Distractions

*****

Clark Kent was sitting in the loft.

Again.

Actually, Chloe Sullivan thought, as she made her way up the steps, he was moping in the loft. She sighed, trying not to lose patience with him.

Again.

Clark was having a rough time of it lately. Not only did he ceaselessly work to save the lives of innocent people, most of whom were total strangers to him, he had to sit back and watch his fantasy girl go off to marry a man who had gone from being a friend to an enemy.

“Clark, you sounded upset on the phone.”

“Did I? I didn’t mean for you to drive all the way from Metropolis.”

“Well, I did,” she said, aware of the tightness in her voice.

Clark frowned. “You have a bad day?”

“Yes, actually. I woke up to a flat tire. I was late for a class. Why was I late? Not just because of the tire but because I was up all night tracking Zoner activity. On top of it all? I haven’t had a single drop of caffeine all day. My head feels like someone is going at it with a jackhammer. I’m just…grrrrr!”

“You’re cranky,” he supplied simply.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you call me to fix your tire?”

Chloe bit down on her instinctive angry response and sighed. “I don’t need you to fix all my problems, Clark.”

“I never said you did,” he responded coolly.

“You implied it, didn’t you?”

“No.”

“I changed the tire myself.”

“Good. I was too busy saving lives to fix your tire anyway.”

“Oh, is that right?” she snapped.

He turned his head away and Chloe fell back into the cushions of the old couch Clark kept in the barn. They fell silent for a few minutes. Chloe considered leaving. She just wanted to crawl into bed with a bottle of aspirin and go to sleep so she could forget what a rotten day she’d had.

“I think I should go.”

“Wait here,” he said.

He was gone in a blast of wind that smelled lightly of soap and aftershave. A few minutes later he was back with a cup of coffee from the Talon.

“Strong and plain,” he said.

“Medicinal coffee?” she said, smiling despite her annoyance. He gave her a wan smile in return.

“Yeah. It’ll help with your headache.”

He went to stand at the big window. He turned out the overhead light and put the single lamp in the loft on its lowest setting so that only a halo of golden light illuminated the corner. The absence of harsh light was good on her tired eyes.

Clark was silhouetted in the window, a shadow against a sea of glittering stars. He was so handsome, so kind, so gentle. She felt guilty for getting upset with him.

They remained in silence while Chloe finished her coffee. Just as Clark had known, her headache began to fade and so did her sour mood.

“Clark, come here.”

He looked back at her. His eyes were brighter in the dark than human eyes. It wasn’t the first time Chloe had noticed it. They had a greenish sheen to them, almost like cat eyes, only not as starkly bright.

“What?”

“Come here, I want to talk.”

She patted the seat next to her and he left the window to sit beside her.

“Tell me what you’re feeling right now. Don’t sugar coat it. Just be honest.”

Clark thought it over for a moment. After awhile he said, “Frustrated.”

Chloe nodded. “I get that way too. The source of your frustration?”

“Chloe…”

“Come on, Clark. If you can’t tell me these things you can’t tell anyone. Right?”

He smiled. “Yeah. Okay, the source of my frustration is Lana’s wedding. I miss her. I miss being with her.”

“You miss sex.”

Clark suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“You hate the idea of Lex sharing that part of her and you can’t.”

“Well, Chloe, I don’t -- I mean I guess -- I don’t know! Yeah. I suppose,” he stuttered, embarrassed. 

“What you need is a distraction.”

He looked at her sideways. “What’s that?”

“Let’s go swimming.”

“What, right now?”

Chloe shrugged. “Why not?”

“It’s eleven forty-five at night. It may be too chilly for you anyway,” Clark reasoned.

“It’s mid-September, Clark. It’s a warm, balmy night--”

“The water is cold, though. You could get sick.”

“You’re starting to annoy me. I’m trying to help you and you’re making excuses to sit in this loft and mope. I get tired of the angst, Clark. Let’s do something fun for a change.”

He looked offended. “We do lots of fun things.”

“Not as often as you think. Let’s go swimming.”

She gave him her brightest smile. After a moment he sighed. “Fine, if it’ll shut you up.”

“Hey!”

She slapped playfully at his arm. As soon as he stood up she grabbed the nearest blanket from the back of the couch and then jumped into his arms.

“Giddy-up cowboy.”

Despite Clark’s desire to ‘mope’, as Chloe put it, Clark smiled and shrugged. What harm could a little swim do?

*****

The moon was full and cast a silver gleam over the black water of Crater Lake. Chloe had never been to the lake this late at night before unless it was during a party and there were plenty of people around.

“Kinda creepy, isn’t it?” Chloe noted. The water lapped softly on the shore. Chloe stepped out onto the dock and looked down into the water. She wondered if there was anything slimy and/or dangerous swimming around under the surface.

“I’ll keep you safe,” Clark said. “Oh, wait. We don’t have swim suits.”

“I’m going to swim in my undies.”

“What?”

Chloe noted that Clark looked outright panicked.

“You’ve seen me in my panties before, Clark.”

