Somewhere around midnight, Lex's sleepless wanderings took him past the corn fields, beyond the center of town and straight to the Kent farm where he searched for any telltale light coming from the barn or some other safe area where he might find Clark alone.
It wasn't that he didn't like the Kents. Martha Kent was nothing short of wonderful and Jonathan Kent, well, he probably meant well -- cruel to be kind and all that -- but that wasn't what Lex wanted. Not on a night like this, a night where he couldn't close his eyes lest the darkness swallow him whole.
He'd been having a lot of nights like this in recent weeks. Restless hours spent pacing in front of a fireplace that was never warm enough, night after night spent padding through long, empty halls that made his skin prickle with paranoia. Lex was always alone, never hearing a sound except his own tense breathing.
It was enough to make a man crazy. Crazy enough to drive to a friend's house at midnight and search for any sign of life from the rickety wooden buildings that dotted the late-night landscape. The barn was dark, the house too except for the porch light and Lex was about to give up when he saw a faint glow coming from the tool shed.
His heart lifted with something that felt like joy and Lex had to stand perfectly still for a few seconds to let the emotion subside. He wasn't used to spontaneous bursts of anything but anger. All those other feelings always gave him an uneasy pause, never quite certain if they were something other than a reoccurrence of his old asthma condition or maybe some new disorder, unique to Smallville.
He almost had to laugh. Only a Luthor would think of happiness as a disease.
Sounds came from the shed -- a faint buzzing followed by the thick whapping of a hammer. Lex watched from a short distance as Clark examined something on the worktable, his pretty face a study in concentration.
Pretty. Lex knew he wasn't supposed to think of his best friend in that context but it was unavoidable. Clark was young, he was innocent and he was very pretty, with big hazel eyes, dark soft hair and lips Lex wanted to ...
Lex shook his head clear. There was something else he wanted more than Clark's perfect mouth and that was a place he could safely wander to at midnight when the castle walls closed in on him. A safe house and comfort with a friend who would always understand him and never judge.
Okay, maybe he'd never judge.
Not always. Most of the time. Usually.
Maybe. Lex poked his head through the doorway. "Hey, Clark."
Startled, Clark dropped his hammer. "Lex?" He blew out a long breath. "Give a guy a heart attack, will you? What's up?"
Lex shrugged. "Nothing. Couldn't sleep." He wandered in, past the jigsaw and other power tools, some he could name, others he'd never seen before. "Hope you don't mind me bothering you."
"Not at all. Is something wrong?" Clark tucked the hammer back into his tool belt and Lex couldn't help but stare at the long piece of leather slung low over Clark's middle. It pulled the waistband of Clark's jeans down, exposing a thin stripe of stomach. Just enough to make Lex's fingers twitch -- his lips turn dry.
So easy for Lex to grab at that belt and tug Clark closer. Maybe push his hands up under Clark's white T-shirt and play with those little nipples before getting down on his knees and ...
"Lex?" Clark peered at him, concerned. "Are you okay?"
It was Lex's turn to be startled. "I'm sorry, Clark. I'm just easily distracted lately." He ran an uneasy hand over his scalp. "Lack of sleep."
Clark pulled a wooden stool out from beneath the bench. Motioned for Lex to sit. "Tell me all about it."
Lex complied, smiling. "Let's see, where do I start? There's overhead costs versus low profits, my father's demand for daily reports versus weekly, my cook's defection back to Metropolis to work for a normal household ... the list is pretty long."
Clark regarded him closely. Crossed his broad arms over his chest, one eyebrow neatly arched. "Somehow I can't see you losing sleep over all that."
Fair enough. Lex hadn't mentioned the way his thoughts kept wandering to images of Clark bent over the back of Lex's couch or of him jerking off in the shower, slick and hard and moaning Lex's name. Night after night of scenes hot enough to keep any man awake and restless, even one as coldly calculating as Lex tried to be.
