Originally published in the Silk and Flannel 2 zine, July 2003.

Games Interlude:
Unavoidable Circumstances

Orithain and Rina

Written: November 2002
Published: July 2003
Posted to the Net: August 2004

Disclaimer: Would that they belonged to us so that we could watch instead of just writing about it, but they don’t.

Spring 2003

Opening the heavy vellum envelope with the Wayne Industries logo in the corner, Lex read the contents and sat tapping it pensively against his lip as he considered how to respond. On the one hand, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were the closest thing he’d had to friends before meeting Clark, and this was an invitation to Bruce’s thirtieth birthday party. On the other hand, there was no way Lex would go to something like that without Clark, and up till now he’d managed to keep his teenaged lover out of the press.

Sighing, Lex stared at the invitation. Bruce’s well-known dislike of the press would guarantee their exclusion from the party, so he would be able to prevent Clark’s name or picture from ending up on a front page if the younger man was interested in going. The problem was that any function hosted by Wayne Industries was going to include other industry leaders, and that meant that Lionel and Victoria would be there. Lex had successfully avoided the couple for the last year; did he really want to spoil a perfect record? Then again, it was inevitable that sooner or later they would meet. Why not control it and make sure it happened in a venue more favorable to Lex?

Unable to decide if the pros outweighed the cons, Lex decided to leave it up to Clark. He picked up the phone to call his lover, chatting briefly with Martha Kent until Clark reached the phone.

"Do you want to go to Bruce Wayne’s birthday party next month?"

"Who’s Bruce Wayne?"

Clark managed to wait out Lex’s stunned silence but started laughing when the older man began to provide an explanation. "Kidding, kidding! I know who Bruce Wayne is, in an abstract sort of way anyway. Rich guy, lives in Gotham City, right?"

"Yes. He’s also sort of a friend, and I’m invited to his party. But before you decide, you should know that it’s very likely Lionel and Victoria will be there as well. They don’t like each other, but at that level in business you learn to tolerate one another." Lex realized that he did want to go, but he didn’t want to push Clark into something he wasn’t ready for.

"Lionel and Victoria?" Clark groaned aloud. "Talk about wrecking a party, but sure, if you want to go, I’m game. I mean, he’s your friend; you should be there."

"Oh good, I get to dress you again," Lex replied. "You’ll need a tux. Bruce doesn’t do informal." Lex was practically drooling at the mental image of Clark in a tuxedo. "Fortunately we have time to get one custom-made for you. And while we’re doing that, we can figure out what to give him for a gift."

"A tux?" Clark groaned, before reconsidering. "You’ll tie my tie again, right?"

"Absolutely. As if I’d let anyone else do it. You’re going to look fantastic." Lex chuckled suddenly. "You can wear it to your formal at the end of the year. You’ll be the only sophomore in a tux that isn’t rented."

"Only if you’re coming with me," Clark answered quickly. "Is this thing in Gotham City? If it is, I’m gonna have to check with Mom and Dad to make sure it’s cool with them."

"Yes, it is. Bruce is hosting it at Wayne Manor. It’s on a Saturday night though, so you wouldn’t have to miss any school." Lex smiled faintly, sure none of the other invitees had to take that into consideration.

Then Clark’s other comment registered, and his eyes widened. "If I... Clark, are you sure? You want me to go to your school dance with you? It won’t make you the most popular guy around, you know."

"Do I look like I care?" Clark thought about that for a split second and corrected himself. "Do I sound like I care? The people who are freaked about it aren’t going to be any less freaked if I don’t go, so who cares? I want to go to the spring formal with my boyfriend and have a great time. And there better not be any damn tornadoes!"

Lex had to laugh. "I’ll have a chat with the management. No tornadoes. And for the record, yes, I’ll be your date to the formal. Does this mean you’ll get me a corsage?" The warm ripple of his amusement was clear even through the phone.

"Yeah, I’ll buy you a white tulip," Clark said dryly. "Does this mean I have to get the limo too, or can we just take Baby?"

"For your prom, we can go in your truck. I wouldn’t dream of depriving you of it," Lex responded wryly. "For Bruce’s party though, I think a limo would be best. And I’m sure we can christen the back seat between the hotel and his home."

"I meant to the prom, you nut." Clark’s voice lowered and roughened at the last. "And that sounds good, but shouldn’t we wait until afterward so we look, you know, respectable?"

"Who wants to be respectable?" Lex chuckled throatily. He waited a beat before adding, "Don’t worry, I wouldn’t embarrass you like that, love. We can christen the limo on the way back to the hotel. If we got to the party with you looking just-fucked, I’d have to beat them all back with a stick!"

"Don’t say that near my folks, or there’s no way I’ll get to go!" Clark shivered, then tried to draw the conversation back to safer ground. "So, what are you going to get Bruce for his birthday?"

"I’m not sure," Lex replied, tapping a pen against his lip. "Any ideas? Art’s out since I like him but not enough to spend the cost of an original Chagall. Clothes are boring... hmmm. I really don’t know. He certainly doesn’t need a car. Oh, and for the record, I would never be crazy enough to say something like in front of your parents. It would be a race to see which of them could get to the shotgun first," Lex chuckled.

"Mom would win," Clark laughed. "She still hasn’t forgiven you for backing out on your proposal, and she’s looking for an excuse to pepper your butt with buckshot.

"And I’m not even going to try to offer suggestions for a gift. Somehow I don’t think new CDs or games would rank up there with what he would want."

Lex snorted. "Even leaving aside the whole issue of your father, the idea of marrying you and your mother is deeply disturbing on so many levels. I’ll just have to find a way to make it up to her; I don’t want to lose out on her cooking.

"As for Bruce’s gift, we’ll just have to take a trip into Metropolis... oh, wait. He likes rare books. I’ll see what’s available. That ought to do."

Clark snickered. "Ooo, was that a proposal? Gee, I don’t know, this is so sudden..." He gave in and burst into laughter finally, having to set the phone down when his arms grew too weak to hold it.

"If it had been, it sure as hell wouldn’t be one now," Lex replied, somewhat disgruntled by Clark’s reaction. He wasn’t about to admit now that it hadn’t been a proposal only because he’d assumed that they already were permanently paired.

