Title: Bred in the Bone
Author: Coren Lee
Email: coren@tiscali.co.uk
Rating: NC-17
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: The story starts off with the canon version of Red and then veers significantly AU. Thanks to Jazzy for a wonderful beta! None of these characters belong to me, no copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Still under the influence of red Kryptonite, Clark returns the Ferrari to Lex after his night out with Jessie. Lex is having a frustrating time with his father, and he invites Clark to jet off to England with him to give them both some time away from Smallville. Alien!Clark - be warned!

Chapter One

Lex hadn't slept particularly well last night. He wasn't exactly concerned about Clark's weird behavior, but he was intrigued by the sudden change from shy, retiring farm boy to slick, sophisticated urbanite. Okay, well maybe not urbanite in reality, but certainly Clark's appearance and manner last night owed more to Metropolis than it did to Smallville.

Lex loved mysteries and there was no doubt that Clark Kent kept him more than well provided in that regard, but this latest mystery made Lex uncomfortable. Clark, for all his strange appearances and disappearances and his knack of being on hand to save people from the mutant of the month, never came across as being anything other than a wholesome, country reared teen. His god-like looks certainly set him apart from his peers, but strangely, no-one apart from Lex seemed to notice. Maybe all that practice at ignoring meteor mutants and other strange happenings had trained Smallville folks to ignore anything that didn't actually impact on them or their livelihood.

But - the new Urban Clark who wanted to borrow the Ferrari to rock Lana's world, well that guy was a total stranger to Lex. He didn't even look like Clark. No primary colored flannel or jeans, but an elegant outfit in black and plum and a coat that Lex would have been proud to have in his own wardrobe. It was Clark's body language that really gave away the difference, though. Usually he gave the impression that he was awkward and clumsy, but Urban Clark held himself with pride, and his presence filled the room in a way that Farm Boy Clark's presence never did.

Dammit, Lex was starting to get hard just thinking about it!

The combination of Clark’s looks and an arrogance that exuded confidence and power had hit Lex like a sledgehammer last night. He'd always been attracted to Clark, but the boy's shyness and insecurity had never given him the least encouragement to try anything. Clark standing in front of him radiating power and - okay let's be honest - sexual energy, was incredibly tempting. It had taken all of Lex's self-control not to respond to Clark's request for the Ferrari with 'forget Lana, take me!' instead of handing over the keys.

Lex had checked the garage as soon as he was dressed, but there was no sign of the car. Maybe Clark had taken it back to the Kent Farm last night, but somehow Lex doubted it.

If Urban Clark was still in control of the body, then it was likely that he would wake up in a strange bed with one or more people who had less self-control than Lex when faced with such a god. A sharp pang of jealousy caught him unawares, and he fervently hoped that the car was safely at the Kent Farm, and Farm Boy Clark was back in control of the body. Much as Urban Clark might appeal to him, he didn't want to share Clark with anyone, not on any level.

Wow. That was a surprise. When had Lex gotten so possessive about his best friend? He wasn't even possessive over lovers, so how had that snuck up on him without warning?

Caught up in that astounding revelation, Lex walked into his office and tripped over a cable that had no business being there. As he stumbled and then righted himself, he realized that the cable wasn't the only thing that had no business being there. His space had been invaded by what looked like an army of furniture movers, carpenters, and other tradesmen that were moving with professional ease and speed to give his office a complete makeover.

Trying to avoid being knocked or shoved as they all worked at a furious pace, he made his way over to the centre of operations, where, like a spider at the centre of a web, sat his Father. Blindness had not diminished his capacity for work or his ability to multitask, and as Lex watched in silent annoyance, Lionel directed first one person then another to carry out his wishes.

"What's going on?" he asked, repressing the anger and trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Ah Lex, good morning, I didn't think you'd mind if I made a few adjustments to the office to make myself more comfortable."

Lex counted to ten, and took two deep breaths before he trusted himself to speak. Lionel knew him too well, and he couldn't afford to let his voice give him away.

"What I mind, Father, is not being consulted," he snapped.

"Well," huffed Lionel, "if that's how you feel about it, I'm sorry I ever thought to try to make my life a little more bearable." He grabbed some papers and his optical reader, and marched out of the room with as much dignity as ever, people parting before him as the Red Sea parted before Moses.

Lex felt intensely frustrated. He'd just lost another round to his Father, and this time it was in front of a room full of employees. Damn, he hated these stupid games! It didn't help that he also felt guilty about being so short-tempered over this. He knew his Dad was making a real effort to overcome his blindness, and he ought to try to be more accommodating.

Lionel's Personal Assistant was still hovering by the desk, unsure of whether she should run after Lionel, or wait to see what Lex had to say. Her indecision only served to anger him more, but he managed to restrain himself, guilt winning out over annoyance. "Let him have whatever he wants," he muttered, and then turned to stride out of what was once his personal domain before he started throwing things. Or people.

He got as far as the door when he was brought up short by a large figure standing in front of him.

"Get the fuck out of my way," he snarled, and then looked up to see a pair of green eyes looking back at him with some amusement. Obviously Urban Clark was still at home. Farm Boy Clark would have blushed and stammered and melted back into the hallway within seconds. This one was just standing there, a little smirk twisting those luscious lips of his.

"What's up Lex?"

"Follow me," he muttered, "I've got to get out of here before I kill someone."

Clark allowed him past, and then fell in alongside as Lex strode down the hallway. "Did you bring the Ferrari back?"

"Yeah, but I want to keep it a bit longer if that's alright."

"Why? Don't get me wrong Clark, I don't mind if you keep it forever, but what are you going to do with a Ferrari on a farm?"

"I'm not going back to the farm."

Lex stopped in surprise, and Clark reached out to grip his arm as they collided and he almost knocked Lex over.

"Thank you," he said absently as he regained his balance and tried to regain his composure at the same time. "What do you mean you're not going back to the farm?” Lex asked astounded, “What about your parents? What about school? Your friends?"

"Lex, I'm almost seventeen years old and ever since the Kents adopted me, the furthest I've been from home is Metropolis. How many places had you visited by the time you were my age? I'm not going to hang around here and be a donkey on the Kent Farm for the rest of my life. I want to go places, do things. As for school, I'm so far ahead of those morons that I could graduate tomorrow."

Lex was speechless, not a condition for which he had much experience. He realized he was just standing there with his mouth open, and from the amused look on Clark's face, he guessed that stunned amazement was probably a good description. Mind you, that could also have something to do with the fact that Clark had not yet released his grip and Lex was all too aware of a strong, warm hand wrapped around his forearm. Come on Lex, he thought to himself, focus!

"Well, what about Lana? Did you rock her world?"

He regretted saying that as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Clark dropped his arm and leaned back against the hallway wall with his arms folded in front of his chest.

"Lana's yesterday's news," he scoffed. "I dropped her and went off with Jessie, but she wasn't much better."

Okay. Jessie. Who the fuck was Jessie? She wasn't even a blip on the radar yesterday and yet last night Clark dumped Lana for her?

"So where's Jessie now?" Lex hoped she wasn't roaming around the mansion anywhere. Running into the girl who popped Clark's cherry would prove that it was possible for this day to get worse.

"I've no idea," Clark shrugged, "I kicked her out last night. She was getting on my nerves with her constant whining about being in danger and having to hide from the cops. I mean, I heard her the first twenty times, I didn't need to keep hearing it."

How to ask if he kicked her out before or after having sex with her, mused Lex.

"Anyway, I didn't want to have sex with her," Clark added.

Lex knew a grin was spreading across his face. There was no way in hell he could stop it.

Clark grinned back at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, it’s just been an odd morning, and standing here in my hallway discussing your sex life - or lack thereof - just raised the stakes on weird and bizarre, that's all. Come on, let's escape upstairs to my bedroom, at least we can be private there. I keep expecting Dad to come tapping down the hallway here, and it's creeping me out."

Chapter Two

Clark followed Lex up the stairs, admiring the casual elegance that Lex always seemed to project, no matter what the circumstances. He moved with a leisurely grace that masked the strength that lived just beneath the skin, strength that Clark had seen put to practical and effective use on several occasions. Lex had just told him that he was angry enough to kill someone and yet here he was, casually walking up the stairs as if he hadn't a care in the world. Clark envied Lex his poise, and decided that he could do no better than to model himself on his best friend.

In fact, thinking about it, wasn't that what he'd already done? His new clothes would fit right into Lex's wardrobe, even down to the plum colored shirt and long black coat, and the electronic stuff at home? Thinking over his purchases, he had unconsciously copied the brands that he knew his friend favored.

Lex led the way into his bedroom, but in Clark's view a bedroom was something that had a bed in it, and maybe a chest of drawers and a closet. This suite of inter-connecting rooms was bigger than the entire Kent farmhouse. The color scheme was red, gold and russet, and just being there made Clark feel contented and strangely at ease. He slipped off his shoes and socks and sank his toes into the soft, deep carpet. He had to be careful not to damage it, but the sensation was so luxurious he could never resist.

He was aware that Lex was watching him, probably trying to put all the pieces together. Lex's brain never stopped inputting, categorizing, and processing data. It was one of the things that he admired most about his friend.

Clark had already decided that it was time to share all his secrets, but he hadn't yet worked out the best way to handle it. Lex could take just about anything in his stride, but an alien life form was going to be a new one even for him and he must have limits somewhere.

It suddenly occurred to Clark that Lex was the only person he really wanted to share his secrets with. He had to hold himself back with all of his other friends, but not with Lex, who had a genius IQ and an ability to read people and situations that bordered on the magical.

Not to mention a body that just oozed sexual magnetism.

Huh. Whoever would have thought that Clark Kent, poster boy for clean family living, would be lusting after his best male friend? More to the point, now that those pesky insecurities that always plagued him were miraculously out of the way, there was nothing to stop him from acting on his feelings and desires.

Thinking about it as he luxuriated in the feel of the soft, thick carpet beneath his feet, he came to the conclusion that Lex was responsible, albeit unwittingly, for spoiling him for anyone else. Lana turned out to be a huge disappointment. Outside of her safe haven in Smallville she became a nervous little rabbit, and he could see just how ordinary and uninteresting she really was. Against Jessie, Lana looked like a pretty, empty, doll. Then there was Jessie. On the surface she was up for anything and a real bad girl. Scratch the surface though and she was just as dull and boring as Lana. Neither of them could carry a conversation and he just wasn't interested in their bodies. Holding Lana or Jessie was like holding a soft cuddly toy, and what he desperately wanted to feel against his body was firm muscle and sinewy strength.

He gave Lex an appraising look, taking in the long, elegant, limbs and casual ease with which he moved.

"So Clark, have you got anything you want to tell me?"

That's my Lex, thought Clark with a feeling of affection, straight to the point. He accepted the bottle of water that Lex offered, and took a swallow while trying to think of the best way to approach this. Perhaps straight to the point would work for both of them. He put the bottle down on a table, and took a deep breath then spoke.

"I'm an alien."

Lex's face shifted into that emotionless blank expression he adopted when he needed to keep his thoughts private.

"All those things I can do that I could never explain to you? It's because I'm not human."

Lex was still staring at him with that same blank expression, but his eyes revealed an inner turmoil that was at odds with his calm exterior.

"Lex? Say something."

"…"

"Lex?"

"…"

Clark tried to emulate the way that Lex moved with a leisurely grace, and sauntered across the room. Standing well inside Lex's personal space - something his normal self would never have dared - he reached out and took Lex's hand in his own.

"Lex? Don't tell me that you didn't guess at least part of this. You're too intelligent not to have worked out some of it."

Clark stared into those beautiful blue-grey eyes, and twitched a smile when he saw the pupils dilate. Lex was breathing hard too, and trembling ever so slightly.

"Lex? I have something else to tell you as well. Or, maybe I should just show you this one."

Clark closed the space between them, and wrapping one arm around Lex's waist, the other behind his head, he leaned in and put his lips against the mouth that had been teasing him ever since his awareness of Lex had been upgraded from friend to potential lover.

At first he felt no reaction at all, but then suddenly it was as if someone had flicked a switch and Lex came alive in his arms. The response to his kiss would have taken his breath away if he'd needed to breathe, and he felt his body assaulted with an overwhelming array of physical reactions. The reality of Lex in his arms was so much more than Clark had ever imagined. He wasn't a vapid, soft toy like Lana or Jessie, he was strength, and sinew, and muscle, and oh god, the taste of him was indescribable.

Time ceased to have any meaning. They could have been kissing for seconds or hours, Clark had no idea. When they finally broke apart, Lex was panting as if he had just run a marathon and even Clark felt weak at the knees. They stumbled towards the closest sofa and slumped into the soft cushions. In a small part of his brain Clark was aware that the aggression he'd been feeling since he first put on his class ring had eased off, as if the passion that he felt with Lex had siphoned it off into another direction. He briefly wondered why that hadn't happened last night with Jessie; all he felt with her was irritation.

"Fuck Clark," gasped Lex, "when you decide to come clean, you don't hold back, do you?"

"So, you're not mad at me?"

"Yes, I'm mad at you! But I'm also glad that you finally stopped lying to me - about everything."

"Not quite everything yet, but give me a couple of minutes and it will be everything, I promise."

"What else is there? ‘Cause I've got to tell you, I don't think anything is going to top the alien gig. Unless it was the kissing; yeah maybe the kissing can top the alien gig."

Clark felt a smug grin plaster itself on his face at the realization that he had caused the supremely self-possessed Lex Luthor to lose his cool so completely.

"It's mostly what I can do. You know about the strength, and I think you've guessed that I'm also pretty fast."

Lex nodded.

"Right, well I can also see through things - I call it x-ray vision - and I can shoot laser beams out of my eyes. I call that heat vision. Not much in the way of imagination I guess, but these things suddenly came on line without warning, and trying to control them was bad enough without also trying to think up imaginative names to describe them.”

"Is that it?"

"More or less. I don't really need to breathe," he shrugged, "but I've never done anything about exploring how long I can keep it up."

"Jeezus Clark, how could you keep all this secret? I suspected some things, but never anything like this. Does anyone else know?"

"The Kents, obviously, and also Pete Ross."

"Fuck, Clark, you told Pete Ross? And yet you couldn't tell me? Well thanks a lot!"

Lex looked so pissed off that even with his new found self-confidence Clark hastened to reassure him. "I didn't want to tell Pete, but he found my space pod and I kind of had to tell him about me to convince him to hide it again."

"Whoa, space pod? What space pod? You have a space pod?"

"Yeah," chuckled Clark, "I have a space pod. You wanna come and see my pod sometime?" he said suggestively, looking up at Lex through his eyelashes. Clark had never realized how much fun it could be to play this teasing game with Lex.

"Oh yeah, I want to see your pod, space boy! But right now I want you to tell me why you kept lying to me, why you never trusted me."

"I never wanted to lie to you. I've always trusted you, you know that, right? But you also know how the Kents are about Luthors. They made me promise never to say anything to you, made me swear all kinds of oaths that I would always keep this secret from you."

"So what changed? I mean, I know that something is different. You're different. What is it? It's not just that you're an alien is it? Though God knows I never imagined that sentence coming out of my mouth."

"No, it's not just that. Ever since I put on my class ring it's like all my fears, all my insecurities, all the stupid things that keep me from being truly myself, well they just don't matter anymore. I have a theory…" Clark paused.

Lex was giving him his undivided attention, staring at him with an intensity that was unusual, even for him.

"What's your theory?" prompted Lex.

"It's kind of hard to think of anything with you looking at me like that. It's like you want to devour me from the inside out."

"I do, and I promise I will get onto the devouring very shortly, but right now I want to hear about your theory. I may have spent months fantasizing about your body but I want your mind too. I want everything that you are so, tell me your theory," insisted Lex.

"Right. My theory." Clark gave himself a mental shake. The thought that Lex had fantasized about his body - for months! - and a promise of being devoured very shortly was doing strange and unsettling things to his libido, but he could wait. Really, he could.

"I have a really bad reaction to the green meteor rocks. If I'm around them, I get sick and feeble, and I think if I was exposed to enough of them they might even be able to kill me."

"So that's why those jocks were able to make you the scarecrow? That green rock around your neck?"

Clark was impressed that Lex had remembered such a small detail.

"Yeah, exactly. The Kents found me just after the meteor shower, so I guess the meteors are from the same place as me. There has to be some connection otherwise they wouldn't affect me so strongly. Anyway, I think maybe the stone in this ring is meteor rock. It doesn't make me sick and weak like the green, it makes me more who I am really meant to be. I've spent my entire life trying to fly under the radar and not be noticed but as soon as I put this ring on, it just didn't matter any more. I wanted to be noticed. I wanted to get out there and live a little. I wanted to act on my desire for you, Lex."

Lex’s expression changed to one of hurt and frustration.

"If you wanted to act on your desire for me, what was that about rocking Lana's world, Clark?" he demanded. "When you came here last night I wanted you to you want me, but you were still chasing after Lana. And then this Jessie? What was that about?"

"Are you jealous of them? You don't need to be, they're nothing compared with you, Lex." He leaned forward and ran his tongue along Lex's jaw line. "It's you I want," he murmured, licking his way around to the back of Lex's head. "It's you I'm with, and it's you and I that are going to be the stuff of legends. They're nothing, believe me."

Chapter Three

Lex wanted to believe him so badly that it hurt. The licking was driving him mad and the feel of a hot horny alien - alien! - in his arms was doing things to his dick that would need attention very, very soon. He slipped his hands under Clark's shirt and ran his hands over warm, smooth skin. He felt like he was melting, every nerve in his body alive with the desire he felt for his best friend. He'd never been intimate with anyone he cared for; he was always careful to restrict his sexual encounters to people who were attractive, but for whom he held no affection.

Clark though, Clark was something different. He engaged not only Lex's sexual desire but also his emotions. He didn't just want Clark's body, he wanted his soul and he wanted his love. He'd never experienced this with anyone and while he knew that it should have freaked him out, somehow it all felt so right.

Clark was nuzzling his shoulder, gently moving his shirt out of the way to get access to his collar bone, slowly moving down towards nipples that were becoming more and more sensitive with each languorous lick of Clark's magical tongue. Lex moaned with pleasure, arching back to offer his body. Nothing would stop him from enjoying this to the full. Nothing, that is, except the sight of his Father looming over him, one of his lackeys standing slightly behind him.

"Lex my boy, is this really the time to indulge in such carnal pleasures? Don't you have a company to run, hmmm?"

"For fuck's sake Dad, these rooms are private. You've already taken over my office, what, you want me to move out of my bedroom as well?" he snapped.

"What I want, Lex, is for you to undertake your responsibilities without the distraction of a pretty face. You can just stop whatever you're doing with this insignificant whore and accept your role in life for once! I sent you here to keep you away from gold digging little tramps like this, and yet somehow you always manage to find a new one. For goodness' sake, grow up and act like an adult for once. Send her on her way and come down to the office, I want to talk to you."

Lex glanced at Clark, to see how he was taking Dad's rant. Amusement and… huh, was that a touch of wickedness he saw flickering in his eyes?

"Sorry Lionel, I'm not going anywhere, and Lex is far too busy to come down and speak with you." Clark released his hold on Lex, and stood up.

Wow. Urban Clark had balls, and no mistake. Lex had to see how this was going to play out. He just had to warn Clark…

"Clark, don't say anything you'll regret."

There, that should do it. Clark's bright enough to know what Lex was warning him about.

"Oh, I'm not going to regret this Lex," Clark smiled at him, before turning back and staring at Lionel.

"Lex doesn't want you here, and I don't want you here, yet here you stand. Personally I think Lex should have left you to die when the tornado hit, but he's a better man than me. He's a better man than you too, Lionel, which is why you are going to fuck off out of his face right now, because I don't want him to have to save your life for the second time. Do I make myself clear? Leave now, and you can walk out on your own two legs. Keep annoying Lex and you'll never walk again."

"Clark? Clark Kent?" Lionel looked surprised. "I never realized the Kents had raised such an aggressive thug of a son. You speak your mind though, I'll give you that," said Lionel.

"Yeah, well, just don't let the door hit you on your ass on your way out."

"Lex, get rid of this uncouth creature and meet me downstairs… aaagh!"

"Lionel, you weren't listening. I said, LEAVE NOW. What part of that wasn't clear to you?"

Lex could see that Clark had a tight grip around Lionel's arm. Ooh, that's got to hurt, he thought. Lionel was struggling to pull away, but he might just as well have tried to break free from steel chains. Lex had to intervene before his Dad realized there was something unusual about the strong hands that held him captive.

"Let him go Clark, I'm sure he'd like to leave us alone now."

Lex was gratified to see that Clark immediately released his hold. Let his Dad ponder the kind of influence that Clark's immediate compliance implied. Of course it went both ways; he would just as quickly agree to anything Clark asked of him but his Dad didn't need to know that.

"Lex…"

"Dad, trust me. You do not want to push Clark on this. He's really not happy with you right now. If I were you, I'd do as he suggests and leave. I have everything under control at the Plant. Just go, please."

