Smallville - Chloe Sullivan/Clark Kent - 066. Rain
Title: Soaking Wet Insecurities
Fandom: Smallville
Characters: Chloe Sullivan/Clark Kent
Prompt: 066. Rain
Word Count: 2191
Rating: PG
Summary: Chloe's past thinking she's only in the middle of a serious misunderstanding, but she may be wrong.
Author's Notes: It's been a loooong dry spell, or at least it feels like it. I've had this story laying around for a couple of months, and apparently it was just what the doctor ordered to break through the dreaded writer's block. All I know is it feels good to be writing again, let me know what you think. Feedback is love. ;)
***
A month. That was all it had taken for her life to implode.
Granted, that was longer than the last time, but what she felt worst about was the fact that she had allowed a next time. She knew the hold Lana had over Clark. She knew a losing battle when she saw one and she had fought it anyway.
If she was ever going to question her sanity, the time was now.
Lightning lashed at the cityscape and thunder roared at top volume, as fat raindrops battered the windows of the Planet offices. Chloe was on the third floor making copies since the copier on her floor was broken. She was trying not to cry as she watched the machine spit out dozens of papers, and she prayed for the rain to stop. Otherwise she would get drenched when she left, on top of all the other crap she had to deal with.
Two hours before, she had caught Clark with Lana in the hallway outside his dorm room. Neither of them had seen her, and she had gone back around the corner as fast as she had come. She had known Lex and Lana's relationship was over, but she had never expected Lana to trap Clark again so soon.
When her copies were done, she gathered all the papers into a folder and started back to the basement. Most late nights she worked alone, she liked it. Now she wished there was someone else around to keep her mind off the one thing she couldn't stop thinking about.
She stomped her way to the elevator, and once she arrived at the basement she stomped her way back to her desk. She could act like a petulant five year old if she wanted to, because she was alone, angry, and so heartbroken she could hardly see straight. She was lucky she hadn't smashed something into a million pieces just to release the tension.
Chloe laid the folder on her desk and when she turned back around, Clark was standing in front of her. "God!" she yelled, clutching her chest. "You are going to kill me one of these days, Clark." One way or another, she thought.
"I'm sorry. I thought maybe you could use some coffee," he said, holding it out. "And donuts," he smiled, producing a bag from behind his back. The scowl on her face as he stood there bearing gifts wasn't exactly the welcome he had expected.
She took the coffee, telling herself she would need the caffeine to have the energy to shout everything at Clark that had been bouncing around her head for the last couple of hours. A gallon of coffee might not accomplish the task at hand, but she could only work with what she had.
Seemingly calm, she sat down at her desk and watched as Clark eyed her warily. She took a long sip as she watched him set the donuts down and lean against the desk. It should have been exactly like every other time he brought her treats late at night, mostly as an excuse to distract her from whatever work she should have been doing. It had been like that almost every time she had to work late since they got together.
That all ended tonight.
"Is there something wrong?" Clark asked as she continued to drink. She was completely silent and he started to get worried. He hoped nothing had happened to her. He worried about her working all alone in this huge place, but he never told her so. Instead, he came by with coffee and instigated makeout sessions so she wouldn't be alone.
She carefully set the coffee cup down and looked at him. She got up and stood in front of him, and he looked at her like she needed to be put away.
"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked with a frown.
"You're really not going to say anything," she said finally.
"About..." He was really lost now.
Chloe scoffed. "Clark, you are a lot of things, but I honestly never thought a liar and a cheater were two of them."
"What?" He stood up, looking totally confused.
"I knew this would happen! I always know it's going to happen, and I always dare to hope that maybe this will be the time. That maybe this time you really love me."
"I do love you, Chloe."
"But never as much as you love her, right?" she said, glaring at him. She was on a roll now and every hurt feeling he had ever inflicted came bubbling to the surface. Tears were forming against her will, and she had a strong urge to run away. But she wasn't finished yet.
"I don't understand, Chloe. I really don't know what you're talking about." He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't know how she would react.
