Fic: ...Clark Is Actually Pretty Ok With This, Thanks (Part 1 -- And So It Begins...)
Title: ...Clark Is Actually Pretty Ok With This, Thanks
Author: josephina_x
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark, Lex
Rating: R (because it sort of has vague references to themes of BDSM *shrug*)
Spoilers: References season 6 and previous, general spoilers for early season 7 and all prior. Diverges at the end of Wrath (7x07) when Clark goes to talk to Lex.
Word count: 7800+
Summary: What if Lex decided to be a little more... evil... at the end of Wrath? What if he decided to punish Clark, for Lana's transgression? ...What if Clark agreed to sacrifice himself for her sake? Will Clark break? Or will he... bend?
...Hey, that would be a totally crazy fic, am I right? --Unfortunately, this is not that. (Oops.) Here, Lex kind of goes the other route. You know, the whole brotherly-love one.
So, instead, you get Lex being pissed about Lana treating Clark like her own personal bitch, Clark's "sacrifice" isn't so much of one, and everybody else is left standing around scratching their heads while Lana ends up doing screechy-harpy things which we don't have to hear too much about -- you're welcome. (Chloe does, though. Feel sorry for Chloe, and send her emergency chocolate cake, stat.)
Warnings: Un-beta'd. Oh, the crackity-crack-crack.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not-for-profit.
Comments: Yes, please! :)
Author's Note: Yet another fic where Lex may end up thinking he's being a little bit evil by splitting Clark and Lana up however he can. (And he, uh, kind of is? ...Yeah, that may have not been quite his original thought process. It was more like he thought he might give screwing with Clark's head a try, just to see how he feels about it. Meh revenge, meh.)
Believe it or not, this kind of ends up more of a platonic bro-fest -slash- prank war between the two of them, that anything really super-dark or BDSM.
Also, this Lex is totally uninitiated in the fine arts of BDSM and, more specifically, all that dominant-submissive... stuff. (...Ok, yeah, technically so am I, but I've read fic. ...That sort-of counts, right? ^_^;; ...Well, let's just pretend it does, shush :-P ) --So, yeah, this means that Lex kinda obviously doesn't get that the submissive is the one with all the real power and stuff, among other stuff. They're just a pair of Kansas boys, bumbling along, hum dee dee, hum dee doo, ...and what are collars for, again? *innocent look* *grins* ;)
Also posted to AO3 here.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark stood in Lex's foyer by the library windows, somewhat nervously. Everything was painted in odd colors from the setting sun streaming in through the stained glass. He knew Lana had been in the wrong; he knew that he himself had been in the wrong for not trying to get the other half of his powers back from Lana immediately after the accident. Lightning might not strike twice, but electrical substations were a dime a dozen.
He could only hope that Lex would be understanding, because even now, when Lex had been tossing hard truths at him in the barn about Lana keeping secrets from him earlier that same day, he had seemed to at least understand.
Even if was only so that he could make Clark hurt that much worse.
Lex lazily swirled his drink with a sigh, the ice cubes clinking softly against the sides of the glass tumbler.
"No, Clark," he said. "I won't press charges against Lana..."
Clark let out a sigh of relief.
"...if you can give me a reason not to."
Clark felt like his body had flash-frozen solid.
He looked up at Lex, into the man's gaze -- lowered eyelids, calm, smooth, cutting smirk an inch away from the rim of the glass -- and croaked, "...What?"
"I won't press charges against Lana, if you can give me a reason not to," Lex repeated, sipping his drink, watching him. His eyes flickered down to his drink and he took a sip. He seemed to roll it along his tongue, looking back up at Clark with a morbid amusement.
"I..." Clark's mind went blank.
"She did try to kill me, after all. She stole from me, twice; tried to kill me, twice..."
Clark shouldn't feel like he was having trouble breathing. He was Kryptonian. There was no meteor rock around. This should not be so difficult--
"For trying to take my life, her life should now be forfeit, yes?"
"That's not..." Clark whispered. He shook himself, and said angrily, "That's not--"
Lex shot his a quick grin. "--how it works? Oh, but it is. Attempted homicide, premeditated -- why, that's a life sentence in Kansas." He took another sip, turned and started to pace away, across the room towards his desk, glancing sideways back at Clark over his shoulder.
Clark was struggling with himself. He wanted to strangle Lex for not understanding, even though Lana was in the wrong, Lex was well within his rights, and he had absolutely no impetus to grant a request of Clark's, desperate or otherwise. "Temporary psychosis--" Clark barely got out.
Lex waved it off. "It hasn't been the first time," he said. "She's established a pattern, and I don't doubt that if given the right... mm, stimuli?... when on the witness stand, she will lose her temper and admit the truth -- that she wants me dead, even now," he smiled to himself, a quick flash of teeth, "and she will say or do absolutely anything to achieve it." He turned back to Clark, all smooth motion, all cruel smirks. "Her pretty face might save her from the chair, but that's a life sentence she's facing. She's going to go to jail for the rest of her life." Lex's smile thinned and widened. "Her life is, effectively, over."
Clark shivered. This couldn't be happening. Lex wasn't... like this... Not like this.
"No," Clark said.
"Oh, yes," Lex said. He set the glass on the hard desktop surface with a muted 'clack', then paced right up to Clark. "And what will you do, Clark? How will you convince me?" He stopped right in front of him, seeming to consider the situation. "A life for a life, perhaps?"
Lex paused, with the feel of his next words on his tongue: Give me my life back. Because it hadn't been, not really -- not since The Bridge, and all that had followed. He wanted a clean cut. He wanted himself, power over himself, complete-- He wanted it back. All of it. No loose ends. No last trailing sentiments. Nothing left behind.
Clark, on the other hand, didn't pause at all. "My life for hers."
"Done," said Lex, immediately.
Then they both stared at each other, at the deal they had all too abruptly struck.
There should have been lightning, Lex thought later. There was never enough lightning and thunder for pronouncements like that.
All they'd really had to punctuate their madness was the weak, blazing light of the setting sun, slowly going out, as red dripped down over the horizon, leaving only the blackest of nights behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"You really should think this through more carefully, Clark," Lex teased, feeling as though he'd been flayed out raw. Clark was trailing behind him in down the hallway, looking for all the world like he was lost. "Did your father teach you nothing? Come hell or highwater, you don't just write a blank check to a Luthor!" Lex grinned. "Do you even know what you just said 'yes' to?"
Clark clenched his jaw and wrapped his arms around his chest. "You meant... taking the fall for her or... something..." At Lex's incredulous look, he cried out, "What?! It seemed like a good idea when I said it!"
"It seemed like a--" Lex started to laugh hysterically. He laughed so hard he had to stop and brace a hand against the wall.
Clark turned bright red.
"I'm sorry; what part of 'your life is now mine' is unclear?"
Clark abruptly came to a stop beside him and reared back like he'd been slapped. "You didn't say that!"
"You interrupted what I was going to say; that's hardly my fault," Lex taunted. It didn't really matter at that point that he'd have been asking for his own back; it was the receipt of a life he'd wanted, and that was the end of the matter.
"I didn't know!"
"So, you're going to go back on your word?" Lex grinned at him evilly. "Then I hope you're prepared to deal with the consequences -- or rather, that she is."
"No. NO!" Clark yelled, clenching his fists. "I-- you promised!"
"Only so long as you keep your end of the deal, Clark," Lex said darkly. "The moment you stop..." he let himself trail off ominously.
Clark gulped, eyes wide. He looked like he got the point.
"I--" He stopped and seemed to steel himself, before saying, "You... promise?"
Lex paused. His eyes narrowed.
Clark took a shallow breath -- as much as he could manage at the moment -- and said, a little more boldly, "If I... give you... my life, you'll... leave her alone?" Clark swallowed, then added, "You won't press charges?"
"And I am asking you, Clark, do you really know what it is you are agreeing to?" Lex replied, straightening. This was no longer a joke.
"I'm protecting Lana," he said, though he sounded almost unsure.
Lex looked at him, long and hard. "Your life. Mine."
Clark nodded, looking nervous.
"To do with, as I please."
Clark suddenly looked ill and very scared.
"Think about it," Lex said, thinking Clark would take the night to sleep on it, the morning to have his friends talk him out of it; thinking that he, himself, would be calmer after the day's end, and be able to laugh it off as something like a joke again. With this all in mind, Lex turned and proceeded to make his way down the hall to--
Clark grabbed his arm. "Okay."
"...What?" Lex said flatly, caught up short, because clearly Clark was not on the same fucking page because he could notpossibly have said--
Clark gulped and repeated, "Okay."
Lex stared at him over his shoulder. He turned back to fully face him.
"...You can't be serious."
"You promised," Clark said quietly, looking scared beyond belief, but his gaze was steady, and he was not backing down.
Well, fuck me, thought Lex.
"You will do what I want." Lex said. He took a step towards Clark. "When I want." Another step, and he was right up in Clark's personal zone. "Whenever I want, however I want." He tilted his head back, dropping his shoulders and straightening to his full height. "You won't say no. Ever." He reached up and captured Clark's chin with his hand. "You will be my thing. I will own you. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Clark said hoarsely. He was trembling.
"Last chance to back out," Lex warned quietly. He almost added, or I will take it out on both of you, if you do after this ...but he didn't. If he had, Clark would have balked, gotten angry. He would have felt justified in doing so, and rightly so. Lex would have lost the high ground with that single phrase. If he'd only pushed, just a little bit more...
Sometimes he really thinks he should have said it.
"I'm not backing out," Clark whispered.
"Say it," Lex demanded.
"I... I'm... I'm yours." His voice wavered, then more firmly, "I'm yours. My life is yours."
"I own you."
"I..." Clark balked.
"--Say it!" Lex hissed, pulling his chin down and forcing him to meet his angry, piercing, full attention.
"You..." Clark closed his eyes, unable to bear Lex's gaze boring into his own, but unable to look away.
"You own me," Clark said, lowly, a single tear escaping his eye to drip down his cheek.
He never stopped trembling throughout.
Sometimes he swears that there must have been something in the water, that made the two of them always go head to head in a demented game of chicken like that, neither of them ever able to swerve away.
