Author: Helena

Rating: mild NC-17

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea of the story

Summary: A short fic consisted of 3 parts, focusing on the Lexana and Clois pairings. Set 2 years after Lex's and Lana's wedding, some events though have been skipped.

Author's note: This is my very first fic. I am from Greece and the only other stuff i have ever written in English were the essays back in high school, so excuse me for any mistakes. Feedback is always welcomed.

Chapter 1: This is a woman's world

Lois laid slowly back to her chair, playfully twisting her pen between her fingers, as she closely watched the woman seated across the round, wooden table. Her inspectorial gaze drifted deliberately from her classy nape knot and its sparkly hair sticks, down to her white satin jacket enveloping her small frame while gifting her with an exceptional glow of wealth and then back up to the soft lines of her face, focusing on the two rows of pearly white teeth, forming a dazzling smile. Lana looked around thoughtfully, her smile betraying a hint of surprise as her eyes were capturing quickly every detail of the place.

"And i thought everything changes in this life...well certainly Talon isn't one of them" she finally spoke, turning her eyes back at Lois as she voiced the last word.

Lois curled her lips into a lopside smile before answering "Yes of course...some stuff do remain the same...fortunately.." Her gaze intently wavered up and down Lana's figure quite ostentatiously. A gleam of offense flashed Lana's eyes before she smiled widely at her former companion.

"So..i suppose you still come here to enjoy a hot cup of fine, black coffee?" She ignored Lois' comment with what seemed as natural easiness, before she continued "I know i don't even remember when was the last time i entered this place"

"It's not that way back Lana" Lois cut her off, phrasing her name softly for the first time. "It's not even two years"

Lana shook her head pensively and chuckled "Oh well, you might be surprised to know that much more interesting things can catch someone's attention within two whole years"

An ironic grimace formed on Lois' face while she was nodding in- an obviously fake - agreement. This time though, she let her continue.

"Truth is i rarely visit the town we come to Smalville, we mainly spend our time relaxing in the mansion, enjoying fresh air combined with luxury...And that's of course only if our obligations and our rest life allow to leave the big city centers." She took a sip of her red wine, a light moan escaping her cherry lips at its full sweet taste and its intoxicant aroma.

Lois would willingly bet that if the wine sold all around Smallville wasn't the Luthors' own production, Lana wouldn't even condescend to smell it, not to mention actually drinking rolled her eyes at that thought.

"Clark and I always try to...steal some time and visit Smallville on 's the simple, little pleasures in life that are important in the end." Her remark obviously opposing to Lana's pointed showing off.

However the brunette chose to focus on something more intriguing as her face lightened at the reference of Clark's name. "Speaking of the decent farm boy...how's Clark?"

Lana's fake interest in Clark's well being pulled a sensitive string in Lois' mind, making her tone more sarcastic, covering effectively her up growing anger."Clark is absolutely fine..Actually he experiences the best time of his life..I mean that even surprises me, apparently it's the first time he falls in real deep love in his life" Lois grinned triumphantly. A shade of menace darkened Lana's facial expressions for a mere pride was the target and Lois had just aimed and hit bull's eye.

She gathered all her strength in order to skip Lois' shot without answering back and turned her head to the young waitress that had just approached their table.

"Is everything fine Mrs Luthor, should i fetch you anything else?"The blond girl totally oblivious of the tense hovering between the two didn't know the girl, however she was used to her being always recognized everywhere she would go. One thing about being Lex Luthor's chosen one, was to farewell anonymity for ever. The girl apparently wasn't older than 18 years old and perhaps she was going to Smallville high school while working at the Talon on weekends. Inevitably that thought dag up memories of her own past, not many years ago, when she was just a simple teenager, taking orders and bringing drinks and muffins to the customers. She shook her head more in an attempt to scatter the ghosts of the past that had uninvitedly surrounded her than to actually answer the question.

"No thank you, everything is more than fine" Every now and then, a strange feeling of nostalgia about those days, invaded her every single time, it sincerely frightened her.

As soon as the waitress left, she looked back at Lois with a renewed confidence nesting inside her big eyes. Lois had stopped playing with her pen, which now was set next to the today's Daily Planet in front of 's gaze dropped ineluctably on the newspaper.

"Ah ..the Daily Planet" she emphasized the name.."Sometimes i do read articles by Lois Lane, your articles...pretty impressive...In what page are they usually, 23? Or maybe 24 or something, above the obituaries..." A venomous smile spread on her face, while her mocking tone gained a slight narrowing of Lois' eyes. Her voice though remained calm, not revealing even the faintest trace of anger as she spoke.

"Well for your information Lana, to actually deserve the success and the money you gain, you might have to scratch yourself a little in the beginnings. I m more than willing to build step by step my way to the top, so that you read my articles in the first page and have the Lois Lane name graven once and for good under every rock you pick."

"Of course ...How could i even dare to think differently for you, Lois Lane...By the way, still not a Kent, huh?" Lana said with a pretending sigh as her words poisoned the air. Lois' eyes hardened immediately and the temperature around a certain small, round table in the Talon dropped a few degrees, suddenly turning colder than it should. Lana's eyes met hers and the brunette couldn't help but feel shivers down her spine, however she didn't withdraw her tangled her hands together close to her her chin, her fingers now entwined in a truly dominant way, as she mouthed her well balanced answer to Lana's insults.

"Be patient Lana, eventually you shall receive our wedding invitation, no need to be anxious about it" Lois chuckled before continuing in a less cheerful tone " However a Lane changing her name into another is something you can only read in science fiction dear. I mean which woman nowadays throws her own name in the rubbish just to take her husband's one and become his own stooge, not being able to stand her own ground? Am i not right...Mrs Luthor?" She trailed her last scathing words as she her heft eyebrow, openly inviting Lana to what it seemed an endless ping pong game with poisonous comments as a ball.

