A/N: Another fill for my Clexmas Bingo card.
Prompt: Metropolis
Word Count: 1560
Warning: Swear Words
A Beautiful View
"It's a beautiful view, isn't it?"
Lex didn't turn at Superman's comment. He had known he was there even if his presence hadn't been announced by the swishing of his damned cape. Lex always knew.
"Yes. It is beautiful. That's why I pay so much to keep LexCorp roof the highest thing in the city. Well, it used to be the highest thing. Before you came along."
Behind him Superman sighed and shuffled his feet.
"I didn't mean to ruin your evening."
He was gone by the time Lex deigned to turn his back to the view, leaving behind no sign that he had ever been there at all. Lex uttered a low swearword and stuffed his hands deeper in his pockets to protect them from the biting cold that announced winters imminent arrival.
OOOOOO
"Am I going to have to install a doorbell out here just for you?"
"I only drop by when you're out here, so I don't think that's necessary."
"I don't think it's necessary for you to drop by at all."
Superman didn't leave this time but remained silent for the rest of the time Lex spends outside, rising to his feet and stepping over the banister into thin air without a word, disappearing into the semi darkness of the metropolis sky.
OOOOOO
"You know ninety percent of body heat is lost through the head. You should wear a hat."
"I'm not cold."
"I thought that as a genius you'd be worried about the cold killing your brain cells."
"As you so correctly pointed out I am a genius. I think I have enough brain cells to be able to spare a few."
OOOOOO
It had begun snowing last night and when Lex stepped out of the stairwell onto the roof he was met by the satisfactory crunch of fresh snow under his feet. There was no sign of the lycra clad hero except for a plastic bag tied to the balcony railings. Inside was a knitted red and blue hat and misshapen gloves. Homemade. Lex frowned at them for a moment before slipping them on and settling himself as comfortably as he good on a snow covered seat.
Two hours passed and Superman didn't appear. Three. Four.
The feeling had completely left his fingers, despite the gloves, when he realised that he was waiting for someone that wasn't going to appear. He didn't know which was worse, the fact that he was waiting or the fact that he'd been stood up.
He fled indoors and didn't return to the roof for a week.
OOOOOO
"Krypton is that way, you know. Well it was. Well, I guess it still is that way but it's just a dead ball of rock now. You can still see the sun it's orbiting if you look hard enough."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Just making conversation."
"Well don't. I was trying to think before you came along and interrupted me."
"No you weren't. You were swearing about your dad."
"Spying on me were you?"
"No. you're just very loud."
"Fuck you," he snapped, hoping to offend the superhero with his language enough that he'd leave.
Superman just laughed and slouched against the wall.
"What did he do this time?"
Lex snorted.
"You think I'm going to snitch on my father so you can fly off and arrest him? Not likely."
"No. I think you're going to tell me about the latest heiress that your dad tried to set you up with and how ugly she was."
"How do you know she was ugly?"
"Wasn't she?"
"Exceptionally."
Superman chuckled and a comfortable silence settled around them.
OOOOOO
"Spending Christmas eve alone, Lex?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but no. There's a party going on downstairs."
Superman smiled and alighted on the roof
"And yet you're up here."
"Not alone up here either, am I? Knew it wouldn't be long before you appeared."
"So you were waiting for me."
"Don't flatter yourself," Lex huffed.
"So… do you let anyone else up here? Apart from me," Superman gestured at their surroundings.
"Well, I don't exactly let you up here, do I?"
Superman remained silent, smiling as he wandered towards him. Lex felt the flush rise up his cheeks and fought the urge to back away.
"Erm… no. just you and me. Allowed up here, I mean."
"So if it's just you and me, who was the mistletoe for?"
Lex looked up, confused.
"Mistletoe?"
"Oh no, my mistake. I brought that."
And Superman was upon him, mistletoe held aloft between them, pressing their lips together and curling an arm around his back.
For a beat Lex clung to him before he came back to himself and wrenched away.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Superman just grinned and shrugged.
