Title: A Heart Whose Love is Innocent
Author: Coren Lee
Email: coren@tiscali.co.uk
Rating: R for language
Challenge: Wave #19 Jet-setting. Lex needs to get away from the castle. Why? Does it have to do with the holidays? Where is he going? Will he invite Clark?
Notes: Spoilers for Season 1, but generally AU and possibly ooc in places. Thanks to Jazzy for a wonderful beta and my friend Kevin for a conversation recently about quantum dynamics, some of which was stolen by Clark and used in this story ;) None of these characters belong to me, no copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Lex was looking forward to his vacation away from Smallville, but hadn't realized how much he would miss his best friend.

***

"Termites?"

"Termites."

"How can a Scottish mansion built out of stone have termites?" Clark took his shot, missed, and stepped back to allow Lex to line up his own shot.

"Just because the walls are stone doesn't mean there's no wood in the construction. There are the beams, the doors, the windows, the wine racks in the cellar…" Lex hit the white with a resounding smack, and smiled with satisfaction as his chosen ball plopped into the pocket.

"So, where are you going?"

"Hayman Island. It's a very exclusive resort just off the coast of Queensland Australia, right near the Great Barrier Reef. According to its publicity, Hayman is a tropical island lapped by the azure blue waters of the Coral Sea. Apparently it's the closest thing to paradise on Earth… or at least, so said the person who recommended it to me. Here, take a look at the brochure while I win this game," he grinned.

Clark leafed through a glossy brochure, looking at one stunning image after another.

"And you're going to be away for how long?"

"About three weeks." Another good shot, another ball in the pocket.

"I can't believe it takes three weeks to fumigate this place," muttered Clark.

Lex smirked and took another shot. "It doesn't but it's a good excuse to get out of Smallville for a while, take a vacation."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I guess."

"I mean, I would have had a honeymoon back in the summer if Desiree hadn't tried to kill me, so I guess I'm owed some time off."

"That's one way of looking at it," mumbled Clark.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking out loud."

Lex pocketed the winning ball, and returned his cue to the rack.

"So, I'm out of here for a while and the fumigators will be in here… doing whatever it is that fumigators do. I tried to convince my Dad to stay here and supervise, but he thought that all that imidacloprid and chlorfenapyr might be damaging to his health. Imagine that," he chuckled.

"Yeah, imagine that," said Clark glumly, slipping his own cue back in its place.

"Hey, you okay? You seem a bit down."

"No, I'm okay, it's just…"

"What? Just what?"

"I'm going to miss you. Miss this," he said, waving his arm in the general direction of the pool table. "Miss having coffee together at The Talon."

"I'll only be gone for three weeks; it'll pass so quickly you won't even notice it."

***

Clark couldn't believe that Lex was going to be gone for three whole weeks. He'd come to rely upon having him around, and the hours when they would normally be together playing pool, watching a movie, or talking over coffee were going to hang really heavy on his hands. He knew he was being unreasonable and acting like a spoilt brat, but that only made him feel even more out of sorts.

He'd gone to the mansion after dinner intending to spend a few hours there, but after that one game of pool during which Lex dropped his bombshell, he made an excuse about chores and headed back to the Farm.

"Clark? Is that you honey?"

"Yeah, Mom." He quickly grabbed a glass for the milk he was about to drink straight from the carton.

"Is anything wrong sweetie? I thought you were going to be over at Lex's for a few hours?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just changed my mind."

His Mom didn't say anything, but she was looking at him as if she could read the lie on his face, which, come to think of it, she probably could. He'd never been able to hide anything from her. Every smashed dish, every broken toy, every tiny evasion when he'd done something he knew she wouldn't like, she'd somehow seen right through all his excuses like they were made of glass.

He sighed and told the truth. Well, a version of the truth at least. "Lex is going away on vacation day after tomorrow, that's all. I left early because I thought he might need some time to pack." He shrugged and put the milk back in the refrigerator. By keeping his back turned for a few seconds he hoped he could get the expression on his face to stop saying things like 'it's not fair he's going away and leaving me', and instead broadcast something like, 'lucky Lex, I'm so happy for him that he's getting such a wonderful vacation'.

"Ah," she said, "and he told you about this vacation tonight?"

"Uh-huh", he said. "The mansion has termites so he has to leave while the fumigators deal with the problem. He figured it was a good time to take a break."

"You know sweetie, it's okay to feel jealous that someone is having a vacation and you're stuck here on the farm."

"I'm not jealous!" he declared hotly. "I'm really happy for Lex! He's going to this amazing place in Australia called Hayman Island, and he's going to windsurf, and scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef, and jet ski, and paraglide and…"

"Okay, okay! I get it! Lex is going to an amazing place," she chuckled, "and he's going to have a wonderful time."

"I'm going out to the barn," he muttered, "I'll see you later."

Clark threw himself down on the old sofa, and stared at the dusty ceiling. Was he jealous? Was he really so petty that he would begrudge his best friend a badly needed vacation to an island paradise? He hoped he was better than that, but there was no doubt there was a twinge right deep down inside that was making him very unhappy right now. He reached under the sofa and pulled out a box. He'd twisted the latch around so that no-one would be able to open it but him, and from the inside he pulled out a scrap book filled with stories and photos about Alexander Luthor. He'd collected an impressive array of things going back to Lex's childhood. He guessed it was kind of creepy in a way, to dig into his friend's past like this, but it made him feel closer to Lex, as if he knew him better than anyone. Everyone had access to the news and magazine articles he'd clipped, but no-one else had the candid photos of Lex standing with Clark at the Farmers' Market, or slurping down a soda outside a cinema. There were little keepsakes in the box too. A button from one of Lex's shirts; a coin they'd used once to decide who would queue for the sodas at the football and who would stay wrapped in the blanket; a piece of quartz that they found one day while walking along the river bank. They were all little things that meant nothing to anyone else, but were important to him because they reminded him of Lex. He figured they would get a lot of wear and tear over the next three weeks.

***

Martha saw Clark briefly when he came home from school, but then he disappeared after doing his chores, and didn't show his face again until she called him to wash up for dinner. She watched him aimlessly pushing food around his plate, and decided it was time to say something.

"Clark, you've barely touched your dinner, and I know you didn't eat breakfast this morning, is everything alright?"

"Yeah Mom, I'm just not that hungry, that's all."

Martha shared a look with Jonathan, sighed, and tried again.

"You're not still moping around because you're jealous about Lex going off on vacation are you, sweetie?"

"Mom! I told you, I'm not jealous! Why can't you just let it drop?"

"Clark, don't speak to your Mother like that. We didn't bring you up to be rude and if that's what hanging around with Luthor is doing to your manners…"

Clark stood up so abruptly that his chair tipped back over with a crash.

"Why is it that every time I do something you don't like, Lex gets blamed for it?" he asked angrily. "Why can't I just be out of sorts like any normal person? Oh wait. Maybe it's because I'm not a normal person. Well guess what, I'm NEVER going to be normal, so get used to it!"

With that parting shot Clark was suddenly gone.

Martha was so taken aback by his response that she just sat there with her mouth open. Jonathan got up and set the chair back on its feet, and was about to head out of the door.

"Wait Jonathan, give him some time to cool off," she said.

"Martha, I can't let him get away with that kind of behavior. I don't care what anyone says, this is all Luthor's fault. Clark was a sweet, even-tempered kid till he came on the scene. Now look at him! Sulky, morose, snappish…"

"Just like any normal teenager."

"…rude, arrogant… what?"

"I said, just like any normal teenager."

She stood up and put her arms around him.

"Jonathan, for once Clark is doing exactly what any normal boy his age would do - getting jealous and huffy because his friend has gone off on an amazing trip, and he's stuck here on the farm. Don't be too hard on him, and don't blame Lex unfairly. Clark won't stand for that, you heard him. Clark hates it when people treat Lex like he's just a Luthor or his Father's clone. We've raised Clark to try to see the good in people, so don't make it hard for him now that he's putting into practice all the things that we taught him."

"You're saying it's our fault that he's hanging around with that Luthor?"

"His name is Lex, and if you tried to think of him as 'Lex' instead of 'that Luthor', I think you might begin to understand why Clark is his friend."

"Martha, I can think of him in any way you like, but I will never understand why Clark is his friend."

She sighed and gave it up. Jonathan's hatred of the Luthors was bone deep, and for someone who was usually such a fair-minded, easy going guy, he was as stubborn as all get-out when it came to Luthors. If only she could get him to back off slightly, they might be able to find some common ground. Despite the fact that Clark was not their biological son he had the Kent stubbornness and temper, and unless she could act as a buffer and peacemaker, she could see some very stormy times ahead as Father and son butted heads over Lex Luthor.

***

"Clark! Will you answer me dammit?!"

"Huh?"

"For heaven's sake Clark, I've been talking to you for the last ten minutes. Have you heard a word I've said?!" snapped Chloe. "What's up with you? You look like someone's killed your puppy."

"Um, nothing I'm fine. What did you ask again?"

Chloe sighed and gave it up. Clark was hopeless when he was in this sort of mood, she might as well talk to the back of the seat in front. In fact, that's more or less exactly what she'd been doing given that he'd been completely ignoring her since he sat next to her on the school bus. He'd been just as bad yesterday, moping around and not talking to anyone. Jeez, she felt like smacking him upside the head at times.

"Forget it Clark, just let me know when you land back on Planet Earth and we'll try again," she sniped.

"What?"

"Never mind."

As they piled out of the bus Chloe saw a sleek black Mercedes in the parking lot, and one of the mansion staff looking around. She nudged Clark.

"Hey, do you know that guy?"

Clark looked at the direction she was pointing, and smiled in recognition.

"Hey Enrique, what are you doing here?"

Chloe was right on Clark's heels as he walked over to meet the guy. She was determined not to miss any of this.

"I hope this is not contravening school regulations Master Clark, but Mr. Luthor asked me to hand this to you personally, and he suggested it would be better to do it here rather than at the farm."

Master Clark? Since when did Clark warrant a 'Master' in front of his name? And since his reaction was… well, no reaction at all actually, she had to suppose that he was used to being called 'Master' by the mansion staff. That was definitely something to think about later.

Clark accepted a padded envelope from the guy, and gave him one of those blinding Clark Kent smiles. Huh. So, puppy not dead after all.

"No, it's fine, thank you Enrique. Did Lex get off okay?"

"Yes sir, the jet left on time."

"Where are you staying while the mansion's being fumigated?"

"The staff members are either taking a vacation like Mr. Luthor, or working from the penthouse in Metropolis until he returns."

Fumigated? Vacation? Chloe's investigative nose was twitching like a rabbit that had overdosed on oats. Clark was so dead! How could he have failed to let her know all this was going on? Although, thinking back to his mood yesterday and on the bus this morning, Lex being away on vacation might explain the doom and gloom in Kent-land.

She had never understood their friendship, although it didn't upset her the way it did Pete. His hatred of all things Luthor was impressive in an intense kind of way and he had never reconciled himself to the fact that Clark appeared to be close friends with Luthor junior. But, whether she understood it or not, the reality was undeniable. They played pool together, went to the movies, the football and The Talon together… if she hadn't known better she would have said they were dating. In fact, come to think of it they spent more time together than most couples who actually *were* dating. No wonder Clark was distracted if Lex had gone away on vacation.

"Well thank you Enrique, I appreciate you bringing this over for me."

"My pleasure, sir, I shall look forward to seeing you at the mansion again once Mr. Luthor returns."

Chloe followed the exchange with avid interest. This Enrique obviously knew Clark pretty well and just as obviously liked him. She waited until the guy was safely back in the Mercedes before giving her curiosity free rein.

"So, what it is Clark?"

He grimaced at her, but opened the envelope anyway.

"Wow," he said.

She was inclined to agree with him. Wow indeed. It was a top of the range cell phone, one of those that could send and receive video as well as still photos. Her attention was so focused on the black, slim line phone that she didn't notice Clark was reading a note until he folded it up, and put it in his pocket.

"What did it say?"

He was smiling, so she guessed it wasn't bad news.

"Lex wanted to be able to keep in touch while he's on vacation and send me photos of the places he's visiting."

"So he what, bought you a cell phone?"

She wondered if she sounded as incredulous as she was feeling, but Clark, bless him, was totally oblivious to her once again, so what the hell.

"Yeah," he grinned, "and best of all, the call charges get billed to LuthorCorp."

"Shit Clark, your Dad's gonna blow an artery when he sees that phone, let alone finds out that LuthorCorp will be picking up the tab!"

"Chloe! You can't tell anyone! Promise me you'll keep this to yourself!"

"Ow, Clark, you're hurting me! Jeezus, that's some grip you have there, buddy."

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, letting go of her arm. "Just… Chloe, you have to keep this secret, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, sure, okay. But Clark, let me tell you that keeping secrets is never a good idea, especially not keeping secrets from your parents."

She held up her hands as he glared at her. She had to admit that was a bit hypocritical considering that she often made Clark her alibi for some incident or other that she didn't want her Dad to know about.

"Okay, okay, I'm just sayin', it usually backfires. So when the shit hits the fan - and it will - don't say I didn't warn you, okay?"

***

Clark wanted to read the note from Lex again, but he was too nervous to pull it out in class in case it got confiscated. The morning dragged by, minute by painful minute, until finally lunchtime came and he escaped to find a quiet spot outside to read it again.

Clark,

After you left the mansion I realized that I am going to miss you too. Three weeks without hearing your cheerful voice or your gentle teasing is just too long. I know your parents won't like me giving you this, but I thought we might be able to keep it as our secret. I have the same model phone, and my number is already programmed into the phone book for you under LL. All charges are billed back to LuthorCorp, so don't be afraid to use it.

