Title: Dark Page
Author: Orithain and Rina
Email: orithain67@sympatico.ca, rina83@msn.com
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not ours or they'd be a lot happier.
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/de3/infinitum
AN: This was supposed to be short, right? Well, the guys want to know what happens next, so this is _another_ series we've started. ::whimper:: Beta by Henry Jones Jr.
Summary: Clark pushes Lex.
Clexfest Wave VI
September 2003
 

DARK PAGE

~ June 2015 ~

Superman wondered who _he_ could talk to about stress leave.

Not even an alien should be expected to deal with criminals, deadlines, a partner who was in lust with one aspect of him while scorning the rest of him in a semi-friendly fashion, aging parents who wouldn't let him hire someone to help them with the farm, _and_ Lex Luthor trying to take over the world. It just wasn't fair!

The primary-color-clad chest heaved in a deep and completely unnecessary sigh, and Superman trained his gaze on the penthouse atop Luthor Towers again. Now that Lex had announced his candidacy for President, he was stepping down from LuthorCorp for the duration and would be setting out on the campaign trail shortly.

Knowing Lex and his ability to charm, Clark had no doubt that the world would soon be faced with President Luthor... and then Superman was going to have to deal with what he could do with all that power. He watched Lex dismiss his employees and pour himself a drink, and before he could think better of it, he flew across the city and came in through the open balcony doors.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, staring at Lex as he always did, still trying to decide whether Lex had figured out who he was or not.

"Why am I having a drink? Because I'm done with work for the day and I usually celebrate that fact with a glass of brandy. Why am I not calling security? Because there isn't a point and would probably result in some of them getting hurt, which would mean leave time and having to deal with incompetent replacements. Why am I not surprised to see you? Because you seem to have made it your life's work to keep tabs on me, so I've given up being shocked when you appear."

Lex took a drink of his brandy and swirled the remaining liquid around the snifter. "Of course, now I have a question for you: Why are you here, Superman? There aren't any kittens that need to be rescued, and this is my home, not where I do business, so there aren't any secrets for you to try to ferret out." Lex sighed inwardly as he spoke, waiting for what was sure to be the latest listing of all his misdeeds, real or imagined.

"I _meant_ why are you running for President? It won't give you much more power than you already have and _will_ put you under a microscope. If anything, holding the office will curtail your activities more effectively than I've ever been able to." Superman helped himself to a glass of brandy as well and seated himself in the hunter green leather chair opposite Lex with a swirl of his cape.

"Why do you do any of the things you do?" he continued pensively after a sip of his drink. "What do you get from it?" He stared into the amber liquid, remembering when he'd thought he and Lex would be friends forever, before darkness, secrets and lies marred their lives and blotted the pages of their story.

"Please, Superman, sit, have a drink," Lex said dryly, arching a pale red eyebrow at the costumed man sitting across from him. "What I'm curious about is why you care why I want this; it seems enough for everyone else to go with the assumption that, as a Luthor, when I want something, I get it."

Clark shrugged. "That's an effect, not a cause. You always have a reason for whatever you do even if I don't necessary consider them _good_ reasons most of the time. So what's your reason this time? Just because you once said you would?"

Lex paused, his drink halfway to his lips, and studied Superman, his expression enigmatic. "And just where did you hear that?"

The dark-haired man returned the look blandly. "I hear lots of things. Super-hearing, remember?" He held back a smile with difficulty; he'd forgotten how much fun verbal fencing with Lex could be.

"Ahh, that's right, how could I forget: super-senses to go with the super-morals and super-conscience," Lex mused. "You remind me of someone I used to know in that regard. As for why I'm running for the Presidency, suffice to say I've always wanted to do great things and where better to do that than from the Oval Office?"

"With your resources you could do great things wherever you wanted. So far, however, all I've seen is you gratifying your impulses and causing trouble for the sheer love of it, as near as I can tell. Don't tell me you're finally growing up?" Superman took another sip of the excellent brandy, blue-green eyes challenging Lex over it.

Lex met the stare head on, giving a slight smile. "Haven't you ever read comic books, Superman? Every hero needs a foil; perhaps I'm yours. It keeps them human, but then, you aren't human, are you, Kal-El?"

Clark shrugged. He'd come to terms with his origins a long time ago. "By heritage, no, but I was raised here on Earth, so my attitudes certainly are. If there were any of my people left and I were to meet them, _they_ would be alien to me, not humans.

"But you're avoiding the question, Lex. Can it be that the great Lex Luthor doesn't know why he's doing something?"

"Goading me isn't going to get you an answer," Lex answered, getting up to refill his glass. "I'm beginning to feel like I'm in the middle of an interview. If you get the answers, are you going to feed them to your pet reporters so they have a scoop?"

