A Day to Wonder

Author: tyffi
Pairing: Lex/other
Rating: R (for language)
Spoilers: nah, not really
Warnings: English fic written by a German!
Summary: Lex has a happy relationship but this day is really odd.
A/N: The story is actually a part of my German SV AU.
Click for cover

Disclaimer: "Smallville" and its characters are copyright of DC Comics, Warner Brothers, Tollin/Robbins and Millar/Gough Ink.

Many thanks to my wonderful beta miche_connor who encouraged me with her nice words. :)

A day to wonder!

Christine Laura Harris is the most special being I've ever met. And I've dated a lot of beautiful women, but I would never refer to any of them as special. Chris definitely is!

She isn't exactly what you'd call a miraculous beauty; though she isn't ugly, either. She isn't even easy to handle or to understand, but there's something that draws me to her, I can't explain.

Maybe it's her full lips, so soft and smooth that makes me want to know what they will feel like around my cock. Maybe it's her big, blue-greenish eyes that seem to look right through me and see who I really am without judging me for it. Maybe it's her gorgeous smile, which is so honest and shiny that it makes you forget even the worst things in your life. Or maybe it's her inner joy. Her point of view - and her intelligence.

As much as I like to sleep with her, I like to talk to her. And that's something I never felt before. Either I wanted to talk to women or fuck them. But mostly it was the latter. Beauty and brains combined in one person is rare to find and in former times, I wasn't really attracted to intelligent women.

But my past doesn't matter anymore. I'm here with Chris, who's still sleeping next to me. Her body is pressed against mine like a second skin and I enjoy holding her in my arms.

Probably I'm seeing everything through rose-coloured spectacles at the moment and acting like some kind of love fool, but I can't stop myself. And actually I don't want it to stop. I'm starting to feel happy now and I hope the feeling will last. At least for a couple of months.

Chris still sleeps. She seems to be dead to the world and I wonder how someone can fall into such a deep, comatose sleep. Every now and then she squeaks slightly.
At least she's still alive! But she's always doing this when she's dreaming and it makes her sound like a guinea pig. It's an awesome noise and it makes her even more unique.

I watch her a few moments in silence, until I catch a glimpse at the clock on my bedside table. It's time to get up. My father wants to see me over at LuthorCorp plaza today and as far as I know, Chris has to meet at least half a dozen clients in her office today. That's the bad part of dating a lawyer. She's always working. Up to 80 hours per week or even more. She even beats me up when it comes to work.

I'd rather spend the whole day with her in bed and stop her from working – we both could use some rest - but this'll remain wishful thinking.

Sighing, I lean over Chris and softly kiss her cheek, before climbing out of bed and heading for the shower. I grin, when I see Chris' peach-scented shampoo standing on the shelf in the shower. Actually, it's the first time there's a bottle of shampoo in this bathroom at all, and I open it just to smell the slight scent of peaches. It smells a lot better on Chris, but it's still nice.
Maybe this is an odd behaviour, but I've always been interested in hair products. After all I haven't used shampoo for over fifteen years now and there's no chance I'll ever need to use it again.

I'm not uncomfortable with being bald – it's kind of advantageous – but sometimes I do envy the hair of everyone around me and I wonder if my life would've been any different, if I hadn't lost my hair through the meteor shower of 1989. But there's no need to cry about spilled milk.

Getting out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my hips and reenter the bedroom to wake up Chris. She's still asleep, but now lying on her stomach diagonal across the bed. Her long brown hair is messy and covers the pillows like a dark mantle, while her body is barely hidden under the sheets.

What a nice view!

Her well-shaped body on my bed. It's muscular, but still pretty feminine. She's slim, but not too much. Her boobs perfectly fit in my palms and everything at her is well proportioned. Though Chris is always complaining about her height and her thighs, I think she's quite perfect.
I could keep watching her sleep, but I need to wake her up. I have to leave soon and don't want to go without saying goodbye. And I don't want to scare her again. She shall not wake up with me being gone. That had happened once, after our first shared night. I'd woken up early and left her sleeping to get us breakfast. Unfortunately, she had woken up while I was gone and of course she'd thought the night had meant nothing but a one-night stand.

She must've felt awful then and I don't want to feel her this way again. Besides, it's always a good way to start the day, when I can look into her beautiful eyes first.
So, I lean over her for the second time and gently kiss her neck.

"Morning, sleepyhead," I whisper, while stroking her back. "Time to get up!"

Yawning, she wrinkles up her nose and squints her eyes. "Only five more minutes. I'm dreaming..." Then she slowly rubs the sleep out of her eyes and blinks at me, while stretching her arms. "Hi..."

She's still all sleepy, but that makes her even more adorable.

"Hi!"

A few moments, she's just watching me with a happy smile on her face, before she suddenly starts to pout.
"Hey, you already took a shower... Without me! How mean!"

"Next time you can join me," I reply, removing a strand of hair from her face. Did I mention that she's adorable in this sleepy condition? "Did you sleep well?"

"Hmmm," she nods, rolling on her back. "I dreamed of you." A naughty smile flashes over her face and she pulls me towards her, starting to kiss me. "It was a nice dream. We did a lot of nice things. I can show you..." Still grinning, her hands move over my back down to my hips.

I sigh with pleasure under her touch, but when she reaches out for the towel, I have to stop her. Loathly, but we don't have time for this right now.

"Let's save that for later, okay?! Now go, get up. While you're under the shower, I make us breakfast. And then it's time for me to go." Climbing out of bed again, I'm going to head for the walk-in wardrobe, when I suddenly hear Chris making a strange sound. Turning around, I watch her curiously. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah... No... it's just," she stutters confused, biting her lower lip. "When you said, you come to Metropolis, I thought you'd -"

"You assumed, I only came here for your own special entertainment."

Chris gasps and I realize, that my comment might have been a little bit too sharp.

