Special thanks to MJ & Cyberwitch13666 for testreading and editing
Clex, LL/MK
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Martha Kent, retired Senator, moved to the door to answer it. Bright sunlight filled the farmhouse and she smiled as she opened the door. "Lionel?"
"Good morning Martha. I'm sorry to drop by unannounced –"
"Oh no, don't be silly." She opened the door. "You know we don’t stand on formalities around here."
Lionel smiled. "Yes, and it's quite refreshing." He took a couple of steps inside and inhaled deeply.
"Won't you please sit down? I just made a fresh pot of coffee if you'd like some?" Martha asked already filling two cups.
"Yes, thank you." Lionel pulled out a seat and sat down looking around the room. The farmhouse hadn't changed in all the years he'd known the Kent family. He wondered how much his proposition would affect the woman in front of him.
Martha sat down and looked at Lionel. She'd worked for the man at one point and knew something was weighing heavily on his mind. "Was there something you wanted to discuss?"
Lionel chuckled. "Straight to the point, I've always liked that about you Martha." He took a sip of his coffee, nodded in appreciation then put it down. Taking a deep breath he began. Knowing how she valued honesty he made sure to look her straight into the eye.
"Martha, I have to confess I'm doing this for more than humanitarian reasons. So please hear me out. Clark is special. I've known that for a long time now. My son has also known for a long time that something is…shall we say different about him?" Martha began to speak and Lionel held up a hand.
"Please. You know that I could have done any number of things you and him over the years, but I chose not to. I cannot vouch for my son to do the same." Lionel stood and walked over to a window and looked out over the small farm. "I told you once, if not more, that I could never be the man Jonathan Kent was. But I know how much you loved him. It is because of that I've waited for so long. Besides I didn't want to affect your political career adversely."
He turned again to face her, his hands clasped behind his back. "I can no longer wait. Lex is my son, and as such he's ambitious, and more ruthless than I ever was – despite what Jonathan said about me."
"Lionel I don't see where –" Martha began.
"You need protection and I can offer you that. But to do it correctly I need to have the right to do so and be close enough to do it right." Lionel reached into a pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box.
Using a chair he lowered himself to one knee. "Martha. I don’t expect you to answer right away. But please would you do me the honor of thinking of accepting my proposal of marriage. I do want to protect you both. But I will admit…well, I love you Martha. So my motives are not pure. I do hope that this will bring us together."
He opened the box and the sunlight hit it and blinded Martha for a moment as it hit the large sized solitaire diamond. "Lionel," she gasped.
Lionel stood and gently kissed Martha on the cheek, fleetingly as he straightened. "Please think about it." Leaning over he finished the rest of his coffee. "I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for the coffee Martha."
Martha stared at the ring and only in the dimmest parts of her mind did she hear the screen door close.
"Mom?" Clark called as he entered the house. He hadn't heard from his mother in a day and was instantly worried that she'd fallen or something worse had happened. She wasn’t around. He sped around the farm to find her and was surprised to find her in his barn loft, the first Fortress of Solitude.
She didn't move from her spot on the battered couch and was staring out the window. He sat down beside her, taking her small, soft hands into his much larger ones. "Mom? Are you okay? Is it the farm?"
Martha laughed. It was a bit high pitched. "I hadn't even thought about that. We'd never have to worry about it again. Or maybe I should just sell it. But no, I couldn't." She smiled softly and turned for the first time to face Clark.
Clark brushed a hand over her shoulder. "What are you talking about?"
"I got a marriage proposal yesterday," Martha smiled.
Clark's mouth hung open. Yes, he knew that his mother was attractive to other men, even with the silver hairs that sparkled in the sunlight within the red. But …
"Clark it's been a long time. I'm sure that your father wouldn't have wanted me to be alone forever. You understand that don't you?"
"Uh, uh," Clark gulped. "Yeah, I suppose." He smiled as his mind raced through the single men in town. "Is it Gabe Sullivan?" he asked hopefully. After all having Chloe as a genuine sister would be…
"Lionel asked me to marry him," Martha said nervously. Clark jumped back as though a snake had bit him.
"No Mom, you can't be serious! Lionel…Lionel Luthor!" Clark stood up and began to pace. "This can't be happening."
"Clark, honey," Martha pleaded watching her son go back and forth, "please sit down. I'd like to discuss this as a family."
Out of some auto-reaction Clark sat down, but his eyes were wild, his hands fidgeted with his hair and he couldn't stop moving his legs. She put her hands on his shoulders. "I need you to understand. Despite how you might still feel about him and how your father felt about him, Lionel has been nothing but kind to me. Yes, he was once a ruthless businessman, but even you have to admit Lex has taken over that role."
"Oh my god, if you marry him Lex and I would be –" Clark shook his head. "No, no way Mom."
"Clark." Martha stared at him intensely. "He's protected your secret for years now, supported me through my political career and even gone against Lex to protect both of us. When he proposed he said that though he was doing it to protect us from a better position, he…"
"What?" Clark asked with concern. "Did he threaten you?"
