Title: Good Questions
Author: Margaret Newman/Mererid
Rating: NC-17
Category: Drama, Angst, Humor, First Times
Spoilers: All episodes
Summary: He had no idea where he'd put it, but he was definitely keeping it. Bronzing it did seem a little extreme. He'd think of something.
Disclaimer: I am only borrowing the boys. I'm not making any money at this.
Notes: For the CLFF challenge, level 2) Light Level - 15,000 words in 30 days (30 pages in 30 days). It was more like 15,000 words in 5 days, but hey, I lived!
More notes: Challenges used: (1) When Lex visits Metropolis and goes out he overhears someone he knows talking about him. Mentioning how Lex is 'slumming' nowadays, hanging out with 'white trash' What does he do about it? (Willing Prey) (2) Clark and Lex make love for the first time, however, the "mating" triggers Clark's "alien" tendencies. What are they and how do Lex and Clark solve the problems that arise from Clark's newly emerged Kryptonian behaviors? (Lillian) (3) What if Clark were to strip for Lex? Bonus points to anyone who can pull that off as a First Time story... (kira-nerys)
Beta: CJM - a goddess!! This story would not exist if it weren't for her. I would have given up on the challenge and quit, but she insisted I keep going. Thanks, CJ!
Feedback: mereridkat@aol.com

GOOD QUESTIONS

Love is the answer. But while you're waiting for the answer, sex brings up some pretty good questions. --Woody Allen


It wasn't like he wanted to be here. This was his father's idea of a productive lunch. He had called last night, interrupting a perfectly enjoyable pool game with Clark, to inform Lex that he was needed in the city first thing in the morning. It had totally killed the evening for Lex. So here he was in good ol' Metropolis, stuck in meetings all day with his father, and a pre-arranged lunch with a prospective breeder. He would have hid in a closet if he could have found one. Instead he was in a stall of the men's bathroom.

It was amazing that such an expensive and trendy sushi restaurant would have such a small bathroom. The had individual stalls had entirely inadequate elbow room. He made a mental note to send the owner a letter of complaint.

The breeder - Portia Madsen by name - was nice enough, if you liked the kind. She was made up to a "t", reeking of some expensive perfume, bodice down to her navel and the hemline of her $2,000 designer dress up to her ass. She had touched him suggestively a couple times, doing her best to try and seduce him. Once on the arm, once brushing up against them as they were led to their table, and then once on the thigh. He couldn't wait to get home and shower.

It was amusing in a way, really. Not so long ago he wouldn't have cared. He would have wined and dined her, and then fucked her without so much as breaking a sweat. He wasn't sure who had said it first, but he had often used it in days long gone by - "I fuck women for business, and I fuck men for pleasure."

Not anymore. Not since a certain someone had been thrust into his life.

"…it factory. In the middle of a corn field, probably."

Two men came into the bathroom, and walked up to the short line of urinals. Lex couldn't see them, but he thought he recognized the first voice. It sounded like Tom Kurts.

"God! Lex in a corn field!" This one cackled in glee.

Yes, Tom Kurts and his faithful shadow, Drew Jolie. Tom's father was a real estate giant and Drew's family had one of the oldest and most successful pharmaceutical research companies in the country.

Lex hadn't seen them in some months. A couple years ago, they had been his partying pals. Any where he went, they went. Any thing he tried, they tried. Which was not, he thought ironically as he stood there in the stall, a point in their favor.

"I can't believe he's here eating lunch with the Porsche." Zippers went down, and the urinating commenced.

"Well, she has to suck up to Daddy if she wants to keep her trust fund flowing. Especially after that last trip to Mexico." Tom chuckled ruefully.

"Hey, better to get caught in bed with a couple Latin lovers than Lex escorting his white trash farm boy to that concert last month."

Lex’s spine stiffened. He quietly tucked himself back in and straightened his clothing.

“Latin lovers! She’ll be on antibiotics for months. At least the farm boy is something to look at from what I heard. Although, not Lex’s usual type.”

“Oh, please! Like Lex has a type! He’d fuck anything that’d hold still. Or let anything fuck him.” Zippers up. “Shit, Drew. You oughta know.”

“I was high! You damn well know that! Not like you ever minded as long as he was buying.” Drew grumbled, moving to wash his hands.

“I bet the Farm Boy don’t mind either.” Tom laughed raucously. “Probably got college paid for already.”

They left, the restroom door slamming shut behind them. He stood there for a moment counting to ten in Latin. He then calmly stepped out of the stall and walked up to the sinks. He washed his hands, grabbed a couple paper towels, and dried them. He hesitated only when he looked up at himself in the mirror.

A coldly furious young man stared back at him. He didn’t mind people raking him over the coals. He was used to it. What doesn’t kill you, etc…

But Clark, Clark didn’t deserve this, especially not from bottom feeders like Tom and Drew. He didn't want any of their filth touching the hem of Clark's jeans.

Lex closed his eyes, forcing himself to turn away. Remain calm at all times. Think clearly, think ahead. Control your temper, don't let it control you.

By the time Lex was done with Tom and Drew, they were going to be very, very sorry.

He walked out of the restroom and back into the restaurant proper smiling. The smile didn’t reach his eyes but that wasn’t unusual. The only time the smile reached his eyes these days was when Clark was near by. It would be questionable today even if Clark was within arm’s reach.

Tom and Drew glanced up as his shadow past their table. He nodded to them coolly. Drew shivered. He was the one who seen where Lex had come from. He glanced at Tom who simply shrugged like it was no big deal. It probably wouldn’t be for Tom, he wasn’t the one engaged, barely surviving on a trust fund.

After lunch, Lex escorted Ms. Madsen to her car. When she suggested they do something tonight, he declined. He would be busy this evening in Smallville.

Lex returned to the LutherCorp Towers, and to yet another meeting with his father. It was hard to concentrate, but Lex was a Luthor after all. He refused to worry about Clark, and whatever gossip was going on about them around the city. He refused to berate himself for bringing Clark into the city for that concert. Clark had thoroughly enjoyed himself, and Lex had had a chance to prove himself trust-worthy to the Kents. Not that it would last long with Mr. Kent, he realized that.

“Lex.” His father leaned back in his chair, watching his son. “If she was that fascinating, you should have gone back to her apartment.”

“She wasn’t and we won’t be going out again.” Lex stood. He was finished with this meeting. Everything that had been said so far could have been done through email or over the phone. He gathered his papers, and put them in his briefcase. Closed his laptop and unplugged it.

“I don’t recall adjourning the meeting.” Lionel arched an eyebrow at him.

“I didn’t ask.” Lex continued his movements, and turned to leave. “Email me the rest.”

“Lex.” Lionel warned him as he got to the door.

“I’m not marrying some breeder with the morals of a whore just to amuse you.” Lex set down his briefcase long enough to shrug on his jacket.

“I’d watch who I call a whore if I were you, Lex.” Lionel smirked.

“I never whored for money, Dad.” Lex smirked back. “I only whored to piss you off.”

He picked up his briefcase, and left.

-*-*-*-

Lex made one stop on his way out of Metropolis. He went to his penthouse suite. The Range Rover waiting for him in the driveway of the complex, engine running. He wasn't worried about it, knowing that the doorman would keep an eye on it. Up the elevator, to his private office, shoving aside the Jeff Palmer framed photograph of two naked men lying in bed. He opened the safe and withdrew a large file box. He took off the lid, and quickly thumbed through the collection of photographs -none of them worthy of Mr. Palmer- and found the file he wanted. He withdrew a couple good shots of two young men doing vulgar things to animals, and set them aside. He put the lid back on, put the box back in the safe, shut the safe, and re-settled the framed photograph.

Then Lex took out a manila envelope, quickly addressed it from memory, and stuck the two photos inside. He left the office, left the penthouse, and went back down the elevator. At the door of the complex, he pulled out a fifty from his wallet. He handed the money and the manila envelope to the doorman.

"See that this gets delivered, Rueben." He nodded to the doorman.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Luthor." Reuben shook his head agreeably. He would deliver the envelope himself as soon as his shift was over.

All the way back to Smallville, Lex contemplated his relationship with Clark. He knew how he felt about Clark. He knew what he wanted from Clark. He also knew that even if you are the richest man in the world, you don't always get what you want.

The most important thing to him was his friendship with Clark. Yes, certainly, he had plans for LexCorp and someday buying up LuthorCorp. He wasn't as driven about the presidency as most people thought. He knew he had way too many skeletons in his closet to be president. Besides, the president wasn't really the one ruling the country.

Those pictures that he had sent off to the Daily Planet of Tom and Drew… He had selected the only two pictures of that set that did not show him. He had been there at that party. He might not have had sex with a sheep or a dog, but he had been there partying right along everyone else. He had taken up residence in one of the bedrooms, and had sex with anyone who wanted a piece of Luthor ass. Male or female, he hadn't cared. The point had been to have sex with as many people as possible because he knew his father had monitors at the party.

At the time he had wanted everyone to know the details of his scandalous life. This meant that the details were out there for Clark to find or for someone to publish. Sure Clark knew he had had a wild youth, but Clark didn't know the half of it. 'Wild youth' was kind of a quaint idea compared to what he had done. What if Clark couldn't over look what he had done?

As he got closer to Smallville, his shoulders began to relax marginally. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he was accepted and liked in Smallville. It was simply that Smallville was Clark's home town. Where-ever Clark lived, Lex would always want to live near. If Clark loved Smallville and cared about the people who lived and worked there, then Lex would care too.

He shook his head at himself as he eased back on the speed a little as he aimed for the Smallville exit. He really had it bad for Clark if it reduced him to this… Thinking of Smallville as home. His father would certainly find it amusing.

And he had no intention of letting his father use it against him -or Clark, or his family. If Lex had to be the 'best friend' for the rest of his life, then he would. He would be the best damn best friend that ever existed.

He certainly thought he had points in that direction already. Hadn't he given Clark dating advice? On more than one occasion, thank you! Hadn't he suffered through Chloe's 4th of July party for Clark? He had even managed a half hour of torture at the Talon for Lana's Back to School bash. ((shudder))

When he came to the bridge -the bridge that had ended up giving him a whole new lease on life- he slowed down. Whenever the city council got around to replacing this bridge with something new, Lex was going to buy it. He had no idea where he'd put it, but he was definitely keeping it. Bronzing it did seem a little extreme. He'd think of something.

