Superman For Sale, part 10
Okay, this is shorter than normal, but I think I leave it at a good breaking point. (Or an evil one, depending on your view point.)
Title: Superman for Sale
Author: D.M. Wyatt
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Rating: Mostly R, some chapters are NC-17
Warnings: Physical and Emotional TC, graphic descriptions of adult sexual content, BD/SM, future fic, post rift
Spoilers: None
Word Count this chapter: 3,608 (Story, thus far: 46,210)
Short summary of this chapter: Clark and Lex both consider the ramifications of Lex's drunken confession. (cover thanks to danceswithgary)
See the previous chapters here:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
10 of possibly 15...
~:::~
Clark yanked on the partially open door to Lex's bedroom and was very surprised to find Mrs. O'Hara standing just outside. She held Lex's suit jacket and had been leaning forward, as if listening to something. He looked back at Lex and his eyes swung back to Mrs. O'Hara. She must have had a perfect view of Lex on the bed through the partially open door.
He looked at her with wide eyes, shocked that she had been eavesdropping. "Mrs. O'Hara?"
She blushed and laughed nervously. "Well, Mr. Kent. I had been so flustered after leaving poor Mr. Luthor in that state, the poor lad, I clear forgot to pick up his coat. I put the pot on and remembered..." She shot him a sheepish look, as if she wasn't sure how good the lie was, but she kept going. "Didn't want such an expensive jacket to get all wrinkled and smudged with dirt."
And Clark knew she was lying, her face was flushed and her heartbeat was nearly double her normal rate. She had been eavesdropping and was embarrassed by being caught.
He decided to let her have the comfort of the falsehood, as he mentally kicked himself for being too distracted to realize she had been there. He worried about how much she'd overheard, "That is perfectly understandable, Mrs. O'Hara. Well, I'm going to go get ready for work."
She brightened at that and smiled a bright, happy smile. "Oh, what a dear lad! I'll get your breakfast ready and the coffee should be done now, if you want a cup before you shower."
Clark couldn't help but smile at her cheery manner, "That would be wonderful, Mrs. O'Hara. I wouldn't mind if I do."
He followed her to the kitchen and she poured him a cup. He saw that she already had the ingredients for a bacon and cheese omelet with onions and mushrooms all ready to go. He thanked her, took a sip of the wonderful coffee and nodded at her before he left to take his shower in the guest bathroom.
As Clark got undressed, he heard bacon frying and her mumbling to herself in the kitchen. "He's such a good lad. I'm glad he finally knows how much Mr. Luthor loves him, now that the lovesick lad has confessed his love. They'll kiss and make-up now for sure..."
Clark got into the shower with a groan.
~:::~
After another delicious breakfast, Clark left the table satisfied. He told the beaming Mrs. O'Hara that he looked forward to dinner and would see her then. She blushed when he took her hand and kissed her chubby fingers.
On the way out of Lex's apartment, Clark got the usual sneer from Mercy. That seemed to be SOP for Lex's bodyguards since Hope also sneered whenever she was there. Clark felt oddly pleased to make her uncomfortable when he approached her. He informed her that Lex wasn't feeling well and that his appointments for the day would need to be rescheduled.
She scowled at him as she entered the apartment, apparently not believing him.
Contemplative and broody, Clark walked slowly to work.
How could Lex love him?
The deal to make him stay, forcing him to sleep on the same bed, the non-sex in the City Hall bathroom, and all of his not-so-subtle hints he wanted Clark only acted as proof of his lust, right?
How could someone who loved him do that? How could someone who loved him put him through that humiliation in front of his peers? How could someone subject him to all that, even force such painful and mindless need on him, and still claim to love him?
He'd known for a long time that Lex had wanted him, lusted after him, and had since Clark had been a teen. He had mostly oblivious to the fact at the time, being very naïve back then, but after Clark had gotten older and had thought about it he'd known that Lex's serious looks in his direction had been likely due to lust.
When he'd realized it, Clark had also realized that had things gone differently for them, had they still been friends, maybe he would have let it go its natural course. After his on-again, off-again relationship with Lana had finally failed and the one with Lois had gotten nowhere quick, he might have considered Lex again. After Lois, he'd dated a few men, but they had never worked out.
Had he and Lex had still been friends he might have made an overture, but by the time Clark had accepted girls weren't for him it had been too late. Lex had been in full-on evil-doer mode by then and he'd had made a hobby of busting up Lex's labs as he spouted moralistic platitudes.
