Developments

When Tess woke up this morning, this was not how she saw her night ending up, but it wasn't her fault, nor was it her choice. Since Connor had burnt down the Luthor mansion, Watchtower had become home to Tess, but that was no longer an option considering Clark Luthor practically destroyed Watchtower during his last visit.

So even though Clark Kent had brought Tess to Watchtower after he barely saved her life, it was only so she could change out of the dress that seemed to be suffocating her on its own. Emil had been there, running data on the computers from the looks of things, but Tess didn't even meet his eyes before she went to change. She just wanted to forget the whole thing happened as she practically tore the purple material from her body, even scratching the surface of her skin a couple of times. That really was too close.

She headed back to the main area, finding only Emil there, where he explained that Tess would stay with him until Clark Luthor had returned to his world. It made sense, because there had been signs that Clark Luthor knew who Emil was, so he was the safest option right now.

But as they walked down the street to her car, parked far away from Watchtower to avoid suspicion, Tess could sense the different air around them, the tension that seemed to be formed. She tucked her hands in the pocket of her coat, and she could hear Emil rubbing his hands together, meaning he likely knew everything about tonight, but Tess wasn't about to broach the subject.

Eventually, Emil broke the silence. "So I pulled the geological surveys you gave me and Clark's info from the alt-world was right."

"About?" Tess asked, turning her head slightly to face Emil.

He replied quickly, "The surprise at the end of the kryptonite rainbow. The gold stuff exists."

Tess felt her breath pick up just for a second, her hands leaving her coat pockets just as fast. "What does it do to him?"

"Well... drawing on the Veritas journals, Chloe's database and my best calculations." He pauses, both in movement and words to show the gravity of the situation. "It could take away its powers. For good."

That was never a good thing, but it made sense considering the scar left behind on Clark Luthor's skin. It would apparently take a lot more impact to take away Clark's powers, but with the threat out there... it made Tess nervous. "I'll get the team right on it," she replied, continuing to walk towards her car.

A reaction that he expected, but Emil was tired of waiting for her to bring up the reason Clark had saved her life. There was a reason he was manning the Watchtower cameras after all. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Um... " Tess' voice trailed as she tilted her head slightly, scoffing at the questioning tone in his voice. "You know Emil; it's been a really long day. I'm going to need a bigger hint than that."

Emil had walked around her so that Tess stood between him and the front of the car. She could take the out by moving towards the driver's seat and ignoring everything, but when she looked at him, Emil knew that even she wanted to get this over with. "Right," he said, "I was imputing the surveillance data and I noticed that you and Clark Luthor had quite the romantic dinner."

Was that what it was? Living and breathing with constant fear that the man would either kiss her or kill her. Tess knew what she said about him, about how in some twisted way that a life with Clark was what she wanted, but that was desperation, grasping at the last straw she had left. "I don't know what your definition of romantic is, but mine is not facing the threat of having my neck snapped in two."

Emil had seen the details, the odd flicker of panic in her eyes, a look Tess rarely showed. But with those were different moments, ones where she leaned closer and it didn't always seem forced. "You looked tempted to me, by him," Emil admitted. "By his offer to make your father disappear for good. That's not the Tess I know."

"Maybe I'm not the person you think I am." Clark Luthor told her about second chances, about the multiple ones she had received, and it was true. Emil was her latest one, someone who actually looked at her and didn't always see the bad things she had done, the damage she had caused.

However, time and time again, it was the ruthless, unforgiving creature that reached out to Tess. This time, she resisted, but it almost cost Tess her life. Would she risk self-preservation again to do the right thing? Worse, could she lose Emil because of another bad judgement call? Talking with him now, Tess felt her well-buried insecurities coming closer to the surface.

But Emil wasn't buying her words for a second. "Maybe you are. Maybe you just don't believe it yet." He grinned slightly, watched Tess purse her lips, so he got into the car to let the words sink in.

Hearing the door shut, Tess was reminded of the fact that someone had to drive, so she walked around to the other side of the car. Pulling the door open, she didn't look at Emil as she got inside. Key in the ignition, she turned it, watching the lights turn on. When he didn't say anything further, Tess decided to admit, "The offer... maybe. But I wasn't tempted by him."

Sure, she had bit on the bait of Clark Luthor coming close; seemingly to kiss her like last time, but that was survival instinct. Even the kiss he did leave on the side of her neck was enough to make her skin crawl.

Emil raised an eyebrow, not expecting her to address that particular comment at this moment. "Really?"

"Let's just say that despite being my family, I'd be happy if I never saw a Luthor again." She glanced over to Emil, noticing how he was staring at her, but she meant every word. "Between abandonment, bitter betrayal and overall psychotic nature..." Tess' voice trailed, a sigh escaping her as she turned her head back towards the road. "Not exactly ideal family qualities."

