TITLE: Drilling Holes

AUTHOR: Lady Ra

E-MAIL ADDRESS: LadyRa11@yahoo.com

RATING: NC-17

PAIRING: Lex/Clark

SUMMARY: Clark's sex drive comes on-line along with the heat vision, but things aren't going well.

EPISODE SPOILERS: Heat

NOTES/WARNINGS: This story is all about sex, but it's not a PWP. And there is talk of past nastiness of Lionel toward Lex and underage sex, although not incestual. And I'm assuming, for the sake of this story, because Heat happens in 2^nd season, that Clark is 16. It goes pretty AU from there. Plus, I know the timing in this doesn't match the canon date for Lex's mom's death. Just go along with it.

DISCLAIMER: I'm making millions. Mwahahaha. The book rights, movie options, tours, adoring fans by the millions throwing money at me. Sigh. Okay, I'm lying. Not mine. Wah!!!!!!!

DISTRIBUTION: Smallville Archive, and my home site: www.visionsofprettyboys.com. If you want it someplace else, let me know. We'll talk. I can be bought.

FEEDBACK: Absolutely. In fact I insist on it. No, I'm begging you for it. Actually (leans in as if to share a secret), the amount of feedback I get often dictates what fandom I write my next story in. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

THANKS: Thanks to my vunderbar betas. My stories are always so much better for their hard work. For this story that includes a cast of thousands: Morr, Prentice, Lasha, Joolz, Jenn, Enju, and Lori Ann.

Drilling Holes

After getting home early from the Town Hall meeting, Jonathan Kent wanted to take advantage of the extra time by getting some chores done. While walking into the barn to grab the pitchfork to spread some hay for the animals, he heard his son groan. He found himself reddening, remembering a very embarrassing moment a couple weeks ago when he'd walked in on Clark while he was masturbating. Clark hadn't seen him, for which Jonathan was extremely grateful. At that time, he'd decided whatever he'd needed in the barn could wait for an hour.

Recalling that day, he started to turn around. But then Clark groaned again, and this time, it sounded like he was in pain.

"How about here?" he heard Lex ask, and the young Luthor's voice raised the hackles on the back of Jonathan's neck.

"No," Clark groaned. "Too close."

That was it. Jonathan moved quickly into the barn and started up the steps. Lex was standing near the top with an open box. Inside the box was a piece of glowing meteor rock. Jonathan made the connection--Luthor, meteor rock, Clark--and he snapped. He leaped up the stairs, grabbed Lex, spun him around, and punched him in the face with a right cross.

The box went flying, Lex let out a pained "oomph", and went spinning in the opposite direction, starting a precipitous descent down the stairs.

Jonathan spent a long second trying to decide if he should try to catch Lex or let the bastard get what was coming to him. The decision was taken out of his hands when Clark was suddenly below Lex, stopping his fall. His actions infuriated Jonathan. Sometimes his son couldn't see danger if it was smacking him upside the head. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded of Clark.

Clark cradled his unconscious friend in his arms. "What the hell are you doing?" he challenged back. He touched Lex's face where a bruise was already starting to form next to a small gash.

Jonathan walked down a few stairs. "I don't want you anywhere near that boy. He's bad news."

Clark glared at his dad. "He isn't. He's my friend. You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know plenty, son, and I know Luthors can't be trusted. Damn it, Clark, he had meteor rock with him."

"I know he did." Clark let out a long breath and rested his head for a moment on top of Lex's. "Can you find it? I can still feel it, and it's making me sick."

Jonathan squeezed by Clark and Lex and scrounged around in the hay until he located it. He moved quickly to the door of the barn and tossed it out as far away from Clark as he could.

When he got back in, Clark was still holding Lex. Jonathan needed to put a stop to this. "Clark, put him down. We can call someone from the mansion to come get him." He moved forward to take Lex away from his son.

The glare was more intense this time. "Don't come near him," Clark said, holding Lex even more closely. "I mean it."

Jonathan was completely confused; not the first time he'd been in this condition when Lex was around. "I'd like an explanation for all of this."

But Clark ignored him, talking to Lex. "Lex, come on, wake up for me here. Are you all right?" He lightly stroked Lex's face on the opposite side of the bruise. "Lex?"

Lex's eyes snapped open and he took a look at Jonathan, dismissed him--much to Jonathan's displeasure--and then looked up at Clark. "Clark? You all right?"

Clark let out a strained laugh. "Me? Am I all right? Jeez, Lex, my dad punched you and you fell down the stairs. Are you all right? Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

Lex shook his head and made an effort to move.

Clark wouldn't let him.

Lex gave him a look. "I appreciate your heroics on my behalf, but I think my dignity is wounded enough without having to compound the injury by sitting on your lap."

Clark reluctantly let go of him, and Lex shakily settled on the stair right above him.

Jonathan watched the boys together and he didn't like anything he was seeing. Any of it. "Do one of you want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Clark stared at his dad and then blushed a virulent red. Jonathan couldn't remember seeing him blush so badly, which was saying a lot for Clark.

Lex shifted his position until he was facing Clark, his back toward Jonathan. Jonathan moved closer so he could hear; he had no intention of letting Lex take advantage of whatever was bothering his son. "Clark," Lex said soothingly, "we'll figure it out. I promise."

"Promise what?" Jonathan asked angrily. "You don't need to be promising Clark anything. He knows better than to accept things from you."

Clark glared at his dad again, his face still red. "Dad, you need to stop saying things like that." He dropped his face into his hands again. "God, just kill me now."

"Don't say that," Lex spoke sharply. "I said we'll work it out."

Clark glanced up wearily and reached for Lex's hand, holding it up, a bandage wrapped securely around it. "Like this, you mean? I put a fucking hole in your hand, Lex."

"Watch your language, Clark," Jonathan snapped.

Lex smiled kindly at Clark. "We had to try. We have to be scientific about this to prevail. A little sacrifice is a small price to pay for the right result."

"The right result?" Clark shook his head, and despite the fact that the blush was finally fading, it was being replaced with a look of such sadness it broke Jonathan's heart. "Lex," Clark said softly, "it's just not going to work. I'm just--I'm just too different."

Jonathan's heart skipped a beat. Surely Clark hadn't told Lex about his origins. Surely he hadn't been that foolish. But how else would Lex have known about the meteor rock? Anger surged again. "Clark, go in the house. We'll talk about this later." He'd finish this conversation with Lex alone and make damn sure he knew he would not be welcome on Kent land again.

Clark's lips tightened stubbornly. "No. I'm not leaving you alone with Lex. You don't understand what happened. None of this is his fault." He let his head rest against Lex's upper arm and whispered softly, "Lex, I'm sorry about your hand," he paused, "and your head."

Lex's arm snaked around Clark's shoulder. "I believed you the first hundred times about the hand, and the head wasn't your fault. You know how quickly I heal." He held up his hand. "This doesn't matter."

"It does to me," Clark muttered darkly.

Jonathan took an angry step toward the two of them, way past ready to have this intimate moment over. Clark was much too comfortable in Lex's personal space, and it was wrong on too many levels to count that Lex was touching Clark so easily.

He was about to order Clark into the house again when Lex offered his own suggestion. "Clark, why don't you go to the mansion and watch some TV? I'll call ahead, let them know you're coming. I'm sure Betsy would be delighted to make you something to eat. I'll stay here and explain things to your dad."

Even knowing he was a Luthor, Jonathan was stunned at his effrontery-- telling his son to go to Lex's home at this time of night. "You'll do no such thing," he berated his son, only to find that Clark was already gone, leaving a quick impression of apologetic eyes. Lex hung up from giving instructions to his staff.

Jonathan advanced threateningly on Lex. In response, the young man stood and made it down the remaining steps until he stood on solid ground. He held on to the railing with one hand while he put up his other in a placating gesture.

Jonathan didn't feel like being placated. "Who the hell do you think you are, undermining my orders to my son?" He got close to Lex, purposely towering over him.

Lex stared at him calmly. "Do you want to know what's bothering Clark or not?" He said it as if it certainly didn't matter to him, as if he had hundreds of more important things to do than waste his time talking to Jonathan.

Jonathan wondered if killing Lex would be justifiable homicide. After all, he'd been trying to kill Clark. Before he could give into the temptation, Jonathan figured he better find out what Lex knew and who he'd told. Knowing Lex, there were probably files on Clark. Evidence Jonathan would need to locate and destroy. Assuming he fulfilled his fantasy and throttled Lex. He let out a sigh knowing he wouldn't--even if he really, really wanted to.

It didn't mean he couldn't give Lex a hard time. "What were you doing here tonight, anyway? It's late and it's a school night."

Lex smirked at him. "I'm here at Clark's invitation. You weren't supposed to be home for another hour." He held out his phone. "You're welcome to call him to confirm what I'm saying. I'm sure he's there already."

Jonathan let out a scoffing laugh. "First of all, I don't like you being here when we're not. And second of all, he can't be there yet. It takes fifteen minutes to drive the back roads to your place."

Lex tapped his phone against his chin, scrutinizing Jonathan, not saying a word.

Jonathan didn't appreciate the specimen-under-glass experience even as he realized he hadn't heard the truck starting up. Scowling, he said, "Besides, that's not the point. You know he has an early curfew on school nights. This is just another example of how Luthors don't think the rules apply to them."

Lex nodded in response. "You're right. We don't. But that's exactly why Clark came to me for help." He slipped his phone into its holster and started walking up the stairs.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Lex pointed upstairs. "I need to show you something. I told Clark I'd explain and I will, assuming you're willing to listen."

Jonathan wanted to hurl the pitchfork up after Lex, but Clark had been acting strangely, and if something was bothering him, Jonathan needed to know. He could throw Lex off his property when he was done. He unhappily stomped up after Lex.

Lex was sitting on Clark's couch as if he owned the place.

It pissed Jonathan off all over again. The second he saw Clark he was laying down the law: Lex was off limits. He'd start enforcing it now. "I don't know what you've been tempting Clark with at your home, Lex, but I don't want him there anymore."

Lex just gave him that infuriating smirk again. "I imagine that Clark is, at this moment, cringing with humiliation in the corner of my entertainment room, as he tries very hard not to imagine the conversation we're about to have. It may take him some time to get up the courage to come home. And as long as he chooses, he may stay at the mansion."

"Listen, you son of a bitch--"

"And in case you were wondering, yes, I know he's an alien."

Jonathan's jaw dropped, and he knew he must look like a fish out of water as he tried to catch his breath. Finally he found his voice. "How did you find out? Have you been spying on him?" he accused, terrified on behalf of Clark. On behalf of them all.

"Yes, I have been spying on Clark, but he's the one who told me. I had reached the conclusion that he was a meteor mutant and was somewhat dismayed that my conclusions were so off the mark."

"Why did he tell you?" Jonathan couldn't believe it. Of all people. "What did you do to him to make you tell him?" That had to be the reason. Lex must have threatened him, threatened his family.

"A reasonable assumption on your part, given my family history, but no, I didn't threaten him. Nor would I. Clark is a friend. A good friend."

"It didn't stop you spying on him."

"No, it didn't. I'm afraid I have an insatiable curiosity about things I don't understand, and Clark was too much of an enigma to resist. However, my friendship for him would eventually determine the ultimate disposition of the evidence at hand, which--in his case--would be to suggest ways he might be a bit more circumspect about how he uses his power. He seems to operate under the assumption that people are blind."

Jonathan could hardly argue with that. Clark's escapades were taking years off his life.

"I know you don't like it," Lex continued blithely, "but I'm in a much better position to protect him than you are."

Jonathan didn't like it. "I can take care of my own family," he retorted heatedly.

Lex nodded. "Of course."

Jonathan could see the skepticism on Lex's face. "We don't need any help from a Luthor," he added scathingly.

"Naturally." Lex smiled at Jonathan, a little smile that said something like 'if they came for Clark, you'd be shit out of luck, but maybe, if you ask nicely, I might be persuaded to help, for a price.' Over my dead body, Jonathan thought.

Lex lay down on the couch.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jonathan was reaching his limit.

Lex pointed to the ceiling. "I'm not sure if you've noticed that your barn has a few extra holes in it."

Jonathan walked over to the couch and stared up at the roof. Sure enough, there were several holes of varying size, as if someone had been hammering nails up there.

Lex's hand arced down and he pointed at the wall facing the foot of the couch. "And there."

Following the pointing fingers, Jonathan saw that there were holes there as well. And, now that he was looking, there were gouges in the wood railing. "What are these?" They couldn't be termites; this wasn't the sort of damage they did.

"I'm assuming you and Clark have had the traditional father-son talk about the birds and the bees?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes."

Lex sat up, nodding. "You'll recall when his heat vision came on-line?"

"Yes, and I remember you having my son arrested," he commented angrily.

"A most regrettable situation and one I've apologized for. I was chagrined to find that I could be so easily swayed by a chemical compound." He ran a hand over his bald scalp and looked away for a moment.

Jonathan could believe that. A Luthor would never be comfortable in a situation outside his control.

Lex stood and moved to the window, standing near Clark's telescope. "Be that as it may, apparently, up until that point, Clark hadn't ever, well, he hadn't ever had an erection. The heat vision was the vanguard of a newly awakened sex drive."

Jonathan could feel his own face start to redden. There was no way in hell he was going to stand here and have a conversation about his son's erections. "Listen--"

Lex turned to face him. "You need to listen. This is important. Clark's been struggling with this for weeks before I finally convinced him to confide in me. You must have seen how depressed he's been lately."