"I saw you with Lana, Clark." The tears were falling now, and she gathered up her purse and coat. If he wasn't going to leave, she was going to have to. She felt like she was going to lose control and she wouldn't let him see it.
Realization hit him and he groaned. "Chloe, that's not what you thought it was."
"I would love to stick around and watch you bullshit your way out of this one, but my patience has officially run out. I can't live like this anymore."
She started to walk away, but he took her arm. "Don't do this. It was nothing."
"It's never nothing," she said, past the point of reason. "Not with the two of you." She looked at her arm pointedly. "Please let go of me, Clark."
"Chloe, you're not listening..."
"Let go," she said more firmly than she had thought she could manage.
He sighed, but he let go of her arm. "We should talk, Chloe."
She was already headed for the door. "I really don't think that's a good idea right now," she said as she kept walking. She couldn't believe how he never saw he was tap dancing on her heart. All she knew was that right now it felt too fragile to keep facing him.
Chloe had second thoughts about leaving when she got to the edge of the Planet's overhang and realized it was still pouring rain. "When is this damn storm gonna end?" she muttered to herself. She decided to plunge ahead and crossed the street to the parking garage, cursing the fact that she had been forced to park on the very top. Everyone but her had apparently known to expect the biggest rainstorm since Noah himself.
"This night can't get any better," she said to herself when she finally made it to her Bug, only to find Clark leaning against it. She was already soaked through, so she didn't even pretend to be in a hurry. "You have super speed, har har," she said, jingling her keys in her right hand.
"I didn't kiss Lana," he said.
"Okay, my mistake. It must have been a hallucination. I'm off my meds again," she said flatly.
"Look, I don't know what you saw, but she kissed me. I pushed her away as soon as I realized what was happening, which means you must have left pretty fast."
"Likely story," she said.
Clark scoffed. "Do you want it to be a lie, Chloe? Because it only is in your head. A place, by the way, in which I have no idea what's going on right now."
Chloe looked down, ignoring the wet hair that clung to her face. "It's just that... every time, Clark..."
"Every time, what?"
"This is how it goes down every time. I think that maybe you can love me, but she's always hanging around at the edges, waiting to swoop down and take you away from me. I can't do that again." She felt horrible saying it out loud. She hardly admitted to herself how hard it was surrendering to Clark completely. Admitting it to him was killing her.
He straightened from where he had been leaning on her car. "That's not what's going on here. That's what you're afraid of, Chloe. Do you have that little faith in me?"
The fight had almost drained out of her completely, and she looked up at him. She could feel tears in her eyes, but the only way he knew about them was the way her face crumpled.
"I guess I don't have faith in myself - to keep you."
He closed the distance between them and stood before her. "It isn't even that hard. You have me, Chloe. You'll always have me."
She was dangerously close to being a complete blubbering mess. "I still have an enormous amount of insecurities, Clark. And this whole night has just been stupid." A half laugh, half sob escaped her, and she buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. It's just... When Lana comes around these days, I get scared. Maybe you think it's stupid, but I still do."
"I don't think it's stupid. I know what I've done in the past, okay? But I've told you, I will never hurt you like that again. I don't love her, Chloe. I love you. Only you. Lana is just a memory who thinks she can get me back whenever her boyfriend of the month falls through. You don't have to be afraid of her, because you're a million times the woman she could ever be."
Chloe was really crying now, and feeling silly for her rare tantrum. There were still some things that pushed all the old buttons for her.
Clark pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment, before she sniffled slightly and looked up at him. "Why are we standing out here in the rain?" she asked.
Clark smiled. "Because we're idiots," he laughed.
"That we are," Chloe said with a faint smile. She pulled back, fumbling for her keys.
"Forget about that," he said. He picked her up in his arms. "You're soaked, and I can get you home faster. I'll come back for your car later, okay?"
She nodded, and he took off for her apartment.
When they were at the door he set her down, and she unlocked it.
"Do you want to come in? After that performance tonight, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."
