Chapter 11

"Clark, I'm so sorry. He made me find your phone, told me he would kill the kid's if I-"

"It's fine Chloe. You did the right thing." He replied, taking a seat next to Natasha on the couch.

The blonde just nodded, not saying anything. Clark was grateful that she didn't. While he still thought of Chloe as the sister he never had, she had made him realize that he couldn't trust her with his secret. At least, not anytime soon. A few minutes later the blonde left, promising not to breathe a word of what had happened here today. Skye had gone with Colson to say goodbye to the other members of her team, and would be returning later tonight. This left Clark and Natasha alone with Jonathan and Martha Kent, the tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

"What have you been teaching my son Agent Romanoff? And please do not say Russian."

"Well, that is part of it." Clark said in perfect Russian, and Natasha smiled.

"I've been teaching him to survive. To learn to control his gifts so that he gets the outcome he wants when he has to take on the meteor infected that seem to be popping up every other day."

"You had no right-"

"She had every right. And I asked Natasha to help me. Because I don't ever want to be in another situation where I accidentally kill someone."

"Clark, what are you talking about? You've never killed anyone." Martha said, and Clark just shook his head.

"I did. I didn't mean to, but there was no other choice. He was going to kill all of those people. He had to be stopped."

"Clark, how could you-"

"Don't finish that sentence Mr. Kent. You have no right to judge Clark for doing what was necessary to stay alive."

"And Earl Jenkins? Was taking out someone you've known your whole life necessary? Was hurting a man who was practically family necessary?"

"He was holding an entire class of children hostage! Lionel Luthor wanted to put a bullet in Earl's head, and the plant was going to blow any minute because of the rising pressure! What was I supposed to do dad?! Please, enlighten me on what I possibly could have done without exposing my secret."

"You shouldn't have had to do anything." Jonathan replied, giving Natasha a look. She just stared back at the farmer, her face betraying nothing.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but when a high school teacher takes down a guy with a gun, the press start asking questions. How long do you think it would be before someone came after Natasha? A couple days? A week?"

"That's not your problem." Jonathan replied, and Clark glared.

"You always taught me to do the right thing. To use my abilities to help people. But it seems like every single time I do, all you can say is that I made a mistake."

"You lied to us Clark! You kill a man and you say nothing! You harm one of my oldest friends, and then you up and vanish for two weeks without so much as a phone call!"

"Well I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I don't want you and mom to have to deal with my pain! That I can't tell you about the nightmares I have every single time I close my eyes. That I couldn't call and tell you Natasha and I had to leave town because a lunatic shot her in the stomach! I'm sorry that I didn't call you and check in when I spent twelve hours in a hospital listening to my best friend fight for her life, and praying to God that every breath she took wouldn't be her last. I'm so sorry that I failed you!" Clark yelled, abruptly standing and walking out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him.

"The boy Clark killed was planning on murdering everyone at the homecoming dance. He died because Clark hit him with a board and sent him through a wall. If he hadn't, Jeremy could have killed him and God knows how many others. When Clark told me, he was a wreck. He couldn't believe that he had killed a man. That night he showed up at my door because he was having nightmares. He has them almost every night. Now you may not like it Mr. Kent, but I taught Clark to survive so that he never has to kill again. He took down Earl Jenkins to protect me, Earl and everyone else in that building. He hurt Earl to save him from a sniper's bullet. He ran away with me to try and keep you safe from Gonzalez and his people. Everything he has done has been to protect himself and others."

"Why didn't he just tell us?" Martha asked, and Natasha snorted.

"He did it to spare you pain. He did it because your husband is so stuck on his own self-righteousness that he makes judgments without knowing all the facts. He didn't tell you because the only people who can understand what he is going through is someone who has killed. He did it because he knew the minute you found out, you would blame me. Well that stops now."

Natasha locked eyes with both of the Kent's, and in that moment she looked every bit the assassin that she once was.

"Now I know that you're trying to protect Clark, and that's admirable. But you have nothing to fear from me. Since the day you met me all you've done is treat me like an enemy when all I've done is try to be a friend to your son. I protected him, and I have been since before you met me. And I will continue to do so. But I will not tolerate my actions or Clark's actions being judged by a man who has never had to walk a mile in our shoes. Now, I'm going to go find Clark and make sure he's okay. Maybe you should take the time to think about why you're so hypocritical Mr. Kent. You say Clark needs to use his gifts to help people, but you don't trust him to use them responsibly. I would fix that or once he turns eighteen he may just walk out your door for good."

