Fic: Waiting for My Real Life to Begin

[xparrot]

My first non-darkfic dip into Smallville canon proper rather than futurefic, and my second time with Clark's POV. This is actually a distant prequel to the Subterfuge universe, but stands on its own without any obvious relation in plot or tone to those later fic. It's a 5th season episode tag, taking place an hour or two after the final scene of "Mortal," and might be the first of a sequence of AU ep tags. I quite enjoyed 5th season overall, but in a "what it could have been" way more than a "this is the way it was" way, and AUing it amuses me.

Title from the Scrubs soundtrack, a musical number far too lovely for a silly comedy, which is just one more reason why Scrubs rocks so hard; when I was deciding what to call this story, my playlist shuffled to this song, and I'm not one to look a gift title in the mouth.

Smallville: Waiting for My Real Life to Begin {5,136 words}
PG; pre-slash (hints of Clark/Lex; references to canonical Clark/Lana), ep tag to 5x02, "Mortal"
Clark runs home from the Talon; Lex is waiting for him.

Read it on AO3

Comments

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Oh, I liked this so much! I kept expecting declarations of love and kisses but you never let it happen, which was a good idea. Delicious!

[ladydey.livejournal.com]

Lovely, see that's the thing Lex knows and the more that Clark tell him that there is nothing to know the angrier and more reckless Lex is going to get. I love the spot that you chose to let Clark be honest with Lex - Clark thinks that he has nothing to left to lose but Lex and is at a point where that actually matters more then Lana!drama.

Nice.

[theclexfactor.livejournal.com]

This was wonderful. Not "purple" at all :P.

No seriously, I was completely surprised that Clark finally told Lex the full truth even if it's not "true" anymore. It makes me hope that you write a continuation for what happens during "Hidden".

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Oh, this was nice. *happy sigh* The truth-telling and Lex and Clark doing the right thing for once... and how tangible you made Clark's humanity and how clearly it came through how *wrong* it is for Clark to be human (especially in Lex's words when he describes how Clark's normal future will look. Wrong. Just wrong.) Although, for some reason, Arrival-Hidden is one of my all-time favourite stretches of SV, because somehow, I liked human Clark.

I love gen / pre-slash.

[danceswithgary]

He catches Lex there in the doorway, on the threshold, puts his arms around him and pulls Lex to him. Lex is facing away, his rigid back to Clark's chest, his arms stiff and straight at his sides under Clark's bear-hold. This is different than any hug they've shared before, because Clark is holding on, not carefully, not fearful of crushing and splintering brittle human bone; but as tightly as he can. When he embraced Lana tonight he was so cautious not to bruise her, not to hurt her. But he's hurt Lex already, and Lex's jaw bruised his fist, and he doesn't care if it's painful and he doesn't care if Lex struggles against him; he's not going to let go.


That is such an epiphany for Clark I think, that he can put his all into what he wants with Lex, that not only can he let go physically, he can let go mentally. Great story!

[lukita.livejournal.com]

Cute~ Woo Clark's POV. ♥

Dood, Clark should totally go find out if Lex even have a bedroom at all, since 'Promise' kinda showed him sleeping in Lana's room with a t-shirt on, damnit of all places.

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Wow. Outside your theory of Lex testing Clark because he's preparing for an alien invasion and needs to know for sure which side Clark is on, I tend to doubt Lex actually set up the mutants' escape and hostage-taking in "Mortal," but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief once again for the sake of this story. Beautifully done, and I lovelovelove Clark actually telling Lex the truth. (Finally!) Love your point, too, that Lex usually is honest with Clark about what he knows and/or suspects; I've always thought Clark's reaction to Lex's shrine/room/whatever was ridiculously overwrought, given all the things in there that Lex had every right to be investigating. Great, great story!

[attaccabottoni.livejournal.com]

I'm in love with the timeliness of this conversation, because it seems like a natural ending to that very momentous fist fight. (My own imagination suggested that they continued exchanging blows until they make more anger-induced revelatory statements, then maybe proceed to cathartic sex. But I concede to this scenario instead. :D)

I most love the idea that if they only cooled off a little, they could still talk about their mutual suspicions with each other like friends do (minus all the undercurrent bitterness). Clark/Lex dialogue is more of my SV drug rather than the pretty eyecandy. If I were to write an SV episode, there would be absolutely no action and it would be full of meaningful dialogue instead. :D

And expositing on Clark feeling a lot more when de-powered was a pretty cool touch, because I didn't expect his temper with Lex in that episode to translate to physical violence that it didn't occur to me that it was because his emotions was running particularly high and it was a different experience as an ordinary human... (the subject of how Clark's unique physiology affects his mental processes always fascinate me, so I kind of geeked out a bit on that while enjoying the drama)

[dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com]

Why yes, you are made of awesome.

[lapetite-kiki.livejournal.com]

I would have love to see this onscreen!

Nicely done!

[herohunter.livejournal.com]

Fantastic, you've captured the essences of Lex and Clark and made this more believable than the show!

Thanks for sharing!