Spooky Fic: Switching by Tallihensia Part 1/2

[seagull2eagle]

Midnight on Halloween... well, I was kindof sortof close on the timing. ^^;; Boo and spooky sexy fun to all. ;D

Title: Switching
Pairing: Clex (Lex/Clark) explicit, Chlana (Chloe/Lana) implicit. Some messing around with other combinations of pairings (Lex, Clark, Lana, Chloe, Pete...) but nothing serious (take it all in fun ^^).
Rating: NC-17 Word Count: 15,149
Warnings: underaged sex (16)
Summary: When the gang gets their tarot read for fun... they got more than they expected. To walk in another's shoes is more than a saying in Smallville. "Was that 'knowing' in the Biblical sense?"

Type: drama, adventure, romance, humor
Spoilers: General first few seasons.
Disclaimer: Only mine in my dreams. ;-) This story was written for free entertainment purposes only and may not be reproduced for profit or altered without permission.

Notes: Set mid-Season 3 with judicious ignoring of various canon (no Asylum, etc). For Clexmas Super Scary Sexy 2010 Challenge. Prompts: Body swap, black cat(s), tarot cards.
Cross-posted to Archive of Our Own.

Switching, Part 1/2

The black cat yowled as he whipped his tail away and disappeared between some crates.

Lex regained his balance with a steadying hand from Clark. He glared after the vanished cat but refrained from saying anything derogatory. Chloe, however, remarked on it for him, though with less profanity than Lex had in mind.

"Now, see, that's how black cats got their reputation. Has nothing whatsoever to do with witchcraft and mysterious happenings - it's all about dark shadows, dark cats, and a hair-raising yowl when they get stepped on."

"I didn't mean to step on him!" Lex bridled at the implied criticism.

"Of course not," Chloe shook her head. "That's what I was saying. People don't see the dark-colored cats and when something happens it has to be witchcraft because otherwise they would have seen the cat!"

Chloe had a point; Lex normally paid attention to where he was walking, particularly at a Smallville County Fair. One never quite knew what was on the ground after all. And yet, somehow he'd still managed to step on the cat… or the cat had gotten between his feet. He'd not seen the cat at all until the hair-raising howl; or it would have been hair-raising if Lex had any hair to raise.

"I don't know, Chloe," Pete interjected. "Why can't the cats be supernatural? None of us saw the cat… was it because it was black, or was it because it just appeared there, flitting between worlds?"

"Because cats are a natural phenomena!" Chloe said exasperated. "They're cats."

"I think Pete has a point," Clark said with a grin. "And hey, Wall of the Weird?"

"Those things are weird because they aren't natural. Cats getting their tails stepped on by people who can't see them is normal."

"But why can't it be supernatural and normal? Especially at the Halloween County Fair."

Chloe threw up her hands in exasperation, taking in the good-natured teasing but refusing to back down.

"I know - let's ask Lana!" Pete laughed. "She's got the tarot booth this year… so she should know about the cats, right?"

Clark perked up instantly and turned automatically in that direction. Lex sighed softly and heard it echoed by Chloe. They didn't look at each other but instead followed along on the route to Lana.

"Hi!" Lana said brightly when they entered her booth, giving a cheerful smile to all of them, excluding none.

Lex didn't really blame Clark for loving Lana. She was a beauty and innocence to match Clark's own, and they both spread their love wide and far, without holding it back.

"So what can I do for you?" Lana said, shuffling the cards in front of her.

"Well, we had a question about cats…" Pete explained, laughing as he did so.

Lana quirked her mouth up and glanced to one side. The black cat that had been sitting there watching them stood up and walked out. "Cats will do what cats want to do. It is a property of cats, and has nothing to do with nature or the supernatural."

"So cats want their tails stepped on?"

"Perhaps, if it served that cat's purpose. Did anything else happen right then?"

Lex was not going to mention the steadying hand he'd received from Clark. He could still feel Clark's strong grip, holding him safe. He would have sworn that Clark's hand had lingered long after the need, yet that could have been his imagination.

Lana spread the cards across the table and then gathered them up again. "Aside from cats, did any of you want a reading?" She nodded at the donation box where all contributions would go to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

"Um…" Clark looked curious.

Lex promptly pulled out his wallet and dropped some bills in, barely noticing their denominations. "Go ahead, Clark," he said. "We can wait outside."

"No!" Clark turned to Lex, stepping between him and the door. "I mean," Clark blushed as he fumbled with the words. "Can't we all do it?"

"Group tarot?" Chloe wondered. "Is there even such a thing?"

"Troccas," Lex muttered under his breath.

Lana laughed. "How about Droggn?"

With a blink, Lex focused all of his attention on Lana. "You play?" In Europe, tarot was simply another card game, like pinochle or bridge. He rarely came across a fellow American who knew that, though, let alone played them.

She grinned back at him, "That's how I started. A friend of mine in the horse competition circuits introduced me to the games when we were young and bored." With a wave of her hand, she indicated the shelf next to her that had thirty-odd decks. "I like to collect them for the different art on the cards."

Lex wandered over to look at the decks and Chloe joined him. They spent some time poking through the decks while Pete and Clark chatted with Lana about teachers and classmates.

"This one." Chloe pulled out one deck and tossed it over to Lana. "Let's do a group reading with this one."

"Um…" Lana looked at the deck dubiously. "I thought I'd left that one at home."

"What's wrong with it?" Pete asked. "Missing some cards?"

"Noooo…" Lana hesitated. "I just don't like it. I picked it up in a used book store in Metropolis a couple of years ago because it had interesting art, but … it feels slimy."

"Slimy?" Pete opened the deck and thumbed through the cards. "Feels normal to me."

"Yeah." Lana gave a wry grin. "Probably just my imagination. We can use that one." She put aside the one she'd been holding. "Shuffle the deck, Pete, and then hand it to Clark to shuffle."

There were only two chairs at the table besides Lana's on the other side. Pete and Chloe sat down while Lex and Clark stood. It was probably Lex's imagination that Clark stood closer to him than he needed to. Lex wasn't objecting. Lex shifted his stance so that he brushed up against Clark's side. If asked, he could always say it was an accident.

One by one, they shuffled the deck before handing it back to Lana.

"Okay." Lana held the deck and looked at them. "Agree amongst yourselves to a question that you want to ask."

"Shouldn't we have done that first?" Chloe asked.

Pete rolled his eyes. "She's making it all up anyhow - does it really matter?"

