Title: Christmas - An "Honesty" Prequel
Author: PepperjackCandy
Series: Prequel to the "Honesty" series
Archive : Smallville Slash Archive, my writing at fanfiction.net
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Category: Romance
Spoilers for: Jitters
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics.
Feedback: Always welcome, either by e-mail or using the review system at fanfiction.net.
A/N: I hope you'll forgive me for this one. It's hopelessly cheesy and sentimental and definitely songficcy around the edges. It's also hopelessly cheesy and sentimental. Oh, wait, I said that already, didn't I? Well, it's really, really cheesy and sentimental. The song, if you're not good at placing songs from only two lines of lyrics, is "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias.
=============
Clark wandered through the crush of people that lined the main corridor of Luthor Manor. He was going to walk to the end of the hallway, and if he didn't see Lex by then, he was going to turn around and go home. Maybe I should have called first.
Clark barely dodged a jaded twentysomething with a shaved head. He wondered briefly if the choice of hairstyle was in imitation of Lex. Bald looks better on Lex, Clark thought, then blushed at the thought.
He reached the end of the hallway and turned to head back towards the front door, running right into Lex.
"Hey, Clark." Lex grinned. "A couple of people told me you were here." He began to lead Clark back down the hallway, the crowd parting to allow them to pass as they walked.
"They did? But they don't know me."
"That's the point." Lex's grin grew wider.
Clark's face clouded over. "Am I intruding?"
"No. Of course not. These are some . . . friends from Metropolis, that's all." Lex hastened to assure him.
"Well, I just came by to wish you a Merry Christmas, and," he glanced down at the sizable box in his hands.
"A Christmas present?" Lex seemed genuinely surprised. "I didn't get you anything."
Clark smiled softly. "You didn't have to. Christmas isn't about trading presents. It's about," he shrugged, "spending time with people you care about. Family."
"Good, because I'm doing that now."
It took a moment for the import of Lex's statement to register. At first, Clark thought he meant that the crowd of chicly-casually dressed strangers were his family, but then he realized that Lex had meant *him.* "Oh." He said, feeling foolish as he blushed.
"Come on. Let's go in here where we can be alone." Lex opened a door and led Clark into a room where he'd never been before. The furniture was covered with sheets, and Clark could hear music coming from somewhere.
Clark looked around for the source of the music. "Upstairs," Lex told him. "The ballroom's right above us. I set it aside for more . . . romantic music than what's playing down the hall."
"Ah." Clark fidgeted, wondering what they were going to do in there.
"Storage." Lex said with a twinkle in his eye. "No one will look for us here, plus," he winked, "I can lock the door."
Then, Lex deftly removed the sheet from a sofa. "Care for a seat?"
Clark sat down and set the box on his knees. Lex sat next to him. "May I?" He indicated the box. "I can't imagine what you got me."
"Well, that's just it," Clark babbled, "I couldn't imagine anything that I could *buy* you that you couldn't buy yourself, so I, well, you'll see." He handed the box out to Lex.
"Oof. Heavy. You definitely are stronger than you look." Lex shifted the box onto his own knees and unwrapped it, tossing the paper onto the floor.
He lifted the lid from the box and his jaw dropped. "Oh, my God. Clark . . ."
"Is it all right?"
Lex began lifting things from the box - Tupperware containers of cookies, cellophane-wrapped brownies, he held up a cellophane-wrapped loaf, looking at Clark curiously.
"Banana bread."
"Ah." Then, grinning like a kid, he continued digging, until he came to the bottom of the box. "Pie?"
"Apple." Clark smiled. "Not from our own trees, though. Mom uses Granny Smith apples in her pies, and we don't grow them."
Lex secretly breathed a sigh of relief at this news. His eyes shone with something somewhere between happiness and tears. He choked it back and put on his suave demeanor. "So, who did your mom think she was supplying with baked goods?"
"Um. Lex Luthor." Clark answered like his friend had gone a little off the deep end. "That's why just the loaf of banana bread. She didn't think you'd go for the zucchini bread, too."
"Zucchini bread?"
"Yeah. Only. You don't call it zucchini, do you? There's some uppercrust word for it, isn't there?"
"Courgette."
Clark nodded, smiling. "Yeah. That's it."
"Well, I'd love to try some of your mother's zucchini bread," he emphasized the word zucchini with a grin.
"I'll bring a couple of slices over the next time I come to visit." Clark smiled.
"I'd like that." Lex wasn't sure if he meant the bread, or the visit.
"Don't you have a party to get back to?" Clark asked as the music upstairs changed.
Lex shrugged. "That's all just, you know, something to pass the time. I really would rather be here with you."
