Title: Unstoppable
Authors: Lex's Lady & Mistress Ace
E-mail: winter@sapphire-dragon.net & rosewood@inreach.com
Feedback: It's the icing on the cake. We write because the story demands to be told. Feedback lets us know if we struck a chord with you.
Distribution: Our website, of course, www.fandomwriters.com. The list archives are welcome to it also. Anyone else, please ask first. We'd like to know where our fic is going.
Rating: NC-17 (eventually – or maybe quickly depending on the whim of the muses)
Category: Crossover, Romance, Angst
Spoilers: All of season 1 of Smallville and season 6 of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
Pairings: Buffy/Clark/Lex, m/f, m/m
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters at all (however much we might wish we did). Buffy and all references to BTVS are property of the great god Joss Whedon, et al. Clark, Lex and the Smallville storyline belong to Miller-Gough et al. We're just borrowing them for a while. We promise to put them back unharmed and perhaps a little happier.
Notes: ** denotes internal thought, * = italics.
Summary: What if the Summers girls moved to Smallville? What if Buffy discovered that Clark had a secret and thought he could use a confidant?
Dedications: From Em: To Ace, for her never-ending support and her willingness to work on this with me. She writes both Clark and Lex in a way I could never hope to achieve, and I couldn't possibly have done this on my own.
From Ace: To Em for reminding me why I love Buffy. To Beth for being my Smallville watching partner even when the scripts were awful. To the whole Clark/Lex list for opening my eyes to the potential here. And finally to Christina for her great story; Runaway Trains at 3 A.M. which was part of our inspiration. You can find it at: this site.

Chapter 42

Lex's laptop was indeed booted up and logged in when Buffy got to it. She called up the Internet and went over to the hotmail website to log in to her personal e-mail.

To: r_giles@council.uk.org
From: DestructoGal@hotmail.com
Subject: Checking in and needing info

Dear Giles,

Hey Watcher-mine. How are you and Wills doing, over in the mother-country? Dawn and I are doing good, and my first day of work went pretty well.

I have a question for you, though. Maybe more than one. Can you find out if there was a Slayer in the 4th Century B.C. called Niamh? If so, can you see if her diary still exists? Something strange is going on, and I think I'm somehow getting images from her life. But I need to confirm the facts before I think I'm doing more than dreaming. Makes sense?

Otherwise, nothing new here. Smallville is like a gap in the demon nation. There are none here. At all. If anything comes up along those lines, I'll be sure to let you know.

Anyways, gotta run. Dawnie and I are having dinner with the family of one of her classmates. The Kents are really nice and they seem to want to help us out.

Love to you and Willow,

Buffy

Buffy hit the send button, then skimmed through the subject lines on her incoming mail. Nothing special - what looked like a hello from Xander, her usual daily from Willow and a forwarded joke from the same source. And that was it. She could answer these later, so she logged out and closed out of the Internet Explorer. She didn't know if Lex wanted the computer on or not, so she left it on. It could be shut down on the way out, if need be.

That done, she got up from Lex's desk and headed back to the bedroom. Might as well spend as much time as she could with her lovers together, since she had no idea when they would all be together again. A sucky thought, but that was life.

"And that's a hardship? You need to come up with something better than that, Kent." There was nothing in the world like bantering with Clark. Even with the several layers of innocence stripped away, it was still one of Lex's favorite pastimes.

"Something better than what?" Buffy asked lightly as she came back into the room. She'd obviously missed something, Clark was blushing... Blushing meant she automatically wanted to know what was going on.

Crossing the room was a matter of a few quick steps, but she stopped a pace or so away. Whether or not she would be able to keep her hands off Clark's naked body if she could reach him was a debatable issue. So she kept herself out of temptation's reach.

"Clark wants me to stop looking at him so he can get dressed." Lex commented over his shoulder. He took a step back and slipped his arm around Buffy's waist. "If it were up to me... I'd burn his clothes. All of them."

