Clark entered the Daily Planet, seeing Chloe there, her fingers intertwined, bathed in the sunlight streaming in from the window. He took a moment and just stared at her. Seeing her differently. She was beautiful. He'd thought it before, but now he was letting himself feel it really for the first time. Her eyes shifted toward him, her expression changing to excitement and she ran towards him.
CHLOE: Clark. Oh my God. I thought were dead.
She practically leapt into his arms, hugging him tight and he returned it, allowing the release of a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
CLARK: Hi. Um ... so did I ... for a while there.
CHLOE: What happened? Where did you go?
CLARK: A place I never want to go again. Are you okay?
CHLOE: Yeah. Everything's great now that you're here.
CLARK: Um ... Chloe ... before I left ... there was this moment that we, um ...
CHLOE: You mean when I laid one on you? Don't worry, Clark. It was the end of the world. It's not like I'm expecting us to hook up.
Clark hesitated then, stuck between wanting to say something and being afraid to. He saw her face shift ever so slightly, almost an expectation of him. But he knew that he didn't want wonder.
CLARK: Maybe ... I want to.
CHLOE: What?
JIMMY: Hey, bright eyes.
Clark and Chloe kept their eyes on eachother.
JIMMY: Whoa. I feel like I just walked into a wave of awkward tension.
Chloe shook herself out of it, looking to Jimmy.
CHLOE: Sorry. Jimmy... This is Clark Kent.
CLARK: Nice to meet you.
Jimmy extended his hand. Clark, with a split second of hesitancy, shook it.
JIMMY: You too. I should... Uh, probably go... Make sure my car wasn't totaled. I'll see ya later.
Jimmy started back away.
CHLOE: See ya. Be careful!
Jimmy was out of bullpen by then.
CLARK: He... seems nice.
CHLOE: What do you mean by that?
CLARK: That he... he's nice..
CHLOE: No, that... Before... What did you mean? Because I thought you were still in love with Lana... which is fine... I haven't really felt that way since High School. I haven't been pining for you or anything like that. That's not why I kissed you. I just know that I've never actually showed you, clearly... How I felt. I messed up the chances that I had because I scared of being rejected... And I didn't want to leave... Us... Without letting you know. I just wanted to get it off my chest.
CLARK: So, you don't...
CHLOE: Even if I did, I'm not gonna be a 2nd choice.
CLARK: Chloe, you're-... When I was gone, I was thinking about my future and have been since I got back. And I see you there. And I want that. It's not that I've never seen you that way, but I had feelings for Lana and it wouldn't' have been fair to do that to you.
CHLOE: And now?
CLARK: I wanted to be normal for a long time and I saw that in her. But that's not me anymore. And it's not her either. I don't even want the life I wanted then. I want a partner in who I am, now.
Clark looked into Chloe's eyes. They were uncertain. He could see the conflicting emotions crossing over her features. He believed her when she said that she'd not been hung up on him and honestly he felt better about the situation because of that, but also unsure about continuing. He'd been afraid of moving forward for too long though. He knew that if there was a apart of Chloe willing to move forward, he had to show her he was serious about this, about her. So in a swift moment of rare impulsiveness, Clark stepped forward, took Chloe's face in his hands and kissed her on the lips.
Chloe was shocked at first, but welcomed the kiss and didn't push him away. She could feel it, his mouth on hers, the feeling as their tongues intertwined.
They both pulled away. Chloe took in a breath and swallowed hard.
Clark simply exhaled.
CLARK: If you don't want to... I understand.
And with that she kissed him. Deeply, passionately, her hands holding on to him. Before she pulled herself back, her eyes locked with Clark's, smiling widely.
CHLOE: I want to.
Clark smiled then too.
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