Our Secrets
Author: Krys Yuy
Themes: #80 (confession; affirmation; revelation)
Summary: Clark suspects his girlfriend is hiding something, but doesn't realize how similar their secrets really are.
Pairing/Characters: Usagi Tsukino/Clark Kent
Fandoms: Sailor Moon/Smallville
Warning: Perhaps a tiny spoiler for Season 6 of Smallville.
Rating: G/K
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used. This fic is purely for entertainment purposes only.
Author's Notes: For the community 30houshin at LiveJournal. Set post-Sailor Moon series and sometime post-Smallville. This is just something fluffy and cute that I had to write because it wouldn't leave me alone. Hope you enjoy!
She was definitely hiding something.
Clark's eyebrows scrunched together as he observed his girlfriend puttering around the kitchen, hair pulled back in a simple ponytail but the length of it still managing to reach her calves. He had returned from his morning chores around the farm to find the blonde beauty absentmindedly making breakfast – a sight he had happily gotten used to over the last few months. However, in contrast to her usual humming and the sunny smile that would grace her face, now she seemed preoccupied. Not to mention her – actually his, he thought with a small grin – plaid shirt was backwards and inside out.
He didn't say a word, and instead continued to silently watch her as she went through her movements almost mechanically. Concern he had felt for the past week flitted once again at the corners of his mind. Every time he had tried to approach her about it before, a bright smile and a distracting kiss would sidetrack him. His girlfriend wasn't above playing to his weaknesses to divert his worry.
Even though he was beginning to feel agitated again, his eyes still crinkled in amusement as she poured orange juice in her cereal rather than milk. And he bit his tongue as she brought a scoopful into her mouth, waiting for the inevitable reaction.
"Egh!"
Clark let out a full-bellied laugh, revealing his position by the porch door.
She realized he had been watching her and pouted prettily. "You could have warned me, y'know." She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, and dumped her cereal in the sink. She moved back to the kitchen island and began to make a new bowl as Clark walked up behind her.
He placed his hands on her hips and rested his chin on top of her head. "I could've."
She rolled her eyes when he didn't say anything more. She tilted her head back and he looked down at her with his patented all-American boy smile. "You're too cute for your own good," she murmured, resisting the urge to grin in return. She looked back down at her cereal but did smile instinctively as she felt him kiss her hair. Warmth filled her easily at his touch, and her smile faded.
Clark felt more than saw her shift in attitude, her heartbeat suddenly erratic, suggesting a bout of nerves. "Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned.
She laughed awkwardly. "Why would you think that, sweetie?" She slid from his grip before he could protest, leftover cereal forgotten. She was making her way to the couch when his voice stopped her.
"Usa."
Usagi winced at the no-nonsense tone used, knowing her boyfriend meant business. "It's nothing, Clark."
Her racing heartbeat was saying otherwise. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" He moved to stand behind her and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you."
She fidgeted, but still didn't turn to look at him. Worry was beginning to trickle into full-blown panic mode. Clark tried to reign in his imagination, though thoughts of her wanting to leave him made his hand tighten on her shoulder unintentionally. Only her light touch to his hand brought him back and he gazed down at her wide blue eyes sadly, accepting that his happiness, once again, was not meant to last.
"You can tell me, Usa. I won't be mad. I'll –" He swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. Wasn't it better this way, anyway? Every day she was with him, she was unknowingly exposing herself to all kinds of dangers. "I'll understand." He saw the struggle in her eyes and tried to smile reassuringly, even if his heart grew heavier with each moment of silence that passed.
Her azure eyes looked down at the floor. "I don't want to lose you," she finally whispered.
Then she didn't want to leave him? Clark exhaled slowly and brought his hand underneath her chin, pulling her head up to look at him. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised. Other reasons for her behavior bounced around in his mind. "Are you in trouble?"
"No, it's not that at all." She shook her head. "There's no easy way to say this without you thinking I'm crazy. But these past few months…" She looked up, and Clark's heart clenched at the sight of her unshed tears. "They've been like a dream, y'know? Like one day, we'll both wake up and all this will be gone." She placed a hand on his cheek and traced the sides of his head where his glasses were usually placed. "And I'm afraid you're going to wake from this dream if I tell you my secret."
… secret?
Clark was all too familiar with secrets. He doubted hers would carry the same weight his would. But her wanting to be honest only made him want to be as well. He hesitated though, knowing that his secret carried the real possibility of him losing her just like he had lost Lana to Lex. However, he knew without a doubt, that he would keep whatever secret she chose to tell him in confidence.