Lex hid a grin, but not in time as Clark saw it and gave him one in return.

"I want to know what's going to be on the History final!" Pete grinned.

"Yes, I'm sure Lex is very interested in that…" Chloe mocked. "How about the answers to the Wall of the Weird?"

How about the answers to the mysteries of Clark? Lex thought it without saying it. "That's a little broad… have one specifically in mind?"

"Isn't that a bit too much like work?" Clark asked. "How about who we're going to marry?"

Pete recoiled. "Date, Clark. Date. No marriage for a long long time yet!"

"The answers would be mixed for that sort of a question," Lana said. "Try something a little simpler, like what is the message in the stars for you?"

"That's simpler?"

"For the cards."

"For the reader," Lex chuckled. "Give her a break, Pete - Lana has to make something up from whatever we ask."

"How about what does the cat want from us?" Clark laughed as he pointed at the black shape in the corner.

"Is that cat following us?" Chloe wondered.

"He's a stray," Lana turned and offered the cat her hand. He sniffed it and then deigned to be petted. "I feed him so he likes to hang out here. Adds to the booth's popularity."

That, of course, led to a conversation about the County Fair and how the various booths were doing and gossip about the various residents. Lex shifted weight between his feet and let himself brush up against Clark again. They could talk all they wanted if Lex got to spend more time with Clark. In the dark. Holding hands… Okay, that part wasn't real, but Lex thought about it.

They eventually got back to the tarot reading and decided on a question. Lex couldn't even say what it was, though he agreed to it. The air was warm inside the tent, and Lex could smell Clark's sweat. It was a rich, natural smell undisguised by cologne. It made Lex want to lean in and brush his lips over Clark's collarbone and taste it.

"Your cologne smells nice," Clark murmured in Lex's ear, tilting his head down and brushing his nose against Lex's ear.

Lex's eyes drifted shut as he absorbed the feeling. "I can get you some," he offered. He was torn between ruining that natural clean Clark-smell, and the prospect of having Clark smell like him; in essence, branding him. His cock jerked in his pants at the thought and the desire that flooded through him. Lex forced the feeling down, Clark probably hadn't meant it like that.

"Lex? Are we that boring?" Lana's voice laughed at him.

Blinking his eyes open, Lex realized he'd gotten lost in his fantasies. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Your turn to deal two cards." Lana reached over the table to hand the deck to him.

He took it and had to agree with Lana, the cards did feel oily. Not a pleasant sensation. He dealt the two cards where she indicated and handed the rest back to her. She passed them on to Clark. Lex watched jealously, but while Clark fumbled for a touch, Lana drew her hands back the same as she did for everybody else. Well, almost everybody else. Lex's eyebrows about raised off his head as he watched Lana's slender fingers linger on Chloe's. He wasn't sure if Chloe had noticed, as she kept chattering on about something even as she put her cards down.

"Alright," Lana drew in a breath and flipped the cards over. She studied the board for a moment as they all leaned over. "This is a good reading. The stars have great things in store for you. For all of you." Her fingers trailed over the cards, lightly touching. "Power, knowledge, romance. I see these things entwined together as the stars drift through the skies. You will come together and know each other and leave richer than you were for the knowing."

"Is that 'knowing' in the Biblical sense?" Pete asked.

Chloe burst out laughing while Lex couldn't help a chuckle, he'd been wondering the same thing.

Lana shot a glare at Pete. "Knowing, as in walk in another person's shoes, the way we all learn. Empathy, compassion, to understand who and what we are. The stars hold the wonders of the universe, and they will share them with us if we but dare to touch. The mysteries, the exploration, the companionship while doing so."

She gathered up the cards. "Thank you for your donation for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Please have a nice day and let the stars guide you through your time."

"Whatwhat, that's it?" Pete sputtered.

"For a group reading," Lana agreed. "I would be able to give more detailed readings individually if you would like to return." Hidden by the curtains as she stepped back to return the card deck to the shelves, Lana jerked her head unsubtly at the door.

They turned as one to look and saw the figures milling about outside, waiting for their turn.

"Oh, right. Thanks, this was great." Clark was the one to speak their agreement, as the rest of them nodded. They were, after all, in the middle of the fair, not hanging out in their own homes on their own time. And while Lex did pay... it was the fair - more customers meant more donations, and happier people. They'd had their fun time together.

Lana flashed him a brilliant smile for the understanding, and Clark instantly turned into a puddle of goo. Lex unobtrusively slipped a hand under Clark's elbow in case he fell.

"Thanks, Lana!" They waved goodbye and headed out, talking of mysterious and wondrous sayings and oh how accurate, as they passed the incoming customers.

Outside, Lex let go of Clark's elbow. He really was only torturing himself by this, but it was such a wonderful way to go. As a teenager, Lex had never been into BSDM, having too much of it in his real life. As a young adult spending all his spare time in the company of an angel he couldn't have... Lex thought he was discovering a new kink.

They continued on through the fair, laughing as the talk changed and flowed easily between the group.

... ... ...

The fair had been fun, but in and of itself, it didn't get the book-keeping done. The next day, Lex scowled at his computer and changed a number on the spreadsheet. The larger the amount of money to be tracked, the harder it was to account for all of it, especially at year-end. Lionel regularly kept the companies on government fiscal years so to match the books with the contracts he won. For an independent fertilizer company, October was probably the worst time of the year to be doing this.

With a sigh, Lex got up and walked around the room. He looked out through the stained-glass windows and observed the sunny world in shades of ochre. Now green. Now red. Now yellow again. He wondered what the world looked like without tinted glass between them.

... ... ...

The horse shied, snorting loudly as the cat that had startled him streaked off into the undergrowth. Lex instinctively tightened the reins and shifted his seat. "Whoa, easy there..." He leaned out to pat the horse's neck and he paused as he looked at his hand on the smooth chestnut hair. His hand. He'd been the one to reach out. Not his hand. Fingers delicate and small, with fingernails that were longer than clipped yet not so long they weren't practical in a barn. Painted in swirls of red and purple. Delicate hand, soft.

He had been in his office, working. Now he was sitting on a horse in the middle of a field. With a hand that wasn't his own. Lex brought the hand up in front of his face, flexing the fingers, looking at lines on the palm, so different than his own, confirming it was his hand as he moved it, controlled it, yet it wasn't his hand. He'd seen this hand before.

A memory of Lana flipping the cards over, her fingernails tapping on one of the cards.