Crash.
Again.
(Fuck.)
And nobody else to pick up the pieces.
~*~*~*~*~*~
I am an idiot, Clark thought.
I am an idiot, and I deserve to be... something'd. Clark wasn't sure what, but the 'something' couldn't be good.
He'd just given himself to Lex, given himself up to Lex, for Lana.
It really had seemed like a good idea at the time. Only fair. Lana had married Lex to try to protect Clark (crazy, insane -- seriously, what the hell), but now... it was Clark's turn to sacrifice himself for Lana, and it kind of almost seemed to make sense. More sense than it had looking from the outside in, before having to go through the choice himself, anyway.
Except...
...it was kind of different when Lex didn't know you were doing it, Clark figured.
Lex had a deathgrip on his wrist and was towing him down the hallway.
And with my luck, Clark figured, the first stop will be the garage, where Lex will tell me to stand still while he tries to run me over with his car, operative word: 'tries'.
Ok, so maybe he had an out. --He sort of did. He could stop anytime he wanted, actually.
...So long as he didn't care what happened to Lana.
Because she would end up in jail. There was no statute of limitations on attempted murder.
Lex stopped at the end of the hallway and proceeded to drag Clark up a flight of stairs.
What...?
Clark had never been upstairs before.
...He had a really bad feeling about this.
Lex dragged him down another hallway, opened a door, and surreptitiously shoved Clark into a room.
Clark glanced around, tense as hell.
...It was an ordinary bedroom.
"Lex...?" Clark said, turning to face him.
His mouth went dry when he got a good look at the wide, insane grin spread across Lex's face. He fought the urge to bolt, and managed to stop himself before he backpedaled more than two steps.
"You're mine now," he said, sounding darkly pleased, and Clark shuddered, reflexively wrapping his arms around himself. He fought the impulse to shudder again when Lex added, "You do what I say."
Clark gulped. "Lex..." he said, or at least he thought he did. He wasn't entirely sure he got the word out.
"You stay here."
And then Lex shut the door.
Right, Clark thought hysterically, glancing around again as he hugged himself. And now I'm locked in a bedroom, he thought as he heard the mechanism in the doorknob engage.
He stood there and waited.
Nothing happened.
...A lot more nothing happened.
Okay, maybe this isn't so bad...?
Because, really, what was the worst that could happen? Clark was an alien being with superpowers. He could just jump out the window if there was a problem and he needed to escape, right?
--There were bars on the windows. Oh fuck.
Clark took a step away from the window shades and let them fall back into place.
Okay, but that probably wouldn't work anyway, because Lex would know something was up if I mysteriously vanished by jumping out of a window, which he would know if I left the window open, even if there weren't bars there, because I would have to leave the window open and unlocked to jump out.
Or if I broke the doorknob getting out. He would also know something was up if I did that.
...Goddamnit. --He couldn't do that inside the house to begin with because there were cameras in the hallways, which had caught footage of Lana breaking into that vault earlier -- Lex had outright told him that earlier that day.
...And X-ray vision showed cameras in the walls of the bedroom -- fuck!
Ok, not only was that creepy as hell, because he didn't like the idea of being surveilled 24-7 -- and Clark tried really hard not to stare at them because he was pretty sure he shouldn't be able to see them if he was human -- but--
...every other room on the floor apparently had cameras installed in them, too.
Including what looked like it must be Lex's bedroom.
...and Clark was staring at the walls and needed to stop now, thank you, before somebody like Lex decided to look at the footage and thought that was weird and caught on!
Clark looked away and stared at the floor. Without X-ray vision. Because that would be a bad idea.
--Not that anyone should catch on because, what, Clark was weird-ish, sure, but staring at walls wasn't necessarily totally out of the realm of possible for somebody who'd just been told they were owned and shoved in a room like a toybox and --ohgod, Clark was not going there.
Clark rubbed his face with his hands and sat down on the bed.
"Oh god, I am letting Lex get to me, and he's not even in the room. It's just a bedroom," Clark told himself.
And then he realized he was now talking out loud to himself.
Clark grabbed a pillow, fell back on the bed, and quietly screamed into it for awhile.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex came back upstairs after he'd finished with his business for the evening. He'd been somewhat derailed by Lana's episode in the lab earlier that day, and had had some catching up to do, as well as extra paperwork to go over in terms of sorting out the attack and the damage to the lab. Unfortunately, there hadn't been much of salveagable use, with Project Scion gone.
He unocked the door to Clark's room -- no, the room with Clark in it -- opened the door, and paused.
He bit his lip at the sight of the sheets of the bed hanging in a floppy-looking box-shape over the bed, shielding it from view.
This is not a four-poster bed, he thought hazily, stifling a giggle. He crept forward quietly, and very gently lifted an end of the sheet up on the nearest 'long' side of the bed -- it just seemed to be laying on top of whatever was holding it up, dangling down.
Hm, wire coathangers, Lex realized as he poked his head in and glanced around the 'inside' of the contraption. It was rather ingenious, actually. Granted the box only held the sheets three feet up, but the hangers themselves, probably from the closet, had been very carefully rebent, and the care of craftsmanship was...
Lex grinned.
Clark was sprawled out across the bed, asleep, no longer fully hidden from sight.
He looked tired.
Lex recognized that kind of tired right away. He looked like the kind of stressed-out tired that people got from fear that wouldn't go away.
Lex flipped the bedsheet flap up over the horizontal crossbar, keeping it up so Lex wouldn't have to hold it -- but not so far that the sheet would cascade down into the middle and destroy the integrity of the 'box' -- leaving it 'open'. He ducked his head under and slid onto the mattress, then pushed himself across until he was up next to Clark.
He looked over Clark, whose face was turned away from him, and ran a hand through his hair.
Clark's eyes immediately shot open.
"Stay still," Lex said, leaving his hand to rest on the top of Clark's head.
"Wh-" Clark blinked uncertainly and frowned, and then seemed to realize where he was.
And about a split-second later he froze in place.
Then he went rigid and the eye Lex could see went wide. It rolled up to look at him.
Well, that was fast, Lex thought with some interest. It didn't take Clark long to fully awaken, or remember his situation, at all.
Then Clark seemed to remember how to breathe again.
...He stayed still.
Lex lowered his eyelids and let himself show an amused smirk. He drifted his hand across Clark head, and then slid his fingers into the strands once again.
Clark started shivering again, and then he clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut.
Lex continued to, for lack of a better word, pet him.
Clark didn't say a word, but he was tense as hell and he continued to shake with fine tremors that Lex could feel not just under his hand, but through the damn mattress.
"What are you so afraid of, Clark?" Lex asked, continuing to stroke his hair.
"..."
"Louder, please."
"Don't know," Clark muttered quietly, audible this time, if barely.
Lex smiled. "You don't know what you're afraid of? Or are you afraid of what you don't know?"
Clark completely stilled under his hand.
Lex blinked.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark was so shocked he forgot to be scared.
How...?!
...And Lex had sounded so gentle when he asked. Mocking, but gentle.
He knew he hadn't meant it, but...
And then Lex leaned down, directly over his ear, and whispered, dark and low, "What if I told you what I was going to do right before I did it? Would that help?"
Clark shuddered, squeezed his eyes shut even harder, and had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.
~*~*~*~*~*~
...That was not a good reaction.
Lex's mind raced.
He'd really meant to only play a few mind games with Clark -- scare him, then let him go at worst.
This, on the other hand...
This caught his attention in a bad way.
What does he think I'm going to do?
...Well, there was an easy way to answer that.
"What do you think I'm going to do to you, Clark?" he murmured, and saw the same sort of expression flash across Clark's face, even worse than before.
He's not even trying to fight me, Lex realized numbly.
Lex's thoughts shot far out far ahead of him, and he licked his lips as he stroked Clark's head again, and said, lightly, "What if I told you to hurt Lana?"
Clark was upright in a flash, staring him eye-to-eye, Lex's hand caught in a vice grip at the wrist.
"That is not--!" Clark nearly growled at him.
Lex shot Clark a harmless smile and put his free hand up, lightly laying his fingertips over Clark's lips to forestall him. "Just wondering what your reaction might be," he said mildly.
"Well I hope you're happy!" Clark spat back, drawing away.
No, not really, Lex thought. He was actually rather thoroughly dismayed, and maybe even a little afraid. He defends anyone else just as he used to, as he's always done, but when it comes to himself... Lex took in a breath as he searched Clark's eyes and watched the anger dim. How could he not defend himself at all? That isn't normal, that's... that's learned. That's a learned behavior.
Lex curled a hand around Clark's neck and drew Clark to him, pulled Clark's head down to his chest and lay his own chin atop the boy's head. ...When the hell did this happen? Lex though, stroking his fingers through his hair as he looked down at Clark. Who did this to you? When did it begin? Who taught you to devalue your life so much that...
...or was it really fear? No, that couldn't be it -- he'd be lashing out, fighting back if it was an uncontrolled panic. Not unless he believed it wouldn't do any good... Lex ignored the third possibility -- the threat hanging over Lana's head -- because he doubted very much that what was stopping Clark right now was the thought of future consequences to others. Lex knew fear intimately by this point, and this one seemed very... immediate.
"What... What are you doing?" Clark asked uncertainly, glancing back and forth uneasily, but he remained where he was, lying against Lex's chest. He didn't protest any further than that, not that it had been much of a protest to begin with.
"Hush. I've had a vey stressful day, and this is" -- comfortable -- making me feel better -- what I want to do -- "...helping."
There was a pause, then Clark closed his eyes and said with a touch of hysteria, "Can't you just get yourself a dog or something?"
"No," said Lex.
"I bet a dog would talk back less."
"No. I've got you; I don't need a dog," Lex said firmly, hugging him a little tighter around his neck. Lex closed his eyes as he took a little longer on the hair-strokes.
"Oh, great, just what I always wanted -- to be your pet," Clark muttered, low and sarcastic.
Lex grinned for a second.
...It was a long second.
"That's not funny, Lex," Clark said cautiously, starting to push himself upright. Lex pulled him back down against his chest.
