Title: Fated King

Author: DarienSummers

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or any of its actors. I wouldn't mind owning Erica Durance, but that's for later mauauaha.

A/N: This is A/U and takes place shortly after "Arrival". See previous chapters for other notes. Also I would like to note this has been revised and part of this chapter was broken off at the advice of a beta reader. The rest you will find in the next chapter

Metropolis University November 12th, 2005

Submerged within his memories of those early days, Clark Kent remained unaware of a soft knocking upon his dorm room door. Had he been fully awake, he would have easily heard the knock and after a moment been able to recognize its owner, but such was not the case. In truth Clark's small break had turned into a moment's rest, which in turn became a five minute nap; a nap that Clark failed to wake from.

Again the sound of rapping could be heard throughout his room, and again he failed to hear the soft sound. There was the slightest of pauses before muffled voices could be heard through his door. The voices clearly were in disagreement about something, however one voice seemed to silence the other, and it seemed that was the end of the knocking.

Suddenly a loud and intense banging could be heard throughout the entire hallway Clark resided in, as a fist was beaten against his door in rapid succession. The noise was not only much stronger, but also much insistent on the point of being demanding. It was this knocking or banging as Clark would call it, which startled him into alertness.

The bright lighting of his own room, as well as grogginess, disoriented Clark as his eyes snapped open. With a violent twist of his body he attempted to right himself expecting some kind of attack, the end result of his uncoordinated movement was finding himself face down on the floor, while the banging continued to call him.

Shaking his head for a second, Clark pulled himself off the ground before moving to open the door with a quick jerk. He was surprised to have a balled fist meet his chest as he stepped into the open entrance.

Lois Lane and Chloe Sullivan stood before him, backpacks and luggage at their feet.

"Well it's about time, Smallville!" spoke the former woman in a sarcastic tone, before she uncurled the fist that rested on his chest and used it to push past him into the room.

"As usual never one for pleasantries are we Lois?" he replied in an equally sarcastic tone. He moved to allow Chloe into the room as well, before looking down at their bags which had remained in the hallway. Debating something for a second, he reached for Chloe's things before stepping back into his room and setting them down. It didn't take Lois long to notice the small smile that spread across his face as he took a seat at his desk.

"Good one Kent, I think you might finally be learning something." The words left her mouth as she stepped back outside to pull her bags inside as well. Chloe choose that short silence to interject.

"So are you almost ready Clark?" her gaze surveying his room as she spoke, searching for his bags, though she could find none.

"Sorry," he returned as he stood and quickly moved about his room gathering the little he would need for weekend trip home. "I guess I kind of dozed off a bit…"

"A bit?" Lois interrupted as she flopped down on his bed a smirk forming, "Clarkie dear, by my count, my highly accurate count, we're already a good twenty minutes behind schedule."

The slight wince that Clark gave was more than enough for Lois as she sighed contently, having managed to ruffle his feathers ever so slightly. Chloe could only look on, as she contemplated the interactions between Lois and Clark. Their entire relationship would, at first glance, seem as if it had been based on nothing more than exchanging sarcastic remarks and witty zingers. Chloe of course knew this was far from the truth though, for she had witnessed on more than one occasion, the undercurrents of her cousin and best friend's strange friendship. One moment the two could easily seem like they were on the verge of strangling each other, and in a split second the atmosphere could shift between the two and she would find them working together as if they were one person. Then there was the fact that for as long as the two had known each other, even when at their worst, they had known what was off limits and what was fair game. The game they played, the rules of which were unknown even to Chloe, was complicated to say the least; Complicated and highly amusing.

Finishing his packing Clark nodded to the others to indicate he was ready to go, and so after a quick moment spent gathering their things in hand, the trio made their way out of his dormitory and towards Lois's awaiting jeep. Tossing their luggage into the back, they took their seats for the ride back to Smallville.

Smallville, Nov. 12th, 2005

After about two hilarious hours of bickering between Lois and Clark, the trio found themselves pulling onto Hickory Lane, better known as the Kent's driveway. Lois and Chloe exited the vehicle swiftly before dashing off towards the main house, leaving Clark to unpack. He was extremely grateful, to notice someone already beginning to unload the back of the jeep, and with a hearty smile Clark embraced his father in a hug. Lois and Chloe seemed to be doing the same thing to Mrs. Kent on the porch.

"You're a little later than normal." His father noted as he pulled back from the hug to again reach for the luggage. A slight blush colored Clark's cheeks at the words.

"That was my fault, I kind of lost track of time and ended up oversleeping." He stated while helping his father haul the bags inside.

"I have no doubt Lois already gave you an earful about that didn't she?" Jonathon Kent chuckled as he noticed the even deeper blush that crossed Clark's face. "It's nice to see you all the same. You know your mother has been anxious about it all week. I think sometimes she misses the three of you more than she lets on."

As if the very mention of her was a cue, Martha Kent moved to embrace her son as he climbed the porch.

"Don't you listen to a word he says Clark, I'm fine. I just couldn't wait to see my baby boy again." Her words were followed by a chuckle from Lois as she watched from behind Martha.

"Aw, you missed mommy Clarkie? How sweet!" the mock awe was clearly evident as she grinned mischievously. It of course earned her a glare from Clark over Mrs. Kent's shoulder as she hugged him.

Chloe wisely interrupted as she grabbed some of the bags from Clark and Mr. Kent before handing one to Lois.

"Come on Miss Sassy Pants, we need to get settled in and I'm hungry." And at the mention of food Mrs. Kent followed the girls inside, beginning to tell them dinner would be ready soon and leaving Clark and Jonathon on the porch alone. Pulling his son as he moved Jonathon took a seat on the old oak swinging bench, followed easily by Clark.

For minutes they sat in a peaceful silence, both needing no words to express themselves as the mood spoke for itself. They had done this often when Clark returned home, just sat and looked out over the farm together. Few words were ever needed anymore for them to understand each other, and so it surprised Clark when his father sliced into the comforting void of silence.

"You still think about it don't you?" Jonathon's voice was a soothing melody as he spoke, and the question was in truth more of a statement; a statement Clark was caught off guard by, extremely so, though he knew what his dad meant.

"It comes and goes; I don't think I'll ever really forget it." Clark's voice lowered to barely a whisper as he replied. It was clear that he was becoming lost in a day long past.

"That's a good thing though son, things like that, no matter how much they hurt aren't meant to be forgotten." The sagely wisdom of Jonathon Kent was evident to Clark. "I just hope you still aren't blaming yourself for it anymore, there was nothing you could have done."

"Even so, sometimes I can't help but think what if I had tried harder? Or ran faster?" his tone became ever so slightly filled with grief, as his memories once again replayed that fateful day over and over in his mind.