-*-*-*-

Lionel had many and varied ways of paying Lex back for leaving the meeting early. Lex had been expecting something. It was par for the course with his father. He didn't know when it would happen, but he knew it would. It was inevitable. Like taxes and blood tests and rain right after his Ferrari was washed.

Still, he hadn't expected the truck drivers that hauled the bags of finished product out of the manure factory to go on strike. He'd gotten a real quick lesson on his feet today about Unions and right-to-work states, and just what he had to do to get the drivers back in their trucks and moving.

So he came back to the castle later than usual with the highest intention of taking a long hot bath with a decanter of something alcoholic. He had a headache, a neck-ache, and even his feet were managing a good throb. His right hand felt mangled after all those bloody handshakes after things were sorted out. But something that Lionel was expecting to drag him under had only been a good 'life as a boss' lesson.

Yet this - he hadn't expected this. The reporter had been waiting in the den for him when he arrived back 'home'. He wasn't sure if Lionel was behind it or not, but if he didn't handle it perfectly, Lionel would hear about it and get involved. And he was damn tired of his father being involved in his personal life.

Lex hadn't even had a chance to change clothes or have a drink.

"So I came for a personal response from you, Mr. Luthor." The woman smiled at him determinedly. She had also supplied him with an edition of the Daily Planet that carried the front page story of the Kurts and Jolie scandal. They had even printed the photographs -on page two- with a bit of necessary distortion. Both families were furious, and the two young men were in a heap of trouble.

Evidently the animal rights activists that had been trying for years to get the Jolie Pharmaceuticals Company investigated were going to get their wish. Amazing what a simple photograph of a drunk young man fornicating with a dog can do.

"I'm sorry, Miss-"

"Ms., actually." She corrected Lex smoothly. "Call me Tanya, please. Now, Tom Kurts claims that you were at this same party. I haven't been able to speak with Drew Jolie. Apparently, he's out of town." She obviously didn't buy that excuse.

"I may have been at the same party, Ms. Daniels." Lex took a calming breath. "But that certainly does not mean I was engaged in the same activity. Or even witnessed it." He waved a hand at the paper.

"That's true, of course." She agreed. "I was hoping you could confirm or deny that such bestiality is common at the kind of parties that Mr. Kurts and Mr. Jolie attended. You've certainly been associated with them and their celebrations on more than one occasion. Now that you are a responsible working adult these days, I thought you might have more insight to such things. Mr. Jolie's family has had a long and heated battle with animal rights activists who say that their pharmaceutical company has tortured lab animals for years. This is just the sort of thing to turn the tide against the Jolie family company."

Lex stared at her for a moment. *I'm a responsible working adult?*

"I am not familiar with the Jolie family problems in regards to animal activists." Lex leaned back in his chair. "Yes, in my past, I partied with Tom and Drew. I went to Princeton with Drew's older brother. However, I have had no contact with them since I relocated to Smallville. We were never close friends."

"Did you know that Drew was engaged to Helena Richards Montgomery?"

"Was?"

"I doubt the engagement will last the day, Mr. Luthor. It is widely known to be an arrangement out of business necessity. I'm sure the Montgomery's won't want their angel marrying Drew Jolie after this." She pointed at the paper with her micro-recorder.

Lex chuckled humorlessly. "I've heard Hell called a lot of things, but 'angel' was not one of them."

"You dated her a couple times. Perhaps with Drew out of the way-"

"Trust me, Ms. Daniels. I have no designs on Hell myself. At least not the Richards-Montgomery version." He stood. "I think our discussion has taken up enough of my time."

"Lex?" Clark's voice came down the hallway. A second later, he was standing in the doorway. His black hair was disheveled as if he had been running all the way from the farm. Bits of corn silk were stuck to his jacket. His cheeks were rosy red and his eyes were gleaming brightly.

"Clark." Lex snapped his name. He could see Ms. Daniels' curiosity peak immediately.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were busy." Clark flinched, taking a step backwards.

"I was just leaving." Ms. Daniels spoke up. "Smallville certainly grows them healthy, eh Mr. Luthor?" She looked back at Lex and winked.

"Clark is from a local farm. He delivers his parents organic produce. Clark, this is Ms. Daniels from the Daily Planet in Metropolis." Lex set his jaw, and stepped around his desk.

"Ma'am." Clark stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Be careful driving back to the city. There is a storm coming in, and it looks pretty impressive. My dad says we're going to have an early blizzard this year."

"Thank you, Clark. And please, call me Tanya." She tried to hold his hand long after it was necessary. Clark snatched it back as if he had been scalded.

"Ms. Daniels is leaving, Enrique. Please escort her to her car." Lex said to his butler.

"Yes, sir." Enrique nodded. Clark quickly side-stepped out of the way.

"Bye, Clark. See you around." She grabbed up her purse, pocketed her recorder, and headed out of the room. She threw over her shoulder without looking back, "Thanks for your time, Mr. Luthor."

-*-*-*-

"I interrupted something." Clark nervously shifted from foot to foot. He had declined the offer to sit. "She seemed nice enough, but…" He shrugged, resisting the urge to wipe his hand on his jeans.

Lex was finally getting to pour himself a drink. No ice. Just straight up, 100 year old Scotch.

"But what, Clark? She smiled at you nice enough." Lex felt like a string on a too-tightly strung violin.

"Yeah, but it was the way she smiled at me." Clark shuddered. "Chloe called me and told me about the trouble at the plant today. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. According to Chloe, a lot of people were impressed with how you handled the situation."

"Really." It wasn't actually a question. Lex walked over and sat with a heavy sigh on couch. He took a drink, and held it in his mouth for a moment. "What else did Ms. Sullivan say?"

"Not much really. I mean, not about anything to do with the plant. She started complaining about the new English teacher that's taking over being editor of the newspaper, and I lost interest." He managed to settle down for a moment, and sit on the edge of the couch facing Lex. "I can't stay long. Mom had dinner almost ready, but I had to see you first."

"Well, as you can tell, I'm fine." He held his arms out as if to give Clark a good view. "I survived the crisis at work, and I handled Ms. Daniels. I'm going to have a very long, hot bath and a light dinner, and then I'm going to bed." He closed his eyes for a moment. Clark smelled like hay, fresh bread with an underlying hint of musky Clark-scent. One of these days, he was going to steal one of Clark's sweaty t-shirts and see if his friend Mimi in Paris could make him a cologne matching that scent.

"Alright." Clark stood, hands jammed into the pockets of his jacket. Lex opened his eyes in time to catch the look of concern on Clark's handsome features. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Clark." And for the first time all day, Lex smiled. "I'm fine. Are you still coming over tomorrow night? I got another box of newly released movies yesterday. You'll have your choice as usual."

"You bet, Lex!" Clark grinned back. He reached over, intending to lightly punch Lex's shoulder (a simple touch really, just to reassure himself that Lex was okay). Instead, his hand shifted, and he ended up touching Lex's left cheek with his fingertips. Lex froze, his eyes staring intensely up at Clark.

Clark snapped his hand back. "I-I better go."

"I'll see you tomorrow evening." Lex could just barely get his voice above a whisper.

"Okay." Clark nodded, but didn't move.

"Thank you for coming and checking on me."

"Uhm, yeah." Clark nodded again, still not moving.

"Your mother is waiting on dinner." Lex smiled slowly, gently. *See, Clark. I'm not shattering.*

"Right." Clark gave himself a shake. "Okay. Tomorrow."

"Always." Lex toasted him with his half empty glass. Clark blushed for some reason, and then he was gone.

Lex sat on the couch for a long time contemplating what had transpired.

-*-*-*-

Clark rushed home, collecting more corn silk along the way. He slowed down half way across the grassy yard, and just did a normal lope up the stairs and into the house. His parents were already sitting down at the table.

"Take your jacket off, dear." His mom smiled at him.

"So Lex is still all in one piece." Jonathan commented without looking up. His tone of voice had an edge to it. Clark winced internally, shrugging off his jacket and moving to sit down.

"Yes, he is." Clark said quietly as he sat. "He was just tired, and then there was a reporter asking him questions." He had so wanted to ask about what the reporter wanted, but he had kept his mouth shut. He didn't know anyone by the last name of Richards or Montgomery.

"Clark?" His mother tapped him on the arm. He glanced up, blinking. "Your father asked you a question."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." Clark glanced across the table at his father. There was a dark look in his father's eyes. He knew it had to do with Lex. Jonathan simply didn't like Clark being this close to a Luthor. If his father only knew how close he wanted to be…

"I said what did the reporter want? She didn't get your name, did she?" Jonathan frowned.

"I don't know. She was leaving when I walked in, and all she got was my first name." Then he heard his father's choice of pronoun. "How did you know the reporter was a woman?"

Martha's head snapped around at that. Jonathan looked at both of them very steadily.

"I was at the feed store when she stopped to ask directions." He shrugged. "I overheard her."

Clark's gaze dropped back to his plate full of food. He wasn't very hungry tonight. His nerves were all tied up in knots. Not even his mother's meatloaf could tempt him.

"Why can't people leave well enough alone?" Martha shook her head in disgust.

"Probably another scandal brewing. I don't think it's a good idea-"

"No!" Clark jumped up, knocking his chair backwards. "You can't forbid me to go over there. You already said tomorrow night was okay. You can't change your mind!"

"Clark!" Martha stood up, grabbing his arm. "Calm down, honey!"

"Clark Kent-" His father growled, remaining seated.

"Jonathan! Not at dinner. He hasn't even had a bite." Martha implored her husband.

"I can't eat. My stomach hurts. I'm going out to the barn." Clark carefully shrugged off his mother's arm, and ran out of the house. He was up in the Fortress of Solitude before the kitchen door had slammed shut.

"You can't make him stop seeing Lex. Jonathan, we've talked about this. That only makes it worse." Martha picked up Clark's chair before sitting back down. She sighed, realizing she didn't feel like eating either. So she stood back up, collecting plates and silverware. "The more you try to run Lex down the more you hurt Clark and in the end, push him away."