"Doesn't sound like there's going to be anything worth printing," Superman replied easily, lounging in his chair, long blue-and-red-clad legs crossed at the ankles as he sipped his brandy. "And you _still_ haven't answered the question," he pressed, now honestly curious thanks to Lex's machinations as he attempted to distract Clark.

Lex reached up, loosened his tie, and undid the top button of his shirt before returning to sit down across from Superman again. "You aren't going to drop it, are you?"

At the other man's negative, he rolled his eyes. "Because it's something I'll do on my own. Yes, the Luthor name and money will help, but in the end it comes down to me. Happy enough to leave now?"

"Intrigued enough to stay." He raised his glass slightly. "Aren't you going to offer me a refill?"

Lex arched an eyebrow again. "Since you took without asking the first time, feel free to continue the tradition."

"So much for impeccable manners and being a good host." Superman rose to his feet and poured himself another drink, then returned to his seat, flipping his cape over the back of it this time. "So what shall we talk about? World domination? How the Sharks are doing this season? The weather?" He grinned quickly, hastily raising his glass to cover it, knowing that Lex had seen that particular grin often when they'd been friends.

"Manners only count when a guest is invited," Lex shot back, shaking his head as Superman made himself comfortable in _his_ home. "And as for conversation, how about _why_ you're so interested as to my reasons for running for President?"

"Pure curiosity. It doesn't fit with anything else you've done the last several years. You're never predictable, but I can usually figure out _why_ you've done something eventually. I just can't see you circumscribing yourself to be President."

Lex arched an eyebrow again. "Maybe that's because you don't know me."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "I've been studying you for years. I certainly know you better than your own father ever did. Though I'll admit that you keep part of yourself hidden, even _from_ yourself, I think."

"Ooh, psychoanalysis by a superhero, do go on," Lex chuckled, sipping at his drink and crossing his legs, resting one wrist on his ankle.

"Smart ass," Clark replied comfortably, reminding himself not to let his guard down _too_ much. Lex wasn't a stupid man, and too many clues and reminders would tell him exactly who was drinking his brandy--always assuming he didn't already know. He chewed his lip nervously.

"Understanding each other goes both ways, I know that. And we both know that I'm not Superman twenty-four/seven. Have you found out who I am the rest of the time?" he asked curiously, a distant part of him wondering if he'd lost his mind.

"Do you think I have?" Lex shot back.

"I don't know," Clark admitted honestly. "I've been trying to figure that out for a few years now. If you do, I don't know why you haven't told anyone or used it. Yet... so often it seems as if you do." He frowned into his brandy.

Lex smiled into his drink. "That bothers you, doesn't it? That I might know who you are."

"It... concerns me. Then again, if you do, you haven't done anything about it, so I shouldn't worry. But then, you _haven't_ done anything..." he trailed, thinking that if Lex did know and hadn't said anything to him in either guise, he must really not care anymore. He frowned.

"This is quite amusing, you know? Superman in a quandary... I think I like that perplexed look on you."

Clark sighed. "You're not going to tell me one way or the other, are you?"

Lex chuckled. "Why do you seem surprised, Superman? I thought you knew me better than that?"

"Hope springs eternal. I was hoping for a straight answer. You know, just to surprise me."

"I already gave you one," Lex commented. "I don't recall this being a game of twenty questions, especially when I'm the only one giving the answers."

"You haven't asked any questions," Clark pointed out. "You seem to be assuming that I wouldn't answer."

"I asked why you were so interested in why I wanted to be President," Lex reminded him.

"I thought I answered that? Because I couldn't understand why. It makes me nervous when I don't know what you're doing or what's likely to come of it."

"Last I looked I didn't have to explain myself to you or anyone," Lex commented before taking a drink.

"Never said you did. But you asked why; that's why." Clark eyed him warily. "Now why don't you answer _my_ question?"

Lex sighed. "What do you want me to say? If I tell you 'yes,' will you stop hounding me? Or if I tell you no, you'll take it to another level."

"If you tell me yes and a name, well, I'll know, won't I? I can stop wondering. And maybe..." He stopped abruptly.

"Maybe what?" Lex asked, curiosity piqued.

Clark shrugged. "That depends on the answer."

"Oh, now that's incentive to play my cards," Lex chuckled. "Give you the information I have in return for an ambiguous answer."

"Fine, _if_ you know who I am, certain options become available to me that are not if you don't."

Lex leaned forward, cradling the snifter in one hand and resting his chin in the other. "Why all this worry? Considering what you think of me, aren't you sure that if I knew who you were, I'd take full advantage of that fact?"

"No." Clark shrugged and half-smiled. "I gave up second-guessing you a long time ago, L-Luthor."