"No," Martha smiled gently. "He told me he loved me."
Clark began to breathe heavily in gasps of air. "You're considering this aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
"I …I can't ….have to get…" There was a burst of air and Clark flew out the window.
Martha sighed, opened up the ring box and stared at the incredible diamond once more.
"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into Lionel. The business world will seem a breeze compared to both Clark and Lex." She blinked at the truth of the statement and headed into the house for a glass of wine, or maybe the bottle.
Lex eyed his father over the long boardroom meeting table with curiosity. Lionel was smiling, chipper and almost…happy? He text messaged one of his men. "Follow my father" he typed.
"Received," was the short reply.
Lex continued to watch his father.
It took Clark an entire day to return to the farm. He visited the artic, his father's grave and all of his memories up to this point. When he returned home, it was with a heavy heart.
Martha was in the kitchen sipping a glass of wine when he entered. Sitting across from her he stole her glass then finally looked in her eye.
"I love you mom. I'm not happy about this. But if it's what you want, I'll stand by your decision."
She nodded. "I know this isn't easy on you honey."
"No mom, it's not. I don't think the people in town will understand either."
"Well, we've always been the oddballs." Martha giggled. Clark smiled and belatedly noticed the empty bottle in the garbage. "Just imagine Lex's face when he finds out."
"Oh boy," Clark took another gulp of wine from his mother's glass. "Does this mean?"
"Yup, I'm going to say 'yes'."
"Oh god," Clark groaned and grabbing the half-bottle of wine drank it all in three gulps.
"Oh god," Lex said looking at the reports from his man. There was a receipt for an engagement ring from Tiffany's, several calls to the Kent farm, deliveries of tulips and roses on a daily basis. Even Lex couldn't miss the inevitable conclusion. "He's insane."
He picked up the phone, located his father at the mansion in Smallville and ordered the chopper to take him there within the hour. Less than an hour later he found Lionel reposing on his favorite leather wing back chair with a content look on his face. The same content look he'd had for days now. Lex suddenly felt like an axe had hit him. "You love her."
Lionel looked up. "Ah, Lex. I've been expecting you."
"Dad, tell me you haven't gone through with this –"
"Ah, but I have. She's invited both of us over for dinner tomorrow night. I do hope that you're available?" Lionel grinned.
Lex said down, nearly missing the chair in his haste to avoid missing the floor. "But Dad, don't you realize Clark is a …A freak? You can't be serious about this? Where's the profit? Where's the man who said "emotions make you weak"!?
"I'm man enough to admit I've been wrong. It's time I moved on Lex. You yourself have to admit that Martha Kent is a good woman." Lionel retorted with a proprietary look in his eyes.
Lex rubbed his left hand over his face. "Dad, if you want to start to date seriously that's fine. I can set you up with anyone you want. Just name the age," Lex flipped open his phone with purpose.
Lionel put a hand over it and flipped it closed. "No Lex. I need a woman in my life and you've needed a good influence in yours since the day your mother died."
"She died because of you. Do you want that to happen to Martha Kent?" Lex snapped.
"Martha Kent is made of stronger stuff and we both know it. This isn't even about Martha and I, is it? Face it son, this is about you and Clark. You both need to resolve the issues between you. Being friends didn't work, but either is being enemies. You must admit being relatives will be a new adventure for both of you." Lionel chuckled.
"New adventure?" Lex whispered in disbelief. "Clark is adopted, we will not be brothers anyway. Besides you suspect the same as I do that he's an alien or some sort of mutant." Lex shook his head. He paused. His eyes lit up. "Wait, oh dad. You're brilliant. This is how you plan to find out the truth about Clark isn't it?"
Lionel stood and faced his son, placing a hand on each arm of the chair his son was currently filling. "No son, it's not. Let that go. It's time to bring the Kent's and the Luthor's together. Please Lex for me. And if not for me then for Martha –"
"You honestly think she'll accept?" Lex asked in disbelief.
"I can only hope that she will honor me in such a way." Lionel smiled and sood.
Lex was too dumbfounded to reply. When Lionel asked about dinner again, he nodded numbly. Looking toward the stained glass windows he imagined he could hear Jonathan Kent spinning in his grave. He could only shudder to think of how Clark was adjusting.
Lex followed his father in his newest Porsche, expecting to need a quick getaway. Thankfully Lionel didn't question it and was taken over early in the Bentley. Lex was stalling and he knew it. But he also didn't want to be present when and if Martha Kent accepted his proposal. Lex wondered, not for the first time, what Lionel had used to persuade the faithful widow to even consider such a proposal. He finished the Cognac to brace his nerves and strode out to face the future.
