disclaimer : I don't own Smallville.
I would like to thank my beta Ditzy 1978 for doing such a great job.
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"I still can't believe that this will be the first Christmas, since Lex and I got together." Proclaims Clark as he sits back at the table to join his mother. She pats his hand and smiles.
"So, how is school going?" Martha asks.
"It's good. I'm glad I let Lex talk me into those photography classes. The professor says I've got one of the best eyes for colors he's ever seen."
Martha chuckles, "That's wonderful. Your father and I couldn't be anymore proud of you." She smirks and asks, "Have you finished your Christmas shopping?"
Clark grins and knows this is his mother's way of asking if he's bought Lex anything for Christmas.
"Are you wanting to go with me? The only person I have left to buy for is Lex." He says with chuckle.
"Where is Lex?"
"He's trying to finish his last few meetings till after New Year's. So why don't you come with me to Metropolis and you can help me buy an outfit for the Christmas party?"
Martha nods and writes a note to Jonathan letting him know where she is and that she'll bring home dinner. They jump into Lex's BMW and make their way to Metropolis. Just after they leave the driveway it hits Clark on what to get Lex.
"Has, Lex told you of his new art pieces?"
"Oh yes, he's bought several photographs and paintings by a man that calls himself ' Musha Tenshi ' which means warrior angel. The pictures are the hottest things all over the world." She replies.
Clark nods and they talk of small things until they hit the mall in Metropolis. They wander the mall for about an hour when they split up. Martha to pick up a gift for Jonathan and Clark to pick up his gift for Lex. He walks into a store and orders everything he's going to need. He tells them to deliver the packages to his dorm room at the college. He meets his mother fifteen minutes later at the food court. He grabs her bags and they leave the mall to go and pick up dinner for Jonathan.
Martha decides to get Chinese. They are quiet on the ride back to the Kent farm. Clark carries in his mother's bags and kisses her cheek. He pats his father's back and starts for the door. His father stops him.
"Why don't you and Lex come by tomorrow for Sunday dinner? It'll be good to have both of our boys home for dinner." Martha smiles when she hears Jonathan say that. Clark grins and nods his head. He gets into the BMW and makes his way back to Lex's castle. He parks in the garage and grabs his bags. He puts the bags into his and Lex's bedroom and makes his way to the library.
He finds Lex on the phone. Lex looks up and sees him. He smiles and waves Clark over. Clark sits down in front of the desk and smiles.
"Yes, the contracts will be drawn up by then. Yes, Merry Christmas to you too." He hangs up the phone and looks at Clark. "How did it go at your parents?"
"Dad's, invited us to Sunday dinner. I also picked up my outfit for the Christmas party." Lex looks at him expectantly, "and you'll see it when everyone else does." He smirks when Lex starts to pout. He stands and grabs Lex's hand. He pulls him towards the stairs and to their room. He closes the door softly behind them.
He pulls Lex close and starts kissing the back of his neck while he reaches around and starts unbuttoning Lex's shirt. Lex turns and kisses Clark possessively. They quickly undress and make their way to the bed. They make love for hours and fall asleep in each other's arms.
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Lex knocks on the Kent's door. Martha answers the door.
"Imagine you knocking like a stranger. She pulls the two into the house and hugs them both. They follow her into the kitchen and are greeted by Jonathan. Clark helps Martha put all of the food on the table and they say grace. Everyone is quiet for a few minutes till Lex speaks up.
"This is really good, Martha. Are you guys still going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with us at the castle?"
"Yes, we will be there after chores on the 23rd." Answers Jonathan.
"I'll come and help." Starts Clark but he's interrupted by Lex, "We'll both come and help you that way you should have them all done by noon and we'll help the two days you are here."
Jonathan nods. They each remember when they found out what Lex's abilities are.
flashback---
Lex and Clark wake up the morning after the kidnapping and shower. They dress to go running and Clark takes off to go the farm. He arrives a few seconds before Lex. Lex is grinning.
"Well, I can see that you got my speed, you're not much slower than me. Let's see about strength." Lex nods and they make their way to the barn. Clark picks up the tractor with one hand and tosses it to Lex. He catches it but strains a little to hold it up. Lex places the tractor back on the ground.
