He loved red hair.

Curls, especially the Shirley Temple variety, were so difficult to find in shades of copper and vibrant shades of deep auburn. He liked the feel of them beneath his fingers, and the stains didn't show the same as it did with blond, or hide the way it seemed to do with darker shades.

They were all so pretty, his wild roses, planted carefully at the junction of the Republican and the Kansas Rivers, the wide spread of water beautiful and glistening. He had known when he had seen her that she was going to be one of them, one of his wild roses.  He had called her that, though she had never understood, her blue eyes gleaming, red lips parted that were the color of all his other river roses, bloody and glistening.

He would miss her most of all, he thought, reluctantly wiping away the tears that marred that perfect cheek.

He wondered if he would ever find any more like her.

The lights that were flashing were ferocious in Clark's eyes after so long a time spent in the dark. There was something about the transition between Superman, Vigilante, and Clark Kent, mild-mannered crime scene investigator, that gave him a headache.

He'd been told that it was 'his kind of scene' when Perry had given him the slip. That meant it was a body dump, dirty and probably hard to get to, disgusting. He'd already known what it was. He was the one who'd alerted the cops to it, as Perry has also told Clark when he'd gone to clock in.

Where there was one, there were others.

Clark knew it, and it wasn't just a hunch. A quick x-ray revealed five other bodies hidden beneath the soil. The recent rain had washed one of them up because she wasn't hidden as deeply. Her half-buried state would make it easier to convince the rest of the crew with him that there were other bodies present.

"Smallville, where are your manners? I'm in need of assistance here, before I get muddy up to my eyeballs."

"Suck it up, Lo," Clark said seriously. "We've got a lot further to go."

"We need to get hip waders." She had boots up to her knees, but with the slippery mud, it wasn't going to do a lot of good for much longer. "Dammit, I hate crime-scenes like this. She hasn't been here long...."

"Long enough," Clark replied, shaking his head. "I've got a feeling about this one, Lois." Clark's hunches almost always turned out to be right, and that perked her interest. He could see her turn her head a little, eyeing him in the dark while she kept her flashlight on the partially revealed left side of a red-haired woman's upper torso. The victim's face was caked in the mud, but the same rain that had uncovered her had washed her a little clean.

The other bodies wouldn't be in half so easily identifiable condition.

"Go on. I'm listening."

"I think there are more of them." Clark glanced up, saw the look on her face. "No, seriously. We're at the bridge of the rivers, the place they meet. If he's buried one woman here, I get the feeling that he's buried others unless we've just gotten lucky and this is some kind of domestic dispute. It doesn't feel like that, though."

"True. After all, most domestic disputes end with a simple body dump, or a wife in the backyard...." Lois stepped back a little, and took a deep breath. "Hey! Jimmy! Get me some goddamned buckets! We need to mark out maybe half a foot in any direction and see if there was anything else buried with her. Get Perry to get a GeoRadar sent down here. God knows if it'll work with this mud, but...."

"We'll give it our best shot," Clark said, frowning. "Let's clear an area at least a couple of feet wide and get some plywood in there to set our kits on. The sun'll be up pretty shortly, and that ought to help. Setting up lights would be pretty useless. Everything's too swampy."

"I'd still like some light that isn't attached to my hand. We'll keep them back a few feet and cope." Lois was seizing control of the scene, and Clark couldn't say that he wasn't glad of it. He needed to pinpoint the other bodies and find a way to steer Lois towards them when she got back from shouting orders.

"Have 'em set everything up out of the way. The hydrogen lights will help in the meantime, and we'll start with her." Clark took a deep breath and leaned closer. "She was a beautiful woman. I've got a feeling that any others were, too."

"You've said that already," Lois pointed out as she walked back towards him. "C'mon, let's get our kits. It's going to take a couple of minutes to set everything up. Do you want to pull a double?"

Clark scratched the back of his head. "Hey, I'm tired, okay? It's been a long couple of days." Never mind that he'd been running around being Superman on top of everything else. "And as much as I don't want to, I think we'd do better to be here when it's light, even if they set up the halogens."

"Is this Clark Kent saying 'let's abandon a fresh scene?" She sounded so scandalized by that possibility. "The coroner has to move the body, Kent...."

Clark sighed. "No, Lois. This is Clark Kent saying that the ground's incredibly muddy and it's very dark and it would be too easy to miss something in this lighting. This is Clark Kent saying we're going to have to work a double."

"Your boyfriend's going to be irked," Lois noted as she took a step backwards from the muddy cesspool. "But I see the sense."

"Lex will forgive me." Maybe. Eventually. Lex was pretty good about those things, but knowing Lex, he'd just pull a double, too, unless Clark tried to guilt Lex about the cats needing to be fed and kept company, in which case Lex would maybe go back to their house. Maybe, and probably only if there were something he wanted to do instead of just playing around with DNA at the lab.

Clark should definitely remind him about the current LEGO project moldering in the workroom. Calli was dying to see if Lex had managed to put together that Potions scene from the sixth Potter book.

"Let's step back a little. Let 'em set up the lights."

Lois heaved a sigh, but she was going with it, turning to walk back up the soggy grassy embankment that sloped down to the crime scene. "It's going to be a hell of a night, Kent."

"Yeah," Clark agreed, expression going sour as he glanced up at the sky. "Let's just hope it doesn't start raining."

Lex loved his job.

It wasn't just *a* love, oh no. No, it was a deep and seeping type of love when putting on double latex gloves made him smile, when running mouth-swabs for the really screwy case that Lois had dropped on him before running off with Clark made his day.

Best case ever. Five men found trying to masturbate a prize race horse to orgasm to steal its little soldiers in hopes of making a whole new prized race horse. Two of them had apparently been taking turns trying to suck the horse, which was where the mouth-swabs came in because no one was 'fessing up who used hands and who used mouths.

The DA was going to love these results.

"Hey!" Whitney peeked around the edge of his computer. "Have you figured out which ones were blowing yet?" He was almost as excited about that one as Lex, but he had another case to work on for the time being. Perry had dropped off swabs in a murder case involving a chef and a really big meat cleaver about half an hour before Lois had brought in her swabs.

"Criminal #1, one Nat Hoobler, with charges for petty theft, shoplifting and domestic disputes, is definitely a sucker. Positive for horse seed in the very thorough mouth swab," Lex grinned. "The other four are running right now. You'd think that if you were the ringleader of an operation like that, you could make your cronies suck off the horse."

It was good, too, to finally be on good terms with Whitney again.

"You know, there's some things that I'm just not willing to do. As in, ever. Took a husbandry course my first year at K State, and by the time they got around to the various necessities for breeding, I had figured out that test tubes were definitely the way to go. It kind of makes me wonder what animals used to do before farmers took over. And this kind of makes me wonder a who~ole lot of other things."

"You mean how far someone will go to...." Lex paused as he added the precise amount of solution to a tube. "Er, husband an animal?"

"Yeah. I mean, Clark's dad is a farmer, and so he's automatically the person I think about when I think of these things, and there are some images nobody should ever have in their heads. Never mind that he wouldn't.... just.... eurgh." Whitney grinned. "Ugly thought."

He had to know Lex was having that thought now, too. "You know they have cows, right? They all have names and.... that's the worst mental image that I've ever had, Whitney. Thanks." He shook his head a little, but it didn't shake loose the thought of Jonathan backing Betsy up to....

'Eurgh' was right.

"Yeah. I think next time Mrs. Kent sends pie, I'm going to have to say no thanks out of the sheer guilt on that one."

Getting along with Whitney was mostly due to Whitney getting a new boyfriend. Maybe DNA lab techs all had a gay gene, which made Lex grin.

Getting along with Whitney was mostly due to Whitney getting a new boyfriend. Maybe DNA lab techs all had a gay gene, which made Lex grin. After all, the DNA guy cum real CSI from Vegas had been pretty gay, traveling halfway across the country to Metropolis with his boyfriend. It made Chloe mutter about the wrongness, and how she'd never get a chance to have an office romance.

"Don't tempt me to agree with you."

"You're just hoping that means there'll be one more slice of cherry pie for you," Whitney sniffed. "And you're really wrong about that, dude. Lois will eat it."

A sad reality -- Lois ate all leftovers. She was a vacuum, particularly if they were good leftovers that someone was probably saving to get them through another shift. Particularly if they were from the Kents.

"Go on, try to make my day sad. It's just not going to work."

His cell phone rang.

"Spoke too soon," Whitney murmured. "Five bucks to that cherry pie says Kent's pulling a double."

"I don't want to bet when I know I'm going to lose. But.... he at least calls to tell me." Unlike Whitney, and he'd gotten an earful of THAT little conversation just by walking past the break room when Whitney had been on his cell phone.

Lex pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and flipped it open. "Luthor."

