Title: Throes
Author: Scealai
Rating: R
Summary: Years in the future, Lex and Clark explore the rift that
destroyed their friendship.
Disclaimer: The characters of Smallville belong to Alfred Gough & Miles
Millar who based them on the DC comics characters created
by Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster. The series is produced
by the WB & Tollin/Robbins Productions.
Spoilers: It's best to keep current with the series because I tend to
use details from the show to add authenticity and
background. In this part events are referred to from
'Hourglass.'
Distribution: Please ask, I usually say yes.
Author's Note: This story is totally AU since my only real experience
with 'Superman' is through Smallville and the movies.
The events of this story will have nothing to do with
the way the Superman/Lex Luthor relationship has played
out in the comics or in the movies, it's my
interpretation of future events based on things that
have happened in the tv show.
***********************************************************************
Throe: a hard or painful struggle
*****
In the Present
It was a beautiful night. It always seemed to be a beautiful night
with the moon a perfect quarter slice and the stars littering the sky
like glitter on a child's craft project. It was always cold. Or maybe
that was just the way he chose to always remember it. Clark parked
his car on the side of the road behind the Porsche and got out. He
would walk the rest of the way. He never flew here on this day nor did
he ever use his superspeed. It would have been wrong.
As always Lex stood alone in front of the grave. He wore a dark suit
and a dark shirt. The only color - such as it was - was the moonlight
that reflected off his bald pate. He stood as still and as cold as the
gravestones that surrounded him. Clark briefly flashed on the vision
of him enclosed by the graves of his family and friends that Cassandra
had shown him. That invariably happened, so the vision had lost most
of its shock value, but it always made him wonder if this was what it
had foreshadowed all those years ago. Clark took his place at Lex's
side, but said nothing. They never spoke on this day, at this place.
Chloe Sullivan Luthor. Loved Forever. Never Alone. Clark had never
understood the significance of the words Lex had chosen to grace
Chloe's tombstone. His mother had told him that Lex had smashed the
first one because the words 'Rest in Peace' had been added. Of course,
Clark never asked Lex to explain. He never asked Lex how he felt.
He never asked what Lex thought about while they silently stood there.
The way her eyes sparkled when she smiled or how her head would tilt
and she would chew on her lip as she considered what she had just
written on the computer. As her husband, Lex would have had other
memories of Chloe that Clark wouldn't know of, but he tried not to
dwell on that.
For ten years, no matter what was happening between them, no matter how
intense their animosity, Lex Luthor and Clark Kent would meet at
Chloe's grave on the anniversary of her death. There were no harsh
words or violent outbursts. For that one night everything was tabled
as they grieved for the woman who had been such a big part of their
lives. The woman who had changed everything. Once they had been
friends, now they were mortal enemies. It was about to change again.
"Is this better?" Lex broke the tradition of silence. He didn't turn
his head to look at the man beside him. "Was I really so bad for her
that this is better?" Lex's jaw tightened and he stared at the cold,
hard ground. He had wanted to ask that question of Clark for so
long. It was time to hear the answer.
Continued....
Author: Scealai
Rating: R
Summary: Years in the future, Lex and Clark explore the rift that
destroyed their friendship.
Disclaimer: The characters of Smallville belong to Alfred Gough & Miles
Millar who based them on the DC comics characters created
by Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster. The series is produced
by the WB & Tollin/Robbins Productions.
Spoilers: It's best to keep current with the series because I tend to
use details from the show to add authenticity and
background. In this part events are referred to from
'Hourglass.'
Distribution: Please ask, I usually say yes.
Author's Note: This story is totally AU since my only real experience
with 'Superman' is through Smallville and the movies.
The events of this story will have nothing to do with
the way the Superman/Lex Luthor relationship has played
out in the comics or in the movies, it's my
interpretation of future events based on things that
have happened in the tv show.
***********************************************************************
Throe: a hard or painful struggle
*****
In the Present
It was a beautiful night. It always seemed to be a beautiful night
with the moon a perfect quarter slice and the stars littering the sky
like glitter on a child's craft project. It was always cold. Or maybe
that was just the way he chose to always remember it. Clark parked
his car on the side of the road behind the Porsche and got out. He
would walk the rest of the way. He never flew here on this day nor did
he ever use his superspeed. It would have been wrong.
As always Lex stood alone in front of the grave. He wore a dark suit
and a dark shirt. The only color - such as it was - was the moonlight
that reflected off his bald pate. He stood as still and as cold as the
gravestones that surrounded him. Clark briefly flashed on the vision
of him enclosed by the graves of his family and friends that Cassandra
had shown him. That invariably happened, so the vision had lost most
of its shock value, but it always made him wonder if this was what it
had foreshadowed all those years ago. Clark took his place at Lex's
side, but said nothing. They never spoke on this day, at this place.
Chloe Sullivan Luthor. Loved Forever. Never Alone. Clark had never
understood the significance of the words Lex had chosen to grace
Chloe's tombstone. His mother had told him that Lex had smashed the
first one because the words 'Rest in Peace' had been added. Of course,
Clark never asked Lex to explain. He never asked Lex how he felt.
He never asked what Lex thought about while they silently stood there.
The way her eyes sparkled when she smiled or how her head would tilt
and she would chew on her lip as she considered what she had just
written on the computer. As her husband, Lex would have had other
memories of Chloe that Clark wouldn't know of, but he tried not to
dwell on that.
For ten years, no matter what was happening between them, no matter how
intense their animosity, Lex Luthor and Clark Kent would meet at
Chloe's grave on the anniversary of her death. There were no harsh
words or violent outbursts. For that one night everything was tabled
as they grieved for the woman who had been such a big part of their
lives. The woman who had changed everything. Once they had been
friends, now they were mortal enemies. It was about to change again.
"Is this better?" Lex broke the tradition of silence. He didn't turn
his head to look at the man beside him. "Was I really so bad for her
that this is better?" Lex's jaw tightened and he stared at the cold,
hard ground. He had wanted to ask that question of Clark for so
long. It was time to hear the answer.
Continued....