I (Won't) Be Home For Christmas (Chloe, Lois, etc., PG, 1/5)
Title: I (Won't) Be Home For Christmas
Series: Road Less Traveled
Author: Karen U
Pairing/Character: Chloe, Lois, Jo, Ellen
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me
Rating: PG
Prompt: #92 Christmas. This is for crossovers100
Summary: a change of scenery for Christmas... and maybe beyond it.
Spoilers: for Smallville, my own version of season 7. A lot of elements of season 7 will show up, but not necessarily in order, and probably with my own twist. For Supernatural, post-season 2. Starts several months after season 2 ended.
Warnings: Nothing, really. There may be some mild language at some point in the fic.
This is the first part of the first fic in what will be a series. I actually have the first fic completed, and it will be posted over the course of the week. Eventually, there will be pairings (and perhaps additional fandoms) in the series, but this first story is just a general fic.
Part One
Chloe pushed her short hair back from her face, glancing over at her cousin. The truth was, neither of them were really in the mood to celebrate the Christmas holidays, but they were determined to do so. They were going to be happy and cheerful and embrace the holiday spirit.
Even if it killed them.
Lois heaved out a sigh, frowning as she looked up at the tree they'd just spent the better part of an hour assembling. "Uncle Gabe won't be in town for Christmas, will he?" she asked, and Chloe shook her head. Her father had left Smallville once she'd graduated from high school, and in the two and a half years since, he hadn't been back, not even for holidays. That was usually not too horrible, because she'd just spent the holidays with the Kents. But with Lana at the farm almost all the time and Kara living there, well... That just wasn't going to happen this year.
"No, Dad... I don't know. Can't get off from work or something. The usual excuse, I suppose. What about Uncle Sam?" Chloe questioned, referring to Lois's father. A father that was just as absent in her life as Gabe had been absent in Chloe's life over the past few years.
Lois snorted in response, which was enough of an answer that the brunette didn't really need to say a word, but after a moment, she voiced an answer anyway. "Not a chance. He's meeting Lucy somewhere in Europe. I, of course, could have gone, but that would have meant playing second fiddle to my sister the entire time," she said, unable to keep the scowl off of her face. Not that Chloe could blame her. Lucy was a con artist and a total spoiled brat, and the General doted on her far more than he ever had on Lois. It was often like he saw Lois as the son he'd never had and Lucy as his baby girl. It wasn't right or fair, but it was the way things had been in the Lane household for as long as Chloe could remember.
"So it's just us," Chloe said quietly, and Lois heaved out a sigh as she flopped down on the couch.
"Pretty much. We're both without boyfriends at the moment, and even if the Kents invited us to their place, I wouldn't want to go just because Kara's going to be there and she's the bitch that stole your boyfriend. Even if he wasn't good enough for you anyway."
Chloe shook her head slightly. Yes, it hurt that Jimmy Olsen was now dating Clark's incredibly gorgeous cousin, but she tried not to be too bitter about it. "I broke up with Jimmy, Lois. He's free to date whoever he wants to date."
"Yeah, well, if Kara had any decency at all, she wouldn't date him. There's like a rule or something. Or there should be. She can't date her cousin's best friend's ex-boyfriend. Especially just days after you dump the guy. It's just tacky."
"Thank you, Lois, for that lesson in dating etiquette," Chloe intoned, then arched a brow at her cousin. "You're the one that dated your boss."
"And it came back and bit me in the ass, didn't it?" Lois tossed back. Since breaking up with the editor of the Daily Planet, she'd been handed lousy assignment after lousy assignment - and completely harassed by Lex Luthor - until the point came where both cousins simply up and quit. With Lois's blessing, Chloe was now splitting her time between doing research for Oliver Queen and writing occasional freelance articles, and Lois was back at the Inquisitor, chasing crop circles and admittedly having a little too much fun coming up with the craziest stories imaginable. As it turned out, Lois enjoyed the outlandish, and she was happy enough at the tabloid, and she had a comfortable amount of money in the bank thanks to the threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit against Grant. It had been her choice to date him, yes, but the way he'd treated her after their breakup was enough to count as a hostile work environment, and the paper's owner (Lex himself, of course) had chosen to pay her off and avoid the bad publicity that a lawsuit would cause.