Jonathan had noticed. So had Martha. Clark had been more than depressed. Moping around, withdrawing from life, ignoring his friends. They'd decided it was Clark slowly adjusting to his powers, to being an alien. That combined with normal teenage angst would pack a wallop that would depress anybody.

Then Jonathan shook his head, remembering Clark's endless mooning over that Lang girl. "You're wrong. I know he's been attracted to Lana Lang for a long time, so there's nothing wrong with his libido." He wasn't ready to admit that a son of his was a little short of the mark for sexual maturity.

Lex gave him a look that Jonathan interpreted as disappointment. Jonathan barely held back from punching Lex again. Instead, he took a moment of twisted pleasure out of the growing bruise on Lex's face. It was coupled with a sense of shame, knowing that Lex wasn't that much older than Clark, and he probably shouldn't have hit him. But, damn it, he'd been exposing Clark to meteor rock.

"There is nothing wrong with Clark," Lex said firmly. "Clark is exactly the way he should be. However, he is the one who gave me this information, and one assumes he would know. I presume his attraction for Lana was little more than puppy love, not something that registered sexually with his body. Since his sex-drive has become active, apparently Miss Lang is no longer forefront in his thoughts."

"I suppose you think he's attracted to you? Is that what this whole thing is about? Because you'd be dead wrong about that."

Another look of disappointment. "Mr. Kent, I'm frankly amazed that a man lucky enough to have wooed and won a woman like Martha Kent would have such a provincial streak."

"This has nothing to do with Clark being straight or gay, Lex. This has to do with him and you."

"Ah, right. A Luthor." Lex let out a breath that was part snicker. Then he waved a hand as if to dismiss the ridiculousness of Jonathan's concerns. "I have no idea if Clark is attracted to me, although I would consider it a singular honor if he were. However, right now, he is more concerned about his ability to ever have a relationship than he is about who he might have it with."

"You ever lay a hand on my boy and--"

Lex held up his bandaged hand. "Too late."

Jonathan blew out a breath, seeing red. He felt like a bull facing down a matador, pawing hooves, steaming breath. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Just say what you need to say. Then get out."

Lex stared at him for a second, that insolent smirk still hovering on his lips. Finally, he said, "I can only imagine how hard it is for Clark to be constantly monitoring his body, being aware of what it's doing, what or who he's touching, always making sure he doesn't hurt anyone or give his secrets away."

It had crossed Jonathan's mind, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He waited impatiently for Lex to get to the point.

"Clark has told me that the more his emotions are involved, especially if he's feeling quite impassioned about something, his powers become even harder to control."

"And?" Jonathan urged, wanting to get this over with.

"When Clark's sex drive engaged, he, as every normal young man his age does, started masturbating."

Jonathan's face heated again.

Lex pointed at the ceiling and at the far wall.

Jonathan followed his gestures and put it all together. His jaw dropped again. "Holy Toledo." He looked up at the ceiling again.

"I suppose you can be glad that he chose to explore his new found sexuality here in the barn instead of your house."

Glowering at Lex, Jonathan snapped, "I suppose you find this amusing."

"On the contrary, I think it's deadly serious. Your son is afraid he can never be in a sexual relationship with anyone. That if he attempts to have sex he will kill his partner." He gestured at the ceiling again. "At this point, I would have to agree with him. Imagine what that would do to the internal tissues of a human."

Jonathan swallowed at the thought.

"Clark is one of the friendliest people I've ever met. He craves people, wants to be loved, loves to touch and be touched. And all he's been able to envision, as he's struggled with this on his own, is that he was doomed to spend his life alone, unloved and untouched." Lex sat up, then stood, moving toward the window.

His throat tight, Jonathan sat down. "Jesus." He looked up at the ceiling again. His heart ached for his son. The last year had been filled with one frightening experience after another as Clark's body developed new alien powers. His head sagged back against the back of the couch, trying to imagine how it might feel to think that you could never fall in love, never have sex.

He glanced at Lex, who was now staring through the telescope at some far away celestial body. Suspicion filled him. "So how, exactly, are you helping him? And what did you mean that it was too late? How did you hurt your hand?" Jonathan stood, his body rigid, hands fisted tightly. "Have you touched him?"

Lex smiled at him, not in a particularly friendly way. "You almost rival my father for pigheadedness."

"I am nothing like your father."

Lex pursed his lips, but didn't reply.

"And what the hell makes you an expert in this? Just because you've screwed your way through Metropolis doesn't give you the right to touch my son."

"My father entered my bedroom one day while I was masturbating."

"What?" The seeming non sequitor threw Jonathan.

"He found it embarrassing." Lex smiled. "My father doesn't like to be embarrassed."

Jonathan found himself intrigued, much to his dismay, and he waited to hear more.

"He had, of course, not bothered to have the time-honored traditional father-son talk with me, but the evidence was now incontrovertible that the time had come for me to be educated."

A sick feeling started forming in Jonathan's gut. Somehow he didn't think this was going to be a good story. "What did he do?" he asked nervously.

"He hired some of the most exclusive courtesans money can buy, both male and female, and had them fuck me into oblivion for a week."

The expression on Lex's face, and the rigid control in his voice, told Jonathan that it hadn't been one of Lex's best weeks. "How old were you?"

"Thirteen."

Jonathan's heart skipped a beat. He remembered Clark at thirteen, couldn't even imagine him dealing with sex, let alone like that. "Lex, that's little more than rape."

Lex nodded. "I know. But it was an expedient means to an end for my father."

"For what? What end?" For the first time in a long time, Jonathan allowed his hatred of Luthor to stand separate from his feelings for Lex.

"For two ends, actually. The first was that in allowing me to fully explore my sexuality and all its permutations in one fell swoop, he hoped he might be spared the inconvenience of the tawdry spectacle of my adolescence. The second end was that I was a Luthor, and Luthors need to excel at everything."

Lex played with one of the adjustments on Clark's telescope and then smiled grimly at Jonathan. "After all, if you're being fucked by a Luthor, whether in the boardroom or the bedroom, it's important it be an experience you won't ever forget."

Jonathan heard the bitterness in Lex's voice and, against his will, the thought crept in that Lex maybe didn't want to be like his father. "I hate your father," he admitted.

Lex nodded. "In that, we completely agree." The corner of his mouth curved into a mocking smile. "I was able to thwart him in achieving one of his goals."

"What do you mean?"

"I made sure he suffered the nonstop inconvenience of my adolescence." The smile grew brighter. "I don't think he'll ever forgive me for that."

All the gossip about Lex's teenage years, his sexual exploits, drug use, even arrests, paraded through Jonathan's mind. He couldn't help the inner voice that privately cheered Lex for getting back at his father. Jonathan suddenly wanted a stiff drink and a hug from Martha. Thirteen years old. Jesus.

"There isn't much I haven't done, Mr. Kent. I'm not proud of it, and I suppose, if I could do it over again, that I would choose to do otherwise. When you're that young, it's hard to understand that the things you do to punish your parents end up hurting you as well."

"How did you--? You were thirteen, Lex." He couldn't get past that.

"Are you asking me how I coped?"

Jonathan nodded. He needed to know, even if he wasn't sure why. Even if a part of him didn't want to know. He didn't want to like Lex. Didn't want to feel sorry for him. Didn't want to think of him as an abused child. A nasty little thought that maybe he didn't understand anything about the young man facing him began to worm its way through his mind.

Lex just shrugged. "I don't remember much of it. What I do remember is crying myself to sleep every night. It had only been a week since my mother had died; things were a bit overwhelming at the time."

Jonathan's eyes widened at that massive understatement. Lionel did that to Lex the week after his mother died?

"I didn't tell you that story to make you feel sorry for me," Lex said coolly, no doubt responding to the distressed look on Jonathan's face. "I told you that story so you'd understand why I can help Clark. There is nothing about sex that startles or embarrasses me. I've seen too much for that. I know about every kink and fetish there is. I can certainly handle a sixteen year old who can't masturbate without drilling holes in walls and keep him from feeling even more of a freak than he already does."

Jonathan sighed. "Lex, I don't know how appropriate this is--"

"Who else can he ask? You? His mother? Lana Lang? Or are you suggesting that he just accept this as some lonely destiny, set apart from human kind because he gets excited when he comes?"

"He's too young--"

"With all due respect, Mr. Kent, he's sixteen and legal. Or as legal as Kansas gets. Besides, sixteen is an arbitrary age you and Mrs. Kent chose because our society insists that we be pigeonholed by the date we were born. We actually have no idea what age he is or what is sexually normal for him. We don't know how his people mate and procreate, or what societal expectations would be placed on him at this time if he were home. Placing your preconceived human notions on Clark may do more harm than good."

"Or it may be a way to keep someone like you from manipulating him. He may be from another planet, but he's been raised here with our morals, and he thinks like a teenager. And a randy teenager, even an alien one, won't always make the best decisions, especially if they're thinking with their dick. And you're not a good decision. Not for him."

Lex smirked at him. "At least you can be assured he'd be learning from the best."

Jonathan's hands fisted and he took a step toward Lex, ready to punch him into next week. The little shit was an expert at pushing every button he had. He paced for a few long moments, taking deep breaths, blowing them out, knowing that if it came down to it, Clark would never forgive him for beating the shit out of Lex. Jonathan was also not completely sure he'd emerge the winner if it came down to a fight. Something about Lex's sheer insolence spoke of his ability to hold his own.

Running a hand through his hair, Jonathan finally asked, "What were you using the meteor rock for?" He moved to Lex and pointed to his hand. "And what happened to your hand?"

Lex pursed his lips for a moment, thinking. "First I just tried to talk him through it, to keep him focused."

Jonathan pushed away the image of Lex sitting at Clark's side, watching him masturbate. He'd have a stroke for sure if he thought about it too much. No father should have to have a conversation like this. And what the fuck did he know about being a father to someone from an entirely different planet? Maybe he'd done it all wrong. Maybe trying to make Clark like a human had been the wrong decision. What the hell did he know about anything?

Lex continued. "It didn't help. I offered to masturbate him myself." As Jonathan opened his mouth to yell, Lex waved off his impending explosion. "Not to get off on it, but because I hoped he might have some automatic self-control mechanism that would allow him to compensate to keep from doing his partner injury."

Jonathan suppressed the urge to throw Lex out the window. "And did you touch him?" he gritted out.

Lex shook his head. "Clark was afraid for me. So I made the decision for him. The next time he masturbated, right when he was about to ejaculate, I put my hand out to catch some of his semen." He held up his bandaged hand. "Not one of my better ideas."

Jonathan winced. "What happened?"

"Fortunately, it just caught the webbing between my index finger and thumb, but it tore it right off." He stared at his hand for a moment. "I know Clark felt badly about it, but when I was caught in that meteor shower, in addition to losing all my hair, I was also granted remarkable recuperative powers. I considered it a fair exchange." He held up his hand again. "Another day and I'll be as good as new."

"You're lucky that's all that happened." Jonathan couldn't even conceive of what Clark would have felt like if he'd blown Lex's hand off. Or the lawsuit that would have come his way from the Luthor legal brigade.

"I know, but we need to know what works and what doesn't. You can't come up with a plausible hypothesis without some data. I decided it was worth a little pain to find some answers."

"I don't imagine Clark agreed with you."

Lex smiled. "Not even a little."

"What did you do next?"

"We know the meteor rock, if the exposure is too great, could potentially kill Clark. But we also know that it reduces his power to the point of making him weaker than an average human. I thought we could determine an exposure level that wouldn't do him undue harm, or make him feel too sick to get it up, but that might reduce his strength. My hypothesis was if he could come, even once, and experience it as a human might with a 'normal' ejaculation," Lex put the word normal in air quotes, "then he'd have a benchmark to work with, a sense of how he could come without punching a hole through his partner."

Jonathan hated to admit it, but it almost made sense. He sighed. "Sorry I hit you." It wasn't the best apology he'd ever tendered, but it was a start.

Lex shook his head. "You were defending your son. I could hardly think less of you for that."

"I jumped to the wrong conclusions."

"I don't blame you."

"Maybe you should," Jonathan admitted. "I don't like any of this. I admit that. I don't like that you're up here watching Clark--" he stumbled for a word and settled for making a vague gesture, "you know. I don't like the thought of you touching him or even talking to him about this. In my mind's eye he's still a child. He's trusting and so innocent, in many ways."

"It is, in large part, what attracts me to him. And for that very reason, it is something I don't want to see destroyed. I do know how to protect beautiful things so they don't lose their value."

That got another angry rise out of Jonathan. "He's not a thing," he spat out. "He's not something for you to put in a cage and admire when it suits you."

"What suits me," Lex said firmly, "is to help your son gain enough control over his orgasms so he is able to actually have a partner. Until he can do that, the rest of your concerns are moot. I may be willing to put my hand at risk, but I’m not foolish enough to risk myself further just for another notch on my bedpost. If all I wanted was sexual gratification, I have many, many people I could call."

"I don't want Clark exposed to talk like that."

"Mr. Kent, are you that unsure of your son, and the values you and Mrs. Kent have instilled in him, that you think the only way to safeguard him is to shield him from everyone who thinks differently than you? You and I both know that his powers will eventually put him front and center and at constant risk for exposure and manipulation. The sooner he learns to stand against being manipulated, the better."

"Those sound like some more convenient excuses for doing whatever the hell you want to my son." Jonathan might agree with Lex, that Clark would end up living a life that put him in constant danger, but it didn't mean he wanted to deal with the idea of him having sex with a Luthor on top of it.

