Chapter 2 - A Rational Conversation

Martha was up before Clark was, but truth be told, she hadn't slept much the night before. When she wasn't feeling the effects of the trauma she'd experienced thanks to the hostage situation the day before, her mind kept going over the things Clark had said about Lex.

Martha had grown up reading about the Luthors in newspapers and tabloids, and she understood Jonathan's leeriness. Like her husband, she'd been more than a little suspicious when Lex suddenly became a big part of their lives, giving inappropriately inexpensive gifts to Clark and offering himself as an investor on the farm.

But Lex had won her respect when he'd stood down Earl Jenkins's gun at the plant, and he'd earned her gratitude when he saved Jonathan's life, as well as when he bought them the farm. Over the years, Clark had come home telling quite a few stories about things Lex had done. Jonathan always managed to twist it to minimize any good Lex had done, but with the exception of a few bad situations, Martha was usually impressed by the young man. The claims Clark had made the day before just didn't fit.

Clark came down the stairs as Martha was putting away her dishes from breakfast. She could tell by the puffiness around his eyes that he hadn't slept much. She hated having been the cause of that, but she was also glad to see that her words were having an effect on him. "Morning, sweetheart."

"Morning." He grabbed a box of cereal from the cupboard and the milk from the fridge, and she handed him a bowl and spoon.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked.

He plunked down at the table and poured the milk and cereal into the bowl. "Haven't slept well since I lost my powers."

She hummed softly and sat down across from him. "Your father's out working on the barn, but he said if you needed some extra time to rest, you should take it. We know it's a lot for you to get used to."

He mixed around the cereal in the bowl with his spoon for awhile, but didn't eat it. Finally, he looked up at her. "Are you still upset with me?"

"I didn't say I was upset. I said I was—"

"I know." He looked away. "Are you still . . ."

She sighed—that word had really hurt him, enough that he didn't want to use it even now. "A little, yeah. I guess I just don't understand what happened."

"Lex betrayed us."

"I don't understand how you know that."

"Mom . . . you just have to trust me on this one. You haven't been around him lately, you don't know what he's like. He's changed."

"Well, maybe I should go talk to him."

"Fine. Go over there and try to reason with him. Then you'll see how he's acting, and you'll understand."

"Maybe we should both go."

Clark shrugged. "He's just gonna blow us off."

"Well, we'll find out." She went over to grab her keys and jacket. "Let's go."

He put down his spoon. "Wait, now?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Why wait?"

"Well . . . it's early. He's probably busy."

"You didn't seem to mind whether he was busy when you went over there to beat him up."

"That was different!"

"Yes, it was. We're going to have a nice, rational, adult conversation."

Clark scoffed. "You don't know Lex."

"Let's go. Unless you want to finish your cereal first?"

Clark grumbled, but dumped the whole contents of his bowl into the sink, put the milk back in the fridge, and followed her out to the truck.

Neither of them spoke during the ride over to the mansion. The security guard at the front gate had to call Lex to confirm it was okay to let them in, but then he took them up to the study, where Lex was already up and working at his computer at his desk.

Martha decided she would need to model for Clark how a conversation should take place. "Good morning, Lex. Sorry to bother you so early."

Lex closed his laptop and came around to the front of his desk, and for the first time since they'd arrived, Martha was able to get a good look at him. There were deep purple circles under each eye, and the bridge of his nose was bruised and slightly swollen. When he stepped toward them, he limped slightly. Clark's split lip was nothing—it wasn't even noticeable now.

"No worries at all, Mrs. Kent," Lex said. "Morning, Clark. It's good to see you."

Clark just glared at him.

Martha took a deep breath. "How are you feeling?"

"Ah, I've had worse. How are you? I heard about what happened at the farm, is everyone okay?"

"We're all fine. Thank you for asking." She wondered if Lex had asked Clark the same thing. "How is your father doing?"

"It's been tough, but I'm sure he'll pull through." Lex looked back and forth between Martha and Clark. "I suppose you're here to talk about yesterday?"

Martha nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to hear your side of the story, because—"

"We want the truth, you coward." Clark took a step toward Lex.

Lex flinched. Visibly.

Martha's eyes widened. "Um, I'm ashamed that I'm having to say this, but . . . Lex, you have my word that if my son hits you during this conversation, other than in self defense, he will be grounded for a month. We're here to talk."

Both Lex and Clark blushed furiously. Lex stammered, "Th-that won't be necessary, Mrs. Kent."

"You're not his mother, young man. It's not up to you to decide what's necessary for my son."

"He hit me, too," Clark muttered.

Martha nodded. "Fine. Lex, if you hit my son outside of self defense, Jonathan and I will press charges."

Lex flushed an even deeper red, but he swallowed and straightened up. "About yesterday . . . Clark, you were right about my reasons for checking the security footage. I did suspect you were keeping secrets, and I was going behind your back to try to figure them out. I've told you before that—" his eyes flicked toward Martha, then back at Clark— "that there's a darkness inside of me, and I'm ashamed to say I haven't exactly been successful at keeping my inner demons at bay. But I should never have suspected you of lying to me. You, ah . . . you proved me wrong. I'm sorry."

Martha's brow furrowed. "Lex, I would expect—"

"Nice try, Lex," Clark said. "Now tell us the whole story, about how you're the real reason why those psychos escaped and came after my family."