Although, Clark was encouraged by Lex apparently being happier now than he had used to be. Clark was hopeful that he'd changed, that maybe Lex's drunken protestations of love, were sincere and there was a chance they could work it out. Love conquered all, didn't it? However, it was troubling Lex was so happy even while Clark was almost his literal captive.
Clark felt so conflicted and confused.
Clark wasn't sure what he was going to do. How could they possibly go back to where they were capable of a relationship? Could he really forget all that Lex had done? Could he ignore the money and the death threats he'd made against the witch?
He sighed heavily.
What if Lex's confession had been just a fantasy? Maybe it had just been a drunken declaration that Lex hadn't meant, not really. He understood that sometimes people said things they didn't mean when they had been drinking. Not that he would know, of course, since he couldn't get drunk, but it was possible. Maybe he could wait to see if Lex brings it up, or possibly explains.
He scowled as he entered The Daily Planet's side entrance, not looking forward to the next time he'd see Lex.
Dinner that night promised to be a very, very uncomfortable meal filled with extremely awkward silences. Even more so if Mrs. O'Hara decided to butt in, which Clark had a feeling she would. She wanted to help them 'kiss and make-up' after all.
He punched the button for the elevator too hard and thought that maybe the plastic had cracked under the pressure. He frowned at it as he examined it with his x-ray vision. The plastic was cracked, but still in one piece, if only barely.
Clark sighed in relief and pushed his glasses back up his nose as he waited for the car to come down. He had broken three of those buttons just last month. He was sure the head of building maintenance had suspected something was up with him since he'd gotten some distrustful glares from the man lately.
He nodded at a guy he knew from Sports as he came up and waited with him for the car. Chet, a bruiser ex-football player who (in the latter half of his forties) spent way too much time in the gym, nodded back with a barely concealed look of contempt. Clark wished he could fry him to a crisp as the other man delivered a brutal and (since Clark had already pressed it) an unnecessary poke to the elevator button.
The plastic shattered, as if on cue, just as the head maintenance man had walked behind them.
Clark didn't bother to try and contain the smile at the man's embarrassment as the bully withered under the maintenance chief's angry harangue. He happily left the lummox to argue with the head janitor over who was going to pay.
~:::~
Lois frowned at him as soon as he entered the bullpen. Clark was perplexed as he sat down to log into his computer.
He tried to ignore it, ignore her, but he became concerned that Lois' stare had something to do with the disastrous press conference the day before. Despite not getting any reaction out of him, she kept intently staring at him. It was actually disturbing.
He gave up ignoring her and asked, exasperated, "Is there something wrong, Lois?"
She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. "I think that's what I should be asking you, Smallville."
Clark frowned. "If you're referring to what happened at City Hall, I don't really want to talk about it."
Lois pushed back from her desk and got up, walked around to lean against Clark's desk. "It wasn't what had happened yesterday morning that has me perplexed, although like what I'd told you, that is something I will expect you to eventually explain."
"Then what, Lois?" He dropped his voice dropped down to a harsh whisper, "The last time I checked, reading minds wasn't one of my abilities."
"Okay, I'll ask with small words so you can understand." Clark scowled at her as she looked Clark directly in his eyes, "Where were you yesterday?"
Clark looked away and straightened his tie. "I wasn't feeling well so I went home, like I told you in that email... like I told Perry on the phone...."
She made a face and leaned back again. "Yeah, right. Even if I didn't already know that you never really get sick, you should try lying to someone who doesn't know your tells."
Clark scowled. "I don't have tells."
Lois snorted, "Yeah, you do. When you lie, I always know. You do it the same way every time. You look down and to the left. When you have a suit on, you straighten your tie, like you just did." She leaned in close and whispered, "When you have your other suit on you play with the cape or the belt before flying away." She crossed her arms and leaned back, "Even if I hadn't already known that you weren't home last night, I could tell just now that you were lying, Clark."
Clark wasn't sure how to reply to this, he hadn't been at home, but he knew any calls to his home number went to Lex's. "How do you know I wasn't home? You didn't call."
"Clark, you live in that fifth story walk-up on Clinton. Or at least you used to." She leaned forward and whispered, "I went over there to check on you last night and you didn't answer the door. I knocked and rang and not a peep. Initially it probably wasn't surprising, considering your uh... extracurricular activities, but one of your neighbors heard me and told me that he hadn't seen you in weeks." She arched an eyebrow as Clark blushed, caught. "Curious at what could possibly be going on, I went in."
"What gives you the right to just-"
She interrupted, "The right of a friend who's concerned for your well-being."
Clark arched an eyebrow back at her, "Okay, how did you get in?"