"Hmm, you make me sound ancient, Superman."

Clark snorted inelegantly. "Hardly. But you have more twists than an Escher drawing."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment," Lex murmured.

"It was meant as one... most of the time," Superman added wryly. "But you're still not answering the question."

Lex shook his head. "What do you know about me, Superman?"

Clark wondered how much he could say without holding up a neon sign over his head that said 'Clark Kent'. "I know you hated your father, aren't as bad as you'd like people to think. That you are willing to do anything for the people you care about... and that you never forgive." He sighed at the last.

"Hmm, you've been studying. Do you know I was married - twice?"

"In the space of a single year and they both tried to kill you." Clark hoped his frown didn't show.

"Mmm. And is it a wonder I never forgive?"

"Well, attempted murder is fairly extreme. You might want to consider it for lesser offenses."

"Such as desertion?"

Clark froze. He took another mouthful of his drink after a moment. "Such as not knowing how to get past secrets and half-truths," he said carefully.

Lex nodded, studying Superman shrewdly. "That does tend to put a strain on any relationship, be it friendship or otherwise."

"Do you think it would ever be possible to get past that?"

"I suppose it depends on the people you're speaking of."

"Hypothetically, could you forgive someone in that situation?"

"Anything can happen hypothetically," Lex offered before smiling when Superman frowned. "All right, hypothetically, I could."

Clark stared at him. "And could hypothetical ever become actual?"

"I'm a businessman, Superman; I need facts if you want me to make a decision."

"I think we're back to the original question."

Lex sighed and looked into the dregs of his brandy, exhausted by the weight of years of fencing. "You know, you were really much more interesting as a teenager, Clark."

The glass shattered in Clark's hand.

"Well, that rather answers that, doesn't it," he murmured, staring at the crystal dust and brandy covering his lap. He raised his eyes finally. "How long have you known?"

"From the beginning, or close enough," Lex answered, standing and walking into the half bath, returning with a towel he tossed in Clark's direction. "Hide in plain sight might work against some people, but not me."

Clark concentrated on mopping up the mess he'd made. "So I gave up our friendship to protect a secret that didn't exist." He laughed bitterly. "So much for Superman."

Lex walked over to the bar, refilled his glass, and poured Super - Clark another snifter-full. "Oh, it did. I wasn't positive at first, but the more I saw of you, the more it made sense." He carried the crystal glass over to Clark and held it out. "Try not to break this one, will you?"

Clark reached up and took the glass, catching Lex's hand as well. "I try never to break something again when I've been given a second chance."

"Clark..." Lex looked momentarily at a loss for words. "Everyone has secrets. When you take the two of us, that's magnified a thousand times."

"I lost you once because of them, Lex. I don't want that to happen again. You were my best friend, the one I could tell anything to without feeling foolish, but I kept lying to you, and you kept pulling back because of it until one day I realized you were gone.

"I've never had another friend like that. I've missed you every day... even when you were trying to kill me," he added wryly.

Lex chuckled dryly and looked down to where Clark was still holding his hand. "Think about it, Clark. If I'd really been trying to kill you, you would be dead, or, even worse, your personal life and family destroyed. How easy would it have been for me to let slip some rumors as to just who Superman was and point out the fact that one of the Planet's reporters looks amazingly like the Man of Steel? Throw in an 'accident' where Clark Kent amazingly survives a gunshot wound to the head in public, and there you have it."

He paused and raised his gaze to meet Clark's eyes. "I missed your friendship too, you know."

Clark smiled slowly. "Does that mean we can try again? Preferably without life-threatening events?" If they could reclaim their friendship, maybe, just maybe, he could find out if that flirting he remembered had meant anything beyond Lex being Lex.

"You're Superman and I'm Lex Luthor; I believe that means there always will be life-threatening events around us."

"Well, maybe we could try something really radical and not be the cause of them for each other. I found it very odd and uncomfortable to go from saving your life to trying to kill you - sort of." Clark stood up, well inside Lex's personal space, still holding his hand.

Lex nodded and tilted his head back to look up at Clark. "Actually, I found going up against you to be quite the challenge. I'll even go so far as to say I enjoyed it," he mused. "Even when it frustrated me to no end," he added with a smirk. "I suppose it'll make you feel better to know that all my 'questionable' activities have been suspended because of the election."

"Since you'll be even more in the public eye than before, I suppose you had to. But I am glad to hear it, Lex, even if Lois won't believe it." He smiled quickly. "She's going to have a fit when she finds out I've--Clark, that is--gone over to the other side."

"Interesting phrasing there, Clark," Lex murmured. "You know, part of me was glad that you shut me out all those years ago."