Lex caught his breath. Even breathing felt differently, now that he was feeling it. A weight on his chest, as if he was wearing armor, confined around his upper body. Lex didn't want to look down. He shifted upon the saddle again, carefully. And, yes, that felt different too. A wave of terror went through him.

The horse whinnied, shying again. "Easy, easy..." Lex glanced at the horse; he knew this horse. "Easy, Star Shine. You know me." Lex heard his own voice, octaves above his own range. "And you know your mistress, and so I guess you know both of us and so therefore you know me now..." Lex cut off his babbling. Babbling wasn't going to help. Panicking wasn't going to either. But it sure felt like the right thing to do right now. "Oh God."

Though God probably didn't have much to do with it. Lex hated Smallville, he really did. He started trying to figure out if he'd run into any green glowing rocks any time recently.

Star Shine sidestepped, picking up on Lex's terror and focusing it back out again.

Lex loosened the reins and leaned over the horse's neck, digging a boot-clad heel in lightly. "Go," he whispered.

Star Shine went. Easing out from a walk to a trot. Lex didn't want to hurt the horse over the open lands so didn't raise to a gallop, however, it was fast enough. To be out in the fields, looking at the plowed-up grounds, the chopped fields, the trees changing color in preparation for the winter. To be breathing in real air, not filtered through a vent. To be riding such a powerful horse and being free to do it without a hundred people watching.

Lana was a wonderful rider. Lex found his body reacting instantly, instinctively to all the little moves the horse made. Trotting had never been one of his favorite gaits, yet Lana's body moved up and down smoothly to the rhythm, making it natural and easy.

And Lex did not think what he had just thought. Oh no, he hadn't. He really really hadn't. Except now the image of Lana on Clark, riding him with the same smooth motions was firmly fixed in his brain and it wouldn't get out. Lex moaned, and then cut the sound off as the higher tone just added to the sound-effects.

Beneath him, Star Shine's gait changed.

Lex looked up and saw the upcoming fence. He felt his body shifting to match Star Shine as they both leaned forward, gathering themselves, and then up and over the fence.

On the other side, Lex slowed Star Shine to a walk. He'd always considered himself a good rider, but now he knew he just dabbled. Lana really, genuinely liked to ride. And if it felt this good, Lex was sure he would too. And he really needed to get his mind out of the gutter because that was not what he meant.

It was possible that Lex was still panicking.

"Hey, Lana!"

Lex jerked up at the sound of Clark's voice. And there Clark was himself, walking towards them with a grin on his adorable face. Lex hadn't just thought 'adorable', had he? Was that a thought he had normally? Who was he kidding? Of course it was; not everything had to do with the body he was in and girls were not biologically programmed to be mushy. No, that was all him about Clark.

"Clark," his... her voice was somewhat shaky. Lex glanced up to see the Kent farm in the distance; it seemed as if it was instinct to ride this way. It seemed Lana had very easy access to Clark, if she wanted to use it. Lex stuffed a feeling of jealousy down.

"Lana," Clark said again, his eyelids drifting down in a half-wink, as the corner of his mouth turned up.

That wasn't a look Lex was used to seeing on Clark. Did he and Lana have trysts out here very often? Star Shine shifted again, this time, however, to reach his neck out to Clark.

"Hey big boy," Clark held one hand out to the horse to sniff, while he took a commanding grip on the halter with the other.

Clark was handsome. Lex looked down from his position on top the horse and admired the view. A Clark in his natural element, strong, confident, easy with the horse. No fumbling or unease with the surroundings, no bashful deference to Lex's lead.

"Want a hand?" Clark stood now at the side of the saddle and held his hand up to Lex/Lana.

Lex marveled at how big Clark was. He was used to Clark, but he wasn't used to being so small. It was a good thing he was on top of the horse right now. Though he probably soon shouldn't be as Clark was waiting for him. Her. Lex looped the reins over the saddlehorn and asked Star Shine to stay. Then he had to decide how to get off the horse. With Clark right there...

The opportunity trumped the riding instincts. Lex brought his right foot over the front of the horse, turning to sit side-saddle instead of swinging off normally. He placed his small hand in Clark's, amazed at how much larger Clark was. Then he slid off.

Clark caught him around the waist, holding him against his own body as they were face to face for a moment, bodies pressed together. This definitely wasn't Lex's body. Breasts. Breasts pushed into Clark's strong, hard chest. Oh, Clark was large. And warm, and his chest was so firm and so strong. Clark was so strong, holding Lana's body up for a long minute, trapped between the horse and Clark, before gently lowering her down, sliding against Clark's body every inch of the way.

Lex wanted to do it again. And again and again. He was suddenly and intensely grateful for whatever Smallville weirdness they were in right now as he would never have gotten to experience Clark like this otherwise. He held on to Clark long after his feet had touched the ground. Clark was also very tall. Lex turned his head, looking wonderingly up.

There was a smile playing on Clark's lips, somehow both gentle and smug at the same time. Lex curiously reached up to touch it. Clark's lips were slightly chapped, yet still soft. Lex resolved to get him some chapstick. That wasn't so extravagant a gift, was it?

"Do you... want to kiss?" Clark asked, speaking against Lex's... Lana's fingers. There was the hesitancy that Lex had been expecting, and yet, it was a more forthright question than Clark had ever come up with before.

Of course, Lana's fingers on Clark's lips probably were partly to blame. Lex snatched his hand down with a blush. And then he had to think about the question. His first instinct was to scream 'yes' and jump into Clark's arms and go for the gold. But this wasn't his body. Of course, this body was why he had the chance... but did he have the right? What would Lana want? Would Lana mind? Would Lana ever find out? What if they switched back mid-kiss? What if kissing Clark now in Lana's body meant that Clark and Lana would have that perfect relationship forever and Lex would be relegated to the side, the former best friend, who would be the best man at their wedding... no, that would be Pete. Lex would be funding the wedding instead, he was sure. Perhaps Henry Small would stand up for Lana's father; it wasn't like the whole town didn't know about that now. And after the wedding, Lex would go back to his mansion, alone in his room, surrounded by computers and spreadsheets and...

"Um, if you don't want to, that's okay..." Clark started to draw back.

"No!" Lex blurted, panicked. Clark would never get up the courage ever again if he was shot down now. Lex couldn't do that to Clark. "Just... a kiss."