Picking up the phone once again, Clark got hold of himself, having heard Lex’s comment. "I love you too. Geez, it’s not like we could do anything about getting married even if it was. I mean, aside from the whole not being legal thing, there’s the under age thing and the fact that, well, I sorta feel like we are already if you know what I mean." He spoke the last in a hurried whisper. "The whole ‘to death do us part’ thing pretty much describes what we’ve got."

His annoyance instantly derailed, Lex was distantly grateful that there was no mirror around since he was pretty sure he had a sappy smile on his face. "Well, we could always move to Hawaii when you’re older," he teased. "Then you could make an honest man of me."

"You’re already an honest man," Clark countered, "but if that’s what it takes to convince you, sure. You can be the one to break it to my folks though, okay?"

"Um, maybe not. I’m pretty sure Hawaii is nowhere near far enough to keep your parents from hunting me down for taking their precious chick away. I doubt Krypton itself would be far enough. I think we’ll just have to settle for what we have, tough as that is."

Clark chuckled. "It’s rough, I know. Hey, what are you going to do with Sheri while we’re gone? Want me to see if she can stay with her grandma and grandpa?"

"Good idea. She—and Enrique—would both be much happier with that solution, I think. I don’t think he’s really a dog person. He always gets this expression of utter disdain on his face when she chews something. Thank god she got the whole idea of outside fairly quickly or I think he would have quit!"

"And what would you do without your faithful manservant?" Clark asked, snickering. "I mean, you might have to iron a shirt or shine your shoes!"

"Naww, I’d just make you do it in return for sexual favors."

Clark snickered. "You’ve seen my wardrobe; do you think I know how to do either of those?"

"Good point. How ‘bout I keep hiring other people to take care of that sort of thing, and you handle the sexual favors? And when can you come over? Phones are all well and good, but I want to touch you," Lex grumbled.

"Tomorrow I hope; with trying to get the planting done, it’s pretty crazy around here right now." Clark sighed. "Wish it could be now."

"Want some company? I’m useless for work, but I’m decorative."

"You aren’t useless, Lex," Clark reprimanded sternly. "You’re just used to different types of work is all. As for company, what do you think the answer is? Come on over, and you can watch me get all muddy."

"Oh, nice image, Clarkbar. Do I get to help clean you up afterward?" Holding the cordless phone, Lex headed up to his bedroom to change, planning on surprising the Kents with the new additions to his wardrobe. He’d actually bought boots.

"Remember the rules, Lexy. You can hose me off outside if you want." The door banged in the background, and Clark sighed. "Gotta get going; Dad’s looking for me. See you in a while?"

"I’ll be right over. See you soon, Clark."

"God, I forget the dingy air that Gotham has until I come back here," Lex groused as they stepped out of the plane into a raw early spring wind that felt like it had swept straight down from the northern tundra. As he glanced over at the terminal, his eyebrows rose. "Well, that is a surprise. Bruce is here to meet us."

"Oh, great..." Clark muttered, glancing down at himself to make sure all his assorted buttons were closed and hoping to high heaven that he didn’t smell like sex but sure that it was the case, especially considering how they’d spent half of the flight. "Ready to introduce me?"

"Of course." Lex caught Clark’s hand in his as he drew him toward the entrance where Bruce was waiting. He shook the older man’s hand, offering him a genuine smile, then drew Clark forward, an arm automatically sliding around his lover’s waist. He didn’t notice Bruce’s surprise at his ease with Clark, but the dark-haired man eyed the teenager with interest.

"Bruce, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Clark Kent. Clark, Bruce Wayne." Although Lex still wasn’t comfortable with the term, simply because of the high school connotations it had for him, it was accurate, and he wanted it clear to Bruce from the start that Clark was special to him.

Eyebrows rising until they nearly vanished into his raven hair, Bruce offered his hand to Clark. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent. You’ve clearly had a good influence on Lex. He’s almost human now," the industrialist joked.

Telling himself not to take offense at the comment on Lex’s behalf, Clark nodded, shaking Bruce’s hand. "Guess I’ll just have to work a little harder then, won’t I?"

Letting go, he moved back to Lex’s side, squeezing him under the cover of his coat.

Easily reading Clark’s dislike of his remark, Bruce smiled more genuinely. "And you, Lex, your taste has improved immeasurably. Instead of the plastic toys of the moment, you actually got involved with a real human being."

"Back off, Bruce," Lex warned coolly, his eyes icing over. "Clark is off limits." If Bruce had changed so much since the last time they’d met that he now enjoyed sharpening his claws on other people, they were turning around and heading home then and there.

Bruce’s eyes widened. "My God, you actually love him," he breathed.

"Yes."

The dark blue, almost indigo, gaze darted to the youngest man, seeing the barely leashed fury, all of it in defense of Lex, and he smiled, finally relaxing. "Thank God. Dick’ll be relieved too; he thought he was going to be, as he put it, alone in a sea of old men."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Clark relaxed somewhat and gave a more real smile. "Who’s Dick?" he asked, not particularly directing the question at either man. "And Lex isn’t old!"

Lex snickered, jumping in before Bruce could say anything else. "And you thought I got some looks. Dick is Richard Grayson, Bruce’s former ward... and lover. Dick’s my age, and he and Bruce have headlined some interesting articles, let me tell you. That’s one of the reasons why I’m so sure we won’t have to worry about the press at the party."

Bruce growled. "I can guarantee it. The scavengers will have to find other fodder."

"Oh." Geez, and he thought he and Lex had problems... imagine getting involved with someone you sort of raised! "Glad to hear that we won’t cause a stir if I drag Lex out onto the dance floor then," he grinned.

"You might have to fight Dick for him. He has a somewhat peculiar sense of humor, and he and Lex egg each other on," Bruce sighed. "But you might as well see for yourself. He’s outside with the car. He wanted to greet you, but someone drove up on a Harley, and he had to admire it."

"I could do that," Clark said agreeably as they started walking. "And he likes bikes? What about trucks?"

"Oh god!" Lex groaned. "That’s it, I’m taking a cab." He looked around, apparently intent on hailing one, then gasped when a young man came up behind him, hugging him so hard it squeezed the breath out of him.

"I take it that would be Dick?" Clark asked, managing to control his urge to go over to the handsome young man who was hugging his boyfriend.

"Yes, that’s him," Bruce replied, seeing that Lex still hadn’t caught his breath. "I swear he does that on purpose because he knows it drives me nuts. For a while after they first met, I was sure they were lovers."

