Smallville Fic: Two Christmas Chlex fics
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year--two Chelx Christmas fics for your enjoyment :):)
Midnight Clear
Disclaimer: This story is for fun and no profit. I do not own any of these characters --I'm just borrowing them briefly.
A/N: This is story is 725 words and my contribution to NS's Secret Fanfiction for LexGirl-- it's set in an AU version of S5. Merry Christmas LexGirl! Please enjoy it in the spirit it was intended :)
"Bite my ass, Lang!"
Lois Lane’s angry tone could be heard well above the noisy din of The Talon’s customers and piped in Christmas music.
She had decided to make a pit stop by the coffee shop to get a mocha latte to go before she headed over to the Kent farm for their annual Christmas Eve open house.
Lois hadn’t expected to find her cousin surrounded by an angry mob of townsfolk, all shouting accusations at her.
Apparently, the population of Smallville had problems with Chloe’s dating Lex Luthor.
And the person with the biggest axe to grind was one Miss Lana Lang.
Of course, the diminutive brunette tried to convince Chloe that she was just being a good friend and was truly worried about her emotional welfare.
But Lois could see the truth.
Lana wasn’t concerned for Chloe or worried that Lex would hurt her. No, she was jealous that Lex was no longer interested in her and had turned his attentions towards the blonde reporter.
Truthfully, ever since he and Chloe started dating, he seemed much happier.
Lex had never been a favorite of Lois’ but even she noticed that whenever Lex was in town with Lana, he always looked like he was walking on egg shells, desperately afraid to offend the girl.
But with Chloe, he seemed more at ease, more comfortable with himself. Lois would see them sitting at a table together, and within minutes, they would start bantering and then Chloe would invariably make Lex laugh and his entire face would light up.
Patrons would turn to stare in amazement at the sight, and on one particularly memorable occasion, Lois caught Lana’s pained look at the pair before the smaller girl stomped upstairs to her apartment.
Lois had momentarily felt a pang of sympathy, knowing exactly how it felt to be dumped by a guy in favor of another girl but that sympathy died when Lois heard through the grapevine Lana was telling a different story about her break up with Lex.
She was trying to make Chloe out to be a jealous shrew who stole Lex from her because she couldn’t stand to see Lex and Lana together.
And by the looks of it, apparently half the town believed her.
Lois shook her head in amazement at the gullibility of some of Smallville’s residents. She glanced sideways at Chloe, glad to see her baby cousin angrily staring down the mob.
Lois stood by her cousin’s side, arm thrown protectively over her Chloe’s shoulder while she addressed the smaller dark haired girl.
"Cut the crap princess, I don’t believe a word you’re saying!"
Lana’s eyes grew wide in surprise and she whispered out an outraged reply, "How can you say that to me? I only have Chloe’s best interest at heart!"
"Like hell you do," Lois retorted. "What you are is a self-involved narcissist with a warped sense of entitlement."
Lana’s mouth fell open in shock and Chloe turned to grin at her cousin.
"Man, those psychology courses are really paying off."
"Indeed they are, Miss Lane."
All heads turned towards the front door of The Talon as Lex Luthor stepped in out of the cold.
He calmly addressed the crowd standing between himself and the woman he loved. "I hope you all had a lovely time berating my girlfriend and her cousin on this lovely Christmas Eve night because this is the last time it will happen."
He paused for effect and then looked Lana straight in the eye. "If anyone so much as sneezes in Chloe’s or Lois’ direction, I’ll hear about it, and then you will wish that you had never been born. Are we clear?"
Everyone nodded their heads and quickly stepped away from the cousins. Lana tried to look innocently at Lex but gave it up when she saw that she wasn’t convincing anyone.
She turned on her heel and walked up the stairs to her apartment, slamming the door in anger.
He smiled happily when Chloe threw herself in his arms and despite herself, Lois grinned at the couple. The billionaire may not have been who she wanted for her cousin, but she could tell that he genuinely cared about Chloe and that counted for a lot in Lois’ book.
She shook her head again, and wondered what the New Year would bring.
The Challenge: LexGirl wanted a story set in either Season 4, 5, or 6 and she imagined Lex standing up for Chloe against a group of people - can be Clark, Lana, the Kents, etc. in defense of her being with him. Here are the lines she wanted to be used--I had to choose one: 1.) Lex: "Leave her alone!" I have this vision of Lex putting his arm around her or standing in front of her and telling people to back off, in defense of her. 2.) "Bite my ass!" - I just like this comment! lol! Chloe to Clark, Lana, everyone: 3.) "I like Lex. I'm seeing him and I don't care what any of you think about it."
