Smallville Fic: The Story of Us #3 - The End of the Beginning
Title: The End of the Beginning
Author: emerald_night
Claim: Smallville - Lois and Clark
Table: Buffet #1
Rating: PG13
Prompt: #138 / The end of the beginning
Word Count: 899
Summary: All of Clark's relationships have had one pivotal moment. His relationship with Lois is no different.
A/N: Written for the fc_smorgasbord challenge.
Clark Kent divided his relationships with the important people in his life into two parts.
The beginning. And the rest of the story, for lack of a better term.
The beginning had always been his favorite time in his relationship. It featured more carefree times, for the most part. The people in his life, they only knew Clark, and as such, only had expectations of Clark - the sweet, charming farmboy turned reporter.
He marked the end of the beginnings with these people as the day he knew they knew his secret. It was carefully delineated in his mind that way, since for the most part, everyone that knew had found out before he told them, but didn’t tell him they knew.
But the moment the knowledge of his alien origins and his superpowers, and now, his alter ego was a two way street? That was the moment the beginning ended for him and the rest of the story began.
In his experience, the rest of the story hadn’t always been as wonderful as the beginning. The people in his life, they changed when they found out who he was. His relationships with them changed, and not really for the better.
With Chloe, the rest of the story had featured a woman struggling with power and control, and a relationship that had changed from a deep friendship to a more professional one. Chloe had been consumed by the world of heroes and his heroism specifically. There were times, he felt, that Clark Kent had ceased to exist in her world.
With Pete, the burden of carrying such a huge secret took a toll on their friendship, eventually ending in Pete moving away. Now, it was maybe a once a year phone call, if that, that was the extent of his contact with his former best friend.
With Lana, an obsession with power - seeing that as the only way to be his equal - had been born. It had culminated in her becoming literal poison to him, being infected by meteor rock. Outside of Chloe mentioning her whereabouts when she came across her at Watchtower, that was pretty much all he knew of his former childhood sweetheart.
There were other examples, other relationships that had changed the moment the beginning ended. Sure, some of them changed over time, but he could always go back to that one moment. Rationally, logically, he knew it wasn’t his fault, nor the fault of his secret. He knew, when he allowed himself clear thought outside of his emotions, that the choices these people made after learning his secret were theirs and theirs alone.
But that didn’t mean the facts, the changes, didn’t color his perception of his secret and revealing it to the people closest to him.
One person in particular.
He’d thought about telling Lois for a while, getting to the point of seriously considering it in recent weeks. But something always came up. Lois herself stopping him, then they broke up, and then he’d thought he was leaving the planet forever with the Kandorians. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her by telling her everything only to have to leave her.
In the darkness of the alley, though, he simply couldn’t resist. He’d seen her hold out the Book of Rao to him, still a shadowed figure in the dark. He’d reached out for it, grasping her hand more than the object itself, and spun her to him, watching as even then, she refused to open her eyes, still trying to protect his secret.
A split second later, his lips were on hers. And he knew that in that kiss he was telling her everything, including goodbye.
Because that was the thing. It was goodbye for all he knew. He wasn’t going to be around for the fallout. For the rest of the story.
As he fell to Earth, a blue dagger jutting from his stomach, he remembered the feel of her lips against his. Her smile. Her laugh. Her heart.
To him, it was still their beginning.
Except, then he opened his eyes, sunlight streaming through his window at the farm. Blinking rapidly a few times, he racked his brain, trying desperately to remember what had happened, why he was alive when last he remembered, he was plummeting to his death.
That train of thought stopped when he realized the air he was breathing in had the faintest scene of vanilla spice, that a gentle hand rested against his chest, now healed from where the dagger had slashed him. Soft, rhythmic breathing filled his ears.
He shifted slightly, unintentionally jarring her into wakefulness. She lifted her head, groggily rubbing at her eyes until she noticed his staring back at her.
Her face broke into a heart stopping smile as she leaned toward him, grabbing him in a tight hug.
“You’re back,” she whispered, and his mind immediately went back to a similar hug, a similar phrase said at the Daily Planet. He’d told her that that was the moment he knew she was the one he’d always needed.
As he wrapped his own arms around her, his face burrowing into her soft brown locks, he smiled into the warm skin of her neck.
One day, years from now, he’d tell her this moment was the end of their beginning.
