Power Struggle (AU)


Title: Power Struggle, Chapter 3

Author: Vigdis

Fandom: Smallville

Pairings: Clark/Lex

Rating: PG-13

Category: AU, Angst

Status: WIP

Series: The Power Series

Date: March 28, 2002

E-Mail: vigdis@squidge.org

Feedback: Craved! Need feedback! Please be constructive... Details are good! Also, tell me what you want to see more of, what you want to find out the answers to, etc... I love details!

Archive: WWOMB, Vig’s Vale

Valdron’s Handy Dandy Disclaimer: (modified for this work)
Smallville, the series, concepts and characters, are the property, copyright and trademark of Warner Bros. & DC Comics. No ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by the use in this work. This work constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This work is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes. All other characters and situations which are not specifically owned by the above mentioned are sole copyright of the author.

Thanks: To Caroline Corken for inspiring me with her lovely Smallville stories.

Notes: This one was on my mind when I woke up this morning. Not beta’d.

Warnings: M/M relationship discussed, language

Summary: Clark has “the talk” with his parents.

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Chapter Three:

The next morning:

Clark made his way down the stairs to breakfast. His parents were waiting at the table.

“Good morning, son,” Jonathan Kent said cheerfully. “How did you sleep?”

Clark smiled slightly. “Not too well, actually.”

Jonathan set his coffee down and turned a questioning look on his son. Martha stopped pouring the orange juice and gave him the same look. Clark couldn’t help but grin. His parents love and concern was so much a part of his life, he had known exactly how they would react to his words. Pity he didn’t know how they would react to what he had to tell them next.

Jonathan and Martha relaxed a little at Clark’s grin. Whatever was bothering him, Clark, at least, was okay.

“Can I tell you about it after breakfast? I’m starved. And there’s no real hurry. I just need to talk to the two of you.”

“Well, it’s Saturday morning, so I guess you picked the right day. At least you won’t be rushing off to school,” Jonathan grinned back.

“Would you like some pancakes, Clark?” Martha asked sweetly.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied easily, offering his plate.

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After breakfast, the family settled in for a “talk”. Clark stood and paced. Jonathan and Martha exchanged a look. Whatever it was, it wasn’t easy for Clark to come to them with it.

Finally, Clark took a deep breath and started talking.

“I don’t know how to tell you this. I have no idea how you are going to react. I know how you feel in the abstract, but the reality is something else entirely.”

“Clark,” Martha began, “whatever it is, just remember we love you. Nothing could ever change that.”

“Your mother’s right, son,” Jonathan continued. “Whatever’s on your mind, we’re here for you.”

Clark smiled, but his eyes were still worried. “You know how I feel about Lana. That hasn’t changed. Maybe it never will. But I’ve fallen in love with someone else.” Jonathan and Martha glanced at each other, then turned back to Clark. He bit his lower lip. “Mom, Dad, this is the real thing. It’s not going to go away. It’s not going to change. If it was, I wouldn’t be telling you about it. But this is my life. This is the way it’s going to be from now on. I’ve made a commitment. I can’t break it. I won’t break it.”

He stopped and looked at his parents. The worry and confusion on their faces saddened him, but he couldn’t soften it. He waited while they considered his words.

“Son,” Jonathan finally began, “I guess you know we feel you’re too young to make that sort of commitment.”

“But we can’t really know if that’s true, can we?” Martha asked, worried. “How can we know, for certain, what’s normal for you, Clark? Maybe it’s just the way you are. The same sense of certainty and responsibility that makes you such a strong person might be leading you to make life choices now, rather than later.”

Jonathan frowned. “We didn’t teach you those things, Clark. You were born with them. We taught you right from wrong, but what you do with that knowledge comes from who and what you are, just as it does for anyone else. Maybe this is inborn, too.” Jonathan paused. “Are you ready to continue, son?”

“Yes, sir,” Clark was fighting back tears. Their ready accepter m was so moving. He had to continue; had to tell them. “The person I’ve fallen in love with... Well... It isn’t a girl.” Clark waited, breathing faster.