~"God, it's good to hear your voice."~ If the conversation was starting out like that, Lex figured it was obviously going to be a tough day. ~"I'll be pulling a double, Lex. Would you make sure to feed the cats? You know how much Brain hates lightning, and.... This is pretty ugly out here. I don't know when I'll be home."~

"So is that a double or a triple?" Lex laughed, tucking his phone between his ear and his shoulder before he turned his back to the results that he'd already set running. "You'll be careful, Clark? I'll have dinner waiting. And fed cats. Just.... stop when you need to."

~"I promise."~ Clark's voice in his ear was low, intimate, tender in a way that Lex didn't think he could live without. ~"I might call you every now and then."~

It must be pretty ugly.

"I'll keep my phone on." Sometimes it was a lifeline, and Perry didn't ride either of them about it much anymore, as long as neither of them acted like love-struck kids when he was looking, at least. It was better than the rough spot they'd started out in, when Clark had just showed up out of nowhere. "Anything you want at home?"

~"You?"~ Clark asked. Lex could almost hear the grin. ~"Huh. After this? Something hot and thick. Call Mom and ask for her chili recipe. Shut up, Lois, that's.... you're a pervert!"~

Lex almost blushed for Clark, or maybe for himself and Lois thinking of them that way, but he mustered up enough voice to let himself laugh faintly. One day he'd deal with innuendo maturely or with something other than awe. One day. "We could see about that other kind...."

~"Lex!"~ The sound of Lois's laughter was good, almost as good as the yearning that under laid Clark's exclamation. ~"I'll get home when I can. Sleep warm."~

With two cats and the comforter that Clark had kept from his old bed, Lex would. "I will. And I'll call your mom about that. Good luck, okay?" Saying 'have a good day' sounded trite, and if he said 'I love you', Whitney would laugh.

To hell with Whitney anyway. "Love you." Not 'good bye', but Lex did hang up then because he had to, had to work, and he had to let Clark handle the scene.

"Lo~ove yo~ou," Whitney teased, but that was all right. He hoped everything would go okay for Clark.

Clark was a good guy, down to the root of the meaning, a good guy who was hurt by tough cases and felt for people, even if he could hold his nose better than anyone. "Laugh it up, Whitney. You're dating again, and I'll turn it against you yet."

"It's just kind of cute now that it doesn't make me want to grind my teeth," Whitney admitted. "Mostly."

Now that he'd stopped trying to turn the lab against Lex somehow, too. "Only mostly? I don't see what's wrong," Lex said while he pocketed his cell phone, "with being honest about what you feel for someone."

"You sound like you guys have been watching too much TV again," Whitney noted absently. "Hey. Check it out. I've got an exemplar already in CODIS."

"Your cook has a record? Cooking crack, maybe?" Lex asked, leaning over to look at the results. One day. One day, he'd rib Whitney over *his* boyfriend. Whitney was only jealous that Lex had a nice home to go to every day, and Clark, and cats and their sofa. "Or is it the vic?"

"Actually, I've got three sets of DNA here. One off the cook, and I have a swab I ran off of him earlier.... one off the vic, and one off of some guy named Carroll Nelly. Whoa. With a name like that, no wonder he's in CODIS."

"Overcompensating," Lex grinned as he kept looking. "So was this from blood from the knife? All three of them?"

"All three of them on the cleaver," Whitney corrected. "So there's our chef, who keeps insisting that there was a one-armed man -- so to speak -- our vic, and this guy here. Maybe the chef wasn't lying."

"Because guy number three has to factor in there somewhere. Lois will love this," Lex grinned as he turned back to his own work. "Clark'd probably like it better than whatever Perry has him and Lois on now."

"Ask Jimmy," Whitney suggested. "He knows it all. Five bucks says that by now, he's sketched out the crime scene, he's on his way back, and he's just waiting to be the office gossip line."

"One day I'll take you up on your 'five bucks says' and then I'll raid the snack machine with it." Lex peered at his centrifuge, and then pulled up his chair. He could get working on some of the backlog from days.

"Ack. You'd eat all of the Golden Cheese crackers, wouldn't you?" Whitney accused. "Right over there in front of me, without sharing."

"With possibly one of those rolls of Oreo knockoffs to keep a little variety," Lex agreed, picking up a plastic bag from the 'to do' stack -- which was less a stack and more an organized mess of sealed, tagged containers.

"We oughta rename you Satan. Actually...." Whitney dug around in a pocket. "I'm gonna run get some of those things. You want anything?"

"Some of those fake Oreos? Just set them on my desk and I'll get to them." His desk, which still had a prescription of little pills in it, but he didn't use them one sixth as much has he had before. It helped to have routine and stability.

"Sure thing. Be back in a few," Whitney said, and then wandered out of the lab. That left Lex and his horse-semen infested mouth swabs all alone.

He couldn't wait to find out which one of the four left was one of the mouthers.

"Sun's getting brighter. Want to try laying down planks in cleared areas so that we can get at everything?" Clark suggested to Lois. "The coroner's already had a pretty good look at her. We just have to get her the rest of the way out."

"With a shovel," Lois agreed. "Let's get to it while I still have a second wind, Kent."

"You're a wuss, Lane." Clark grinned, dodging the smack she gave him so that it didn't hurt her. "Oooow."

"Says the wuss. C'mon...." She stepped backwards, picking up a piece of CDX by the edge to drag it over to rest on the mud.

"Think whatever evidence there was has probably washed away. Nobody saw anything, even with the lights." Clark started lifting a few boards, too, starting to lay them out in a grid. "This place is solid soup."

Lois stepped on one of the boards so she could get forwards with her second board and lay that out. "Ugh, shit, it still sinks some. This is going to take forever to excavate."

"Well, it's not gonna dry up anytime soon. The rivers have been running bank full for a couple of weeks." The cops were starting to help them lay out the boards. "I'd suggest not wearing heels for a few days."

"Just what I wanted to hear.” Lois was pretty quick to let the cops who were guarding the scene lay the boards, because she had to get their equipment. As wet as it was just then, that meant buckets and digging tools.

Clark could tell that she was going to put Jimmy through his paces before the double was over.

"Let's get digging. As high up as he buried her, I doubt whatever others there might be are more than three feet down, four at the most." He took the first shovel that came his way. "You work on getting her out. I've got a hunch where to start."

"In all this mud? We'd be better off running the GeoRadar over the plywood," Lois snorted as she knelt down with a hand trowel.

"Problem being that it's going to be a total bitch to get it out with all of this mud when there's just you and me." Clark frowned. "If I haven't found anything in the first half hour, we'll try wrestling it out here."

Lois slopped the first scoopful of mud into the bucket. "I'll let you have your shot, Kent." She trusted him to do a good job even when it weirded her out. After all, Perry put Clark on those scenes because he did them best. No one would ask too many questions when he found the other bodies.

Digging wasn't just dirty work, it was hot work, and before too long, Clark gave up and stripped off his jacket. He'd go for the shirt, too, but then somebody might notice that he wasn't just Clark Kent, Geek, he was maybe Clark Kent, Geek God. Then Lex would get his shorts in a knot, and Clark would be hiding under the desk in the DNA lab out of embarrassment.

Lex didn't really want people putting geek and Superman together. It scared him that Clark might be caught out some day. No, scared was probably the wrong word. Lex wasn't scared, but scared for Clark's sake. He liked their life and he liked that Clark could be vigilante and legal.

Clark would never hear the end of it from Lois if he ever stripped off entirely.

"Hey! We've got another arm under here!"

No surprise there, and Clark stopped digging long enough to nod. "Had a feeling there would be. See what we can do to get some of this mud dried up, maybe get some sand brought in to try and fill in the really boggy holes. We can give a shot at using the GeoRadar, then. I think I've got a hand, here!"

"Great -- hey, can you give me a hand getting the primary body out? She's uncovered finally...." Lois had stripped down to her tank top, and was leaning over their victim with muddy gloves on.

"Coming. We might better give a call to whoever's on dayshift. I think we're gonna need some help digging them out," Clark said, stepping carefully across the boards.

"I guess it's time to break up the Coroner's game of spades." Lois stuck the trowel into the dirt, and stood up slowly, stretching. "Here, you take over, I'll get them to get the body bag over here."

"Gee, Lois. Thanks," Clark sighed. He actually kind of meant it; he could get more done faster than Lois, even with other people looking while he did it. He could get home sooner if Lois let him do that part of the work. As it was, it looked like he wasn't going to get home until six, and it was going to take a lot of double shifts to figure out who was burying redheaded women in the mud.

Redheaded women.... and redheaded men. Clark grimaced. That wasn't going to be fun to explain. A sex-related serial killer who had a preference for redheads without a gender bias had to be so rare as to have never before been seen. It made Clark passing glad that Lex was bald. That the thought would never even cross Lex's mind, because he was a lab tech, but Clark thought about things like that, what ifs. He always had.

"Coming through -- Kent, you need a hand? We'll slip the bag under her and transport her for autopsy...."