"I'd love to stay but there's a woman being mugged on the corner of 13th and Main. Merry Christmas Lex."
And he was gone, nothing but a blur of red and blue.
OOOOOO
"This stuffing is amazing, Mom."
"Thanks, Clark. But your dad made it this year."
Jonathan looked rather smug.
"Turns out I'm a kitchen genius."
"For that you can do all the cooking from now on."
A sharp rap interrupted Jonathan's grumpy reply.
"I'll get it," Clark volunteered and leapt to his feet.
As he passed the window he glanced out, taking in the heavily falling snow and the sleek silver car parked outside. Wait. He knew that car.
He wrenched the door open as he reached it and there was Lex.
"What are you doing here?"
"Not inviting me in?"
Clark shook his head and stepped out on to the porch to join him.
"Still preferring to talk to me outside then?"
"Lex, what are you doing here?"
"You kissed me then ran off. That's not allowed, Clark. So I came over to figure out what step we're going to take next."
"You weren't supposed to know that was me," Clark groaned, sinking down onto the porch swing and wincing.
"I've known that you're Superman since you put on those stupid tights. Clark, please…"
"What, Lex? What do you want from me?"
"I don't know, Clark. But I sure as hell am sick of having you float down onto my roof and us pretending that we hate each other."
Clark sighed again.
"Look, Lex. I… I shouldn't have kissed you. I shouldn't have been coming to see you. I, we just, I can't have anything to do with you. You're you and I'm me. I can't forget that."
"Ok. I get it. You shouldn't have stopped by my roof. It's never gonna work out for us. Superman can never be with a Luthor. Message received loud and clear. Merry Christmas Clark."
Lex turned on his heel and marched away into the swirling snow.
"Lex! Wait!"
Nothing.
"Clark, honey? You coming back inside?"
The snow lit up for a moment as Lex turned on the headlights then the Porsche was screeching away. Clark sighed and stepped back in to the house.
"Who was it?"
"Lex."
"Is he staying for dinner?"
"No, Mom, Lex had to leave."
"Shame. I've missed having him around."
"Me too, Mom, me too."
OOOOOO
Lex poured himself a generous whiskey, his third of the evening. The doorbell rang.
"Go 'way!"
It rang again.
"Go! Away!"
Ding-a-ding-a-ding!
"Fuck off!"
Silence.
"Hey, Lex."
Lex didn't look up, instead groaned and buried his face in his hands.
"Why did you come here Clark?"
"I brought you some of mom's Christmas pudding."
Clark lowered himself onto the sofa beside him and waggled a Tupperware pot at him as if to back up his story. Lex took it from him and dropped it onto the glass coffee table with a heavy thunk.
"What's going on Clark? I thought things were going really well for us. We were talking and spending time together and we weren't trying to kill each other. You gave me a hat. Then one minute you're kissing me, the next you're kicking me to the kerb and now you're here. I can't keep up with you, Clark."
"Mom talked some sense in to me. I… I could so easily fall in love with you, Lex. I'm just so scared to trust you. You've done some bad stuff-"
Lex cut him off with an angry splutter.
"My dad's done some bad stuff. I just seem to get stuck in the middle of it."
"It's not all been your dad. You gotta admit that some of it was you."
"Why are you bothering with this? All we're ever going to do is fight."
"My mom had an answer to that and, much as I wish this hadn't come from her, she was right. With fights sex of the angry and make up variety."
"Your mother said-"
"Don't Lex. Please. This is gonna be hard, we both know it but I wanna try. Just tell me that you wanna try too."
Lex didn't answer immediately but climbed awkwardly to his feet, the whiskey still effect his balance, and held out a hand.
"Come see the view from my roof, Clark. It's beautiful. And if I remember correctly I think someone left some mistletoe out there."
Clark chuckled and allowed Lex to pull him to his feet.
"Cool. I heard LexCorp tower is the highest building in the city."
"I think I heard that somewhere once too."
OOOOOO
A/N: The end! I'll be honest I hated the end. What did you think? Feedback is love.
