by babychan
Author: Babychan
Title: Marriage and Family
Rating: R
Series: Sequel
Spoilers: A lot for DC canon and some for TV canon
Parings: Clark/Lex
Summary: Sequel of Just an Ordinary Day
Disclaimer. I own nothing, but my imagination and this fic. Superman, Smallville and everything with there in belong to someone else.
When you marry, you inherit the family.... Whether you like it or not.- aynomous. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marriage and Family
Martha Kent wiped her hands on her apron as she glanced at the clock. It was a little before five am. Her family would be arriving mid to late afternoon, so she had time to get all of her cooking done. More than enough time, actually, but being idle was killing her.
God, she was so excited!
It had been almost 22 years for Linda, and a little over six years for Clark that either one of her children had stepped a foot in the Kent family home.
Today was going to be a reconciliation that was long over due.
She wanted it to be perfect.
When Lex woke up, bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30 am. He gently pried himself out of his husband's embrace. Usually, during this time, he would take out his Vade Mecum and write down the answers to impossible equations, theoretical formulas, and/or the blueprints of brilliant and fantastic- some times deadly- inventions. However, today he opted to do something different.
This morning, the business mogul picked up his laptop and started on the work he didn't finish last night.
Clack, clack, clickity clack at a hundred words a minute.
The raven-haired man who was sleeping beside him, slowly pried one of his eyes open and glared at his husband. "Whatever the hell you are working on, it better be important. I just got to sleep."
Actually, Clark just got in. There was some kind of major environmental crisis in some no-name third world country, and Superman was needed. Yep, Clark was now part of the Justice League. Again. Not a fulltime member. No, he was only an honorary Justice Leaguer. Though they did want him to return permanently, no one expected him to go back to the hero biz fulltime seeing that he had a family.
But in Lex's opinion, honorary or not, it still took too much of Clark's time away him and their children. Unfortunately, little by little, the super, selfish bastards were making it harder for Clark to turn his back on his other life and his sense of duty and guilt for saving the world.
Lex was seriously thinking about creating a Super Ray Gun, pointing it at the Justice League headquarters and pulling the trigger. Actually...now that he thought about it.... All he had to do was rebuild the one he already had plans for, but this time, he would be more careful about making sure his husband didn't find out.
Better yet!
There was that one that was already built, hidden away, and ready to use in that cavern in Guatemala!
But no...
He couldn't use that one. Not yet. He was saving that one for a special occasion.
So Lex left his menacing thoughts of blowing up his husband's place of employment and got back to the subject at hand.
"Everything I do is important." The business tyrant drawled arrogantly.
"Whatever." Clark grumbled as he shifted angrily on his side, so his back was facing Lex, and mooshed a pillow over his head. Even though his hearing wasn't as sharp as it used to be, it was still pretty superhuman and the clickity clack of Lex's laptop was loud.
"Damn it, Lex! Can't you work on something else?"
"No." The man addressed answered flatly as he continued to type on the nosiest keyboard he could find. "This needs to be finished this morning. I would have had it done yesterday, but someone, who will go unnamed dropped our children off in my office and expected me to drop everything and baby-sit like I don't have multinational business to run."
Clark sighed out in frustration and angrily turned around to face him. "Lex, a volcano erupted, they needed my help!"
"They always need your help." Lex responded drolly and he continued to work. "What about what I need, Clark? When we got back together you promised never to put that damned suit on again! What about our family!"
"What about it?" Clark demanded, as he jerked to a sitting position. His fury to his husband's accusations made his green eyes bleed into an enraged Superman blue. "For crying out loud! Their your kids, Lex! I didn't know leaving them with you would inconvenience you!"
"That's not what I was saying and you know it!" Lex growled through grit teeth as he saved his work then looked at his husband with forced patients. "You're misunderstanding me on purpose."
"Oh, just forget it!" The raven-haired man fumed as he put his hand in a stop position. He didn't want to fight, not about this. Not right now, when the memories of all those he wasn't able to save was still fresh in his memory. Lex acted like this was something he wanted to do. "Next time I get called...I'll just to drop the kids off...at the Headquarters."
The Luthor's never hired another nanny to replace Anita, and though they had a small army of domestic help, they never left their children with them unattended. Clark didn't want to put another person in danger like that.
"You better not leave them there!" Lex almost yelled. "It's bad enough that you're friends are always dropping by as it is!"
That was another thing that truly pissed Lex off. Because of Clark's Justice League friends, he could never let his guard down, not even in his own home. It was so bad in fact that his kids actually thought that he spoke with an Australian accent.
"Furthermore!" Lex seethed. "Next time they call, you better say no!"
"Lex..." Clark sighed resignedly as he flopped back, on their massive bed. His head sunk into his favorite feather pillow and he mumbled a growl. "Its too early to fight and if you insist on working now... Then fine! Just do it some place else!"
"And where would you have me go, inamorato? My office?" He mock pondered. "No, I suppose not, seeing how you forbade me from entering any of them before 7am."
"Lex, I don't care where you go." Clark interrupted in his most annoyed and serious tone. "As long as you don't wake the kids. What I do is important too, you know, and I need some rest so I can do it properly."
"I know." The young looking tyrant agreed softly, because he knew that Clark was talking about raising their kids. His husband was a good mom. The perfect mom to their children. Gently, Lex reached over and ran his fingers through silky, raven locks.
With an aggravated swipe, Clark hit his husband's hand out of his hair. "Don't touch me! I`m mad at you!"
"Fine!" Lex spat back and quickly scooted off the bed. However, in his haste he made sure to create as much movement -to shake the bed and Clark - as possible. He knew that he was being an ass, but he felt that he had the right to act this way.
Why, you ask?
It was because of what he found in Clark's bathroom last night.
What did he find?
PILLS!
Contraceptive pills!!
Actually, it was Alexander who found them. Last night, while Clark was out saving the world, Lex and his children were playing a game of hide and seek, in the penthouse, for it was one of their favorite games to play. However on this night, Alexander hid particularly well. The little, raven-haired, boy opted to hide in his mama's bathroom. So when Lex found him, he also found and caught Alexander eating, what the little boy thought was candy.
"Daddy...Can I have some?" He innocently asked as he held up a compact looking carrying capsule. Of course the little boy had eaten most of it already before he remembered that he had to ask, first!
To say Lex was upset was an understatement. Actually, he was upset on so many levels that he was frozen stalk-stiff for a good minute before he remembered that Alexander ate most of them. Then his anger bled into fear. He was afraid of what those pills were doing to his child's body, because if they were strong enough to be effective in Clark's body, then they were probably lethal in anyone else's.
Terrified, Lex grabbed Alexander, and leaned his son over the toilet, stuffed his fingers down the little boy's throat and forced him to vomit. It took forever to initiate the gag reflex, for it was almost impossible to make the little half Kryptonian vomit the pills, and everything else that was in the little boy's stomach.
Almost.
After the whole ordeal was over, Lex realized that he could have handled it better. He was a genius after all, and he did have machines in his labs that would have given Alexander a successful and painless stomach pump. Unfortunately, the mastermind couldn't think of that.
He was too scared to think rationally!
Therefore, as a result of Lex's quick thinking he had to suffer with his son giving him hurt, betrayed, and extremely angry glares for entire evening. The tyrant was just glad that Alexander didn't have heat vision yet, or he would have been a fried turkey by now.
In Lex's opinion, whoever said being a parent was easy... Was a liar.