"This isn't over Lex," he warned.

"Dad, it's never over where you are concerned," sighed Lex.

"Mr. Kent, no doubt we will meet again," Lionel snapped as he turned and with the aid of his lackey, made his way out of the room.

Jesus fucking Christ, was he never going to be free of his Dad?

"I meant it you know."

"Hmmm?"

"If he doesn't get out of your face, I'll *make* him leave you alone."

Lex was sure that he shouldn't find it so arousing that Clark had gone all caveman and protective over him. And could meteor rock really cause such a massive personality change? Where was the sweet-natured farm boy who just wanted to help everyone? He couldn't imagine that boy even standing up to Lionel, let alone saying that Lex should have left him to die.

"Whatever happened to mild-mannered Clark Kent, good old Kansas-reared farm boy?" he teased.

"He's gone Lex, he's never coming back. Maybe I'm right and this ring has something to do with setting the real me free, but now that I've experienced it there's no way I'm letting that timid farm boy rule my life again."

Clark dropped back beside him on the sofa, and the intensity of his gaze was a little disturbing. Lex was sure he could see red lick flickering at the centre of his pupils, and despite how alluring this new powerful, Clark might be, something was really off about it and it was starting to worry Lex.

"You know, magical rings rarely end well in books and movies," mused Lex.

"I think I'm a bit too tall to be a hobbit, Lex."

"True, and Kansas in no way resembles the Shire."

"Have you ever been to New Zealand?"

"Yes I have, but that's not the Shire you know, it's just where they filmed the movies. The real Shire is in Oxfordshire in England, heart of Middle Earth."

"There's a real Shire?"

"There's a real Shire, and it's beautiful. I spent quite a lot of time in and around Oxford when I was at school in England, and I loved it."

"You see, that's what I'm talking about. I've led such a sheltered life that I didn't even know there *was* a real Shire, let alone visited it."

Lex got one of his blinding flashes of intuitive genius.

"The security system here has never stopped you, has it Clark?"

"Whoa, way to change the subject Lex!"

"It never even picks you up, why is that?"

Clark shrugged. "I told you, I'm fast."

"How fast?"

There was a sudden breeze, and Clark disappeared in front of his eyes. Before he had time to process the fact that he'd gone, he was back again, holding a bowl from the kitchen in his hand.

"What the fuck…" stuttered Lex.

Clark gave him a beaming smile, and held out the bowl. "From the kitchen," he said.

Lex took the bowl and stared at it. "The kitchen? You just ran all the way down to the kitchen and picked this up?"

"I told you I was fast."

Lex tore his eyes away from the bowl and saw a very smug looking Clark staring back at him.

"Jeezus Clark, that's not just fast, that's… um, I'm not sure if there's actually a word to describe what that is."

"So, why did you want to know about me getting past your security system?"

"Are you serious about wanting to see more of the world instead of going back to the farm, going to school?"

"Lex, I have never been more serious about anything in my life."

"Come with me to England then, we'll visit the Shire."

Clark looked stunned; for a brief moment Lex saw a glimmer of his old friend peeking out from behind the cool, arrogant veneer of urban sophistication.

"If I don't get away from Dad for a while I'm going to lose my temper and do something I'll regret," he admitted. "We can take the LuthorCorp jet and be in England in a few hours. I'm assuming you don't have a passport?" he paused and looked at Clark.

"Never had any need for one."

"Right, well with your speed, you still don't need one. When we land and get processed through immigration, you just run through and meet me the other side. No-one will ever know you were there."

"Seriously?"

"Clark, I have never been more serious about anything in my life," he parroted back, a smirk teasing his lips. "Go and grab whatever you need from the farm and meet me back here as soon as you can. I'll get the helicopter to take us to the airport in Metropolis. The pilot can file the flight plan while we're on our way. We can spend a day or so in London, and then head off to Oxford."

"Can we continue with this on the plane?" murmured Clark, caressing Lex's nipple and nibbling at his jaw line.

"You'd better believe it," gasped Lex, "you are in for one hell of a ride my friend."

Chapter Four

Clark drove the Ferrari back to the farm, figuring it would be easier to pile the bags in the trunk than try to carry them while running. The Shire! He was really going to leave Kansas, leave the USA, and travel somewhere that he had previously thought existed only in fiction. He wanted to see London too, but more than anything he wanted the freedom to be with Lex, and do all the things with him that were running around in his imagination.

He was dropping the last bag in the car when the Kents came running over.

"Son, you need to listen to us," pleaded his Dad. "That ring you're wearing, it's what's making you act this way."

"Yeah?"

So, his pet theory seemed to have some substance to it. He slammed down the lid of the trunk and tried to walk around to the driver's side, only to find Jonathan and Martha standing in his way.

"Please honey," begged Martha, "Pete told us that Chloe discovered the manufacturers used red meteor rock. It must affect your personality like the green meteor rock affects your body."

"Really," he said, lifting his hand and admiring the ring.

"Clark, please take it off," she said. "You aren't going to be normal again unless you do, and it's likely that the effects are going to just keep getting stronger the longer you're in contact with it."

He pushed past them, ignoring the little grunt of pain from Jonathan and gasp of shock from Martha. He pulled open the door to the Ferrari and slid into the driver's seat.

"You know," he said conversationally, "normal is really overrated. My only regret is that I never discovered this stuff earlier. Take it off? No. Freaking. Way."

"Clark! Clark! Where are you going?" shouted Martha as he revved up the engine.

"I'm going to get a life," he said, as the wheels spun and he took off in a cloud of dust.

Lex was waiting for him in the forecourt at the mansion as he screeched to a halt, a couple of suitcases at his feet. At Clark's raised eyebrow he grimaced slightly.

"Dad's prowling around inside, and I don't want him to get a clue about what we have planned until it's too late to stop us."

At that moment a couple of Lex's staff came outside. One picked up Lex's cases, and the other headed to the trunk of the Ferrari to take care of Clark's luggage.

"Come on Clark, let's be gone," said Lex.

They were both tall men, and their long strides had them at the helipad in moments. As they buckled up, the luggage was stowed and the rotors started to speed up. Clark glanced towards the mansion and saw Lionel stepping through to door to the forecourt, his personal lackey just behind him as usual. Unable to resist the impulse, he leaned out of the helicopter door, and sent a ray of heat straight at Lionel's crotch. He chuckled when Lionel leapt into the air and started frantically patting the front of his trousers, his lackey running around desperately trying to work out what had just happened.

He leaned back in his seat, and pulling on the headset to allow them to talk over the noise of the helicopter, he turned and grinned at Lex.

"Heat vision?" Lex had raised one eyebrow in a sardonic query.

"Heat vision," agreed Clark.

"Interesting," murmured Lex.

Clark spent the short trip looking out of the window, mentally bidding farewell to the corn fields, the cows, the farms, the towns, and the narrow-minded idiots who lived there. He also gave some thought to how the red meteor rock was affecting him, and more importantly, how its effects seemed to be changing the longer he wore the ring. He still felt confident and those crushing insecurities were thankfully still absent, but his aggression was no longer driving him and he was feeling far more in control of himself. He had no other experience to compare this with but he thought it was probably like coming down off a chemical high.

When he first put it on the stone in the ring had glinted and pulsed with an inner light. Initially the energy simply surged into him, carrying him on its powerful tide. He was still aware of the stone, but it was no longer pulsing and its effect was more like a subtle undercurrent instead of the raging torrent that almost overwhelmed him when he first came into contact with it.

He realized that what he felt more than anything was that the meteor rock was energizing his alien self. Since he'd put it on he'd become less and less empathic with his friends and adopted family. It occurred to him with a jolt of surprise that he hadn't even thought to say goodbye to Chloe or Pete, and his parting from the Kents was hardly that of a much loved son going on a trip. He hadn't given any of them a single thought until now, and it wasn't regret he was feeling, just a detached observation of fact.

Curiously, Lex seemed to be an anachronism. Much as his feelings regarding the Kents and his friends were diminishing, so his feelings for Lex were increasing, becoming more intense all the time. Last night Lex had only been a flicker of awareness on his personal sexual radar, he was completely fixated on Lana. Now, Lana could wrap her naked body around him and it would do absolutely nothing for him. Was it that she proved to be such a boring date? Or was the red meteorite doing something to him other than affecting his personality?

Whatever was happening he decided to put it out of his mind for the time being, and sit back and enjoy the unusual heady experience of total freedom from being Clark Kent, farmer’s son.

When they touched down at Metropolis helipad a limousine was waiting for them, and they were whisked off towards an impressive looking jet carrying the LuthorCorp logo on its tailfin. As he followed Lex aboard the plane their luggage was stowed and the engines were revving in preparation for take off.

"Don't you have to go through some sort of passport control or something?" he asked.

"All done," smirked Lex. "One of the benefits of being rich and powerful is that you don't have to obey the same rules as the poor people. But then, I guess you know as much as I do about not obeying the same rules as everyone else?"

Clark said nothing, giving back his own version of the enigmatic smirk. A LuthorCorp stewardess greeted them and led them over to some very comfortable leather seats, a small table beside each one. As they settled themselves she returned with chilled bottled water and bowls of snacks, and then left them alone.

“I could get used to this,” murmured Clark as he closed his eyes and luxuriated in the comfort of the soft leather seats.

"Clark…"

He opened his eyes. Lex sounded very uncertain, not something he associated with his supremely confident best friend.

“What?”

“Before we take off, do you, um, well, do you want to call your parents?”

“Why?”

“Why?” Lex sounded surprised.

“I told them I was leaving when I picked up my bags,” he said. “What else can I say?”

“Well, do they know where you’re going? That you’re with me?”

Clark shook his head. “It’s none of their business,” he snapped, wishing Lex would just drop it. He wanted to enjoy this trip, not think about what he was leaving behind.

“Okay, okay.”

Lex was using a soothing, calming voice as if Clark was a nervous animal that might bite. Huh, perhaps he wasn’t in as much control of his aggression as he thought he was. Time for some damage control.

“Lex, we are just about the head off on a grand adventure in Middle Earth. All those conversations we've had about the movie's subtext and the nature of male companionship? Well now we have the chance to live the dream for a while. Let’s not spoil it by thinking about my parents.”

“When did you get so wise, my young padawan?”

“Wrong movie, Lex. Please try to rein in your inner geek or I will be forced to subdue it myself.”

“Promise?”

“Lex, did you just flutter your eyelashes at me?”

Whatever response Lex might have made was interrupted by the stewardess entering the cabin.

“Mr. Luthor, we’ve just received clearance for take off so we’re about to taxi over to the runway.”

“Thank you Carol,” said Lex.

“Can I get you anything before we take off?”

“No, thank you, we’re fine. I’ll buzz you if we need anything.”

In no time they were airborne, and as the plane leveled out, the level of noise suddenly cut back.

“I hate that bit,” admitted Lex. “It always sounds and feels like the engines have just failed.”

Clark was flattered that Lex was willing to reveal something like that to him. It wasn’t a weakness, not really, but for Lex Luthor to confess to anything even remotely resembling a vulnerability was very out of character.

"Clark…"

"What is it Lex?"

"I'm just curious, how much do you remember of your journey to Earth?"

Trust Lex to be interested in that, he thought wryly.

"Nothing really," he said slowly. "My memories start more or less with the Kents in the cornfield. I occasionally get glimpses of something else, but I can never grab hold of it long enough to understand what I'm remembering."

"You have no memories at all?" Lex sounded curious, and maybe just a little disbelieving. "How old were you when you arrived here?"

"I don't really know," he admitted. "The Kents guessed at three, but I was obviously in the pod for a while to get here from another galaxy… and if the word Skywalker passes your lips, I am going to hurt you badly!" Clark could almost read the thought passing across Lex's mind when he said 'galaxy'.

Lex mimicked a zipping motion across his lips, and then immediately unzipped them again.

"Why another galaxy? What makes you think you come from outside the Milky Way?"

"I don't know, I just don't think I come from within this galaxy," he shrugged. "What surprises me is that no-one at Arecibo picked me up when I arrived here," he added. "Even coming down with the meteors, something should have shown up."

"Maybe they did, maybe the government has covered up the evidence for some reason," added Lex.

Clark stared at him. "Why would they do that?"

"Many reasons," said Lex, "just ask Fox Mulder."

"Okay, you do realize he's a fictional character, don't you?"

"Yeah, and I also realize that you sitting here proves his core belief to be absolutely spot on, space boy."

Clark's response was cut short by the stewardess knocking, and then entering the cabin. "Excuse me sir. It's fine to undo your seat belts and walk around now," she said. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

Clark shook his head at Lex's raised eyebrow. Much as he enjoyed the experience of taking off and flying in a plane, he was keen to get back to what they were doing at the mansion before Lionel interrupted them.

"Thank you Carol, we'll amuse ourselves for now. I'll buzz if we need anything." As the door closed behind her, Lex undid his seat belt and smirked at Clark.

"Well Clark, want to help me amuse myself?"

Chapter Five

Lex felt Clark following him, and as he swung open the door to the back of the plane to reveal a surprisingly large, and very tastefully decorated bedroom, he felt strong arms reach around him and a warm nuzzling just behind his left ear.

"Oh Lex, you do have the very best toys," Clark breathed into his ear.

"You have no idea," he murmured, moving forward and pulling Clark along with him.

Lex heard the door slam shut behind them, and then one second he was standing there with Clark pressed against him, the next he was lying naked on his back on the bed, with a very naked and obviously aroused Clark leaning over him.

"Gngggh"

"What was that Lex?" murmured Clark.

"Ummm, what just happened?"

"Fast Lex, remember?"

"Jeezus Clark, warn a guy before you do that, would you?"

"Mmmm", purred Clark as he started licking around Lex's neck and shoulder. "Oh you taste soooo good, I will never get enough of this."

That was just fine with Lex. Clark was doing something with his tongue that was sending sparks fluttering up and down his backbone, and then, as if to prove that 'sensory overload' were not just two words from the dictionary, Clark moved further down and took Lex's nipple in his mouth, gently nipping and sucking and doing something that Lex couldn't even begin to describe.

"Fuck Clark," he gasped, "what are you doing?"

"Lex, Lex, Lex," chanted Clark, "it's not just my legs that are fast."

"Oh thank God my will is up to date, I'm not going to survive this." Clark's tongue moved further south, and started to give to some serious attention to Lex's navel and hips, totally ignoring the throbbing engorged cock that was vibrating with desire against Lex's stomach.

"Lex, if you can think and talk, I'm obviously not doing this right," said Clark, and then without any warning, took Lex's cock in his mouth and deep throated him in a single smooth move.

"FUUUUCK!" screamed Lex, as Clark did something with his tongue and teeth, and at the same time used his clever fingers on Lex's balls. Lex had no control at all, his orgasm ripped out of him with no warning, his eyes seeing nothing but flashes of white light before succumbing to darkness.

When he could breathe again, he slowly opened his eyes to a sight that even his most erotic fantasies had never imagined. Clark was kneeling over him, astride his legs, and masturbating with a look of such intense pleasure on his beautiful face that Lex could feel his cock trying desperately to regenerate itself. It was a lost cause, he had nothing left to give, but the sight of Clark in such sexual abandon would have given a statue an erection.

As he watched, entranced, Clark's hand appeared to blur and then all of a sudden there was sticky white come all over Lex's chest, and Clark sighed with the release of his orgasm.

"Jeezus." Lex wasn't quite pre-verbal, but nor had he regained the full use of his vocabulary.

Clark grinned at him, and ran his fingers through the cooling jizz on Lex's chest. He offered sticky fingers for Lex to suck, and then leaned forward to lick up the remainder. Lex's cock made another valiant, but doomed, effort to rise; the sight of Clark languorously licking the cum off his chest like a big cat was one of the most erotic things he'd ever seen. He scooped up some in his own fingers, and sucked them clean, noticing that there was a distinct flavor to Clark's juices that was very different to his own.

"Huh."

"What?" Clark stopped licking and looked up.

"You taste different."

"Yeah, I noticed that," agreed Clark, and went back to his licking.

Lex scooped up some more and licked his fingers clean.

"You like?" asked Clark.

"Mmmm, it's got a kind of tangy, fruity, taste."

"Not salty like yours," said Clark.

"Do you always eat your own cum?"

Clark stopped licking again, and looked puzzled for a moment. "No, I don't," he said slowly. "I usually jerk off in the shower so there isn't anything to clean up, but I have done it in my room and then I just mopped it up with tissues."

"Huh."

Clark cleaned the last few drops and then flopped down, leaving one long tawny leg draped over Lex virtually pinning him to the bed.

"What about other guys?" asked Clark.

"What about them?"

"Well, what does their cum taste like?"

"More like mine," said Lex. "Definitely not like yours, I've never tasted anything like yours."

"Cool."

Lex had to laugh. "Cool? Is that it? Clark, do you realize what we've just done contravenes several Kansas statutes?"

"Good job we're not in Kansas then, isn't it?" he smirked, snuggling closer. "How long before we have to get back to our seats?"

"About six hours."

Clark was gently stroking Lex's chest, and although it was definitely doing interesting things to the region below the belt, it was so relaxing and comforting that he started to drift off.

Chapter Six

Clark was feeling sated, and lazy, and was very comfortable wrapped around Lex. He felt Lex drift into a light sleep, aware on a subliminal level of his lover's heartbeat as it slowed into rest mode. He looked at the ring and noticed that the stone was now pink rather than red, more like a piece of rose quartz. Before he could think too much about what that might mean - if anything - Lex murmured in his sleep, and nuzzled closer.

Who would have thought that Lex Luthor would be a cuddler? Clark wasn't really tired, but he could feel himself slipping away from consciousness, lulled into slumber on the ebb and flow of Lex's breathing…

And suddenly he was in a massive room, cold as ice and white as snow. Naked as the day he arrived on Earth except for the ring on his finger that was now shining with a brilliant white light. He could feel its power as it glowed and pulsed, so bright that it was almost blinding. Almost, but not quite; in the brilliance of the white light he could see a shadow, and as he focused his attention on it, it took substance and form.

It slowly took the shape of a man, naked as he was naked, black hair, a ring on his finger pulsing with an unearthly white light. Clark wasn't aware of any movement, but in a blink of an eye the shadow man was facing him, standing only inches away. It was like looking in a mirror except that the shadow man had blue eyes, and there was something deep within those eyes that spoke of age and experience.

*Greetings, Kal-El. I had hoped that you would find your way to me.*

*Who are you? Why do you call me Kal-El?*

*I am your father, Jor-El, and Kal-El is the name your mother and I gave you at birth.*

Clark was stunned. Of all the weird and bizarre things that have happened in his life, this had to be the strangest. He had so many questions he didn't know where to start.

*How did I find you? Where are we? Are we really here?*

*You took the red Kryptonite into your body; it has transformed you and given you the ability to find me. As to where we are, this is your place of power. Here I will teach you all you need to know about your heritage. And yes, we are really here, although in a linear time sense my physical body was destroyed many years ago.*

Whatever he had imagined about the red ring on his finger, it didn't even come close to this reality -- if this was in fact reality, and not some weird dream.

*Kryptonite? What's that?*

*Our planet was called Krypton. It was destroyed when the sun around which it orbited died, but your mother and I tried to make sure that some Kryptonite attached itself to your escape pod, and traveled with you to Earth.*

So his planet was destroyed. Was he the only one who escaped? Were there others like him on Earth? Or maybe on some other planet? Too many questions, he had to focus, who knew how long this meeting would last.

*What about the green rock? Is that Kryptonite too? It hurts me.*

*Ah, yes. That was unforeseen. In traveling through space, radiation affected the Kryptonite and changed its molecular structure. On Krypton the rock is a source of power to us, but the radiation turned some of the rock green, and made it dangerous.*

Okay, that made sense too. In fact, that made a *lot* of sense. He had never understood how something that was apparently deadly to him could have come down with his ship, but a powerful substance changed through radiation, yeah, he could get that.

*And if I hadn't found the red Kryptonite, would I never have found you?*

*Maybe. You can use your pod to contact me, and we made contingency plans, but we knew you would be drawn to red Kryptonite wherever it might be. We thought it likely that you would seek it out, even if you didn't know what it was.*

Clark wasn't going to correct Jor-El, but he didn't really seek it out. If the manufacturers of the class rings had used real rubies instead of red meteor rock - Kryptonite - then maybe he would never have found any. That was something to think about later, along with the surprising news that his space pod had a function other than just transporting him to Earth.

*On Krypton the red rock was used to enhance our powers and focus our awareness into our strengths, to help us become who we truly are. That is what happened to you, my son. You weren't really changed; you just became more truly yourself. Consider it a rite of passage, a transition from youthful immaturity to adulthood. On Krypton you would also have taken a mate at this time…*

*Um, excuse me, but I did take a mate. Or at least, I think I did.*

*You think you did? Surely there can be no doubt whether you have taken a mate or not?*

Clark suppressed a giggle. He supposed it was a dumb thing to say and he'd better try to explain it.