She shook her head sadly. "Clark, putting your key under your doormat isn't the smartest place to hide it."
Clark scowled and whispered harshly back, "Okay, so you know now that I wasn't home. Do I really need to give you an itinerary of what I do with my free time?"
"No, not at all... I don't need to know where you are every minute of the day, although the occasional memo explaining some of the strange things you do might be nice."
"What strange things?"
She leaned in closer, "Like why your office furniture had been cleaned out and all of your clothes are gone."
Clark fidgeted and stammered, suddenly very uncomfortable. "Eh... It... it's sorta hard to explain, Lois..."
She smirked at him. "Oh, I bet..." She then lowered her voice to a whisper, "Even your secret closet was empty. However, what I find most interesting is that a woman matching the description of one of Luthor's bodyguards was seen taking several garment bags and a large suitcase out of your apartment. Then, what is even more perplexing than one of your sworn enemy's Amazonian thugs packing up your clothes and carting them off is the fact that several large, and heavily muscled, men wearing Lexcorp uniforms moved out your furniture."
All he could do was look up at her helplessly, at a complete loss of what to say. He didn't want to tell her a thing about Lex's deal, but he wasn't sure what lie he could think of that would cover all of this.
Lois's hard edged look softened to something else, true concern. "Clark, you gotta tell me what's going on... I'm worried about you. What happened at City Hall looks to be just the tip of the iceberg."
Clark sighed. He shook his head and started to try and put her off, think of some lie, but he heard something. There were people in danger, a multiple-car pile up over on I-70.
He quickly told Lois that he had to go. She called after him, yelling that the conversation wasn't over and she would find out what was going on. He left the office via the stairwell that led to the roof and was in his suit before he burst through the door at the top of the steps.
His lips thinned into a grim line as he shot off into the sky to help save lives.
~:::~
Lex woke up with probably the worst headache he'd ever had. He was confused. He was in bed and dressed in his pajamas, but he didn't remember how that had happened.
The last thing he remembered was drinking himself stupid while looking at Clark sleep. He looked out of the window and the sun was too high in the sky, it was far later than he normally woke up. He looked at the clock. He realized with horror that it was past noon, he should be at work.
He realized he must have gotten drunker than he'd intended the night before, but how did he get into bed?
He searched his memory and he still didn't remember changing or going to bed, and his mind only provided hazy details on talking to Clark and him getting Lex water and painkillers. Lex remembered that Clark had been looking very serious so they must have talked about something important.
His mind couldn't drag the memory clear of the fog that was his mind, and he shrugged and took a shower. He had to get into work, but didn't want to smell like he'd been drinking all night (even though he had been).
~:::~
Dressed and feeling better now he was showered, Lex strolled into the kitchen to see what cook, or rather Mrs. O'Hara, had fixed for him. He didn't have much of an appetite.
Lex was touched when she anticipated that and had offered only an unusually large cup of black coffee and an order of lightly buttered toast. She smiled, "That's from a fresh pot. Heard the shower going and figured you might need it."
"Thank you, Mrs. O'Hara."
"I'll do what I can to help you feel better." She placed a small plate with two Advil and a glass of ice cold water in front of Lex. "You know, Mr. Kent was really worried about you."
Lex's eyebrows rose in surprise as he swallowed the pills. He looked over at her. "He was?"
"Yes, the dear lad... he's really such a dear boy, I don't know why it took you so long to invite him to stay. He's been what you needed, he's made you happy. Then when you were down in your cups, he took care of you, but seemed surprised when you confessed your love. "
Lex looked at her in surprise. "I told Clark I loved him?"
"Yes, and it was about time you did too. Although, it was like he'd never heard you say it before." Her tone switched to a lecturing one, "You need be more forthcoming with Mr. Kent, tell him you love him more often, make sure he knows how much you care for him, or it'll be harder for you two dear lads to kiss and make-up."
Lex's only answer to that was to sip his coffee and nibble his toast thoughtfully.
~:::~
Clark was tired. All he wanted to do was just go home and sleep, even if "home" for him right now was Lex's penthouse and his bed promised to be a lonely one.
It seemed it was one emergency after another today, dozens of cars piled up in the morning fog on I-70, an armed bank heist with dozens of civilians held at gun point, then this apartment fire.
Exhausted, he handed the last of the survivors over to paramedics.
He'd pulled dozens from the burning high rise apartment building and thankfully no lives had been lost, at least not yet. Several of the injured were in critical condition. Some had been so badly hurt that he'd taken them directly to Metropolis General's Emergency Room, only for them to be immediately taken to the burn unit or ICU.
