A/N: So this just popped into my head. Takes place during the scene between Tess and Clark in the Luthor mansion during season 8 episode 16.
"Clark."
He turned at the sound of her voice, looking into Tess Mercer's emerald-green eyes.
"I may run his company, and I may live in his mansion, but I am not Lex. You can trust me."
In another life, Clark would just smile. He would look at her, the hope he felt marred by past experiences with the former occupant of this mansion, and he would smile as though to say he wished he could trust her. But the truth is, they both know he can't. He would look at her for another instant, and then he would leave without a word. However, that was in another life. In this life, he would make a different choice.
"Can I? Can I really trust you? Because you haven't given me any reason to so far. Instead, you have made the same mistakes Lex did. You have become so obsessed with some secret you think I'm hiding that that is all you care about. And rather than just say thank you for saving you and moving on, you are choosing to dig and dig and dig. Did you ever think that maybe the best way to figure out if I'm hiding anything is to let me tell you in my own time? That maybe, just maybe I don't want to be thought of as whatever the hell you two think I am? That Clark Kent is what matters, regardless of some secret I may or may not have?"
By now Clark's hands were balled into fists at his sides. He knew that he was being foolish. That by displaying his emotion, by reacting at all to Tess's statement, he was basically confirming everything she believed him of being. He was admitting to being the Blur. But a part of him didn't care. A part of him just wanted to not be seen as a hero, but instead, to be seen as just a man. To be seen as Clark Kent first and as a hero second.
He looked down into Tess's green eyes, feeling her hand slowly unclench his fist. He had been so caught up in his thoughts and emotions that he hadn't even reacted when she crossed the room.
"Thank you for saving my life Clark." She said, and then she walked back across the room. A moment later, Clark turned and walked out of the mansion.
Tess walked over to the table and picked up the copy of the Daily Planet sitting atop it. Then she walked to the study, opening the drawer of her desk and pulling out an object. A moment later she was watching the paper burn in the fireplace. As Tess watched the last of the pages be consumed by the flames, she smiled. For she knew she had made the right choice. She would no longer consume herself with Clark's secret. Instead, she would allow him to tell her in his own time, when he felt she had earned that knowledge. Because he was right. Clark Kent did matter. Tess found him to be a very interesting man. A man she was looking forward to getting to know.
A/N: So there you have it! Let me know what you think. Would you like to see more or should I leave it as a one-shot?