Well! This is a more rapid update than normal! I don't think I'll be able to keep up *quite* this pace since I'm working on a few other fics atm, but please enjoy! (Hope you don't mind a chapter of convos.)

Thank you princessnefertankh for the beta!

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Peyton insisted on driving Lex's car back, not because she feared his driving, but because he'd just survived a life threatening experience, again, and who was to say he didn't have a concussion of his own this time? The paramedics might have given him a clean bill of health, disregarding his scratches and bruises, but Peyton didn't want to take any chances. And it felt weird to have him drive. As if none of what just happened really mattered and things were normal.

Plus it gave her an excuse to look anywhere else while she figured out what to do about the Lionel situation.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Lex answered again. "I'm alright. If Clark hadn't been there maybe I wouldn't be, but he was. The scariest part of today was my father promising to visit again."

Peyton swallowed.

"We should get all the families a floral arrangement, or something." She suggested. "To try and expound on your statement that employees of Luthorcorp are family. It might help smooth over any hostilities. And it's a nice thing to do."

Lex's gaze burned into the side of her face and he didn't respond for a beat too long.

"That sounds like a good idea. I wonder what flower means 'sorry your kid got involved in a hostage situation'."

"Well everyone made it out, so let's not do lilies."

"Are you feeling okay?"

Peyton didn't wince. She knew she was acting tense and Lex was observant enough to notice. But the last thing she wanted to bring up tonight after everything was the fact that she'd all but told his dad that they were married.

"I can't de-escalate as fast as you can," she said. After a moment of silent debate, she decided to at least drop the first half of the problem.

"And your dad might have seen me talking to the Sullivans."

Lex sank back with a groan and rubbed at his face, hissing when he pulled on his cuts. Peyton clenched the steering wheel and shot him a look before pulling her foot off the gas. They were about to cross the bridge.

"I'm sorry. But I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I didn't realize he was close by."

"No." Lex sighed. "He was eventually going to notice anyway. To be honest, I think he was already suspicious that something was different. I just hoped we could delay it a bit longer."

He was going to be thrilled when he found out she'd done more than just talk in front of him.

"I guess I don't fully understand what the issue is, besides his judgment. It's not like his first thought is going to be that I'm from another universe."

"Not his first thought, no." Lex agreed. "But having my dad's interest is never a good thing. And we learned today that he's willing to hide and lie about testing facilities in his company. So I'm reluctant to put anything past him."

"That's fair. When- when is he supposed to come by?"

Lex grimaced.

"Tomorrow, I think. Given how angry he looked, I don't think he'll put off his visit."

She had one night to figure out what to do. To figure out how she was going to explain what in the world had compelled her to make such a claim. Great.

They arrived back at the manor and Peyton rushed around as Lex exited the car. He watched her with amusement.

"You do realize I wasn't mortally wounded or otherwise incapacitated, right?"

She gave him a glare.

"I don't know if I trust you'd admit it if you were."

Lex grinned.

His walk was steady as he entered the main office so she wasn't worried he'd fall over, and Peyton only made a detour to grab a first aid kit. He was already at the mini bar when she came back in and Peyton shooed him away with an irritated huff.

"I can pour my own drink," Lex argued.

"Can you just let me do this? Sit down; you've had quite the day and you need to rest."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and sat down with a bemused smile.

"Yes dear."

Peyton's heart thudded in alarm and she held up her pointer finger in warning but didn't dare turn around. She grabbed the bottle of brandy he'd been reaching for and poured a finger into one of his crystal glasses. She paused, then poured another finger.

With the drink and first aid kit, she sat in front of him on the coffee table and handed him the glass. He accepted it with a quiet thanks and nodded at the kit.

"I was already looked over by the paramedics."

"I know. And I also know that you only let them check you weren't dying then declined any further treatment. Now please."

He took a sip of his drink and scooted to the edge of the couch so she could more easily reach him. The first aid kit snapped open with a sharp crack and Peyton busied herself with locating a little bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball. She wet one and took a breath before finally looking up at Lex.

"You ready? It might sting a little."

"I've had worse."

Unlike earlier, Peyton didn't have the same rush of adrenaline to dull her sensibilities and she hesitated before tentatively holding his face to dab at the cuts on his forehead. Lex winced.

"Ow."

"Oh, shhh. You've had worse."

A clock ticked on a shelf behind her accentuating the following silence. Lex remained absolutely still under her care and she wondered if he'd ever had anyone to bother taking care of him before. The way he looked at her. It was near reverence and it made her feel fluttery and off center.

