Against All Odds (closed for silvertongue217)

Clark, Bee and Emily talked for a while after dinner. Clark sat beside Enily the whole time, holding her hand as though he had nothing in the world he would rather do. Emily was so pleased about this, and how easily conversation came between them.

Bee, it seemed, was eager to chat about Emily in a way that she never talked about herself. She gave Clark all sorts of tidbits about Emily ('Did you know she used to compete in gymnastics at a national level?', 'She loved martial arts as a kid!', 'Yes, Emily's always been fond of books!'). She had also confirmed the tale of Emily's adoption with loving yet sorrowful eyes. Nanna was a dear school friend of Emily's grandmother who had lost her husband to cancer and been unable to have children of her own. So, Emily's grandmother has kept Nanna close. When Emily's parents and little sister died in an ill-fated car accident which saw Emily terribly injured but alive, Nanna had rushed to be by her side and not left since. Emily usually hated people knowing about her past, but she allowed Nanna to speak, thinking that there was no-one on this world she wanted to know about her life than Clark. Perhaps, she thought, she should be more open with him herself.

When Nanna bustled off to serve desert (apple pie and cream), Emily squeezed Clark's hand with a bright smile. Nanna returned a moment later, setting down the food for them.

"Nanna, after dinner Clark and I are going to head out. Some of the people in my class mentioned some sort of light exhibition on in the park. I was thinking Clark might like to go," Emily said, then sighed as she tasted her dessert.

"You know how horrible it is for me when you're out at night. I do worry about you Emily," Nanna tutted, not saying no as such, just voicing her preference.

"It'll be fine! I'll have Clark, and I'll catch a cab home."

"What about Nyx?"

"No, she deserves a night off," Emily said dismissively. Nyx, who had been asleep by the lounge, got onto all fours and dashed over to Emily, tail wagging manically. Now she was off duty Clark would notice that she was a very bubbly, affectionate kind of dog.

"I promise she will be in good hands" Clark said rising up and pausing to pet Nyx's head before turning to her Nan.

"I would rather put my self in harms way then Emily" Clark said seriously as he took Nan's hand and kissed it "Thank you for having me once more and when I get back from winter vacation I would very much like to do this again"

He nodded at her going over to get both of their coats and helping Emily into hers before he got into his leather jacket. He opened the door for her and threaded their arms together naturally as they began to walk down.

"So does this mean your spending the night?" Clark asked nervously "Or am I bringing you back home later?"

Emily grabbed her bag and cane on the way out and then allowed Clark to take her arm. She waited for the door to shut behind them before speaking, a smile still on her face from how well the night had gone.

"Well, you mentioned David went back home for the weekend. I thought maybe..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath, "Unless you'd rather go and see the lights show?"

"No" Clark said quickly his heart hammering out in a jack hammer as they walked down the street.

"I would very much like that" He said swallowing and glancing over at her "are you sure? I have been patient but you dont know how much I want this..... Want you"

Emily blushed, sensing all of the people still milling about on the streets around. She wondered if they could hear, if they had any idea of what she and Clark were thinking.

"Let's just go back to your room," Emily said, voice hitching as she spoke. "Let's see what happens... No expectations. Just us... Is that okay?" Her thumb rubbed along he inside of his arm as she held onto it.

"I think that would be more than okay" clark said his hear and his body speaking volumes about how much he wanted her. He quickly guided them back over eager to get them back to his room.

Soon they were there

Clark kissed her passionately pushing open the door and spilling them into his dorm room. He picked her up biting and nibbling on her lower lip.

"God have I been waiting for this" He growled roughly kissing her and his hands snaking down to grab her ass and bring her closer.

Emily and Clark hadn't gotten very far, sexually speaking. David, it seemed, was always in their dorm room. And Emily did not want to go back to Nanna's. So they had spent many afternoons hanging out in parks, kissing until they were both breathless and desperate for more.

