Supermanfic: Odysseus (Clark/Oliver)

[lady_bug_kay]

Title: Odysseus
Author: ladybugkay
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Oliver (pre-slash)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2714
Warnings: major spoilers for 8x01 "Odyssey"
Summary: It's a long, strange journey, making your way home, and you're never the same as when you left.
Disclaimer: DC and Gough/Millar and oh, so many others own the rights. This fic is purely for free entertainment.
A/N: For svgurl and saavikam77 , who have been having some rough times. This is basically the premiere as seen through Clark/Ollie slash goggles. (Or, what I saw when I watched the ep.) Also, I don't care that the writers screwed up or wanted to 'change' things: her name is DINAH, not Diana. She is Black Canary, not Wonder Woman. Just like it's J'onn. (And my but this thing got longer than I expected.)

He can see the way they look at him. He knows they wonder why he won’t give up on Clark, why he keeps searching all over the length and breadth of the world and back again. Every reason he gives, about Clark being special, about him not giving up on them, is true, and yet they aren’t the real reason why Oliver can’t stop or why he keeps pushing.

 

The truth is, he should be looking for Chloe. He knows Clark can take care of himself, but Chloe is more vulnerable, and they don’t have any idea where she is; all they know is that it isn’t the DDS who have her. She has to be in real trouble, and they owe it to her, after everything she has done for them, to find her and get her back safely.

 

But it’s Clark, and that is something Oliver knows he can never make clear to anyone else. It’s Clark and he’s special for reasons that have nothing to do with superstrength or speed or his numerous other extraordinary abilities. It’s Clark, and Oliver feels things for him he is only beginning to admit to himself, and he’ll be damned before he leaves Clark frozen in the ice or in the hands of Lex Luthor – or in any other situation he doesn’t want to be in of his own free will.

 

So Oliver will keep looking, using money, influence, and a judicious application of violence, if he has to, but he is going to find Clark and bring him home.

 

Because he’s Clark, and Oliver needs him to be there.

 

~

 

Clark hears him before he sees him, but the sound of Russian in that voice throws him for a second. It’s only when he turns around and sees Oliver striding toward him that Clark knows for sure, and the first thing he feels isn’t relief at knowing he is finally getting the hell out of here, and it isn’t gratitude – it’s awe. Admiration tinged with more than a hint of lust.

 

Because it seems like the sun came out with the express purpose of lighting Oliver’s face and catching on the ends of his hair. And Clark has always loved the sun, but damn if the sun doesn’t have it bad for Oliver.

 

It isn’t hard to see why.

 

Everything becomes a little brighter and suddenly, for the first time in weeks, or maybe even longer than that, Clark feels like smiling.

 

He’s embarrassed that it takes him a minute to start playing along with Oliver’s ruse, but Oliver looks better than anything he has seen since he got stuck here, and Clark is more than momentarily dazzled. He thinks it’s a perfectly acceptable circumstance in the presence of a man like this, anyway.

 

The punch catches him off guard, but Clark has been hit before and it’s nothing he can’t handle. He fights back, as expected, and while they roll and wrestle on the ground, Clark is surprised by how much he’s enjoying himself. He can tell Oliver is trying not to smile, too, and Clark can’t honestly remember the last time he had this much fun.

 

If one can call being punched in the face and held at knifepoint after weeks of hard labour and regular beatings fun. Still, Clark has learned the value of relativity when it comes to his life, and it feels good in spite of the pain. It’s a fight of his own choosing, with someone who doesn’t want to hurt him, and it carries with it a strange sense of safety.

 

Such is the mindset of someone who grows up in Smallville.

 

With Oliver’s arm around him and a knife at his throat, Clark struggles to keep the amusement from his face. He feels eight years old again, playing with Pete, except that he never felt this punch of desire low in his gut back then. He leans back a little against Oliver and watches him toss over a wad of bills while threatening him again, and he can smell Oliver’s cologne. At this moment, Clark can’t remember if he’s been this close to Oliver before, and what with the wrestling and the straddling and the arm currently around him, he wishes it had happened earlier in their relationship.

 

Oliver turns him around and marches him away, and Clark grins a little at being manhandled. He’s covered in bruises, his back aches from the way he laid after being knocked out, and the closest thing he’s had to a shower in days is the drenching from the rain yesterday, but life is good again.