"He's my son. I'm only trying to protect him." Jonathan watched Martha as she scraped one plate onto the other. "He has other friends."

"Not like Lex. When was the last time he went off with Pete and Chloe to the movies? Do you remember? It's been over a month. Lex is the only constant in his life. Lex is his best friend whether you like it or not. You are going to tear Clark apart if you keep this up." Martha shook her head. "I know you mean well, Jon. I do. It's just that Clark is at a very fragile time of his life. It has to be doubly-so for him, considering."

*Considering.* Jonathan sighed. He finished eating his dinner in silence as Martha started in on the evening dishes.

-*-*-*-

He stood in the center of the loft shivering. He wasn't cold. He didn't get sick. But he felt like crap, his stomach felt like it was full of acid, and he couldn't stop trembling. He held a hand out, watching it shake, willing it to stop -and it didn't.

*Calm down* he told himself. *Everything will be fine.*

He closed his eyes and the first picture that sprang to life on the big screen in his mind was Lex. Lex Luthor in Techni-color and THX surround sound. Lex sitting on the couch looking exhausted, but smiling up at him. He could feel the texture of Lex's cheek on his fingertips and rubbed his thumb over the tips repeatedly. Sense memory. How fine Lex's skin always felt. How warm and silky. How very soothing to him. The way Lex smelled -not that he was smelly. It was his scent, that underlying Lex-ness despite the expensive soap and colognes.

In the middle of his loft, Clark inhaled deeply and all he could smell was Lex.

Spicey, subtle, rich, warm, musky, addictive. Smell-o-vision.

The trembling didn't stop. It got worse, and Clark was scared. His clothes felt heavy and grated on his skin. He was naked within a blink of an eye, clothes thrown every where, kneeling on the floor, leaning against the old couch, panting. His hands traveled shakily over his body, finding sensitive spots like his nipples. Over his abs, around his navel, and back up. When he lightly ran his fingertips over his nipples, shots of lightning coursed through his blood veins right down to his groin. He tried again, this time plucking at one. The charge that went through him made his breath catch.

Reaching down with his right hand, he took hold of his penis and gave it an ever so gentle stroke. Nothing. No lightening. No sizzle.

It wasn't the first time he had tried masturbating what he considered the 'normal, human male way'. It wasn't the first time his penis had not reacted. The current still throbbed through his body; it just seemed that his penis was not involved. There was nothing on the internet about this. No 'alien sex questions' website.

So he touched the place where he had always found pleasure -his balls.

Clark gasped at the touch, the sensation overwhelming, doubling him over so that his forehead pressed into the couch cushion. His right hand held his balls, kneading gently all the while he shook and sweated and croaked out moans. The ball sac swelled. A pulse point directly behind the sac throbbed maddeningly. Clark felt like he was going to die.

His left hand played feebly at his nipples, creating continuing currents of electricity. His right hand grasped the swelling sac harder, pulling and stroking with more determination. His hips thrust forward, and his index finger pressed into the pulse point.

Clark's body stiffened, his spine arching. It seemed to last for hours, but it was mere seconds. 5, 6, 7, 8 and Clark sucked in a tremendous breath of air, the sound echoing throughout the loft. He collapsed on the floor beside the couch, curling in around himself.

He fell asleep and drifted on clouds for the longest time. He could still hear Lex's voice, "I'll see you tomorrow evening."

I'll *see* you tomorrow evening. *I'll* see *you* tomorrow evening.

It was almost as if Lex were here. He knew later he would wake up and have an anxiety attack. But for now, he floated in a private little Lexian world all his own.

-*-*-*-

Hardly more than a half hour later, Clark stretched and bumped into something. He frowned up at the offending couch, glanced around the loft before looking down the length of his body. Naked. Oh. Right.

Clark sat up slowly, feeling a little sore and a bit tired. His stomach gurgled. *Now he was hungry.*

He rubbed a hand down his abdomen. Interesting how when he read about sex on the internet, and even in some of his mother's racier romance novels, they always talked about the man's ejaculate. Come, cum, load, wad, spunk. Whatever. When he came, a man's penis spewed forth a milky white substance. He had even over heard conversations at school about it. Wiping off on a t-shirt, a girl's dress, tissues.

When Clark came or had an orgasm -and as far as he knew, that's what was happening- he never came like that. There was never any ejaculate. His body was covered with sweat, but there was never a messy substance to clean up.

This worried him for this was yet another mark of his alien-ness. Obviously, his biological parents' sexual organs functioned differently. Unfortunately for Clark, they hadn't left him a manual.

His penis didn't react sexually. Not when he thought of Lana or Chloe or Sarah Michelle Gellar. Not even when he thought of Lex. His penis did not swell, did not get red, and did not spew come.

His hand shifted down to check on his balls, and jerked his hand back. His fingers were slimy wet, but it wasn't a milky white substance. It was more like a clear jelly. He pulled his penis up with his other hand, and looked down at his testes.

The swelling hadn't quite gone down yet. That seemed to happen more and more. They were large, a deep purple color and still very sensitive to touch. Carefully, he reached down and carefully poked with one finger. A clear jelly oozed out the top of a seam that he had never noticed before. It ran half way down the sac, and stopped. It was tender, but it wasn't that painful. There wasn't any blood. There was no pink hue to the jelly.

If he had ruptured something, wouldn't there be blood?

If he had ruptured something, wouldn't he be in pain?

If he ever met up with his biological parents, he was going to give them a piece of his mind.

"Clark? Son, come back to the house. Your mother and I want to speak with you." His father called up the stairs.

-*-*-*-

How he got dressed again, he wasn't sure. His clothes didn't seem to fit right. His skin didn't even feel right. Like he had been stretched out of shape, and it had re-settled wrong. He walked back to the house at normal speed. He stumbled going up the steps, losing his balance, catching himself just in time.

His mother took one look at him, and pronounced him sick.

"I'm not sick, Mom." He shook his head. "I don't get sick, remember?"

"Well, something is wrong." She wanted to feel his forehead, but he pulled away when she stepped close.

"Clark?" She looked up at him uncertainly.

"I just feel," He shrugged, "kind of disconnected. I don't know. Can I go to bed now?"

"Not yet, son." Jonathan motioned to the table. "Sit down, we want to talk to you about Lex."

"Please, I…" Clark swallowed. "I can't sit right now. I don't want to talk about Lex. I know you hate him. He's still my friend."

"I don't hate him." Jonathan ground his teeth. "I just don't… I don't like him having so much influence over you. He's a-"

"I know the drill, Dad. He's a Luthor. All Luthors are evil." He rubbed his chest, feeling like something was on fire inside of him. He was tired of his dad running down Lex. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I don't. Lex isn't his dad. Anymore than I'm you. I'm my own person. You can bad mouth Lex all you want, but he's still my friend. He is always going to be my friend."

"I understand that." Jonathan nodded his head jerkily. "I don't have to like it."

"No, you don't." Clark eyes locked on to him. "I care for Lex a lot. He understands me when no one else does. He's always there for me. Not Pete, not Chloe, and not even you. You have the farm and mom to worry about. You can't forbid me to see Lex."

"Clark." Martha reached out to touch his arm. He had his usual flannel shirt and t-shirt combination on, but she did manage to touch skin. His skin was incredibly hot. "You're burning up!"

"No, I'm not!" Clark jumped back away from her. "I'm just- I'm always warmer than you! I not human, remember? I'm an alien. I think I'm going through some puberty thing. Not that my real parents left me any instructions!" His voice got louder as he went on, ending in a shout. He turned on Jonathan. "You can hate Lex! But I love him! You can't stop the way I feel about him!"

On that, he whirled around and shot up the stairs to his bedroom. He slammed the door so hard, that the wood creaked. The screws pulled half way out of the hinges. He'd have to pry it open in the morning for certain.

Clark flopped down on his back on his bed, flinging an arm over his eyes. It felt like every cell in his body was on fire. Pulsing and throbbing and itching. After a moment, he couldn't stand it, and stripped off his clothes. He lay naked on his bed, his skin taking forever to cool off, and he half crying.

He hated yelling at his parents, and already the wave of guilt was washing over him. He knew he'd apologize in the morning. But right now, he couldn't. Right now all he could do was burn and ache for Lex, and be the loneliest person in the world.

-*-*-*-

Clark was up, dressed and fixing his bedroom door when Martha first shuffled out of their bedroom the next morning. He smiled at her sheepishly.

"Good morning, sweetie." She smiled as she past him, patting his back. "Do you feel better this morning?"

"A little." He nodded, opening and closing the door a few times to make sure it worked okay. He put his father's tools away, and joined his mother in the kitchen.

"I'd like to apologize about last night." He began tentatively.

"You have nothing to apologize for." She reassured him. "Marshmallows?" She was making him a cup of hot chocolate.

"Sure." Clark watched as she dropped a handful of mini-marshmallows into his hot chocolate, and then she paused to grab a few more to pop into her mouth. She always did that, every time she made hot chocolate. She wouldn't eat them by themselves. It could only be legal when she made him hot chocolate.

"We forget sometimes that you aren't human, that you aren't our biological son." Martha sat down beside him. "It stands to reason that your body would go through different changes than a human boy - young man - would. I only wish that we knew more, that we could help you."

"You do help. By understanding." Clark reassured her. Jonathan's footsteps came down the stairs.

"Door fixed?" He asked, moving across the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Yes, sir." Clark stared at his Grumpy mug. His Aunt Kate, his mother's older sister, had gotten it for him at Disneyland several years ago. "I'm sorry I lost my temper last night…"

"I didn't handle myself very well either." Jonathan conceded. He stood near the table, not wanting to sit this time, and watched his wife and son. He already had his jacket on, work gloves stuck in the pockets. "I don't like Lex, and yes, that's mainly because he is a Luthor. He will always be a Luthor. You'll always be my son, and I'll always try to protect you. But I know that I can't. I can't decide for you who will be your friends. I can't decide for you what path your life will take. I can only hope the best for you, and be here when you need me."