"I'm good," Clark said, stepping back to allow the others to move in around her. There was mud everywhere, but that wasn't going to change anytime soon. There was a reason they had a laundry room down in the morgue, and it would undoubtedly see a lot of good use in the next few days. "Here. Let me help with that."

"Great. Pull up there...." He reached where indicated, and then the coroner was zipping the bag closed, head to toe. Even through the mud, Clark could tell that she'd been a gorgeous woman.

He really hoped that there wouldn't be any more once they managed to dig up all of the ones buried at the river-crux.

Lex couldn't remember the last time he saw Clark look so tired. Admittedly it had been raining for days, and they'd been digging in the mud. So far, there had been six bodies.

Clark told him that there were four more.

So far, there had been numerous DNA samples, and he knew that when they got down to the last four, it wouldn't be flesh and hair but bone he'd have to grind down and extract DNA from. The victims -- ten, an unthinkable number, ten, the kind of number where the seriousness of it started to lose meaning because it was just starting to creep out of the grasp of most people's reality -- deserved to be known. They needed to be placed, and the police needed to match them up to missing persons and their families needed closure.

It left Lex both wanting to damn and thank the rain, because without it.... Those people never would have been found.

"Clark? I have your coffee...."

That sort of exhaustion had no place on Clark's face. If loving someone could make everything all right, Lex would have already managed it.

"Thanks, baby," Clark said, giving him a little smile and then yawning. "I could sleep for a week. Getting back up and going back out there is tougher today than I usually think it is."

"Tomorrow is the weekend. Someone else will have to work the case for a couple of days, and we can work on you getting that sleep you want?" Lex could tell from the way Clark was leaning on the kitchen table that he was tired. Leaning with folded arms meant a good mood, leaning on elbows meant a little tired, and leaning with his whole upper arm while slouched was a really bad sign.

Brain swiped a paw at the orange juice that Lex set on the table, making Clark laugh. "That sounds perfect. Weekend in bed with you, watching really silly movies. You picked up Sean of the Dead, didn't you?"

"On the way back. Blockbuster didn't seem to have much of anything else, so I'm going to go past some place else on the way back tonight. Maybe Hollywood. Is there anything else I should pick up?" After all, Clark would be pulling another double, and he knew it. There was no reason for him to pretend otherwise.

"Something funny," Clark decided. "I'm not up to anything too serious. Maybe Clue or something, because that's always worth a laugh."

"That's it. I'm just buying Clue. Best buy, here I come." He finished pouring juice for himself -- it was always best to delay the coffee addiction for as long as possible on any given day -- and half-gestured to see if Clark wanted any. Scrambled eggs and bacon were sizzling away on the stove, turned low for the moment until Lex plated it.

"Okay," Clark agreed, finally slumping down so that his head laid on his arm. Superman had been seen twice this week, as well, due to a gas main explosion and a fire at the hospital. If Clark weren't a super-powered alien being, he'd be dead on his feet instead of wilting at the table.

Lex wished he could make it better. All he could do was set the carafe aside and lean forwards, putting fingers through Clark's hair. "And if you sleep through everything, that's okay. I'll be glad just to keep you company on the sofa." He'd offer a break-time blowjob in the bathroom, except that he knew that Clark wouldn't give himself any breaks, let alone feel in the mood.

"Hmmmm." The sound of Clark's smile was in that noise. "I love it when you do that. Call me in dead to work so that you can do that some more."

Lex stretched his fingers, still rubbing gently. Brain looked a little jealous, but that was probably Lex projecting. Brain was probably waiting for Lex to turn his back to the table so he could stick his paw in the juice.

"Do you want me to call you in? Perry would let you...."

"I can't." Clark sounded reluctant, but Lex knew that he wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on. "I just can't. They're all redheads, Lex. All of them. Male, female, and...."

And the men looked frighteningly like Lex.

Lex had noticed it, of course, in the photos, and it was just a coincidence. A coincidence that was bothering Clark, he could tell. It made it hard for Lex to stop stroking Clark's hair. "It's okay, Clark. You'll all figure it out. Just...."

"Just stop stressing over it. I know." Clark sat up slowly and brushed a kiss over his wrist that made Lex sigh and wilt a little. "Hm. I promise."

The bracelet Clark had given him brushed against the edge of Clark's nose when he kissed him, and Lex wanted to call Clark in sick just then. Call Clark in sick and make a nest of blankets on the living room floor and put in a bad movie and probably not watch it at all. "Just one more shift, Clark. And then I'm not going to let you think about it for three days. And, uhm, I think the bacon's done, so...."

"So, I'll let you go." And Clark did. Clark was good about that. He always managed to keep Lex from feeling trapped or desperate, letting him go when Lex needed to go and holding him close when he needed that, too.

Clark was perfect when it came to those things. Lex managed a crooked smile, then turned away to put breakfast on plates. Brain was definitely going to stick a paw in his juice.

At least they had time to whittle away, and he wasn't going to let Clark get to work too early.

"I should go find Pinky," Clark offered, standing up and gathering Brain off of the table. "At least then they'll be getting into trouble together instead of separately."

"One less mess, maybe? I think Pinky's sleeping on the pillows," Lex called over his shoulder. He grabbed a few paper towels to blot the bacon off.

"I'm willing to take one less mess," Clark laughed, moving towards Lex and kissing the back of his head before wandering into the living room and then back towards their bedroom.  By the time he came back, Lex had breakfast dished out onto their plates and ready to go. Sometimes, it still amazed him how much Clark could eat. He had probably learned to cook in defense of his wallet. "Mmmm, that smells great."

The plates clinked pretty heavily on the tabletop, and Lex grinned as he caught sight of two fuzzy tail tips heading past the kitchen and into the living room. "The cheddar cheese went moldy, but the Colby Jack was still great, so the eggs should taste a little different."

"Everything you cook tastes great!" Clark defended Lex's cooking at every opportunity. Lex was of the opinion that it wasn't very good. Clark didn't let him get away with much of that, though. "Besides. I like Colby Jack."

"That's why you brought a big brick of it, I guess?" Lex picked up his fork, grinning. "I guess I'll have to find new and creative uses for it before it joins the cheddar in mold land."

Clark made a noise around his bite of eggs and then swallowed. "Mom uses it to do some kind of taco bake casserole thing that's pretty incredible. I'll call her tomorrow after work and get the recipe," he offered. "And on the way home, I'll get some Pepcid." Lex liked tacos, but they gave him heartburn, particularly the way that Clark made them. Lots of spice, the kind of spice where he kept a glass of milk on hand in the vain hope of ever feeling his tongue again.

Lex chewed on a crispy piece of bacon and leaned his chin on one hand while he watched Clark. "I just need to borrow all of your mother's recipes. She's really the best cook ever."

"The terrible part is that she never writes anything down. She'd better do that someday soon, because Calli will want to start experimenting. She's already excited about learning to bake muffins and stuff, and those are pretty easy in comparison to some of Mom's other stuff."

"If I got her a recipe book, she'd just do accounting in it, wouldn't she?" He'd just have to sit down with paper and pen and laptop and fingers and Martha, of course, and transcribe some of her recipes. At least more than the one or two a week that Clark mentioned offhanded that Lex should ask Clark's mom about.

"Mhm," Clark said, digging into his eggs again. "I bought her one of those expandable folder things for Christmas one year? She keeps coupons in it instead of recipes."

"That figures." They had another forty-five minutes before they had to show up to work, and the way Clark was moving, he'd probably be heading in a little earlier. Maybe. Lex wasn't sure, but he was sure that he wouldn't see Clark at the department all day and that he might as well get his fill of watching Clark right then, right now.

Apparently, being watched made Clark slow down, at least a little. He cast a curious glance in Lex's direction, and when Lex shrugged, he continued to Hoover down his eggs and bacon.

Lex took his time, still watching the motions of wrist and mouth, and he wasn't going to daydream about other kinds of wrist, hand, and mouth actions. "It's been busy in the lab, but I still need fuel for daydreams."

The way that Clark grinned made his heart beat faster. "I'll be the fuel for your daydreams any day. I, uh, I'll try to get home by midmorning," he offered, a little ashamed. "I'm sorry I've been gone so much, just...."

"It's a hard case," Lex filled in. "I understand, Clark. I do, and I haven't started to forget what you looked like, and Pinky and Brain still know who you are, so...."

"So, we must be doing okay," Clark finished. "I know. It's harder because...." Clark's fork dabbled in his eggs. "They all look like you. You know. In a really surreal kind of way. It freaks me out a little."

"I know that, too. I just...." He gave a shrug of his shoulders as he crunched on another piece of bacon. "Wish I could give you all the answers you need to solve the case. It weirds me out a little, but.... He's a killer who picks by hair color. Or she's a killer who picks by hair color. Either or."

"I've never even heard of something like that. I mean, gender, sure, sexual preference, maybe, or even just.... opportunity. But hair color?" Clark shook his head. "All with the same skin, the same blue eyes.... and there's not any trace of him on them. We're gonna have to wait for the next one to try and get anything."