Natasha stood up and walked toward the door, turning around at the last second.

"I'm going to be around for as long as Clark wants me to be Mr. Kent. I'd like us to be friendly or at least be able to get along. But I'm through trying to prove myself to you."

"Mind if I join you?" Natasha asked as she walked up the stairs to the loft, finding Clark by the open barn window.

"Not at all." He replied, and she smiled, taking his hand in her own as they watched the sun begin to set beneath the clouds.

"It's beautiful."

"Yes it is." He replied. But Clark wasn't looking at the sunset. He was looking at her, and Natasha felt her face heat up under his gaze. A moment later his lips were on hers, his hands threading through her hair as hers wrapped around his neck. For a moment the two just stood there, seemingly frozen in time as they both tried to communicate with their lips what they couldn't say with their words. There were no words that could describe the emotions that both were feeling. Happiness, joy, relief, hope, anger, frustration and nearly every other emotion known to man were coursing through Clark Kent and Natasha Romanoff.

"Agent Romanoff I-Oh, I am so sorry." Skye said as she walked into the barn, the two separating as they heard the young woman's voice.

"No problem, and just call me Natasha. Miss Romanoff when we're in class, but otherwise you call me Natasha." The older woman replied, and Skye nodded before turning her attention towards Clark.

"I'm Skye."

"I'm Clark Kent. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too. Now, not to interrupt whatever this was but I was going to head over to the apartment, throw my stuff in the guest room. If that's okay?"

"Sure." Natasha replied.

"Take the Charger." Clark said, tossing her the set of keys.

"Thanks." Skye replied, before walking away leaving the two alone once again.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." Clark deadpanned, and Natasha laughed.

"She was going to find out eventually. Besides, it could have been worse."

"Somehow I doubt that." Clark replied.

"It could've been Pete and Chloe."

"You're right. That would have been worse."

"Are you okay?" She asked a minute later, and Clark just sighed before sitting down on the sofa. Natasha sat next to him, just waiting for the young man to speak.

"I am so far from okay it's not even funny. I'm angry at my parents and I still want to rip Ward's throat out for what he did to you."

He stopped speaking, but Natasha still didn't say a word. She could tell that he wasn't done.

"Chloe...Chloe was terrified of me. I could see it in her eyes. My parents were too. When I was about to break Ward's neck, they were looking at me like I was some kind of alien."

Natasha thought about making a joke about how her boyfriend actually was an alien, but that wasn't appropriate right now.

"They just don't understand. Chloe sees you as a normal farmboy, and your parents still see you as a child. They don't want to accept that you're not as innocent as most people your age. They don't want you to grow up."

"But they're okay with me going out and fighting the meteor infected?" Clark asked, and Natasha shook her head.

"No. I don't agree with your fathers double standard, but I understand his reasoning. It's the same reasoning I had back when Ward first became an agent."

She was silent for a moment, and then she continued.

"I was his Supervising Officer. I taught him. I trained him. And for the first year he was an agent I was his partner on every single mission he took. After the first year, he told me enough was enough. He told me I needed to let him go, that he wasn't a rookie anymore."

"What did you tell him?" Clark asked, keeping his voice even. In truth, the thought of Natasha having anything to do with Grant Ward made him want to vomit.

"I wished him good luck. I realized that as much as I wanted to protect him from the evils of the world, the time had come for me to let him go. I had to trust that he could handle himself. Just like your parents are going to have to trust you to take care of yourself. It will take time, but they will come around. Just like I did."

"I'm sorry about Ward Natasha."

"So am I. But he made his choice, and I made mine." She replied, taking his hand.

The two were silent for a moment before Clark spoke.

"So, you and Ward..."

"We were friends and nothing more." She replied, and Clark smiled.

"So I have nothing to be jealous over?" He asked, and she grinned.

"Not for a second."

The Next Morning

Natasha headed into Smallville High, where she was immediately met by Principal Reynolds.

"Miss Romanoff, you're back early."

"I have work to do."

"Indeed you do. I'll leave you to it. And Natasha...I'm sorry about your father."

She nodded before heading into her office, seeing a note laying on her desk. Her worry grew with each step she took, the former spy wondering if some new foe was about to try and tear her world apart. She slowly opened the envelope, revealing a single sheet of paper. On it were four words.

Keep both eyes open

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please read and review and the next chapter will be up soon!