Title: Perfect Day
Author: The Fallen Sky
Rating: K+
Pairing: Chlark
Summary: Chloe's been waiting for this day, and it's finally here.
A/N: This story is told from Chloe's POV. It takes place a few years after the season 5 finale.
The summer sun is shining. A gentle breeze is blowing. Throngs of people are scurrying from one place to the next. The city is alive with sight and sound, constant motion.
It's a perfect day, except for this ache in my chest. It's an old ache, been with me for years. I should be enjoying this glorious day, but I can't. I haven't been able to enjoy anything since that day. The world could've ended, but it didn't. It didn't end, because he stopped it. He saved us all. Though, another world did end that day, mine.
I kissed him that day. There was so much I wanted and needed to say to him, but I didn't have the words. So I told him everything with a single kiss. I bared my soul in that moment, and he didn't reject me. For the first time in all the years I'd known him, he accepted my love, welcomed it. But the most amazing thing was that he offered his in return. It was the perfect moment.
Of course, the moment was short lived, because he had a job to do. He zipped away, rushing off to stop an evil alien dictator from ending the world as we know it. And that's the last time I saw him.
The world didn't end that day. I knew he had succeeded. I waited for him to come back to me, but he never did. I tried to figure out what had happened to him, but I couldn't. I held out hope that he'd eventually return and that we could explore the possibility of taking our relationship beyond friendship. But, as the days, weeks, months, and years slowly rolled by with no sign of him, my hope began to wane.
I've tried to carry on, live life, but there's a huge hole in my soul that only he can fill. Everything I do seems diminished, because he's not here to share in my successes and failures. I miss him.
Sometimes, I swear I see him. His wavy dark locks, his compassionate blue eyes, his gentle smile. I catch glimpses of them all, but they're just figments of my imagination, dreams I wish would become reality. I really miss him.
At this very moment, I see him standing on the sidewalk, a beautiful apparition, haunting me. I look away, chastising myself for not being able to let him go. When I look again, he's still there. God, I must really be losing it. Closing my eyes, I count to ten, willing his tormenting countenance to be gone, to leave me alone with my sorrow. But when I open my eyes, he's still there.
The ache in my chest flares, and I want to cry. I also want to run away and scream at whatever cruel deity deems it necessary to torture me with visions of the man I love more than life itself. Instead, I just stand and stare.
I stare at the mop of dark hair that blows in the gentle breeze. I stare at the blue eyes that look so lost and haunted, but also look as if they're seeing an oasis after an eternity in the desert. I stare at the lips that…are speaking.
OK, that's new. I've never had one of my hallucinations talk to me before. I must really be losing my mind. Maybe I should look into therapy.
With my inner monologue in full force, I almost miss what "Clark" is saying. It's just one word, but it's the most important, life altering word I'll ever hear.
"Chloe."
My name. He said my name. I heard him say my name.
I feel a spark of hope trying to reignite the fire in my spirit. I want to believe that Clark is here, that he's standing a few feet in front of me, but years of disappointment and delusionary wishful thinking have left me jaded.
Still, the look of longing in his eyes is causing my wall of apathetic misery to crumble. The ache in my chest is amplifying exponentially with each passing second. Tears are pricking at the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall. I know it's crazy, but I decide to take a leap of faith. I choose to believe that Clark, my Clark, is here, standing a few scant feet away.
With all the speed I can muster, I launch myself at him. To my shock and delight, I run into a solid, living, breathing person. Wrapping my arms around him, I bury my face in his chest and inhale deeply through my nose. The scent, I know it. It's the scent I've loved for years. It's the scent I associate with all things good and pure. It's the scent that reminds me of home. It's the scent I didn't think I'd ever smell again. It's his scent. It's Clark.
I feel his arms tighten around me, pulling me close. I press my ear to his chest, so I can hear his heartbeat. It's as loud as thunder and beating at a frantic pace, just like mine. The tears I've been holding back fall freely, and I tighten my hold on him. It's a good thing he's invulnerable, because I'd probably squeeze the life out of him otherwise.
I don't know how long we've been standing here, just holding each other. It feels like an eternity, but right now, forever isn't long enough. Reluctantly, I pull back slightly and look at his face, taking in every inch of it, before finally looking into his eyes.
I can see everything he's feeling reflected in those beautiful blue orbs. I see sadness, longing, despair, regret, loneliness, fear and apprehension. But I also see joy, relief, desire, hope and love.
There's so much I want to say to him, so many things I want to ask him, but I can't speak. I don't mind though. Words would only ruin the moment. Instead, I try to convey what I'm thinking and feeling through my eyes, through my arms wrapped tightly around him, and through the beating of my heart.
I think he's received my unspoken message, because he's giving me the most brilliant smile I've ever seen. My heart melts, and I can't help the smile that graces my lips in return.
Before I can register what's happening, he's leaning down, pressing his smiling lips against mine. After a long moment, our smiles fade, and our lips take up the business of kissing in earnest. It's slow and tender to start, but quickly escalates in intensity and urgency as our tongues join our lips in this rapturous expression of emotion.
I'm vaguely aware that we're making out on the sidewalk, but I don't give a damn. I don't care if the whole world is watching us. After having been MIA for years, Clark is finally here, finally holding me, finally kissing me, finally loving me. I hope he never stops holding me, never stops kissing me, never stops loving me. I want this moment to last forever.
As we continue our passionate and very public reunion, I can feel the ache in my chest easing, the emptiness in my soul filling. For the first time in a long time, I feel whole.
Today really is a perfect day.