Clark's face brightened. He smiled down at Lex. Clark's hands came up to frame Lex/Lana's face. Such large hands. Lex knew they wouldn't feel that large on his own face. How did Lana do it? Wasn't she scared of just such an intense physicality? Clark was so much bigger, so much stronger... Lex remembered what it had been like as the smallest kid in the bullying field. But he'd finally grown larger than most of them. Lana would never grow any taller, and Clark would always be stronger and bigger. But Clark would never hurt her. Maybe that was the attraction.

Slowly, Clark angled down for the kiss. At first, it was just a press of lips against lips. Lex tried to memorize the feel, though it was all caught up with the unfamiliar feelings of raising up on his tiptoes to reach the kiss, his hips tilting up... a heat in his body. This body's reactions weren't what he was used to. It could be interesting to explore. Lex deepened the kiss, nipping at Clark's lips until he opened his mouth and Lex slipped his tongue in. He heard himself moan softly.

Clark abruptly pulled back, licking his lips while staring with wide eyes at Lana.

"Clark," Lex couldn't help it. "Oh, Clark..." He wanted more. He knew he should be more careful with Lana's body, but it was Clark.

Clark blinked. "Clark? Um, you're not Clark?"

It was Lex's turn to stare.

"You were kissing Clark in my body!" Clark sputtered, stepping back.

"Lana?" Lex ran a hand over his head, stopping when he found hair up there instead.

"Lex?" Clark/Lana took another step back, putting his/her hands on his/her hips. "You, you... opportunist! You were kissing Clark in my body!"

There was a certain lack of originality in the repeated sentences, but Lex couldn't really blame her for that. On the other hand, "Hey! You offered!"

"I thought it was Clark!"

Lex blinked.

"Well, if I'm in his body, then it made sense that he'd be in mine, especially when you rode right over."

Okay, that did make sense. Lex wondered if Clark was now in Lex's body, and he swallowed hard thinking of it.

"You kissed him!"

They were back to that. "What was I supposed to do, turn him down?"

"Well, yes!"

"Oh come on, Lana," Lex ran his hand over his head and this time dragged his fingers through the long hair. It felt good. "You know as well as I do that if that really had been Clark, and I'd said no, then Clark would never again have offered to kiss you in a million years."

Lana snorted, "If that had been Clark, he would never have offered in a million years in the first place."

She had a point. Lex ran his hand through his hair again.

"Stop playing with my hair." Lana growled and then turned to the horse. "Such a good horse, Star Shine, so calm, so brave. Was the man nasty to you? He's not the best rider... are you okay?" The horse wuffled at her, lips back as he slobbered horse drool on Clark's plaid shirt. Clark's large hands patted the horse's neck, sliding reassuringly along the hide and skillfully untangling the mane.

Lex stared at Clark/Lana thoughtfully. So far, Lana in Clark's body hadn't done anything other than normal. He/She had walked to Lex, had held Lex with what seemed to Lex to be normal human strength, although that of a large strong farmer... Lex remembered that slide down Clark's body with a shiver and forced his thoughts back. "Lana, have you noticed anything... unusual about Clark's body?"

"Other than the fact that he's a man, and I'm in a man's body with extra equipment and a giant to boot? Surprisingly not, actually." Lana quirked a sarcastic eyebrow at him. "First thing I did when I found myself in the barn was try to bend the pitchfork I was holding. Well, second thing. No luck on the pitchfork, and the mess I made trying scared the barn cat off."

That was disappointing. Though Lex couldn't take Lana's word for it, because if she did find anything different, she would protect Clark and not say anything. Lex didn't think, though, that she was covering up, she really didn't have any powers. Did they then, go with Clark? Lex found himself very turned on by the thought of Clark in Lex's body with super strength and speed and whatever other mysterious powers Clark had.

"Come on, Star Shine," Lana took the reins off the saddlehorn and started towards the Kent's barn. "I know where there's some extra alfalfa and grain for you."

"Lana," Lex fell into step beside her. Or tried to. He had to trot a little to keep up. "Lana, slow down."

"Oh, sorry." Lana slowed. "I'm not used to that. I always had to walk so much faster than anybody else. Clark usually ambles... I never knew how much he had to slow down for the rest of us."

"Yeah," Lex watched Clark's body stroll confidently, head held high, radiating a person sure of himself. Or herself. Which... wasn't very characteristic of either of them. "Um, Lana, you seem... different?"

Lana stopped where she stood and started cracking up.

After a startled moment, Lex realized what he'd said and had to join her. If their laughter was slightly tinged with hysteria, neither remarked on it.

"I meant," Lex tried again when he could breathe. "You're not... um..." Okay, how could he put this diplomatically. "You're more assertive." Well, maybe it wasn't so diplomatic, but at least Lana didn't look annoyed, she rather looked amused.

"Are you sure I'm Lana?" She said, Clark's mouth curving up in a wry twist. "I could be somebody else entirely, and you're just assuming I'm Lana. Maybe I'm really Clark and just messing with you."

For a moment, Lex considered it, then he dismissed it. Lana had been too indignant over Lex kissing Clark, and while she was being more forceful than normal, her mannerisms were still her own. "It's you," he said confidently.

"Huh." Lana looked at him thoughtfully. "I look different like that."

"Like what?"

"Not trying to be a girl." Lana started walking again.

Lex stood there for a moment and then hurried after her. "I hate to break it to you, Lana, but you are a girl." Lex hadn't visually checked, but he'd been riding a horse in Lana's body. He would have known if there had been extra equipment down there, he really would have. He'd definitely noticed the lack.

Lana snorted. "Unfortunately, yes."

There was a bitter twist to her mouth that reminded Lex of the times when Clark was talking about not being allowed to be on the football team, or the teasing he got for being so clumsy, or for the helplessness of his pursuit of Lana. Lex blinked, trying to picture that same look on Lana's face. The only time he could come up with a similar one was when she quit the cheerleading squad. However, it had been a barely seen thing, there and quickly gone. Hidden. Lex turned his head to one side as they walked, studying Lana-in-Clark. "It's all an act. What you are. For as open as you seem... the real you stays hidden underneath the Princess." Lex was amazed he hadn't seen it before.

"I'm a fairy princess in a rural small town. Five foot two and the world can trample me. Good girls know their place and what they can do and what they can't do. At the same time, I'm a competitive athlete in the international dressage sport. The European crowd would look down at a little hick girl from nowhere, and so would the Metropolis elite like your father. However, they too would be as aghast at a girl stepping beyond the proper boundaries as the rural people. So I play the roles they expect of me, wherever I am, and it all works out." Lana's voice was nothing but steady as she spoke, though her eyes were hard.

