Birthday Wish

Inspired by a missing moment from Episode 4x08 "Spell."

#

Chloe Sullivan sat typing at her computer in the Smallville Torch Office, working on her latest masterpiece - a full work-up on a trio of sexy witches from medieval France who had hijacked a young reporter's eighteenth birthday party. She was casting a careful eye over a particular steamy passage recounted by an eye-witness where they tied a young farm hand up and scratched his naked chest with their nails when her source arrived in the office.

"Aw, man," Clark groaned. "I thought I'd beat you here."

"You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to be in the Torch before I am, Clark," Chloe told him. She looked up at him. "I'm just working on the witch story. I don't suppose you have any nasty scars on your chest we could show photos of?"

"I'd, er, rather not have a topless picture in the paper, Chloe," Clark admonished her. Chloe took longer than was strictly necessary to look her fellow reporter up and down. A shame, she thought, it would probably be their best-selling issue ever.

"What's up, Clark?" she asked.

"I had a surprise for you," he said, throwing himself into his chair and wheeling it over to her desk. He frantically began searching through his schoolbag. "Close your eyes."

"Clark…" she began.

"Chloe!" he insisted.

She made a big dramatic show of covering her eyes with her hands, but she couldn't help but feel the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile.

"No peeking," Clark said, though he was still frantically rustling through his bag. A few moments later he seemed to have found what he was looking for - the rustling stopped and he finally said. "Okay, you can open them."

Chloe opened her eyes - Clark was holding in front of her a single cupcake, covered in bright blue and pink icing, with a solitary lit candle sticking upwards. "Surprise," he said with a smile.

"Clark, what are you doing?" she asked.

"It's your birthday cake," he explained. "I was bummed since you didn't remember the cake from your party."

"You didn't have to do this - you already bought me that lovely present," she said, though she couldn't help grinning.

"And you never got to blow out your candles and make a birthday wish," he added. Chloe snorted.

"Clark, I turned eighteen, not eight," she said.

"Please, Chloe, for me," he said. He looked at her with those puppy-dog eyes and Chloe felt her heart melt - he could have asked her anything in that moment and she would have done it. She leant forward to blow out the candle.

"No, you have to close your eyes and make a wish," he insisted. Chloe rolled said eyes first, but she did what he asked. She closed her eyes, thought about her wish, and blew.

For a moment she kept her eyes closed and took a breath. Then she felt Clark's lip gently press against hers. His strong hands swept around her waist, pulling her closer - she threw her arms around his neck as she melted into the kiss. This wasn't like the cheeky kisses she'd stolen from Clark when she could, he was giving himself entirely to her. He pulled back - for a moment Chloe savoured the sounds of his heavy breathing and his hot breath against her lips. He whispered her name. "Chloe… Chloe."

"Chloe?" Clark asked. Chloe's eyes snapped open, and a confused looking Clark was staring at her, still holding the cupcake out in front of him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you Clark," she said, taking the cupcake out of his hands. "This was very sweet."

"So, what did you wish for?" he asked.

"I can't tell you that! If I do it won't come true," she said with a laugh. Clark gave her a look that suggested she was being ridiculous. She couldn't help but laugh again. She took a bit of frosting off the cupcake with her finger and licked it. With a broad grin, Clark rolled his chair back over to his own desk and began working on his own assignment.

Chloe happily finished off the cupcake. She kept her eyes on Clark, who didn't even look at her, apparently completely oblivious. Ah well, she thought. There never was much chance it would come true anyway. But a girl can dream.