"Well you got some super strength, let's try heat vision then x-ray and we'll go let my parents we're here."
Clark sets up a dummy in the field and explains to Lex how and why he first started. Lex concentrates for a few minutes but nothing happens. He turns to look at Clark and focuses on seeing underneath his clothes. His vision blurs and he can see that Clark has no underwear on. He shakes his head and looks up into Clark's eyes.
"I don't think I have the heat vision and the most I could do with the x-ray was see that you don't have any underwear on. Since we know that I can fly I guess the only ability left is the freezing breathe." Lex states. He watches as Clark catches the dummy on fire and motions for Lex to put it out. Lex pulls in a deep breathe and blows. The fire goes out but the dummy is still smoking. So that answered his question his breathe isn't as cold as Clark's.
end flashback
They each come out of their thoughts and Martha and Clark start clearing away the dishes. Martha makes some coffee while Clark grabs plates and knives for the chocolate cake his mom has made. They take everything to the table and sit in silence while everyone enjoys the comfortable silence.
"I now see why Clark ate so much. I now eat almost as much as him." Lex says with a smile and laugh. The others laugh.
"Have you heard about Musha Tenshi's new exhibit? It's opening at the Metropolis Museum on Dec. 27th.?" Asks Martha.
Lex nods his head. "I've been trying to get tickets to go and see it, but they are all sold out. I can't even get someone to sell me their tickets."
Everyone laughs and Jonathan speaks up, "So not even the great Luthor name will get them for you?" He laughs as he says this and the others know he is just teasing. The others start talking about the farm, but Clark sits quietly in his chair eating his cake. Lex notices he's gone quiet and asks, "Is something the matter Clark?"
This makes Martha and Jonathan stop talking and look toward their son. Clark reaches behind him and pulls an envelope out of his coat pocket and hands it to Lex. Lex looks at him quizzically where Clark motions for him to open the envelope. Lex opens it and pulls out four V.I.P. tickets to the Musha Tenshi exhibit. He gasps and shows the tickets to the others.
"Where did you get these tickets, Clark?" He asks.
"Someone I go to school with is close to the artist and arranged for these tickets. I figured we could take my parents." He replies. Lex is speechless he jumps up and hugs Clark.
Clark and Lex leave shortly after that, with promises to meet in a few days to buy the appropriate clothing for the event.
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Lex, Clark, Martha and Jonathan decided to buy clothes for the exhibition. The men go to buy tuxedos while Martha waits. They each pick a different color for their bow tie, Clark - green, Jonathan - red, and Lex - silver blue. They pay and leave to pick out a dress for Martha. Lex takes Jonathan to pick out shoes while Clark helps his mother. They look through the racks until Martha finds the perfect black dress. It's a very modest, simple black dress that flairs away from her hips to fall to her knees. She picks out a pair of black pumps and Clark pays for the items. They meet the others in the hall and go home.
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"I can't believe it's finally Christmas Eve." Declares Chloe. She looks around and notices that everyone else nods their head. She sees that Lana and her fiance Jack are sitting on the love seat, Martha, Jonathan, and Lex are sitting on the couch and her and Pete are sitting on the chairs.
"What could be taking so long to put on his annual red and green flannel shirt?" Ask Pete. Everyone laughs and turns away from the door.
"If I catch him wearing flannel, I'll..."
"You'll what?" asks Clark interrupting Lex mid sentence. They turn and gasp when they see Clark. He's wearing a pair of deep green almost black leather pants and a green wife beater under an unbuttoned forest green silk shirt. He's also barefoot. He grins at their shocked looks. He walks over and lightly kisses Lex on the lips and that seems to be what shakes everyone from their stupors. Lex puts his arms around Clark's neck and reaches up to kiss him. He kisses him with all the love and passion in him. They break apart a few minutes later to see everyone is shocked. Clark blushes a deep red. Everyone laughs and makes their way to dinner.
They are just starting dessert when Chloe decides to broach the subject of Clark's clothes because all thru the meal everyone just made small talk. "Why aren't you wearing your usual flannel?"