*In the past I've always been too scared to make a move, even towards someone I was deeply attracted to. Wearing the ring though, I felt like I could do anything. I took out a girl I've been pining after for years, but as soon as I had her in my grasp I let her go. Someone else was calling to me, so I went to her. She turned out to be just as disappointing and I kicked her out. Without thinking about it I went to visit my best friend, and before we knew what had happened, we were in each other's arms and we've kind of had sex. That's what I mean when I say I think I've found a mate.*

*And does she reciprocate your feelings?*

*He*

*Excuse me?*

*It's a he, not a she, does that matter?*

*No of course not. On Krypton people mate for love, not for gender. Does he reciprocate your feelings?*

Good question, thought Clark. Does he? Lex said that he'd been lusting after him for months, but is that all it is, or is there something deeper?

*I think so, but it's all so sudden we haven't really spoken about it.*

*My son, love is not speech, it is passion. It is knowing the beloved in every way, feeling his heart beating with yours, his blood flowing as the ebb and tide of your own being.*

*I need to spend more time with him. I feel those things, but I don't know if he does.*

*Very well. It's time for you to return anyway, we will continue this discussion another time.*

What? Clark hadn't asked anywhere near the questions that were floating around in his head.

*No, wait! Come back! Come back!*

Jor-El began to slip away, becoming a shadowy figure on the other side of the white room once again. Clark could still see the pulsing energy of the ring on Jor-El's finger, but then it too faded and he was left alone. He was back in bed with Lex, the experience fading like a dream. Except that it was no dream. Clark could remember every single thing from the chill of the white ice room, to the look in Jor-El's eyes, to the power that the red meteor rock - Kryptonite - had given him. He stirred and saw from the digital clock on the wall beside the bed that more than four hours had passed. Okay, that was weird. It felt like he had been away minutes, not hours. Maybe time moved differently there - wherever 'there' was. Or maybe at least part of it had been a dream, and he'd been sleeping.

"Lex," he whispered, "wake up."

That had no effect at all, so Clark did what his instincts told him, and he started licking. First Lex's nipples, then his navel, and by the time he reached the head of that beautiful cock - which was showing a definite interest in what Clark's tongue was doing - Lex was awake. Clark knew it before he heard the moan of pleasure. He felt the heart rate change and sensed the blood speeding up and flowing to the region that was now being given his undivided attention.

He was working on auto-pilot, letting his instinct be his guide. Somehow he knew that if he knelt over Lex, and positioned himself just *so*, then he would be able to sit back and slide onto that wonderful, beautiful cock. Yes! His muscles clenched and released, and with a single spasm, he was there.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" shouted Lex, and then went completely silent as Clark's alien muscles began to flex and massage the cock buried deep within him.

Clark gazed deep into Lex's eyes, and just let his muscles do whatever the hell they were doing. Lex pushed up to meet him, and suddenly Clark's own erection was demanding some attention. Much as he'd done earlier, he started to masturbate and that seemed too much for Lex, who groaned and started pumping his hips with a frantic energy that was matched by Clark's own internal muscles. Lex came with a scream, and seconds later, Clark spilt his own seed once again. This time Lex scooped up the cum and was licking his fingers before Clark had even stopped pumping.

Clark watched, fascinated, as Lex more or less scooped up everything and swallowed it down. He gently raised himself, and had a moment of real discomfort when he separated completely from Lex. It wasn't pain; it wasn't anything physical; it was simply that they had been joined and now they weren't.

"Clark, you have my permission to wake me up like that every day," murmured Lex around licking his fingers clean, "but didn't it hurt you? If you used lube I can't feel it, and you just, wow, you just slid right on down there. And those muscles! What were those muscles doing?"

"Truthfully, you know about as much as I do," admitted Clark as he stretched out alongside his lover, "though I did find out something about by heritage while we were sleeping."

Clark filled him in on the not-journey to the white room.

"A dream?"

"No, I don't think so, but don't ask me what the hell it really was because I just don't know."

"So, Krypton?"

"Yeah."

"And your name is Kal-El?"

"Yep."

"Huh."

"But you can still call me Clark if you want," he offered.

Lex smirked at him, and then glanced at the clock. "We'd better clean up, we're not that far off from England, and I'd rather not go through immigration smelling like I've spent the night in a brothel."

Lex got off the bed and slid open a door that Clark hadn't really noticed before. Beyond was a small bathroom and a shower that somehow managed to be larger than the one at the Kent farm. Clark must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew Lex was prodding him and saying something about getting his ass into gear and into the shower.

By the time he'd finished and dressed, Lex was back in the main cabin poking around at a plate of food. There was a second plate for Clark, and he made no delay in getting stuck into it. As Lex played with his food Clark more or less inhaled his, and then gulped down a soda. He became aware of Lex's attention, and looked up to see Lex gazing at him with a look of total concentration on his face.

"What?"

"Do you think that ring is still having an effect on you?"

Clark held out his hand, and looked at the stone. It was even paler now than before, less like rose quartz and more like ordinary quartz.

"Maybe, why?"

Lex sighed. "Clark, you've just given me something that I've wanted for months: you in my bed. But, and I still can't believe I'm actually saying this, I want you, not some warped and twisted version of you."

"Gee thanks Lex, is that what you think I am?" Clark hadn't been expecting this, and it hurt more than he could have believed possible.

"No, of course not!" exclaimed Lex. "I'm sorry, I used the wrong words, and that alone should tell you how much I've been thrown by all this. When was the last time you heard me stumble over expressing something?" he grinned.

Clark smiled back at him. It was impossible not to. "Well, that would be never and the day after never," he acknowledged.

"Right. So, okay, um…"

"Still not making a lot of sense, Lex."

"Right, right. Look, you said the ring made you more who you are, pushed you through a rite of passage?"

"Yeah, that's what my Father said," agreed Clark. How strange to talk about his Father and not be referring to Jonathan Kent.

"So, is it doing anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know, the ring bearers in Lord of the Rings got extended life and invisibility, but they were controlled by the ring. Is that happening to you?"

"Can you see me?"

"Of course I can see you."

"Then I'm pretty sure I'm not invisible," said Clark, trying to keep a straight face.

"Not invisibility," he sighed, "I mean, is it doing anything else? Like, you know, controlling you?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's exactly as Jor-El described it; I'm more 'me', not less 'me'."

"Look Clark, I don't want to be difficult, but I really need to know that it's you in my bed, not just your body with someone or something else controlling you. Now, are you 'pretty sure' or are you really definite? And think carefully before you answer me."

"Lex, I'm me, OK? I don't know how else to convince you, you'll just have to trust me on this." He knew he sounded exasperated, but he couldn't help it. "No-one is controlling me; nothing is making me do anything I don't want to do."

"Okay Clark, I'm sorry I pushed. It's just not that long since Desiree took control over me, and seeing you act so out of character has all my alarm bells ringing."

"Lex, I was the one person she couldn't control. I couldn't tell you at the time, but her pheromones had no affect on my alien physiology. She couldn’t touch me. So, ask yourself, is it really likely that something else has succeeded where Desiree failed?"

"Okay Clark, I give in. You're you, I accept it."

Clark grinned when Lex held up his hands in mock surrender, and then turned his attention to the view outside the aircraft. Lex had accepted him, and that was all he needed to know right now.

Chapter Seven

Although Lex accepted Clark's reasoning, he was still a touch nervous about the whole being controlled thing. In the months since he met Clark and they became best friends, he'd never got even the slightest hint that Clark saw him as a potential sexual partner, and his sudden rejection of the farm, the Kents, his friends at school, well it was beyond a radical shift. It was like Clark had shed his skin and become a completely new person.

Lex wasn't necessarily averse to this new version, but he found it disturbing how easily Clark walked away from his old life. If Lex was honest with himself, it was mostly because he could feel himself falling hard for Clark, and the thought that Clark might just as easily walk away from him one day was terrifying. He didn't have much - okay strike that - he didn't have *any* experience of falling in love, but he knew without any doubt that Clark could be the one to waltz past all his defenses and capture the Luthor heart. While he was prepared to accept the possibility that he could love, he wasn't prepared for the pain that would follow if that love was rejected.

Clark was still looking out of the window, eagerly trying to spot the first sight of the English coastline. It was actually reassuring to see a glimpse of the enthusiastic and naive farm boy for a moment. Urban Clark was fun, indeed he was, but farm boy Clark was the person who had become his best friend, and he missed him.

Lex felt the plane begin its descent, and sure enough, the door opened and Carol came through to collect up the dishes.

"We're beginning our descent Mr. Luthor," she said. "Can I get you anything else before we land?"

"No, thank you, Carol, we're fine."

She smiled at him and quickly cleared everything away with practiced ease, leaving them alone once again. If she had any suspicions about how they passed their time during the flight, she never let a hint of it show in her face or actions.

Clark was looking at his feet with an odd focused expression on his face, and it took Lex a couple of moments to realize that he was probably staring through the plane, watching the ground pass beneath them.

"Are you looking through the plane?"

Clark blinked his eyes and grinned at him. "Yeah, it's cool! We just passed over the ocean, and now we're back over land again. I think it must be England!"

"I hope so, otherwise we're going to be landing in the wrong country," said Lex, fastening his seatbelt and nodding to Clark to do the same. Not that it would matter to the invulnerable alien, but it would save Carol from having a fit if she came back into the cabin to check on them.

He felt the undercarriage descend, and then the plane was making its final approach.

"What airport is this?" asked Clark.

Funny, it had never occurred to Lex to mention where they were going. "Heathrow," he said. "There are quite a few airports in England but Heathrow is the closest one to London."

Clark grunted, his attention focused outside again. Thankfully this time he was looking through the window, rather than the floor.

"Clark, as soon as the aircraft comes to a halt I'll let Carol and the pilots go ahead and hang back on the plane with you. Once they're through immigration, I'll follow them. When you see me enter the building, you do your alien speed thing and meet me on the other side. You should see where to go by following me, OK?"

"Sure, no problem."

The plane suddenly touched down, and any further conversation was drowned as the engines roared to slow down the plane. They taxied off the runway and headed towards a secure area leading to an exclusive immigration checkpoint. When the plane came to a stop, Lex started fiddling around with his cell phone, and waved Carol and the pilots on ahead. Waiting until he saw them enter the immigration building, he made his way down the steps onto the tarmac. He dropped on one knee to fiddle around with his shoe, and then patted his pockets as if looking for something. Acting frustrated, he marched back up the steps into the plane, and then winked at Clark before picking up his cell phone, which he'd deliberately left behind.

All of that should have given immigration enough time to process his staff, who would now be on their way to whatever delights awaited them in England. Lex walked slowly across the tarmac and was relieved to see that his estimation was spot on; there was no sign of Carol or the pilots. He let the immigration officer do his job, and then walked through the exit to find a porter waiting with the luggage. He was a little concerned that there was no sign of Clark, but then he smiled in relief as he saw the familiar tall figure coming out of the men's room.

"There should be a limousine waiting for us," he said to the porter.

"Yes sir, follow me please."

Lex and Clark fell in behind the porter, and in no time they were comfortably seated in a luxurious limo and on their way out of the airport.

"Oh this feels weird," said Clark. "I knew they drove on the other side of the road here, but man it's weird."

"You get used to it surprisingly quickly. When I came back to the States after being at school here, it seemed weird to drive on the right."

Lex was enjoying watching Clark looking at the sights. Admittedly there wasn't much of anything to look at around Heathrow Airport, but they just flashed past a model of Concorde, and that snagged Clark's interest.

"Wow, what's that?"

"That my friend, is a model of Concord. It's the world's only supersonic aircraft, though it's about to be retired from service. It takes off at 250mph compared with around 190mph for most ordinary aircraft, and cruises at around 1350mph - more than twice the speed of sound - and at an altitude of up to 60,000 ft. That's more than 11 miles high."

"Um, Lex. Can I just say, 'geek'?"

"What?" he grinned. "Concord is an amazing piece of aeronautical engineering. The plane actually stretches up to ten inches in flight due to heating of the airframe, and it's painted with a specially developed white paint to accommodate these changes and to dissipate the heat generated by supersonic flight. Clark, it's a marvelous piece of machinery."

"I rest my case. Geek."

Lex laughed at him.

"So why is it being retired? If it's so good?"

"Age, really. The first supersonic flight took place in 1969. Beautiful as this aircraft is, it's old now and the cost of maintaining the fleet is just too expensive. They're all going to be retired to museums, and two of them will end up in the USA; one in New York and another in Seattle."

Lex glanced out of the window and noticed they were now on the main freeway into the West End of London. He'd asked his secretary to make a reservation at The Ritz in Piccadilly, sure that Clark would enjoy the thrill of staying at such a famous hotel.

As soon as the limo stopped, a uniformed doorman opened the door for them, and led them into the impressive reception area of The Ritz. Lex was well known, even in London, and the formalities were completed quickly and efficiently. They followed a porter to an ornate elevator and then up to their suite, where he made sure that everything was in order before asking if there was anything else he could do for them. Lex tipped him, and then finally, they were on their own.

"Lex, this is amazing!"

There's my farm boy, he thought. Urban Clark might be in charge, but that farm boy peeks out every now and then. Still, he had to admit that the suites at The Ritz actually were pretty amazing. They were a little over the top in decor, but very luxurious in a pink and peach kind of way.

"I thought we'd spend a couple of days here, do some sightseeing, and then head off in search of the Shire."

"Lex, I am completely in your hands."

"Really?" he smirked, thinking of all the things his hands could be doing right now.

Suddenly Urban Clark - or maybe he should start thinking of him as Alien Clark - was back in charge. The awestruck farm boy disappeared in a flash, and the way that Clark prowled across the carpet towards him made his breath catch. The predatory look in Clark's eye intensified, and Lex went weak at the knees. God, the combination of Clark's beauty and this amazing display of sexual power was his wet dream come true. Unresisting, he let Clark lead him to the bedroom. Sightseeing be damned, it could wait.

Chapter Seven

"Any luck, sweetheart?"

Jonathan shook his head, grimacing.

"No one's seen him since yesterday. It's like he just dropped off the planet when he tore out of here this morning. He's not at school. No-one in town has seen him. Nell hasn't seen him today, but she said that Lana went out with him last night and that he left her and went off with another girl."

"Oh Jonathan, this is getting worse and worse."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Nell said that Lana was upset. I don't know what happened but I don't think it was pretty. She was kind of evasive when I tried to push for details, but I think it's because she didn't want to say anything bad about Clark to me. I can't think where else to look, I've been everywhere. It's been hours since he tore out of here, it's like he's just disappeared," he sighed. "What about you? Have you been able to contact Lex? He was driving one of Lex's cars, maybe he knows where he's gone?"

She shook her head. "I've been trying, but I can't reach him. The woman who answers the phone at the mansion just says that he's not available, and the cell phone number he gave Clark is switched off."

"Come on Martha, we'll drive over there. It may just be that the woman answering the phone is running interference because Lex said he didn't want to be disturbed. He may not even know that we're trying to contact him."

When Jonathan pulled into the forecourt at the mansion, he was surprised to see the car that Clark had been driving parked there. As they pulled up one of the staff members got into the car and drove it around the back, presumably to garage it.

"I don't like the look of this, Jonathan. If Clark's here, why would Lex be avoiding us?"

He just grimaced and shook his head. He'd never even tried to fathom what went on in that Luthor boy's brain. He was prepared to accept that Lex was trying to be a good friend to their son, but that wasn't enough to get him past his distrust of the Luthor name and family. He'd been betrayed once by a Luthor and he sure as heck wasn't going to put himself out there to be betrayed a second time.

The door was opened by what Jonathan assumed was a butler. At least, that's what his outfit seemed to suggest.

"Could you tell Lex Luthor that Jonathan Kent would like to see him please?" he said. Be polite, be calm, be cool, was a litany running around his head.

"I'm sorry sir, Mr. Lex Luthor is not presently in Kansas. He left on an overseas trip this morning."

Shit. Well, so much for that idea. Jonathan was about to thank the guy and leave when Lionel Luthor appeared in the doorway.

"Is that Jonathan Kent?"

"Yes sir," said the butler.

Jonathan's hackles were rising, and he was trying hard to remind himself that Lionel was recovering from a serious injury, and was now blind.

"Mr. Kent, you have raised a very interesting son."

Jonathan's blood ran cold, and he exchanged a panicked look with his wife.

"I'm not sure I follow you," he said, trying hard to keep his voice even and not allow the concern he was feeling to slip out.

"He was here, earlier today, with Lex. Did you know they are engaged in a sexual relationship?"

"What?!"

"Ah, Mrs. Kent, my apologies. I hadn't realized you were here too. If I had I would have been a little less blunt, but I take it from your startled exclamation that this is as much a surprise to you as it was to me when I - quite literally - stumbled upon them this morning?"

"No way…" started Jonathan, but he was interrupted before he could go any further.

"Mr. Kent, I assure you that I may be blind, but there was absolutely no doubt about what your son and mine were doing. Even if there had been, Clark threatened my life in such a way that he made his feelings for my son abundantly clear. He even said that Lex should have left me to die in the wreckage after the tornado hit. Quite honestly I was surprised that any son of yours could be so calculating and cruel."

"Clark would never…" he started to say, only to have the remainder of the sentence whipped out of his brain at Lionel's next words.

"Plus, there is the fact that they appear to have jetted off to England together."

Jesus Christ, could this day *get* any worse? His son and Lex Luthor in some kind of a sexual a relationship was a big enough bite to swallow, but going off to England together?

"Excuse me?"

Jonathan was relieved that Martha still had a voice, he'd lost his along with all the fondly held misconceptions that he actually knew his son.

"They both left here in the helicopter, and my personal assistant tells me that the LuthorCorp jet took off for England about an hour later with my son and a tall, dark-haired, male companion on board. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to work out who that might be."

"England?" squeaked Jonathan. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Do you know where in England?" He hated having to ask Lionel Luthor for anything, but right now he was the only link between them and their son.

"Lex's secretary has reserved a suite for him at The Ritz in Piccadilly. They won't have arrived yet, but once he's checked in, I'll contact him. Is there any message you would like me to give your son?"

"Yes, please, ask him to call us," said Martha.

Jonathan felt her hand trembling as she gripped his arm, and truthfully he wasn't feeling much steadier himself.

"I'll do that," said Lionel, "but don't be surprised if he ignores me. He left me in no doubt this morning that he doesn't care if I live or die, but given a choice it would be the latter option."

Jonathan led Martha back to the truck, and they pulled out of the mansion driveway in silence. He couldn't think of anything to say, and from the look on Martha's face, she was still in shock. Half way home he heard her gasp, and he stopped the truck to comfort her. He wiped the silent tears that were trickling down her cheeks, and just held her close. They'd dealt with so many strange things since Clark came into their lives, but never anything as heartbreaking as this.

"It'll be okay honey, you'll see." He truthfully didn't see himself how this would turn out okay, but he had to say something to try to reassure Martha.

"Oh Jonathan, how can it be okay?" she sobbed. "We've lost our baby, it's not Clark anymore."

There was nothing more he could say, so he just held her and waited for the tears to run their course. Gradually she calmed down, and he felt her take a deep breath. Once she leaned away from him, he started up the truck again.

"Let's get off this road," he said. "We need to work out what we're going to do, and I'd rather do it at home."

They drove in silence, and as they pulled up in front of the farmhouse, they saw Pete waiting for them on the steps. Jonathan hadn't realized it had gotten late enough for school to be out. Pete stood up as they got out of the truck, and then hesitated. Of course, he must have seen Martha's tear stained face and was probably wondering whether he should stay or go.

"Hi Pete," he said. "Thanks for stopping by. Come on in."

"I just wondered if you'd found Clark," he said as he followed the Kents into the kitchen, "and I brought the notes and homework for the classes he missed today."

Jonathan grimaced, but he'd already decided to tell Pete. After all, he was the only other person who knew about Clark's alien origins and abilities, and it was his clever thinking that led them to the red meteor rock.

"Thanks son," he sighed, "but it's not good news. He's gone to England with Lex Luthor, but keep that to yourself for now."

"What! He doesn't even have a passport, how could he have gone to England? And why would he go anywhere with Luthor? I know they're friends, but traveling overseas together? It doesn't make sense."

Martha was busying herself with the coffee jug, and Jonathan slumped into a chair, leaning his arms on the table.

"Sit down son. It sounds as though you are as far out of the loop on this as we are, and I think this will go better if you're seated."

"You're scaring me Mr. Kent, what is it?"

"Well, according to Lionel Luthor, Clark and Lex are involved in a sexual relationship. Clark threatened Lionel's life and told him that it would have been better if Lex had let him die in the wreckage after the tornado, and then they both left by helicopter and took the LuthorCorp jet to London."

"Wha.. wha.. wha.."

"Yeah, that was pretty much our reaction too," said Jonathan.

"No way. Luthor's lying, he has to be. Clark and that bald freak? Since when?! I'd know about it if there was anything going on between them."