"Stay put."
Clark made a half-strangled sound of protest.
"I am not--"
"Oh, I don't know, Clark. I think your idea has merit," Lex said smoothly. "You are technically an animal, and I own you. That is somewhat the definition of a pet."
"Or a slave."
Lex's eyes snapped open. It took all of Lex's training not to physically respond any further than that.
"Or a prisoner," Lex said lightly, trying to redirect the thought, because god, he did not want to go there. Who the hell would go there? Clark could not possibly think--
"Pretty sure prisoners have rights," Clark said quietly. "And don't have to do everything they're told."
Lex felt ill.
He closed his eyes and was very glad that Clark couldn't see his face from his current vantage point.
Clark thinks that. Of me. Clark thinks that of me.
...How is Clark is capable of thinking of that at all?!
"Slaves are boring," Lex said, keeping his tone light. "I think I have enough of those." Please, dear god, let him see that as the horrifically unfunny joke that it is. "I'd rather have a human pet, I think."
Clark let out a single laugh.
"You think you can't handle that?"
"Depends on what you're expecting, I guess," Clark said nastily with a twisted smile.
A verbal bite is better than nothing, Lex thought. "Oh, well, maybe I'll train you better," Lex said, going along with the idea. Not that that's too far off course; I don't like the idea of Clark just rolling over and dying the next time someone threatens him. ...When did this start happening? Lex wondered again. It had to have been recently -- when Clark confronted me about the Level 3 'escapees' he gave as good as he got. And before that, when he went down into the tunnels to get me -- save me -- from those two lunatics before the whole underground system collapsed, he didn't do anything stupidly sacrificial at solely his own personal cost -- we worked together equally.
The only real, persisitent change of note that Lex could think of that had happened to Clark in the meantime was an extended period of time spent with Lana on the Kent Farm.
...Oh, that bitch. --Of course Clark would suffer a self-esteem hit, long-term. Lana had left Lex, but she was using Clark as a shield and lying to him as she did so, and it had become even more obvious as of late. She didn't love him. ...She'd probably been making comparisons between live on the farm with Clark and life at the manion with Lex, too; she could hardly not, with the drastic change in standard of living.
In many ways, there's no way Clark can compete with what I can, and have, given her. It was an objective truth. If Lana's been making any ill-meant comments to that effect... and she was a sly one, with a very sharp and subtle verbal knife...
Lex sighed in frustration and just settled on hugging Clark closer to him, forgoing playing with his hair for awhile.
That doesn't really explain his fear, though, Lex knew.
Great. ...So what does he think being my slave would entail? What could he think I might ask -- tell -- him to do, with him having no choice in the matter...?
Lex thought over all of the recent projects he was working on, or had worked on, that had involved questionable prior subject assent that he knew Clark knew about... or that Clark thought he knew about...
...a few things like SynTechnics and Victor Stone, the Freak Tagging debacle and Tobias Rice, the Belle Reeve control experiment with Moira Sullivan...
...Lex stopped thinking about that. That was disturbing. --He decided to think about how he could prod Clark back into having some semblance of self-worth again, instead.
...Oh. Ah. That might work... He'd have to do a little research, though. He didn't know very much about it.
He thought for a bit.
"I've never had a pet before," Lex said finally, making sure he sounded properly contemplative. "It's settled -- you'll be my pet." And no more thoughts of slavery, Lex thought firmly. He didn't want Clark scared of him, that was just... ugh.
"No collars," Clark muttered.
"Yes, collars," Lex countermanded. "Well, a collar, anyway. I ought to get to have something declaring outright ownership. I wouldn't want to run the risk of you haring off and getting lost," he teased. Then he paused. "Something... tasteful."
"...Huh?" Clark craned his neck at an odd angle, trying to look up at Lex. "What? --No!"
"Yes," said Lex.
"No!" said Clark. "People don't wear collars!"
"Some people do," Lex said mildly, petting his head again to gently push it back down.
Clark pushed back and frowned up at him. (That was encouraging.) "They do not!" he said hotly.
"Do so."
"Yeah right! What are they made of, then?"
"Usually a metal like silver or bronze-gold, almost like a necklace -- or a leather choker, I think," Lex said, after dredging the dregs of remembrance in the back of his mind. His memories of those clubs were a bit murky -- a friend of a friend supplying the name and place, lots of drinking, just a stop along the way... he hadn't really been paying much attention at the time. Now he almost wished he had.
Clark made a disgusted noise. "I'd rather wear a dog collar," he said as a refusal.
"Fine," Lex said.
Clark looked a little blank for a moment. Then they glared at each other for a bit.
"Don't think I won't do it," Lex said.
"I don't think you've got the guts to do something like that to me," Clark challenged. "Unless you're planning on making me an 'indoor pet'," he said, with a glint in his eye.
Well, at least he's being more assertive and feeling comfortable doing so, Lex mentally sighed. But-- "Why would I be embarrassed? You'll be the one wearing the collar," Lex said, frowning.
"A stupid cheap dog collar. People will think you don't now how to dress me," he grinned evilly.
And then Clark's grin froze and waned as Lex's grin waxed on full.
"Wait, no--"
"Oh yes" Lex practically purred. Dress-up Clark. Properly. Oh, this will be fun. "--First order of business: I am burning your wardrobe."
"No--"
"Burning. All the flannel. Burning," Lex said with a maniacal grin. "No more flannel," he said happily.
"No no no! I am not walking around in just t-shirts and jeans--"
"Burning those too."
"What?! --No! What the hell will I wear?!" Clark objected, strongly. "I can't afford--!"
"Pet," Lex said, poking him in the chest sharply. "Owner," he said pointing to himself. "Pet owner buys the pet clothes."
"What-- no-- that's-- ohgodwillyou please stop grinning like that?" Clark practically begged.
"Can't. Too happy about the burning, the glorious burning!" Lex said happily, patting Clark on the head.
Clark groaned and hid his face in his hands.
"What the hell am I going to tell Lana?"
"Hm?" Lex said innocently.
"What? I-- Wardrobe--" Clark's face suddenly fell as he finally caught Lex's meaning.
" 'Indoor pet' generally means being kept indoors at the owner's residence, Clark," Lex said slowly. Because I'll be damned if I let her keep grinding you under just because you're there to take things out on when she's feeling frustrated because she's having difficulty getting to me. She fucking ought to be keeping it between the two of them, not bringing anyone else into the crossfire.
Clark... twitched.
"I... I have to stay indoors?" Clark twitched. "Here?" Clark twitched again.
Lex was feeling a little disturbed at all the twitching. He started stroking Clark's hair again. "You come with me when I say so and stay where I tell you to." I can't very well keep an eye on you and you away from Lana if-- speaking of which-- "And no conversing with Lana." Because the last thing you need is her wailing on you for agreeing to be my 'pet' in a deal to try to protect her from jailtime. Clark didn't seem completely turned off to the concept, for whatever reason -- possibly it being far too foreign an idea for his farmboy experience to properly parse -- but most people would find the idea despicable.
Lex didn't want Clark getting put down or berated for it while it was ongoing -- that would be counterproductive to ego-building.
Because really, this ought to be a good way to show that an innate sense of trust is possible, and not a stupid or potentially-damaging feeling to let onesself experience, even -- no, especially -- when the 'pet' has no real control over anything, and the 'owner' is making all of the decisions.
It was really simplicity itself. Clark would argue, Lex would argue back without ignoring or overriding him unnecessarily. (Lex would prod him into arguing if necessary.) Clark would see through actions that it was safe to disagree ...even with someone he appparently considered as untrustworthy as he believed Lex to be, nowadays.
...Not that Lex particularly enjoyed arguing with Clark -- or at least, not the outright yelling matches. Bickering was ok; joking and teasing and wordplay were fine. Sort of what they'd used to do.
Yes. Lex would be perfectly happy if they got back to doing what they'd used to do, all those years ago.
Lex's thoughts were pulled away from this train of thought, though, when Clark grumbled out, "I'd rather be an 'outdoor pet' and sleep in a doghouse than be stuck indoors--" then blinked and burst out angrily: "Wait -- what the hell do you mean, no conversing with Lana?!"
"No -- you are not sleeping outside," Lex said flatly. I absolutely refuse to treat you like an animal. Or worse than I'd treat an actual pet. "And as for Lana, I mean just that -- no talking, email, phoning, texting, nothing. If she tries to communicate, you don't say or do anything -- not even some kind of gesturing -- you walk away from her and come to me."
"You can't be serious."
"I am absolutely serious, Clark," Lex said darkly. "She gets her life; I get yours. That's the deal. She does not get yours. That is not part of the deal," Lex ended. "Now -- come on," Lex said, pulling away and tugging at Clark's arm.
"What?"
"Come with me," Lex insisted.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark unhappily let Lex drag him around the mansion. They ended up in what looked like Lex's bedroom.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex pulled Clark into his bedroom and shoved him towards the foot of the bed.
When Clark stopped in place after only one step, Lex's eyes narrowed. He's been letting me drag him around, Lex realized. He wasn't entirely sure why he was unhappy with the thought.
Lex shook it off. "Down," Lex said, shoving him backwards in the chest and walking him until he sat down onto the mattress at the foot of the bed.
"Lex, what--" Clark frowned up at him.
"Stay put," Lex ordered.
And then he turned and walked over to the bedroom door. He locked it, pocketed the key, and then headed into the bathroom to take a shower.
When he came back out, the curtains for his four-poster bed were down. Upon pulling one aside, he was greeted with the sight of one Clark Kent, lying out on his bed with his head on one of the pillows. On his side of the bed.
"Move," Lex said.
"Excuse me?" Clark said, turning his head to stare at him.
"You heard me," Lex said.
"I am not sleeping at the foot of the bed!" Clark protested.
...This of course devolved into to a shoving-poking match, which ended with Clark eventually rolling his eyes and giving a grumbling acquiescence as he shifted down to the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling, pillowing his head with his arms with his legs dangling off the edge of the bed at his knees.
Lex had to curl his feet up a little so he wasn't poking them into Clark's side, as he situated himself under the covers. It was a little uncomfortable.
