Okay, so many of you have probably seen that Lex/Clark is a pairing in my Justice League A/B/O AU series, so I decided to write a story that contained the key moments of their relationship, up until the start of Secret Origins.
I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?
Young Clark Face Claim: .
Lex Face Claim: .
….
"Okay, that's enough."
Lex huffed slightly as his personal doctor switched the treadmill off and yanked an earphone out of his ear. "Done already?"
"Yeah. It looks like your heart could go on like that forever."
"Good…." Rolling his eyes, Lex hopped off the treadmill, "Then I won't have to go through this physical nonsense for five years."
"Well, let's hope not… There is one thing I need to talk to you about. Your blood work came in. You have an unusually elevated white cell count."
Lex frowned, "What? Like Leukemia? That's not likely…. I don't get sick."
"Are you on any medication?"
"Nope."
"Do you have any allergies?"
"No."
"Childhood illness?"
Here, Lex paused, remembering long days where every breath seemed like a challenge and long runs on treadmills weren't even considered. "… Asthma."
"When did that stop?"
"The day I lost my hair…. Is this going somewhere?"
"If this were anywhere else, I'd order a battery of tests but I do see a lot of this in Smallville."
"Why should Smallville be any different?"
"Well…" The Doctor glanced at Lex nervously, "… Some say it's because the LutherCorp plant has contaminated the environment."
Ah…. Another 'oh how terrible is Luthorcorp?' story. Ever since coming to this small town, Lex felt like he'd heard them all.
"I very much doubt that…." He eventually sighed, pushing himself to his feet, "… Let's order those tests."
…
Clark felt sorry for Lana at this time of the year…. Especially when the omega's Aunt had arranged for the party to be held in the mansion of the richest guy in town.
"Thanks for the lifeline." Lana sighed happily, as they packed up and headed out.
"It's a math midterm. It's not like I pulled you out of a burning building."
"I still appreciate it."
Before they could leave, Lana's aunt came rushing into the room, deflated balloons in her hand. "Lana, I just wanted to get your opinion on the balloons. I think white always looks good."
"… Works for me."
"Okay!"
As soon as her aunt was out of earshot, Lana sighed, "This whole birthday extravaganza has been pretty distracting."
"Having a birthday party at Lex's mansion seems pretty… cool to me." In fact, Clark couldn't even think about anything better than spending so much time with the rich omega.
Lana clearly wasn't as thrilled, "It stopped being my party a long time ago. If it was up to me, it would be pizza and loud music with my friends."
"Did you tell Nell that?"
"We've been through a lot in the past few months. I figure I should give her this one."
As they made their way to the pavement outside Lana's home, a large, familiar car pulled up and Whitney jumped out.
"Lana, guess what?!"
Of course, Lana knew instantly. "The scout called!"
"I just heard! I go the try-out with Kansas State!"
"That's incredible!"
Clark shifted uncomfortably as the Alpha and the omega kissed.
"Hey, congrats." He eventually blurted out, hoping to stop the uncomfortable sight.
Whitney nodded his thanks before turning back to Lana, "I haven't said yes yet. They want me there on Saturday, but that's your big night!"
She shook her head, "It's Nell's big night. I was just telling Clark it wasn't important."
Whitney glanced at Clark, as though trying to gauge the truth, prompting Clark to nod. "Yeah, scout's honour."
"I want you to go Whitney."
Another kiss.
Clark sighed, "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later."
….
"Clark, I'm telling you, this is good news for you."
Clark frowned at Pete, "Kansas State gives Whitney a full scholarship and Lana gives him a tongue bath. How is that good news?"
Nodding in agreement, Chloe chuckled, "Even I'm having a hard time following the skewed Ross logic."
"You guys! Lana's gonna be dateless for her own party."
"Well, actually I was thinking of asking Le- "
"Hi Pete."
The three turned around to see a familiar beta smiling at them.
"Jody?" Pete exclaimed, "You look- "
"Thinner?"