"All I want to do now is help him. After he learns to control himself, if he wants me, he can have me. I've been his for the taking since he saved my life."

"Even if I say no? Even if I tell you right now that I do not give you permission to touch my son?"

"Even then. Ultimately, this isn't your choice to make. You could stop him for a while, but if I'm what he wants--?" Lex shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, he hasn't expressed a desire for me."

"He's letting you touch him."

"He's letting me help him," Lex corrected him.

Jonathan didn't see a big distinction. Clark would probably be so grateful he'd feel beholden to Lex, offering him anything he wanted.

As if reading his mind, Lex said, "Don't worry. I won't let Clark do anything he doesn't really want to do. I'm not interested in losing his friendship over a thank you fuck."

"There's no guarantee that you can help him." Jonathan felt stymied. A part of him recognized that Lex probably was the best choice to help his son, but he wanted another option. He just had absolutely no idea what that might be.

Lex shrugged. "I better get back to the mansion."

"Why?" Jonathan asked, knowing it was a stupid question. What he really meant was he didn't want Clark to be alone with Lex.

"Relax, Mr. Kent. I think it may be a while before Clark's even willing to admit he has a penis, let alone do anything with it. I'll do my best to send him home."

"And if he doesn't want to come home?" Jonathan challenged.

"Then he stays there as long as he needs to."

"You can't keep him. He's only sixteen."

"Ah," Lex said with a smirk. "We're back to that." He cocked his head to the side and considered Jonathan. "How exactly do you expect me to force him to come home? He's a fairly immovable object when he chooses to be."

Jonathan could hardly argue with that. "So you reason with him."

"Right, and make him feel even more miserable and guilty than he already is. Good suggestion." Lex headed for the staircase, bypassing Jonathan with barely a look.

Jonathan grabbed Lex's arm, but let go immediately at the lethal look Lex shot him. Jonathan's stomach twisted as he realized, for a moment there, he'd actually been in danger. Jonathan wondered what had happened to Lex to make him look like that when touched. But then he remembered that the last time he'd touched Lex, he'd punched him. And then he remembered Lex's earlier story about his sexual indoctrination.

He heard a car door slam and grasped that as he'd been standing there wool-gathering, Lex had gotten to his car. Jonathan stood there as he listened to the car speed down the driveway. "Shit." He wasn't looking forward to sharing any of this with Martha.

*****

Lex found his friend in his office, standing forlornly by the window, staring out into the night. He grabbed his laptop and sat on the couch, making himself available but leaving it up to Clark as to how he wanted to deal with this.

Lex was going through his e-mails when he heard Clark sigh. The next thing he knew, Clark was sitting by his feet, his head on Lex's knee. Without even thinking about it, Lex put his hand on Clark's head, running his fingers through the thick, dark hair. "You okay?"

He got a negative grunt in response. "Was it bad?"

"You mean with your father?"

A nod against his knee.

Lex let out a snort. "Compared to my father, your father is a pussy cat."

A long sigh. "I don't like how he talks to you. You don't deserve it," Clark said angrily.

"From a father's perspective, I probably do." Lex kept combing Clark's hair with his fingers, attempting to focus on his e-mails, but continually getting lost in the feel of Clark. He finally gave it up as a lost cause and tossed the laptop casually to the couch cushion beside him.

He felt dampness on his leg and looked down to find tears rolling down Clark's face. He pushed the laptop farther away. "Come up here." He tugged at his friend, knowing Clark wasn't going anywhere he didn't want to.

Fortunately, Clark apparently wanted up because the next thing Lex knew Clark was sitting next to him, one arm wrapped tightly around Lex's chest, dark head hiding in the hollow between neck and shoulder. Lex put his arms around Clark and held him close. He was a bit surprised at Clark's sudden need to be so close to him, but he wasn't going to argue with a good thing.

There was a shaky indrawn breath, and then Clark said, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

A startling warm glow flickered into life in Lex's heart. "If I have anything to do about it, you'll never find out."

"My father won't want me to see you anymore."

"I know."

"He doesn't understand."

Lex knew that his friend's father understood just fine, but that was beside the point. He shifted himself until he could see Clark's face and wiped the latest tears away. "Clark, you'll always have a place here. Always. No matter what." Lex sighed, hating the noble instincts Clark seemed to arouse in him. "But you need your parents. And your father's just trying to protect you."

Clark buried his head again. "I need you, too," came muffled from the region of Lex's shoulder.

The glow grew warmer. Lex was tempted just to keep Clark. It would be easy to persuade him, manipulate him into moving in, make him turn his back on his family. Lex was a master at this sort of thing.

But Clark was different. He made Lex different, and while Lex didn't have a high comfort level with acting on those differences, he did recognize that it was perhaps the only thing that might keep him human. Keep him from turning into his father.

Lex was also wise enough to know that a large part of what made Clark Clark, was his home and his parents and the fact that he had someplace to go where he was loved and cared for. Clark might initially be glad for the opportunity to stay here, but it would ultimately be a mistake. So, as much as Lex hated to, he was going to have to be noble.

"Go home."

Clark pulled back a little, his brow furrowed. "But--"

"Go home and let your father rant and rave. You and I both know he can't actually keep you from coming here. And as I said, you'll always have a home here." He lifted a hand and brushed some of Clark's hair back, feeling an absurd protective instinct flare into life, given how strong Clark was. "You're frustrated with your body right now, and I understand that. But I think you're even more embarrassed about it, at least as far as your parents are concerned."

The red blush on Clark's face confirmed his words.

Lex continued. "And that's not a good enough reason to walk away from them." He framed Clark's face with his hands. "And I promise you I will help you with this. We've barely begun to explore the options available. We will figure out a way to make this work."

Clark's eyes were bright with misery. "What if we can't?"

"Not even willing to entertain the thought," Lex rejoined firmly. "We will." Lex's mind was already busy devising experiments they might try. The look of misery on Clark's face was highly motivating. "I swear to you."

Clark lowered his head again, his arms squeezing Lex hard enough to almost hurt. "I'd rather stay here."

Lex sighed, biting back the words that would achieve just that. "I can hear your father loading the shotgun from here." He patted Clark on the back. "Go home. Get it over with. Your father's as embarrassed as you. With any luck he won't even want to talk about it."

Lex doubted that, though. Jonathan Kent might have left it alone except for the fact that a Luthor was involved. A Luthor had seen Clark's penis, had tried to touch it. That added whole levels of depravity that could hardly be ignored. The first thing Jonathan would do would be to forbid Clark from ever coming here again. Maybe he shouldn't let Clark go home.

But apparently Clark had decided to listen. He disentangled himself from Lex and stood, a grim smile on his face. "Okay. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow, huh?"

Lex nodded, doubting it, afraid that it might be a while before he saw Clark again. He resisted the temptation to pull Clark back down next to him. "Anything you need, Clark, I mean it." He stood, needing to move.

The smile grew a little less grim. "I know."

Clark gave him a big hug before vanishing in a blur of flannel, some papers on the desk getting caught in the eddies of his departure. Lex sprang to rescue them, slamming his uninjured hand on the desk to keep them from flying.

Ignoring how empty the room suddenly felt, Lex moved to the couch and picked up his laptop, bringing it back to the desk. He had e-mails to read. Surely they'd keep his mind occupied for a while.

*****

"Clark, is that you?" Jonathan called out.

"Yeah, Dad."

Jonathan squeezed Martha's hand and left his bedroom for Clark's. Clark was sitting on his bed, still dressed, eyes red as if he'd been crying. "I wasn't sure you were going to come home tonight."

"Lex told me to."

It pissed the hell out of Jonathan that Clark did what Lex told him to. He wondered what Lex was hoping to gain.

"Don't do that," Clark said in an angry voice.

"Don't do what?" Jonathan asked, confused.

"You don't even have to say it. I can see it all over your face."

"What?" Jonathan tried to still sound confused, but he knew exactly what Clark was talking about.

"Lex."

Jonathan let out a sigh and moved to sit on Clark's bed. "Clark, I know he's your friend but--"

"There's no but about it. He is my friend. My best friend. And nothing you say is going to make me change my mind about that. You don't have any idea what he'd do for me."

"That's exactly what makes me apprehensive, Clark. The fact that he has no boundaries. I understand that this issue you're having with your body is troubling for you, but I don't think it's appropriate for Lex to be helping you the way he has."

"This issue?" Clark's voice almost squeaked in indignation. "This issue? You call this an issue?"

Shit. "Clark." Jonathan searched for the right words but he was drawing a complete blank. He longed for a normal son's problems. A lousy report card, drunk driving, even a pregnant girlfriend. Killer sperm was outside his frame of reference. He looked up to see Clark's eyes bright with tears. "Clark," he said again, aching at the misery he saw in front of him but having no answers.

"I don't understand why they sent me here." Clark turned away, trying to pull himself together.

"What do you mean?"

"Why here? Did they know I'd--that I'd--you know, have to be alone? Why did they send me here?"

"I wish I could answer that, Clark, but I don't know."

His voice was so soft Jonathan could hardly hear it. "I just don't get the point."

"What do you mean?" Jonathan knew he was repeating himself, but he wasn't keeping up.

Clark turned back to face him, his eyes still bright. "Me. I don't get the point of me. What good am I like this?"

Jonathan couldn't even believe he could ask such a question. "Clark, you have a gift, a destiny. You've saved half the people in this town already."

"And my reward is to be alone?"

"You have us. You have friends. That's more than a lot of people have."

Clark turned his head away again and the room filled with silence. Jonathan couldn't think of a thing to say. Finally he patted Clark's knee. "Maybe you should call it a night, son. It's late, and you have to go to school tomorrow."

"Why?" Clark turned back once more to face him, a stubborn look on his face that usually meant trouble to Jonathan.

"What do you mean, why? You're sixteen, you're in high school."

"No, I mean it, Dad. Why? For what? What am I going to school for?"

"To learn, to graduate, go on to college, to make your place in the world." As much as a part of Jonathan longed for Clark to take over the farm, he knew it wasn't going to happen. "You need an education for that."

"Not if my destiny is based on me being an alien. You said it yourself. That's the point of me, my powers."

"Clark, that's only a part of it. Please don't take my words and use them against me. Your gifts come with you attached, who you are, that's why they're special. Why you're special. Because you care. You want to make a difference."

Clark shook his head, then laid his cheek on a drawn up knee. "I'm tired."

"Which is why you should get some sleep. Things will be clearer in the morning."

"No, I don't mean it like that."

Jonathan was afraid of that. He debated calling Martha. She was so much better at dealing with existential angst than he was. "Clark."

"No, I mean it. I'm an alien, Dad. I'm not human. And I'm tired of pretending that I am. It seemed like a way to fit in, to make friends, get a girlfriend, but now I can't even have that."

"You don't know that. This could just be a phase you're going through. All of your powers have been over the top when they've come on-line. Maybe your body just needs to get used to this, too."

"And if it doesn't?"

"It will. You've learned to control everything so far. You'll learn this one, too."

"It's been weeks. It's never taken me more than a few days to get used to stuff. Even the heat vision only took a day."

"If you don't, then, well, you don't. People do live celibate lives, Clark. Good, meaningful lives. If you have to, you can as well." He put a hand on Clark's knee again. "Not that I think that's going to happen."

Clark bit his lip. "I don't want to live that way."

Jonathan didn't know what he would have done if someone had suggested to him at sixteen that he live a life of celibacy. He'd be angry; he knew that. Jonathan had to admit that the fact it had been weeks since this began was a bit disconcerting. That was a long time. He was glad the barn had held up.

"If all I have is this, my powers, then why am I even bothering to act like a human?"

Jonathan brought his attention back to his son. "You said it yourself. To fit in, have friends--"

"Friends I lie to every day. Almost every word that comes out of my mouth is a lie. What's the point of that?"

"You only lie when you have to, Clark, to protect yourself."

"That's what I mean. To protect myself from what? From people knowing I'm an alien? Why should I protect myself? If that's my destiny, they're going to know sooner or later. And if I can't have someone to love, maybe it should be sooner."

Jonathan felt a sense of dread crawl down his spine. "What do you mean?"

"I lie all the time, dad. Every day. Every minute, sometimes. And for what? Maybe I should just go turn myself in to someone. Let them do their tests or whatever they want to do. Maybe they can learn from me."

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. What good are you going to do as some experimental guinea pig?"

"I don't know, but I just don't see the point anymore, you know? Of pretending. I don't see what it's doing for me except making me feel more different than I already am. I'll never be like them. Every day I pretend to be human only makes me feel more like an alien. Only Lex--" Clark stopped talking, his forehead falling to his knees. "And you won't want me to be friends with him, after this. So what does that leave me?" He lifted his head, his eyes brimming over. "I don't want to be lonely my whole life." His voice was husky, fighting against tears.

Jonathan was over his head. He knew it. He had no idea how much of this was teenage angst talking and how much of it was alien driven. When he'd been sixteen everything felt like the end of the world, but he'd never had to deal with the stuff Clark did. And maybe Lex was right. Clark was alien. Maybe his people had to mate when they became sexually responsive, and that need was eating at him. Maybe it would eat him up until there was nothing left. "Just promise me you won't do anything rash."

Clark just shrugged.

Jonathan wondered when this had stopped being about puberty, and suddenly become about losing his son. "I mean it. No deciding to announce to the world that you're an alien. That's a huge step, Clark, and one you can't step back from. Once you do that, any hope of a normal life will be over."

