fic: learning the truth
Title: Learning the Truth
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing/Character/General Series: Lois/Tess, Chloe-Lois friendship
Rating: PG
Spoilers: set in s8
Word Count: 2002
Warnings: slash
Disclaimer: don’t own anything; all characters belong to CW/DC Comics
Summary: Lois has been disappearing a lot lately so Chloe decided to investigate. What she finds surprises her.
Author's Notes: for my 100_tales table, prompt "answers". Thanks to my beta boltgirl426!
Chloe Sullivan was on a mission: to find Lois Lane. Lately, she had only heard from her cousin when they were making wedding plans and even that was usually over the phone now. At least before, she had lived with them but Lois had moved out, claiming she wanted to give Chloe and Jimmy their privacy. While she understood and was even grateful, Chloe missed her cousin.
A part of her was also worried about Lois. There had been a few times where Lois had claimed she couldn’t meet with Chloe because she was working and then she’d later find out from Clark that her cousin hadn’t been at the Planet or doing anything journalism-related.
That left Chloe wondering what Lois was doing and why she was lying to her about it. This particular day, she had wanted to have lunch with Lois so they could catch up.
When she called Lois, the call had gone straight to voicemail. Chloe then went to the Planet, where Clark had informed her that Lois was in the hospital, having sprained her ankle chasing a lead. He had assured her that Lois was fine enough to kick him out of her hospital room, claiming that she could take care of herself, but Chloe wasn’t convinced.
Now she was driving to the hospital. Once she got there, she went straight to the front desk, asking for Lois. Much to her displeasure, she found that Lois was not there anymore.
“What do you mean she checked herself out?” Chloe said, upset.
“An ankle sprain doesn’t require a hospital stay,” the woman behind the desk, whose nametag read “Ashley”, said. “The doctor said she was good to go and she left.”
“Well, did she leave by herself?” Chloe wanted to know. After all, Lois certainly couldn’t drive with her ankle messed up.
“Ms-?”
“Sullivan,” Chloe filled in, “Chloe Sullivan- I’m her cousin.”
“Ms Sullivan,” Ashley replied, “I’m sorry but that is confidential information.”
“But I’m her cousin,” she protested, “Aren’t there exceptions for family members?”
“Not when the patient requested that her information not be revealed,” Ashley said apologetically.
Realizing she wasn’t going to get any more answers, she sighed and nodded. “Thanks anyway.”
Disappointed, she turned and was about to head toward the exit when she heard a familiar voice call her name.
“Chloe?”
Turning, she smiled when she saw Davis walking toward her.
“Davis,” she said, “Hi.”
“Hey,” he responded, smiling.
“How are you?” she asked.
“Pretty good,” he answered. “And yourself?”
“Not bad,” she said, shrugging. “I actually came here looking for Lois but it seems that she has checked herself out.”
“Ahh, yes,” Davis replied, nodding. “I remember seeing her leave just a little while ago.”
“Did you happen to notice if she was alone?” Chloe asked.
Davis’ expression turned thoughtful and then he shook his head. “No, she left with another woman … I know I’ve seen her before but I can’t remember her name.” He paused and suddenly, his eyes widened. “Oh, yeah! It was the one who took over LuthorCorp …”
“Tess Mercer?” Chloe said, her tone incredulous. What the hell is Lois doing leaving with Tess Mercer?
“Yeah, that’s her,” Davis told her, nodding.
“Was Lois leaving out of her own free will?” Chloe questioned, concerned.
“Seemed to be,” Davis responded.
Chloe frowned. She needed answers and she needed them now. But she couldn’t get them standing there.
“Thanks, Davis,” she said gratefully. “I hope you won’t get in trouble for telling me this.”
“It’d be worth it for you, Chloe,” he said warmly and Chloe barely refrained from blushing.
After exchanging quick goodbyes, she left. Her first stop, Lois’s apartment, proved to be unsuccessful. Knowing that there was only one other place that Tess would probably take her, she made the long journey back to Smallville. Light traffic allowed her to reach there in good time and she parked in front of the Luthor manor, where Tess was now residing.
Tess’ security proved to be as inept as Lex’s and she managed to get around them easily. Her first stop was the office and that was where she found Tess.
The other woman didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see her and if she was, she did a good job of hiding it.