Chloe nodded in agreement, "I was still looking for a euphemism, but yeah. Are you okay?"
Jody was a… large beta girl who leaned towards being an omega. She was lovely and friendly, but not very popular on account of her weight.
"Never better." Jody beamed at Pete, "My diet's just starting to pay off… I bought some new clothes."
"You look great."
"Thank you for sticking up for me yesterday. Most people wouldn't have done that."
"Most people can't stand Dustin."
"Yeah…" Jody shuffled nervously from side to side, "… Listen, I was wondering do you have a date for Lana's party?"
Pete was silent, a nervous grin on his face, prompting Clark to poke him in the back.
"No, he's still free."
Jody didn't seem fussed that Clark was answering the questions, a shy smile on her face. "Would you like to go with me?"
More silence from Pete, prompting another nudge from Clark.
"He'd love to."
"Great!" Jody exclaimed, "Okay, well, I'll see you later!"
"Bye."
Finally, a word out of a shell-shocked Pete.
Once Jody was out of earshot, Chloe smirked at her friend. "I don't get it."
Pete frowned, "Women dig me… Get used to it."
"No, I mean Jody- It's like she lost that weight overnight."
Shaking his head, Clark scanned the crowd, which consisted mostly of cheerleaders. "If she could, half the school would be after that secret… Come on."
…
"Hello?"
Martha glanced up from her dinner preparation to see Lex at the front door, "Lex? Hi, come in!"
Slowly making his way inside, Lex couldn't help but smile at Martha's enthusiastic greeting.
"Can I tempt you with a cup of coffee?"
"No thank you Martha, It's just a quick visit." Lex beamed at her, "Lana's aunt wanted me to bring over the produce order for the party."
"You could have called it in?"
"And miss a chance to get out of the house and away from the phones?" Lex shook his head and chuckled, "Nell's planning this party like a royal wedding! I regret offering up my house to her!"
Martha smiled sympathetically at him, just as Clark entered the house, carrying three baskets of apples.
"I got the post in the west field…" he began, not noticing Lex standing there, "… I hit some granite, but I jammed it through."
"Very impressive."
Clark span around in shock at Lex's warm chuckle, his face flushed in surprise. "I-I had a sledgehammer!"
"Ah."
Jon, who had recently entered the room couldn't help but make a sly dig at Lex at this, "Somebody's got to work in this town."
Not rising to the bait, Lex walked over to Clark and smiled as the young Alpha flushed slightly.
"S-so how's the party planning going?" Clark asked, "Asked to make some ice sculptures of Lana yet?"
"I'm hiding. Phone switched off and everything."
Clark chuckled at this, "You have my sympathies… at least Lana has Whitney as backup."
"I know… I won't be surprised if she stows away in the back of his truck on Saturday."
News travels fast in this town. It wasn't surprising that everyone had heard about Whitney's possible deal.
"A no-show at her own party… that would keep the town talking."
Lex shook his head, "She wouldn't do that to Nell…. But I understand what she's going through. Sweet Sixteen birthday parties for omegas are overwhelming… At least she has some of her friends going to this, my Father just invited all the Alpha sons of his partners in an attempt to get me married off early. No friends at all…. Fun times."
"W-well if you'd like, I could be your escort on Saturday? To Lana's sixteenth?"
Martha and Jon both started to protest at this, until Clark held up his hand. "It's just me escorting him, nothing bad…."
"Are you sure?" Lex asked, before Jon could protest any further, "You know how the news will spread… quickly, and probably not very favourable for either of us."
Clark shrugged, "I don't care… this is what I want and I don't care what anyone thinks."
"… alright…. I'd better go a-and make sure that everything is alright back at the house. I-I'll see you later?"
"Yeah… yeah, you will."
A light flush on his cheeks, Lex headed out of the door, nodding his thanks to Martha as he went. As he disappeared out of earshot, Martha turned to her son, an amused smile on her face.