"Dad, I'm never going to have a normal life. I'm not normal. And if I can't be normal, and if I can't even love someone, then I might as well just start on the destiny part, right? I can learn faster on my own than I can in school, and I can stop lying to everyone, stop pretending that I'm something I'm not."

Jonathan was alarmed by the resolve in his son's voice. Resolve and world weariness. He wished he'd seen this before, how all the lies had been tearing Clark apart. But Clark was good at hiding. He'd had to be. Jonathan never thought he'd say the words, and a part of him wanted to rip his tongue out, but he said them anyway. "Maybe you should talk this over with Lex, first." If Lex could talk Clark into coming home, maybe he could talk Clark out of giving his life away.

Clark shrugged again.

That alarmed Jonathan even more. It was as if he could see Clark fading away, his hold on this life, of being a farmer's son, a high school student, and a citizen of Smallville, growing ever more tenuous. He wanted to nail the windows shut and cover them with lead to keep Clark from jumping out of them and running towards a future that could destroy him.

He put out a hand as if to calm a wild animal. "Just wait. Don't do anything, all right?"

Clark stared back at him and Jonathan searched his eyes to find traces of his son. Jonathan reached out and pulled Clark close, shifting until knees and long legs were out of the way. "We love you, Clark. We don't want to lose you." He wondered if his love would be enough. "Martha!" he yelled. He needed reinforcements.

The door opened immediately and he guessed his wife had been listening at the door. He admired her restraint for not coming in sooner. Jonathan hoped it meant that Martha hadn't thought he'd fucked everything up past repairing.

Martha sat on the bed, hugging both of them. Jonathan felt his own eyes filling, the lump in his throat painfully tight, as Clark started to sob. Wrenching cries that spoke volumes about the pain he was in. More than teenage angst. Something elemental. Something bigger than maybe he and Martha could fix.

"Clark, honey, it will all work out. I promise," Martha said, her voice trembling, hand carding through Clark's hair.

"For what?" Clark demanded through a hiccoughed sob. "What will it work out for?"

Martha held Jonathan's hand in a bruising grip, as she shared her own sense of helplessness. She held Clark even tighter, as if she, too, felt him slipping away.

"I think I should go away."

She shook her head and Jonathan selfishly was glad she was helping him deal with things for the moment. "I think you should get a good night's sleep and maybe stay home tomorrow to help make sense of things. It's never a good idea to make big decisions when you're so upset."

"How will things make sense?" Clark pulled back from his mom, moved far enough away that her hand couldn't reach him. "I mean it. How? What am I? Why am I here? Where are the rest of my people? Why did they send me away? Is there something wrong with me? Maybe I'm some sort of reject. Maybe I'm dangerous."

Martha, a stubborn look on her face, moved back into Clark's space. "Listen to me, Clark Kent. You are a good person, one of the best I've ever known, and I couldn't be prouder of you if you were my own flesh and blood. You care about people; your instincts are to protect the ones you love, even to protect your enemies. You're tolerant and kind, and I know it broke your parents' hearts to send you away. But I'm so glad they did."

Martha was crying now, and Jonathan didn't think he was far behind.

Clark wiped his eyes with the base of his palms. "It's just too big for me, mom. I don't know how to hold it anymore." He shook his head. "It's too big for me."

"Honey--"

Clark interrupted her. "I don't know how to keep it inside, anymore. I don't know how to keep it wrapped up as Clark Kent. I don't even know who that is, anymore."

Jonathan decided maybe it was his turn again. "You're our son, Clark."

"I'm not. And I'm not saying that to hurt you. You guys are the best parents anyone could have, but I'm not your son. I'm not anything." This time he knuckled the moisture from his eyes. "It's just too big for me. I think I need to go away."

Martha exchanged a frantic look with Jonathan, frantic enough that an insane idea crossed his mind. "Stay," he told Clark. "I'll be right back." When he got no response, he spoke again. "Promise me you'll stay for now?"

Clark didn't answer him, and Martha let out a small cry and grabbed Clark's hands as if she had the power to keep him there if he wanted to go.

Jonathan ran a shaking hand over his face. Jesus. He headed downstairs to the phone and picked it up. He could not believe he was going to do this. He checked the number Clark had scribbled on the telephone list on the refrigerator and started dialing. As he pushed each successive button his jaw grew tighter and tighter.

"Luthor," the voice answered at the other end.

Jonathan blew out a breath. "Lex?"

"Mr. Kent?" Lex's voice was worried. "Didn't Clark make it home?"

"Yes."

Silence met his succinct answer. Finally, "Is there a reason you're calling?" The question was politely worded, but there was an edge of warning there as well. A warning that said: you want to turn this into a battle, Mr. Kent? Bring it on.

"Can you come over?"

There was an even longer silence. "Why?" Lex asked cautiously.

Jonathan spit the words out like they were a sour taste in his mouth. "Clark needs you." The truer statement might have been that he and Martha needed Lex. They needed Lex to pull Clark back, to give him a reason to stay Clark a little longer.

"I'll be right there." The call disconnected and Jonathan was left listening to a dial tone. Jonathan slowly hung up the phone. He didn't want to go upstairs; he was afraid he'd find Martha alone. Jonathan stood there for a few minutes, trying to come to terms with what was going on.

Much sooner than he should have, he heard the squeal of tires and the spray of gravel. A door slammed shut and feet came running up to the door, followed by a fist knocking impatiently.

Jonathan opened the door.

"What happened? Where is he?" Lex's eyes were dark with worry.

Jonathan blew out a loud breath, running fingers through his hair. "He keeps talking about going away."

Lex's brow furrowed. "And?"

"I'm not talking about moving to Metropolis, Lex," Jonathan snapped, annoyed with Lex, and ashamed he was using him as a target. "He's talking about going away. Gone, away."

"Where would he go?"

Jonathan shook his head, suddenly exhausted. "I don't know. But I think if he leaves, we'll never see him again. This thing that's happening to his body is the straw that broke the camel's back. He's just--" He shook his head again, having no words to describe what his son was going through. Who would have words for that?

"What are you hoping I can do?"

Jonathan studied Lex, angry that Lex was even asking. Lex was the one with all the answers, with all the money, all the power. Jonathan was furious that Lex maybe wanted him to beg. A little payback for Jonathan's attitude. Asshole. Of course, he would beg, if it would help Clark. He opened his mouth to speak only to watch Lex turn and run up the stairs. The kid could move fast when he wanted to.

*****

Lex took the stairs two at a time, heart in his throat. He had no idea why he was here, but he sure as hell wasn't going to wait for Clark's dad to exorcise his demons to find out. "Clark?" he called out as he approached the bedroom.

He poked his head in and saw Clark at the window. Mrs. Kent was holding on to his hand, futilely tugging him away. Clark had a look in his eyes Lex had never seen before. Clark Kent had checked out. What was left was someone who didn't belong in this country bedroom with the flannel comforter.

He understood that feeling of intensely not belonging. Of needing to escape so badly he wanted to rip his skin off so his insides could get out. Casually walking to his friend's side, he put a hand on his shoulder. "Clark, what's going on?"

Clark kept staring out the window.

Lex pursed his lips and squeezed a little tighter. "Where are we going?"

Clark blinked and he turned his head to look at Lex. "Lex?"

Lex smiled. "I understand we're taking a trip."

Clark opened his mouth to talk, but then shut it, looking momentarily confused. "I, uh, I have to go."

Lex gestured at the great outdoors. "Okay, let's go. Car's filled with gas; we can pick up what we need on the way."

"What the hell--" Jonathan's annoyed voice filled the room.

Martha moved away, and Lex heard her tell Jonathan to be quiet.

"Martha, he's encouraging him--"

Martha shushed him again, anger and fear shading her voice.

Clark glanced at his parents for a second and then at Lex. "I don't think you can go with me."

"Why not?"

"I’m not human, Lex."

"Still not seeing why we can't go together. Remember what I said, Clark, that our friendship would be the stuff of legends? 'Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and--'"

Clark's eyes rose high on his forehead. "Lex? Are you quoting the bible to me?"

Lex smirked. "It seemed to fit the circumstances."

"Yeah, well, my people can't be your people. I don't even know who my people are."

"That's not the point of that quote. That quote is about commitment, loyalty."

A small grin graced Clark's face. "Well, maybe I don't want your people. I hate your dad."

"Good point. I'll have my lawyers draw up a new contract leaving him out of my list of goods. We'll leave him in the desert with the spitting camels."

That got a full-fledged grin. "You're so weird, Lex."

"That's why we're such good friends."

Clark nodded, but then the window seemed to draw him again. "I'm so tired."

"That's part of life, Clark, whether you're human or alien. It does its best to wear you down."

"Why? Why does it have to be that way?"

Lex ran his fingers over his cheeks and chin, tracing the area where a beard would be if he had one. "You don't want much, do you? Just the answer to life, the universe, and everything. But, in case you were wondering, the answer's forty-two."

Clark frowned. "I never got that. What does that mean?"

Lex shook his hand a few times and then made a gesture of letting something fly. "A roll of the dice, Clark. Life's a crap shoot. Forty-two, number of spots on a pair of dice."

Clark's jaw dropped. "That's what that meant?"

"Best explanation I ever heard."

"It's kind of harsh."

Lex shrugged. "So's life." He peered out the window. "So, we taking a road trip or not?"

Clark smacked him lightly on the arm. "Would you stop with the road trip shtick?"

"You're the one who said you had to go." Lex glanced up at his friend. "I just want to make it clear that I have no intention of letting you go alone."

Clark grinned. "You'd probably just have me followed anyway."

Lex deigned not to answer, letting his smirk speak his mind. Clark wasn't fully back with him, but he was a lot closer than he'd been a few minutes ago.

Martha cleared her throat. "How about some hot chocolate?"

Lex turned and smiled at her. "Hot chocolate sounds wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Kent." He looked up at Clark. "Right?"

Clark nodded. "Sure. Sounds great."

Side by side, they headed out the door and down the stairs.

*****

Jonathan stared at them as they left the room. Just like that, Lex had talked Clark in from the ledge. But not like most people, by encouraging him to come in. No, Lex had crawled right out there with him. The hell with crawled, he'd leaped to join him. Even admired the view.

Jonathan wanted to understand, he did. He didn't want to be listening to Clark and Lex talk to Martha downstairs while he stood upstairs feeling jealous and petty that a Luthor was able to help his son when he couldn't. It was like Lex was based on advanced algebra, maybe even calculus, and Jonathan kept trying to figure him out using his times tables.

On one hand he knew Lex would have happily stuffed Clark into his Lamborghini and driven off with him into the sunset. On the other hand, if Clark had left, Jonathan would have been relieved Lex was with him. Maybe that way he'd have gotten his son back.

He followed the boys down and helped himself to a cup of hot chocolate, sitting across from Martha, as Lex sat across from Clark. They sat there in silence, sipping their drinks.

Finally, Clark reached across the table and prodded Lex's arm. "You're thinking again."

"Yes, I am."

"You get in trouble when you think too much."

Lex smiled. "You get in trouble when you don't think enough."

Clark smiled back.

Lex put his mug down. "So, let's talk about this. Where, exactly, did you think you were going?"

Clark seemed to hunch in on himself. "Do we have to do this now?"

"Yes," Lex demanded. "We do. Because I can still see it in your eyes."

Startled, Jonathan looked at Clark and, now that Lex had mentioned it, could see the wildness shining in his son's eyes. It disturbed him that Lex had seen it while he had not. Lex shouldn't know his son better his father.

"So," Lex began again. "Where were you thinking of going?"

Clark shrugged, hid his face in his mug of hot chocolate for a second. "A lab, maybe."

Jonathan knew the horrified expression on his face mirrored Martha's, and Clark winced in response. Jonathan looked at Lex only to find him nodding.

"A lab? Do you mean a lab where they could study you?"

There was an uncomfortable pause as Clark squirmed in his seat. "Yeah." He leaned forward. "It just feels like I should get on with what I really am, you know? This--" he gestured around the kitchen, "it just doesn't feel real anymore."

"And being experimented on in a lab will feel real to you?" Lex asked, as if he were inquiring about the price of tomatoes as opposed to the vivisection of one Clark Kent.

Only the thought that Lex might just possibly be going somewhere useful and the reluctant acknowledgement that the young man had, fairly effortlessly, shifted Clark from crisis mode to drinking hot chocolate, kept Jonathan's hands from going around his neck.

Another shrug. "Maybe they could learn something from me. Something that would help, something that could make a difference. I don't know." His eyes suddenly flashed in frustration. "It makes more sense than learning geometry or English literature."

Lex gave him a gently admonishing look. "Learning is never a waste of time, Clark, no matter how esoteric the knowledge or how little it seems to pertain to one's immediate situation, but I digress. The point here is you and this lab of yours. By the way," he continued, "I have several labs filled with staff that would probably sell their souls to get their hands on you. In fact, one of them is close enough you could probably commute."

Jonathan almost lunged across the table but a look from Martha stopped him. Barely. That, and the fact that Clark didn't seem threatened at all by the offer. In fact, he was rolling his eyes.

"What," Lex asked Clark, continuing his train of thought, "do you think they might learn?"

Clark shrugged.

"Hmm. Maybe they would find out that you are very strong and fast, that you have x-ray vision, and can set things on fire with your eyes. Do you think they'd find out those things?"

Clark shifted in his chair again and nodded.

"Well, we already know those things. What else do you think they might discover?"

Clark shifted again and then glared at Lex. "I don't know. These are your labs, what do you think they might discover?"