Martha looked up at Jonathan, smiling slightly. She knew he was trying to accept the situation, but she wished he would relax more. If he kept shoving Clark away from Lex, Clark would eventually shove back or run. She didn't think she could handle losing Clark.

"You're young yet. Your body is changing. Lex may be your best friend this year, but next year or in five years time… who knows?" Jonathan shrugged one shoulder. The implication being that Clark's words held no ground. Martha didn't have to look at Clark to feel him bristle. "There was a time, not too long ago, when you had a bad crush on Lana. Then I know you were interested in Chloe for a while. So the biggest constant in your life right now is change." He shrugged again. "I don't like Lex, and I don't approve of him as your friend, but I won't forbid you to see him. If I did, it would be to protect you."

Before Clark could say anything, Martha patted his arm, saying, "You go tonight, and have a good time. But I want you home by midnight, okay?" At least he didn't feel as hot as he did last night.

"Yes, ma'am." He was still staring at Grumpy. He very carefully let go of the mug, letting it sit safely on the table. It hurt deeply that his father held his feelings in such light regard.

"Now, I had better get started on breakfast. I think you'll need extra helpings this morning, Clark." She stood up and went to the freezer to pull out a pound of bacon. "I should have started this thawing last night."

"Stick it in the oven like you did last time." Jonathan suggested helpfully. He totally missed the tension in every line of Clark's body.

"Don't you two have chores to do?" Martha laughed, hoping that some regular activity would calm things down. "Cows to milk, chickens to feed."

"Yes, ma'am." Jonathan set down his coffee cup on the table. "Come on, son. Let's get the day started."

-*-*-*-

Nothing was said about Clark's out burst of "loving" Lex. He had expected his father to make some belittling comment, but Jonathan said nothing. They went on about their chores as they always did; quietly with maximum efficiency. They ate breakfast the same as they always did. Clark didn't eat as much as Martha expected, and he saw the worry in her eyes. He couldn't do anything about it. His stomach was still upset, and the thought of another bite made him gag.

He caught the school bus the same as he always did. He sat with Chloe while Pete sat in front of them, sitting sideways so that he could talk to them. Classes were the same, too, except that he had forgotten to study for an English test. He did well enough on it, but he wouldn't get an 'A' this time.

At lunch time, he went off to the library to study. Only he didn't really study. His books were out, and he scribbled in a notebook, but his thoughts continually led him back to a) Lex and b) his body.

He knew he had deep feelings for Lex. He cared very much about Lex's welfare, about his happiness. He also knew that he was happiest when in Lex's presence. The lightest, most unintended touch could burn on his skin for days.

Like last week when he had caught Lex in the middle of a boxing work out. Lex had asked him for water, and Clark had fetched two bottles out of the small refrigerator tucked into a corner of the gym. When Clark had handed it to him, their fingers had brushed.

He had lain in bed that night with his hand clasped into a fist, pressed against his chest. He remembered every word Lex had said, every movement Lex's supple body had made while cooling down. His body had vibrated with every nuance of sound, touch and scent yet he had not done anything about it. His creaky bed kept any sort of intimate activity at a bare minimum.

Clark wasn't sure that Lex returned his feelings. He didn't really even know if Lex "swung" that way. His way. It wasn't like he had ever seen Lex with another guy. Lex had always dated girls -rich, expensive girls. Some his father had sent, some Lex found on his own.

It wasn't like he hadn't caught Lex looking at him from time to time. Because he *had* caught looks from Lex; interesting, intense looks that no one had ever sent his way before. Never from Lana or Chloe -or anyone else he could think of. They were the same kind of looks that his parents had exchanged when they didn't think he was paying attention. Or the way Whitney had sometimes stared at Lana.

He wanted to know. No, he needed to know, and it had to be tonight. Did Lex want him? Could they be more than simply best friends?

Which brought him back to b): his body.

Okay, so what if Lex did want him that way? Sexually. They could hold hands. They could kiss. But someone like Lex, someone as experienced as him, would probably want more. He had grown up in the city after all, he had gone clubbing long before he had been of legal age. And even Lex hinted at his dark past.

How could Clark explain that his penis didn't really work like a human penis, and how could he explain his strange scrotum with the slight split and the clear jelly stuff oozing out?

He was so caught up in the "hows" and "what ifs" that he missed the bell for next period, and had to run when Mrs. Scott came by and rapped her knuckles on the table.

"Earth to Mr. Kent."

*Yeah, right.*

-*-*-*-

Clark was set to run home after the last bell, but Chloe and Pete dragged him off to the Talon for "one cup of coffee, honest". On the way, Chloe got into her tirade about the new editor for the newspaper and he and Pete had fun making fun of her. It did a great job of relaxing Clark, and for a moment, he felt like everything might be okay.

That was until they entered the Talon, and he caught sight of the female reporter that had been at Lex's the day before. What was she still doing around? She smiled at him, raising her mug of coffee to him in acknowledgement.

They sat down at their usual table, and Lana hurried over. She made a point of standing between Clark and the reporter.

"She's been asking questions, Clark." Lana hissed at him, pretending to be taking their order. "I called Lex from the back room. He's on his way over."

"What kind of questions?" Chloe frowned, wondering.

"About a Luthor, what do you think." Pete snorted, rolling his eyes.

"About Clark." Lana nearly growled at Pete. "About his friendship with Lex."

*shit*

"Okay, two café lattes and a regular Coke coming right up." Lana said with an attempt at normal perkiness and tapped her pad, and bounced off.

Chloe carefully checked the woman out as unobtrusively as she could. "What's her name, Clark?"

"Tanya Daniels." He was staring a hole through the table top. "She was at Lex's yesterday. I thought she went back to the city."

"She's probably sniffing around for a story." Chloe paused thoughtfully. "She works at the Daily Planet, doesn't she? I think she does stories for the society page. There was a big scandal last month about some little rich bitch who got caught in bed with some Mexican hustlers. I think she wrote the story. I'd have to check my files on my computer to be sure." She blinked a couple times, turning her gaze to Clark. "Has Lex ever mentioned a Tom Kurts or a Drew Jolie to you?"

"No." Clark shook his head. "I've never heard of them."

"Hmm." The look in Chloe's eyes made both Clark and Pete nervous. She got up, smiling brightly, and headed over to Tanya Daniels table. "Hi! My name is Chloe Sullivan. Aren't you a reporter for the Daily Planet? I want to be a reporter when I graduate. My uncle Joe is a reporter in Gotham. He's always telling me about the life of a reporter…"

Pete and Clark exchanged looks. Ms. Daniels was in for a ride.

-*-*-*-

When Lex arrived, Chloe was still talking to her. He nodded to Clark, and then walked back behind the counter to talk with Lana. Clark watched them, he had to. He could see Lex whisper to Lana,

"It will be fine. I'll take care of it."

"I didn't know what else to do. I don't like the way she smirks when she says Clark's name." Lana shot the woman a look over her shoulder. "I don't like the way she says your name."

"You did the right thing, Lana." Lex glanced over at Clark. "Thank you."

Chloe finally came back, smiling big and laughing like some airhead teen-ager. "Tanya is going to send me an application for an internship at the Daily Planet! I'm so excited. She's a society reporter now, but she's trying to break into meatier stuff. Just like my Uncle Joe says, a reporter is only as good as her story. Or his."

Lex poured himself a cup of coffee, and headed over to Ms. Daniels table.

"Lex." She smiled up at him.

"Ms. Daniels. Did you have car trouble?" He sat down across from her.

"No, I decided to take a day or two off and relax a little. Smallville is such a quaint little place. Reminds me of my childhood, going to visit Grandpa and Grandma at the holidays." She stirred her coffee, and took a sip.

"How charming." He didn't smile. "I have no such childhood memories. Being a Luthor."

"You spent your holidays at home studying, I imagine. At least, before you got into partying in your teens." She glanced out the window at his car. "It must be very strange for you, living here. Your car costs more than most people in this town make in a life time. No clubs and a rather pitiful party scene from what I can tell."

"We have other excitements here." He shrugged one shoulder.

"Waiting for daddy to call you back to the city?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

"No, not really." He leaned back in his chair. "But your daddy -or should I call him 'boss'?- will be calling you any moment now."

"Really?" She laughed, pulled out her cell phone and laid it on the table. When the phone rang, she could not stop the small jump. It was her editor. As she listened to his lecture, she shot Lex a glower. It ended with a "yes, sir."

"Happy, Mr. Luthor?" She took one last swig of her coffee. "I have to be back in the city tonight or I lose my job."

"Happy, Ms. Daniels? Very rarely. Being the son of Lionel Luthor isn't about happiness. It's about survival." He sat at the table until she was gone, and then he left without looking at Clark.

-*-*-*-

Lana brought over their drinks, and sat down beside Clark. When he tensed as if to stand up and follow after Lex, Lana laid her hand on his arm.

"Don't, not yet." She said softly. "Wait."

"You don't want her to be lingering, and catch sight of you following after Lex." Chloe whisper-hissed at him.

"Oh, please." Pete rolled his eyes, and then he yelped. Chloe had kicked him under the table.

"Tom Kurts and Drew Jolie are party boys in the city." Chloe continued to explain. "They used to run with Lex back in his wild days. Very rich boys, but not as rich as Lex. Anyway, my cousin Sofie works as a bartender at one of the clubs. She was telling me about how this reporter got in with a group of them. Parties with them. She's the one that leaked the story about Portia Madsen waking up in bed with those male prostitutes down in Mexico. She ended up with like three different VD's. Seems that Tom Kurts had tried to bed her once, and she had refused him. So Tanya leaking the story was a bit of revenge on his part."

"That's terrible." Lana shook her head. "If that's city life, I'll stick to Smallville, thank you."

"Oh, it's not all like that." Chloe waved her hand. "Rich kids like them are always getting into some sort of trouble. It goes with the territory."

"What a slut." Pete grimaced and yelped again. "What?!"

"If I said that a guy woke up in bed with three prostitutes you'd say, 'way to go, dude!' Just because it's a woman, you call her a slut." She slammed her coffee mug down. "If you still want to go out tonight, you had better watch your mouth."

"I'm sorry?" Pete replied meekly.