Lex checked his alarm and turned off the bedside lamp.
Yes, definitely uncomfortable.
And then Clark started quietly humming tunelessly to nothing in particular.
Goddamn it, Lex thought peevishly. I've got a randomly-humming Clark at the foot of my bed, when I don't like falling asleep with other people next to me or nearby -- that one hooker being killed next to him in that hotel room after he'd been drugged had pretty much clinched it for him -- and it's probably even worse that it's an awake Clark because he probably feels like he's got plenty of reasons to fuck with me while I'm unconscious at this point and what the hell was I thinking when I thought this was a good idea? he berated himself. I'm wearing a good three pieces of clothing more than the nothing I usually do to not offend certain people's sensibilities about nakedness, and I can't even stretch out my legs!
I'm going to have to think of a way out of this hole Clark-in-the-same-bed nonsense without losing face, he thought grimly, because there is no fucking way that I'm going to... be able to... fall... asl--
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark slowly stopped humming as he realized Lex was falling asleep. Weird, he thought. I was trying to be annoying until he stuffed a pillow over his head and told me to go sleep in another room. Everybody else always complained that he couldn't sing worth a damn and sounded annoying as hell when he tried to carry a tune. ...Maybe it didn't work on Lex?
He waited until Lex's breathing evened out completely, and his heartbeat slowed to a regular slow rhythm, before he quietly pushed himself up on his elbows.
He squinted.
Yup, he's asleep, all right.
Clark lie still and considered his options.
He could go home... but it'd be practically impossible not to talk to Lana if he did that, and Lex would know that. Even if Clark did manage to keep silent, Lex would never believe it -- which meant the promise would be broken, and Lana would end up in jail, without Clark having been able to hold out for even twenty-four hours.
He could go... to the Talon apartment and crash there -- Chloe would let him; she wouldn't turn him away if he said he couldn't sleep at the farm. ...Of course, it would all crash and burn the next morning, when Lex would inevitably seek him outwitha collar and probably also a leash.
...Clark also didn't really like the thought of the laughter and derision that Lois would send his way as Lex dragged him off like a stupid little lost puppy. He could practically hear her making nasty 'Clarky' jokes already.
Running away any further than the town would raise questions as how he'd gotten where he absconded himself off to in the first place.
Ugh, ok, so -- probably stuck here for awhile, he decided.
He sighed softly, and glanced back over at Lex again.
...Honestly, he had half a feeling that Lex was just doing this to mess with him, almost. Unfortunately, he couldn't risk outright calling Lex's bluff -- if it was a bluff, because he'd looked a little too invested in the idea of burning all his clothing, among some of the other things...
Ok, fine. Whatever. Lex really seemed invested in the whole 'pet' notion, though, and Clark was happy to stay there, because he really doubted he'd like being used as a guinea pig, or being sent to Belle Reeve, or given shock therapy or something to 'cure' him of all the lying he'd been doing that he was pretty sure Lex knew about but had never called him on before.
...Frankly, he'd been surprised that Lex hadn't just started trying to demand secrets from him left and right, and had everything go downhill from there. It wasn't like Lex didn't have all those memory projects to get at people's secrets, or hypnotize and mindcontrol them, or force them to tell the truth, and whatnot.
Well, whatever. He wasn't about to say anything and maybe give Lex ideas.
He eyed Lex, and the empty pillow and bedspace next to him. Lex hadn't been all that quick on the uptake on 'obedience', either.
And he's never had a pet, Clark snickered to himself. Well, fine, he thought, grinning evilly at the new thought or twelve. He wants a pet? He can learn first-hand exactly how "well" a pet follows commands.
And so, Clark crept up the side of the bed and fell asleep like a normal person would.
Either I wake up before he does, and he never finds out -- because his cameras can't see shit past the curtains -- or he does and, well, win-win.
Clark slid his arms under his head and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Because maybe, just maybe, this might be a little bit...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex woke up blearily to the sound of his beeping alarm, and a world of darkness.
Lex grumbled at having obviously set it wrong, and groped around a bit, before he realized that the bedcurtain was in the way.
...which was stupid and useless and how the hell had that happened, he had no idea, he liked waking to sunlight, as he finally slapped the alarm off and slapped at the curtain to shove it aside and slipped his feet over the edge, to stand upright and walk forward--
--he faceplanted into a big soft thing.
The big soft thing was white and a pillow.
What the fuck--?
He heard chewing sounds behind him.
Lex unsprawled himself from the floor and got himself levered up on an elbow as he turned to see what was behind him...
...Clark, with his legs all sprawled out -- oh, that's what I tripped over, he realized abstractly -- with one elbow propping him up. Lex watched as Clark shoved his free hand into --a bag of Pocky. Clark was munching on a bag of Pocky.
...There were a lot of empty bags of Pocky.
"Those are mine," Lex accused, and how the hell had Clark found his secret stash anyway?
He surreptitiously glanced towards the vent and -- the cover was off -- yes, damnit, those were from his secret stash! Damnit!
"I was hungry," said Clark.
Lex blinked at him, because that wasn't a good reason at all--
"You didn't feed me," Clark continued, all innocence. "I had to fend for myself."
"You can feed yourself!" Lex said, getting up off the floor.
"I am," Clark said.
"You--"
"Door was locked," Clark said. He tilted his head and added, "You know, I'm pretty sure that feeding a pet is supposed to take higher priority than clothing one." He smiled mischeviously, then added condescendingly, "You really aren't very good at this, are you?"
Lex's mind went blank for a moment, before he remembered all the 'pet' nonsense and the promise-deal from the previous day.
Lex bent down and nearly -- nearly -- told Clark to get the fuck out and never bother him again. (And to pay him back for the Pocky, damnit.)
But that damn smile Clark had on was so goddamn cocky it burned and that just made Lex feel contrary as hell, though only more so than his complete and utter annoyance with the farmboy at present.
Lex grabbed the Pocky away from Clark and strode into the bathroom, back rigid.
It was only until Lex was halfway through his shower that he realized that it was probably a good idea he hadn't had his coffee yet before this had happened, because he would've thought of the idea of forcing Clark to strip naked on the spot and make him walk around the mansion like that -- and have to eat breakfast first -- before working out new clothing for him far earlier when he'd been so irate that he might've actually done it.
It was only after his shower that he realized that the moisture from said shower had turned the contents of the half-eaten-through bag of Pocky into a soggy inedible mess.
He cursed for a good five minutes straight before he let himself walk back out into the bedroom, because that little annoyance had left him sorely tempted with doing the whole forcing-Clark-to-go-around-naked thing again, and doing that would be mean and bad and he really, really knew he shouldn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Drat, thought Clark as he watched Lex wordlessly snatch the stolen Pocky back and stomp into the bathroom in a total snit. I almost thought I had him there...
He patted himself on the back for the Pocky thing, and he'd even managed to trip up Lex, too. ...Good thing he'd had the pillow handy, though -- that had almost been a disaster.
(Clark 2, Lex 0.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex double-marched Clark down the hallway to the kitchen in his previous day's clothing -- flannel and jeans. (It looked as though Clark had never gotten undressed the night before.)
While Clark was distracted by breakfast foods (and his staff mostly distracted and surprised by Clark's presence), he managed to give one of his less-distracted staff members a list of things to order post-haste, and stock in the walk-in closet in the 'guest'-bedroom attached to his own.
That way, the goods arrived and were stowed in said closet before Lex dragged Clark back to his rooms, through the connecting door to the guest bedroom, and pretty much kicked him into the shower.
This meant that when Clark finally ventured out of the shower, swathed in towels -- not having heard anyone else enter the room -- and then when he saw Lex start rummaging through the guest closet for clothing and shoes for him -- that was chock full of all sorts of various sizes and shapes and shades and colors and types of seeming-randomness -- and pull out a set (the set he'd ordered that morning, not that Clark knew that) that fit him perfectly...
Well, Lex was glad he had cameras in the rooms. He was blowing that one up and framing it.
(Lex 1, Clark 2.)
And then, once Clark was suitably attired (finally! hah!), Lex gathered up Clark's belongings from the previous day's wearing and proceeded to make good on his threat out on the back patio...
(Lex 2, Clark 2.)
...and then he got sprayed with fire retardant foam by an overenthusiastic Cook, who was then overenthusiastically apologetic as she stammeringly tried to explain how she'd been trying to enforce the no-smoking policy in a way that would prevent repeat offenders, and she hadn't realized that it had been him burning clothing out there right by the windows, but could he please not do that by the house like that because it set a bad example for the others...
...all while Clark howled with laughter from the safety of a lawn chair which had been well out of the way of all the foam...
(Lex 2, Clark 3.)
...which had then led to an irate Lex kindly asking Cook if he could please borrow that fire extinguisher for just a second because he thought she might've missed a spot from that angle...
...and when all was said and done he and Clark had both needed showers again and new sets of clothing, and his groundskeeping staff were all very relieved to hear from the Cook that the stuff was biodegradable and would wash away perfectly fine in the next rain.
(Lex 3, Clark 4.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark decided -- no, promised himself, yeah promised -- that he was definitely going to have to play 'bad dog' at some point and go find that fire extinguisher to mess around with, somehow 'coincidently' very 'nearby' Lex, as he grinned into the shower mirror and toweled his hair dry for the second time that day.
He was totally anoyed by the fact that apparently Lex had more than one set of clothes that fit him in that magic closet of his. They even -- dear god -- matched. That was totally not cool.
(Lex 4, Clark 4.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex circled Clark, who he'd directed to stand out in the middle of the room.
...And then Lex tapped a finger against his lips thoughtfully and said, "Hmm... I feel like I'm forgetting something... --Oh yes!!"
And out of his pocket he pulled a cloth-belt-buckle-type dog collar -- human-sized -- and held it up in front of Clark's face.
Clark stared at it. "You--"
Lex got a very wide grin, and he said brightly, "Hold still!"
Clark hunched his shoulders and glared.
Lex got it on him. Eventually.
...there may or may not have been a lot of sneaking, a chocolate cake, and some weird medieval bolas thing involved.