Lex's head tilted down a little. The way Clark had said it, he'd narrowly avoided saying 'We'll have to wait for him to kill again and hope he gets sloppy'. "Maybe there's more of a connection that the detectives will find. A.... a link between all the people."

Clark fidgeted. "Most of them chatted online a lot and we've got Jimmy looking into that angle. That's the best we've come up with, but who doesn't use their computers like that these days?"

"It's cheaper than long-distance phone calls." Lex reached for his juice, and watched Clark's fingers twist over the handle of his coffee mug. "All of their families file missing person's reports? The ones we've matched so far, I mean."

"All but one. They weren't in contact, and his next of kin turned out to be a lover from six years ago. He just hadn't changed any of his paperwork."

"Huh." That was the only part of human nature Lex knew he could count on -- people procrastinated. Everything. "So that rules out the killer going after people who were cast off."

"Pretty much." Clark was visibly moping, and Lex wondered if he ought to force him to stay home. He wouldn't, though. He'd just wish most of the day that he *had*. "I'm just worried. That's all."

"Don't, okay? It's.... just not plausible. And I think I still qualify as the most paranoid guy you know." Except when he was in the toy store, and that was the worst thought to cross with murder. Toys and being targeted for death, no, no, he wasn't going to go there. If he did, he'd never go toy shopping again. He'd start ordering his toys from Amazon.com or something.

"I know. I know. Just.... It's kind of scary is all. If I can't do anything about it, maybe Superman can."

"Maybe Superman can," Lex agreed quietly. "After he rests a little. The decomposition differences alone say that this guy is a slow mover."

Clark smiled across the table. "You know, I can't imagine what life would be like if I didn't have you. I'd probably work myself to death."

"Calli wouldn't let you. And as a good younger sister, I think she'd make sure that you didn't work yourself to death, just as she made sure that your apartment was nicely decorated." Lex winked. They still had the cow curtains up in the kitchen because Lex really liked them.

"It's true. Calli loves me," Clark admitted. "She just likes you better."

"Because I bring toys and neat things to show her every time we visit. She didn't have to grow up with me. I'm.... like the weird cool uncle." Lex decided he liked that analogy, and then went back to scraping his scrambled eggs up into a pyramid shape.

"You've been watching Third Encounters again," Clark noted, finishing off his own eggs and reaching to steal a piece of Lex's bacon. "I think it's pretty cute, too, but I have to go." He stood up and leaned across the table to kiss Lex on the cheek. "Love you."

The suggestion that he was going to get Calli a copy of Mars Attacks the next time they went to visit died on Lex's tongue because Clark was so close, kissing him. Lex leaned up, dropped his fork probably smack on top of the pointy part of the pyramid, and turned his head so he could kiss Clark's mouth. "Good luck, and I love you, too."

"See you come morning," Clark promised him, and then he was gone in a whir of motion that only Clark could manage.

Maybe if Lex was lucky, he wasn't taking his beat up Escort, and he'd be at the office in time for Lex to give him a ride home. Then Clark could pass out in the passenger seat, and Lex could make sure he got home safe and drag him up the front steps with bed as a goal.

He sighed, picked up his fork again. Back to scrambled eggs pyramid. Maybe he could give the cats a snack.

"I'm pretty sure it's a net scam," Jimmy explained, frowning. Text files were scattered all over the break room table, and he looked even more tired than Clark. "You ever see that X-Files show? You know, the one where the guy lured plump women and then sucked all the fat out of them? Which is a total waste, by the way."

"Of what?" Lois leaned over the back of Jimmy's chair, looking at his papers. "Fat, or people?"

"Duh. Plump girls." Jimmy eyeballed her. "I mean, come on. Nobody wants to date those stick women, no matter what the magazines say. Boobs are an important part of a guy's daily life. Well." He grinned. "Mine, anyway. Plus? Fewer bruises from sharp bones. Ouch."

"You say that to him like Clark dates women. Or even.... dates." Lois winked before she patted Jimmy on top of his head, a little frustration seeping into the gesture. "So, get to the meat of it. You've been through three computers so far and you're going to say that there's a pattern? Right?"

"I'm gonna say that they've all got chat records. Just these three, though. All of the others weren't using programs that saved their last chat, so...." Jimmy shrugged. "However."

"However?" Clark asked, sticking his tongue out at Lois. "I hope that means they shared something in common."

"A handful of chat buddies," Jimmy grinned as he looked back at Lois and then over to Clark. "They run in the same social circles, both the men and the women."

"So, maybe it's time to do a little research. You've got names, why don't you do some kind of magical computer stuff. That's your job," Lois prodded.

Clark rolled his eyes so that she couldn't see him. "And it's probably easier when we're not here, Lolo. Why don't we get ready to go home? One more double, and I'll be sleeping where I stand."

"Call me Lolo again and you'll be DEAD where you stand."

Clark wanted to roll his eyes one more time, but leaned on his elbow instead because she was looking at him. Lois was in a mood, and she'd only realize after the fact what a horrific bitch she turned into when she was that tired.

"Magical computer stuff is a relief after playing bucket brigade to you two." Jimmy picked up a sheaf of papers. "Anyone want to pretend to be a redhead online? Once I work out what social circle, maybe a chat room or something...."

A shiver worked its way down Clark's spine. "Um...."

"Yeah. Sure. But I'm not even coming close to pretending to be me, and there's no way I'm starting a persona right now," Lois told them, mouth puckering into a frown. "What we need is a real redhead. Why don't you do it, Jimmy?"

"Uh...." Jimmy glanced over at Clark, and swallowed. "I don't want to...? I'm not exactly after guys, you know, and this doesn't seem like a chick crime...."

"Don't even suggest it." Clark was going to have to kill Lois. Lois was going to have to die, and then they'd be investigating her death for a really long time. "Don't even THINK about it."

"I...." Jimmy looked confused, but Lois was looking over her shoulder towards the center room, where Lex was leaning against a counter half-peeking at them while he waited for some process to finish.

"Think what?"

"Think THAT!" Clark pointed at Lex. "No. Not just no, but HELL no." Sometimes, the Kansas farm boy in him just took over and he said things like that. "Lex isn't going to do it. He's not. He's bald. He hasn't been redheaded in years. No."

"I didn't say it," Lois smirked as she peered over her shoulder at him. Lex seemed to realize there was eye contact on him, and turned away to find something in his lab to fiddle with. "You said it, Smallville."

With a sigh, Jimmy shook his head. "I'd love to help you out, CK. Really. I would. But.... you know. Lois, man. She'll kick my ass."

"Yeah." Clark's voice was filled with grit, deep and angry. "Not if I kick first."

Lex had just started to really get into living again, doing things and being willing to be around people more. It had taken time, and having his half-brother soundly behind bars, and Clark wasn't going to let Lois just pull at Lex's survival instincts by using his guilt instinct against him.

"Clark.... Jimmy -- no offense Jimmy -- isn't really a looker."

"Yeah, well, I can make arrangements to find a looker who's not Lex!"

"I'm not a looker?" Jimmy seemed disappointed by that. "Man. It's just because you chicks love gay guys, isn't it?"

 "Gay guys love gay guys, too, but.... You look too...." Lois waved a hand. "I don't know. Look at the profiles, will ya? You don't match. Your jaw is too square, and your nose...."

"Hey! My nose is just fine!"

"Sure, for you, but you don't fit the profile. Pale, vibrant blue or green eyes, copper not quite carrot red hair, rounded face, tipped-up nose...."

"Lex," Clark murmured miserably.

"Lex," Lois agreed.

He couldn't do that to Lex. He just.... couldn't.  Not when Lex looked so happy in his lab, happy and safe and eager to give them results back on every case. He was a good lab tech, the best DNA guy they had, and Perry was right that he could have worked for the feds.

And, and, he was in love with Lex, he lived with Lex, and he couldn't do that to him. Lex, Clark wanted to snap at them both, was his. His family's. His family.

"I don't know. I mean...." Jimmy leaned a little, clearly peering at Lex through two layers of windows and the odd passerby. "It's Lex, and he's kinda...."

"He can't," Clark said simply. "I won't ask him. I won't. That's all there is to it."

"If you won't, Smallville, it's not a problem," Lois declared. "Because I'm not afraid to do it."

"I don't think Lex'd do anything without Clark's permission," Jimmy ventured. "Not.... that it's really weird or anything, cause we all know how you guys are. Still on the honeymoon and all that."

Clark didn't say anything to that. How could he? He couldn't ask Lex. He couldn't, except who else could do it? Maybe if he called the guys in Vegas, they'd know someone who could fake it, who could....

"Smallville."

"I don't want him to. I can't."

Jimmy squirmed a little in his chair. "Lois, c'mon. That's not exactly something you ask a guy to do. If you had a redheaded boyfriend that fit the look...."