There is a sixteen hour time difference between Queensland and Kansas. If you call me at 6am your time, it will be 10pm in Hayman Island. If you call at 6pm, then it will be 10am for me, the next day. I could call you, but I don't want to ring at the wrong time and land you in trouble with your folks. I will send you a text when I have arrived though, so that you know I am in Australia.

Your friend, Lex

Wow. He looked at the phone again, and couldn't believe that Lex would do something like this for him.

"What you got there, Clark?"

He slipped the phone into his pocket using his super speed, and had a sandwich in his hand before turning round to face Pete.

"Lunch," he said, holding up the sandwich.

"Uh-huh. Just lunch? You sure 'bout that?"

"Chloe told you," he said bitterly.

"Don't blame the girl; I beat it out of her."

Clark raised an eyebrow.

"Well okay, not literally. I saw you and her talkin' to that creepy guy from Casa Luthor this morning, and I wouldn't let up till she told me what it was all about."

"Yeah, well so much for her protecting my secret," he said. "It's a good job she doesn't know anything about the other one."

"Hey man, don't be like that. She wouldn't tell anyone else about the phone, it's just that she knows you trust me, and I really did give her a hard time about it."

"I don't want my folks to know about this Pete," he warned.

"I hear ya buddy. If I was you, I wouldn't want my folks to know that Luthor junior was giving me presents like that either."

"See, that's what I hate. There's nothing wrong with Lex wanting to talk to me while he's on vacation and this is the easiest way to do it, but you have to make it sound like something bad, or wrong."

"Clark buddy, it *is* bad and wrong. Can't you see what sort of message something like this sends to folks? It's like you and him are, I dunno, dating or something."

"Pete, the only ones who know about this, apart from me and Lex, are you and Chloe, so what folks?"

"That's not the point," said Pete, "it's the principle of it…"

"Pete, just shut up, okay?" he snapped. "I don't want to hear it. I know you don't like Lex, and I know you don't like it that he's my friend, so just drop it."

Pete held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, don't bite my head off, dude."

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and as soon as he got home he rushed up to his room to hide the phone and battery charger. He quickly x-rayed the house to make sure his parents weren't around, and finding the coast clear he switched on the phone. Wow. Lex had set the wallpaper, and it was a photo of them both taken at the Farmers' Market a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful photo, but wow. Lex was so thoughtful, who else would have done something like that?

He quickly checked the battery, and was relieved to see it was fully charged. Switching the phone off, he wrapped it in a handkerchief and slipped it into the pocket of his baggy jeans. He checked carefully in the mirror to make sure that it didn't show at all, and then rushed out to do his chores.

By the time he joined his folks for dinner, he was like a cat on hot bricks. He'd tried to work out when Lex would arrive in Australia, but what with not really knowing how long the flight was - except that it was a long way - plus factoring in the time difference, he couldn't be sure. He thought that maybe Lex would be there by now, but he would have to wait until he got the text message.

"Clark, for goodness' sake stop fidgeting," snapped his Dad.

They still weren't really speaking to each other after the fight they had last night, but that didn't seem to stop his Dad from criticizing him at every opportunity.

He saw his Mom glare at his Dad, and unfortunately allowed a smirk to pass across his lips.

"And you can wipe that look off your face right now, son! Is that something else you learned from Luthor? He's the only person I know who smirks like that."

He only just managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he made his face look as blank as possible, and just stared at his Dad. He would not let this get to him, he could rise above it.

"Clark, Jonathan, please, can we get through dinner without you two sniping at each other?"

They ate in uncomfortable silence for several minutes, but Clark was too keyed up with anticipation to settle. He barely restrained himself from eating at super speed, and as soon as his plate was cleared, he jumped up to place it in the sink and head off to the barn.

"Whoa, wait a moment young man, where do you think you're going?"

He made a supreme effort to bite back the 'none of your damn business' response that was on the tip of his tongue, and took a deep breath.

"Homework", he said, and started to walk towards the door.

"Clark, sit back down right this minute. You and I are going to have a serious talk about this new attitude of yours. It's not smart or clever to be rude to your parents, and you never used to be so insolent before you met that damned Luthor."

Clark spun round and glared at his Dad.

"Will you just shut up about Lex?" he snarled. He knew that he was red in the face and could feel himself shaking with anger. "He has done nothing but be a good friend to me, and I'm sick of hearing you criticize him all the time."

With that he stormed out of the kitchen and went up to the barn. He knew his Mom would stop his Dad from chasing after him, and his homework really was out in the barn waiting for him. God, couldn't his Dad see how unreasonable he was being?

***

Lex was very grateful that they had finally arrived at the resort. Even on a private jet it was a hell of a journey, and he had no idea how people coped with traveling on scheduled flights. He shuddered at the thought.

He had booked the French Penthouse, and its classic Louis XVI and contemporary furnishings gave it the feel of a villa in the south of France. As he wandered around checking the place out he noticed a 19th Century French marble fireplace, with a Venetian gilt mirror hanging above the mantelpiece, and in the bedroom there were two elegant Louis XVI lamps. Lex was impressed. Outside he could see a crescent-shaped, sparkling white, sandy bay towards the south west, and inland there were glimpses of shady ponds and gentle waterfalls strategically placed among beautiful gardens and elegant walkways. Bruce Wayne hadn't exaggerated; this place truly was a tropical paradise.

It was late morning local time, which meant early evening in Kansas. He took a bottle of water out onto the verandah, and surrounded by the lush tropical vegetation with the vibrantly colored birds as his audience, he sent a text message to Clark. 'I've arrived, all good. Lex.' That was safe enough. If by chance anyone else should get that message, it wouldn't mean anything. Seconds later, the phone rang, but until he knew for sure it was Clark calling him and not (shudder) Jonathan Kent or even Enrique to say that he hadn't been able to give the phone to Clark, he played it safe.

"Lex Luthor"

"Hi, it's me."

Lex always thought that was one of the most ridiculous things that anyone could ever say during a phone conversation, but somehow when Clark did it, it was cute.

"Hey."

"How was the trip?"

"Boring, tedious, dull… oh, did I mention boring?"

"Um yeah, I'm pretty sure you mentioned boring."

Lex could hear the amusement in Clark's voice, and he was suddenly hit with a pang of longing to see those mischievous green eyes twinkling back at him. At least they could talk, that was something.

"It was okay. I did some work, read a bit, slept a bit, watched a movie, slept some more. I don't know how people cope in a normal aircraft though, it's an awfully long way. How about you? Anything exciting happening in Smallville that I should know about?"

"As if," he chuckled. "Apart from the mutant of the week, what ever happens around here?"

"What are you doing at the moment?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Lex realized it sounded like the opening line in phone sex chat. The pause was long enough that he wondered whether Clark had the same thought, but no; surely he was more innocent than that?

"Hiding out in the barn. I had an argument with my Dad tonight. Actually I had an argument with him last night too, so I'm just keeping out of his way."

"Ah, the 'live to fight another day' strategy of father-son relationships; I know that one all too well."

Lex hoped that he wasn't the cause of the arguments but he strongly suspected he might be. Clark never said anything about his Father's dislike of the Luthors, but he knew it went deep and that Clark took flak from time to time because of their friendship. It was one of the things that made Lex accept that Clark actually did like him, and he wasn't just trying to suck up to him for some selfish reason.

"What are you doing at the moment?"

Was that a slightly husky note in Clark's voice? No, it must just be the phone line.

"Sitting on the verandah of my island penthouse, looking out over a tropical rainforest towards a white coral beach and sparkling blue sea," he said.

"Wow. So the place is as good as your friend said it would be?"

"Actually, I think Bruce held back a bit. The island is amazing, and the accommodation is really impressive. I wish you could be here to see it."

Okay, where did that come from? Lex had lots of plans for his three weeks in paradise, but he had never considered that sharing the time with a high school teen would be on the list of things he most wanted to do. And where did that little lump in his throat come from?

"I'll send you some photos," he added, "but first I'm going to have a shower and get changed before I start exploring."

"Okay, well have fun, and I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

***

They slipped into a kind of habit over the next few days. Clark would leave the farm after dinner and phone Lex, although after that first time he decided to avoid the barn, just in case his folks came out to see what he was up to. It was easy enough with his speed to get away somewhere private, and having grown up in Smallville, he knew all the hiding places in the area.

Every night Lex would tell him all about the places he'd visited and the things he'd done the previous day, and then send him the photos as soon as he hung up. Clark spent the next half hour gazing at the photos, remembering what Lex had told him about each one. He would then go back to the barn and look through his scrapbook or play around with the coin or the button. He guessed he was being a little obsessive about this, but he wasn't hurting anyone so he didn't agonize over it. After all, no-one else need ever know. It was his secret and if there was one thing Clark Kent knew all about, it was secrets.

***

"…and this one is the view from Lex's verandah, and this one is the lagoon and waterfall just behind his penthouse."

"Wow, it sure is a beautiful place."

At first Clark had been shy about showing the photos to Chloe, but she nagged him until he agreed, and now he was rattling through the images so fast she was getting left behind. Pete had muttered something about having to do… well, something, she wasn't sure what. She knew it was just an excuse not to have to look at whatever Lex had sent Clark, so she didn't call him on it. Clark didn't even seem to notice he wasn't there; he was so intent on looking at the images.

"And this is Lex standing by the waterfall that's just a bit around on the other side of his penthouse."

Aha! The first photo to feature the man himself. Chloe put her hand over Clark's to stop him from moving on to the next image too quickly. She thought that Lex looked pretty much as he always did when he was looking at Clark; an open, friendly smile that actually reached his eyes, and a completely relaxed pose.

"Nice photo," she said, and was rewarded with one of those beaming Clark Kent smiles that dazzled.

"Yeah, when Lex gets back I'm going to ask him if he can get that one printed for me," he confessed. "He looks just like he usually does, but there's this amazing scenery all around him, it's such a contrast, you know?"

Surely Clark realized that the only time that Lex Luthor looked like that was when he and Clark were together? Okay, maybe Clark wasn't actually with him on the island, but the photo had obviously been taken with Clark in mind, and Lex was smiling at the camera as if he was looking directly into Clark's eyes. Wait a minute… is there anything…? Nah, she shook her head. Clark Kent and Lex Luthor? Never gonna happen.

***

Clark dashed into his bedroom as soon as he got home and plugged the cell phone into the charger, and then dropped a pile of dirty washing over the top to keep it out of sight. He had been very careful only to charge the phone when he was in his room, but showing the photos to Chloe at school had run down the battery, and he wanted to make sure it was fully charged before phoning Lex after dinner.

He came out of his room and nearly bowled his Mom over.

"Clark! Be careful, will you?"

"Sorry Mom," he grinned at her.

"Do you have any dirty washing up here? I know it's not washing day, but your Dad got his clothes in a mess fixing the tractor, and I'm going to run a load before the stains set in."

He was looking at her as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Clark? Honey? What is it?"

"Um, nothing Mom," he stammered. "Um, no, there's nothing up here, I did all my washing yesterday."

That was odd. She was sure he was lying, but why on earth would he lie about his dirty wash… ah, a light went on in her brain. Teenage boy plus teenage boy's hormones equals some stained clothing that he would probably not want to explain to his Mother. Poor kid, she needed to give him an out, and quickly.

"That's fine sweetie, there are some towels I can wash, I'll get them."

She hid her smile, and ducked into the bathroom to get the dirty towels. By the time Clark followed her down to the kitchen, they had both regained their equilibrium.

***

Clark had grabbed the newly charged phone as soon as he could escape after dinner, and was now sitting in his favorite spot on the riverbank, just underneath the bridge. Lex picked up on the second ring.

"I've just arrived at Reefworld."

"Hello to you too, Lex," grinned Clark, "what's reefworld?"

"According to the leaflet on the table here it's Australia’s largest purpose-built Reef facility. I took a helicopter from Hayman, and wow Clark, you should have seen the views of the Great Barrier Reef as we passed overhead. I took some photos and I'll send them to you after we finish speaking."

"Is it an observation platform?"

"Kind of, but there's also an underwater marine theatre and semi-submersible rides, plus you can hire snorkeling equipment if you want to get out into the ocean and feed the fish."

"Be careful," said Clark, suddenly concerned about what might happen to Lex if he wasn't there to breathe life into him.

"Yes Mom," teased Lex.

They both snickered quietly, and then Clark sighed.

"So what's happening in Smallville?"

"Same old, same old," he said.

"Where are you?"

"Sitting under the bridge, by the side of the river."

"…"

"Lex? You still there?"

"Um yeah, I guess I was just a bit surprised at where you are."

"I don't like calling you from the farm just in case my folks walk in on me, and I like it here, it reminds me of you."

"Isn't it cold?"

"Maybe." He paused for a moment and then added, "I don't really notice the cold."

That was the closest that Clark had ever come to admitting that there was something a bit unusual about himself.

"Ah, okay. Well look, I have to go, the snorkeling guy is here and wants to go through the safety precautions with me."

"Right, well pay attention to what he says. I won't be there to give you the kiss of life this time."

"Take care Clark, talk to you tomorrow."

He sat there waiting for the photos from Lex to arrive, and then spent a long time looking at the different images. Lex was right, the views were really stunning, and the desire to be there with Lex suddenly hit him so hard it felt like a physical pain. He even glanced around to see if there was any meteor rock around, but no, it was just him missing his best friend.

***

The trip to Reefworld had been absolutely wonderful, but had left Lex feeling discontented. He was lonely, he realized. The sights were beautiful, incredible even, but he wanted someone to share them with him. Taking photos for Clark had made him feel better, but then he was alone again. After showering and changing he decided to go down to the tropical pool, and see if he could strike up conversation with one of the other guests over a pre-dinner drink.