"Hey, sexy," Dick laughed, giving Lex a huge wet kiss on his cheek. "How’re they hanging?"

Clark’s eyes widened, and he held himself back from bodily removing Dick’s hands and lips from his lover’s body. "I can see why you thought that."

Regaining his breath finally, Lex returned the kiss, then his eyes widened when he thought he heard a growl behind him. Darting a glance back, he hastily pried himself free of Dick’s grasp when he saw Clark’s expression and moved back to his lover’s side. "Hey, Dick, I see you haven’t been aged beyond your time by hanging around with this old guy."

Bruce snorted, his arm sliding around Dick’s shoulders.

Still keeping an eye on Dick, Clark moved behind Lex, wrapping both arms around his waist and resisting the urge to clean off the side of his face where the other man had kissed him.

"Nah, it’s the other way around, I keep him young," Dick laughed, sliding a hand down to pinch Bruce’s ass. "It’s all that exercise he gets." He studied the man behind Lex for a moment, and his grin got wider. "You must be Clark, kind of possessive, huh?"

Lex grinned quickly. "He’s allowed to be." He knew that Dick would understand what he was telling him since in the past he’d dumped other lovers when they started getting the slightest bit possessive.

Bruce just sighed and herded them all toward the limo, knowing Lex and Clark’s luggage would have been brought out by now. "You’ll stay with us, of course."

Lex looked startled. "I didn’t expect..."

"Don’t argue! I need someone there to keep things lively while all the corporate schmucks blab on about their stock options," Dick pleaded.

Clark stayed quiet for the moment, letting Lex decide what they were going to do. He didn’t have a problem staying with Bruce - as long as their room wasn’t near the other men’s.

Lex frowned darkly. "Is Henderson staying at the manor too? Because I’m telling you right now that if he is and he comes anywhere near Clark, I will shoot him this time."

Bruce shook his head. "You really think I’d let him back into my home after what he tried to do, Lex? No, no one else will be staying with us."

"Okay then," Lex nodded, moving toward the car, hoping that Clark hadn’t picked up on their not so veiled comments.

Clark dug in his heels, refusing to budge. "Who’s Henderson?"

"Oh shit," Dick muttered, wincing. "He’s bad news, but old bad news. Long gone bad news."

Bruce rolled his eyes. He knew how he’d react if he heard something similar about Dick, and he knew that this young man was not about to move until he’d had an answer to his question. He glanced apologetically at Lex, who shrugged slightly, as aware of that as the older man.

"Henderson is someone we unfortunately have to do business with thanks to the company he owns. A few years ago he and Lex... met, and he was rather more impressed than Lex was. He had a little difficulty taking no for an answer."

"What’d he do?" Clark’s gaze snapped from one man to the other, demanding an answer.

"He tried to rape me," Lex said bluntly. "And failed, thanks to Bruce." He brushed it off as inconsequential, but he could still remember the fear and helplessness he’d felt when the bastard had had him pinned, half suffocated by the pillows beneath his face. He shuddered.

"Mother fucker." If Clark had had any idea of where the man was, he would have found him and torn him limb from limb then incinerated the pieces. "Tell me he’s in jail."

"’Fraid not. I didn’t press charges," Lex admitted. "We needed his business, and this gave us a hold over him. Though I did make it very clear that if I ever heard of him trying anything like that again, I’d castrate him with a rusty knife."

"Told you we should have done it," Dick muttered before being shushed by Bruce.

"Is he coming to the party?" Clark’s voice was wintry cold.

"No." Bruce’s voice was just as cold. "He has not set foot in my home since that evening. Lex may have convinced me that I needed to do business with him, but I do not have to socialize with him." And Batman made very sure that he stayed on the straight and narrow.

"Could we please stop talking about him?" Lex voice was almost plaintive.

"Anything you want," Clark promised, following Lex into the limo and immediately pulling him into his lap, scowling at Dick when he snickered. "You have a problem?" he asked.

"No, man, not at all." As Dick said this, he settled himself in Bruce’s lap, giving the older man a sunny smile when he arched an eyebrow. "Just not used to Lex being so touchy feely is all. It’s good for him though."

"Fuck you, Dick," Lex grumbled, turning into Clark’s embrace, enough at ease with the other two men to allow himself to take the comfort his lover was offering. He hated that just thinking about Henderson still bothered him this much, but it was getting easier, and having Clark there helped.

Bruce’s hand tightened warningly on Dick’s leg, and he shook his head sparely. It was the first time he’d ever seen Lex allow anyone to comfort him, and he didn’t want the usual banter between Dick and Lex to interfere with that.

They rode in silence for a few minutes until Lex sat up, though he remained in Clark’s lap. Deciding to indulge his curiosity, Bruce asked, "How did you two meet?"

Relieved that Lex seemed to have recovered a bit but wanting more information about what had happened and just who this Henderson guy was, Clark promised himself he’d talk to Bruce about it alone later. "Tried to run me over and ended up running off a bridge instead. I got him out of the water, gave him mouth-to-mouth, and he fell madly in love with me."

"It’s a sure-fire way to meet guys," Lex put in wryly, turning in Clark’s embrace so that he was facing the other couple. "I don’t really recommend dying to get your man, though. Although Clark does seem to keep saving me." Bruce looked curious, so Lex explained, "There have been a few incidents, but Clark apparently comes with a white charger."

Bruce laughed. "Sounds like exactly what you need, Lex."

"Don’t encourage him," Clark sighed while he hugged Lex. "Just ‘cause I’ve been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time a few times..."

"And just because Lex has a penchant for getting into trouble," Dick added.

"What is this, pick-on-Lex day?" He shot Dick a look that promised revenge, then squirmed a bit in Clark’s lap, knowing that would distract him. "Damn," he said suddenly, "no limo rides from the hotel to the manor."

Bruce snickered, immediately understanding what Lex meant. "You could always just circle the manor a few times," he offered, carefully not looking at Dick. It wasn’t as if they had ever done such a thing, of course.

"If you do, have them park back behind the stables, it’s plenty quiet there," Dick said innocently.

Clark blushed. "Umm, that’s okay, really."

Lex buried his face in Clark’s throat again to muffle his laughter. Not that it did much good, but it would have been rude to laugh in his hosts’ faces.

"This is going to be a very long weekend," Bruce sighed. "Am I too old to run away from home?"

Dick looked outraged. "Bruce, I’ve told you time and time again, you can’t run away from your own house."