"Let's put the subject of my labs aside. Let's pretend you simply showed up at, say, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. They're affiliated with the United States Department of Energy and have focused studies on Neutron Science, Biological Systems, and National Security. A reasonable place for you to choose if you did some research on the subject before delivering yourself on a silver platter."

Clark was staring at him. "How do you know this stuff?"

Jonathan didn't like how admiring Clark's voice was, despite the fact that he was a little impressed as well.

"Please refer to my earlier comment about the usefulness of learning. But let's return to the main issue. I would imagine that the first thing a lab would want to do is substantiate your claim about being an alien. So, they would test your strengths and examine your cellular make-up. Once they determined that you are, indeed, an alien, their next logical step would be to see how you could be contained."

Clark frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Well, it would be only natural for them to see you as a possible enemy, despite your wholesome demeanor. They'd need to develop a way to kill you if the need arose, not to mention to counter an attack on the off-chance you are simply a vanguard for a larger invasion."

Clark scowled. "I only want to help."

"I know that, and your parents know that, but you'll find the government won't be quite so susceptible to your farm-boy charm. Sooner or later they'll figure out that meteor rock is the key to keeping you controlled, and at that point they'll either kill you or imprison you in some sort of meteor rock-laced installation so they can keep you at their beck and call. After all, they can't have an all-powerful, invulnerable alien on the loose. Who knows what havoc you might cause."

Clark scowled even deeper. "Lex."

Lex put a hand up to stop any arguments from Clark. "Do you think I'm wrong? About any of this?" He looked at the three of them sitting at the table. "Do any of you? Do you actually think the government would go: 'aw, shucks, he's just a country boy, he won't do no harm.'?"

It was disconcerting to Jonathan how easily Lex put on a stereotypical dumb country act.

"Well, I won't," Clark said petulantly.

"Still think it's a good idea to show up, uninvited, to some lab?"

Clark shook his head, frowning. "I could still go see the President, or something. Offer to help."

"Ah. All right, let's explore that option," Lex said calmly.

"Oh, let's," Clark said sarcastically.

Jonathan, begrudgingly, had to admire Lex's technique.

"So, you've popped into the Oval Office, given the Secret Service a run for its money, and you offer your services to the President of the United States. What do you think he'll want to do with you?"

"Um. Help people?" Clark asked in a cheerfully sarcastic tone.

"Doubtful. Or, possible, but a select group of people. People of the United States, to be specific, or their allies. I imagine he'd want to use your powers to keep this country safe, conceivably at the expense of other countries. Perhaps help out in wars, spying, assassinations."

"I'd never do that," Clark gasped out.

Lex nodded ruefully. "I know, but then you'd be refusing a request of the President of the United States and you know what that suddenly makes you?"

"What?" Clark asked guardedly.

"An enemy of the people, and you're back in that meteor-laced installation."

Clark slammed his hand down on the table and it rocked dangerously, doing its best to remain standing under the deluge. "So how am I supposed to help? Am I just supposed to hide here my whole life, never doing anything more than what I'm already doing?"

"No, Clark. You're destined for greatness."

Clark let out a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, right."

Lex leaned toward Clark. "You are. You just have to do this the right way." He tapped his temple. "You have to think things through. None of this running off in the middle of the night to throw yourself on the mercy of people who won't understand who you are, or the difference you can make."

Clark stood up abruptly and moved to stare out the window. Jonathan watched him cautiously for a minute, then decided he wasn't about to go running off anywhere for the time being. Despite himself, he was interested in what Lex was saying. "So," he said, clearing his throat, "what should he do?"

Clark turned to look at Lex, waiting for his answer, along with Martha and Jonathan.

Lex stared at Clark for a while and finally spoke. "You'll need an alter-ego, maybe a costume. Think comic book character: Batman, the Green Lantern, Warrior Angel. Start with natural disasters, earthquakes, monsoons, mudslides. Go help rescue people, work with the teams already on site, Search and Rescue, the police, firemen. Get their allegiance. Support them in their efforts; get direction from them."

Clark sat down. "Then what?"

"You'd need to be careful expressing your opinion because everyone would want to manipulate you into defending their point of view. You might need a public relations expert to help out, do a little coaching on how to field certain questions. Stay away from taking a stance on political or religious issues, other than the philosophical goal of world peace."

"You think I can do all of that?" Clark asked, his eyes wide.

"Clark, you can do all of that and more. The biggest problem is that the demands on you will be so overwhelming that you'll get swallowed up. You'll need to set some boundaries, have some sort of normal life."

"Why?" Clark's voice was suddenly subdued again.

"And," Lex said, "this brings us back full circle to where we started."

Jonathan could see the misery growing again in Clark's eyes. "Come on, Lex. Why should I live a normal life? I'm not normal; I'll never be normal. I can't even--. You know." Clark looked away, his face red.

Oh boy, Jonathan thought to himself, here we go again. He exchanged a quick nervous glance with Martha.

"Because it will remind you of what you're trying to protect, Clark. People like this," he took in Martha and Jonathan with a sweeping hand motion. "It will ground you, help you keep things in perspective. If you spend all your time engulfed in the misery of the world, it will ultimately defeat you."

"If I can't be with someone, then all it will make me feel is lonely."

"I told you we'd fix that, and we will."

"How?" Clark said plaintively.

"Research. Trial and error. A lot of spackle and wood filler."

"In one of your research labs?" Jonathan asked darkly. He really wished he could trust Lex. It was clear that Clark did.

Martha put a cautioning hand on Jonathan's. "Actually, I'm curious, Lex," she said. "What would you do with someone like Clark if he was in one of your labs?" Jonathan was impressed that her voice truly sounded curious. No dark, threatening overtones of you-hurt-my-boy-and-you'll-be-the-stuffing-in-my-next-pie.

"Seeing as how I don't expect someone like Clark to ever step foot in one of my labs, I'll assume that question is actually about Clark."

Martha nodded, the only thing giving away her tension was her white-knuckled hold on her mug.

Lex stared at Clark, head cocked to the side as he gave him a long look. The smirk was back. "Besides discovering how Clark can have a satisfactory sex life?"

The fingers around the mug tightened just a little. "Yes, besides that."

"The first thing I'd do is figure out how to make Clark safe from the meteor rock. There's got to be some way to desensitize him, similar to the concept of allergy shots. It makes him too vulnerable."

Jonathan watched Martha's eyes widen a little in surprise. She hadn't expected that. Neither had Jonathan. Damn. Algebra. Calculus. He needed to remember.

Lex tapped the side of his mug. "Then we'd need to discover the full range of his powers. Can't really afford to have something new come on-line unexpectedly. Case in point being your fire vision." Lex smirked at Clark. "And, I apologize for bringing up the embarrassing subject again, but if you, like thousands of teenage boys before you, had come in your pants while kissing someone, it might have had deadly consequences."

Martha, Clark and Jonathan all winced at that. "Jeez, Lex," Clark complained.

"I'm just emphasizing the need to determine all there is to know about you, so it can be controlled before you do any inadvertent harm to anyone or anything."

"How am I supposed to know what I can do?" Clark asked in frustration. "I don't even know it until it's happening."

"We'd have to start making some guesses and then design safely engineered scenarios to try to solicit the behavior. I realize it sounds foolish, but we should probably start with comic book characters and their particular talents. Put the extraordinary imagination of geeks around the world to work."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "Like what?"

Lex shrugged. "I don't know. Can you fly like Wonder Woman? Can you freeze things like Mr. Freeze?"

"He used a gun to do that."

"I know that but it doesn't mean you can't do it somehow with your breath. And there are others. Can you control the weather like Storm, or shapeshift like Mystique, or shoot webs out of your hands like Spiderman? How about controlling things with your mind like Jean Grey, or the ability to affect certain elements like Magneto. Maybe you're a heroic mage like Dr. Druid, or can control animals like the Beastmaster."

"You read way too many comics, Lex." Clark said kindly, with a grin.

"But if it helps me help you then it won't have been in vain, will it?" Lex answered snidely.

Clark grinned more widely.

Lex grinned back.

And suddenly Jonathan got it. Like a lightning bolt out of the blue. He got why Clark glommed on to Lex. Lex really was unflappable. He was like an ocean of unflappibleness. Clark fit inside of Lex with elbow room to spare. No matter how different or out-of-place Clark felt, Lex took it in stride and made it at home.

If Clark came to him and said that he'd started growing tentacles and was feeling the urge to kill people because he needed their salt content, Lex would go: 'huh', think about it for a minute and then start ordering Clark salt licks by the ton. Then he'd hire a battalion of lawyers and put them on retainer to find or set precedents as to why it would be perfectly legal for Clark to suck salt out of people.

It was exactly because Lex was the way he was--powerful, rich, and inured to the evil of the world--that he could offer Clark the protection he needed. And Clark had known it. Maybe not consciously, but he'd known it. Known instinctively that he was safe with Lex. Physically, emotionally, in every way.

Jonathan sat back in his chair and stared at Lex. It was going to take a little time to get used to the idea that Lex probably was the one person in the world who was best prepared to keep Clark safe, to help him fulfill his destiny, and keep him sane during the process.

And it was suddenly very clear that if Jonathan tried to cut Lex out of Clark's life, they'd lose their son. As much as it pained him to say, he and Martha weren't enough. They might have lost him tonight if Jonathan hadn't called Lex.

There was cruel irony at work here. He and Martha had hammered the importance of honesty and decency into their son, and Clark was paying the price for it. It had created a painful dissonance in Clark that was tearing him apart. Add loneliness to the equation and no wonder Clark had flipped. The ultimate irony was that it was Lex, not exactly the poster boy for honesty and decency, who was keeping Clark tethered to his humanity.

He looked across the table to find Martha staring at Lex, and was pretty sure that she was reaching the same conclusions. Jonathan shook his head, equally amused and annoyed at how life liked to fuck with your head.

Jonathan cleared his throat and touched Clark's arm. "Son, are you all right now? I mean, I know you still have some issues to work out, but are you feeling better?"

Clark nodded, sheepishly. "Sorry I freaked out so much."

Jonathan squeezed his arm. "I think you've earned the right. Just remember next time that there are people here who love you, all right?"

Clark nodded again.

Jonathan looked at his watch, and then at Martha. "I'm pretty beat, I think I'll call it a night. Martha?"

Martha stood up, collected the mugs, placed them in the sink, and quickly rinsed them out. Then, kissing first Clark and then Lex on the cheek, she followed Jonathan up the stairs.

When they got to their bedroom, Jonathan shut the door and leaned against it. "Jesus H. Christ, Martha." She came into his arms, and he could feel her trembling. He'd done some shaking in his boots tonight as well.

"I think we almost lost him tonight. I think if you hadn't called Lex, he would have gone away and done something so dangerous that I can't stop shaking for thinking about it." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for calling him. I know that couldn't have been easy."

No, it hadn't been easy, but for these two people, his wife and his son, he'd do just about anything. He only hoped that he hadn't sold his son's future to the devil. He felt Martha let out a soft laugh, and he gazed down at her, his eyebrows up in question.

She laughed again. "He's so amazing. I think Clark could tell him anything and he'd just shrug and be okay with it."

"He scares me," Jonathan admitted reluctantly. "Clark as good as belongs to him, now."

Martha put her hand on his cheek. "Lex loves him, Jonathan. He'd do anything for him, anything to protect him. I think Clark's in good hands."

Jonathan stared down at the woman he loved, at the conviction in her eyes. "You know Lex and he will end up--." Jonathan winced, still not entirely comfortable with that aspect of things.

She grinned. "Having sex?" she teased. "I know. Our son deserves to have someone love him, to have someone to hold him." Her eyes grew bright. "I'm glad he has Lex," she said fiercely. "I don't want him to be alone."

Jonathan blew out a breath. "I've distrusted him for a long time, Martha. I'm gonna need a little time to get used to this."

Martha kissed him. "I know. But while you're getting used to it, you might need to turn a blind eye to what's going on between Clark and Lex." She grinned mischievously at him. "I might be willing to keep you distracted."

Jonathan began to prod her backwards, toward the bed. "I'm open to negotiations." Then he groaned, dropping his forehead to the top of her head. "God, I'm already talking like him."

Martha let out a peal of laughter. "I expect it'll get worse. I think Lex has always thought we belong to him. I know he's wanted us to. You might as well accept the fact that we have a new member of the family."

"He's going to turn Clark into a comic-book super hero." Jonathan wasn't sure he was ready to see his son in spandex.

"Which will let him use his powers and have a normal life. That's quite a gift."

Jonathan tumbled them both down on the bed. "I will never understand why you married me, Martha. You're too good for me." He kissed her emphatically on the lips. "But I will be forever grateful for your blind spots." He stared down at her with a rueful smile. "And I'll work on getting used to the idea of Lex as a son-in-law."

Martha beamed at him. "And that, Jonathan Kent, is why I married you." She pulled him down into her arms and held him tightly.

*****

Clark grinned at Lex, who was touching his cheek where Martha had kissed him. "You look like I do when Lana kisses me. Do you have a crush on my mom?"

"Clark, I'm in love with your mother." And Lex was. Not that way, of course, but Martha had to be one of the most wonderful women in the world.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Keep talking like that and my dad really will get out his shotgun."

Lex smiled but it didn't last long. He touched Clark's arm. "Are you back in control?"

Clark nodded.

Lex wasn't sure he believed him. "I mean it. You could have done something so stupid tonight. I can't even--I don't even want to talk about it. I need to know that this won't happen again." Lex didn't know what he would have done if he'd dropped by tomorrow only to find Clark gone.