"No, I didn't! But you haven't mentioned any meetings or something else. That's why I thought, you wanted to see me and that's why I specially took the day off," she replies coldly. "Sorry for being so naive!" She takes one of the sheets and wraps it around herself.

Great! We haven't fought for... maybe two days?! I didn't want to upset her or hurt her feelings. Of course, I'm also in Metropolis to see her, but – Wait, did she say she took the day off? She'd never done this before. Not even for meeting her father. What does this mean?

I step toward the bed and smile at her conciliatory.
"From your reaction I can tell that I haven't told you I'll meet my Dad today!?"

"Your Dad?" She seems surprised. "Is that a tradition between the two of you?"

I wrinkle my brows. Sometimes I really don't know what she's talking about, nor am I able to follow her train of thoughts.

"Well, if you call yelling at each other a tradition then – yes, it is a tradition," I laugh and pinch her nose. "But you can trust me, when I say I'd rather spend the day with you. Sorry for not telling you about the meeting. - Did you really take the day off?"

Again, she nods. "I thought it'd be nice to be together all day and do... I don't know... things..."

I grin. Things, that would be indeed very nice. This woman is so incredible cute. I pet her cheek and gently kiss her forehead.

"Okay, listen! Why don't you stay here and wait till I come back - "

"But the meeting with your father -"

"I'm sure it won't take long. He'll blame me for being incompetent and disappointing to him and I'll call him a bad father. We'll exchange a few more niceties and then we're done. All in all, it won't take longer than two hours. Maybe three. Depends on his mood." I try to let my voice sound lightly, which isn't quite easy. But then I look into Chris' beautiful eyes and the prospect of meeting my Dad isn't that bad anymore.
"I'd really appreciate i if you'd still be here when I get back. And then we still have most of the day for us," I add.

"You want me to wait here?"

Now it's on me to nod. "Of course. I need something to look forward to while I meet my Dad. And you're the best thing I can think of!"

She blushes. The colour of her cheeks is turning into a deep red, but her face also lights up and suddenly she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me.

"Sorry for being so snappy," she whispers.

"It's okay. I dared you." I return her kiss, before looking at her. "So, does it mean, you're waiting here?"

"Sure! But first I will make you coffee while you get dressed." Now she's all smiles again and jumps out of bed. The sheet's flying and I catch a glimpse of her naked butt.

Nice! Can you do that again, please?

I stand up, too, as Chris is on her way in the kitchen, when she suddenly turns around and comes back to me. She's pressing her body against mine and wraps her arms around my neck.

"Ich hab dich lieb," she whispers, brushing my lips with hers and then heads for the kitchen.

Rarely, she speaks German. Even though she knows I command that language, too. But it's her mother-tongue. Literally! She had spoken German with her now dead mother and it became the reflexion of her true feelings. 'Ich hab dich lieb' is less strong than 'I love you', but still strong enough to know that she really cares for me. Just like I do for her. I don't want her to tell me, that she loves me. Hearing these four German words means much more.

***

When my father said he wanted to see me today, he forgot to mention that he wanted to see me at the LuthorCorp board meeting. And those meetings usually are as boring as listening to Jonathan Kent's platitudes over and over again. I really rate him as a hard-working and honest man, but his constant complaining about my descent and my friendship with Clark is quite annoying. Just like this meeting.
Nevertheless, his platitudes would be a pleasant change now.

Board meetings at LuthorCorp are all the same. It's all about finances, stocks and expanding. Only the numbers change.

I start to wonder, why I'm here. Another test of my father? This time to test my patience!? I guess, I fail. When it comes to my Dad, patience isn't exactly my strong point.

LuthorCorp isn't my business. Literally! Though I hold ten percent of it's shares, I'm not interested in this company at all. LuthorCorp will always be my father's company but I want to run my own. I know I can do it and it'll be bigger than LuthorCorp ever can be!

So, why am I here? Probably not because Dad wants to make sure that his only legitimate heir knows everything about the company's financial standing. I'm sure he won't die soon. Sometimes I even think he won't die at all and he'll always be the CEO of LuthorCorp.

Damn it! When is this meeting finally over? I feel like a boy among adults, who was told to keep his mouth shut until he's asked to speak. And to be honest: at the moment I even acted like a kid.

Sighing, I look at my notes just to find out that I must've spent the last 30 minutes doodling. The paper is covered with little matchstick men and I wonder whether I ever have done such a thing before. I know that Chris is doodling while she's on the phone. Maybe I've spent too much time with her so far and start to imitate her now. That might also be an explanation why I sound like a whiny kid at the moment.

Chris...

Checking my watch, I find that already three hours has passed since I left the penthouse and I hope she's still waiting there for me. If only we would make a break now so I could call her. Hopefully, she won't get bored. Well, whatever she's doing, it's probably more entertaining than this meeting!

I steal a glance at the other board members and observe their behaviour during this meeting.

There's Holly McAdams sitting near the door. She's new to the board, inherited her father's place, but actually she's the only one who seems to be really interested in my father's speech.

Joseph Aidens on the other hand has been a board director within my memory. I remember him as a kind man, who always had a piece of chocolate for me when I was younger, visiting Dad with Mom. That hadn't happened too often, but Aidens always has been my favourite of all of my father's employees.
But now he's dozing off and slowly, his toupee slips from his head. I start to grin.

That's why I don't wear such a thing. In my opinion it's more embarrassing to hide your baldness and I doubt that I'll ever be vain enough to wear a toupee. Indeed, I hope someone will shoot me, before I do such a thing!

Suddenly, my father stands up and clears his throat. In the very same moment, Aidens notices his mishap and immediately is trying to put his toupee back into place. If someone asks me later about the most interesting moment of this meeting, I have to mention this.

"I think we're done now," my father says and gives the board a smile. "As expected LuthorCorp is doing well and I'm optimistic that we can expand within the next three months. - Thank you all for coming. And your patience."

Obedient laughters fill the air, before everyone's rapping on the tables. Then the meeting is officially over and it almost seems like people are keen on escaping my father. I've never seen a room empty any faster!