-*-*-*-

They made Clark wait for nearly a half hour before letting him go. His instincts yelled for him to run right to the castle, but he didn't. He forced himself to go home first. Do his chores. Change his shirt. Smile as his mom handed him a plate of cookies to take with him.

"Take the truck, Clark. We don't want Lex suspicious about how fast you make it to the castle." She told him, handing him the truck keys.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded dutifully.

Depending on how it went tonight, there might not be too many mysteries left for Lex to ponder.

"Clark…" Her voice stopped him at the door. He glanced back at her. She was smiling at him gently. "We love you, you know. Your father does, really. It's just that we… well, we worry about you. I'm sure every parent worries, but you're special, Clark. Not because you fell from the sky, but because you are our only son. We want the best for you." She walked over to him, straightened his shirt, running her hands down his arms.

"I know, Mom." He smiled slightly, wistfully. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, too."

"Get going, will you! Or the sniffles will start. And you don't want that." She poked him in the ribs. "Be careful. The weather looks bad. Your father is convinced we're going to have a blizzard. Remember to be home by midnight."

"I will, I will." He smiled more brightly, and headed off.

He felt her eyes on him until the truck was out of sight.

By the time he got to the castle, he was all nerves again. He sat in the truck in the driveway until Lex came out to him.

"If you want to cancel tonight, I'll understand." Lex told him, standing near the driver's door. "I'm sorry about the reporter showing up at the Talon."

"You don't, you can't control everything, Lex. Though I'm sure you'd like to. World domination and all that." He shot Lex a bit of a grin. "Chloe says Tanya Daniels is connected to Tom Kurts. Do you know a Portia Madsen? Evidently, Tanya leaked a story about her as a sort of revenge of Tom's."

They stared at each other for a few minutes.

"I have a rather wild past, Clark. I've done things, things that…"

"We all have our regrets." Clark pulled the keys out of the ignition and picked up the plate of cookies. "We all have our secrets. You know I have secrets too."

"Yes." It was said quietly and without any inflection.

Clark waited for the questions that would follow, and wondered how he would answer, but Lex said nothing. He just stood and looked at Clark with warmth in his eyes.

Finally Clark held up the plate for Lex to see. "I have cookies for dessert. Mom made them. These are those sugar cookies you liked so much last time."

"I love your mother." Lex grinned and held out his hands.

"I'll let her know." Clark chuckled, handing the plate through the driver's window. Then he got out of the truck. "My dad might not like it."

"He'll survive." Lex carried the cookies inside and Clark followed along behind. "So you *are* staying?"

"Unless of course, you and the cookies would like to be alone." Clark stood in the doorway, hands shoved into his jeans pockets.

"Kent, get your ass in here." Lex growled over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Luthor, sir."

-*-*-*-

They settled in the media room. Lex snitched a couple cookies while Clark thumbed through the dvd selection.

"What's for supper?" Clark asked, glancing over at Lex. He was sitting on the floor, back resting against the huge leather couch, eyes closed with a mouthful of cookie. He washed it down with a sip of wine before replying.

"What do you feel like?"

"I don't know, I haven't been hungry lately." Clark shrugged.

"Are you sick?" Lex frowned.

"I don't get sick." Clark laughed humorlessly. "I think its nerves or something. Just been kind of," he shrugged, "you know, lately."

"Maybe something light, then. Like soup and sandwiches." He had learned when Clark was troubled, comfort food was usually best. "I'll see what Mrs. Bogdon can come up with."

"You can leave the cookies, Lex. I won't steal any." Clark didn't even look up. He knew Lex had the plate with him.

"I don't know." Lex frowned at the broad back. "Can I trust you?"

"You know you can." Clark replied, "If you can't trust me, Lex, who can you trust?"

"Good point." Lex nodded, setting the cookies back down on the end table.

"Nineteen."

"What?"

"You ate two. Nineteen are left."

"Pick the damn movie, Kent." Lex sighed, shaking his head.

-*-*-*-

She sat in the car and contemplated her next move. She was damned if she was leaving Smallville without getting something on Lex Luthor. When the Kent boy drove off in the truck, obviously heading for the Luthor manor, she made her decision.

She drove up the driveway to the Kent farm house, keeping an eye out for dogs. She hated dogs and most backwater places like this had dogs all over the damn place. She parked the car, checked her make up, and got her micro-recorder. She turned it on before tucking it into her jacket pocket.

Mrs. Kent was standing on the porch when she got out of her Mustang.

"Hello, Mrs. Kent?" Tanya walked up to the steps. "I'm Tanya Daniels, from the Daily Planet."

"Hello, Ms. Daniels." Martha nodded, "How can I help you?"

"Actually, I was thinking I could help you." Nice smile, not too big. Blink, blink. "It's about Alexander Luthor. Lex."

"Really?" Martha smiled sweetly. "Why don't you come inside, Ms. Daniels. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Kent. That would be lovely."

Martha showed Tanya into the living room. There were photos of Clark all over.

"This is your son, Clark?" Tanya pointed at a portrait Martha had done of him at twelve for her photography class.

"Yes, it is." Martha answered, picking the picture up from the mantelpiece. "He's nearly as tall as his father now. They grow so fast. Do you have any children, Ms. Daniels?"

"Oh, no! Not with my job. Being a reporter for a paper like the Daily Planet doesn't give one much time for a social life much less a family." Tanya kept the shudder to herself. She had no intentions of ever birthing a child.

"You know Lex's mother died when he was young. I often wonder what kind of young man he would have grown up to be if his mother had lived." She put the picture down, and turned to Tanya. "If you are here to scare me with stories about his life in Metropolis, you're wasting your time."

"Your son spends a great deal of time with Lex. They are already gossiping about him in the city." Tanya countered. "Or perhaps you don't mind him being called Lex's 'boytoy'? Maybe that's how you are able to keep the farm going. It wouldn't be the first such arrangement in history."

"I was born in the city, Ms. Daniels. When I married my husband and came to live on his family farm, I had a lot of things to learn." She stepped towards Tanya. "I had to adjust. But there is one thing I don't miss about city life. And that's people like you. I don't take well to you calling my son a whore, and I can assure you, my husband won't either. Would you like to ponder Lex's reaction?"

"I'm sorry you aren't interested in my help, Mrs. Kent." Tanya sniffed, and found herself stepping backwards quickly. She had angry Martha in her face.

"I'm not interested in anything a mean-minded, self centered bitch like yourself has to say. You aren't interested in helping me. You came out here to see what fun you could have with the little farm wife. The little farm wife isn't stupid. I know you're digging for scum on Lex. You think you can scare me by dragging my son into it. News flash, *Ms. Daniels*. Go back to the city and the bed you crawled out of. Now. Don't come out here again."

Jonathan was coming in as Ms. Daniels ran out. Her face was red, her lips set in a thin line, and she visibly shook. Jonathan watched her stomp out to her car before going into the house.

"Martha?" He walked through the living room into the kitchen. She was on the phone. The look in her eye did not bode well for whoever had ticked her off.

"Hi, this is Martha Kent. Is Darlene still in the office? Thanks." She put her hand over the mouthpiece. "Dinner is going to be a little late."

"No problem." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders.

"Hi, Darlene. It's Martha. I'm fine, and you? How's Helen? That's great. Look, Darlene, I have a favor to ask…"

-*-*-*-

They ate grilled cheese sandwiches with cups of steaming New England style clam chowder. Clark could usually guzzle down a quart of milk. Tonight he managed a glass and a half. He ate slowly, and Lex noticed how he seemed distracted from the movie. Clark was a movie zombie -Lex could hardly get a word out of him when a movie was playing. He even liked reading the credits at the end.

So when Lex timed Clark at 4 minutes 27 seconds of staring off into space instead of at the screen, he turned off the movie. It took 17 seconds of silence for Clark to catch on.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" Clark looked around at his friend.

"You weren't watching. You haven't been paying attention for most of the movie. Do you want to watch something else? Or are you going to start talking to me?" Lex leaned back against the couch, controller clutched in one hand.

"No, I-" Clark looked away. "No, I…" Geez. He closed his eyes, trying to get words to form.

"Is it the reporter? She's worried you, hasn't she?" Lex stood up, intending to get himself a fresh drink. Clark reached up and grabbed his fingertips.

"Please, don't… I…" Clark sighed. "It's not her. It's me."

Lex stared down at him. Then he tossed the controller onto the couch, and sat back down facing Clark.

"You know you can tell me anything. Ask me anything." He kept a hold of Clark's hand. "What's wrong?"

"It's complicated." Clark sighed again, closing his eyes. Opening them again to stare at Lex. "Like we said before: you have your secrets. I have mine. I know you see things, notice things about me. I promised my parents I wouldn't tell anyone. Pete knows some stuff, but he doesn't know everything. And I think he's kind of blocked it out of his mind."

"You're a mutant." Lex cocked his head, watching the handsome face before him. Clark smiled ruefully.

"I wish that were it. That would be simple."

"What's worse than being a mutant?" Lex frowned.

"Being an alien from another planet whose spaceship brought the meteors along with it." Clark waited, watching Lex's face. His hairless eyebrows rose and he blinked rapidly.

"Clark? Is this a game? Pull Lex's leg time?" He started to get angry, but he saw the fragility in Clark's eyes and stopped. "You are serious."

"Yes." Clark nodded once. "My dad will be pissed that I told you. But I had to, Lex. I- I…" He took a deep breath. "You'd think I could say anything after the alien part."

"You can trust me, you know. But you have to promise me not to say anything to anyone else. If this got into the wrong hands. My god, Clark! Do you realize what could happen?" Lex stood up again, dropping Clark's hand and pacing. "My father would have you in a lab so fast… No wonder your father hates our friendship. He probably thinks I'd sell you out in an instant…"

"I love you, Lex." Clark whispered, staring down at his hands.

"That reporter, if she had seen something…!" He whirled towards Clark. "Spaceship! Are there others? Are you alone? Are your parents…"

"I love you, Lex." He repeated it, saying it a little louder this time. "I realize I've only ever seen you with women. I'm sure I don't have a chance. But I… I just had to say it."