(Lex 5, Clark 4.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
And thus, the war of attrition began.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Author: josephina_x
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark, Lex
Rating: R (because it sort of has vague references to themes of BDSM *shrug*)
Spoilers: References season 6 and previous, general spoilers for early season 7 and all prior. Diverges at the end of Wrath (7x07) when Clark goes to talk to Lex.
Word count: 7800+
Summary: What if Lex decided to be a little more... evil... at the end of Wrath? What if he decided to punish Clark, for Lana's transgression? ...What if Clark agreed to sacrifice himself for her sake? Will Clark break? Or will he... bend?
...Hey, that would be a totally crazy fic, am I right? --Unfortunately, this is not that. (Oops.) Here, Lex kind of goes the other route. You know, the whole brotherly-love one.
So, instead, you get Lex being pissed about Lana treating Clark like her own personal bitch, Clark's "sacrifice" isn't so much of one, and everybody else is left standing around scratching their heads while Lana ends up doing screechy-harpy things which we don't have to hear too much about -- you're welcome. (Chloe does, though. Feel sorry for Chloe, and send her emergency chocolate cake, stat.)
Warnings: Un-beta'd. Oh, the crackity-crack-crack.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not-for-profit.
Comments: Yes, please! :)
Author's Note: Yet another fic where Lex may end up thinking he's being a little bit evil by splitting Clark and Lana up however he can. (And he, uh, kind of is? ...Yeah, that may have not been quite his original thought process. It was more like he thought he might give screwing with Clark's head a try, just to see how he feels about it. Meh revenge, meh.)
Believe it or not, this kind of ends up more of a platonic bro-fest -slash- prank war between the two of them, that anything really super-dark or BDSM.
Also, this Lex is totally uninitiated in the fine arts of BDSM and, more specifically, all that dominant-submissive... stuff. (...Ok, yeah, technically so am I, but I've read fic. ...That sort-of counts, right? ^_^;; ...Well, let's just pretend it does, shush :-P ) --So, yeah, this means that Lex kinda obviously doesn't get that the submissive is the one with all the real power and stuff, among other stuff. They're just a pair of Kansas boys, bumbling along, hum dee dee, hum dee doo, ...and what are collars for, again? *innocent look* *grins* ;)
Also posted to AO3 here.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark stood in Lex's foyer by the library windows, somewhat nervously. Everything was painted in odd colors from the setting sun streaming in through the stained glass. He knew Lana had been in the wrong; he knew that he himself had been in the wrong for not trying to get the other half of his powers back from Lana immediately after the accident. Lightning might not strike twice, but electrical substations were a dime a dozen.
He could only hope that Lex would be understanding, because even now, when Lex had been tossing hard truths at him in the barn about Lana keeping secrets from him earlier that same day, he had seemed to at least understand.
Even if was only so that he could make Clark hurt that much worse.
Lex lazily swirled his drink with a sigh, the ice cubes clinking softly against the sides of the glass tumbler.
"No, Clark," he said. "I won't press charges against Lana..."
Clark let out a sigh of relief.
"...if you can give me a reason not to."
Clark felt like his body had flash-frozen solid.
He looked up at Lex, into the man's gaze -- lowered eyelids, calm, smooth, cutting smirk an inch away from the rim of the glass -- and croaked, "...What?"
"I won't press charges against Lana, if you can give me a reason not to," Lex repeated, sipping his drink, watching him. His eyes flickered down to his drink and he took a sip. He seemed to roll it along his tongue, looking back up at Clark with a morbid amusement.
"I..." Clark's mind went blank.
"She did try to kill me, after all. She stole from me, twice; tried to kill me, twice..."
Clark shouldn't feel like he was having trouble breathing. He was Kryptonian. There was no meteor rock around. This should not be so difficult--
"For trying to take my life, her life should now be forfeit, yes?"
"That's not..." Clark whispered. He shook himself, and said angrily, "That's not--"
Lex shot his a quick grin. "--how it works? Oh, but it is. Attempted homicide, premeditated -- why, that's a life sentence in Kansas." He took another sip, turned and started to pace away, across the room towards his desk, glancing sideways back at Clark over his shoulder.
Clark was struggling with himself. He wanted to strangle Lex for not understanding, even though Lana was in the wrong, Lex was well within his rights, and he had absolutely no impetus to grant a request of Clark's, desperate or otherwise. "Temporary psychosis--" Clark barely got out.
Lex waved it off. "It hasn't been the first time," he said. "She's established a pattern, and I don't doubt that if given the right... mm, stimuli?... when on the witness stand, she will lose her temper and admit the truth -- that she wants me dead, even now," he smiled to himself, a quick flash of teeth, "and she will say or do absolutely anything to achieve it." He turned back to Clark, all smooth motion, all cruel smirks. "Her pretty face might save her from the chair, but that's a life sentence she's facing. She's going to go to jail for the rest of her life." Lex's smile thinned and widened. "Her life is, effectively, over."
Clark shivered. This couldn't be happening. Lex wasn't... like this... Not like this.
"No," Clark said.
"Oh, yes," Lex said. He set the glass on the hard desktop surface with a muted 'clack', then paced right up to Clark. "And what will you do, Clark? How will you convince me?" He stopped right in front of him, seeming to consider the situation. "A life for a life, perhaps?"
Lex paused, with the feel of his next words on his tongue: Give me my life back. Because it hadn't been, not really -- not since The Bridge, and all that had followed. He wanted a clean cut. He wanted himself, power over himself, complete-- He wanted it back. All of it. No loose ends. No last trailing sentiments. Nothing left behind.
Clark, on the other hand, didn't pause at all. "My life for hers."
"Done," said Lex, immediately.
Then they both stared at each other, at the deal they had all too abruptly struck.
There should have been lightning, Lex thought later. There was never enough lightning and thunder for pronouncements like that.
All they'd really had to punctuate their madness was the weak, blazing light of the setting sun, slowly going out, as red dripped down over the horizon, leaving only the blackest of nights behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"You really should think this through more carefully, Clark," Lex teased, feeling as though he'd been flayed out raw. Clark was trailing behind him in down the hallway, looking for all the world like he was lost. "Did your father teach you nothing? Come hell or highwater, you don't just write a blank check to a Luthor!" Lex grinned. "Do you even know what you just said 'yes' to?"
Clark clenched his jaw and wrapped his arms around his chest. "You meant... taking the fall for her or... something..." At Lex's incredulous look, he cried out, "What?! It seemed like a good idea when I said it!"
"It seemed like a--" Lex started to laugh hysterically. He laughed so hard he had to stop and brace a hand against the wall.
Clark turned bright red.
"I'm sorry; what part of 'your life is now mine' is unclear?"
Clark abruptly came to a stop beside him and reared back like he'd been slapped. "You didn't say that!"
"You interrupted what I was going to say; that's hardly my fault," Lex taunted. It didn't really matter at that point that he'd have been asking for his own back; it was the receipt of a life he'd wanted, and that was the end of the matter.
"I didn't know!"
"So, you're going to go back on your word?" Lex grinned at him evilly. "Then I hope you're prepared to deal with the consequences -- or rather, that she is."
"No. NO!" Clark yelled, clenching his fists. "I-- you promised!"
"Only so long as you keep your end of the deal, Clark," Lex said darkly. "The moment you stop..." he let himself trail off ominously.
Clark gulped, eyes wide. He looked like he got the point.
"I--" He stopped and seemed to steel himself, before saying, "You... promise?"
Lex paused. His eyes narrowed.
Clark took a shallow breath -- as much as he could manage at the moment -- and said, a little more boldly, "If I... give you... my life, you'll... leave her alone?" Clark swallowed, then added, "You won't press charges?"
"And I am asking you, Clark, do you really know what it is you are agreeing to?" Lex replied, straightening. This was no longer a joke.
"I'm protecting Lana," he said, though he sounded almost unsure.
Lex looked at him, long and hard. "Your life. Mine."
Clark nodded, looking nervous.
"To do with, as I please."
Clark suddenly looked ill and very scared.
"Think about it," Lex said, thinking Clark would take the night to sleep on it, the morning to have his friends talk him out of it; thinking that he, himself, would be calmer after the day's end, and be able to laugh it off as something like a joke again. With this all in mind, Lex turned and proceeded to make his way down the hall to--
Clark grabbed his arm. "Okay."
"...What?" Lex said flatly, caught up short, because clearly Clark was not on the same fucking page because he could notpossibly have said--
Clark gulped and repeated, "Okay."
Lex stared at him over his shoulder. He turned back to fully face him.
"...You can't be serious."
"You promised," Clark said quietly, looking scared beyond belief, but his gaze was steady, and he was not backing down.
Well, fuck me, thought Lex.
"You will do what I want." Lex said. He took a step towards Clark. "When I want." Another step, and he was right up in Clark's personal zone. "Whenever I want, however I want." He tilted his head back, dropping his shoulders and straightening to his full height. "You won't say no. Ever." He reached up and captured Clark's chin with his hand. "You will be my thing. I will own you. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Clark said hoarsely. He was trembling.
"Last chance to back out," Lex warned quietly. He almost added, or I will take it out on both of you, if you do after this ...but he didn't. If he had, Clark would have balked, gotten angry. He would have felt justified in doing so, and rightly so. Lex would have lost the high ground with that single phrase. If he'd only pushed, just a little bit more...
Sometimes he really thinks he should have said it.
"I'm not backing out," Clark whispered.
"Say it," Lex demanded.
"I... I'm... I'm yours." His voice wavered, then more firmly, "I'm yours. My life is yours."
"I own you."
"I..." Clark balked.
"--Say it!" Lex hissed, pulling his chin down and forcing him to meet his angry, piercing, full attention.
"You..." Clark closed his eyes, unable to bear Lex's gaze boring into his own, but unable to look away.
"You own me," Clark said, lowly, a single tear escaping his eye to drip down his cheek.
He never stopped trembling throughout.
Sometimes he swears that there must have been something in the water, that made the two of them always go head to head in a demented game of chicken like that, neither of them ever able to swerve away.
Crash.
Again.
(Fuck.)
And nobody else to pick up the pieces.