Lana's facade suddenly shattered into thousand pieces as her scornful and mocking mood was violently replaced by anger and hurt. Seriousness unexpectedly engulfed her features, as she leaned closer to the table.

"I can assure you Lois, i am more than proud of my husband and his name.. of my name."

"Proud? Yes of course, how you couldn't be. How you couldn't be proud of a man that has been a suspect of experimenting on innocent women and children...of a man that even faked your own pregnancy just to force you to marry him...I still can't believe how easily you seem to erase your memory every time, Is there a delete button somewhere inside that brain of yours?"

Lois' anger radiated in waves towards her snobbish companion. But deep inside her she knew there were more. Whatever have happened, Lana and herself had once been close ones, but still there was a time not even Clark was enough to separate them or even worse, make them exchange such cruel and hurtful insults. And that part of herself really felt sorry for Lana and the life she assumed the young woman was slowly wasting next to the unscrupulous billionaire.

Lana's eyes focused on her glass, the crimson color of the wine reflecting all her strong feelings for Lex, but also all the inner strength she had to learn to preserve just to shield him against all those that in her eyes would always try to judge the beast inside him, not caring for the human heart she had so surprisingly discovered lying between the thorns.

"You will never understand" she whispered before lifting her gaze back at Lois "None of you will ever understand. You keep talking about experiments on people when all i can see around me are meteor freaks and a man trying to find the cure to this...this disease! And about my pregnancy...All evil plans of the devil Lex had always for a father...He was even the one to blackmail me behind Lex's back into marrying his son...Preying me in a weak moment, when i was enough fool to dare to think of putting an end to my happiness just to run after a man that never worthed...But Clark never believed that...of course...It has always been so easy for him...for all of you to just blame Lex"

Lois shook her head sadly at Lana's outburst. That girl would never listen to her. She had alienated into something totally unfamiliar to Lois. Wrath and blind love combined with pain and fears was only what Lois could smell emanating from Lana underneath her expensive sooner the two of them ended this unreasonable meeting in the Talon, the better for her taut nerves would be.

Exhaling lightly, she let her gaze waver over Lana and spoke calmly. "What is the real reason you are here Lana?"

Lana's stare paused for a minute and Lois could have sworn that for a brief moment she saw a glimpse of the old, emotional Lana looking painfully back at her. The moment was gone though as quickly as it came, and now she was facing again the same aristocratic lady Luthor with that charming smile of hers. It surprised her how naturally Lana changed moods, not leaving a chance to anyone penetrating her actual thoughts. 'Another symptom of the Luthor disease' she couldn't help but think, as she had found an amusing- to her at least- way to joke over anything involving the bald dandy.

"Ok you are right... Both you and me have much better things to do than staying all day at Talon...So, i called ya here today and asked for this date, cause i thought you should have something that used to belong to someone as dear to me as to you as well"

Lois frowned. Who was that person that connected her and Lana?Who could that be? Her mind didn't delay in registering the past tense.'Belonged'...Only one ring was missing from the chain..And that was what hurt the most.

"Chloe" she whispered surprising herself, as what was supposed to be the whimper of her inner voice, had just sounded more loudly than she didn't seem to pay attention though, as she searched through her Louis Vuitton and after a few seconds brought out, what it seemed as an old and used book. Lois hesitated for a moment before taking the book in her hands. Its edges were frayed and the ink on its cover had fainted but she would recognize that hand writing even if she was miles away.

"That's Chloe's.."

"...journal" Lana nodded "...a maid found it accidentally once i asked her to clean the room Chloe had used the last time she visited us before the probably missed it the time we transferred all her other stuff. I thought that the one that should have it now should be her cousin, since you have most of her other stuff as well."

Lois closed her eyes for a bit and laughed nervously, her fingers clenching the journal "So you want to tell me that you, after all that have happened, came all the way here, to give me my cousin's journal? What is this? A godsend feeling of sympathy towards me?"

"No Lois...I would never do it for you...I'm doing it for Chloe. Believe it or not, Chloe might have been your beloved cousin, but she was also my one true friend. A girl that stood up by my side since our teenage years. You and Clark weren't the only ones that grieved her loss. So don't flatter yourself, this is not about you. I know Chloe would want you to have it, so here i am , bringing this to you. And before you come up with any other conspiracy theory...I happened to be in Smallville for the weekend anyway, as the hunting period is about to begin and Lex never misses it...And no, i haven't read the journal."

"And i should believe you..."

"Take my word or leave it Lois...You are clever enough to know that i have a lot of stuff to bother myself about...Be sure you won't see your name on the list."

Lois looked down on the journal on her hands. Images of Chloe holding it in her own hands inevitably clouded her mind. She managed to clear them though as soon as Lana called the waitress.

"Yes Mrs Luthor?"

Lana took out a twenty and handed it to the girl.

"Please keep both the wine and the cup of coffee here"

"Uhm..Mrs Luthor, the cup of coffee is already paid by the lady"

Lois, who was amused by Lana's last attempt to show off, smirked mischievously. "You see Lana, some of us can pay for themselves with their OWN money"

Lana glanced at her with the corner of her eye, before smiling at the young girl who stood there confused. "So then...just keep the change"

As soon as the girl left, Lana turned back to engulfed them for a few seconds.

"So i guess this is it Lois"

When she got no answer, she stood up , putting on her expensive shades that completed the diva style she had always been known for since she got married to Lex.

"Goodbye Lois...i wish you good luck with.." she took a moment as her gaze hovered contemptuously around the old , familiar walls of Talon and ended up on the Daily Planet "..this life you chose for yourself"

Lois grinned , her neck arching slightly to look up at the brunette.

"Thanks. I wish i could say the same to you."