Title: What Was, Is, Will Be
Category: Smallville
Rating: T
Genre: Drama/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Prompt: #030 - Innocence
Word Count: 639
Summary: They were innocent once…

What Was, Is, Will Be

He remembers a time when they were innocent; when being a hero just meant donning some green leather and snarking off to the bad guy before leaving him tied up, waiting for the cops. He remembers a time when she didn't have a dead ex-husband, when there hadn't been a rampaging alien beast relying on her and her tireless heart to keep his murderous tendencies at bay. He remembers a time when he thought he could live happily, loving her cousin for a lifetime. When Lois' sarcasm and wit, her strength and beauty, could keep him infatuated longer than any woman before her. When making her happy and loving her had been all he wanted. He remembers pretending that she was just a friend, just someone he admired. That her skill and her courage were traits he needed in friends and teammates. He remembers telling himself that he wasn't jealous of Jimmy Olsen and his ability to not only get the girl, but marry her too. He didn't attend, he made his excuses, but deep down, his chest was split open. He remembers when she trusted him completely, when she didn't second guess his actions, when she would've told him everything just because she knew he was a vault and he would only take care of her. When there was shame in her eyes that he had crossed the line neither of them had been willing to cross before. He remembers when the ends didn't justify the means; when it was just about doing and being good. He remembers when things were black and white, before grey interceded and called attention to every little detail.

He prefers to forget how lonely it was, how hard he had to pretend he was content with his life. He doesn't think about the mornings he woke up and wasn't happy with the day ahead, when it had just been about being the billionaire playboy they expected of him. He hates to remember how he fell, as a hero, as a man; how his failure was strong enough to allow thoughts of suicide consume him. He forgets the days before, the mornings and nights he didn't have her in his arms. He erases any memory of any lips but hers, thinks only of how sweetly she tastes, how warm he feels when he's kissing her. He leaves the past in the past, the women, the drinking, the partying ways; they're so distant now, he doesn't even consider it part of himself.

He looks forward to a future with her in it, with her big grin to get him through a bad day and her arms to embrace him when he feels like falling. He stares ahead and dreams of a time when he'll marry her, when the tabloids will no doubt criticize their relationship and they'll go on despite it all. He can already tell she loves him; that she thinks of the same things. When the sun falls and she's lying naked in his arms, she stares at him when she thinks he's fallen asleep. She traces his brow and his lips and his neck, memorizing him as if she wants to know what he looks like now because she's already ahead in the future, planning their lives.

He knows he'll mess up, there will be times he wants to hang up the suit and hand in the bow, and she'll be there to talk him out of it. She'll be the voice of reason against his doubt, the hand to help him up and dust him off. She'll be the hero in his heart, urging his face out of the gutter.

They were innocent once, a lifetime ago, and today they're far from it. But they've prevailed, they've gotten back up to face their demons, and together, they'll make it through.