Clark saw Lionel pull up early. Making no excuses he decided he could stand to be a few minutes late as Lex was apparently going to be. It wasn't as if he was ready for this evening. He'd been dreading it ever since he'd heard his mother extend the invitation. Putting aside the book he was writing, since giving up his position at the Daily Planet, Clark decided a walk was in order.
Somehow he found his way back to the bridge, as it had come to be known in his mind over the years. Part of him wondered once more what might have happened if he hadn't saved Lex Luthor that day. Would he in fact be in the situation he was now? He stared into the water, as if it was a scrying mirror and could suddenly offer up the answers he sought for years. He was so lost in thought; he never heard the roar of an engine.
Martha sat next to Lionel on the couch. She smiled at the man and seeing he was about to jump out of his skin took pity on him. "I suppose I've made you wait long enough."
"I didn't want to rush you Martha." Lionel said politely, ignoring how nervous he truly was. This was the first proposal he'd made in many years and he hoped he hadn't botched it.
"Thank you Lionel. I really appreciate it," Martha began. Lionel's face went tight. She put a hand over his to soothe his apprehension. "I'm accepting your proposal Lionel. But please understand that I do not reciprocate your feelings."
Lionel was happy and hurt. It was an odd sensation. "I quite understand. I hope, however, that you allow me the illusion and hope that one day you will."
Martha nodded, not sure what to say. She knew she was doing the right thing, but couldn’t help feel she was betraying her late husband by accepting. Especially in the house where they'd spent their entire married lives. Lionel kissed her hands and slid the ring on her finger.
Clark gasped for breath and in surprise as history repeated itself and Lex drove right into him, plunging them both into the cold river below. This time Lex's door popped open, so Clark didn't have to pry the roof off to rescue Lex. He still had to give him CPR on the riverbank. But that was not the only change.
As he felt air flow into Lex's mouth he also felt a cold, wet hand grab him around the nape of his neck. A tongue swept into his mouth and Clark moaned in response. He returned the action eagerly, but drew away reluctantly when Lex began to choke and sputter. Clark watched as Lex coughed up some water. He was at a loss of what to say.
"I should have done that years ago," Lex gasped with a hoarse sounding voice when he recovered. Clark blinked in surprise. "Oh don't look too shocked. After all you did kiss me back."
"I, uh-" Clark stammered.
"Let's try that again shall we?" Lex smirked and pulled Clark down for another kiss. It was a few minutes before that kiss ended, and only because Lex had begun to shiver.
"I should get you to the house," Clark realized aloud.
"Please tell me you didn't rip the roof off this time," Lex sat up to try to see the car, which was already fully under water.
Clark didn't answer. Lex sighed. "Well at least you didn’t lie this time. That's a start." He shivered more violently then closed his eyes.
Looking down Clark listened carefully to Lex's breathing. It was even and slow. Clark sighed with relief. He raced home using super-speed and was on the front porch a moment later. "Mom!"
Martha jumped up from the couch and Lionel was on her heels. "Lex!" they both cried out in chorus. Martha ran for towels and the first aid kit while Lionel assisted Clark in situating Lex on the couch. Martha had just returned to towel him off when Lex's hand shot out. "Thank you."
Clark, Martha and Lionel looked at each other in shock. "You were faking being passed out." Clark said with sudden understanding.
"Yes," Lex admitted. "I'm tired of this lying between us Clark. Especially now."
"I'm sorry Martha," Lionel looked pleadingly at the red head. "I never planned any of this."
"He's actually telling the truth. My what love can do, huh Dad? But, that wasn't what I was talking about." Lex looked pointedly at Clark who blushed for the first time since high school.
"Clark what's happened? Why is Lex wet? What is he talking about?" Martha shot off regaining her composure.
"Uh," Clark looked helplessly at Lex.
He rolled his eyes. "Lightning may not strike twice, but Clark seems to have it in for my affection for Porsches," Lex chuckled.
"Oh Lex, not the one I bought you for your birthday!" Lionel pursed his lips into a straight line.
"One and the same dad, except things went a bit differently this time didn't they Clark?" Lex winked at Clark who blushed even more.
It was Lionel who caught on first and began to laugh. "Do you mean to tell me that all that fighting between you two was unresolved sexual tension?" Lex nodded and Lionel threw back his head and roared with laughter.
Martha bit her lip looking at Clark nervously. "But –"
Clark smiled taking the towel from Lex and helped him dry his back. "It just …happened."
"Well," Lionel sat back looking both amused and disappointed. "I'll understand Martha if given the current circumstances you wish to cancel our nuptials."
"Dad?" Lex asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Mom?" Clark looked hopeful.
Martha looked at Lionel. "Let's just make it a long engagement."
Lionel beamed and then glared at Clark and Lex who both sank back into the worn couch cushions. "I’m not buying you anymore Porsches."
Lex pouted at his father making them all laugh. Clark helped Lex finished drying off and they ate dinner. Afterwards they had a very long discussion about their futures, which were irrevocably intertwined now -for better or worse.
The Proposal by Keikokin [ - ]
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