"You're feeling very brave today."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing, Clark… I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"Mom, Lex and I are just friends…. For the time being. This is just me testing the waters!"
"Okay, I'm- I'm officially butting out… So, what are you gonna get Lana for her birthday?"
"I don't know. Any ideas?"
"… My mother always said the best gifts come from the heart."
…..
"Getting your morning Lana fix?"
Clark jumped slightly, almost dropping his book on the floor… he wasn't anywhere near the telescope, but Chloe enjoyed torturing him.
"Chloe, don't you ever knock?"
Chloe just laughed at him, "It's a barn, Clark."
"… Is there a reason you're here so early or do just enjoy busting my chops?"
"Little of both. Did you hear about the accident last night? A deer was hit on Route 5!"
"That's not exactly Wall of Weird material."
"Check out the paper…." Chloe slapped his chest with the newspaper, "… Animal control said that the deer died of causes unknown!"
"So?"
"Well- Not much unknown about a bumper at 60 miles an hour."
Clark so didn't have time for this. "I'd love to run down theories with you, but I've got chores to do… I still haven't figured out what to get Lana for her birthday."
Making his way down the stairs, Chloe following on behind, Clark couldn't help but smirk slightly when Chloe continued to chatter eagerly.
"Well, you or your family knows people at animal control, right?"
"One of the perks of growing upon a farm."
"Well, I was thinking, maybe we could stop by there before school…" Chloe beamed up at him, making her eyes bigger in an attempt at manipulation, "… You could use your pull. We could take a couple of pictures…. I'll help you out with your gift-giving dilemma!"
"Okay. But I want it to be something unique!"
….
At the animal control centre, they were easily able to get in and search for the dead deer.
"Very impressive use of pull: 'Can I use your bathroom?'" Chloe chuckled, as they tiptoed through the corridors.
"I can't believe we're creeping around looking for road kill."
Peering through a window, Chloe tapped on the nearby door, "The deer's in there…. And of course, the door's locked." She glanced around, before heading back the way they came, "Um, I'm gonna go find a maintenance worker!"
When Chloe had just disappeared around the corner, Clark grabbed the door-knob with one hand and gently…. Broke it. "Chloe, it's open!" he called out.
Chloe came back around the corner and frowned, "How'd you do that?"
"Kent charm."
Chloe clearly didn't believe him, but chose to ignore the lame excuse as she entered the room and pulled out her camera as Clark closed the blinds to the window.
"Lift it up…" Chloe instructed Clark, gesturing at the sheet that covered the animal, "… Go."
Clark did as he was told and immediately, he face twisted in disgust and he turned away, "Looks like jerky."
Picking up a large notepad from the nearby desk, Chloe scanned her eyes over the messy writing, "The lab report says the deer lost something like 80% of its body fat… It's like it's been lipo-suctioned to death."
"What do you think it is, Chloe? Some fat-sucking vampire in town?"
"This is Smallville, Clark. Land of the weird, home of the strange."
…
Meanwhile, back at the Luthor Manor, Lex was on the Smallville Torch website, eyes scanning over the strange and bizarre things that happened since the meteor shower.
…..
"Most of my friends are trying to get out of high school."
Lex turned his attention away from the news clippings to smirk at Clark, "I was meeting with your principal. Apparently, you guys are in dire need of a new computer lab and I figured I could help."
".. They might even name a lunch special after you. How'd you end up here?"
"My plant manager, Gabe. He's always going on about his daughter, the reporter in the Torch, so I thought I'd drop by and say hello. She wasn't around, but I was struck by this." Here, he gestured at the wall of newspaper and magazine clippings.
"That's Chloe's hobby…." Clark grinned, "… She thinks she can trace all the freak things in Smallville to the meteor shower."
"Interesting theory."
"… Most people think it's crazy."
"Maybe…. Do you remember where you were when it fell?"
Clark paused for a moment, before shaking his head. "Not really. My parents hadn't adopted me yet."