No more flannel. Now there was a thought. Where was Serge's phone number? And how long would it take to get him to Smallville? The very idea of Clark in a three-quarter coat was enough that the mouth-watering bit was devolving into out and out drooling.

And Luthors never drooled.

Not in public.

Buffy tilted her head slightly as she leaned against Lex, then shook it. "I wouldn't. Issue a ban on him wearing them around here, though... that's something I'd do." She winked at Clark. "But he needs clothes to wear to school. Otherwise I'd have to blind every girl in town, including my own sister. I know you guys don't hear this stuff, being guys, but some of those girls just gush about Clark."

Dawn certainly had. And where Dawn's attention turned, others were sure to start looking. Dawn was just that kind of person, she had that effect on people.

"Umm.. gush?" That was a bit of a surprise. Clark stopped in the middle of pulling his boxers on to look up at Buffy from under his lashes.

Jesus, that look was a sex crime waiting to happen. How Clark had managed not to be kidnapped and fucked into oblivion before yesterday Lex had no clue. It really was a good thing that the Kents kept such a close eye on him. That startled flirty look was milk carton material.

Pederasty had never been a kink of his but for Clark, Lex was willing to learn.

Buffy's breath caught in her throat and she had to tear her eyes off Clark to keep herself from pouncing on him. "Baby, do me a favor and don't look at people like that at school, please? If you looked at Dawn that way, it's no wonder she came home babbling..."

She shook herself and took a deep breath. Attempted to calm herself down. They had to leave soon. "Yes, gushing. Something girls do when there are no guys around to hear them. They chatter and babble and talk about whatever or whoever in shrill, excited tones and as many adjectives as they can stick in one sentence."

"Adjectives... I'm surprised they can even make vowel sounds when he does that." Lex's slow smile sent a shiver down Clark's spine. Appreciation on this level wasn't something Clark was used to at all.

The jeans were next, they tangled around his feet and Clark almost stumbled before he hitched them up over his hips. Like all new jeans, getting into them involved a shimmy and a twist to the left to get the button done.

Sex crime. Cover of the Inquisitor with his hand down Clark's pants and his tongue down Clark's throat. Better yet, those pants hanging off of one of Clark's ankles with the other one hooked around his waist. He'd even get it framed and hang it over his dad's desk.

"They probably don't make anything but vowel sounds, if that, when he does that, true. The gushing takes place after the fact, generally. Like I said, out of the presence of any and all guys." Buffy clarified what she meant. With a sigh, she leaned against Lex a little more and tried to discipline herself to the 'look, but don't touch' thing. Very definitely not an easy thing, with Clark twisting like that.

Especially with Clark twisting like that.

It was, like, an invitation to grope or something like that.

And she was going to have to be with Clark all evening and not touch. A recipe for torture and no mistake. Somehow, she thought it was going to be a very long night. If it didn't kill her, that is.

"Kent, you could tempt a saint. And Buffy, I applaud your sister's taste. I have the feeling I'm going to like her." Lex checked his watch, the gold coin flashed in the fading light. "I have to go. Tempes fugit."

An echo of Alexander that sent a shiver down Clark's spine. His indrawn breath was echoed by one from Buffy as they both went to the same place. "I'll check with my folks about staying here, Lex. And thanks for today. It was... great."

"It was," Buffy agreed. She twisted around to face Lex and stood on her toes to kiss him goodbye. "I'll see you later, right?" she asked softly. But her mouth covered his before he could answer, and she kissed him for as long as she could.

When the kiss broke, she stepped away. Partly so Clark could have a chance to say goodbye, and partly because she, once again, needed to remove temptation before she just grabbed him.

Sometimes being a responsible adult sucked. Majorly.

"Yes, Beauty, I'll see you in a few hours." Lex licked his lower lip, catching her taste before turning to Clark. The ubiquitous flannel shirt was still clutched in Clark's hand and Lex brushed it to the floor before sliding into a set of very welcoming arms.

