Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Clark hurriedly pushes himself past the busy street of Metropolis, occasionally and clumsily bumping against a person or three, muttering meek apologies to them. He shot his wristwatch a glance and his face contorted, realizing he was already 10 minutes late. 

Perry was absolutely going to kill him.

After squeezing through the crowded street, he had finally freed himself and arrived in front of the Daily Planet’s glorious building. He no longer wastes his time and makes his way inside the building, greeting the security personnel along the way. He then quickly made his way into the elevator and pressed a button leading to the higher floors to where his office was located, desperately hoping that he wouldn't get scolded by his boss today.

But as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he was greeted by none other than Perry White himself. Boy, he sure was in trouble.

“Oh, h-hi, Perry—”

“You're late again, Kent.” Perry snapped, narrowing his eyes at Clark, who froze like a deer on headlights. “One more time of being late and I'm firing you, kid.”. 

The glasses-clad journalist gulps nervously at his superior’s threat, and before he could even state an apology, the other man had already stomped away from him. Clark sighed in resignation before walking to his desk, where he saw Lois looking over his way curiously from her own desk. He felt his cheeks heat up in shame at the fact that his friend had witnessed him getting scolded by Perry. Again.

“What's wrong this time?” Lois fully turned to face Clark from her swivel chair. Clark gave her a sheepish look as he sat down in his seat, placing his bag under his desk.

“He said he's gonna fire me the next time I get late.” The glasses-clad journalist let out a deep sigh, laying his head on the cold, wooden surface of his desk as he contemplated his life, as well as his future. One more mistake and his dreams of being a journalist would vanish into thin air.

He needed to get a hold of himself now.

Lois gave him a bewildered look, icy-blue eyes blown wide in surprise. “What?! Really? Perry can't be serious.” She exclaims, maybe a little too loud, because a few of their co-workers suddenly peered their heads out from their cubicles. It had only made Clark shrink into his seat in sheer embarrassment.

“I'm afraid he is…” He muttered weakly.

The demeanor on Lois’s face suddenly changed into something determined. Oh no… Clark recognizes that look. 

“Well, that can't be it. You’ll have to talk to him about it, because if not, I'll do it for you instead.” 

No way was he going to drag Lois into his troubles like this!

“No, Lois, you don't have to! It's — it's fine. I get where he is coming from anyway.” He butts in, trying to stop her from confronting their superior about the problem he had caused himself. “It is unprofessional of me to be tardy, especially while working at a renowned news outlet like The Daily Planet.”.

Clark then added, fixing his glasses that had been sitting askew on his face, “I'll just find a way to arrive early, like, I don't know, maybe find a quicker route from my place to here, or I could look for a cheap apartment that's close to work.”.

Lois gave him a look, lips pursed into a thin line, and eyebrows furrowed together. Clark swore he could see the gears working inside her brain. Hopefully said idea would not involve the two of them getting in trouble with Perry. Again.

“How about you crash at my place instead? You can stay there while you look for a solution to that problem of yours.” The dark-haired woman then suggested, glancing a thoughtful look at her colleague. Clark tenses up at her words, completely not expecting that response.

He felt hesitant to say something about her suggestion. They've only just started being friendly and comfortable with each other since their breakup months ago. Clark did not want to invade Lois’s space and privacy at the comfort of her home, even if she herself offered him to stay at her place. He doesn’t want to make things awkward between the two of them again, knowing that he still has some feelings left for her, but he chose to simply bury them deep inside of him. It was best for both of them. Still, it was so nice of her to offer help to Clark.

The glasses-clad journalist merely shook his head, “Thanks, Lo, but I'd have to decline. Don't worry about it. I swear.”. Lois seemed hesitant to buy his excuse, but she eventually gave in, letting out a resigned sigh before turning back to her computer to continue whatever she was writing earlier.

“If you say so, Smallville.”

Clark looked at her for a moment, contemplating asking whether or not she was miffed at him for declining her offer, but decided not to push it. He then opted to continue the draft he had not gotten to finish writing last night, before Perry could scold him for not being able to pass an article ahead of time.

“Where’s Kent?! I need him at my office ASAP!”

Perry’s loud voice boomed throughout the office, causing everyone to turn their attention to him, then towards Clark’s cubicle, followed by hushed murmurs. Clark’s head perks up at the sound of his name, eyes wide in alert, wondering what he has done this time to be called to their supervisor’s office. His whole face turned red in embarrassment when he finally realized that almost everyone was looking his way, including both Lois and Jimmy.