“Ms Sullivan,” came the greeting, “Do you make it a habit of barging into other people’s home? From what I’ve heard, your best friend tends to do the same thing.”
“Where’s Lois?” Chloe demanded, ignoring Tess’s comments.
“Excuse me?” Tess said, raising an eyebrow.
“I know that you checked Lois out of the hospital,” Chloe accused, “And I want to see my cousin.”
“Lois is resting,” Tess said firmly, “As you know, she was injured and I would prefer not to disturb her. She’s just fine.”
“I’d like to see for myself she’s all right, thank you very much,” Chloe retorted.
“Do you think I kidnapped her and forced her here?” Tess questioned, smirking.
“Considering who you were trained by, I wouldn’t put it past you,” she shot back. “Lex wasn’t exactly known for his morals.”
“Clearly stubbornness is a family trait,” Tess commented. If Chloe didn’t know better, she would swear there was affection in Tess’s voice.
“Follow me,” Tess commanded and Chloe did just that. She was led to a bedroom, where Tess stopped her. “Stay here.”
Tess stepped in and shut the door behind her but Chloe wasn’t going to wait around. She opened the door slightly and peeked in. What she saw almost caused her to gasp. Lois was lying on the bed, fast asleep, and Tess was watching her, almost tenderly. It was almost like the other woman did a 180.
Then Tess leaned over, whispered in Lois’s ear and her cousin stirred. Seeing Tess, Lois beamed and at that moment, Chloe knew she wasn’t in danger. It had been a long time since Lois had smiled like that at anyone. But now she was getting a feeling that Lois and Tess had more than a boss/employee relationship. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but her suspicions were confirmed when Tess leaned over and kissed Lois.
I did not see that one coming. Now she wanted answers more than ever. But she closed the door and backed away, waiting for Tess to return. She wasn’t waiting long.
Tess reappeared and smirked at Chloe. “She’s awake now.”
Chloe nodded and was about to enter when Tess caught her attention once more. “You know, Ms Sullivan, if you ever think about coming back to journalism, the Planet could use your nosiness.”
“It’s Chloe,” she said, surprising both of them. “If you’re going to be in a relationship with my cousin, which I think you are, you’re going to have to call me by my first name.” Chloe pressed her lips together. “You seem to make Lois happy so I may have been wrong about you but here’s an early warning: if you ever hurt her …” She let her words drift off, the warning unspoken.
“Warning heeded,” Tess said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Apparently protectiveness is a family trait too. Spend as much time as you want.” Turning on her heel, Tess walked away.
Shaking her head, Chloe walked into the room and smiled at her cousin.
“Tess told me you were here,” Lois remarked, as she made her way to her side and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah, I figured,” Chloe replied. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your nap … I haven’t seen you in a while and when I heard that you left the hospital with Tess, I don’t know … I was just …”
“Worried that she kidnapped and was holding me against my will?” Lois finished, grinning.
Chloe blushed. “Can you blame me? Up till about five minutes ago, I only thought she was your boss and it didn’t seem like typical boss behavior.”
Lois laughed at that. “Yeah, I guess if the situation was reversed, I would have reacted the same way.”
“You know you would’ve,” Chloe corrected. The girls exchanged smiles. There was silence for a few minutes before Chloe hesitatingly asked, “So … you and Tess, huh? How long?”
She saw her cousin bite her lower lip, anxiety entering her expression, before responding. “It’s pretty new actually,” Lois admitted, “Just a little under a month.”
“When you said that you were working, you were really with her, weren’t you?” Chloe asked, knowing the answer, but needing the confirmation anyway. After Lois slightly nodded, she went on, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure how to,” Lois admitted. “I didn’t want you to see me any differently …”
“Why would I see you any differently?” Chloe questioned.
“Well, there is the fact that I’m dating another woman,” Lois pointed out.
“That did come as a surprise,” Chloe agreed. “I didn’t even know you were …”
“Bisexual?” Lois suggested. “Yeah, I did a little experimenting in college but I’ve never felt like this before Tess.” Holding her head up proudly, she added, “And I don’t care what anyone says … what Tess and I have is real.”
Taking Lois’ hand and squeezing it, Chloe smiled warmly. “Do you think that I would judge you?”
At her words, Lois seemed to deflate. Lowering her eyes, she sighed. “It’s just … I’ve done this before …”
“Done what before?” Chloe asked.
