Picture Perfect (2/2)
When Lex arrived back at his penthouse, he changed out of his suit and into a blue shirt and a pair of black pants. The suit had been uncomfortable and, being that it was the middle of summer, way too hot. His clothing changed, he stretched out on the couch in the living room and allowed himself to relax a bit.
The meetings with his father and the Board of LuthorCorp over the last two days had been long, drawn out and boring. Lex wasn't even convinced that they had been strictly necessary. Many of the things that had been discussed had also been talked about at the regularly scheduled meeting not three weeks before. He had the feeling that his dad was up to something. Lex just didn't know what it was yet.
His later encounter with Clark had been much more interesting. Clark had looked amazing with his hair curly and his face slightly made up. Lex wondered what it would take to convince the teen to wear his hair like that all the time, but suspected that it wouldn't be easy. He had wanted to reach out and run his fingers through the thick black locks. The way Clark had looked at him had been just as amazing. That smile was the one Lex pictured in his mind when he thought of Clark. The image of Clark smiling like that with no shirt on would fuel Lex's fantasies for months.
And that's all they would be for a while yet anyhow. No matter what Lex was sure he had seen in Clark's eyes and what Lex himself had implied after Daniel had asked about their relationship, Lex wasn't going to act on it. After Clark had retreated to the change room, Mrs. Kent had 'confessed' her concerns about Clark to Lex. She had spoken about how Clark suddenly looked so adult like this and how she was worried that some people might think he was more grownup than he actually was. She was worried about the glamour and the lifestyle and she didn't want to see Clark get hurt.
Lex had promised to look out for Clark but he had also understood what Mrs. Kent was trying to tell him. She must have seen the way Lex had been looking at her son or heard more of their conversation than he had originally thought. This was Mrs. Kent's way of asking Lex to back off and he respected her too much not to abide by her wishes, at least until after Clark's birthday. After that, it was Clark's choice and Lex would be waiting. Until then, Lex would need to find a way to distract Clark without making him think that Lex was totally uninterested in him. It wasn't going to be easy, but he could do it for Clark.
***_***
Clark was frustrated. Really frustrated. In fact, he felt like he was going to scream if the situation didn't resolve itself soon. Back at the start of July when he had his first photo shoot and Lex had come to observe, Clark had been sure that something was going to happen between the two of them. Clark had wanted to talk about it right then, but Lex had insisted that the studio wasn't the right spot for the conversation and had put it off until later. Clark had thought that later would mean that evening, but now it had been almost two months and Lex was still putting the conversation off. Every time Clark tried to bring it up, Lex would change the subject. If Clark tried looking at Lex the way he had looked at the other man that day, Lex just ignored him. It was driving Clark insane.
He knew Lex was interested. If he hadn't been interested, he would have simply told Clark that and it would have been okay. They could have stayed friends and hopefully gone on much the same way that they always had. The fact that Lex wasn't saying anything told Clark very clearly that Lex was interested, but that for some reason he wasn't acting on that interest and he wasn't letting Clark act on it either.
It was well into September, Clark's eighteenth birthday had come and gone, and he was back in school. Very few of his classmates had yet to take notice of Clark's new job, and he was secretly thankful for that. He was sure it would soon change, though. Some of the ads featuring his picture had begun to appear in Metropolis, and Clark didn't think it would take long before one of his classmates traveled into the city, recognized him, and then came back to Smallville with the news. He could just imagine the teasing he would have to endure, but he knew it would be worth it. The money was good, already it was starting to make a difference in their lives, and Clark would be able to pay for college no matter what happened in the future.
Now Clark was about to make his first trip back into Metropolis on his own. His mother had come to enough of his photo sessions to be fairly confident that nothing shady was going on. After a summer spent almost exclusively with Clark in the city, she was ready to stay home and spend some time with her husband. Clark tried not to think about that too much, but he knew that it was what his mother wanted and needed, and so even though he was a nervous about being in the city by himself, he wasn't making a big deal out of it. His parents obviously trusted him enough to take care of himself and he was thankful for that. Besides, Lex would be there for most of the week that Clark needed to be in the city.