~*~*~*~*~*~
I am an idiot, Clark thought.
I am an idiot, and I deserve to be... something'd. Clark wasn't sure what, but the 'something' couldn't be good.
He'd just given himself to Lex, given himself up to Lex, for Lana.
It really had seemed like a good idea at the time. Only fair. Lana had married Lex to try to protect Clark (crazy, insane -- seriously, what the hell), but now... it was Clark's turn to sacrifice himself for Lana, and it kind of almost seemed to make sense. More sense than it had looking from the outside in, before having to go through the choice himself, anyway.
Except...
...it was kind of different when Lex didn't know you were doing it, Clark figured.
Lex had a deathgrip on his wrist and was towing him down the hallway.
And with my luck, Clark figured, the first stop will be the garage, where Lex will tell me to stand still while he tries to run me over with his car, operative word: 'tries'.
Ok, so maybe he had an out. --He sort of did. He could stop anytime he wanted, actually.
...So long as he didn't care what happened to Lana.
Because she would end up in jail. There was no statute of limitations on attempted murder.
Lex stopped at the end of the hallway and proceeded to drag Clark up a flight of stairs.
What...?
Clark had never been upstairs before.
...He had a really bad feeling about this.
Lex dragged him down another hallway, opened a door, and surreptitiously shoved Clark into a room.
Clark glanced around, tense as hell.
...It was an ordinary bedroom.
"Lex...?" Clark said, turning to face him.
His mouth went dry when he got a good look at the wide, insane grin spread across Lex's face. He fought the urge to bolt, and managed to stop himself before he backpedaled more than two steps.
"You're mine now," he said, sounding darkly pleased, and Clark shuddered, reflexively wrapping his arms around himself. He fought the impulse to shudder again when Lex added, "You do what I say."
Clark gulped. "Lex..." he said, or at least he thought he did. He wasn't entirely sure he got the word out.
"You stay here."
And then Lex shut the door.
Right, Clark thought hysterically, glancing around again as he hugged himself. And now I'm locked in a bedroom, he thought as he heard the mechanism in the doorknob engage.
He stood there and waited.
Nothing happened.
...A lot more nothing happened.
Okay, maybe this isn't so bad...?
Because, really, what was the worst that could happen? Clark was an alien being with superpowers. He could just jump out the window if there was a problem and he needed to escape, right?
--There were bars on the windows. Oh fuck.
Clark took a step away from the window shades and let them fall back into place.
Okay, but that probably wouldn't work anyway, because Lex would know something was up if I mysteriously vanished by jumping out of a window, which he would know if I left the window open, even if there weren't bars there, because I would have to leave the window open and unlocked to jump out.
Or if I broke the doorknob getting out. He would also know something was up if I did that.
...Goddamnit. --He couldn't do that inside the house to begin with because there were cameras in the hallways, which had caught footage of Lana breaking into that vault earlier -- Lex had outright told him that earlier that day.
...And X-ray vision showed cameras in the walls of the bedroom -- fuck!
Ok, not only was that creepy as hell, because he didn't like the idea of being surveilled 24-7 -- and Clark tried really hard not to stare at them because he was pretty sure he shouldn't be able to see them if he was human -- but--
...every other room on the floor apparently had cameras installed in them, too.
Including what looked like it must be Lex's bedroom.
...and Clark was staring at the walls and needed to stop now, thank you, before somebody like Lex decided to look at the footage and thought that was weird and caught on!
Clark looked away and stared at the floor. Without X-ray vision. Because that would be a bad idea.
--Not that anyone should catch on because, what, Clark was weird-ish, sure, but staring at walls wasn't necessarily totally out of the realm of possible for somebody who'd just been told they were owned and shoved in a room like a toybox and --ohgod, Clark was not going there.
Clark rubbed his face with his hands and sat down on the bed.
"Oh god, I am letting Lex get to me, and he's not even in the room. It's just a bedroom," Clark told himself.
And then he realized he was now talking out loud to himself.
Clark grabbed a pillow, fell back on the bed, and quietly screamed into it for awhile.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex came back upstairs after he'd finished with his business for the evening. He'd been somewhat derailed by Lana's episode in the lab earlier that day, and had had some catching up to do, as well as extra paperwork to go over in terms of sorting out the attack and the damage to the lab. Unfortunately, there hadn't been much of salveagable use, with Project Scion gone.
He unocked the door to Clark's room -- no, the room with Clark in it -- opened the door, and paused.
He bit his lip at the sight of the sheets of the bed hanging in a floppy-looking box-shape over the bed, shielding it from view.
This is not a four-poster bed, he thought hazily, stifling a giggle. He crept forward quietly, and very gently lifted an end of the sheet up on the nearest 'long' side of the bed -- it just seemed to be laying on top of whatever was holding it up, dangling down.
Hm, wire coathangers, Lex realized as he poked his head in and glanced around the 'inside' of the contraption. It was rather ingenious, actually. Granted the box only held the sheets three feet up, but the hangers themselves, probably from the closet, had been very carefully rebent, and the care of craftsmanship was...
Lex grinned.
Clark was sprawled out across the bed, asleep, no longer fully hidden from sight.
He looked tired.
Lex recognized that kind of tired right away. He looked like the kind of stressed-out tired that people got from fear that wouldn't go away.
Lex flipped the bedsheet flap up over the horizontal crossbar, keeping it up so Lex wouldn't have to hold it -- but not so far that the sheet would cascade down into the middle and destroy the integrity of the 'box' -- leaving it 'open'. He ducked his head under and slid onto the mattress, then pushed himself across until he was up next to Clark.
He looked over Clark, whose face was turned away from him, and ran a hand through his hair.
Clark's eyes immediately shot open.
"Stay still," Lex said, leaving his hand to rest on the top of Clark's head.
"Wh-" Clark blinked uncertainly and frowned, and then seemed to realize where he was.
And about a split-second later he froze in place.
Then he went rigid and the eye Lex could see went wide. It rolled up to look at him.
Well, that was fast, Lex thought with some interest. It didn't take Clark long to fully awaken, or remember his situation, at all.
Then Clark seemed to remember how to breathe again.
...He stayed still.
Lex lowered his eyelids and let himself show an amused smirk. He drifted his hand across Clark head, and then slid his fingers into the strands once again.
Clark started shivering again, and then he clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut.
Lex continued to, for lack of a better word, pet him.
Clark didn't say a word, but he was tense as hell and he continued to shake with fine tremors that Lex could feel not just under his hand, but through the damn mattress.
"What are you so afraid of, Clark?" Lex asked, continuing to stroke his hair.
"..."
"Louder, please."
"Don't know," Clark muttered quietly, audible this time, if barely.
Lex smiled. "You don't know what you're afraid of? Or are you afraid of what you don't know?"
Clark completely stilled under his hand.
Lex blinked.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark was so shocked he forgot to be scared.
How...?!
...And Lex had sounded so gentle when he asked. Mocking, but gentle.
He knew he hadn't meant it, but...
And then Lex leaned down, directly over his ear, and whispered, dark and low, "What if I told you what I was going to do right before I did it? Would that help?"
Clark shuddered, squeezed his eyes shut even harder, and had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.
~*~*~*~*~*~
...That was not a good reaction.
Lex's mind raced.
He'd really meant to only play a few mind games with Clark -- scare him, then let him go at worst.
This, on the other hand...
This caught his attention in a bad way.
What does he think I'm going to do?
...Well, there was an easy way to answer that.
"What do you think I'm going to do to you, Clark?" he murmured, and saw the same sort of expression flash across Clark's face, even worse than before.
He's not even trying to fight me, Lex realized numbly.
Lex's thoughts shot far out far ahead of him, and he licked his lips as he stroked Clark's head again, and said, lightly, "What if I told you to hurt Lana?"
Clark was upright in a flash, staring him eye-to-eye, Lex's hand caught in a vice grip at the wrist.
"That is not--!" Clark nearly growled at him.
Lex shot Clark a harmless smile and put his free hand up, lightly laying his fingertips over Clark's lips to forestall him. "Just wondering what your reaction might be," he said mildly.
"Well I hope you're happy!" Clark spat back, drawing away.
No, not really, Lex thought. He was actually rather thoroughly dismayed, and maybe even a little afraid. He defends anyone else just as he used to, as he's always done, but when it comes to himself... Lex took in a breath as he searched Clark's eyes and watched the anger dim. How could he not defend himself at all? That isn't normal, that's... that's learned. That's a learned behavior.
Lex curled a hand around Clark's neck and drew Clark to him, pulled Clark's head down to his chest and lay his own chin atop the boy's head. ...When the hell did this happen? Lex though, stroking his fingers through his hair as he looked down at Clark. Who did this to you? When did it begin? Who taught you to devalue your life so much that...
...or was it really fear? No, that couldn't be it -- he'd be lashing out, fighting back if it was an uncontrolled panic. Not unless he believed it wouldn't do any good... Lex ignored the third possibility -- the threat hanging over Lana's head -- because he doubted very much that what was stopping Clark right now was the thought of future consequences to others. Lex knew fear intimately by this point, and this one seemed very... immediate.
"What... What are you doing?" Clark asked uncertainly, glancing back and forth uneasily, but he remained where he was, lying against Lex's chest. He didn't protest any further than that, not that it had been much of a protest to begin with.
"Hush. I've had a vey stressful day, and this is" -- comfortable -- making me feel better -- what I want to do -- "...helping."
There was a pause, then Clark closed his eyes and said with a touch of hysteria, "Can't you just get yourself a dog or something?"
"No," said Lex.
"I bet a dog would talk back less."
"No. I've got you; I don't need a dog," Lex said firmly, hugging him a little tighter around his neck. Lex closed his eyes as he took a little longer on the hair-strokes.
"Oh, great, just what I always wanted -- to be your pet," Clark muttered, low and sarcastic.
Lex grinned for a second.
...It was a long second.
"That's not funny, Lex," Clark said cautiously, starting to push himself upright. Lex pulled him back down against his chest.
"Stay put."
Clark made a half-strangled sound of protest.