Dark eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? Why? I certainly wasn't. You can't imagine how many times I'd turn to tell you something or reach for the phone to call you." He laughed sharply. "God, I missed you, but I didn't know what I could do about it. I think that's why I came tonight. Your run for the Presidency gave me an opening, one that I'd almost given up hope of finding."

"I said part of me, Clark," Lex reminded the other man. "The part that was in a moral quandary over the way I wanted to take my teenaged male friend upstairs every time he showed up at my place and debauch him. It was much easier once I hated you." He sighed and shook his head. "You have quite the way of complicating things, you know."

Clark blinked. "Oh." He stared at Lex for a moment before licking his lips and managing to say, "I wish you had."

Lex was silent for a moment, then smiled. "It's a nice thought, Clark, but, at the time, you were obsessed with Lana Lang - damn, I hated her. Then there's the fact that if your parents had had even a whiff of what I wanted to do to you, they'd have had me in Leavenworth faster than you could believe."

"Uh hello, super-powered alien here. I spend half my time saving Lois, and I don't even like her that much most of the time. Do you really think I'd let something happen to a _lover_?"

Thinking back on how Clark had been as a teenager and what his relationship with his parents was, Lex wisely decided not to pursue that line of conversation any farther. "So are you saying that when I become President, the Secret Service will be redundant?"

"'When?'" Clark laughed. "Ego much there, Lex? But I think it would be safe to say that I would take your safety very personally. Even if it would have to be without the suit most of the time."

"It's not ego when it's the truth," Lex replied mildly before looking Clark up and down. "And actually, I prefer your company as Clark as compared to big blue."

"Big blue?" Clark repeated, making a face. "Gee thanks, Lex, now I feel like Paul Bunyon's ox. Call me Babe and you're _so_ dead!" He seemed to blur for a moment, and suddenly it was Clark Kent in jeans and a cotton shirt standing where Superman had been a moment before, though without the glasses that had become part of his guise.

"Damn," Lex breathed, his gaze roaming over Clark from his toes to the top of his head before centering on his face again. "You haven't changed." He moved towards Clark but caught himself. "I want you to do me a favor."

Clark thought about it--this was Lex Luthor after all--but if they were going to make this work, it couldn't start with distrust. "Sure," he replied almost instantly. "What is it?"

"I want you to leave," Lex answered, holding up a hand before Clark could protest. "Leave and come in downstairs; I'll let security know you'll be arriving." He paused, studying Clark intently. "That way there won't be any questions when they see you in the morning."

Clark swallowed hard as he stared at Lex--it wasn't everyday that a man was handed something he'd wanted for half his life. "Okay," he said huskily. "I should go get a change of clothes for tomorrow too."

"_Don't_ bring any pajamas," Lex said by way of answer.

"Five minutes. I refuse to take the time to drive. I'll walk around the corner as if I took a cab. But first..." He moved closer and leaned toward Lex, wanting their first kiss.

Lex took a step backward. "You touch me and I'm not going to let you leave," he warned.

"Is that supposed to be a deterrent?" But Clark took a deep breath and stepped back again, then blurred briefly as he changed back into his costume. "But fine, I'll be good... for now."

"Corrupting a superhero has always been my fondest dream," Lex murmured, sipping from his glass.

"Being debauched has always been mine." Clark grinned quickly and flew out the balcony doors before he changed his mind and jumped Lex right there.

Shaking his head, Lex moved to the open doors, but Superman's bright form had already blended into the night sky. "If I was smart, I'd set several things in motion right now seeing as big blue's going to be occupied," he murmured to himself. "Fuck me for an idiot that I won't." He turned and walked over to the phone, calling down to the security desk to let them know a Mr. Clark Kent would be arriving soon and to send him up, then headed into the kitchen to see what there was to eat; one thing he was certain hadn't changed was that Clark was always hungry.

Clark was certain he'd set a new personal record for speed getting to his apartment, and he'd barely hit the floor when he was shoving a suit and everything else he'd need for work the next morning into a garment bag. He glanced at the flashing light on his phone, knowing that the messages were likely from Lois and/or Perry, and he left again without the slightest guilt at ignoring them.

He landed in a deserted alley--his vision was good for finding those--about a block from Lex's and changed back into Clark Kent, promising himself to ditch the glasses the moment he shut the door behind him. That done, he slung the bag over his shoulder and strolled toward the front door, smiling when the doorman waved him toward the private express elevator to the penthouse as soon as he gave his name. He paused at the door for a moment, taking a deep breath as he stared at the mahogany panel, then he raised his hand to knock. If Lex had really wanted to trap him in some way, he'd have done it a long time ago.

Having watched Clark's entrance and progress via the cameras, Lex opened the door before the other man could knock. In the scant time that Clark had been gone, he had taken off his tie and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

"Get in here," he growled, fisting a hand in Clark's shirt and pulling him forward and into a kiss.