"Of course I do," he said.
He followed her in and immediately went to the bathroom for towels. He slung one over his shoulder and took the other in hand, turning Chloe around and gently ringing out her hair.
"Go change before you catch pneumonia," he said.
"Yes, sir," she teased and padded to the bathroom in her damp stockings.
She peeled off her business suit, dried off, and put on a tank top and her pajama pants. She quickly dried her hair and put it in a ponytail before going back out to meet Clark.
He was dry and had hot coffee waiting on the kitchen counter for her.
"You found your extra clothes," she said, surprised he remembered she had insisted he leave a change of clothes at her place.
"Yeah. Feeling better?" he asked.
"Sort of," she said with a grimace. "I'm sorry for freaking out," she said, walking over to her couch, coffee in hand.
"It's okay. If it makes you feel any better, I definitely had no idea Lana was going to be there. She completely ambushed me outside my dorm room, and I was just going to pick up a book."
"I believe you. I still should've interrupted or said something." She sat down and Clark joined her. "I know you would never cheat on me. I can't believe I said that. There's a massive green-eyed monster lurking in there," she said.
"It just means you love me," Clark said with a smile.
She looked into his eyes. "Seriously, Clark. I do. I don't mean to be all crazy about it, but I love you so much that I can't lose you again."
"I'm not going anywhere, Chloe. I swear it. You never have to worry about that."
"Are you sick of reassurring me yet?" she smiled.
"No," he said, scooting closer. "I can think of another way though." He took her coffee from her and set it on the low table in front of the couch.
He came forward and their lips met. Chloe wound her arms around him as she kissed him back hungrily.
"Being reassurred is starting to grow on me," she said against his lips.
"I don't mind doing it," he said, pressing her into the cushions.
"Do you want to stay?" she asked softly. He had never spent the night, but she felt like she was ready.
"Really?" he said, halting his exploration of her neck and looking up at her.
"If you want to." She leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth.
"We can see what happens," he said mischievously.
"I think I should get angry at you more often," she laughed.
"I couldn't agree more."
Finis
Fandom: Smallville
Characters: Chloe Sullivan/Clark Kent
Prompt: 066. Rain
Word Count: 2191
Rating: PG
Summary: Chloe's past thinking she's only in the middle of a serious misunderstanding, but she may be wrong.
Author's Notes: It's been a loooong dry spell, or at least it feels like it. I've had this story laying around for a couple of months, and apparently it was just what the doctor ordered to break through the dreaded writer's block. All I know is it feels good to be writing again, let me know what you think. Feedback is love. ;)
***
A month. That was all it had taken for her life to implode.
Granted, that was longer than the last time, but what she felt worst about was the fact that she had allowed a next time. She knew the hold Lana had over Clark. She knew a losing battle when she saw one and she had fought it anyway.
If she was ever going to question her sanity, the time was now.
Lightning lashed at the cityscape and thunder roared at top volume, as fat raindrops battered the windows of the Planet offices. Chloe was on the third floor making copies since the copier on her floor was broken. She was trying not to cry as she watched the machine spit out dozens of papers, and she prayed for the rain to stop. Otherwise she would get drenched when she left, on top of all the other crap she had to deal with.
Two hours before, she had caught Clark with Lana in the hallway outside his dorm room. Neither of them had seen her, and she had gone back around the corner as fast as she had come. She had known Lex and Lana's relationship was over, but she had never expected Lana to trap Clark again so soon.
When her copies were done, she gathered all the papers into a folder and started back to the basement. Most late nights she worked alone, she liked it. Now she wished there was someone else around to keep her mind off the one thing she couldn't stop thinking about.
She stomped her way to the elevator, and once she arrived at the basement she stomped her way back to her desk. She could act like a petulant five year old if she wanted to, because she was alone, angry, and so heartbroken she could hardly see straight. She was lucky she hadn't smashed something into a million pieces just to release the tension.