“Dated my boss,” Lois muttered, “And I know you weren’t too thrilled when you found out about Grant. I guess I thought you would react the same way. I didn’t want you to think I was some sort of …”
“Some sort of what?” Chloe prompted, frowning a little. She had no idea that her opinion meant so much to Lois. Then again, beneath that tough girl exterior, Lois was quite vulnerable, especially when it came to people she cared about.
“Slut.” The answer was so soft that Chloe barely heard it, but she did and within seconds, she was hugging Lois tightly.
“Hey, don’t you ever call yourself that, got it?” Chloe said, her throat unexpectedly tightening, “I would never think that about you … and I’m sorry I ever made you feel that way. The only reason I was worried about Grant is because I didn’t want your reputation to suffer; you finally had a career that you loved and I didn’t want anything to jeopardize that.”
“I know,” Lois replied, half-smiling. “I guess I was being silly.”
“No, I should’ve gone about it a better way,” Chloe remarked. “Besides, you’re an adult and you can make your own decisions …”
“You just care about my well being,” Lois interrupted, “It’s what you do. I just didn’t want to disappoint you, that’s all.”
“You never will,” Chloe promised. “You’re my cousin and I love you. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. Are you happy?”
“Very,” Lois assured her.
“Good,” Chloe responded. “You know, if she’s going to be a part of your life, I should get to know her. Maybe the three of us could have dinner sometime or something?”
Lois’s face lit up. “Yeah, that would be nice.” She paused and added, “Also, the two of us should hang out … like a spa weekend or whatever … it really has been a while.”
“I’d like that,” Chloe said warmly. “So tell me … how did you and Tess get together?”
“You really want to know?” Lois asked, hope clear in her voice.
“Yes,” Chloe said honestly. Seeing the genuineness in her tone and expression, Lois smiled.
“Okay,” she started. “It all began when I was working late one day …”
Chloe listened quietly as her cousin launched enthusiastically into a story.
This really hadn’t been what she was expecting when she came to look for Lois, but she thanked the stars that her cousin was not only okay, but she was happy.
And like Chloe told Lois, that was all that mattered.
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing/Character/General Series: Lois/Tess, Chloe-Lois friendship
Rating: PG
Spoilers: set in s8
Word Count: 2002
Warnings: slash
Disclaimer: don’t own anything; all characters belong to CW/DC Comics
Summary: Lois has been disappearing a lot lately so Chloe decided to investigate. What she finds surprises her.
Author's Notes: for my 100_tales table, prompt "answers". Thanks to my beta boltgirl426!
Chloe Sullivan was on a mission: to find Lois Lane. Lately, she had only heard from her cousin when they were making wedding plans and even that was usually over the phone now. At least before, she had lived with them but Lois had moved out, claiming she wanted to give Chloe and Jimmy their privacy. While she understood and was even grateful, Chloe missed her cousin.
A part of her was also worried about Lois. There had been a few times where Lois had claimed she couldn’t meet with Chloe because she was working and then she’d later find out from Clark that her cousin hadn’t been at the Planet or doing anything journalism-related.
That left Chloe wondering what Lois was doing and why she was lying to her about it. This particular day, she had wanted to have lunch with Lois so they could catch up.
When she called Lois, the call had gone straight to voicemail. Chloe then went to the Planet, where Clark had informed her that Lois was in the hospital, having sprained her ankle chasing a lead. He had assured her that Lois was fine enough to kick him out of her hospital room, claiming that she could take care of herself, but Chloe wasn’t convinced.
Now she was driving to the hospital. Once she got there, she went straight to the front desk, asking for Lois. Much to her displeasure, she found that Lois was not there anymore.
“What do you mean she checked herself out?” Chloe said, upset.
“An ankle sprain doesn’t require a hospital stay,” the woman behind the desk, whose nametag read “Ashley”, said. “The doctor said she was good to go and she left.”
“Well, did she leave by herself?” Chloe wanted to know. After all, Lois certainly couldn’t drive with her ankle messed up.
“Ms-?”
“Sullivan,” Chloe filled in, “Chloe Sullivan- I’m her cousin.”
“Ms Sullivan,” Ashley replied, “I’m sorry but that is confidential information.”