Jonathan and Martha locked eyes for a long moment before turning back to Clark.

Jonathan spoke first, his words as carefully considered as ever. “All right, son,” he said with a nod. Clark visibly relaxed. “Let me make sure we’re understanding you correctly. You are in love with and physically attracted to another man. But you also still feel love or at least affection and attraction for Lana, a woman. Have I got it so far?”

“Yes, sir,” Clark nodded quickly.

“Alright. I suppose that means you’re bisexual.”

“Yes, sir, I suppose so.”

Martha had a worried look on her face. “Clark, I’m fairly certain you’ve never actually done anything... sexual... with Lana. What about this boy? Have you become lovers? Is that what you meant when you said you’d made the commitment?”

“No, Mom. That’s not what I meant. We have become lovers.” Clark’s expression was very serious as he clarified. “But what I meant was I’ve trusted him with my secrets. I haven’t told him everything, yet, but I will. I need the two of you to accept him as a permanent part of my life.” Clark’s eyes pleaded, “I need you to make him a part of this family.”

Jonathan went cold inside. He knew. “It’s Lex, isn’t it, Clark? You’ve fallen in love with him and trusted him and...” he broke off, visions of Clark in a cage, the subject of experiments flooding his mind. “Oh, son? What if he doesn’t love you as much? What if he betrays you? What if all this was an elaborate seduction and all he wants is to use you?”

Clark put his arms around his father and hugged him tight. “It’s alright, Dad. It was an elaborate seduction. I planned it very carefully,” he grinned and went back to pacing. “He would never have made a move on his own. He was careful to never let on that he was interested at all. In fact, anyone else would have missed the signs entirely, he hid them so well. But I have these advantages, you see. I could hear his heartrate increase whenever I walked into a room. I could see the nearly invisible changes in his skin that betrayed his arousal. Do you have any idea how much trouble Lex has gone to to help me with Lana? He would never have told me how he felt. So I had to encourage him.” Clark laughed. “I flirted and he didn’t seem to notice. I took advantage of proximity to touch him whenever possible. He wrote it off to friendship. Finally, I had to be more... well... blunt. He was telling me his latest scheme to help me show Lana that I was the right man for her, instead of Whitney. I’d had enough. So... I kissed him. You should have seen the look on his face,” Clark lit up the room with his smile. “And he still didn’t believe it. I had to do some awfully fast talking to convince him I was serious.” Clark’s face grew solemn. “But I did convince him. We’ve been lovers for 4 months now. Last night... Last night I told him the truth about his wreck. I showed him how fast I can move. I promised to tell him the rest. He trusts me. He isn’t afraid of my strength. He understands that if I lost control - of my temper or my passion - I could easily kill him by accident. But he isn’t afraid of me.” Clark smiled wistfully. “He’s afraid of you, Dad.”

“Me?” Jonathan was startled.

“Yeah,” Clark nodded. “He’s certain that you’ll never accept him. Either of you. That’s why I need you to. I need you welcome him and make him a part of our family. I know you don’t trust him. I’m asking you to trust me. Give him a chance to prove himself. He will, you know. He won’t betray me. He loves me. The problem is, love is something he doesn’t have much experience with. You’ve seen how his father is. He has tried so hard to win that man’s approval or even just his acceptance.” Clark was fighting back tears as he described the emptiness of Lex’s home-life. “No one ever taught him to love. No one ever taught him right from wrong. He was taught winning is right and losing is wrong. Winners are loved and losers are despised. But the reality is, no one can win all the time. So he feels he can’t be worthy of love. That’s why our family is so precious to him. He sees the love. He’s seen that it’s unconditional and that blows him away. No one has ever loved him unconditionally before. But I do... I’m teaching him about love. Real love. He craves it. He’s desperate to believe I won’t give up on him - stop loving him.”

Clark saw the dawning acceptance in his parents eyes and grinned. “So, what’s the verdict?” he quipped. “Can I keep him?”

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