"I am not--"
"Oh, I don't know, Clark. I think your idea has merit," Lex said smoothly. "You are technically an animal, and I own you. That is somewhat the definition of a pet."
"Or a slave."
Lex's eyes snapped open. It took all of Lex's training not to physically respond any further than that.
"Or a prisoner," Lex said lightly, trying to redirect the thought, because god, he did not want to go there. Who the hell would go there? Clark could not possibly think--
"Pretty sure prisoners have rights," Clark said quietly. "And don't have to do everything they're told."
Lex felt ill.
He closed his eyes and was very glad that Clark couldn't see his face from his current vantage point.
Clark thinks that. Of me. Clark thinks that of me.
...How is Clark is capable of thinking of that at all?!
"Slaves are boring," Lex said, keeping his tone light. "I think I have enough of those." Please, dear god, let him see that as the horrifically unfunny joke that it is. "I'd rather have a human pet, I think."
Clark let out a single laugh.
"You think you can't handle that?"
"Depends on what you're expecting, I guess," Clark said nastily with a twisted smile.
A verbal bite is better than nothing, Lex thought. "Oh, well, maybe I'll train you better," Lex said, going along with the idea. Not that that's too far off course; I don't like the idea of Clark just rolling over and dying the next time someone threatens him. ...When did this start happening? Lex wondered again. It had to have been recently -- when Clark confronted me about the Level 3 'escapees' he gave as good as he got. And before that, when he went down into the tunnels to get me -- save me -- from those two lunatics before the whole underground system collapsed, he didn't do anything stupidly sacrificial at solely his own personal cost -- we worked together equally.
The only real, persisitent change of note that Lex could think of that had happened to Clark in the meantime was an extended period of time spent with Lana on the Kent Farm.
...Oh, that bitch. --Of course Clark would suffer a self-esteem hit, long-term. Lana had left Lex, but she was using Clark as a shield and lying to him as she did so, and it had become even more obvious as of late. She didn't love him. ...She'd probably been making comparisons between live on the farm with Clark and life at the manion with Lex, too; she could hardly not, with the drastic change in standard of living.
In many ways, there's no way Clark can compete with what I can, and have, given her. It was an objective truth. If Lana's been making any ill-meant comments to that effect... and she was a sly one, with a very sharp and subtle verbal knife...
Lex sighed in frustration and just settled on hugging Clark closer to him, forgoing playing with his hair for awhile.
That doesn't really explain his fear, though, Lex knew.
Great. ...So what does he think being my slave would entail? What could he think I might ask -- tell -- him to do, with him having no choice in the matter...?
Lex thought over all of the recent projects he was working on, or had worked on, that had involved questionable prior subject assent that he knew Clark knew about... or that Clark thought he knew about...
...a few things like SynTechnics and Victor Stone, the Freak Tagging debacle and Tobias Rice, the Belle Reeve control experiment with Moira Sullivan...
...Lex stopped thinking about that. That was disturbing. --He decided to think about how he could prod Clark back into having some semblance of self-worth again, instead.
...Oh. Ah. That might work... He'd have to do a little research, though. He didn't know very much about it.
He thought for a bit.
"I've never had a pet before," Lex said finally, making sure he sounded properly contemplative. "It's settled -- you'll be my pet." And no more thoughts of slavery, Lex thought firmly. He didn't want Clark scared of him, that was just... ugh.
"No collars," Clark muttered.
"Yes, collars," Lex countermanded. "Well, a collar, anyway. I ought to get to have something declaring outright ownership. I wouldn't want to run the risk of you haring off and getting lost," he teased. Then he paused. "Something... tasteful."
"...Huh?" Clark craned his neck at an odd angle, trying to look up at Lex. "What? --No!"
"Yes," said Lex.
"No!" said Clark. "People don't wear collars!"
"Some people do," Lex said mildly, petting his head again to gently push it back down.
Clark pushed back and frowned up at him. (That was encouraging.) "They do not!" he said hotly.
"Do so."
"Yeah right! What are they made of, then?"
"Usually a metal like silver or bronze-gold, almost like a necklace -- or a leather choker, I think," Lex said, after dredging the dregs of remembrance in the back of his mind. His memories of those clubs were a bit murky -- a friend of a friend supplying the name and place, lots of drinking, just a stop along the way... he hadn't really been paying much attention at the time. Now he almost wished he had.
Clark made a disgusted noise. "I'd rather wear a dog collar," he said as a refusal.
"Fine," Lex said.
Clark looked a little blank for a moment. Then they glared at each other for a bit.
"Don't think I won't do it," Lex said.
"I don't think you've got the guts to do something like that to me," Clark challenged. "Unless you're planning on making me an 'indoor pet'," he said, with a glint in his eye.
Well, at least he's being more assertive and feeling comfortable doing so, Lex mentally sighed. But-- "Why would I be embarrassed? You'll be the one wearing the collar," Lex said, frowning.
"A stupid cheap dog collar. People will think you don't now how to dress me," he grinned evilly.
And then Clark's grin froze and waned as Lex's grin waxed on full.
"Wait, no--"
"Oh yes" Lex practically purred. Dress-up Clark. Properly. Oh, this will be fun. "--First order of business: I am burning your wardrobe."
"No--"
"Burning. All the flannel. Burning," Lex said with a maniacal grin. "No more flannel," he said happily.
"No no no! I am not walking around in just t-shirts and jeans--"
"Burning those too."
"What?! --No! What the hell will I wear?!" Clark objected, strongly. "I can't afford--!"
"Pet," Lex said, poking him in the chest sharply. "Owner," he said pointing to himself. "Pet owner buys the pet clothes."
"What-- no-- that's-- ohgodwillyou please stop grinning like that?" Clark practically begged.
"Can't. Too happy about the burning, the glorious burning!" Lex said happily, patting Clark on the head.
Clark groaned and hid his face in his hands.
"What the hell am I going to tell Lana?"
"Hm?" Lex said innocently.
"What? I-- Wardrobe--" Clark's face suddenly fell as he finally caught Lex's meaning.
" 'Indoor pet' generally means being kept indoors at the owner's residence, Clark," Lex said slowly. Because I'll be damned if I let her keep grinding you under just because you're there to take things out on when she's feeling frustrated because she's having difficulty getting to me. She fucking ought to be keeping it between the two of them, not bringing anyone else into the crossfire.
Clark... twitched.
"I... I have to stay indoors?" Clark twitched. "Here?" Clark twitched again.
Lex was feeling a little disturbed at all the twitching. He started stroking Clark's hair again. "You come with me when I say so and stay where I tell you to." I can't very well keep an eye on you and you away from Lana if-- speaking of which-- "And no conversing with Lana." Because the last thing you need is her wailing on you for agreeing to be my 'pet' in a deal to try to protect her from jailtime. Clark didn't seem completely turned off to the concept, for whatever reason -- possibly it being far too foreign an idea for his farmboy experience to properly parse -- but most people would find the idea despicable.
Lex didn't want Clark getting put down or berated for it while it was ongoing -- that would be counterproductive to ego-building.
Because really, this ought to be a good way to show that an innate sense of trust is possible, and not a stupid or potentially-damaging feeling to let onesself experience, even -- no, especially -- when the 'pet' has no real control over anything, and the 'owner' is making all of the decisions.
It was really simplicity itself. Clark would argue, Lex would argue back without ignoring or overriding him unnecessarily. (Lex would prod him into arguing if necessary.) Clark would see through actions that it was safe to disagree ...even with someone he appparently considered as untrustworthy as he believed Lex to be, nowadays.
...Not that Lex particularly enjoyed arguing with Clark -- or at least, not the outright yelling matches. Bickering was ok; joking and teasing and wordplay were fine. Sort of what they'd used to do.
Yes. Lex would be perfectly happy if they got back to doing what they'd used to do, all those years ago.
Lex's thoughts were pulled away from this train of thought, though, when Clark grumbled out, "I'd rather be an 'outdoor pet' and sleep in a doghouse than be stuck indoors--" then blinked and burst out angrily: "Wait -- what the hell do you mean, no conversing with Lana?!"
"No -- you are not sleeping outside," Lex said flatly. I absolutely refuse to treat you like an animal. Or worse than I'd treat an actual pet. "And as for Lana, I mean just that -- no talking, email, phoning, texting, nothing. If she tries to communicate, you don't say or do anything -- not even some kind of gesturing -- you walk away from her and come to me."
"You can't be serious."
"I am absolutely serious, Clark," Lex said darkly. "She gets her life; I get yours. That's the deal. She does not get yours. That is not part of the deal," Lex ended. "Now -- come on," Lex said, pulling away and tugging at Clark's arm.
"What?"
"Come with me," Lex insisted.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark unhappily let Lex drag him around the mansion. They ended up in what looked like Lex's bedroom.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex pulled Clark into his bedroom and shoved him towards the foot of the bed.
When Clark stopped in place after only one step, Lex's eyes narrowed. He's been letting me drag him around, Lex realized. He wasn't entirely sure why he was unhappy with the thought.
Lex shook it off. "Down," Lex said, shoving him backwards in the chest and walking him until he sat down onto the mattress at the foot of the bed.
"Lex, what--" Clark frowned up at him.
"Stay put," Lex ordered.
And then he turned and walked over to the bedroom door. He locked it, pocketed the key, and then headed into the bathroom to take a shower.
When he came back out, the curtains for his four-poster bed were down. Upon pulling one aside, he was greeted with the sight of one Clark Kent, lying out on his bed with his head on one of the pillows. On his side of the bed.
"Move," Lex said.
"Excuse me?" Clark said, turning his head to stare at him.
"You heard me," Lex said.
"I am not sleeping at the foot of the bed!" Clark protested.
...This of course devolved into to a shoving-poking match, which ended with Clark eventually rolling his eyes and giving a grumbling acquiescence as he shifted down to the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling, pillowing his head with his arms with his legs dangling off the edge of the bed at his knees.
Lex had to curl his feet up a little so he wasn't poking them into Clark's side, as he situated himself under the covers. It was a little uncomfortable.
Lex checked his alarm and turned off the bedside lamp.
Yes, definitely uncomfortable.