“But I’m her cousin,” she protested, “Aren’t there exceptions for family members?”
“Not when the patient requested that her information not be revealed,” Ashley said apologetically.
Realizing she wasn’t going to get any more answers, she sighed and nodded. “Thanks anyway.”
Disappointed, she turned and was about to head toward the exit when she heard a familiar voice call her name.
“Chloe?”
Turning, she smiled when she saw Davis walking toward her.
“Davis,” she said, “Hi.”
“Hey,” he responded, smiling.
“How are you?” she asked.
“Pretty good,” he answered. “And yourself?”
“Not bad,” she said, shrugging. “I actually came here looking for Lois but it seems that she has checked herself out.”
“Ahh, yes,” Davis replied, nodding. “I remember seeing her leave just a little while ago.”
“Did you happen to notice if she was alone?” Chloe asked.
Davis’ expression turned thoughtful and then he shook his head. “No, she left with another woman … I know I’ve seen her before but I can’t remember her name.” He paused and suddenly, his eyes widened. “Oh, yeah! It was the one who took over LuthorCorp …”
“Tess Mercer?” Chloe said, her tone incredulous. What the hell is Lois doing leaving with Tess Mercer?
“Yeah, that’s her,” Davis told her, nodding.
“Was Lois leaving out of her own free will?” Chloe questioned, concerned.
“Seemed to be,” Davis responded.
Chloe frowned. She needed answers and she needed them now. But she couldn’t get them standing there.
“Thanks, Davis,” she said gratefully. “I hope you won’t get in trouble for telling me this.”
“It’d be worth it for you, Chloe,” he said warmly and Chloe barely refrained from blushing.
After exchanging quick goodbyes, she left. Her first stop, Lois’s apartment, proved to be unsuccessful. Knowing that there was only one other place that Tess would probably take her, she made the long journey back to Smallville. Light traffic allowed her to reach there in good time and she parked in front of the Luthor manor, where Tess was now residing.
Tess’ security proved to be as inept as Lex’s and she managed to get around them easily. Her first stop was the office and that was where she found Tess.
The other woman didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see her and if she was, she did a good job of hiding it.
“Ms Sullivan,” came the greeting, “Do you make it a habit of barging into other people’s home? From what I’ve heard, your best friend tends to do the same thing.”
“Where’s Lois?” Chloe demanded, ignoring Tess’s comments.
“Excuse me?” Tess said, raising an eyebrow.
“I know that you checked Lois out of the hospital,” Chloe accused, “And I want to see my cousin.”
“Lois is resting,” Tess said firmly, “As you know, she was injured and I would prefer not to disturb her. She’s just fine.”
“I’d like to see for myself she’s all right, thank you very much,” Chloe retorted.
“Do you think I kidnapped her and forced her here?” Tess questioned, smirking.
“Considering who you were trained by, I wouldn’t put it past you,” she shot back. “Lex wasn’t exactly known for his morals.”
“Clearly stubbornness is a family trait,” Tess commented. If Chloe didn’t know better, she would swear there was affection in Tess’s voice.
“Follow me,” Tess commanded and Chloe did just that. She was led to a bedroom, where Tess stopped her. “Stay here.”
Tess stepped in and shut the door behind her but Chloe wasn’t going to wait around. She opened the door slightly and peeked in. What she saw almost caused her to gasp. Lois was lying on the bed, fast asleep, and Tess was watching her, almost tenderly. It was almost like the other woman did a 180.
Then Tess leaned over, whispered in Lois’s ear and her cousin stirred. Seeing Tess, Lois beamed and at that moment, Chloe knew she wasn’t in danger. It had been a long time since Lois had smiled like that at anyone. But now she was getting a feeling that Lois and Tess had more than a boss/employee relationship. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but her suspicions were confirmed when Tess leaned over and kissed Lois.
I did not see that one coming. Now she wanted answers more than ever. But she closed the door and backed away, waiting for Tess to return. She wasn’t waiting long.
Tess reappeared and smirked at Chloe. “She’s awake now.”
Chloe nodded and was about to enter when Tess caught her attention once more. “You know, Ms Sullivan, if you ever think about coming back to journalism, the Planet could use your nosiness.”