“What’d you do again, Clark?” Jimmy asks curiously, scooting his chair close to Clark’s desk.

Clark merely shrugs, just as confused as everyone is, before excusing himself from the two of them. He quickly made his way to Perry’s office, head bowed down in shame so that he wouldn’t see his co-workers’ eyes burning on him. Oh, this seemed so bad; he could feel his palms sweating up and his heart rattling inside his chest. Anxious thoughts ran wild throughout Clark’s mind as he stood outside Perry's office, contemplating entering the place of his possible demise. He takes a deep, nervous breath before bracing himself for the inevitable as he turns the knob and takes a step inside. 

Across him sat Perry, arms crossed and looking (rather impatiently) expectantly at him. Clark tenses up at the other’s intense gaze, feeling small under his superior’s eyes despite being much larger than the two. Then, Perry spoke, voice deep and commanding.

“Finally, you're here. Sit down, Kent.”

Clark doesn't stall around and quickly situated himself on the plush armchair beside Perry’s desk, posture straighter than a ruler and looking like he was about to get interrogated for a crime he didn't commit. “What did you want me for, Perry?” He asks (quite pathetically), palms soaked with sweat while he tries to compose himself.

“I got an assignment for ya to work on. An important one.” 

Clark’s nervousness is suddenly drained out of his body, now relieved and intrigued as soon as he hears Perry's words. So, he wasn't going to get fired. Thank goodness. But now he wonders what this ‘important assignment’ is about— he rarely gets assigned for those, so he was excited to hear about it. “What is it?” he asks, curiosity piqued.

“You’re tasked to observe, interview, and write articles about Lex Luthor for a week. He himself reached out to The Daily Planet and made that request, specifically asking you to do it. For some odd reason.” Perry explained while he fidgeted with a pen in his hand, before pointing the tip towards him. “One thing I know is that we don’t disappoint. So, kid, don’t embarrass yourself out there and make sure you can squeeze a good scoop out of that billionaire. Understood?”.

Clark could only stare at Perry with wide eyes, flabbergasted at all the information his chief had told him about. THE Lex Luthor of LuthorCorp, the notoriously mean and bratty billionaire himself, has requested a country boy rookie journalist like Clark to make a paper about him!? Was this a ridiculous dream he was having? No way was this true; this must’ve been a prank or something.

“Are you listening, Kent?” The rubble of Perry’s voice rattled inside Clark’s head, snapping him back to reality.

“Y-yes! I understand, Perry. I’m—I’m glad to have this opportunity.”

Perry hummed in response before waving him off, indicating that he had to go now. “Alright, whatever you say, Kent. Just don’t mess it up.”. He then added, “One more thing, I need that article from yesterday by noon. So, chop-chop, boy.”.

“Noted!”

 Clark beamed at that, standing up from his seat before heading out of the office.

“How’d it go? Is he seriously firing you?” Lois asked, turning her chair around to face Clark, who had just arrived from Perry’s office. Just as curious, Jimmy also turned to look at his glasses-clad colleague, interested to hear his answer.

“Thankfully, I’m not getting fired. But Perry did say that I’ll be observing and interviewing Lex Luthor. For a week.” Clark says before plopping down on his seat.

Both of his friends stared at him, dumbfounded, as they tried to process his words. An awkward silence soon brewed between the three of them until Lois was the first to break the silence.

“Lex Luthor? As in that rich, bald asshole Luthor??” Lois exclaimed, rather exasperatedly.

“I mean, he’s not too bad, is he?” Clark then muttered, earning him another reply from his colleague.

Lois scoffed at his words, “I beg to differ. He’s a Grade A asshole, Clark. Remember that one time when he publicly humiliated someone on live TV? ‘Not too bad’ isn’t something I’d describe him with.”.

“More like ‘evil’.” Jimmy chimed in.

Clark soon sighed, defeated. “Alright, he’s a complete a-hole, I get that. I guess I’m unfortunate enough to be the one tasked to interview him. So… wish me luck?”.

“You’ll be needing more than luck having to deal with that guy. Try not to get yourself killed, Smallville.” Lois ended, turning back to face her computer screen. Jimmy does the same as well, scooting back to his desk, but not before winking and finger-gunning his best friend as an attempt to show him support.

“You can do it, Clark!”

Clark shoots him a bright grin for a moment before he, too, turns around and puts his attention back on the half-finished article he had to abandon earlier. He thinks about the upcoming interview with Lex for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should be excited or nervous about it. Eventually, he sets aside that thought and starts typing on his keyboard, as he has a deadline to meet.