In spite of this horrible memory, Lex couldn't stop an impish smirk from tugging the corner of his mouth. Clark thought he was so clever as he proclaimed that he wanted another child, while secretly using contraceptives to keep from having it. But Lex was going to have the last laugh. Over the past year, the scientist had successfully developed a fertility drug for Clark. A fertility drug that was now fashioned to look like the little, pink, pills his husband was taking to keep from getting pregnant.
Why did Lex make them look like the contraceptives?
Because the evil mastermind secretly replaced the contraceptives with the fertility drug, of course.
Lex wanted a large family, and no one was going to deny him that. Not even Clark. So if Lex's calculations were right, which he knew they were, his next scion should be a set. Yes, twins.
He always wanted twins.
"And I don't mind having the kids all day." Lex said adamantly as he slipped on his black silk pajama bottoms and walked toward the bedroom door . He didn't wait for Clark's "I know," before he closed the door behind him, because he didn't have to. Since his initial change in the Matrix, his hearing was pretty superhuman too. Sometimes it was too super because while Lex was trying to make his escape to his down stairs LexCorp office, he also heard Clark tell him that he only had few hours to get everything done because they were driving to Smallville because Linda and Diana needed to landing pad for their jet.
Martha opened the fridge, to get out the rest of the ingredients she needed for the pie she was going to make. However, before she grabbed the items, she adjusted a magnetized picture of Lena and Alexander, which was located on the refrigerator door.
Out of the thousands of pictures that she now had of them, this one was her favorite. She took this picture. It was a candid picture, in one of the Luthor's many flower gardens, in their Metropolis suburban mansion. They usually stayed there when she went down to visit, for she couldn't stay at penthouse in LexCorp Towers. It reminded her too much of Lex Luthor Sr.
After retrieving what she needed, she closed the fridge and glanced at another picture on the fridge. This one was also of her son's children. It was actually a picture of Lena holding a newly born Alexander. That picture made her both happy and sad. Happy because she was able to share in that day. Sad because, by her own decision, it reminded her that she missed Lena's birth.
In truth, she and her husband were beyond shell shocked when they found out that Clark was pregnant. That Clark could get pregnant. However, what overshadowed that news was the fact that they had to find out, on the TV, that their son -the worlds greatest hero- had kidnapped Lex Luthor II, because he was in love with the crimson haired man. So the fact that Clark was impregnated with a Luthor's child did not come to them as joyous news.
Of course, at first, Martha and Jonathan believed that the kidnapping was an honorable act. It had to be. It wasn't just Clark committing this horrible crime. It was Superman! So this kidnapping had to be on the up and up, because Superman did not commit crimes.
Jonathan and Martha reckoned that their son was probably saving the world from another crazy Luthor scheme. Lex II was the son of the infamous Lex Luthor after all.
For the first few days, after Luthor's abduction, the Kents spurned the media's accusations. They even publicly scorned the young, kidnapped, tyrant and blamed him for Superman's actions. They adamantly accused Lex II of being as bad as the father and accused him of using some type of mind control on Superman because there was no way that there was any truth to the Contessa's allegations that Superman was in love with her fiance.
Superman in love with a Luthor scion?
Preposterous!!!
In Jonathan's opinion, this was just another Luthor scheme to make Superman look bad and cover up his evildoings. He would never accept it as truth.
But yet....The more momentum the story got, the more Martha could see the truth in it. Because unlike her recalcitrant husband, she wasn't blind to Clark and Lex's past romantic relationship.
She just chose to ignore it.
Nor was she oblivious to the real reason for her son's decision to attend Met U, and Clark's tour through Europe after he graduated, and his venture into superherodom, and the reason why her son disappeared after Lex's death, and the truth behind Clark's obsession with the deceased megalomaniac, the years after.
It was for Lex. Always for Lex. She knew this, but again, she chose to ignore it, for it wasn't like her son was proclaiming his love to his ex. No, Clark chose to become Lex's #1 enemy.
Her son's strategy to become a permanent fixture in Luthor's life made absolutely no sense to her, whatsoever. It was like Clark was stuck in some type of adolescent logic that `if you hit the one you love...they will love you back, but if they don't love you back, at least they will chase you and retaliate.' It was stupid. So very stupid, and she hated knowing the root of what their wars were about.
In spite of this knowledge, she was comfortable with their idiotic actions as long as they didn't get back together. Because as long as they didn't get back together, she didn't have to truly face what was really going on between the two men. Especially her son.
Denial was her friend. Her best friend at times.
An unbidden thought surfaced, and Martha remembered Clark's unrelenting obsession with Lex's life, after the tyrant married for the second time. She never said this out loud but she knew that her son destroyed Lex's and Liz's marriage on purpose.
Nonetheless, when Clark abducted Lex II, Martha hoped that her son's actions were super hero, saving the world from the next generation of evil Luthors, related. Because she didn't want Clark to pursue a love with another Luthor again. Just because she allowed the Luthor/Kent relationship in the past didn't mean that she would accept it now!! To much had changed, too much bad blood between her family and the Luthor's. She didn't want her son to get involved with another one. Especially if it was the son of the namesake.
Unfortunately, her hopes were crushed after Lois called them. The raven haired woman confirmed the truth that was alleged across every newspaper and on every news show, in the world. Superman was acting out on his love for Lex Luthor II, and their son had kidnapped the crimson haired man because his love was unrequited.
To this day, Martha still has no words to describe what she felt at that moment.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of it. Lois then shared the fact that Lex Luthor II was actually Lex Luthor. The same evil bastard that tried to kill their son, numerous times, and take over the world time and time again.
Jonathan couldn't believe it. He wouldn't.
Until...
Lois shared with them, the happenings of that night. The night when Clark left her and abducted Lex Luthor. She also bitterly shared with them the problems she and Clark were having in their marriage, due to Clark's obsession with Lex Luthor.
Martha didn't want to hear this. She wished that her son's, then wife, would just shut up and keep her information about Clark's life to herself. Unfortunately, she didn't get her wish. The raven haired woman was a fast talker and an even faster talker when she was angry. However, Martha didn't want her husband to hear Lois's next confession even more.
Lois told Jonathan about Clark's past relationship with Lex Luthor. The romantic relationship, and everything that Clark had done to stay in his ex's life since the evil bastard left Smallville. Then, in a fit of tears, their son's wife repeatedly told them that Lex Luthor was alive, and somehow, the bastard either cloned himself a new body or reversed the aging process on his old. She wasn't sure, and with Lex Luthor, one could never tell. The man was a genius. A mad scientist that could do anything he put his mind too.
Lois then informed them of the secret message written in Lex's autobiography that her husband had been trying to decipher for a year.
They knew of the book, because Lois destroyed the original on their farm.
She told them that Clark left her that same night, only minutes after he figured out what it was telling him. She told them that the message Lex Luthor had written informed Clark that he was forgiven, still loved, and to come back.
Martha remembered watching Jonathan just.... shut down. She saw the change from the unconditional support to anger. The change from trust to betrayal. The change from love to... hate.
It was then when Lois proposed the idea of publicly killing off "Clark Kent" to save his good name and reputation. She told them that she would have never thought of it, but Clark, himself, suggested it because he didn't care. Clark didn't care about his old life anymore, because he was going to build a new one with Lex Luthor!
Jonathan didn't even hesitate to agree. Actually, Jonathan was more than happy to comply. Clark had shamed him, and he would be damned if his ex-son would publicly admit that he left his wife, for a Luthor.
