"And
in other news the small fire that started at a local coffee house was
put out by an unknown being. Witnesses say that it was just like a
blur that came in and blew out the fire, unlike anything they have
ever seen. Nobody was hurt in the fire and police are looking into
what caused the fire, more on that later. Back to you in the news
room Nancy." These were the words Chloe woke up to and as scary as
it was it also brought a smile to her face because she knew who that
blur was. "Well you must be having one great dream" Lois
kneeled down beside her and held out a cup of coffee. Chloe opened
her eyes and saw the steam rising slowly from the green mug that she
had bought Lois years ago. She smiled, sat up, and took the cup in
both her hands and took a drink. "Mmm, Lois working in the
Talon those years really came in handy. Thank you." She watched
over the edge of the cup as Lois sat down on the coffee table across
from the long leather couch. She could tell Lois was dying to ask her
about the night before but she wanted to respect her cousin and let
her talk when she was ready. But the truth was she wasn't sure she
would ever be fully ready, but she shared everything with Lois so why
not this. "Yes Lois?" Lois let out a long awaited sigh and
closed her eyes, she knew Chloe could read her like a tabloid and it
never helped to try and hide her thoughts. "Well I just wanted to
first make sure that you are okay…" "I am" Chloe
nodded waiting for Lois to really spill what she waned to
know. Another deep sigh came from the older brunette and she
finally spilled out her questions. "Well how did it go? Why did he
seem to be so upset? Did he say the wrong thing, did you? Tell me
Chloe." A small chuckle escaped Chloe's lips as all the
questions came out of Lois' mouth in one breath. But her chuckled
brought a worried look to Lois' face so she quickly began to talk
to explain herself. "It…it went, I guess. I mean we talked, a
little yelling, and then well I don't know." Chloe looked away
not ready to admit that she had broken down and cried. Knowing
there was more than she was telling Lois narrowed her eyes at Chloe
and watched closely. She was avoiding looking into Lois' eyes,
which was a dead give away she was leaving out a part of the story.
"Hey, Chlo what happened? You know I know when you are hiding
things, and you also know you can tell me anything. What's got you
two so sad?" Chloe looked up from the hem of the blanket she
was fidgeting with and into her cousins eyes. She let out a breathe,
"I know, I know, and I love you for it." Again she looked down
into the swirling liquid that kept her going everyday. "I…I kinda
broke down last night, I just realized how I have been so selfish not
to wait for him and now I have caused us both so much pain. This is
all my fault." The tears began to fall from her eyes as all the
guilt was beginning to consume her again. Lois couldn't
believe what she was hearing coming from Chloe's mouth. She thought
it was her fault that her and Clark were apart? She couldn't stand
to see her baby cousin in such anguish and pain, she sat next to
Chloe and brought her into a big hug. "Hey, this isn't your fault
at all, you are not the one who made him leave us for five years with
no word. I don't blame you and he doesn't either so you can't
blame yourself." The words were comforting to hear but Chloe
wasn't going to believe them that easy. She knew that if she could
have just wanted a little longer Clark would have come back to her
and then they could be together and happy again. But no, she had to
move on and try to live life without him, why did she try that when
she knew it was impossible? No, this was all her fault and nothing
Lois or anyone said was going to change that. "Lois, I will try not
and blame myself okay?" Not believing her at all Lois
continued to rub her back and looked down at her, "Your lying
aren't you?" Chloe cracked a smile as she failed yet again
to get a small lie past Lois, "Yes, but it was worth a try." "When
you gonna learn kid, you can't get nothing by your big cousin?"
She knew there was no way to make Chloe stop blaming herself, her and
Clark had that blaming thing in common, so she decided to just let it
go. "So, how about some breakfast?" At the mention of food
Chloe's stomach grumbled letting her know she did want some
breakfast. Both girls laughed at the loud sound and Chloe looked back
to Lois, "You mean you made little ole me breakfast?" Another
loud laugh came from Lois, "Chlo, I love you too much to subject
you to my cooking. But I can however drive us down to Denny's where
we can be waited on?" Feeling a little better already Chloe
beamed a smile at Lois and stood up. "Sounds like a plan, just let
me freshen up okay? Be back in five." She ran off to the bathroom
to make sure she looked presentable. Lois watched her
returning to the bright and happy woman she had always known her to
be and run off to get ready. Smiling to herself, Lois picked up the
forgotten coffee mugs and folded the blanket Chloe had slept with.
She remembered watching Clark take care of Chloe last night, and that
pang for love came back to her. She wished she had some so bad, but
the way her last brush with love had ended she had protected her
heart better than Fort Knox. Chloe finished up quickly in the
bathroom, all that needed to be done was taming her wild hair with a
clip, a little make up to make her look alive, and straighten out her
clothes. Once she was okay with her appearance she turned off the
light and left the room to meet Lois so they could leave. She came
out and saw Lois, holding the blanket Clark had tucked around her
close to her and just staring off into space. She had that look of
want and loss on her face. Lois was thinking about love again, Chloe
had come to know that face well and also came to know not to sneak up
on Lois when she is wearing that face. So Chloe back peddled into the
bathroom and came out, this time announcing herself. "Well Lois,
you ready for some food because I know I am.?" Lois heard
Chloe's voice echoing in the halls and quickly started to fold the
blanket again and lay it across the back of the couch. She looked up
to see Chloe standing a few feet from her and smiling, Lois was glad
she hadn't caught her because she hated letting people know she
still thought about love. She smiled, "Yeah, lets go I am
starving." Grabbing her purse, Chloe followed Lois out the
door and into her car. She knew that they wouldn't talk anymore of
why Chloe had spent the night at her house on her first night back
from her honeymoon any more, and that was just the way she wanted it.