Everyone gets quiet and looks between Clark and Chloe with questions in their eyes. Clark sits there for a few minutes as if contemplating the question. He starts to laugh. He grabs his plate and walks out of the door. Everyone is so shocked no one moves, and then suddenly everyone gets up and rushes to find him, leaving their dessert to be forgotten. They find him in the game room watching the movie 'A Christmas Story'. Lex grabs the remote and turns the movie off. Clark turns to see the others standing behind him and laughs again. He motions for the others to sit.
Lex and his parents join him on the couch, Chloe and Pete sit on the love seat while Lana and Jack sit in the chairs. He looks at each one and can see that they are waiting for his answer.
"I'll answer your question when Lex answers mine. You'll what?"
Lex mumbles something to low for the others to hear but Clark hears him just fine and busts our laughing. Everyone looks confused.
"What did he say?" asks Jonathan.
Lex's face starts to blush and Clark laughs even harder. "He said 'he would have stripped me to my underwear because he's tired of flannel." Lex blushes even harder as everyone laughs.
"I decided to wear this because Lex has told me a million times he's tired of me wearing flannel or T-shirts. I wanted to surprise Lex."
Everyone nods their heads. Everyone walks over to the tree and sits on the floor. Everyone starts to exchange gifts, they are just going to wait until tomorrow to give to their parents and significant other.
Lex gets a new tie from Pete, new cufflinks from Chloe and Lana, and a new money clip from Jack.
Clark gets a new pair of boots from Pete, cufflinks from Chloe and Lana and a few ties from Jack.
Martha gets a sweater from Pete, a matching skirt from Chloe and a very expensive pair of leather boots from Lana and Jack.
Jonathan received a new leather jacket from Chloe and Pete and a very expensive pair of boots from Lana and Jack.
The four friends each receive new cars from Lex and Clark. From the older Kents; Lana receives a beautiful dress and matching shoes, Chloe receives a new camera, Pete and Jack both receive new jackets. Everyone gushes over their gifts.
A few hours later only Lex, Clark, and his parents are left. They realize it's already two in the morning and make their way upstairs to bed. They say good night at the top of the stairs and part ways. A few minutes later Clark and Lex are in bed snuggling. Clark starts nuzzling Lex's neck.
"What do you want tomorrow for Christmas, and don't say that anything I get will be fine? I want to know what the one thing you couldn't get that you hope to receive tomorrow." Whispers Clark as he lightly kiss Lex's ear.
Lex breathes in a shaky breathe, before he speaks. "I tried to get the painting and picture called "Lilies" by Musha Tenshi, but it wasn't for sell. I told the man at the gallery I would pay anything for it and he went to make a phone call. He returned a few minutes later to say that the painting was not for sale, that it was only on display for a short time because it had been painted for someone special in the artist life."
He draws in another shaky breathe and continues, "I wanted the picture because lilies were my mother's favorite flower."
Clark draws him close and rubs small circles on the smaller man's back. A few minutes later Clark can feel and hear the steady even breathing of his love asleep. He grins and lets sleep overtake him.
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The next morning Clark wakes up to the feeling of a warm body holding him from behind and he grins. He looks at the alarm clock to see it's almost ten in the morning. Lex nuzzles Clark's neck and moans slightly. Clark smiles and grinds his rear into Lex's groin. Lex groans louder and starts kissing Clark's neck and back. Clark grins even wider and rolls over and is surprised when Lex doesn't wake up. He starts to nibble of Lex's ear and whispers, "Time to get up, we still have to go to the farm and do a few chores before we can eat and open gifts." He reaches down at the same time and starts teasing Lex.
Lex's eyes fly open and he gasps. He leans into Clark and starts kissing him possessively.
Thirty minutes later the two men are getting showered and dressed. They go to the farm and return fifteen minutes later. They meet Martha and Jonathan in the morning room for brunch. They make small talk as they eat. The men gushing over the wonderful food that Martha's made since Lex gave his staff the week off with pay for the holidays. They make their way shortly after that to the game room to exchange gifts.
Martha and Jonathan each hand a package to Clark and Lex and receive one from Clark and Lex. All four gasp.
Lex opens his box to find all kinds of pictures of his mother. He was shocked since his father had destroyed everyone they had after she died. He looks to the Kents and asks, "How?" The tears just roll unnoticed down his cheeks.