Lust was for lesser beings. Clark was meant for friendship and destiny, his partner in legend and if Lex wasn't so damned hot for him all the time, sleep would probably come a lot more easily. Maybe.
"It's a girl, isn't it?" Clark asked quietly.
Lex blinked. "A girl?" He thought for a second, then had to chuckle. So close and yet so far, my friend, he thought. "No ... no girl. I'm afraid I haven't been kept awake by a girl in a long time."
Clark turned back to the work table. Fiddled with a bolt between his fingers before letting it drop into the wastebasket below. "You don't have to lie, Lex. I think it would be good for you to fall for someone." He smiled thinly "Might give you a new perspective on all those obsessions of yours."
"What makes you think I'm lying?" Lex's throat tightened. "And I'm not obsessed."
Clark's mouth quirked into a wry grin. "One, you're the most obsessed person I know and two, I can tell you're thinking about someone. You've been getting this dreamy look when you think no one is watching. You've been ordering your coffee twice and last week you forgot all about a meeting with Lana and the accountant about the Talon."
"I was with you," Lex protested. "You wanted me to go with you to the movies."
"That's no excuse to forget a business meeting," Clark said pointedly. "Besides, you don't even remember to carry your Palm Pilot anymore."
"Of course, I do," Lex scoffed. He felt around his pockets. "It's right ..." But no Palm Pilot was forthcoming and Lex felt an actual blush filling his cheeks. Damn, was he really being that obvious?
"See? And now, you're not sleeping. I'll bet you're not eating half the time either." Clark sighed. "So, who is she? Is she beautiful?" A rueful smile. "That's probably a stupid question. I'll bet she's amazing. Gorgeous."
Lex stared at him, his hands aching to reach out and touch Clark. Just one soft touch, down the sides of Clark's ribcage, something comforting and soothing.
Because Clark, his Clark, looked sad and a little jealous, but happy as well because maybe Lex had found someone and Clark wanted Lex's happiness, probably more than his own.
Even if it meant letting Lex go. "Yeah," Lex breathed. It was so warm in there and Clark was so incredibly beautiful, trying to mask the sadness with the biggest phony smile he could muster. "Gorgeous."
Clark's mouth trembled but the smile never faltered. "I'm really happy for you, Lex. I kept hoping someone nice would be there for you. I hate thinking about you being alone all the time."
"Why?" He couldn't help it, he had to touch Clark even if it was just a brush along his arm. A brush that made Lex's fingertips tingle.
"Because I want you to be happy."
The smile faded and Lex watched as a war fought itself out behind Clark's eyes. A war between selfish desire and selfless compassion, Clark's own needs and what he thought were Lex's. "You can't be happy being so alone," Clark finished.
So breathtaking to watch. "Who says I don't have someone who makes me happy?" Lex's voice was little more than a croak. His arms were still outstretched and there was no resistance when he let his hands wander to the tool belt. He tugged on the strong leather loops and Clark took a hesitant step forward, unsteady on usually rock-solid legs. "Come here."
Lex felt the heat of Clark's body nestle in between his legs and the stool wobbled when he pulled Clark closer still.
He touched his forehead to Clark's chest and heard the pounding heart beat within. His lips ached when he pressed a kiss to the soft cotton, the fabric sweetened with softener and the thin scent of Clark's sweat. He dragged his fingers along Clark's exposed waist, touching that tempting skin as Clark's hoarse breathing grew ragged in his ear.
Lex tugged playfully on the tool belt and the jeans slipped down another half an inch. "Now why I know why these things are in so many porn movies." He laughed softly, tilting his head up to nip at Clark's jaw.
Not surprisingly, Clark didn't seem to get the joke. In fact, nothing seemed to be registering with him other than a focused fascination with Lex's mouth. He stared for a full minute before lowering his head to lick Lex's lips, one after the other.
"Sweet," Clark murmured, repeating the motion. "You taste ... " The licks turned into a kiss, sloppy and hot. He pulled away for another maddening heartbeat. "Sweet."