Title: Christmas Future?
Author: Kit Merlot
Spoilers: None, story takes place during an AU S5
Rating: PG
Word count: 1780
Summary: Lex helps Chloe have a happy Christmas.
AN: I went AU because I couldn't deal with the Lexana in S5, so as far as I'm concerned, it never happened.
Christmas Future?
Chloe Sullivan stood just outside of Lex's study, watching him with a concerned gaze. He was trying to downplay it, but Chloe could see just how angry he was.
He clenched his jaw in frustration before finally spitting out his words. "He's purposefully ruined it Chloe. Just like I knew he would!"
"Lex, it can’t be that bad. Maybe..."
But before she could get her thought out, Lex had already interrupted her. "If one more incident happens, I won't be responsible for my actions."
Chloe nodded in acceptance, "Okay Lex, if Lionel Luthor does one more nice, Christmasy thing, you have my permission to kill him."
Lex shot her a sour look, but he couldn't help smiling at her words. "Promise?"
**
When Lex had decided to host an open house Christmas Eve party at his mansion in Smallville, Chloe had jokingly asked him if he'd recently hit his head.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead just smiled at her. "I'm not suffering from a concussion Chloe. I just want to actually do something for Christmas Eve instead of going to yet another dull party in Metropolis."
Truthfully, his entire reason for hosting the open house was for Chloe's benefit.
Not that she was aware of it.
The Christmas season was usually one of Chloe's favorite times of the year, and when she arrived back in Smallville for the Thanksgiving holiday, she had been filled with fond nostalgia for the wreaths that adorned every door and for the old fashioned lights that decorated the store fronts and street lamps of the main street.
But her spirits dimmed slightly when her dad told her that he was going to have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She still enjoyed their turkey and stuffing dinner, but there had been a lump in her throat when she realized that this was going to be the first time in her life that she and her dad wouldn't be celebrating Christmas together.
Her dad had finally found a new job as a dispatcher for a Luthorcorp trucking company in Grandville, and he was thrilled to finally be employed again. He was making good money and could start to rebuild Chloe's college fund and his own retirement savings.
And while she had a partial academic scholarship, a journalism grant, and her Daily Planet internship to help defray the cost of tuition, a college freshmen still needed money to have fun with. Hence, Gabe's wanting to replenish the college fund.
Of course, if Chloe was ever truly desperate for money, she could always ask her billionaire friend to help her, but Gabe knew that Chloe would never trade on their friendship that way.
And while he had been wary at first about his teen age daughter maintaining a friendship with a young man six years older then her, he'd been impressed by how deeply Lex respected Chloe as a person.
So while the Sullivans were estatic that Gabe was gainfully employed, they were less then thrilled that the job required Gabe to work holidays. And as the newest employee hired, he drew the shortest straw and had to cover all deliveries on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It was in the first week of December that Lex had learned that Gabe wouldn't be spending Christmas in Smallville. He had tried his best to help get Gabe's schedule changed, but in the end, Chloe knew that she and her dad were just going to have to accept it and move on.
And right after that, Lex decided that he would have a party, and that Chloe had to help him organize it.
Chloe's last few weeks of her first semester at Metropolis University were filled with her studying for finals, writing papers, working at her internship at The Daily Planet, and now organizing Lex's party.
She had been put in charge of the guest list, sending out invites and keeping track of the R.S.V.P's. It seemed as if all of the residents of Smallville had been invited, and part of greater Metropolis.
And Lex also made a concentrated effort to keep the party very family oriented. He had apparently went with a Victorian theme and hired a man to play Father Christmas for all of the kids.
Chloe didn't have a spare moment to feel sorry for herself--instead, all of her hard work forced her to count her own blessings and to see the true spirit of the holidays.
So when she arrived on his doorstep, which looked quite festive with it’s simply draped pine garland, she expected to see a calm and collected Lex Luthor.
Instead, she saw that he was trying to smile cheerfully, but it came out as a grimace and before Chloe could even open her mouth, Lex choked out two words: "My father."
**
Lionel Luthor wasn’t one of Chloe's favorite people, but she couldn't hold back a smile when she saw him standing next to the Christmas tree in Lex's vast entertainment room, wearing a bright red vest with candy canes and reindeers stitched on it, and singing carols.