"See," she said, displaying the cotton ball. It was gray with ash. "That's an instant infection."

"Yeah? That your professional opinion?"

"You mock, but I have two rowdy little brothers. I know an infection in the making when I see one."

"Mhm."

She grabbed a fresh cotton ball and angled his face to clean the cut on his cheek. If he had to catch his breath a little, she chalked it up to the sting.

It was truly a miracle that he only had the few cuts that he did. That he was able to walk away at all.

"I'm just going to say one more thing and then I promise I won't bring it up anymore." Peyton hedged. Lex pegged her with a prompting look.

"It's okay if you're rattled by today." She continued. "It was a traumatic situation and if you need time to process it, that doesn't make you weak."

Lex had the decency to not brush off her statement immediately with pacifying platitudes.

"There was at least one moment I was sure I was going to die." He admitted. There was a slight inflection to his voice before he cleared his throat. "But if there's anything I've learned from my near death experiences so far, it's that fate has other plans for me."

Peyton hummed lightly as she dabbed one last time at his cheek.

"That is very poetic," she said. "I don't know if I expected you to be a guy that bought into the idea of things like fate."

"Because I seem too practical?"

"Because you seem like someone who wouldn't appreciate being dictated to."

"Whether I like something or not doesn't change the truth of it."

Peyton collected the used materials and stood with a short laugh.

"Actually, you know what, I should have expected it; that's on me. You're a romantic. You liked that comic hero story way too much not to be."

Lex grabbed his drink and leaned back into the couch as he watched her with a sly smile.

"Someone here has to be. And if you purposely mispronounce Devilicus again-"

"I won't when you're injured." Peyton said with a grin; she lifted three fingers. "Scout's honor."

She cast one last mischievous grin back at him as she left and Lex laughed into his drink.

[]

Later, when they both retired for the evening, Peyton kept her bedside lamp on and paced. Her bare feet silently padded across the plush rug in the middle of the room and she paused every once in a while to huff and dig her toes into the thick fabric.

She needed to figure out how she was going to go about explaining her telling Lionel they were married. Implying. Implying they were married. Of course, she could just say it. Be blunt, to the point. But that would make her look ridiculous and impulsively petty, and she was desperate to find some spin. Perhaps she could intercept Lionel before he got to Lex. Play it off as her being thrilled that she could rile him up. That it was hysterical that he actually believed her. But most likely Lionel would mention something to Lex regardless of how she played it.

Peyton paused and ran her hands over the back of her neck.

She had to tell Lex. In the morning. The last thing he needed to worry about after nearly dying was a thoughtless comment she made to his dad. She'd bring up that she forgot to mention the interaction in the chaos of the day and they'd come up with some excuse to backpedal or tell him it was none of his business. Though Lionel accepting the latter answer seemed less than likely.

Peyton flopped face first into her bed with a pathetic groan.

They'd figure something out. In the morning.

[]

Peyton trotted down the wooden staircase with her mind torn between the hunt for coffee and the knowledge that in the next twenty minutes she'd have to tell Lex. She wasn't sure if his anger or amusement would be worse.

However, after she came down the last step, she caught the sound of voices coming from the office. Her heart dropped when she registered that both voices were male.

"No," she murmured to herself. "No, no, no. He can't be here already!"

The voices grew in clarity the closer to the closed double doors she got, and Peyton paused right outside to get a gage on the situation before barging in.

"You lied to me about the plant you sent me to manage. You nearly got me killed."

"You did that to yourself, Lex. You're the one who wanted to play the hero."

"There were students in danger. You're so concerned about the bottom line, imagine how the plant going up with kids inside would look to investors."

"Oh, Lex, don't pretend with me that you're taking this post seriously."

The blood in her veins rushed through her limbs and she took a breath. The setup for the marriage conversation was already a disaster. Wonderful.

She debated continuing on for coffee. Clearly she hadn't been invited to their current conversation, and perhaps if she stayed out of sight she'd also stay out of Lionel's mind.

But she needed to wrangle control of the conversation before it spiraled beyond her reach. Before she or Lex looked like an idiot.

"I'm not taking this seriously?" Lex scoffed. "Against all evidence to the contrary, apparently. But you always were focused on the failures, weren't you?"

"Maybe I'd believe you if that girl-"

Heat sparked in her chest and Peyton opened the office door. The conversation went silent.