At the time, Martha was so furious with her son for leaving Lois for ...Lex Luthor, The devil himself!!... that she agreed as well. Unfortunately, when her ire simmered, she regretted the decision she made in the haste of anger. For Martha never wanted it to come to an... estrangement from her child. From both of her children. She never thought that history would repeat itself because she never thought that Clark would chose Lex over them.... just as Linda had done twenty years before.
Linda they understood. They only had her for a few months, but Clark?....Clark was always such a good boy and always respectful to his parents wishes; even when he didn't agree with them. Martha had thought that if the ultimatum was stern enough, Clark would come back to them, come back to his senses, and do the right thing.
But he didn't.
It was a life shattering experience. She honestly didn't expect for Clark not to chose them.
She didn't expect that Clark not choosing them...would be the right choice for him.
The best choice.
She was still ashamed that it took until Lena was almost two, kidnapped, and after Lex contacted her, for her to admit to herself that she made a mistake in shutting Clark out of her life.
Martha sighed woefully. She didn't like thinking about all the time she wasted. No... Lost. That's why she usually didn't.
Again, denial was good to her.
The white-haired woman was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed someone in her peripheral. Her husband was standing in the kitchen doorway. Scowling. She shook her head and ignored him as she started mixing the ingredients she needed to make a homemade apple pie. It was both Clark's and Linda's favorite.
"When are the Luthors due to arrive?" Jonathan asked in an irritated tone.
"In about 30 minutes," She answered absently as she began to make the dough for the pie.
Jonathan snorted and walked toward the living room and turned on the TV. Martha sighed. Sometimes her husband's stubbornness and pride really got on her nerves.
Jonathan Kent hated all things that were Luthor, and he still does, despite the fact that all his prophesies about Lex Luthor II never came to pass. And despite the fact that his son is now happily married. Extremely happily married to a Luthor. And despite the fact that he now has two beautiful Luthor grandchildren
Martha really hoped that her husband didn't cause a scene today, for she knew that Lex would not tolerate it. Though, Martha no longer believed Lois's claim that Clark's husband was the original Lex Luthor, the young man was still a Luthor. And even though, in all of the times, she had met with the young man, he was, always, extremely loving to his family and polite to her, she could tell that there was a darkness about him that was barely kept at bay.
Martha had no desire to ever see that darkness surface.
"Jonathan..." She called from the kitchen in a no nonsense tone. "This is the first time Clark has been home since he married Lex. Don't ruin this day from me."
In the past, Jonathan made it his personal hobby to always make sure Clark knew how evil and treacherous Luthors were. "A Luthor, is a Luthor, is a Luthor," was his rant of choice. It always amazed her how he would -without warning and at any given moment - preach it. His anti-Luthor rants could last for hours. Jonathan Kent was, and still is, the vice president of the Anti-Luthor Collation in Smallville. He ignored all the good the Luthor's had done, which was a lot since Clark married Lex II, and focused on their bad. Which really wasn't that hard considering all the bad Lionel and Lex Sr had done. But still, Jonathan never saw good in Luthor's.
In short, Jonathan never accepted Lex, even before he went bad. When Lex lived in Smallville, Jonathan purposely ignored the fact that the budding tycoon did more for Smallville's economic growth than the founding family, the Smalls.
Martha never spoke this out loud, but she suspected that her husband's continued intolerance for Lex was the direct result of her husband's jealousy of Lex`s success. Sure, he hated Lionel, but his hate for Lex was more superficial. He resented the young scion for being rich, for having about a dozen, hundred thousand dollar cars and driving them like he didn't have a care in the world. He hated Lex for totaling over half of them and replacing them with newer and better models. He hated Lex for always wearing tailored and designer cloths and a different pair 500 dollar shoes everyday; even if it was just to "hang out" at the farm. Jonathan hated the fact that Lex had the world given to him on a sliver platter and the fact that Lex didn't appreciate it, he expected it. But most of all, Martha knew that her husband hated Lex for being successful in his own right, where Jonathan was not.
When Lex broke away from LuthorCorp, to start his own corporation, everyone in Smallville, except those who worked at the plant, couldn't wait to see the young heir fail. A Luthor failure. It was a rare thing indeed, and they couldn't wait to rub his nose in it. Everyone new of Lex's sordid past, even if they didn't know the details of it. They also knew that Lionel always cleaned up Lex's messes, and because of that, they considered him a daddy's boy. When Lex broke away from his daddy`s grip of control, they just knew- hoped- he was going to fail.
They were so wrong.
Not only did Lex save the Plant, LexCorp grew like a black hole, swallowing and amalgamating everything in its path. Smallville, and the world, quickly found out that when it came to business, Lex Luthor had the Midas touch.
It was no wonder that Lionel was so determined to have his son back with LuthorCorp.
On the other hand, her husband, Jonathan, had inherited his land and his home and everything within. He didn't start his own business, like Lex. All he had to do was continue to work on what had already been established and everything should have been alright. But it wasn't alright, he mismanaged and he failed. And by the time Clark was 15, the Kent's were about to lose the farm. A farm that had been in the family for over three generations. It was in the wake of Jonathan's failure when Lex Luthor came rocketing into town, in his Porsche, and almost killing their son. With that one accident, the young scion brought to the Kent family a whole new set of problems.
Though Lex didn't do it on purpose.
It was that first gift, the truck, that infuriated Jonathan. Sure, he was upset that Clark was hit with the car and almost killed, but that fear had receded after they found out how invulnerable their son was. It was the truck that made the bile rise in her husband's throat when he thought about Lex Luthor That candy apple, red, truck with the white racing stripe. It was top of the line, and it had all of the top of the line special features.
Martha had to admit that she really liked and appreciated the gift. They needed a new automobile because the one they had, at that time, was about to clunk out. But her husband took it as an insult. He felt that Lex Luthor was throwing his wealth in their face. He felt that Lex was blaming them, because if Clark had a car, he wouldn't have been standing on that bridge. He felt that Lex Luthor was trying to buy them off, because if the rich brat gave Clark a shiny, new, toy then they wouldn't press charges on him for almost killing their son!
Martha tried to talk some sense into her husband. She tried to make him see that this very expensive gift was probably the way that the young Luthor said thank you. It was sort of like, them, sending a pie or a cake and a nice little thank you card. The truck did come with a thank you card. But Jonathan wouldn't hear it, he made Clark return it, right after he twisted Lex's intentions by telling Clark that Lex was trying to buy his friendship and that a life was worth more than a truck.
That memory almost makes Martha laugh because it was Jonathan who kick started the two boy's relationship. If her husband would have just swallowed his pride, just that once, Clark would have kept the truck, and Lex would have believed that the Kent's could be bought off like the rest of the world and the two boys probably wouldn't have crossed paths again. But no, Jonathan forced their son to take the high road, which in turn, not only kept Lex in Clark's debt, it quirked the young Luthor's curiosity. It wasn't everyday that people refused an automobile with no strings attached.
It wasn't until later did they find out that the last thing you ever wanted to do with Lex Luthor was quirk his curiosity. Lex hated not understanding something, and once his interest was peaked, he wouldn`t let it go until he was satisfied. The query would fester inside him until he found the answer, or at least the question. In Lex's mind frame, knowledge was power. Power meant control. And control was everything to Lex. He fought so hard to gain control over his own life -when he broke away from his father- that he was determined never to have it taken away from him again.
