SNH5

Epilogue

Chloe pulls her clothes on. Her body is aching from exhaustion. Her stomach is hollow from hunger. She drinks as much water as she can, hoping to avoid too bad a hangover in the morning. All that matters now is she has Clark. He's behind her again, keeping her back warm while the campfire keeps her front protected from the desert night chill.

"If we die here," she says, "I think I'd be okay with it all ending that way."

"It won't end that way," he promises. "I won't let it."

"Clark?" she asks, looking back at him.

"Hmmm?"

He's as sleepy as she is. She can sense it.

"I love you," she says, after only a slight hesitation, saying it now while he's awake to hear it.

His lips press against hers and he smiles. "I love you, too."

Sleep comes so fast that Chloe isn't aware of drifting off. She's only aware of a sudden change in temperature, of lying on ice. Her eyes fly open, and she's almost ready to weep with delight at the familiar landscape around her: the Fortress of Solitude. Clark's behind her, sitting up, and Chloe feels something warm on her ankle. She looks down just in time to see the glow fade. The bruises are gone. There's no pain.

"Jor-El?" Clark calls. He receives no answer. "Take us home," Clark says. "Lesson learned."

The receptacle in the middle of the room glows. There's a portal they can use to return home and they both eagerly rush inside. A moment later they're back at Clark's house. It's empty.

"We've been gone for four days," Clark says. "Let's get some clothes on and then let everyone know where we are."

"You tell your mother, I'll tell Lois, but only after we've raided the fridge," Chloe says, all but running toward the kitchen.

A second later they're pulling food out and setting it on the table, clumsily grabbing things and not bothering with the dishes. She almost weeps with relief when she finds a beef roast with trimmings wrapped in foil in the fridge. They start eating right out of the dish, using nothing but the knives and forks, foregoing the plates, and the sounds coming from their mouths as they eat the roast, cold, are practically orgasmic.

"Shower sex after this?" Clark asks hopefully.

Chloe rolls her eyes. "We literally had sex ten minutes ago. You can't be ready to go full on again this soon."

Clark slices off a piece of roast and folds it into his mouth and winks at her, making her smile and blush. It's going to be strange to be more than just friends with Clark. Strange, but it'll be good to finally have everything she's dreamed of.

"Don't be so sure," he says, speaking with a full mouth. "I'm an alien from outer space, after all."

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