Clark gave in and hid his face against Lex’s, snickering. "And my folks say we’re bad," he mumbled.

"Why not? You can keep the house. Lex, you’d take me in, wouldn’t you? I could be your chauffeur."

Lex snickered as well. "Clark and I like to drive ourselves, Bruce... and Dick would never let you get away."

"Damn right! Took me long enough to get you in the first place." After saying this, Dick twisted around on Bruce’s lap and kissed him hungrily.

"I think it’s safer in Gotham than in Smallville anyway," Clark added.

Completely ignoring the younger couple in favor of kissing Dick, Bruce pulled his lover closer, sinking back into the fine leather of the seats as his hands ran over him.

Lex eyed them, then shrugged and twisted in Clark’s arms, turning to face him while straddling his lap. "They’re not going to be good for anything. Can you think of some way to pass the time on the drive?"

Clark grinned, sliding his hands up under Lex’s coat and over his back. "You can always point out the sights of Gotham City as we go," he offered, trying not to look at or listen to the other men.

"I’d rather check out some more familiar sights," Lex murmured, nipping along the line of his jaw, his tongue darting out to taste the younger man.

"Lex..." Clark muttered, trying not to squirm under him. "We can’t..." This was different than the trip they’d taken with Chloe and Pete because he didn’t even know the other men, not that it seemed to bother Lex at all.

Reluctantly pulling back, Lex eyed him searchingly. "You sure?" He wasn’t going to push Clark into anything that made him uncomfortable, but didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to convince him otherwise before giving up. "They’re my friends, Clark; I trust them. And they’re rather preoccupied."

Clark snuck a glance at the other couple who, indeed, seemed blissfully ignorant of anything but each other. "Okay, but clothes stay on."

"Good thing we don’t have to do our own laundry," Lex said with clear amusement, again pressing close and undulating ever so slightly against him, pressing his erection into Clark’s. Now that he had his lover’s agreement, he returned to nibbling his way along his throat, licking and biting at the warm, salty flesh.

"Ha ha." Clark tried to make his tone sarcastic, but it turned out more breathless than anything. "Will it be really rude if we don’t come out of our room the rest of the day once we get there?"

Lex glanced over his shoulder at Bruce and Dick, who were now reclining on the opposite seat, totally oblivious to anything but each other. "If we did, we wouldn’t be able to find our hosts. I’m pretty sure they’re going to be doing the same thing we will. We can see them at the party tomorrow night." Lex was suddenly glad they’d decided to come up on the Friday evening as soon as Clark got out of school.

"Oh good." After Clark spoke, he nibbled his way down Lex’s neck, sucking on the pulse-point just beneath his collar.

Gasping, Lex arched in Clark’s arms, letting himself go and simply wallow in the sensations caused by his lover’s touch. He caught one of Clark’s hands, drawing it to his chest, pressing it against a hardened nipple, eager to feel those clever fingers on him.

"God, we just went at it in the plane; how do you do this to me?" Clark breathed before licking his way around the perfect shell of Lex’s ear. He popped open three of the buttons on Lex’s shirt and slipped his hand inside, arching up into his weight as he rolled the tight nub between his fingertips.

"I love having a teenaged lover," Lex chuckled wickedly, biting his own lip as he writhed against Clark. "Are you sure I can’t convince you to fuck me?" he rasped. "I’d keep you covered." It had been a little while since Clark had topped him, thanks to him being in a rather dominant mood lately, but right then Lex would have been willing to give away half his wealth to have Clark take him.

Clark wanted to do what Lex asked, but he just couldn’t. Blushing a violent crimson, he buried his head against the older man’s shoulder though he kept stroking his body. "Can you wait until we get to wherever we’re going? I - I just can’t, not in here with them."

Lex was disappointed but not enough to pressure Clark into doing something he really didn’t want to. He managed to keep the regret out of his expression as he said, "Of course not. It’ll just give me something to look forward to. Just don’t stop what you’re doing!" he gasped as Clark twisted one of his nipples.

"No way." Clark bit down on Lex’s earlobe, then moved over to take his mouth in a hungry kiss, all the while playing with the older man’s chest as their hips rocked together, arousing them both further.

Lex moaned into Clark’s mouth even as he pressed closer. "God, touch me," he whimpered, thrusting against him hungrily. "So close..."

Sliding a hand between them, Clark yanked Lex’s shirt out of his pants, undid the button and zipper, and pushed his fingers inside, closing them around the hot, hard flesh and stroking him almost violently, hoping to bring him off before their companions surfaced or they arrived at their destination.

Lex was trembling and moaning, hips thrusting as he pushed into Clark’s grasp, so close to coming he could taste it. His back arched, Clark’s arm around him the only thing keeping him upright, and he suddenly bit down on Clark’s shoulder to muffle his scream when a bump in the road caused Clark to tighten his grip. Helplessly he shook in his lover’s grasp as he came, hot gouts of semen covering the teenager’s hand.

"God, yeah, so gorgeous when you come," Clark whispered, stroking one hand over Lex’s back while he rubbed the other one over his now softening erection, afraid to move himself for fear of coming, and he wanted to do that buried deep in the older man’s ass as soon as possible.

"Here, might need these." The laughing comment made him look up, and he blushed again upon seeing Dick grinning at him before tossing a box of tissues at him. The last thing Clark saw was Bruce catching the younger man’s chin in his hand before devouring his mouth once more, then Clark looked away quickly again, trying not to listen to their moans and gasps.

Lex slumped forward, head pressed against Clark’s shoulder, and he allowed his lover to clean him up. Once that was taken care of, he threw the box back at Dick with a smirk. "Here, looks like you’re going to need these yourself."

"Lex!" Clark gasped, hiding his face again. "I am never going to be able to look either of them in the eye again."

"Well, at least the rear view is nice from what I saw at the airport," Bruce teased, sprawled contentedly with an equally sated Dick in his arms.

Lex tried to restrain himself, but the expression on Clark’s face was priceless, and he howled with mirth.

"You get to explain to my parents how I died of embarrassment while we were here," Clark muttered, resting his head back against the seat and closing his eyes, wishing he could stopper his ears as well.

Parents? Bruce inspected him more carefully, realizing that he was younger than he’d thought. Raising his eyes, he found Lex staring back at him, and he smiled wryly, his own gaze falling to his former ward, currently sprawled in appealing dishevelment across his lap. He did wonder though...