Martha later found out that Lex also hated being in someone debt as well, because it made him vulnerable to have to fulfill favors that weren't on his terms. So Lex tried, and tried, and tried to pay Clark off, but either fate made it impossible, or Jonathan flat out said no. This in turn, kept Lex in Clark's life, thus making sure the scion witnessed a lot of crazy shit that seemed to always surface around Clark. This, in turn, peeked Lex's scientist born mind, and the scion became more and more curious about Clark and the boy's ability to fair crazy ass adventures with out a scratch. Thus propagating Lex's desire to want to be around Clark, for scientific observation.
It was only because of their constant companionship that their relationship turned into friendship, which, in turn, developed into love.
Love.... More like obsession.
Martha sighed and shook her head. Not even Romeo and Juliet could match the intensity of Lex's and Clark's love. Their love was dangerous and volatile. It almost destroyed the world.
As she kneaded the pie dough, she wondered, not for the first time, if her son's husband was the original Lex Luthor. He certainly looked liked him. A young version of him. Very young. However, he didn't act like him. Lex Luthor was mean, and vicious, and insanely cruel. He was not someone you wanted to provoke. Nor was he someone you wanted to have focus his attention on you. Junior, as so the press sometimes called him, was said to be extremely charming, and patient. He gave not only his money to charities but also his time. He was loving, especially to his husband, and publicly affectionate to his children. All in all, he seemed like a good man. The public loved him, unlike his preceding namesake. He was even reported to be an honest businessman.
Before the scandal about Lex Luthor and Lois Lane's long term adulterous affair broke out, Lois had confided to Martha about some of Lex II's illegal business behavior.... But.... no one believed what Lois Lane had to say anymore. Martha included. The raven haired woman ruined herself and her creditability when she tried to ruin Kal-el and LexCorp.
Unfortunately, some of Lois's claims about Lex II made Martha often worry if that was the reason Lex kept Clark. She wondered if Lex manipulated Clark's love for him so that he could conduct evil schemes, but without the repercussions Clark inflicted on his father.
She shook that irrational fear out of her head. If Lex's last press conference didn't prove how much Clark's husband- whether he was the orginal or not- loved him, then nothing would.
Martha's thoughts were interrupted again, when she heard a car pull into the drive way.
"Oh my God!" She yelled happily. "They're early!"
The aged woman wiped the dough off of her hands and excitedly made her way toward the kitchen door. When she saw who it was, she tried not to let her smile falter. It wasn't that she didn't want to see the Ross's, they were invited to this reunion as well, but she was really hoping that it would be Clark and his family.
"Pete!" Martha called out and waved happily from the doorway. "Where are my sweeties?"
"Right here, Grandma Kent!" Yelled the 13 year old boy as he jumped out of the Lexus Sedan.
"Oh my goodness, Clark!" She smiled out lovingly and held open her arms for a hug. "Look how big you've grown! Pretty soon you are going to be taller than me!"
The honey complexioned child puffed his chest out a bit, at the compliment, as he ran over to her. He was still about 4 inches shorter than the rest of the boys his age but if grandma said he was taller, then he believed her. "I've missed you!" Clark informed as he squeezed her tight and kissed her soft cheek.
"I missed you too!" She admitted joyously. "That's why I made you those chocolate chip cookies you love so much!" Hazel eyes widened in adoration, and she let him go so he could gorge himself. She really did adore that child.
Slowly, because of her old age, she made her way to the Ross family car. "How are you doing, Pete?"
"Tired, Martha." Pete admitted with a smile. "It was a long trip from D.C."
Martha nodded and gave the almost forty-three year old Pete a hug. "I'm so proud of you, I hope you know. You are doing our state proud."
"Well, tell that to our voters." The Senator chuckled a bit darkly. "In their minds, Kansas's prosperity is the single handed result of Lex Luthor II's intervention."
"Well I know the good you're doing, and that's all that matters!" Proclaimed a sweet encouraging voice from the car.
Martha looked away from Clark's life long, best friend and at the woman opening the passenger door of the car. "How are you doing, Lana?"
The woman smiled sweetly. "I'm doing good. Martha." She leaned into the car and unhooked the twins booster seats. "Pete, will you get Juliet out for me while I get Petey?"
The elder Pete Ross quickly complied, and the five of them walked contently toward the house.
"So how are the babies doing?" Martha smiled out when Petey started whining that he didn't want to be held
"They're both fine." Lana huffed as she put her youngest down. "Though... they have been acting horrible this whole trip."
Martha gave her a knowing smile. "They probably just miss there cousins."
"Maybe...." Lena mused as she bit, nervously, on her bottom lip. "But only God knows what those four will get into when they are all together." Lana admitted with a worried smile, then informed good naturedly. "I talked to Linda today."
"You talk to her everyday." Pete jokingly reminded as he put his daughter down. When her brother was allowed to walk, she demanded to walk as well.
"So! She's my sister!" Lana huffed. "I can talk to her if I want to!
Pete playfully rolled his eyes as he held the door open for the two women. When they were all inside, he found his son sitting on the couch besides Jonathan, with the cookie jar in his lap and a mouthful of cookies in his mouth "Clark, how many of those have you eaten already?"
"I dunno..." The young teenager answered in a barely audible mumble.
"Well, if you had more than you can count, then I think you've had enough." Pete admonished as he walked over into the Living room. God knew that his son didn't need anymore sugar in his system today. As it stood right now, with all the sweet his parents feed his son, the boy was hyper enough for six children.
"Let him be, Pete." Jonathan admonished right back and put his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Grandpa Kent said that he could eat his fill." Then to make his point, the aged man took a cookie for himself and bit into it.
Pete sulked into a chair and pouted softly. "You never let me and Clark eat our fill when we were that age."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
"Why?" The crimson-haired heiress sulked in a fit of tears. "Don't you love me anymore?"
Clark felt his heart constrict at that question. How could she even ask him that? "Baby, of course I love you!" He watched his daughter slump down, onto her knees, as tears poured out of her emerald eyes.
Disbelievingly, Lena looked up at him and held up the outfit that he selected for her to wear, then blubbered out. "Then why do you want me to put this on?"
Dumbfounded by the question, Clark furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. The outfit Lena apparently hated was a dark purple, designer jean overall, with a lavender shirt that was ruffled around the collar and cuffs. The outfit was so cute that everyone oohed and ahhed when he picked it up. Even Lex thought it was adorable. Unfortunately, Lena didn't agree.
"Lena, please..." He soothed and kneeled beside her "What's wrong the outfit I bought you. It's your favorite colors, and I had it made especially for you."
She held up the overalls, by the straps, and whimpered. "These look like what that guy had on in the stoooooory."
"Which story?" Clark pondered.
"The story about the poor boy!" She cried. "The one who put mud in his pockets and picked up the dead crow and the shoe!"
The raven haired man bit back a chuckle as he stared at his distraught daughter. "I thought you liked that story?"
"I dooooo!" She assured then pleaded. "But please, mama, don`t dress me like him!" She dropped the overalls and gripped his shirt and clung, desperately, against his chest. "Please don't dress me like a poor boy!"
The superhero looked at the discarded outfit. It did not look like something a poor person would wear. It was tailor made, by one of the worlds top designers, because Lex would allow no less for his children.
"Lena, you're the one who said that you wanted to wear overalls when we visited the farm."
She looked stricken and defeated because she did ask for a set of overalls. But that defeat only lasted for a second because Clark watched her draw into her thoughts as she mentally figured out a way to remedy this situation in her favor. The male mother bit back a smile, because he had seen this exact look on his husband face, a million times before. Clark knew the exact moment she came up with a rebuttal too.