"Would it matter that much?" Clark asked.

Lex grabbed Clark's hand, wrapping his fingers around Clark's. "Nothing matters to me more than you. I need you to know that. I need you to think of that the next time you even entertain the thought of doing something like this again."

Clark laced his fingers through Lex's. "I get so scared sometimes."

"I get that. I do. But trust me, it would be even worse if you were out there on your own. There are people who would take ruthless advantage of you. I know. I've skirted the edges of being just like them."

"You're nothing like them, Lex. Nothing."

Lex just smiled tightly in return. It was true, or at least mostly true. Lex wasn't like that anymore. But it was only because of Clark. Clark had changed him and given him a new purpose, as trite as it sounded. And Lex would do anything to protect him. "Promise me you'll talk to me first before you run off. Promise me."

Clark gave him a serious look and nodded. "I promise."

Lex nodded. "Okay." He shook his head. "Shit, Clark." Lex blew out a breath and stood, taking a few steps toward the door. "I better get home. Let you get some sleep."

Clark stood as well, frowning. "Why's everyone so concerned about me getting some sleep tonight?"

"Probably because everyone wants this night to be over." Besides, Lex thought, he needed a drink.

"Why don't you just stay here?"

Lex gave Clark a careful look, trying to interpret the expression in his friend's eyes. "Would it help?"

Clark nodded, looking apologetic. "Do you mind?"

Lex smiled at Clark, amazed that he still didn't understand that Lex would do anything for him. Anything. And consider it a privilege.

Clark smiled back happily, and before Lex knew it, Clark was lying down on the couch with Lex ensconced in front of him, Lex's back to Clark's chest. Not that it wasn't comfortable--or as comfortable as the couch allowed--but Lex was surprised at where he'd ended up. He'd expected to be the one doing the holding.

Clark snuffled happily behind him.

Lex grinned at the sounds. He let out a soft sigh, having to admit that he liked the idea of those alien-strong arms surrounding him. Lex couldn't remember the last time he felt so safe. He actually couldn't remember the last time he'd ever felt safe.

Then, suddenly, he felt Clark's groin behind him. His friend wasn't aroused, but just in case he asked, "Clark, do you have wet dreams?"

"No."

Lex craned his neck to stare at Clark. "Really? Are you sure?"

Clark rolled his eyes. "Lex, I think I would know if I have wet dreams or not. I don't have them. I don't know why, I have dreams, but--" he gestured vaguely at his crotch, "but I just don't, you know." He shrugged. "Ever since this whole thing started, it's been kind of hard--"

Lex couldn't help but grin even though he bit his lips to try to keep it from showing.

Clark lightly smacked him. "I don't mean it that way. I mean it's, well, you've seen me, it takes a long time for me to come, even to get hard."

Lex thought about that for a minute. Clark was right. It did take him a long time to get hard when Clark was stimulating himself and an even longer time to ejaculate. And Lex hadn't been positive that Clark was enjoying himself. Of course, fear that you were going to bring your home down around you could cut into the fun of it all.

"Why did you want to know?" Clark asked.

Lex pushed back a couple of times with his butt right into Clark's groin. "I was just thinking that if you had a wet dream with me in front of you, that it would be a less than auspicious start to my day."

Clark let out a gasp, and then he was pushing back and groaning, and definitely hard.

"Clark?" Lex asked apprehensively, wondering if he should be moving. Now. He hadn't expected to get a rise out of his friend.

Clark thrust again at Lex's bottom, letting out another groan, and Lex's cock started to take an interest in the proceedings. "God, Lex," Clark moaned, "what did you do to me?"

Lex was standing so fast he might have been the one with super powers. "Okay. Okay. You need to take a deep breath and calm down because this is not happening right now." He had to bite back a groan as he looked at Clark's eyes which were bright with desire, his lips full and partly open, panting, his body writhing right there in front of him, as if he was still pressing into Lex's body.

The desire in Clark's eyes started to turn to fear. "I don't know how. I don't how to stop it. Before all I had to do was take my hand away or think of other stuff."

"Well, think of something now, like your mom coming down and watching you put a hole through her refrigerator." Lex turned in a quick circle, trying to see what direction Clark could come that wouldn't destroy something. He revised that plan after a fast survey. He needed to see what direction Clark could come that would do the least damage. Maybe the window.

Clark let out a groan and grabbed his crotch. "It's not helping. I really need to come. What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"Shit." Lex grabbed Clark's hand and yanked him up. "Come on."

Clark went willingly, running along with Lex as he took them outside. He stopped, asking, "Where's your parent's bedroom?"

Stopping was a mistake, because Clark ran into Lex, and wrapped his arms around him, his hard cock pressing eagerly into the cleft of Lex's ass.

Despite how great it felt, remembering the holes in the ceiling of the barn motivated Lex and he hissed again, "Where, Clark?"

Clark nibbled at Lex's neck. "Back of the house."

"Okay." Front of the house wasn't ideal, but the odds of someone dropping by this late at night were low, and Lex's need to protect his ass was paramount. He dragged Clark into the shadows and managed to twist out of Clark's arms and get behind him.

Clark seemed amenable to this as his arms went back to grab Lex's hips and pull him closer, perfectly happy for Lex's cock to have the pleasure.

Lex had always got off on a little bit of danger, and this was no exception. He was as hard as diamonds, and if Lex were with a normal lover, he'd have their pants down and be fucking them in a heartbeat. But this was Clark, and an alien Clark at that, and that meant everything was new, and everything mattered.

Clark was trying to turn in his arms, trying to kiss Lex.

Lex wanted to let him. He'd been wanting to kiss Clark from the moment he met him. But now wasn't the time. "Shh, shh, turn back around." Lex began to unbuckle Clark's belt.

"God, Lex, touch me," Clark asked, his voice desperate.

Lex frowned, even as he got the belt undone, and started working on the button and zipper to Clark's jeans. There was more going on here than just crazy teenage hormones. It sounded like Clark was going to die if he didn't have an orgasm. He sincerely hoped that Clark's alien sexuality wasn't always going to be this volatile and confusing.

Lex reached in and, when his fingers closed around Clark's sizeable cock, felt a thrill of pleasure and a surge of ownership. As far as Lex was concerned, that cock was his. And he'd damn sure figure out a way to get it up his ass.

Suddenly Clark shied away. "Don't let me hurt you."

Lex was glad Clark hadn't put his alien strength to work, or he'd never have been able to hold on. "I won't. I promise. Just let me do this." He started stroking Clark, using his other hand to pull Clark's pants down a little so he could get to his balls.

Clark let out a groan that was so deep it seemed to come out of the ground. He started to thrust into Lex's hand.

Lex looked out into the darkness and tried to remember if there was anything within a hundred yards that couldn't handle the impact of semen shot out of an alien body faster than a speeding bullet. If memory served, there were only cornfields.

Clark's hands were still on his hips in a bruising hold, and he was thrusting so fast, Lex was having a hard time focusing on Clark's body as his outline kept blurring. Lex could feel his hand heating up from the friction, but it didn't hurt. He could tell Clark was close, and he allowed himself a moment to enjoy the sensations: the dark night, the warm breeze, the feeling of Clark's strong body in his arms, his hard cock in his hands. This was nice. This was great. He could get used to this.

Suddenly Clark stiffened. "God, I'm gonna--"

Lex prepared himself for what came next, feeling like he was aiming Clark like some attack rifle, but when Clark came, it just jetted out of his body like a human's and dripped all over Lex's hands.

Clark turned into a piece of wet spaghetti. Lex did his best to hold him up but Clark was too heavy, and all Lex was able to do was take them both to the ground as gracefully as he could.

Lex brought one of his hands to his face and licked at the white liquid covering it. Hmmm. Jesus, Clark tasted like a good port wine. He licked some more.

Then he was flat on his back, and Clark was kissing him, laughing, licking his lips, sucking on his tongue. It reminded Lex forcibly of his own unresolved hard-on, and he used Clark's conveniently placed body to thrust up against, a part of him not able to believe he was about to come in his pants.

But he did. Like a randy teenager. He moaned into Clark's mouth as he creamed his pants, reveling in Clark's kisses being placed all over his face. His cum-covered hands were buried in Clark's hair, he was lying in the dirt in Clark's front yard, his pants were sticky, and Lex had never been happier.

He wrapped his legs around Clark's thighs and let out a contented sigh. The only thing that could possibly mar his mood was if Jonathan Kent showed up with a shotgun. Lex opened his eyes and craned his neck to look up at the front door, just to make sure he wasn't standing there.

When his eyes returned to Clark, Clark's eyes were so full of love and admiration and adoration, Lex felt something fundamental shift inside of him. Just that fast, Clark owned him. He might as well have branded a "CK" on his forehead. "I love you, you know," he confessed.

Clark's smile grew even wider. "It's you, Lex, you were made for me, or I was made for you, or something, I don't know, but all of a sudden I just knew it was you." He shook his head. "I know that sounds stupid."

Lex reached up and kissed his lips, just a fast kiss. "Not stupid. Just figuring things out. We both are."

Clark snuck his own kiss. "I did it like a normal person. Did you see it?"

Lex couldn't have been prouder if Clark had won a Nobel Prize. "I did. You were beautiful." Beyond beautiful. He frowned a little. "You won't care if we try this a few more times before I put myself in harm's way, will you?"

Clark's eyes widened. "No. No, I think we should wait a while for that." His body grew stiff and a flash of fear crossed his face. "Maybe never."

Lex ran his hands down Clark's back. "Relax. You were so sure a second ago; you need to trust that. I trust that you won't hurt me. And you need to trust me that I won't let you hurt me. Okay?"

Clark nodded. "Okay," he agreed nervously.

"You're starting to get heavy. Can we--"

No sooner had he started the sentence then he and Clark were both standing. Lex took a good look at Clark. His lips were swollen, his flannel shirt rumpled, his jeans were unzipped with his flaccid, but still sizeable, cock hanging out. If there were a magazine called Country Porn, they'd pay a million bucks for a picture of Clark. Lex wondered if Clark would let him take pictures. Hmm. That would have to wait for another day.

"Clark, I need to go home and change. I can't stay in these clothes."

Clark tucked himself in and zipped up, then moved in close and enclosed Lex in his arms. "I don't want you to go."

"Come with me, then. I'll get you home before sunrise. If we're lucky, your parents won't even know we were gone."

Clark was suddenly picking Lex up in his arms. For the next minute, all Lex could see was a blur, and all he could feel was the strength of Clark's body. Then Clark was swinging him down and Lex was staring up at the mansion.

"Wow," he said with a lopsided smile. Then he frowned. "You're careful about that, aren't you? You need to make sure no one ever sees you."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

The two of them went inside and Lex led them to his bedroom. He insisted on separate showers, much to Clark's dismay, and when they were both clean and wearing robes, Lex settled them down on the couch in his room. "So, what do you think happened?"

Clark shrugged. "I don't know. I think maybe you needed to be touching me."

Lex thought about it. "I held you in my office, on the couch, and it didn't seem to provoke this reaction in you."

Clark shrugged. "Maybe I was too upset."

Or, Lex thought, maybe it was because the touch hadn't been sexual. Or a touch that could be interpreted as sexual, because when he'd pushed back into Clark's groin on the couch he hadn't been making overtures, just a point. That brought up a discomforting thought. "Do you think that would work with anyone?" Not that Lex was going to allow anyone near Clark to find out, but it had to be asked.

"All I know is that I never got hard like that so fast."

"Maybe it was because I made contact with your cock. Maybe that's all the stimulation you needed."

Clark shook his head. "No, because the other times I didn't get hard."

Lex frowned at him. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to sound insanely jealous.

Clark grinned at him, letting Lex know he'd been less than successful. "I mean that I've been groped twice, once by this football player in the locker room, and once by--" Clark snapped his mouth shut.

Lex gave it some thought. "Ah, I assume by my lovely former wife?"

Clark nodded, his face a study in unhappiness. "I'm sorry, Lex, she sort of came on to me so fast, I just sort of stood there."

"Clark, you hardly have to apologize for Desiree's appalling behavior. There's a reason she's in jail right now." It was imperative that he get that expression off Clark's face so he leaned forward and kissed him. Then he sat back and frowned. "Who was this football player?" Clearly, he had to die for daring to touch Clark.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Forget it, Lex, I'm not telling you. Besides, after I told him no, he never did it again."

Lex wasn't happy with that response, but he let it go for the meantime. "So, groped twice, no response either time?"

"Nope. Just with you." Clark stretched out his long legs and sighed. "I guess I never really thought about the fact that being alien might mean that I wouldn't be normal sex-wise. So much about me kind of fits in, sometimes I forget that I might be really different, I mean, besides the obvious stuff. I think maybe my people didn't masturbate by themselves because it never really felt that good. And I think that maybe my people can only get turned on by, you know, one person, like someone that they marry or something."

Lex listened to the babbling speech with a furrowed brow. "But wouldn't it make more sense for your body to choose someone it could procreate with? Not that I'm complaining here, but I'm trying to understand the survival mechanism of your people."

Clark sagged back on the couch and Lex enjoyed the view as his robe opened a little revealing a strong thigh and the slightest glimpse of testicles. He forced his attention back to the conversation.

"I don't know," Clark said, "and I know I keep saying that. Maybe some of my people are gay, maybe they don't worry about procreation by sex because they do it in Petri dishes, maybe--" Clark's eyes got really wide.

"What?" Lex asked, mentally preparing himself for anything.