"Really? You're just saying that."
"No. I mean it. You're . . . my best friend."
Clark blushed. "You've got lots of other friends."
"I have had a varied social life, yes, and some people that I call friends, but you're one of *very* few that I feel comfortable being myself around."
"Really?"
Lex nodded. "Really."
They stopped talking, then, and just sat in silence for a minute, listening to the sound of pop tunes filtering from the floor above.
Lex reached into the box and pulled out a Tupperware container. "Cookie?" He asked.
Clark grinned and took one. Lex did as well.
"These are really good." Lex said with a mouthful of cookie.
"Mom'll be glad to hear you liked them."
As the love song upstairs crescendoed, one pair of blue eyes met the other and the silence between them grew weighted. Then, they spoke simultaneously.
"Clark, I . . ."
"Do you feel . . ."
They both laughed.
"I wanted to thank you. Not just for the goodies, but for everything. Saving my life over and over, being there. Being you."
Clark blushed. "Well, you know that you've saved my life at least as often as I've saved yours."
"I don't think so."
"Well, let's see, I saved you by the river, then you took me down from the cross. . . ."
"That wouldn't have killed you, Clark."
"You saw me, Lex. Did I look like I'd last much longer?"
Lex shook his head. "Actually, no, you didn't. So, I'll give you that one."
"Then you saved all of the kids when Earl was holding them hostage, and I pulled you off the scaffolding."
"Is that it?"
"I think so." Clark tried to remember. "Earl, scarecrow, scaffolding . . . "
"Shh." Lex quieted him. "Oh. That's eerie."
"What?" Clark asked in a tone like Lex was hallucinating.
"Can I ask for one more thing for Christmas?"
"Sure. Anything."
"Don't tempt me with 'anything' Clark. I'm not sure I could handle it."
Clark looked confused as Lex stood and held out one hand.
"Stand up."
"All right."
Clark stood, trusting that whatever Lex was going to do wouldn't harm him. Lex still marveled at Clark's simple ability to trust him, and prayed that he would be worthy of that trust. And that he wasn't about to embarrass himself terribly.
Lex was suddenly overcome with shyness. "It's this song. It always reminds me of you."
Clark blushed again as the import of the lyrics hit him. "It does?"
Lex nodded. "I know I'm going to regret this, but it's Christmas, and maybe you would forgive me if I asked you to dance?"
Something hit Clark then and made his knees wobble slightly, like when he was under the influence of Lana's necklace, but in the very best way possible. He nodded. "Yes. I'd love to."
Lex wrapped his arms around Clark's waist and snuggled in. After a moment's hesitation about where to put his arms, Clark wrapped his arms around Lex's waist, as well, so they were holding each other in a loose embrace. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Lex's shoulder as they swayed slowly to the music.
Lex shifted his grip so that his arms were around Clark's neck and began to sing softly in an on-key but untrained voice, "I will stand by you forever. You can take my breath away."
All too soon, the song was ended, and with it, Lex's excuse to hold Clark. He reluctantly lowered his arms and stepped back as Clark released him. He was almost afraid to look Clark in the eyes, but what he saw there when he looked almost stopped his heart in his chest.
Clark was looking at him like he'd never really *seen* Lex before, his blue eyes lit with a fire that Lex had only ever dreamed of seeing. Clark's eyes drifted down to Lex's lips, and Lex knew what was coming next.
He reached out and placed a finger on Clark's lips, forestalling the kiss. "No, Clark. It's not right."
Clark was confused. "What? How can you say that?"
"You're carried away by romance, Clark. Like your Rapunzel fantasy of Lana, off there in her tower, being held prisoner by the evil witch Nell Potter. But if we take that next step, it's not going to be a fairy tale. It'd be real life. We'd have to keep secrets, and someday deal with your Dad on a completely different level than we've had to so far. This far, we can pretend that was just a hug. But from the moment our lips touch, things will change. And I want us to take that step with our eyes wide open. So to speak."
Clark nodded. "But I'm not going to change my mind."
"Good. We'll see how you feel in January."
Clark had to chuckle at Lex's insistence that he would change his mind. "I've got to get home. My folks are waiting dessert for me to get back."
Lex nodded. "Tell them I said hello."
"I will. Could I come by tomorrow with some of that zucchini bread I threatened you with?"
"I'd like nothing better."
Clark nodded, suddenly as puppylike as he'd always been. He moved quickly and wrapped Lex in a hug. "Merry Christmas, Lex." Then, before he could change his mind, he unlocked and opened the door and then disappeared into the throng of people in the hallway.