"I don't know Pete, would you?" Martha had finished with the coffee jug, and turned round to face them both.

Jonathan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We've always known that there was some strange bond between them, ever since that day that Lex ran into Clark on the bridge. The more we tried to warn Clark to stay away from Lex the closer he got to him. Everyone thought it was peculiar that Lex asked Clark, a sixteen year-old high school boy, to be his best man when he married Desiree, and she certainly knew that she had to get Clark out of the way if she was to have Lex to herself. Did it never occur to you just how much time she spent trying to get Clark out of the picture? If she was so worried about Clark, then there had to be something to be worried about."

Jonathan was forced to agree that Clark had never been on the same page as the rest of them when it came to Lex Luthor, and he could see Pete mulling it over as well.

"So what, all this time he's been pining after Lana, he really wanted Luthor? Is that what you're saying?" Pete sounded disbelieving.

"Put like that it sounds absurd," she admitted, "but the reality is, he's not here, and Lionel Luthor said he went off with Lex. Why would he lie about something like that?"

"Mrs. Kent, don't get me wrong, but you can always tell when Lionel Luthor is lying about something because his lips are moving. That man lies about everything. Or at least, he mixes the truth in with the lies so much that you don't know which way is up anymore."

Jonathan smiled at the young man, grateful that there was at least one of Clark's real friends that they could share this ordeal with; someone who disliked the Luthors as much as he did.

"Well, hopefully Clark will call us soon, or come home, but if he's still wearing that damn ring…" Jonathan tailed off. If he was still wearing that ring, then he didn't even want to think about what might happen. They had a barn full of electrical goods and clothes to return, and that was what happened in just one night in Metropolis. If Lionel Luthor was telling the truth and Clark really was in London with Lex, there's no telling what he might do.

"How long will it be before they arrive?" asked Pete. "Always assuming that Luthor senior is breaking the habit of a lifetime and telling the truth about where Clark is," he added.

Jonathan smiled at the boy again. At least here was one person who would never trust a Luthor. "About seven or eight hours from departure, I guess," he said. "I know flights to London usually have to go via O'Hare, but I expect a private jet will be able to go direct." He looked at his watch, and thought about when Clark might get to London. "Assuming he left this morning, as Luthor said, then he'll probably get to London around eight, maybe nine tonight, our time."

"What do I tell them at school tomorrow? A couple of the teachers asked me today, and I got grilled by Chloe at lunch time. I put her off, but there's no way she'll let me get away with it again."

That reminded him of the conversation with Nell.

"Pete, do you know what happened with Lana last night? Nell said that she went on a date with Clark, but that he dumped her for someone else. She said that Lana sounded real upset about it so I didn't push too hard, but I'd like to know."

"I don't know much more than you do," he said. "Clark picked Lana up from home at eight, and then about an hour later a cab dropped her off at The Talon. She walked right past us, and it looked like she'd been crying. She disappeared into the back office, and we didn't see her again until school today. Chloe asked her what happened but she just shrugged and said that Clark made his choice, and it wasn't her."

"So maybe Clark hasn't really been pining after Lana all this time after all," said Martha as she poured out the coffee. "Maybe it isn't as absurd as I thought that he's gone after Lex."

"No no no no no… please Mrs. Kent, do not go there. He dumped Lana for another girl, we know that much. If he wanted Lex, he wouldn't have just borrowed the Ferrari he'd have made a move. I mean come on, the mood he was in yesterday, if he'd wanted something he would have just taken it, right?"

Jonathan had to admit that the boy made sense. Or at least, as much sense as anything in this bizarre and getting-weirder-by-the-moment situation.

"About school Pete, we need to wait and see if Clark calls us tonight. I'll call you in the morning before the bus goes and let you know what to say, okay? I'm praying that we hear from him tonight, and that we can work something out, but we're all in the dark right now."

"Sure Mr. Kent, that's good. I guess there's no point leaving the class notes and homework."

Jonathan realized that somewhere in the past few minutes, they had tacitly accepted that Clark was indeed overseas with Lex. For all that none of them believed that Lionel Luthor would know the truth if it bit him on the ass, they were working on the assumption that his claim that Lex and Clark had gone off together was in fact true. Oh Jeezus, would this never end? He swallowed the last of his coffee, and took his cup to the sink.

"No, I guess not Pete," he agreed with a sigh. "Wherever Clark might be, I don't think he's going to be doing any homework tonight."

"Mr. Kent…" the young man paused, obviously wanting to ask something, but too nervous to put it into words.

"What are we going to do if he won't come home?"

"Um yes sir, I guess that's what I was going to ask."

"I don't know son. Clark's mother and I usually fly by the seat of our pants where Clark and his abilities are concerned. There's never any game plan to follow. The only way we can make him do anything against his will is to weaken him with green meteor rock, and long exposure to that might kill him."

You could have heard a pin drop in the kitchen as they all thought about a Clark with no morals or restraint, and what he might do. Jonathan was still sore from the run-in he had with his son at school yesterday morning. If he could inflict that kind of damage accidentally, anyone who deliberately got in his way was in for a world of hurt. God, Jonathan hoped that Lex would be able to keep him under control. The irony that Lex was their one hope in this situation certainly wasn't lost on him.

Pete stood up. "I guess I'd better get going," he said. "If…, um I mean *when* you hear anything, can you let me know?"

"Sure son, thanks for being here for us," said Jonathan as Pete made his way out. "I'll call you in the morning no matter what," he added.

He looked at his watch again. Still a while to go before they could expect to hear from Clark, and Jonathan would bet the farm that it would seem like days rather than hours.

Chapter Eight

Clark stretched out, his long limbs making the most of the king-sized bed that he currently had to himself while Lex was in the shower. He'd thought that the sex they had on the plane was amazing, but over the past few hours he'd learned that that had just been the beginning. He'd always heard that anal sex was supposed to be difficult and even painful, but for him it felt incredible. Lex told him that his muscles were nothing like human muscles and he seemed to excrete some kind of natural lube. Well, Jor-El said that male-male relationships were common on Krypton, so it made sense that his body would be made to work that way.

The phone by the bedside rang, and Clark reached across to answer it, wondering who could be calling so early in the morning.

"Hello?"

"Who's that?"

"Clark Kent."

"Mr. Kent. Why am not surprised."

"Lionel. You really don't know when to back off, do you?"

"Is my son there?"

"He's in the shower right now, but I'll be sure to tell him you called."

"Mr. Kent, wait! Before you hang up…"

"What?"

"Your parents asked me to tell you that they wanted you to call them as soon as possible. Can you imagine, Mr. Kent, they had no idea that you and my son were involved in a sexual relationship?"

"Lionel, I really don't care what you told them…"

He looked up as Lex entered the room.

"Is that my Dad?"

Clark nodded, and offered the phone. He grinned as Lex rolled his eyes and took the phone.

"Dad."

…"I don't see that it's any business of yours if I take a few days vacation. Gabe Sullivan has everything in hand at the plant."

…"I believe you were speaking to Clark, so why would I deny that he's here with me?"

…"Is this going somewhere Dad, or are you just going to keep repeating the same old complaints ad nauseam?"

…"Dad, if you don't have anything else to say I believe we're done."

Clark watched as Lex slammed the phone down and then slumped onto the bed.

"What did he say to you before I came in?"

"He told me the Kents want me to call them and that he told them about finding us making out in your room."

"Dammit, I thought he might do that."

"Do you mind?" Clark was curious about why Lex seemed so put out about it.

"Of course I mind," he snapped. "My Dad has told your parents that I'm having sex with their sixteen year-old son. I could get into serious trouble if your folks decide to press charges."

"Never gonna happen, Lex. All I have to do is let them know that I've told you I'm an alien, and they wouldn't dare do a thing."

Lex looked as though he still needed some reassurance.

"Here, how do I dial out from here?"

"You're going to call your folks?"

Clark nodded, and watched as Lex dialed the number from memory. As soon as it began to ring, he passed it over.

"Lionel said that you wanted me to call you."

He saw Lex wince, and mouthed 'what?' as Jonathan Kent was talking. Lex just shook his head, and wandered over to look out of the window. Clark returned his attention to the phone call in time to hear Jonathan ask if he was in England.

"Yeah, we're in London at the moment."

There was a moment of silence, and then Clark heard his Dad take a deep breath. He wondered how long it would be before Jonathan's patience snapped, or he just handed the phone over to Martha. That infamous Jonathan Kent temper was rightly feared in many quarters, but he seemed to be making a supreme effort to control himself. Clark was impressed.

"So, um, how long are you going to be away son?"

"I'm not sure, a few days, maybe a week. Depends how long Lex can afford to stay away from the Plant I guess."

"Look Clark, Lionel said something about you and Lex…" Jonathan paused.

Clark waited, not saying anything. He'd seen Lex use that technique very successfully time and again, forcing the other person to speak just to fill the silence.

"Clark… are you and Lex in some kind of a relationship?"

"Uh-huh. Lionel walked in on us in Lex's bedroom. I figured he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself for long."

"Listen son, whatever you think you're feeling for Lex, it isn't real. It's that ring; it's warping your mind, changing your personality. You never showed any interest in him in *that* way before you put it on, did you? Think son, just think about how it's changing you."

"It doesn't matter whether I wanted him in *that* way before, the reality is that we're involved now, and it's going to stay that way."

"Clark, listen to me. It's that ring, you have to take it off."

"Look, the ring isn't exactly what you think it is. I'm still wearing it, but it's not red Kryptonite anymore. It's changed me, that much is true, but taking it off now won't make any difference."

"What the hell is Kryptonite? What are you talking about?!"

"It turns out that my home planet was called Krypton, and when it was destroyed, some of it was sent along with me. Kryptonite. If I'd been raised there, I would have used it as a kind of focus during a rite of passage at puberty. What I did was right for me, it's just that I wasn't prepared for the effect it would have on me."

"Clark, tell me Lex Luthor isn't in the room with you."

Clark looked across at Lex, admiring his elegant profile highlighted by the soft morning light coming in through the window.

"It's okay, I told Lex all about me. He knows about Krypton and the meteor rocks."

"Oh Christ, oh no, you DID NOT just say that."

Lex came over and sat on the bed by Clark.

"Lex is the only person I've ever wanted to tell, even before I put on the ring. It's right he should know."

He smiled at Lex and took his hand, weaving their fingers together.

"Clark, leaving aside how reckless you've been in telling Lex, just how did you find all this out? All this stuff about Krypton and Kryptonite and… dear God in heaven I don't even know what else."

"I met my real Father."

"What?!"

Lex frowned at him.

"His name is Jor-El, and he explained some things about where I'm from. He also told me that my birth name is Kal-El."

"You met him?" exclaimed Jonathan, "how the heck did you meet him?

"One of the side effects of that ring that you were so keen to rip off my finger," he sniped.

"Be nice," whispered Lex.

"Look, I don't know the mechanics of it yet, but I met him. We had a talk, and when I got back, the ring wasn't red anymore, it's pure white, like quartz."

"And how do you feel? You don't sound quite so aggressive any more, but you don't sound like my son, either".

"I'm different," he agreed, "but I'm getting a handle on it and I don't feel the extremes of emotions that were happening just after I put the ring on. I realize now that I treated you and Mom badly, and I really regret that. It all just took over, I couldn't control it, I'm sorry."

He felt a warm feeling when he saw Lex smiling at him in approval. It was definitely helping him to take a more reasonable line with this whole conversation.

"Son, we just want you back. Of course we want to understand what happened to you, but mostly we want you like you were before."

"I don't know if that's even a possibility, but I'm trying to stay in control. Look, a lot has happened to me in the last forty-eight hours, and a transatlantic phone call isn't the best way to talk about it. What time is it there anyway?"

"It's just gone midnight."

"Oh sorry, hope I didn't wake you. It's the early hours of the morning here. Lionel just called and said you wanted me to phone you."

"Son, do you honestly think we would have been able to sleep a wink until we heard from you?"

"Right, yeah, okay. Well look, when we get back to Smallville, we'll talk. I need some time to work things out. Just don't worry about me, I'm alright and Lex is here taking care of everything."

"Please, keep in touch son. We're worried to death about you no matter what you say. It's a parent thing, you'll just have to accept that."

"'kay."

"Can I talk to Lex for a moment please?"

Clark held the phone out to Lex.

"What?"

"He wants to talk to you." He shrugged and waved the phone around under Lex's nose.

"Mr. Kent, it's Lex Luthor speaking."

There was a lengthy silence, and Clark guessed that Lex was being forced to listen to a Jonathan Kent rant to end all rants. His face remained calm and impassive, but then Lex had always had excellent control over his facial expressions. Only a slight increase in heartbeat gave Clark any hint that Lex was even remotely uneasy.

…"I understand that, I'm not going to tell anyone, least of all my father."

…"No, we didn't have any trouble at immigration. They don't know he's here, Clark just, you know, sped through."

…"Look Mr. Kent, I understand your anxiety, really, I do, but it's fine. Clark has settled down, he's really okay, and we're just going to enjoy some time together in England. We'll talk when we get back to Smallville, I promise."

…"Yes of course. Please give my best wishes to Mrs. Kent."

Once Lex hung up, Clark wrapped his arms around that beautiful, naked torso and inhaled the warm, musky scent that was pure Lex.

"As pleasurable as that is Clark, how about you get showered so we can have some breakfast and I can show you around London?"

Clark pouted, but there was no doubt that Lex's plan was a good one. London! He was really here, with Lex, and they were going to see the sights. Plus, his stomach was growling with that 'feed me or else you'll be sorry' sound. He planted a resounding kiss on Lex's back, and then bounced off the bed and into the bathroom.

Breakfast proved to be every bit as impressive as the rest of the hotel. Even Clark's gigantic appetite was appeased, and he had the added bonus of watching Lex nibble at some fresh fruit.

"Is that all you eat for breakfast?" he asked.

"If I ate the quantity of food you put away I'd be… well, I don't quite know what I'd be because I can't actually imagine eating that much."

"Did you eat more when you were my age? You know, when you had a growth spurt?"

"Hmmm, yes I suppose I did," he agreed, "but never anything like the amount you eat. Must be your, you know, weird physiology."

Clark grinned. He was excited about seeing London. All weirdness aside, there was still a small part of him that was an excitable farm-reared teenager, no matter how much red Kryptonite he was exposed to, or how hard he tried to emulate Lex's smooth sophistication. Alien genes be damned, this was like a visit to the State Fair and one of Lex's grand cocktail parties all rolled up in one.

"So where are we going first?"

Clark was following Lex outside into the bustling sidewalk, and he was momentarily distracted by the sheer number of people. Even Metropolis had never been like this, it was as if someone had pulled the top off an anthill. He made sure that he stayed right on Lex's heels, and was kind of relieved when they turned left into a large park, and they suddenly had more space.

"I thought we'd take a look at Buckingham Palace first. It's not that interesting really, but it's only a couple of minutes away and you ought to be able to say you've seen it."

"Damn, I wish I had a camera," muttered Clark, and then grinned as he saw what Lex was holding out to him.

"Have I ever told you you're the best friend ever," he laughed, as he grabbed the Panasonic digital camera. "Jeez Lex, it's tiny! But wow, that screen is bigger than the one on Chloe's professional camera, it's amazing. Stand still, I want the first photo to be of you."

Lex laughed at him, but stood still and posed as requested.

The rest of the day passed in a flash for Clark. He had to agree that Buckingham Palace really wasn't that interesting, but the rest of the day more than made up for it. Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Covent Garden… places that had only ever been names in magazines or images on the TV screen were suddenly there right in front of him. Best of all, Lex was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about everything. No matter what question Clark asked, Lex seemed to know the answer, even obscure stuff that he bet most English people didn't know about.

After lunch Lex led the way to the British Museum. It was an imposing pale stone building, but it wasn't until they approached the main entrance that he got a clue about the real size of the place. Even the entrance was huge, and once inside there was a massive courtyard with a ceiling that looked like it was made from hundreds of triangles of glass.

"Okay Lex, how many panes of glass in the roof?" smirked Clark.

"One thousand six hundred and fifty six," he responded without even missing a beat, "and every single pane of glass is a different size and shape.

Clark stopped dead and just stared at him in amazement.

"Come on, how could you possibly know that?"

"Oh Clark, I hate to give away trade secrets, but it's a very famous construction. It was designed by computer, and that alone interested me let alone acknowledging that it's a wonderful feat of engineering."

"Can you tell me how you found the time for all those wild teenage parties that got reported in The Inquisitor? It sounds to me like you never got your nose out of a book."

"What can I say Clark, multitasking is a skill," he grinned.

Clark just shook his head and let Lex lead him to one amazing exhibit after another. By the time the museum closed he knew more about ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome than a year's worth of schooling could have provided in Smallville High, not to mention an introduction to Assyrian art and religion that he doubted would be on any high school curriculum.

"You never cease to amaze me," he said to Lex, as they made their way by taxi back to The Ritz.

Clark felt a wonderful sense of contentment. No matter what might happen in the future, right now he had Lex's undivided attention and love, and life didn't get much better than that.

Chapter Nine

"Hello?"

Pete had been lurking about by the phone since he got dressed. The last thing he wanted was one of his brothers or parents to get to it first.

"Pete, it’s Jonathan Kent."

"Did you hear from him?" He was speaking softly, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"He called us just after midnight, and yes, he is in London with Lex Luthor."

"Shit! I'm sorry Mr. Kent, but I was hoping it was anything but that."

"Well, it definitely isn't what I was hoping for either, but he sounds like he's calmed down a bit, and maybe it's good that he's not around Smallville while this thing works itself out. He already hurt me physically and Lana emotionally. At least this way he's not going to be leaving a trail of wounded neighbors behind him."

"Sounds like you've been thinking this through."

"Well son, when you can't sleep you either think or talk, and we did plenty of both last night."

Pete didn't say anything, but he was mentally cursing Clark for causing his parents so much worry.

"Look, there's something else as well. Clark admitted they were in a relationship…"

"Oh my God," whispered Pete

"Yeah, but it gets worse. He told Luthor about… you know…"

"What?"

"Pete, don't make me say it. He told Luthor everything, all his secrets, everything."

"What?" squeaked Pete. "No way man, he wouldn't, I mean he couldn't, I mean what the hell was he thinking?! Jesus H. Christ, he's lost his mind!"

"I hear you, son," he sighed, "but it's done. We have to try to pick up the pieces and hope for the best."

Damn Clark to hell and back, he didn't deserve parents like Jonathan and Martha Kent.

"What are you going to do?" he said.

"Well, in the circumstances we decided that it would be best to stick as close to the truth as possible. I'll drop a letter off to school this morning telling them that Clark got a sudden invite to spend some time in England on an educational trip courtesy of LuthorCorp, and that we gave our permission for him to go."

"Not to throw cold water on your idea Mr. Kent, but anyone who knows you wouldn't believe that for a moment. Hell would freeze over before you would take anything from a Luthor."

"Yeah, that's true, but in this case we have the fact that Clark isn't around to add credibility, so people are probably just going to accept it. It would help if you could spread it around too Pete, tell everyone that Clark is on this really great trip, sound jealous if you can."

"Well that won't be too much of a stretch," he admitted, "an all-expenses paid trip to England? I won't have to work at sounding jealous, trust me. But then I don't think I could bear to be in Luthor's company for hours on end, let alone days on end. I've never been able to understand how Clark can even be friends with the guy, not after what his father did to us and this town."

"You're preaching to the choir son, but Mrs. Kent and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that we are never going to understand it."

"I'll let you know if anything happens at school," he added, before saying goodbye and hanging up. Clark and Lex Luthor in a relationship! Man, of all the bizarre things that have happened in his life, this had to be the weirdest thing, and that included finding out that his best friend was an alien from another planet. He was more comfortable with that than with the idea that the aforementioned best friend was … euw, do not go there!

"Pete! You're gonna be late for the bus!"

"Shit," he muttered. "It's okay Mom, I'm on my way! See you later!"

He wasn't looking forward to fending off Chloe's questions, but there was no way he could avoid sitting next to her on the bus. As soon as she saw him she lifted up her bag and jerked her head, a silent command to sit with her.

"So, did you talk to Clark last night?"

Pete took a deep breath and threw himself into character. "He's not here Chlo."

"What? Where is he?!"

"Man, you are NOT going to believe this, but he's in England. I guess being Lex Luthor's buddy paid off for once. Mr. Kent told me that LuthorCorp offered Clark, and I quote, 'an educational trip' to England, and they said he could go."

"No way!"

"Yes way, he's there now."

Pete didn't think he had ever seen Chloe speechless before. Of course it didn't last long, but it was definitely a new experience for her.

"When did he leave?" She sounded suspicious, and Pete could almost see her calculating times and dates.

"Yesterday," he admitted.

"And he didn't even have time to say goodbye to us? To let us know he was going on this amazing overseas trip? What about school? And wait, I didn't think he had a passport? We were talking about before the summer, and he said something about never having needed one."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there Chlo! Mr. Kent said it was really sudden. The jet was going to London, and Clark had to race to get onto the helicopter before it left. He didn't have time to say anything to anyone. It's an educational trip, so they didn't mind him missing school, and as for the passport, well he must have one. How else would he be in England?"