 

“What took you so long?”

 

He knew Oliver would come for him.

 

~

 

Oliver watches Clark shave. A small, pathetic voice tries to insist that since Clark is using Oliver’s razor on Oliver’s plane, he has every right to watch, but even that little voice doesn’t believe the rationalization.

 

Clark is beautiful. Oliver knows this, has always know it. He was beautiful before he disappeared, and he was beautiful dirty and wet and bruised. But the face that emerges gradually from the stubble affects Oliver more than he expected, and in the end, he has to excuse himself and go sit down before either he falls down or he introduces his lips to Clark’s neck and then licks his jawline a few times.

 

When Clark closes the door to change, Oliver exhales heavily and braces one hand against the side of the plane, feeling the thrum of the engines beneath his palm. He breathes in and out once, then twice, and then he straightens up, turns away, and starts to fix Clark an energy drink because he doubts Clark has been eating a balanced diet where he has been for the past month.

 

After Clark is dressed again, he accepts the glass, but Oliver can’t say he’s surprised when he doesn’t drink it. Making the damned thing was wishful thinking, anyway, but Oliver is well aware of his fascination with the state of Clark’s body.

 

That concern has never gone away, which is why after Oliver takes a seat in front of him and Clark leans forward while he talks, Oliver leans in, too. He tries to keep his eyes on Clark’s face, on the green of his irises, but Oliver is weak, and his eyes flicker down Clark’s body, catching briefly on full lips and again on the stretch of denim over hard thighs. He forces his eyes back up, but he doesn’t have enough control to lean back against his seat, and he and Clark remain in each other’s space, the volume of their voices more indicative of intimacy than anything else.

 

Oliver brings up Chloe because he has to, and he knows apologies are useless, but even though the search for Clark has taken priority, he has done everything he can to find her. An army of lawyers and a hundred different dead-end leads, everything bringing him no closer to finding her than the day she was taken.

 

By now, though, all those leads that went nowhere have allowed him to narrow down the possibilities, and he thinks he might know where Chloe is being held. Of course, when he tells Clark that, he knows already what Clark’s reaction will be, and he isn’t disappointed.

 

But, “You’re kind of useless.”

 

He has to say it, because Clark without powers isn’t like Oliver, who has training and arrows and many, many expensive electronic gadgets at his disposal. Clark without powers is, quite frankly, useless. Or, to be more accurate and hit the nail more precisely on the head, he is vulnerable, and Oliver has just gotten him back, safe and mostly sound; he has no intention of letting anything happen to Clark, now.

 

Clark, however, is still Clark, whether superpowered or not. “With or without my powers,” he insists, “I’m not going to let my friend rot in a Luthercorp prison.”

 

Oliver smiles, because that’s Clark Kent for you. It’s what he tried and failed to make A.C. and Dinah understand: that Clark doesn’t give up on people, especially not on his friends. He might leap in headfirst without thinking about the danger to himself, but he does it, because he can’t not try to help. It’s who he is.

 

Maybe that’s really why he admires Clark, for that reckless disregard for his own safety, and that occasionally overbearing need to make things better for everyone else.

 

He’s a meddler, but he does it for the very best of reasons.

 

~

 

Even after four weeks, Clark finds it difficult to remember that he doesn’t have his powers. It’s usually only when he goes to do something he used to be able to accomplish without even the most minuscule hint of effort and nothing happens that he remembers he can’t do that anymore.

 

It’s harder to forget when he aches every time he moves, but Chloe is here, he knows it, and she needs him. Rescuing her is what he does, or at least part of it, and she’s saved his butt so many times it’s most likely his turn again, anyway. So he insists he’ll be fine, because it’s something he has to believe right now, and somehow, he convinces Oliver to leave him alone.

 

“Fine, Clark. You be the hero.” The disguised voice is just close enough to Oliver’s to be unsettling as hell. “Just know I might not be there to save you.”

 

For a second, Clark is almost offended. He’s the one who saves everyone else, and he doesn’t appreciate the assumption that he would be the one in need of saving. But then he chides himself for his stubborn sense of pride and turns to walk in the opposite direction to the one Oliver chose. He doesn’t have time to allow his ego to start ranting about how he can take care of himself.

