Title: Home for the Holidays
Author: me_ya_ri
Email: me_ya_ri@yahoo.com
Rating: G
Challenge: Written for CLFF Wave 29: Holiday - Prompt: Holiday Dinner
Notes: Futurefic set post-rift.  Kind of sad because of the rift, but hopefully not too sad.  Many thanks to Danceswithgary for her excellent beta work!
Summary: Even in the middle of a feud, there's time for holiday dinner.

 

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The penthouse was cold when Lex finally made it home.  Hope and Mercy went to their rooms at one end of the vast apartment, and Lex strode confidently towards his half.  He wasn't about to admit that he disliked the cold atmosphere.  He'd been the one to specify the apartment's decor, after all.  Christmas was just another day for him, thus there were no decorations, no Christmas tree, nothing to speak of the season in his home.  It was as he wished it to be, but the chill in the air still made him shiver as he headed for the living room.  He'd have to remember to adjust the thermostat programming to warm the place before he got home.

 

Warmth washed over him when he opened the door to the living room.  There was a fire in the fireplace, with fragrant cedar logs burning brightly.  There were decorations covering the room, from garlands over the mantle, to a small but tasteful Christmas tree close to the sliding glass doors.  The smell of food hung in the air.  Lex stood still, amazed at the way his home had been transformed.  It was like stepping into an entirely different world, one that he no longer belonged to.

 

"Clark," Lex sighed, going to the table set with every one of his favorite holiday foods, all hot and waiting for him as if they had just been taken from the oven.

 

There was a bright red envelope next to the single place setting with the word "Lex" written in Clark's broad scrawl.  Lex let his lips quirk for a moment, picking it up and opening it.  He breathed a chuckle and shook his head at the note inside.

 

"Have holiday dinner on me since you won't come to the farm," it said.  "Merry Christmas!"  The signature was a pair of bold initials, 'CK.'

 

Lex allowed himself to smile this time.  Well, he supposed that he could let their feud go for one night, especially since one dish held what looked like some of Martha's mashed potatoes.  And there was pie and roast beef with homemade gravy, plus fresh baked dinner rolls and freshly churned butter.  Lex served himself, ate in silence, and eventually toasted the Christmas tree with his spiced cider.

"Merry Christmas, Clark."

 

He knew that Clark would hear and that was enough for now.

 

The End