Title: To Be Romeo
Author: westwingwolf
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or the characters.
Summary: Clark wants to make a grand gesture.
AN: So while I've had this idea for this scene for a while, the June Fanfic challenge pushed me into writing, but skauble and I talked and while this fic revolves around Chlex, it lacks actual Chlex speaking parts so I'm posting it on its own.
“To Be Romeo”
Clark stared at the wedding invitation in his hand. It had been delivered by express mail a few weeks ago. The beautiful cursive lettering mocking him with the script of “You are cordially invited to the wedding of Miss Chloe Ann Sullivan and Mister Alexander Joseph Luthor…” His first thought had been to toss it into the trashcan. But he had never managed the task. Now that the wedding would be taking place tomorrow, he was giving serious thought as to whether or not he would attend.
When his mother had mention months ago that Chloe and Lex were engaged, he requested that she not speak about it again. He hadn’t spoken to the couple in years. His friendship with Chloe became strained once she announced that she had been secretly dating Lex since her eighteenth birthday. He couldn’t say that he had noticed anything between them before; he simply hadn’t paid attention to their previous interactions. But he always wondered if something had begun before that day. He wouldn’t put it pass Lex to try.
Clark ended his friendship with Lex once he found the locked room filled with information Lex had gathered on his life. When he made the demand that Chloe choose between him and Lex, she wasted no time in choosing her boyfriend. No amount of begging for her to forgive him, begging her to see reason, and just plain begging could repair their relationship. By the end of their senior year she had made plans to move to Metropolis with Lex, and he was off to discover his place in the world.
Two years before the rift, when he, Chloe, Lana and Pete were all still friends and went to the movies at the Talon; they had watched a film Lana had chosen. Some romantic comedy that he couldn’t even remember the title of now. But he remembered a conversation afterwards. Chloe had scoffed at the protagonist’s race through the airport to stop his love from leaving for parts unknown. She argued that real love wasn’t made of those climactic moments. They made for great drama, but they didn’t work for everyday lives. When a couple had arguments, one couldn’t just make a grand gesture every time to ensure that their significant other would fall in love again. Once a couple is in love, they have to continue to maintain that love. Lana laughed off Chloe’s opinion, saying that she had no sense of romance. And not wanting to offend his potential love interest, he agreed with the brunette.
But after trying for a relationship with Lana, he had begun to see what Chloe had been saying. His romance with Lana was full of ecstatic highs and tragic lows but no moments of normalcy. And it wasn’t just because of his extra-terrestrial origins. They had to be all or nothing because they didn’t know how to survive in the in between.
And it was only now, years later, that he knew how much Chloe had meant to his life. How she played a more significant part than Lana ever did. Was it possible that it wasn’t too late? When the invitation had arrived, he just assumed it was Lex’s way of reminding him that he won.
But what if it wasn’t? What if it was Chloe reaching out to him? He wasn’t foolish enough to believe she might be asking him to save her. But maybe she was taking the opportunity to repair their friendship.
And maybe he could take this chance to prove to her that love could be about making the grand gestures and normalcy.
For all that Lex had found out about his abilities, he obviously knew that Clark had not gained the power of flight, and since the wedding was taking place in Barbados, he would have to be dependant on commercial airlines.
Apparently, Clark had luck and weather on his side as he was able to get a seat on a plane that arrived in Barbados an hour before the wedding was scheduled to start. Getting directions to the hotel from the airport, he ignored the cabs and super-sped to the hotel. Moving towards the outdoor area the invitation had claimed where the nuptials would take place, he slowed down to a normal pace.
He noticed something odd about the actions of the staff. Instead of setting up chairs for the wedding, they appeared to be taking them away. As he watched further, all decorations were being taken down.
Was the wedding not going to occur? Had Chloe come to her senses and realized she couldn’t marry Lex? And if so, where was she so he could speak to her and tell her that he wanted to make a try for their friendship and so much more?
He turned to make his way back to the hotel lobby so he could make inquiries when he saw Lois walking towards him. Back in Smallville, she had driven him crazy for a few weeks before she went away to college and he never heard of her again once Chloe stopped speaking with him.
“Where’s Chloe?” he asked in no mood to bother with pleasantries.
Lois rolled her eyes, saying “Hello to you too, Clark. Look, I’m sorry to report that there was a problem with some of the invitations. A few had the date misprinted. The wedding was actually yesterday, and Chloe and Lex have already left for their honeymoon this morning. I take full responsibility as it was my job to send out the invites.” She finished with a sheepish grin.
Clark was quite certain something in her apology did not sound sincere. But her next sentence clearly was, “And to think, all I wanted was for Chloe’s wedding to be perfect.” She gave him a knowing smile and walked away.
So much for grand gestures.
The End.
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