God he hoped she'd drop it there, but of course being Chloe it was more likely that she would just keep digging.

"So what, he's there on his own?"

"No, of course not, Lex Luthor is over there too."

Pete watched realization dawn on Chloe's face, and then something else that he wasn't sure he wanted to know about.

"Riiiight," she said slowly. "So, Clark has gone overseas with Lex Luthor, at a moment's notice, and Mr. Kent is okay with that?"

"Look," he said somewhat desperately, "don't give me a hard time about it, I'm just tellin' you what he said to me. I was too busy feeling jealous to worry about the detail. I mean come on Chloe, an all-expenses paid trip to England? Who wouldn't jump at that?"

"What's that? Who's got an all-expenses paid trip to England?" Craig was sitting in front of them, and was now kneeling up the seat, looking curiously at Pete.

He hadn't realized his voice was carrying, but hey, Mr. Kent asked him to spread it around, so whatever.

"Clark Kent, he left yesterday."

Craig looked stunned. "How the hell did he wrangle that?"

"I really don't know dude, it's some LuthorCorp thing. It's an education trip. I guess he'll tell us all about it when he gets back."

"Kent was acting really odd earlier this week. Did you see that motorcycle he had? And I heard he had a fight with his Dad, right outside school."

"It wasn't a fight," said Pete quickly. "Sure they had a disagreement but it was only about Clark using the motorcycle for school."

"Whatever, that Kent dude can be seriously weird at times."

Praise be for the short attention span of high school jocks, thought Pete. Craig turned back to face front, Clark Kent forgotten. Or so he hoped, anyway. As they piled off the bus into school, he saw Mr. Kent coming down the steps. Unfortunately, so did Chloe.

"Mr. Kent, hi!" she called out, trotting over to meet him.

Pete rolled his eyes, but figured he'd better join them, maybe run interference.

"Pete was just telling me that Clark's in England! How on earth did that happen?"

"No secret Chloe, the LuthorCorp jet was going to England, and there was an opportunity for Clark to go and have a tour around museums and galleries while Lex was involved in his business meetings."

Pete hoped to hell that Clark actually visited some museums or galleries, or he would have some very awkward questions to field when Chloe got hold of him.

"Really, that's kind of sudden, isn't it?"

"You can say that again, but these opportunities don't come along very often, and we thought it would be good for him. Now, if you don't mind Chloe, I have to get into town, and I think you guys might be late for class."

Chloe watched Mr. Kent as he climbed into the truck and pulled away. "Who is that guy, and what has done with Jonathan Kent?" she asked Pete.

"Come on Chlo, we'll be late."

He managed to get her moving, but it was obvious that she was still thinking about Clark, great, just great. He hoped that classes would take her mind off it, but lunch time came around, and she was still talking about it. Pete saw Lana heading their way, and hoped Chloe would be tactful enough to drop the subject. Huh, yeah, and pigs might fly, he mentally added to that futile wish.

"Lana, hey, did you hear about Clark's trip?"

"Chloe, let her at least sit down before you tear into the poor girl." Pete offered a sympathetic smile, and pulled out the chair for her.

"Trip? What trip?" she said, looking a bit nervous.

"He's in England, with Lex Luthor!" exclaimed Chloe.

Lana stared at Chloe, absolute shock written all over her face.

"He's where with who?" she gasped. "You're kidding!"

"No joke Lana, Mr. Kent told us," said Pete.

"But how? When? I don't get it!"

"LuthorCorp offered Clark a seat on the jet to London," said Chloe. "Lex is doing whatever business stuff he has to do, and Clark is doing the museums and art galleries."

And apparently also doing Lex Luthor, added Pete silently, but he must have let something show on his face, because Chloe narrowed her eyes, and looked at him very suspiciously.

"What?" he said, trying for the naive and innocent look that let him get away with just about anything with his Mom. Too bad Chloe wasn't buying it.

"You know something else, don't you?" she accused.

"Like what?! Chloe, you were there this morning with Mr. Kent! You heard everything the same as me. What else could I possibly know?"

"I don't know Pete, but there's more to this and I think you know what it is. Call it journalistic instinct, call it sixth sense, hell, call it Mary for all I care, but you *know* something you're not telling."

Thankfully at that moment the bell rang, and Pete was able to make his escape.

"Chloe, there's nothing more to tell, really," he said as he stood up to leave. "Just wait until Clark gets back, he'll give you the lowdown on what he got up to in England."

Chloe never needed to know that the last thing Pete wanted to hear was the lowdown on what Clark got up to in England. If there is a God in Heaven he thought, let this all be a bad dream and someone wake me up right now. Of course no-one did, but he was able to get out of Chloe's clutches, at least for a while.

Chapter Ten

Clark was gently stroking Lex's chest, running his fingers around the nipples in the sign for infinity. He started doing it unconsciously, but now his attention was focused completely on what he was doing, moving his hand in time with Lex's breathing and heartbeat. Gradually his eyelids began to droop, and with a sigh he lay his head on Lex's shoulder …

And suddenly he was back in the white room, which was still as cold as ice. He was naked again except for the ring on his finger, which was shining with a brilliant white light. He looked around for Jor-El, and sure enough, between one second and the next, he was standing face to face with him.

*Greetings, Kal-El.*

*Ah, greetings, um, Father.*

Clark felt weird using the formal language and he wasn't sure what to call Jor-El, but 'father' seemed to be okay, judging from the smile he got in response.

*I need to know more about myself, and my heritage. You said you would teach me.*

*And I will. Hold out your hand my son, the one on which you wear that ring.*

As Clark held out his hand, Jor-El twisted the matching ring that he wore on his own finger so that the stone was resting against his palm. Jor-El placed his hand on top so that the two stones touched, and as soon as they did, Clark and Jor-El were enveloped in a column of energy. Time ceased to exist. The room faded from his consciousness. There was nothing but the brilliant white light of the crystals. Gradually Clark became aware of a gentle motion, a slight shaking, the light dimming, and he could hear someone calling his name…

"Clark, wake up! Please, wake up!"

He opened his eyes, and saw Lex leaning over him, worry etched on his face.

"Oh thank god, I thought you were dead," he exclaimed. "What the hell happened, I've been trying to wake you for almost half an hour."

Clark blinked and re-focused on his surroundings. The bed, the hotel room, Lex…

"Clark? Say something for fuck's sake, you're scaring me!"

He swallowed, "I'm okay, it's okay, I'm alright."

"Um, can you try that again in English?"

Huh? That was in English. Wasn't it? What the hell else would he be speaking?

"Lex, I am speaking English," he said slowly.

"Clark, if this is your idea of a joke, it's not fucking funny," snapped Lex.

Okay deep breath Clark, you can do this. A, B, C, D, E, F…

"What about now? Can you understand me now?"

He didn't need an answer, the relief on Lex's face was confirmation enough.

"What the hell was that Clark? You scared me to death you idiot."

"I met my Father again, and I think he kind of downloaded stuff into my brain."

Lex didn't say anything, but the look he was giving Clark spoke volumes. It said things like 'you fucking moron', and 'are you out of your fucking mind?', and 'god were you always this fucking stupid?'.

"Lex, he's my Father, he's not going to hurt me."

That racked Lex's expression of incredulity up a couple of notches.

"Clark, you do remember who *my* father is, don't you? Forgive me if I'm not terribly reassured by your faith in fathers and their unwillingness to hurt their offspring."

"Fair point, but I'm okay, really. It didn't hurt and I've got a handle on the language thing now."

"What the hell was that you were babbling before?"

"I was trying to tell you that I was okay, but I must have been speaking in Kryptonian. Whatever Jor-El downloaded, I think it was all in Kryptonian. I needed to remind myself how to speak English so I started reciting the alphabet in my head."

"The alphabet."

Lex's expression was struggling between disbelieving and amused, and then with a shake of the head, amused suddenly won out.

Clark grinned back at him. "Well," he said, "it seemed to work. You can understand me again."

Lex just shook his head again, this time in exasperation.

"Well what about everything else? The ring's still quartz-like, but can you feel any other changes?"

"There's a lot going on in here at the moment," said Clark, tapping his head. "Give me some time to process it before you start in with the third degree."

"As long as you swear you're okay, and you're not going to suddenly start doing weird things, or go all caveman on me."

"Jeez you're a worry wart," snorted Clark. "I'll take first shower, provided you think I'll be safe in there?"

By the time they were dressed and had breakfast, Lex had eased back on the paranoia a bit. Clark didn't mind, it was actually kinda nice to have someone care about him like that, but he wished he could get Lex to accept that he really was fine.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"I thought the Tower of London, a walk around the City, a look at the Inns of Court, and then to finish up, I've hired a capsule for us on the London Eye."

Clark's face must have shown his pleasure at the day's plans, because for the first time since he woke up this morning, Lex looked pleased and relaxed.

"Come on space boy," he said, "let’s go!"

Clark loved every minute of the day. The Tower and the Temple Church were just awesome, and he could have listened to Lex talking about the financial business of the City of London forever. If someone had told him six months ago that he would have found such a topic fascinating, he would never have believed them, but Lex made everything so interesting. He had little anecdotes about the companies and their directors that made the whole area come alive. But if he thought all that was impressive, he was really blown away by the London Eye.

The queue was a mile long, but like everywhere else he went with Lex, they just walked right up to the front, and were waved through into a private capsule. Champagne was waiting for them, and for once Clark listened to someone other than Lex give out information as they had their very own English tour guide. He sipped the champagne, and saw the whole of London spread out before him. They hadn't been big on affectionate displays in public, but he just couldn't resist pulling Lex into a hug, and holding him close.

"Thank you," he murmured, "this is incredible."

Lex gently caressed Clark's cheek, and then twisted round so that he was leaning back against Clark's chest. The heart of London might be small in size, but the suburbs stretched for miles in every direction. When their trip on the Eye was over, Lex led the way to a small, exclusive restaurant near Westminster, and there, with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben only a short distance away, they talked about home, and work, and school, but mostly they talked about friendship, about the love that can grow between friends, and about each other.

Chapter Eleven

Lex had a restless night. The day had been perfect, and the meal at one of his favorite restaurants was as good as ever. Back in their room, Clark had made love to him gently and tenderly, and then drifted off to sleep. If only Lex could have done the same, but seeing Clark lying there, so quiet and still, he almost repeated the panic attack of that morning when he woke to find Clark totally unresponsive.

If it had been anyone else in bed with him he would have called the emergency services, but he knew that wasn't an option with Clark so he tried everything he could to wake him, short of throwing a wet sponge at him, and a wet sponge had been the back up plan if all else had failed. Lex tossed and turned, worrying about whatever Clark's Father had done to him, and then worrying some more about that damn ring.

This wasn't like him, he was usually completely in control, and he almost never suffered from anxiety. It was stupid; he had to get a grip.

Clark said he was fine, and he certainly seemed alright. In fact, better than alright, he was almost like his old self again. Not quite, because there was a self-assurance and confidence about the new Clark that the farm boy had never had, but the aggressive predator with an attitude problem seemed to be a thing of the past. He'd even mentioned his school friends and the Kents several times during the day, and that was a marked improvement over the guy who snapped his head off when he suggested he phone his folks before the plane left Metropolis.

Lex began to shift so that he could get out of bed and get a book to read, but Clark tightened his grip and snuggled in closer. Lex sighed, and started mentally listing off the periodic table by name. If that didn't work he would list them by atomic number, and if that still didn't send him to sleep, then he would give it up and count sheep. His strategy, like most of his strategies, was effective though, and somewhere between Actinium and Zirconium he dozed off, only to be awakened what seemed moments later by an enthusiastic Clark, eager to set off on their journey to the Shire.

He'd never seen Clark shower and dress so quickly, and breakfast was gone in a flash, Clark almost nudging him out of the door and into the waiting limo. Lex smiled to himself at how quickly his young friend had gotten used to the fact that someone else would take care of his packing and his luggage. Jonathan Kent would probably have had an aneurysm at the casual way Clark just assumed that it was someone's job to do all those things for him.

"How long will it take us to get to Oxford?"

Lex had the feeling it was going to be a long trip, and was mentally girding himself for a litany of 'are we there yet?'.

"Probably a couple of hours," he said. "The traffic shouldn't be too heavy because we're going out of London and most everyone else is heading into London at this time of day."

Much to his relief Clark seemed fine with that, and settled down to look out of the window, just as he had on their journey from the airport. It was actually rather nice to have a traveling companion who really enjoyed seeing new places and having new experiences. Lex's usual friends - if you could call them that - were either jaded or pretended to be, and made it a point of honor never to be impressed by anything. Even when Clark had been at his most bizarre personality-wise, he still had an open, enthusiastic, quality that Lex found refreshing.

"Do you mind if I catch up on some emails?" he asked.

"No problem, I'll amuse myself."

Lex had bought Clark an iPod when they were walking around London yesterday, and he was pleased to see Clark pull it out and plug in the headphones. It was nice to be able to buy something for him and actually have him accept it. That was one change that Lex definitely approved of; now, if only Papa Kent would play ball when they got home and allow Clark to keep it. And the camera, and the clothes, and all the other little things that he'd bought for him over the past couple of days. Heh, maybe he wasn't so far off with that aneurysm analogy. He could just see Jonathan Kent's brain exploding when he found out.

Lex fired up the laptop, and snagged a wi-fi connection immediately. He grimaced when he saw the number of emails downloading, but he knew his secretary wouldn't forward anything irrelevant so he steeled himself to plough through all of them. Mostly they were items for information to keep him in the loop. He'd left instructions that all operational matters were to be referred to Gabe Sullivan, and it looked as though his instructions were being carried out to the letter.

One email from a potential investor was a bit worrying. Reading between the lines it sounded like Peterson was having second thoughts so Lex sent a reply, reminding him of the benefits that would accrue from the project as a result of his investment.

By the time Lex had cleared the last of the emails and sent updated instructions to his secretary, they had left London and had joined the freeway heading towards Oxfordshire. Soon afterwards he saw the chalk cutting of the Chiltern Hills, and nudged Clark to look out of the window.

"Clark my friend, welcome to the Shire."

And there it was; the green fields and gently rolling landscape of the Shire, just as it had been in Tolkien's day. Of course Lex knew that the world had moved on since then, but it was easy to imagine that somehow in this timeless place the rustic country-dwellers on whom Tolkien modeled the hobbits were still going about their rural pastimes, living their lives at a slow pace with no cares except for who had grown the biggest marrow or tomato, or whether the rain would make the river flood.

Sometimes Lex envied that life, his own was so different. He knew that in reality he would never be happy with such a simple existence, his brain wasn't wired that way, but sometimes it was relaxing to imagine what it would be like to have no worries about investors, or fertilizer plants, or hell, most of all his Dad.

In no time they were approaching the Oxford City centre, and Lex unconsciously slipped back into tour guide mode.

"Oxford is small compared with London," he said, "but it's considered to be a city because of the cathedral in Christ Church College."

Clark looked puzzled, so Lex explained further. "Only towns with a cathedral can be called a 'city'," he said. "Oxford wouldn't normally qualify, but the chapel in Christ Church is also a cathedral, so Oxford is a city."

"Are you saying that a college has its own cathedral?" Clark looked even more confused.

"You'll understand when you see it," Lex assured him. "But to get back to what I was saying, Oxford is really quite small and the hotels here are not as grand as The Ritz, so don't expect too much."

"Lex, firstly, I don't care where we stay as long as we're together."

Lex couldn't prevent a grin from spreading across his face at such a declaration.

"Secondly? Apart from one motel back in Kansas, I've never stayed anywhere away from home till this trip, so the bar isn't actually set that high. I loved The Ritz, but it's not exactly what I'm used to."

"Okay, yeah, I guess I'm being a bit sensitive here. We're staying in a nice enough hotel in the centre of Oxford, and we have a suite so we'll be comfortable enough." He'd been looking out of the window as he was speaking and turned back to see Clark struggling - in vain as it turned out - not to laugh at him.

"What?"

"Oh God Lex," spluttered Clark, "only you could feel the need to apologize for the fact that we're staying in a suite in a nice hotel in the centre of Oxford."

He was still laughing as the limo pulled up in front of an impressive looking building, with the words 'Old Bank Hotel' lit up on the front facade. Lex huffed as he stepped out, but he really wasn't offended. Clark had a point. It was just that now he was finally being able to do things for Clark and have his gifts accepted he wanted to give him everything. Nothing could be good enough for his best friend, especially now that he was also his lover.

As usual everything had been organized ahead and they were in their suite in no time at all. Lex was actually quite impressed, both with the service and the rooms. He'd never stayed here before and it was really quite luxurious. Best of all though were the views of Oxford's 'dreaming spires', and if his intense gaze out of the window was anything to go by, Clark agreed with him.

Lex loved showing Clark around Oxford city centre. His young friend had the same appreciation for the beauty of the old buildings that he had himself, and he never seemed to tire of hearing Lex talk about the background and history of the colleges, museums and libraries. He had never known anyone to absorb information the way that Clark did. He only had to tell him something once, and it seemed it was attached to some infallible memory system. Had he always been like that, he wondered? Could it possibly be a side effect to the Kryptonite? Clark had told him that he deliberately kept his grades low at school, so maybe it was normal for him. Lex didn't want to upset their day by raising such a potentially contentious subject so he put it on the back burner for now, but he would definitely come back to it later.

"And now, something really special, Clark," he said. He'd been keeping this a surprise, and he could see that Clark had absolutely no idea of where they were going as they crossed over St Giles and headed towards a nondescript beige building that was home to a typical English pub. He paused in front of the building, not wanting to wait any longer.

"This is where Tolkien and his literary friends used to meet and relax," he said, "and many of the first drafts of the Lord of the Rings were read out aloud here by Tolkien to his friends. As you can see it's called The Eagle and Child, but it's better known as the Bird and Baby."

Clark was staring at the building in amazement.

"You remember how important the local pub was in the Lord of the Rings," he said, "Well that was because it was important to Tolkien himself. It was somewhere he could go to unwind, to drink ale, smoke his pipe, and have conversation with his friends. It was the stronghold of male friendship in Tolkien's day. The only women in the pub would have been barmaids, or the very occasional wife accompanying her husband. Some people criticize Lord of the Rings for its lack of female characters, but there was really no other way Tolkien could have written it. All authors write about their own experiences, their own loves, hates, fears; Tolkien wrote about the world as he knew it. The evil of Sauron was his way of expressing the evil of war that threatened the peaceful life of the Oxfordshire countryside, and he knew first hand about the deep bonds of love formed when men face adversity together. This was Tolkien's world, and he wrote brilliantly about what he knew best."

Lex had been so caught up that he hadn't noticed that Clark was no longer looking at the building but was now facing him. He was surprised to see a glimmer of tears in Clark's eyes, and then understanding flashed between them, and moving in the same instant they embraced. Words weren't needed. Lex understood exactly what Clark was feeling at that moment.

When they broke apart, he grinned wickedly at Clark. "You know, some people think that the pub sign of an eagle flying off with a baby in a blanket represents Zeus kidnapping Ganymede. Pretty apt analogy for our trip, don't you think?"

Clark laughed out loud. "Kind of, but Lex, you didn't have to kidnap me. I was more than willing to be abducted."

They were still laughing as they entered the pub, with jokes about alien abduction making sense to no-one but themselves. Lex loved that he and Clark had secrets that no-one else knew. It was actually one of the things that had most hurt him before Clark came clean. He supposed it was an only-child syndrome, wanting something that belonged to him and no-one else. He'd never been one to share anything - not things, and certainly not emotions - but somehow with Clark it was different. He wanted to share everything with him but he didn't want anyone else encroaching on their togetherness; it made him feel special in a way that nothing else ever had. I guess this is what love feels like, he thought.

Chapter Twelve

Yesterday had been hell for Pete. From the moment that she learned about Clark's trip to England, Chloe had been relentless about trying to get to the bottom of what she called 'the mystery'. That girl was scary when she went into investigator mode.

He was terrified that she was going to try to hack into the US immigration database to prove that Clark really didn't have a passport and end up in serious hot water, but it was her never-ending questions that were starting to really bite.

He spent most of the day just trying to keep out of her way, and as soon as the final bell rang, he got outside so fast that even Clark would have been impressed.

He was surprised to see Jonathan Kent waiting outside, but as soon as he saw Pete he smiled and waved so it was clear he'd been waiting for him.

"Mr. Kent," he said out loud, and added then in a quiet whisper, "is everything okay with Clark?"

"Sure son, I thought you’d like to know that he called us this morning. Hop in, I'll tell you about it on the way home."

Pete was happy for the lift, and curious to know what Clark had said.

"Is he still in London?"

"No, they've moved to Oxford. Clark sounded real excited, kept talking about the Shire and Lord of the Rings, and old colleges and cathedrals, and well, to be honest son, most of it hit my ears in a blur."

