Dinner with solarsentinel

[chloesullivan]

So maybe Chloe was about fifteen minutes early as she made her way downstairs to meet up with Clark, of course there was no particular reason for that, and of course Clark wouldn't believe her when she told him that, but she didn't really care.

She made her way over to his desk, walking up behind him even if she was pretty sure he knew she was coming.

"Ready to go?"

Comments

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

She's right. He won't believe her, if only because he has nine years of friendship, almost ten, to draw on in that regard. He holds up a hand, waving it absently in her direction, and then finishes addressing an email to the editor in charge of his section, before sending off what appears to be a row of future pet adoptions.

Only when that's done does he turn around, still in work slacks and a blue dress shirt, and eye her. "Aren't you early?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Early?" There's an eyebrow raise as she looks down at the clock on his computer screen, "no, we need to leave pretty soon if we wanna make our reservations." So maybe she's exaggerating slightly, but she has been challenged to prove a point.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Clark's not quite buying it, possibly because he knows that wide smile is usually accompanied with a side of trouble, but opts for a shrug. "Whatever you say." It doesn't take long to shut down the computer and grab his coat - but he doesn't realize until he's halfway towards the stairs that this means there won't be a change of clothes.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Of course, by then, her arm is around his, just to make sure he doesn't superspeed anywhere, that and because they haven't hung out in a while and she misses her best friend, "it'll be nice, Clark, just try to relax?"

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Well, he'd like to run, but then Chloe would glare, and he'd feel bad. Since Clark's options are limited, he just grins down at her instead, since she's not the only one who works long hours and misses the best friend. "Fine, but if they start staring, I am hiding behind you."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

And for that, he gets a laughs and an approving smile, at least he was making an effort to relax, "I promise I will hide you as well as I can."

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Sort of relaxed. He's fine as they crowd into the elevator with others heading up to the ground floor, even if he has to squish himself into a corner so they're more room for everyone else. It's once they're actually on the sidewalk in front of the Planet building that Clark notices the looks as people go by, and he automatically starts stooping to make himself less of a target.

"So where's this barbecue you promised?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

His posture doesn't go unnoticed by her and she's tugging on his arm as they walk in the direction of the restaurant, "a couple of blocks that way," she frowns at him, "what are you doing?"

She knows exactly what he is doing and she noticed at least two girls and one guy looking at Clark, but she doesn't think he realizes it.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

She always tugs on his arm - this isn't new, so it's a good bet Clark has no idea what she's talking about. "Going to dinner with you?"

When it comes to matters not directly related to his secret, saving the planet, protecting his friends, farm life or his day job, it's a pretty certain bet that Captain Oblivious will be just that.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Of course he is oblivious, she thought as much, so she tugs on his arm again, "you're hunching your shoulders, stand up straight, and don't look at the ground, it's not like you'd fall on your face if you tripped."

So maybe she was teasing him a little, but it was just an attempt to lighten the mood since she knows the conversation will probably make him uncomfortable.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

There's a long pause and a suspicious look. "I'm simply not drawing attention to myself." Because, honestly, that's exactly what he's doing, and who cares if he wrinkles the suit. That's what washers and dryers are for.

Which means he's going to ignore her advice and continue to pull the mild mannered routine, although that isn't too much of a stretch.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Why not?" It's a completely sincere question, "Clark, you're walking down the street, there is nothing you should be hiding from, and I've seen a couple of jaws drop when people look in your direction but that's a good thing."

She knows that, for Clark, that isn't a good thing, but she wants to prove him wrong.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Now he's frowning, steps slowing down in preparation to get her to understand. "Because it's not a good thing if too many people notice me. You know that."

The cage incident was over a year ago, and he still sometimes has flashbacks to it. Mentioning that out loud, however, might send Chloe into full mother hen mode, so he won't.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, maybe he has a point about that, but still, he knew people who didn't know about him, Lois, for example, still hadn't figured it out and she was sitting down next to the Red and Blue Blur all day as she tries to find leads to find him, and that means Clark is pretty safe when it comes to the general population.

"People wouldn't make a connection that easily, Clark... you're just a good looking guy walking down the street."

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Chloe will have to forgive her best friend for stopping dead in his tracks, blushing bright red (it matches the tie), and just gaping at her - still oblivious to anyone walking by and appreciating the tall reporter. In fact, he'd expect people to do that to Chloe herself and Lois, even Oliver. But not himself.