"You don't have to be," Lex said, fascinated by this other glimpse of Lana. He really hadn't suspected, though thinking about it, there had been hints. After he'd rebuked her the first time for not coming to him with a plan for the Talon, she had turned off all the sweet innocent charm and instead come back with a solid plan, business-sure and careful. And for all her initial problems with coffee serving, she was very good at it now. Lex suddenly wondered if Lana's mixing up the drinks had less to do with incompetence than her subtly insulting him, or seeing how far she could push them.

"Yes, I do. You didn't grow up here, you don't know what it's like. You've seen how the town avoids Clark for being different, and they don't even know how different - they just know his family lives alone on the outskirts and don't mix with the towners. That's enough to get him ostracized when Clark by his looks and gentleness alone should be one of the most popular guys."

Lex had always wondered about that.

"Smallville is very much a small town, Lex. And that means either you fit in, or you don't. If you don't fit in... life can be hard. So we work hard at fitting in, most of us."

"Chloe doesn't." The comparison came out involuntarily as Lex thought of all the Smallville High students.

"No, she doesn't," Lana's voice was wistful and her hand tightened on the reins, causing the horse to startle. She soothed him out, with Clark's large hands and gentle manner. "Of course, she didn't grow up here either. And that's good. Because nothing should ever make Chloe change."

There was a fierceness to that statement that had Lex looking up, trying to see the expression on Clark's face. It was a much higher up than he was used to, Lana was too far in front, and he couldn't see it. That was okay, he thought he rather knew. Though he hadn't suspected it before. He wondered if Chloe knew.

They got to the Kent's yard and went inside the barn. Lana found an empty stall and put Star Shine inside, taking off the saddle and disappearing over to the tack room to put it up. Lex found a brush and starting grooming the horse. It was very disconcerting to be this short. He had to reach up where he'd normally be working straight on the sweat-marks left by the saddle. Yet at the same time it was familiar, reminding him of when he'd been a child visiting the ranch, learning horses from the stablehands and in more detail than the riding masters taught. Almost, he could be back then, escaping to the stables and wishing he was anything other than a Luthor.

"Ouch." Lex rubbed the side of his breast that had been pinched when he leaned over. He was certainly something other than a Luthor right now.

"Stop fondling my breast," Lana ordered as she came back in with a pail of mashed grain.

"I wasn't..." Lex stopped and rolled his eyes as he saw the grin on Lana's face. "How do you deal with these things?" he muttered as he carefully leaned over to try cleaning the hoof again, and again pinching the same breast.

"For one thing, you get used to it." Lana shrugged and then shifted her body, running her hands over her groin and feeling along to the left, tracing out the outline. "Just like you guys do in other ways. Clark dresses left, and wears loose boxers. With the baggy pants he wears, I was never quite sure."

Lex's eyes were riveted on the motion and the bulge outlined there. "He switches. I've never figured out the pattern - why one way one day and the other the next."

Lana froze for a moment and then threw her head back and laughed. She stepped closer, forcing Lex away from the horse and up against the stall boards. "Do you know how I knew it was you in my body?" Lana purred, Clark's eyes glinting as she reached out to stroke his cheek.

It had been a very long time since Lex had been in such a position. Trapped against a wall, a smaller body dominated completely by the larger one over it. Main difference now was that this was Clark's body over him, and even though he knew it was Lana inside, Lex still couldn't be afraid. He shivered for a totally other reason than fear as Clark's fingers touched him assuredly. He straightened up and firmly resolved to ignore the feelings. "How?"

Lana/Clark leaned in close and breathed over Lex/Lana's lips. "Because there are only two people who would have kissed Clark so enthusiastically, and you're not Chloe." Clark's lips closed over Lex's again, and Lex had a moment of guilt flooding through him, knowing it wasn't really Clark, but Lana knew and just knowing that somebody else knew and that it was Clark's body here and... Clark's body but not Clark. Lex pushed Lana, stopping his willing participation in the tangled kiss and turning his head away. He was aware of heat pooling between his legs, the loss of the press of a body against his breasts, the cool air he was gulping in. "Stop it, Lana," he gasped.

Huge hands continued to stroke along his head, combing through the long dark hair. That was probably the weirdest feeling of all, the hair. Lex remembered what it was like, vaguely, but not this erotic pull that tugged him away from his rational side. He turned to look at Clark... Lana, but couldn't quite focus yet.

"Wow," Clark's voice rumbled deep. "So that's what I look like after being kissed."

Lex blinked and then blinked again. "Lana, that's..."

"Kinky?" The shark's grin was as foreign on Clark's face as it would have been on Lana's. She finally moved back, giving Lex some room. "You're one to talk, Lex. After all you've done."

That had the affect of sobering him quite well. "Not for a long time," he said tightly.

"Not since being saved from drowning by a certain farmboy we all know and love?" Lana mocked, running a hand down Lex's chest and cupping a breast. "I've always wondered..." she kneaded the flesh, tracing her fingers over the edges of the bra felt through the shirt.

Lex gasped, not expecting the jolt of feeling through the body. He grabbed Lana's hand desperately, but then couldn't figure out what to do or say.

Lana stopped the movements but left Clark's hand cupped around her breast, a perfect handful. She raised her other hand to again touch Lex's cheek, her cheek. "Don't tell me you're not curious..."

"Curious, yes," Lex ground out from between clenched teeth, "Stupid, no. It's the middle of the day, and Clark's parents could find us at any moment!"

"They would probably approve," Lana murmured, a bitter note in Clark's voice. However, she dropped her hands and backed off. She patted Star Shine and then left the stall without saying another word.

Lex stayed in there for a long minute or two, letting his breathing settle. He could have had sex. He could have had sex in Lana's body with Clark's body. Oh God. Lex touched himself over the jeans between his legs, knowing from his experience on the other side where the sensitive parts for a girl were, but not knowing the feeling from this end. He pulled his hand away and banged his head against the stall.

"Ouch." Lex reached a hand up to free his hair from the wood where it had gotten caught. "Ow..." Mental note for the next time he was in a fight - go for the hair. That hurt!

"Don't yank." Lana came back in and disentangled Lex's hair from the wood. "You have to go slowly and smoothly." She stepped back, grinning a little, though there was a sad edge to it. "You look like you've been having a roll in the hay. We'd better find you a brush before Clark's parents see it..."

Lex glanced at the curry brush.