He looked for a clock or watch in the waning daylight, his watch was back with his suit in its hiding place in the stairwell of the Planet building. He found a clock in a nearby bank and it was close to seven. It was nearly time for his uncomfortable dinner with Lex and he dreaded it. As he flew away, he thought of how he was going to write up Superman's heroism for front-page tomorrow.
He had just landed on the roof of the Daily Planet, ready to pick up his suit from where he'd hidden it in the stairwell when he heard a roar of rushing water on the other side of the world and untold thousands scream and run in fright.
All worries about what to do about Lex vanished from his mind as he headed west to help those in need.
~:::~
Lex looked out onto the darkening Metropolis night, worried. It was well past seven, almost half past, and Clark still hadn't shown up. Uncharacteristically, Lex had downed his second drink before dinner and went over to get more.
He could hear Mrs. O'Hara in the kitchen doing busy work while she waited to serve dinner. Lex had a feeling that dinner wasn't going to be happening.
He was sure that it'd been too much, his telling Clark he loved him. He'd been shown time and time again that honesty never worked. In his inebriated state, he'd told Clark something he barely accepted when he was sober, but he knew that it was true. He loved Clark, truly loved him.
Lex wasn't sure when the lust he'd always felt for Clark, his creamy complexion, his steel hard abs, sunny smile, had turned to love, but he was sure that it had. It was true, he really loved Clark, despite the fact that he knew that he never would have confessed it to him while he was sober.
He loved Clark Kent. His infuriating, sexy nemesis was one of a kind. Kind, tender, honorable and so gorgeous it nearly hurt his eyes to look upon him. How could he not love Clark?
But Mrs. O'Hara had said it: Clark had been surprised.
Of course he had been. Why would he have expected it? Lex had tried to 'kill' him or capture him so many times. What he'd told Clark in the limo the day he'd bought him from the witch had been true.
All those crazy plots had all been ploys to get Clark's attention. He had wanted to prove to Clark that he still mattered, was still important in his life, even if it was only as his nemesis.
It had been only as his enemy that he had gotten to see Clark as often as he did. If he couldn't be with him, he'd find anyway he could to get Clark to come see Lex. Even hearing the Jonathan Kent-like moralistic platitudes that Clark spouted so well as he destroyed yet another lab were worth it if only to see him again.
God, he was so beautiful in action, as he fought the battle robots or destroyed his buildings. He was physically perfect, poetry in motion. Lex would gladly give up hundreds of millions, even billions, in costs to rebuild labs if he could only get to watch Clark knock them down.
His self-righteous ire, his indignant fury, only added to the flavor. Would Clark be offended if he'd admitted that he would get hard watching him destroy Lexcorp's infrastructure?
He probably would, Lex admitted. Clark wouldn't understand, and he probably doesn't understand why Lex told him he loved him. He might assume its part of some ploy to pull something over on Clark, but it wasn't. It couldn't be.
He realized, finally, that he did honestly love Clark. Despite all the lust muddying things, he loved him and loved him deeply. Maybe it was about time he realized that it was love, and not lust, that had been to blame for his irrational behavior. However, he couldn't stand the fact that the harder he tried to hold onto Clark, the further away he seemed to be.
Lex took the stone out of his pocket and thought about using it to bring Clark home, but he didn't. He couldn't. He wouldn't be pathetic enough to force his would-be lover home when he didn't want to come.
Lex stared back out over the darkening sky and hoped for a flash of blue and red to streak by, but it never came. Clark didn't come and Lex worried that he would never again. Lex felt like something was wrong, he felt an anxiety he'd never felt before by being stood up.
He worried that Clark was in trouble.
He heard a sound behind him. He turned to look at Mrs. O'Hara.
"Is Mr. Kent going to be in for dinner, sir?"
Lex sighed and shook his head, "No, I don't think so. Something must have come up."
"He said he was looking forward to dinner too, what a shame..."
Lex's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He said that?"
"Yes, he did... what a nice lad you've got in him." She asked regretfully, "Shall I put everything away, Mr. Luthor?"
"Yes, that would probably be for the best."
"Of course, sir... I'll make a plate for you and leave it warm in the oven."
"I'd appreciate that, Mrs. O'Hara."
He waited until she went back into the kitchen before he snapped open his cell phone. He dialed and didn't even announce himself, just spoke, terse and to the point. "Find out where he is."
Mercy replied in an equally terse tone, "Yes, sir," before he snapped the phone shut.
