Chapter 28

Explicit warning: This chapter contains explicit sexual interactions between Clark and Buffy. Please do not read if easily offended by graphic, erotic prose.

The microwave beeped to let Buffy know her hot chocolate was done. She loaded the top of the mug with tiny marshmallows and went to sit on the couch in her living room. She and Clark had shared a routine shower when they came in, washing away any remnants of their evening in Metropolis. Buffy finished first, leaving Clark in his pensive repose under the hot water. They were exhausted mentally from the evening's events, and Buffy knew for her, hot chocolate and the memory of her mother would help center her again. She closed her eyes and imagined being surrounded by a warm glow, receiving a celestial hug from her mother.

Clark's head hung beneath the flowing water and he contemplated his anger. Even though it was directed towards Kreig in that moment, he knew it was deeper. It always came back to Lex and it had been building steadily over the years. He would have to find a more functional way to channel his anger, especially if he faced Lex again. He would ask Jor-El for guidance. He didn't want to deny his human emotions, they connected him to everyone, to Earth, to Buffy. But he did need to bridge his human and Kryptonian sides and hopefully in doing so he would know how to navigate his anger more easily.

He turned off the water and dried himself off. Adorned in boxers, Clark sat next to a meditative Buffy. With her eyes still closed, half empty hot chocolate mug in her hand, she curled into Clark's welcoming frame. He lazily stroked her wet hair and listened to her heartbeat continue to slow. They sat together for a long time before Buffy opened her eyes and looked up to Clark.

"You're so loud," she said, smirking at him.

Clark smiled, "You mean my heartbeat?"

She nodded, "And your body temperature. We'll never need blankets again."

"I'll get right on burning those."

"With your eyes."

"With my eyes."

Buffy spoke after a few more moments of contented silence passed, "So, this is what it's like to relax with someone after a long day's work? I'm reveling in the chillness that is us."

Clark kissed her on the forehead, "Mmhmm, this is what we fight for, isn't it? Not just for us, but for everyone. To be at peace, to feel safe. I did't realized how important having this would be for maintaining perspective on my destiny."

"There were so many times when the desire to give up was overwhelming. Being the slayer has never been easy. But my family, my friends, they're the reason I'm still around. It's what makes me unique from the previous slayers, who tended to train in isolation with their watchers. Giles allowed me to stay as integrated as possible. Although I thought he was for sure torturing me with his dedication to my education, it surrounded me with people who needed me. People like us. Without that compassion, we'd be like a super powered Lex."

Clark agreed. His time in high school had been tedious and trying at times too, but it socialized him to tune in to the problems facing his classmates and their families.

"My dad was like that with me. He felt that school was really important for developing my character and for controlling my powers. He didn't like it when I made a spectacle of my powers a few times, and hated it when I ran away to Metropolis, tired of his restrictions. Now that he's gone, I really wish I had listened to him more. All those things he was trying to teach me and I was just being a stupid, stubborn kid," he sighed into Buffy's hair.

Buffy felt fortunate for being able to reconcile her life as the slayer with her mother, that she was able to keep her safe, "Sometimes I think it would have been easier if my mom was killed by some demon, I could have fought a demon. There's no fighting a brain tumor or its effect on a person's body. I felt completely hopeless. I know how to fight, not just stand around and let something horrible happen. But there wasn't anything to be done."

Despite their mutual understanding of loss, they now also shared a safe place in which to recover from the gravity of their missions. Instead of seeing their relationship as a liability, they could take solace in each other and build a life together that strengthened them.

Clark and Buffy's eyes met, their satisfaction at being there together obvious. He placed Buffy's empty mug on the coffee table and gathered her up in his arms. Walking into her bedroom, he gently positioned Buffy on the bed. The room faded away as he leaned down to kiss her, subtly laying on top of her. He supported his weight on his forearms as he pulled back, seeking her eyes, the portals to her love for him.

Buffy caressed his cheek, returning the intensity of his stare, "The way you look at me, you really see me. No expectations, no pain, just love and trust. No one's ever looked at me like that before."

He knew exactly what she meant and with eyes open, he brought his lips to hers. Their lips softly pressed together, his tongue moving against her lips begging for entrance. Deepening the kiss, Buffy shifted to hook a thumb on Clark's boxers and shimmy him out of them. He made a similar motion and slid her night shirt up and over her head. Completely bare to one another, Clark positioned himself between Buffy's legs.

Wordlessly and lost in each others' eyes, Clark pushed himself inside Buffy. She gasped as he entered and stretched her, arching her back to meet him as he began to move. In contrast to their previous couplings, this was about a calm, shared understanding of their love and hope for their future together. Clark tenderly gripped Buffy's hand, intertwining their fingers and held her gaze while their hips joined. Their bodies relaxed into one another and Buffy's legs wrapped around Clark's body, shifting the angle and depth of his cock. Buffy could feel him probing her deepest recesses, causing her to quiver beneath him. Clark could feel his abdomen and balls tightening.

He moaned against Buffy's neck, "Come with me."

She nodded, their orgasms mounting simultaneously and threatening to sweep them away. Gliding his swollen dick in and out of her luscious pussy and seeing Buffy's pleasure written on her face was too much for Clark. Feeling his frantic thrusts and the vision of Clark's body shaking as he came inside her pushed Buffy over the edge, her head thrown back against the pillow as they trembled together in the aftermath of their unraveling.

He remained on top of her for a long time, their misty and entangled bodies immobilized from their lovemaking. Clark kissed Buffy's neck and up her face to her lips, chastely planting a kiss and moving to his side to face her. With their legs and hands mingled and their noses almost touching, they fell into a deep sleep.