He actually had a nice voice and could easily carry a tune, and while he gamefully trying to get the other guests to join in, everyone in his vicinity were too shocked to sing along..
Lex came up and stood next to her, leaning over so he could whisper in her ear. "He's been here all afternoon, he won't stop smiling, and my God, Chloe, the singing, he just won't stop!"
Chloe could see Lex's desperation, and she was as surprised as anyone at Lionel's actions, but she couldn't help the tiny part of her that enjoyed seeing the usual menacing Luthor senior have some holiday spirit and try to connect with other people.
Just then Lionel spotted her and shouted out a welcome. "My dear Miss Sullivan, you've finally arrived! I'm so glad to see you. Now, maybe Lex will actually smile."
He then winked at his son, and to Lex's chagrin, some of the guests laughed.
Chloe could see that Lex was about to explode, so she quickly grabbed his arm and steered him out of the room. "Show me the rest of the house, Lex. I know you went overboard on decorating!"
He gave Chloe a mock glare before it dissolved into a genuinely grateful smile. Chloe, above anyone else of his acquaintance, knew of the difficult relationship he had with his dad.
But she was here now and he wasn't going to dwell on unpleasant matters, so he set about showing Chloe the rest of the house.
***
Chloe was right that Lex had gone overboard, but it was the way he'd done it that left her close to tears. Each room on the ground floor had a theme to it, and he'd chosen the themes from Chloe's favorite holiday memories.
Every year, she and her dad went to see the ballet The Nutcracker on December 26th, or as Chloe insisted on calling it, the Feast of St. Stephen's at Metropolis' Academy of Music. Lex had his conservatory designed to look like Clara's parlor and he had even hired three dancers from the Metropolis Ballet Company to perform.
A Christmas Carol was Chloe's favorite holiday movie, so the dining room had been decorated in a Victorian theme, even down to the food choices which included plum pudding, rum punch and a Christmas goose. He even had servers dressed in Victorian garb.
Chloe could feel her eyes starting to fill with tears, and she turned to look at her friend, overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness.
But being who she was, she couldn't stop herself from trying to lighten the mood. "You couldn't replicate Midnight Mass at St. Brigid's?"
Lex knew that St. Brigid's was Chloe's old parish when she lived in Metropolis with her parents, and her entire family--aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents--would all attend Midnight Mass together on Christmas Eve. 'In happier times' her dad had always said, but the tradition was important to the Sullivans and Lex knew that Chloe hated missing it.
He shook his head at his irrepressible blonde, and answered, "No, I didn't have time to rebuild an altar in my study--maybe next year."
Chloe grinned at his response, and then they stared at each other for a full minute before Chloe spoke again, simply saying, "Thank you, Lex. You have no idea how much this means to me."
He reached out his hand, and brushed his fingers across her cheek, wiping her tears away. "I think I do, and you're welcome."
She grabbed his hand before he could pull it away, and held it against her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Lex."
He covered her hand with his other one, and brought it up to his lips, kissing her fingertips softly. "Merry Christmas, Chloe."
***
Outside of the dining room, Lionel Luthor nodded approvingly, proud of his son for choosing a woman finally worthy of him.
He hated to interrupt their moment, but he was starving, and now was a good as time as ever to get Chloe used to the family. Lionel grabbed as many guests as he could before barging into the dining room.
"There you are, Lex my boy! And Chloe, I knew you'd be wherever Lex was."
But before he could continue, Lex stepped in front of Chloe, "That's enough Dad. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but keep Chloe out of it!"
Lionel, however, would not be deterred. He stepped into the room, saying, "Lex, you misunderstand me. All I truly want is your happiness, and I think Chloe's continued presence in your life is the key to that."
But before either Chloe or Lex could respond to that, he walked over to the buffet table. "Now I need a piece of that goose before I wither away from hunger."
He waved over all of the guests he had dragged in with him, and gesturing to Lex and Chloe, announced, "Sit down, because we are going to have a nice friendly family-style Christmas, even if it kills us all!" And then he winked at Chloe and Lex.
"What the hell as gotten into him?!" Lex muttered. He looked at Chloe from the corner of his eye to see her reaction and he was relieved to see her smiling.
Chloe just shook her head at Lex's incredulous expression. "I think your dad actually means well, and I happen to agree with him."
And before Lex could answer her, Chloe stood up and faced everyone in the dining room. "Merry Christmas, and if I may quote Tiny Tim, 'God Bless us, everyone.'"
