Chapter 5: Confronting the Snake

*****Two Weeks Later*****

Buffy was drinking egg nog that Dawn did not make on Christmas Eve. It was good being back in Cleveland and spending this time with her friends. Dawn had put up mistletoe everywhere and got a kick out of bullying everyone into kissing. Xander has kissed like ten slayers, including Buffy, Faith, and Dawn. When Xander had gotten caught next to Andrew, he'd had enough, however, and went through the large house, pulling down the plants.

"Nope. Not gonna do this no more!" he grumbled, glaring at his giggling besties.

"Come on, Xan! It's tradition," Dawn protested between giggles.

"How about a new tradition? Only giving out happy candy canes and presents. Lots of presents!" Xander said.

The doorbell rang. Dawn almost broke her neck trying to beat three slayers to the door. When she edged them out, flinging open the door, Buffy was impressed.

"How does she do that?" Buffy said in bemusement.

"Slayers are too direct to be as sneaky as Dawn," Xander said with a grin. "She's got a wicked elbow jab."

"Buffy, there's a package for you," Dawn yelled.

Buffy got up and signed for the package. "You know you could've done that," she told her sister.

"Who's it from?" Faith asked. "Everyone you know is here." Even Giles had flown in from London to spend Christmas with his kids.

When Buffy saw the return address, she smiled. "Lex. It has to be Lex," she said, tearing it open. There were two envelopes and a wrapped package.

"Xander, this is for you," Buffy said, handing him an envelope.

Both of them opened the envelopes.

"What's it say?" Dawn asked.

"Lex is throwing a New Year's Eve party," Xander said. "Me and a guest are invited!"

"I wanna go," Willow said with a pout.

"Me, too," a dozen voices echoed.

"Is everyone forgetting that Kansas isn't that close?" Giles said.

"Open the package, B," Faith said. "I wanna see if your millionaire boyfriend has good taste."

The package was too large to be jewelry. It was long. "It's probably roses," Willow guessed.

"That's too cheap," Dawn argued.

Buffy smiled at their enthusiasm and tore the package open. When she lifted the lid to the box, she gasped.

"Oh my God!" Dawn exclaiming.

"Wow, Buffy," Willow added.

"That is one sweet piece," Faith said, admiring it.

Buffy was stunned. Lex had bought her a beautiful sword. She pulled it out. It rested inside a jeweled scabbard.

"Are those emeralds?" Xander asked in awe.

Buffy pulled the sword from the scabbard. The blade gleamed. She swung it. "The balance is perfect."

Giles looked at it with interest. "It's not an antique," he said.

Buffy pulled out her phone to call Lex.

"Hello," Lex said.

"Hi. I got your gift. It's amazing! Thank you!" Buffy told him.

"I'm glad. I had it made just for you. It is a real sword, not just a show piece. I made sure the blacksmith used tempered steel," he said.

"Really? That's so cool! You're very sweet. It's too much, though," she said. "I'm not seeing you to get expensive gifts."

"I know that, Buffy. It's why I want to give you things," he said.

"When did you decide to throw a party?" she asked.

"As soon as you left town. I wanted an excuse to show you off to everyone I know and annoy my father at the same time," he said, causing Buffy to laugh.

"Is he not invited?" she asked, appreciating his honesty.

"It's his house. He can come if he's in town."

"Buffy, ask him if I can come!" Willow asked. Several others echoed her.

"Xander got your invitation, but it's caused some problems," Buffy shared.

"Oh?"

"Faith, Willow, and a few other friends would like to come," Buffy said.

"Bring anyone you want. They're all welcome. They can stay the night at my place, so no one has to stay in a hotel. I have plenty of room," he said.

"I remember," she said. She gave the thumbs up to her family.

Lex could hear cheering and chuckled. "I see they're excited," he said.

"Very," she said.

"Well, have a Merry Christmas. I'll see you in a week," he said.

"You, too. Thanks again, Lex," Buffy said. She disconnected the call, a dreamy expression on her face.

"You really like him," Faith said, observing her expression.

"It's that obvious?" Buffy said, flushing.

"Yes," everyone said. Laughter broke out.

"Buffy, can I talk to you?" Willow asked, pulling her aside. "You know Lex's father is digging into our work. I've fought of three internal intrusions the past two weeks."

