Smallville: An Alternate Future Chapter 9, a smallville fanfic

Author's Note: Italics signify thought or emphasis. Underlined is telepathic communication. Please keep in mind that this is AU. Jor El has never made any sort of appearance and neither did Dr. Swann. Clark knows nothing of Krypton.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aen and Clark decided on a psychological thriller that ended up having more than a little action. The theater had comfortable seats with arms that could either be lowered for use or raised and hidden out of the way. Clark and Aen lowered the ones on the outside of their seats but left the one between them up. Fifteen minutes into the movie a particularly tense situation arose onscreen and Aen reached for Clark's hand. Clark laced his fingers through hers. Ten minutes later, she hid her face on his shoulder, continuing to lean into him even when she almost immediately turned her head to once again watch the screen.

It was one of the most fulfilling two-hour spans Clark had ever spent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Out of habit, Clark drove home and parked before realizing he had done so. But when he reached to turn the key in the ignition to restart the truck, Aen stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. She turned away and climbed out of the truck. Clark did the same.

"It's a nice evening and there's still plenty of light," she said as he came around the truck to stand beside her. "I think I'll just walk home."

Clark didn't want her to go but he knew he couldn't ask her to stay. Still, her name slipped from his lips in a plea, "Aen."

Aen lifted her dark green eyes to his blue ones. As had happened many times before, their gazes locked, making everything else fade away.

He breathed her name softly this time, a whisper of a caress, "Aen."

What could one kiss hurt? He had to taste her… just once. But any more than that and he might not be able to stop. And he would die before he hurt her. He bent his head down, but at the last moment, her eyes widened and she danced back a few steps. Clark let his hand drop. Seeing the panic in her gaze, he was only half-sorry that he had scared her away. She was going to be leaving anyway. The thought hurt, worse than anything he could remember, but at least this way he knew there never could have been anything between them, even if he hadn't been capable of accidentally killing her if he ever lost control of his passion.

"I'm sorry, Aen, I …"

"No, Clark," she begged softly, tears welling in her beautiful green eyes, "please don't apologize, I… I want you to kiss me. But… it can only be this once."

"Okay," he agreed softly, assuming that she didn't want to get any more involved since she wasn't staying in Smallville.

He moved slowly toward her, determined not to frighten her again, and pulled her gently to him. He lowered his mouth to hers and could have died of happiness when his lips met hers. She was soft and pliant. He touched his mouth to hers softly, sweetly, and slowly pulled his head away.

She looked up at him shyly and whispered, "Could I change that to this one time, instead of one kiss? You're the first man to kiss me, I'd like there to be more to remember."

Clark felt as if he had been given the key to the world's greatest treasure. No one else had ever kissed her! Since the only other time he had been kissed had been when Lana and Chloe were under the influence of the Niccodemus flower and the mind controller and when he was under the influence of the red meteor rocks, he wasn't exactly an expert, but he could share what he did know with her.

This time he pulled her closer still, his hands at her hips. Aen put her arms between them, her palms pressed open against his chest, as if to break free the second it went too far. She met him more than half way when he bent his head down to touch mouths with her again. He moved his lips tenderly over hers, molding them softly to her shape, memorizing each millimeter he came in contact with.

The sensations he experienced in each instant were overwhelmingly powerful, and he had to use every ounce of his self-control to keep from acting without thinking. Going for a big finish, he ran his hands around and down from her hips to her bottom, lifting her against him. Aen gasped and Clark took the opportunity presented to him, gently sliding his tongue inside her mouth.

Aen moaned at the sudden invasion and sank into his embrace, lowering her arms from his chest to loop them around his waist. Their tongues touched tentatively before swirling and tasting. Aen's hands worked Clark's shirt out of his waistband to caress the hot skin of his lower back. Clark slipped one of his hands under her shirt to caress the silky skin of her side. She groaned with pleasure and he suddenly pulled away.

"As much as I'd like this to continue, we need to stop now."

Aen nodded and averted her gaze. Clark moved back toward her and lifted her chin.

There were tears in her eyes again and Clark felt like his heart was being ripped out, "Please, don't be sorry about this."

"I could never be sorry," she promised softly. "That was the most beautiful and amazing thing I've ever experienced, and I'll treasure the memory always. I'm in love with you, Clark Kent."

With that devastating proclamation, Aen ran away from him. Clark walked slowly into the barn. His father was waiting for him, and from the look on Jonathan's face, he had seen and heard everything.

Jonathan gestured to an old tractor in one corner, "It's never gonna run again. Hit it, it might help."

Clark's jaw tightened and a muscle jumped along the right side. The next instant he was beside the old machine and his arm had made a hole all the way through it.

"It didn't help," Clark sighed, brushing small, stray bits of machinery from his sleeve. "There has never been a time when I wished so hard to be human. I love her."

"I know son, and I'm sorry."

"I'm not. As much as it hurts, I've never felt this way before and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Jonathan smiled sadly and walked with his son back to the house. Martha looked worried when she saw the despondent set of her son's powerful shoulders, but Jonathan shook his head at her, letting her know that now wasn't the time to ask questions.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Clark had an overwhelming need to see Aen. Leaving a note for his parents saying that he had gone on a walk to clear his head, he started in the direction of the ravine that was between his parent's property and the part of the Smith farm where the house was located. Just before he was about to break through the trees, he slowed to human speed. Across the clearing was Aen. Clark felt his heart clench when he realized she was staring into one of the abandoned quartz mines. She looked up and somehow, even across all that distance, their gazes met.