He had a very bad feeling about where Clark could possibly be.
~:::~
Continued HERE....
Title: Superman for Sale
Author: D.M. Wyatt
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Rating: Mostly R, some chapters are NC-17
Warnings: Physical and Emotional TC, graphic descriptions of adult sexual content, BD/SM, future fic, post rift
Spoilers: None
Word Count this chapter: 3,608 (Story, thus far: 46,210)
Short summary of this chapter: Clark and Lex both consider the ramifications of Lex's drunken confession. (cover thanks to danceswithgary)
See the previous chapters here:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
10 of possibly 15...
~:::~
Clark yanked on the partially open door to Lex's bedroom and was very surprised to find Mrs. O'Hara standing just outside. She held Lex's suit jacket and had been leaning forward, as if listening to something. He looked back at Lex and his eyes swung back to Mrs. O'Hara. She must have had a perfect view of Lex on the bed through the partially open door.
He looked at her with wide eyes, shocked that she had been eavesdropping. "Mrs. O'Hara?"
She blushed and laughed nervously. "Well, Mr. Kent. I had been so flustered after leaving poor Mr. Luthor in that state, the poor lad, I clear forgot to pick up his coat. I put the pot on and remembered..." She shot him a sheepish look, as if she wasn't sure how good the lie was, but she kept going. "Didn't want such an expensive jacket to get all wrinkled and smudged with dirt."
And Clark knew she was lying, her face was flushed and her heartbeat was nearly double her normal rate. She had been eavesdropping and was embarrassed by being caught.
He decided to let her have the comfort of the falsehood, as he mentally kicked himself for being too distracted to realize she had been there. He worried about how much she'd overheard, "That is perfectly understandable, Mrs. O'Hara. Well, I'm going to go get ready for work."
She brightened at that and smiled a bright, happy smile. "Oh, what a dear lad! I'll get your breakfast ready and the coffee should be done now, if you want a cup before you shower."
Clark couldn't help but smile at her cheery manner, "That would be wonderful, Mrs. O'Hara. I wouldn't mind if I do."
He followed her to the kitchen and she poured him a cup. He saw that she already had the ingredients for a bacon and cheese omelet with onions and mushrooms all ready to go. He thanked her, took a sip of the wonderful coffee and nodded at her before he left to take his shower in the guest bathroom.
As Clark got undressed, he heard bacon frying and her mumbling to herself in the kitchen. "He's such a good lad. I'm glad he finally knows how much Mr. Luthor loves him, now that the lovesick lad has confessed his love. They'll kiss and make-up now for sure..."
Clark got into the shower with a groan.
~:::~
After another delicious breakfast, Clark left the table satisfied. He told the beaming Mrs. O'Hara that he looked forward to dinner and would see her then. She blushed when he took her hand and kissed her chubby fingers.
On the way out of Lex's apartment, Clark got the usual sneer from Mercy. That seemed to be SOP for Lex's bodyguards since Hope also sneered whenever she was there. Clark felt oddly pleased to make her uncomfortable when he approached her. He informed her that Lex wasn't feeling well and that his appointments for the day would need to be rescheduled.
She scowled at him as she entered the apartment, apparently not believing him.
Contemplative and broody, Clark walked slowly to work.
How could Lex love him?
The deal to make him stay, forcing him to sleep on the same bed, the non-sex in the City Hall bathroom, and all of his not-so-subtle hints he wanted Clark only acted as proof of his lust, right?
How could someone who loved him do that? How could someone who loved him put him through that humiliation in front of his peers? How could someone subject him to all that, even force such painful and mindless need on him, and still claim to love him?
He'd known for a long time that Lex had wanted him, lusted after him, and had since Clark had been a teen. He had mostly oblivious to the fact at the time, being very naïve back then, but after Clark had gotten older and had thought about it he'd known that Lex's serious looks in his direction had been likely due to lust.
When he'd realized it, Clark had also realized that had things gone differently for them, had they still been friends, maybe he would have let it go its natural course. After his on-again, off-again relationship with Lana had finally failed and the one with Lois had gotten nowhere quick, he might have considered Lex again. After Lois, he'd dated a few men, but they had never worked out.
Had he and Lex had still been friends he might have made an overture, but by the time Clark had accepted girls weren't for him it had been too late. Lex had been in full-on evil-doer mode by then and he'd had made a hobby of busting up Lex's labs as he spouted moralistic platitudes.