The final kiss had to be quick, just a flick of his tongue into Clark's mouth and a full body grind that left both of them a little breathless. Long before he wanted to, Lex pushed Clark back with a sigh of regret. "I'll see you soon. Friday at the latest."

"Friday," Clark pressed his forehead to Lex's, fighting the urge to cling to him. Now was not the time to act like a little kid. "I love you."

The plaintive note almost broke him. Lex steeled himself, fighting the urge to say the hell with it. Amazingly, his voice came out calm and smooth. "I love you. You can call anytime. Day or night. I'm sorry, Clark. I've really got to go..."

"Go on, love," Buffy said as she crossed over to them. "I'll take care of Clark. I promise." She wrapped her arm around Clark and held him tightly. Comforting for both of them, because saying goodbye always sucked. She didn't really think it would ever stop sucking, but hopefully it would get a little easier at least.

Lex jerked at his cuffs, grabbed his over-coat and walked past both of them to his study. He didn't pause at the doorway. They'd tortured each other enough already.

When Lex was gone, Clark sagged against Buffy. Part of the light had left the room with Lex and it hurt. Buffy squeezed him and he squeezed back. "We better go. Lex said your car's still at the plant?"

"Yeah. We spent most of the afternoon here. We worked through lunch and kept going until we were done. And I came with Lex, so my car is still there." She squeezed Clark once more, then let him go.

"Would it make you feel better if you could do something nice for Lex, to surprise him?" Buffy asked quietly. She saw him nod and gave him a smile. "I thought it might. Here..." She picked up his flannel shirt and folded it, then handed it to him. "Leave this on Lex's pillow for when he gets back. It still smells like you, and I think he'd enjoy having it here when he gets home. You can always get it tomorrow if your mom asks where it went."

"It's an old one, I'm pretty sure she won't notice." His smile was back as Clark walked over to the bed. He laid the shirt on one of the pillows, retrieved the bottle of oil and the knife. "We should probably wash this."

"Oh, yeah," Buffy agreed. "That's probably a good idea. Do you mind, or should I?" Buffy didn't care. Knives didn't really bother her, and neither did the sight of one with her blood on it. Okay, yeah, if it was a lot of her blood, that would be pretty gross. But it wasn't worth getting upset over a scratch like the one she'd gotten. Whatever little bit of a mark was left on her neck would be gone by the time they got to the Kents'.

"I can take care of it. Would you leave Damien a note not to take the shirt away?" Clark touched the blood spots on the sheets and looked over his shoulder at Buffy. "I'm pretty sure he's going to change the sheets before Lex gets back."

He wasn't going to think about the blood. He wasn't going to think about the blood. He wasn't going to think about the blood.

Maybe if he thought it enough times it wouldn't bother him. Blood and sex and Lex cut her with a knife and it was hot and God... he was so fucked up. Everything he'd been taught, everything his parents had drilled into him for years said what they did was wrong.

It was wrong and it was sick and Clark wanted it to happen again. Maybe not the knife part but the tying up and the images and being with Alexander and Cyrene and being Hephaestion...

Buffy went out into the study and powered down the computer. She took a few minutes to organize the documents that she and Lex would need for the next day, then slid them into his case with the laptop. Might as well leave things in relative order.

When she returned to the bedroom, Clark was still in the bathroom. He had the strangest expression on his face as he handled the knife, and she leaned on the counter by his side, looking up at him. "Hey, baby. Penny for your thoughts."

Clark looked up and her and slid the knife under the faucet. The blade ran red for a few seconds while he gathered his thoughts. "Today... did you like being tied up?"

With the water turned off, he dried the blade on one of the towels. Getting cut was something that would never happen to him. His skin was impenetrable, so Lex could hold a knife to his throat until the end of the world and nobody would get hurt. But Buffy could and did and Lex could and... he really needed to stop thinking about this.

