Title: How Far We’ve Come
Fandom: Smallville
Prompt: 19 “friends”
Pairing/Characters: Chloe-Clark friendship, Clark/Lois, Chloe/Oliver
Rating: G
Word Count: 908
Spoilers: vague season 8; AU
Summary: future fic; Chloe and Clark have a weekly ritual.
A/N: For my
50ficlets table “Hey, Chlo, sorry I’m late.”
Chloe smiled at her best friend as he took the seat opposite of her.
“Don’t worry about it, Clark,” she assured him. “I just got here. Want to get our drinks?”
“You sit, I’ll take care of it,” Clark offered, smiling. “Your usual?”
“Actually, no,” Chloe said, “Could you get me a passion brewed tea?”
“You’re drinking tea?” Clark teased. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Chloe?”
“I’ll let you know later,” she promised and he nodded, heading to the counter. Chloe knew that Clark was going to hold her to that.
Relaxing in the booth, she smiled. Coming to this cafe every Wednesday was a bit of a tradition between them. It had first started right after Chloe moved to Star City. It was not easy on either one of them, as both Chloe and Clark were used to seeing each other on a daily basis.
Then they came up with a solution: that they’d see each other at least once a week, no matter how busy their schedules were. A few weeks in a row, it had been on a Wednesday, with both of them meeting for coffee while catching up and noticing the pattern, they decided that it worked. Plus, they both particularly enjoyed this one café, which reminded them a lot of the Talon.
Chloe was snapped out of her thoughts as a cup of tea was placed in front of her.
“Thanks, Clark,” Chloe said and Clark just smiled at her. “So, did you have a last minute save to make before you got here?” she teased, making sure to lower her voice as she said it. Ever since Clark accepted his destiny and started saving the world as “Superman”, he had been busy at all hours. But she was proud of him and knew that he too was happy with his decision.
“Something like that,” Clark replied, “Actually, Lois had a craving …”
“How is she doing?” Chloe asked.
“She’s good,” Clark told her, his eyes lighting up as they always did whenever his wife was mentioned. “I think she’s a little jealous that I get to see you more than she does though.”
At that, Chloe laughed. Lois had been extremely vocal in her objections to Chloe leaving Metropolis, but she promised that her cousin could visit any time she wanted and that she would do the same. That appeased Lois slightly and the brunette had visited Star City plenty since, but at the moment, she was eight months pregnant and even though she had no objections to traveling, Clark was not as willing to take that risk. Lois ended up giving in; how Clark managed to get her to do that, Chloe didn’t know, but it was definitely impressive.
“Maybe Oliver and I will make a trip to Metropolis over the weekend,” Chloe mused aloud. She really did miss Lois.
“That would be great,” Clark said enthusiastically. “I’m sure Lois would love to see you and it’d be nice to spend more time together.” He paused. “How is Oliver anyway?”
“He’s dong well.” Now it was Chloe’s turn to beam, talking about her husband. Ever since she lost Jimmy, she never thought that she’d find love again, but she was given a second chance at love, which came in the form of Oliver Queen. They had actually hooked up at Clark and Lois’s wedding, fulfilling the ultimate cliché of the best man sleeping with the maid of honor.
Unlike other one-night stands though, theirs had turned into a full-blown relationship and less than two years later, they were married. And Chloe was happy.
They continued to chat about their lives for a while. Clark watched her as she drank her tea, and she knew that questions were at the tip of his tongue.
“Go ahead, ask,” Chloe said.
“All right,” Clark replied. “If you’re offering … what’s with the tea? And you did promise me an explanation.”
“Okay,” Chloe said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s just say that I’m not allowed to have coffee for the next nine months …”
“Nine months?” Clark repeated, and then his eyes widened as the truth dawned on him. “Are you saying …”
“I’m pregnant,” Chloe confessed, “I just found out … other than Ollie, you’re the first one to know.”
“Oh, Chloe,” Clark said warmly. He stood up and gave her a hug. “Congratulations! That’s fantastic.”
“Thanks,” she said, standing to hug him back. “Ollie and I are really excited.”
They sat back down and he grinned cheekily. “So no coffee, huh?”
“Yeah, now I know what Lois was complaining about,” Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes.
“Speaking of Lois, you know that she’s going to be pissed when she finds out that you told me before her, right?” Clark said, only half-joking.
“Yeah, I figured before you left, we can pick up her favorite cake from that bakery she likes,” Chloe said, smiling. “That way, when I call, we’ll be ready.”
“Bribery, huh?” Clark replied. “I think that’d work.” He glanced at his watch. “Wanna go get that cake now?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Chloe agreed, getting up. As they walked out the door, she turned to Clark, smiling. He grinned back.
Their lives had changed a lot since they first met, but she was glad that they were still friends. And in her deepest of hearts, she knew they always would be.