"What?" Lex stopped dead in his tracks. He took a breath, held it, and then released it slowly. He walked back over to their pile of cushions and pillows, and sat down once again, facing Clark. He took Clark's hands in his. "Say that again please. I'm getting old, I don't hear so well anymore."

Clark's lips twitched in a smile. "I love you. I think I have for a long time. I just had to work things out. Only it seems to get more complicated." He thought of his body, and winced.

"Yes, it is quite complicated, but maybe not as much as you think." Lex conceded. He squeezed Clark's hands. "I love you, too, Clark. From the moment I woke up on the river bank, onward."

They sat in silence for several minutes.

"But do you even like guys, you know, sexually? I know you like women. I know you've done more, seen more, and really, I'm not in your league. I just know that I'm happy when I'm with you. I can relax more with you than anyone else."

"That could just be the sign of a great friendship." Lex said softly.

"No." Clark shook his head. "I- I dream about you. Being with you. Stuff."

"Stuff?" Lex couldn't help the smile that curved his lips.

"I know, I'm a dork." Clark glanced up at him. "Kissing. I think you must be a great kisser. You have amazing lips."

"I think about your lips, too." Lex released one hand to touch an index finger Clark's top lip. "What else do you dream about? With me?"

"Touching." Clark swallowed nervously. "Lots of touching. I dream about getting your clothes off of you, and you let me touch you."

"In ancient times," Lex stroked Clark's cheek, "men being lovers was not considered a taboo. It was with the onslaught of Christianity, that homosexuality was deemed a sin against God and society."

"Only with Lex Luthor do I get a history lecture in the middle of confessing my deep, dark secrets." Clark teased.

Lex cocked smirked, "Is that a hint?"

"No!" Clark backpeddled, "I mean- I just- this isn't Greece or Rome, Lex. This is us."

Lex took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Okay then, a few years ago, my great revenge against my father was to have sex with anyone I could. Male, female. It didn't matter. And, much to my chagrin, my father didn't care. Ever have stitches up your ass because you ruptured something? I don't recommend it." Lex saw Clark wince at his words. "He keeps sending me women. Breeder candidates, I call them. Love has nothing to do with it. People like me don't get to marry for love. We marry for business. Pleasure is something you get from a lover."

They stared at each other.

"You have to think seriously about this, Clark. Being seen with me could be very bad for you, and your family. Your father certainly wouldn't approve."

"I'm my own person. I have to make my own choices. It wouldn't be easy. I know that."

Lex got up without a word, left the room, and then came back with the newspaper that Daniels had left. He opened it to the second page with the blurry pictures.

"See this? I was at this party. I didn't fuck the animals. You could say that's one kink I'm not into. My kink was always the pretty boys with the fuckable mouths." Lex tapped the paper. "While they were doing this, I had a bed in the house. I lost count how many people went through that night, but I do remember the stitches the next morning. Anal tears are very delicate, easily infected."

Lex closed his eyes as if waiting for the shot that would end his life. As if Clark would be the last thing he ever saw.

"So? This is supposed to turn me away from you?" Clark folded up the paper and tossed it aside. "That was the old Lex Luthor." He reached over, took a hold of Lex's head until his friend was looking at him, then pulled him close. "This is the new Lex Luthor."

They kissed. The ground didn't move. Clark's heart did not stop beating. His nose got in the way, and their teeth clicked.

"Gently." Lex hissed, pulling back a little. "This isn't football."

"Sorry." Clark blushed.

Lex leaned in and sucked on Clark's bottom lip. With the tip of his tongue, he traced Clark's lips before delving inside for a real taste.

"I was right." Clark gasped as he fell backwards against the side of the couch. Lex was panting too.

"About. What?"

"You." Clark grinned lopsidedly. "Are a good kisser."

"Idiot." Lex snorted. "Come here."

They kissed some more. Lex discovered that Clark was ticklish right behind his earlobes. Clark found that Lex liked having his nipples teased. They lay side by side for a long time, holding each other and touching.

"You are serious about the alien thing." Lex finally commented.

"Yes." Clark shivered. He tried to pull away but Lex wouldn't let go. "My dad hid the spaceship. It was empty except for me. We don't know anything about where I come from or anything."

"Well, you seem human enough. Taste human…" Lex frowned as Clark forcefully pulled away. "What's wrong?"

"That's the thing." Now it was Clark's turn to stand and pace. "I seem human enough. I look human. I eat the same foods. But…"

"So you are stronger." Lex said matter-of-factly as he sat up, his shirt falling down off his shoulders. "I hit you on that bridge. You're faster, too. That certainly would explain a few things, but..."

"There's more." Clark looked anywhere but at Lex.

"What, Clark?"

"There's, like, biology."

"Biology?" Lex frowned, still not catching on.

"My…" Clark stumbled. "My, uhm."

With his back to Lex and his eyes tightly shut, Clark breathed out in one word, "Mypenisdoesn'tseemtoworkthesameway."

"Your penis doesn't seem to work the same way as, say, mine?"

Clark nodded his head rapidly.

"This must be very frightening for you." Lex stood up and went to Clark. He wrapped his arms around the young man's waist, and rested his head on the strong back. "Let's go into my bedroom where we can be more private."

"For me it's just more weirdness, just one more freaky fact. But, Lex…" Clark trembled. His skin was starting to feel itchy again. "What if… what if it disgusts you?"

"Clark, nothing about you could disgust me." Lex smiled. "Come on." He turned Clark around, gripping his hands. "We'll work it out together."

-*-*-*-

Once in Lex's bedroom, he stripped and stood nude before Clark. The lights flickered, but neither of them noticed.

"Wow." Clark glanced over his friend. "Totally no hair."

"None whatsoever." Lex looked down at himself. "What you see before you is the Luthor Freak."

"Don't." Clark flinched.

"It's okay. That's what they used to call me in school. The first time I tried having sex with someone… a boy at boarding school." He shrugged, dropping his hands down to his sides. "When he saw that I had no pubic hair, he refused to touch me. He thought I had some strange disease, and if he touched me, he'd get it."

"God, Lex." Clark frowned, hurting for the young boy that had once existed.

"Hey, think of it this way. I don't have to shave." Lex smiled. "I don't have to worry about short hairs getting caught in a zipper. Save a lot of money on hair care products."

"Which, as a Luthor, would be a big worry." Clark laughed, suddenly feeling more at ease in his skin than he had in days.

"You're turn," Lex kept his easy smile and leaned back against a bedpost, arms crossed over his chest. "Take your shirt off for me, Clark. I finally get to see that chest you've been hiding all this time."

Clark blushed. He started to simply pull off the flannel shirt, but had a second thought. He exposed one shoulder, and wiggled it, flapping his eyelashes at Lex.

"How does that song go? You made me watch that movie. 'Let me entertain you'." He turned his back to Lex, pulled the flannel shirt off the other shoulder, and did a little shimmy. "Let me, make you smile."

Lex clapped. "Bravo! More, more."

Clark dangled the shirt from one hand, whirled it around, and let it fly. It hit the wall, slid down, and landed on a chair. Heat rushed through him at the sound of Lex's voice, his open admiration, his want, and suddenly all of Clark's awkwardness returned.

"I don't remember anymore words." He tugged up the tail of his t-shirt, turning and letting Lex get a glimpse of his abs. "Now I feel stupid."

"Don't, Clark." Lex walked over to him, his naked body lithe and supple. "Don't ever feel stupid around me." He helped shove the t-shirt up Clark's torso, and then stood back as Clark pulled it over his head. He took in the flat stomach, the nicely rounded shoulders, and licked his lips. "Mine."

"What?" Clark frowned, sure he hadn't heard right.

"Mine." Lex repeated the word more loudly. "You are mine. I'm not very good at sharing. I don't necessarily play well with others. Just so you know, I have no intentions of ever sharing you."

"Really?" Clark smiled, a bit of a blush staining his cheeks.

"Yes." Lex nodded. "I think I'll get you a shirt that says, 'private property of Lex Luthor'."

"I'm sure my dad will enjoy that." Clark laughed.

"We'll worry about him later." Lex winked at him. "Athletic shoes."

"What?"

"Please remove your athletic footwear." He pointed down at Clark's sneakers.

"Oh, yeah." Clark tossed the t-shirt away. He stepped on the back of one shoe, and popped his foot out.

"No wonder you go through shoes so quickly." Lex tsked, tsked.

Clark got the other shoe off then tugged off his socks. He tucked the socks into the sneakers, and set them to the side. He moved back to standing in front of Lex and started to undo his belt.

"Let me." Lex brushed his hands out of the way. He undid the belt, undid the snap, and carefully pulled the zipper down. He knelt and slowly pulled Clark's jeans down his legs. "Tighty-whities. I was right."

"My mom buys my underwear. What do you expect?" Clark shrugged.

"Step." Lex pulled the pants free as Clark picked up one leg, and then the other. He ran his hands up Clark's thighs, over his hips, and up his chest. His skin felt far warmer than it had earlier. "Are you okay?"

"Scared." Clark swallowed.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to scream. We only do what you feel comfortable with." Lex assured him, tugging Clark's head down for a kiss. Clark's arms came up around him, one hand splayed over his back and one hand gripping his right ass cheek.

"This feels good." Clark murmured, his hands massaging and petting Lex-skin.

"Your skin is so hot." Lex nipped at Clark's neck. "I love it. I'll never freeze again."

Lex led Clark over to the bed, and ran his hands over Clark's briefs, pausing at the waisteband. "Do you want to take them off or do you want to leave them on?"

"N-no. I want, I want you to see." Clark pulled his white underwear off, kicking them away.

Lex had always visualized Clark as being very well endowed. He was surprised to see a penis of less than average size, but he didn't care. He had naked Clark. Naked alien Clark, but Clark nonetheless.

He stroked his fingers down Clark's abdomen, tugged a few dark pubic hairs, and then stroked his penis. Lex's own penis was dark red, and definitely demanding attention. Clark's showed no response to Lex's touch.

"This could just be first time jitters, Clark." He grabbed Clark before he could jump away. "Or maybe you aren't gay after all."

"I'm gay." Clark shivered.

"Come lay on the bed, you're shivering."

