Chlark Fanfic: No Compromise, Chapter 6

[babydee1]

Beautiful, awesome banner by the awesome and talented ctbn60. Thanks, hun! :-)  

Title:              No Compromise
Author:          BabyDee1
Pairing:          Chlark
Rating:           PG-13
Warnings:     None 
Timeline:      Follows Season 10’s Masquerade with reference to Collateral
Disclaimer:   All known characters belong to the CW & DC comics. 
Summary:     After Chloe resists all Desaad’s temptations, she finally admits to the truth of what’s in her heart. 
Feedback:      …makes me squee. :-) 

Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.

Chapter 6

“Jor-El!” Chloe screamed into the freezing crystal spires, oblivious to the Arctic air billowing around her.  “Out of all the planets across the universe, you chose to send your son to this one, to Earth. 

“You trusted us to protect him.  Now please, Jor-El, I need you to trust me.”

No answer to her anguished plea.  A solitary tear rolled down her cheek, and she played the one weapon left in her arsenal.   

“I love your son,” she blurted out.  “He’s in danger and he needs our help!”

***

Her eyes widened in surprise.  She had never intended for him to find that out.  By the time Kara had come back online, she’d had no memory of how she’d gotten from the Mansion to the Fortress, so the secret was safe with her.  And judging by the insta-freeze treatment Jor-El had welcomed her with on her first trip up North, Chloe had assumed he’d never really liked her to begin with. 

“When?” she finally asked.  “When did you find out?” 

“A few weeks ago; after you rescued us from cyberspace,” he said quietly.  “I was doing some Fortress spring-cleaning and came across a bunch of old data.  Three years ago, right?”

Chloe turned away from him and slowly went to stand in a corner.  Clark followed her.

“Lionel had me in a kryptonite cage; one of his men was torturing me,” he went on.  “Somehow you got Kara out of the Mansion and took her to Jor-El.”  He paused.  “I saw you, Chloe.  You pleaded with him to restore her powers so that she could save me.”

“You don’t need to give me the blow-by-blow, Clark; I remember,” she said hollowly.  “It’s old news now.”

“But your feelings haven’t changed, though, have they?” he said, squeezing her shoulders lightly. 

She couldn’t argue with that; she’d all but yelled the truth at him a few short hours ago. 

“Me and my big mouth,” she mumbled, and he laughed softly and stroked her hair with one hand.

“Even if you hadn’t blurted it out to me, the flashlights and the cave walls, and even if I hadn’t seen the Fortress file, I’d still have known,” he insisted.  “When you came by the Farm to see how I was getting on after you busted us out of the virtual world.  You stared straight into my eyes and said you’d never given up on me, and you never would.  That look in your eyes…” he smiled.  “I knew then that I was marrying the wrong person.  Few days later, I saw the Fortress files, and knew you were with the wrong person, too.  And then Mom told me she’d given you a major grilling last week for daring to leave my side.”

She smiled at the memory.  “She really let me have it,” she mused, laughing inwardly at the fact that Martha had conveniently forgotten the fact that Clark had abandoned her first.  “Anyone would think I was the one with the superpowers.” 

He chuckled at that.  “Then you set up the mini-intervention last week when I was feeling unappreciated, and that was when the truth really did stick in my craw.”

“What truth?”

He smiled.  “That you’re the one person who’s always been there for me and believed in me, and always would; even when I never believed in myself,” he whispered solemnly, stroking her cheek.  “Even when I didn’t believe in you.” 

Chloe could feel tears gathering behind her eyes, and she desperately tried to blink them away.  In all the years they’d known each other, that single sentence was, without a doubt, the sweetest thing Clark Kent had ever said to her. 

“I could never have married Lois after that,” he said.  “I was going to have a talk with her and call things off, so when she blatantly tried to turn me into Oliver, it gave us both the opportunity to be honest about what we were really feeling – and who we were feeling it for.” 

Chloe tilted her head.  “I’m surprised you didn’t have that little talk sooner, to be honest,” she said with a raised brow.  “I took one look at your framed Reunion Photo, and thought: God, he looks even more mopey and miserable than usual!”

“Hey, I do not mope anymore!” he said indignantly.  “I’ve left all that behind; I’m a man of action now.  Speaking of which…” he picked up the bracelet from the ledge and held it out to her.  “Would you like to wear this?” he asked softly.  “I can’t imagine putting it on anyone’s wrist but yours.” 

She stared at the bracelet he’d held on to for almost a decade, and a warmth spread through her entire body as she realised the significance of what he was offering her. 

He hadn’t given it to Lana, the woman he had once proposed to; or Lois, whom he had, up until yesterday, been engaged to; or Alicia, whom he’d actually made it to the altar with. 

He was giving it to her. 

Suddenly she had a chilling thought.

“What if this is just another one of Desaad’s mindgames?” she asked in alarm.