Now they were utterly alone. As Clark slammed the door shut behind her, and pulled Emily against him, she started to comprehend what she had been missing out on. Clark kissed her, pulling her close and grabbing her arse. She let out of a squeak of surprise and laughed before deepening their kiss. For the first time her hands were free to roam. Out in the parks she had been more sedate than she would have liked. She had stolen caresses of his solid body, broad shoulders, the strong lines of his face. Now she took it all in, her hands stroking and touching every part of him she could, memorising him. She particularly liked the way that his chest felt through the fine fabric of his shirt. She reached between them, one hand gripping his tie and pulling him further down to her, while the other slid to the buttons of his shirt. A question, a request.... and a desperate one at that.

Feeling him through clothes was one thing, but she wanted more.

Clark moaned in response feeling her touch and caress him through his clothing. Suddenly he had TO MUCH clothing.

And that needed to change

He moaned and pulled away eyeing her his body screaming how much he wanted her. He reached up grabbing his tie ripping it off in one smooth motion before his shirt followed. He was naked shirtless and he found he couldnt wait for her any more.

He reached back out grabbing her hands and putting them on his chest as he leaned in to kiss her deeply once more.

"Good god," Emily breathed as her fingers touched the burning skin of his chest. The warmth sent shockwaves of arousal through her as she moaned into his kid. Her hands lowered then, over his chest, down his stomach. They found his hip bones, half covered by the waist of his pants. She leaned forward, pressing her sweater clad chest against his.

For once the roar of blood through her body washed away everything else. Covered up all of the interference from he world until it was just the two of him. His outline shimmered in her mind, imprinting behind her eyes and setting her body on edge.

Clark kissed her moaning in pleasure as her hands explored his body before reluctantly pulling away. He eyed her his eyes dark with lust taking her in before settling on her face.

"I think its time for you to return the favor" Jase said to her moaning in pleasure his entire body giving off shockwaves of arousal to her.

Emily bit her lip as she pulled back from Clark. With shallow, panting breeath she grasped the hem of her sweater and pulled it, and the tshirt underneath, over her head. She stood before him then, clad in her tight dark jeans and pink bra, sporting a red blush on her rosy cheeks.

"God you really are beautiful" He murmured taking her no breathing her in as he moved back to her. He reached out gently cupping her cheek and stroking it as he leaned in until their lips were almost touching.

"I see you" He breathed softly before kissing her deeply. He moved over to the bed putting her down and moving on top of him as his hands began to work his belt off and he continued to kiss her passionately.

Emily stilled Clark's hands, gently pushing them off his belt buckle. She took over then, fingers deft and nimble, as she unfastened his belt and then his pants, pushing them down over his hips eagerly. She kissed his neck as she shifted, the rough denim of her jeans brushing against his bare cock.

"Clark," she whispered breathily, "I think I've fallen in love with you."

"Fallen" Clark said half laughing half moaning as he shook his head "I fell in love with you the minute you ran into me"

He reached out taking her hand and stroking them before pushing them down against his crotch "Take it in your hand please Emily" Clark said his voice a ragged pleading moan as he thrusted forward with his hips.

"I need you"

"I want you"

Emily obliged, she had a feeling she always would for him. His cock was thick and hot in her grasp, the blood pumping inside, a pulse of life she was inexplicably drawn to. She stroked it tentatively, leaning down to press a kiss against his stay tip. Emily hummed in delight at the taste and feel of him. Her free hand still roaming his skin,memorising every part of him.

"Oh god....." Clark said moaning and shivering in pleasure as he panted and bucked.

"I cant get enough.... cant get enough" Clark told her leaning in to kiss the top of her head and breath in her hair. His scent warm wrapped around her caressing and keeping her close as his cock began to leak.

"Baby dont tease me" Clark said moaning and dipping his head back "I want you... Need you"

"I love you"

Emily wanted to take her time, to explore him, but the desperation in Clark's voice undid her. She sat up, shucking off her remaining clothes before laying back down beside him, her lips claiming his as she wrapped a leg around him, pressing their heat together and moaning against his lips.

In that moment Emily was able to block out everything else that had been plaguing her.

Well, almost.

She had been able to block it out until her senses tuned into a certain word. Or name. Or whatever it was.