"I do… I was right here in Smallville. My mother wanted me to spend some quality time with my dad. He brought me here on a business trip, just a quick hop to Smallville to finalize a deal… Funny how one day can change your whole life."
"… What happened?"
"I was out in a cornfield when the first meteor hit." Lex frowned, "It was like a tidal wave coming at me… Then everything went black. Next thing I remember, I was waking up in Metropolis General completely bald."
Clark felt his heart twist at these words… another life ruined by his arrival to Earth. Another person affected by the meteors.
"Lex, I-I didn't know."
"Not many people do, Clark… I should've died that day. Instead I walked away with this…." He ran his hand over his bald head, "… very unattractive for a young omega."
"I'm sorry."
"Why? It's not your fault… When I was younger, I thought it was a curse. Kids figured I was a freak or on chemo. Then I began to see it as my gift, the thing that defined me, that gave me strength."
"Do you ever wonder what you'd be like… you know, if you hadn't come that day?"
"It doesn't matter, Clark, it happened. Personally, I think my future's gonna be brighter than that spoiled, rich brat who walked into that cornfield. A young Alpha did ask to be my escort this weekend after all."
Clark couldn't help but flush at the memory, a bashful smile appearing on his face…. and then Chloe wandered in.
"Mr. Luthor!"
Lex beamed at her, striding over, "It's Lex… Clark was just telling me your meteor theory. I like it."
"T-Thanks!"
"Especially since most people think my company is secretly behind everything that goes wrong in Smallville."
Chloe chuckled, "That's the reigning theory."
"Are you the only one that blames the meteors instead of me?"
"… Pretty much- Well, there is Mr. Hamilton."
Clark winced, "Except most people don't have too high a regard for a guy who sells plastic meteor chips to tourists."
"Doesn't exactly inspire confidence…." Lex glanced at Chloe and smiled at her, "Call me when you're looking for a summer job. I've got friends over at the Inquisitor."
Chloe nodded eagerly as Lex headed toward the door, glancing back at Clark. "I'll see you tomorrow Clark."
Once Lex was out of earshot, Chloe raised an eyebrow at Clark. "Well that sounds… ominous?"
"… I'm escorting Lex for Lana's birthday party…. Just as friends mind you."
"Right…" Chloe clearly didn't believe him, "… I promise I'll help with Lana's gift soon."
…..
Clark frowned when he heard a muffled sound coming from under the bleachers, slowly making his way underneath until he reached the boiler room. Using his X-ray vision, Clark could one skeletal figure wrestling another to the ground, prompting him to rip the door open and race inside.
Once inside, everything seemed to fall silent, aside from the hissing of the pipes… and then someone grabbed his shoulder.
Clark span around in shock, gently grabbing the wrist and pulling it away. He frowned when he saw a young man in his year, a bully who's on the football team, practically gasping for breath, his face shrivelled as though he'd aged several decades in a matter of minutes.
"Help… Me!"
…..
Lex sped down the dusty road (let's face it, they were all dusty in Smallville), until he spotted open gates on the left and headed onto that property. There was a large barn right on the edge of the compound which, when he entered, was filled with scientific equipment and labelled meteor rocks.
As he reached over to examine one of them more closely, a sharp, loud voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Don't touch that!" A man seemed to materialise from the shadows, "You're not sterile and you're not me."
"… My apologies, Dr. Hamilton."
The Doctor scoffed, "You don't have a website, do you?"
"Excuse me?"
"They're usually the ones who track me down… freaks with websites."
"I'm just a fan…" Lex strode over and held out his hand, "… Lex Luthor."
"The billionaire's omega son?"
Lex frowned slightly at this, hating that he was only being recognised as being Lionel's son… nothing about his own achievements.
"Mineralogists don't have fans." Continued the Doctor.
"… Most mineralogists didn't handle the first Apollo moon rocks."
"That was a lifetime ago, when I was a respectable scientist."
There was a brief moment of silence, before Lex sighed, "You know, we may have a few things in common…. I was kicked out of Metropolis University, too."