And then Clark started quietly humming tunelessly to nothing in particular.
Goddamn it, Lex thought peevishly. I've got a randomly-humming Clark at the foot of my bed, when I don't like falling asleep with other people next to me or nearby -- that one hooker being killed next to him in that hotel room after he'd been drugged had pretty much clinched it for him -- and it's probably even worse that it's an awake Clark because he probably feels like he's got plenty of reasons to fuck with me while I'm unconscious at this point and what the hell was I thinking when I thought this was a good idea? he berated himself. I'm wearing a good three pieces of clothing more than the nothing I usually do to not offend certain people's sensibilities about nakedness, and I can't even stretch out my legs!
I'm going to have to think of a way out of this hole Clark-in-the-same-bed nonsense without losing face, he thought grimly, because there is no fucking way that I'm going to... be able to... fall... asl--
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark slowly stopped humming as he realized Lex was falling asleep. Weird, he thought. I was trying to be annoying until he stuffed a pillow over his head and told me to go sleep in another room. Everybody else always complained that he couldn't sing worth a damn and sounded annoying as hell when he tried to carry a tune. ...Maybe it didn't work on Lex?
He waited until Lex's breathing evened out completely, and his heartbeat slowed to a regular slow rhythm, before he quietly pushed himself up on his elbows.
He squinted.
Yup, he's asleep, all right.
Clark lie still and considered his options.
He could go home... but it'd be practically impossible not to talk to Lana if he did that, and Lex would know that. Even if Clark did manage to keep silent, Lex would never believe it -- which meant the promise would be broken, and Lana would end up in jail, without Clark having been able to hold out for even twenty-four hours.
He could go... to the Talon apartment and crash there -- Chloe would let him; she wouldn't turn him away if he said he couldn't sleep at the farm. ...Of course, it would all crash and burn the next morning, when Lex would inevitably seek him outwitha collar and probably also a leash.
...Clark also didn't really like the thought of the laughter and derision that Lois would send his way as Lex dragged him off like a stupid little lost puppy. He could practically hear her making nasty 'Clarky' jokes already.
Running away any further than the town would raise questions as how he'd gotten where he absconded himself off to in the first place.
Ugh, ok, so -- probably stuck here for awhile, he decided.
He sighed softly, and glanced back over at Lex again.
...Honestly, he had half a feeling that Lex was just doing this to mess with him, almost. Unfortunately, he couldn't risk outright calling Lex's bluff -- if it was a bluff, because he'd looked a little too invested in the idea of burning all his clothing, among some of the other things...
Ok, fine. Whatever. Lex really seemed invested in the whole 'pet' notion, though, and Clark was happy to stay there, because he really doubted he'd like being used as a guinea pig, or being sent to Belle Reeve, or given shock therapy or something to 'cure' him of all the lying he'd been doing that he was pretty sure Lex knew about but had never called him on before.
...Frankly, he'd been surprised that Lex hadn't just started trying to demand secrets from him left and right, and had everything go downhill from there. It wasn't like Lex didn't have all those memory projects to get at people's secrets, or hypnotize and mindcontrol them, or force them to tell the truth, and whatnot.
Well, whatever. He wasn't about to say anything and maybe give Lex ideas.
He eyed Lex, and the empty pillow and bedspace next to him. Lex hadn't been all that quick on the uptake on 'obedience', either.
And he's never had a pet, Clark snickered to himself. Well, fine, he thought, grinning evilly at the new thought or twelve. He wants a pet? He can learn first-hand exactly how "well" a pet follows commands.
And so, Clark crept up the side of the bed and fell asleep like a normal person would.
Either I wake up before he does, and he never finds out -- because his cameras can't see shit past the curtains -- or he does and, well, win-win.
Clark slid his arms under his head and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Because maybe, just maybe, this might be a little bit...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex woke up blearily to the sound of his beeping alarm, and a world of darkness.
Lex grumbled at having obviously set it wrong, and groped around a bit, before he realized that the bedcurtain was in the way.
...which was stupid and useless and how the hell had that happened, he had no idea, he liked waking to sunlight, as he finally slapped the alarm off and slapped at the curtain to shove it aside and slipped his feet over the edge, to stand upright and walk forward--
--he faceplanted into a big soft thing.
The big soft thing was white and a pillow.
What the fuck--?
He heard chewing sounds behind him.
Lex unsprawled himself from the floor and got himself levered up on an elbow as he turned to see what was behind him...
...Clark, with his legs all sprawled out -- oh, that's what I tripped over, he realized abstractly -- with one elbow propping him up. Lex watched as Clark shoved his free hand into --a bag of Pocky. Clark was munching on a bag of Pocky.
...There were a lot of empty bags of Pocky.
"Those are mine," Lex accused, and how the hell had Clark found his secret stash anyway?
He surreptitiously glanced towards the vent and -- the cover was off -- yes, damnit, those were from his secret stash! Damnit!
"I was hungry," said Clark.
Lex blinked at him, because that wasn't a good reason at all--
"You didn't feed me," Clark continued, all innocence. "I had to fend for myself."
"You can feed yourself!" Lex said, getting up off the floor.
"I am," Clark said.
"You--"
"Door was locked," Clark said. He tilted his head and added, "You know, I'm pretty sure that feeding a pet is supposed to take higher priority than clothing one." He smiled mischeviously, then added condescendingly, "You really aren't very good at this, are you?"
Lex's mind went blank for a moment, before he remembered all the 'pet' nonsense and the promise-deal from the previous day.
Lex bent down and nearly -- nearly -- told Clark to get the fuck out and never bother him again. (And to pay him back for the Pocky, damnit.)
But that damn smile Clark had on was so goddamn cocky it burned and that just made Lex feel contrary as hell, though only more so than his complete and utter annoyance with the farmboy at present.
Lex grabbed the Pocky away from Clark and strode into the bathroom, back rigid.
It was only until Lex was halfway through his shower that he realized that it was probably a good idea he hadn't had his coffee yet before this had happened, because he would've thought of the idea of forcing Clark to strip naked on the spot and make him walk around the mansion like that -- and have to eat breakfast first -- before working out new clothing for him far earlier when he'd been so irate that he might've actually done it.
It was only after his shower that he realized that the moisture from said shower had turned the contents of the half-eaten-through bag of Pocky into a soggy inedible mess.
He cursed for a good five minutes straight before he let himself walk back out into the bedroom, because that little annoyance had left him sorely tempted with doing the whole forcing-Clark-to-go-around-naked thing again, and doing that would be mean and bad and he really, really knew he shouldn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Drat, thought Clark as he watched Lex wordlessly snatch the stolen Pocky back and stomp into the bathroom in a total snit. I almost thought I had him there...
He patted himself on the back for the Pocky thing, and he'd even managed to trip up Lex, too. ...Good thing he'd had the pillow handy, though -- that had almost been a disaster.
(Clark 2, Lex 0.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex double-marched Clark down the hallway to the kitchen in his previous day's clothing -- flannel and jeans. (It looked as though Clark had never gotten undressed the night before.)
While Clark was distracted by breakfast foods (and his staff mostly distracted and surprised by Clark's presence), he managed to give one of his less-distracted staff members a list of things to order post-haste, and stock in the walk-in closet in the 'guest'-bedroom attached to his own.
That way, the goods arrived and were stowed in said closet before Lex dragged Clark back to his rooms, through the connecting door to the guest bedroom, and pretty much kicked him into the shower.
This meant that when Clark finally ventured out of the shower, swathed in towels -- not having heard anyone else enter the room -- and then when he saw Lex start rummaging through the guest closet for clothing and shoes for him -- that was chock full of all sorts of various sizes and shapes and shades and colors and types of seeming-randomness -- and pull out a set (the set he'd ordered that morning, not that Clark knew that) that fit him perfectly...
Well, Lex was glad he had cameras in the rooms. He was blowing that one up and framing it.
(Lex 1, Clark 2.)
And then, once Clark was suitably attired (finally! hah!), Lex gathered up Clark's belongings from the previous day's wearing and proceeded to make good on his threat out on the back patio...
(Lex 2, Clark 2.)
...and then he got sprayed with fire retardant foam by an overenthusiastic Cook, who was then overenthusiastically apologetic as she stammeringly tried to explain how she'd been trying to enforce the no-smoking policy in a way that would prevent repeat offenders, and she hadn't realized that it had been him burning clothing out there right by the windows, but could he please not do that by the house like that because it set a bad example for the others...
...all while Clark howled with laughter from the safety of a lawn chair which had been well out of the way of all the foam...
(Lex 2, Clark 3.)
...which had then led to an irate Lex kindly asking Cook if he could please borrow that fire extinguisher for just a second because he thought she might've missed a spot from that angle...
...and when all was said and done he and Clark had both needed showers again and new sets of clothing, and his groundskeeping staff were all very relieved to hear from the Cook that the stuff was biodegradable and would wash away perfectly fine in the next rain.
(Lex 3, Clark 4.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark decided -- no, promised himself, yeah promised -- that he was definitely going to have to play 'bad dog' at some point and go find that fire extinguisher to mess around with, somehow 'coincidently' very 'nearby' Lex, as he grinned into the shower mirror and toweled his hair dry for the second time that day.
He was totally anoyed by the fact that apparently Lex had more than one set of clothes that fit him in that magic closet of his. They even -- dear god -- matched. That was totally not cool.
(Lex 4, Clark 4.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex circled Clark, who he'd directed to stand out in the middle of the room.
...And then Lex tapped a finger against his lips thoughtfully and said, "Hmm... I feel like I'm forgetting something... --Oh yes!!"
And out of his pocket he pulled a cloth-belt-buckle-type dog collar -- human-sized -- and held it up in front of Clark's face.
Clark stared at it. "You--"
Lex got a very wide grin, and he said brightly, "Hold still!"
Clark hunched his shoulders and glared.
Lex got it on him. Eventually.
...there may or may not have been a lot of sneaking, a chocolate cake, and some weird medieval bolas thing involved.
(Lex 5, Clark 4.)
~*~*~*~*~*~
And thus, the war of attrition began.
~*~*~*~*~*~