"That sounds like he's back to his old self?" he asked cautiously.

"In some ways I think he is, but not completely. There's something that's not quite right with him, but thank God he seems to have lost the attitude. He snapped at me a couple of times, but nothing like when he first put on that ring. I never thought I'd say this, and I will probably deny it later, but I think it's actually doing him good to be with Luthor while all this is working its way through."

Pete was stunned. Words he could never have imagined coming out of Jonathan Kent's mouth were floating around his brain. "Excuse me, did you just say you approved of him being with Luthor?"

Mr. Kent laughed, and said, "yes, but I also said I would deny it later, so don't ever try to get me to admit it in public."

At least Mr. Kent sounded more like his old self, and not the anxiety-ridden wreck of a man he was a few days ago. Damn Clark for doing this to his folks and to his friends. Which reminded him…

"Mr. Kent, there's something you need to know. Chloe hasn't let this drop and she keeps going on about Clark not having a passport. I know that's not an issue for Clark, he can get past any security, but Chloe doesn't know that. You'll need to get something sorted out before he gets home.

"Already in hand Pete," he said. "Lex realized that people might ask questions, so he got a backdated passport for Clark, and had it couriered over to the farm. They don't stamp them these days so Chloe will never know that he didn't actually use it, but it's there if she wants to see it when he gets back."

"How in hell did he manage that?" gasped Pete.

"Pete, you should know better than anyone that what a Luthor wants, a Luthor gets. I doubt Lex did anything more than tell his secretary to organize it and expect his every wish to be obeyed."

"Jeezus."

"Yeah," agreed Mr. Kent.

Pete didn't really know what else to say. 'Jeezus' just about covered it.

Shaking himself Pete asked, "did he say anything about when he'd be home?"

"Yeah, that's really what I wanted to tell you. Lex has to be back for a meeting in a couple of days, something to do with investors and a genetically engineered enzyme that will make LuthorCorp's herbicides more effective, but don't ask me any more than that. To be honest, that was more information than I wanted. Clark rattled off a load of technical stuff about isolation, manipulation and DNA cells, but after a couple of minutes I zoned out. I couldn't understand a fraction of what he was going on about."

"I see what you mean about Clark still not being quite right," said Pete in a bit of a daze. Clark was good at biology and chemistry, but from what Mr. Kent just said he was talking about things that were beyond college level, let alone high school level.

"Yeah, exactly. Anyway, Lex has to be at this meeting because apparently he's the only one who understands the technology, so they'll be back on Monday."

"Sounds like Clark might understand the technology too," said Pete, and then wished he hadn't as he saw a line of worry cross Mr. Kent's face.

"He's always been good at science Pete, but I think maybe he's been hiding from us just how good he is. This brush with red meteor rock seems to have stripped away his need to fly under the radar, and he's not hiding it any more. Not from us, not from Lex. I can only hope that we can persuade him to keep it hidden at school again once he gets back. If he suddenly shows up as a child prodigy, there'll be so many questions asked we'll be ass deep in shit."

"What about that ring?" he asked, "did he say anything about whether he's still wearing it?"

"Kind of," admitted Mr. Kent. "We spoke about it briefly the first time he called. He said it's not what I think it is, and he said some other… well, some rather bizarre things about it. If you don't mind Pete, we can talk about that some other time. He didn't give me details, and what he did say didn't make any sense to me."

"Sure, no problem."

As they pulled up in front of Pete's house, Mr. Kent gripped his shoulder and said, "you're a good friend to Clark, Pete, I don't think he realizes quite how good a friend you are. I know you're going through a hard time over all this, and Mrs. Kent and I are very grateful. Don't ever think we don't appreciate it, son."

Pete was flattered, and didn't really know how to respond. Mr. Kent must have guessed, because he gave his shoulder one last squeeze. "Say hi to your folks for me Pete, and thanks again."

He jumped out of the truck and made his way into the house. Strange days, he mused, and likely to get stranger once Clark comes home.

Chapter Thirteen

Clark woke to the sounds of a shower, and glanced at the clock. It was still early, but Lex had told him he'd planned a full day of sightseeing so he wasn't surprised. By the time they were both ready for breakfast, Lex had caught up with his email again and was watching the news headlines on CNN.

"I've hired a car for us today," said Lex as Clark followed him down to breakfast. "A limo wouldn't fit along some of the roads to the places I want to take you."

It was during breakfast that Lex suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Where's the ring? Did you take it off?"

He was looking so anxious that Clark hastened to reassure him.

"I had another encounter with Jor-El last night," he admitted. "I didn't want to say anything because you got so stressed out about it last time, but he touched the rings together again, and this time when the light faded the rings weren't there anymore."

"Touched the rings together? What are you talking about?"

Clark suddenly remembered that he hadn't given Lex any of the details about his past encounter with Jor-El.

"You know last time, when I told you about Jor-El downloading information into my brain?"

Clark ignored the pained wince on Lex's face, and pushed on.

"Okay, well how he did that was to touch the stone in his ring to the one in mine, and that started the process. Last night he did the same again, but when the column of light that was created faded away, the rings were gone. Jor-El said that I've completely absorbed the energy into my body so it's finished its work."

Lex was still looking very suspicious, so Clark tried again to reassure him.

"Listen, I'm not hurt or damaged, or anything. I feel pretty much like my old self really, but without all the insecurities. I've found my backbone Lex, that's all."

"What about all this 'information' that Jor-El downloaded into your brain? What sort of an effect is that going to have on you?"

Clark shrugged. "He didn't say. Just that now I know all there is to know about my heritage and my home, and that I've passed into adulthood. I've always had an eidetic memory Lex, if that's what you're worried about."

He knew Lex had been surprised at his ability to absorb and remember information, and he was pretty sure that Lex was worrying that this had been a recent development; in particular that it was something that Jor-El had done to him.

"I guess you had to keep that little talent hidden," he said. "It wouldn't have helped you or the Kents if you'd been recognized as a child prodigy."

"Exactly. I've always been able to do it; I'm just not hiding it anymore."

"You might want to think about keeping it hidden when we get back to Smallville, though. I know you said that you want to make changes in your life, get out there and live a little, but trust me, if anyone discovers what you can do you'll be living your life inside a cage in a laboratory."

"You sound just like Jonathan Kent."

"For once in our lives I think Mr. Kent and I are going to be on exactly the same page, and although I never thought I would say this, I can understand why he's been so protective of you."

Clark chuckled, and shook his head.

"We really aren't in Kansas anymore, are we Dorothy? You and Jonathan Kent agreeing about something? Get me out of here!"

"Brat."

"Guilty as charged. Are you finished yet? Come on, let's go."

"Okay, make that 'impatient brat'."

"Leeeex, I want to see the Shire, come on!"

Lex sighed and swigged down the last of his coffee.

"Fine, fine, give me indigestion, see if I care."

Lex collected a set of car keys from the reception, and led the way to a neat Mercedes convertible parked in the lot behind the hotel. In no time at all they left the city streets of Oxford behind them, and were heading around something called the Ring Road. Lex seemed to know where he was going, so Clark sat back and enjoyed the ride.

They left the major road at a big intersection, and then suddenly on the right Clark saw a thatched cottage, with roses growing on a trellis along the walls around the door and windows. Lex noticed him staring and grinned.

"You won't see many of those in Kansas," he said, "but you'll overdose on them today."

Once out of Oxford the road narrowed and twisted, and for the next few hours Lex took him on the most amazing journey through villages filled with thatched cottages, ponds, ancient churches, tiny shops, and pubs. It all looked as though it belonged in a bygone age, but there were modern people walking around with their children and their shopping and their dogs, just like back home.

It suddenly hit Clark that although it looked very different, in a way Kansas was the Shire of America. Good, honest people just getting on with their lives, going to school, working, helping their neighbors. The scenery was different, but the way of life in a farming community was just the same.

They stopped for lunch at a pub that Clark was amazed to see had been built in 1098, and then Lex drove them the short distance into Banbury, where Clark made him recite the nursery rhyme three times because it was so hilarious to listen to Lex Luthor chanting about a fine lady with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes. He would have liked him to do it again, but Lex just flat out refused after the third time.

Lex had promised him something special for dinner that night, and he certainly made good on the promise. They parked at a boatyard and then stepped onto a barge called Rosamund the Fair, which turned out to be a five star restaurant. Lex had hired the whole boat just for them, and dinner turned out to be one of the best meals Clark had ever tasted. He was so touched that Lex would do something like this for him, and true to form, Lex even knew something about the name of the boat. Apparently Rosamund the Fair was the beloved mistress of King Henry II who kept her hidden in a house in Woodstock. She was protected by a Knight and a magic silver thread, but while the King was away fighting in a war, Queen Eleanor killed the Knight, stole the silver thread, and poisoned Rosamund.

"Oh that's so tragic," he said, when Lex finished the story. They were leaning on the railing of the boat, watching the water slip past.

"I suppose it is, but she's not forgotten. Her ghost is supposed to haunt the waterways around Oxford and there are many tales of people having seen her."

Clark looked at the incredible, talented man standing beside him, and was overwhelmed by a feeling of love and affection.

"This is amazing Lex, thank you so much."

"I can't think of anyone I would rather be here with," said Lex. "You have no idea how much you mean to me, do you?"

Clark couldn't think of a thing to say to that declaration, so he just took Lex in his arms, and as the boat made its way slowly back to the boatyard, they stood on the deck under the light of the moon and the stars, and kissed.

Chapter Fourteen

Lex didn't want this vacation to end, but he had to get back for that meeting with Peterson. The reassurance he sent by email just hadn't been enough, the guy wanted Lex to walk him through the process one more time. It was frustrating, but Peterson was a rock solid venture capitalist, and if he decided to invest, then others would follow and the research would be completed in no time.

So, no choice, Lex had to get back to Smallville for a meeting that afternoon. With the time difference they could leave London, and still be back in Kansas in time for a mid afternoon meeting. Thankfully Lex had never had problems with jet lag - probably because he had been flying around the world since he was a boy.

Last night had been amazing, magical, wonderful… Lex was running out of adjectives. When they got back after dinner they'd made love for hours, tasting each other, worshipping each other, and just luxuriating in the feel of skin on skin. It was going to be hard to give Clark up when they got back to Smallville, but Lex was a realist, and he doubted that the Kents would be willing to let Clark move into the mansion with him, or if Clark himself even wanted to do that.

It wasn't like Lex to feel insecure about anything, but he just wasn't sure about where he fitted into Clark's life. He didn't exactly have any past experience of love, and none of his sexual partners had been high school boys so he was flying blind here. Lex liked to plan. He was good at dealing with sudden emergencies, but he preferred to plan ahead to avoid them where possible. With Clark though, there were too many variables for even the most basic strategy, hence the insecurities.

"You look troubled."

"Not troubled, just sorry that we have to go back to the real world. I kind of like it here in the Shire, and I'm not looking forward to having to battle Sauron and the forces of darkness again."

Clark sniggered. "Do you think your Dad's going to hold it against me that I threatened his life and said I thought you should have left him to die in the rubble?"

"Oh yeah, big time. You actually got the upper hand with my Dad in front of one of his minions. He is never going to forget that, trust me."

"So I guess he won't be too happy with the idea of me as a son-in-law?"

Lex was speechless. How could Clark do that to him so easily?

"Lex? Say something. I thought you wanted us to be together, was I wrong?"

"What? No! God no, you're not wrong. I just never thought… I mean, I didn't know… um, that is I wasn't sure…"

"Lex, breathe, it's okay."

Lex felt Clark's strong arms wrap around him and hold him close. I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry… oh fuck, I'm crying.

"Lex? Baby? Don't cry, I love you, you know that, right?"

He was sure he had a voice there somewhere, but damn, where was it when you needed it? Right, he could do this. I'm Lex Luthor, dammit! I have a voice, and I know how to use it.

"Clark, I'm okay, really. It was just a shock. I'd been thinking about what would happen when we got back to Smallville, and I guess I'd talked myself into believing that you wouldn't want us to be together anymore. You know, once you got back to your folks, and your friends at school. Everything would go back to how it was before."

"For an intelligent man you can be a real dummy sometimes. You said to me last night that I have no idea how much I mean to you, but Lex, that goes both ways. Do you really think that I could just go back to living on the Kent Farm, pretending to be a run-of-the-mill student at Smallville High and having my social life revolve around people like Pete and Lana and Chloe? After everything that we've shared and all that we've become to each other? Lex, it would kill me if you said you didn't want me anymore. I'm virtually invulnerable in a physical sense, but if I lost you I would lose my will to live. Don't you get that?"

Clark brushed his thumb gently across Lex's cheeks, wiping away the tears. Lex hadn't felt so cherished since his Mom died. No-one else but she and Pamela had ever touched him with such care and devotion, and he'd lost Pamela when he lost his Mom.

"I love you Clark, I love you so much it hurts."

He'd never thought to hear such a declaration pass his lips; never thought he would ever find anyone who could mean so much to him.

"I love you too, Lex. I love you with everything that I am, and I will always love you. I'll protect you and treasure you and nothing will keep me from your side. I'll never let anyone or anything come between us; not my folks, not your Dad, not my friends or your friends, no-one. You are mine Lex, and I am yours, and the rest of the world needs to know that."

A tap at the door reminded them that the limo was waiting to take them back to the airport.

"I'm just going to clean up," he said, "you go on down. I'll be there in a second."

Clark kissed him gently, and then gave him one last hug before opening the door and letting the porter in to collect their luggage. Lex retreated to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face and take a couple of minutes to calm down. Clark's declaration of love had touched him deeply, and he was still feeling a little shaky. After taking some deep breaths and giving himself a mental shake, he left the room and joined Clark in the limo. He had intended to do some more work on the way to the airport, but when Clark took his hand and smiled at him, he decided that work could wait. They sat in a comfortable silence on the journey back to London, each lost in their own thoughts but knowing they shared a common purpose. They would be together, and nothing was going to get in the way of that.

"You'll have to do your zippy thing again when we get to immigration."

"Zippy thing?" Clark was grinning at him. "So it's not just me that comes up with boring names to describe what I can do?"

"Shut up brat, and pay attention."

"Yes sir, Mr. Luthor sir."

Lex closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"It should be easier this way round, as the staff will already be on board. As soon as the limo stops, we'll both get out and walk over to the immigration office. You wait in the men's room again until you see me go through and walk up the steps to the plane. Try to time it so that you walk in directly behind me, just in case anyone is in the main cabin."

"Sure, no problem."

"Oh, I forgot to mention, I arranged for a backdated passport to be couriered over to your Dad, just in case anyone started asking awkward questions when you got home."

"Wow, you are amazing, have I ever told you that?"

It was Lex's turn to grin. "Um yes, I think you've mentioned it once or twice."

The limo stopped, and the chauffeur opened the door for them. Lex went through immigration as planned, and as he stepped on board the plane, he felt a slight breeze at his back and suddenly there was Clark.

They had to wait quite a while for air traffic control to give them a take off spot, but once it finally happened they were away quickly.

"Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world," said Lex, "it can get really congested here at times."

"I'm glad you never mentioned that before otherwise I would have had images of planes stacked up one on top of the other!"

Once the plane leveled out, the stewardess came out to let them know it was okay to remove their seatbelts and move around. Lex saw Clark glance speculatively at the door to the bedroom, and before he could even blink he was naked on his back with a very aroused Clark leaning over him.

"Jesus Christ, I will never get used to that," he gasped.

On the other hand, Clark's tongue was doing very interesting and vaguely acrobatic things around his nipples, so maybe he could get used to it if he really put his mind to it.

Chapter Fourteen

Lex's secretary had called the Farm just before 9am to let them know that Clark was on his way back and that he should be home sometime in the afternoon. Martha was delighted that her baby was coming home, but she was a bag of nerves about what might happen. Jonathan just grunted and nodded when she told him, but she knew that he was as worried as she was, he just hid it better. They talked about whether Clark should go straight back to school tomorrow, but then decided that there was no point thinking about things like that till they'd seen him and spoken to him. If he was still under the control of red Kryptonite, well, school might not be the best plan.

She tried to keep busy, but she couldn't help watching the clock. The minute hand was moving so slowly she could have sworn it was slipping backwards whenever her back was turned.

Jonathan joined her for a late lunch, and then they both sat there on tenterhooks, waiting for Clark to come home. Neither of them could settle to anything, they were too nervous, and every conversation they started just fizzled out.

"This is crazy", snapped Jonathan. "He's our son, why are we acting like this?!"

"Well maybe because he's been acting like he's not our son," she said with a small smile to take the sting out of the words. "Try to relax Jon, if you're wound up like this when he gets here, you won't be in the best frame of mind if the conversation gets difficult."

"You mean if he starts treating us like dirt again," muttered Jonathan.

"Come on honey, you said yourself he sounded more like his old self when he rang last time."

"Yeah, but there's still something not right about him, and he only phoned us twice all the time he's been away."

Martha sighed, and looked at the clock again. Almost three o'clock, he could be here any moment.

"Tell me again what he said about…"

The sound of a high performance engine approaching made Martha forget whatever she was about to say. Jonathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but Martha couldn't wait to see her son. She dashed outside just in time to see the Ferrari pull up. Jonathan joined her on the porch, and wrapped his arms around her. She was so grateful for his solid strength at that moment. There was a deafening silence as the throaty roar of the engine died away, and then Clark was stepping out of the car and coming towards them.

Goodness, but he looked different. It wasn't just that he was wearing designer clothes, he moved as if he owned the world. She was used to the way that he always tried to merge into the background, make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible. This Clark strode towards them with his shoulders back and head high, body language screaming out that here he was, and anyone who didn't like it could get the hell out of the way. She glanced down at his hand, and was relieved to see that he was no longer wearing that damned ring. So, Lex must have persuaded him somehow to remove it. Thank God.

"Son, it's good to have you home."

"Good to be back, Dad, thanks."

All Martha wanted to do was run and take him in her arms, but Jonathan was holding her back and Clark didn't make any move towards them.

"Well come on, let's go in and sit down and you can tell us all about your trip," she said, hoping to get them past the awkwardness of the moment.

She turned and walked back into the house, grateful that Jonathan and Clark followed her and that they all automatically sat in their usual places at the kitchen table.

"You're not wearing that ring anymore Clark, where is it now?" she said.

Clark looked at left hand, and smiled. Martha wasn't terribly reassured for some reason.

"The ring's gone for good," he said, "you don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Gone? Gone where?"

Jonathan was frowning, and Martha hoped he would keep his temper.

"I don't know exactly," admitted Clark. "It was part of a rite of passage for me. I told you when I rang from London that it took me to meet my re.., I mean my biological Father. He had a stone just the same and when they came into contact, they changed. He downloaded information into my brain about my home planet, my heritage, my abilities, all kinds of things. When it was over the ring just disappeared."

"Are you okay sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, really. You guys sound just like Lex, he flew into a panic the first time it happened, but I managed to convince him nothing bad happened."

"The first time? It happened more than once?" She tried to keep the concern out of her voice, but she doubted very much that she succeeded.

"Twice, it happened twice. Now if I want to speak with my Father, I can, you know, call him up. The easiest way to think of it is like a kind of virtual reality."

"Did he explain about how and why you ended up here on Earth?" asked Jonathan.

"Yeah," he sighed, "our planet was totally destroyed. I'm the only one left alive."

"Oh Clark, I'm so sorry." It was bad enough before not knowing anything about where he came from, but she never imagined that he was the last of his race.

Martha got up to pour the coffee, and they were all silent until she returned to the table.

"How was your trip Clark?"

He beamed at her, and for a moment it was just like having the old Clark back.

"It was totally, amazingly awesome!" he said. "Lex knows so much, and he took me to all these incredibly cool places. We stayed at The Ritz in Piccadilly, and then this really great hotel in the centre of Oxford. We visited all kinds of places, and I totally get The Lord of the Rings now, why Tolkien could write a book like that. London was incredible of course, but there was just something about Oxfordshire, you know? It has something that's really pure and simple. I loved it there."

Well, he was impressed, no doubt about that! Martha could see the light shining out of his eyes as he was describing the trip.

"I took loads of photos, once I've downloaded them onto the laptop I'll show you."

Uh-oh. Martha saw Jonathan's head snap up at the mention of photos and the laptop. She hoped he'd let it go. They'd assumed that Lex would have bought things for Clark while they were away, and even though she hadn't gotten Jonathan to agree that Clark could keep anything from the trip he hadn't exactly said no either. But that did remind her about something else.

"Clark, why don't you bring your bags in from the car? I'm sure you need to unpack and your Dad could use some help with the chores. We can talk about the trip some more over dinner. When does Lex need you to get the car back to him?"

"Um, he doesn't."

"He doesn't what?" she said.

"Need me to get the car back."

"Now wait a goddam minute," snapped Jonathan. "If you're suggesting that Lex has given you that car and you think you're going to keep it here on the farm…"

"No!" he shouted, "that's not what I mean."