"No," Lana said firmly. "Not on my hair, you don't." She sighed. "Oh, never mind. Hold still." With more dexterity in the large hands than Lex had thought Clark possessed, Lana finger-combed Lex's hair.

It was... Lex closed his eyes for the feeling. Fingers, threading through his hair. Gentle and soothing, careful as they moved. Hair, rustling around his face, down his neck. A tugging as the fingers twined through it, yet instead of the sharp pain, there was pleasure instead. Lex had always enjoyed playing with other people's hair... he'd never known just how sensual it could be on this end.

When Lana finished, it was a long moment before he opened his eyes.

Clark stood there, watching him with a ruefully sweet expression. Lana. It was Lana who stood there. Lex touched his hair wonderingly, then reached out to touch Clark's.

Lana let him run his fingers through without putting another move on him. "When we get to your place, Lex... if you want, I can brush the hair for you." She added, "With a real brush, I mean. It... it's nice, to have somebody else do it."

There was that wistful look again. "Does Chloe know?"

"What?" Lana moved away and his hand dropped from Clark's hair. "Girls brush each other's hair all the time, it's normal."

It probably was. But there was brushing, and then there was brushing. Sort-of like the difference between wrestling and wrestling. Some guys wrestled just because it was fun to match strengths and throw each other upon the ground. Other guys wrestled because it was a socially acceptable way to put your hands on another guy, as long as it didn't cross any boundaries.

"We should find Clark," Lex finally said.

"Where were you when it happened?"

"My office. We'll have to get out to the castle."

They both looked at Star Shine and then at each other. Lana grinned wryly. "I'll ask his parents if we can borrow the truck."

"Won't that... um... can you...?"

Lana shrugged. "It's okay. I've seen Clark around his parents enough to know how to act. With you right here too, they shouldn't question much."

"Okay," Lex agreed, fighting down a sharp stab of jealousy.

They went out to the house, Lana/Clark calling out ahead as they went in. "Hey Mom!"

Martha came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Yes, dear?" She saw Lex/Lana. "Oh, Lana! How nice to see you." She beamed happily.

Jonathan came in from the living room and also smiled approvingly at Lex.

Lex instinctively tucked himself onto Clark's side, shrinking a little from all the happy expectant expressions. He'd never in his life gotten such a look from the Kents. He'd always thought he'd wanted one. Getting it, though... Lex was reminded of the scene in Pride and Prejudice where the bachelor had to contend with all the mothers in the town wanting to marry their daughters off. It was worse than a Luthor-Corp party where that sort of thing was expected. This... this was the Kent's kitchen, and it was Clark's parents looking at him like that.

Clark's hand rested reassuringly on his shoulder. "Dad, is it okay if Lana and I borrow the truck? We'd like to go into town for a bit."

"Of course, son." The words from Jonathan overlapped with Martha's, "Of course, honey."

"Thanks!" Lana/Clark unerringly grabbed the keys off the hook by the door and headed out with a wave of her hand at them, steering Lex/Lana along with her.

They got to the truck and were in before Lex quite realized what had happened. Lana made an annoyed sound of frustration as she adjusted the mirror and checked out the truck controls. "Wow, Clark is large. I mean, I know he is, but driving might be a little tricky. Of course, everything else seems to run on mostly instinct. Hopefully the driving will too."

Lex breathed out.

"You okay, Lex? You looked a little pale in there." Lana grinned at him, the evil bitch.

"Is it always like that?" he asked.

"They really, really would love for Clark to have a girlfriend, and I'm the girl next door. Of course it is," Lana answered. She started the car. "Though, that's probably as much to shove him into girls, period, and get rid of his obsession with you as it is as much as it is anything else, but... yeah. Meat market on display."

Lex shuddered. "But they're such nice people!"

Lana glanced at him as she drove out of the yard, one eyebrow arched up.

"Clark can't arch just one eyebrow," Lex said, distracted in spite of himself. "And, well, Martha is a nice person, at least."

With a laugh, Lana lowered the eyebrow and attended to the road. "Jonathan is too, mostly. You've got not just the Luthor-hate, but also the 'oh my god, there's a man interested in my son!' disbelief, and the 'oh shit, will he find out about Clark?' worry all tied up in there when he sees you."

"I thought I hid that around them," Lex muttered.

Lana took one hand off the wheel and patted him on the knee. "Not very well, Lex. Not at all well."

Lex sighed. "So what is it about Clark?"

"It's amazing how he still thinks his powers are secret. What with everything we go through... you and I, Lex, are probably the two most rescued people in the whole town."

"Don't I know it." Lex rolled his eyes. "I just wish there was less physical abuse involved in it. I'm glad my own mutation was for healing." He glanced at Lana with a raised eyebrow. It felt natural on her body. He wondered if Clark would be able to do the eyebrow thing now that his body knew how.

"People like me; they want to be my friend," Lana said with a grimace.

Lex kept his eyes on her. "I think that is because of you, not because of a power."

There was a little silence. Then, "I see ghosts," Lana said finally. "Everybody who was killed by the meteor shower. Their last few minutes are on constant reply through the entire town. If I try really hard, I can let somebody else see them too."

That... "That sucks."

Lana giggled, which was a very strange sound coming from Clark's body. "I know. Not all the meteor mutations are cool ones."

"Sorry."

"That's okay, I'm used to it."

Lex glanced at the driveway they were pulling into. "Park in front, just up there by the oak."

"Clark goes in by the front door?" Lana asked, following his instructions. "I would have thought the kitchen would be more his style."

Lex had never quite figured it out himself. However, except when mysteriously appearing from nowhere, Clark usually came in by the front.

When they were at the door, it was an effort of will not to just open the door. Lex stood off to one side and let Lana handle the conversation as his steward, Tony, answered the doorbell.

"Ah. Mr. Kent and Miss Lang. How good to see you." There was real relief in his voice.

Lana glanced at Lex briefly before returning her attention to the assistant. "What's wrong?"

Tony furtively looked down the hall and then back. He lowered his voice, "Mr. Lex hasn't been in a good mood this afternoon."

With a frown, Lana stepped forward, Lex close upon her heels. "Well, we'll see if we can cheer him into a better one, right, Lana?"

Lex jumped a little, then remembered his role. "Um, right, Clark."

Lana smiled at him, and Lex's heart twisted a little; the smile was so like Clark's, warm in approval and conspiracy.