I stand up, grabbing my stuff and want to leave, too, when Dad suddenly calls me back.

"Lex, on a word, please!" He said please, but it sounds like a command.

"Sure, Dad." Next time I'll make sure to sit near the door. "But I don't have much time at the moment."

Dad's raising his brows. "You don't? Do you need a rest now after all the doodling?" A sarcastic smile flashes up.

What is Chris calling him all the time? A not so nice German word, I can't remember now, but it fits perfectly well.

"I don't have much time, Dad," I repeat instead of reacting on his comment. "So, what is it?"

"Lex, I'm sure Miss Harris will wait for you a little longer. There's no need for a hurry."

I clench my teeth. "That's why I'm here then? To discuss my personal life!?" I try to let my voice sound cool, though I'm far away from being calm.
Chris is something I want to keep away from my father. Far away! She's way too good and innocent to get near him. Even speaking of her in front of him is a thing I usually avoid.

"You're here because of the board meeting, son," Dad explains, still smiling.

I hate that smile!

"If I remember correctly, you still hold ten percent of LuthorCorp shares, what makes you an important member of the board." While he's speaking, he puts some manila folders into his briefcase, but suddenly he stops and watches me. "Isn't a father allowed anymore to be interested in his only son's life?"

Your only son? It sounded different when Lucas has been here and you disinherited me!

Suppressing the urge to roll my eyes, I withstand his look. "Dad, get to the point!"

"Actually, there is no point, Lex. I..." He hesitates and I wonder why. Dad's the most eloquent person I know, but now it seems like he's lost for words. He even looks a little puzzled.

"Dad, you okay?!" I'm a bit worried.

"Yeah... uhm... I'm fine, son." Eagerly, he opens his briefcase, he just closed a second before, and takes out an envelope. He hands it to me. "The Luthor Foundation is celebrating its first anniversary in the end of Octobre. And... I'd be glad, if you would join the party. In company of the delightful Miss Harris, of course. Or whomever you'll choose as your companion."

Ah, he's back. Still thinking, I change my girlfriends like underwear, he probably assumes that by the end of October I'll already have dumped Chris. I wonder if he'll ever realize that I'm not the spoiled teenager anymore, he used to know.
Nevertheless, his behaviour still seems odd to me and I eye him curiously.

"I'll think about it, Dad." Still confused, I take the envelope and put it into the inner pocket of my jacket. "Anything else?"

"No... no, that's all. Would you excuse me now? I have another meeting." Taking his briefcase, he almost rushes out of the meeting room. Only when he reaches the door, he stops and turns around to me. "Enjoy your day, son!" And then he's gone.

I stare at the open door. Likely my mouth is wide open, but I'm surprised. Since I've met Chris, I get used to strange behaviour, but not from my father! This is like being in the Twilight Zone! Did this really happen?
I was wasting my time in a three-hour board meeting, just to learn that Dad wants to invite me to his foundation's anniversary?! Smart people invented mail for cases like these!

Since Dad's got shot almost six months ago, he's been acting really odd. Maybe the attempted assassination affected is mind, because over these last months, he's been so different. He's not behaving as I expect him to behave. He's... nice.
Yeah, that's the right word. He has been nice. But that usually means he's planning something less nice. I don't know what it is, but I'll find out. Until then I'll be very careful around him!

***

All the way back to the penthouse, I thought about my father's strange behavior. I can't get it out of my mind. He's driving me crazy, and I can't stop thinking about what he could be doing, what it might mean. Is that his plan? Pretending to be nice, that he has no schemes or traps for me to fall into? Maybe, he’s using the whole 'plan without having a plan at all, maneuver.'

Damn it! That's insane. I'm getting paranoid!

Shaking my head with the hope of getting rid of these thoughts, I open the penthouse's door and ask myself whether Chris is still waiting for me or already gone? I get an answer only a second later.

She must have heard my keys turning in the lock, because now she comes running down the hall. Her step is bouncy and for a second she reminds me on a very young kid. Or actually a dog waiting for it's master to come home.

Chris is all excited, but before I can smile about it and comment about her enthusiasm, her mood changes and she calms down in the blink of an eye. A slightly curious expression on her face, she slants her head and watches me thoughtfully.

I don't like when she's doing this. It feels like she's reading me like an open book and occasionally she learns things I really don't want to share with her. Avoiding her gaze, I step around her and head for the coat rack.

"How was it?" she asks then carefully.

"Kinda special," I reply under my breath, setting my briefcase under the coat rack on the floor. Chris helps me out of my jacket, what makes me frown for a moment, but then I remind myself she's only trying to please me and I have to simper.

She is just so cute!

"I didn't expect the meeting to take so long. Sorry! - I hope, waiting wasn't too boring!?"

"So the meeting was good then?"

"It was... special, but I already said that. Why are you still asking?" She can't leave it at that. She always has to get to the bottom of things and that's what I really hate about her.

"Planning my next move", she explains earnestly, albeit a bit intimidating, scratching the bridge of her nose. That's clearly displacement activity, but I wonder why. Is she getting nervous?

"Because... usually you are in a really, really bad mood after speaking to your Dad and... I just wanna make sure that you won't bite my head off..." Shrugging, she makes a helpless face at me.

I sigh. More than once, Chris had been the victim of my moods and it's nothing I'm proud of. Even though she has quite a talent to catch me bad-tempered, still that's no excuse letting her pay penalty for my lack of self-control when she's around. Amazingly enough, since usually I master my feelings. - Which is a necessary habit if you have had the doubtful pleasure of being raised by Lionel Luthor.

However, Chris made me show my feelings from the first moment we met. She also has this effect on other people and as a lawyer it's surely an advantageous skill, but I doubt she knows how much it scares me. How much I fear the day I might seriously hurt her just because I can't control my feelings anymore.

Taking a deep breath and forcing myself into a smile, I tell her the meeting wasn't bad, and that it was even better than expected.