"I did. I enjoyed it a lot," Buffy said gently. "Do you remember what Alexander said, about only truly being free when you're bound like that?" She saw his nod and smiled as she went on. "Alexander is right, to some extent. For a free person, being bound releases them from control. I didn't have to do anything, wasn't responsible for anything. I was free, unfettered, and completely out of control."

She took a deep breath and studied Clark's expression while she spoke, "And for someone who has to be in control of herself, her strength, every minute of every day... it's an incredible experience."

"Do you think..." he hesitated for a long time before setting the knife down on the counter. "Do you think Lex would tie me up?" And the blushing could stop anytime now.

Beet red and stammering. In front of a girl that he'd been inside of less than an hour ago. Thinking about that wasn't helping with the blushing thing either.

Buffy nodded and a smile spread slowly across her face to light her from within. "I think he would, if you wanted him to. And I would too, as long as I knew it was what you wanted."

She tilted her head and looked up at him. "It's a unique experience, love. I could've torn the silk tie anytime I chose, but it was the experience of being restrained more than it was the physical restraints. I was bound, couldn't move, so I didn't. I never even tried. In a way, that made it more comfortable to start with. The safe words do the same thing, in a different way. And normally, safe words are the only way to stop your lover."

"Silk's not gonna hold me. Maybe the stuff Lex has in the bottom drawer might but I doubt it." Clark took advantage of her position and leaned over for a kiss. The red was fading from his face and his neck - all good things.

It didn't even occur to him that Lex hadn't actually shown them the contents of the bottom drawer. It was just something he'd caught during an earlier scan of the room. "We should probably get going. I've got some chores to do before dinner... Even though all I want to do it take you back to bed."

Buffy smiled and nodded. "Let's go, baby. We can keep talking on the way, if you'd like." She picked up the knife and took it back to the bedroom with them. She put it in the top drawer of Lex's nightstand, so he could find it if he really wanted to. And though she was very tempted to see what was in the bottom drawer so she would know what Clark was talking about, she refrained. She would grant Lex his privacy until he chose to share.

She gathered up her purse and her coat, then she and Clark finally left the bedroom. Buffy kept an eye out and paused in the hallway when she spotted Damien. "Damien, do you have a moment please?" she called out to the older man.

Ahhh, Master Lex must have had quite the delightful afternoon given the smile of her face and the faintly embarrassed tinge on Mr. Kent's. Good for them. "Yes, Ms. Summers?"

The construction project was continuing apace and the majority of the repairs would be finished by the end of the week. Which would be for the best if Lex intended on keeping his liaison with these two private. Ms. Summers was not so much the concern as young Mr. Kent. He was still under the age of majority and honestly, he didn't need the notoriety that came with being Lex's paramour.

"We left something on Lex's pillow for him to find when he gets home tonight. Would you please be sure no one removes it before he returns?" Buffy gave Damien a sweet smile. She wanted Lex to find his surprise, and wanted Clark to have the reassurance of knowing Lex would get it.

If she was being honest with herself, she also hoped Lex would appreciate it. Similar gestures had meant a lot to Buffy, in the past, but Lex was a man and men weren't always as sentimental about such things. Still, she thought he might. And regardless, it made Clark feel better.

"Certainly. Have a good evening." Damien watched them walk out together. When they reached the main doors, Mr. Kent took Ms. Summers' hand and held it within his own. Even brought it to his lips as he opened the door. Damien's smile didn't fade until long after they were gone.

****

It was 5:25 when Buffy's car pulled into the driveway at the Kent Farm. She and Dawn had talked a little on the way here, and Buffy reminded Dawn that manners were a little different in a place like Smallville. She'd reminded her sister of Riley's typical behavior, and said that the Kents were very much the same. Dawn had promised to behave herself as much as possible, and they'd left it at that.