"Sixteen," Lex said quietly.

"Whoa! If you’re gonna go, go big I guess," Dick chuckled before bringing a hand up to his mouth and licking his fingers clean.

Clark bit back the urge to toss Dick out of the limo’s sunroof. "Is that a problem?"

"No, I just wish I’d had Lex’s sense and not wasted so many years," Bruce sighed, hugging Dick close. "I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to tell anyone that though. Some people would use it as a means of going after Lex."

"Foolish people," Lex retorted, a vicious smile curling his lips. "And, Dick, quit baiting Clark. That’s gone about as far as I find amusing." Dick joking with him was one thing, but making Clark uncomfortable brought Lex’s protective instincts to the fore.

Eyebrows arching up as his eyes widened, Dick nodded. "Sure thing, Lex, I was just trying to make him feel welcome."

"Gee, I’d hate to see how you treat people you don’t like," Clark murmured.

Lex turned his head to brush a kiss over Clark’s lips. "He really was, that’s just how he is." Lex smiled at Dick as he faced forward again, letting him know that he wasn’t angry nor had he turned into that much of a prig since the last time they’d met.

"It’s quite all right, Lex, and perfectly understandable," Bruce put in, well aware of how tempting it was to shield one’s lover from everything.

Clark eyed Dick for a moment, then gave in and grinned, not wanting to alienate Lex’s friend. "So mind if I pry and ask how long the two of you have been together?"

Dick snorted. "A lot shorter than we would have been if I’d’ve had my way!"

Bruce sighed. "Did you really want our relationship to consist of conjugal visits?" Not that even that would have been allowed, considering Dick’s age when Bruce had started noticing him... and when the little brat had started teasing him.

Lex laughed. "This sounds very familiar although I was smart enough not to waste years." He leaned back against Clark smugly.

"Yeah, right, pull the other one, Luthor," Clark laughed. "How long would you have waited if I hadn’t jumped you in your pool that day?"

Trying to ignore the snickering from the other couple, Lex sighed. "Someday you’re going to learn what not to say, Clarkbar." He shook his head sadly. "And since you ask, probably forever," he admitted, turning to face Clark again. "There was no way I was going to risk losing your friendship. I never expected... this."

"That answer beats yours." Dick craned his neck around so that he was looking at Bruce. "Though the forever thing makes me doubt Lex’s sanity."

Clark arched his eyebrows. "I suppose since Bruce waited on you that you just weren’t persuasive enough, were you?"

Lex and Bruce exchanged looks of horrified dismay. The last thing they needed was for Clark and Dick to decide that this was some sort of competition and to be at each other’s throats.

"Dick and I simply had a few additional obstacles to overcome," Bruce put in hastily, "seeing as I was his guardian. But I can understand Lex’s hesitancy, even if Dick can’t. I wouldn’t have made the first move either, not wanting to put pressure on him and especially not wanting to chance losing what we already had for something that might never happen." He shrugged slightly. "The old expression about a bird in the hand..."

"Doesn’t mean shit when you’re the one waiting, right, Clark?" Dick laughed, finding the commonality in their situations amusing rather than antagonizing. "But we both ended up with who we wanted; that’s all that matters."

"Very true," Clark chuckled, giving the other young man a real grin. "It’s just a good thing we’re smarter than they are."

"Hey!" Lex jabbed Clark in the ribs, then bit back a yelp of pain when his elbow hit his lover’s unyielding flesh. He gave Bruce and Dick a fake smile in response to their odd looks, reminding himself not to do that again.

"Okay, he’s a keeper," Dick laughed. "Not that I would have expected you to throw him back, considering the way you two are wrapped around each other."

Trying not to snicker when Lex surreptitiously rubbed his elbow, Clark nodded. "He’s stuck with me for life."

"I don’t exactly consider it being stuck when it’s all I want," Lex pointed out dryly. "Just try to get away from me!"

"You could always tie him up if you want. We’ve got some stuff you can use... Ow!" Dick’s offer ended in a yelp when Bruce elbowed him in the ribs.

Determined not to let Dick get the best of this time, Clark smirked. "What makes you think we don’t have our own?"

Bruce and Lex shared commiserating looks. "We love them. Throwing them out of a moving vehicle would be bad. Right?" Lex didn’t sound too sure.

"Well, it would certainly be illegal. And we really don’t need publicity like that," Bruce mused. "I guess we’re just going to have to keep them."

"Poor things," Clark and Dick chorused, looking at each other, then bursting into laughter.

"Are you getting the impression that allowing these two to meet may turn out to be the biggest mistake of our lives?" Lex wondered.

"’May’?" Bruce repeated incredulously. "There’s no doubt in my mind." Before either of their younger lovers could respond, the limousine glided smoothly to a halt, and the door opened, Alfred holding it. "Welcome to Wayne Manor, Clark." He stepped out, Dick at his side, and waited for the other two to join them.

Reminding himself that this place wasn’t all that different than Lex’s, Clark followed his lover out of the limo, looking around as casually as possible. "Thank you, Bruce. Your home is gorgeous."

"First time I saw it, I thought it looked like something out of a Dracula movie," Dick laughed. "But it grows on you in time."

Lex regarded it solemnly, then turned to Bruce and said, "My castle’s bigger than yours!" He held his serious mien for a moment in the face of Bruce’s dumbfounded expression, then started to laugh, leaning on Clark. "Don’t you agree, Clark?"

"Oh no," Clark laughed, "I’m not going to get in the middle of a whose is bigger contest between the two of you."

"Yeah, I’ve seen ‘em both, and I know the answer to that one," Dick snickered.

"This is going to be a very long weekend," Bruce muttered, leaving them to it as he headed for the front door, Alfred at his side. "When you comedians decide to come inside, Alfred will show you to your room."

"You mean Dick still doesn’t know where his room is? For shame, Bruce, you should let the poor boy have a place of his own," Lex called after him, snickering. Not having any particular desire to stand in the driveway, he slid an arm around Clark’s waist and started after their host, looking forward to showering and changing. Traveling with Clark always seemed to leave him feeling sticky.

Dick shook his head, flipping Lex the finger over his shoulder. "Why do I need a room? I’ve taken over Bruce’s."

"So," Clark murmured as they walked up the stairs, "do I get to take advantage of you once we’re alone?"

