Chapter Text
Six Years Later
Lex woke up to the sun streaming in through the gauze curtains. A light breeze blew the curtain aside, making him shiver a little at the icy breath. It looked like it was going to snow.
He rolled over in bed and smiled down at the angelic face of his wife. She was still sound asleep, which wasn’t surprising. She’d been up half the night with heartburn. Of course, that was his fault, he thought with a grin, his gaze dropping to the rounded belly.
Here it was, he thought. The morning that had been promised to him in a dream so long ago.
The bed shook as a little dynamo jumped up on the mattress. Lex shot his four year old son a half-hearted glare.
“Alex, don’t wake your mom,” he scolded. “She was up half the night.”
“Breakfast, Daddy!”
Lana came awake anyway. “You did promise him pancakes, Lex,” she said sleepily. “And then you were going to go shopping for a tree.”
He chuckled. “I guess I did. All right, Alex. I’ll be right out.”
Lana started to get up with difficulty. He put a hand out as if to stop her but she managed anyway. “Honey, you’ve had hardly any sleep.”
She shrugged. “That’s called being a mom, Lex.” She held a hand out for their son. “Come on, Alex. Let’s get you dressed.”
They started for the door. “Me and Dad are gonna get the best tree ever!” Alex crowed.
“Dad and I,” she corrected.
Lex laughed at the two of them before going into the bathroom to brush his teeth. There were times when he still couldn’t believe all this had happened. With Clark’s encouragement, he and Lana had begun dating six years ago. They’d taken it slowly, dating for a year before he’d finally proposed. She’d fallen pregnant right after they’d got married. Clark, of course, had been his best man. He had never considered anyone else.
Through the years, they’d remained as close as ever. Clark had even helped him bury the hatchet with Oliver Queen, who, it turned out, had been the one behind his so-called kidnapping. Oliver had admitted it and apologised, saying he’d done it because he’d been worried that Lex still had those abilities given to him by Fine/Brainiac and was going to use them to do terrible things.
Thanks to Oliver, Clark was able to find all the phantoms that had escaped with him from the Phantom Zone. Working together, the three of them had tracked Brainiac, but not before the artificial intelligence, for that was what it was, had unleashed a monster on the world. Lex had helped Clark defeat Doomsday.
Lex was now a part of the team working to help others with different abilities. He and Oliver had financed a central hub for all the heroes like Clark. They’d called it Watchtower. Chloe, still working at the Daily Planet, spent half her time chasing stories and the rest of the time running Watchtower, when she wasn't being a mom. Chloe and Oliver had got together and now had a little boy.
Lois, wonder of wonders, had managed to make her own mark on the journalism world. It had taken a couple of years, but she’d finally proved herself good enough to earn her own place at the Daily Planet. While she wasn’t working alongside her cousin, she was working alongside Clark, who had started out as an intern while finishing his journalism degree. Lex had talked her into reapplying at Met U, with a promise that she would take her studies seriously. He’d told her that the only way for her to get ahead at the Planet was to become qualified. She’d taken to journalism like a duck to water and although her spelling was still atrocious, she had proved herself more than capable.
Lex left the bathroom and went to find his wife and son. He could hear them chattering together and realised from the conversation they weren’t alone.
“Grandpa, are you gonna have pancakes with us? Dad said he’s gonna make them.”
“Thank you, Alex. That’s if your mother and father don’t mind.”
Lex entered the kitchen and smiled at his father. “Of course not, Dad. The more the merrier.”
Lionel drank the coffee Lana handed him. “What are your plans today, son?”
“They’re going to buy a tree.” Lana rolled her eyes and sighed. “He always leaves it to the last minute.”
Lex wrinkled his nose at the mild rebuke.
Lionel looked a little surprised. “It’s Christmas Eve. Why didn’t you get my secretary to order you one?”
“Because this is something Alex and I do every year, Dad.”
“Oh, of course. So, Alex, what did you ask Santa for this year?”
Alex chuckled. “Grandpa, that’s a secret between me and Santa.”
Lex and his wife exchanged a fond look as Alex chatted to his grandfather. That was another thing that had changed. Lionel might still be a little ruthless when it came to business, but ever since the birth of his grandson, he’d softened somewhat.
He’d even begun to build a relationship with Tess. Lex’s half-sister had been wary, even after being told the truth of her birth, but she had come around. They would probably never be completely close, to the point where they could enjoy family gatherings, but Lex figured they might get there one day.
After breakfast, Lex got his son dressed in warm clothes. Lana walked them to the door.
“Now, don’t forget, we have to be at the Kents’ party at six. Your dad’s going to babysit.”
Lex nodded. “Don’t worry. We have plenty of time.”
“And don’t overspend, please.”
He tried for an innocent look, pressing his hand to her swollen belly as he kissed her.
“When have I ever done that?” he asked.
She snorted. “Right. Don’t try to play the innocent with me, Lex Luthor. I still remember the dozens of flowers you decorated the den with when you proposed.”
He laughed at her. “Okay, okay. Sue me. I like spoiling you.”
Alex pulled at his arm. “Come on, Dad,” he said.
Lex laughed and helped his son into the car, giving his wife another kiss before getting in and driving off to the Smallville lot.
They spent an hour looking through the trees before Lex found the perfect one.
“What do you think, Alex? This one?”
Alex was distracted, running off toward someone. “Uncle Clark, Uncle Clark,” he yelled.