Lionel turned at the sound of the door and his eyes locked on her, and she looked past him to Lex. He remained stoic, but tilted his head marginally and Peyton read it as a warning. It was too bad Lionel was staring directly at her and she couldn't reciprocate.

"Speak of the devil." Lionel said snidely.

Peyton smiled stiffly at Lionel and dipped her head giving the implication of a courtesy.

"Nice to see you too, Lionel. Lex," she said, moving past his father, "you didn't tell me your dad was here already."

Lex watched her approach warily as he swirled a glass filled with water; he knew something was off.

"He came earlier than I anticipated." He replied carefully.

"You really do have impeccable timing Miss Woods; I was about to address this elephant in the room."

"And what would that be, dad?"

Lex rolled his eyes and raised his glass to his mouth.

"The claim Miss Woods made about both of you being married without notifying the Woods' or myself."

Peyton grimaced. Lex lurched forward and choked on his water. He coughed and Lionel looked proud of himself.

"You did what?"

So she would have to go the haughty jokester route if she wanted to avoid being completely humiliated. Peyton took a breath.

"Look, I'm sorry, I was having-"

"You see, Lex." Lionel steamrolled over her. "She's been nothing but manipulative from the beginning. Though even I've doubted her level of acting, I must admit."

He eyed her again, his expression critical. If Lex weren't present, she wondered how much more he'd say to her about her switch in demeanor.

Peyton turned more towards Lex and tried to send a message with just a look. His own expression was thoughtful, but beyond that it was hard to tell. There wasn't the immense scorn or amusement she was torn between expecting.

"He said I was stringing you along and I didn't think-"

Lex sat his glass down on his desk with a clink and Peyton flinched.

"Hey, it's okay." He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "He was bound to find out eventually."

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

Peyton blinked. Lionel straightened up and a deep crease settled between his brows.

"Lex, this isn't funny. The joke is over."

"Who's joking, dad?"

Lex pulled her even closer and Peyton went with it when he shifted his arm over her shoulders. She wrapped one arm around his waist and stamped down on her internal screaming.

Were they doing this? They were actually doing this.

"Impossible," Lionel decided. "I would have known."

"Because you're keeping tabs on me every moment of the day?"

Lionel leaned back, evaluating, and Lex didn't break his gaze. It was another game of chicken between them and despite the fact that they were lying, Peyton was loathe for Lionel to win. She put her other hand on Lex's chest and looked up at him, eyes melancholy.

"The certificates were in the car," she said. "We can't even show him."

"Convenient," said Lionel dryly.

Peyton gave him a sardonic look.

"Exactly my thoughts as we careened over the side of that bridge."

Mentioning the certificates, plural, gave them all an out. If you didn't submit your marriage certificate within a certain number of days it became void, so, despite their lying, this situation didn't have to blow up any bigger or force Lex into a corner. Lionel, whether he fully believed them or not, could harp on them for this stunt and move one without losing face.

Lionel pulled out his flip phone.

"Do your parents know about this?" He asked. "After all our years of friendship, this would be quite the insult. No contracts or notice. I'd find that very offensive."

Peyton tensed and Lex rolled his eyes again.

"Do you really think Merrill would be able to keep quiet if she knew?"

But Lionel kept his eyes on Peyton.

"Surely, with you being her only child, she ought to know."

Peyton didn't know how to respond. Demanding he not tell her parents was below her. She wouldn't beg. But if he mentioned this within hearing range of the woman who was her mother, it would likely set off a series of events none of them would be able to control. He had to know that.

Lionel pressed call and Peyton realized he was just as petty as she was.

Lex didn't object either as Lionel held the phone to his ear. He wasn't arguing on behalf of anything, really, and Peyton turned more fully into him while trying to maintain that she didn't care about the conversation about to happen.

"We gotta say something now," she murmured while pretending to rest her chin on his chest. "Or things are going to get complicated."

Lex leaned down close enough to her face to kiss her nose if he wanted.

"It's a little too late to avoid 'complicated'."

Her face puckered.

"I'm sorry."

There was a stagnant pause as Lionel waited and then his eyes sharpened as someone picked up.

"Merrill, it's Lionel. Well now, I'm not sure if this is business or not. I'm calling for clarification on an important matter, I'm afraid. Are you or are you not aware that our children are claiming to be married?"

A shriek erupted from Lionel's phone and everyone winced.

