Clark entered the same coffee shop he had for so many years and saw the woman he had loved for those same years at the till; it was almost as if they were 14 again and their lives hadn't become so complicated. The night was dark and the stars shone brightly, and the slither of the sun was quickly slipping into sleep until a new dawn began.

Lana turned to see Clark and smiled. "Clark, what a nice surprise."

Her eyes still had the same sparkle, her hair was still the same silky black and her smile still made him quiver, but something had changed. He didn't know what, but it he also knew it couldn't be undone, no matter how much he wished it could be. "Umm," He looked down, it hurt to look at her. "I need to talk to you."

"Uh-oh, that sounds ominous." She still smiled, as if it were a game. How could she know not to laugh now, of all times. He'd spent all day thinking, trying to come up with some sense, some way that no one would get hurt, that no one would have to suffer. He'd concluded that there wasn't one, that this was one of those things that he couldn't escape, he couldn't beat. In this matter, he was only human.

"See, the thing is…" He looked at her dead in the eye. "Lana, what are you still doing here?"

Her smile slowly faded from her face, grasping that this wasn't a joke. "It turns out leaving is harder than I thought it'd be."

He melted; inside he wanted to fold, to take the easy route into her arms, to pretend they really were 14 again, horseback riding through the fields. But that wasn't real, that wasn't now. In that moment, he realised what had changed. Why didn't he just ask her to stay? Why didn't he use his heart's memories to imagine a future for them? Why was it every time he closed his eyes he saw Lois, not Lana, no matter how much he wished he could? Because it was him that had changed. When Lana left, Clark had become the man she always knew him to be, but a man that Lana never had the chance to meet.

"Lana, ever since you left, all I wanted was for you to come back, for things to go back to the way they were…" He paused, searching through his emotions for words to express how he felt. "But you leaving meant I could become who you wanted me to be, and I don't regret that because I'm doing what I should be doing now, I know that, I feel it every time I save someone."

"I know Clark, it's who you are. What is it you're trying to say?" Lana asked, genuinely concerned about where this was going.

"Lana, I'm not the man you knew." It was all he could say.

Lana looked to the floor, she suddenly saw what this was about. "And I'm not the Lana you knew."

Clark looked at her. "I love you, Lana." She looked up to him, tears forming her eyes as they had many times before. "But we're different people now. And no matter how hard we try to deny it or how much we want the past back, it can't be done." He broke eye-contact, "And I can't concentrate on moving on from you when you're here everyday, it's too hard. I'm sorry."

"Is it Lois?" Her head snapped up to meet his eyes. He flinched, just as she said "I'm sorry, that's not fair. It's none of my business." She took a breath. "I'll be gone soon, I promise. I just have a few loose ends to tie up here, and then I'll go."

Clark nodded. "Lana, just know that I will always be there for you, if you ever need anything…"

Lana nodded, only half certain. "I know." She planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered. "I love you too, Clark."

For the second time that day, he watched another woman he loved walk away.

Well this is the first fanfic I've written in a few years and watching Smallville last night reignited my passion for it. I really hope you like these 2 chapters - more to come if you like them/ I get a chance to write them. I wanted to go into their relationship slowly and not jump them into bed because they're both in a delicate stage of realising they like each other.

PLEASE REVIEW =) You'll make my day xxx