He had called his friend and made sure of that almost as soon as he had been told that he needed to be there and his mother had said that she wouldn't be going with him. He didn't know whether Lex's presence made his parents feel better or worse about the trip, but for Clark it made everything just a little bit less frightening and that was really all that mattered to him.
He would be missing a whole week of school. His parents had protested it at first, but apparently it couldn't be helped. There were a series of shoots that the agency wanted Clark to attend and all of them were during the week. Clark had needed permission from the school, but had gotten it with relative ease after his mother had gone in to speak with the principal. His friends had thought that it was pretty cool that he was being allowed to skip the time at school, but for Clark it only meant that he would need to both work and do all his school work in the space of the week. One of his bags was full of reading assignments and homework that his teachers had sent along with him.
Clark was taking his mother's car into the city. He would have been more comfortable driving the truck, since it was the vehicle he was most familiar with, but he knew that his parents would need it to make deliveries while he was gone. In the end, he didn't mind too much and, at least, it meant that he wouldn't have to take the bus into the city. That was a big relief.
Clark finished loading the last of his luggage into the back of the car and then headed into the house to say a last goodbye to his parents. The two of them were in the kitchen waiting for him. His mother looked like she was regretting her decision to stay behind and his father still looked uncomfortable with the whole situation. Clark knew that the older man was doing the best he could to be supportive of Clark's new job, but it wasn't easy for him. This wasn't anything like how his father had imagined Clark's life.
"Are you ready to leave then, sweetie?" his mom asked him as he entered the kitchen.
"Yeah, I guess so," Clark said with a shrug. It felt weird to be leaving his parent's house alone. He wondered if this is what it would feel like when he left their house for good the following year. How much harder would it be to leave for Metropolis knowing that when he came back nothing would be the same? He didn't even want to contemplate that yet, and so Clark pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
Clark's mom nodded and stood up from where she was sitting at the kitchen table. She crossed the room quickly and drew her son into her arms. She hugged him tightly for a long moment before eventually letting go and stepping back to look up at him.
"Drive safely," she told him seriously.
"Of course," Clark assured her. He always drove safely, and she knew it. He'd never take the chance of hurting someone else with his own recklessness.
"And don't bug Lex too much. He's there to get business done, you know?"
"I know, Mom," Clark promised although he was pretty sure that Lex wouldn't be disturbed by his presence. He planned to have his discussion with Lex that week, no matter what type of resistance his friend might put up. Clark wasn't going to let Lex put this off any longer. He needed to know where he stood with the other man. He knew that if they could just speak honestly with each other, that they could be together and happy. Clark just wished he were free to be completely honest.
"Call us when you get there," his father instructed as he stepped up to stand next to Martha.
"I will," Clark said and then stepped forward to hug his dad as well. "I... I guess it's time to go, then," he said after he released his father and stepped back to look at both of his parents again. This wasn't easy, but he knew that it was worth it.
Clark's mother nodded, but didn't say anything. Clark got the distinct impression that she was on the verge of tears. If it was this difficult for them to let go of him now, what *were* they going to do when he left for college?
Clark stepped back from them and turned to let himself out of the back door.
"Have a safe trip," his father called after him.
"I will, Dad," he called back. He turned back and waved to his parents one last time before he rounded the house and headed for the car.
Clark breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down in the car and started the engine. That had been hard, but bearable. Besides, he would only be gone for a week. It wasn't like he wasn't ever coming back. Clark would be back on Saturday afternoon, and that was only six days away. He was a teenager and he should be enjoying this unexpected freedom. How many of his friends would be allowed to go into the city alone and spend a week there with only a twenty-three year old friend as supervision? None of them, he was fairly certain of that.
Clark slipped a CD into the player, turned up the music and headed out of town. By the time he passed the city limits sign, he had forgotten all about his worries about this trip and was excited about the opportunity that lay ahead of him. He was going to be alone with Lex in the penthouse for almost a whole week. There were so many possibilities in that. Clark wanted Lex and he was fairly certain that the older man also wanted him. Hopefully this would be the week when they both got what they wanted.