Maestro

Emily gritted pushed it aside, it was a coincidence, nothing more. She continued kissing Clark, her body on fire with the direction they were now taking. She wanted it, like nothing she had ever wanted before. She reached down, ready to take him in-

Maestro

Louder and more frantic this time, surrounded by a garble of other words.

Emily hissed under her breath, her hands reluctantly flying to her watch.

It was 10:40.

"Shit," Emily swore, voice slicing through the lust filled room with a swipe of ice. She froze for a moment, indecision tearing at every fiber of her being. "Shit, shit, shit!"

She clambered off Clark then, stumbling as she landed amongst their clothes on the floor. She reached down, struggling to determine which clothes were his and which were hers.

"Shit Clark, I am so sorry!" Emily stammered, wildly searching her mind for any excuse. "I gotta go. I have that- assignment. Yeah, I thought it was due in three days, but I just realised I got it all mixed up. Gotta submit it tonight."

Emily managed to get her bra on while she was talking, and then slipped her dress over her head. She knew she should search for her panties, but the voice called out in the darkness and she knew time was of the essence.

She slowed then, for just a moment, to reach out, her hands feeling for his chest and her head ducking down to capture his in a clumsy kiss.

"Tomorrow, I promise! I am so sorry," Emily grabbed her cane from where it was leaning against his desk, slung her backpack over her shoulder and dashed out of the room before he could argue.

From there she charged down the hall and up the stairs, luckily it was the time of night where most self-respecting uni students were hitting up the clubs, so she could go faster than she should have, using the sparkling refractions of sound to guide her up the staircase. On the top level of the block she snuck into a janitor's room and shimmied into her combat gear, collapsing her cane and tucking it into her bag before tying her hair back in a messy bun and slipping her mask on.

Picking her bag up once more she ran from the closet, all pretense of being totally blind forgotten. She heard the voice again.

Much closer this time.

And, if she was right, they were on the university campus itself.

Emily pushed all thought of Clark and her dismay at her actions far from her mind, allowing the adrenalin to flush out her arousal.

Nemesis ran and leapt, each movement taking her closer to where the voice had come from. Her final jump saw her bouncing onto a top floor landing, flipping over the railing, and sliding down an external structural beam until her feet hit the floor.

She turned, pausing for but a moment to get her bearings, and focused on the unique inflections of the voice she had heard. There it was again- they were speaking about something different this time, in a language she couldn't understand. Another few moments of running through the ground level shadows saw her in an alley behind the row of dormitories, not far from the common quadrangle where drunken students were carousing.

Nemesis slowed, blending in with the shadows as she rounded the corner.

The voices were speaking rapidly in hushed tones. She could see the shining outlines of four people. Two male and two female. They stood, one of the males holding a suticase, while they discussed something. The voices became heated, and Emily wanted to scream in frustration, understanding none of it. She slid her bag off her shoulders, fishing through it for her phone and making sure it was on silent. She switched it to voice recording mode and pushed it into the front pocket of her bag, before slipping it safely under the dumpster she was hiding behind.

Then, the talking stopped. Money was exchanged and so was the suitcase. The suitcase opened, the man and woman peering into it muttering their approval before snapping it shut. A few more words were shared and Nemesis could only understand one this time- Maestro.

Two of the people, the ones who now had the money, gestured for the others to leave. Nemesis was annoyed at this; that whatever their booty was was getting away, but taking on four of them when she was unprepared was a bad idea. Instead she waited until they were out of sight and hearing range before pouncing onto the remaining two.

The man didn't see her coming, but he was solid and had the natural reflexes of a fighter. She managed to land several blows before he really started to fight back, and then the woman joined in.

"Who is Maestro?" She grunted, between kicking the woman and blocking the man. She ducked, narrowly missing a powerful punch and rolled out of an attempt by the man to grapple her. Laughter filled the air.

"Foolish leather girl, " the man crowed in his thick accent, "She asks- who is Maestro?"

The woman laughed then too, even as Nemesis delivered a swift punch the side of her head.

"Tell me about Maestro!" Nemesis demanded, voice firmer this time.

"We will tell you nothing, little one, nothing!" The woman teased as she leaped towards Nemesis, hands outstretched for her throat.