Chris is such a wonderful creature and she deserves better than me. Sometimes I think she's aware of it and I hope for her own sake, she'll dump me in time. Though I know, she'll never do it. For some reason she wants to be with me and I am grateful for her decision.

"That's good... I like my head," she grins and nudges me.

Blinking, I look up and find her sticking out her tongue to me. I can't help but laugh. She plays at being silly, knowing that I cannot resist her when she does that. Maybe that's what I need. A person that knows about all my faults and accepts them, points them out but doesn’t try to change them or me.

"Your head is delightful!" Smilingly, I bend down to her and kiss the tip of her nose, and all of a sudden I feel Chris' hands at my collar, pulling me closer to her.

"While you're already down here..." She wraps her arms around my neck, lifts herself up on her tiptoes, and she kisses me.

I love the way she does this. First, she always nibbles playfully at my lips; it's more a breath than an actual kiss, but then her tongue moves gently over my upper lip, she's sucking it between her lips and I forget about everything else. And when I feel her soft, warm tongue in my mouth and hear the small, sighing noise she breaths into it, I wish I could be kissed this way for the rest of my life.

"Hi," she whispers after a while and smiles at me. I wonder whether she knows how lascivious her look is right now. "I missed you a little bit."

"Sorry to let you wait so long. -"

"You can't say that you missed me, too, can you?!" she sighs, but her eyes are twinkling.

Damn, she knows me far too well.

Her fingers trail down my neck and stop moving, when they reach the knot of my tie.
"Let's pretend you said it. And that you came back in time, before I got bored. - Not that I was, but there are a lot of things I can imagine which are more fun with you around."

She's looking at me lasciviously, well aware of how that contrasts with her innocent features. Naughty little girl!

"Things? What kind of things?" I ask innocently, pulling her a little closer to feel her pelvis rubbing against my crotch. Even though I like to chitchat with her, I reach the point where I'd rather do other things. Preferably, in a horizontal position.

"Well..." She slants her head and wrinkles up her nose, thoughtfully. "Fomefing like watfing Daffy Duck on televifion," she lisps with the most devilish smile I've ever seen.

I should have killed her back then when she found out that I like to watch cartoons!

"You'll rub it in for the rest of my life, won't you?!"

Once more, she flashes me this devilish grin, before lifting up on her tiptoes again and pecking my neck. "Only because I know how much you like it," she snickers and I sigh.

She doesn't take me seriously at all. And I can't be mad at her. She's like one of those puppies that pee on your carpet and then look at you with their huge, innocent eyes. But to be honest: I could get used to this. Having someone at home, waiting for me. Looking forward to see me again. Caring for me. Yes, even teasing me!

Complacent, I look at Chris who just started to tug my tie and remove it from my neck.
"And what's next? Will you bring me my slippers?" I grin and maybe it was too flippant, because suddenly Chris' face changes and she lets me go.

"I told you before, if you don't like the things I do, just say so. But there's no need to make fun of me!" Turning around, hurt, she heads for the kitchen.

I roll my eyes. She's too easily to upset! Yet I can't let her go in this mood. She's supposed to laugh and be happy all the time. That suits her way better.
Following her, I grab her at the wrist and softly pull her back to me.

"Listen, I wasn't making fun of you," I tell her quietly. "It's just... maybe that was out of line, but I'm not used to someone's waiting for me at home. Helping me out of my jacket, taking off my tie... I appreciate it, but - "

"You don't like it!?"

"I'm not used to it, that's all. I never said, I don't like it. But I guess, you like to misunderstand me." Winking, I pinch her nose. "If you dish it out, you have to be able to take it."

Chris looks down and sighs ashamed. Again, she's scratching the bridge of her nose. "Don't you sometimes think we aren’t so good together?" Her eyes are still dropped to the ground. "With you being so stuffy and proper and me so hyperactive and -"

"That's what I call a perfect match," I laugh, cupping her chin in my hand, making her look at me. "We complement each other perfectly well!" I bend down to her again and give her another kiss. "Have I already told you I'm glad you're still here?!"

"Did you think I'd be gone?" She looks puzzled but happy at the same time and cuddles up against me.

Surprisingly, it's not that difficult to tell her how I feel about her. At least sometimes I'm able to do it, though rarely, I find the right words. But when I do, I make her happy and it's a good feeling to know that.
"Maybe for a moment," I admit quietly, now cupping her cheek in my hand.

She leans into my touch, closing her eyes, and sighing happily.
"Today, I would have waited forever," she whispers and my heart makes a tiny jump.
Before I met her, I never realized just how much I craved kindness and affection. It scares me how much I need this, and I hate her, a little because she brings that out in me. And, maybe, because she can express herself so easily.

"Only today?" My voice is cool, remote, as I pretend to be unaffected by her behavior. It's all a lie, and she knows it, because she giggles and puts her hands on my abdomen. I laugh myself and pull her closer to breathe in her scent while she caresses me through my shirt.

"If I told you I'd always wait for you, your ego will get even bigger," she whispers teasingly with closed eyes and leans her head on my chest.

This moment should last forever! We remain silent for a couple of minutes, though I try to lead her into my bedroom by pulling her gently with me.

When Chris realizes, she starts to chuckle. "And I thought, you'd wish to stay in the hall for the rest of the day!"

For an instant, the choice of her words surprises me but then I start to grin. "Well, I have a nice hall, but there are nicer rooms in the penthouse."

"Yep. Just like your living room!" Chris grins, while freeing herself from my embrace.

I try to pull her back but she's all bouncy and difficult to catch. Again, her laughter fills the air. Walking backwards, she's forcing me to follow her and as the lovesick fool I am, I do.

Why not? My sofa is also quite comfortable!

When we enter the living room, I can place my hands on her hips and pull her back into my arms. I want to feel her now. Her warm skin rubbing against mine. Her warm breath on my lips. And her hands all over my body.
Slowly, I let my fingers slip under her shirt and hook my thumbs into her waistband, but Chris decides to be a killjoy, while tugging my hands away.