Although, Clark was encouraged by Lex apparently being happier now than he had used to be. Clark was hopeful that he'd changed, that maybe Lex's drunken protestations of love, were sincere and there was a chance they could work it out. Love conquered all, didn't it? However, it was troubling Lex was so happy even while Clark was almost his literal captive.
Clark felt so conflicted and confused.
Clark wasn't sure what he was going to do. How could they possibly go back to where they were capable of a relationship? Could he really forget all that Lex had done? Could he ignore the money and the death threats he'd made against the witch?
He sighed heavily.
What if Lex's confession had been just a fantasy? Maybe it had just been a drunken declaration that Lex hadn't meant, not really. He understood that sometimes people said things they didn't mean when they had been drinking. Not that he would know, of course, since he couldn't get drunk, but it was possible. Maybe he could wait to see if Lex brings it up, or possibly explains.
He scowled as he entered The Daily Planet's side entrance, not looking forward to the next time he'd see Lex.
Dinner that night promised to be a very, very uncomfortable meal filled with extremely awkward silences. Even more so if Mrs. O'Hara decided to butt in, which Clark had a feeling she would. She wanted to help them 'kiss and make-up' after all.
He punched the button for the elevator too hard and thought that maybe the plastic had cracked under the pressure. He frowned at it as he examined it with his x-ray vision. The plastic was cracked, but still in one piece, if only barely.
Clark sighed in relief and pushed his glasses back up his nose as he waited for the car to come down. He had broken three of those buttons just last month. He was sure the head of building maintenance had suspected something was up with him since he'd gotten some distrustful glares from the man lately.
He nodded at a guy he knew from Sports as he came up and waited with him for the car. Chet, a bruiser ex-football player who (in the latter half of his forties) spent way too much time in the gym, nodded back with a barely concealed look of contempt. Clark wished he could fry him to a crisp as the other man delivered a brutal and (since Clark had already pressed it) an unnecessary poke to the elevator button.
The plastic shattered, as if on cue, just as the head maintenance man had walked behind them.
Clark didn't bother to try and contain the smile at the man's embarrassment as the bully withered under the maintenance chief's angry harangue. He happily left the lummox to argue with the head janitor over who was going to pay.
~:::~
Lois frowned at him as soon as he entered the bullpen. Clark was perplexed as he sat down to log into his computer.
He tried to ignore it, ignore her, but he became concerned that Lois' stare had something to do with the disastrous press conference the day before. Despite not getting any reaction out of him, she kept intently staring at him. It was actually disturbing.
He gave up ignoring her and asked, exasperated, "Is there something wrong, Lois?"
She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. "I think that's what I should be asking you, Smallville."
Clark frowned. "If you're referring to what happened at City Hall, I don't really want to talk about it."
Lois pushed back from her desk and got up, walked around to lean against Clark's desk. "It wasn't what had happened yesterday morning that has me perplexed, although like what I'd told you, that is something I will expect you to eventually explain."
"Then what, Lois?" He dropped his voice dropped down to a harsh whisper, "The last time I checked, reading minds wasn't one of my abilities."
"Okay, I'll ask with small words so you can understand." Clark scowled at her as she looked Clark directly in his eyes, "Where were you yesterday?"
Clark looked away and straightened his tie. "I wasn't feeling well so I went home, like I told you in that email... like I told Perry on the phone...."
She made a face and leaned back again. "Yeah, right. Even if I didn't already know that you never really get sick, you should try lying to someone who doesn't know your tells."
Clark scowled. "I don't have tells."
Lois snorted, "Yeah, you do. When you lie, I always know. You do it the same way every time. You look down and to the left. When you have a suit on, you straighten your tie, like you just did." She leaned in close and whispered, "When you have your other suit on you play with the cape or the belt before flying away." She crossed her arms and leaned back, "Even if I hadn't already known that you weren't home last night, I could tell just now that you were lying, Clark."
Clark wasn't sure how to reply to this, he hadn't been at home, but he knew any calls to his home number went to Lex's. "How do you know I wasn't home? You didn't call."
"Clark, you live in that fifth story walk-up on Clinton. Or at least you used to." She leaned forward and whispered, "I went over there to check on you last night and you didn't answer the door. I knocked and rang and not a peep. Initially it probably wasn't surprising, considering your uh... extracurricular activities, but one of your neighbors heard me and told me that he hadn't seen you in weeks." She arched an eyebrow as Clark blushed, caught. "Curious at what could possibly be going on, I went in."
"What gives you the right to just-"
She interrupted, "The right of a friend who's concerned for your well-being."
Clark arched an eyebrow back at her, "Okay, how did you get in?"