Clark groaned, dropping his bag as his arms went around Lex. He leaned into him, mouth opening to draw Lex's tongue in. "Oh God, why did we wait so long?" he gasped when they finally drew back.

Lex drew in a shuddering breath. "You were fifteen; you didn't trust me; I didn't trust you," he answered before pulling Clark in again, this time coaxing the younger man's tongue into his own mouth.

After doing an admirable job of delving for Lex's tonsils, Clark pulled back to say, "I'm twenty-nine, I trust you, and I hope you trust me. Where's the bedroom?"

"I do trust you. Half my damn instincts are screaming at me for it, but I do." Lex murmured, stepping out of Clark's arms and backing toward the hallway. "And you mean to tell me you don't know the layout of my home?"

A smile grin quirked Clark's lips. "Well, yes, but seeing as I've never actually been here before, I thought it would be polite to let you lead."

Lex chuckled. "Superman a peeping Tom: what would your public think?" Even as he spoke, he led Clark to his bedroom, a sleek, dark room furnished with metal, ebony wood and gray fabrics.

Clark glanced around and tried to hide his reaction to the cold room. It seemed Lex really had shut down in the years since they'd been friends. Then he looked at the man in front of him and reminded himself that Lex was here and human and warm. "I reserve it for a select few."

"Myself, Lana Lang, and..." Lex frowned slightly and shook his head. "No, don't answer that, come here."

"I never looked inside Lana's home. By the time she and I got together, I think it was as much to distract myself from how much I wanted the one person I didn't think I could have." Clark shrugged as he pressed closer, arms going around Lex again.

Lex murmured a reply as he tugged at Clark's shirt, pulling it from his jeans and delving beneath the soft cotton to find the heat of his skin beneath it, their bodies grinding together as they kissed once again.

Clark groaned harshly as Lex touched him, his fingers reaching for Lex's clothes, then stopping and clutching his hips instead, afraid that he'd rip them off, destroying them utterly.

"What?" Lex rasped, pulling back to stare at Clark, noting the way he was almost vibrating with tension. "You said you trust me; trust yourself too," he ordered.

"I don't think you realize how much I want you, how _long_ I've wanted you. I'm afraid if I let go, I'll hurt you."

"No, you won't. Don't think I haven't noticed that as many times as you ruined plans I'd made, you also never did anything to me personally. Understand this, Clark, I want to fuck or be fucked by you, preferably both, before the night is over. If you're not going to touch me, that's going to make it difficult."

He gave a desperate laugh and wedged a hand between them to cup Clark's groin. "You haven't hurt anyone else you've slept with. You won't start with me."

"I never wanted them as much as I want you," Clark groaned, arching into Lex's palm. An instant later, two naked bodies tumbled onto the bed, Clark twisting so he landed on his back with Lex on top of him. His palms cupped Lex's buttocks, pulling him close so they fit together perfectly, cock lying against cock between them.

Lex blinked, disoriented by his sudden shift in position and gave a groaning laugh. "If you don't want this over before it starts, stop saying things like that."

"You want me to lie to you?" Clark teased, rocking up against him. "Okay, I have never fantasized about you fucking me, never dreamed of licking that sexy little knob on the back of your head, never imagined how sleek and gorgeous you are without your clothes..."

Deciding there was only one way to make Clark stop talking, Lex slithered down the larger man's body to suck his cock. Vague thoughts that for an alien, Clark tasted damn human flickered through Lex's mind, but he brushed them off, aching with the fulfillment of one of the earliest fantasies he'd ever had about Clark.

"Ohhhh _fuuuuck_," Clark groaned, arching up sharply as Lex got him harder than he'd ever been in his life. One hand cupped the back of Lex's head, holding him lightly. "God, not gonna last long."

Lex growled around the hot flesh in his mouth, twisting his head to feel Clark's palm rubbing against his scalp as he slid a hand between them to tug at Clark's balls, wanting to taste him.

Clark hated every person who'd ever been with Lex like this while grateful for his expertise. He moaned, writhing beneath Lex while careful not to dislodge him, then he suddenly moved his hands to clench the sheets. At Lex's growl, he brought one back to the smooth scalp, stroking Lex until Clark cried out and came.

Pulling back to catch some of the flow in his mouth, Lex swallowed, raising his eyes to meet Clark's. He'd wanted to continue like this until he had the other man a writhing mass of lust again, but his own need overcame his wants, and he surged up Clark's body to kiss him again. "Fuck, you taste good," he rasped, grinding his cock against the hard planes of Clark's body.

"That's nice, now fuck me," Clark demanded, legs rising to wrap around Lex's waist. He loved tasting himself in Lex's mouth, loved knowing that this was real, but there was so much more he wanted.