They went through the hall into the main study. Tony went with them to the door but let them go in themselves without announcing them. Lex suspected that if he wasn't along in Lana's body, that Clark would have just been allowed to wander in without the escort.

Lex's body was sitting at his desk, working on the laptop, a frown on his face.

It was very weird to see himself from the outside. Lex self-consciously fixated on the bald head and how it dominated his body. The scowl wasn't helping matters. No; striking he might be, but handsome, definitely not. Not to compare with Clark. It was a good thing Lex had money, or he would never get laid.

Lana walked in purposefully. Lex envied how well she did that, fitting into Clark's body and being so confident about it. He was still uneasy inside Lana's body.

'Lex' looked up. The scowl disappeared from his face. There was some startlement as he saw them there together, and perhaps a touch of something else. "Clark! Lana!" He stood up, smoothly shutting the laptop as he did.

Lex's eyes narrowed. Shutting the laptop was a habit that he had, but Clark wouldn't have thought of it. For that matter, Clark wouldn't be that interested in the laptop at all.

Spotting Tony as the steward turned to go back to his office, Lex called out. "Where do you think you're going? Bring some refreshments for my guests." Lex then instantly dismissed Tony from his attention and focused on Clark.

Tony exchanged a disbelieving look with Lex/Lana and then bowed very slightly. "Yes, sir," he said, closing the door on his way out.

"What the hell?" Lana/Clark said tightly the instant the door was shut. "Lex doesn't treat people like that! Ordering him around, barking at him... you're not Clark! Clark would know better. And Clark wouldn't do that any more than Lex would!"

Lex was glad Lana said something as he was rather upset himself and her outburst had forestalled his own. Lex was furious that anybody would think he treated his employees like that. It had, however, been a rather perfect performance of his dad... Lex's blood chilled and he stepped next to Lana, reaching out to touch Clark's hand carefully in warning.

Even as his eyes darted to take in the warning motion, the person in Lex flushed at Lana's words. Lex made a note to himself to try never to let himself flush, it was definitely not a good look on him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do." Lana/Clark stepped up menacingly to the desk.

'Lex' shrank back and both Lana and Lex paused while watching it. His father didn't flinch; not even from menacing giant farmboys. It definitely wasn't Clark either, and yet there was something familiar...

"Chloe?" Lana asked, relaxing with a smile. "Okay, you had us worried there."

"Um..." Chloe dithered a little, and yes, it definitely was Chloe.

Lex relaxed as well, though he was also indignant. "You really think I'm that bad?"

Chloe blinked, looking at Lex/Lana. "Of course, not, Lana! You're kindness personified. You wouldn't ever do anything like that." She hurried to reassure... oh, right.

Lana/Clark slowly grinned, and Lex glanced over, worrying a little. That was her mischievous grin from in the barn. "Uh, Lana..."

"Chloe, you've always wanted to be kissed by me, haven't you?" Lana took a couple of steps, blocking Chloe in by the desk.

"Clark, what...?" Chloe's words were cut off as she was captured in strong hands and kissed.

Lex blinked, silenced by the sight in front of him. Clark, kissing Lex. Clark, holding Lex. Lex looked almost fragile in Clark's arms. And the way his body melted into Clark's larger one... straining upward for the kiss... hands that had been against Clark's shoulders pushing against them, switching grip to pull instead.

It was like watching a home video of his dreams. In technicolor and three-D. Lex swallowed, feeling hot all the way down and pooling the heat between his legs. Lana's shirt was really too tight. He hadn't known breasts swelled with sexual interest. Huh. They were also a lot more sensitive right now... Lex brought a hand up...

There was a noise at the door and Lex sprang for it, darting through the edge and trying to make sure nobody could see inside. He smiled at Tony, remembering that he was a girl and batting his eyes. "Thank you. We'll try and cheer him up. I'd suggest not disturbing us for awhile."

"I'm sure..." Tony said dryly, proving that Lex hadn't totally been successful in preventing the sight. He handed the tray of sandwiches and drinks to Lana. "Can you handle that, Miss Lang?"

Lex balanced the tray, surprised at how much it weighed. Well, he knew it weighed exactly the same, but at how... no, he'd better not even think 'weaker' about Lana's body. "I've got it." He smiled again at Tony and edged back inside the room. Tony shut the door with a decided 'click'.

"I can get that." Lana easily lifted the tray from Lex's hands and Lex turned the lock on the door.

"What. The. HELL," Lex spoke through gritted teeth as Lana put the tray on the table and then casually popped open a coke.

"Um, Lana, it's really not what it seems," Chloe/Lex answered nervously, still looking rather shell-shocked.

Lex snorted. "I'll say. Lana, I could be put in jail for that!"

Lana laughed at him. "Oh, relax, Lex. Tony isn't going to say anything and you'd have to do a bit more than just kissing for what you're worrying about."

"What about Clark's reputation?" Lex said, still mad. "He's straight! You know how rumors fly around here. This could be disastrous for him."

Drinking a sip of the coke and then putting it down, Lana shook her head. "Lex, Lex, Lex... you really are trying to be good, aren't you? Clark is in no shape, form, or way, straight. Bi-sexual, maybe. Personally, I think he's repressed gay. He's only been pursing me because he thinks he should, but I'll tell you this - his body didn't react to kissing my body nearly the way it did kissing yours." Lana waved a hand down at Clark's lower body.

Lex had to look, and he gulped at the evidence. No, Clark hadn't been like that in the barn... "Maybe that's just because you were kissing me..." he said weakly.

"Uh huh," Lana said wickedly. "Hate to tell you, Lex, but I am bi-sexual, and I like both guys and girls, so my kissing partner doesn't matter as much to me. Even in your own body, you're kindof cute, and it was rather fun kissing myself earlier."

At this point, Chloe/Lex made a strangled sound. "Lana?" she asked weakly. Her eyes went to Lex/Lana by the door. "Lex?" she said in an even smaller voice.

Lex rolled his eyes. "In the flesh, if not our own flesh. What were you doing with my computer, Chloe?"

"Uh, googling tarot cards."

Lex blinked. He'd expected something much more... well, hackery.

Chloe shrugged. "It's not like you and I have done anything else recently together, and I saw that same black cat when I appeared here in your office in your body. He took off while I was still adjusting. But I'm sure it had something to do with that, so I was trying to figure out what the connection might have been." Her eyes drifted to Clark. "It makes even more sense now with both Lana and Clark involved also. We'll have to find Clark and Pete."