"I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t. You promised to give me what you wouldn’t in the limo," Lex reminded him, their hips brushing as they walked. "We have nearly twenty-four hours till the party. By the time it starts, we should be barely able to walk," he teased.

"Sounds fun, but do you think you’re up to it? After all, a week in Colorado didn’t have me walking funny, will tonight?"

"Fine, I’ll be walking funny, and you can carry me. Smartass." Lex swatted at him, ignoring Dick’s laughter as he and Bruce climbed the stairs a few steps ahead of them.

Clark snickered and hoisted Lex up in his arms, pretending that it was an effort so as not to look suspicious. "Mind telling me which room we’re in before I drop him?" he asked.

"Drop me and you can walk back to Smallville!" Lex growled, refusing to think about how he probably looked like Scarlett being swept off by Rhett. "This is so bad for my image," he muttered even as his arms went around Clark’s neck and he curled into the younger man’s arms, making it easier to hold him.

Chuckling, Bruce opened a door with a flourish, gesturing them inside. "It’s all yours. Dinner’ll be at nine if you’d care to join us. Otherwise, just call down and the kitchen will send something up when you want it."

"Thanks!" Clark called over his shoulder before shutting the door behind them to block out Dick’s hysterical laughter. Supporting Lex with one hand, he locked the door and carried his lover to the massive canopied bed, setting him down on the brocade spread and collapsing to lie on top of him.

"You know if I walk back, I’ll still beat you," he chuckled before nibbling on Lex’s earlobe.

"Well, you and I know that, but they don’t need to know it." Lex shivered and turned his head to the side to give Clark better access, his hands sliding down beneath the younger man’s waistband to cup his ass and draw him nearer. "Mmm, do you realize that there is absolutely no chance of us being interrupted?" he murmured. "Chloe can’t call about the latest weirdness, your dad can’t find chores that need to be done... it’s just you and me and this bed."

"Unless your buddy Dick decides to visit," Clark murmured in between nipping his way down Lex’s throat. He arched his hips down into the cradle of Lex’s groin, then back against his hands while he struggled to undo his lover’s shirt without ripping the buttons off.

"If he does, I’ll just have to kill him," Lex replied emphatically, growling at the thought. Clark was taking too long undressing him, so he reached down himself, wrenching at his shirt, indifferent to the fate of the buttons, just wanting Clark’s hands on him.

"Le-ex, you’re ruining your shirt," Clark mumbled against the other man’s neck, giving up on the shirt and concentrating on getting Lex’s pants off him in one piece. Once that was accomplished, he slid his hands down to his lover’s ass, cradling it and pulling Lex tightly against his body. "Will you get yourself ready for me?" he asked just a bit hesitantly, feeling his face heat.

"Who cares? I can buy another," Lex muttered dismissively about the shirt; the only ones he was careful of were those that had been gifts from Clark or his mother or that Clark had expressed a particular liking for. Then he momentarily froze at Clark’s next words, a wash of lust and love sweeping through him.

"Want to watch me, do you?" he rasped, eyes a molten silver with passion. Nude, he knelt up astride his lover’s body and reached into the drawer of the nightstand, certain that Bruce, good host that he was, would have made sure it was fully stocked. Smiling triumphantly, he pulled out the pump bottle and squirted some into his palm after opening it. Holding his hands up so Clark could see them clearly, he carefully smoothed the thick gel over the fingers of one hand, making sure not to miss a single spot. Shifting off of Clark, he turned a bit sideways to the teen so he would be able to see both Lex’s face and his ass.

He watched Clark watch him as he reached behind himself, a finger gliding up and down his cleft before settling on the small opening. He lightly flicked his fingertip back and forth, sending shivery sensations of pleasure throughout his body, and only when Clark moaned did he push inside, opening and slicking himself.

He rode the finger for a short time, then added a second, scissoring them slightly to loosen the muscle. Staring down at Clark, he started moving his hand more rapidly, fingers hooking to rub over the hyper-sensitive gland, and he moaned, back arching and head falling back.

Clark’s breath was coming in short gasps, and he felt as if his brain was going to shut down and his body combust. Lex was always sexy, but this... this was too fucking much! "Need you," he rasped by way of warning before catching the older man around the waist, settling him astride Clark’s waist again.

He managed to wait until Lex pulled his fingers out of his body, then lifted him, supporting him with one hand while he held his cock with the other, lowering Lex down onto his erection, giving a muffled scream when he felt his flesh encased by his lover’s slick opening.

Only the knuckles pressed against his mouth kept Lex from yelling out as well, the sudden fullness exactly what he’d been wanting for what seemed forever. He’d been perfectly willing, eager even, to go for it in the limo, regardless of Bruce and Dick’s presence, but the wait had simply made the pleasure all the sharper. "Oh god, yeah!" he moaned, hips already undulating as he rode Clark hard, not able to go slowly this time.

Clark’s first thrust sent them both off the bed only to slam back down a moment later. "Fuck, Lex, yes!" he moaned, tightening his hands on his lover’s hips, urging him to move faster and faster.

Equally hungry, Lex eagerly followed Clark’s lead, moving faster, rising and falling on Clark’s cock as rapidly as possible, cries of pleasure falling from his lips every time he was filled again. "God, yes, so good, more," he groaned, slamming himself down harder, wanting Clark deeper.

"God, Lex, gonna..." Clark’s words spiraled up to a needy whine as his muscles all clenched before the spasms of his orgasm rocked through him in overwhelming waves of pleasure.

"Yes, come," Lex groaned, riding Clark through his climax, then reaching for his own cock to jerk himself off, so close he could taste it.

"You," Clark gasped, batting Lex’s hand away from his erection, then lifting the older man by the hips to bring him nearer to Clark’s mouth so that he could suck on the heavy flesh.

Lex caught his breath sharply as Clark lifted him off his softening erection, then again when his mouth closed over the head of Lex’s cock. "Clark!" He wailed his lover’s name, hips thrusting forward uncontrollably, and Clark took his whole length into his throat. Lex screamed his name again as his back bowed, his body spasming as he came.

Once Lex relaxed in his grip, Clark let his flagging erection fall from his lips. Smiling up at the older man, he rearranged them so that Lex was lying on top of him and yawned. "Mmm, love the way you taste."

Lex snickered. "I kinda figured that out when you started grooming me after sex instead of letting me shower." He could feel Clark’s collar beneath his temple, and he smiled.