 

When he’s mortal, he can’t always do that, and Clark has to accept it, which is why, when he hears Lois’s voice behind him, he experiences a fleeting sensation of relief, which he will never, ever tell Lois about. Ever.

 

She has always thought he was useless – even back when he was the furthest thing from it – and she’d never let him down if he admitted it, even if he isn’t himself at the moment.

 

He won’t have to do this alone, however, and he is grateful for that.

 

~

 

Oh, god. Ohgodohgodohgodohgod. He’s killed Clark.

 

He shot him. Twice. He put an arrow into Clark’s all-too-human body two times, and now Clark is dying and it’s all Oliver’s fault.

 

He puts his hands over the worst wound, the fatal one, feeling blood pulsing out beneath his fingertips, and it feels so wrong. It’s wrong in every conceivable way, and Oliver doesn’t know what to do. He always knows what to do, but right now, all he can manage is to apologize and plead with Clark to stay. He is willing to give anything and everything if only he can take back the last few minutes, but nothing seems to be doing any damned good.

 

“I’m sorry, Clark. Come on. Sorry, Clark. Please. Clark.”

 

After everything, after meeting him and then meeting him, after admiring him and losing him, and finding him again just now, it shouldn’t be possible to lose him again for good. Not Clark. Please, no.

 

“Clark. Can you hear me?”

 

It can’t be real. A world without Clark Kent doesn’t make any sense, Oliver is sure of that, and so it can’t be real.

 

Please don’t let it be real. Oh, please don’t let it be real.

 

Chloe’s there, now, which is good – they’ve found her – but she’s crying and she’s holding Clark, and Oliver sits there, uncomprehending. He can’t understand anything.

 

Who could understand this?

 

“I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.”

 

Why couldn’t he stop? Why didn’t he stop? What the hell was wrong with him that he couldn’t stop himself from killing Clark?

 

Oh, god.

 

That look in Clark’s eyes, the one that said goodbye and promised forgiveness for the unforgivable thing Oliver did, it’s gone, now. It was a terrible look, resigned and frighteningly peaceful, but Oliver wants it back because it’s better than the nothing in those eyes, now. Anything would be better than that nothing, that lack, that repellent absence of what used to be Clark Kent.

 

How could this happen? How could he do this?

 

Oliver sits there, stunned and disbelieving, and when the man shows up and flies off with Clark’s body, he doesn’t do a thing to stop him. He can’t. He isn’t a passive person – never has been – but he doesn’t have the energy even to get up off his knees.

 

Clark.

 

He killed Clark.

 

~

 

Clark wakes up back in his loft, on the farm, and for a moment, he wonders if it was all some Oz-like dream or Wonderland head-trip. Maybe his mother was never a senator and his father didn’t die and Lana is still the girl next door.

 

Then he sits up and lets the illusions fall away, and he feels clear-sighted for the first time in years.

 

Back on the farm. He’s back here, again, but now he knows he can’t stay here. He’s been fooling himself for years, pretending he could hide out here, away from the rest of his life and a future that didn’t include Lana or an old yellow house with no one else in it.

 

It feels good, now, to move on.

 

It feels good to be himself again, too.

 

He can’t help but feel guilty that his life cost J’onn his powers, but if he knows anything about Kryptonians or the people who are around them, he knows that they don’t remain powerless for long. Clark has faith that J’onn will be himself again, too, and he knows this won’t be the last time they see each other.

 

But it is time to make some changes, and Clark knows exactly what he’s going to do first. That application for the Daily Planet should be downstairs on the kitchen table, still, he thinks, and he could use an excuse to buy some new clothes that don’t scream ‘Jonathan Kent.’

 

Clark will always love him, but he isn’t his dad, and it’s time he stopped trying to be.

 

He isn’t sure who he is, yet, but he’s looking forward to figuring it out.

 

~

 

If Clark hadn’t called him to tell him he was alive, Oliver would have been rather understandably upset to run into him on the street like this. As it is, it makes something tight in his chest unknot itself a little to see Clark walking and talking right in front of him.

 

Walking and talking and smiling. Clark smiles at them, and Oliver has to smile back, because with a grin like that, who could resist?