Lex may not have possessed super-speed, but he came damned close as he lunged for the lube he'd left on the bedside table, slicked himself and stretched Clark, all in a flurry of movement. Sparing a second thought to wondering if Clark's ass muscles were as strong as the rest of him before dismissing the idea as asinine, he caught the younger man's knees and pressed them back to his chest, pushing inside Clark's tight heat with a whispered groan.

A harsh groan tore from Clark's throat as Lex possessed him, his body slowly yielding to the invader. Dazed eyes fixed on Lex's, the green the merest rim around lust-widened pupils. "Fuck yeah," he gasped, his hands rising to cup Lex's ass again, pulling him in harder.

"Mmm," Lex grunted in response, feeling the pressure as Clark's fingers dug into his ass and knowing he was going to be bruised in the morning - and loving the idea. Tangling one hand in Clark's black hair, he tilted the younger man's head back and attacked his throat as he slammed in and out of Clark's body, too on edge to worry about finesse.

Clark moaned again as Lex seemingly tried to devour him. Nothing Lex did could add an edge of pain to what he was feeling, of course, but just the idea that Lex wanted him that much made him shake with pleasure.

Lex shuddered as he felt Clark yield to him, and he drove forward a final time before shouting his pleasure as he came, the experience wringing him dry emotionally as well as physically.

Clark held Lex tightly, arms that could crush steel cradling him against the broad chest. He smiled lazily, eyes closed as he lay with Lex still inside him. "Clark Kent is about to take an assignment as your own personal reporter, Mr. Luthor sir. Think you can handle that?"

"I think I can live with having my own personal spin doctor around, and, let's face it, Kent, you do know how to spin things," Lex chuckled, lifting his head to stare down at the other man, amazed at finding himself here after so long.

"Are you telling me that I make your head spin?" Clark asked smugly, showing that he hadn't outgrown his fondness for bad jokes and puns.

Lex groaned. "I'd hit you, but that would just bruise my hand."

"Yup. Not to mention that abusing your new boyfriend on the first, er, date isn't quite the thing."

"Why not? I knocked you off a bridge with my car the first time we met," Lex answered, smirking.

"Yeah, but now that I'm your significant other, you're supposed to pamper me, not batter me."

Lex shifted up on his elbows, sighing when he slid out of Clark's body. "Battering Superman, now there's an oxymoron."

"Feel free to try... but you might want to get some boxing gloves first." Clark grinned, shifting now that they had separated. He crossed his arms behind his head and grinned up at Lex, practically euphoric. "I can't believe this, that we finally managed to find our way here."

"Without half-killing each other first," Lex answered, tracing a finger over Clark's chest.

"And no kryptonite. I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd wanted some nearby, just to put us on an even footing." Clark shivered slightly, the green eyes falling to watch Lex's finger.

Lex quirked a half-smile. "Maybe another time."

Clark's gaze darted up, widened with surprise. "Don't you trust me?"

"Yes," Lex stated, cocking his head to the side. "Would I have you here if I didn't?"

"All right then, I don't understand. Why would you want the kryptonite?"

Lex fought the urge to hit himself on the forehead. "I wouldn't. I won't. I... forget it, Clark," he chuckled.

Clark frowned in bewilderment but shrugged slightly. "Okay. Have I mentioned lately that you're a very confusing man?"

"Hmmm, I could say the same of you, you know. That's part of why I found you so fascinating when we first met."

"Hopefully I improve with acquaintance." Clark stroked Lex's back lazily.

Lex chuckled and arched up into the touch, purring like a cat. "Most definitely, though I will admit to you driving me insane at times."

"Oh good, I'd hate to bore you." Clark bit back a grin at Lex's reaction to being petted, and he made a mental note to see sometime if he reacted to catnip. For now he simply enjoyed being able to touch Lex and watch his reactions.

"Even when you were in full big blue bas... bruiser mode, you never bored me; that must be why I kept tabs on you."

"And here I always hoped it was because you thought I was hot and secretly lusted after my body."

"Mmm, there was that too. Is that why you kept such a close eye on me?"

"Well, it was part of it," Clark admitted, grinning. "There was also that minor detail of you being a criminal mastermind who had to be stopped."

Lex arched an eyebrow imperiously. "Never found a shred of evidence against me, have you?"

"We both know you're smart enough for that not to mean anything. But now I have a new and much better way to distract you from your evil plans... or give you some better ideas for evil plans."

"Such as seeing how the country reacts to a man in a homosexual relationship becoming President?"

"Sounds like a good start." Clark watched him lazily. "It'll be interesting to see if I still have a job when my editor finds out I'm sleeping with the enemy."