Nemesis caught her mid-leap and flung her to the side. The woman's body slammed into the dumpster, sending empty glass bottles shattering against the concrete. All three of them froze for a moment.

Then, they heard it.

"Hey!" A voice cried, "What’s going on there?"

The sound of shoes slapping against concrete echoed through the alley. Two, four, fifteen. The numbers grew as Emily listened, she swore under her breath at the dozen or so people now headed their way from the quadrangle.

The man ran over to the woman, grabbing her arm and pulling her up.

"Oh no you don’t!" Nemesis growled, jumping on top of the dumpster and then springing onto the man's back, tucking in as he fell beneath her and rolling back onto her feet. The woman fell to the ground too, pulled down when the man failed to let go of her. Nemesis delivered a swift kick to the man's face, hearing the satisfying crunch of a breaking nose, before jumping on the woman, fending off her flailing arms as she punched.

"What is Maestro?" She demanded again between punches, her breathing ragged now.

Clark moved with her his entire body crying out for her with need. He wanted her, he wanted her more than he had ever wanted any one else. Her touch, her naked body, and every thing else called out to him as he felt filled with the need to take take take.....

Then it was over

He was so bewildered by the whole thing that he didnt even say any thing when she left. He sat their for several minutes trying to figure out what just happened and why she had taken off. What had he done? She was interested that much was sure but had things gone to fast? Either way he knew the excuse she gave was a load of dung, Emily was as much on top of her school work as he was and there was no way she would leave an assignment this late.

He finally got up grabbing his clothes and sighing. He was pulling on his jeans when he noticed her panties on the floor. He didnt hesitate, scooping them off the floor and breathing in her scent before tucking them into his pocket. Clark decided to go out try and cool off before going to bed so he grabbed his coat shrugging it on as he stepped out of the dorm and started walking.

He was a few blocks down when he heard it

The crash of a glass bottle startled him as well as several people close enough. Soon the sounds of fighting began to ring clearly from the Alley at the far end of the street. Clark rushed over with the group pushing his way to the front as he struggled to see if any one needed any help.

Then he saw her

The masked vigilante, the hero Nemesis. She was engaged in a fight with a group of thugs beating them and asking them some thing as she took them out. Clark struggled to hear but he could only make out an M before the fight covered it up. He turned looking at every one and noting the shock and in most cases anger on the pedestrians faces. He shook his head pushing his way past the others who were at the front and turning to them.

"I guess you all want drug dealers on your streets instead right" Clark snorted picking up a packet of what looked like a drug and showing it to them.

Nemisis had been aware of the people gathering behind her, hear the click of shutters as they pulled their phones out, muttering as they began to record the scene before them. She knew she only had moments before one of them decided to call the cops.

Then, something unexpected. She grasped the woman's arms and held them tight as she cast her senses out.

A familiar silhouette amongst the crowd. A breeze filtered through the alley, and that scent wafted to her.

Fuck.

He moved in closer his eyes assessing the masked woman in front of her as his hear beat out a steady rythm.

He turned clearing his throat "I think some one should call the cops so we can get the criminals arrested" He told one of the people who had their phone out before turning back to Nemesis.

"And you should be getting out of here" Clark told her his voice shaking with nerves "None of us would want to see a hero like your self get in trouble right?" He asked turning back to every one as they shuffled their feet.

"After all these are dangerous men after all and drug dealers who she took care of" He reminded them as some of them nodded and there were a few scattered applauses.

The sound of the support warmed Nemesis through and through, but this wasn't a show, and it wasn't sport.

"You should have talked when you had the chance!" She whispered to the woman, before headbutting her and knocking her unconscious. She heard the man stirring but kicked out instead, pushing him back under.

Nemesis then frisked them both, taking whatever ID they had and finding a notebook on the man. She reached down, whipping the man's laces from his shoes and using one to tie his feet together, and using the other to tie the straps of the womans shoes together. She got to her feet, tucking the items down the front of her corset and racing towards the dumpster where she had left her bag.

The dumpster Clark was now standing next to.

She ran towards him, noting that he didn't shy away from her approach. At the last moment she slid, snatching up her bag before rolling on her side and jumping back to her feet.