"I'm not cold. This is what happens. I shiver and I get really hot and…"

"Deep breaths." Lex soothed him, petting Clark and pulling him up onto the elevated four-poster bed. They lay on their sides, facing each other and Lex pulled the covers up around them. Lex let his hands wander over Clark. He plucked at a nipple, nibbled on an earlobe, stroked a bicep. His hand slowly worked back down to Clark's groin. The small penis remained flaccid and uninterested.

Clark's scrotum, he noticed, continued to swell so he massaged the balls gently. His young and terrified lover, gasped, wincing.

"What?" Lex glanced down and saw that his fingers were covered in, well, goo.

"It hurts a little. It never hurt before."

"Just relax." Lex raised his fingers and sniffed them. It smelled like Clark. The very musky Clark that always made Lex salivate. He looked back down at Clark's groin. The scrotum had swelled rather large, almost the size of an orange or a small grapefruit.

Good lord.

There seemed to be a slit at the base of the scrotum, directly behind the penis. Lex touched it gently, and more of the gel oozed out. It wasn't bleeding, but Clark did move restlessly.

Then something interesting happened. If Lex was not a calm person, he probably would have jumped off the bed.

Something inside the scrotum *moved*.

Clark moaned, spreading his legs, his skin on fire. He gripped the mattress with one hand and the pillow behind his head with the other.

Ever so carefully, Lex touched the scrotum again. The slit grew, Clark cried out. More of the gel eased out, and just on a hunch, Lex massaged it into the slit. Clark whimpered, but did not cry again. The head of something pressed against the seam. The seam widened more, and Clark's silky dark head moved restlessly on the pillow. Lex kept spreading the gel, the slit continued to grow and out emerged the tip of…

Another penis?

*Holy shit*

A primary penis, like for waste. A secondary penis… for sex?

"What?" Clark gasped, trying to sit up and look at himself.

More of the second penis emerged. It was deep blueish-purple in color. The head looked like any head of a penis -sans the foreskin. There was the crown, the slit in the tip, the glans at the base.

Lex kept massaging in the slick gel around the opening and the secondary penis continued to emerge. That's when Clark started screaming.

Loudly.

And clawing his way up the headboard.

"Clark!" Lex shouted at him, trying to get Clark's attention. He tried to grab a hold of him, but the gel on his hands was too slippery. *natural lubricant*

"Get it out of me! Get it out!" Clark screamed, trying to crawl up the wall backwards. "GET IT OUT!"

Okay, so your teenage lover is an alien with a secondary penis and no one ever bothered telling him about it. What do you do?

Lex gently grabbed a hold of the secondary penis and stroked it. The gel spread, but the seam in the scrotum opened no further. There was no blood, so Lex decided that this was probably a normal thing for Clark's biological people.

The secondary penis definitely liked being stroked. It seemed to be prehensile, following Lex's hand, and when it was fully extended, he decided that it was approximately 15 inches long. It was thinner than a human male penis and smooth rather than veined. It was flexible, and seemed almost to have a mind of its own-

-not totally unlike a human male's penis.

The more Lex stroked, the less Clark screamed. He had actually started to pant again. The secondary penis (Little Clark vs. Big Clark?), wrapped around Lex's forearm. Sweat trickled down Lex's face and he swiped at it with the back of one hand, smearing the gel on his face.

Experimentally -and an 'oh what the hell'- Lex licked the gel.

"Lex!" Clark choked. "Don't do that!" His voice was hoarse from screaming.

"Oh, yes." Lex blinked. He took another lick of his gel covered fingers. "Oh, yes, Lex likes this." So much for Mimi in Paris!

"That's gross!" Clark was starting to ease back down the wall.

"It's a natural substance produced by your body." Lex looked up at him, still stroking the long penis. Clark's hips were jerking a little now. "And, it tastes exactly like *you*. I may become addicted."

"I'm not kissing you anymore." Clark tried to pout. It was too hard against the waves of ecstasy flowing through his body. He wiped the sweat from his own eyes, and watched Lex's hands.

"Wuss." Lex smiled a little. "Come, lay back down. Everything is going to be fine."

"That's easy for you to say." A little panic still sounded in Clark's voice, but he did kneel back down on the mattress. "You don't have a yard long snake coming out of your body."

"This is not a snake." Lex used his free hand to give a long caress to the penis wrapped around his forearm. With the hand of his entangled forearm, he tentatively massaged Clark's scrotum.

Clark reached down and pressed Lex's fingers to the right spot. "Here. Feel that bump? That feels really good when I press it."

"Your prostate gland." Lex theorized in velvet tones as he continued stroking. "You have a primary penis for expelling liquid waste. Your scrotum, for want of a better word, produces a natural -and tasty- lubricant."

Clark made a face at that.

Lex continued, "Then you have a secondary penis for sexual activity that is both lengthy and limber." He noticed that the front penis had retracted somewhat as the secondary penis had extended. Fascinating. "Not that I'm a size queen, but I love your sex penis."

"Le-ex." Clark groaned, thrusting up. He had stretched his long legs back out, his shoulders half propped against the headboard. Lex was positioned between his legs now.

"I imagine in the un-aroused state, your secondary penis will slip back into your body. I can't wait to play with your ass." Lex wondered what he would find in that hidden channel. Right now, however, he literally had his hands full.

Gathering some of the gel in his right hand, he began to masturbate himself. Tight stroke of his penis, a squeeze and tug of his balls. Clark was quite vocal, gasping and shouting and calling Lex's name. He tried to participate more yet the waves of pleasure was leaving him somewhat incapacitated. Lex figured with experience they would be more coordinated. There was no doubt in his mind that this would happen again. Repeatedly.

Lex worked his way up until Clark's muscular thighs were draped over his. He exhaled sharply as Clark's secondary penis released its hold on his forearm only to entwine around his own penis replacing his hand with a silken rope of flesh. It squeezed and pulsed and tugged on it's own. Lex leaned forward, gripping Clark's hips. He pulled Clark up into a sitting position, straddling Lex's thighs. Clark pressed his face against the side of Lex's head, arms looped around the pale shoulders, managing a few sloppy wet kisses. They jerked and thrust together, both holding on to each other for dear life.

They came in one brilliant burst of energy, arching as if forever caught in the wave, and collapsed in a heap together. Their chests heaved; they kissed in between gasps for air, and mostly just stared at each other in awe.

"I love you, Lex." Clark whispered, his eyelashes wet with tears.

Lex smiled, pulling Clark close. "I love you, too."

They fell asleep soon enough not even knowing that a storm raged outside. Clark couldn't have gone home at midnight even if he had wanted to.

-*-*-*-

"Clark?" Lex asked as he groggily raised his head from the pillow.

"I was trying to call my parents." Clark shuffled back over to the bed, and crawled back under the covers.

"Yikes! Where's my living heater!" Clark's icy cold feet had connected with Lex's.

"Cold. Powers out. Enrique started a fire in the fireplace for us." Clark determinedly snuggled up against Lex. "Phone lines are down too."

"I'm sure your parents are fine." Lex rested his head on Clark's chest.

"Oh, yeah. Dad's always prepared for this. He was saying yesterday that we would be getting an early blizzard. It's going to be a long, cold winter." He kissed the top of Lex's head. "I'll see how deep the snow is in the morning. The truck should do fine."

"I'll follow in the Hummer. I don't want you getting stuck in the snow." He couldn't resist checking out things down below.

"It slipped back in just like you said it would." Clark whispered. "It didn't scare you?"

"No." Lex lied a little. It was for a good cause and anyway, it certainly didn't scare him now. "It is a part of you, Clark. When I say I love you, I mean the whole package."

"The whole *alien* package." Clark sighed. His voice was still a bit rough.

"The whole Clark Kent package." Lex kissed his chest, and kissed Clark on the lips. "You will taste the gel."

"Gross! I will not." Clark jerked his head back. "You have to brush your teeth."

Lex laughed, settling up against the strong young body. Clark was starting to warm up again, so his heater was back on line. *lovely*

-*-*-*-

The next time Lex woke up something warm and wet was sucking on his cock. He reached down and found Clark's head. There was a wet, slurping sound.

"You got to play earlier, so I thought it should be my turn." Clark shoved the covers back. His eyes were bright, his lips were red and puffy. He looked like he had discovered a new toy.

"Am I complaining?" Lex flipped over onto his back. "Just," Reality rearing its ugly head, "when I come, don't swallow."

"Lex." Clark spread his lover's legs and settled down between them. "I can't get sick, remember?"

"Let's not tempt fate, shall we?" Lex stretched sinuously. "Carry on, Clark. I wouldn't want to keep you from your fun."

"You are always so good to me." Clark chuckled, and blew a raspberry into Lex's belly button. Lex's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Hmm, I think you like that."

He licked and sucked and nuzzled his way around Lex's penis and balls. He liked how clean Lex's penis looked, the balls neatly tucked behind. The expertly circumcised cock head, the…

"What's this mark from?" He held up Lex's penis, inspecting it in slightly better light.

"I used to be pierced. A Prince Albert." He looked down his body at Clark lying sprawled between his legs, studying his cock.

"Wow." Clark gave it a lick. "I bet that hurt. Why did you take it out?"

"Didn't want it anymore." Lex shrugged, resting his head back down on the pillows. That was a sight he would carry with him to his death bed.

"What else did you have pierced?" He kept licking Lex's cock like it was a penis-shaped lollypop. Lex actually knew where he could get those, in Metropolis. Perhaps he would get some one day as a gag gift for Clark.

"Both nipples, and a gauche." He replied between deep breaths. He was going to be licked to death, wasn't he?

"What's that? Gauche?" Clark frowned, and stopped licking as he waited for Lex to answer. Grumbling with frustration, Lex reached down and showed him. There was a slight scar behind Lex's scrotum. "Really? Yow."

Lex opened one eye and stared at Clark.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." To which he proceeded to easily deep throat Lex as if he were a pro. Lex would have shrieked if he had had the voice for it. His body arched and his knees shook. Slurp. "I guess that was good, huh? I read about this on the internet, but I could never really think how you did it. I tried it with a cucumber once and choked."

"Clark." Lex growled.