The End
Midnight Clear
Disclaimer: This story is for fun and no profit. I do not own any of these characters --I'm just borrowing them briefly.
A/N: This is story is 725 words and my contribution to NS's Secret Fanfiction for LexGirl-- it's set in an AU version of S5. Merry Christmas LexGirl! Please enjoy it in the spirit it was intended :)
"Bite my ass, Lang!"
Lois Lane’s angry tone could be heard well above the noisy din of The Talon’s customers and piped in Christmas music.
She had decided to make a pit stop by the coffee shop to get a mocha latte to go before she headed over to the Kent farm for their annual Christmas Eve open house.
Lois hadn’t expected to find her cousin surrounded by an angry mob of townsfolk, all shouting accusations at her.
Apparently, the population of Smallville had problems with Chloe’s dating Lex Luthor.
And the person with the biggest axe to grind was one Miss Lana Lang.
Of course, the diminutive brunette tried to convince Chloe that she was just being a good friend and was truly worried about her emotional welfare.
But Lois could see the truth.
Lana wasn’t concerned for Chloe or worried that Lex would hurt her. No, she was jealous that Lex was no longer interested in her and had turned his attentions towards the blonde reporter.
Truthfully, ever since he and Chloe started dating, he seemed much happier.
Lex had never been a favorite of Lois’ but even she noticed that whenever Lex was in town with Lana, he always looked like he was walking on egg shells, desperately afraid to offend the girl.
But with Chloe, he seemed more at ease, more comfortable with himself. Lois would see them sitting at a table together, and within minutes, they would start bantering and then Chloe would invariably make Lex laugh and his entire face would light up.
Patrons would turn to stare in amazement at the sight, and on one particularly memorable occasion, Lois caught Lana’s pained look at the pair before the smaller girl stomped upstairs to her apartment.
Lois had momentarily felt a pang of sympathy, knowing exactly how it felt to be dumped by a guy in favor of another girl but that sympathy died when Lois heard through the grapevine Lana was telling a different story about her break up with Lex.
She was trying to make Chloe out to be a jealous shrew who stole Lex from her because she couldn’t stand to see Lex and Lana together.
And by the looks of it, apparently half the town believed her.
Lois shook her head in amazement at the gullibility of some of Smallville’s residents. She glanced sideways at Chloe, glad to see her baby cousin angrily staring down the mob.
Lois stood by her cousin’s side, arm thrown protectively over her Chloe’s shoulder while she addressed the smaller dark haired girl.
"Cut the crap princess, I don’t believe a word you’re saying!"
Lana’s eyes grew wide in surprise and she whispered out an outraged reply, "How can you say that to me? I only have Chloe’s best interest at heart!"
"Like hell you do," Lois retorted. "What you are is a self-involved narcissist with a warped sense of entitlement."
Lana’s mouth fell open in shock and Chloe turned to grin at her cousin.
"Man, those psychology courses are really paying off."
"Indeed they are, Miss Lane."
All heads turned towards the front door of The Talon as Lex Luthor stepped in out of the cold.
He calmly addressed the crowd standing between himself and the woman he loved. "I hope you all had a lovely time berating my girlfriend and her cousin on this lovely Christmas Eve night because this is the last time it will happen."
He paused for effect and then looked Lana straight in the eye. "If anyone so much as sneezes in Chloe’s or Lois’ direction, I’ll hear about it, and then you will wish that you had never been born. Are we clear?"
Everyone nodded their heads and quickly stepped away from the cousins. Lana tried to look innocently at Lex but gave it up when she saw that she wasn’t convincing anyone.
She turned on her heel and walked up the stairs to her apartment, slamming the door in anger.
He smiled happily when Chloe threw herself in his arms and despite herself, Lois grinned at the couple. The billionaire may not have been who she wanted for her cousin, but she could tell that he genuinely cared about Chloe and that counted for a lot in Lois’ book.
She shook her head again, and wondered what the New Year would bring.
The Challenge: LexGirl wanted a story set in either Season 4, 5, or 6 and she imagined Lex standing up for Chloe against a group of people - can be Clark, Lana, the Kents, etc. in defense of her being with him. Here are the lines she wanted to be used--I had to choose one: 1.) Lex: "Leave her alone!" I have this vision of Lex putting his arm around her or standing in front of her and telling people to back off, in defense of her. 2.) "Bite my ass!" - I just like this comment! lol! Chloe to Clark, Lana, everyone: 3.) "I like Lex. I'm seeing him and I don't care what any of you think about it."