"Hey..."

"Hang on! I won't run away, but there's something you should look at first. - Though don't forget where you stopped. You can go back there later!" She gives me a quick kiss, before pointing to the coffee table near the couch.

I wonder at what point she turned into such a sexual creature. She hadn't been like that when I first met her. Not that I'm complaining, though. Instead, my gaze follows her outstretched arm.

Obviously, Chris has been busy while I was wasting time at LuthorCorp's. On the coffee table, there's a vase standing with a single sunflower blossom in it. Chris loves those flowers and firmly believes they have the power to make one happy. Maybe she's right, though on the other hand she says the same thing about her coffee maker. - And with an attitude like that, she managed to become a successful lawyer. It's unbelievable!

However, what really draws my attention to is the plate next to the vase. - It's blue and has white spots on it and it's definitely not one of my plates! - On it, there's a dark-brown Bundt cake. Likely a chocolate one, since it must've been Chris who put it there and I never witnessed her eat anything else for dessert. Though this isn't exactly time for dessert.

Honestly, I'm confused! Specially because of the big, blue candle right in the middle of the cake.

"Hope you aren't disappointed, but there was no way to put more than 20 candles on the cake," Chris grins and watches me excited. "I tried for almost an hour and then decided to go on with a big candle, representing all of your years." She seems to get even more fidgety than usual, but there's still the excited grin on her face.

What the fuck? Am I back in the Twilight Zone? Why is everybody behaving so odd today?

But before I can keep thinking about it, all of a sudden Chris flies into my arms and gives me a huge bear-hug.

"Happy birthday, Lex. And all the best!" she whispers, before pressing her soft lips against mine.

I barely recognize the specialness of this kiss.

Happy birthday? Is it already that time again? And how did Chris know? I'm pretty sure I haven't told her and I'm fairly sure no one else has. How could she know?

My birthday isn't a special date to me anymore since Mom died. And it's quite easy to forget about it when even your own father tends to ignore it. To be honest: there isn't even a single cheerful birthday memory I can call my own. Quite the opposite. Bald children of cruel billionaires aren't really popular at boarding school.

"Hey, what's going on?" Chris suddenly asks what makes me blinking."Haven't we just reached the point where you are supposed to smile and thank me and be happy?! Instead you look like I just told you I lost your favourite wristwatch!" Biting her lips, she thoughtfully moves her fingers over my arm and frowns. And then, all of a sudden, a pained expression flickers over her face. She moans and moves away from me.

"Oooh, I'm so stupid! Likely you hate birthdays and I just remind you on your unhappily childhood and... - I'm so stupid! I'm so fucking stupid! I should have listened to Clark. He knew! Ooooh, I'm so darn stupid!"

Was I'm surprised before, now I'm bewildered. Why is she doing that to herself? Calling herself stupid. Cussing at herself.

"Stop it! NOW!" I find myself shouting and take a deep breath to calm down. Taking her hands, I move them to my lips and kiss her palms.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. - You aren't stupid. Don't call yourself that ever again! You are one of the most intelligent persons I know. And you know that, too. Stop calling yourself stupid, okay?!"

Slowly, she nods.

"And besides, my childhood wasn't that bad."

Raising her brows, she glances me a sarcastic look. "Nice try, Lex, but I've already met your father. And compared to him even the Grinch seems to be a philanthropist!" She grunts, murmuring some German words under her breath and involuntarily, I have to grin.

Certainly, she doesn't know how much truth there is in her comparison and I don't want to point it out to her. She shall not feel pity for my childhood which has been for sure less joyful and less lovely than hers.
I haven't met her father yet, but each time she speaks of him, you can hear how much she loves her father and how much he must love his daughter.
My family was different. So was my childhood. But that's something I'd like to keep for myself and it's me who has to deal with it, not her!

I can barely imagine her reaction if she should ever find out how I felt when Mom died and I was left alone with Dad. I hope she'll never learn. She would try to compensate for it and I don't know if I could handle that. Even now all the feelings she has for me are overwhelming me.

"I didn't mean to annoy you", she continues. "I just... - if you don't want to celebrate with me it's okay. I just thought... -"

"You didn't annoy me. - Well, sometimes you do, but usually in this cute way you call your own," I smile, palming her cheek. "It was a pleasant surprise, however the operating word is surprise. I didn't expect you to know about my birthday. And get me a cake. - Did you learn it from Clark?"

She shakes her head.
"I baked it. The cake. I not just got it. The date of your birth I learned from your driver's license. Remember? A few weeks ago you lost it in my apartment", she murmurs and tells me she'd only spoken to Clark to find out, whether I like to celebrate and what kind of gift I'd like to receive.

Now, I really feel bad! I can't remember anyone ever caring so much about me - or even bake me a cake. And all I can do is offending Chris with my reactions. Sometimes I even start to believe I'm not made for human relations.

"He said, you probably don't like birthday parties and gifts. Expect it's you to sponsor the party and make the gifts," Chris adds with a weak smile.

Indeed, I like to give parties for high school students and I also like to see their gratitude. And each time I hope I can make friends with them. But telling Chris is impossible. She never mentioned, but I know it looks strange enough to her that I call a 17-year-old my best friend. Actually, Clark is my only real friend.

It is a little short to a miracle that neither him, nor Chris despaired of me yet. Difficult to be with and ungrateful as I am. Even now I'm still thinking instead of being happy about Chris' surprise.

I look at the table again. I got a sunflower and a homemade cake. That's the most wonderful thing ever happened to me! Chris always tries so hard to please me and make me enjoy the time we spend without expecting anything. Just a smile on my face.

Sighing, I shake my head and catch a glimpse at Chris out from the corners of my eyes. She moved away from me and looks down on the floor. There's still so much I have to learn.
Stepping toward her, I put my arm around her shoulder and breathe a kiss against her temple, before gently moving her with me to the coffee table.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit out of practice when it comes to blowing out birthday candles – don't look at me like that. I did it before," I grin indignantly. "One candle is fine. I like it a lot. Thank you, Chris."