"Hahaha," Clark muttered. "You’re never going to let me live that particular fetish down, are you?"

"Nope, it’s kinda cute," Lex chuckled. "I’m just glad you don’t do it all the time. We would never make it out of bed."

Clark laughed. "We rarely do anyway. Think you can survive not showering tonight or do you want to go clean up before I can lick you more?"

"Seems kind of pointless, not to mention wasteful, to shower when we’re just going to get sweaty and sticky again. I’ll shower before dinner if we actually make it down for that. So lick away." Lex flopped back on the bed, arms and legs spread-eagled.

Clark snorted. "Why do I think you’re humoring me?"

"Would I do that?" Lex grinned up at him, not moving. "I would never tease the super-alien."

"Yeah, right, just like I’d never tease the billionaire." That said, Clark rolled over and pushed to his hands and knees, then started licking his way down Lex’s torso, careful not to let a single inch of skin go uncleaned.

"Mmmm, you do amazing things to my recovery time," Lex murmured, arching beneath Clark’s touch like a contented feline. He forced his eyes partially open, a thin line of brilliant silvery blue focusing on his lover.

Clark lifted his head from Lex’s stomach, giving a cocky grin. "You going for three times in an hour? Mr. Luthor, I am impressed!"

"Well, you see, I have this teenaged lover, and I have to keep up with him. I’d hate for him to get bored with me, old as I am, and go looking for someone younger. You think you could help me out in keeping him interested?"

"Is he hot? Maybe I’ll look him up instead," Clark snickered before blowing a raspberry against Lex’s stomach.

Yelping and squirming, Lex batted Clark away from his sensitive belly, then sprawled back amidst the pillows. "That’s not a bad idea, you know. I kind of like the idea of watching while you play with my boyfriend. It’d be hot." Watching Clark masturbate... oh yeah, hot didn’t begin to describe it.

"Pervert," Clark muttered, pushing up to his knees and grinning down at his lover. "What’s he look like?" he asked, sliding his hands up and down Lex’s thighs, massaging the large muscles there.

"Are you complaining?" Lex retorted to his first comment even as he relaxed beneath Clark, luxuriating in his lover’s attention. "As for my boyfriend, he’s pretty ho-hum, your average teenager. Nothing special about him unless you happen to consider a drop-dead body; soft, pettable, wavy, dark hair; green eyes you could drown in; and a mouth that begs to be fucked to be anything out of the ordinary."

"Nah, sounds boring to me, though if he’s good in bed, that might make up for it." Hands sliding back down Lex’s legs and up his own thighs, Clark grinned and bent over to nibble at the older man’s hipbone. "Still want me to give him a try?"

"Fuck yes!" Lex folded his arms behind his head and lay back to enjoy the show. Clark was usually shy about trying stuff like this, but once he got going, he made Lex glad no one else had any idea just how sexy he was.

Feeling somewhat self-conscious about doing this with Lex so plainly watching, Clark scrubbed a hand through his hair and licked his lips, taking a deep breath before letting his hand stray from Lex’s body to his own legs, stroking up the inside of his thighs to rub over his stomach and up to his chest, taking his time so that the other man could enjoy the show.

Lex started to compliment him, loving every moment of this, but he knew Clark wasn’t really comfortable, so he remained silent, not wanting to disturb him more. He did push another pillow under his head to prop himself up and free his hands, placing them on Clark’s thighs, his thumbs lightly rubbing the tanned flesh.

"Mmm, feels good," Clark sighed, letting his eyes fall half-closed. This was harder then the time he’d done it when they were in Colorado, simply because he could see Lex watching him. Concentrating on the light pressure of his lover’s hands on his thighs, he ran one hand back down to circle and stroke his erection, rubbing at his nipples with the other and feeling his body tighten in response.

"Looks even better," Lex whispered, licking his lips unconsciously as he watched. "God, you’re gorgeous. I can still sometimes hardly believe you’re all mine." His hands slid a little higher on Clark’s legs, his thumbs now framing his lover’s erection.

Clark felt his face flame but didn’t stop what he was doing. He ran his fingers down his cock to brush against Lex’s, then tightened them around his aroused flesh, groaning quietly as his hips canted into the pressure.

Lex shifted, his own body rousing again as Clark pleasured himself, and his thumbs lightly brushed the younger man’s cock. "So pretty," he breathed. "Need to taste..." One hand stroked briefly over the head and rose to his mouth so he could lick the precome from his fingers.

A wordless groan forced its way past Clark’s lips, and he stared at Lex’s mouth, fascinated by the curl of his tongue over his fingertips. Without noticing, he sped up the strokes of his hand, his whole body rocking into the movement.

Gasping softly as Clark’s motions caused him to rub lightly over Lex’s own erection as he knelt over the older man, Lex forced himself not to touch but only to watch. "Come for me, love," he rasped, "I want to see you and feel you come on me."

Clark gasped and gave a full body shudder, his neck arching and his head falling back, exposing the line of his throat. He moved one hand to cover Lex’s where it rested on his thigh, his fingers squeezing around his lover’s as he felt his body tighten, then explode in a torrent of ecstasy.

Lex watched him out of heavy-lidded eyes, drinking in every nuance of expression. He waited until Clark’s eyes opened again and focused on him, then dragged his fingers through the splatters on his chest and brought them to his mouth to suck clean, tasting his lover.

A tremor of pure lust ran through Clark, and he whimpered at the sight of Lex licking his come off his fingers. He swayed, then fell forward over the older man’s torso, catching most of his weight on his arms and nuzzling his face into the crook of Lex’s neck, breathing deeply to fill his nose with the scents of lust and sex.

Groaning, Lex arched beneath him, grinding his erection up against Clark. "Touch me," he rasped as he twisted, rubbing against his lover, pants of arousal escaping him.

"Mmm, yeah." Licking Lex’s neck as he sighed out the words, Clark shifted his weight off to the side a bit and circled his lover’s cock, stroking up the hard, hot flesh from root to head, feeling the droplets of precome wet his hand as he jerked Lex off, urging him to come.

"Oh, fuck," Lex groaned, hips pumping as he drove into Clark’s fist, body arching and twisting as the pleasure grew. Silvery-blue eyes the shade of the heart of flame fixed on Clark then closed as he shook and cried out as he came.