"I would hope," continued Lionel, "that I am owed a bit more respect if you did know. There was no discussion, no contract. I would hate to have to bring up-"

Merrill's tone dropped back down so it was no longer audible and by the expectant look on Lionel's face she seemed to be spouting rapidfire reassurances.

"No, I rather think you wouldn't. Thank you, Merrill. I'll let her know you'll be in touch."

The click of Lionel's phone snapping shut accentuated the end of their short conversation. Lex threw his other arm over her shoulder as well so that she was essentially being hugged by him, and he tsked in a blatant show of being unbothered.

"For someone who's been so avidly against our relationship, it's funny that you give that information to the one person who wants to make sure we stay together."

"Perhaps you need a different kind of push." Lionel relented. "Go ahead and play your game, son; I'm tired of trying to protect you from yourself. We'll see how long this stunt lasts when it's no longer considered rebellious."

"The wise warrior avoids the battle." Lex said. "A decent strategy."

"This isn't a battle, Lex."

"Isn't everything? Isn't that what you taught me?"

It was another look at their dynamic built on years of interactions, of instruction. Peyton was pretty sure Lex quoted from The Art of War, and she didn't believe that was the best text to reference when speaking with family.

"Lex," she interrupted in a bid to steer the conversation away from battles, "did we just get your dad's blessing?"

He hummed.

"I think it's the closest to his blessing we'll ever get."

Lionel could not stand her. That much was clear from the way he stared at her with disdain. Disdain mixed with a new calculation.

"I underestimated you, Miss Woods,'' he said slowly. "I find your shift in… personality unsettling; but I hope you realize with this you've exposed your hand."

"I never had a play to expose, Mr. Luthor."

"If that's true, I find that even more concerning."

Lex grew tense under her touch and she stopped herself from looking up at him to try and see why. Lionel gave them a sharp half smile and took a step back.

"I'll be in Smallville for the next few days to assist you with this clean up. Though I'm sure we'll be seeing more than enough of each other in the near future for…. wedding preparations, right?"

"If you insist on being part of them." Lex said. "I suspect Merrill will be more than happy to take the reins on planning."

They both silently acknowledged that neither were backing down in this game of chicken, and Lionel's eyes flashed.

"Then I'll leave you both to… discuss."

He left the room and neither Peyton nor Lex moved until they heard the front door close. Peyton pulled away and Lex moved his arms back to let her free. With Lionel gone the humiliation finally overpowered the pettiness and Peyton dragged her fingers through her hair with a groan.

"What did we just do?"

"We?" Lex said with a laugh. "You started this. You-" He choked back a full bodied laugh as he tried to continue on. Cleared his throat. "You told him we were-"

He couldn't control himself anymore and he devolved into a laughing fit right in front of her. Peyton bit the inside of her cheek to maintain her composure and glowered.

"Okay, yes, it was initially my fault; but you didn't help!"

"You- who didn't even want to date me."

"Hey, don't say it like that. That was not because of who you are, and you know it."

Lex shot her an amused grin.

"So you do want to date me?"

Peyton growled.

"Ugh! We're getting off topic. Do you know how much trouble this is going to be to get out of now? Your dad is going to be so smug-"

"You anticipate calling your mom off now that she's smelled blood?"

It was still strange to hear her referred to as "her mother", but if Peyton was going to be stuck in their world for any length of time she supposed she had to get used to it.

"You can't be serious. We can, I don't know, tell her we changed our minds."

Lex snorted.

"Good luck with that. Your mother has wanted us permanently bound for years."

"She's wanted us together since she tossed me in that conference room to play with you, but she's been disappointed this long."

"It'll be different if she thinks we were already married and just lost the paperwork. She's going to jump on that. She's going to wonder what suddenly changed your mind."

He wasn't joking. Peyton couldn't begin to understand his thought process on this debacle. They were talking about marriage. She wasn't who anyone thought she was and they hadn't ever actually dated.

She took a deep breath exhaled as she swept her hands in front of her as if assisting the air out of her lungs.

"This is a mess I started; I'll tell her. And your dad. But I'm not going to force you into a marriage because I said something stupid."

"Who said you were forcing me?"

Peyton frowned in confusion.

"I don't know, maybe the fact that I did this in a moment of spite while you weren't around to object?"

"If I felt forced, I'd have told my dad he was stupid for believing what was obviously a ploy to rile him up."

Peyton pressed her hands together as if in prayer and pointed them at Lex.

"Lex, we're talking about marriage. Not dating or living in the same mansion out of wedlock or even staging a prolonged engagement. And I take marriage seriously. It's not something I'd feel comfortable jumping into and out of like a cheap rental contract."