***_***
Lex looked down at the picture in his hand and smiled fondly. It was a picture of Clark after Lex had walked into that first photo shoot in July. The young man looked happy and relaxed. The smile on his face was radiant and Lex knew that it had been just for him. He was the reason that Clark had smiled like that, and it had felt like a gift.
He knew that the younger man was attracted to him. It had been a small buzz of an idea in the back of Lex's mind for the last couple of years, but it hadn't come to the front and declared itself until that day. Lex had always suspected that Clark might be attracted, but he had been with Chloe. After they had broken up he hadn't seemed to be looking for another relationship. He was with Lana a lot and Lex had almost managed to convince himself that she was the one that Clark ultimately wanted. He had been so sure that Clark was heterosexual and just had this strange, passing attraction to his best friend. He had been wrong, though, and the way that Clark had looked at him that July afternoon had confirmed it. There was no way that Clark could look at him like that and not feel a deep longing. Luckily Lex felt the same attraction.
Now that Clark was finally eighteen, Lex was free to pursue those feelings. He had waited out of respect for Clark's mother's request, and then a couple weeks longer because he wanted to wait until he could be alone with Clark to discuss what needed to be said. Now the time for waiting was up. Clark had called him last week and told him that he would be coming into Metropolis for a photo shoot. His mother was planning to stay behind in Smallville and Clark wanted to see if Lex would be in the city because he was nervous about being there on his own. Lex had assured his friend that he would be around.
Lex almost felt like he couldn't escape the city these days. His father had recently upped his bid to have Lex move back to the city on a permanent basis. He called meetings on a regular basis that required Lex to travel back and forth between the castle and the city. Lionel constantly reminded Lex that his rightful place was at his father's side. Lex felt himself being convinced. Smallville was his home, but he was rapidly outgrowing it. He needed to reenter the larger world and establish himself. He needed to stand next to his father and be ready to take over the company if it fell to him unexpectedly. The only thing that was really keeping Lex in Smallville now was Clark, and Clark would only be there through the next summer. His friend would be going to college. If his friend's parents didn't make sure of that, Lex would, and then Lex himself would be moving back to Metropolis.
He had told his friend that he would be in the city that week. He had originally only planned to be there Thursday and Friday to accompany his father during his latest take-over bid. He had thought that maybe he would visit a couple of acquaintances in Metropolis over the weekend, maybe hit a club or two, and then return to Smallville Sunday afternoon. Clark's visit to the city ensured that Lex would be remaining there for the rest of the following week as well.
He let his father think that he was staying to oversee the final details of the take-over. Lionel had been pleased. He even mentioned how much more focused Lex was lately. Lex had smirked silently to himself and thought of the teen who was bringing about his new found 'dedication'. He knew that if his father knew the truth of the situation, he wouldn't be happy at all. Lex also knew that Lionel was just going to have to deal with it, because if the week went the way he hoped it would, Clark would be in his life for a long time to come.
Lex knew the younger man would be arriving at any moment, and he was surprised to feel a flutter of nervous anticipation in his stomach. He hadn't felt nervous about anything in years. Of course, it had also been years since anything had meant as much to him as Clark did. There had been his mom and Pamela and then nothing for years. He had almost convinced himself that he would never care for anyone else again when Clark had suddenly crashed into his life.
Clark had been something that was too good to hope for. He was everything that Lex had never known that he needed in his life. He was honest, caring, and genuine. Wasn't it ironic that Clark, a big, goofy kid from Smallville was everything that Lex Luthor had always needed? Lex only hoped that he was worthy of Clark and that somehow he would turn out to be what Clark needed as well.
Lex sighed at that thought. Since when had he gotten so needy?
"Since Clark," Lex muttered to himself.
"Since me, what?" Clark's voice asked from behind Lex.
Lex whipped around quickly and saw his large friend standing in the doorway. He had his suitcase in one hand and his keycard in the other. His eyes were fixed on Lex. Lex couldn't believe that he had been so distracted he hadn't heard the other man open the door.
"Clark," Lex greeted his friend loudly, deftly avoiding the question. "How was your drive?"