Both girls shivered for a moment in their sweaters when they got out of the car, and Buffy reminded herself that she needed to do some shopping when she got her first paycheck. With Martha's coat over her arm, Buffy led the way up to the porch and rang the doorbell. Dawn was only a step behind, and excitement sparkled in her eyes. Not just because these people were 'family' of sorts, according to Buffy, but because this was Clark's house.

Clark. Gorgeous Clark. With his tall, built body and those deep, dark eyes and his shy smile.

The door opened wide to reveal Jonathan Kent, complete with a nice button-down shirt. A pair of tiny reading glasses were perched on his nose and the warm smile he gave both of them lit up the hallway. "Buffy, right on time. Come in."

He took the coat from her and pulled her into a quick hug. "It's good to see you. Clark's still in the shower. He got home a little late today and had to finish up his chores." Warm blue eyes tuned to Dawn and she got a nod from Clark's father. "Dawn, welcome to our home again."

He was genuinely glad to see Buffy. Maybe she'd be able to keep Clark from spending so much time at Lex's. When he questioned his son about the delay, all he'd gotten was a shrug and an off-hand comment about getting lost in a game at Lex's. The Luthor boy was a bad influence on Clark. A very bad influence.

"Thank you, Mr. Kent," Dawn replied. "It's nice to be here again." She closed the door behind herself and both she and Buffy pulled off their pullover sweaters. It was nice and warm in the house, even if it was cold outside. Dawn gave her sweater to Buffy and watched her sister fold the garments and set them on the arm of the couch in the living room.

Buffy smiled as she watched her sister look around the house. It was homey, if a little country to their city-girl tastes, but Dawn just smiled when she saw all the photographs scattered around.

"Would you mind if I look at the pictures, Mr. Kent?" Dawn asked after a few minutes of general study of the room.

"Go right ahead. Martha needs my help in the kitchen so feel free." He ducked into the other room just as Clark came barreling down the stairs. Freshly showered and scrubbed clean, his hair still wet.

Clark caught sight of Buffy by the couch and bounded towards her, broad smile firmly in place. He stopped short of pulling her in for a hug when he spotted Dawn over by the piano. "Hey, Buffy... Dawn. Sorry I didn't meet you at the door."

He was doing his best to seem normal even though his hair was doing the curling thing again. Hands tucked into his pockets, shoulders a little hunched, socks rather than boots because his were still out on the porch recovering from an incident with a puddle.

"It's okay, Clark. How are you? How was school?" Buffy asked lightly, as if she hadn't seen him at Lex's and he hadn't driven her back to the plant less than half an hour ago.

Oh, yes. This was going to be a difficult evening. Extremely difficult. Buffy tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans and tried to look big-sisterly rather than like she wanted to jump his bones. Not an easy task. Not at all.

Dawn turned around with a bright smile when Clark came into the room. "Hey Clark," she greeted. She was getting better at greeting him while being stunned by his gorgeousness. She could say hi. She just had to try not to drool while she did it.

"School was okay. This close to summer vacation there's not a lot going on. How was work?" He did not say that. Yeah, if was a normal and okay question to ask but work brought up the subject of Lex. Getting a hard-on in front of Buffy wasn't a bad thing but getting one in front of her sister definitely was.

Clark dug his hands further into his pockets and wondered if there were some chores he could come up with off the cuff that would need his attention. Like until Dawn left.

****

"They seem to be hitting it off, don't you think?" Jonathan bit into an apple slice as he observed his son with the two girls. Dawn was bright and pretty and Clark's age. She also didn't have a boyfriend as far as he knew.

Martha looked up at her husband and smiled. "Yes, they do. I'm glad to see it, too. I'm sure it will be nice for Clark to have a friend who's a little like he is. And even though he has to be careful about Dawn finding out, he'll have Buffy to help him keep things smoothed over." She checked the food in the oven, then crossed over to stand beside Jon. "Clark could use a girl in his life... and Dawn certainly looks interested, don't you think?"