"I'd have already hauled his ass down here hard-core and have him reading transcripts of these people's conversations. I mean, come on!"

"Yeah, but with Luthor's history it just...." Jimmy trailed off and shot Clark a glance. "I dunno. Wouldn't do it, okay?"

"She's not gonna listen," Clark sighed. "Look. Lois. If you can promise me that he won't go anywhere alone, that Jimmy will do all of the talking...."

"Typing," Jimmy inserted.

"....I'll THINK about asking him to help out. Pictures or something. But not.... not anything else. Okay?"

"It wouldn't be a good sting operation if we didn't, okay? We'll just probably need him as Jimmy's body double." The edges of her mouth pulled up for a second in a smile that Clark wanted to call evil. Just in the name of principle.

He had a feeling that he was already in deeper than he wanted to be.

The last time Lex remembered Clark waffling so desperately, he had been trying to explain how an entire radio tower had been knocked off of one of the LuthorCorp buildings without admitting that Bruce had been showing off with the BatPlane and Clark had been morally obligated to show off even more.

There was something bad about to come out of Clark's mouth, and he knew it. He just didn't know what, since nothing seemed broken, and there hadn't been anything on the news or reports of shit falling off of his father's building.

"Lois.... wanted.... she brought something up, and I don't really want to ask you about it, but...."

But.

Lois always came with a 'but', so to speak. Lex almost sighed, but he managed to keep it in by some previously unknown grace of God.

The bowl of popcorn between him and Clark, and the cat on his lap was probably helping him keep from heaving that sigh. "But, you're going to anyway so you might as well just do it?"

Clark squirmed. Lex could see guilt from a mile away. "I don't want to," he said, obviously miserable. "But.... she promised it would just be a few pictures, kind of a body double thing, and...."

Pictures? Body double thing? Lex started to cringe inside, and slouched a little further into the sofa. "For...?"

"....the case we're working on. I wanted Jimmy to do it, but...."

But Jimmy wasn't the same sort of redhead Lex was, even if he was bald now. He didn't look the same, and Lex.... Lex had already known that he matched the profile for the victims. It made his stomach sink a little. "But it doesn't work out."

"Yeah." Clark looked at him. "If you just say no, that's all it takes. I swear. But I had to ask. I don't want to, but it was me or Lois and.... Lois is kinda scary."

"I'd rather it was you asking, anyway. So just...." Lex popped a piece of popcorn, and then laid his hand heavily on Brain's head to keep the cat from diving into the bowl. "Pictures, if the guy wants them?"

"Yeah. I don't.... I don't want you involved at all, but not any further than that." Clark hesitated. "It's your choice. All of it. But I...."

He shifted, picking up the bowl and resting it on top of Brain's head before he scooted sideways to close the space between him and Clark. "But...?"

"But I'm afraid for you," Clark mumbled, looking at his knees. "I don't want you too close to this. I love you too much."

Once upon a time, he hadn't ever really expected that to happen, let alone for Clark to look down and mumble it. "Clark, hey. It's just a body double if Jimmy even gets that far. Right?" Right. If it was more, if they actually wanted Lex to do the typing, he was going to freak right out. He couldn't even pretend to be bait for a killer like that. Lex had enough issues of his own without adding anything like that to it.

"Right. I just.... it just scares me for you. I mean, working this like a sting.... I don't know that it's the right thing to do. It makes me want to run home to my mom." Clark looked up at him and gave a crooked smile. "Maybe we should both go. Want to take a quick trip home?"

Lex set the popcorn bowl off to the side, and Brain followed after it, almost chasing his hand. "The fast way? We could. We have the weekend."

The fast way never lost its shine for Lex -- flying was an amazing feeling. The slow way, sitting in the passenger seat while Clark drove, was just as good, because he was all right with it. He was comfortable with Clark and with going home to see Clark's family. "Lois isn't sitting outside waiting for an answer, is she?"

"Not last I checked, but I wouldn't put it past her to sneak in and bug the whole house while we're gone." Clark grinned at him. "Go get bundled up and I'll set out food for the cats."

Brain perked up a little at that, and Lex pulled the cat's head up out of the popcorn bowl. "Yeah, and this time, you two don't need to eat it all at once and then sit around looking like beached whales. You got that? And don't chew on my LEGOs."

"I've told you that if you'll just shut the door...." Just the thought of going home seemed to put Clark in a better mood, and for that, Lex was extraordinarily grateful. "I'll pack for us." And then he swirled away wildly, leaving Lex alone for the entirety of two seconds.

Lex barely had time to pat Brain's head one last time for emphasis before Clark was back, packed. Clark was the best packer -- he always remembered to bring the most random things. He even packed Lex's little prescription bottle, though the likelihood of him needing it was slim to none while they were in Smallville. Smallville was always a bit like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting, even with all of the strange things Clark had told Lex about.

"But if I close the door, he'll stand outside the whole time and cry."

"You won't be here to hear it," Clark pointed out reasonably enough, "and he won't have the opportunity to choke on all of the tiny pieces." He settled their suitcases down at his feet.

"Well...." Lex hedged a little. Of course, the last time they'd taken a weekend trip, Brain had eaten half of the tiny little flowers, leaving crumpled plastic all over the top of his desk. "I'll close it. Back in a minute."

"Sure. I'll feed the cats," Clark said, and they moved off in opposite directions to take care of matters before going home for a visit. Maybe it would make them both feel better about things.

Maybe Clark wouldn't worry about serial killers who liked redheads for a few days.

Maybe.

"Could you hand me the 1 square clear one?"

"Uh-huh...." There were a lot of the little red ones that popped out to his eyes, so Lex swiped his fingers through the pile, spreading it out on the rug that was on the barn's floor. "Lemme see -- you need two of them, right? That's a great looking racecar, Calli. You know, we could put a motor in it...."

"Wow. You can make MOTORS?" Calli gasped in excitement, her eyes going wide and round. There had been two birthdays since the first one Lex had come to, but she was still a little girl, after all, even if she had discovered make-up and boys six months ago.

The Mission Impossible theme rang from Clark's pocket across the loft and the hammock swung wildly as he tried to get to it before dumping him out on the floor.

"Ouch. Hello?"

Mission Impossible theme wasn't what he wanted to hear just then. No phone ringing at all, because Lex knew that was Lois. Only Lois made Clark's phone do that, and Lex wanted to spend the whole rest of his time off with the Kents. With Clark sleeping in the hammock watching them, and Calli stretching his imagination, and Jonathan wondering just when one kid had turned to three because everyone was in the loft playing with LEGOs, and.... and....

"Yeah. We probably even have wire for it somewhere around here. It's pretty simple...."

He wished he could eavesdrop. He supposed that he could, if he wanted to be dishonest about it. Clark probably wouldn't mind. At the same time, he didn't want to know what was going on, not really, especially if it was Lois asking questions or wanting them to come home.

It was easier to turn his attention to Calli and pass over the two clear 1 squares. "Huh. My motorcycle looks really lame in comparison, doesn't it? What do you think it needs?"

"Definitely one of these." Calli handed him a bunch of reds. "They'll make a cool seat, don't you think?"

"You're right, I forgot that," Lex decided as he sorted through the blocks for the ones he'd need. He still ended up peeking over his shoulder towards Clark. He was whispering furiously into his phone, thunderclouds stamped on his brow, and Lex's stomach dropped somewhere down into his pelvis.

He didn't have to ask. They were going to have to go back to Metropolis, and Lex wanted to stay in Smallville and help on the farm and play with Calli and badger Martha into writing down her recipes. They were going to Metropolis again, and they were going to be putting him in a wig and taking photos. Lex grimaced, and turned back around.

"You know, if you keep making that face, Mom says it'll stick like that," Calli announced. She was very serious about it, but he could see the lurking humor in the back of her eyes. "It's okay, Lex. Honest."

He picked up a couple of LEGOs and tried to shrug it off. "I think your brother and I are going to have to go back to Metropolis sooner than we'd planned. That's all." Calli's nose wrinkled, and he couldn't help grinning. "Now your face is going to stick."

"I don't want you to go home!" She sighed impatiently. "Couldn't Clark just.... you know?"

"Not this time," Lex told her. "It.... It’s a big case. And since Lois called, that probably means they're all tapped out and need everyone in." There wasn't any way that he could tell her what the case was or what he needed to go for.

Calli sighed. "Your jobs suck," she told him with a serious nod. "Clark's working even when he's not working."

"Lex...."

"Nah, I like my job, mostly. When you're older, I'll tell you about the horse thieves." He winked, and twisted to look back at Clark. "Yeah, Clark?"

"We have to...."

"Why can't I hear about the horse thieves now?" Calli still loved horses.

"....go home for a while. Maybe we can come back for Sunday lunch." Clark seemed apologetic. He probably was apologetic, really genuinely sorry, but it didn't make Lex feel any happier.

"We'll be back, Calli. Okay?"