"I take it seriously too."

There was something like a challenge in his eyes; like he was daring her to insult him by doubting his sincerity. She already learned that his loyalty ran deep after he formed an attachment, but she didn't exactly expect it to go this far. Not when it might demand so much from him.

"Okay." She said, tone blunt. "This isn't an idea we've even entertained, so I don't know where either of us stand. Even if the marriage were a farce, I wouldn't-" She paused, trying to sort her thoughts out. "I guess I don't see marriage as fake. You either are or you aren't. And I couldn't expect you to fully commit in a way I'd expect when we're not-"

She didn't know what they weren't. Not fiancées, that was for sure. Peyton wasn't too far in denial to lie about being fond of him, because despite her sense of caution she could acknowledge she felt a pull towards Lex. He was kind and generous, and he had a sense of humor. But she wasn't someone her family would consider spontaneous. She didn't generally jump on the whim of an emotion, contrary to her word vomit that got them into this mess. Certainly, at least, not for relationships or marriage.

Lex eyed her in her hesitation as he considered her argument.

"You expect," he said slowly, "that I'd be dissatisfied if you wanted to maintain our relationship as it currently sits because you're not ready for more. And due to that, you think I'd want to look elsewhere for… affection and that regardless of how valid or invalid you saw the marriage, you wouldn't like that. Am I right?"

Peyton gnawed in the inside of her mouth because that was exactly one aspect of her trepidation, but she didn't quite want to say it so blatantly. Even if Lex didn't know her as well as she thought he should for something like marriage, it still felt like he could read her all too clearly.

Lex sighed.

"You don't know this," he started as he moved towards the fireplace, "but I've only even attempted two relationships while you were gone." He rested one arm on the mantle and looked at her over his shoulder, his expression self depreciating.

"We might have only been fake dating as a cover when we were teens, but we never officially broke up and trying to move on always felt like a betrayal."

Peyton's heart quickened even as her tone lowered.

"Lex. You know I appreciate everything you did, but I never expected-"

"I know you didn't. I'm just letting you know if you're worried about my level of self control, I like to think it's something I excel at."

She looked away as a moment of quiet settled. Her heart wasn't slowing down the longer this conversation continued. Because they were debating this. It was a discussion. And in all good respect she ought to have just bluntly said that it wasn't happening, and yet she was continuing to entertain it. And she wasn't sure why.

Part of her wished she could probe into his mind. To figure out why he seemed to be so willing to jump headfirst into something as huge as lifelong commitment all for a lie. She wished she could understand why he was so willing to self sacrifice on her behalf. Maybe it would clear things up for her. Maybe it'd make things worse.

"Need I remind you that I'm trying to get home?" She said in lieu of a direct answer. "What happens when they figure this out and I leave?"

"If that happened, we'd figure it out then. But you haven't even started any sort of study yet, and I doubt it would be a quick fix. Besides, this might be the best way to protect you while you're here."
"Protect me?"

Lex turned back towards her.

"My dad knows something. He at least knows that you're obviously different, and he's admittedly not your biggest fan. If we were married it would give me a better ability to protect your medical records. And," he paused to roll his tongue behind his teeth, "it would keep him from trying anything against you."

Peyton's eyes widened and this time she felt her heartbeat in her neck.

"You can't mean that he'd try to off me or something."

"I don't trust my father," Lex said again, and her breathing stuttered. "But if we're married and anything were to happen to you, suspicion would be cast on me first, and my dad can't have that with his only heir."

Her mouth dried as she attempted to swallow. That revelation certainly escalated things a bit. Given that she was dealing with families who had more money than she could ever dream of, perhaps she should have anticipated the sort of sordid activities that accompanied tales of the rich and untouchable. But it was still a shock.

"Give me a day," she said. "I can't believe I'm considering this, but just give me a day to think about it."

"Of course. I'd say take your time, but I doubt you have much. If you don't get a call from your mother in the next ten minutes, I don't know her as well as I thought I did. If you don't see her within the next couple days with a coordinator following after her, I don't know her at all."

Peyton dropped onto one of the couches and Lex sat in the chair next to her. Everything was happening so fast and suddenly the stakes were much higher than she anticipated.

Marriage. Dear lord, now marriage was on the table.

"I messed up so enormously."

Lex wrinkled his nose with a lighthearted jibe.

"I'll try not to take that too personally."

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:)