Sitting at one of the tables around the poolside, he became aware that someone was watching him. He glanced around casually, and saw an elegant young woman with long dark hair looking in his direction. He smiled at her, and then walked over to her table. She reminded him of someone… Lana Lang? Not exactly, but there were similarities. She definitely looked familiar.

"Hi, I'm Lex Luthor," he said, "have we met?"

"Please, sit down," she said. "You probably don't remember, but we met at Gstaad a few years ago. Annabelle de Rosse."

"Ah, yes," he said, "your ski snapped on the slope, and I helped you back to the chalet."

She smiled at him, obviously pleased that he had remembered her. They slipped into an easy conversation, talking about places and people they both knew. Her father was a Swiss financier, and she was stopping in Hayman for a few days before heading to Tokyo to conduct some business on his behalf. They shared some amusing anecdotes about working with one's father, and then Lex invited her to his suite for dinner.

"Thank you, that would be delightful," she murmured. "I'll be there at eight."

Lex stood as she rose and left to return to her room. She was almost as tall as him, and had a seductive sway when she walked. She might work in finance now, but Lex would bet his trust fund that there was some modeling experience in her background. Hmm, maybe tonight he wouldn't be so lonely after all.

***

"Clark, I've been calling you for five minutes. Before you head off to school I need some help with the… what the hell's that?"

Shit! He'd been so careful to keep the phone hidden, and damn his bad luck that the second he unplugged the charger to pack it all in his bag, his Dad should walk in. Hadn't he ever heard of knocking?!

"Clark Jerome Kent, I asked you a question. What. Is. That?"

"Um, it's a cell phone."

"And where, may I ask, did you get the money to buy a cell phone?"

"It's not mine, it's on loan."

"What? On loan? Who has the sort of money to loan something that expens… oh wait, don't tell me. That belongs to Luthor, doesn't it?"

"His name is Lex, Dad. And yeah, it's his phone. He left it with me so that we can keep in touch while he's on vacation."

"Oh no, not in my house. You give that to me right now my boy, I'm confiscating it."

"NO! There's no harm in me borrowing it while he's away, you're not touching it!"

"Whatever is all the shouting about?"

His Mom peered around the doorway, and saw Clark and his Dad in a face off in his room.

"That damned Luthor let Clark borrow a cell phone while he's on vacation!"

"Why ever did he do that honey?"

"So that we can keep in touch while he's away, there's nothing wrong in it!"

He saw his Mom glance worriedly at his Dad.

"What's the matter? I don't see the problem," he said, "it's just a cell phone, and I'll give it back when he gets home."

"Clark, if you really believed there was nothing in wrong in accepting this from Lex, then why did you keep it a secret from us?" said his Mom.

"Because I knew how Dad would react, that's why! He blames Lex for everything, and never wants to hear about what a good friend he is to me. I knew Dad wouldn't want me to have this, but I really don't see the harm so I just kept quiet about it.

"Clark, honey, it's not like you to lie to us," she said.

"How would you know?" he snapped. "You taught me to lie to everyone else, how do you know I don't lie to you too?"

"Clark! That's enough!" shouted Jonathan. "This bad-mannered attitude of yours is getting old very quickly, son. What's up with you? You don't seem to understand how serious it is that you lied to us!"

I didn't lie to you," he said with a shrug, "you never asked me if I had a cell phone."

"Clark, listen to yourself. That kind of devious thinking is right out of the Luthor handbook and yet you can't see what's wrong with that! I just don't get you son, you never used to be this stupid!"

"Gee thanks Dad, it's nice to know what you really think about me," said Clark, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We'll finish this discussion downstairs son, and you will give me that phone right now."

"NO! I won't give it to you. Lex trusted me with it, and I'm not going to betray his trust."

Clark was starting to shake, he was so angry. How dare his Dad try to force him to be disloyal to Lex.

"Clark, Jonathan, both of you, just calm down, please."

He took a deep breath and tried hard to ease back on his temper for his Mom's sake, but his Dad was still standing there with his hand out, expecting Clark to hand over the phone.

"I'm not giving you the phone, you can take your hand away," he said.

"You are my son, and you will do what I say," shouted Jonathan, "now give me that damned phone this minute!"

Clark saw his Dad step forward and start to reach for the phone, and that was it; that was the final thing that pushed him just that bit too far. Without another word he zipped into super speed, gathered up some clean clothes and his books, and shot out of the farm house.

***

"Oh for goodness' sake Jonathan, why did you push him so hard?"

She sighed and trudged downstairs to the kitchen. She'd been about to serve up breakfast when she heard all the shouting, and although it would just be the two of them now, she went back to her normal morning routine. In any other family someone would have chased off after the tempestuous teenager and hauled him back, but that wasn't an option with their son. The only thing to do was to wait until he got over his temper and came home under his own steam.

Jonathan followed her, and sat down heavily at the table.

"I told you that being friends with Luthor would cause trouble," he said.

"And I told you to ease off about Lex, this argument is your fault," she said.

"MY fault? How can it be MY fault?! I'm not the one who was being deceitful and lying to my parents."

"No, but the only reason he did that is because he didn't want a scene with you," she snapped. "Oh come on Jonathan, you know as well as I do that you never have a positive thing to say about Lex, is it any wonder that Clark took the path of least resistance and figured that what you didn't know wouldn't hurt you?"

"I can't believe you're excusing him! This is serious Martha! He deceived us and lied to us, and what's more, admitted that he didn't see anything wrong in doing so."

She mentally counted to ten, and then took a deep breath.

"We are not going to see eye to eye over this. I think you've been unreasonable, but that's not what worries me. I just hope that Clark doesn't do anything reckless while he's in such a bad temper. You know how out of control his powers get when he's upset, and I don't think I've ever seen him as angry as this. Let's just hope that he calms down and has a normal day at school, and then comes home this afternoon. I'm worried sick that he might not be able to control himself, and you're still complaining about him keeping a cell phone loaned by Lex a secret. For God's sake Jonathan, get your priorities in order."

***

Clark was furiously angry with his Dad. All his life he talked to Clark about fairness and how he should always try to see the best in people, and yet when it came to Lex he was a bigoted, blinkered, hypocrite.

When he ran out of the farmhouse he just took off, and it was only when he slowed down that he realized that he'd run to the mansion. He almost sobbed at the irony of that, but instead he pulled himself together and headed towards the walled garden around the back, where he sat in a bower that Lex had planted with his Mother's favorite roses. There were no blooms at this time of year, but he and Lex often sat there to talk, and it made him feel less stressed just by being there.

How could his Dad be so willfully blind about all the good things that Lex had done for him, and for the town? God, even offering himself to secure the release of the town's teens when Earl held them all hostages at the Plant! Couldn't his Dad see that that was the act of a genuine hero, not a villain to be accused of hidden agendas and dark deeds? And then there was the way that Lex acted around Clark: *he* never called him stupid, or treated him like a child. In fact Lex was the one person who always listened to what he had to say; who always made time for him no matter what, and treated him like he really mattered.

He knew he needed to get a grip and calm down, but he felt so alone. There was no point even talking to Pete, he hated Lex just as much as his Dad did, and Chloe had already told him not to come running to her when the shit hit the fan. Lana… well, Lana was sweet, but her standard response to anything was avoidance. Let's face it, he thought, the one friend I always turn to with all my problems just isn't here. He really needed to hear Lex's voice telling him that everything would be okay …

***

Dinner with Annabelle had been most enjoyable. She was a good conversationalist, very pleasant indeed on the eye, and gave him every encouragement to understand that they would be sharing even more of each other's company before the night was over. They were standing out on the verandah, enjoying an excellent brandy, listening to the relaxing sounds of the ocean washing upon the silver sand.

"This is lovely Lex, thank you," she said.

He smiled at her, and then placing both brandy glasses on the table, he took her hands, and gently pulled her towards him. They embraced and swayed, dancing to the music of the rainforest. Lex was about to kiss her, when he heard the unmistakable sound of his cell phone. The only person who had that number was Clark, so…

"Excuse me a moment," he murmured, "I'll just take that call. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

He kissed her gently, and dashed inside to get the call.

"Your timing could be better Clark," he said, but with a chuckle in his voice not a reprimand.

"Um, sorry, I didn't mean to, um… I'm sorry…" he sniffed.

Suddenly Lex was seriously concerned. There was something in Clark's voice that was very wrong.

"Clark? What is it? Tell me."

"My uh, my Dad saw me putting the cell phone in my school bag, and we had a blazing row," he sniffled.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"

God if Jonathan Kent had hurt Clark, he would regret the day he was born!

"No, no, he wouldn't… he couldn't… I mean no, I'm okay."

Lex sat on the couch and absently rubbed his head.

"Where are you now?"

He heard Clark gulp, and stifle a sob.

"Don't be mad, but I'm sitting in your Mom's rose bower," he said quietly.

Lex was silent for a moment, thinking about what it meant that Clark would seek sanctuary in that particular place.

"I'm not mad, why would I be mad?"

"Jeezus, I don't know Lex, I'm not thinking too straight right now."

Lex heard a sound, and was aware that Annabelle had come inside to see what was taking so long. She raised her eyebrow in query, but Lex ignored her. Instead he focused all his attention on reassuring Clark and providing the support he so desperately needed at that moment.

"I was thinking about you earlier today, about how much I missed you."

"Really?" he sniffed.

"Really," confirmed Lex. "Everywhere I went I kept thinking: I wish Clark was here with me to see this. It's not much fun without you."

Lex was so intent on his conversation with Clark that he never heard Annabelle leave.

"What time is it there now?" he asked.

"Um, about 7.30am I think."

"Look, I know this is going to be hard, but I want you to go to school as usual, and then this afternoon, go home to the farm and make it up with your folks, okay?"

"I'm not letting him take the phone."

"That's okay, you don't have to concede every point, but in every negotiation there is give and take. The secret of successful negotiation is to know exactly what you want to achieve, and what you're prepared to give up in order to get it. Let's work it out from there, shall we?"

"I don't deserve such a good friend as you Lex," Clark mumbled.

"Stop that, or I will get mad," he said gently.

By the time Lex had talked Clark through how to approach the discussion with his parents, it was gone midnight and he was starting to yawn.

"God Lex, I'm so sorry, it must be really late there."

"It's late, but there's nothing to apologize for. I would never have given you the phone if I didn't want you to call me."

"I guess."

Lex was pleased to hear a little chuckle in his friend's voice, so much better than the tear-laden sobs at the start of their conversation.

"You said I could have had better timing," asked Clark, "what did I interrupt?"

Lex suddenly remembered Annabelle, and looked around to see if she was still there. Huh, no sign of her.

"Nothing important," he said.

***

Clark Kent had more ups and downs in his life than a soap opera, Chloe decided. First he was all doom and gloom, then after he got that cell phone he was up in the clouds, and now he was back in doom and gloom land. He had missed the bus and got to school just as lessons started, so she had no chance to quiz him on what had caused the abrupt turnaround in his personal life, but lunch time wasn't that far off. She could wait.

As soon as the bell went at the end of the last class before lunch, she stood in the doorway, waiting to grab him as he went past. He tried to duck around her, but there were too many people, plus Chloe was ready for the tactic.

"Oh no, not this time," she said. "You are coming to The Torch office with me, and you are going to spill the beans."

"Chloe, there's nothing…"

"Don't even go there Kent, now move it."

She shoved him in the direction of The Torch office, and once they were inside, she closed and locked the door.

"Give."

"Look Chloe, I don't want to talk about it, okay? I had a fight with my folks, that's all."

Light began to dawn.

"They found the cell phone, didn't they?"

He didn't need to say anything, the blush was more than enough confirmation that she'd hit the nail on the head.

"What did I say? I told you there would be trouble over it."

"Yeah, okay, so just do the 'I told you so' dance and get it over with so I can get out of here," he snarled at her.

Okay. That was different. Clark had shown her many different sides of his personality over the years they'd been friends, but she had never seen this angry, irritable aspect before.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to say that." Actually, she had meant to say that, but she needed to calm him down, not piss him off even more. "So what happened?"

"My Dad saw me putting the phone in my bag this morning, and tried to confiscate it. I told him that wasn't an option and ran out before he could grab it."

Jeezus, that was even worse than she'd feared.

"I wandered around for a while and then came to school," he added.

"So… you haven't seen your folks since the argument this morning?"

He just shook his head.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Finish classes today, go home, make it up with them somehow," he said. "At least, that's what Lex has asked me to do."

"Whoa, wait, when did you get the chance to talk to Lex about this? It only happened this morning."

"Yeah, but Queensland is 16 hours ahead of us, it was late evening there."

"So you rang him to tell him about a fight with your folks?"

She knew Clark and Lex were close, but that was a bit extreme. She had to virtually kidnap him and drag it out of him, and yet he phoned Lex half a world away just to talk about it with him? Sheesh.

"God Clark, ringing him late at night was a bit much, you could have interrupted something!"

"Yeah, well he said my timing could have been better but he was laughing, and when I asked him later he said that it wasn't anything important."

Oh no, he couldn't be *that* naive, surely?

"Um Clark, did it occur to you that he might have been, well, you know?"

"I know what?"

God, yes, he really *was* that naive! She sighed.

"Um, maybe he had a date, you know?"

She'd never actually seen anyone go pale before. She'd heard people talk about shock making people go pale, but she'd never actually seen it with her own eyes. Wow. One moment he was standing there with a red face, and then next it was as if all the blood suddenly drained away. He slumped into a chair, and looked so stricken that she wished she'd never said anything.

"Oh my God, do you think he did?" he whispered.

Damage control time Chlo, come on, you can do this.

"Hey Clark, no, I'm sure he didn't. I mean, he would have said wouldn't he? He said you hadn't interrupted anything important, right?"

"Oh God Chloe, what if it was a date? What if I interrupted them… or…" he gasped, "oh no, what if she's some gold-digging ho and I'm not there to save him this time?!"