"Uh-huh?"
"Ever since I found out about a medical condition I have I've become very interested in your work, Dr. Hamilton."
"And you think it has something to do with the meteors."
Lex smirked at him, "… Isn't that your theory? That meteors somehow alter cellular makeup? That sounds to me like research worth funding."
There was a brief moment of silence, before Dr. Hamilton scoffed, "Yeah, well, sorry, my funding is private, and so are my results."
"Your funding comes from tourists."
That was the last straw for the Doctor, who grabbed a meteor rock and practically slammed it into Lex's hand.
"If you are so interested in meteors here, take one! Enjoy it. I have nothing else for sale!"
Lex silently examined the meteor and the green stone peeking out of it, "… When you change your mind, you know where to find me."
…
"I called the hospital this morning…" Chloe sighed, "… Dustin's in a coma. His body went into shock from the loss of fat. He hasn't told the police anything."
"Time to revisit the fat-sucking vampire theory."
"… You know, if you hadn't been there, he probably would have died, Clark."
Clark sighed, nodding wearily as he thought about what might have happened if he hadn't been there…. What if, in the future, he had to make a decision as to who he would save?
"What I can't figure out is why anybody would want to steal body fat." He eventually sighed, as Chloe nodded in agreement.
"I know, it takes eating disorders to a whole new level."
They walked past a table, only to spot Jody stuffing her face with some sort of pasta salad… when she was meant to be somewhere else.
"Jody?" Chloe interrupted, smiling as Jody glanced up.
"Oh…Hi, guys! What's up?"
"Uh, study group, remember?"
Jody winced, "Totally slipped my mind." And then, just like that, she was back to stuffing her face.
"So, no more veggie shakes, huh?" Chloe eventually forced out, unable to drag her eyes away from the spectacle.
Jody just shook her head.
"Are you feeling okay? Pete said you felt sick yesterday?"
"… Oh, that." Jody gave them a reassuring smile, "I'm fully recovered."
"I guess it's safe to say that the diet's finally over?"
"Mmm, I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything all day." She glanced up, and frowned at their worried looks, "I'm just a little nervous about the party tonight."
"Yeah?"
"So, um, I'll see you guys tonight." She shot up from her seat and headed out of the cafeteria, leaving Chloe and Clark… both very confused at her strange behaviour and abrupt departure.
"Okay, what was that about?"
Clark shook his head, "I don't know…. I gotta fly. We'll talk about this later?"
"Okay. Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm still working on Lana's birthday gift…. And what I'm going to wear tonight."
"Any hints?"
Clark smirked, "Yeah, no gift certificates for Lana."
…
Lex hated balloons… especially when they were clogging up every corner of his rooms. As he headed to the balcony above his main dining hall, he quickly spotted the other omega in this small town…. And she didn't look happy.
"What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to all the decorations.
Lana winced slightly, before plastering a fake smile on her face, "It's really- "
"- Not you at all." Lex nodded in understanding, "My Father did exactly the same thing for my sixteenth…. I hated everything he put up for the party, because it wasn't me at all."
Lana chuckled in relief, as Lex continued, "I heard the quarterback couldn't make it… Too bad."
"Hmmmm, I knew you'd be devastated. Whitney's trying out for a football scholarship to Kansas State. Didn't think he made the cut, but then someone fell out."
"I know… Your aunt told me."
"Ah… my Aunt has also been telling me some interesting things about you? Apparently, there's a rumour going around, that you have an escort of your own?"
Lana's knowing look, combined with the knowledge that everyone in Smallville might know about Clark asking him to the party, made Lex flush slightly… which was really obvious on his pale face.
"What have you heard?"
"… That Clark asked you to the party, as your escort?"
"Ah… yes."
Lana seemed a little upset at this, but forced a smile onto her face. "That's good… you both deserve to be happy."
"… Have fun tonight."
…..
"Mom, you almost done?"
