DAY ONE

By D.A. Sharp

SMALLVILLE Created By Alfred Gough and Miles Millar

SUPERMAN Created By Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster

An AU Season 5 -- Continued from "Absolutes"

On his first day at the Daily Planet, Clark had thought and considered that someone would be teaching him the ropes of where he had to go and how he had to get there, but the fact of the matter was his superior, a Copy Editor named Edward Shuster, had just slapped down a list of errands, that he had to run through seemingly every floor of the Planet itself. His first instinct was cringe at the tasks on the list instead he smiled and began searching the hallways and various levels of the Planet, without so much as a clue.

In the back of his mind, he considered using his super speed to get these tasks done and go back down to the basement and spend the rest of his day, working with his girlfriend. But Chloe had made it vividly clear, that he couldn't and shouldn't cross the super power line. Especially in a crowded building such as the Planet. He had also promised her a lunch date, which with everything he had listed and tasked to do at normal everyday joe speed. He considered the date to be an unlikely one.

As it stood now, he was two hours into his morning shift and as his luck would have it, the elevator was broke. Holding two boxes of files in his hands, Clark shook his head and took to climbing the stairs, doing his best to memorize the floor pattern and get all of the various files to each said desk and office, that he could find.

At about 11:35am, he caught sight of his girlfriend as he moved his way through the basement desks, dropping off letters and files, that he didn't even begin to understand or consider usual for news articles.

"Hey there gorgeous," he said, putting his box down onto her desk, pulling out a transcript for her.

"Hey yourself," Chloe said, smiling. "How goes the first day of Copy Boy-dom?"

"At present, Chlo. I can't make heads or tails of it," he said, being honest with her. "And there are times, that I just want to drop this stuff off and leave it on the floor somewhere."

Chloe reaches out for Clark's hand and holds it gently, looking into his eyes. "Clark, it's the first day. It's going to be bad, whether we like or not and to be entirely fair, we're only into hour four of our jobs. I've been hammering out announcement after announcement, without any coffee in my system. Do you know how I'm feeling?"

Clark smiles a bit before pulling her up out of the chair gently, guiding her into the hallway, straight into a phone booth.

"I'd say you're missing it a lot," he said, massaging her cheek. "Probably borderline lost without it. Although if you'd let me use my..."

"Don't even think about it, Clark," she said, tapping his nose playfully.

"To be entirely honest, Chlo. I've bee holding back on my abilities just like I promised you and I have no intention of breaking that promise."

"Good," she said, still smiling. "What brings you my way exactly? Besides work?" she asked.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to make our lunch date," he said, looking down nervously.

With a nudge, Chloe lifts his head up to look back into her eyes. "Don't worry about it. We've got plenty of time for lunches, whenever we get the time."

"I just...feel like I'm letting you down," he said, his voice almost at a whisper.

"Clark....do you love me?" Chloe asked, still looking into his eyes.

"Yes, I do. Very much," he said, his eyes locked with hers.

"And you know that I love you just as much?" she asked.

Clark lifts his head questionably, playing with his girlfriend. "I think I may need a refresher," he said playfully, kissing a soft trail along her neck.

"Clar....kkkkk!" she shouts, pushing him back a bit.

"Are you sure you didn't get some Red Kryptonite into your system?" she asked, looking into his eyes with concern.

"Chlo, being perfectly blunt," he said, pulling her back into his arms. His nose rubbing against her's. Their lips mere inches apart. "I've been thinking about you since you walked away from me in the elevator this morning." He leans in and kisses her lips softly. Chloe follows suit, kissing him back. "And I can't get you off of my mind..."

Clark's hands instinctively move over Chloe's back, doing their best not to fall down to her butt. "I'm feeling the same way. You don't know how long I've wanted us to be..."

He kisses her again, pulling her in closer. His hands gently run over her back, pushing her deeper into the kiss. His lips meeting her's with a deeper and deeper caress each time. His heart beating only for her.

"Long enough," he said, pulling out of their kiss.

"What about dinner tonight?" she asked, her hands running along his chest ever the carefully.

"I was thinking something intimately romantic," he said, kissing her neck once again. "Find something sexy to wear and I'll have something cooked and ready."

"Hamburgers?" Chloe asked, raising her brow uncertain of Clark's decision.

"No," he said, kissing her lips with a soft caress once more. "I can actually cook you know."

"Coulda fooled me," she said, playfully.

"Give me some credit, Chlo," he said with a smile. His hands still massaging her back.

"At the moment, the only credits I can give you are those, that took me away from work and..." she leaned in and kissed him passionately once more. Despite the prior warnings, his hands couldn't hold out any longer and they worked their way down to her butt, giving it a squeeze. Chloe squeaked at the touch, but continued to kiss back. "Those kisses of yours are unstoppable."

"So are my hands..." he said with a smirk. She shook her head smiling.

"That's the only rule I'm letting you break, Mr. Kent," she said. "You break any other rules and you're going to be sharing a dog house with Shelby."

"Not planning on breaking anymore," he said, kissing her lips softly once more. "But I am planning on having a dinner ready and on the table at seven o'clock. You take a little longer and I'm going to be searching Metropolis for you."

She smiled a bit wider at his comment. "Seven o' clock it is, Mr. Kent. You better be dressed in something better looking than work attire."

"I thought..." Before he can finish his thought, Chloe is already gone and headed back towards the basement offices. Taking a moment, he straightening himself up as best as he could and then picked up the box beside Chloe's desk, smiled at her, winked and then headed back upstairs. There was work to be done and a date ahead.