fandomcorner | Fic: I Don't (Clark/Lex)

Title: I Don’t
Author: Hils
Rating: PG
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex (with some mild Clark/Lana and Lex/Lana)
Summary: Lex is in danger from yet another meteor mutant
Mild spoilers for Season 6 up to Promise
There may have been some crack involved when I wrote this one
Thanks to

myownghost for the beta

Once upon a time, in a little town called Smallville there lived a beautiful and perfect woman named Lana. Every man loved her and every woman wanted to be her best friend.

It was a beautiful day as Lana opened her eyes to sunshine and birdsong, a smile lighting up her perfect face as her robe was carried to her by two bluebirds. It could almost be a perfect day. Today she was to marry the richest man in Smallville and Metropolis, but that was where the problem lay. As much as she cared about Lex, she did not love him, and still clung to the hope that Clark, her one true love, would come to his senses and save her from all this. She knew he loved her, as most men in Smallville seemed to. It was a nuisance at times, but it meant that she was never alone and that there was always someone around to listen to her.

She headed to the bathroom. Today was her day, and she had to make sure she looked even more perfect than usual.

* * *

Clark was miserable.

His one true love, the woman he was destined to be with for all time, was getting married today.

He’d tried, so many times, to make things work with Lana, but something always seemed to get in the way. She’d even died. On more than one occasion. If he didn’t know better, he’d have said that fate was trying to keep them apart. That couldn’t be right though. He’d never loved anyone as much as he loved her, so they simply had to be together. Maybe he should just try telling her the truth again. If he could just make her understand (and keep her away from oncoming buses), then they could have their happy ending. They would raise her baby and be a proper family just as it was supposed to be.

He was determined now. He had a wedding to stop.

* * *

Lana laughed daintily, her nose crinkling as two small bunnies used their tails to polish her shoes. At the same time a squirrel was perched on her shoulder, helping her to arrange her veil.

She wasn’t sure when, exactly, the collection of wildlife creatures had moved into Lex’s mansion, but they seemed intent on helping her get ready for her big day, so she wasn’t going to complain. It made her feel a bit like Snow White, and she was about to marry the closest thing they had to a Prince in these parts.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Perfect. She gave a little sniffle. If only her parents could be here to see her. She’d have to make sure she mentioned it when she talked to people at the reception. They all seemed to love listening to her talk about the day of the meteor shower and how much she missed her parents. Since she loved talking about it, everyone was happy.

A polite cough from the doorway brought her from her thoughts, and one of Lex’s servants informed her that the car had arrived.

* * *

Every day Lex wondered what he had done to make a woman as perfect as Lana Lang love him. Now he stood in a church, waiting for her to arrive and make him her husband. He truly was the luckiest man alive.

The doors to the church swung open, and Lana entered, birds and butterflies fluttering around her head. Her train was followed by bunnies, squirrels and a baby deer.

Lex’s face broke into a beaming smile as she slowly made her way down the aisle towards him. He had a good feeling about this marriage. Lana was too sweet and pure to try and kill him. They really were going to live happily ever after.

She came to a stop in front of him and smiled as the minister began the ceremony.

“STOP!”

A startled gasp erupted from everyone in the church as Clark burst in, hair mussed and shirt open down to the neckline.

“Clark?” Lana breathed his name as though he were an angel descended from heaven.

“Clark?” Lex repeated, more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. The man couldn’t let Lex have one moment of peace, it seemed.

Clark jogged to the front of the church, carefully stepping over the cluster of animals gathered around Lana’s feet. He took her hand in his.

“Lana, you can’t marry him! We’re destined to be together.”

Lana sighed dreamily and folded herself into his arms. “Oh, Clark, I knew you’d come for me.”

“Lana…” Lex choked, for once literally lost for words. He could feel his heart breaking in his chest as he watched the woman he loved kiss his former best friend.

“I’m sorry, Lex,” Lana said, not sound remotely sorry, “I love Clark, and we’re destined to be together. He was there for me when I was growing up with no parents. He understands me.”