Martha rolled her eyes as she continued to iron Clark's dark blue shirt, "Relax, Clark, you're not gonna be late… for once. By the way, did you figure out what to get Lana?"
"Yeah, Lex helped me out."
"Nice of him…. So, what is it?"
"I thought you were butting out of this?"
Martha gasped in mock shock, practically throwing the shirt at her son, "Then you'd better learn how to iron…. Hi, Chloe."
"Hi, Mrs. Kent!" Chloe was clearly distracted as she came racing up to Clark, "Clark, you gotta take a look at this!"
"… Chloe, why aren't you dressed?"
"I didn't have time. Clark, you really, really need to check this out!"
Clark accepted the report she was shoving into his face, reading the words out-loud, "Smallville body and fender, replaced windshield, replaced side panels. Cause of accident - Impact with deer."
"It was Jody's car, Clark!"
"… What do you think happened to her?"
"Her house is built right next to one of the big meteor hits."
Clark's eyes widened in realisation, "And she lost all that weight by drinking juice from vegetables grown in the soil in her greenhouse."
"It must have done something to her metabolism. She's losing weight too fast to keep up with regular food!"
"And that's why she needs body fat!"
"Exactly."
"We need to find her."
Before Clark could head out of the door to try and find Jody, Chloe piped up behind him. "Jody wouldn't let anything keep her from getting to that party."
"… Pete!"
….
"Hey Lex…" Clark spoke on the phone as he raced towards Jody's house, "… I'm going to be a little late."
"Oh?" Thankfully, Lex sounded amused, "And on our first date as well… is something the matter?"
"One of our friends might be sick, I'm just checking up on her."
"Understandable… let me know what happens."
"Alright Lex…. I'm really sorry."
"I know."
Clark hung up the phone after their goodbyes, feeling extraordinarily guilty as he entered Jody's house…. And he spotted Pete's unconscious body.
All thoughts of guilt rushed out of his head at that point, as he raced towards the greenhouse, knowing that it was most likely that Jody had tried to hide in there.
"Jody?!" he called out, wincing as he suddenly felt weak… the green meteorite pieces scattered all throughout the soil were probably the cause of that.
As he stumbled through the greenhouse, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Twisting around to try and find out who hit him, Clark stared up at Jody, who was snarling at him.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Y-You're sick!" Clark blurted out, "Whatever you did to yourself you can get help!"
"All I wanted was to be thin!" She growled, trying to strike Clark in the head once again.
"Jody, this isn't you!"
"What? Isn't this what I'm supposed to look like?"
She tried to hit him again, kicking him in the stomach when he grabbed the spade. She then used the spade to knock him through the glass of the greenhouse.
As he lay vulnerable, she lifted the spade up to strike him once more…. Before catching sight of her reflection in the shattered glass pieces.
"Look at me…" she whispered, "… I'm a freak!"
Glancing around, she appeared to come to a conclusion;
"I know how to stop this for good."
She slammed the spade against one of the pipes in the greenhouse, not pausing until the hissing sound of gas reached her ears.
Clark quickly figured out what she was planning to do next, "No! Wait!"
Too late.
With one last swing, Jody smashed the lights up above, causing sparks to rain down from the ceiling… and with gas in the room, there was only one conclusion.
BOOOM!
It was times like this that Clark was so happy to have super speed.
Jody was going to be okay…. If they could get her to the hospital.
… And now he had to call Lex and explain the situation.
Great.
….
"Sneaking out, huh?"
Lana span around, wincing at the sight of Lex (who was looking gorgeous in that sight, she didn't hesitate to think)
"Isn't this your shindig?"
"…Says so on all the invitations."
Lex smirked, "Right… You're not hiding. You're getting some air."
When Lana glanced at him in shock, alarmed that he could read her so easily, Lex shrugged.
"I spent 18 years of Luthor Christmas parties in the coatroom…. Personally, I'm still waiting for my reinforcements."
"I know Clark…." Lana soothed him, "… He'll be here, if he can."