"Sheesh, Mr. Grumpy." He licked and sucked some more. Then Lex felt Clark shift around. "Can I, you know, try some -uhm- finger stimulation?"

Lex looked at him and saw that Clark had some clear gel on his fingers. His nostrils flared. He nodded. He pulled his knees up and spread his legs. Clark hesitantly quested down between Lex's ass cheeks with his fingers. He found the puckered hole, and patiently worked his fingers around. One finger slipped in easily up to the first knuckle.

Lex gasped and tensed for a moment.

"You okay, Lex?" Clark asked, glancing up. Lex nodded.

Clark's head went down, laving Lex's scrotum with his tongue. Just as he fully breached Lex with his lubricated middle finger, he blew a raspberry on the spot where the gauche piercing had been located.

Lex shouted, his body jerking spasmodically.

"Wow." Clark grinned happily. "This is fun!"

-*-*-*-

Clark drove the truck home the next morning after 9am. Lex followed directly behind in his Hummer. The snow was deep, and had caused a great deal of trouble. When they got to the farm, Martha and Jonathan both came out to meet them.

There was something about the way Clark and Lex stood together. The way Clark looked at Lex, smiling. Like they shared a secret…

"Clark." Jonathan growled. Martha gave him a strange look.

"You two okay?" Martha glanced at them. The tension of the past weeks seemed to have been eased from Clark's shoulders. Except now he looked warily at his father.

"Yes, we're fine." Lex replied, nodding curtly. "The phone lines seem to be down all over the place. We saw some linemen working on our way here. They said the power should be back up this afternoon."

"Good." Jonathan grunted. "Thanks for dropping him off Lex, but Clark has work to do."

"Excuse me." Martha turned and looked at her husband. "Lex can come inside and have a piece of pie if he likes."

"Anyway, we need to talk." Clark saw the suspicion in his father's eyes. "All of us."

"I don't think now is a good time." Lex glanced between father, son, and mother.

"Now is the best time." Clark countered and looking into Lex's eyes he took hold of his hand and gently squeezed. "No time like the present."

"That pervert is not allowed in my house." Jonathan jammed a finger at Lex.

"Jonathan!" Martha grabbed his arm.

Clark moved in front of Lex, protectively, still holding his hand and frowning at his father.

"I told Lex about my origins. Where I come from. I want to show him the spaceship."
Clark spoke loudly, over Jonathan.

In the utter silence that followed, Clark thought he could have heard a snow flake fall. Finally he said, "Maybe he can figure how to activate to it. He can help us. Help me."

"You're a fool! You can't trust a Luthor!" Jonathan roared. "You're not just risking your life, your risking all our lives!"

"Jonathan Kent!" Martha whacked him across the face with her work gloves.

"I love Lex," Clark broke in again, "and I trust him with my life."

"We had sex last night." Lex said quietly, and again there was a sudden silence across the farmyard.

"This morning, too." Lex sighed, talking in a normal conversational tone of voice. "When was the last time you saw Clark naked? You ever inspect his genitals when he was a child? Probably not. Nothing more than the usual toweling a child off from a bath. Well, let me tell you something about Clark's physiology."

Clark stepped to the side, standing beside his lover. He let go of Lex's hand, afraid in his embarrassment that he would squeeze it too tight. Lex simply shifted closer, refusing to lose physical contact.

"Clark has two penises. The primary one looks like an average, if slightly smaller, penis. It's for liquid waste. It's not for sex." Lex liked how Jonathan's mouth just kind of hung open. The man didn't say anything. He just stared. Lex continued, "He has a secondary penis for sex. I think the majority of it rests up inside his body. Part of it hangs in what looks like his scrotum. I'm assuming, if he has testacies, that they are inside his body. There is a split in the scrotum from which the secondary penis emerges. Interestingly enough, his 'scrotum' produces a natural lubricant. I don't think our terms of male and female fit Clark's biological parents."

Martha blinked at them. "You are serious?"

"Mom!" Clark hid his face in Lex's neck.

"Absolutely." Lex nodded. "I'd ask Clark to drop his pants and show you, but that would be a bit embarrassing all the way around. Wouldn't it?"

"Lex!" Clark squawked and swatted his lover gently on the arm.

"Yes." Martha nodded. "Very." She paused a moment, and then added. "Perhaps Clark's people are bisexual. If they aren't what we would call 'male' and 'female' then homosexuality probably has no meaning to them as well."

"Yes, most likely." Lex agreed with her theory.

"That makes no difference." Jonathan insisted, "Clark could get pregnant and it still wouldn't change the fact that he's been raised as a normal human boy, and that's how we want to see him grow up."

"You can all stop talking as if I'm not here, okay?" Clark glared equally at Lex, his mother, and his father. "Lex, no more biology lessons that use our sex life for illustration."

Now it was Lex's turn to blush and nod.

"Mom, I look like a guy, and dad is right, I was raised like a human boy. No matter what we say, my sexual preference is going to be defined by that."

"Honey-"

"Wait!" He finally turned eyes that were both harder and sadder on his father. "So yes, dad, I was raised as a human boy and I will live as a human man. A gay human man in love with Lex Luthor. You'll just have to learn to deal with it."

Jonathan scowled but didn't argue.

"Now." Clark said with forced cheer. (He was still blushing from Lex's description of his genitals.) "How about that piece of pie?" He grabbed Lex's hand and walked into the house.

"This isn't over." Jonathan spat at Lex's back. "He's still my son."

"And he's my son, too." Martha turned, jerking on Jonathan's jacket. "Don't forget that, Jonathan Kent."

-*-*-*-

"Mrs. Kent." Lex stood up from his desk as Clark's mother entered his office in the castle. "Is something wrong?"

It had been several days since his and Clark's first night together. They had faced down a fiercely upset Jonathan Kent, and had promised to go slowly -and quietly- at their relationship.

Martha sat a large plateful of sugar cookies on Lex's desk. Then she handed him the newspaper.

"I wasn't sure if you got the Daily Planet here, Lex, so I thought I'd bring you a copy. Compliments of a friend of mine in the city."

The headline blazed, "Sex Scandal Rocks City!" The reporter was not Tanya Daniels but one Darlene Day. Though she occasionally got the hard sought after interviews with dignitaries and politicians, she usually wrote her column on local color. She was known as 'Devil Day' when pushed, someone even seasoned reporters respected.

Tanya Daniels didn't write the story mainly because she was in it. Her picture from the Metropolis jail cell graced the front page. She didn't look happy. She was charged with drug possession as well as drug trafficking at various clubs around the city.

Drew Jolie's engagement had been broken, he had spent one day and most of one night talking to the cops. He had suddenly decided to finish college- in Europe. His trust fund would only continue to flow if he left the country.

In a separate (though related) note, the Jolie Pharmaceutical company announced a change over in management. The elderly Edward Jolie retired, paving the way for his nephew, Thomas Jolie, to take the helm. All research using live animal testing had been stopped pending investigation.

Tom Kurts wasn't so lucky. He had been arrested and the list of charges after his name was quite long. Drug trafficking, prostitution, blackmail -just to name a few. It turned out that he and Tanya Daniels had a long standing deal going of setting up rich young people in compromising situations, and then blackmailing them. Portia Madsen was set to give a deposition to the police concerning her own troubles with the 'dynamic duo'.

Amazingly enough, Lex Luthor's name did not appear once in the newspaper. And neither did Clark Kent's.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Lex sat back down.

"Don't betray Clark's trust in you, and we'll get along just fine." She smiled at him. "I protect what is mine. I think you understand that, Lex. Besides, I like having my happy boy back. He bounces all over the place these days. He told me how much you like my sugar cookies, so I made a batch just for you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kent." Lex blinked. Several times.

"Please, call me Martha." She glanced at the watch on her wrist. "I have to get going. I don't want my roast to burn. Clark will be over later, after his homework is done."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and Lex?" She stopped at the door and turned back. "Family dinner on Sunday. I'll expect you about 4pm."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Bring a bottle of wine, please. Perhaps a Muscat or the like to go with dessert."

As quickly as she appeared, she was gone. Lex sat in his chair for quite a while contemplating the Kents and life in general. He had a sneaking hunch that his mother would have liked Martha Kent very much.

-*-*-*-

They walked to the Talon after school. Chloe was venting on about the school newspaper editor. His joy in life seemed to be picking apart Chloe's writing. Chloe's destiny was to fight him every step of the way. Clark and Pete exchanged glances, rolling eyes in unison.

The Talon was almost empty, and their favorite table was free.

"Hi, guys!" Lana waved from the counter. "Usuals?"

"Yes, please." Clark called back, smiling. When she brought over their drinks, she sat down with them, though she fairly vibrated with energy.

"I feel like I've been running all day. Did you see in the newspaper about that reporter that was here the other day? She's been arrested along with some other people. Big scandal in the big city. Just another reason to stay in Smallville." Lana smiled. "I had a double mocha latte as soon as I got here."

"Feel the power of the caffeine." Pete laughed.

Chloe waxed poetical about the ethics of a reporter, Lana ended up wiping tables off, and Pete was copying Clark's notes from Biology when Lex showed up. Lana got him a regular decaf and he sat by Clark at the table.

"Busy day?" He asked, glancing at Clark.

"Oh, just the same old stuff." Clark shrugged. "Evil newspaper editors thwart valiant young reporter. Lana's on a caffeine high. Pete can't stay awake during Biology."

"She has a monotonous voice!" Pete tried to defend himself.

Clark smiled at Lex, and Lex winked back.

"You two are so hopeless." Chloe sighed, shaking her head. Pete just refused to acknowledge that anything was going on.

"I think they're cute." Lana whizzed by. "Lex! I had an idea for a new menu!"

"Oh, boy." He said under his breath. Chloe and Clark laughed. "No more hearts and flowers!" He called after Lana.

"No!" She beamed at him, rushing back with a handful of paper. "Kitties!"

Clark burst out laughing at the look of horror on Lex's face.

They left the Talon not long afterwards -Lex was in need of escaping- and he drove Clark home to the Kent Farm. Along the way, he drove fast with Clark's hand in his lap. Life was good for now, and he would fight to keep it that way.

<end>