 

Oliver knows that Dinah and A.C. are right about needing to split up and take off for parts unknown, and he says as much himself, but he has every intention of sticking close to Metropolis. Lex’s people don’t know his identity, and he doesn’t feel exactly comfortable leaving Clark on his own just yet; not after searching for him for weeks and then killing him after he got him back.

 

No, Oliver wants to stay here where he can keep an eye on Clark for a while.

 

Besides, that look in Clark’s eyes, the determined one Oliver knows well enough to respect when he sees it, seems to suggest that Clark has made up his mind about a few things, possibly one of which involves picking a costume and a name and joining Oliver’s team.

 

Oliver would really like to see Clark in tights, because the way he filled out the Green Arrow suit that one time, it would be something magnificent to behold.

 

So no matter what he says, Oliver is planning on sticking around and watching how things play out. And now that Clark is home and looking happier than he has in a while, Oliver would like very much to see that smile more often – maybe even be the cause of it, on occasion.

 

It’s a very, very nice smile.

 

Oliver wonders what it looks like up close.

 

Comments

[morganichele.livejournal.com]

Oh, I just adore this. *grins* I love the flow of it, and the way it fits so perfectly into the episode. Or...with the episode.
*sighs happily* Just awesome.

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Hee. Thank you. Really, this is what was going through my mind when I watched it.

And I LOVE your icon. It's all kinds of pretty.

[morganichele.livejournal.com]

*beams* Thanks! :)

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

*tackles and clings* You are too sweet, you know that? I'm still in squee mode that I'm one of the people it's dedicated for. That alone made me all giddy.

And the fic! The fic was just fabulous! I loved how you switched from Clark and Ollie's POV and did it so smoothly!

Because it seems like the sun came out with the express purpose of lighting Oliver’s face and catching on the ends of his hair. And Clark has always loved the sun, but damn if the sun doesn’t have it bad for Oliver.

It isn’t hard to see why.

That was awesome. Clark just seemed to kind of be in awe for a bit.

Ollie watching Clark shave was too cue and his little freak out when he thought he killed Clark ... I wanted to give him a hug, just like in the show. The emotions were done so well ... I could feel his pain.

Clark will always love him, but he isn’t his dad, and it’s time he stopped trying to be.

That was a great line because I think that really sums up Clark's thought process.

And the ending was so cute. Nothing was too rushed and yet, the UST in this one was high.

Wonderful job! And thank you so much. *hugs again* You made my day!

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

*hugs you* You're so very welcome. You deserve it for your sweet comments if nothing else.

I'm so happy the alternating POVs worked for you. In each of the scenes, when I watched them, these were the POVs with which I empathized, so it had to be that way when I wrote it.


I wanted to give him a hug, just like in the show. The emotions were done so well ... I could feel his pain.

The thing I really liked about that scene was the way Oliver was scared and so apologetic, and then when Clark 'died,' he went so still; he played the 'being in shock' very well.


And the ending was so cute. Nothing was too rushed and yet, the UST in this one was high.

LOL. I realized after I finished this that nothing whatsoever happened between them. It was all about the way they saw each other, without even noticing what the other person saw in them. All UST, baby. :D

[quiet--tiger.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was wondering why it was taking so long for someone to write something about the totally obvious way Clark and Oliver feel for each other based on this episode. (I was on vacation, otherwise I'd have my story written already *g*) Because damn, that fight in Russia was the hottest thing I've seen on TV in a while. And then the look on Oliver's face when he realizes he's shot Clark... Man.

Nice story--fits well into everything. And now that we know Oliver's gonna be around for a while since he's a regular... Oh baby, oh baby.

:)

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you. There were so many looks and little moments of flirtation and UST in that episode. It made me smile and remember the early days of Smallville and the heyday of Clex. *thinks back fondly*

[tmelange.livejournal.com]

Aiee!!!! More Clark/Ollie from you, Kay. What have I done to be so lucky. :))

You rocked this, mon ami. This is the perfect complement to the episode. You managed to capture exactly what I think Ollie was feeling. The scenes between the two guys were so *intense*. I don't know how anyone could not be sold on the pairing, especially after reading your elaboration.

Bravo, Kay. I'm so glad you're in this writing mood. :))

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

More Clark/Ollie from you, Kay.

I know. Guess what I did today while I was getting laundry done. *g* Blame it on the chemistry between Justin Hartley and Tom Welling. (After that ep, I'm convinced Oliver's love for Clark is canon.)