"Whoa, slow down there. You don't even know if there *was* anyone, so don't go building up fantasies about a gold-digging ho that he needs to be rescued from. Jeezus, get a little perspective here."

"Right, yes, you're right, sorry," he mumbled.

"Now, get a grip, and don't go worrying about things that aren't even true. Lex is a big boy, and if you *had* interrupted something important, he would have told you, right?"

"Right, yeah."

"Good, now, what are you going to say to your folks?"

She was pleased to see his color return to something like normal. Phew.

"Lex has given me some negotiating advice," he said. "Basically, I'm supposed to listen to what they say and accept the criticism about my temper, but make it clear that the phone is not up for discussion."

"Wow, that's something else when you get advice on how to deal with your parents from one of the country's top negotiators. I wonder if he would consider helping me out with my Dad," she mused.

"Chloe!"

"What? I'm just sayin', that's all. How are you going to keep the phone away from them anyway? And what if they ground you and you can't get to it?"

"I'll hide the phone somewhere they'll never be able to find it, but Lex said it would probably help the negotiation if I agreed only to use it at the farm, where my parents can hear what we talk about."

She had to admit that was pretty clever. You had to hand it to Luthor; he definitely knew how to negotiate.

"Well, good luck my friend. Who needs TV soaps when they have a friend like Clark Kent," she grinned.

***

Jonathan had been out of sorts all day. The argument with Clark this morning upset him, but then when Martha snapped at him too and told him it was his own fault, well that was just so damned unfair. Why couldn't life go back to the way it was before that Luthor boy burst into their lives? Clark had always been such a sweet-natured, compliant kid. They had rarely, if ever, had to exert any strong discipline over him, he always seemed to want to do what they expected of him.

These days though, they were constantly butting heads, and it was no surprise to Jonathan that the subject that caused them most grief was the damned Luthor family. Why couldn't Clark see that Lex Luthor was bad news? Everyone else in town could see it; hell, even Pete Ross had tried to convince Clark to drop the friendship, but he wouldn't listen to anyone. Martha said that he had to try to hold his temper, and see things from Clark's point of view. He would try, but damn, it was going to be hard.

When it came near time for school to be out, he washed up and sat in the kitchen reading the paper. Martha was putting the latest order of pies for The Talon into the oven, and if it wasn't for the fact that they weren't absolutely sure that Clark would be walking through the door at any moment, it would have been just like any other day. Then they heard the unmistakable sound of Clark's footsteps on the verandah and the moment was upon them.

When Clark stepped into the kitchen no-one said anything for what seemed liked hours, but was probably only seconds. Jonathan was trying to think of how to start this when Martha saved them all from further awkwardness.

"Sit down sweetie," she said, "we need to get all this out in the open, and I don't want you running out on us again, alright?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," said Clark, and then he dropped into his usual seat at the table.

Jonathan put the paper down and saw that both Martha and Clark were looking at him, waiting for him to begin. Right, he could do that.

"Son, I'm sorry we argued this morning."

From the look of surprise on Clark's face, that was the last thing he had been expecting.

"Yeah, me too Dad, I'm sorry."

"I know you're growing up and need to make some of your own decisions, and we accept that."

Clark nodded.

"But we don't want you keeping things from us. We don't want you lying to us…" he held up his hand as he saw Clark start to take a breath to butt in. "No, wait son, let me finish. We don't want you lying to us, either by telling us something that isn't true, or failing to tell us something that we ought to know about."

"We understand why you kept the phone a secret from us sweetheart," added Martha, "but you have to understand that it hurts us to think that you don't trust us."

"It hurts me to think that you don't trust me either," said Clark, "or trust my judgment about my friends."

Jonathan mentally counted to ten as he took a deep breath and then released it.

"Clark, you are a very open, sweet-natured person, and we have always taught you to see the best in people," he said. "Sometimes though, people aren't deserving of the trust that you place in them." No point avoiding the issue any longer. "The Luthor family has never been any good for this town, son, and no matter how much you want to see good in Lex Luthor, I'm afraid that when push comes to shove, he is going to prove himself to be every inch Lionel Luthor's son."

He was waiting for Clark to leap to Lex's defense as he had so often in the past, and was surprised when he remained silent.

"Son, you do see that we're just concerned for you, don't you?"

Clark nodded, but still didn't say anything.

Okay, this was spooky. He looked across at Martha hoping she might have some clue about what was going on, but he got a blank look back from her. Obviously she didn't get it either. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"We only want what's best for you. That's all we've ever wanted."

"I know."

"So, um, about this phone…"

The silence dragged out as he waited for Clark to say something, but his son was just sitting there, fiddling around with his fingers, avoiding looking at either of them.

"Clark, your Dad and I talked about it today and although we aren't happy with the fact that you kept this a secret from us, you can keep the phone until Lex gets back if you want."

That was a big concession that Jonathan had not wanted to make, but he allowed Martha to convince him that it would be the only way to claw back Clark's trust in them and their judgment.

"Thanks Mom," he said, his face finally showing something of the old Clark in its animated expression. "If it helps, I promise only to use it around the farmhouse, where you and Dad can hear me."

That surprised Jonathan. He had been expecting Clark to insist on total privacy. Huh, maybe this morning's argument had drummed some sense into the boy after all.

"Well, that would be fine sweetie, I think that's a good idea," said Martha, "Jonathan? What do you think?"

He gave a grudging sigh, and nodded his approval.

"Right!" she said brightly, "all solved. Now Clark, would you mind dropping the pies off to the talon once they've cooled down?"

"Sure Mom," he said brightly, and then headed up to his room.

Jonathan wasn't sure what had just happened. He'd been prepared for a difficult conversation about Lex Luthor and yet somehow all they'd done was give Clark permission to keep the phone. They didn't even add the proviso about only using it around the farm; he offered that concession up himself. Huh.

***

Lex was sitting on the verandah, waiting for Clark to phone. He'd turned down a trip on a yacht around the Whitsundays because he wasn't sure what kind of reception he would get out there, and he wanted to find out how the discussion with the Kents had gone. Almost on the dot of 10.30am, the phone rang.

"Did it work?"

"Like a dream, Lex."

He mentally high-fived himself. Damn, I'm good, he thought.

"So where are you now?"

"In the farmhouse. Mom is in the kitchen and Dad is watching TV."

"Well done Clark, I'm proud of you."

"Well, it was all your… you know…"

"Yeah, but a strategy is only as effective as its implementation and it sounds like you carried it out to perfection."

There was silence at the other end of the phone, and Lex could imagine Clark blushing. Damn but that boy had to learn how to accept praise when it was earned.

"What are you doing today?"

Lex allowed him to change the subject, but he mentally inserted slots in his personal organizer for the next few months for the purpose of spending time with Clark training him how to accept commendation and approval without blushing and falling silent in embarrassment. The Kents were great parents but they had somehow missed out on instilling the whole self-confidence thing in their son.

"Um, nothing really, just sitting here. I might go for a walk around the island later, but I don't have plans as such."

"You're still enjoying the vacation though, aren't you? You sound a bit down."

Huh, perceptive little brat, thought Lex.

"Yeah, I'm still enjoying it." He paused and thought about something he could say to put Clark's mind at rest. "I guess it's been a long time since I've had so much free time on my hands. Maybe I've lost the knack of knowing how to just kick back and relax."

"I don't believe that," scoffed Clark. "You work harder than anyone I've ever met, but you never have trouble relaxing when you take a break."

No, he thought, but that's because you're there with me. I never have a problem relaxing around you, Clark. Hmmm, better not say that Lex, think of something else.

"Anyway," Clark added while Lex was still thinking of something to say, "I bet you've already seen three cycles of the CNN headlines, checked out Bloomberg and done all your email."

"Have not," said Lex.

"Lex."

"Oh alright, but I switched the TV off during the third cycle and I do still have a couple of emails to answer."

"You're hopeless."

"Are you laughing at me farm boy?"

"Oh yeah, big time."

"You know, I have some distant, but fond, memories of when you used to respect me."

"Lex, I still respect you," sniggered Clark.

"Yeah, I can tell."

***

Martha tried hard not to listen in on the conversation, but Clark wasn't being especially quiet. When he started teasing Lex and laughing at him, she was quite honestly amazed, and wondered whether Jonathan was listening. Hmmm, yeah, he was listening alright; he was just pretending to watch some show on TV. Well, it would do him good to hear how happy Clark sounded when he talked to Lex.

Now they were discussing something about the Plant, and… good heavens, was he really asking Clark's advice about something to do with work? Good grief, he was. Lex Luthor was seeking the opinion of a 16 year-old high school boy. She shook her head in wonder, not only at Lex for asking, but at the insightful and sensible comments that Clark was making. And now they were talking about some scientific stuff that went right over her head… no, wait, they were catching up on the latest Warrior Angel… uh, no, now it was some scientific experiment Clark was conducting and he wanted to check something out with Lex. Or maybe it was Warrior Angel again. Or some TV show. Or a movie. God, they changed subject so fast she couldn't keep up. No wonder Clark was so taken with Lex, it sounded like he was the only person who had ever been able to keep pace with his quick brain.

"No, *you* hang up", sniggered Clark.

Oh my goodness, what are they, ten? She shook her head, and then glanced at Jonathan to see if was still listening. Yup, he looked like he'd just swallowed a lemon, so, still listening. She was kind of relieved that they could only hear Clark's end of the conversation.

"Okay, bye."

…"Yeah, I'm still here."

…"That's because I'm waiting for you to hang up first."

…"Okay, on three. One… two… three."

…"You didn't hang up."

…"Well yeah, that's true, ya got me there. I didn't hang up either."

…"Okay, yeah, really this time… oh wait, before you go, did you see that article in the latest Scientific American about the Primeval Structure Telescope in China?"

Good grief, they were off on another tangent.

…"Yeah, that's what I thought," chuckled Clark, "but could you imagine actually going into RadioShack and placing the order?"

…"Well, yeah, okay maybe you could, but then that's you."

…"I have this image in my mind of 10,000 TV antennas all picking up Dawson's Creek instead of a three-dimensional CAT scan of the early universe…"

…"Hey, who are you calling an excited neutral hydrogen atom?"

…"Yeah? Well you can just go ionize yourself."

Martha had no idea what they were talking about, but Clark was laughing so hard he was nearly crying. Well. This was definitely a side of Clark she never knew existed. She tried to imagine him having this conversation with Pete, or Chloe or Lana. Nope. Not getting the visual. Well.

***

Lex was still laughing when they finally terminated the call. He didn't know how Clark did it, but even talking to him from the other side of the world made him feel good. He decided to take that walk around the island, and on his way out, he saw Annabelle waiting for a car to take her to the airstrip. He felt a bit guilty about dumping her last night, so he made his way over to speak to her.

"Lex, good morning."

She was being rather cool, but he guessed he deserved that.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said, "but I really needed to take that phone call."

"Of course," she said, "but I must be honest with you. I would never have accepted your invitation to dinner had I realized that you were so involved with someone."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not hypocritical enough to expect a casual evening to lead to anything longer term, but I do have standards, and I prefer not to engage in sexual acts with men who fuck other men."

"I beg your pardon?" She was not the only one who could do cool. In fact right now, Lex would have made the Arctic look warm. Anyone who knew him well would have taken one look at the stormy grey eyes and started to run for cover.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation; you weren't exactly keeping your voice down."

"And what precisely in my conversation led you to suppose that I have any sexual interest in the person with whom I was speaking?"

"Oh really Lex, please, I wasn't born yesterday. I can tell the difference between the look on a man's face when he is talking to a business colleague, a friend, or a lover, and you called him Clark. That is not a woman's name."

At that moment her limo arrived, and with a slight inclination of her head, she stepped into the back and was whisked off to the airstrip. Lex was stunned. Not that he hadn't ever thought of Clark as a lover, because he had, but he also thought that he had managed to keep those feelings a very well kept secret. Clark was far too innocent, far too young, and - let's be honest - far too straight, for Lex ever to hint that he would like something more from their friendship. He was too worried about risking their friendship ever to go there. That Annabelle had read it so clearly on his face was a shock to him, and he wondered if anyone back in Smallville had ever read the same signs. God, he hoped not, but thinking about it, the fact that no-one had tried to tar and feather him and run him out of town was a good indication that he probably hadn't slipped up back there.

***

"So, Kent, spill."

Chloe had been waiting to get Clark on his own all morning, and now she had her chance.

"Spill what?"

"Don't give me that innocent look, what happened with your folks last night? You're not walking around today looking all doom and gloom, so give with the info."

"We talked."

"And?" God, she could kill him sometimes. It was like drawing teeth. She was sure he did it just to annoy her.

"I can keep the phone till Lex gets home."

"What? Just like that? Your Dad goes all ballistic in the morning, and by the afternoon he's over it?"

"I told you, Lex gave me some hints on how to negotiate with them. What can I say, it worked."

"Wow. Are you sure he wouldn't coach me if I… okay, okay, don't glare at me like that, I was only asking."

"Hey guys, whassup?"

"Hey Pete. Clark's folks said he could keep the phone from Luthor junior," she said.

Pete looked puzzled. "I thought you wanted to keep it a secret from them, dude?"

"Yeah, I did, but Dad found it yesterday morning and we had a full-on argument. But we talked about it last night, and they're okay with me having it till Lex gets home."

"So what kind of brain washing did you pull on them?"

Pete still looked puzzled, and Chloe was right there with him. Even knowing that Luthor junior had come up with the strategy, it was still some pretty impressive negotiating by a guy who gets tongue-tied ordering sodas at the football.

"No brain washing," grinned Clark, "just a sensible, reasonable debate among adults."

"Hey, I thought you were at the table?" teased Pete.

"Ha ha."