"Work was okay," Buffy answered Clark's question. "Busy." But she didn't go into detail, because she knew bringing up Lex would be a bad idea. Not only that, it would make Dawn even more suspicious.

As much as she wanted to stay and chaperone her lover and her sister, courtesy demanded that she go greet Mrs. Kent and see if there was anything she could do to help. "I'm going to go say hi to your mom, Clark. Okay?"

Dawn spoke up from her place by the photos. "Clark, while she's gone could you tell me when these pictures were taken? I only recognize a few of the people in them." Yes. Alone-time with Clark. Now if only she could actually hold up her end of a conversation...

"Sure," Clark moved to let Buffy go by him and his eyes closed briefly as he caught her scent. Too many thoughts, too many memories. He shook his head a little to clear it before taking the last few steps over to where Dawn stood.

"Well, that's me." He pointed to one of the pictures from two years ago when Chloe had first come to town. "And that's Chloe and the short guy is Pete." They were all almost the same height then, his first growth spurt hit a few weeks later.

*****

Jonathan was setting the table when Buffy came into the kitchen. He smiled at her and looked beyond into the living room. "Seems they get along pretty well. It's good to see Clark with someone his own age."

Buffy tilted her head slightly, a little puzzled. "I thought most of Clark's friends were his own age. Dawn's always talking about seeing him with Chloe and another boy, walking around school. And rumor has it that Clark has a crush on Lana." Buffy smiled at that; it looked like an indulgent smile, but it was really a relieved one. Ms. Lang was not competition for Clark's affections anymore.

"The other boy is probably Pete, and it's true that they're in the same class at school," Martha replied easily. "But he doesn't spend as much time with them as he used to."

Buffy nodded, and interrupted for just a moment, "I don't mean to change the subject, but is there anything I can do to help out while we talk?" She saw Martha shake her head, so just took up a place leaning against the doorframe, out of everybody's way.

"Glasses are in the cupboard by the sink," Jonathan volunteered as he laid out silverware. He stopped when he heard Dawn giggle about something. Clark was pointing to another one of the pictures, leaning in close to probably explain and Dawn was gazing up at him. "Most of his friends are his age, except for Lex. And that's the one I'm worried about."

Ever since Clark became friends with Lex, their whole world turned upside down. Their herd lost, the land poisoned, a reporter in the storm cellar filming Clark's ship... Jonathan searched for the guy's body after the storm. All he found was the camera and nobody came for the car parked a mile from their place. The police finally towed it away on Saturday.

If Lex ever discovered Clark's secret, they would lose their son. Alexander Luthor was Lionel Luthor's son. Ruthless, heartless and not to be trusted.

Buffy studied Mr. Kent's expression for a few minutes before she said anything else. But she finally let herself ask the question in her mind. "Why does Lex worry you? He seems perfectly nice to me. A little strange, maybe, but no more than Dawn or me or any of my friends from Sunnydale."

Martha focused on making sure that the food didn't burn in the last few minutes it needed to get completely done. Jonathan had more of a problem with Lex than she did, so she thought he should be the one to explain. It wasn't that she would trust Lex with Clark's secret, but she thought the young man deserved a chance. Which was more than Jonathan would ever admit to.

"Lex Luthor's too smart for his own good." Jonathan's voice dropped a little to keep Clark or Dawn from hearing him. "His father's driven more people off their land than I can name. If he ever found out the truth about Clark, Lex would turn him over to a lab in nothing flat."

Buffy bit her lip lightly, then went ahead with the conversation. She had to control her tone carefully, though. She didn't like the way Mr. Kent was talking about Lex. Not at all. "How can you judge Lex by what his father did, though? That doesn't seem very fair. I'm nothing like my father; he abandoned us, and I couldn't let anyone take Dawn away from me. She's my sister, and I just couldn't let it happen. I know that I don't know a lot of people here, yet, but has Lex actually done anything to make you believe that he's like his father?"