Lex dropped the picture he was holding. It landed on the coffee table on top of the envelope holding the rest of the pictures from that first photo session. He crossed the room to where Clark was standing.
Clark stepped the rest of the way into the room and let the door close behind him. "Not bad," he told Lex. "It's Monday, rush hour was over long ago, so traffic was light coming into the city."
Lex nodded in response.
Clark's eyes drifted towards the coffee table and the pictures that were lying on it. Lex moved so that he was blocking Clark's view and hoped that he wasn't too obvious. It wasn't that he didn't want Clark to see the pictures. It was just that seeing the pictures would lead to talking about what was going on between them and Lex had planned to do that later in the day. Preferably over dinner with music and wine and all those other romantic things that Clark deserved.
He cursed himself for taking the pictures out in the first place, but he had been thinking of Clark and had been overcome with the need to look at those first pictures. The look on Clark's face clearly showed everything the teen was feeling for Lex at that moment. At least Lex thought the emotions had been for him. He had seen how stiff Clark had appeared before he had seen Lex, and then suddenly the younger man had just lit up. It had been almost overwhelming to see the depth of emotion in his eyes.
"Why do you have that?" Clark asked. He dropped his suitcase on the floor and then stepped around Lex. Clark moved over to the coffee table and picked up the picture.
Lex groaned to himself.
"It's just a picture, Clark," Lex insisted. His voice sounded much calmer than he felt. He wondered why he was instinctively denying how much the pictures meant to him. Was he really that afraid of Clark's rejection that he was distancing himself already?
Clark looked back at Lex with an expression that clearly said he didn't believe his friend's indifference. Clark reached down for the brown envelope on the table and pulled out the rest of the pictures.
"These are from my first shoot in July," the younger man stated. He dropped all of the pictures back on the table and then turned to look at Lex.
"Yes," he confirmed. It wasn't like he could deny what they were.
Clark tilted his head and paused for a moment before he continued. Lex knew that he friend was thinking. Lex wanted to say something, but he just couldn't seem to do so. He needed to let Clark make this first move, so that they were both sure that it wasn't just Lex's desire and experience that had started them down this path.
"You like me," Clark said with surety.
"I don't think that it's ever been a secret how much I like you, Clark," Lex said. "You're my best friend. You know that, right?"
"Of course," Clark confirmed with a nod. "But that's not what I'm talking about."
"I know it isn't," Lex agreed. "And you're right, I do like you, and I'm pretty sure that you like me as well."
"Yeah," Clark agreed. His voice was just a hiss of sound. "I.... For a while now. I just didn't know how to tell you."
"I'd glad," Lex admitted and permitted himself a real smile. He wanted to reassure Clark that everything was still all right between them. It felt good to finally have their feelings at least partly out in the open. "The real question, though, is whether or not you want to get involved with me."
Clark rushed to answer, but Lex put his hand up to stop his friend's words. He wanted the younger man to hear him out before he made a decision about this.
"It won't be easy, you have to understand that. This is Kansas and it would be hard for you to be with any man here, let alone someone as public as me. People are going to say things about you, Clark. Things that you aren't going to want to hear. I can protect you from a lot of that, but I won't hide. I'm not ashamed of you, and I won't act like I am. And you have to be prepared for the fact that school will be hard once people find out."
"Lex, I want to be with you," Clark insisted.
"This isn't going to be easy," Lex insisted right back. "Are you sure?"
"You're the only person I've wanted since I broke up with Chloe," Clark said.
Lex was surprised. He hadn't imagined that Clark had felt so strongly about him for so long. He had thought that it was probably a more recent thing; that it had just developed in earnest over the last few months. He'd never imagined it was as deep seated as that. Maybe there was a chance for their relationship to work out in the long run.
"My parents will freak," Clark said softly.
"Your mom already knows," Lex admitted.
Clark's eyes snapped up to meet Lex's.
"She does?"
"She kind of figured it out at the shoot," Lex said and gestured towards the photos that Clark had dropped back onto the coffee table.
"Oh," Clark muttered and then blushed slightly. His eyes left Lex's and he looked down towards the floor. Lex wasn't sure why this embarrassed the teen so much. "Did she ask you to wait until I was eighteen?"