“It’s Chloe,” she said, surprising both of them. “If you’re going to be in a relationship with my cousin, which I think you are, you’re going to have to call me by my first name.” Chloe pressed her lips together. “You seem to make Lois happy so I may have been wrong about you but here’s an early warning: if you ever hurt her …” She let her words drift off, the warning unspoken.
“Warning heeded,” Tess said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Apparently protectiveness is a family trait too. Spend as much time as you want.” Turning on her heel, Tess walked away.
Shaking her head, Chloe walked into the room and smiled at her cousin.
“Tess told me you were here,” Lois remarked, as she made her way to her side and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah, I figured,” Chloe replied. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your nap … I haven’t seen you in a while and when I heard that you left the hospital with Tess, I don’t know … I was just …”
“Worried that she kidnapped and was holding me against my will?” Lois finished, grinning.
Chloe blushed. “Can you blame me? Up till about five minutes ago, I only thought she was your boss and it didn’t seem like typical boss behavior.”
Lois laughed at that. “Yeah, I guess if the situation was reversed, I would have reacted the same way.”
“You know you would’ve,” Chloe corrected. The girls exchanged smiles. There was silence for a few minutes before Chloe hesitatingly asked, “So … you and Tess, huh? How long?”
She saw her cousin bite her lower lip, anxiety entering her expression, before responding. “It’s pretty new actually,” Lois admitted, “Just a little under a month.”
“When you said that you were working, you were really with her, weren’t you?” Chloe asked, knowing the answer, but needing the confirmation anyway. After Lois slightly nodded, she went on, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure how to,” Lois admitted. “I didn’t want you to see me any differently …”
“Why would I see you any differently?” Chloe questioned.
“Well, there is the fact that I’m dating another woman,” Lois pointed out.
“That did come as a surprise,” Chloe agreed. “I didn’t even know you were …”
“Bisexual?” Lois suggested. “Yeah, I did a little experimenting in college but I’ve never felt like this before Tess.” Holding her head up proudly, she added, “And I don’t care what anyone says … what Tess and I have is real.”
Taking Lois’ hand and squeezing it, Chloe smiled warmly. “Do you think that I would judge you?”
At her words, Lois seemed to deflate. Lowering her eyes, she sighed. “It’s just … I’ve done this before …”
“Done what before?” Chloe asked.
“Dated my boss,” Lois muttered, “And I know you weren’t too thrilled when you found out about Grant. I guess I thought you would react the same way. I didn’t want you to think I was some sort of …”
“Some sort of what?” Chloe prompted, frowning a little. She had no idea that her opinion meant so much to Lois. Then again, beneath that tough girl exterior, Lois was quite vulnerable, especially when it came to people she cared about.
“Slut.” The answer was so soft that Chloe barely heard it, but she did and within seconds, she was hugging Lois tightly.
“Hey, don’t you ever call yourself that, got it?” Chloe said, her throat unexpectedly tightening, “I would never think that about you … and I’m sorry I ever made you feel that way. The only reason I was worried about Grant is because I didn’t want your reputation to suffer; you finally had a career that you loved and I didn’t want anything to jeopardize that.”
“I know,” Lois replied, half-smiling. “I guess I was being silly.”
“No, I should’ve gone about it a better way,” Chloe remarked. “Besides, you’re an adult and you can make your own decisions …”
“You just care about my well being,” Lois interrupted, “It’s what you do. I just didn’t want to disappoint you, that’s all.”
“You never will,” Chloe promised. “You’re my cousin and I love you. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. Are you happy?”
“Very,” Lois assured her.
“Good,” Chloe responded. “You know, if she’s going to be a part of your life, I should get to know her. Maybe the three of us could have dinner sometime or something?”
Lois’s face lit up. “Yeah, that would be nice.” She paused and added, “Also, the two of us should hang out … like a spa weekend or whatever … it really has been a while.”
“I’d like that,” Chloe said warmly. “So tell me … how did you and Tess get together?”
“You really want to know?” Lois asked, hope clear in her voice.
“Yes,” Chloe said honestly. Seeing the genuineness in her tone and expression, Lois smiled.
“Okay,” she started. “It all began when I was working late one day …”
Chloe listened quietly as her cousin launched enthusiastically into a story.
This really hadn’t been what she was expecting when she came to look for Lois, but she thanked the stars that her cousin was not only okay, but she was happy.
And like Chloe told Lois, that was all that mattered.