Stronghold

Title: Stronghold
Rating: PG
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chlark friendship
Spoilers/Timeline: Post-Wrath vignette
Disclaimer: I own very little, certainly not these characters. Please don’t sue!
Author’s Note: I actually liked this episode, minus the cheesy sex, but the lack of continuity in Lara was jarring. This was my first attempt at a transition. Call it a character study.

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He can’t take the desperation in her eyes, and he can’t give her the answer she wants. Not now.

Hurting, and more than a little confused, he seeks out the one who has always righted the world when Lana or Lex turn it on its ears.

He left her at the ISIS Foundation, so he starts his search there. The rooms are dark. The monitors all display snow. Cursors blink on blank computer screens.

He wants to smile at the fact that he finds her at The Planet, but she’s staring off into space and chewing on her lip thoughtfully. He approaches warily.

“Chlo?”

Her eyes are misted, and she hides a sniffle as she turns back to her computer screen. She flashes a too-bright smile.

“Hey, Clark. How’d it go with Lex?”

He can almost see the walls go up, and for the first time since Lana moved in, he considers looking beyond the façade. The women in his life seem to be surprising him a lot lately, but if there is anyone he can trust, it’s Chloe Sullivan.

“He’s not going to press charges.” He places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong, Chlo?”

Her hand covers his in an automatic gesture. Even as he craves the comfort, he wonders whether she’ll ever let anyone ease her burden. “I’m just worried.”

“About Lana? I wouldn’t worry. It looks like Lex shut her down pretty thoroughly.”

She looks away, worrying at her lip again. “Actually? That was kind of me.”

“You did that?” He can’t help but be a little impressed, and the familiar pride warms him. Given the fact that Lana still had her powers at the time and seemed to have no qualms about squashing people like bugs, her sabotage took guts.

She blows out a breath, and looks miserable. “Yeah. I just finished wiping any trace of the ISIS Foundation off the Internet. I don’t know why Lana was making contact with the meteor infected, but I can’t shake the feeling that the fewer people who walk through those doors, the better.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that, so he pulls up a chair beside her and sits. He has enough doubts of his own, and he doesn’t want to share.

“Enough about me. How are you doing, Clark? This can’t be easy on you.”

There she is again, offering comfort without a thought to her own needs. He covers her tiny hand with his and threads their fingers together.

“You know, I learned something about myself tonight.”

“You did?”

“Yep. My parents raised me to make the right decisions, but I wouldn’t be half the man I’ve become without you, Chloe.”

She smiles and rolls her eyes. He leans in to make his point.

“I’m serious. My mother and father showed me how to make the right decisions, but you’ve always shown me why. Even without powers, you’re a hero.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see what I become now that I have them.”

He squeezes her hand softly. “No, Chlo. You are the strongest, most caring person I know, and your gift fits you. Nothing can take that away from you.”

She shakes her head, but knows better than to voice her disagreement.

“It’s funny. Isis was the Egyptian goddess of fertility, light, and beauty. Her sister, Nephthys, was the goddess of night, infertility, and rebirth through death.”

He’s not sure how to safely respond to that.

“Remind you of anyone?”

“Is that how you see yourself, Chlo?”

“Well, Lana and I are the same age, and I don’t think she’s spent more than a month out of a relationship since I’ve known her. I, on the other hand, have had exactly one serious relationship in my lifetime, and that’s over. I’m practically married to my career, which seems to be quickly withering on the vine. I don’t see bouncing babies in my future.

“Lana’s your soulmate, and I’m your protector, the roles played by Isis and Nephthys for Osiris.”

“You’ve had boyfriends, Chlo. You’re one of the most vibrant, alive people I know.”

“I don’t count meteor freaks who turn on me within a few weeks, and don’t you mistake caffeine for sunshine. I’m obviously not much to write home over, or I wouldn’t be the last person everyone notices.”

Her self-effacing grin breaks his heart. “I always thought you knew…”

“Knew what?”

“That you’re beautiful.”

“Please, Clark. I appreciate the attempt, but I figured out a long time ago that the only thing to do with the truth is to face it head-on.”

“You really don’t think you’re beautiful?” He can’t resist touching her cheek so she looks him in the eye. “Chloe, you? Are beautiful.”

He’s not sure why she looks like he just hit her, but he’s pretty sure he said the wrong thing when the tears spill onto her cheeks.

“Hey, now. Don’t cry.”

She looks away and brushes the tears away furiously. “I’m sorry, Clark. I just don’t think I can take hearing that from you of all people.”

“Me, why…?” And then he realizes he’s an idiot. He just finished mulling over how Lana’s darkness is his fault, and yet, he realizes he’s staring at the one person he’s probably hurt more than anyone.

“Can I have a minute?”

“Sure. I’ll just…” He wanders toward the hallway, wishing he could bang his head on the wall without knocking down the building.

He’s not a complete moron. There have been hints over the years that maybe Chloe wished there was more between them than friendship. He can’t honestly say he hasn’t thought a lot about it over the years, himself, but it wasn’t worth the risk that he might lose her completely if things didn’t go well. He doesn’t exactly have a strong track record himself.

Still, his knowledge of her feelings should have factored in to the things he leaned on her for over the years, and it never did. Not once.

It’s then that he’s reminded of his part in Lana’s darkness. Chloe has been overlooked by him again and again, and for all her denials, he knows his presence has scared off a few suitors over the years. Despite that, she’s been his anchor. She constantly offers herself up as his human credentials, and bears his superhuman burdens without a word of complaint.

Wow. He’s an ass.

Maybe Lana is right. Maybe all he ever really loved was the idea of her. Because yes, he played the secrets and lies card for longer with Lana, and he broke up with her because he couldn’t deal with that, but Chloe has borne his unique brand of suffering for years with none of the worship Lana received, and she became stronger, brighter, more amazing for it.

Regardless, Lana is the one he’s with, and he can’t give up on her so easily. Not after she left her husband to be with him. For the first time, though, he sees her desperation to be seen as a person, responsible for the choices she has made, rather than some perfect being, incapable of her own bad decisions.

He can give her that, at least. Can’t he?

He hears Chloe shifting at the door to the basement newsroom. “Sorry about that. You didn’t need anything else to worry about. I’m honestly fine. I just haven’t been getting enough sleep lately.”

“Well, school’s almost done for winter, right?”

“Yeah. I plan to sleep for three days straight when finals are over.”

“How about I give you a lift back to the Talon? We can stop for take-out on the way.”

“Deal.”

He scoops her up and the open smile she rewards him with almost bowls him over when he considers the strength behind it.

Maybe Lana can be redeemed, maybe she can’t.

Maybe he’s not beyond hope, either.

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End