"I didn't say anything to Lex. He and his father don't really get along, and I didn't want to cause a fight over the holidays," Buffy said.

"I understand. I was just wondering if I could use the party as a way to get access to the Luthercorp mainframe," Willow said.

"You want to spy on Lex?" Buffy asked, incredulous.

"Not Lex—his father," Willow said. "Buffy, Giles and I have discussed this. Lionel is diabolical. What he did to that poor worker isn't an isolated incident. There have been too many complaints and hushed up lawsuits. But his callousness when faced with that Earl guy, says a lot about the type of guy he is. The man didn't hesitate to make a call that'd kill his own son. He's ruthless."

Buffy frowned. "I just started dating Lex, Willow. Something like this could destroy us before we really get anywhere," she said.

"Well, tell him if you want. But wait until after I do it," Willow said. "There's more than just you and your relationship at risk. Lionel Luther can never know about slayers." He was doing dangerous experiments with an alien rock. What would he do if he got a hold of a slayer?

Buffy nodded in resignation. "Fine. Go ahead. But after the party, I'm telling Lex," she said.

"Okay," Willow said.

"You know, Buffy, if Lionel becomes a real problem there are ways to get back at him that don't require violence," Xander said, a diabolical grin on his face.

"Just don't tell me," she said. "The don't ask, don't tell works just fine in this situation."

"I want to know," Willow said to Xander.

"Come enter into my web," Xander said, stroking an imaginary beard. The girls giggled at him. Buffy ignored their whispering in a corner. Xander was a prankster, not malicious. So surely it wouldn't be awful whatever he planned for Lionel.

Giles was glad that things were back to normal with the friends. Buffy deciding to step back had upset everyone, especially Willow and Xander. Now they were back on the same page, glad to see Buffy so happy.

It was a great Christmas.

******New Year's Eve******

Clark, Pete, and Chloe came to Lex's in various states of eagerness. Pete had to be cajoled to come since he didn't like or trust any Luthor. Chloe was excited to finally get inside the Luthor mansion and had been staring wide-eyed as soon as they came through the doors. Clark was excited to go to a real New Year's Eve party. His parents only allowed his attendance when Buffy and Dawn stopped by with Xander. Buffy ordered some produce and assured the Kents that she and her friends would be there to chaperone. Jonathan didn't like it, but Clark promised to get home by one o'clock.

"I can't believe your dad agreed to let you come," Pete said.

"Buffy's hard to say no to," Clark said with a grin.

Pete saw several stunning women who looked closer to his age than Lex's. "Look at those girls! Why are they here? They can't be twenty-one!" he exclaimed in awe.

Clark looked and saw Dawn talking to one of them. "They must be friends of Dawn. She said several of their friends came down to see their place and ring in the New Year," Clark said. He led them toward Dawn.

Chloe's attention was taken by a gorgeous woman in black leather pants that was dirty dancing with a pirate. "Who's the pirate?" Chloe asked.

Dawn grinned. "That's Xander. He's like my uncle. Buffy's best guy friend and the best guy you'll ever meet," she said.

"So is the eye patch for real or is it part of his look?" Pete asked.

Dawn's smile faded as she answered, "It's for real. Our home town was kind of dangerous. Xander confronted a serial killer who was trying to kill Buffy and some other girls. The guy gouged out his eye."

Pete looked ill. "Sorry," he said quickly.

"It's okay," she said.

"Why doesn't he get a glass eye?" Chloe asked. "They make them very real like."

"I don't know. You'd have to ask him," Dawn said. "He might one day."

"Is that Xander's girlfriend?" Clark asked.

"Faith? No, she's just a big tease," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "Xander's girlfriend died last May. He's not quite ready for a new girlfriend. Anya didn't make it out of Sunnydale before it collapsed."

The three friends sobered up, feeling various degrees of guilt and sadness.

"Hey, it's okay. We survived. Don't feel bad. Anya had a great long life," Dawn assured them. She looked at Pete. "Do you want to dance?" She didn't want to alienate Chloe by asking Clark.

"Sure," Pete said, happy to dance with the very attractive new girl.

Buffy was slow dancing to the fast song with Lex—much to his delight. "This is a good party," she said.