"We contacted everyone that knew your mother and asked them for any picture they had." Replies Jonathan. Lex gets up and hugs both and returns to his seat to see what Clark received and what they thought of their gifts.
Clark opens his package to find the key to his ship, and a few items like the necklace from the cave in the box. He looks to his parents for answers.
"When we talked to our father he told us of a few things he left for you here, we hunted for them and found them. The largest item is a holographic photo album, it will show pictures that were stored in it. It contains photos of your home world. The others are like the necklace and contain memories that your mother and father both had." Martha says. Clark nods and starts to weep quietly. He rushes to his parents and cries into his mother's lap, while his father rubs his back. Lex smile he knows that Clark has always wondered of his home world and family, the crystals of his parents help but this will give him a feeling of their world.
Clark returns to his seat next to Lex and smiles and watches as his parents open their gifts. Martha and Jonathan gasp when they open their boxes. Martha gasps when she pulls out a picture of a kitchen and looks at her two boys. Clark and Lex smile.
"We went into together and decided to have your kitchen remodeled and updated so that you can make your desserts easier." Lex remarks smiling at the woman who has become a second mother to him. She has tears in her eyes and hugs the two boys to her. She than leans over towards her husband and watches for his reaction to his gift.
Jonathan open his gift to find a key ring with several keys attached. He looks at the two younger men.
"The keys are for your new tractor, truck and other new update farm equipment." Clark says with a smirk. Jonathan is shocked for a moment and gives the boys a watery smile and hugs them. The four take a few minutes to calm down before they exchange gifts between the two couples. Martha is the first to open her small box from Jonathan and gasps when she finds a diamond ring. Jonathan takes the ring and slides it up Martha's ring finger and he asks.
"Will you do me the honor of marrying me again?"
"Yes!" She cries and kisses him. Clark and Lex exchange looks and smile. They grab each others hands and sigh. Jonathan opens his gift next to find his parents wedding rings and his father's old pocket watch. He looks at Martha with questions and tears in his eyes.
"Where did you find these? I've been trying to find them for years." He asks with a voice full of sadness.
"I had Clark and Lex help me look for them last week and we found them in a small cardboard box in the attic. I tried for a few weeks before that to find them." she replies with a smile. He hugs and kisses her. They look to Clark and Lex to see what they bought each other.
Clark opens his gift to find a set of keys. He looks to Lex and Lex motions for the others to follow him. The walk out to the garage and Lex motions to the new Porsche Cayenne S SUV. It's fully loaded with a leather interior. Lex motions for you to open the trunk and you do to find a brand new camera and everything you'll need to develop the film. Clark laughs and hugs Lex. They all grab things from the trunk and carry them into the castle and back into the game room.
"I've even set up a room for you to use as a dark room." Lex replies which gets him another hug. They sit back down and watch as Lex opens the small box. He gasps and looks to Clark with tears in his eyes.
"How did you get this?" He asks incredulously. He pulls the framed photo of lilies out and shows it to everyone.
"You said that the painting wasn't for sale because the artist painted it someone special. I know someone that knows the artist and they asked for him to take that photo and paint that picture for you." Clark replies with a smile. Lex slams into Clark and sobs into his shoulder, he can't believe he is so fortunate to have these people in his life. He just keeps repeating thank you over and over into Clark's shoulder. As soon as Lex calms down Clark hands him the unwrapped painting.
Lex shows the shows the painting to the Kents and they gasp. The painting looks like an exact copy of the photo. It looks like you could just reach out and touch one of the lilies sitting in the vase. Martha is the first to speak.
"The artist must be very talented. I've never seen a painting look so lifelike." She almost whispers in awe. Jonathan shakes his head in agreement.
"That's why his work is so wanted." Replies Lex. All the while Clark is nodding and agreeing to everything being said. They sit there on the floor and chat for a hour before going to their rooms to change for dinner.
That night after dinner Lex decides to thank Clark more appropriately and they make love into the night.
