Background: Clark, Lana and Chloe are 21 and they all have jobs. They are still living in Smallville. ENJOY!
I don't own anything!
"Clark?" called Chloe as she entered his apartment on Saturday evening. "Yo, farm boy!"
"I'm in the kitchen Chloe!" yelled Clark. Chloe walked through the immaculately clean apartment to the kitchen. Clark was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved midnight-blue t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The shirt was topped with a blue checked apron. In his hand was an onion that he was expertly chopping.
"Good to know some people get a Saturday off. Not to mention a Sunday," Chloe remarked.
"Hey, Chloe, how's it going?" he said, as Chloe slipped into a bar stool. "Want to try my special soup?" Chloe smirked.
"I'd love to Clark, but I'm running late as it is. Just wanted to drop off your birthday present that has been lying in my room since God knows when, and would be there much longer unless I gave it to you now. Just some more shirts to add to your growing collection. Now, I have to go get Chinese takeaway for Lana, who's very sick with a high fever. That and just fifteen minutes left to punch in for work can really wrack up a girl's nerves." Here, Chloe finally stopped. Clark's hand was frozen in mid-air. Silence fell.
"Umm… thanks for the shirts. Is there anyway I can help?"
"No, thanks," began Chloe, and then suddenly stopped. "Well, you could take some soup for Lana… but no, forget it. You have too much work on your hands…"
But Clark, still fazed by the torrent of words coming out of his best friend's mouth, said, "No, really. It's no big deal. I'll take soup for her." Chloe squealed and hugged him, then squealed again and ran out of the apartment.
Clark, on the other hand, just stood there, the half chopped onion still in his hand.
Clark stopped outside the well-kept white and blue house. He clutched a neat bundle that contained home-made soup. He walked up the by-now familiar gravel path and rang the bell. After about five minutes, the door opened.
Lana's eyes were watery and her face was flushed. Her hair hung loosely about her face, as she struggled to keep herself upright. She was wearing a pink tank top with white pajamas.
Slowly, Lana lifted her head and her eyes met Clark's.
"Clark?" she said softly, before she fell.
When Lana awoke, she was lying in her bed. The covers were drawn up to her shoulders. She slowly turned her head to the chair next to the bed, where Clark was sitting. He was worriedly rubbing his hands together.
When he saw that she was awake, a relieved smile spread across his face.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hi," she replied, just as faintly.
"How you feeling?" asked Clark, gently tucking her hair behind her ears.
"I feel like someone hit me on the head with a bag full of stones," she said. Clark smiled.
"I have some soup for you. I'll go warm it up." Clark hurried downstairs and quickly shoved the soup into the microwave. After a minute, he grabbed the scalding soup with his bare hands and carried it up to Lana's bedroom.
When he entered, he could see Lana visibly shaking. He quickly set down the soup and came up to her.
"Lana?" she slowly turned towards him, clutching her blanket around her violently shivering body. He grazed his hand over her cheek and winced. Her fever was raging high. She was tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable. Her eyes were watering, and her eyes rolled in a state of delirium.
"Clark…" she mumbled. Her eyes flowed. "Hold me…"
Clark climbed onto the bed and gently lifted Lana into his lap. He brushed away her tears, put his arms around her and covered her with the blanket.
After half an hour in the same position, Lana had stopped shivering. She cuddled closer to Clark.
"Lana?" whispered Clark softly. Lana's eyes fluttered open and met Clark's.
"Do you want me to leave so you can rest?" Lana clutched Clark's shirt and shook her head 'no'. Clark smiled.
"Okay. I'm not going anywhere," he said, kissing Lana lightly on the top of her head. "You just go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." Lana nodded feebly and closed her eyes.
She hadn't felt this safe in a long time; since her parents had been alive. Clark held her firmly, but gently. His hands played with her hair, and her feverish self relaxed under his gentle touch. In a few minutes, she was fast asleep.
Seeing this, Clark reached into his pocket for the phone and speed-dialed Chloe.
"Hello?"
"Hey Chloe, it's Clark."
"Yeah, I kinda figured that part out after looking at the caller ID. You do know what that is, don't you?" Clark could almost see Chloe roll her eyes as she said that.
"Yes, Chloe."
"It's what they say. You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of---"
"Chloe! Focus! Lana is pretty sick, so I'll be here for a while."
"A while? Clark, it's already eight."
"I know. She's just really sick, and I can't leave her like this."
"Ok, thanks for telling me. I was going to stop by later to have some of your soup." There was a pause. "Now I can… well, never mind."
"What?"
"Well, now I can… go on that date with Jimmy." Clark gasped.
"Jimmy? Jimmy Olsen?"
"Well, yeah." Clark laughed.
"Whatever, farm boy. You just take care of Lana. We'll talk tomorrow."
"Bye." Clark smiled to himself. Chloe and Jimmy made a pretty cute couple. He sat there, just thinking, for about an hour, when he felt Lana stirring in his arms. He looked down and watched her as she smiled in her sleep.
He thought back to the time when they had their first kiss. Then to the time when he watched helplessly as she went out with Lex and his happiness when Lex and Lana broke up. Since then, Lana and Clark had grown closer. They went to the same college and lived only a block away from each other, but they never became a couple again.
Both were oblivious to what the other was feeling.
It was way past midnight, and Clark was still there.
"Can we go outside for a minute?" asked Lana suddenly. "I seriously need some fresh air." Clark nodded and the two of them walked down the stairs and out onto the porch. There they were greeted by a friendly blast of cool air. They just stood there quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the weather and each other's company.
Clark noticed that Lana was shivering, so he took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, causing her to move closer to him and rest her head on his chest. He put his arms around her.
A light drizzle had started and the whispering rain made the night seem almost surreal.
"Wow, this is really beautiful, don't you agree?" whispered Lana. Clark looked down at her luminous face and sparkly eyes. Her hair was smooth and shiny, and smelt of the raspberry shampoo she used.
Just looking at her warmed his heart and made his love for her grow.
"Yeah,"replied Clark softly.Lana looked up at him and found him staring intently at her. His oceanic eyes closed as she reached up to caress his cheek.
She wasn't sure who initiated the kiss, but the next thing she knew, Clark's lips were on hers. She put her hands behind his head while he slipped his around her waist. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, and then slowly broke apart.
"Lana," whispered Clark. "I love you."
"Clark—"
"No, Lana, I really do love you." Lana smiled softly and ran her fingers through his hair.
"I know. I love you too." Then both of them leaned in again, finally happy, finally at peace.
Unbeknown to them, Chloe was standing outside the fence with a Chinese dinner for Clark. When she saw them kissing, a Cheshire-cat-like smile lit up her face and her eyes sparkled. She let out a wolf-whistle. Clark and Lana broke apart and looked at her, open-mouthed.
"You guys better take this inside. It's pretty cold out. I would know. Tootles!" Having said that, she walked on till she was out of sight. Clark shook his head and laughed.
"Come on Lana," he said. She smiled and took his hand.
The slamming of the screen door behind them echoed throughout the quiet night. The previous ups and downs of Clark and Lana's relationship held no significance, now that they had their entire lives to spend together. This was what was meant to be, and this is what is.