***

God, Clark missed Lex. Talking with Pete and Chloe was like chatting to kindergarten kids after talking to Lex. He could just imagine their faces if he suggested they go ionize themselves. Okay, maybe that's not being fair, but he'd always had to be so careful to hide his grasp of math and science from his school friends in case it led to questions he wasn't prepared to answer. Lex not only met him half-way he actually challenged him intellectually. He figured that his Dad would blow a gasket if he knew how careless Clark had been in what he shared with 'that Luthor', but it just felt right to Clark to share things with his best friend. Hell, Pete knew all about the alien gig, so why not Lex?

The only reason that Clark had not revealed everything in one fell swoop was simply fear; fear that it would change their friendship in some way. He dropped little bits of information here and there, knowing that Lex would not only recognize the significance of what was revealed, but would also be able to slot it all into place to form the bigger picture. Hopefully, by the time the bigger picture came into focus Lex would be familiar enough with the pieces not to freak out. Clark had to smile at the realization that Lex was not the only one in their friendship who created strategies and built theoretical models in order to shape their lives.

"What ya grinnin' at?"

Whoops! He'd zoned out of the conversation. Pete looked puzzled, so he'd obviously said something that shouldn't have resulted in Clark grinning.

"Um, nothing. What did you say again?"

"See," snapped Chloe, "I told you, he hasn't heard a word we've said!"

"Study group? Tonight? For tomorrow's history test? Any of that ringin' a bell, dude?"

"Ah, right, yeah, okay, yeah, I remember."

"So, your place at five, yeah?"

"Can you make it later? After dinner? I have chores to do before dinner, and then I call Lex at 6.30."

Chloe sighed and shook her head. "Sure Clark, Lana, me an' Pete can re-schedule our entire evening so that it doesn't interfere with you calling Luthor junior."

Clark decided to ignore the sarcasm, and respond as if it was a genuine offer.

"Great! See you guys around 7.30 then."

He gave them a brilliant smile, and then strode away before they could think of a come back line.

***

"Hmmm, that's odd," said Chloe as they all got out of Pete's car at the Kent Farm. "No lights on in the barn."

"Clark is expecting us, isn't he?" asked Lana.

Chloe nodded, and set off towards the farm house. She was about to knock when the door was opened.

"Come in," said Martha, "Clark told me you were all coming over to study."

"Thanks Mrs. Kent," said Pete, "we were just wondering where Clark is, there's no lights on in the barn?"

At that moment, Clark poked his head around the kitchen door and waved at them. Ah, he was still on the phone, so obviously he'd been late calling Lex after all.

"Take a seat guys, I won't be long," said Clark, and then he went back to the phone call.

"Come on, let me get you some lemonade," said Mrs. Kent, "and I bet some cookies will go down well too, huh?"

The answering smile on Pete's face was enough to get it all on the table within seconds. Chloe wasn't going to refuse one of Martha Kent's cookies and homemade lemonade either; it was one of the things that they most liked about studying at Clark's place.

"How long has he been on the phone?" she asked.

"Oh, about an hour and a half," sighed Mrs. Kent.

"Seriously?!" Chloe couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. If Mrs. Kent's reaction was anything to go by though, this was nothing unusual. 'Resignation' would be the word Chloe would use to describe it if she was writing this up as an article.

Pete looked like he'd just swallowed vinegar, and even Lana was wrinkling her nose in that way she had when something made no sense to her.

Clark's voice started to drift towards them, and Chloe could see that she wasn't the only one trying hard to listen without actually making it obvious she was eavesdropping.

…"Yeah, but for Plato, reality is simply the shadow we see cast by some greater mechanism we *don't* see, and different kinds of greater mechanisms can cast the same shadow."

…"Well, Einstein never accepted quantum dynamics either, you know that."

…"Okay, but what about two negatively charged particles that repel each other? Quantum dynamics states that the repelling force is that one of the negative particles exchanges an energy quantum with the other negative particle, and they each go on their merry way."

…"Yeah, but that's not the point. How can the first particle know where the other particle is in order to exchange an energy quantum if they aren't in each other's sphere of influence yet? And if they are already in each other's sphere of influence, then they should be aware of each other by already having exchanged an energy quantum in order to influence the other?"

…"Yeah, okay, I'll accept that, but it still hasn't been proven on the macro level, not even at atomic level. We can only describe interactions of hypothetical particles we can't even observe because the act of observation would influence the observed."

…"Hey, no fair, I so do not do that just because you're watching me!"

…"Yeah, well Devilicus had good reason to be sneaky."

…"Sorry Lex, you can't use Warrior Angel *and* Harry Osborne to prove your point; they're kind of inimical you know."

…"Yeah, okay, I'll give you Kastor and Polydeuces, 'both buried now in the live-giving earth though still alive'."

Chloe glanced at Pete and Lana, and knew her own face must mirror the surprise she saw there. Oh wait, yep, her mouth was hanging open. Very slick Chlo, very sophisticated. And where the hell did Clark get a vocabulary like that? And quoting… whatever the hell it was he was quoting. She could see Clark standing in the doorway, and he was laughing more freely than she'd seen him laugh in -- well, ever, really. He looked so at ease with himself.

…"You're not the only one who can quote Homer," he sniggered.

Homer? Clark was quoting Homer? Jeezus. At that moment he looked up and caught them all looking at him. It was like the sun had suddenly been switched off. His face returned to its normal expression, but Chloe hadn't realized before how different his face looked when he was talking to Lex.

…"Um hey Lex, sorry, I have to go, the guys are here for a study session."

…"Yeah, okay, hold on."

Clark held the phone away from his mouth and said, "Chloe, did your Dad say if there were any problems implementing the new Macronutrient production line?"

"Huh?"

"At the plant, Lex asked him to implement a new Macronutrient production line with a greater percentage of manganese, copper and molybdenum micronutrients. He just wants to know if it worked, okay?"

"Um, Clark, I didn't even understand the question, I'm sorry. Dad never talks about the plant with me."

…"Sorry Lex, she doesn't know. Do you want me to call him later? You sure? Okay, well have a good day, and I'll call you again tomorrow, same time. Yeah, me too. Bye."

Wow. He was so different when he talked to Lex, how had she never spotted it? Hmmm, thinking about it, maybe it's because they never invited anyone else to share their conversations. If she or Lana ever joined them at The Talon they were polite and welcoming, but there was none of the animation that she just saw. Pete of course would never willingly join Clark in anything if Lex was there, and turning back to see what he and Lana made of it all, she found Mrs. Kent staring at her. As their eyes met, a flicker of understanding passed between them. So, that was it. Huh, Chloe really hadn't ever seen that coming. At least it made her feel better that she hadn't lost Clark to Lana, but shit, how was Pete going to react? And Mr. Kent? Jeezus, she didn't even want to think about that one. She followed Clark and the others out to the barn, pausing in the doorway to say something to Mrs. Kent. The problem was she didn't know what to say.

"Go on sweetheart," said Mrs. Kent, "I don't know what to say either."

That was as close to an admission as it was possible to get without coming out bluntly and saying it. By the time she reached the barn the others were settled in their usual places, and Clark was acting like his normal self as if that bizarre Alice in Wonderland conversation never happened. Pete and Lana had their books out, and it seemed as though everyone was keen to do the ostrich thing and pretend nothing out of the ordinary had happened. That was so not her style!

"So, Clark," she said as she shoved her way onto the couch next to him, "does Lex often discuss what's happening at the plant with you? You seemed to be pretty up to speed on all that macro micro stuff back there."

He shrugged and smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Getting down to it here Chloe," snapped Pete, "shall we work through this chapter on Benjamin Franklin's role as French Ambassador?"

She let Pete steer them away from choppy conversational waters towards their study project, but she had no intention of letting it drop entirely. Now that she was watching him more closely, she noticed that Clark rarely actually participated in what they were studying, but if questioned, he could trot out a reasonable answer without thinking about it. She decided to test him, and flicked through to a section of the book they hadn't reached in class yet.

"So, Ben Franklin's Treaty with France was the best thing that ever happened for both countries, I guess," she said.

"Not really," murmured Clark absently, "it caused financial instability for France under Louis sixteenth, which ultimately led to the French Revolution in 1789. The addition of the French troops at Yorktown tipped the balance in favor of the colonists, but it was a high price for the French to pay, especially as the Treaty only lasted a few years."

"Were does it say all that?" asked Lana.

"Hmmm? Oh I don't know, it must be in there somewhere," said Clark.

"Clark, I think you know more about this than you're letting on," said Chloe. "The book does go into all that, but it's a few chapters further on."

He shrugged and smiled at her again, "yeah, I read the whole book, I must have remembered it."

"You read the whole book? Already?" Pete sounded amazed. "Why would you do that?"

"Bored, I guess," he grinned at them. "At least I won't have to cram read it when we get to that point. Anyway, Lex and I were talking about Louis sixteenth because the penthouse he's staying in is decorated in that style, and there are several antiques from that period. We touched on Ben Franklin and the Treaty of France when Lex was describing them to me."

Okay, Chloe decided she was giving up. Clark was a master of the plausible explanation, no point trying to catch him out. Pete was looking angry that the specter of Luthor had once more come back to haunt them, and even Lana was looking annoyed - though what at, who could guess. Maybe that she wasn't the center of attention? Who knew with that girl. Chloe gave herself a mental shake and re-focused on the chapter they were studying. The rest of the study session passed quickly, and by the time they decided to head off home, she had almost forgotten all the weirdness that was Clark and Lex. Almost, but not quite.

"So, Clark, when does the big bad Luthor get back from his travels?"

"I wish you wouldn't call him that Chloe," sighed Clark.

"Yeah, yeah, so spill, when does he get home?"

"He'll be back at the week-end," he said, accompanied by one of those amazing Clark Kent smiles that lit up the room.

"Oh great," muttered Pete, "I thought he was gonna be gone for three weeks at least."

"He's coming back a bit early," said Clark, "the fumigators have finished up at the mansion, and there's some important meetings coming up with investors that he wants to prepare for."

"And you know this how?" Snarked Pete.

Clark shrugged and smiled -- again. Jeezus, thought Chloe, this response was becoming repetitive. It was almost as if he was deliberately following a game plan… oh wait. Oh no, do not tell me that Luthor gave him advice on how to talk to us as well! For Christ's sake, we're his friends. He doesn't need a strategy with us! She glared at him, but it made no difference. She wasn't sure he even noticed, as he got up to lead the way back outside.

"See you tomorrow," he said with a wave as he disappeared inside the farm house.

"Um, guys," said Lana, "was Clark acting a bit odd tonight?"

"Odder than usual you mean?" muttered Pete.

"Come on, it's Clark," chuckled Chloe, "I mean he's always odd, right? He's the one who put the weird in weirdness, people."

Despite her attempt at laughing it off, Chloe had to agree with Lana -- and whoever would have thought *that* day would ever come! Clark really had upped the stakes on Smallville odd, and considering how high the bar was set, that was saying something.

***

Martha was relieved when they all left the kitchen and headed off to the barn. She could see Chloe putting two and two together, and that brief eye contact between them confirmed that the numbers were adding up in Chloe's head just as they were in her own.

"Kids outside?"

She nodded as Jonathan came into the kitchen to pour some coffee.

"Thank goodness they turned up otherwise I think Clark would still be on the phone to that damn Luthor."

Martha was losing patience with this particular refrain, but she also had to agree that Clark and Lex did have some mammoth conversations. Thinking back they always had talked a lot, but she hadn't imagined they would keep it up over half a world via cell phone, especially with Lex staying on a tropical island paradise.

Listening to Clark's end of the conversation had been a real revelation to her. She'd lost count of how often she'd heard people wonder what Lex and Clark had in common. God knows, she used to wonder herself, but listening to them talk, it was obvious what they had in common; absolutely everything. She had never heard Clark open up to anyone like that, and she only understood half of what they said.

"Martha…" Jonathan paused.

"What is it Jon?"

"You don't think there's anything… you know, going on between them do you?"

Good grief, she thought, he must be worried sick about it to vocalize that kind of concern.

"I'm sure there's not," she said, trying to reassure him. He didn't need to know that privately, she wasn't at all certain how much longer she would be able to answer that question in the negative. Jonathan definitely didn't need to share her anxiety on that point. She never kept secrets from him, but this was nothing tangible and so she felt comfortable with keeping speculation to herself.

"I know we only heard Clark's end of the conversation, but they sound awfully close."

"They've always been close friends, ever since they met. That's nothing new."

"I had no idea that Clark was getting involved in the plant operation, either, and I'm really not comfortable with that development."

"He's not getting involved, sweetheart. Lex just bounces ideas off him. You heard them, they talk about everything."

"That's what worries me Martha; they talk about everything in the same way that you and I talk about everything, and what was that 'me too' at the end of the conversation? That's what I say to you when you say 'I love you' over the phone. Do you think…"

"No Jon, I really don't think that. They're close, but they're friends, nothing more."

Now, if only she could convince herself that it would stay that way.

***

The rest of the week passed in a blur for Clark. He was so focused on the fact that Lex was coming home at the week-end that his concentration on what was happening hour by hour was completely absent. He got through school and his chores on autopilot, and only really came completely alive during his phone conversations with Lex. If his parents noticed anything, they didn't say, and he was profoundly grateful for that small mercy. He saw his Dad looking at him curiously from time to time, but he never said anything and even stopped sniping at Lex. Clark assumed that his Mom had given his Dad a talking to because she was the only one who could have brought about such a change. Whatever, he was grateful for it.

Sitting up in the loft over the barn, he brought out the box of treasures and flicked through the scrap book. Lex's early life centered on events he attended with his parents, most frequently his father. Then there was his illness following the meteor shower. Clark could never read those cuttings without a sense of profound guilt and grief. The thought that he had been responsible for it all, no matter how innocently, cut him to the quick. Lex had often told him that he was grateful for the meteors that cured his childhood asthma and gifted him with unnatural good health, but Clark still felt guilty over it.