"I'm glad you made it," he said, kissing her cheek. Then he pulled her out and spun her.

Buffy laughed as she went back into his arms. "I have a feeling that this is going to be a great year," she said. She pulled him down for a kiss.

Chloe and Clark were watching the couple. "Looks like Ms. Summers is getting awfully close to Lex," Chloe observed.

"Yes," Clark said, smiling. "She'll be good for him."

"How do you know? She's from a really weird town, Clark. I've been doing some research and Sunnydale was even weirder than Smallville," Chloe shared.

"So, she'll fit right in," Clark said.

Chloe remained skeptical. "Dawn seems nice, but look at the women they brought. Do any of them seem normal to you?" she asked, gesturing across the room.

Clark looked and saw beautiful women of various ages. Sure, some of them looked very predator-like and moved like professional dancers or even fighters. "They seem nice," he said, not willing to encourage Chloe. Her sleuthing upset him when it was directed at him and his life. He didn't want to ruin possibly new friendships by having her start digging into Dawn's life.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Nice? A visit to grandma's house is nice. They are like-like, well, I don't know what they're like, but they are not like anyone in Smallville!" she declared, for once at a loss for the right words.

Clark laughed. "You lived in Metropolis. Surely, you're not a snob already?" he teased. "How about we dance and you stop with the conjecture and suspicion?"

Chloe relented, allowing her friend to pull her out onto the dance floor.

The party was fun and lively. Clark met several of Dawn's friends. When the countdown to the New Year began, he suddenly found himself surrounded by five beautiful girls, including Dawn. Pete stared wide-eyed.

"Why do I feel like a piece of meat?" Pete whispered.

"Cause you are," Rebel, a sixteen year-old slayer with red curly hair, said, kissing him when it hit midnight. Pete was kissed by two others.

Clark lost track of how many women kissed him. His face was flaming bright, though. All the women kissed him enthusiastically. Most used their tongues. It was both heady and uncomfortable. When he looked at Chloe, he realized that she was just as stunned.

"Two of Dawn's friends kissed me!" she shared, shocked.

"Women?" Clark asked in surprise.

"They kissed me first," Pete said, puffing out his chest. This might be the best night of his young life.

Dawn laughed at her new friends. She'd kissed all three of them, but Chloe on the cheek, not wanting to freak her out. "Willow's gay, so none of my friends are uncomfortable with that kind of thing. I'm sorry if you were freaked out. They weren't seriously trying to hit on you," she said to Chloe.

"It's okay. I was just surprised," she admitted.

Lex found out that he and Buffy hadn't been dating long enough for Faith to not hit on him. Faith grabbed Lex right after he kissed Buffy and pulled him in for a loud kiss. Buffy shocked Lex by pulling him away and slugging Faith in the face. Instead of getting mad, Faith grinned and pulled Buffy's face toward hers, placing a loud kiss on her lips.

"There. Now I've kissed you both. No need to be jealous, B," she said with a wink. Then she sauntered away to kiss one of Lex's co-workers.

"Your friends are—" he paused, looking for the right word.

"Insane. I know," Buffy said with a sheepish grin.

Lex spotted his father coming into the ballroom. "Great. Dad decided to join us," Lex said. Then he winced when two of Buffy's hot friends, one being Faith, pulled his father in for a kiss.

Buffy groaned. "My friends are all shameless hussies," she said.

"Well, they sure keep things interesting," Lex said, laughing as his dad untangled himself from the two women.

"Lex," Lionel said, eying Buffy.

"Happy New Year, Dad," Lex said. "Nice of you to join the party."

"When you said you were inviting a few friends over, I didn't know you meant a hundred," he said.

"There's not that many here," Lex argued.

"I brought a dozen with me," Buffy said. "I'm moving into Smallville with my sister. A dozen friends came down from Cleveland to help."

"That's nice," Lionel said insincerely.

"Here's one now," Buffy said, gesturing to Willow. "Willow, this is Lex's dad, Lionel Luther. Lionel, this is Willow Rosenberg, my best friend."

Lionel gave her a polite smile and held out his hand. "How do you do?" he asked.

"Better than you will be doing if you keep trying to hack into our school's mainframe," Willow said with a bright smile as she shook his hand.