"Maybe I can get pregnant." That thought was accompanied by a painful grimace. "Yuck."

That was a disturbing thought. "We'll need to x-ray you, get a sense of your internal organs, see if that's even a possibility. I find it somewhat doubtful, but then again, here you are." What was more farfetched than a scantily clad alien lounging in his bedroom?

Clark grinned at that. He leaned in a little closer and touched Lex's leg; Lex watched as Clark's robe parted more to reveal a hardening cock. It was gratifying to know he had that affect on Clark. Especially as it seemed to generate a sympathetic response in his own. "Don't you want to know if you can have sex with someone else?" Lex asked, needing to expunge his doubts, even if he'd chain Clark up to keep it from happening.

Clark shook his head even as his hand started creeping up Lex's thigh.

Lex found his own hand encircling Clark's cock. He decided to try an experiment. "Someone like Lana Lang?"

It was amazing. Clark's cock just wilted in his hand. Both he and Clark looked at it. Then Clark looked at Lex and shook his head. "Only you." With that phrase, apparently all thoughts of Lana were swept away as Clark's cock started to get hard again.

But then Clark sat up straight and stopped Lex's hand from moving. In fact, he unwrapped Lex's fingers from his erection and held it.

Lex frowned. "What is it?" He had liked where his fingers were.

"Well, I know, I mean, I know I do, but that you probably won't, and I guess--"

Lex had no idea what Clark was trying to say but he could see it was causing him considerable distress. "Start at the beginning, Clark."

Clark blew out a breath and then in a very tight and unhappy voice, said, "I guess you'll want to have sex with other people, though, right? I mean, just cause I'm freaky and alien and just want you, I know it doesn't mean that you would just want me, and--"

Lex put his fingers over Clark's lips to stop him. "Clark, I think I can say, with complete confidence, that you are more than enough for me."

"Really?" Clark asked, his eyes pleading, as if not sure but wanting so much to believe what he was hearing.

"Really." Lex let his eyes run leisurely down Clark's body, taking in his beautiful face, the perfection of his body, his large cock. Remembered how responsive Clark had been in his arms. Factored in the fact that Clark was an alien and, excluding other possible mutants, the most powerful man in the world with an exciting array of extraterrestrial powers, and someone who would one day change the face of the world with Lex's help. "Oh, yeah," Lex said, "really."

The smile Clark graced him with was blinding. "Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you."

Lex approved of that plan wholeheartedly. He reached for Clark and pulled him close. Then, very slowly, he started pressing light kisses on Clark's lips, alternating them with little bites and nibbles. For a change of pace, he sucked on Clark's bottom lip.

Lex enjoyed listening to Clark's little whimpers, his panted breaths, even enjoyed the bruising hold Clark had on his shoulders. Finally, he slanted his mouth over Clark's and swept his tongue in to explore.

Clark's tongue tangled with his and Lex heard moaning that he realized, with a start, was coming from him. Maybe he really was made for Clark because he was losing control with just a kiss.

He could feel Clark's hard cock against his leg and Lex inched down until he was on his back with Clark lying on top of him. With dexterous fingers, he untied the knots in both robes and pushed the fabric away.

His hands rapturously swept down Clark's body, completely caught up in the feel of him, the play of his muscles, the iron strength clad in soft, soft skin. Lex was instantly addicted.

Clark's cock slipped between Lex's legs, teasing his balls. Lex wanted to open his legs further and encourage Clark to help himself, but it was too soon for that. Instead, he managed to turn them so he was against the back of the couch, and Clark was once again in front of him, Clark's gorgeous ass pressing against his cock.

He let his cock slip between Clark's legs, encouraging Clark to hold his thighs together. Lex thrust a few times, groaning at how good it felt. He kissed Clark's shoulders even as he moved his hands around Clark's body until he could stroke Clark's cock and play with his nipples.

In short order, Clark let out a yelp of pleasure and came again. It shot harmlessly over the fabric of the couch and on to the rug. Lex brought his hand to his face to eagerly lick the drops that had fallen on his fingers, and he began to thrust in earnest, needing to come.

Clark got himself turned around, grabbed hold of Lex's cock with his hands and, as he stroked, he kissed Lex. Just the kiss alone would have pushed Lex over the edge but combined with the feel of Clark's hands, he exploded. His orgasm seemed to last forever with Clark milking every last drop out of him.

Even when the orgasm stopped, the kisses continued. Leisurely kisses, wet kisses, slow kisses, nasty kisses. On and on and on, and Lex loved it. He'd always loved kissing, and Clark was a natural at it. He silently thanked whatever gods might be listening for dropping Clark in Smallville. He even thanked his father for sending him here. He couldn't imagine the actual odds of both of them ending up here; they were infinitesimal.

Finally Lex let his head fall back, his body sprawled on the couch, and let out a satisfied sigh.

Clark grinned down at him. "You look so sexy."

Lex hummed in contentment.

"Did I do that to you?" Clark asked.

Lex nodded, too sated to even speak.

"Cool," Clark said, clearly elated. Then he kissed Lex tenderly. "Thank you."

Lex opened his eyes. "For this?" He gestured at their bodies, and grinned wickedly. "Anytime."

Clark shook his head, even as he grinned in return. "No, for having faith in me, for dealing with all my weirdnesses, for letting me have this. You and me. Sex. Love. I was so scared I'd never have it. If you hadn't helped me, I--"

Lex interrupted him with a kiss. "You're welcome." He thrust gently up at Clark. "Although I think I came out pretty good on the deal."

Clark beamed at him.

"Now, we should probably get you home in case your parents come looking for you."

Clark grabbed him tightly. "I can't, I need to be with you."

Lex could see the seriousness in Clark's eyes. "Okay, I'll come with you." He could hardly wait for the look in Jonathan Kent's eyes when he saw his son's smiling face in the morning. Lex would be counting on Clark's super speed to get him out of harm's way. "How long do you think you'll need to be with me?"

Clark scrunched his face up. "I don't know. I just know I have to be near you right now."

"How near? I mean, touching near, or in the same room near, same house near?" At Clark's shrug, Lex wiggled out from under him. "Let's try it out." He took a step away. "All right?"

Clark nodded as he sat up.

Lex walked across the room.

He turned to see Clark's eyes glued to his body. "All right?"

Clark nodded a little less surely.

Lex came back over and got his robe, securing it around his body. "I'm going to walk down the hall. Yell out if I get too far." With that, Lex opened the door to his bedroom and began walking. He got about twenty feet when Clark called, "That's far enough."

Lex moved back to the doorway. "What does it feel like?"

Clark touched his stomach. "Something feels weird, like I'm gonna throw up or something."

Lex grimaced. "Charming." He walked back in and sat next to Clark. "I wonder why?" He studied Clark with his eyes. "It would be interesting to do a cat scan on you while I walk away, see what's happening inside of your body." He let that idea go. "But, hopefully this is only temporary. We will have to be separated at some point. You need to go to school; I have to go the plant and to Metropolis on occasion."

Clark looked unhappy at that thought.

Lex leaned closer and kissed him. "I would guess that you're somehow bonding for lack of a better term. We'll just play it by ear. I can certainly arrange to be around for the next few days, and you can miss school if you have to. Don't worry about it."

"What if I have to always be with you?"

"I don't know. We'll make you one of my bodyguards. But I don't think that's the case." Lex grinned. "You can hardly fulfill your destiny if you have to have me tucked under your arm at all times."

Clark pulled Lex onto his lap. "How did I get so lucky?" He buried his face in Lex's shoulder. "So lucky," he said again, holding Lex tightly.

The phone rang.

Lex grinned down at him. "Your luck may be about to change. I'll bet that's your parents." Lex reached for the phone. "Lex Luthor."

"Lex, it's Martha. Is Clark there?"

"Yes, he is. Would you like to speak with him?"

"Actually, I'd rather speak with you for a minute."

Lex winced. "Fine. Please, tell me what's on your mind."

"Is my son all right?"

"He is." Of that, Lex was sure.

She sighed. "Is there a reason you took him home with you?"

Lex let out a sigh of his own, and got off Clark's lap. He couldn't do this sitting on a very naked Clark. And the Kent's deserved better than short, less than helpful answers. "Perhaps we should come there for this conversation. We were, in fact, about to head for the farm. I had hoped to get Clark home before you woke up. I apologize for worrying you."

Clark was picking through his clothes, discarding underwear and his shirt as they were sticky with semen. He put on his jeans, tucking himself in and then headed for Lex's closet.

Martha's voice brought Lex away from the pleasant idea of Clark wearing his clothes and back to the phone conversation. "Would you mind, Lex?" she asked. "I hate to be a bother, but last night was a bit unsettling, and we'd feel better if Clark was home here with us."

"I completely understand. We'll be there shortly."

"Thank you."

Lex heard the phone disconnect and he hung up as well. He could hardly wait for this conversation. Why yes, I did have sex with your sixteen-year-old son. In fact, I plan to do it again, over and over. And no, your son won't be marrying some lovely young woman and giving you grandchildren. Actually, your son will be marrying me. Is, to a certain extent, apparently already married to me. In fact, I might be moving in because Clark can't be more than thirty feet from me without puking.

Lex gave a thought to having a nice glass of scotch before heading to the Kent's just to fortify himself. But then he thought about the super speed trip facing him and decided all he'd need was to throw up on the Kent's porch to really clinch the deal.

Clark came out of his closet wearing one of Lex's purple sweaters. It looked really good on him. Lex moved to him, running his hand up Clark's chest, then cupping his neck to bring Clark's face down far enough for a kiss. When he was done, Clark licked his lips and smiled. Then he frowned. "Are you gonna tell them what we did?"

"I think I have to, Clark. Not all the specifics, but a general overview of the facts."

"Do I have to be there?" he asked, his eyes a curious mixture of begging and mischief.

Lex let out a laugh as he went in search of clothes. "No, you may go cower in your bedroom if you want. I think you'll be close enough."

In a few minutes, Lex was dressed. When they got outside, Clark picked him up and sped him home. They both walked into the kitchen to find Clark's parents sitting at the kitchen table.

Clark grinned nervously, reddened, and said, "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"Coward," Lex called after him. Then, he turned to face his future in-laws and sat down at the table with them. "I feel it's important to let you know that the recent events of this evening were not premeditated. If, after solving Clark's sexual dilemma, he had informed me that he was attracted to females in general, or Lana Lang, for instance, specifically, I would have backed off and continued to enjoy a platonic friendship with your son."

Wary looks met his remarks.

Lex sighed. "I'm not making you feel better, am I?"

Both of them shook their heads.

Only for Clark would he put himself through this. Lex pursed his lips, marshaled his thoughts, and told them what happened.

When he was done, Martha and Jonathan Kent were staring at him, their gazes intermittently moving to the staircase where their son was hiding.

Jonathan cleared his throat. "So, everything seems to be working now?"

"Well, we haven't done exhaustive research on the subject. I was mindful of the fact that he's fairly young and inexperienced and so kept things simple, but given those parameters, then I'd have to say yes. Everything seems to be working."

"If he's touching you," Martha clarified doubtfully.

Lex nodded. "Or I'm touching him. Again, we haven't--"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a pleading gesture from Martha.

Jonathan cleared his throat again. "And Clark seems to think that he's, um, that he's, well for lack of a better word, that he's married to you?"

Lex decided he wanted to kill Clark. He needed to be down here taking some of the heat. After all, it was his damn cock that had gotten them here.

Martha cleared her throat. "And he can't be away from you?"

"We hope that won't last." Lex realized that wasn't very reassuring, but he just didn't have enough facts for a more exact hypothesis. Lex stood and moved to the staircase. "Clark, can you come down here, please?" Maybe it would help if some of this was coming out of Clark's mouth.

Clark was suddenly at the head of the stairs looking nervously down at Lex.

Lex gestured for Clark to come down. "They need to see you. Come down."

Clark walked down the stairs like he was heading for the guillotine. He peeked around the corner. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad."

Lex rolled his eyes, grabbed the sleeve of his sweater, tugged him into the kitchen, and sat him down. Clark began blushing again and took an inordinate interest in the wood grain of the table.

Martha put her hand on Clark's arm. "Honey, are you all right?"

Clark shot a look at Lex, and suddenly, his face lit up with a wonderful smile.

Lex couldn't help but smile back.

Clark looked at his mom. "I'm good. Really." He couldn't stop grinning.

Lex wondered how his parents could counter that. Goodness was written all over Clark's face. Much goodness. Happiness. But, they deserved a chance to try. He stood. "I'm going to go outside, so you can talk. Clark, give a yell again when I've gone far enough, all right? I want to ensure you some privacy."

He patted Clark on the shoulder in response to the panicked look on his face. Serves him right, Lex thought, leaving him alone like that to deal with his parents. Lex walked out the door and moved toward the barn. He sincerely hoped he'd be able to get that far so he'd have a place to sit. Thankfully, he made it to Clark's Fortress of Solitude before Clark yelled.

Lex sank down on the couch and picked up one of the books lying around.

*****

After Clark saw Lex enter the barn, he sat back down at the table. His parents looked at him worriedly. "Clark?"

Clark rubbed his stomach. "I'm okay. It hurts a little, but I wanted him to get inside the barn so he'd have a place to sit." Clark got up and moved to the counter by the sink. Even those few feet made a difference, and he began to relax. "This is better."

"Clark, what will you do if you can't be away from him?" his mother asked nervously.

"I don't know. Lex said we'd figure something out. But he doesn't think it will happen. And he's farther away from me than the last time, so I think he's right. I think I'll get used to it."