"I thought you liked working at the Inquisitor."
"I do. It just sucks that I felt like I had to leave the Planet... And that you had to leave, too."
"I like working for Oliver. And I like writing my articles without having Lex Luthor breathing down my neck," Chloe said, and Lois shuddered at the mere thought of Lex Luthor being close enough to actually breathe down her neck.
"Ew," the brunette said succinctly, then frowned, glaring at the Christmas tree that was currently entirely without any decorations. "This isn't working."
"That's because we haven't even started to put the ornaments on it yet," Chloe replied, and Lois rolled her eyes.
"I don't mean that, Chloe. I mean... This. The holidays. Neither of us are in the mood for it and, as much as I adore you and love you like the sister I always wanted... Just the two of us for Christmas would kind of suck. Especially since we're both all mopey and stuff."
"What else are we going to do, Lois?" Chloe wanted to know, and the brunette rolled her eyes.
"We have other relatives, you know. And, okay, the drive would suck, but... It would be more fun than being stuck in Smallville," Lois said, getting to her feet as she spoke, and Chloe arched a brow.
"Where are you going?" she wanted to know, and Lois gave her a look.
"To make a phone call, of course."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Jo Harvelle frowned as she looked at the boxes of decorations she'd pulled down from the attic. It seemed that more and more lately, it just didn't feel worth it to pull all the Christmas stuff down and make a big deal of it. It was just the two of them this year. The past couple of years, Ash had been hanging around but now... Well, now he was gone, along with so many others.
"Don't think about it, Jo," she muttered to herself, then jerked at the sound of the phone ringing. Frowning, she made her way over to it, not bothering to check the caller ID before picking it up. "Hello?" she said into the receiver, listening for a few moments to the voice on the other end of the line, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she heard the rapid-fire of the familiar voice. "Hey, Lois. Christmas? No. Mom and I don't really have any plans. Really? Well, I can't speak for Mom, but... I know I'd love the company. Let me get back to you. I'll call you back in fifteen minutes," Jo told her cousin before getting off the phone and heading off to find Ellen.
It seemed like the holidays might be looking up.
end part one
Series: Road Less Traveled
Author: Karen U
Pairing/Character: Chloe, Lois, Jo, Ellen
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me
Rating: PG
Prompt: #92 Christmas. This is for crossovers100
Summary: a change of scenery for Christmas... and maybe beyond it.
Spoilers: for Smallville, my own version of season 7. A lot of elements of season 7 will show up, but not necessarily in order, and probably with my own twist. For Supernatural, post-season 2. Starts several months after season 2 ended.
Warnings: Nothing, really. There may be some mild language at some point in the fic.
This is the first part of the first fic in what will be a series. I actually have the first fic completed, and it will be posted over the course of the week. Eventually, there will be pairings (and perhaps additional fandoms) in the series, but this first story is just a general fic.
Part One
Chloe pushed her short hair back from her face, glancing over at her cousin. The truth was, neither of them were really in the mood to celebrate the Christmas holidays, but they were determined to do so. They were going to be happy and cheerful and embrace the holiday spirit.
Even if it killed them.
Lois heaved out a sigh, frowning as she looked up at the tree they'd just spent the better part of an hour assembling. "Uncle Gabe won't be in town for Christmas, will he?" she asked, and Chloe shook her head. Her father had left Smallville once she'd graduated from high school, and in the two and a half years since, he hadn't been back, not even for holidays. That was usually not too horrible, because she'd just spent the holidays with the Kents. But with Lana at the farm almost all the time and Kara living there, well... That just wasn't going to happen this year.
"No, Dad... I don't know. Can't get off from work or something. The usual excuse, I suppose. What about Uncle Sam?" Chloe questioned, referring to Lois's father. A father that was just as absent in her life as Gabe had been absent in Chloe's life over the past few years.
Lois snorted in response, which was enough of an answer that the brunette didn't really need to say a word, but after a moment, she voiced an answer anyway. "Not a chance. He's meeting Lucy somewhere in Europe. I, of course, could have gone, but that would have meant playing second fiddle to my sister the entire time," she said, unable to keep the scowl off of her face. Not that Chloe could blame her. Lucy was a con artist and a total spoiled brat, and the General doted on her far more than he ever had on Lois. It was often like he saw Lois as the son he'd never had and Lucy as his baby girl. It wasn't right or fair, but it was the way things had been in the Lane household for as long as Chloe could remember.