Lex stretched and rolled off Clark and onto the bed to lie on his back in a pose mimicking the other man's. "I'd be more worried about your partner than your editor. She may even stop trying to get into Superman's briefs if she finds out he's gone soft on Public Enemy Number One."

"God, I'll put up billboards and skywrite it if you think so!" Clark shook his head. "I don't know what I have to do to get it through to her that I'm not interested. I've always preferred to men to women, and she wouldn't be my type if we were the last people on Earth."

"Do tell? And here I thought you were pining over her like you were over the lovely Miss Lang while you were in high school. You have to admit they look somewhat alike though Lois seems to have Chloe's spirit.

"And since you've opened up the line of conversation, Clark, just when did you decide you liked men more than women - not that I'm complaining."

"Somewhere around the first time Lana and I finally made it into bed." Clark pulled a face. "I discovered that as Spock said, wanting can be more pleasant than having. It took a while for me to realize that it was women in general, not just Lana's helplessness, but when I was in college, I met Luke." He grinned quickly. "My freshman roommate, if you can believe it."

Lex rolled to his side and rested his head on his hand. "Details, Kent. Now."

"Like talking dirty, do you?" Clark chuckled. "Okay, let's see, he was on the swim team, wiry like someone else I could mention, five-eleven, one-quarter Cherokee, long black hair, dark brown eyes, abs to die for, and a cock that wouldn't quit." He grinned. "We had our beds pushed together by the end of the first week."

"Your father probably had a stroke when he found out - of course he's going to have a larger one when he hears about us."

"Uh, I think you and I should take a nice trip to the moon before I send him a letter. That _might_ be far enough to keep you safe from him."

"At least I have the comforting knowledge that Superman will take any bullets Jonathan aims at me."

"We'd better get Mom on our side. She'll calm him down eventually. Sort of. I don't think we should look forward to any warm family dinners though."

Lex shrugged. "It doesn't bother me, Clark; it's not like I was used to them anyway." He supposed he should feel guilty about possibly alienating Clark from his parents, but couldn't bring himself to it.

"Yeah, well, I may not go home often, but I'd like my boyfriend to be welcome to join me when I do. We've wasted enough time, Lex. I don't want to spend time apart unnecessarily."

"Maybe I should make Smallville a campaign stop, or do you think they'd toss me out on my ass while on national TV?" As he spoke, Lex took his free hand and ran it over Clark's chest, sighing at the feel of solid muscle under warm golden skin.

"I don't think you need to be a homosexual Presidential candidate who's hated by his in-laws," Clark chuckled. "That's a heck of a handicap even for Lex Luthor. I think we should skip Smallville till after you're elected. Then we can _both_ hide behind the Secret Service."

Lex chuckled and continued stroking Clark's chest. "Though that would end up with your father thrown in jail, and I really don't think you want that to happen."

Clark groaned. "This is a no-win situation. He's _not_ going to be happy hearing about this on the news, but there's no way in hell I'm bringing you anywhere near him to tell him about it."

"And have him think I'm a coward? No way, Kent. Nothing I can do about him hating me, but damned if I'll hide from him."

"But _I_ want to hide from him!" Clark practically whimpered. "Not that I'm with you," he hastened to add in case Lex took that the wrong way, "but I'm too old for platitudes."

Lex trailed his fingers over Clark's nipple, feeling it tighten before pinching the pebbled flesh. "I think he'll be too busy screaming at me to lecture you."

"That really doesn't help, Lex. I don't happen to want anyone screaming at you." Clark groaned faintly as Lex started teasing him back into arousal. "Not that I'm complaining, but are we going to try to make up for a wasted decade in a single night?"

"I'm multi-tasking, I happen to excel at it," Lex chuckled, sliding his fingers to the other nipple to give it the same treatment.

"God, Lex, I'm not really made of steel! Even I need some recovery time." But despite Clark's half-hearted complaints, his body was stirring back to life.

Lex smirked. "And I'm not asking you to fuck me right this second either, Superwimp. Haven't you learned buildup is half the fun?"

Before Lex could blink again, he was on his back with a very large Kryptonian atop him. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to tease the super-strong alien?" Clark tutted, shaking his head mock-mournfully. "You might get more than you bargained for."

"And I might get just what I wanted," Lex answered, sliding a leg up Clark's calf to hook over his thigh.

"Oh, so you like being tied spread-eagled to the bed while I fuck you till you scream?"

Lex's eyebrows rose and he smiled. "My, my. The boy scout's developed deviant tendencies."

"Nope, just grown up and discovered that I really, _really_ like sex. And admit it, Mr. Control Freak, the idea of being totally helpless to whatever I want to do to you turns you on."

"You tell anyone that and I'll have to kill you."