"But that was before you read me the story!" She sobbed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against it. "Can`t I just wear what I had on before?"
The raven-haired man pulled back, a little, and looked down at his little drama queen. He couldn't help but think that she inherited her theatrics from Lex's side of the family.
"No Lena. You can`t."
"Why?" She sniffled. "It's my favorite." It really was. It was very similar the `Alice and Wonderland dress' that she grew out of.
"You can't wear it because you spilt your milk on it when you unscrewed the cap off of your tipsy cup." He gave her an admonishing, knowing look.
The milk went everywhere, and it soaked into the butter-soft, leather seats of Lex's new Jaguar at an astounding speed. Clark was just glad that they were near the castle when it happened, so they wouldn't have to deal with the smell when it started to spoil. The raven-haired man was also happy that they opted to take one of Lex's cars down, instead of one of his own.
"Can't the maids just clean it?" She reasoned woefully as she tilted her head back to stare into his identical eyes.
"Yes they can." Clark assured. "But it's dry clean only, and we don't have time to wait for it. Grandma Kent is expecting us in a few minutes." He reached and picked up her purple outfit. "So will you please put on what I picked out for you?"
Her chin started to quiver, and her bottom lip poked out as she shook her head no. "Please.... don't make me wear that." She begged.
"Okay, Lena." Clark conceded in a weary sigh. "Let's find you something else to wear then." He picked up his daughter and headed for her walk-in closet. They were in the castle, but she had a full wardrobe in every house they owned.
In another massive bedroom, just down the hall, Lex was fairing no better with his son.
"But I wanna were my uniform!" The raven-haired child demanded. He had on an exact replica of his mama's Superman uniform. It was his all-time favorite thing to wear. The little boy would wear it 24/7 if his parent would allow him too.
Which of course, they didn't.
Alexander waved a tiny, reprimanding, finger at his father for even thinking about making him wear something different "How am I gonna save the day if I don't have on my uniform?"
"Then I guess you won't `save the day' today." Lex informed dispassionately. "Because your not wearing that to the Kents. "
Alexander frowned and crossed his arms as he poised himself into his most intimidating superman pose. Which, in Lex's fearless opinion, wasn't very intimidating at all. However, he's got his son's message loud and clear. Alexander was still angry about last nights "betrayal," so his daddy, forcing him out of his beloved uniform, was not putting the bald man on his son's favorite persons list.
"Alexander." Lex said with a deadly calm. It was the tone he used to use in his former life, and it had the same deadly inflection in his voice that could scare most everyone one in the world. Unfortunately, it had no affect, whatsoever, on his family. However, there was always a first time for everything. They had been fussing about this for over 10 minutes now. "You already wore your uniform on the trip down here. Now its time for you to put on some real clothes."
"I said NO!" The little boy grit out between clenched teeth. "You said I could wear my uniform!"
"And you did." The elder Alexander reminded sternly. God knew that he hated having this argument everyday. Lex swears that his son gets his stubbornness from Clark's side of the family. Nonetheless, if Alexander didn't comply soon, the mogul was going to burn that horrid outfit immediately after he got it off his son.
He ignored the fact that his son had about a bakers dozen of them.
"I'm not changing into those stuffy clothes!" The little boy yelled and pointed at the outfit his daddy picked out. It was almost an exact replica of what Lex had on. The half-ling then zipped across his massive bedroom, with his alien speed, and ran out of the door. "And you can't make me!"
Lex, calmly, stood in his ground and watched his son run out of the bedroom. He then closed his eyes and concentrated on how he was going to remedy this situation. He didn't use his powers often. At first he did, but then they lost their novelty. However, sometimes...life gave him no choice.
A few seconds later, the young scion was floating back into the room and trapped by Lex's expert use of telekinesis. He opened his eyes when he heard his son crying out "Not fair! Not Fair!" over and over again in Kryptonian.
"I don't have to be fair." The tyrant drawled, as he slowly and arrogantly, sauntered over to his hovering son. "I'm your father. The rules are what I say they are, and they change when I say they do." With his child's fine, wool, pants and white linen shirt, in tow, Lex prepared to dress his recalcitrant baby boy.
Back in the kitchen of the Kent farm, Lana was talking about her sister, Linda.
Martha was surprised when the two woman rekindled their familial relationship. Especially since the reason for their rift was because Linda left to become Lex Luthor's lover. The same Lex Luthor who kidnapped and tortured Lana.
Martha remembered the year when Linda left and inwardly cringed. It was a mess, and she was glad that it only lasted a year. Linda was hopelessly and blindly in love with Lex Luthor, and Clark was hopelessly blinded by the jealousy of his "sisters" relationship with his ex.
It was a horrible episode in their lives, on so many levels, but mostly for Linda. The blond woman unfortunately assumed that Lex was a good man because in her parallel world, he was...perfect.. The tyrant allowed her to believe what she wanted because Linda was valuable to him, for a variety of different reasons. However, Lex couldn't keep up the benevolent act forever, nor did he want to. The megalomaniac cut her loose after he successfully created an army of Super Girls. But unfortunately for him, somehow every single one of Linda's clones were infected with the same clone disease that killed Bizarro.
Martha was pretty sure that it was her son who infected Linda's clones, but she had never, and never would, ask for conformation. The thought of her son killing a hundred innocent clones -even if they were imprinted with malicious intent- was too much accept. Nevertheless, after that betrayal, Linda realized that Lex was only using her for her DNA Matrix. That reality was almost like having him die in her arms, again. So, heartbroken and betrayed Linda left him....
And them.
Linda's disappearance was hard on everyone. Martha never had the chance to tell her daughter that she forgave her for leaving. And for 20 years, because Clark refused to find her, Linda was able to keep her whereabouts hidden. Though Linda did drop postcards, every now and again, to assure them that she was alright.
But now, Linda was back, looking as youthful and as beautiful as ever and she and Lana were closer than ever. She came back after Lex Luthor II reveled his relation to her, and upon her return, she, like Clark, shed her secret identity. It didn't matter anymore because she had long since shed her super hero persona. Now she was content to be the mother of the richest man in the world and the grandmother of two beautiful children.
"Anyway..." Lana continued as she made herself comfortable on a stool. "Linda said that she and Diana might be a little late. Some investors were coming by her gallery this morning and she doesn't know how long they will stay." The raven-haired woman pinched off some dough and plopped it in her mouth. "It's funny because she said that she has been an artist for years but now that everyone knows that she`s Super Girl and Jr`s mom... everybody wants her work."
Martha nodded knowingly. The news of Super Girl's relation to Lex Luthor II was a shock to the world, but not really a surprise. Especially after Lex's display of power in the park. Moreover, everyone knew of Super Girl's relationship with the elder Lex Luthor. So it made since that the tyrant would conceive a child with her.
Surprisingly, the admission that Lex Luthor II had superpowers didn't scare the majority of the people of world. No, it actually pleased them. Moreover, the growing Luthor family comforted them, for, strangely enough, the Luthor name was becoming analogous with Hero. Because Lex Luthor II was the son of Super Girl and the husband of Superman, most people believed that he was a good man, despite who his father was. Furthermore, Lex II was a "hero" in his own right. He helped save Metropolis from the mutant invasion; he also helped rescue his daughter from the Alpha Centurion army. However, his biggest heroic accomplishment was that he saved the economic world. So the fact that he and Kal-El were married and had children made perfect since to the world. And that fact that the two men could have little super babies gave the world hope that there would always be a hero to protect them.
Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way. Jonathan Kent for instance, hated the fact that Clark was taking the backseat to a Luthor. Even though he had disowned his son, Clark was still Superman for crying out loud, and the elderly Kent felt that it was disgraceful that the world now referred to him as Kal-El Luthor, or Lex Luthor's husband. It infuriated him that Clark was content with being a housewife.
Unlike her short sighted husband, Martha knew that Clark being a "housewife" was probably the most difficult and most fulfilling job her son ever had.
She knew from experience.
But unlike her, he had two children, one was now in school, but both were geniuses, both had superpowers, and he had a strong willed, genius, husband, who also had superpowers and who may or may not be the original Lex Luthor. Clark had a tough job. However, Martha also knew that this was the life Clark wanted. She could tell by his smile that he liked the fact that he didn't have to hide his homosexuality, or his love for a Luthor. He liked the fact that he didn't have to hide his alien heritage, or his powers or the fact that he could get pregnant and bare children. Moreover, her son never liked being in the spotlight anyway; therefore he had no problem relinquishing it to his husband. Lex, on the other hand, loved being the center of attention.
That's why the magnate's last press conference was such a surprise. Martha couldn't believe that Lex formally declined to run for governor. He was the favorite, so much in fact that no one was running against him. Almost everyone wanted him in that position. Lex wanted it too. Martha knew for a fact that Lex was dieing to get into the political rat race. But she also knew that Clark didn't want to deal with it. Not right now anyway.
Why?
Because in Clark's opinion, his and Lex's marriage was still so new -too new- and Lex already spent so much time with LexCorp-too much time- and they had so little privacy as it is -actually no privacy- and Clark knew Lex well enough, to know that his husband would not give someone else the reigns to LexCorp. Lex loved LexCorp like he loved his children. So Clark realized that Lex would do the job of both governor and CEO. Then to make a bad situation worse, the paparazzi would be even more relentless in their pursuit to know more about them, because of their political status, and the glass bubble that the Luthors already lived in would become smaller and more fragile.
It was going to be hell!
Martha wasn't sure if Clark said something about his revolutions in supporting Lex's political career, but she really doubted that he did. Clark knew how much Lex wanted this for it was a stepping stone toward the oval office. Moreover, her son was self-sacrificing to a fault. He would deny his own happiness to give his husband this opportunity. But then again, Clark usually didn't have to voice his displeasure about stuff, for Lex usually picked up on it immediately. Though, Lex loved his corporation, Clark and his family was his top priority.
Clark had, once, told her that Lex would do anything for him; she didn't believe it.... Until that press conference, when Lex gave up his dream for Clark. It was that act of selflessness, which made Martha finally put her foot down and confront her husband on his stupid pride and prejudices.
As they waited for the others to arrive, Martha made pies and Lana talked, mostly about herself. The woman still hadn't lost that bad habit. Luckily for Martha, she didn't have to wait long.
The former red-head was pulled from her conversation with Lana, when she heard the music booming out of Clark's Hummer. The elderly woman rushed to the backdoor and smiled warmly as she watched Lex's and Clark's head bop side-to-side as they happily sang along with the song. It was more their favorite than their children's, but it was one of their kids CDs just the same.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Even though the sound of it
is something quite atrocious
If you say it loud enough you'll
always sound precocious
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Um diddle diddle diddle
um diddle ay!
Um diddle diddle diddle
um diddle ay!
Lana walked up, behind Martha, and stared at the happy family. "This is why every woman in the world is in love with them."
The white-haired woman laughed as she opened the screen door. "Why? Because they like Disney songs?"
"Because they love their children." Lana warmly clarified. "And aren't ashamed to show it."
Martha nodded in agreement as she made her way down the steps, But Lana stayed behind.
"Martha...We'll be in here."
Mrs. Kent looked back at the woman, who she loved like her own daughter and nodded with understanding. Lana was giving her some privacy with her son. The white-haired woman then turned her gaze back toward the candy apple, red Hummer and waved to the two young looking men, as Clark parked beside the Ross's car. A few seconds later, Clark jumped out the jeep and zipped over to his mother, and gave her a strong hug.
"Mom." He whispered lovingly. Only because, he is not "Clark" anymore but Kal-El and even though all the adults knew his true identity, the children did not.
Surprisingly, not even his own children knew; even though their daddy calls him Clark all the time. Coincidently enough, his human name sounded almost exactly like "Klark," which was the Kryptonian affection for love. Clark and Lex had decided, even before Lena was born that they would tell their children about both of their dead alter egos when their children were older, and when their children were less likely to mistakenly blab their secret.
Martha embraced her son as happy tears escaped her blue eyes. It had been too long since he had been home.
Lex gave his husband and his mother-in-law their privacy and took his time unhooking his children from their booster seats.
"Daddy."
"Yes, Alexander."
The little boy wiggled out of his shoulder straps and held out his arms so his father could pick him up. "I'm hot." He informed.
Lex smirked. "Well, you're the one who wanted to keep your uniform on, under you clothes."
Yes, the two Alexander's compromised on the uniform thing. Lex couldn't stand having his child upset with him, all-the-while, he refused to let his scion think that he was in control.
"But I didn't know it was gonna be so hot, though!" The little namesake pouted as he pulled his collar back and forth to fan himself.
"Here... How about this." Lex said as he picked his son up, and out of the Hummer, and put him on the ground. "If you get too hot then...you can take off your uniform."
"Nooo!" The little boy pouted and crossed his arms.
Lex chuckled and went to walk around the automobile to unhook Lena, who was on the other side.
As Alexander shadowed his father, he smirked brightly when he came up with a new plan to get his way. "Can I take off my clothes if a mutant shows up? This is Smallville, and if I have to save the day, I need to wear my uniform.?"
"Sure but only if a mutant shows up." Lex smirked knowingly and ruffled his son's raven locks. Yes, this was Smallville but there hadn't been a wild mutant in these parts for years. He then opened the car door to unhook his daughter but realized that she had already done it herself and was jumping out of the car.
"See daddy!" Lena chirped brightly after she landed, on the dirt driveway, with a cats grace. She looked up and give her father a thousand watt smile. "I didn't need your help, after all. I'm a big girl!"
"You sure are." He agreed warmly, though his heart ached, because inwardly, he didn`t want her to grow up. "Just make sure you don't unhook your seatbelt while your mamma or I are driving. Okay." After the milk incident this morning, he felt that he needed to reinforce some rules with her. For she knew better than to untwist the top off of the cup. Now, Lex was certain that he was going to have to buy a new car, for there was no way they were going to get that sour milk smell out of it.
"I won't!" She smiled then took her brother by the hand and ran over to her Grandma Kent.
Lex stood back and watched them receive a thousand kisses from Mrs. Kent. However, he couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that Lena was wearing the purple overalls that she hated a half hour ago. She could be so difficult sometimes. Lex surmised that she got that stubbornness from Clark's side of the family as well.
It was at that moment, when the business tycoon heard the loud roar of a motorcycle behind him. He turned to see his "mother" and her girlfriend driving up on Diana's Harley. He couldn't stop the frown that pursed his lips. He didn't like Diana. Aka WonderWoman. And frankly, she didn't like him either.
