Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You have to admit it's kind of sweet when you think about it.” Clark mused as he leaned back against the wall as he watched the scene unfold in front of him, not bothering to hide his amusement over the whole situation. “I mean, how can you be mad at that face?”

“I think you forgot that I have one of my own, and it wasn't cute when Kon did it, and it sure as hell isn't cute when this little bastard does it.” Lex muttered as he tried to pry the superpowered toddler off of him, not bothering to hide his disdain for the sudden display of affection. “I was thankful when Kon grew out of this shit.”

“He just wants love and affection.” Clark reasoned as he watched Lex fall back after he lost his balance, shaking his head a bit when he saw the frustrated look cross the man's face as the child continued to rub his face against his leg. “Lex—”

“Do you know how much money it's going to cost to repair that wall?” Lex questioned as he continued his efforts to pry the toddler off of him, not bothering to contain himself as he lost his temper once more over the toddler’s behavior and the lack of action taken by the child's parent. “Get it off of me!”

“Him. Lex. Him.” Clark corrected as he walked over to the pair, kneeling down beside him so he could talk to his son. “Jon.”

“At least Kon was half mine.” Lex muttered as he shook his leg to no avail, tensing when he heard laughter spill from the child's mouth. “He had an excuse for me to tolerate his behavior. I don't have to tolerate this.”

“I don't think you have a choice in the matter.” Clark remarked before he heard Lex sigh, not missing how he reached into his pocket to retrieve a remote to switch the lights in the room. “Lex, don't do that. He's a toddler. He's never felt red sunlight before. It'll scare him.”

It had been about an hour since Jon discovered the box of stuff Clark collected from Lex over the years. It was innocent. Childish fascination, but the second Jon started to watch the videos of their interactions, an attachment was formed. Jon was a smart kid. He also had superpowers. Jon saw Lex in an interview on the news and made the connection. Clark should have known his son's fascination with Lex would lead to issues, but he hadn't expected him to fly straight through one of Lexcorp's walls and attack Lex, but he did. He attached himself to his leg and refused to let go. Lex had dealt with the rain of affection for about an hour now, and not once had he returned the attention. Clark knew that Jon wouldn't release Lex until his love was returned, but that wouldn't happen with Lex, and once the one-hour mark was reached, Lex's patience ran out. He treated the child much like he did his own when Kon used to throw such tantrums. He turned on the red sunlights and had the blinds drawn. The child was weakened to the state of that of a normal human. Lex pulled the toddler off of him and handed him back to his father. It was an act of kindness he knew he shouldn't have shown, but he wanted them out as soon as possible.

“Take the child and leave.” Lex responded as he handed over the toddler, switching the red sunlights off once the toddler was out of his grasp. “Don't let me regret my act of kindness.”

“He reminds you of Kon, doesn't he?” Clark remarked as he held Jon close to him, not missing how Lex faltered at his observation. “You have kryptonite all over this place, and yet you went with the choice that would cause the least harm to the child.”

“Kon is my son.” Lex responded in his own defense, his tone coming out much colder and more callous than what was needed. “Mine and mine alone.”

“And Jon is mine.” Clark remarked as he continued to hold his child close to him, unable to miss how Jon reached for Lex even after not receiving the affection he desired from him. “He has at least half the same DNA as him.”

“Not the half that matters most.” Lex responded in that same cold tone he had used before, shaking his head a bit before he moved on and dismissed the alien and his spawn. “I have dinner with my son this afternoon, so if you don't mind, I'm sure you can go out the same way you came in.”

Lex was thankful the alien made the wise decision and left with his bastard child, but he still had his own work to attend to before dinner. He knew Conner had made him soft in some aspects, and he knew had it been someone else's child or a child who looked less like his own, he wouldn't have been as kind about the treatment he received. He loved his son, and that love stood to be his own kryptonite. He showed up early to dinner, where he was attacked for the second time that evening, but unlike last time, he didn't mind, as this time he was attacked by his own child.

“You're never going to grow out of this childish behavior, are you?” Lex mused as his teenaged son wrapped his arms around him and refused to let him go, shaking his head in amusement as he made himself comfortable in his arms so he could spend dinner in his arms. “I do have to admit it's rather difficult to eat like this.”

“Make it work.” Conner responded in that same tone that demanded respect that came from Lex, nuzzling even closer to him as he ate off of Lex's plate like a much smaller child would. “I'm comfortable, and I don't want to move.”