"I want to keep dreaming, same as you, Usa," he replied softly. "You can tell me anything."
Usagi had to tell him – if she ever wanted this relationship to grow into something more, then there could be no secrets between them. She trusted Clark with her life and – until recently, she realized – her heart. It was just so easy to fall for him. Sometimes it felt too easy, like when a light touch from him would instantly spread warmth throughout her body. Usagi knew she was getting in way over her head, but she wanted to stay with Clark. She wanted to be by his side, but if he couldn't accept all of her, then she would have to leave, no matter how much it pained her. She took a deep breath and steadied her heart.
"I'm an alien."
Silence.
Usagi continued on, beginning to ramble and looking at a place above his shoulder, not quite ready to see his expression. "Okay, I'm sort of an alien, but not really. I mean, I come from the moon. Well, I did a thousand years ago and I was reborn into this world now, but when I was fourteen, I rediscovered my powers. My Lunarian name is Serenity and this crystal helps me fight evil. I was unofficially retired until recently when Luna told me about something strange going on in America, and that's why I moved from Japan, and… and…"
She trailed off, his silence bothering her. She chanced a peek at him, expecting to see doubt or disbelief. However, Clark's head was down and his eyes shadowed.
"Clark, please say something."
His shoulders were trembling and she placed a tentative hand on his blue jacket. "Clark…?"
Green eyes looked back at her with mirth and unending affection.
It was then she realized he wasn't upset at all. She scowled, slapping him on the arm, and tried to ignore how, no matter how many times it happened, she could never get used to how deeply this man affected her.
"Here I am, telling you perhaps the biggest secret of my life, and you're laughing?" She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Forget it, just forget it." She turned away from the living room to stomp her way to the stairs. "Stupid farm boys…"
Usagi felt a slight breeze before he was in her path to the stairwell.
She blinked.
She looked back at the living room where they had been standing and then the space in front of her, where her boyfriend looked inordinately relieved and ridiculously giddy. She refused to let his boyish charm win her over this time.
"Out of the way, Clark." Usagi jerked a thumb over her shoulder.
Clark's face grew adorably puzzled. "Aren't you going to ask me how I got in front of you?"
"You're extremely fast, and you've always been able to sneak up on me. What's new?" She tried to move around him, but he wouldn't let her pass. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go and change because I've now just realized my shirt is on backwards and inside-out and I need to stew because my boyfriend won't take heart-to-hearts seriously and –"
"First off, that's my shirt." She was ignoring him, so Clark grabbed her hand and began leading her out to the porch. She was still rambling and hardly noticed their move. "Usa –"
"– what's worse is that I know you think I'm crazy." Her hand shook a bit in his grasp. "You don't believe me at all, do you?" she whispered, but he heard it as clear as day. Before he could reply, she finally took note of her surroundings. "Why did you bring me outside?"
"You're not the only one with a secret," he said quietly.
"It can't be as huge as mine," she stated casually. She looked up at the bright sun before taking a second look at her boyfriend, eyes wide. "Wait – does this mean you believe me?"
Clark smiled. "I believe you."
She looked torn between relieved and skeptical. "Why are you accepting this so easily?"
"Darling, I come from Smallville. Plenty of odd things happen here," he replied, tweaking her nose. He chuckled as her eyes crossed. "Besides, our secrets aren't so different."
"What do you –"
He covered his lips with hers, effectively cutting off anymore questions. She laughed as he swung her into his arms, and carried her with an arm under her knees and around her shoulders. She looped her own arms around his neck breathlessly.
"You make me dizzy, Clark." Usagi smiled, focused only on him. "I'm so glad I told you. And that you're still here." Her fingertips wound their way into his silky hair. "This doesn't change anything, right?"
"As long as this doesn't."
She puzzled over his words, but finally noticed they weren't exactly standing on the front lawn anymore. Her breath hitched and her hold on him tightened as she gazed in amazement at the view below them – the Kent farm and beyond laid out for them to see. They were ascending so high that Usagi could reach out and touch a cloud if she wanted.
… our secrets aren't so different.
So this is what he meant. Usagi laughed joyfully, just as her boyfriend had earlier, feeling as if she was on top of the world. Which she actually kind of was.
Usagi gazed into sparkling green orbs, seeing the freedom and love she knew was reflected in hers. "I always knew there was more to you than flannel and glasses."
He grinned. "Well, we make quite the pair then, don't we, darling?" he murmured. Clark's eyes swept over her face, not quite believing his luck at finding such an amazing woman, before he leaned in for another kiss.
Usagi happily obliged.
