Coda - Epilogue

Epilogue

Through the storm we reach the shore
You gave it all, but I want more
And I’m waiting for you
With or without you
With or without you
I can’t live
With or without you

-U2, With Or Without You

***

Clark sat in the loft, bouncing a ball between his feet. Lois had told him that she’d spoken to Chloe, who would be doing her work from Star City and e-mailing her stories to Perry for approval. Clark had waited two weeks before going to Star City himself, but he’d met an unyielding Oliver Queen at the door, who told him that Chloe wanted space from him, and would come back when she was good and ready.

 

He’d been ready to force the issue, until Oliver sat him down and told him what Chloe had said about being a better person without him. Every word had cut him to the core, but he also knew that Chloe was right. She had put him first for too long. He’d taken too much of her heart and her time, and not given enough in return. She was growing away from him, and as he now sat in the loft, bouncing the ball in a steady, unbroken rhythm, he knew that he’d never have Chloe in his life quite the same way.

 

It was like someone had died. Clark hadn’t felt this sort of grief since his father had passed away two years before, and what he felt now was almost that bad. The only consolation he could offer himself was that Chloe was alive, and he could see her, and maybe someday she’d forgive him enough to at least be a casual friend again.

 

Lana came up the stairs, sitting next to him, wrapping her jacket closed. They shared silence, as they had been doing for awhile now, until she finally broke it.

 

“I have something to say,” Lana said, “but I don’t know how it’ll make you feel.”

 

“You want honesty above all else, don’t you?” Clark asked. “So do I.”

 

“The truth is, I did want you to pull away from Chloe, so you’d be closer to me, but I never wanted this to happen, Clark. I never wanted you to completely lose her.”

 

Clark wrapped an arm around her. Lana, he’d always found, was easy to forgive. “I know.”

 

“Are we okay?” she asked, sounding unusually timid.

 

Clark nodded. “Yeah. We’re okay.”

 

Lana leaned into him, and they watched the day begin to fade, together, but they both wondered, to themselves, how long their happiness could last.

 

 

Six Months Later
The Daily Planet had never looked so good to Chloe Sullivan. She stood out front, looking at the revolving doors moved continuously in the morning rush, as people came to work, passing those who’d worked the night shift that were leaving bleary-eyed and tired. She’d driven into Metropolis from Star City, but it wasn’t until now, as she prepared to enter, that she felt she’d truly come home.

 

Lois came bounding out of the doors, all smiles, and swept her into a tight hug. “Welcome back, cuz!” Lois said, her voice a little shaky.

 

Chloe hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Lois. Are you crying?”

 

“No, don’t be silly!” Lois said, unconvincingly. “It’s the cold wind, irritating my eyes.”

 

“I see,” Chloe said, winking.

 

“Perry’s thrilled that the Daily Planet’s star reporter has come home to nest. Three front page stories in the past six months, not to mention bylines galore. I’m proud of you, Chloe.”

 

“Not jealous?” Chloe asked.

 

“Jealous as hell, but still proud. There’s going to be cake today at lunch, if you don’t mind coming back downstairs to eat it. Jimmy’s hoping to see you too.”

 

“I’ll be there with bells on,” Chloe said. “Seen Lex?”

 

“Not for the past few days,” said Lois. “I’d knee him in the nuts if he wasn’t my boss. You’re not going to go back to—”

 

“No. I made that clear to him on the phone last night. He wants me to keep the apartment.”

 

“But you’re not, right?”

 

Chloe shook her head. “Hell no. I’m not giving him anymore rope to hang me with. I don’t want to owe him anything—ever—and I’m not going to give him the chance to manipulate me again.”

 

“Good girl,” said Lois. She winked at her cousin, and they headed inside.

 

For the first time since she’d started at the Daily Planet, Chloe didn’t head for the stairs to the basement, but the elevators, with the other reporters, where she rode up to the fifteenth floor.

 

****

With a belly full of cake, Chloe stepped onto the roof of the Daily Planet. She needed air, and it was one of her favorite places to get some smog-filled air. She looked out over the city, which bustled along with so many lives tangled together, yet somehow never really touching. She heard the door behind her open, and turned, expecting to see Lois. It was Clark, instead.

 

It was the moment she’d been both anticipating and dreading the most. How would he react? What would he say, and what would he expect of her? He looked scared to approach, but she offered a smile, and he came closer, standing awkwardly beside her, he offered a hand for a shake. Chloe bypassed it to hug him, and she squeezed her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe.

 

She didn’t complain. It felt good not to be angry with him for a change. It felt liberating to be able to hug him, and not want anything more from him than the hug that he offered.

 

“I’m glad you’re back,” Clark said. “I’ve missed you.”

 

“I’ve missed you too.”

 

“You have?”

 

“You can’t love someone like I loved you, and not miss them when you’re apart.”

 

“Loved,” Clark said, stepping back. He looked so wounded. “Past tense, huh?”

 

“I’m over you, Clark,” she said, not unkindly. “But I still love you, and I want to be friends again, if you want that.”

 

“Of course it’s what I want. It’s what I came to ask for.”

 

“How are things with you and Lana?”

 

“Same as always.”

 

“You’re happy?”

 

Clark didn’t answer right away, and Chloe realized he was right. It was the same with him and Lana, but this time she was determined not to let either of them use her as the rope in their constant tug of war.

 

“Yes,” he finally said. Chloe didn’t believe him, any more than he believed himself.

 

They spent some time together, looking down on the city below, enjoying the silence, and enjoying the feel of being together again without all the pain and anger that had been there before she’d gone to Star City. Time was limited for Chloe, though, and eventually, she had to bring their reunion to an end.

 

“Well, lunch is over, and I have a lot to get done. Thanks for coming to see me, Clark,” she said, pulling away, and heading for the door.

 

“Chloe, will we ever be able to get back to where we were?”

 

Chloe paused with her hand on the door to the roof exit. She looked back at Clark, thought about how things were before, and how good they could be again with some proper boundaries, and without her delusions that he’d ever fall in love with her, and shook her head no.

 

“No, but that’s a good thing, for both of us. I’ve got to get back to the bullpen, Clark. I have stories to tell.”

 

Clark looked resigned to the fact that that while they may become friends again, it would never be quite the same as before. They’d never have the same kind of closeness, and the bond would never be as strong again. Maybe Chloe was right. Maybe that was a good thing. For her, at least.

 

“See you around?” she asked, sensing his sadness.

 

Clark nodded. “I’m always around, Chloe.”

 

Chloe smiled and went back inside, pulling the door closed firmly behind her.

 

 

Start over on Chapter 1