Clark watched, worried, as Aen turned away and walked into the mineshaft. The mine wasn't very sturdy, but she had already seen him, so he couldn't go at top speed to keep her out of trouble. He started jogging over there, but a minute later, when an ominous rumbling reached his ears, he took off like a shot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aen walked down the mineshaft until she came to a dead end. Recognizing the irony, she let out a small sob. Then she got angry. Why did she have to fall in love with a man who was a member of a species so dramatically physically weaker than her own? The universe appeared to be conspiring against her. Releasing a growl of frustration, Aen slammed her fist into the nearest wall, inadvertently crushing a support beam.

An ominous rumbling greeted her before a section of the ceiling fell on her head. As the force of the blow brought her to her knees and then all the way to the floor, Aen's eyes fell on a large, blue, glowing crystal that had fallen with the rock and dirt of the mine ceiling. She had found another type of Kryptonite! As she drifted at the edge of consciousness, she realized this type must suppress their powers without hurting them.

The sound of crunching footsteps greeted her, and she had only a moment to wonder how Clark had reached her so fast before the rumbling got worse. She tried to scream at him, but even to herself, her voice was very quiet.

"Clark, run!"

Aen felt the weight of his body land on her just before she passed out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aen came to slowly; her first conscious thought that Clark was at least still breathing. As gently as she could, she wiggled her way out from under him. When she sat up, her head spun. Her vision had become adjusted to the dark of the mine when she had first come in, but now it was so dark that she could barely make out shapes. Gently, she brushed dirt and rock from Clark's back, then the area around him. When she was sure he wouldn't be rolled onto anything that could hurt him, she ran her hands efficiently over his body to make sure nothing was broken. She wouldn't want to risk further injury by turning him over if something was seriously wrong.

Thankfully, his only injury appeared to be a cut on his forehead. His slightly sticky blood had already stopped flowing, so it must only be a minor scratch. Taking hold of his shoulder, Aen pushed harder than she would normally dare in order to roll him to his back. He moaned.

"Clark?"

"Aen? What..," he grunted as he sat up, and Aen had the feeling his head had spun much as hers first had, "…what happened?"

"I'm so sorry, Clark. I think the tunnel collapsed. I haven't checked it yet, but hopefully it will be easy to dig our way out."

"What are you apologizing for, it's not your fault." Aen bit her tongue, actually it was, but it would be a little difficult to explain that to him. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"How's your head?" Aen asked softly. "You have a small cut on your forehead."

She never would have forgiven herself if something worse had happened to him because of her tantrum.

"I do?" Clark sounded shocked.

Maybe it was because his injuries could have been so much worse.

Aen watched him lift his arm and heard his breath hiss out a moment later. He must have touched the wound. She crawled cautiously back the way they had come in, stopping only a few feet from where they had lain. She pushed on the dirt and rock piled in front of her. Nothing happened. She felt Clark move into place next to her.

"Nothing happened when I tried pushing. I guess we should try to dig a space near the ceiling of the shaft."

They both stood cautiously, relieved to discover that they could stand all the way upright. Apparently this part of the mine hadn't really been affected, other than the piece of the ceiling that had first been dislodged. They dug quietly for a few minutes, and then had to try another section when they ran into a wooden beam that wouldn't budge no matter how much they shoved at it. By the time they had tried all the way across the tunnel, Aen was exhausted. They hadn't been able to find an area to dig that there was any hope of being able to squeeze through, beams and large rocks blocked the way. But they had made small holes all the way through the rubble, so at least they didn't have to worry about running out of oxygen.

She sank to the floor, shaking. Her body was used to being invincible. She hadn't been this physically tired for a very long time. Clark felt his way toward her and wrapped his arms around her. Realizing suddenly that she couldn't hurt him, she burrowed into him, as close as possible.

"Clark, how long do you think it will be before they start looking for us?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clark hugged Aen more tightly to him. Who knew how long he had before his powers returned and he wouldn't have this luxury. It was slighter lighter now that they had made the holes in the rubble, and he could just make her out when he peered closely.

"I don't know," he answered softly. "It will be at least a couple hours til my parents get worried. What about your brother?"

She shook her head. "He had an errand to run, he'll probably be gone for most of the day."

"We'll be fine," Clark said.

A shudder ran through Aen's body. "Oh, Clark, if something had happened to you because of me…"

"Aen, I love you. I couldn't not follow you."

Her breath caught and she released it in a soft sigh. "I love you, too."

They were both silent for a few minutes.

Clark broke the silence, his voice somehow small, "Aen, can I kiss you?"

Aen pulled slightly away and looked up at him, "Promise me something."

"Anything," he said, and he meant it.

"Whatever happens in this mine stays here."

"Okay."

Her lips were crushed to his in the next second, and Clark moaned softly. After last night, he had not expected to ever be able to kiss her again, and he certainly hadn't expected the opportunity to hold her. When Aen shifted to straddle his lap and felt her way to the buttons on his shirt, her mouth never leaving his, Clark realized the full extent of what she meant to have remain their secret. And even though it was one of the most selfish things he could have done, he welcomed it.