Chapter 3
Luthor Mansion-5 p.m. 1 week later
"So, what's the latest between you and the lovely Miss Lang?" Lex asked as he put the eight ball in the corner pocket, winning the third game of pool in a row. Clark laughed, and shook his head before walking over and getting a bottle of water from the minibar.
"It's not happening."
"Clark, giving up never accomplished anything." Lex replied, walking over and taking a sip of his own water.
"I'm not giving up Lex. I'm just not interested."
And that was the honest truth. Clark Kent had no romantic interest in Lana Lang. It wasn't like he hadn't had opportunities. He had saved her from Greg Arkin after all, and that would have been the perfect time to stake his claim for her affections. He just had no interest in having Lana as anything more than a friend.
"Oh? And who is it that has caused this sudden change of heart?"
"Sorry Lex. Some secrets aren't meant to be shared."
With those words he walked out, not seeing the dark look that flashed across his friend's face. Lex knew that Clark was hiding something, and if the Porsche currently sitting in the Luthorcorp subbasement was any indication, it was a lot more than the identity of some mysterious girl.
Kent Farm-Three Hours Later
"Well, this isn't awkward at all." Clark commented as he listened the sound of silverware scraping across plates. He had been nervous enough when his parents had asked him to invite Natasha over for dinner, knowing that the invitation was little more than an excuse for his mom and dad to interrogate the former SHIELD agent as to what her intentions were toward Clark. Well, that would be his mom's question more than his dad's. While Jonathan Kent would most certainly want to ensure that Natasha wasn't going to turn Clark over to some government agency, he would be even more concerned about making clear what would happen if she chose to threaten his son. And while Clark was grateful for his dad's concern, the idea of Jonathan Kent threatening Natasha Romanoff was laughable.
But Clark would have almost preferred the threats to what actually happened. Clark had greeted Natasha warmly when she had arrived, but the moment they walked into the dining room where his parents waited, the entire room grew as cold as ice. Aside from introductions, not a word had been exchanged for nearly an hour.
"Well I'm sorry son, but I've got a bit of an issue with a former KGB assassin teaching teenagers."
"And I have an issue with you judging me based on a scrap of paper. Now I came here hoping to bury the hatchet because I care about Clark, but that's obviously a mistake. If you'll excuse me I have some work to get done before tomorrow. Thank you for dinner Mrs. Kent."
"I'll walk you out." Clark said as Natasha stood up from the table, but the redhead just smiled and shook her head.
"I appreciate it, but I think I'll manage. I'll see you tomorrow Clark, and remember that if you need anything day or night..."
"I know Natasha."
She nodded and left, Clark rounding on his parents the moment the door shut.
"Are you kidding me? Are you KIDDING ME?!"
"Watch your tone young man." Martha said, but Clark just laughed. However when he spoke there was no trace of humor in his voice.
"I invited Natasha over against my better judgment, hoping that you would give her a chance. But instead, all you want to do is give her the cold shoulder and treat her like a threat all because of something you found in a piece of paper."
"Son, I understand that you like her, and that she's your friend but you're not in a position to be objective. You can't see this situation clearly."
"Let me tell you what I see dad. I see someone who saved the entire planet twice over only to be betrayed by the very people she was trying to protect. I see someone who had every chance to report me to her boss and chose not to. You don't know this, but I was supposed to be part of the Avengers. The only reason I wasn't recruited is because of the woman who just walked out that door. She had information about me, information that could have seen my secret exposed to the entire planet. But she didn't expose me. Instead, Natasha chose to bury anything to do with me. Now instead of being terrified that she's going to turn me over to the government, maybe you should be thanking her for keeping me safe."
Clark walked upstairs and climbed into bed, the stress of the last week ensuring that he fell asleep almost instantly.
"Do you want something to drink?" Natasha asked, looking completely unsurprised to find Clark knocking on her door at three a.m.
"Whatever you're going to have." He replied, and she nodded before turning around.
"Make yourself at home."
Clark sat down on the sofa, taking some comfort in the fact that he had someone he could talk to about what he was going through without that person thinking he was crazy. He only hoped Natasha wouldn't think he was weak.