She sighed. "Well. All right. But you have to make me those blintz things." She grinned at him. Calli loved him, and that was the greatest thing ever.

"Promise. When we get back from, uh, whatever we have to help out for at work." Lex started to stand up, careful to not step on any pieces. "Are we leaving right now, Clark...?"

Clark gave a heavy sigh. "She says she's swinging by the house to pick us up in about an hour, so...." They could chance ten minutes of explanation, but then Lex would have to bundle up and they'd have to speed home and change clothes.

"She thinks we're at home...?" Lex still shot to his feet fast when Clark said that. It always startled him, and he'd never work out how Clark managed not to stress a little when there was a chance he could be caught out.

Clark grinned. "I gave her the impression that she didn't want to come in the house for fear we'd be, uh, preoccupied."

"Sucking face," Calli provided, and Clark coughed.

"Something like that, yeah."

"Ohhh." Lex relaxed a little. Lois would take more than an hour if that was the case, and a few minutes made enough of a difference to Lex for him to get comfortable. "Let’s go inside, tell your parents and.... I'll pack up quick."

Clark's grin was infectious. "We're packed. Actually." They hadn't brought a lot of stuff, just things Lex would need. A dresser in the loft held clothing changes for both of them in case of unexpected visits.

"You move too fast," Lex sighed as he edged towards Clark. "Calli? We'll be back Sunday, caseload willing."

Clark's sister sighed and rolled her eyes. "You'd better bring me some of those pastry things, those.... balaclava??"

"Baklava," Lex grinned while he walked towards the staircase. "Balaclavas are what you wear in the winter in Alaska."

"Those things, right. Baclalava." She did it just to hear him correct her, he knew that, but it still made him laugh.

"We promise, brat. Any other demands you'd like to make?" Clark was obviously amused, but why shouldn't he be? They spoiled Calli just enough that she wasn't rotten.

Quite.

"Probably ice-cream," Lex called over his shoulder at Clark.

"That peanut butter kind!" she yelled down from the loft and her pile of LEGOs. "And hurry back!"

"It's good to know we'll be missed," Lex grinned a little as he shoved his hands into his pocket, falling in step beside Clark on the way out of the barn. "So, that was Lois about the.... case?"

"Yeah. Things have been going a lot faster than they thought they would with everything. Jimmy's got a pretty hot ticket, and he's going to town wanting pictures, so.... let's call Clark and Lex." Clark shifted and shook his head. "We'll get some of that ice cream you like, too. Maybe we can come back tonight, even."

"I'd like that, since we're going the fast way," Lex murmured as he leaned into Clark a little, bumping shoulders. "Even if we'd driven, I'd still want to come back. What.... kind of pictures does he want?"

"Urm." Urm seemed like a pretty poor answer. "Proof that you're a redhead. We're going to have to work on that a little, I think.... And I told Lois, nothing without your clothes on."

In other words, he wanted to be sure that it wasn't a dye job, and clothing was going to be in short supply. Lex tried not to frown as they got closer to the steps up to the house. "I don't have hair, Clark. Isn't that going to be a pretty big problem?

"I've got an idea," Clark told him solemnly. "But I'm still the only one who gets to hold the camera.... And I'm pretty sure with a little work, I can manage it...."

"I don't want anyone else there. Just.... you and me, right?" He wasn't sure why he'd agreed to the idea in the first place, and Lex didn't know how he'd handle Clark taking photos. Maybe if he popped a few Valium, he'd be okay.

"Just you and me. And...." Clark frowned. "I'm not going to let you take anything off, Lex. I'm kind of pissed off that Lois even suggested it, all things considered. I think, maybe.... if we use a little dye, maybe Jimmy...."

"Jimmy might pass, you mean?" Lex stopped thoughtfully before he pushed at the back door once Clark had opened the screen door. "Okay. Okay, we could.... try. Yeah. We'll try that first, because I...." He had nothing down there, nothing to dye, nothing that would prove what the guy wanted.

"I know," Clark said quietly, pausing with his hand on the door. He leaned over and kissed Lex lightly on the mouth. "We'll work it out. You won't have to show any skin if you don't want to."

"Sure." Sure, because he trusted Clark and knew that Clark wasn't just a good guy, he was the best guy. He'd make sure it was in Lex's best interests when Lois and the rest of the department forgot about Lex's hang-ups.

"You're really brave, you know," Clark said as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Why, thank you, sweetheart. I didn't realize that you had any idea of how much courage it took to try and keep you fed," Martha said with a smile.

He loved Clark's parents, and their senses of humor. Lex shoved his hands into his pockets. "Martha? Clark and I have to go back to Metropolis for a couple of hours."

"Whatever for?" she asked, and then shook her head. "No. Never mind. I'm sure I don't need to know. Why don't you take the pie I made for supper?"

Lex could tell that Clark was probably salivating already. "We'll try to be back by then, Mom. We'll bring ice cream."

"Keep the pie," Lex murmured as he leaned into Clark and looped an arm around Clark's waist from behind. "We'll get back faster if you withhold pie."

Martha gave a sneaky grin. Funny how Clark had that grin, too. "Nothing makes Clark faster than withholding pie. Of course, nothing makes him sulk more, either." That statement gained her a deliberate pout from her son, and made both of them laugh.

"We just need Lex's coat, Mom. If we're late, we'll call."

Lex wouldn't even have to make Clark call -- he was very careful, very conscientious about not disappearing unless there was an emergency. He pulled away to back step towards the coat rack, shrugging it on. "Jimmy and Lois can't take that much time."

Clark's eyes rolled. "We have to go shopping for a wig first. Want to bet?"

He shook one arm to get his sleeve within the coat properly, and started to button it closed. "Because they'd never do anything like plan ahead?"

"That would be way too easy." Clark put his hand on Lex's shoulder gently. "And less tiring. We'll try to be back in time for supper, Mom. Turn the electric blanket on?"

"Of course. Be careful, you two." Martha came over, kissed Lex's cheek, and then leaned up on her toes to do the same to Clark.

"I'm always careful," Clark protested, kissing her forehead. "And if I can't be careful, then I don't get caught."

"Yes, well, just because you managed to fool the sheriff doesn't mean you ever fooled me, young man. Scoot."

"Have a good afternoon, Martha. I expect that Calli'll be coming back in soon, so...." He had to be coaxed to leave, and Clark was already pulling at him. That was fine, because Lex needed to be pulled, needed to be persuaded. God, he didn't ever want to take sexy, smiling pictures of himself again, and now he had to.

There weren't any choices.

"It'll be all right," Clark promised quietly out on the porch. "I swear."

"Can't someone just do a good photo-manip or something...?" Lex wheedled. One last shot.

Clark pulled him close and kissed him one last time, pulling up Lex's hood and covering his face. In a whirl, there wasn't Clark anymore, but Superman in all of his dark glory. Superman was still cool, but.... But. Lex preferred Clark.

"I'll do my best," the deep-throated promise came, and Lex knew he meant it, and then they were in the sky.

If someone had to go pee in the next twenty minutes, they could use the ladies room because Clark had bolstered the door, and Lex was leaning against the wall, trying to not feel like a wookie in that wig, while he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Close your eyes," Clark suggested gently. "Think about this morning, maybe, and what tomorrow morning's going to be like. I swear, Lex. Jimmy and I will be the only ones here who see this, and he's going to Photoshop it enough so that it doesn't look much like you."

"Scared isn't sexy, huh?" Lex felt a nervous laugh bubble up, and he rolled his neck before he leaned against the wall again. He could feel the cold tile seeping through the fabric of his shirt. "Mmm, what part of this morning? Waking up with your head on my shoulder?"

"Yeah." It was good encouragement, soft and quiet. They had dozed under the blankets, Clark's head on his shoulder, and then Clark's hand had slid down and wrapped around his cock, stroking in a way that made Lex's breath catch even hours later. "Just like that, Lex. You're beautiful, you know."

"Yeah." Yeah, he knew. At least some people found him that way, and he remembered them, too, shoved it away and concentrated on dozing with Clark. The way the sheets felt and the way Clark was hot and heavy against him, stroking just perfectly. Lex had tried to stroke him back, but his fingers had gone wonky and it had just made the bracelet on his wrist clink the way it did now against tile. That alone was incentive, a weird desire to do this and get it over with and go home with Clark. Clark loved him, Clark wouldn't let anything bad to him, they'd get rid of the stupid red wig and everything would be all right. There wouldn't be any serial killer or any pictures, and he wasn't going to throw up when it was over.

Really.

He'd already taken three of his pills. Four would've been pushing it for such a short period of time. Breathe in, breathe out.... And think of Clark. "Just tell me when you want me to hold still."

"That's good," Clark whispered, and Lex could hear the digital camera focus and click, focus and click, focus and click.

He hoped to God that was enough. Three was all he could give, and then the wig was gone because he was puking his guts out in the third toilet from the left, and it wasn't ever going to be just the stall Clark blew him in again.