She shook her head sadly. "Clark, putting your key under your doormat isn't the smartest place to hide it."
Clark scowled and whispered harshly back, "Okay, so you know now that I wasn't home. Do I really need to give you an itinerary of what I do with my free time?"
"No, not at all... I don't need to know where you are every minute of the day, although the occasional memo explaining some of the strange things you do might be nice."
"What strange things?"
She leaned in closer, "Like why your office furniture had been cleaned out and all of your clothes are gone."
Clark fidgeted and stammered, suddenly very uncomfortable. "Eh... It... it's sorta hard to explain, Lois..."
She smirked at him. "Oh, I bet..." She then lowered her voice to a whisper, "Even your secret closet was empty. However, what I find most interesting is that a woman matching the description of one of Luthor's bodyguards was seen taking several garment bags and a large suitcase out of your apartment. Then, what is even more perplexing than one of your sworn enemy's Amazonian thugs packing up your clothes and carting them off is the fact that several large, and heavily muscled, men wearing Lexcorp uniforms moved out your furniture."
All he could do was look up at her helplessly, at a complete loss of what to say. He didn't want to tell her a thing about Lex's deal, but he wasn't sure what lie he could think of that would cover all of this.
Lois's hard edged look softened to something else, true concern. "Clark, you gotta tell me what's going on... I'm worried about you. What happened at City Hall looks to be just the tip of the iceberg."
Clark sighed. He shook his head and started to try and put her off, think of some lie, but he heard something. There were people in danger, a multiple-car pile up over on I-70.
He quickly told Lois that he had to go. She called after him, yelling that the conversation wasn't over and she would find out what was going on. He left the office via the stairwell that led to the roof and was in his suit before he burst through the door at the top of the steps.
His lips thinned into a grim line as he shot off into the sky to help save lives.
~:::~
Lex woke up with probably the worst headache he'd ever had. He was confused. He was in bed and dressed in his pajamas, but he didn't remember how that had happened.
The last thing he remembered was drinking himself stupid while looking at Clark sleep. He looked out of the window and the sun was too high in the sky, it was far later than he normally woke up. He looked at the clock. He realized with horror that it was past noon, he should be at work.
He realized he must have gotten drunker than he'd intended the night before, but how did he get into bed?
He searched his memory and he still didn't remember changing or going to bed, and his mind only provided hazy details on talking to Clark and him getting Lex water and painkillers. Lex remembered that Clark had been looking very serious so they must have talked about something important.
His mind couldn't drag the memory clear of the fog that was his mind, and he shrugged and took a shower. He had to get into work, but didn't want to smell like he'd been drinking all night (even though he had been).
~:::~
Dressed and feeling better now he was showered, Lex strolled into the kitchen to see what cook, or rather Mrs. O'Hara, had fixed for him. He didn't have much of an appetite.
Lex was touched when she anticipated that and had offered only an unusually large cup of black coffee and an order of lightly buttered toast. She smiled, "That's from a fresh pot. Heard the shower going and figured you might need it."
"Thank you, Mrs. O'Hara."
"I'll do what I can to help you feel better." She placed a small plate with two Advil and a glass of ice cold water in front of Lex. "You know, Mr. Kent was really worried about you."
Lex's eyebrows rose in surprise as he swallowed the pills. He looked over at her. "He was?"
"Yes, the dear lad... he's really such a dear boy, I don't know why it took you so long to invite him to stay. He's been what you needed, he's made you happy. Then when you were down in your cups, he took care of you, but seemed surprised when you confessed your love. "
Lex looked at her in surprise. "I told Clark I loved him?"
"Yes, and it was about time you did too. Although, it was like he'd never heard you say it before." Her tone switched to a lecturing one, "You need be more forthcoming with Mr. Kent, tell him you love him more often, make sure he knows how much you care for him, or it'll be harder for you two dear lads to kiss and make-up."
Lex's only answer to that was to sip his coffee and nibble his toast thoughtfully.
~:::~
Clark was tired. All he wanted to do was just go home and sleep, even if "home" for him right now was Lex's penthouse and his bed promised to be a lonely one.
It seemed it was one emergency after another today, dozens of cars piled up in the morning fog on I-70, an armed bank heist with dozens of civilians held at gun point, then this apartment fire.
Exhausted, he handed the last of the survivors over to paramedics.
He'd pulled dozens from the burning high rise apartment building and thankfully no lives had been lost, at least not yet. Several of the injured were in critical condition. Some had been so badly hurt that he'd taken them directly to Metropolis General's Emergency Room, only for them to be immediately taken to the burn unit or ICU.