"You!" Nemesis said, striding over to Clark, her breasts heaving beneath her armored corset as she went. Nemesis down into the side pocket of his trousers, knowing exactly where he liked to tuck his phone and finding that she wasn't disappointed. She took it out, pressed it into his chest, and turned her face to his. She could sense the shock and adrenalin coursing through him. In that moment she wanted to kiss him, to tell him she was sorry.

But this was business.

"Call it in, now. Then get away from here. Those two should be out for a while, but the elementary school tied laces trick will only hold them for a minute," She ordered, before gently taking his chin in her hands, "Call it in, then get away." She reminded him.

Nemesis turned then, racing off into the blackness of the alleyway until she was out of sight, before bounding up a fire escape and backtracking until she had a view of the scene she had left before. She crouched on her haunches, peering over the roof top, making sure Clark was safe.

Clark blinked suddenly very very aware of her being so close. She smelled.... Almost farmilair though he couldn't quite figure out where. She looked as if she was about to kiss him and even though he was very very very tempted he opened his mouth to tell her that he was taken.

But it didnt come to that

She plucked his phone pushing it to his chest and giving him the order to call the cops. He opened his mouth to tell her it was well in hand but once again she was gone disappearing into the night and causing him to shake his head in wonder.

"I love this city" He murmured watching as the cop came up. He walked over and made sure every one gave the HONEST confessional before he went back to campus. The walk thankfully mellowed him out and by the time he got back he was ready to crash.

And so he did leaving his door unlocked just in case Emily decided to come back. He sent her a text right before bed to saying he hoped she was okay and he was ready to talk whenever she was.

The next morning Emily felt terrible. She'd gotten to bed in the wee hours of the morning, aching and covered with fresh bruises. Even getting the notebook and beating the thugs didn't make up for how terrible she felt for abandoning Clark.

Disappointing her boyfriend was something new to Emily, in her few past relationships it had been the other way around. So Emily did what she always did when she was confused. Went to doctor google. Thankfully, her searches yielded a number of results lf how to make it up to him. Some perfect, some not so perfect, but at least she had a plan.

~*~

Emily arrived at Clark's dorm room by ten in the morning. Normally they sent a wake up text message to discuss the day's plans, but she decided to skip it in case he was sleeping. She had listened to his text from the previous night hundreds of times on the way here and was thankful that he was so understanding.

Emily pulled her trench coat tighter around her, squirming at the feeling of the silly lining on her almost bare skin. She took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

"Clark?" She called softly.

The knocking on his door roused Clark out of his dream, in his dream he had been chasing after Emily trying to find her as the world slowly went black around him. Every time he looked up he could have sworn he saw Nemesis but it was always flitting and he could never be sure.

So when the knock sounded across his room he bolted up bleary eyed and huffing. He shook his head the memories of the night catching up to him as he stumbled out of bed shirtless.

"Hang on" He grumbled towards the door tripping over a shoe as he made his way to the door. He reached it and pulled it open blinking in surprise as he saw Emily standing before him.

"Hey" He said looking at her "come on in" He yawned opening the door and letting her in.

"Did I freak you out or some thing last night?" He asked turning and closing the door "I mean I know that homework thing was bogus"

Emily turned her body towards Clark, pulling her cane in close. She gave him a wry, apologetic frown.

"Clark, I'm sorry," She said with a heavy sigh. His tone was gentle enough, but she could taste the frustration in it. "I just..." She stopped, not really wanting to lie, but not able to tell the truth either. "I messed up last night, that's all I can say. But when I got home- well... I want you Clark. I love you, and I want you, and I want this," She gestured between the two of them, reaching out for him, wanting to pull him close.

Emily's free hand fiddled with the buttons on her trench, when they were all undone she tugged at the belt and the coat fell open to reveal a body clad in nothing but a red lacy bra and g-string, as well as suspenders and stockings. She could also feel the wear and tear of the last few nights on her skin, the dull ache of bruises on her skin in what would be varying shades of blue, purple and yellow.

"I was hoping we could pick up where we left off," She said, breasts rising and falling rapidly as her nerves frayed.