Then she figured she better call Todd, he would be wondering if she
was okay, and if Lois was okay. As they pulled into the parking lot
of the restaurant Chloe pulled her cell phone out and turned to Lois.
"Hey you mind if I meet you in there? I should call Todd an tell
him I am okay, let him know I will stop home before I go to
work." She shut off the car and looked at Chloe, she was
going to mention she call him soon. He hadn't called her house this
morning but that didn't mean he wasn't worried, it just meant he
was trusting. Lois nodded, "Yeah go right ahead, I will get us a
table and some OJ, sound good?" "Sounds great, thanks
again." Chloe watched her get out and let the silence sink in
before she dialed the number. She almost hoped that she would reach
his voicemail because talking to him was going to be so hard. To lie
to him and act like last night didn't forever change her life, it
was more than she wanted to deal with. But she had no luck, not that
she really deserved it, he picked up after a few rings. "Hey hon,
how you feeling?" His voice brought a smile to her face, she
had almost forgotten how sweet and caring it was. It made her
remember why she had fallen in love with him again, "I am fine,
sorry about last night." "Hey, don't worry about it I
know how much Lois means to you and I would never stand in the way of
you being there for her. How is she feeling now?" She could hear he
was getting ready for work and she remembered how she always used to
just sit and watch him prepare because it was so fun to watch him
when he didn't know she was. She began to play with the
strap on her purse, she was nervous like she was when they first
began dating again. It was awkward but sort of fun to feel those
butterflies again, "Better, it was kind of a late night but finally
got some sleep and we woke up hungrier than ever. And you know
neither of us can cook worth a darn so we settled for a Denny's." A
laugh came from his end as she made mention of her lack of culinary
skills, "Yes I know too well, you remember when you tried to make
dinner for me on one of our first dates?" She giggled out
loud, she remembered alright because it was a complete disaster. She
had burnt everything but the ice cream they were going to eat for
desert. "Yes, but don't make me think about it again. Thank god
you can cook or else we would become fast food people." "Yes
thank god. Will you be able to stop home before you go to work?"
She could tell he wanted to see her and she wanted to see him. She
looked to he watch, she had an hour before she had to leave for work
and he needed to be at the restaurant a little after that. She
nodded even though he couldn't see it, "Yes, I need to get
showered and dressed before I go to work anyways. Give me like half
an hour, forty-five minute tops." Todd picked out his tie
for the day and then she stopped to stare at his reflection in the
mirror, catching glance of their large shower. "Should I start a
shower for you and wait? A blush crept up her face and she
giggled like a school girl. "Well only if you have time, but you
know we are always late when we do that." "Would Perry
really care if his ace reporter is a little late?" He was leaning
up against the counter still staring at the shower. "Yes,
but I could talk my way out of it, and you do own the
restaurant…" "So see you in half an hour?" "Hopefully
shorter than that, love you." She hung up and walked into the
restaurant and saw Lois in a small both in the corner. She walked
over and sat down, she wanted to order something small and be out of
there as soon as she could. Lois caught on to her actions and
knew that something was up, "How is Todd?" The blush
returned to Chloe's cheeks and she looked down at her plate of
toast. "Oh he is good, waiting to see me before he heads to work.
So do you mind if we make this really quick?" Now she knew
why Chloe was acting all shy and anxious, she and Todd had made plans
to 'see' each other before they headed off to work. A small smirk
played across Lois' face and she was glad that Chloe was getting
back to loving Todd. "Sure, I am ready now if you want to
go?" Eating the remainder of her toast Chloe nodded and left
a tip on the table. "Yep, may I get a ride home?" Lois
left the rest of the bill and picked up her purse, "Of course, lets
go"
Kal watched as Chloe got dressed and ready for her job. He always loved watching her dress, it was so much fun to see her cover up what only hours ago he had devoured. He rested his hands behind his head on the pillow as he lay and watch her. She could feel his eyes on her and it only made her even more hot and bothered. Leaving him was hard enough as it is, but just having him laying there, naked, and watching her was sometimes more than she could handle. "Could you not watch me?"
He laughed because he knew he was making her uncomfortable, "I am sorry, you are just to beautiful to turn away from." He sat up and crawled to the end of the bed and lay on his stomach looking up at her.
She smiled and blushed at his words, it wasn't often that Kal was so kind with his words. He tended to be a little more blunt, and at times it was a turn on but right now she liked the kind side. "Well thank you, you aren't too hard to look at either, but I need to get going."
Getting up and walking over to her he brought her close to his body and took in her fresh sent. "Do you really have to go?"
As much as she loved being in his arms she knew she had to leave before she got sidetracked again and was late for work. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed a little, "Yes, and you should too, you know Lois is going to be worried."
He sighed and nodded his head, he knew deep down she was right. This was the worst part of them being together, that they would eventually have to leave and go to the ones they were really with. "I hate this."
"Me too, but someday we will tell them, someday soon." She held out her hand for him to place the red ring in. He quickly complied and she put the ring in a led box, she saw him change and saw the real man she was in love with. "I love you Clark Kent"
She gave him the box and watched as he became a blur, got dressed and jumped out the window. Faintly she heard him yell back to her, "I love you Chloe Sullivan."