Pills came up, and so did the milk he'd drank, and half of a Ruben from lunch. It all tasted horrible coming back up, but that didn't stop Lex from gagging and choking, fingers knotted around the toilet seat.

He had no problem taking pictures, or being in group pictures, party pictures, but that.... that was something else. It was the intent. It was knowing what they were going to use his face for, his body for, and the soothing hands on his back didn't help that any.

"It's okay." It wasn't. "It's okay. I won't give them to Jimmy. We'll trash them. We'll...."

"No, no, you...." Lex shivered, back arching for a moment before he gagged on air. "Use them, just...."

"I know. I know." Clark knew, and he pulled Lex up and into his lap, cradled close and safe, thank God, safe from everything before, and he was going to be safe from everything else. He was. Clark would make sure, and he wasn't going to end up hurt, Clark taking those photos hadn't hurt, but the sharp memories had hurt, memories that rose up like vomit, except that Lex wasn't going to throw up again as long as he had his face pressed against Clark's sweater.

Fingers rubbed against his back, and Lex knew, knew that he was safe. Clark would never let him be anything else but safe again, safe and held close. "Shhh." Shhh was a comforting sound, one he remembered his mother making. Clark's head was bowed over Lex's, kisses spread where Clark could reach. "Shhh. I promise. I promise. It will all be okay."

It was just pictures. Just pictures, and Lex knew it was stupid to go shaky like that because Clark had taken pictures of him. He knew it, and concentrating on that made it easier to breathe, easier to calm down and duck his head against Clark. "Okay. Okay, I'll, I'll be okay."

"We'll give the camera to Jimmy and go home," Clark promised him. The feel of one wide, strong palm pressed to the side of his neck was good. "I'll tell them not to call before Monday."

"Okay." Lex probably would have agreed to Clark suggesting that they scalp Lois, but he actually liked the sound of that idea. It sounded better than being a pile on the floor of a bathroom stall, that much was certain.

"Come on." Clark lifted Lex as he stood, just as if he wasn't anything heavier than Lex's Warrior Angel figure. "Do you want to go get your toothbrush out of your desk?"

"Yeah." He almost wanted to laugh that Clark knew he kept that, but Lex liked to be clean and working in an office environment, the last thing anyone needed was a coworker with lunch-breath.

Clark let him down to stand on his own and pressed one more kiss to his temple. His clothes were all re-buttoned and neat again, one of the advantages of having a super boyfriend. "C'mon."

He still gave a shift of his shoulders, adjusting his shirt a little for himself. "The wig...?" He was going to plop it on Jimmy's head before they cut out of there and went home.

"Ah...." Clark looked around for it. It didn't matter that the door was shut. "Oh. Over in the corner. Come on," he encouraged again, gently tugging Lex after him. Lex still stopped and got the wig from the corner, shaking it off before he grabbed Clark's hand tightly again. Clark had the camera.

Hopefully one of those pictures would be reusable, because there was no way Lex was going to pose for any more.

"So, Kent. You're not gonna let me see the pictures?" Lois was smiling at him, and Clark was not going to hurt her.

Not.

"No. Nobody gets to see them. Just me and Jimmy."

"But the three of us are working on it...." Lois folded her arms over her chest, eyebrows arranging themselves firmly over top of glaring eyes. "I bet Lex looks cute in the wig."

"Lex looks cute in everything," Clark steadfastly assured her.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, no matter how cute Lex looks, you're both severely cramping my style here. I'm TRYING to cyber the suspect, okay?"

"Can't get it up online without perfect silence?" Lois leaned in over Jimmy's shoulder then, crowding in on him. Better Jimmy than harassing Clark about Lex. "So, if I can't see it, Clark, how're you handling a serial killer seeing it?"

"He's not," Jimmy assured her. "I thought for a while he might rip MY head off just for doing Photoshop work. I, ah, did a lot of work before he was happy. Pretty much, it's the softest thing I've ever seen. You know, visual-wise. Not porny or anything."

"Well...." Lois seemed to start to say something, and thought better of it. "It'll work as bait."

The sound of Clark's teeth grinding was impossible to ignore. "It had better, because nobody's getting any more pictures of Lex. We're not even supposed to be here and he's hiding in the DNA lab."

"As long as he's not sitting under his desk." Lois gave a bland shrug of her shoulders that made him want to yell or scream or something.... most notably pop her head right off like a tick, and that was a bad sign.

Carefully, Clark got up and moved to the other side of the iMac. "Is he biting?" If he wasn't, Clark was going to give Lois the Infamous Hand Gesture and go back to Smallville with Lex.

"He thinks your boyfriend looks shy and hot. He's biting," Jimmy promised as he typed out what looked like a stumbling invitation out.

Biting really wasn't what Clark wanted to hear. What Clark wanted to hear about was.... ice cream sundaes and apple pies and going back home to Smallville and the barn and the electric blanket, which they were going to do, dammit.

Dinner was probably getting cold as they spoke.

Clark could guess that Calli was getting restless and probably whining, because she liked to play with them when she got the opportunity. Clark liked to spend time with her when he got a chance, because, god, she was growing up fast and pretty. Some day she'd be facing the grownup world, and he never wanted to think 'I should have spent more time with her'.

He didn't want to think 'I should have protected Lex better' either.

"Yeah, okay. Gimme a neutral location, somebody."

"Chesapeake Bagel Baker down on Forsyth," Lois suggested automatically. "It's a great place for brunch and it's a location we can keep a pretty good eye on."

"A pretty good eye isn't enough. I'm assuming you're gonna try to pull this off with somebody who isn't Lex?"

She cleared her throat. "Well, no.... If the guy doesn't see the person in the picture, he'll keep on walking and we'll never know, Clark...."

"And how WILL we know, Lois? All it's gonna prove is he's a pervert who gets off on redheads online!"

Jimmy snapped his fingers. "Hey! Yeah! You missed it! We got some DNA off the second male corpse late last night."

"See? This is what happens when you take time off, Kent," Lois smirked.

"This is what happens when I've already worked a sixty-eight hour week and want to go home for a while with my lover and our cats. How IS your dog, Lois?" Clark asked.

Jimmy groaned quietly during the brief moment that Lois was struck speechless.

"Better in bed than your cats."

Both of Clark's brows rose sharply. "I never took you for that kind of pervert, Lois."

She snorted. "You insinuate, but you never expect people to throw it right back at you, do you? God. I bet you and Luthor tell knock knock jokes."

"Knock knock."

"Jesus, would you two knock knock it off? I've got a date here. Tomorrow morning, ten thirty. Hello? Crime lab? Work? Ring a bell?"

"Yeah? Fantastic. Kent, can you get Lex dressed up and in the wig and there...? We'll handle the sting side of the operation, just.... Roll out the bait," Lois grinned at him, clapping his shoulder.

"Lois." Clark's voice was pure gravel. "I'm only going to say this once. You are never, ever going to put either of us in this situation again. There are other crime labs. And I'm going to tell Perry that, too, first thing. You got that?"

Lex wouldn't want to move. He loved Metropolis, and he had his charity, and they had their house. But, God, they couldn't live if Lois was going to toss them into the line of fire for fun.

"I got it." There wasn't any telling if she'd listen.

"You'd better got it," Clark stressed. "Because I'm serious, Lois. Not again. Ever. I still think you oughta send in Jimmy."

Jimmy sighed. "I'm not that pale, CK."

"Photoshop works miracles."

"They don't even have the same facial structures, Clark," Lois shrugged. "Look, we'll have the cops watching Lex. He'll be fine." Superman would be watching, too, sitting as close as possible without interfering. Clark sure as hell wasn't telling Lois that.

"He'd better be."

It had taken Clark a while to convince Lex that sleeping in the barn really was the best thing ever, but he'd done it. He'd gotten Lex to look forwards to the pullout sofa and the electric blanket, and occasionally the space heaters. Sleeping in the barn loft was the best excuse ever to plaster himself against Clark under almost smothering heavy blankets, and the stars he could see through the window were real.

Tomorrow he was supposed to be bait for a serial killer. All of the warmth and the pie in the world couldn't quite relax him.

"I won't let him close. I'll be right there, Lex." Clark had been making promises like that for hours, and Lex just couldn't let go of the fear or the tension. He couldn't, even though he knew that Clark was Superman, and that Clark would never let anything happen to him. "I'm so sorry I let Lois talk me into asking you. Oh, God, I'm sorry."

Lex had enough trouble going into restaurants. Going into a place knowing what was going to happen was hellish. Was he supposed to sit there and drink coffee and wait, was he supposed to talk to the guy, or...? Clark kept telling him he wouldn't let the guy get close, but logically, for the case.... Lex scrunched his eyes closed, and pressed a kiss against the smooth skin of Clark's shoulder. "'s okay. I'll be okay."

One big hand cradled the back of his head, thumb stroking against the back. "You're a survivor, Lex. I don't doubt that about you. I just.... I wish...."