Lex nodded in response and Clark's blush deepened. It was very intriguing. "Why?" Lex asked him. He was surprised that Clark had figured it out.
"After my birthday she gave me this whole talk about how I was an adult now and how I needed to make my own choices. She went on about responsibility and everything and I thought she was talking about school and my job, but now I think that maybe she was talking about you."
"Oh." Lex had a grin on his face. He wondered if this was Martha's way of sanctioning any relationship the two of them planned to have in the future. "I'm sure she meant well."
"Yeah," Clark agreed. He looked back up at Lex and smiled softly. "Can we not talk about my mother right now?"
"Okay. I..." Lex started, but was cut off when Clark stepped forward, leaned in, and kissed him soundly.
Lex knew that Clark had been with Chloe for quite some time, but he was still surprised at how good a kisser the younger man was. Chloe had taught Clark more than Lex had imagined, and he couldn't help but be thankful for that. When Clark finally pulled back from the kiss, Lex smirked up at his taller partner.
"Do you have anywhere you need to be today?" Lex asked Clark slyly.
"Nope," Clark admitted with a grin. "Don't even have a meeting until tomorrow morning."
"Good." Lex grabbed Clark's hand and led his new boyfriend up the stairs towards his bedroom. To hell with his plans, this had worked out just fine all on its own.
They kissed and pulled at each other's clothes as they made their way up the stairs together. Their clothing came off and fell scattered on the floor, the little piles making a trail of cloth behind them. By the time they reached the bedroom, they were both naked. They continued to kiss as they moved across the large room and then collapsed onto the bed.
"You've done this before?" Lex asked Clark once they both parted in order to take a breath. It wasn't really a question. Clark seemed so comfortable with everything they had done so far, so it was almost certain that this wasn't his first time.
"Not... not really," Clark said softly and blushed at his admission.
"Not really?" Lex asked. He was unsure of exactly what his partner meant by that.
"No. I mean, I've fooled around, but I've never gone all the way," Clark said by way of clarification.
Lex smirked at that and kissed Clark soundly. "Good," he said with a soft growl. He didn't even bother to wonder why that turned him on, he just went with it.
Clark and Lex continued to stroke and pet each other on the bed. They kissed deeply and lost themselves in the sensations. Lex moved down Clark's body, dropping kisses and exploring. Clark moaned and writhed under Lex's lips. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore, and he grabbed Lex's arm firmly. Clark flipped them both over so that he was on top. He proceeded to explore Lex's body the same way that Lex had explored his. Lex smiled a little at Clark's actions and realized that he was learning what to do as they went on.
***_***
Lex woke up several hours later. The late afternoon sun was shining in the window and making the entire room glow a warm orange color. He wasn't cold, although he probably should have been since he was lying naked on top of his bed. Clark's large body was wrapped around his, though, and giving off enough heat to make Lex more than comfortable. He shifted slightly in the larger man's arms and felt Clark tighten his grip.
"Clark?" Lex asked softly. He wasn't sure if Clark was awake or not, and he didn't want to wake him if he was sleeping.
"Hey Lex," Clark murmured.
Lex didn't answer. He just snuggled deeper into his new lover's arms. He'd never been a snuggler, but he had a feeling that he was going to pick up the habit now that he was with Clark.
"Thank you," Clark said after a few minutes of silence.
"Thank *you*," Lex returned. He rolled over in Clark's arms and kissed the younger man.
"Lex?" Clark asked when they separated.
"Mmm?"
"I want pictures of us together."
Lex nodded and couldn't help but smile. "I'll call Daniel first thing in the morning," he said.
"Good," Clark said, "because I want you to see that you look just as besotted as I did in that picture."
Lex snorted. There was no way he could look as love-struck as Clark had, was there? A wave of uncertainty passed through him. He decided not to worry about it. He was Lex Luthor. Clark had to be teasing him. He snuggled into Clark's chest and placed a kiss on his neck.
"Yes, Clark," he agreed sleepily and then closed his eyes again.
-end-