I'm always excited to read your comments; they never fail to make me smile.

And I'm really hoping this writing mood sticks with me long enough to write some of the things I've been planning to, instead of just the ones that pop into my head. ;)

[tmelange.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean. JH had this *look* on his face in every scene with or regarding Clark. It brought me back to the days when there were such *looks* between Clark and Lex. LOL Canon, indeed. ;)

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Clex looks. Yes, this season looks like it might have its own set of them.

You really get the impression that Justin Hartley admires Tom Welling, and he seems to do his best acting in his scenes with him. They have wonderful chemistry, and I'm so happy JH is a regular, now. Build that canon-love! ;)

[jeannev.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful, beautiful character piece that takes us right into the minds of Clark and Oliver. You did an amazing job of capturing their voices, and using the canon in Odyssey to weave the beginnings of an amazing love story.

I hope you'll consider doing this all season :)

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm happy you think it worked for getting into their heads, because this is pretty much exactly what I saw when I watched the episode. How could anyone deny their big gay love? LOL

As for doing this all season? Whew. That's a big undertaking. But who knows? If the boys keep the chemistry up and the episodes stay interesting, maybe.

[ender24]

awwwwwwwwww, damn, this was lovely!

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[saavikam77.livejournal.com]

Oh, gods, THIS!!! ~O_O~ I can't believe I missed it as I went through my f-list. Must have been dazed or something. So thank you to svgurl for reccing it! O_O

Aaahh, this was so perfectly hopeful and heartbreaking and bittersweet. :) I *LOVE* their thoughts about each other, how they react to each other. Just wonderful, and so visual!

This: Because it seems like the sun came out with the express purpose of lighting Oliver’s face and catching on the ends of his hair. And Clark has always loved the sun, but damn if the sun doesn’t have it bad for Oliver, was just perfect!! ^_^

*is melty goo*

Thank you so much for this!! :)

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome; I'm glad it made you happy. :)

I'm really hoping that JH, as a regular, will be in the majority of the episodes this season, because he and TW have wonderful chemistry and they make me want to write things for them every time they're on screen together.

And I still love your icon. The manip is beautiful.

[bradygirl_12]

Wow, Clark has a billionaire boyfriend with hair this time! ;)

And beautiful hair it is, too. Never can have enough blonds in the DCU! :)

This story was great, Ladybug! I enjoyed the clever use of the episode because it was Clark/Ollie goodness all over the place! :)

Poor Ollie, forced to kill Clark. He was so stunned!

We had some yummy seacake *snickers* with A.C., too. ;)

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

The thing about A.C., for me, is that the guy who plays him cannot act at all, and he drives me crazy whenever he's onscreen. I could never figure out why they brought him back after that first episode.

But I very much approve of all the Clark/Ollie chemistry. It gives me ideas.

[bradygirl_12]

But, dear, I wasn't talking about his acting skills. ;)

And ideas are good! ;)

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

LOL. Oh, I know. It's just that those skills are so lacking they get in the way of any appreciation I might have for his body. Unfortunately.

[shelly505.livejournal.com]

Wow, I absolutley loved this! svgurl recced it and I'm so happy I read it!
Thanks so much for writing this, it made my day!! :D
Oh and I love the line with Lois, about NEVER telling her he felt relief, lol, I was cracking up at that!

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm thrilled you enjoyed my little subtextual exploration of the premiere. There was just so much going on between Clark and Oliver in this episode, and all I could see was UST.

[rosy5000.livejournal.com]

You took all the good parts from that ep and made them 100 times better. ;)

That fight in Russia was the absolute best part though. ;) I love Ollie watching Clark shave. Very hot.

I love how this bounced back and forth between POVs but was so smooth.

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you! The boys were so cute together, weren't they?

[svmadelyn.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this a lot; your Oliver POV was awesome.

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Oliver is still something of an open book as a character on SV, and it's fun to try to suss him out.

[crazy4ew.livejournal.com]

How did I ever miss this?? I thought I had read everything I could on Clark/Ollie, so on my trek to re-read the authors & fic I liked the most, like you, I find this little thing tucked away.

It's perfect. From beginning to end. Thank you for entertaining me.
And Happy New Year to you!