"We really don't need to that, Lex."

"Well, we can't let the candle burn forever, can we?!" I chuckle, sitting down on the sofa.

"Since the last time you blew candles out, they changed them. Now the lapse after the burned down to a certain height." Slightly annoyed, Chris rolls her eyes. "I meant your birthday. We don't need to celebrate it, of you don't want to."

"Does that mean, you have something else in mind? Beside the cake and the sunflower?" Still smirking, I pull her toward me onto my lap and peck her cheek. "See, I really don't care much about my birthday. If it's celebrated or not. But it means a lot to me having you here. Not just today." I wrap my arms around her and nuzzle my face in her hair.

Hmm, peaches.

"But we really don't need to celebrate!"

"I'd thought we already covered that?!" Letting off her hair, I look at Chris and pinch her nose. "Or did you plan anything?"

Oh please, say no! I don't know if I could handle a birthday party with hundreds of balloons, confetti and streamers. That would be too much!

She starts chewing on her lips, while she plays absent-minded with my fingers. A few moments pass until Chris flashes me a brief smile.

"Honestly, I hoped you'd be all smiles about the cake and... well, I actually haven't planned anything. After speaking to Clark it wasn't that easy anymore to do something special and... uhm... It's your birthday. Your day on which you are allowed to do whatever you want. We could... do whatever you want," she repeated herself sheepishly and rolls her eyes. "Jeez, it's easier to speak in front of court."

Yeah, amazingly she can hold speeches in front of strangers without turning a hair, but when she's alone with me she turns into a shy girl. Well, not always shy. But she's inexperienced with men. Specially with men like me. Chris is still so young and from investigating her past and her own words, I learned that before me she'd only had one relationship. Maybe she shouldn't have buried her nose in her books for such a long time and instead going out a little bit more. On the other hand I'm glad that she didn't. This kind of naivety is a huge part of her personality and I wonder if she could ever mean so much to me, if she was more like the women I was used to.

Cupping her chin, I give her another kiss. "I guess, I know what you mean."

"I swear, I can behave like an adult," she grins weakly. "You just make me act like a fool..."

"And get rewarded with a homemade cake!?"

Grunting, she slides off my lap to kneel down next to me on the sofa. She moves her feet under her butt and slowly, her smile brightens up.

"Yeah, because you're such a big-head!" She makes a face at me, then shrugs. "A homemade cake belongs to a good birthday! - Dad always made me one when I was a kid. Uhm... Not that a general of the USMC would bake... You should forget that... For your own sake!"

There's a crooked smile on her face and I ask myself, when I will ever meet her father. Judging from her telling, he has to be an extraordinary man. At least he has an extraordinary daughter!

"Will you make a wish now and blow out the candle? That belongs to a birthday, too!"

"Certainly, it does", I smirk, petting her knees. Hopefully, it will always be like this between us. She makes me laugh and happy. And even Clark once said I need more fun in my life.

Taking a deep breath, I blow out the candle and find Chris still smiling.

"Did you make a wish?"

I nod.

"A good one? - Nah, don't tell me. If you do it wouldn't come true," she giggles and leans over to brush her lips against mine. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you!"

"At least, he's making progress..." Jumping to her feet, she takes a knife from the table and starts to cut the cake.

"Tease!" I grab her at her hips, pulling her back to me and tickle her lower back. She squeaks, letting the knife fall back down on the table.

"Eeeeh, Lex! Don't... No, stop it!" She's laughing and gasping for air at the same time. "Don't... pleeeeease! Don't. Do. It... Leeeex!"

"Didn't you say, today I'm allowed to do whatever I want?" I smirk and let my fingers move over her back a bit faster. She's really ticklish there!

"Fuck! I won't say anything like that ever again!" Flashing me an angry look, she starts to laugh only an instant later, while trying to free herself. But I'm not willing to let her go now; and she realizes soon. Batting her eyelashes she smiles at me and I know, she's thinking about changing her tactics. I just wonder what she's going to do now.

I find out just a second later as I suddenly feel her hand slipping between us, moving over the front of my slacks.

Well, actually that's better than tickling her!

I pull her body closer to mine and claim her mouth with another kiss. Chris sighs against my lips, causing me to smile, while my hands move beneath her shirt, feeling the soft skin of her back again. And only a second later, Chris lifts up her arms, letting me pull her shirt over her head.

"Don't you wanna taste your cake?" she whispers near my ear, while unbuttoning my shirt. "It's a really good one!" Her lips barely leave my skin and at the moment I'm really not interested in any kind of pastries. Chris is perfectly well aware of that.

I chuckle, working at the hooks of her bra and lick her neck.
"I like what I taste at the moment." Tossing her bra to the floor, I cover her breasts with my hands. Palms skimming over them, cupping them, teasing the nipples into tight buds.

Chris squirms against me and whimpers softly. "You do know you won't get a cake any day!?" she breathes against my lips, while moving her hands over my skin.

"I could have hundreds each day," I reply, opening the buttons of her jeans. I tug them down over her hips, slipping my hand between us and press it into the soft fabric of her panties. I hear Chris sighing and feel her pressing into my touch.

"Yeah... but not made by me," she grins and suddenly, she's springing off of me and heads for the door, while freeing herself from her jeans what was hanging at her heels.

Little tease!

Jumping to my feet, I follow, shrugging off my shirt and as soon as I reach her, I press her against the door frame. I keep her mouth occupied, pushing my tongue past her lips and press my knees between her legs, parting her thighs.
Her tongue touches mine and again, her hand moves over the front of my slacks, palm pressing against my erection, fingers curling around me through the material, causing me to gasp into her mouth.

Wrapping her left arm around my shoulder, she uses her weight to spin us around and pushes me to the bedroom. Never breaks the contact with my mouth nor her hand leaves the front of my slacks.

"I can make you bake me cakes whenever I want," I comment as she pants for breathe.