Jonathan played with his coffee cup for a minute. "Clark, I know we don't understand everything there is about your physiology, but is it possible that what happened tonight, even your need to be with Lex, is just excessive hormones? I know when your mom and I were dating, I hated being apart from her."

Martha smiled at him, placing her hand over his.

"But didn't you know that she was the one?" Clark asked sincerely. "Did you feel that way about anyone else?"

Jonathan frowned, clearly stymied. Then, he said, "When your mom and I met, we'd both had a chance to meet other people, date other people. That's one way you know when you meet the right person because you have something to compare it to."

Clark let out a frustrated noise, not sure how he could convince his parents that this was real. He moved to the door and called for Lex. When Lex appeared, Clark said, "Start walking away, down the driveway and don't stop."

Lex didn't look like he thought that was a good idea. "I don't want you to get sick."

"I know, but my parents need some convincing, and I don't know what else to do."

Lex frowned at Clark's parents, but then he nodded. He started to walk away, speaking over his shoulder. "You yell the instant you need me to come back," he cautioned.

"I will."

Clark watched nervously as Lex walked away. He could feel the tension in his gut grow the farther he walked and tried to ease the cramping by rubbing his stomach, but it just grew worse. He felt pinpricks all over his skin, and his head started to pound.

"Clark?" His mother was there, standing by him, holding on to him. "Do you need to call him back?"

"Not yet," he gasped through gritted teeth.

Jonathan was standing on his other side. "That's enough, we get the point."

Clark's stomach heaved, and he pulled away from his parents and just made it to the bathroom in time to throw up hard enough to see stars. When he was done, his stomach was cramping so badly he rolled up in a ball and lay on the bathroom floor. He could hear his mother frantically calling for Lex. Everything started growing really hazy.

*****
Lex heard Martha yelling for him and he came running back, skidding on the gravel, barely managing to keep his feet. "Is he all right?"

"No. He's in the bathroom. I've never seen him get so sick except around meteor rock."

Lex ran for the bathroom to find Jonathan holding a passed out Clark on the floor, his eyes deeply concerned.

Lex fell to his knees and took Clark's hand. "Clark?" He glanced up at Jonathan and back to Clark. "I knew this was a stupid idea. Why isn't he getting better?" He touched Clark's face. "Clark, I'm here." When that didn't get a response, he, with a quick glance at Jonathan, leaned down and kissed him.

The next thing he knew, Clark was pushing him down, lying on top of him, kissing him back. The taste of puke was less than enchanting, and the hard cock pressing down on him made this one of the more awkward situations Lex had ever been in. He cupped Clark's face in his hands. "Clark, not the best time," he said sternly. Clark thrust down again. "Clark."

Clark let out a groan. "I don't--I can't--." He groaned again.

Lex let out a short helpless laugh as he gazed up at Martha and Jonathan Kent as they looked on in horrified captivation as Clark humped himself on Lex's leg. "Remember how I told you that Clark seemed to get very aroused very quickly when I touched him?" he tried to ask calmly.

Like puppets on a marionette, Clark's parents nodded at him.

"Well, we haven't quite worked out all the kinks in the system. He doesn't know how to stop." He sent a pleading look up at them, promising to himself that he really would kill Clark at his earliest convenience. "Maybe you could shut the door, and we'll be out in a minute. All right?"

Martha, fortunately, seemed to come to her senses and, nodding, closed the door very quickly.

Lex thumped his head on the floor. "Fuck."

Clark was practically crying in his arms. "I’m sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

He sounded so desperately unhappy that Lex pulled himself together. "It's all right, baby, it's all right." He ran his hands comfortingly up and down Clark's back. "Do you want me to help you come?"

"Please," Clark begged.

Given the insanity of everything that had gone on this night, Lex decided to throw caution to the winds. He managed to flip Clark onto his back, shimmied him out of his jeans, and took him in his mouth.

Clark let out a groan that they probably heard in Metropolis, and Lex could just imagine the looks on Martha and Jonathan's faces. Maybe he and Clark could move to France. Tomorrow.

The wonderful taste of Clark got Lex's attention, and he focused on giving Clark a blow job to remember. If Clark's whimpers were anything to go by, Lex was doing it right. It didn't take long and, before he knew it, his mouth was being filled with the best tasting cum on the planet. While he savored it, Lex spent a moment being grateful the back of his head hadn't been blown off.

Clark looked like he'd passed out again but this time with a smile on his face. Lex liked the look on him. Lex sat back on his heels and thought about the next few minutes, leaving the bathroom, facing Clark's parents. Maybe they could just stay in here.

He let out a short laugh. Well, they'd wanted a demonstration of the alien nature of Clark's sex drive, and they'd gotten a first row seat. Lex buried his face in his hands, mortified, and then doubly mortified that he was mortified. Nothing mortified him anymore. Lex prided himself on that.

Clark started to move, and soon Lex felt arms creeping around him. "Lex, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Lex wrapped his own arms around Clark. "You don't have anything to apologize for. I'm sure on your home planet we'd be off on our honeymoon right now, able to have sex on a moment's notice."

"I wish we were," Clark muttered into his neck.

"In retrospect," Lex mused, "I probably shouldn't have kissed you, but I was worried about you and thought that might be the best way to connect."

Clark pressed frantic kisses to Lex's neck and on his face. "Don't apologize. You are beyond great with all of this. I'm the one who's a complete freak."

Lex grabbed Clark's shoulders and shook him. "First of all, you are not a freak, and I don't ever want you to refer to yourself as one. Second of all, you really need to brush your teeth, your breath stinks."

"Sorry." Clark stood up, helping Lex up. "I think there's some mouthwash in here." He opened the cupboard and fished it out while Lex washed his face and neck. Clark took a swig of mouthwash, gargled and spit, and then did it again. He handed the bottle to Lex, and Lex, eying the bottle distastefully, did the same.

Clark looked at him and touched Lex's crotch softly. "Do you need me to, you know."

Lex shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He smirked at Clark. "I was a little preoccupied with the circumstances."

Clark turned beet-red. "Jeez." Then, he looked at the bathroom door and then back at Lex. "They're sitting at the kitchen table waiting for us to come out."

"Think we could go out the window?" Lex asked. He could send for the jet, and they could be in France by the end of the day.

Clark actually looked like he was considering it.

Lex decided, before Clark broke through the window, that he'd better open the door. So he did, and Clark was right. They were both sitting there. Waiting. Trying to cope, no doubt, with the fact that their alien son had gotten hitched to a Luthor. Lex had to bite back a smile at the thought of thumbing his nose at Jonathan Kent and saying 'neener, neener, neener'.

Keeping that image firmly in his mind and using it to gird his loins, Lex took Clark's hand and walked with him into the lion's den. Clark sat down, and assuming their positions from earlier that night, Lex sat across from him.

Martha caught his gaze and touching his hand, said, "Lex, I don't want to insult you by asking this question, but I need to."

"You may ask anything you want," Lex assured her, hoping like hell he wouldn't regret it.

"Did this happen, this connection between you, did it happen because it was you, specifically, or because you were there?"

That was a reasonable question; Lex had asked Clark the same one. "I asked Clark that question and he answered it to my satisfaction. I hope that's a sufficient answer. I'd rather not go into any more detail." That's all he needed was to talk about Clark's wilting erection to his mother. Not that it could be much worse than what she saw in the bathroom.

"Are you sure?" Jonathan asked plaintively.

Lex gave him a firm look. "Does it matter? I don't think this can be undone."

Clark glared at his parents. "No, it can't. I love him. I have for a long time." His glare became quite heated, literally. It looked like flames were dancing on his pupils.

Lex grew alarmed. "Clark. Clark!" He grabbed Clark's hand and squeezed. "Look at me."

Clark faced him and the flames gradually went away. He looked stonily at his parents. "He's mine." The words were spoken with deadly intent.

Lex looked at Jonathan. "Do you have anything to drink? Something with a high alcoholic content?"

Jonathan was up so fast Lex was impressed. He brought back a bottle of scotch. Cheap scotch, but Lex wasn't in the mood to be picky. Assuming they survived the night, Lex would buy Jonathan some of the good stuff. Jonathan came back with four glasses.

Martha frowned at him. "Jonathan," she scolded.

Jonathan frowned back. "I think we all deserve it after tonight." He poured him and Lex healthy servings, Martha a normal shot size and Clark just a few sips worth.

They spent a minute drinking. Finally, Jonathan let out a long sigh, and then he lifted his glass and held it up to Lex. "Well, Lex, welcome to the family." He clinked his glass with Lex's.

Lex's eyebrows went up, but he nodded back. "Thank you." He really didn't know what else to say.

They sat there in silence.

"So, sorry about all of that in there," Clark finally said. "I'm sorry if I'm freaking you out. And sorry about the eyes thing." He winced.

Lex felt badly for him. It must be hard to apologize for threatening to flambé your parents because they didn't like your boyfriend.

Martha reached for the scotch bottle and poured herself a larger portion. "What, um, why do you think this is happening?" She gestured at the bathroom door.

Lex gathered that she was talking about the impromptu sex act. "I don't know. Maybe he's in estrus, or Pon Farr. It's kind of hard to say."

"Estrus?" Martha asked with a squeak.

"Well, Clark did mention earlier that for all he knows, he could bear children. I suggested we get an x-ray of his organs as soon as possible to ascertain the likelihood of that. As I told him, I find it unlikely, but it's clear to me, at any rate, that at this point, anything goes." Lex took a healthy swallow of his drink, trying not to grimace at the taste.

Jonathan and Martha stared at him. Lex couldn’t blame them. He wouldn't be surprised to find a large purple caterpillar smoking a hookah in the living room. "I do love him. He's been the most important person in my life for a long time. I'll take good care of him." He couldn't help adding, "I make a good living."

"He's only sixteen," Martha said plaintively. "What are we going to do?"

"He'll need to stay here, of course, until he's older, and we'll be discreet." Lex thought about Clark humping him on the bathroom floor in front of his parents and qualified his statement. "Once we get the kinks worked out."

He looked at the Kents, saw that they weren't arguing yet, so he kept talking. "He already spends a lot of time at the mansion, so that shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps he could spend part of each weekend there, coming home to do his chores. And he'll need to continue spending time with Chloe and Pete, of course."

"They'll know something's different."

Again Lex thought about the bathroom. He needed to be very sure never to touch Clark in public. Or here. At least for a while. While the thought of Clark fucking him across a table at the Talon was pretty arousing, he'd end up with his ass in jail. He noticed Clark's nostrils flaring, and wondered if Clark had failed to mention a heightened sense of smell in his repertoire of super skills. As Clark's pupil's started to dilate, Lex hurriedly thought of anti-arousal thoughts. His father, Dominic, nuns. Shit, if he couldn't even get aroused without setting Clark off, they were going to be in some serious trouble.

He glanced up and saw that Martha was watching Clark closely. Watched as his nostrils flared, his eyes fixated on Lex.

Lex stood up. "I think it might be wise for Clark and me to return to the mansion for the rest of the night." Maybe the rest of the week. Month. Year.

Clark was staring at him with a predatory gleam.

Lex upgraded his suggestion. "Immediately." He was grateful beyond words that the Kents didn't try to stop them. He really didn't want to get fucked on their kitchen table. "Clark, let's go." Without waiting for an answer, he stalked to the front door, needing to get outside right now. Having sex on the front lawn was much more preferable to sex on the Kent's kitchen table.

He could hear Clark coming after him. Lex started to run toward the mansion, hoping Clark would pick him up and carry him there. That's just what Clark did. He swooped Lex up, and the next time Lex could focus, he was naked in bed with Clark on top of him. Wrapping his arms and legs around Clark, Lex decided he could definitely get used to this.

As he started sucking on Clark's tongue, he was thinking that he'd need to cancel everything for a week and give his staff a vacation, but it would all work out. Clark was his now, and he was keeping him.

*****

Martha and Jonathan stared at each other. Jonathan held onto his glass firmly. "Holy shit, Martha."

Martha let out a hysterical giggle then slapped her hand over her mouth.

"What a night." Jonathan took a swallow of scotch, as he considered what he'd just said. A night. He let out a snicker. It felt like a fucking year. A few hours ago he was belting Lex, and now he was Lex's father-in-law.

Oddly enough, he felt a sense of gratitude that it was Lex. He couldn't imagine what they'd be going through right now if Clark had set his sights on Chloe or Lana.

As if echoing his thoughts, Martha grabbed his hand. "Can you imagine what would have happened if he did want Lana? He might have raped her. Or Chloe."

Jonathan took another swig. "Or Pete."

Martha shuddered.

Jonathan guessed in a lot of ways, they got off easy. Better for Clark to be married to Lex than rotting in jail for rape. Let alone dealing with the guilt of it. He let out a half-laugh. Unflappable Lex.

Again Martha echoed his thoughts. "He really can deal with anything." She let out a pained laugh. "Poor Lex." Another laugh escaped. "Politely asking us to shut the door while he lay on the bathroom floor as Clark--" She just shook her head. "We got lucky, Jonathan. I know you probably would have picked out anyone else for Clark, but I think we got lucky."

Jonathan shook his head but grinned at his wife. "Think it's too late to take him up on his offer to refinance the farm?"

Martha let out a laugh and leaned across the table to give him a lengthy and inviting kiss. "Jonathan Kent, I love you."

Jonathan wiggled his eyebrows. Things were looking up. He was definitely about to get lucky, too.

The End

3/05/05

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