Chapter Text

Heavy, calculated footsteps followed by a clacking of heels echoed through the dark gray marble halls, Lex striding in confidence and grace while his assistant, Mercy Graves, walked beside him. She was preoccupied with the tablet in her hand, all the while Lex had kept his head as he spoke, not even bothering to glance at his assistant.

“What is my schedule for today, Mercy?” Lex questioned as they both stepped into his office. He then made his way to his desk, setting himself down on his leather chair.

“You are scheduled to have a meeting with Bruce Wayne this noon, followed by a partnership proposal from Aequinox Industries by afternoon. Then in the evening, you are to have dinner with some of your business partners,” Mercy articulated monotonously, earning a mere hum from her boss. She then added, eyes scanning the screen of her tablet. “Oh, and it seems that you’re also scheduled for an observation and interview with that rookie journalist from The Daily Planet this morning.”. That seemed to have piqued the man’s interest, head perking up at the mention of the interview.

“Has Kent arrived yet?” He inquired.

“No, he has not. But I will tell you when he does.” Mercy stated simply, earning a curt nod from his superior.

For a moment, the two of them sat in silence; Lex was now flipping through a Daily Planet newspaper while Mercy stood there, eyeing him carefully like a hawk, as if she had something to say. To which she does. But before she could even speak a single word, Lex beat him to it.

“What’s on your mind, Mercy? You’re gonna laser my head off if you stare any longer like that.” Lex drawled sardonically, lowering the paper in his hand to stare at Mercy with raised brows. Curious to see what she had in mind now.

The formal air between them shattered and was soon replaced with the air of casualness between two friends.

“I’m just wondering why on Earth you decided to request an interview with The Daily Planet? Especially from some lowly journalist, too. And I thought you hated that place ever since they’ve put dirt on your name months ago? What are you really up to again, Lex?” Mercy hurled questions at Lex like bullets from a gun, interrogating him with the fierceness of a detective. How cute. Yet Luthor remained unbothered, even going back to flipping pages of his paper.

“Hm, you could say this is me trying to redeem myself and clean said dirt off my name. It’s not something you should be worrying your mind off, Mercy.” Lex hummed in response, finally stopping on a particular page. His eyes lingered on the paper until they landed on an all too familiar name: Clark Kent. A soft smile then tugged at the corner of his lips unbeknownst to him, unlike Mercy, who immediately noticed it, feeding more to her suspicion.

Mercy asked again, skeptical. “Why Clark Kent, though, of all people? You could’ve chosen that Pulitzer winner, that Lane girl.”.

Lex snapped his head at his assistant, the faint smile on his lips dropping. “Now, why would I let the same person who ruined my name interview me? That is just ridiculous, and I'm not an idiot, Mercy.” He huffed, earning another eyebrow raise from his assistant. Mercy couldn't help but wonder what's so special about Kent for his boss/friend to act this weird and defensive.

Mercy let out a sigh of defeat, “Okay, whatever you say, Lex.”. 

“Good. And before you go, can you fetch me coffee and some doughnuts at Dough’s Holes?”

“Noted, Lex. I’ll have someone bring it over.” She says curtly, before turning on her heels and beginning to walk towards the door.

Lex had never felt this nervous and excited in his entire life, which he found somewhat pathetic. Now, he was sitting in his office, (im)patiently waiting for the rookie journalist to arrive. When Lex first saw the journalist's name in print, he couldn't believe his eyes and had to do a double-take. The name ‘Clark Kent’ hit him tenfold, like he had just been slapped on the face back and forth. After all of these years, he had finally found that dorky kid from his childhood. At first, he didn’t really care about it, but later that night, he couldn't stop thinking about him. That boyishly charming smile and soft blue eyes haunted him in his teen years up to his adulthood. 

Because of that and his sheer lack of impulse control, he decided to reach out to The Daily Planet and requested an interview + observation, specifically from Clark Kent, much to White’s confusion and disbelief. He also felt that way with himself, confused about why he was doing all of this for some dork who was a complete thorn in his side back then. This was all preposterous. 

But, God, he couldn’t help himself.

His thoughts were then interrupted by a buzz from his intercom.

“Ugh, what is it again, Mercy?” Lex let out a groan, his mood turning sour at the interruption to his solitude.

“Kent is finally here.”

With that, the door to his office opened, and a tall, bumbling man clumsily stepped inside, nearly tripping over his own feet. He quickly composed himself before raising his head, his bright blue eyes meeting Lex’s gaze, followed by a sheepish, dimpled smile.

“Hi! I’m Clark Kent, from The Daily Planet.”