Raising a brow, she looks at me in pity. "In your dreams, Luthor," she chuckles and places her hands at my chest. She shoves me away and with a surprised laugh, I fall onto the bed. I haven't even realize that we already entered the bedroom.

With speedy fingers, she opens the button and the zipper of my pants, before tugging them down and crawling over me. I wrap my arms around her, throw her on her back and lean in for another kiss as I quickly pull at her panties.

"Did you realize? We haven't destroyed any furnitures yet", she giggles when I feel her hand around my cock, caressing, stroking, pulling me toward her.

"We can change that any time," I smirk and attack her mouth again. Her legs fall apart, cradling me between them and then her warmth is drawing me in.

***

This is it. The perfect moment. Chris' head is resting on my chest, her fingers trailing over my stomach over and over again and I feel her warm breath at my skin. It's just perfect and I hug her a little tighter. Still I'm afraid this all might be just a dream and when I wake up, it'll turn out that Chris was nothing but an illusion.

But she's real. And she's with me. On my birthday, the best I had for years!

I'm happy and feel like nothing in the world can ever touch me or take this feeling away. Not even my father!

"Mhm..."

Suddenly, I hear Chris slightly squeaking and I raise my head a bit to watch her.

"Would you mind squeezing me less hard?" she whispers.

"Sorry! I hadn't noticed." Relaxing my embrace, I begin to stroke her back. "Better?"

She smiles, reaching up to touch my face. "You won't get rid of me that easily. Even if you don't understand, but I'm very happy to be with you."

"I never said anything else," I breathe because I'm afraid otherwise my voice would start to shake. I wish I just could tell her how happy she makes me, instead I keep hiding myself behind the facade I built up over the last years.

"But you thought it," she returns. "At least something like that, right?!" Leaning her head into her hand, she watches me curiously. Her eyes are drifting over my faces and I fear she can see through me. Read me like an open book and already learned all of my fears and hatreds, my weaknesses and doubts. Sometimes her gaze is even more intent than that of my father what always makes me feel uncomfortable.

But then I tell myself that she doesn't know all of me. Otherwise she would have already sent me to hell. Right where I belong.

"Lex? May I ask you something? You don't need to answer though -"

"Right, it's still my birthday, isn't it?!" I grin and playfully nudge the tip of her nose, before I nod. "Go ahead. What do you want to know?"

Absently, her fingers grazing over my shoulder down my arm, before she looks at me again. "I was wondering if... - Obviously, you forgot your own birthday, so I reckon that your father hadn't say anything today... - Sauhund."

The last word was nothing but a whisper but it's the German word I was trying to remember this morning. Chris had always called Dad like that. She hates him with passion and that not just because of me. She has better reasons. One is certainly her cousin Svenja, my father had driven crazy. Literally!

But there's something else I haven't figured out yet. Even though she's polite and endearing while talking to my father, sometimes I don't get rid of the feeling each moment she would like to spit in his face. Or worse. Not that I accuse her but it's a strange conduct. Specially for Chris.

I look at her to find her clenching her teeth.

"You don't need to feel bad about that," I explain, palming her cheek. "He hasn't thought of my birthdays for years. Like I said before it's not a special date to me."

"That's not the point," she snaps. "And I doubt that he ever forgot it. After all he's your father. There must have been a time when he was happy to have you..." Abrupt, she breaks off and bites her lower lip.

Oh, what now? Does she really try to defend him and convince me that he's just misunderstood? I know, family means a lot to her but she can't seriously expect I forget all the things Dad had done to me just because she would feel better then.
I fall on my back again and stare at the ceiling, hearing myself moaning irritated. As I cover my eyes with my hand, I feel Chris carefully touching my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she purrs. "We shouldn't talk about your Dad. You shall enjoy your day..."

Enjoy my day? Didn't Dad say something similar earlier today? Could Chris be right and Dad had never forgotten my birthday and today it was his sick try to give me his best wishes. Unlikely he had received a awkward head injury during the assassination half a year ago and I've read the medical record. His head was fine.

I look at Chris and immediately she presses her soft lips against mine. And when she pulls back, there's something in her eyes that makes me shiver. In this warm and cosy way. I suppress a sigh.

"Shh, don't apologize. It's okay," I whisper, putting my finger on her lips and give her a faint smile. "I do enjoy my day. You're here, that's all what matters." My finger skims along the shape of her lips and cause her to smile. "What's about your question?"

"That can wait," she purrs, kissing my finger while her hands move over my stomach again. Then she places a small kiss at my chin. "Let's say this conversation never came off, okay?" She watches me with her big blue-greenish eyes that show a resemblance to puppy dog's eyes at the moment and I have to smirk.

Chris cast a spell on me and I'm totally under her thumb. My only hope is she doesn't know.

"What conversation?" I chuckle and pull her onto me to hold her tight. Feel her breasts rubbing at my chest, her body close to mine.

There's a jolly sparkle in her eyes, before she leans in to kiss me, fingers gently moving over my scalp.

"Don't you think there's something missing?" she asks later and plays with my fingers. Her head is resting at my shoulder.

Frowning, I raise my head to watch her. "Well, let's see... You are here, so is me. We're in bed... No, everything is fine!"

"Jeez, Luthor, stop wasting your birthday!" Dramatically, Chris rolls her eyes and sits up, turning around to face me. "You can have me in bed every day of your life!"

I smirk. "Is that so?"

"As if you haven't already noticed," she laughs and gently claps my arm, before suddenly jumping out off bed. Taking one of the sheets with her to wrap it around herself, she leaves the room.

"Hey, what's the matter now?"

"Maybe I'll get you a clown now. It's your birthday, remember?" Her voice comes from the hallway and is filled with joy.

"Oh, thank you, but you're clownish enough for my liking," I reply, sitting up and watch the door. A moment later her head appears next to the frame and she put her tongue out.

"Oh you... Lucky you to be the birthday boy!" Shaking her tiny fist at me, she tries hard not to laugh, before vanishing again.