“Not while they were wet.”

His eyes widened at the mischievous smile that tugged at Chloe’s lips.

“I mean wet from water not wet from…Oh, God…”

She outright laughed this time and pulled off her shirt. Clark swallowed and turned away when Chloe unzipped her jeans while toeing out of her shoes.

“I have an even better idea. Let’s skinny dip!”

“No,” he said resolutely.

“How come?”

“That wouldn’t be decent!”

Chloe got a full belly laugh out of that one. “Fine, crybaby.”

Clark still hadn’t gotten undressed by the time Chloe dove in and surfaced. He stood on the dock watching her.

“Clark we’re just swimming. What’s the problem?”

“Nothing. Turn your back.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You’re so uptight.”

She snuck a glance back and watching him shrugging off his jeans. He caught her looking.

“Hey, you’re supposed to turn your head.”

“Embarrassed that I’ve seen you in your tighty-whities?” she laughed.

Clark dove in and surfaced a few feet from Chloe. “You can see right through underwear, Chloe, when they’re wet.”

She winked at  him. “I know.”

Clark blinked a few times. Normally he was quick on the uptake but this time his brain was like mush. “You know? You mean you want to see my…my…”

“I’ve wanted to see it for years, Clark. You know that.”

He shook his head. She could swear his eyes were glowing with an amber tint now.

“Chloe, we’re best friends. Sex would only mess that up. It’s why I never go there. I’d hate to lose you--”

Chloe laughed. “Who said anything about sex?”

“You did.”

“I don’t recall saying anything about sex.”

“You said you wanted to see me. You know, naked.”

Chloe shrugged. “So? I’ve wanted to see lots of guys naked. That doesn’t mean I want to have sex with them.”

“Oh. I thought you were coming on to me.” He almost sounded disappointed.

“I was flirting a little, that’s all. Jeeze, Clark. Learn to relax around girls.”

Despite the warmth of the late summer night, Chloe had to admit, to herself at least, that Clark had been right about the cold of the water. Five minutes later her teeth were chattering and she began to feel stiff in her joints. She couldn’t adjust to the water so she had to climb out.

“Come one. Up you go,” she said, patting the blanket beside her. Chloe laid back and looked up at the stars. The air was nice and warm; a stark contrast to the water, but Clark still hesitated to join her.

“What’s wrong now?” she asked in annoyance.

“Let’s just say there’s nothing left to the imagination,” he replied. His eyes were glued to her. Chloe smiled.

“I’m not getting dressed until my undies dry out.”

“Let me help you, then.”

Clark got out of the water and Chloe took advantage of the situation. Clark wasn’t lying when he said you could see through wet underwear. Even without x-ray vision Chloe had no difficulty in seeing every bit of Clark’s family jewels. They were quite impressive. He put his hands down to cover himself and then focused his heat vision on Chloe. Water steamed off her body and a few seconds later she was dry from the neck down.

“Ooh, Clark, look at you, touching my body with your hot gaze,” she flirted.

He was a bright shade of pink when he said, “You're dry. You can get dressed now.”

“Nope,” she said, and laced her hands under her damp hair.

“What do you mean, ‘nope’?” Clark asked, sounding nervous.

“I mean I’m going to lie here and gaze at the stars.”

“In your panties?”

“In my panties,” she agreed. “Lie down next to me. You know, Clark, this is what I love about Crater Lake. It’s outside of town. The artificial lights don’t block out the stars.”

After a few moments Clark laid down beside Chloe and looked to the heavens with her. The stars glittered like diamond dust in the sky. Thousands of them were visible.She didn't fail to notice he hadn't dried his undies off and she could still see so much through them. She didn't bother to hide the fact that she was looking, and looking often.

“I sometimes look at the stars and wonder how many planets have other people lying on the ground, looking up at the heavens the same way you and I are now, wondering if there was life outside their world,” Clark said quietly.

“I’m sure that’s happening on thousands of planets out there. I wish I could explore the stars. I’d like to see what lies beyond Earth. I want to start at Mars and work my way out.”

Clark chuckled. “I’d like that too.”

“See, swimming wasn’t such a bad idea. It distracted you from…other things,” she said hesitantly.

“It was at the back of my mind.”

Chloe turned onto her side and rested her head on Clark’s shoulder.

“Let her go, Clark. Either let her go or reveal everything to her and fight for her. It’s the only way you’re going to find peace.”

Clark’s fingertips stroked Chloe’s arm lightly. It felt good. She realized she liked it a little more than she should.

“I don’t want to be alone,” he whispered.

Chloe leaned up on her elbow. There was something in Clark’s touch that said he wanted more than just friendship. At least for right now. She looked into his eyes and saw need for many things: love, sex, companionship, friendship, and security.

She could give him all of those things in a way Lana never could and it looked like Clark was finally starting to see that.

He put his hand to the back of her head and urged her closer. She didn’t resist but she stopped short of actually kissing him.

“What is this?” she asked.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity before Clark finally answered.

“The start of something new,” he whispered, and kissed her.