"Merry, Christmas, Clark."
Author: PepperjackCandy
Series: Prequel to the "Honesty" series
Archive : Smallville Slash Archive, my writing at fanfiction.net
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Category: Romance
Spoilers for: Jitters
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics.
Feedback: Always welcome, either by e-mail or using the review system at fanfiction.net.
A/N: I hope you'll forgive me for this one. It's hopelessly cheesy and sentimental and definitely songficcy around the edges. It's also hopelessly cheesy and sentimental. Oh, wait, I said that already, didn't I? Well, it's really, really cheesy and sentimental. The song, if you're not good at placing songs from only two lines of lyrics, is "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias.
=============
Clark wandered through the crush of people that lined the main corridor of Luthor Manor. He was going to walk to the end of the hallway, and if he didn't see Lex by then, he was going to turn around and go home. Maybe I should have called first.
Clark barely dodged a jaded twentysomething with a shaved head. He wondered briefly if the choice of hairstyle was in imitation of Lex. Bald looks better on Lex, Clark thought, then blushed at the thought.
He reached the end of the hallway and turned to head back towards the front door, running right into Lex.
"Hey, Clark." Lex grinned. "A couple of people told me you were here." He began to lead Clark back down the hallway, the crowd parting to allow them to pass as they walked.
"They did? But they don't know me."
"That's the point." Lex's grin grew wider.
Clark's face clouded over. "Am I intruding?"
"No. Of course not. These are some . . . friends from Metropolis, that's all." Lex hastened to assure him.
"Well, I just came by to wish you a Merry Christmas, and," he glanced down at the sizable box in his hands.
"A Christmas present?" Lex seemed genuinely surprised. "I didn't get you anything."
Clark smiled softly. "You didn't have to. Christmas isn't about trading presents. It's about," he shrugged, "spending time with people you care about. Family."
"Good, because I'm doing that now."
It took a moment for the import of Lex's statement to register. At first, Clark thought he meant that the crowd of chicly-casually dressed strangers were his family, but then he realized that Lex had meant *him.* "Oh." He said, feeling foolish as he blushed.
"Come on. Let's go in here where we can be alone." Lex opened a door and led Clark into a room where he'd never been before. The furniture was covered with sheets, and Clark could hear music coming from somewhere.
Clark looked around for the source of the music. "Upstairs," Lex told him. "The ballroom's right above us. I set it aside for more . . . romantic music than what's playing down the hall."
"Ah." Clark fidgeted, wondering what they were going to do in there.
"Storage." Lex said with a twinkle in his eye. "No one will look for us here, plus," he winked, "I can lock the door."
Then, Lex deftly removed the sheet from a sofa. "Care for a seat?"
Clark sat down and set the box on his knees. Lex sat next to him. "May I?" He indicated the box. "I can't imagine what you got me."
"Well, that's just it," Clark babbled, "I couldn't imagine anything that I could *buy* you that you couldn't buy yourself, so I, well, you'll see." He handed the box out to Lex.
"Oof. Heavy. You definitely are stronger than you look." Lex shifted the box onto his own knees and unwrapped it, tossing the paper onto the floor.
He lifted the lid from the box and his jaw dropped. "Oh, my God. Clark . . ."
"Is it all right?"
Lex began lifting things from the box - Tupperware containers of cookies, cellophane-wrapped brownies, he held up a cellophane-wrapped loaf, looking at Clark curiously.
"Banana bread."
"Ah." Then, grinning like a kid, he continued digging, until he came to the bottom of the box. "Pie?"
"Apple." Clark smiled. "Not from our own trees, though. Mom uses Granny Smith apples in her pies, and we don't grow them."
Lex secretly breathed a sigh of relief at this news. His eyes shone with something somewhere between happiness and tears. He choked it back and put on his suave demeanor. "So, who did your mom think she was supplying with baked goods?"
"Um. Lex Luthor." Clark answered like his friend had gone a little off the deep end. "That's why just the loaf of banana bread. She didn't think you'd go for the zucchini bread, too."
"Zucchini bread?"
"Yeah. Only. You don't call it zucchini, do you? There's some uppercrust word for it, isn't there?"
"Courgette."
Clark nodded, smiling. "Yeah. That's it."
"Well, I'd love to try some of your mother's zucchini bread," he emphasized the word zucchini with a grin.
"I'll bring a couple of slices over the next time I come to visit." Clark smiled.
"I'd like that." Lex wasn't sure if he meant the bread, or the visit.
"Don't you have a party to get back to?" Clark asked as the music upstairs changed.
Lex shrugged. "That's all just, you know, something to pass the time. I really would rather be here with you."