Lex grinned at his best friend as Clark scooped up the little boy and pretended to fly him. Little did Alex know, Lex thought. He snickered as his friend pushed up the black frames adorning his face. Lex still couldn’t fathom how anyone could fall for Clark’s disguise and not see that Clark Kent and Superman were one and the same.
“Hey, Lex,” Clark said.
“Where’s your better half?” Lex asked. Lois and Clark had got together a couple of years earlier, although they still hadn’t gotten around to getting married.
“Helping Mom with baking for the party tonight,” Clark told him, explaining that Lois had a slight cold and hadn’t wanted to chance being outdoors.
Lex chewed his lower lip. “Should I be worried?” he asked.
“Funny guy. If Lois heard you talk like that, she’d probably ban you from the party.”
“Like to see her try,” Lex grumbled. “I still remember the burnt turkey the Thanksgiving you guys started dating.”
Clark groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
Chloe appeared beside them. She’d grown her hair out so it was past her shoulders. As much as Lex had liked the short styles, he thought the longer style suited her. “Come on, Kent. I thought you were going to help me get this tree.”
Lex frowned at her. “I thought you and Oliver already had a tree?” he asked.
“This one’s for my dad,” she said. “We’re spending Christmas with him.”
“I hear he’s doing great at the plant,” Lex said. He’d convinced his father to rehire Gabe Sullivan and promote him to division manager to make up for everything that had happened all those years ago. “How does he like being a grandfather?” Chloe and Oliver’s little boy, Jonathan, was just over a year old.
“He loves it. Spoils the kid rotten.”
Lex shrugged. “Yeah, I know the feeling. Dad can’t wait until Lily’s born.”
“That’s the thing about parents. Especially dads. They can be hard on their own kids but as soon as they become grandparents, it’s like they’re mush.”
Lex laughed. She wasn’t wrong. Clark grinned.
“Okay, Mrs Queen. Let’s go get your tree. See you tonight, Lex.”
It was dark by the time Lex got back home with the tree. He just had time to shower and change before Lana was reminding him they needed to get to the party. He went down to the den where Lionel was sitting with Alex, reading. Alex, much like his father, was already at third-grade reading level.
Lionel looked up at them. “Have a good time,” he said. “Don’t worry. Alex and I have our night planned.” He glanced at the Chess board set up on the table.
“Don’t go teaching him all your tricks, Lionel,” Lana scolded. Lionel scoffed.
“Perish the thought,” he replied.
They were only slightly late to the party. Clark greeted them at the door.
“The party can get started. The Luthors are here.”
Lex submitted to the usual greetings, from Martha’s peck on the cheek to the handshake from Oliver. Jonathan dragged him away quickly.
“Got something to show you,” he said, pulling something out of a drawer. “I know the announcement hasn’t been made yet, but I do have a few privileges, being senator and all.”
Lex stared in amazement at the bronze plaque bearing his name. He’d convinced his father to let him take on a few non-profit projects and one of them had been the result of everything that had happened after Dark Thursday. Smallville might be a small town, but it did have its share of homeless people so Lex had decided to help them by creating a project to help them into homes and if not jobs, at least some worthwhile occupation.
It looked like that work had paid off with a humanitarian award.
Overwhelmed with all the congratulations from people he’d come to consider as family, Lex stepped outside. It had started snowing.
Clark joined him. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, just needed a bit of air.”
“You deserve it, you know.”
“It’s funny. I dreamed something like this years ago, but I never thought it would turn out like this.”
“Lex, you chose this, and look at what you’ve accomplished.”
“It’s all because of you, you know. You believed in me.” Clark shook his head, still modest. “I mean it, though. Your friendship made me want to be a better man.”
“Well, you believed in me, so it’s an even trade.”
Martha came out. “Lex, come quickly. It’s Lana.”
Oh God, he thought, following her back inside. Lana had gone into labour. As much as he’d tried to ignore it, thinking that not everything in the dream had come to pass, this was the one moment he’d dreaded above all others. Would he now lose everything, as he had in the dream?
It was several hours before baby Lily was born. It was Christmas. Lex cradled his baby daughter, sitting by his wife’s side.
Lana smiled at him. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he replied.
“You just looked miles away.”
“I’m more worried about you. Remember that dream I had? Years ago?”
“That’s not going to happen, Lex,” she assured him. “See?” She glanced over to the monitor, keeping track of her blood pressure. “I’ll be fine.”
He still couldn’t help worrying. He stayed by her side as she dropped off to sleep. Lily stayed in the little bassinet beside her.
He woke up hours later, his body aching from sitting in an awkward position. Lana was grinning at him from the bed.
“You snore,” she laughed. “Your dad and Alex popped in, but I told them not to wake you. They’ll be back soon.”
“I do not snore,” he replied.
“You keep saying that, but that doesn’t make it true.”
“You are trouble, Mrs Luthor.”
“Takes one to know one, Mr Luthor.”
The door opened and Alex came bounding in. “Daddy, Daddy.”
Lex wrapped his arms around his son, pulling him into his lap. “Guess what, Dad?”
Lex looked down at his son. “What, Alex?”
“You know what I asked Santa for?”
“No, Alex, what did you ask Santa for?”
“A baby sister. It came true, didn’t it, Dad?”
“It sure did, Alex.”
He grinned over at his wife, who was now nursing baby Lily. Some dreams did come true, he thought. And some didn’t. And that was fine with him.