Title: "Keeping His Present"
Author: Pirate Turner
Dedicated To: This is the 10th Christmas story of my 12 Days of Christmas 2012 series for my beloved and wonderful husband, Jack aka Drew, who's always such an inspiration, and also our sweet children! Thank you, my darling soul mate! I love you!
Rating: R
Summary: It may be shocking, but Clark's going to keep his present.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
Clark tore into his present with an almost feverish frenzy made even faster by his super speed that all of his family pretended not to notice, but then once the pretty and colored wrapping paper had fallen away to reveal his gift, Clark sat in stunned silence for a moment. His pink lips pouted, though he didn't realize it and would have quickly hastened to deny it. This was, after all, what Lex had given him, but it wasn't at all what he'd expected. Every year, his beloved's gifts to him had grown better and more extravagant. Clark had complained that he'd spent too much money on him, but he'd always looked forward to receiving the gifts and loved them. Why, one year, Lex had even bought him an island to assure them some quality, private time together!
But what he was faced with now was nothing more than a plain, brown wallet. Of course, the leather the wallet was made with probably cost more than Clark's entire wardrobe had when he'd first met Lex, and had continued to remain so until Lex had started buying him clothes and slipping them into his closet, but it was still just a wallet.
Clark couldn't hide the disappointment from his eyes as he stared, downcast, at his gift, but that only made Lex grin more. "Open it," he urged.
Clark smiled. Of course, the wallet was only part of his gift! His husband would never just give him a wallet for Christmas! He opened it, wondering what was inside and thinking he might find gift certificates to all of their favorite places to dine or tickets to Paris, France or . . . or . . . a naked picture of Lex?!
Clark's eyes shot wide. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. He almost swallowed his suddenly swollen tongue. His palms sweated and shook so badly that he nearly dropped the envelope and the photo it contained. The color drained from his face and was then replaced by a bright crimson shade.
Lex just sat back, watching his innocent beloved's reaction and grinning, until Martha spoke in concern, "What is it, sweetheart?"
Clark nearly jumped up out of his chair when she leaned forward and laid a comforting hand on his jeaned knee. His round, blue eyes zipped from his mother to Lex, to his father, back to Lex, to his mother, and again back to Lex, whose face had also gone a little bit paler by now. He should have bought him two presents, Lex realized now, a moment too late: one present to give him here and now, before his parents whose naivety was so much greater than even Clark's that it made their son look like a Kama Sutra expert, and this billfold and its treasure to give him alone in the sanctuary of their bedroom.
Neither Martha nor Jonathan Kent could ever see that picture that Clark was again gawking at now, but he had to tell them something. Thankfully, Lex had always had a quick wit, and his cunning intellect came through for them again as he answered for Clark, "I slipped a one hundred dollar bill into his billfold, Mom." He had to smile when he said that: He never tired of calling Mrs. Kent his mother, as she'd long ago asked him to do, though he'd also never forget or stop missing his real mother. Each time he thought of his mother, Lex's smile faded a little, but now he rebrightened his smile and spoke in a firm voice, "And that's all for you to spend on yourself, Clark, to get what you want when you want it."
Clark raised startled blue eyes back up from the photograph to look at Lex, who he could no longer see with his clothes on. Even sitting before him, fully dressed, Clark saw Lex now without his clothes and every bit as bare naked, sultry, and ready for his loving as the man in the photograph. What you want when you want it. Clark swallowed hard and almost bit his tongue. He did want Lex - right now, but then he'd always wanted Lex! Besides, he surely couldn't take him now, especially with his parents in the room!
"Not quite an island this year, Lex," Jonathan remarked, but his grin told them he was only teasing and meant no harm.
Lex smiled. "We still have that island, Mister Kent," he began to speak, but Clark could no longer hear him. All he could hear was the blood rushing through his brain. All he could think was how much he wanted the man who he loved and who was his in every use of the term, of how that photograph in his new wallet promised him an island of paradise, and how he wanted to dive, headfirst (and he didn't really care which head!), into that paradise.
Lex began to frown a little as he continued watching his sweet Clark, who was still so utterly and completely stunned. Perhaps he should have thought his present through a little more. The hundred was in there. It was no lie, and Clark would have trouble spending it all on himself - they all knew that -, but no matter how much trouble Clark might have spending a hundred dollars on himself, while with every purchase he thought of a starving child, hurting animal, or some one else who so much more desperately needed the money, he seemed to be having even more trouble with that photograph.
Jonathan and Martha had moved on to giving each other their presents, and whereas Lex was usually interested in seeing what charming gift Jonathan had found to grant his wife on their fiftieth-something Christmas together, he had no time to pay attention to them. He had to comfort his Clark and calm him down before he spilled the beans of the present he'd truly received. Lex scooted closer to him on the couch, reached over, and quietly closed the billfold.
When Lex's fingers had brushed against his so that he could close the wallet, Clark had felt like he'd been shot full of lightning. He'd never been so warm or tingly in all his life! But when the wallet shut out his wonderful picture of his soul mate, he felt like crying aloud. Quickly, he reopened it - only to have Lex shut it again.
"What?" he whispered, looking up at Lex from those same blue eyes so full of beauty and naivety that had been one of the first things about him that had started Lex falling in love with him.
"Sorry, sweetheart," Lex whispered back, frowning, "I didn't know it would shock you so much."
"I'm not shocked." Lex knew Clark believed his lie and, thereby, wasn't really lying. He grinned. "I just like it a whole lot." Those delightful blue eyes danced with merriment.
"I'm thrilled you like it," Lex replied, tugging at the billfold, "but if you can't handle it, I may have to confiscate it."
Clark snatched the billfold back so hard that Lex almost fell into his lap. "Uh huh. No way! It's my present! You gave it to me, and I'm keeping it!"
Lex was so pleasantly surprised that he laughed aloud, bringing Jonathan and Martha's attention back to them. "What are you two whispering about?" Jonathan asked.
"Oh, leave them alone, sweetheart!" Martha crooned. "They're under the mistletoe, and you know how young lovers are at Christmas time!"
Jonathan grinned at her. "I know how we were, and we didn't need any mistletoe!" He dragged his wife into his arms and kissed her, even as Clark was preparing to do the same thing to Lex.
"They're right, you know," Lex told him. "We don't need any mistletoe."
"No," Clark agreed, his heated breath blowing over his open lips as he whispered back, "but you're definitely adopting that position in the picture as soon as we get back to our island!"
"Why wait?" Lex barely had time to return, his own blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "Tonight, midnight, the barn," he offered, and Clark's kiss affirmed that he wouldn't miss that, or the picture his beloved had given him, for anything in the world. He kissed him passionately right there on the couch and before his parents, his tongue twisting against Lex's, but as they kissed, Lex found himself once more marveling about all the wondrous changes in his life.
Clark wasn't ashamed of him. He did like his picture, and his parents had accepted them at last! Even Jonathan wasn't starting a ruckus this Christmas! Lex deepened their kiss, his heart singing with joy, for this Christmas promised to be the merriest one of all!
The End