And the moment he knew he couldn’t wait for the rest of their story.
Author: emerald_night
Claim: Smallville - Lois and Clark
Table: Buffet #1
Rating: PG13
Prompt: #138 / The end of the beginning
Word Count: 899
Summary: All of Clark's relationships have had one pivotal moment. His relationship with Lois is no different.
A/N: Written for the fc_smorgasbord challenge.
Clark Kent divided his relationships with the important people in his life into two parts.
The beginning. And the rest of the story, for lack of a better term.
The beginning had always been his favorite time in his relationship. It featured more carefree times, for the most part. The people in his life, they only knew Clark, and as such, only had expectations of Clark - the sweet, charming farmboy turned reporter.
He marked the end of the beginnings with these people as the day he knew they knew his secret. It was carefully delineated in his mind that way, since for the most part, everyone that knew had found out before he told them, but didn’t tell him they knew.
But the moment the knowledge of his alien origins and his superpowers, and now, his alter ego was a two way street? That was the moment the beginning ended for him and the rest of the story began.
In his experience, the rest of the story hadn’t always been as wonderful as the beginning. The people in his life, they changed when they found out who he was. His relationships with them changed, and not really for the better.
With Chloe, the rest of the story had featured a woman struggling with power and control, and a relationship that had changed from a deep friendship to a more professional one. Chloe had been consumed by the world of heroes and his heroism specifically. There were times, he felt, that Clark Kent had ceased to exist in her world.
With Pete, the burden of carrying such a huge secret took a toll on their friendship, eventually ending in Pete moving away. Now, it was maybe a once a year phone call, if that, that was the extent of his contact with his former best friend.
With Lana, an obsession with power - seeing that as the only way to be his equal - had been born. It had culminated in her becoming literal poison to him, being infected by meteor rock. Outside of Chloe mentioning her whereabouts when she came across her at Watchtower, that was pretty much all he knew of his former childhood sweetheart.
There were other examples, other relationships that had changed the moment the beginning ended. Sure, some of them changed over time, but he could always go back to that one moment. Rationally, logically, he knew it wasn’t his fault, nor the fault of his secret. He knew, when he allowed himself clear thought outside of his emotions, that the choices these people made after learning his secret were theirs and theirs alone.
But that didn’t mean the facts, the changes, didn’t color his perception of his secret and revealing it to the people closest to him.
One person in particular.
He’d thought about telling Lois for a while, getting to the point of seriously considering it in recent weeks. But something always came up. Lois herself stopping him, then they broke up, and then he’d thought he was leaving the planet forever with the Kandorians. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her by telling her everything only to have to leave her.
In the darkness of the alley, though, he simply couldn’t resist. He’d seen her hold out the Book of Rao to him, still a shadowed figure in the dark. He’d reached out for it, grasping her hand more than the object itself, and spun her to him, watching as even then, she refused to open her eyes, still trying to protect his secret.
A split second later, his lips were on hers. And he knew that in that kiss he was telling her everything, including goodbye.
Because that was the thing. It was goodbye for all he knew. He wasn’t going to be around for the fallout. For the rest of the story.
As he fell to Earth, a blue dagger jutting from his stomach, he remembered the feel of her lips against his. Her smile. Her laugh. Her heart.
To him, it was still their beginning.
Except, then he opened his eyes, sunlight streaming through his window at the farm. Blinking rapidly a few times, he racked his brain, trying desperately to remember what had happened, why he was alive when last he remembered, he was plummeting to his death.
That train of thought stopped when he realized the air he was breathing in had the faintest scene of vanilla spice, that a gentle hand rested against his chest, now healed from where the dagger had slashed him. Soft, rhythmic breathing filled his ears.
He shifted slightly, unintentionally jarring her into wakefulness. She lifted her head, groggily rubbing at her eyes until she noticed his staring back at her.
Her face broke into a heart stopping smile as she leaned toward him, grabbing him in a tight hug.
“You’re back,” she whispered, and his mind immediately went back to a similar hug, a similar phrase said at the Daily Planet. He’d told her that that was the moment he knew she was the one he’d always needed.
As he wrapped his own arms around her, his face burrowing into her soft brown locks, he smiled into the warm skin of her neck.
One day, years from now, he’d tell her this moment was the end of their beginning.
And the moment he knew he couldn’t wait for the rest of their story.