Chloe laid the folder on her desk and when she turned back around, Clark was standing in front of her. "God!" she yelled, clutching her chest. "You are going to kill me one of these days, Clark." One way or another, she thought.
"I'm sorry. I thought maybe you could use some coffee," he said, holding it out. "And donuts," he smiled, producing a bag from behind his back. The scowl on her face as he stood there bearing gifts wasn't exactly the welcome he had expected.
She took the coffee, telling herself she would need the caffeine to have the energy to shout everything at Clark that had been bouncing around her head for the last couple of hours. A gallon of coffee might not accomplish the task at hand, but she could only work with what she had.
Seemingly calm, she sat down at her desk and watched as Clark eyed her warily. She took a long sip as she watched him set the donuts down and lean against the desk. It should have been exactly like every other time he brought her treats late at night, mostly as an excuse to distract her from whatever work she should have been doing. It had been like that almost every time she had to work late since they got together.
That all ended tonight.
"Is there something wrong?" Clark asked as she continued to drink. She was completely silent and he started to get worried. He hoped nothing had happened to her. He worried about her working all alone in this huge place, but he never told her so. Instead, he came by with coffee and instigated makeout sessions so she wouldn't be alone.
She carefully set the coffee cup down and looked at him. She got up and stood in front of him, and he looked at her like she needed to be put away.
"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked with a frown.
"You're really not going to say anything," she said finally.
"About..." He was really lost now.
Chloe scoffed. "Clark, you are a lot of things, but I honestly never thought a liar and a cheater were two of them."
"What?" He stood up, looking totally confused.
"I knew this would happen! I always know it's going to happen, and I always dare to hope that maybe this will be the time. That maybe this time you really love me."
"I do love you, Chloe."
"But never as much as you love her, right?" she said, glaring at him. She was on a roll now and every hurt feeling he had ever inflicted came bubbling to the surface. Tears were forming against her will, and she had a strong urge to run away. But she wasn't finished yet.
"I don't understand, Chloe. I really don't know what you're talking about." He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't know how she would react.
"I saw you with Lana, Clark." The tears were falling now, and she gathered up her purse and coat. If he wasn't going to leave, she was going to have to. She felt like she was going to lose control and she wouldn't let him see it.
Realization hit him and he groaned. "Chloe, that's not what you thought it was."
"I would love to stick around and watch you bullshit your way out of this one, but my patience has officially run out. I can't live like this anymore."
She started to walk away, but he took her arm. "Don't do this. It was nothing."
"It's never nothing," she said, past the point of reason. "Not with the two of you." She looked at her arm pointedly. "Please let go of me, Clark."
"Chloe, you're not listening..."
"Let go," she said more firmly than she had thought she could manage.
He sighed, but he let go of her arm. "We should talk, Chloe."
She was already headed for the door. "I really don't think that's a good idea right now," she said as she kept walking. She couldn't believe how he never saw he was tap dancing on her heart. All she knew was that right now it felt too fragile to keep facing him.
Chloe had second thoughts about leaving when she got to the edge of the Planet's overhang and realized it was still pouring rain. "When is this damn storm gonna end?" she muttered to herself. She decided to plunge ahead and crossed the street to the parking garage, cursing the fact that she had been forced to park on the very top. Everyone but her had apparently known to expect the biggest rainstorm since Noah himself.
"This night can't get any better," she said to herself when she finally made it to her Bug, only to find Clark leaning against it. She was already soaked through, so she didn't even pretend to be in a hurry. "You have super speed, har har," she said, jingling her keys in her right hand.
"I didn't kiss Lana," he said.
"Okay, my mistake. It must have been a hallucination. I'm off my meds again," she said flatly.
"Look, I don't know what you saw, but she kissed me. I pushed her away as soon as I realized what was happening, which means you must have left pretty fast."
"Likely story," she said.
Clark scoffed. "Do you want it to be a lie, Chloe? Because it only is in your head. A place, by the way, in which I have no idea what's going on right now."
Chloe looked down, ignoring the wet hair that clung to her face. "It's just that... every time, Clark..."