“If it were,” he said softly, slipping the bracelet onto her wrist, “…an omega symbol would be appearing on your head right about now…and it isn’t.”

That made sense.  Chloe stared at the bracelet adorning her arm, and waited for a feeling of doom to descend and darken the moment. 

It never came, much to her relief. 

“Besides,” Clark continued, gently caressing her arm as the cool metal warmed against her skin.  “It’s not a temptation if neither of us is in a relationship with anybody else, is it?” 

“I guess,” she said hesitantly, a frown creasing her brow as she stared at the trinket on her wrist.  “But…Clark, this has all happened so fast.  I mean, you’ve barely been single for twenty-four hours, and I just broke up with Oliver this morning…” 

Clark sighed despondently.  “I understand if you don’t want to wear it just yet,” he said softly.  “But there’s no-one else in the world I can give it to.  It’s yours, Chloe.  Will you at least hold on to it…carry it around in your purse, maybe, until you feel more comfortable?” 

She shook her head.  “No, I don’t want to do that, Clark,” she said quietly staring at her wrist.  Clark’s face fell, and he was about to nod in resignation when she spoke up again.

“It feels comfortable now,” she said smiling up at him.  His eyes widened in relief and he grinned and pulled her into his arms and held her tight. 

“Thank goodness for that,” he breathed.  “I know you’re hesitant, and I understand that I’ve never given you any reason to trust me with your heart…but I promise right here and now to take excellent care of it, and never let it break again.” 

Chloe lifted her head and gave him a sardonic look.  “Oh sure, say that now,” she snarked, and he shook her shoulders lightly. 

“I mean it,” he insisted.  “I give you permission to fire a kryptonite arrow in my heart if I ever mess with yours again.” 

“That could work,” she agreed, nodding sagely.  Speaking of arrows…

“Could you excuse me for just a second?” she asked, prising herself out of his arms and heading for the mouth of the cave.  “I need to make a call.” 

***

Chapter 7…

Comments

[karinxx.livejournal.com]

The references you made:

“When you came by the Farm to see how I was getting on after you busted us out of the virtual world. You stared straight into my eyes and said you’d never given up on me, and you never would. That look in your eyes…” he smiled. “I knew then that I was marrying the wrong person. Few days later, I saw the Fortress files, and knew you were with the wrong person, too. And then Mom told me she’d given you a major grilling last week for daring to leave my side.”

Lovely! I actually saw that scene in one of the Chlark videos (I'm addicted to) and the emotion of AM's eyes spoke volumes.

Did Martha actually "grilled" Chloe for leaving Clark's side? (I didn't see the episode so I don't know =P)

"I’m a man of action now." Keep telling yourself that buddy LOL.

Great chapter!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"The references you made:

“When you came by the Farm to see how I was getting on after you busted us out of the virtual world. You stared straight into my eyes and said you’d never given up on me, and you never would. That look in your eyes…” he smiled. “I knew then that I was marrying the wrong person. Few days later, I saw the Fortress files, and knew you were with the wrong person, too. And then Mom told me she’d given you a major grilling last week for daring to leave my side.”

Lovely! I actually saw that scene in one of the Chlark videos (I'm addicted to) and the emotion of AM's eyes spoke volumes."

I don't know whether it's the insane off-the-charts chemistry that Chlark have always had, or whether it's the wish of the directors, but they both bring so much depth and emotion to their scenes. I kept thinking that it must be directed, because if not, someone on set should have long since told them to tone it down a bit lest people get the wrong idea! It's why I always think someone on the writing team wanted Chlark to get together - and wanted the audience to know it. ;-)

"Did Martha actually "grilled" Chloe for leaving Clark's side? (I didn't see the episode so I don't know =P)"

Yes, she did - you can watch the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtmlwalOyg4

Most of the references in this story are actually canon, I just made a few minor changes here and there. :-)

""I’m a man of action now." Keep telling yourself that buddy LOL."

He will be in the sequel, that's for sure! :-D

"Great chapter!"

Glad you like, and thanks for commenting! :-)

[jacques21.livejournal.com]

Oh you always manage to make my Chlarkie heart flutter.

So glad that Chloe accepted Clark's declaration of love.

Clark has really grown up. He's not expecting for Chloe to immediately fall into his arms and it's good that he understands her hesitancy.

Yayyy *clapping hands wildly* Chloe is calling Oliver.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"Oh you always manage to make my Chlarkie heart flutter."

I do try. ;-)

"So glad that Chloe accepted Clark's declaration of love."

Me too. Me too!!! :-P

"Clark has really grown up. He's not expecting for Chloe to immediately fall into his arms and it's good that he understands her hesitancy."

He's taken long enough to let her know how he feels; he knows she's entitled to a bit of caution! :-)

"Yayyy *clapping hands wildly* Chloe is calling Oliver."

She is indeed! :-D