Diana was a hardcore feminist, but really, how could she not be. Her home was an island of nothing but women, born from the spirits of dead woman warriors. Even she didn't have a father, for she was born from clay. Men were repulsed on the Island of Paradise so much in fact that even if one set foot upon the island, he would be killed. Hell! They even tried to eradicate all the men on earth at one time! Evil, crazy, Amazon, bitches. Therefore, Lex went out of his way to be a hardcore chauvinist when he was around her.
But that wasn't why the two disliked each other.
Lex's hate sprang from one of Clark's midnight confessions. It was post-coitus when Clark asked him -in between seductively, intimate kisses- if he ever had sex with any other Justice League members, beside him and Lena.
Lex was no dummy. He knew that his husband was wondering about his past relationship with Bruce - even if he didn`t come right out and admit it. It was a quandary that had plagued Clark for years -even before they got back together. So of course, Lex denied it. Like he said before, he was no dummy. Clark had a mean jealous streak. Moreover, the answer pleased his husband. The bald man then turned the question back to Clark, and since the superhero was a more honest fellow, he told the truth.
Clark confessed a brief fling he had with Wonder Woman, when he and Lois had broken up over some asinine reason. (his obsession with Lex)
It took every facial muscle Lex had not to frown, and all his self control not to act out on his anger.
Diana and Clark?!!!
It turned out that Diana had found out about Clark's love for his rival when she was the Goddess Truth. Though, in spite of this knowledge, and her man-hating upbringing, it didn't hinder her from fancying him. Unfortunately, for her, their love affair didn't last long and when it ended, Clark went back to Lois.
Now, the bald tyrant never liked Wonder Woman in the first place, seeing how she was one of the bastards who were always trying to foil his plans. So for Lex to know that she also had sex with Clark... HIS CLARK!!!! Well, it was unacceptable. That was why he always kept a close eye on her when she and Clark were together. He was certain that she still wanted his husband, and even though Clark doubts it validity, Lex swears that he has seen her giving his husband googolly eyes.
In Lex's not so humble, and very dangerous opinion, Diana is lucky she's still alive. For Clark was not the only one with a mean jealous streak.
As Lex left his thoughts and walked toward the two women, he idly wished that Bruce Wayne was here. They usually went out of their way to tag team Diana with their male propagating views. They also liked to pick on her about her invisible jet. She doesn't use it anymore, but Lex always thought it was so stupid. Because really, what was the point of an invisible jet when you could still see its passengers sitting inside.
Like sitting ducks!!
The megalomaniac remembered the time, in his past life, when he shot her out of the sky. He couldn't help but chuckle at that memory. That was good day indeed.
"Hello Diana." Lex drawled with intentional, false, benevolence as he held out a hand to help his mother off the back of the motorcycle. If Lex wasn't anything, he was a good son.
"Lex." The raven-haired goddess said warily. She didn't trust him and had good reason not too. To her, Lex was like the "step-child" that one couldn't help but dislike. He went out of his way to make her miserable, and if it wasn't for her love for Linda, Diana wouldn't tolerate it. She could barely tolerate men, as it is.
The young looking man then looked toward his "mother" and smiled fondly. "Linda, how was your trip?"
"Good." She gave him a warm embrace that almost crossed the line of not being motherly. "I'm surprised you didn't hear us land. You guys were pulling off the grounds when we arrived."
Lex smiled and didn't bother to admit that they did hear them. It was just that Clark was driving, so they didn't stop to wait.
From a distance, Clark caught the interaction between Lex and Linda and frowned. He didn't like their relationship. He knew that Lex would never cheat on him with his sister -with anyone actually- but Clark also knew that his husband allowed Linda's doting because he missed that type of motherly love. Not that Linda could ever replace his sanctified mother, Lillian. But motherly love?!!!
Those were Lex's words, not Clark`s, and the raven-haired man had to admit, Linda's affections were anything but motherly. However, the worst part was that Lex couldn't see that. He honestly believed that the touches, caresses, and the kisses were totally appropriate because his mother, Lillian, used to do the same.
WHAT?!!!
Clark wished that he had heard his husband wrong, but unfortunately, he didn't. And that confession made the reinstated superhero rethink his opinion about Lillian, and about Lionel, as it concerned the man's decision to separate Lex and his mother, as often as possible.
When Clark was still a teenager and first heard the stories about Lionel keeping Lex away from his mom, he thought Lionel was just a hateful bastard. And poor Lex, he didn`t understand why his father would purposely hurt his mother by doing that, but surmised it was to keep him from growing up soft. Now, Clark thinks that Lionel was just protecting is son from... Lillian.
Surprisingly, that unfortunate realization didn't really shock Clark. He had already known that the Luthor family put the dis in dysfunctional, so why wouldn't the precious Lillian be just as screwed up. She did willingly marry and stay with Lionel after all. Though Clark would never ever say that out loud. Lex worshiped his mother, and in his husband's opinion, talking against Lillian was the same as blasphemy. He didn't allow it; he didn't tolerate it. Because in Lex's opinion, his mother was the embodiment of perfection.
So since, Lex parallels Linda's affectionate actions with Lillian's, Clark never really voiced his concerns about it, because he knew that in doing so, he would offend his husband, because it would disrespect and "dirty" the love that Lillian bestowed Lex as a child. Clark didn't want to sully the only happy childhood memories his husband had, even if they were interlaced with twisted affection. Nonetheless, his tolerance to it didn't keep him from getting upset by it!
After one of Linda's visits, to the penthouse, and in a fit of anger, Clark once called his husband a "mama's boy." Lex just chuckled, for he was more amused by the lame insult than offended. The bald man then shook his head, no, and called his tolerance for affectionate mothers an "Alexander thing." Thus once again comparing himself to the late Alexander the Great. However, instead of comparing them to the conqueror and his lover Hephaetion, Lex was comparing himself and Linda to Alexander and his mother Olympias.
Olympias and Alexander were recorded to be very close, and she was said to be overly affectionate with her son. Which was fine and innocent enough, until one researched deeper into that mother and son relationship. Then they would find out that Alexander the Great and his mother were lovers!
LOVERS?!!! For crying out loud!
Therefore, that comparison didn't bode well with Clark seeing how, at one time, Lex and his "mother" were lovers!!!
No wonder, Lex always compared himself to ancient Greek legends. He was living one!
So just like Alexander's two great loves, Hephaestion and Olympias, Lex was in the middle between Clark and Linda. Fortunately, Lex didn't love Linda, just her motherly doting.
Lex really was a mama's boy.
When Lena noticed that her other grandmother had arrived, she pulled from Martha, who was now lavishing her brother with kisses, and ran toward the blond woman.
"Grandmamma!"
Linda smiled brightly, crouched down and spread her arms wide to receive a bone crushing hug from her favorite little red haired girl. "How's my litlte Sele?"
Linda was the only one who could call Selena that, because in truth, the little girl hated that nickname.
"Grandmamma!" Alexander squealed with delight and wiggled away from his Grandma Kent. He put his hands up to be lifted, even though the blond woman was holding Lena in a loving hug. However, Alexander didn't want to be picked up, he wanted to fly. His daddy inherited his use of telekinesis from his mom, and his grandmamma would use her powers to allow him to fly like his mama for hours.
Unfortunately, his mama intervened.
"Maybe later, Alexander." Clark said as he picked up his son and headed for the house. Beyond a cordial smile and a wave, he didn't bother exchanging pleasantries with Linda or Diana. There was really no need. He just saw them less than 24hours ago, during the volcano rescue operation.
"Please, mama?" The little boy pouted as he tried to pry himself out of Clarks iron grip.