“Let’s go, Lana,” Clark said, his eyes focussed only on her. “There’s so much I want to tell you and show you.”

Lana smiled, and her animal friends cheered (or made sounds as close to cheers as they could). Hand in hand Clark and Lana ran from the church and into their new life together.

They were so caught up in their love for each other that neither of them saw the bus bearing down on them until it was too late.

* * *

Picking himself up from the wreckage, Clark’s first thought was to check on the driver and passengers in the bus. Once he was sure that there were only superficial injuries and that an ambulance was on the way, he turned back to the way he’d been going. It was only then that he remembered Lana had been with him.

It took him a few minutes to find her broken body, as it had been thrown quite far from the impact. What surprised and puzzled Clark as he looked down at her was that he felt nothing. It was like looking at an image on TV or a painting. It just didn’t seem real.

What surprised him even more was that he suddenly couldn’t remember why he’d ever loved Lana in the first place. He remembered loving her, but it felt more like a dream than anything real.

“Lex,” he whispered, struck by a moment of clarity. He ran back to the church.

* * *

When he arrived, Clark was surprised to find everyone still there, milling around inside and muttering to themselves. Chloe walked up to him, looking more than a little confused.

“I caught Lana snooping on my computer once, and I apologised to her. I don’t even know why.”

Clark frowned but was prevented from replying by a crushing hug from his mother. “I let Lana sleep in your bed even after all the messy history I knew you two had. It didn’t even occur to me to make her sleep on the couch. I am so sorry, honey.”

“Uh…it’s ok, Mom.”

In the background Clark could see Lionel looking more than a little disgusted with himself. “I can’t believe I tried to force that whelp to marry my son.”

Clark pulled away from Martha then, remembering why he’d come back to the church in the first place.

Lex was sat on the step in front of the altar, his tie removed and his eyes fixed on the flower which he had pulled from his buttonhole. Clark weaved his way through the crowd and took a seat beside him.

“Are you ok?”

Lex sighed. “No, Clark, I don’t think I am.”

“I’m really sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I just had to be with her, and I didn’t care whom I hurt in the process. Now she’s dead and—“

Lex’s head shot around sharply to look at Clark. “Lana’s dead?”

Clark nodded, wishing that right now he could feel anything close to sadness, for Lex’s sake. “There was an accident just outside the church. She was hit by a bus.”

“Oh.” Lex’s voice was flat and emotionless.

Clark frowned. “Uh, you don’t seem very upset.”

“That’s the strange thing. I’m not. Just after you left the church, I suddenly realised I’d been about to marry a woman I don’t even love. I’m not even sure I liked her. I can’t believe I went to the extremes of faking a pregnancy to convince her to marry me.”

Clark looked around the church. “Looks like the same thing happened to everyone else, including me. I wonder what caused it.”

“It seems that all this happened the moment Lana died,” Lex replied. “I suppose we’ll never know for sure. If I were to guess, though, I’d say it probably had something to do with the meteor rocks.”

Clark looked thoughtful for a moment. “Lana was dressed like a fairy princess the day of the shower. Maybe the rocks turned her into some sort of Disney Princess.”

Lex chuckled. “Only in Smallville.”

“Well, I’m just glad it’s over. I can’t believe I ruined your wedding to be with her. I really am sorry, Lex.”

“It sounds like you rescued me Clark. I should be thanking you. I should also apologise for keeping so many things from you. I only did it so I could include Lana and push you out of our lives.”

Clark grinned. “We’re really screwed up, aren’t we?”

Lex smiled. “I like to think it’s what makes us an interesting couple.”

Clark’s eyes widened. “Couple?”

“You must have realised, Clark, that before Lana brainwashed me, you were the only person I loved.”

Clark smiled shyly. “I wondered, but I just thought I was seeing things I wanted to see.”

“Oh, you wanted to see it?”

Clark nodded. “I wanted you. I still do. That’s why I came back.”

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you. “

And there, in the church that was supposed to have witnessed Lex’s marriage to Lana, Clark and Lex shared what was to be the first of many kisses.

Lana’s wildlife friends went back into their natural habitat and lived happily ever after.

The End