He looked for a clock or watch in the waning daylight, his watch was back with his suit in its hiding place in the stairwell of the Planet building. He found a clock in a nearby bank and it was close to seven. It was nearly time for his uncomfortable dinner with Lex and he dreaded it. As he flew away, he thought of how he was going to write up Superman's heroism for front-page tomorrow.
He had just landed on the roof of the Daily Planet, ready to pick up his suit from where he'd hidden it in the stairwell when he heard a roar of rushing water on the other side of the world and untold thousands scream and run in fright.
All worries about what to do about Lex vanished from his mind as he headed west to help those in need.
~:::~
Lex looked out onto the darkening Metropolis night, worried. It was well past seven, almost half past, and Clark still hadn't shown up. Uncharacteristically, Lex had downed his second drink before dinner and went over to get more.
He could hear Mrs. O'Hara in the kitchen doing busy work while she waited to serve dinner. Lex had a feeling that dinner wasn't going to be happening.
He was sure that it'd been too much, his telling Clark he loved him. He'd been shown time and time again that honesty never worked. In his inebriated state, he'd told Clark something he barely accepted when he was sober, but he knew that it was true. He loved Clark, truly loved him.
Lex wasn't sure when the lust he'd always felt for Clark, his creamy complexion, his steel hard abs, sunny smile, had turned to love, but he was sure that it had. It was true, he really loved Clark, despite the fact that he knew that he never would have confessed it to him while he was sober.
He loved Clark Kent. His infuriating, sexy nemesis was one of a kind. Kind, tender, honorable and so gorgeous it nearly hurt his eyes to look upon him. How could he not love Clark?
But Mrs. O'Hara had said it: Clark had been surprised.
Of course he had been. Why would he have expected it? Lex had tried to 'kill' him or capture him so many times. What he'd told Clark in the limo the day he'd bought him from the witch had been true.
All those crazy plots had all been ploys to get Clark's attention. He had wanted to prove to Clark that he still mattered, was still important in his life, even if it was only as his nemesis.
It had been only as his enemy that he had gotten to see Clark as often as he did. If he couldn't be with him, he'd find anyway he could to get Clark to come see Lex. Even hearing the Jonathan Kent-like moralistic platitudes that Clark spouted so well as he destroyed yet another lab were worth it if only to see him again.
God, he was so beautiful in action, as he fought the battle robots or destroyed his buildings. He was physically perfect, poetry in motion. Lex would gladly give up hundreds of millions, even billions, in costs to rebuild labs if he could only get to watch Clark knock them down.
His self-righteous ire, his indignant fury, only added to the flavor. Would Clark be offended if he'd admitted that he would get hard watching him destroy Lexcorp's infrastructure?
He probably would, Lex admitted. Clark wouldn't understand, and he probably doesn't understand why Lex told him he loved him. He might assume its part of some ploy to pull something over on Clark, but it wasn't. It couldn't be.
He realized, finally, that he did honestly love Clark. Despite all the lust muddying things, he loved him and loved him deeply. Maybe it was about time he realized that it was love, and not lust, that had been to blame for his irrational behavior. However, he couldn't stand the fact that the harder he tried to hold onto Clark, the further away he seemed to be.
Lex took the stone out of his pocket and thought about using it to bring Clark home, but he didn't. He couldn't. He wouldn't be pathetic enough to force his would-be lover home when he didn't want to come.
Lex stared back out over the darkening sky and hoped for a flash of blue and red to streak by, but it never came. Clark didn't come and Lex worried that he would never again. Lex felt like something was wrong, he felt an anxiety he'd never felt before by being stood up.
He worried that Clark was in trouble.
He heard a sound behind him. He turned to look at Mrs. O'Hara.
"Is Mr. Kent going to be in for dinner, sir?"
Lex sighed and shook his head, "No, I don't think so. Something must have come up."
"He said he was looking forward to dinner too, what a shame..."
Lex's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He said that?"
"Yes, he did... what a nice lad you've got in him." She asked regretfully, "Shall I put everything away, Mr. Luthor?"
"Yes, that would probably be for the best."
"Of course, sir... I'll make a plate for you and leave it warm in the oven."
"I'd appreciate that, Mrs. O'Hara."
He waited until she went back into the kitchen before he snapped open his cell phone. He dialed and didn't even announce himself, just spoke, terse and to the point. "Find out where he is."
Mercy replied in an equally terse tone, "Yes, sir," before he snapped the phone shut.
He had a very bad feeling about where Clark could possibly be.
~:::~
Continued HERE....