The next few years saw a marked rise in the sort of articles that showed teenage rebellion elevated to an art form. It seemed that if it was possible to do it and get reported in the press, Lex was there at the center of it all.

The photos showed an arrogant youngster, his expression and body language demanding that the world get the fuck out of his way, but the eyes… the eyes flashed another message entirely. The eyes sought love, and affection, and acceptance. Clark could read it like a written language and he wondered for the millionth time how Lex had managed to survive his teenage years intact and sane. Every time Clark looked at those photos he was gripped with an overwhelming desire to capture Lex in his arms, and kiss away all the pain, the sorrow, and the fear. Lex would never admit to any of those emotions, but to Clark they were written in blazing letters in every photo of the proud, and yet vulnerable, teen.

And that brought Clark up sharp against his own feelings and emotions. Every time he reached this point, he invoked denial, closed the box, and threw himself into some harsh physical activity to try to stop thinking about it. He would work until even his alien muscles could feel the strain, and then he would shower and try to sleep. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it was denial, nevertheless.

Maybe it was time for him to take a leaf out of Lex's own book, and face his fears instead of running away from them. Lex was fond of quoting Roosevelt when it came to fear: 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself; nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.'.

And what was it that Lex told him about the Australian coat of arms? Ah yes, that it showed a kangaroo and an emu because neither animal was capable of taking a backward step. Lex had been so impressed with that, his admiration coming across clearly in his voice as he shared the information with Clark. If kangaroos and emus could do it, so could aliens. No more backward steps, no more paralyzing fear holding him captive.

When Lex came home, he would be honest with him. Not only about the alien thing, but also about the fact that - deep breath Clark - he was falling in love with his best friend. God, even admitting it to himself was hard enough, how would ever get the courage to admit it to Lex? He switched out the light, wanting to sleep in the barn tonight. He had too much rattling around in his head to cope with any conversation with his parents. He knew they loved him and wanted only what was best for him, but right now his emotions were too fragile and too raw to risk any kind of confrontation. His Dad had been good since their talk about the cell phone, but he didn't want to tempt fate.

He skated through school next day on automatic. He did his chores, and then washed up for dinner. There were to be no more phone calls, Lex was on his way back, and the cell phone interfered with in-flight navigation. It seemed odd to be sitting at the table eating dinner without the comfort of a conversation with Lex to follow.

His mind was drifting as he idly pushed food around his plate, and suddenly he was aware of Lex as if he was standing right in front of him. He dropped his fork with a clatter and sharpened his focus. He was vaguely aware of his Mom and Dad calling his name, even shaking his arm, but he was totally focused on… Lex was in trouble. He didn't know how he knew it, he just did. Lex was panicking, and Lex never panicked. Where the hell was he? Clark wasn't even aware of standing, but suddenly he was standing outside the farmhouse, head cocked to one side as he tried to lock on to whatever Lex was trying to communicate. The shouts of his parents were like flies buzzing around his head, but Lex's voice came through loud and clear.

"Clark! If you can hear me the plane has been hijacked. There are three of them; two pilots and the steward. I know you can do things that we can't and I'm hoping that your super powers extend to you being able to get here and help me take these guys out. The pilots are upfront and the steward has me at gunpoint in the cabin. I'll keep thinking at you hoping that you can somehow hear me. God knows why I think you can, but there's not much else I can do right now. My hands are tied behind my back, and I'm tightly strapped in to my seat."

Somewhere deep inside Clark something changed. It was like an internal switch just suddenly flicked to 'on', and he knew how to zero in on Lex's position. Acting completely on instinct Clark pushed off, and suddenly he was streaming through the air heading towards Lex like a missile. He wasted no time on analyzing what he was doing or how he knew how to do it, he just kept his total awareness on Lex. Within minutes he spotted the plane and seconds later he was alongside. He could see Lex; he was still strapped in to his seat. That was all he needed to know. With a sharp tug, he wrenched the hatchway door from the plane, and ducked out of the way as the hijacker holding the gun was sucked out as the plane instantly de-pressurized. He quickly released Lex from the seat belt and the bindings, and carried him out of the plane towards safety. He drifted down to a lower altitude so that Lex could breathe again, and they both watched as the plane spun out of control, and crashed into the sea.

"Are you okay?"

Clark was holding Lex tightly, but taking great care not to squeeze him or bruise him.

"Clark, you're flying! I mean, fuck, you're flying!"

Clark chuckled. Yep, Lex was okay. It would take more than a plane hijacking to cause any lasting damage to Lex Luthor.

"Yeah, I guess so," he admitted, "no point flying in the face of the evidence." Oh God, did he just make that really, really, bad pun? He cleared his throat before Lex could say anything. "Do you know where we are?"

"You don't know where we are? How did you find me if you don't know where we are?"

"I don't know. I just heard you in my head and thought about you. Somehow I knew how to get to you, but I didn't - and don't - know where exactly."

"Right, okay, well we're over the Pacific, and the plane was headed in that direction," he pointed. "So, if we keep going we should hit California sooner or later."

"I've never done this before Lex, and I don't know how fast I can go and not cause any damage to you. I'll pick up speed, okay? And you prod me or kick me or scream or something if you find you can't breathe or anything hurts."

"Right, but I tell you now I flatly refuse to scream. I'll prod you."

Clark laughed, and turned Lex round in his arms so that his head was tucked into his shoulder. "Hold on," he warned.

Clark thought about moving and suddenly he was flying through the air again. He thought 'faster' and he picked up speed. Huh, this is easy. Glorying in the feel of freedom he allowed himself to go faster and faster, until… uh-oh, that was a poke in the ribs from Lex, he'd better ease off on the speed. He slowed down slightly and Lex stopped prodding him. Okay, he had the velocity worked out. Maybe he could experiment with altitude sometime. Not right now, all he wanted to do now was get them home, but it would be fun to try out different things.

Okay, there was the coastline stretching as far as he could see, so that had to be California. Clark rose slightly just to be on the safe side. On his own he would have flown above commercial airline altitude but he didn't dare do that with Lex, who would never be able to breathe that high up. In no time at all he started to see a familiar landscape and realized that they had reached Kansas.

He whispered in Lex's ear. "Do you want to go to the mansion or the farmhouse? Or somewhere else?"

"Farmhouse," Lex mumbled into his shoulder. "Don't know who employed the hijackers."

Clark could see the Kent Farm in the distance so he started to descend. Several minutes later he landed in the yard outside the farmhouse, his feet making a 'whump' sound against the ground. He carefully released his grip on Lex, but kept an arm around his friend's shoulder just in case he was shaky on his feet after being carried hundreds of miles through the air.

His Mom and Dad came dashing outside as soon as they heard him land.

"Clark, oh my God, what happened? Are you alright? Is Lex alright? What happened?"

He could hear the panic in his Mom's voice.

"We're both fine," he reassured her, "but I need to talk to Lex alone and we don't want to go back to the mansion at the moment."

Lex was standing on his own two legs, but he was still leaning against Clark's arm.

"Lex? Can you walk okay?"

Getting a nod back he smiled at his friend, allowing the relief to shine through his eyes.

"Go up and sit in the barn and I'll bring us coffee, okay?"

Clark watched Lex move off and once he was satisfied that he really could walk without assistance, he made his way into the farmhouse. He could feel his parents staring into his back as he took down mugs and poured the coffee, but they were both silent. He added cream and sugar to the coffees, figuring they had both had a bit of a shock and could do with it. As he turned to go, he looked at his parents standing there and tried to reassure them again.

"Everything's okay, really. Lex's plane was hijacked, and they had him at gunpoint. I rescued him, but because he doesn't know who ordered the hijackers it's not safe for him to go back to the mansion yet."

"Son…" his Dad paused, and then stammered, "but this means… you know… it means that Luthor… Jeezus son, he knows!"

"Yeah," agreed Clark, and then smiled at them and left to go out to the barn.

***

Lex slumped onto the sofa as soon as he made it up the stairs. It's not everyday that your plane gets hijacked, and then you're rescued by your best friend who can fly. Huh. Clark can fly. That particular power had never been on the radar before, Lex was certain of that. He knew about the speed and the strength, and was pretty certain that the fires back in the summer had something to do with Clark, but flying? That one was new.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and then felt someone joining him on the sofa. Come on Lex, open your eyes, he chided himself. This is a conversation that you definitely want to be awake for. He smelt coffee and guessed that Clark was wafting the mug around under his nose. He couldn't stop the grin, the action was so familiar. How often had Clark done that when he'd fallen asleep watching a movie at the mansion?

He sat up and opened his eyes, gratefully accepting the mug that yes Clark was indeed wafting around in front of his face.

"Thanks," he said, "I think I need this."

"You're welcome." Clark gave him one of those wonderful smiles that always lit up the room, and always made Lex feel so special.

"So Clark… flying?"

"Um, yeah, apparently. I never knew I could do that until today."

"And you heard me? Telepathically?"

Clark shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, I heard you, that's for sure, but whether it's telepathy or something else, I don't know."

"So you what…. just zeroed in on my position?"

"Pretty much, just don't ask me how though, I have no idea. I was running on instinct and adrenaline, there wasn't much happening in the analytical brain section."

"Adrenaline again?" smirked Lex, and was amused to see a flicker of embarrassment pass across Clark's face.

"Never underestimate the power of adrenaline, Lex."

Okay, the embarrassment was gone and now it was amusement. He could do amusement. And direct, he could do direct as well.

"You're not a mutant, are you?" he asked.

Clark shook his head.

"Alien. I wanted to tell you, I've always wanted to tell you."

"Why didn't you then? Didn't you trust me?"

"What?! No! God no! I've always trusted you; it's never been about trust."

"Then what?"

"Fear," Clark admitted. "I was afraid that if I told you I'm not human that you wouldn't want to have anything else to do with me, that it would just freak you out."

Lex could see the uncertainty, feel it pouring off of Clark in waves. God, how could this wonderful, incredible, person be so insecure?

"You couldn't freak me out…"

"Don't be so sure, not until you hear the rest of my secrets," whispered Clark. "Lex, I don't think you realize just how much you mean to me. I'm so scared to tell you this; even more scared than I was about the other stuff, but if I don't I think I'm going to break apart."

"What is it Clark? You know you can tell me anything."

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Lex had never expected to hear such a gentle and sincere protestation of love directed towards him.

"I promise I won't stalk you or anything, I'll just be your friend, but I had to tell you. My whole life I've had to keep secrets from everyone I care about, but I just can't keep things from you any longer."

"Clark, shush, don't panic. It's okay, you don't need to be scared. I'll never hurt you, you know that, right?"

"So I haven't freaked you out?"

He couldn't believe how fearful and insecure Clark sounded. God, what it must have cost him to make that confession. He just hoped that he would prove worthy of such affection.

"Clark, I have always wished that we could be more than friends, but I never said anything because I knew - or at least I thought I knew - that you had no romantic interest in men."

"I don't have a romantic interest in men, I just know that I love *you*. I would love you, no matter what you were. I just feel so close to you. No-one else has ever made me feel like this."

And that was the point where Lex had to voice his own fear.

"Clark, I'm not suggesting you don't know what you want, but your experience of the world is so limited. I'm the first person who has ever returned your feelings, isn't that right?"

Clark nodded.

"Oh God Clark, I want you so badly, but I don't want to get in the way of you having the life you should have. You're only sixteen. You could fall in and out of love a dozen times by the time you reach my age…"

"Stop! Just stop." Clark sounded so pained, Lex stopped speaking immediately.

"I know you're trying to do the right thing and I can't tell you how I know this is no teenage infatuation, but… Lex, this is the real thing for me, I just *know* it is.

Lex saw tears welling in those beautiful eyes, and no power on earth - or the universe come to that - could have held him back at that moment. He opened his arms in acceptance, and for the first time, he allowed his own emotions to surface. He knew there were tears in his own eyes, and he could care less. To have the love of this amazing, gorgeous, pure soul -- it was something that Lex had never dared to dream could be his.

"I love you so much," he murmured into that silky hair that had fascinated him for so long. It was even softer and silkier than he had ever imagined, and it smelt of - well, it smelt of Clark and home. "I will never, ever, let you go, you know that? You're mine Clark, body and soul, and no-one will ever come between us."

Clark snuffled into his shoulder, and it was only with some difficulty that Lex could make out the word 'mine', being murmured over and over again.

"Yes Clark, yours," he agreed, and kissed him gently.

***

"If they aren't back in here within the next five minutes, I'm going out there," snapped Jonathan.

Martha had been trying hard both to calm her own fears and placate Jonathan, and she was nearing the end of her tether.

"Let it be," she sighed. "We know where they are. Clark wants to talk to Lex privately. He doesn't need us as an audience."

"If they are talking," he muttered.

She was seriously close to losing it, but she took a deep breath and tried again. Her son owed her big time!

"Jonathan, whatever they are doing, and I'm quite certain that they are just talking, we need to stay here and give Clark space. Lex knows his big secret, and whether that was intentional or not we have to trust Clark and let him do whatever damage control he can. Your temper will not help things dear, trust me on that."

She turned away to refill the coffee pot, and saw them both walking across the farmyard.

"They're coming over here now," she warned, "now keep your temper in check, and don't interrupt! Whatever Clark has decided to do, we have to support him, is that clear?"

She had to be satisfied with his mumbled assent as at that moment, they walked in. Clark had obviously been crying, and even Lex looked like he'd been hit by the emotion express.

"Oh Clark, are you alright sweetie? And you Lex, are you okay?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Kent. I've seen better days, but I'm fine, really. So is Clark. We just had an emotional moment out in the barn."