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Finally it time for the exhibition. Martha and Jonathan are going to stay at the castle till the next day. Clark calls in a hair dresser and make-up artist to do his mother's make-up. The three men are waiting in the game room for Martha when the door opens and she walks in. They all gasp. She is wearing the black dress, her make-up is light and her hair is swept up into a French twist with small curls framing her face. Jonathan rushes to her side and kisses her lightly. The leave shortly after that for the exhibition.
They arrive at the gallery twenty minutes till seven, which is when the doors are to open. Lex leads the Kents to the front of the line and show the man at the door their tickets. The four are ushered in the door. They see that there are only a few people there and start to talk amongst themselves.
"I heard in class right before the start of the holidays that the artist is going to unveil to paintings and pictures that no one knows is about." States Clark. The others' shake their head that they didn't know that. The owner of the gallery walks over.
"Hi, are any of you Clark Kent?" He asks.
"I am." Replies Clark. The owner smiles and hands Clark a small piece of paper. The paper says for him to call Sal when he gets to the gallery.
"Who is Sal?" Asks a jealous sounding Lex. Clark snickers before he says, "Sally is the one who got me the tickets. She must have found out something on the Musha Tenshi for me. She's a lot like Chloe that she can out just about anything on someone. I'm going to go and call her."
Clark walks to the owner and talks to him for a second before he is shown out of the room. He returns a few minutes later with a huge smile on his face.
"What are you so happy about?" Asks his father.
"Sal, said she would be here at nine tonight to introduce Musha Tenshi." He replies. Lex gasps. He is finally going to get to meet the person that paints and takes the photos he loves. The doors open and the rooms start to fill with people. Clark and Lex start to take his parents around and mingle.
An older, red haired woman approaches Clark about fifteen minutes to nine. Lex raises his eyebrow. The woman looks to be in her early fifties. She kisses both of Clark's cheeks and introduces everyone to her husband, Stan. At nine Sal turns to Clark.
"Come with me, Musha Tenshi wants the person who bought Lilies to come and help unveil the two new paintings and photos." She says with a huge smile on her lips and in her eyes. Clark nods and kisses Lex on the cheek. They disappear into the crowd. Lex ushers the Kents to the front and they watch as Sal walks onto the stage from behind a huge curtain and talks into the microphone.
"I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight. I am Sally Thornton, the manager for Musha Tenshi. Tonight besides the paintings and photos displayed tonight the artist has two pieces that he is going to unveil. I'll let him tell you about them. Here he is Musha Tenshi."
A man in a tux with a red mask around his eyes walk onto the stage and starts to talk.
"Thank you, Sal. I would also like to thank everyone for coming tonight. The two paintings that are to be revealed are close to my heart. They will soon be hanging in my home." He pulls a remote from his pocket and the curtains fall. The audience gasps. The first painting and photo are of a sleeping Lex. There is a fine layer of sweat over his body and he is tangled in the silk sheets on the bed. The expression on his face is one of peace, love and happiness.
The second is a picture Martha, Jonathan, and Lex talking in front of a fire. Lex and Jonathan are each holding a long clear crystal in one of their hands. The pictures talk of love and family. The man on the stage removes his mask and everyone gasps, because before them stands Clark Kent. Lex rushes to the stage and hugs Clark.
"Why didn't you tell me? That's how you got the pictures for Christmas and the invitations?" He asks.
"Yes, once my teacher saw how good I was at photography he put me in the advanced classes. I was walking by the art department with a photo I had taken of the ocean and decided to try and paint it. An hour later the painting was finished and the man over the art department walked in. He saw the painting and contacted Sal. She had me do a few more paintings and I came up with the name and then she set up my first show. It was such a success that I have to do a couple paintings a day."
He takes a breathe before he continues. "I remembered you said that your mother loved lilies and that gave me the idea. The picture of you and my parents was taken a week after we got the crystals of my real parents. The picture of you in bed was the first night we made love. I woke up to go get something to drink and when I came back that is how you looked. I grabbed my digital camera and shot the photo. You aren't mad at me are you?"
Lex leans into Clark and kisses him. "Does that answer your question?" Clark sighs and kisses Lex again with the knowledge that everything is fine between them.
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The next one shot will be when Clark becomes Superman but does Lex also get a superhero alter-ego? That question will be answered in the next chapter.