".... I'm not."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

A sigh and she looks at him for a moment, shaking her head, she had been right all those years ago, for someone who had three kinds of vision, Clark can be really blind.

After looking around for a moment she nods at a woman walking their way, long dark hair, just Clark's type, "see that woman in the pink skirt? She's looking at you, smile at her and you'll see, she'll smile back."

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

"Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying sometimes." That expression, the big, amused smile? So not fair. It's one of those ingrained things about being bffs - whenever Chloe beams at him, he tends to beam back, provided they aren't made at each other. It's the patented Kent smile he automatically directs at the strange brunette.

And then looks both confused and worried when she seemingly loses her balance, stepping forward to help steady the poor woman. "You okay?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

That is exactly the smile Chloe was hoping for, quickly letting go of his arm so he can help the woman who obviously didn't know what just hit her. That's the Kent smile effect for you. Just as bad as Kryptonite on poor, unsuspecting humans.

Chloe steps back, watching as the woman thanks Clark, grinning when she notices her face is flushed and she has that 'oh my god, gorgeous guy looking at me, touching my arm' awed look on her face.

The polite thing would be for Chloe to step forward and make sure the woman was okay too, but she doesn't want to interrupt, besides, Clark seems to have it under control.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

He does, even if the reason for the woman's slack-jawed stare is beyond him. In fact, after several very long moments of that, he finally steps back, and tries not to look as puzzled as he feels. When the silence threatens to continue, Clark just moves back to Chloe so the stranger can continue on her way.

Well, as much as she can be still staring, along with another couple of people that he hasn't exactly noticed yet. "Right. This city has some strange residents, present company excluded."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

And as a couple of other women start staring at Clark too, Chloe steps closer, she knows he doesn't really like crowds, especially crowds of drooling women, Clark's weird like that.

"Nice catch," she grins at him then smiles at the woman, who, as expected, doesn't look nearly as pleased anymore, but Chloe was just trying to prove a point, after all.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Clark will probably always be weird like that, simply because he doesn't understand why they stare. With a shrug, he reaches out to drape an arm across her shoulders and get her through the evening crowds.

"Least I could do. Although, I think I irritated her. Can we go eat now? I'm starving." And if Chloe thinks she's paying, good luck to her.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

If she said she didn't enjoy the glare she got, even if just a little, Chloe would be lying. Sure, it's just Clark, but it's still amusing. She does wait for them to be far enough from the woman to say anything though, "you're kidding me, right? She got irritated because I was with you, she would have punched me if she could when you wrapped your arms around my shoulders."

And of course, the best way to reward Clark for his good deeds is food, and conveniently, they are standing right in front of the restaurant, "right here."

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Wait for it. "Why?" And, since they are here, it's readily apparent Clark wants her to answer inside, seeing as how he's already got the door open so she can walk in and claim their reservation.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Priorities, Chloe knows better than to try to get his attention until they are comfortably sitting at their table and their drinks have been ordered.

Since they are out to celebrate Clark's promotion, Chloe decided that the best place for the occasion would be an all you can eat brazilian style steakhouse she had heard about from their co-workers. All you can eat salad buffet and meat for her best friend with extremely fast metabolism.

"Because I was leaving with you and she thought you were cute, and nice." When you have as many secrets to keep as they do, picking up from where you left a conversation out of the blue becomes perfectly reasonable.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

This may possibly be Clark new favorite place ever that isn't the Kent kitchen, judging by the faintly content look settling across his face whenever a waiter walks by with plates of food. He orders whatever the special is, and iced tea, before leaning back in his chair and picking the conversation right back up.

"But that's kind of dumb. She doesn't even know me." Clearly there is some sort of double standard going on here.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"C'mon, Clark..." he gets one of the Chloe Sullivan eyerolls, but it was well deserved, she knows Clark is slow when it comes to women, and she has learned to have a lot of patience with him in the subject, but still.

"So you only think women are attractive if you know everything about them?" She knows the answer to that.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

"No, I find women attractive all the time, it's just..." He trails off and sips his water, eying her uncertainly across the table. Hell, the big boy scout even fidgets in his chair, as if he suspects she won't like or understand his answer.

"... the more I know about someone, the better I can judge their potential reaction to, uh, things."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Please, he needs to give her some credit, Chloe knows exactly what he means, even if she doesn't like it. So while he gets a look from her, he also gets a pat in the hand, because, really, she should have known he would immediately take that route.