"Excuse me?" Lionel asked.

Buffy gave Lex a guilty look. "I was going to talk to you about this later," she said.

"Why don't we take this into my study?" Lex said over the music. He had a feeling things were about to get uncomfortable.

The four went into his study.

"What school are you talking about?" Lex asked Willow.

"My friends run a school for girls in Cleveland. Some of Dawn's friends that she brought attend it," Buffy said. "We've noticed some intrusions in our systems."

"What does that have to do with my dad?" Lex asked warily.

"I traced them back to Luthercorp," Willow said. "Since Buffy told me that your dad already had her investigated, we concluded that he'd initiated the hack."

"You have no proof of that!" Lionel exclaimed. "Besides, aren't you a little young to be running a school?"

"I'm a computer teacher," Willow said. "I finished my degree in three years." Of course, she also taught witchcraft and spell casting, but she wasn't about to share that.

"Ladies, can I have a moment with my father?" Lex asked.

"Sure," Buffy said.

When they closed the door, Buffy turned to Willow. "Did you get a chance to check out his computer?"

"As soon as we arrived I did that," Willow said proudly. "Are you going to tell him?"

Buffy didn't like keeping secrets. She had too many as it was. "I'll tell him something," she said.

"Let's go get a drink. I'm sure Lex is used to dealing with his father," Willow said, tugging on Buffy's hand.

Buffy sighed and let herself be pulled. She hoped Lex would be okay in there with his father.

Lex stood glaring at his dad. "Please tell me that Buffy's friend is either delusional or misinformed," he said.

"With that girl's record, she probably is delusional," Lionel said.

"You're not still looking into Buffy and everyone she knows?" Lex asked pointedly.

"It's for your own protection," Lionel said, not denying it.

Lex took a breath, working to control his temper. Losing his cool with his dad was never a good idea. "This needs to stop, Dad. You need to trust that I am not going to do anything to endanger you or our business. I would hope that you could respect me enough to do the same when it comes to Buffy. I care about her, Dad—a lot," Lex said.

Lionel knew that his son was too old to forbid the relationship. "Well, son, I can't make any promises. Forewarned is forearmed," Lionel said. "I don't want you to be blindsided."

"I'm a grown man, Dad. I can handle it. But Buffy isn't someone to worry about," Lex assured him. "You keep going down this path, you'll regret it."

"I think you should head back to Metropolis," Lionel said, trying another tactic. "You've done good work at the plant. You've matured and stepped up like I hoped. You're ready to join me now at Metropolis,"

"Nice try," Lex said, rolling his eyes. "It's not happening. Buffy is going to school there. If I was in Metropolis, I'd still see her. But I'm not going to Metropolis. I like it in Smallville. I have friends here. I like who I am here."

Lionel knew if he pushed, Lex would just dig his heels in. "I hope you don't regret it," he said.

"I won't," Lex said. Then he went back to the party and to Buffy.

Buffy had Dawn take all the underage partiers to her new house. All the adults were staying at Lex's. She wasn't too worried about them being alone for a few hours. She wasn't staying at Lex's because she didn't want their first time together to be under the eyes of all her friends.

As for Lex, he pulled her to a corner away from the speakers.

"I'm sorry about my dad, Buffy," he said with regret.

"Hey, you don't need to apologize," Buffy said. "Actually, I should apologize for Willow. She won't leave Lionel alone. She'll probably spy back on him if she gets into his mainframe."

"Well, he started it. As long as she doesn't have any malicious intent or try to bankrupt us, I'll pretend I don't know anything," Lex said with a smirk.

"No, she's not malicious, but she's read stuff about your dad and is worried about his intentions," she said. "After Sunnydale, we only have each other. She's protective. We all are for one another."

"I'm a bit jealous. I've never had friends like that," Lex said.

"You do now," Buffy said. She pulled him close for a kiss.

Lex held her close, savoring her in his arms. Maybe, his luck was finally changing. It was a New Year. He had some new friends and an incredible, intriguing woman. Whatever his father planned, he wouldn't let it interfere. Lex had a feeling that Buffy Summers was a woman worth fighting for.

*****The End*****

For now! I hope to write more and had another story getting into the second half of season 2 of Smallville. Reviews are great! Thanks so much!