Martha shot Clark a look—he knew better than to interrupt his mother, and now he'd done it twice. "As I was saying. Lex, I would expect you to check the security cameras after your lab was broken into. I don't think that's what Clark is upset about."

"Forgive me, Mrs. Kent, but I'm not clear on what exactly what the accusations are. Clark, I was, uh . . . a little distracted while you were spelling them out."

"Well, Clark told me—"

"You let those psychos escape from Belle Reve and made a deal with them to threaten my family so I'd have to break into your lab to steal the meteor rock serum!"

That was the third time. "Please excuse us for a moment, Lex. I need a word alone with my son."

"Of course."

Martha took Clark by the arm and walked him out into the hall.

"See? I told you he'd be like this."

She took his ear between her finger and thumb, careful not to pinch too hard—he still didn't have his powers, and she didn't want to hurt him. "Clark Jerome Kent, I love you more than life itself, but if you interrupt me again, so help me, I will drive you home and put your nose in a corner."

He winced. "Mom! I'm eighteen!"

"My point exactly. Let me know when you're ready to have an adult conversation, and we'll go back in."

"Why are you taking his side?"

"Sweetheart, we haven't even heard his side yet."

His nostrils flared. "Fine. I'll listen."

Martha let go of his ear, and he rubbed it as they walked back into the study. She counted to ten in her head as they walked back, and she gave Lex a curt smile. "I'm not sure where we left off."

"Clark was saying I made a deal with the escaped Belle Reve inmates? I don't understand, Clark, did they say something about me?"

"No," Clark said. "You were at Belle Reve the day they escaped."

"I'm there most days, checking in on my father. If you'd like to see the security tapes at Belle Reve . . . ah, I'm not sure it's strictly allowed, but I might be able to pull a few strings, if it would set your mind at ease. And, ah, if that doesn't work out, I might be able to get you in to visit the inmates. If I did manipulate them somehow, I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you all about it."

Clark just stared at him, jaw dropped.

"But Clark . . . you're my best friend. I would never do something that would endanger you or your family. No matter how curious I am. I've told you before that you're like a brother to me, and that I haven't felt Julian's loss nearly as much since we've been friends. None of that's changed."

"I, uh . . ." Clark grimaced.

Martha waited for Clark to continue, hopefully to reciprocate in some way. When it was clear he wasn't going to say anything, she stepped in. "I'm . . . so sorry about your injuries, Lex. The Kents have an old family recipe for an herbal tea that relieves pain. We usually use it for muscle soreness, but I'm sure it would help with, um . . ."

"That would be great, Mrs. Kent."

"Great. I'll have Clark bring you a thermos at lunchtime." She turned to her son. "Clark?"

Clark sighed. "Sorry, Lex."

"Accepted, but not necessary, Clark. I'm only hoping you'll forgive me for the part I played in this. Maybe, uh . . . maybe later, we can talk things out a little more. I'd love to rebuild our friendship." He held out a hand for Clark to shake.

Clark shook his hand, but he only held eye contact with Lex for a couple of seconds before dropping his gaze.

Martha put a hand on his back. "Go wait for me in the truck, sweetheart?"

Clark nodded and left the study.

Lex watched him, concern in his eyes, before Martha cleared her throat. His eyes snapped back to her.

She smiled gently. "I know you see him like a brother, Lex, but he might be a little young to be your best friend."

"There aren't exactly any other contenders."

Something about the way he said it chilled her. She had to resist the urge to hug him.

"I appreciate you coming by, Mrs. Kent, but you didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did. He's my son, and you've been a good mentor to him. I wouldn't want him to lose you."

"I'm not sure he'll want to . . . ah . . ."

She glanced back at the direction Clark had gone and smiled. "He's a teenager. He's embarrassed. But he'll get over it."

Lex nodded, but his eyebrows were still knitted together.

"Give him a little time." Martha squeezed his arm. "He'll come around."

"Mrs. Kent . . . I was serious about that darkness inside of me. I'm not sure I'm the kind of person you want to encourage your son to be around."

"Everyone has a dark side."

"Mine is different."

"Well, if that's true, you've done well fighting it so far. I expect you to keep up the fight, young man."

Lex took a deep breath, straightening up a little and nodding. "I will."

"Good." She gave him her best mom-stare. "Now, you take care of yourself."

"You too. And thank you, Mrs. Kent."

She patted his shoulder a couple of times before following Clark out to the truck.

Clark was already sitting in the passenger's seat, his brow furrowed. She slid into the driver's side, and his head dropped a little.

"Sorry, Mom," he whispered, then even softer: "You were right."

She gently reached over and took his broad hand in both of her own. His hands had always been too smooth for the son of a farmer. That would change if he didn't regain his powers, but she had a feeling he would, sooner or later. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"Why?"

"Because admitting it when you're wrong is hard. It's not something Kents usually do."

He was quiet for a moment before answering. "If I don't, I lose my best friend."

Martha squeezed his hand, leaned over to kiss his cheek, and drove them home.

A/N: Possibly the most fun I've ever had writing a fanfic. Please let me know your thoughts! I don't have any immediate plans to continue this storyline, so if you'd like to see more in this vein, let me know. (That is, specifically, if you want to see more of Martha's mediation through the rift. Check out "If He Knew" for a long-term friendship fic between Clark and Lex, "If She Looked Over" for sweet maternal interactions between Lex and Martha culminating in a familial bond, and "How to Be a Friend" or "Enmity" for a darker take on Clark's termination of his friendship with Lex.)