"Come and sit down boys, I've just put on some more coffee."

Clark still hadn't said a word and it was beginning to worry her. She exchanged a brief glance with Jonathan, and saw her concern reflected back.

"Clark? Honey? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," he said. "It's been a very different kind of night, that's all."

"Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent," began Lex, and then paused. He closed his eyes briefly, and took a deep breath. "I know you are concerned about the fact that I know of Clark's alien origins…"

She stiffened, and saw Jonathan's face set into a grim expression. She knew they both feared the worst.

"I can assure you both that I will never reveal any of this to another soul, and I will also devote the considerable resources at my disposal towards helping Clark to maintain his secret."

"Lex," she said, "please don't take this the wrong way, but why? I know you and Clark are good friends, but what you have just offered goes way beyond any bounds of friendship. Trust me dear, we have kept the secret for twelve years, and it's a huge commitment."

"Because we love each other Mom," said Clark quietly.

The only sound in the kitchen was the tick of the clock and the dripping of the water in the coffee machine. She looked at Jonathan, and saw his face made pale by shock. Her own probably looked no better. But Lex and Clark, they were looking at each other with secret smiles as if there was no-one else in the universe except for them. She didn't feel excluded, it was more like superfluous. They had all they needed in each other and nothing else mattered. She didn't think that Jonathan had ever looked at her with such proprietary love as Lex was gazing at Clark, and her son was not only lapping it up, he was returning it with interest. Oh dear Jesus, she had feared they would have a dalliance of some kind, but she had never in her wildest dreams imagined this kind of devotion. She cleared her throat. Someone had to say something, and as usual it would fall to her. Before she could speak though, Lex beat her to it.

"Mrs. Kent, Mr. Kent, I know this is a shock, but I hope Clark has your understanding and support?"

Hmm, well. Maybe at last she had an ally in keeping the peace.

"We have only ever wanted Clark's happiness," she said, "and if loving you makes him happy, then of course we will support him. But if you ever cause him pain Lex, there is nowhere on Earth that you could hide from my wrath, make no mistake about that," she warned.

He smiled at her, one of those genuine smiles that were usually reserved for Clark.

"Mrs. Kent, if I ever cause Clark pain you wouldn't have to hunt me down, I'd kill myself first."

She smiled at his fervor, and decided to be up front with him.

"It isn't entirely a shock to us," she admitted. "We knew you were close friends, but it wasn't until you went away on vacation that we realized just how close you two had become. Leaving that phone for Clark was a hint…" she paused as she saw a look of embarrassment flicker across his face.

"Mrs. Kent, I don't think either of us realized how close we'd become, either. I was looking forward to a vacation away from Smallville, but even before I left I was missing Clark. The phone was just a last minute idea to let us stay in touch. I guess you know I've been kind of obsessed about your son ever since he pulled me from the river," he added, and Martha had never seen the self-assured Luthor heir look so uneasy.

"I just never thought he would see me as anything other than a friend," he shrugged.

"I've always wanted Lex to be more than a friend," said Clark, his face blushing as he made such an intimate admission, "but I was too insecure to do anything about it."

"Well sweetheart, your Dad and I both sensed there was something happening between you, but I was reasonably certain that neither of you had ever done anything about it."

"What gave it away?" Lex looked curious.

"Oh my, you have only to listen to you two having a conversation to know that there's more there than just friendship. You probably don't realize, but you talk to each other as if there was no-one else in the universe," she said, "and Clark's face when he's talking to you, even on the phone, well… let's just say that it's very revealing to people who know him. Even Chloe picked up on it, that night she and the others came over for a study group."

"Chloe did?" Clark sounded shocked. "She never said anything to me," he added.

Martha chuckled at him. "What would she say? You know that Chloe isn't the most subtle person in the world, and short of coming out and asking you direct, well."

"You're right though, it was Lex being away on vacation that brought it all to a head, at least for me. Even before his plane was hijacked I'd decided that I would come clean with him about my origins and about the fact that I love him. The hijack kind of pushed everything forward, but I would have told him this week-end anyway."

Martha watched them share another of those tender smiles that they kept only for each other, and wondered why it had taken her so long to jump on the clue bus. She was usually very astute when it came to relationships, but she had completely missed the depth of feeling her son had for Lex. She'd had it pegged as a teenage infatuation, a crush on an older and more sophisticated man, but it was way, way, more than that. She sighed. Maybe they had trained him to hide his feelings too well.

"It's not going to be easy, two men in a relationship in Kansas, especially when one of them is a Luthor and the other is still in high school."

"We realize that Mr. Kent, but we can’t let it rule our lives."

"And what about your father? Can you keep Clark safe from him?"

Martha was impressed that Lex met Jonathan's accusing gaze without flinching, but then she remembered he had been raised by Lionel Luthor, and however intimidating Jonathan was trying to be, he had nothing on what Lionel could do.

"My Father does not rule my life, and I won't let him interfere in Clark's life in any way. I have my own business plans that have nothing to do with his company, and anyway, Dad has invested too much in me to give LuthorCorp to anyone else. People see our relationship as one of confrontation and intimidation but it's far more complex than that. Trust me when I say that the last thing my Father wants is for me to reject LuthorCorp and leave it without a Luthor at the helm when he dies."

"God, that's cold."

"No Mr. Kent, just practical. I've been trained from childhood to look at every aspect of a problem and devise workable solutions. Despite what the tabloids say about my ethics I nearly always achieve my goals through tactical negotiation, and that is exactly how I will approach Dad to get his acceptance of Clark as my choice of partner. If he doesn't accept it then I will use whatever means I have at my disposal to ensure that he stays out of our personal lives."

Martha noticed that Lex said 'nearly always', and had to bite her tongue to ask what he did when tactical negotiation failed. She wasn't sure she was ready for that conversation.

"Clark, if we give our support to your relationship with Lex there has to be ground rules. I don't want you thinking you can just move into the mansion or forget about your responsibilities here or at school."

"We understand that Mom, we'll date, that's all. When I'm old enough to leave home, well that's another matter, but for now nothing will change. I'm used to spending all my free time with Lex anyway," he shrugged.

"We would like it if Clark could sleep over at the mansion some week-ends though," added Lex, "just as he has done in the past."

"I don't know…" started Jonathan, but stopped when Martha directed a glare in his direction.

"I think we can agree to that," she said, "but like I said, ground rules."

For the first time since Clark zoned out during dinner, she saw his old smile that lit up his face with genuine pleasure. And that reminded her…

"Clark, what happened earlier? You suddenly went deathly still and your eyes changed color. We couldn't make you hear us or even feel us, and then you stalked outside and just shot off."

"Since when have you been able to fly son?" added Jonathan.

"My eyes changed color?" he sounded curious. "What color did they change to?"

"Pale blue, almost grey," she said. "Actually, very nearly the same color as Lex's eyes."

"Huh."

She could see him thinking that through.

"So, what happened?" she said, gently coaxing him back to the question.

"Right, well I was just sitting here, playing with my food, when I heard Lex's voice in my head. Like a radio, you know? He was telling me that he was in trouble. That the plane had been hijacked and he was tied up, being held at gunpoint. I don't know how to describe it except that it was a like a switch flicked on inside me. I knew I had to get to him as fast as I could, but I didn't think, I just went with instinct. I didn't even realize I was flying at first, not till I caught up with the plane and my brain kicked back in."

"You know, we heard you break the sound barrier son," said Jonathan.

"Really?" Lex looked impressed. "How fast did you go, do you know?"

Clark shook his head. "No idea, I was on autopilot. All I did was focus on you and get to you as fast as I could."

Martha saw some concern suddenly flicker in Lex's eyes, and he reached out to hold Clark's hand.

"Once Clark rescued me from the plane he flew us both back here," he said. "I didn't want to go to the mansion because I wasn't sure if it might have been one of the staff there who set it up. I'll contact my Dad from here if that's okay, and get him working on it?"

"Sure Lex, I still have the cell phone you gave me in my room. Do you want to call him now?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind? Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent, please excuse us, we won't be too long."

Martha watched them both disappear upstairs, and frowned. She'd just missed something, but damned if she knew what.

***

Clark knew that Lex wanted to give them some privacy but he wasn't too sure why. He handed the phone over to Lex, and then perched on the bed, waiting for him to share whatever concern he had.

"Clark, it's just hit me. Those hijackers? They're… um… well, they're…" he stammered.

"Dead?"

"Um yeah, dead."

"It’s okay Lex, I already knew that."

"And you're okay with it?"

"Lex, they kidnapped you, tied you up, and had a gun to your head. What do you think?"

"I don't know, I guess I thought that it would upset you or something."

"Hey," he said, pulling Lex to sit beside him and linking their fingers together. "Those mutants that terrorize Smallville - how many of them do you think have survived? I don't like taking life. I think it's precious and wonderful, but if someone is threatening those that I care about then I'm not going to sit back and do nothing. If it's you that's under threat then the stakes are even higher. If I could have brought them back to face trial I would have done so, but I wasn't about to risk your life because of some abstract notion of justice."

He kissed Lex gently, and rubbed his thumb over those beautiful cheekbones.

"You mean everything to me, don't you get that? If someone threatens your life, I am not just going to sit around and play nicely. I will remove the threat in the most effective way possible."

Clark leaned forward and kissed him again and this time, Lex kissed him back, hungry and demanding. When they broke apart, Lex was panting and flushed.

"Let me make this phone call, otherwise I'm going to lose it right here in the farmhouse with your parents only a thin plaster wall away," he gasped.

Clark kissed him powerfully one more time, and then left him to make his call. As he came downstairs he could hear the murmured voices of his parents, and picked up on the undercurrent of anxiety. He sat back down at the table, and waited for them to raise whatever was bothering them now.

"Honey, how exactly *did* you rescue Lex?"

Trust his Mom to see right through Lex's attempt at diversion.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.

"Of course we do sweetheart, why wouldn't we?"

Clark sighed. This was the moment when their fondly held preconceptions about him were about to get blasted to smithereens. What he told Lex was perfectly true. He did value human life, and he would go to great lengths to preserve it, but when something he loved was threatened, well all bets were off.

"When I reached the plane I flew alongside, and I could see that Lex was tied up and strapped into his seat. The hijacker had a gun to his head, but he was standing up."

He saw his Mom's face go pale as she realized where this was going. His Dad still looked vaguely interested, so he hadn't made the jump yet.

"I pulled off the hatchway door, which de-pressurized the plane. The guy holding the gun was sucked straight out. I got Lex free and flew him down to a safe altitude, and we watched the plane crash into the Pacific."

"You killed them?" gasped his Dad.

"They killed themselves," he snapped back. "If they hadn't kidnapped Lex and held him at gunpoint, they'd still be alive."

"Jesus Christ, you killed them!"

His Mom still hadn't said anything, but she looked as shocked as his Dad.

"It's not as if it's the first time," he muttered.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed his parents in unison.

"Oh come on," he snapped. "What do you think happens to those mutants that attack folks in Smallville and then mysteriously turn up dead? You know damn well that they've died fighting me, why is this any different?"

Neither of them said anything, but he could see them processing it.

"Look," he said, "I may not be human, but I value human life as highly as you do, and if I could have simply captured those guys and brought them back to stand trial, I would have done, but how could I? One of them was holding a gun on Lex, for Christ's sake. What would you have done Dad, if you'd come into the kitchen and found Mom tied up with a guy holding a gun to her head? And don't tell me you would stand there and plan the ways to bring the guy to justice. I know you wouldn’t. You would free Mom whatever way you could. Well, I did the same."

He could see understanding begin to replace the horror of a few moments ago, and was relieved when he saw his Dad nod in resignation.

"You're right son," he admitted, "but please be careful. It's a thin line between saving someone's life and using your strength and power to remove an obstacle, and the more times you take a life, the thinner that line becomes."

"Please don't berate Clark for saving my life," said a cool voice from the bottom of the stairs, "I would do no less for him."

Lex came and sat next to Clark at the table, and passed over the phone in silence.

"What did your Dad say?" Clark thought it was a good moment to change the subject.

"Lots of things," said Lex, "but most importantly he's put LuthorCorp's best investigative team on the job. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it in no time and it should be safe for me to return to the mansion in the morning. If it's inconvenient to have me sleep over, Clark can take me to a motel."

No way was Clark allowing Lex out of his sight tonight.

"Of course you can stay," he said, glaring at his parents and daring them to say otherwise. "You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the camp bed."

"I don't want to turn you out of your bed…"

"Hush, not another word."

Clark could see that his parents were not at all happy about having Lex sleep over, but they didn't make any objection as he got out the spare linen and blankets and set up the camp bed in his room. He was aware of Lex watching him from the doorway, and smiled at him in invitation.

"Come in and close the door. My parents have seen me set up the camp bed, now we can sleep together on my bed and rumple the other sheets in the morning."

"But no sex or other inappropriate behavior," said Lex. "I want our first time to be magical and romantic, not fraught with the fear that your parents will suddenly burst in on us."

Clark sniggered, and shook his head.

"What’s so funny?"

"You are. If people knew what a sappy romantic you really were, your reputation as a cut-throat businessman would be shot to pieces."

"Well, let's not spoil my image by giving away my secrets, hmmm?"

Clark stripped down to his boxers and lay down on the bed.

"Come here. I promise no ravishing or other inappropriate behavior," he grinned, "but I can't promise no snuggling or nuzzling."

"Okay, snuggling and nuzzling is an acceptable compromise. Who taught you how to negotiate, anyway?"

"You did."

"Ah right, so I did. Well done me."

Clark opened his arms, and as Lex settled against him, they relaxed and drifted into a quiet, easy sleep.