"Clark..." She is cocking her head to the side, like she always does when she has to nicely point out to him that he is wrong, "you can find someone attractive and just enjoy having someone find you attractive without having to imagine what life would be like if you had 2.5 kids and were living at the farm." She is pretty sure he won't agree.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

He doesn't. Big surprise there. "It's different for almost everyone on the planet, Chlo." Clark very carefully studies the table, knowing better than to even glance up in her direction while he's talking.

"I can't treat romance like a fling. At least not when I'm myself," and she should know what that means, even if he does tend to go after females he's already attracted to as Kal, "and I'm not saying that flings are bad. At all. Two of my closest friends have had them."

He scoots a spoon around the edge of his plate. "Nevermind. Anyway, how have you been lately?"

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Who has them?" The question is out of her mouth before she can think about it, because the first name that comes to mind is Oliver's and as far as she knows, he's not really... seeing anyone, not that it's any of her business but...

But anyway, they are not here to talk about herself, so she tries to dismiss the question, "and anyway, I didn't mean a fling, I meant something like you just did, smile at someone who is obviously staring at you, they smile back, you go your separate ways, I think it would make you feel better about yourself." And yes, his question has been ignored.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

"You did, with Jimmy, years before you guys got together. And if you guys think I don't know about Lois and that temporary wonder boy editor...."

He finally glances up, watching his best friend intently. "What's wrong."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

She really wishes she could have hidden the relief from her face, not that it would have mattered because it is Clark and while he may be oblivious to most things, he can read her like no one else, "they are not exactly flings, Clark, you can't know a relationship won't work out if you don't try."

But he's looking at her like he did notice something before, even if it's gone now, "what do you mean?" Nothing is wrong.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

She gets a small smile for that. "We both know it's slightly different for me." And now, onto the important stuff.

"You've been busy lately, doing a lot of other stuff, and I just want to make sure you're alright and not avoiding me because there isn't another situation where you're in over your head."

Yes, he's serious.

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Oh, she knows he's serious, and he has good reason to think that, even if she doesn't really want to get into details about... things. And that smile is to reassure him everything is okay, because it really is this time.

"No, I promise I'm not avoiding you, Clark." The in over her head part, though? He might be right about that, "I've just been spending a lot of time with Oliver and I'm pretty sure he's human." Yes, she's teasing, just a little.

There may have been a flicker of guilt in her face for a second, but she shrugs it off as she sips on her water, "and actually, I think you guys should spend more time together, doing... guy stuff, both of you do too much and don't stop long enough to relax."

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, he can tell the difference. It's just that he isn't the type to force someone to give him information unless the survival of the planet and/or the human race depends on it.

"Oliver and I have very little in common, other than the fact we're both male and breathing. " At least he's smiling now?

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Smiling is an improvement, but she's still going to push for it, because, well, she wants to spend time with both of them, she's greedy like that.

"We both know that's not true. Besides, you may find out you have even more than that in common."

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

"Aside from off duty heroics and a wish for more justice in the world?"

There's another smile, broken only by the arrival of their waiter with drink and appetizer orders. What? He's a big guy who gets hungry.

"Seriously, though, I know I unnerve him a lot. And that's fine. Not everyone who knows has to like it."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

"Clark," he is so incredibly bullheaded, just another thing he and Oliver have in common, although she doesn't think that will help her make her point.

"it's not like that, I guess I had never really talked to him before, but he's a nice guy, and if you think you unnerve him, it's probably because he respects your opinion, even if he doesn't want to admit it." She's observant, and now that she knows Oliver better, she knows that he has the need to feel accepted just like the rest of them.

[boy-scout.livejournal.com]

Maybe, but she loves him anyway, stubborn or not, and they both know it. "Chloe..."

He sighs, taking in what she's saying and agreeing with the surface level on principle. Everyone wants to be accepted, including himself, Oliver and Chloe.

"Or we have different world views and are both convinced our way is the best one. It might not be anything to do with my opinion and how valid it is."

[chloeas.livejournal.com]

Of course she does, he puts up with her own stubbornness too. "okay, so maybe you two have your differences when it comes to work-related stuff."

There is a quick pause as she takes a bite of her food, "but it doesn't mean you can't get along as friends." Another pause, this time for a shrug, "I just think both of you should have more friends, we can all hang out together sometime," even if there is a possibility that this could be slightly awkward, it could turn out well.