"Every time, what?"
"This is how it goes down every time. I think that maybe you can love me, but she's always hanging around at the edges, waiting to swoop down and take you away from me. I can't do that again." She felt horrible saying it out loud. She hardly admitted to herself how hard it was surrendering to Clark completely. Admitting it to him was killing her.
He straightened from where he had been leaning on her car. "That's not what's going on here. That's what you're afraid of, Chloe. Do you have that little faith in me?"
The fight had almost drained out of her completely, and she looked up at him. She could feel tears in her eyes, but the only way he knew about them was the way her face crumpled.
"I guess I don't have faith in myself - to keep you."
He closed the distance between them and stood before her. "It isn't even that hard. You have me, Chloe. You'll always have me."
She was dangerously close to being a complete blubbering mess. "I still have an enormous amount of insecurities, Clark. And this whole night has just been stupid." A half laugh, half sob escaped her, and she buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. It's just... When Lana comes around these days, I get scared. Maybe you think it's stupid, but I still do."
"I don't think it's stupid. I know what I've done in the past, okay? But I've told you, I will never hurt you like that again. I don't love her, Chloe. I love you. Only you. Lana is just a memory who thinks she can get me back whenever her boyfriend of the month falls through. You don't have to be afraid of her, because you're a million times the woman she could ever be."
Chloe was really crying now, and feeling silly for her rare tantrum. There were still some things that pushed all the old buttons for her.
Clark pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment, before she sniffled slightly and looked up at him. "Why are we standing out here in the rain?" she asked.
Clark smiled. "Because we're idiots," he laughed.
"That we are," Chloe said with a faint smile. She pulled back, fumbling for her keys.
"Forget about that," he said. He picked her up in his arms. "You're soaked, and I can get you home faster. I'll come back for your car later, okay?"
She nodded, and he took off for her apartment.
When they were at the door he set her down, and she unlocked it.
"Do you want to come in? After that performance tonight, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."
"Of course I do," he said.
He followed her in and immediately went to the bathroom for towels. He slung one over his shoulder and took the other in hand, turning Chloe around and gently ringing out her hair.
"Go change before you catch pneumonia," he said.
"Yes, sir," she teased and padded to the bathroom in her damp stockings.
She peeled off her business suit, dried off, and put on a tank top and her pajama pants. She quickly dried her hair and put it in a ponytail before going back out to meet Clark.
He was dry and had hot coffee waiting on the kitchen counter for her.
"You found your extra clothes," she said, surprised he remembered she had insisted he leave a change of clothes at her place.
"Yeah. Feeling better?" he asked.
"Sort of," she said with a grimace. "I'm sorry for freaking out," she said, walking over to her couch, coffee in hand.
"It's okay. If it makes you feel any better, I definitely had no idea Lana was going to be there. She completely ambushed me outside my dorm room, and I was just going to pick up a book."
"I believe you. I still should've interrupted or said something." She sat down and Clark joined her. "I know you would never cheat on me. I can't believe I said that. There's a massive green-eyed monster lurking in there," she said.
"It just means you love me," Clark said with a smile.
She looked into his eyes. "Seriously, Clark. I do. I don't mean to be all crazy about it, but I love you so much that I can't lose you again."
"I'm not going anywhere, Chloe. I swear it. You never have to worry about that."
"Are you sick of reassurring me yet?" she smiled.
"No," he said, scooting closer. "I can think of another way though." He took her coffee from her and set it on the low table in front of the couch.
He came forward and their lips met. Chloe wound her arms around him as she kissed him back hungrily.
"Being reassurred is starting to grow on me," she said against his lips.
"I don't mind doing it," he said, pressing her into the cushions.
"Do you want to stay?" she asked softly. He had never spent the night, but she felt like she was ready.
"Really?" he said, halting his exploration of her neck and looking up at her.
"If you want to." She leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth.
"We can see what happens," he said mischievously.
"I think I should get angry at you more often," she laughed.
"I couldn't agree more."
Finis