Jonathan had heard this argument before from both his wife and his son. It wasn't so much anything Lex had done as it was how Lex made him feel. There were time when Jonathan caught Lex looking at Clark like he was hungry and the only thing worth eating for miles around was right in front of him.

There were plenty of rumors about Lex and his behavior before coming to Smallville. And none of them were good. While Jonathan had nothing against gays, he didn't want one touching his son. Clark had enough to deal with without having an impossibly rich guy hitting on him.

"I just don't trust him. Ever since he started hanging around, Clark's changed. He's not as open with us about things." He walked back into the kitchen and pulled the milk bottle out of the fridge. One look from Martha had him pouring the milk into a glass. "I don't like my son lying to me."

Buffy smiled a bit and nodded. "You sound a little like my mom used to," she said softly. "But there is something else you might want to consider. If Clark actually is lying about things, do you know that it's about Lex? Because if I remember right, Clark said that he came into his powers around the same time Lex moved to town. And that the mutant problems started then, too."

Buffy paused, then went on. It was something the Kents should consider, rather than assuming everything was about Lex. "I'm not proud of it, but I lied to my mother to keep her safe and so she wouldn't worry about me. I did it for years, because there wasn't any other way. Maybe Clark is doing the same thing with you. Because he wants you to be safe." Buffy finished setting glasses on the table and returned to her place by the door.

Unconsciously, she stood between the two groups of people in the house, where she would either see or hear immediately if a threat popped up. Not that she didn't think Clark could handle himself and keep Dawn safe, but it was a habit so deep she wasn't even aware of doing it most of the time.

****

"Those are my grandparents... well sort of. I'm adopted." Dawn was staring up at him and any minute now he was going to offer her a napkin. For the drool.

It was strange seeing people through Lex and Buffy colored glasses. They'd opened him up to so much. When he looked in the mirror earlier, Clark thought he looked different. Taller, maybe and... more secure.

Dawn looked at the picture when he mentioned grandparents. Really looked at it. And they looked like nice people, if old. But that was the nature of grandparents. "It must be nice to have grandparents," Dawn said finally in a soft, almost hesitant voice. "Our mom's parents died when Buffy and I were little. I think Buffy remembers them a bit, but I don't. Dad's parents are still alive, but we haven't seen them since the divorce."

She looked up at Clark again and asked, "Will you tell me about yours, sometime? Please?"

"Sure. I've got lots of stories about them." Clark decided to put a little distance between himself and Dawn. She was being way too friendly. He moved away from the pictures and leaned against the fireplace. "So, what was life like in Sunnydale? Probably a lot more exciting than here, right?"

"Sometimes," Dawn said carefully. She didn't know that Clark knew about Buffy; there hadn't been that much time for them to talk before coming here. So she thought she had to be careful about what she told him. "It's a bigger town, for one thing. We actually have a mall not too far away. And Sunnydale's only a couple of hours from LA."

Dawn shrugged. "Really, though, it wasn't much. People still mostly knew each other, and there was only one high school. Plus, when I started there everyone knew I was Buffy's sister. Which kinda sucked. Here, at least, people don't expect me to be like her."

"Your sister's pretty cool though. I don't think it would be a bad thing for you to be like her." Clark felt a curl fall across his forehead and he pushed it out of the way. It really was time to cut his hair again. Maybe he'd ask his mom to do it before they left on their trip.

"Well, kinda. She had a good rep with the students. But she wasn't good in her classes, so all the teachers picked on me like they did on her. At least until they figured out that I'm a better student than she is," Dawn explained. Then her eyes went wide and she thought that must've sounded really bad. "Not that Buffy isn't smart or anything," she added quickly. "But, you know, some people like school and some people just don't."

"I'm not talking about school. She's raising you by herself. That's a lot of work." Clark shrugged and pushed away from the wall. His gaze fixed on Buffy where she stood in the doorway. She was so beautiful and she loved him. Dawn faded into the background and whatever she was saying didn't even register anymore.

****

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