"Later." The raven haired man assured as he followed his mother up the steps that led into the kitchen. "I want you to meet someone first."
"Who?" The raven-haired half-ling asked innocently.
"Mister Kent." Lena informed matter-a-factly as she followed closely behind them. She was walking because she was a big girl now. It was an independence that she had to constantly fight for, because the adults were always trying to carry her.
Alexander looked at Lena then at his mama for conformation. When Clark nodded, he asked. "Is he important?" He must be important since everyone looked so serious.
However, before anyone could answer, Lex answered
"No. Not really."
Martha who was leading the procession of outcasts into the house, stopped dead in her tracks with her hand on the doorknob. Clark turned and glowered at his husband. Linda and Diana, who were walking behind the mogul, just stared at him dumbstruck. And Lena just nodded in acceptance because if her daddy deemed someone unimportant, then they were unimportant.
Lex gave everyone a queer yet angry look and asked in an annoyed tone. "What? What did I do wrong now?" He knew; he just didn't care.
"Lex." Clark hissed in an livid whisper; even though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
The man addressed didn't verbally responded but he challenged his husband with a hard glare. Clark was really lucky that Lex loved him more than life itself, because if he didn't he would have made a scene. They had discussed this before even coming back to the farm. Lex didn't want his children feeling unworthy if Jonathan decided to shun them because of their last name, and Clark understood that and agreed. But that didn't mean the raven-haired man wanted everyone else to know that! In a silent fury, Clark put his son down, took his husband by the hand and lead him down the steps. However, before he left with his husband in tow, he looked toward his mom and Linda and silently asked them to watch Lena and Alexander.
They both nodded in understanding.
Silently and angrily, Clark lead Lex into the barn, the original Fortress of Solitude, and up the stairs to the forgotten loft. His step faltered when he reached the top and his shoulders slumped after he noticed how much it had changed.
Unlike Clark, Lex didn't look around to see what had changed over the years. Instead, he kept an unwavering gaze on his husband. He could tell that his lover was hurting inside, just by being here, and that reality was making him angrier by the second.
"I guess...It's nothing more than an attic now." Clark stated. His voice wavered with melancholy . Seven years ago, before he got pregnant and married Lex, it was still his space.
"Clark." Lex started, calmly, as he slipped his free hand into his pocket. Just by looking at him, one wouldn't be able to tell how furious he was; however, there was a darkness in his tone, that was not directed toward his husband. It was the bottled up rage that he felt toward Jonathan Kent that was starting to bubble to the surface. "I'm not going to let him hurt you. Or the kids."
The man addressed turned to face husband and nodded slowly and solemnly "I know.... It's just that .. I want the kids to like him.. and If you don't like him...then...they won't either. Especially Lena. She takes everything you say to heart."
Lex didn't outwardly respond, but he knew that Clark spoke the truth. Instead, he repeated in a solemn promise. "I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore."
Clark absently nodded again and stared at the wall behind his husband. He wondered if it was a good idea to come. For so many years, this was what he wanted, but now, that the day had finally arrived, he wondered if all of the hoping and wishing was in vain. His dad didn't even come out to meet them.
Clark squinted his eyes and focused his x-ray vision on his children, who were playing outside with their grandmothers, and smiled. It was a sad sort of smile.
"I love you, Lex." It was a truth that grounded him and gave him the strength to go one when he wanted to give up.
The man addressed closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped a comforting embrace around his husband waist. "Ditto" Still after all these years, the words `I love you' felt odd coming out of his mouth, but it didn't make it any less true. Lex was just grateful that Clark understood that.
Clark warped his arms around Lex`s shoulders as he watched Alexander fly around the yard, -with his grandmamma`s help- in a woeful fog of emotion. "I'm scared..."
"You don't have to be... I'm here" Lex whispered soothingly as he embraced his husband closer . "I'll protect you"
Clark choked back a sob. "Because you're my hero, right."
Lex didn't answer he just and ran a comforting hand through the edges of his husband's ebony hair
After a few silent, minutes Clark breathed out. "I can't believe we're actually back here...Together... after all these years... After everything that has happened."
"I can't believe that we used to have sex in here. It stinks. Like animals." Lex said with dead pan seriousness. Though he wasn't serious. He only wanted to his husband to crack a real smile. Which Clark did.
"It doesn't smell that bad."
"Yes, it does." This time Lex was serious. He wasn't sure if it was his super senses or what, but it stunk in here. Vaguely, he could remember being taken back by the putrid smell of farm life, the first time he visited here, but the memory was overridden with the curiosity of just being around the boy who saved life and refused his peace offering.
Lex strengthened his embrace around Clark -pressing them impossibly closer- and coasted his hand over his husbands ass. He tilted his head back to see his lovers face, and his brow furrowed worriedly when he noticed that his beloved was holding back tears.
"Are upset by what I said?"
Clark shook his head "No... I was just thinking about what my mother said... right before we were going to go into the house."
"What did she say?" Lex tried to keep his tone light and supportive, but it was hard. Because whatever Martha told Clark, it was enough to make his husband cry. And that was unacceptable.
"She said..." The raven-haired man began as he worried on his bottom lip. Oh god, he felt like crying. He, now, regretted that he had stopped taking his contraceptives, a few weeks ago, because, now, he was close to being fertile and therefore, he was feeling really hormonal and really emotional. Moreover, Clark wasn't sure if he should share this information with Lex. It would only serve to piss his husband off. Unfortunately, when he looked upon his husband's patient and expectant face, he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this secret.
"Tell me, Clark." Lex softy and gently commanded. "What did she say?"
In a choked sob, the superhero explained. "She warned me that...even after all these years... I am...still Kal-El to my father." He then hid his face in the crook of Lex's neck and continued in a full-fledged sob. "His son...is still dead."
If the Lex wasn't pissed off before, he was now. Actually, they need to make a whole new word to express the emotion Lex felt now. The magnate decided then-and-there, that before he left today, Jonathan Kent was going to rue the day he ever hurt Clark.
No one hurt his husband and got away with it.
No one.
It took about 15 minutes before Clark and Lex exited out of the barn. Martha was the only one who noticed them, and instantly, she saw her son's puffy, red-rimmed eyes. It hurt her heart to know that he was crying, for she had a good idea what hurt her son so much. And now she regretted that she told him.
No... She didn't.
It was better for them to know how they were going to be received before hand, because at least they would be prepared.
Fearfully and ashamedly, her gaze shifted toward her son's husband. Instantly, she looked away and had to remind herself that the young man in front of her was Lex Luthor II and not Lex Luthor. Unfortunately, she could barely convince herself of that "truth" because at that moment Lex II looked like his father, when his father was at his most vindictive, and most malicious.
In Martha's opinion, it was a shame that it was such a bright and sunny day because a raging storm and some strategically placed lightening would be strangely appropriate right now.
When she glanced back at Lex, he had cooled his expression into a mask of indifference. No else saw the raw emotion that painted itself across his porcelain features. When Alexander and Lena ran toward them, he smiled, warm and loving, and extremely protective. Those were the familiar expressions Martha aquatinted herself with him and just by seeing them again, it made her doubt that she actually saw the malice in his eyes just seconds before. Either way, Martha tried to force herself to forget what just transpired, and silently hoped that the day went perfect, for the umpteenth time today.
After everyone gathered on the steps again, to enter the house, the elderly woman took a deep breath and opened the door, to lead them in.
It was time....
Good or bad... It was time.
Because, apparently, the whole family needed this resolution.
tbc....
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