***

Lex had been awake for a while, but he didn't want to get up. He could hear sounds downstairs, but Clark was wrapped in his arms, those gorgeous lashes touching his golden cheeks. He could lay here forever just drinking in the sight of Clark's beauty. Forget Narcissus, he would pale into insignificance next to his precious Clark. A knock at the door brought him back to the mundane moment.

"Clark? Are you awake?"

"Yeah Mom," came the sleepy response.

"Breakfast in ten minutes," she said and then Lex heard the sound of her footsteps disappearing into the distance.

"Morning gorgeous," he said, giving Clark a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose, only to be rewarded with an armful of enthusiastic and very wide awake alien, giving him what felt like a tonsillectomy.

"Whoa!" he gasped, when he could get his breath back. "That's a hell of a greeting. Some alien thing?"

"Nope, some Lex thing," came the quick rejoinder, and then from one blink to the next, Clark was clothed and standing by the doorway.

"Come on slowcoach, what you waiting for?"

Fuck! He knew that Clark was fast, but that was beyond fast. Before he could even think of anything to say, Clark was clattering downstairs. He remembered to rumple the camp bed sheets and blankets, and then forgoing a shower he quickly dressed and made his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning Mrs. Kent, Mr. Kent," he said as he sat next to Clark.

"Morning Lex. Is juice and pancakes alright for you?"

"Thank you, that would be lovely," he said.

God this was awkward. He'd never had a boyfriend before, and it was rare for him even to spend the night with a lover. As if that wasn't bad enough, he was also totally ignorant of what would be considered normal breakfast conversation in a family setting.

"There's some bacon and eggs on the hotplate," she added, "and the syrup is in the jug there on the table."

"Ah right, thanks."

"I called Enrique," said Clark, obviously taking pity on him, "and asked him to bring one of the cars over to pick you up at eight, is that okay?"

"Perfect," he smiled, "thanks." It was amazing to have someone in his life who knew him so well.

"I'll go with you to make sure everything is okay."

"Don't forget you have chores to do today, son."

"No problem Dad, I can get those done before Enrique gets here."

Lex glanced at the clock. It was 7.15, and Clark hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Either his chores were minimal or he was so fast… good grief! It suddenly hit Lex why the Kent Farm had managed to survive despite the hard times and poor harvest. His friend probably did the work of a dozen ordinary men before heading off to school each day.

Clark didn't so much eat his breakfast as cause it to disappear from his plate. One moment it was there, and the next it wasn't. He hadn't realized he was staring until he heard Mrs. Kent chuckle.

"Clark usually eats at normal speed," she said, "but if he needs to get the chores finished, well, the food just vanishes."

Clark gave his hand a squeeze, and then suddenly he was gone. Wow.

"Do you, um, do you ever get used to that?" he asked faintly.

"Truthfully Lex? No, we don't", she said. "Mostly because he usually sticks to speeds that humans can see when he's around us, but sometimes, like now when he wants to get his chores done quickly, he switches into normal speed for him, and it always catches me off guard."

"It also makes it very hard to have a discussion with him if he doesn't want to talk," added Mr. Kent. "He has a temper, but he tries to avoid confrontation because he's scared of what he might do in anger. So, if things aren't going his way, he just…" Mr. Kent waved his hand in the air, "disappears."

"No matter how much you love each other you are going to have disagreements sweetheart, so just be prepared for the fact that he will likely vanish if you ever push him."

"What do I do if he runs out on me?" Lex suddenly felt so far out of his depth he could barely see daylight.

"Nothing you can do," said Mr. Kent. "You'd never be able to follow him. You just have to wait it out."

He must have looked stricken, because Mrs. Kent reached over and took his hand.

"Don't worry Lex, he always gets over it and comes home. He's too sweet natured to hold a grudge, and once he's thought things through he comes back and we talk about it. He's just frightened of lashing out in anger and hurting someone really badly."

He'd always thought that despite their amazing son, the Kents were very ordinary farming folk, but sitting here at the breakfast table discussing the ins and outs of raising an alien son, it suddenly struck Lex just how extraordinary these people really were. Even Jonathan Kent, for all his dislike of the Luthor family had somehow reconciled himself, albeit unwillingly, to his son being in a relationship with a Luthor.

He supposed that having to deal with whatever surprises Clark's alien nature threw at them over the years, one more curve ball was just something else to deal with and move on. He was suddenly very grateful to them for sheltering and raising Clark. Not many people would have made the sacrifices that they had obviously made over the years to keep him safe. He had a sudden lump in his throat, and he had to stop eating.

"Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent, I know this has been a shock to you, but I just want you to know that I love Clark more than anything, more than my own life. I promise you, I will never do anything that will put him in danger, and I will treat him like the precious gift he is. I know you don't trust me, and I know you don't like me…"

"Lex! No…"

"Please Mrs. Kent, I'm not stupid. What I'm trying to say is that I understand why you feel that way, and I will do everything I can to try to win your trust, and if not your affection, then at least your respect. It would mean a lot to Clark, and it would mean a lot to me too if you are able to accept our relationship."

"Lex, honey, we do accept it. You're right, we are shocked, and yes, Jonathan has good reason not to trust your family, but we are both going to try very hard to put that behind us, and accept you as Clark's chosen partner. He's a very special person. I have no doubt that what he feels for you is very real and I'm as certain as I can be in this uncertain world that it will be for life. I just hope that you can return his love in the same way. For our part, we are going to make sure that nothing we do will ever drive a wedge between you. I can't lie to you, you wouldn't have been our choice but you are Clark's choice and his happiness is the only thing that has ever mattered to us."

"Thanks Mom, that means a lot to me."

They were all so caught up in the intensity of the moment that none of them had heard Clark come back into the kitchen. He gave them all one of those megawatt smiles, and then disappeared again. Lex heard sounds coming from upstairs, and figured he must be showering after finishing his chores. God, if only he could work at that speed! What he could achieve!

***

Clark showered and dressed quickly, even for him. He threw a few clothes into a bag, and was back downstairs by the time his Mom was clearing the table. Lex and his Dad were sitting there in an easy silence, and that was something that Clark had never expected to see. He heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway, and opened the door just as the limo pulled into the yard. Lex picked up his bag and gave him a subtle smile. Clark read it easily; it said 'make nice with your folks and I'll see you in the car'.

Lex paused in the doorway. "Goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Kent, thank you for your hospitality, and for your understanding. You won't regret it, I promise."

As Lex made his way across the yard to the car, Clark smiled at his parents.

"Bye Mom, Dad," he said giving each of them a hug. "I love you both, you know that, right?"

"Of course we do sweetheart," said his Mom.

"Just be careful son, I know you trust Lu…, I mean Lex, but this is still new. Take care of yourself, and we'll see you tomorrow."

"Um, I was about to ask if I could stay over tonight… how did you know?"

His Dad gave him a very knowing look. "Clark, it may have been a very long time ago that I was a teenager in love, but I remember how it feels. Now get out of here before I come to my senses and ground you for a month!"

Clark hugged him again, and was out of the door so fast that he almost touched super speed.

The journey to the mansion was brief, but it gave him time to nuzzle and nibble at all of the bits of Lex on view around his clothes. They were careful not to go too far though, as they both wanted to get abreast of the investigation into the hijacking. Lex's safety had to take priority.

Clark followed Enrique and Lex into the main hallway, and then he and Lex made their way into the study. Everything looked exactly as it had on the night that they last played pool together here.

"Huh."

Lex looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I was just thinking. Since we were last standing here, my entire life has changed, your entire life has changed, and yet everything still looks the same."

"That's because we aren't defined by things or possessions, but by our own individual essence," said Lex, "and for us, our combined essence is far greater than any external circumstance or structure. We are who we make ourselves Clark; we're not shaped or ruled by external things."

"Steady there Lex, for a moment that sounded almost existentialist.” He grinned.

"Brat."

"Yeah, but I'm your brat," he quipped.

Lex went back to flipping through his email, and then opened up one the messages.

"Is that from your Dad?"

Lex nodded, and with a jerk of his head, invited Clark to come and read it with him. It suddenly occurred to Clark that he hadn't heard Lex's voice in his head since he'd been captive on the plane. They'd have to experiment with it later, see if they could reproduce the effect without the life threatening conditions. Clark glanced at the email.

'Lex - the matter has been resolved. Call me on a secured line when you get this.'

Lex picked up one of the phones on his desk, and hit speed dial two.

Clark wasn't sure whether to go or stay but Lex reached out and linked their fingers together, making the decision for him.

"I'll be able to hear what he says," murmured Clark, but at that moment Lionel answered the phone. Lex didn't release his hands, so Clark figured there was no objection.

"It was ordered by the Hardwicks," said Lionel.

"Really?"

"You don't sound surprised, son."

"Very little surprises me Dad, you know that, but I admit I am impressed that they were almost able to carry it off. Neither of them has ever been very skilled at planning and executing strategies."

"How exactly did you escape, Lex? My sources tell me there was an accident on the plane and it went down in the Pacific, killing all on board."

"Come on Dad," Lex smiled up at Clark, "you don't expect me to reveal *all* my secrets, do you?"

Clark heard Lionel snort, and then what sounded strangely like a chuckle.

"Have you been able to terminate the contract Dad?"

"Yes," said Lionel, "I paid it out. You won't have any more problems from that source."

"And what about the Hardwicks?"

"Leave them to me, Lex. It's time I reminded Mr. Hardwick of the debt he owes to me personally and to LuthorCorp generally. You have no romantic interest in Victoria anymore, do you?"

"None whatsoever Dad," he said, giving Clark the benefit of a very seductive smile. "In fact, there is something I should tell you…"

"Oh God, what have you done now," sighed Lionel.

"I'm sitting here holding hands with the person I intend to spend the rest of my life with."

"Who is she?"

"He."

"Very well, who is he?"

Clark was amazed at how Lionel took that bit of information in his stride, not even missing a beat. Wow.

"Clark Kent."

"Jonathan and Martha Kent's son? But he's still a child!"

"Hardly Dad. He towers over me and he's got twice my bulk, and I'm not exactly a small man. He is still in high school but his parents know about us."

"And what was their reaction?"

"Surprise, verging on shock, but then they accepted it. Mrs. Kent said that she always knew we were closer than friends, but she put it down to a teenage crush on Clark's part, and well, I suppose curiosity on mine. But they know we love each other, and they're going to support us."

"Hmmm, well you must have been persuasive. Martha and Jonathan Kent are nobody's fools. Of course you know what this will do to your political ambitions?"

"Probably," agreed Lex, "but that's a way off in the future. Who knows how public opinion may change? Maybe by the time I'm ready to enter politics, public opinion will be pro gay relationships."

"I sincerely doubt it my boy," scoffed Lionel, "middle America does not move beyond a snail's pace when it comes to social change, you know that."

"I don't really care Dad. If a life in politics is denied to me, I still have LuthorCorp and my own research projects. Hell, I would give it all up for Clark, he's that important to me."

Clark was getting a completely different picture of the Luthor father/son dynamics from his privileged position as eavesdropper. Lex and his Dad often fought, and occasionally joined forces, but he had never imagined that they could have this kind of conversation. It had never occurred to him that Lex could be so open with his Dad and not fear that he would try to use it against him at some point in the future. Lex always said that no-one understood the relationship he had with his Dad, and finally, Clark could see what he was talking about.

"Has he got a brain?"

"Dad, he is the only person other than you that has ever been able to match me intellectually. In fact, at times he leaves me at the starting gate."

"Hmmm, well he's certainly easy on the eye. If he's got brains as well as beauty, then I can see why you've fallen for him. Just be careful son. Kansas is not the safest place in the world to be in a relationship with another man, especially not a local farmer's son who is still in high school."

Lex chuckled. "You know, Jonathan Kent said that almost word for word."

"Oh dear God, tell me I'm not turning into a small town farmer!"

Clark was finding it hard not to laugh out loud. Whoever would have thought that Lionel Luthor would ever have said anything to amuse him? This was definitely a side of the infamous Luthor senior that Clark had never seen before. He doubted that anyone other than Lex ever got to see it. No wonder he said that no-one ever understood his relationship with his Dad, the most important piece of information was missing; despite all the struggle and confrontations, they were actually fond of each other.

Lionel might treat Lex coldly and continually test him in one way or another, but when the chips were down, it was obvious that Lex could trust his Dad to be in his corner. Maybe it was just as Lex said earlier; that Lionel had invested too much in his only son to risk losing him completely. Whatever, Clark was glad to have been given this insight into Lex's relationship with his Father.

"I am absolutely certain that you will never turn into a small town farmer," said Lex. "I'll see you on Monday at the Board meeting Dad, and thanks for getting to the bottom of the hijacking."

As Lex hung up, Clark pulled him into an embrace.

"Finally, I have you all to myself." Clark kissed the soft skin at the back of Lex's neck. "No parents." He kissed along Lex's jaw line. "No hijackers." He kissed the soft lips very gently, "and no reason not to take me up to your bedroom, and make love to me until I forget my own name. We'll have to face the rest of the world on Monday. My school friends, your staff, maybe even the jackals of the media, but until then, we exist out of time and out of mind."

Clark closed his eyes as Lex caressed his face with gentle hands.

"Oh my beloved Lex," he murmured. "Are you really mine?"

"Yours, wholly and completely, body and soul, from here to eternity," responded Lex, setting his head against Clark's shoulder.

"And on that cheek and o'er that brow, so soft, so calm yet eloquent…" As Lex softly spoke the words, he touched Clark's cheek and stroked his hair with such tenderness; "the smiles that win, the tints that glow, but tell of days in goodness spent…"

"Oh, I don't think I'm quite as virtuous as all that," murmured Clark.

Lex kissed him gently, and finished the verse, "a mind at peace with all below, a heart whose love is innocent."

"A heart whose love is yours, Lex, always and forever yours."

***

Notes: The poem is the last verse of 'She Walks in Beauty' by Lord Byron.