I hear her rummaging in her bag and ponder if I shall let her have a few things here in the penthouse. It's about time now and it's quite annoying that Chris always has to bring a bag with clothes along when she stays the night. For both of us. More for me, since I'm usually stumbling over her bag in the middle of the night.
But I really want to have a part of Chris here.

A few moments later, Chris comes back, sitting down on the mattress next to me.

"Don't laugh!" she demands seriously and all her happiness is gone at once. Instead she seems to be insecure.

"Why should I laugh?"

"Just promise it, okay?! Don't laugh!" She watches me sternly, but still kind of shy, and now I realize that she's hiding something behind her back.

Okay, girl. You got me curious.

"Promised. I won't laugh." Smilingly, I twitch her nose.

She giggles quietly and makes a face at me, before slowly pulling her hand from behind her back. I see a small packet, which is decoratively wrapped up. The paper is dark-blue and from the shape of the packet I assume that it might be a book.

As promised, I don't laugh. Actually I don't even feel like laughing, but I'm curious.

Chris still watches me insecure, while handing me the packet. "Happy birthday, Lex!"

"For me?" I'm surprised. I'm seriously surprised. I haven't expected a gift at all. Actually I haven't expected anyone to remember my birthday, either. And to be honest, I thought Chris was my gift. Not just because she offered me to do the things I like to do, though I'm contemplating numerous activities that I could do with her right now.

"Is there anyone else here, answering to the name of Lex?" she grins. "Of course it's for you. You seriously have no ideas of birthdays. The birthday child gets a cake and gifts. And a lot of hugs and... whatever he wants." Still smiling, she starts to bite her lower lip again as she notices me holding her gifts in my hands without getting ready to open it.

"You shouldn't have make me a gift..."

"But I wanted to," she explains. "Besides it's nothing to write home about. It's just... -" Again she breaks off and watches me insecure. And quite suddenly I feel her worry. She fears I couldn't like her gift. That she just made a fool out of herself.

I close my eyes and shake my head a bit. Chris is unique. I never met someone like her before. And still it's my fault that she feels insecure now. If I had shown her my affection a little bit more often, she'd be more self-confident around me now.

Hell, even if this packet contains a pair of shoelaces I'd be happy, because it's a gift from her.

Smiling, I pull her to me on the bed. "It's time for me to open it, right?"

Her lip is still stick between her teeth as she slowly waggles her head. I interpret is as a yes and begin to remove the Scotch Tape from the dark-blue wrapping paper. It must be more than ten years now since the last time I've opened a present, that's why I take my time. And I enjoy it. Of course I'm curious to learn what's underneath the paper, but I never realized how much fun it is to unwrap a gift.

After removing the last stripe of Scotch Tape and the paper a small, pink book is emerging. Why am I not surprised?

I flash Chris an amused grin, before taking a closer look at the book. It looks worn and dog-eared. On the front cover there's a sticker, showing five or six colorful and furry creatures.

I'm confused.

"That are Popples," Chris explains quietly and tries to hide her face at my shoulder. All her blood must have rushed to her head; I can feel the heat of her skin at mine. "I really loved them as a kid."

And probably you still do, you cute little angel!

Still a little confused, I turn the book in my hands. Obviously, this book belongs to her and she owned it for a very long time. But why is she giving it to me now?

Thoughtfully, I open the book and begin to flip through it. It's pages are marked with a childish handwriting what changes and becomes more adult the nearer I get to the book's end. Every now and then I see comments and praises written by another, older person. These notes are both English and German.

"What is this?" I asked, still leafing through the pages.

"You promised not no laugh," she reminds, before giving me an answer. "That are tales I've written as a child. With Mom's help. She always had encouraged me and said I'm talented," she mumbles, though her voice sounds more confident now. "There's even a story about Alexander the Great and his dog he likely never had." She laughs and looks at me. "It was Mom's favourite..."

I'm amazed. It's the first time Chris speaks of her dead mother without sounding sad. Actually it's the first time at all she's speaking of her. Until now, I only knew her mother died when Chris was 14 and that she had loved her a lot.
That book must mean everything to her and now she wants to give it to me. I have to gulp.

"Chris, I... I can't take this."

"Why not?" Disappointment hits her face. "It's just a book... Don't you like it? - You think it's silly. You actually expected something else, right? I should have given you another watch for your collection -"

"Shh, I didn't expect anything. I thought you're my gift," I confess quietly and she watches me surprised. There's even a hint of a smile on her face.
"It's a good gift, though. But this book... it contains memories. Your memories of your Mom and the time you had with her. - This book is way too valuable as if I could keep it!"

I want to hand it back to her when she suddenly wraps her arms around my neck and knock me down with a kiss. In the full sense of the word. My head almost hits the headboard while my arms are filled with a more than happy Chris.

"I knew, you'd understand," she whispers, ignoring the fact that she almost broke my head. "Lex, I want you to have this book! I wanted to give you something special, something personal. A gift you can only get from me! I knew, you'd understand!" She rubs her nose against mine and smiles.

There's no need to ask her if she feels certain about that.

Overwhelmed, I hug her tight. It's such a special gift she made. Not just the book with her stories, but her conviction I'm worth it sharing those memories with her. Even though I act reserved when it comes to my own memories, she made me this gift.

It's the world's best present!

"Thank you!" My voice is barely a whisper and I have to clear my throat.

Chris just grins knowingly and snuggles up against me.

"When you have it, it's in really good hands! You understand!" Then she begins to plant my face with thousand happy kisses and I start to wonder what would have happened, if I denied her gift.

"Happy, happy birthday, Lex!"

Indeed! This is a happy birthday. I'm not alone but with a person who deeply cares for me. To whom I'm important. And there's still a homemade cake waiting for me!
Maybe celebrating your own birthday isn't that bad at all.

link here

Note

Dailies

Socialize

Disclaimer

A Day to Wonder

~fin~