"So I guess it's true what people say about Russian's and their vodka." He said when Natasha came back with two shot glasses and a bottle, setting the bottle on the table before handing Clark his glass.
She just smirked before downing the shot, Clark doing the same a moment later. The alcohol burned his throat, but he didn't show any outward signs of that fact.
"So, are you just trying to get me drunk and have your wicked way with me?" He joked as he watched her refill the glasses.
"Trust me, if I wanted to have my wicked way with you there are much easier ways to go about it." She shot back, trying to ignore the part of her that wanted to do just that.
Clark just smirked in response, trying to ignore the part of him that said he wouldn't resist if Natasha one day decided that she did want to have her wicked way with him.
"But no I'm not trying to get you drunk. Clint finally convinced me to talk about my nightmares a few years ago and for some reason the vodka helped." She replied, and he just nodded, not looking at her.
"You're not weak Clark." She said quietly, seeming to read his mind. He looked up at her, seeing the belief of what she had just said clear in her eyes.
"The person who can kill and feel nothing every single time is not a person. They're a machine. Now I'm not saying that I regret every kill I've done, because some of those people deserved to die. But others...others I will regret until my dying day." She told him, her mind once more going back to her first kill, seeing the shock in the man's eyes as clear as she saw Clark now.
"But Jeremy didn't deserve to die Natasha. He was just a kid that wanted to make sure no one else went through what he did."
His stopped for a moment and downed the vodka, the burn from the alcohol seeming to give the young man the strength to keep talking. Natasha silently filled the shot glass again, knowing firsthand how difficult it was for someone to talk about this.
"I can't sleep at night, and when I do pass out from sheer exhaustion I find myself back in that cornfield."
"Let me go. Let me go...Please." Clark groaned as he felt the meteor rock chain grow tighter and tighter around his neck. He was tied so securely to the post in the middle of the cornfield that he couldn't even attempt to free himself.
"It's for your own good you know?"
Jeremy stood in front of him, covered in blood, a cold smile clear on his face.
"You won't have to worry about killing anyone else."
With that he disappeared in a mist as red as the blood that covered his body, and Clark was left hanging there with the meteor rock chain tightening to the point where Clark felt he might die from suffocation.
A moment later, it seemed as though he had a sliver of hope. Natasha was walking towards him, but she stopped just short of where he was.
"This is the price you pay for killing a man Clark. You die alone."
It had been five minutes since Clark had told Natasha of the nightmare that had plagued him for the last week and she still hadn't said a word. This was leaving Clark thinking that maybe he had made a mistake talking to her about this. That perhaps, despite her words from earlier she believed that he was in fact weak. Little did he know that nothing could be further from the truth.
Natasha didn't think Clark was weak. In truth, the fact that he was able to admit that he was having nightmares from killing a man made him one of the strongest men she had ever met. But his nightmare had touched on Natasha's greatest fear. The words that she had spoken to him in his dream terrified. Her greatest fear since she was twelve years old had been that she would die alone. Alone and unloved, because who could possibly love a woman who had so much red in her ledger? But then she looked up at the young man sitting across from her. He was looking at his shoes so Natasha was unable to see his face, but she remembered the look in his eyes when he gave her her file. A file that he had every right to open but still chose not to. All because he trusted her. Because for some reason that Natasha couldn't possibly begin to fathom, Clark cared for her. He had looked into her eyes, knowing full well that she was a killer, and he had still chosen to care for her.
"You're not alone Clark. I'm right here."
He looked up at her and smiled, prompting her to smile in return. And then, over four hours and a bottle of vodka Natasha found herself doing something she had only done with the man she considered a brother. She told Clark about her own nightmares, told him about her greatest fear. And he stayed and listened, his presence comforting her through it all.
That night, a bond was formed that would last for the rest of their lives, and have repercussions that Clark Kent and Natasha Romanoff could not even begin to imagine. That night two people made a silent vow. They would be there to help each other through everything, and they would never be alone again.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please read and review and the next chapter will be up soon! Also, if anyone is looking for another great Clark/Natasha story check out SHIELD Academy for a Kent by my friend Clean Writer 1987!