"So it's just us," Chloe said quietly, and Lois heaved out a sigh as she flopped down on the couch.
"Pretty much. We're both without boyfriends at the moment, and even if the Kents invited us to their place, I wouldn't want to go just because Kara's going to be there and she's the bitch that stole your boyfriend. Even if he wasn't good enough for you anyway."
Chloe shook her head slightly. Yes, it hurt that Jimmy Olsen was now dating Clark's incredibly gorgeous cousin, but she tried not to be too bitter about it. "I broke up with Jimmy, Lois. He's free to date whoever he wants to date."
"Yeah, well, if Kara had any decency at all, she wouldn't date him. There's like a rule or something. Or there should be. She can't date her cousin's best friend's ex-boyfriend. Especially just days after you dump the guy. It's just tacky."
"Thank you, Lois, for that lesson in dating etiquette," Chloe intoned, then arched a brow at her cousin. "You're the one that dated your boss."
"And it came back and bit me in the ass, didn't it?" Lois tossed back. Since breaking up with the editor of the Daily Planet, she'd been handed lousy assignment after lousy assignment - and completely harassed by Lex Luthor - until the point came where both cousins simply up and quit. With Lois's blessing, Chloe was now splitting her time between doing research for Oliver Queen and writing occasional freelance articles, and Lois was back at the Inquisitor, chasing crop circles and admittedly having a little too much fun coming up with the craziest stories imaginable. As it turned out, Lois enjoyed the outlandish, and she was happy enough at the tabloid, and she had a comfortable amount of money in the bank thanks to the threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit against Grant. It had been her choice to date him, yes, but the way he'd treated her after their breakup was enough to count as a hostile work environment, and the paper's owner (Lex himself, of course) had chosen to pay her off and avoid the bad publicity that a lawsuit would cause.
"I thought you liked working at the Inquisitor."
"I do. It just sucks that I felt like I had to leave the Planet... And that you had to leave, too."
"I like working for Oliver. And I like writing my articles without having Lex Luthor breathing down my neck," Chloe said, and Lois shuddered at the mere thought of Lex Luthor being close enough to actually breathe down her neck.
"Ew," the brunette said succinctly, then frowned, glaring at the Christmas tree that was currently entirely without any decorations. "This isn't working."
"That's because we haven't even started to put the ornaments on it yet," Chloe replied, and Lois rolled her eyes.
"I don't mean that, Chloe. I mean... This. The holidays. Neither of us are in the mood for it and, as much as I adore you and love you like the sister I always wanted... Just the two of us for Christmas would kind of suck. Especially since we're both all mopey and stuff."
"What else are we going to do, Lois?" Chloe wanted to know, and the brunette rolled her eyes.
"We have other relatives, you know. And, okay, the drive would suck, but... It would be more fun than being stuck in Smallville," Lois said, getting to her feet as she spoke, and Chloe arched a brow.
"Where are you going?" she wanted to know, and Lois gave her a look.
"To make a phone call, of course."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Jo Harvelle frowned as she looked at the boxes of decorations she'd pulled down from the attic. It seemed that more and more lately, it just didn't feel worth it to pull all the Christmas stuff down and make a big deal of it. It was just the two of them this year. The past couple of years, Ash had been hanging around but now... Well, now he was gone, along with so many others.
"Don't think about it, Jo," she muttered to herself, then jerked at the sound of the phone ringing. Frowning, she made her way over to it, not bothering to check the caller ID before picking it up. "Hello?" she said into the receiver, listening for a few moments to the voice on the other end of the line, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she heard the rapid-fire of the familiar voice. "Hey, Lois. Christmas? No. Mom and I don't really have any plans. Really? Well, I can't speak for Mom, but... I know I'd love the company. Let me get back to you. I'll call you back in fifteen minutes," Jo told her cousin before getting off the phone and heading off to find Ellen.
It seemed like the holidays might be looking up.
end part one