A/N: This is just a little drabble, a scene I'd like to see in Requiem!
**
"So, she's gone?"
Clark nodded, staring out the window of his loft.
"You okay?"
Shrugging, he turned to face his friend. "Confused is more like it."
"About?"
"I just thought…I thought it would work."
Oliver picked up on the lack of sadness in Clark's voice, noting the hint of defeat instead.
"Why? Because it's worked so often in the past?"
The sarcasm was not lost on Clark. "It was different this time."
"Because she had superpowers?"
"Yeah."
"And you thought that alone would make a difference?"
"It gave me the chance to be with someone like me," he responded, a bit defensively.
"Interesting choice of words."
"Why's that?"
"Because you didn't say it gave you the chance to be with Lana."
A silence hangs over them a bit, Oliver's remark lingering in the air between them.
"Let me ask you something, Clark. Lana was back a while before she got her powers, did you ever think about trying again with her?"
Sighing, Clark sat down on the sofa, rubbing his hands over his face.
"After that whole thing with Turpin, I went to Lana, I thought maybe we had a chance. And I kissed her. But…," his voice trailed off.
"But?"
"After…I thought it was a mistake."
"So what changed your mind?"
Clark glanced at Oliver, who nodded knowingly.
"Her powers."
"It just…it seemed to make sense."
"And it was familiar. Easy."
"Yeah."
"Funny, I don't hear anything about love in there."
Clark squirmed in his seat at that.
"I get it though. Lana knows your secret, and she had the same powers as you. You have a history. It would make sense. But 'making sense' isn't a reason to be with someone."
"You don't understand. You can't, because you don't have the abilities I have. You don't have to worry about hurting someone you love because of those abilities."
"True."
"Lana's powers gave me the chance to be with someone and not have to worry about any of that. She was like me."
"Lana having powers didn't make her like you, Clark. The fact that she's no longer here proves that. I understand wanting to be with someone like you, but that doesn't mean that person has to have your abilities. You're more than your abilities. Isn't it more important to be with someone who has the same beliefs as you? The same ideals, the same sense of loyalty and justice? Because Lana may have had your powers, but, and no offense man, she had none of your conscience or your ideals."
"She gave up her powers to save Metropolis, Oliver. How can you say that?"
"I'm not taking anything away from what she did. And she may end up helping a lot of people in the future Clark, with or without powers. But the truth is, to Lana, the power was the most important thing. If it wasn't, she would still be here. And I think you know that. I also think that deep down, you're alright with her leaving. Because you know that the fact that she had superpowers was what was holding you together, and not your relationship."
A flash of guilt crossed Clark's face, confirming Oliver's words.
"I'm not saying you won't always care about her, Clark, because you will. And that's okay. But it's also okay to admit that you were clinging to a memory, a dream of something because you thought you should. More than that, though, you have to know it's okay to let it go."
Leaning back against the sofa, Clark closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly.
"It's just that…all I ever wanted was someone to spend my life with. To work side by side with."
Oliver nodded. "And the minute Lana got all powered up, your head thought that meant that someone was her."
"I guess."
"The thing is, I think your heart already knows it's someone else," Oliver said quietly.
Clark's eyes shot up, widening slightly as he saw a smirk begin to form on the young billionaire's face. His jaw began working, attempting to stutter out a response, when the ring of Oliver's phone stopped him. The smirk now turned into a full-blown grin at Clark's stunned reaction, Oliver reached for his phone. Checking out the caller ID, he glanced at Clark.
Speak of the devil.
"Hey, Lois, what's up?" Oliver paused, his eyes falling on Clark, who in turn was watching him intently. "Yeah, no problem, the jet will be there tomorrow morning…..when I get the specifics from the pilot, I'll call you back….you got it," he finished, traces of an affectionate grin on his face as he closed his phone.
"Gotta go," he said, beginning to turn toward the loft stairs.
"Wait!"
Oliver chuckled. He could have predicted that reaction.
"Yeah?" he asked, all too innocently.
Clark looked at him, incredulous at his nonchalance. "What…What'd she say?"
"She's coming home. Tomorrow."
And for the first time since Oliver had entered the loft, a smile tugged at Clark's lips.