"You think I'm crazy? That's my secret and _I_ would have to kill anyone who found out. You're all mine." Clark gave a creditable impression of Lex's own smirk.

Lex chuckled and slid his leg higher up Clark's thigh. "I think you're just as turned on by the fact that you _can_ control me and I can't do a thing about it."

"Never denied it." A moment later an expensive Egyptian cotton sheet had been reduced to strips of cloth, and Lex's wrists and ankles were bound to the four bedposts.

"God, you look incredible like that," Clark breathed. He blew lightly against Lex's taut belly, his breath slightly cooler than room temperature but not the icy blast it could be... yet.

"Fuck..." Lex muttered, sucking in a breath when the chill air rolled over his skin. "Too bad you went the superhero route, you could have made a shitload of cash in the porn business."

"I don't actually need money, in case you haven't noticed. I can make whatever I want... or dig up precious metals or gems and be as rich as you are. But I think I like the idea of becoming a kept man." Clark grinned quickly, alternating with no discernible pattern cool puffs of air and warm blasts of his heat vision to keep Lex on edge.

Lex was shuddering now, but his voice stayed amazingly calm as Clark skillfully aroused him. "Planning on quitting your day job and taking care of the White House for me then?"

"Would I get a cute little French maid costume, fishnet stockings, heels, and a frilly apron?"

"I was thinking more of..." Lex paused and sucked in a breath when his skin went from warm to frigid and back again in a millisecond. "... a Nancy Reagan dress and diamonds."

Clark gave him an extra chilly blast for that one. "I don't think so. Besides, of the two of us, you're the one with the figure for a dress."

"Fuck you, Kent." Lex's teeth were chattering as he said it.

"We've already done that. It's my turn, now." A moment later Lex's cock was engulfed in a mouth that seemed to go from hot to cold as easily as Clark's breath.

Lex clenched his teeth together to avoid screaming. He knew he wasn't going to hold out forever, but damn if he was going to give Clark the pleasure this quickly. He bucked upward, groaning as Clark easily swallowed him down, massaging him to full arousal.

Hard again as well, Clark rocked against Lex's leg as he suckled on him, tasting Lex hungrily as he drew him to the brink, then pulled back. He wanted to watch Lex go wild, and then push inside him and take him as Lex had taken him. "You're mine," he rasped in a momentarily lull as he waited for Lex to calm slightly.

Raising his head, Lex looked at Clark through narrowed blue eyes, his whole body moving with his gasps for breath. "So you think," he rasped.

"I know." Clark met his gaze easily. "Just as I'm yours. It just took us a while to figure it out."

The time for games was past, and Clark knelt between Lex's legs after picking up the tube of gel amidst the pillows where Lex had tossed it earlier. He pressed a single finger inside Lex, watching his face for any sign of pain, adding a second when Lex began to meet his movements. Unable to wait any longer once Lex accepted the two digits easily, he slowly pushed into the clinging heat of his body.

Lex moaned and fought the ties, wanting to wind his arms around Clark's back and bring his legs back so Clark could go deeper into him. "Damn... so good," he breathed, moving as much as he was able under the other man's weight, silently admitting that Clark was right - Lex had been his since the first time they had met.

Clark felt and understood Lex's struggles, and a single glance at each tie left him free with the singed ends of the makeshift bonds fluttering as he moved. He drove into Lex's yielding body, gasping as he sank deeper with every stroke.

Digging his fingers into warm skin and hard muscle, Lex cried out, clenching his ass down around Clark's cock, his own erection trapped between their bodies as they thrust together.

Clark's palm cupped the soft skin of Lex's head as he shifted, lowering his head to kiss him almost desperately. His hips snapped back and forth, pounding into Lex as hard as he could bear, and he groaned harshly.

When their lips broke apart, Lex was gasping for air, but he dragged his hands up to Clark's head, tangling his fingers in the thick, dark hair. "Don't hold back, Clark. I want it all."

Clark didn't bother arguing, but he wasn't about to crush Lex's bones to dust. He did, however, let go of a little more of his control, groaning as he stiffened, the pleasure building deep inside him.

"Fuck... wanted you forever," Lex whispered, shuddering as Clark thrust harder, deeper, and then he was coming, screaming himself hoarse as Clark possessed him totally.

Lex's convulsions were more than Clark could bear, and he cried out as well as he came only moments later, buried deep inside Lex, his head flung back as the pleasure overwhelmed him.

Lex closed his eyes, allowing himself to wallow in sensation for as long as possible, knowing he was going to walk funny tomorrow, but not caring in the least. "Yours," he whispered, knowing that Clark would hear it even though the single word was barely audible to his own ears.

Clark's lips curved in a smile against Lex's neck. "Yours," he replied, not moving a single muscle.

END