Emil was about to change the tone of the conversation by pointing out the direction to his apartment, as Tess had only been there once, but she cut off any interjection. "Besides, the price wasn't worth it," she said softly, turning the wheel to head down another street. The road may have looked different from the windshield, but if she had let Clark Luthor kill Lionel, the road wouldn't have changed at all in Tess' eyes. Even if the decision held positive repercussions, it a mistake Tess had made too many times.

Impressed as Tess seamlessly found her way to his apartment building, Emil grinned slightly as the engine turned off. It faded quickly though, as there was still a lingering thought on his mind. "But deep down... it's still Clark."

Tess unclicked her seatbelt before leaning back against the seat again. "Really deep down, I suppose that's a possibility. But what does it matter?" She looked over to Emil, who said nothing. In fact, the next action she saw was him quietly exiting the car. "Emil," she said, but he closed the door, almost as if he was ignoring her.

So she opened her car door and met his eyes almost instantly. "Emil, you can't be serious."

Yet it wasn't the first time the implication was implied to Tess. Luthor accused her of having feelings for Clark as well. Sure, there may be a certain... pull she felt with Clark, both Kent and unfortunately Luthor. But it wasn't a crush and she didn't feel anything for him other than respect.

Holding the main door open so that Tess could enter first, Emil said, "He is a man of steel. A high bar above just a man."

"You are aware of my last relationship with a Kryptonian right?" It was another case of the world ending and another wrong decision on her part. For awhile, Tess even had the facial scars to prove it. Her relationship with Zod, if she could even call it that, was not only far from romance, but it was also far from anything that wasn't destructive.

Emil took her rhetorical question silently, as in hindsight, he realized broaching that subject wasn't the best idea after what Tess went through. Unfortunately for him, it was easy to see shortcomings in the company they kept, as there was nothing overly interesting about Emil next to the heroes that patrolled every night. He was just a human doctor, nothing more and before he could think about the obvious direction of the conversation, the comment slipped out.

The silence didn't exactly help either, considering their situation. After all, this was the first time Tess had been to his apartment since they decided to try a relationship. They had agreed to take things slow, but with the growing challenge of maintaining world peace, there wasn't much of a chance for them to go out. So the odd hand nudge, the glance across the room, a knowing smile, that was all they were willing to risk right now.

After a quick glance in the other's direction, they both stepped inside the elevator, not breaking the quiet air around them, but when the doors closed, Tess focused her on the man standing next to her. Reaching out, she took Emil's hand in hers, not caring about the slightly confused look he gave her in response. Looking him straight in the eyes, Tess admitted, "For the first time in a very long time, I feel satisfied with where I am." She wanted to make it clear that, even when she doubted whether or not she deserved him, she was grateful to Emil. "Even if you believe in me more than you should."

The elevator door opened again, so Emil gestured for Tess to exit first. As she left the elevator, her fingers slipping out of his, he stated, "All I'm doing is compensating for your lack of self-belief."

"Maybe," Tess said with a slight eye roll. The problem with that theory was that insecurity didn't bring her to this point, it was experience, but she knew Emil enough to know that he'd give her the benefit of the doubt regardless. "But the rest of it still speaks true." When Emil didn't press the conversation anymore, moving to unlock the door to his apartment, Tess added, "One of these days... I'm going thank Zatanna for that champagne."

Feeling a grin slip, Emil pushed the door open. "Lessened inhibitions are an interesting creature, aren't they?"

Tess cocked her head in response before lifting her feet again. "I must say I never saw an Elvis impersonator in our mild-mannered doctor." She walked past him into the apartment, taking her shoes off not far from the doorway. Beginning to unbutton her coat, Tess noticed Emil slide the coat down her arms before taking it to a nearby closet.

Slipping her coat on a hanger, he chuckled as he remembered the aftermath of that night, not to mention the events that transpired because of it. "You make quite the duet partner," he stated calmly before looking back at her. "In more ways than one."

She narrowed her eyes, catching the innuendo of his statement. "How do you know?"

Emil just chuckled again as he took off his own coat. While there were days that he wanted to know the full details of that night, something told Emil that things were as they should be. "Call it a leap of faith."

Tess laughed back, almost in disbelief. Not too long ago, she was holding onto her life by a thread, but now, she was relaxed, content even. Approaching him carefully, Tess decided that it was time to live to the fullest, instead of walking around her own life to make the world a better place. Decisions were what they were, but things were as good as they could be under the circumstances. It was about damn time she took advantage of that.

He turned around just as she gets close, so he is initially surprised by her sudden proximity, but Tess' grin only widens as she takes off his glasses and places them on the nearby table. "That just won't do."

It didn't take long for Emil to react, his eyes showing the rare glint and his hand smoothing through her hair. "You want to prove me right?"

The easy answer was yes, but Tess wanted to make something clear, that even if she had begun her night with another man, she was exactly where she wanted to be right now. "I want to prove to you that a man is all I need."

~End~