Title: Picture Perfect
Category: Smallville
Genre: Humor/Romance
Ship: Chloe/Oliver, Clark/Lois
Rating: PG
Prompt: Picture by sanaazzy
Word Count: 1,055
Summary: A picturesque beach scene encourages Clark to see something in his two friends that makes sense.

Picture Perfect

Smirking with satisfaction at the couple currently frolicking in the rolling waves, Lois rubbed her hands together. Over her shoulder, she exclaimed, "Smallville! Get my camera!"

Rolling his eyes, Clark walked back to the sandy beach to dig around for Lois' camera amongst their things, piled atop beach towels. After a two minute battle with her menace of a giant purse, filled with everything under the sun, he used his x-ray vision for easier searching.

"Today, Clark!" she complaining, looking from him to the water and back again.

Sighing, he finally yanked it out from the bottom, trapped beneath two hairbrushes, a pile of makeup and her half-dead iPhone. When he reached her side, handing over the camera, he frowned. "Here."

Snatching it from him quickly, she picked it up, aimed and— nothing. "Damn it! Batteries!" Turning to Clark, eyes wide with innocence, she grinned hopefully, "I think I have some—"

Glowering, he interrupted, "In your purse." With a sigh, he trudged back through the hot sand, unconsciously wiggling his toes in the grains that stuck to wet skin. Deciding not to bother, he simply turned it over, spilling everything across her red and blue towel and plucked up the already-open and half-empty pack of batteries. Back at her side once more, he handed them over.

Tossing her empties to the beach, of which Clark promptly cleaned up, she stuck the new pair in and pushed the power button, impatiently chewing her lip while she waited for it turn on.

"What's the hurry?" he asked her.

"Uh, hello…" She waved her hands at Chloe and Oliver; her cousin was on her boyfriend's (or in Lois' terms – the love of Chloe's life!) back, arms loosely encircling his neck, while Oliver walked through the crashing surf, kicking up bubbly white water and splashing them in the process. Laughing, smiles large enough to say all Lois couldn't hear, they were oblivious to every other human alive.

"This is just the proof I need!" she told him, excitedly. Shaking her camera, her smile became a frown. "As soon as this stupid thing—"

When she gave it another shake, Clark took it away, patiently removing the batteries and putting them back in the right way.

"Show-off," she muttered, yanking it back.

Hiding an amused smile, he instead asked, "Proof?"

"Look at them! They can't tell me they're taking it slow when they're acting like that!"

Clark sighed. "Lois… I thought you promised not to meddle."

"Pfft!" she scoffed, angling the camera out at the couple who were currently talking low enough so only each other could hear.

As Chloe's tinkling laugh lit the air, Lois looked at Clark as if she'd somehow proven a point.

Blinking, he crossed his arms over his chest and simply waited for her to take her picture. When she was done, he was going to toss her into the water. She'd been tanning the last couple hours and the water looked too good to pass up; if it helped wipe that smug expression away, bonus point for him. He loved her enough to admit she brought out a not-so-Boyscout side of him and he enjoyed it.

"Hey! Lovebirds! Over here!" she shouted.

Looking up, they caught sight of her on the beach and their already wide smiles grew at her insistence and loftily held camera.

Hands wrapped loosely around Chloe's thighs, Oliver's leaned forward for better leverage as he awaited the telling flash of the camera. Loosening an arm from around him, Chloe reached up to tuck stray hair off her face and behind her ear, resting her elbow lightly on his bare, sun-kissed shoulders.

They looked right together, Clark thought. A surprising conclusion since when he first realized what was going on between them he'd been uncertain and unconvinced they'd last in any capacity. Nearly a year later and they were still going together, although they'd dropped all pretenses of a 'just-having-fun' label and were now swimming through unexplored relationship water. Despite both of their dating histories, it seemed what they had together was new and lasting and they were careful not to jinx it. Clark knew now what Lois meant; that even if they tried to argue that it was anything less than a committed, long-term relationship the truth was in the picture they made.

As Lois lowered her camera, satisfied, the two returned to their earlier fun. Arms back around Oliver's shoulders, she leaned into him to say something and in response he turned to lightly kiss her forearm. Expression softening, he turned back to look at her and she returned that same love-struck affection.

"See!" Lois exclaimed, shoving the camera and its picture in Clark's face.

He didn't have to look, instead keeping his gaze on Chloe and Oliver as they stood with the waves crashing all around; Chloe holding tight to her human pillar of support and love while Oliver anchored her to him in a way that said it all. Clark thought, in that moment, he might've just given his blessing to them and couldn't help but hope that what they'd found in each other, what they deserved with and from one another, really would last.

"Yeah… You're right." He grinned at his girlfriend, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and drawing her in close to his side.

Fitting an arm around his waist, she rested her head against his chest and sighed wistfully. "They're gonna make cute babies."

He snorted at her candor. "Give them a few years to come to grips with having finally found each other."

"Years," she repeated incredulously. "Hah! If I'm not popping out any super-alien-awesome's for awhile - and I'm not! - then she has to make up for the time in-between!" Pouting, she stared at the two with a suspicious glint in her eyes. "Trust me, they'll thank me later."

Clark sighed.

Deciding to distract her and continue with his earlier plan, he quickly hauled her up into his arms, ignoring her knowing shriek, and ran toward the coming waves. If she didn't forget her earlier decision to somehow get her cousin and Oliver pregnant – and soon – then he'd just have to find some other way to distract her. He smirked as they slid beneath the cool water, her arms and legs wrapping tight around his body. He wasn't complaining.

[End.]