Title: Christmas Future?
Author: Kit Merlot
Spoilers: None, story takes place during an AU S5
Rating: PG
Word count: 1780
Summary: Lex helps Chloe have a happy Christmas.
AN: I went AU because I couldn't deal with the Lexana in S5, so as far as I'm concerned, it never happened.
Christmas Future?
Chloe Sullivan stood just outside of Lex's study, watching him with a concerned gaze. He was trying to downplay it, but Chloe could see just how angry he was.
He clenched his jaw in frustration before finally spitting out his words. "He's purposefully ruined it Chloe. Just like I knew he would!"
"Lex, it can’t be that bad. Maybe..."
But before she could get her thought out, Lex had already interrupted her. "If one more incident happens, I won't be responsible for my actions."
Chloe nodded in acceptance, "Okay Lex, if Lionel Luthor does one more nice, Christmasy thing, you have my permission to kill him."
Lex shot her a sour look, but he couldn't help smiling at her words. "Promise?"
**
When Lex had decided to host an open house Christmas Eve party at his mansion in Smallville, Chloe had jokingly asked him if he'd recently hit his head.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead just smiled at her. "I'm not suffering from a concussion Chloe. I just want to actually do something for Christmas Eve instead of going to yet another dull party in Metropolis."
Truthfully, his entire reason for hosting the open house was for Chloe's benefit.
Not that she was aware of it.
The Christmas season was usually one of Chloe's favorite times of the year, and when she arrived back in Smallville for the Thanksgiving holiday, she had been filled with fond nostalgia for the wreaths that adorned every door and for the old fashioned lights that decorated the store fronts and street lamps of the main street.
But her spirits dimmed slightly when her dad told her that he was going to have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She still enjoyed their turkey and stuffing dinner, but there had been a lump in her throat when she realized that this was going to be the first time in her life that she and her dad wouldn't be celebrating Christmas together.
Her dad had finally found a new job as a dispatcher for a Luthorcorp trucking company in Grandville, and he was thrilled to finally be employed again. He was making good money and could start to rebuild Chloe's college fund and his own retirement savings.
And while she had a partial academic scholarship, a journalism grant, and her Daily Planet internship to help defray the cost of tuition, a college freshmen still needed money to have fun with. Hence, Gabe's wanting to replenish the college fund.
Of course, if Chloe was ever truly desperate for money, she could always ask her billionaire friend to help her, but Gabe knew that Chloe would never trade on their friendship that way.
And while he had been wary at first about his teen age daughter maintaining a friendship with a young man six years older then her, he'd been impressed by how deeply Lex respected Chloe as a person.
So while the Sullivans were estatic that Gabe was gainfully employed, they were less then thrilled that the job required Gabe to work holidays. And as the newest employee hired, he drew the shortest straw and had to cover all deliveries on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It was in the first week of December that Lex had learned that Gabe wouldn't be spending Christmas in Smallville. He had tried his best to help get Gabe's schedule changed, but in the end, Chloe knew that she and her dad were just going to have to accept it and move on.
And right after that, Lex decided that he would have a party, and that Chloe had to help him organize it.
Chloe's last few weeks of her first semester at Metropolis University were filled with her studying for finals, writing papers, working at her internship at The Daily Planet, and now organizing Lex's party.
She had been put in charge of the guest list, sending out invites and keeping track of the R.S.V.P's. It seemed as if all of the residents of Smallville had been invited, and part of greater Metropolis.
And Lex also made a concentrated effort to keep the party very family oriented. He had apparently went with a Victorian theme and hired a man to play Father Christmas for all of the kids.
Chloe didn't have a spare moment to feel sorry for herself--instead, all of her hard work forced her to count her own blessings and to see the true spirit of the holidays.
So when she arrived on his doorstep, which looked quite festive with it’s simply draped pine garland, she expected to see a calm and collected Lex Luthor.
Instead, she saw that he was trying to smile cheerfully, but it came out as a grimace and before Chloe could even open her mouth, Lex choked out two words: "My father."
**
Lionel Luthor wasn’t one of Chloe's favorite people, but she couldn't hold back a smile when she saw him standing next to the Christmas tree in Lex's vast entertainment room, wearing a bright red vest with candy canes and reindeers stitched on it, and singing carols.