Lex groaned and yanked Clark's head down. More kisses, deep, with tongues slicking and teeth scraping. In Lex's fantasies, it'd always been Clark moaning through the encounter, but the sounds filling the shed weren't coming from Clark. They were from Lex and they were shamefully loud and needy, only partially swallowed beneath Clark's active mouth.
Such a perfect mouth. Lex's hands fumbled under Clark's T-shirt and there, ah God, there were those hard nubs he'd so wanted to pinch, to bite and devour for what felt like forever. He rolled them both between his thumb and forefinger, grinning at Clark's surprised squeak.
Now who was sweet?
Not Lex, surely, as he tucked one hand between Clark's legs and caressed the hard bulge outlining his jeans. Clark gasped, rutted against Lex's hand before trying to pull away, an embarrassed flush creeping all the way up to his ears. "I'm sor ..."
"Shhhhh," Lex ordered, kissing him silent. He grabbed the tool belt, not letting Clark get much further away than a couple of inches. With shaking fingers, Lex worked the jean's button and zipper, flipping the pants open.
Not going anywhere, babe, Lex thought wildly, slipping off of the stool and shoving Clark back against the workbench, holding him there with the length of his body.
An insane feeling of possession overtook him. He worked loose the final fastening and the tool belt clattered to the floor. Shoved himself harder against Clark, feeling the rock-solid wall of warmth soften with desire and kissed him again before sliding down Clark's body until his mouth was level with the leaking cock peeking out from the slit in Clark's boxers.
Lex settled in on his knees and couldn't help but bury his face against the moist cotton, nuzzling the ridiculous blue plaid checks. They were more suited to kitchen curtains than underwear but oh-so-wonderful to touch and breathe against.
Very nice, but skin was even nicer, so he pulled the boxers down and rubbed his nose against the wiry nest of hair covering Clark's groin and belly. A little scratchy on his tongue, fun to tug at with his teeth and wasn't Clark Kent's perfect body just an all-around playground of joy?
And he hadn't even gotten to the best parts yet.
Above him, Clark was making wonderful, hot noises and something on the bench was cracking, but Lex didn't pay any mind. The only thing that interested him was just how warm and soft Clark's cock felt against his cheek. How good it tasted when he darted his tongue out to lick the slit and damn, didn't it fit just perfectly in Lex's mouth, making him groan as he took it down, an inch at a time until it hit the back of his throat. Lex swallowed convulsively and breathed heavily through his nose, trying hard not to drool.
His cock was so hard it was starting to hurt but he didn't want to touch himself ... not yet.
No, he wanted to suck and swallow and make Clark scream which Lex knew he could, if the poor boy didn't bite his fist off first. He got a steady rhythm going, swallowing on every intake, humming a careless tune and was surprised there were no hands on the back of his head guiding him along. Polite to the end his Clark was, and Lex looked up, marveling at the flushed, stunned, openmouthed beauty above him.
Part of him wanted to tell Clark to come, to finish it off and enjoy himself, while the other part wanted to stay there forever: on his knees with Clark's cock shoved down his throat and his own cock so hard, it felt ready to burst.
Lex was balanced on the perfect edge -- pleasure and pain, desire and fulfillment -- and he moaned with a touch of disappointment when Clark thrust once and spurt hotly into his mouth, crying out Lex's name.
Slowly, Lex let Clark's cock slide out from between his lips, then licked around them, tasting. Sweat, semen, saliva ... all salty good and all mingled with Clark's own essence. The ache between Lex's legs settled into a dull throb and he didn't feel any urgency to get rid of his erection, not even when Clark pulled him to his feet and covered his face with soft, grateful kisses.
Lex felt himself placed atop the workbench as Clark started to undo his slacks, all the time grinning like a loon.
"You don't have ..." Lex started, but Clark hushed him.
"Of course, I do," Clark whispered, placing a sucking kiss against Lex's neck before lowering his head to take the hard cock into his mouth. He nodded toward the fallen tool belt. "If something needs fixing ..."
And Lex laughed while he still had the strength to.