The Games We Play    

You know how you started to write something with the intention of it being
a standalone and ends at the one page you want them to end at, only for
them to mutate and grow? Well, this is set right after "First Snow". Not
that big of a mutation, but still one nonetheless. 

  

Thanks to BobbieJo for betaing!! :) 

  

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, would be great if you can offer me a job
instead of suing me for breach of copyright.  

  

Dec 2003 

  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ The Games We Play by Genie Chua 

  

"I never knew you comprehend the concept of tears, much less being capable
of shedding them." 

  

Lex didn't bother to reply, eyes focused on his city, seeing the past.	

  

The two most powerful men in Metropolis stood on the balcony, silent
except for the flapping of Superman's cape. 

  

Minutes passed, Lex shivered. Hugging himself against the cold, he turned
and walked back into the warmth of his penthouse, completely ignoring
Superman's presence. 

  

"Luthor." 

  

Lex didn't stop. He shut down his laptop and started to gather his papers,
pilling them up on top of the computer. He took two steps in the direction
of his study before finding his path blocked by a seemingly annoyed
superhero. 

  

"Your lectures on the truth, justice and the American way can wait. I'm
not in the mood tonight." Lex tried to side step the other man, but
Superman would not budge. "Get out of my way." 

  

"No." 

  

"Get out of my way."  

  

"No." 

  

"You do realised this is my house." 

  

"So?" The familiar tone of stubbornness stopped Lex in his tracks.  

  

He took a step back and looked directly into Superman's eyes. "You're
still as stubborn as ever, Clark." He felt a strange sense of satisfaction
at the brief look of surprise on the other man's features.  

  

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

  

Lex turned and went back to the couch, sitting down unceremoniously. He
was tired of the games they have been playing for the last eight years; he
had been tired of it for a long time. "After everything, you can still
stand there and lie to me. I'm impressed." Disappointed, saddened,
wounded; all went unsaid. Lex wasn't expecting a response. "Do you really
think a generous use of hair gel along with a costume picked out by the
colour blind could fool me?" He wasn't sure when he got back up from the
couch, and why was he yelling? "If I had wanted you dead, you would've
been gone years ago."  

  

"Then why all the attempts on my life?" 

  

"Because I wanted the truth!" 

  

"You tried to kill me because you wanted the truth?" 

  

"Yes." A completely un-Superman look of confusion crossed the other man's
face, but it was a hundred percent Clark. "The plan was for you to tell me
so I would stop trying to kill you." 

  

"So, all these years, you were trying to get me to tell you the truth so
you could stop trying to kill me?!" Another 100% Clark Kent patented
confused look. "Jesus Christ." The superhero slumped down onto the nearest
chair in a decidingly un-superhero like manner. "Did it ever occur to you
that the more you tried to kill me, the more afraid I was to tell you?"
Clark asked after a moment of silence.	

  

Lex looked at Clark and blinked. 

  

"I'm taking that as a no." 

  

"Ever occur to you that I wasn't really trying to kill you?" Lex shot
back.  

  

Clark blinked at him.  

  

"I'm taking that as a no."  

  

"Jesus Christ," Clark repeated.  

  

"Did you actually think that I was capable of poisoning entire cities?" he
asked, genuinely wanting to know.  

  

"When did you figure it out?" Clark's evasion was enough of an answer for
Lex.  

  

He let out a humourless laugh. "And I thought you were the one person who
knew me better than anyone." Lex shook his head. "I knew it was you the
day Superman made his grand debut."  

  

"That soon?" Clark sounded surprised.  

  

"What did you expect? Parading around with the symbol of Alexander the
Great on your chest sounding like Jonathan Kent." 

  

"All these years... " 

  

"Yeah," he could've exposed Clark Kent any time he wanted to, completely
destroying the young reporter's life.  

  

The two men looked at each other across the coffee table. "Why did you
come tonight?" 

  

"I saw you standing outside, and since you haven't tried anything in the
last few months..." Clark trailed off, shrugging.  

  

"You thought I must be planning something spectacular." Lex concluded. 

  

"Yeah." 

  

He chuckled and shook his head again. "No more games." Lex stood up and
walked towards his room.  

  

"Lex." 

  

He stopped. It had been a while since he had heard that voice say his
name.  

  

"I'm sorry." 

  

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been waiting for those
two words for a long time. "Me too," he whispered. Too long.  

  

The End 

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