Martha was puzzled. Something was going on, no doubt about that.

"Clark, honey, don't shout, just tell us what you *do* mean," she said.

"I'm not coming back to the Farm."

There was a stunned silence for about 30 seconds. Martha couldn't believe her ears. Out of all the crazy things they thought that might happen, Clark not coming home at all wasn't one of them. She stared at Clark and then glanced towards Jonathan, who looked every bit as astonished as she felt.

"You still have that red meteor rock on you somewhere, don't you?" said Jonathan. "It's still making you crazy, that's what it is."

Clark sighed and took a deep breath.

"No, I don't have the red Kryptonite any more, and I'm not crazy. I told you when I phoned that Lex and I are in a relationship. I'm moving into the mansion to live with him. We're getting married, or at any rate, whatever kind of formal partnership thing guys do because we can't actually get married in this State.

"Now you listen to me son, you're sixteen years old! You can't possibly think we will even consider allowing you to enter into a relationship with an older man, even less to allow you to live with him!"

Martha reached across and took Jonathan's hand. He was so red in the face she was worried he'd have a heart attack.

"Firstly, I'm not really sixteen. You underestimated my age by at least three years. In Kryptonian terms I'm an adult and my Father told me I would be expected to take a mate at this age. In fact he said that had I been living on Krypton, I would probably have been in a relationship for at least a year by now."

"But you're not living on Krypton, you're living here in Kansas, and *we* are your parents!"

"Secondly, I'm not asking. I'm telling you what I'm going to do. I hope you support me, and I hope you welcome Lex into the family, but come what may, he and I are going to be living together."

"What about school honey, and college? Lex can't expect you to just give up everything to be his stay-at-home partner?"

"Of course he doesn't. I'm still going to graduate from high school and go to college; I just won't be living here any more. I hope you can accept this, because I do love you both and I want you to be a part of my life, but you have to understand that something happened between me and Lex, something big, something important, and he means the world to me. I'm not doing this because I don’t love you anymore. I'm doing this because I love Lex and want to be with him."

"Supposing we call in the law, report Lex? It's a felony to entice a minor away from his home."

Clark went deathly still, and for a moment Martha saw a flicker of red in his eyes. He glared at Jonathan and instead of their genial, albeit frustrating, son sitting at the table, there was suddenly a dangerous, alien, creature who was completely unknown to them.

"I wouldn't recommend it."

Clark's voice was icy, and totally controlled.

The silence grew oppressive, but Clark remained as motionless as a statue, gazing at his Father with an intensity that Martha found terrifying. It reminded her of the way a snake stares at its prey before striking.

"Clark, it's alright, we have no intention of doing anything of the kind," she was frantically giving Jonathan facial signals, telling him to back down.

"And what do you say, Jonathan?" Clark's voice was still icy cold.

The only time Clark had ever called his father by his given name was when he had been high on that red rock. Whatever had happened to her son when that meteor rock was absorbed into his body, clearly there were some lingering side effects.

"Your Mom's right," he said grudgingly, "we don't plan on doing anything like that."

"Good," said Clark as he relaxed again. "Just be sure you know that I will never let anyone harm Lex, I don't care who they are."

Oh my goodness, thought Martha, that doesn't bode well. Clark's abilities focused into protecting Lex? She didn't want to think of what a disaster that could turn out to be.

"I still don't approve of this though," said Jonathan, "and I think you're making the biggest mistake of your life. Even bigger than the one you made when you told Luthor about your origins."

Clark shrugged, but didn't say anything more.

Martha looked at the clock. Almost half an hour had gone by since Clark's arrival and Pete had said that he would call in on his way home from school. They hadn't had time to let him know that Clark was coming back today, but they all hoped he would be back sometime this week and Pete had offered to drop off class notes and homework.

"What does Lex think about this, sweetheart?"

Clark frowned at her in puzzlement.

"What do you mean? He's as devoted to me as I am to him, what *should* he think about it?"

"Are you sure honey? I don't want to make you doubt your relationship, but he's older than you…" she held up her hand as Clark took a breath to interrupt. "Clark, even if you're three years older than we estimated, he's still older than you, and I don't just mean in years. Lex is experienced in the world. His childhood and teens… well, they were nothing like yours. He's had experiences that, to be perfectly frank, I hope you never have. You come from different worlds…"

"Yeah, literally," muttered Clark.

"You know I don't mean that," she said with a sigh, "I mean that he comes from a world of money and power, an absolute authority that you've never experienced. How can you make such an important decision about sharing your life with him without knowing at least some of what it means to be thrown into that kind of world?"

"But I *have* experienced Lex's world! Even before this trip he took me to galas, museum exhibits, parties at the mansion. He's always discussed his business with me, right from the earliest days of our friendship. All those times you kept telling me to keep away from him, that he was deceitful and dangerous, and a Luthor was never to be trusted? Well let me tell you, he was sharing things with me that could have brought LuthorCorp to its knees, or at the very least caused some serious embarrassment in the press. Lex trusted me, he's always trusted me, and I know more about his world than you could possibly imagine."

Martha was stunned all over again. She knew they'd become close since that fateful day when they met on the bridge, but she had no idea that Lex had treated Clark so… well, so much like an equal. Of course it was well-known that they were friends - Lex asking Clark to be his best man was a clear indication of that - but she had never guessed that Lex was so open with her son.

"But even more than that," he continued, "I've gone through a Kryptonian rite of passage and I've changed - a lot. I know that when I first came into contact with the red Kryptonite I was out of control. I'm sorry about that, I never meant to hurt you, but I just couldn't stop it. It was, I dunno, I guess like a human being under the control of some chemical substance. I knew what I was doing, but suddenly all I wanted was to be me. Not the bumbling farm boy, not the so-so student at Smallville High, but me, Kal-El of Krypton. Of course at first I didn't know what was happening to me, I just went with it. It wasn't until I met my Father and he started to explain things to me that I realized why I had been acting that way."

He paused, and for a moment the ticking of the clock and the slow drip of condensation in the coffee jug were the only sounds in the kitchen.

"I know I hurt you guys, and I feel bad about that. Even though I'm different now, I never, ever want to hurt you. I love you both, I really do. You have to understand, when the red K hit my bloodstream, I was just swept away. Nothing mattered except what I wanted, and as my Father explained it to me, my body wanted a mate more than anything else. I took Lana out, and then I let Jessie entice me away from her, but neither of them did anything for me. But the next morning, when I saw Lex? It was like a light going on in a dark room. Suddenly he was there, and he was all I wanted. I guess it's fortunate that he feels the same way about me, but obviously without the alien mating imperative."

"Are you sure he feels the same way honey?"

Clark sighed in frustration.

"I know you think he does," she added, "but how can you be sure?"

"How do you know Dad loves you?" he challenged. "It's the same with me and Lex. I love him, and he loves me."

"Oh shit," said a new voice in the doorway.

She'd been so intent on what Clark was saying that she never noticed Pete's arrival.

"Pete, how you doing?" said Clark.

"I was fine till I just heard to say that you and Luthor love each other."

"Pete, come and sit down sweetie," said Martha.

She pulled him over and pushed him into a chair. The poor boy looked like a stunned calf.

"Tell me I didn't hear what I thought I heard," he pleaded.

"Get used to it Pete, I'm moving into the mansion with Lex."

"What? I mean… what? You're… you're doing what?!"

Pete looked at Jonathan, and then Martha, and then Clark, and then back to Jonathan.

"Okay, it's April 1^st, right? This is a joke, yeah?"

"I only wish it were son, but Clark has just finished telling us about his plans, and yep, he does intend to move into the mansion with Lex," sighed Jonathan.

"But you need to keep this to yourself right now," added Martha.

"Why?" said Clark. "Everyone will know soon enough. Why should Pete have to keep it to himself?"

Martha daren't say that the real reason she wanted to keep it secret was that she devoutly hoped the whole thing would blow over in a week or so, and they would have Clark safe home with them again. So she lied.

"We need to make sure that it's not going to cause any legal problems for Lex, I mean you are still a minor under Kansas law, no matter what age you think you might really be."

She could see Clark mulling that over.

"Sure, that sounds sensible," he agreed. "Yeah, keep it to yourself for now, Pete."

"Right," mumbled Pete, "keep it to myself. Yeah, I can do that."

Martha felt sorry for Pete, walking in on them like that.

"Did you bring over the class notes and homework for Clark?" she asked, trying to get them onto a neutral subject.

"Um yeah, here," he said, handing over a sheaf of papers. "The notes are Chloe's, I figured hers would be better than mine," he admitted with a grin. "Are you gonna be at school in the morning?"

"No, I have some things to do tomorrow and no-one will think it strange if I take a day to get over the jet-lag. I'll be back on Wednesday, though."

Clark stood, and again Martha was struck by how different he looked. It really wasn't just the clothes or the hair, it was his whole demeanor. The way he held himself, the way he moved. She saw Pete staring and guessed similar thoughts were crossing his mind.

"I have to get back to the mansion, but how about Lex and I come over later for dinner, how does that sound?"

"That sounds fine," she said before Jonathan could open his mouth. They needed to talk, and probably it was best that they have some time alone to do that. "We'll see you both around six, okay?"

"Sure, see you then."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, slapped Pete on the shoulder and nodded to Jonathan, and then clutching the notes that Pete had brought over, he was off out the door. Seconds later they heard the throaty roar of the Ferrari shatter the silence, and then fade into the distance as Clark drove back to the mansion.

"Shit."

Martha gave Pete a look, and he suddenly realized what he'd said.

"Sorry Mrs. Kent, it just slipped out."

"Well for once, I think I agree with the sentiment," said Jonathan.

"Look, I know it's none of my business, but what are you going to do?"

"As I said to you before son, Mrs. Kent and I never know how we're going to deal with things that happen to Clark, we just trust to instinct and fly by the seat of our pants. That's always worked in the past, but whether it's going to cut it this time, I just don't know."

"You know as well as we do that Clark has never been normal in anything," she added, "so I guess we just have to accept that our alien son is going to follow his alien biological urges when it comes to taking a partner - or mate, as he called it."

"You really think it's that permanent?"

"Clark thinks it is Pete, and that's all we have to go by."

"What about you Mr. Kent? You can't be happy about this?"

"Pete, I am so not happy about this that I don't even know where to start," sighed Jonathan, "but what the heck do I do? You weren't here when I suggested that we might report Luthor to the authorities, but I can tell you for a fact that the vicious brute who threw me into the side of the truck when I got in his way outside school last week was nothing compared to what flickered in his eyes at that moment."

Martha had to agree. "Clark said that the red meteor rock has changed him, permanently, and although he's in control of it now, he's not the same boy that he was before. He showed us that Pete. He's fine, and pretty much like his old self until you scratch the surface, or God forbid, threaten Lex. The only way I can describe it is that his alien self takes over. He didn't even look like our Clark when Jonathan said about reporting Lex, and quite honestly, whoever he was he scared me to death. As soon as Jonathan backed down, he was our Clark again, but I don't want to push it. We just don't know what we're dealing with."

"Well, good luck at dinner tonight," said Pete. "I'd better head off home otherwise I'll be in hot water."

"Thanks for everything Pete," she said, giving him a hug. "We both really appreciate everything you've done to help."

As soon as they were alone, she cleared the table and grabbed a pad and pen. "Sit down Jonathan," she said. "Flying by the seat of our pants and instinct isn't going to work this time, we need a proper strategy."

Chapter Fifteen

Lex was pleased with the success he'd had with Peterson. The guy obviously didn't understand the science of what they were trying to do, but he understood the projected return on investment only too well, and signed the contract without any more delays. More importantly, Peterson had promised to see about getting a second investor to put up for some cutting edge technology that would put them way ahead of the field. Life was good.

He saw the Ferrari parked out front of the mansion, and wondered how Clark's visit with his folks had gone. He'd suggested waiting until they could go together, but Clark said he'd prefer to talk to them alone to start with.

He heard sounds of talking coming from the study, his Dad's strident tones clearly audible. Grimacing, he walked as quietly as possible up the stairs to his suite of rooms, guessing that Clark would be waiting for him there. Sure enough, his lanky alien lover was sprawled over one of the sofas, watching a DVD.

"Hey," he said, pushing long legs back to perch on the sofa alongside him.

"Hey," murmured Clark back at him, sitting up to give him a kiss and a hug.

"How'd it go with your folks?"

"So-so. They aren't happy, but they're accepting it," he shrugged. "I told them we'd be over for dinner at six, is that okay?"

It wasn't at the top of things he most wanted to do with Clark, but he figured they had to do this sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner.

"Sure. I'll go shower and change."

"What happened with Peterson?"

"Signed the contract so fast it left skid marks on the desk," he grinned, genuinely delighted at how successful the meeting had been. "Even better he's going to bring in another investor for that new technology I want."

"I knew you'd convince him." Clark looked smug.

"Your faith in my abilities is heartwarming," he called out as he made his way into the bathroom.

Lex let himself relax in the luxurious steam shower. He didn't get jet-lag but the shower he'd had on the plane after a mammoth session of love-making with Clark was brief, designed to clean up rather than unwind. This was heaven. They had over an hour before they had to head off to the Kent Farm and he was determined to spend as long as possible under the cleansing, relaxing steam.

Gradually he became aware of the sound of raised voices, and at first he thought Clark had turned up the volume on the TV. Then he heard his Dad's harsh voice clearly over the top of everything else. Jesus Christ, would the guy never give it a rest?!

He stepped out of the shower, and grabbed a robe before walking in to the other room. Clark and his father were standing toe to toe, apparently in the middle of a heated argument.

"Dad," he said, "what do you think you're doing?"

"I am attempting to make Mr. Kent here realize that I have every right to be in this room. More right than he has, that's for sure," Lionel snapped.

"Actually Dad, no you don't. Clark has every right to be here, and I would really like it if you left right now."

"Lex, for goodness' sake, have you lost your mind? Quite apart from the fact that this boorish thug just threatened me - again, I hasten to add - have you any idea what his parents will do if you persist in this ridiculous infatuation?!"

Lex could see Clark literally quivering with anger, and quickly walked over to insert himself between them. The last thing he needed was for Clark to be goaded into doing something that would give away his strength. He gently leaned back to push Clark away from his Dad, not letting up until he had forced some space between them.

"Dad, Clark is here at my invitation and with the knowledge and support of his parents."

"What? You're lying! I know Jonathan Kent and there is no way on God's earth he would condone his son being here with you," he sneered.

"Don't you dare speak to Lex in that way," snarled Clark.

"Clark, it's alright, let me handle this."

He was pleased to see that Clark backed off straight away, even as upset as he was. Lex didn't want to think about what would happen if Lionel pushed Clark too far.

"Dad, I suggest you get used to the idea that Clark is going to be around. I've invited him to live here with me, and I can assure you he's not going anywhere."

"Here?! He's going to be *living* here? What's going on Lex? Why is he moving out from his parents' home?"

"That's not your concern. Clark is staying, get used to it."

"I will not live under the same roof as that boorish creature who has threatened my life twice now. I will not Lex, do you understand me?!"

"Of course I understand you, but the remedy is in your own hands. Clark is staying. Whether you stay or go is of little concern to me. If you don't want to live under the same roof as Clark, then I suggest you go, but the choice is yours."

Lex watched with amusement as his Father seethed with resentment and anger. It was probably going to come back and bite him on the ass in the not too distant future, but right now, guilt over his Dad's blindness be damned, he was relishing seeing the old man defeated.

"This isn't over Lex!" he said, as he stormed out as fast as his blindness would permit.

"Doesn't he have any other parting shots?" chuckled Clark.

"Not really," admitted Lex, "he always has to leave the field of combat declaring that he hasn't lost, he's merely regrouping his forces for another day."

As they were leaving the mansion to head off to the Kent Farm, Lex heard the unmistakable sound of the helicopter taking off. As it sped off into the distance, he could see his Dad and his Dad's personal assistant in the back, and smirked with relief at Clark.

"Looks like you've driven him away, farm boy."

Clark gave him one of the most disingenuous looks he'd ever tried to pull.

"Forget it," he scoffed. "I used to have a problem believing that small town naive farm boy stuff even before I knew for a fact it was all a front. Don't even think you could get away with it now."

Lex was amused to see that Clark automatically headed around to the driver's side, leaving him the passenger seat. It hadn't taken Clark long to get possessive about the Ferrari, he snickered silently to himself.

The drive to the Kent Farm went past all too quickly for Lex. He really wasn't looking forward to this, but it had to be done and he had never been one for avoiding difficult situations. In fact his life would probably have been a lot simpler and a lot less painful if he had played the avoidance card more often. He followed Clark into the kitchen, and greeted the Kents cautiously. They were looking at him as if he had debauched their virgin son - oh wait, he had. Oh well, guilty as charged. At least there was no sign of a shotgun or a gelding knife.

"Mrs. Kent, is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"Thanks Lex, but no, I have it all under control. I think we can dispense with formalities too, and you should call me Martha," she smiled at him. "Just take a seat at the table. You too Clark, dinner's ready so sit down."

The food was excellent, but the stilted conversation and lengthy silences were excruciating. Clark wasn't really pulling his weight, but Lex could understand how difficult it must be for him. They made it through the meal by talking about some of the places they visited in London and Oxford, but everyone was tacitly avoiding the real issue, which was that Clark was leaving home to live with his older male lover, in Kansas, a State that still had the old blue laws on the books about male sexual congress.

As Martha got up to serve coffee, Lex decided to raise the issue himself.

"I know Clark has mentioned our plans to live together," he said, "and you must have some concerns, so please, if there are any questions you’d like to ask…"

"Lex, are you sure this is what you want? Won't you regret someday not having a wife and children? Are you really sure you want to tie yourself down to Clark? He's so much younger than you, and he hasn't had the experience of living in your world."

Lex was slightly taken aback at her response. He hadn't imaged her concerns would be for him, he had assumed they would be all about Clark.

"We're worried about all kinds of things regarding this relationship," added Jonathan, "but mostly we're concerned because it's all happened so fast and that it's likely just a side effect of that damned red meteor rock."

"I can assure you both that the meteor rock has no effect whatever on me, and I love Clark deeply and passionately. His age and experience are irrelevant; I think I've loved him since the moment we met."

As he spoke, Lex was staring deep into Clark's eyes. How could the Kents even think that he would give up this amazing man for someone else?

"I told you Lex loved me," said Clark. "Now that you've heard it from his own lips, do you believe me?"

Martha brought the coffee mugs to the table, and sat down again.

"Clark, we believed you earlier sweetheart, but you have to agree it's sudden, and we just want you both to be very sure. People in this town are generally accepting of a lot of things, but two men living together, especially when one of them is a Luthor and the other is our son, is going to push a lot of buttons. Once your relationship becomes known you'll get a lot of flak, and you're going to have to keep a level head and not react to it."

Lex was impressed with Martha's grasp of the realities of their situation. It didn't change anything, he still wanted Clark and he knew that Clark still wanted him, but he had to agree, it wasn't going to be easy.

"I'm sure Lex is more than capable of dealing with anything directed at him," she continued, "but you've got to be willing to let him deal with it. You're very defensive over Lex honey, and while I'm sure it's only natural, you can't threaten everyone who is critical of him or who challenges him."

"Are you trying to tell me that Dad would ignore someone who insulted or threatened you, Mom?"

Martha shook her head. "No, of course not, but it's not the same."

"Look, it's different with me son. I don't have your abilities. If I have to defend your Mom, the most that would happen would be raised voices or possibly a punch."

"I haven't done anything more than that," said Clark, "what's the issue?"

Martha sighed, and tried again.

"Clark, honey, I don't think you have any idea how scary you are when you don't like something. If you looked at someone in town the way you looked at your Dad this afternoon, then you and Lex are both going to be in a world of trouble."

"So what, I should just let people say whatever they want about Lex, and ignore it?"

"Hard as that may seem, that's exactly what you should do," agreed Jonathan, "it's not as if he can't take care of himself."

Lex saw a stubborn expression settle on Clark's face.

"Your Mom and Dad are right, Clark," he said. "It is going to be hard and you are going to have to learn to ignore a lot of things. I've been doing it for years so it doesn't even really register with me anymore, but you're going to find it hard at first."

"But Lex…"

"No buts, Clark, I mean it. I love that you want to defend my honor, but I'm no damsel in distress. In fact most people would expect you to defend them against me, not the other way round."

Clark grinned at him, and Lex was relieved that he seemed to have taken his words to heart, and not gotten upset about it.

"Tell us some more about what happened with your biological Father, honey. You haven't really told us anything about that, and we want to know."

Lex wanted to know more about that too. Clark had been unusually silent on what had happened with his Father, and he had been wary of pushing too hard for information. And there was one thing that he *really* wanted to know…

"What does he look like Clark?"

"Me, actually. It’s like looking in a mirror except his eyes are turquoise blue. Other than that we're really identical. He said I have my Mother's eyes."