He actually had a nice voice and could easily carry a tune, and while he gamefully trying to get the other guests to join in, everyone in his vicinity were too shocked to sing along..
Lex came up and stood next to her, leaning over so he could whisper in her ear. "He's been here all afternoon, he won't stop smiling, and my God, Chloe, the singing, he just won't stop!"
Chloe could see Lex's desperation, and she was as surprised as anyone at Lionel's actions, but she couldn't help the tiny part of her that enjoyed seeing the usual menacing Luthor senior have some holiday spirit and try to connect with other people.
Just then Lionel spotted her and shouted out a welcome. "My dear Miss Sullivan, you've finally arrived! I'm so glad to see you. Now, maybe Lex will actually smile."
He then winked at his son, and to Lex's chagrin, some of the guests laughed.
Chloe could see that Lex was about to explode, so she quickly grabbed his arm and steered him out of the room. "Show me the rest of the house, Lex. I know you went overboard on decorating!"
He gave Chloe a mock glare before it dissolved into a genuinely grateful smile. Chloe, above anyone else of his acquaintance, knew of the difficult relationship he had with his dad.
But she was here now and he wasn't going to dwell on unpleasant matters, so he set about showing Chloe the rest of the house.
***
Chloe was right that Lex had gone overboard, but it was the way he'd done it that left her close to tears. Each room on the ground floor had a theme to it, and he'd chosen the themes from Chloe's favorite holiday memories.
Every year, she and her dad went to see the ballet The Nutcracker on December 26th, or as Chloe insisted on calling it, the Feast of St. Stephen's at Metropolis' Academy of Music. Lex had his conservatory designed to look like Clara's parlor and he had even hired three dancers from the Metropolis Ballet Company to perform.
A Christmas Carol was Chloe's favorite holiday movie, so the dining room had been decorated in a Victorian theme, even down to the food choices which included plum pudding, rum punch and a Christmas goose. He even had servers dressed in Victorian garb.
Chloe could feel her eyes starting to fill with tears, and she turned to look at her friend, overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness.
But being who she was, she couldn't stop herself from trying to lighten the mood. "You couldn't replicate Midnight Mass at St. Brigid's?"
Lex knew that St. Brigid's was Chloe's old parish when she lived in Metropolis with her parents, and her entire family--aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents--would all attend Midnight Mass together on Christmas Eve. 'In happier times' her dad had always said, but the tradition was important to the Sullivans and Lex knew that Chloe hated missing it.
He shook his head at his irrepressible blonde, and answered, "No, I didn't have time to rebuild an altar in my study--maybe next year."
Chloe grinned at his response, and then they stared at each other for a full minute before Chloe spoke again, simply saying, "Thank you, Lex. You have no idea how much this means to me."
He reached out his hand, and brushed his fingers across her cheek, wiping her tears away. "I think I do, and you're welcome."
She grabbed his hand before he could pull it away, and held it against her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Lex."
He covered her hand with his other one, and brought it up to his lips, kissing her fingertips softly. "Merry Christmas, Chloe."
***
Outside of the dining room, Lionel Luthor nodded approvingly, proud of his son for choosing a woman finally worthy of him.
He hated to interrupt their moment, but he was starving, and now was a good as time as ever to get Chloe used to the family. Lionel grabbed as many guests as he could before barging into the dining room.
"There you are, Lex my boy! And Chloe, I knew you'd be wherever Lex was."
But before he could continue, Lex stepped in front of Chloe, "That's enough Dad. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but keep Chloe out of it!"
Lionel, however, would not be deterred. He stepped into the room, saying, "Lex, you misunderstand me. All I truly want is your happiness, and I think Chloe's continued presence in your life is the key to that."
But before either Chloe or Lex could respond to that, he walked over to the buffet table. "Now I need a piece of that goose before I wither away from hunger."
He waved over all of the guests he had dragged in with him, and gesturing to Lex and Chloe, announced, "Sit down, because we are going to have a nice friendly family-style Christmas, even if it kills us all!" And then he winked at Chloe and Lex.
"What the hell as gotten into him?!" Lex muttered. He looked at Chloe from the corner of his eye to see her reaction and he was relieved to see her smiling.
Chloe just shook her head at Lex's incredulous expression. "I think your dad actually means well, and I happen to agree with him."
And before Lex could answer her, Chloe stood up and faced everyone in the dining room. "Merry Christmas, and if I may quote Tiny Tim, 'God Bless us, everyone.'"
The End