Lex was almost ashamed at how little he'd been thinking of the problem, caught up instead inside the situation. Chloe apparently had dived right into the heart of it, and it made sense.

Even as he was nodded in response, Lana in Clark's body took a couple of strides over to Chloe/Lex, said, "You're so hot when you're investigating," and kissed Chloe again.

"Hey!" Lex protested, but the girls weren't paying him any attention. Correction, the girls in his and Clark's bodies weren't paying him any attention. They were completely and totally wrapped up in the kiss.

Chloe/Lex's hands were tangled in Lana/Clark's dark hair, holding her/him tightly as their mouths pressed together. Lex could see the tongues darting between the mouths. Lana had Chloe backed up against the desk again, and Chloe wasn't protesting. Chloe was even hitching herself up, throwing a leg around the outside of Lana's, pushing up into Lana...

Only it wasn't Lana and Chloe. It was himself and Clark. Lex and Clark making out on Lex's desk, with Clark dominating over Lex and pushing a willing Lex down, undoing his shirt buttons with one hand while sucking on his neck... Lex was making whimpering sounds as his leg kept pulling Clark into him, his hands still in Clark's hair.

Actually, the whimpering sounds were coming from him. Lex slid down the wall and landed in a heap on the floor as he watched with open mouth his live porn fantasies. The body he was in, Lana's body, was almost sweating from the heat. He put a hand between his legs, then jerked it away. It was so warm right there, so warm and he wanted to touch so badly, but it was a girl's body and it wasn't his, it wasn't his to do anything with...

"Go ahead."

Lex could have sworn he'd just heard a voice...

Lana pulled away from Chloe and turned her head to look straight at him. "Go ahead. Touch yourself. I don't mind. I think it's hot. Explore. I want to see what I'm like before I know what I like." Her eyes burned hotly, Clark's gaze boring into Lex.

Lex moaned a little, and so did his body, Chloe mirroring the melted and dazed look.

"Lana... can I?" Chloe walked over to Lex and knelt down beside him. She ran her hand over Lex/Lana's face and inserted a finger into his mouth.

Which, actually, was weird. He was being seduced by himself. And... okay, Lana was right, it was kind of kinky at the same time. Lex closed his eyes as Chloe reached out to touch his breast, then cupped it with a firm grip. She moved her finger out and kissed him.

Wow. And now there was a larger hand on his other breast... Lex opened his eyes to see Lana/Clark nibbling alongside Chloe/Lex's neck even as she pinched Lex's breast. There were at least three hands on his chest now, wandering around and inside the shirt.

Chloe/Lex's mouth left his in order to turn to Lana/Clark for another intense full French kiss.

There was a hand at his waist, undoing his button and zipper. Lex squeaked, not sure... "Hey, that's...!"

"It's my body," Lana said, her hands now around Chloe/Lex's waist and working on the zipper there. "Chloe can fuck it if I want."

"Lana..." Chloe turned in Lana's arms and went back to more kissing. In between, she said, "Are you sure?"

"There's nobody I'd rather have than you, Chloe," Lana said, large hands sliding over bald head, soothing and holding.

Lex was in some sort of porn nightmare. Or fantasy. But even though it was Clark's body there, it wasn't Clark, and this just wasn't right. He scooted out from around the women experimenting with the men's bodies, and headed for the refreshment tray, zipping up his pants on the way there.

Picking up the pitcher of ice water, Lex threw it at the girls.

With loud exclamations, they sprang apart. "Lex!" was the indignant chorus.

"I don't agree with what you're doing with my body," Lex said through gritted teeth. "And you wouldn't either if you were thinking. What happened to figuring out what happened? What about Clark? We need to make sure he's okay, and get us back to normal."

Lana took off the outer plaid shirt and mopped some of the water off Chloe/Lex's bare skin. "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know..."

"There might be some sort of aphrodisiac component in this too, though I was fine before you two came in," Chloe suggested, tilting into Lana's ministrations. Lana leaned down for another kiss.

Lex sighed. He wondered if they would be able to concentrate better if they got the sex out of the way first.

The phone rang. Lex automatically reached for it. "Hello?"

There was a pause on the other end. "Lana? Is that you?"

Right. Lex should have let Chloe answer. He modulated his voice, "Yes, it is. Hi, Mrs. Kent. Sorry, Lex and Clark have their hands full and I answered without thinking."

Lana muffled her laughter in Chloe's shirt, while Chloe brought a hand up to hold in her own.

"That's actually perfect, Lana, I was looking for Clark. Could I talk to him, please?"

Lex glanced at the phone. Why would Martha call here when Clark and Lana were going to the town? With a shrug, he pushed that question to the side and held out the phone to Lana. "Clark, it's for you. Your mom."

Lana's eyebrows climbed up her face in surprise, however she came and got the phone. "Hi, Mom. Uh huh. She did? Oh. Uh huh. Ah... Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Mom!"

She hung up, then turned to look at the other two. "Apparently, Chloe called the Kent home looking for Clark. Mrs. Kent said she sounded frantic."

They looked at each other.

"I was over at school, working on an article for the Torch about the Halloween Fair," Chloe said. "Is that where ... I called from?"

"Mrs. Kent said that Chloe hung up as soon as she found out Clark wasn't there, so we don't know." Lana put on the slightly damp shirt. "It's a good place to start, though. Ready to go?"

"If we're picking up more people along the way, the truck won't hold all of us," Lex pointed out.

"Sure it will, Lex." Lana grinned, "That's what the back is for."

Lex gave her a dirty look. "I'm not riding back there and my body isn't going to be riding back there..." He opened one of the desk drawers and fished for the keys. "We're taking the Bentley," he said firmly.

"Who's driving?" The grin moved into laughter.

Lex had to pause. Lana was right. Lex, in Lana's body couldn't drive... that would give rise to rumors he did not need; the ones about Clark were bad enough. And while Clark had driven Lex's cars before, right now was probably a bad time. Lex looked at the keys and then tossed them at Chloe with a sigh.

"Why, thanks, Lex, I didn't know you cared!" Chloe clutched the keys to her chest and batted her eyelashes.

"Don't do that in my body," Lex ordered. This was going to be a very long day. "The car is in the garage. Try to follow me while looking like you're leading."

Chloe blinked. Lana came up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Lead away, MacBeth."

Lex turned his dirty look on Lana. Before they left the room, he was careful to modulate it to something much sweeter and more innocent. From the bitten off grins, he wasn't sure if he'd succeeded.

... ... ...

On to Part Two