Lex glanced quickly at Martha to see how she was reacting to hearing about Clark's biological Mom. She seemed okay, but it had to be hard for her and Jonathan. They could never have thought for a moment that Clark's parents would appear on the scene, and it must be quite a shock to listen to Clark refer to them so casually. He had to hand it to the Kents though, they were dealing with it. He supposed that having raised an alien child for the last twelve years they could take most things in their stride, but it was still impressive.

"How is that you 'met' Jor-El at all? You told me after that first experience of the white room in London that he died a long time ago," he asked.

"He explained that we are using a principle of quantum theory to be in two places at once. What happens is that our neural pathways use quantum nanotubes, which allow thoughts to be transferred from the biochemical brain into a quantum substrata of local reality. So we are both there, and here, at the same time. My Father is both alive and dead, if you get my meaning."

"Like Schroedinger's Cat?" asked Lex.

"Yeah, pretty much, except that there are no observers because we inhabit the same quantum substrata."

Lex was still thinking about that when Jonathan spoke up again.

"But how did it happen, Clark? And why now? Why not before?"

"The red meteor rock is a natural mineral found on my home planet," said Clark. "Back there it was used as a kind of locus of energy to aid Kryptonians through a rite of passage from puberty to adulthood. Think of it like a fiber optic cable, through which energy, in the form of light, passes in a wavefunction. The superposition of states is interrupted by the body of whoever is going through the process, which intercepts and retransmits the light being generated by the mineral vibration."

"Jesus Christ," muttered Jonathan, "I'm sorry I asked."

Clark grinned, and carried on.

"We're drawn to red Kryptonite when we reach puberty," continued Clark, "but in my case, the wavefunction was totally uncontrolled and I had no idea how to balance it. The result was that my inner self just burst out instead of being gently coaxed into flowing along defined pathways. If I had gone through the process on Krypton my parents would have trained me how to channel the energy, and one of them would have been on hand to help me balance it. Instead, when I came into contact with red Kryptonite here, with no warning about its effects, it hit me like a brick in the head."

"You said that your Father used the stone in his ring together with yours to download information into your brain. Was that just the language or other stuff too?"

"Language?" asked Martha with a frown.

"Clark started speaking to me in Kryptonian one morning," said Lex. "It was very unnerving, to say the least."

"Do you still remember it honey?" she asked.

Clark rattled of a rapid burst of… well, Lex had to assume it was Kryptonian. Whatever, it was very impressive, and he saw a shadow of recognition pass between the Kents.

"Well, that answers that question," she said faintly.

"That was what you used to sound like before you learned to speak English," added Jonathan.

Clark looked thoughtful. "I wondered about that, but you never said anything. Hmm. Anyway, getting back to Lex's question, no it wasn't just the language. He taught me about our history, our science, our mythologies, our politics, our legal and financial infrastructure…"

"Good grief, he just downloaded all that into your brain?" Martha sounded horrified. "Supposing you couldn't have handled it, supposing your brain had, oh I don't know, overloaded?"

Lex had had similar concerns, but Clark shrugged it off when he raised it in England and he dismissed his mother's concerns now.

"It wasn't painful, and my Father knew what he was doing. He was the leading scientist on Krypton as well as… well, I guess the English equivalent would be king."

"You're a prince?" Lex knew he was grinning like an idiot, but the idea of the poor, humble farm boy being royalty was just too ironic. Far be it from him to raise a Star Wars analogy, but his inner visual was of Jor-El saying, 'Kal-El! I am your Father!' Thank goodness mind-reading wasn't one of Clark's abilities.

"Kind of like a prince, but not quite the same. The role was more like a President, but it's passed down to the eldest child so there's no election."

"So if Krypton hadn't been destroyed, you would have been President?" Forget Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Lex was seriously impressed.

Clark laughed out loud. "God Lex, if you could see the look on your face!"

He made a valiant attempt to return his expression to its normal impassivity, but from the way that the Kents were trying not to smile he obviously hadn't succeeded. At least his indignity served to lighten the atmosphere and he had to be grateful for that.

"Brat," he muttered.

"Clark, would you do us a favor while you're here? Your Dad needs to check something under the tractor, and I know you're not dressed for farm work, but could you just go and lift it for him please? Just hold it up while he has a quick look, it won't take a minute."

"Sure. No problem."

Lex was certain that Martha just wanted Clark out of the way to have a private word with him.

"Lex, you're handling all this remarkably well," she said, once they were alone. "Are you sure you want to deal with this alien stuff 24/7? I can tell you from experience that it's not an easy row to hoe. Clark can be, well, difficult, even when he's his normal friendly self. This new Clark is an unknown quantity, even to us. Are you really willing to share your life with him?"

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm sure." He paused for a moment, wondering just how much to let her know, and then he figured that complete honesty would probably be the best strategy.

"I don't know how much you guessed," he continued, "but I've wanted Clark since the moment I met him. I admit that at first it was just good old fashioned lust… and I can't believe I just said that to his mother." Honesty aside, some things are just never meant to be shared with one's parents or in this case, soon-to-be parents-in-law.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with your sentiments Lex, but there is nothing even remotely normal about these circumstances, so let's just say that I appreciate your honesty, and let it pass," she said with a smile.

Lex cleared his throat. "Yes, thank you. Well, although it may seem sudden to the outside observer, our relationship has always been close. It was never anything more than platonic," he hastened to add, seeing a slight frown on her face, "but we have always been more than just friends. I can't explain it. Desiree picked up on it immediately; that was why she went to so much effort to get Clark out of the picture. He told me that she threatened him several times but he just got right back in her face and told her he wouldn't back off. That was why she got him arrested. She knew she couldn't manipulate him, so she had to dispose of him somehow."

"I see." Martha looked thoughtful.

"I do love Clark, and I want him to be with me as much as he wants to me to be with him."

"Lex, I can't pretend this is the sort of future that we had in mind for him, but Jonathan said something while you were in England that gave us both pause for thought."

Lex waited, she obviously had something important she wanted to share.

"Jonathan said that he was actually grateful that Clark was with you throughout this whole red meteor rock thing."

"What?!" Shock, amazement, incredulity… Lex didn't know what to say. Jonathan Kent was actually *pleased* that his son was with a Luthor?

Martha was smiling at him, no wait, make that chuckling at him.

"Pete Ross had the same reaction," she said, "and Jonathan told him he would deny if it Pete ever mentioned it in public, but truthfully Lex, he realized that you were probably the only person on the planet who could have dealt with Clark and the whole bizarre situation without it getting out of hand or becoming public knowledge. Your own background and position gave you all the skills and resources you needed to deal with the circumstances, and your affection for Clark was strong enough for you to stick by him no matter what."

Okay, somewhere hell had frozen over, and the sun was rising in the west.

"Martha, I don't know what to say… and I never thought to hear those words pass my lips. Somehow the Kents just slip past all my defenses and sneak into places I never even knew existed."

"That's because you've never experienced family life, sweetie. If you had been raised in a normal family your defenses would be attuned to dealing with parents and siblings who maneuver each other to get what they want. Just because there are no million dollar deals involved, don't assume for a moment that the average mother is any less scheming and manipulative than a corporate wheeler dealer."

She gave him a warm smile, obviously trying to reassure him that he hadn't completely lost his edge.

"Your Father is skilled at manipulating you because he trained you and he knows what buttons to push. You think it's just you and him and it's all about who's the better businessman, but those games are played out in every family kitchen in the country. The stakes are different but the games are just the same."

Lex still didn't know what to say. Martha was blasting past every preconception he'd ever held, and he was still floored at the knowledge that Jonathan Kent actually believed that he had been good for Clark.

"Are you saying that you actually support Clark moving in with me?"

"Don't sound so surprised Lex. Farmers have to be skilled at many things, but what they are most skilled at is common sense. If you've got a farm to run you can't afford to stand around debating the philosophy of whether a cow is dead or alive. You either milk it or dispose of the body."

That made sense to him, though he'd never really thought about it in that way before.

"Farmers are the ultimate pragmatists," she continued, "they have to be, and Jonathan is a third generation farmer. Dealing with 'what is' has been bred in his bones, just like whatever Clark is has been bred in his bones. We raised him and he will always be our son, but clearly this is something that we can't change. Ranting and railing and saying 'it's not fair' has never been the farmer's way. It's no use us wishing that Clark had never encountered the red meteor rock, we have to deal with the fact that he did, and try to get the best outcome."

"But really, I have to ask again: are you saying that you support Clark moving in with me?"

"Yes Lex, we support you both," she smiled. "It's not going to be easy, you know that better than anyone, but for what it's worth, Jonathan and I will do our bit to help."

"Is Jonathan having a similar conversation with Clark at the moment?"

She nodded, smiling. "We thought it might be easier if we spoke to you both separately."

"And what, you drew the short straw?" he smirked.

"No sweetheart, believe or not, that was Jonathan," she grinned impishly at him.

Chapter Sixteen

Lex was quiet on the drive back to the mansion, but Clark wasn't surprised. If Lex's conversation with Martha had been anything like his own conversation with his Dad, then he had a lot to think over. They were both stunned that the Kents had accepted the situation and pledged their support. Neither one of them had expected to get anything beyond a grudging acknowledgement that they couldn't force Clark to stay on the farm. He knew that he had behaved poorly towards his adoptive parents, and he was luckier than he had any right to be that they were willing to accept his apologies and move on. He could only hope that his school friends would be as willing to accept the new Clark Kent.

As he'd told Pete, he had a few things to deal with on Tuesday, and he didn't see anyone outside of the staff at the mansion the whole day.

He caught up school work, did the homework that Pete dropped off for him, and then downloaded and sorted out all the photos from his trip. Lex had suggested that one way to deflect interest about his new home situation was to direct attention towards his visit to England. Clark thought that was good advice, and he spent a couple of hours setting up a slide show on the laptop.

Over dinner that night they discussed how Clark would get to and from school as the bus didn't pick up anywhere near the mansion. They both agreed that it would send the wrong message for him to drive one of the sports cars or for Lex or one of the staff to drop him off and pick him up. He had to get to and from school somehow though, so they finally settled on him driving the truck that Lex had bought for him when they first met. Clark was surprised and touched that Lex had kept it, and although it would raise a few eyebrows, many of the boys drove a truck to school and he would blend in reasonably well.

He caused something of a stir when he drove the truck to school on Wednesday morning, but it was nothing like as bad as when he turned up on the motorcycle the previous week. That had stopped people dead in their tracks, whereas the truck just attracted some turned heads and then people went back to whatever they were doing. He had the laptop stuffed in his bag, and was striding down the corridor towards his locker when he heard a shout.

"Hey, Clark! Wait up!"

He turned and saw Chloe jogging towards him, her hair flopping about as she trotted down the hallway.

"I want to know EVERYTHING," she said with a huge grin on her face. "You know I hate you, right? An all-expenses paid trip to England, you sneaky, lucky..." she punched him on the arm.

"Lunch break, in The Torch office, okay?" he said.

"It's a date," she grinned at him, and then frowned as she took in what he was wearing.

"Uh Clark, when did you decide to earn some extra cash modeling?"

"Hey come on Chloe, I could hardly wear flannel and plaid in England. Lex booked us into some seriously upscale hotels over there, so we did a quick shop to get me some clothes that wouldn't stand out."

"Uh-huh," she said slowly, "and you decided to keep on wearing those uptown clothes here in Smallville because…?"

"Because I like wearing them, okay? Plaid and flannel is fine on a farm, but in case you haven't noticed I'm not actually on a farm at the moment. Anyway, what's wrong with wanting to wear something that looks and feels good?"

"Nothing, you look great! It's just… well, I was going to say it's not like you, but then what the hell do I know anyway? Last week my sweet-tempered farm-boy friend turned up to school looking like a refugee from West Side Story, had a fight with his Dad in the parking lot, swept Lana off her feet and then dumped her for some skanky-ho that just blew into town, and then he joined the jet-set and traveled to England with the town billionaire. Now he's walking around Smallville High wearing designer duds that cost more than my Dad's monthly paycheck. Something you wanna share, Clark?"

"Not a thing, Chloe." He grinned at her and headed off to his first class.

There was some muttering when he first walked in, but no-one really paid him much attention. Most of the people in this town were blind to anything except their own lives, and none of them had the observation skills of Chloe Sullivan. The morning passed without any dramas and his lessons were so simple that he zoned out, amusing himself by remembering all the things that he and Lex did last night.

He was mentally reliving a moment that would have been anatomically impossible without his alien strength and agility when he became aware of books being stuffed into bags and chairs being pushed back. Before he really had chance to register that it was lunch break, Chloe pounced and was dragging him into The Torch office.

"Okay Kent, spill!" she demanded.

"Sure Chlo," he said, "I've got photos to show you, let me just power this up."

"Wow, that's the latest top of the range Macbook Pro, Clark, I can't believe your Dad let you keep it! Or…" She paused and looked very calculating for a moment, her eyes narrowed. "Does he know you've got it?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, fiddling around with it to open up the slide show. Thankfully Pete chose that moment to join them.

"Pete, hey, you're just in time for my photos."

"Oh lucky me," said Pete, "not only do I get to hear all about this wonderful trip overseas, I have to get my nose rubbed in it by looking at photos as well? Gee, thanks."

"Okay, here we go."

Clark talked them through all the photos, and tried to keep the information about each place to the bare minimum.

"Chloe, I was just wondering if…" Lana was standing in the doorway. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were busy, I'll come back later."

"We're not busy we were just looking at Clark's photos of England, and hating him all over again," she said.

"Come in Lana," said Clark. "We're just getting to the photos of Oxfordshire, come and have a look."

He figured he would have to do a lot of damage control with Lana to make up for dumping her at the bar before going off with Jessie, so he'd better start making nice.

"Sorry, I, um, have some things to do. I'll see you later Chloe, bye."

As Lana turned and almost ran from the office, Chloe grimaced and shook her head in frustration.

"Clark, I don't know what happened between you and Lana on your date," she said, "but I can tell you she is seriously upset with you. You have a lot of work to do there if you want her even talking to you again, let alone ever going on a date again."

"It's okay Chloe, I thought she'd still be pissed at me. I'll let her get over it in her own time. It won't help if I push it."

He got another one of those calculating looks from Chloe, and mentally braced himself for whatever was coming next.

"Why do I get the impression that Lana is no longer the sun around which Planet Kent revolves?" she asked.

"We all change, Chloe," he shrugged. "Maybe I didn't treat her very well…" he saw both Chloe and Pete glaring at him.

"Yeah, okay, I *know* I didn't treat her very well, but I can't change the past. I'll give her the space she needs, and then maybe sometime she'll be willing to give friendship another try. You're right though Chloe, I have no romantic interest in Lana at all."

He heard a gasp at the doorway, and turned to see Lana standing there, eyes filling with tears. He started to get up, but she just turned and fled.

"Good one, dude," muttered Pete. "She's really going to want to try out that 'let's be friends' thing you were talking about now."

"Hey, I didn't know she was there! Anyway, maybe it's best this way. There's never going to be anything between us, and at least this way she can get on with her life without wondering if there might be something in the future."

"You seem awful sure that you and Lana are over," said Chloe. "You pined after her for years, and now suddenly, what, she's knocked off your radar? Who would have the power to do that, Clark?"

"Why can't I just have realized that she's not the one I want? Why does there have to be someone else?"

"Because there is, don't try that evasive crap on me, it doesn't work. You met someone else, didn't you? Someone in England?"

"Chloe, I did not meet anyone in England. Let it go, will you?"

"Pete? Do you know who he's seeing?"

"Oh man Chloe, do not start with me again. I told you, you are seriously intrusive when you get all reporter-Rambo. We're your friends, not some jerks you're investigating for a story. Just let it go, will you?"

"So you *do* know who he's seeing. It's just me that isn't to be trusted, is that it? Well thanks a lot Clark, at least now I know where I stand. Maybe Lana and I can be the founder members of the 'dumped by Clark Kent club'."

"Shit Chloe, it isn't like that."

"Then what is it like, tell me Clark, because I'm really not seeing it."

Clark glanced at Pete, and then sighed. If he didn't tell Chloe she would work it out as soon as it started getting around that he was living at the mansion. He might as well tell her now, and get in first with some damage control.

Lex said that intelligent and strategic leaking of information to the press was as good as the most expensive PR campaign, and whilst Chloe was his friend, she was also a trainee journalist. If he played this right, then she could be a great ally. If he stonewalled her now she would just keep digging until she came up with information that he *really* didn't want her to have.

"Chloe, I'm living with Lex, and I didn't tell Pete, my parents did, okay? I'm not sharing things with him that I'm keeping from you."

"Oh my God! You're living with Lex Luthor? As in, you know, *living* with Lex Luthor?"

"Yeah, but you have to keep that to yourself Chlo, we can't afford for anything to get out."

"Clark, I hate to tell you this but the second people realize that you are living at the mansion, it's going to spread like wildfire. In Metropolis I doubt if it would even be a subject for discussion around the water cooler, but here? This is a small town, and you living with Lex Luthor is the biggest thing that's happened here since the meteors hit."

"I know that," he snapped, "of course people are going to talk, but we're going to stick with the story that I'm just living there. We're telling people that my parents needed space on the farm to expand the organic market, so I moved out of my bedroom, they converted it to an office, and I'm living at the mansion. No-one can prove that Lex and I are anything other than purely platonic friends."

"And you knew all this? You knew this while he was over in England?"

"Some of it," admitted Pete.

Chloe smacked him on the arm.

"Ow!"

"That's for not telling me," she said.

"I couldn't! Mr. Kent told me in confidence and asked me not to say anything. What was I supposed to do?!"

Chloe sighed, "I suppose you couldn't say anything," she agreed, "but I am soooo not happy with you! And Clark, I can't believe your folks are okay with this. Your Dad would never agree to it, not in a million years."

"He did agree. More than just agree, he met with the Principle this morning to get all my school records changed to show my new address, and lodge a legal document that Lex's lawyers drew up confirming that I'm living at the mansion with my parents' permission."

Speechless was a good look for Chloe, even if it was a very unusual one.

"There's something else going on here," she said finally.

Pete groaned, but Clark had to acknowledge a grudging respect for her insight. Okay, time for some more spin control.

"Chloe, I'm not proud about admitting this and it's strictly for your ears only, but I gave my folks an ultimatum. I told them I was leaving home to live with Lex with or without their permission, and if they refused to give it, then I would never see them again."

"Jesus Christ!" Chloe looked more shocked than Clark had ever seen her.

"Ask Pete, he was there for some of the, uh, discussion, he can confirm it."

"Pete?"

"Yeah," sighed Pete, "I was there, and I tell you I would have given almost everything I own not to have been. Clark knows how I feel about the whole thing so we're not gonna go there again, but yeah, he gave his folks an ultimatum and they caved. I mean, what else could they do short of saying 'yeah, piss off and never darken our doorstep again.' I mean come on Chloe, you know the Kents, Clark here means the world to them… though right now I'm having a hard time understanding why."

"You know," said Chloe, "you project this image of clean, wholesome, farm boy, but scratch the surface and there's something pretty dark living just beneath your skin, isn't there Clark?"

She looked very uncomfortable, and Pete wouldn't meet his eyes. Fine, if that's the way it has to be, that's the way it has to be. He was pretty sure that he had given Chloe enough information to stop her digging any further, and Pete… well, he and Pete had been drifting apart ever since Clark and Lex became friends. Now that he and Lex were lovers, he was certain that Pete was going to put even more space between them.

"Guys, I'm glad you both know the truth about me and Lex, and I'd like to think we can just get back to being friends. Sure, I've done some things I'm not proud of, but hey, we all mess up from time to time, right?"

Clark was projecting the most innocent, naive expression that he had in his extensive repertoire, and although he wasn't certain that either of them was completely fooled, they appeared to be willing to accept his declaration of self-reproach and move on. He switched off the laptop and packed it away, pretending to be totally focused on the task whilst in reality, he was watching them out of the corner of his eye. He saw Chloe frown and then raise her eyebrows at Pete, who just shrugged and shook his head. Good enough, he thought.

Chloe might suspect that something dark lurked beneath his wholesome far boy exterior, but as long as he continued to play the game, she would let it go. He would have to be very careful about Pete, though. He mentally cursed again the circumstances that had forced him to admit his alien origins, but there was something his Father had taught him about a kiss of forgetfulness that might just come in handy. Pete was grudgingly accepting the situation right now, but who knew how he would react in the future and it was worth keeping all the options open. Lex taught him that.

Chloe was right when she said that there was something dark that lived inside the skin of the wholesome Kansas farm boy; it was alien, and it was alive, and it was thinking very hungrily about what it could be doing right now with its lover. Clark walked out of The Torch office with a smile on his lips and fire in his eyes. He never saw the look of concern that passed between Chloe and Pete, and probably wouldn't even have registered anything if he had. The alien had a kind of one track mind and right now, it was definitely on the track marked Lex Luthor.

***

The title of this story is taken from a 13^th century English proverb: "What's bred in the bone will not out of the flesh", with acknowledgement to Robertson Davies, who adapted it as a title for one of his books.