually… into me?” she asked wondrously.

He took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.  “Yes, Chloe.  I am.”

“And that was before you caught me…” she blushed, and he smiled and nodded.

“Yes, long before that,” he replied.  “I wanted to say something when I got back from the Phantom Zone, but I thought you wanted to be with Jimmy.”

“I thought you wanted to be with Lana!” she exclaimed.

“After Dark Thursday and That Kiss, I haven’t given Lana a passing thought.”  He framed her face with his hands.  “Chloe, I honestly thought I might die without ever seeing you again, and all I would have of you was that kiss.”

“Oh, God,” she said tremulously.  “I felt that way, too.”

“I just kept thinking of everything we’ve been through since the day we met; everything we’ve shared, and how we’re always there for each other, no matter what… and then it hit me.”  He rested his forehead against hers.  “I love you, Chloe.  And I know you love me, too.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she smiled.  “Yeah, I do.  And not just for self-pleasuring purposes…” she trailed off, red-faced.

He chuckled and hugged her tight.  “I know, I know.  You and I go way deeper than that, always have.”

He held her face and kissed her again, hot steamy kisses that stirred her to the depth of her soul and activated all the pleasure points in her body.  She didn’t even notice when she clenched her thighs together, shifting restlessly as the ache between her legs returned in full force.

But Clark clearly did.  “So, you were doing something earlier which I kind of interrupted…” he began.

“Oh, please, don’t remind me!” she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her face with her hands.

He smiled.  “Actually, I feel pretty bad about…well, the fact that you never got to finish.”

She peeked through her fingers.  “Yeah; and…?”

He swallowed hard.  “…And I was thinking I could, um… well… make it up to you, or something.”  His face was as red as a beetroot, but the thick ridge branding her thigh with its steely heat was completely unapologetic.

Still, she liked seeing him squirm in embarrassment.  “And how were you planning to do that?” she asked silkily.

His eyes darkened with lust, and the hand at her waist moved as he slowly trailed a finger along the elastic waistband of her pyjama pants.  “How about I pick up where you left off?” he whispered.

-----

Chapter 4