"Unfortunately, that seems to be the issue…" Lex held up his phone, "…. It appears another one his friends needs to go to hospital. I think I can officially say that this date won't be happening…. He certainly seemed apologetic about it."
Lana winced in sympathy, "I'm sure there'll be other brithdays."
"Yes… of course."
…..
Clark wanted to scream as he made his way into the house, forcing a brave smile onto his face as his parents suddenly leapt to attention.
"Clark, what happened?" Martha exclaimed, "The police called!"
"I'm fine."
Jon frowned, "How's Pete?"
"He's got a serious migraine, but other than that, he's okay. Jody Melville's on the way to Metropolis General. Her father's gonna meet her there."
Martha sighed, keeping her eye on her son as he all but collapsed onto the sofa. "Clark, I'm sorry about the party."
"I promised Lex I'd be there… I can't believe I let him down like that. He said he understood, but- "
Quickly seeing that Clark was upset at the prospect of missing his date with Lana, Jon swallowed down his pride and took a deep breath. "Well, when you do the things you do, Son… Helping people… then sometimes you have to make sacrifices."
"Like Lex?"
Jon resisted the urge to say the wrong thing, thankfully, Martha took over.
"Maybe… but you made your choice."
Clark was silent for a few moments, before suddenly shooting to his feet and heading back towards the front door.
"where are you going?"
"I don't have to sacrifice everything!"
…
"Back for some more rocks?"
Lex couldn't help but smirk.
When the party was nearing its end, he had decided to read the test results sent over by the doctor... it was good news, but he still wanted to know more about the meteorites.
"Apparently, I have a clean bill of health."
Dr. Hamilton was not impressed. "Congratulations. I guess that means you won't be bothering me anymore."
"… I couldn't figure out why you're so resistant to accept my help. Then I had a friend do some digging." Lex hated doing this sometimes, but he needed this man's help, "And here I thought you got kicked out of Metropolis University for your meteor theories but apparently, it was your student/teacher relations…. I wonder if the Smallville police have you registered."
"Get. Out."
Lex made as though to leave, before handing the Doctor a small envelope. "I want you to look at something…. I don't care about the past. I believe in the power to reinvent yourself."
Dr. Hamilton opened the envelope and pulled out a check for one hundred thousand dollars.
"You want to prove to the world you've been right all along? That check should cover your vindication."
The Doctor was stunned into silence for a few brief moments, but eventually he sighed and pinched the top of the bridge of his nose. "What you're looking for could take years."
"I'm a patient man."
Before Lex could leave, the Doctor spoke up once again. "Tell me, why does a billionaire's son care so much about a bunch of rocks that fell out of the sky 12 years ago?"
"…. I save that story for the people I trust."
Well… person he trusted
Speak of the devil….
Lex frowned as he climbed out of his car and spotted Clark throwing rocks at Lex's bedroom, clearly expecting the man to still be in.
"You kind of missed cocktail hour…." He eventually spoke up, startling Clark into spinning around, a guilty look on his face.
"… I'm sorry."
"Shouldn't you be apologising to Lana… it is her birthday that you missed."
"But I wasn't meant to be on a date with her…. I even had something planned for afterwards."
Lex raised an eyebrow at this, causing Clark to flush. "Oh, not that! Something else I promise."
"Good… because I don't out on the first date."
Gently, Clark grabbed Lex's hand and encouraged him to follow him. "Come on! It's back at the house."
And yet, the younger man had no car.
"Did… did you walk here?"
"Oh…. Yeah."
Lex chuckled, "We'll take my car then…. What about Lana's present?"
"I told her what happened with our friend…. She's happy to get it tomorrow."
….
Less than half an hour later, the pair were in the Kent family truck, watching old Looney Toon cartoons via a protector and the side of the barn.
Lex could honestly say, he'd never had a better date.
"Pass the popcorn." He asked, his eyes still on the screen as Clark quickly handed the popcorn over.
"…Lex? Are we okay?"
"… Yeah, of course we are…. Now sssh!"
