Title: Hindsight
Category: Smallville
Genre: Romance
Ship: Chloe/Clark
Rating: PG
Prompt: Lace
Word Count: 642
Summary: He regrets never seeing what was always there but now… Now his eyes are wide open.

Hindsight
-Drabble-

He gulps, like a guy seeing his first pretty girl. But then, the first pretty girl he'd seen was Lana Lang and the vision of beauty before him is not her. No, this is a woman who quite possibly embodies the word loyalty. From thirteen years old, Chloe Sullivan had been his go-to-girl and for longer than he'd like to admit to he hadn't seen what was there. Clark was a smart man in most things, but when it came to women he supposed his wit dulled. He fumbled, he stuttered, he smiled too much and he never quite knew what to do with his hands. But then Chloe knew all that, she'd suffered through his many missteps in the relationship category and she'd single-handedly stood as his cheering section despite wanting to be the woman in front of him and not on the side lines.

And now that the time had come for just that, he felt twenty years younger, just as useless and scared as he'd been as a teenager faced with a bra clasp. She stepped into his bedroom wearing red lace, the bodice of her negligee leaving little to the imagination. It was all intricate patterns that pressed against lily-white skin so perfectly, accentuating soft curves and feminine loveliness. His fingers curled into fists, blunt nails biting into his palms. He sat in his bed, the hand-made quilt turned down, his feet planted on the floor and his back hunched slightly as he sat tensed at the edge, watching her as she stood in the light of the bathroom, a faint smile on her lips.

"Relax," she told him, a teasing quality to her voice. "I won't bite."

There was mischief in her eyes and he finished the sentence for her, "Unless I want you too."

When she smiled, he followed, and his shoulders weren't as taut then, relaxing.

This was Chloe.

Best friend, confidante, and secret-keeper extraordinaire. She knew him at his best and worst and she never failed him. Maybe he hadn't taken this step years ago and maybe she'd suffered because of it, but the time had come now. He was ready, she was ready, and they were going to take that step forward. She crossed the room silently, her small bare feet eating up the wood floor in seconds. And then she was in front of him, staring down with her warm green eyes and her gently smiling pink lips.

"Deep breath, big guy," she murmured before she'd leaned down, kissed him, and when his eyes fell closed, the world stopped spinning, time had paused. Overly large hands grasped her small waist, dragging her a little closer, and Clark Kent, known for his less than suave moves with women, drew her down into his lap in a move so quick and easy even he was stunned. With a breathless laugh, she hung her arms around his neck and nodded. "See…?"

Yes. Looking at her then, with the faint light haloing around her and her weightless body wrapped around his, he saw clearly for the first time in his life. All he'd been missing, ignoring, unknowingly disregarding. It was Clark and Chloe; dynamic duo, the best of friends, and meant to be lovers all along. He tucked a curl of her golden hair behind her ear, traced her flushed cheek and cupped her neck, thumbs skimming in lulling circles beneath her ear. She sighed, eyes fluttering, and she looked at him like this was all she ever wanted, all she'd ever dreamed, finally coming true.

He was sorry he'd ever delayed it; sorry he'd ever closed his eyes to this. Because now that it was there, now that he had it, he knew the emptiness in his chest, the part of that felt like something had been missing, was now filled and would be forevermore.