Lex could feel his breath hitch and his brain short-circuiting. Holy shit. He was hot.

“Please take a seat.” He said calmly as he gestured to the lounge area of his office, as if he wasn’t freaking out inside. Clark beamed at him and shuffled his way to one of the couches, Lex following after him. But before he sat down, he made sure to hand the plastic bag (that Lex had now just noticed) towards Lex.

“Your assistant, Ms. Graves, told me to give this to you,” Kent said, his charming smile never wavering. Lex stared at him for a moment, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, before finally accepting the plastic bag. Their fingers brushed against each other, and Lex swore he felt a chill run down his spine at the contact.

“Thank you.”

The glasses-clad journalist smiled down at him before taking a seat on one of the couches, Lex also taking a seat right across him, setting the plastic bag down on the glass coffee table. His eyes never left the journalist, still flabbergasted at the man before him. He cannot believe that the dorky kid who always clung to him and followed him around from his childhood would grow into this equally dorky but attractive hunk of a man. Fuck, he was also much taller than Lex now.

“Shall we begin with the interview first, Mr. Luthor?” Clark quizzed, taking out his notepad and pen from his satchel.

“Mr. Luthor was my father; call me Lex. And yes, we can start with the interview first.” Lex answered with a smirk, trying to seem cool and composed.

“Right, Lex,” The journalist clarified, yet it was enough to set Lex’s heart aflame. The sound of his name being uttered by Kent was doing unspeakable things to the billionaire already. "I'm going to kick things off with a few questions if that works for you." Lex only hummed in assurance.

"Having run LuthorCorp for years, what has your experience been like managing such a large and successful company? Do you encounter many challenges along the way? How do you maintain its success?" Clark asked, using a deep and formal tone as he prepared his notepad and pen for Lex's response.

Lex then explained, settling back into the plush cushions of the couch and crossing one leg over the other to find a comfortable position. “I must admit, managing LuthorCorp has proven to be incredibly challenging—stressful, even. Each day feels like I’m navigating a relentless barrage of demands and obstacles. Constantly juggling meetings that stretch from morning until evening, with negotiations that can change at any given time. It feels as if I'm being overrun by a metaphorical truck, overwhelmed by a multitude of urgent issues that require my immediate attention. ”.

He confidently added, "I refuse to let obstacles hinder my efforts in ensuring the continued success of LuthorCorp. Through a combination of unwavering patience, relentless perseverance, and my keen intellect, I have successfully navigated challenges and maintained LuthorCorp's position at the pinnacle of the industry.". While he spoke, Clark continuously jotted down on his notepad, eyes glimmering with interest as he listened to the billionaire’s answer. It makes Lex even more confident in himself, now determined to impress the journalist.

“Wow, that’s truly outstanding, Lex.”

“Why, thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Shall we proceed now?”

Lex smirks in response, hands clasped on his knees comfortably. “Sure, go ahead.”.

“I think that’s all of it for today. It was a pleasure having the chance to interview you, Lex.” Clark chatted, reaching out to shake Lex’s hand. The billionaire gladly takes the offer, giving the journalist a firm handshake, also noting how big and calloused the other’s hand was (the complete opposite of his soft and slender ones). The journalist then spoke again while he stored his notepad and pen back into his messenger bag before standing up from his seat.

“I’ll be interviewing you again with a new set of questions sometime this week if you are up for it.”

Lex shrugs in response, rising to his feet. “Our interview earlier was fun, so I certainly don’t mind another one.” He says, a soft smile gracing his lips, an expression so rare to see from the typically cynical and sharp-witted man. It takes Clark aback for a moment, but decides not to mention it (for the sake of his safety, of course).

Clark let out a small, sheepish chuckle as he fixed his glasses, “I’m glad you enjoyed our little back and forth,”. He glanced at Lex once more and noticed the other’s eyes glued on him, an unreadable expression on his face. The journalist couldn’t help but wonder why he was staring like he had something in mind. Was there something on Clark’s face??

“You still have to make an observation, right? Am I correct?” Lex queried, now making his way back to his desk with long, graceful strides. And for some reason, Clark couldn’t keep his eyes away from the other man, as if mesmerized in a weird kind of spell. Clark merely shook his head, focusing back on the billionaire’s question.

“Yes.” He answered simply.

Now comfortably seated in his chair, Lex turned back to him and leaned forward towards him with a smirk, “Well then, Mr. Kent,”. He drawled, voice low and sultry, as a mischievous glint shimmered in his eyes that sent shivers down Clark’s spine.

“Hope you enjoy the show.”