"If it works, that's one less body you're going to have to dig up out of the riverbank," Lex murmured against his shoulder. Clark's thumb felt good, skimming over the bump at the back of his skull, his palm warmer than the electric blanket seemed to be keeping Lex's feet. "Right?"

He could feel Clark's grip on him tighten. "I never want to have to dig you up, Lex. I promise. I promise." He was going to make promises like that all night, it seemed, and even if they weren't going to sleep anyway, they needed some rest.

Lex was going to have to come up with something to say to soothe Clark, and that made him smile against Clark's shoulder. No wonder Lois thought they were both a little crazy. "Clark? Everything's going to work out. I know.... that you can get to me if something happens. But we're going to be so well-watched that you won't have to."

"I know." Clark knew. Lex knew. It just didn't make either of them feel any better about it, obviously. He gave a sigh. "When it's over, we'll go home and I'll make you real brunch. Something you can eat and like and...." And not get sick.

"Just going to get coffee. That looks.... sociable, right?" At least he'd been able to keep down Martha's pie, and drinking coffee was like second nature to Lex. Watching the local news with the Kents, and Calli making faces at Clark the whole time had probably helped. "Don't want him to know it's a setup."

"Then I'll get some of the peach cream cheese and make something with it," Clark offered. His stomach growled. "Hey, Lex? Want me to go raid the fridge?"

"Your stomach wants you to." Lex lifted his head a little. The next time they came to the farm, he and Clark were going to do grocery shopping so they could at least replace a little of the dent that Clark made in food no matter where he was. "Sure."

Clark grinned and kissed him, long and luscious and still tasting a lot like apple pie. "I'll be right back," he promised.

He sped off a little, and Lex scooted sideways on their pullout bed, bundling blankets around himself as he sat up. No matter how much he and Clark worried, everything was going to be fine. The police were going to be there, Perry would probably be watching, and Clark....

Lex didn't like to put himself in bad situations. Not because he didn't want to be hurt so much as he didn't want Clark to feel like he was depending on him to be there. It was a little like that biblical passage, about God not letting you get hurt, but that it was kind of stupid to tempt fate at the same time. This was tempting fate.

Lex needed hazard pay for agreeing to go along with it, or at least three weeks paid vacation to make up for all of it.

Oh, well. He might not get either of those things, but one thing was certain as he heard steps coming towards the loft.

He was definitely getting apple pie.

Chesapeake Bagel Bakery wasn't one of Lex's favorite places. Clark liked it okay, but Lex didn't think their coffee was acceptable when he could just run over to Mocha Joe's.

At least the experience wasn't going to taint anything. Lex was pretty sure he'd be going to other places to buy bagels and things after that, because his nerves were up even as he paid for his cup of coffee and looked for a table that was easily visible to sit down at.

There were a couple of tables by the window. It wouldn't be wrong to sit there, would it? Anybody who was waiting to meet someone would want to be immediately visible, Lex figured, so he sidled through the other mostly empty tables, not looking at his lover when he passed the booth where Clark was nonchalantly eating three peach cream cheese bagels.

Even now, Clark could eat. Must be nice.

Lex could hardly manage a halfhearted sip at the coffee. It smelled great, sweet and rich, but his throat kept feeling like it was closing off, gag reflex ready to kick in. He didn't need those survival instincts because he wasn't being given drugged food and passed around, he was just pulling out a chair and sitting down. Waiting. Waiting for it.

Waiting.

Waiting turned into fifteen minutes, half an hour, forty-five. Their mark wasn't coming. He wasn't going to show up, something must have tipped him off, or....

"He's not coming," Clark said softly, and Lex nearly wet his pants.

He dropped his coffee cup, and if he hadn't already nursed half of it down, it would have spread over the table in a water fall. It only splattered a little, and Lex honestly couldn't care. His heart rate had shot up, even while he fumbled with napkins.

"What do you, you mean...?" Shit. All of that work, for nothing?

"It's just a feeling." Just a feeling, sure, but Clark's feelings were usually worth more than Lois's positives. "He's forty-five minutes late."

Lex sat back, and licked his upper lip. The napkins ended up stuffed into what was left of the coffee, and he only fumbled a little with the lid. "Do you think he smelled a sting?"

"I'm not sure," Clark admitted, "but something's way off. Beyond way off, actually, I can feel it. Just...." Clark shrugged, broad shoulders shifting, and Lex jumped a little when Jimmy appeared behind them from out of nowhere.

"Is this REALLY the time or place, guys?"

"Jesus, Jimmy." Lex squeezed the cup in his hand a little, and scooted his chair back. "Fuck it. Let's all get out of here."

"But...." Jimmy started.

"But he's not coming," Clark told him. "He'd be here by now otherwise."

"If you coming over here didn't completely scare him off," Lex agreed, voice a little sharper than he'd wanted it to sound. But fuck. Now they were making a scene and it really was all over. That was a disappointment in some ways, and a relief in a lot of others. They'd used Lex for it once, and they wouldn't be able to use him for it again now. He'd be recognized. Maybe he should be ashamed to be grateful for that, but there it was, and he couldn't feel any shame over it. Not really. A little guilt, a tiny bit, but that always crept up when he could do something, but....

But. Lex still clutched at the coffee cup, and put an arm around Clark's waist. "Let's go home."

"Lois is SO pissed off with you guys," Jimmy grumbled, pulling the earpiece loose and letting it dangle on his shoulder. They could hear Lois's voice squawking at them fiercely.

Clark and Lex exchanged a glance. "We could.... run away from home," Clark suggested.

"She knows where we'd run to," Lex shrugged, leaning into him. He wasn't shaking much at all, despite two people coming in out of nowhere at him. "We'd take you with us, Jimmy, but...."

"But you're hoping that she'll fry me as an appetizer and then eat the two of you slowly?" Jimmy scowled as they headed for the door and slipped out into the cool midmorning breeze. "Hey.... look. There's a total mess out there. Down at the intersection."

There was a trashcan off to the side, just outside the door, and Lex hung back for a second to toss his cup. "Fire truck, paramedic. Guess we're gonna have to go the other way to get back to the lab."

Clark frowned, looking at the accident scene seriously. "When did that happen? I didn't even hear it." That meant more to Lex than it did to Jimmy, but Lex was pretty sure that he knew why Clark hadn't heard it. He'd been listening intently for cars driving into the lot, listening out for Lex, all senses trained to one spot.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Jimmy snorted. Lex watched him fiddle with the earpiece, reaching down to his pocket to just turn it off so none of them had to listen to Lois for the moment. She'd probably catch up with them before they reached the parking lot. "Dunno. An hour ago, probably? I haven't heard the sirens in a while."

It was neat to see Clark's mind start over-clocking, thoughts rumpling fast so quickly that Lex could almost imagine it as a flip book. "An hour ago, huh? Maybe.... Maybe he was coming that way and it startled him off. We need to get someplace to check mail. Or maybe...." Clark's eyes narrowed. "Maybe he was in the accident."

"Wishful thinking," Lex murmured, jostling Clark a little with his arm.

Clark couldn't help grinning at him, even though Lois was now approaching them from the parking lot of the Kroger just down the street. "Hey. If I didn't have wishful thinking, I'd just have Lois to face."

Lex leaned a little, looking over to the accident scene. "Now we have wishful thinking and Lois to face. Jimmy, maybe you should make a break for it...."

"Remember when she's got you on a spit, man. You offered the opportunity," Jimmy grinned, and took off at full-speed.

"Sure, sure. Offer us up to Lois on a platter," Clark grumbled. He grinned, though, and Lex was pretty sure that meant he felt like his hunch was right.

They could figure it out later, trace out the evidence, see if there was any more correspondence, and Clark could do his Superman thing and be a super-fast vigilant. They'd figure out what had happened, and if the man was still out there....

The department would deal with it.

End

Where the Wild Roses Grow, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Eliza Day
Why they call me it I do not know
For my name was Eliza Day

From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one
She stared in my eyes and smiled
For her lips were the colour of the roses
That grew down the river, all bloody and wild

When he knocked on my door and entered the room
My trembling subsided in his sure embrace
He would be my first man, and with a careful hand
He wiped at the tears that ran down my face

They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Eliza Day
Why they call me that I do not know
For my name was Eliza Day

On the second day I brought her a flower
She was more beautiful than any woman I've seen
I said: "Do you know where the wild roses grow
So sweet and scarlet and free?"

On the second day he came with a single red rose
He said: "Give me your loss and your sorrow?"
I nodded my head, as I lay on the bed
"If I show you the roses will you follow?"

They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Eliza Day
Why they call me that I do not know
For my name was Eliza Day

On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he knelt above me with a rock in his fist

On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow
She lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief
And I kissed her goodbye, said "All beauty must die"
And I lent down and planted a rose between her teeth

They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Eliza Day
Why they call me it I do not know
For my name was Eliza Day

My name was Eliza Day...

For my name was Eliza Day....