"Really? You're just saying that."
"No. I mean it. You're . . . my best friend."
Clark blushed. "You've got lots of other friends."
"I have had a varied social life, yes, and some people that I call friends, but you're one of *very* few that I feel comfortable being myself around."
"Really?"
Lex nodded. "Really."
They stopped talking, then, and just sat in silence for a minute, listening to the sound of pop tunes filtering from the floor above.
Lex reached into the box and pulled out a Tupperware container. "Cookie?" He asked.
Clark grinned and took one. Lex did as well.
"These are really good." Lex said with a mouthful of cookie.
"Mom'll be glad to hear you liked them."
As the love song upstairs crescendoed, one pair of blue eyes met the other and the silence between them grew weighted. Then, they spoke simultaneously.
"Clark, I . . ."
"Do you feel . . ."
They both laughed.
"I wanted to thank you. Not just for the goodies, but for everything. Saving my life over and over, being there. Being you."
Clark blushed. "Well, you know that you've saved my life at least as often as I've saved yours."
"I don't think so."
"Well, let's see, I saved you by the river, then you took me down from the cross. . . ."
"That wouldn't have killed you, Clark."
"You saw me, Lex. Did I look like I'd last much longer?"
Lex shook his head. "Actually, no, you didn't. So, I'll give you that one."
"Then you saved all of the kids when Earl was holding them hostage, and I pulled you off the scaffolding."
"Is that it?"
"I think so." Clark tried to remember. "Earl, scarecrow, scaffolding . . . "
"Shh." Lex quieted him. "Oh. That's eerie."
"What?" Clark asked in a tone like Lex was hallucinating.
"Can I ask for one more thing for Christmas?"
"Sure. Anything."
"Don't tempt me with 'anything' Clark. I'm not sure I could handle it."
Clark looked confused as Lex stood and held out one hand.
"Stand up."
"All right."
Clark stood, trusting that whatever Lex was going to do wouldn't harm him. Lex still marveled at Clark's simple ability to trust him, and prayed that he would be worthy of that trust. And that he wasn't about to embarrass himself terribly.
Lex was suddenly overcome with shyness. "It's this song. It always reminds me of you."
Clark blushed again as the import of the lyrics hit him. "It does?"
Lex nodded. "I know I'm going to regret this, but it's Christmas, and maybe you would forgive me if I asked you to dance?"
Something hit Clark then and made his knees wobble slightly, like when he was under the influence of Lana's necklace, but in the very best way possible. He nodded. "Yes. I'd love to."
Lex wrapped his arms around Clark's waist and snuggled in. After a moment's hesitation about where to put his arms, Clark wrapped his arms around Lex's waist, as well, so they were holding each other in a loose embrace. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Lex's shoulder as they swayed slowly to the music.
Lex shifted his grip so that his arms were around Clark's neck and began to sing softly in an on-key but untrained voice, "I will stand by you forever. You can take my breath away."
All too soon, the song was ended, and with it, Lex's excuse to hold Clark. He reluctantly lowered his arms and stepped back as Clark released him. He was almost afraid to look Clark in the eyes, but what he saw there when he looked almost stopped his heart in his chest.
Clark was looking at him like he'd never really *seen* Lex before, his blue eyes lit with a fire that Lex had only ever dreamed of seeing. Clark's eyes drifted down to Lex's lips, and Lex knew what was coming next.
He reached out and placed a finger on Clark's lips, forestalling the kiss. "No, Clark. It's not right."
Clark was confused. "What? How can you say that?"
"You're carried away by romance, Clark. Like your Rapunzel fantasy of Lana, off there in her tower, being held prisoner by the evil witch Nell Potter. But if we take that next step, it's not going to be a fairy tale. It'd be real life. We'd have to keep secrets, and someday deal with your Dad on a completely different level than we've had to so far. This far, we can pretend that was just a hug. But from the moment our lips touch, things will change. And I want us to take that step with our eyes wide open. So to speak."
Clark nodded. "But I'm not going to change my mind."
"Good. We'll see how you feel in January."
Clark had to chuckle at Lex's insistence that he would change his mind. "I've got to get home. My folks are waiting dessert for me to get back."
Lex nodded. "Tell them I said hello."
"I will. Could I come by tomorrow with some of that zucchini bread I threatened you with?"
"I'd like nothing better."
Clark nodded, suddenly as puppylike as he'd always been. He moved quickly and wrapped Lex in a hug. "Merry Christmas, Lex." Then, before he could change his mind, he unlocked and opened the door and then disappeared into the throng of people in the hallway.
"Merry, Christmas, Clark."