"Gorgeous," Clark murmured, lifting his head so that he could see Lex’s expression and watch as the satisfied smile curled the older man’s lips. Sighing, he brought his hand up to his own lips and licked it, then decided that wasn’t enough and slid lower so that he could clean Lex’s body off properly.

Lex moaned faintly as Clark licked his climax-sensitized flesh, but he’d grown used to this quirk of his lover’s and actually found that he missed it when Clark didn’t do it... not that he would ever tell Clark that. He wound his legs around the younger man, holding on to him, and he carded his fingers through his hair, tugging his head up for a moment to meet his eyes. "Love you."

"Love you too," Clark whispered, giving Lex’s quiescent flesh a final lick before crawling back up his body so that they could share a kiss. "You want to call down for something to eat or crash?" he yawned.

Lex glanced over at the clock. "We have time for a nap before dinner if you want. It would be nice to go down and catch up with Bruce and Dick. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them."

Visiting really wasn’t tops on Clark’s hit parade at that point, but to keep Lex happy, he’d do it. "Sounds good. Maybe Dick can tell me some stories about you."

"On second thought, maybe we’ll skip dinner... and the party... and just stay in bed all weekend. I’m almost positive that I don’t want you anywhere near Dick Grayson. Although frankly, you could learn most of the same things by reading through back issues of the Planet and the Inquisitor."

"Hmmm, protests..." Clark rolled off of Lex and stretched, enjoying the fact that this bed was just as big as the one at the mansion. "Guess that means I really need to talk to your buddy. Bet he’d have the real scoop on your wild years."

"I’d be more than happy to demonstrate for you, but you always make me wait till we’re alone," Lex teased lightly, rolling as well to nestle back against Clark’s side. He’d found that he liked touching Clark, almost needing to, as much as he disliked being touched by anyone else.

Clark flushed even as he slid an arm around Lex’s waist, holding him close. "I just? I can’t, not with people watching. I feel like I’m in a porno movie or something!"

"Mmm, I’d love to get a tape of us together some time. It’d be hot. And as long as you still dance with me, I guess I can’t complain. Hell, I’ve damn near come from the way we dance together a few times!" Lex laughed.

Clark froze. "A tape? Of the two of us? Doing that?" His face burned, and he knew he was bright red. "Ummmm, oh God. Dancing. Dancing is good."

"Why do I get the feeling I’d better relegate any idea of film to the unexplored fantasies category?" Lex sighed. "Oh well, it’s not like I can’t see you whenever I want to live and in the flesh. Someday though, Clarkbar, we’re going to explore your inner kinks, even if it takes us fifty years."

"Maybe if you hide the camera and don’t tell me it’s there until after we’re done," Clark muttered. "And how do you know I have any inner kinks? Maybe what you see is what you get?"

"Everyone has inner kinks. The only question is whether they let them out to play or repress and deny them. Just keep in mind, Clark, I’m open to just about anything, and I like giving you things. So don’t ever hesitate to ask me if there’s something you want to try. Once you get over being embarrassed by it all," Lex chuckled.

"Since we seem to have woken up again, shall we just take a shower and head downstairs? We could always shoot some pool if Bruce and Dick are still otherwise occupied."

"I suppose," Clark murmured, managing to stretch without rolling Lex off of him and still thinking about what the other man had said about inner kinks. "You really want to watch us... on tape?"

"Well, not if it’s going to make you uncomfortable, but yeah, the idea of being able to watch us together while we’re fucking..." A shiver of arousal ran through Lex at the thought.

Clark bit his lower lip. "Okay. When we get back. Just hide the camera and don’t tell me ‘til it’s over, okay?"

"Hey, I wasn’t trying to pressure you, Clark. You know I wouldn’t do anything to make you uncomfortable. And it’s not like having you live is a hardship. When we’re both ready for something is when we’ll do it."

"I know you weren’t, and I think it would be sort of... hot... to see us. Just if I knew it was being taped, I don’t think I could." Clark winced at his awkward explanation. "You know?"

Lex smiled slowly. "So I won’t tell you, and one night when we’re in bed, I’ll turn the TV on, and it’ll be us. And I’ll probably need a new bed the next day."

Clark blushed but nodded. "Will we even watch any of the tape?" he asked, scooting over to the edge of the bed and standing, waiting until Lex had his feet under him to let go.

"Sure we will... about thirty seconds of it," Lex chuckled, heading for the shower. "Then the only thing we’ll be watching is each other." He stopped to stretch, working the kinks out of his neck and shoulders, totally unselfconscious in his nudity.

"God, you look good," Clark murmured, following behind, his gaze locked on his lover’s back. "What would our hosts think if we didn’t make it out of the room tomorrow?" While Lex turned on the water, he pulled towels down from the rods and put them within reach of the shower.

"Bruce would be amused... and Dick would camp out in the hall to jump us when we finally did come out. Trust me, you do not want to be the target of a Dick Grayson determined to tease you. I’ve come close to having him killed in the past. Only the thought of what Bruce would do to me has saved him on more than one occasion." Lex stepped under the water, sighing contentedly when the hot spray struck him.

Clark moved in under the spray as well, picking up the soap and working up a lather between his palms before rubbing them over Lex’s chest. "Like Bruce could lay a hand on you with me around. If Dick pulls anything, I’ll give him a hot-seat. They won’t be able to prove where it came from."

"Bruce has a disconcerting habit of figuring things out, so it would be advisable not to do anything super-powered around him. Besides, I can hold my own against Dick Grayson any day of the week. I’d just rather concentrate on you; you’re much more fun."

"That’s what I love about you, Lex; you’re brilliant," Clark teased, giving the older man a kiss before turning him around to work on his back. "And what? He’d figure out that your boy-toy is really an alien? Yeah, right."

"Well, maybe not an alien, but he’d figure out that you’re different. I have my suspicions about Bruce and just how good he might be at solving mysteries." Lex was thinking of a certain caped crusader who made his home in Gotham City and who’d acquired a young sidekick ‘round about the time that Bruce had taken Dick in. And whose voice sounded remarkably like that of a certain billionaire industrialist.

"You’ve got that look in your eyes. The same one you had when you were trying to figure out just what happened when you went off the bridge. What aren’t you telling me?"

Lex frowned slightly, debating whether he had the right to share his suspicions with Clark, then decided that Clark was the one person he could trust with the truth, if truth it was. He laid out his thoughts, explaining his rationale, ending with, "So, I’m pretty sure that Bruce and Dick are Batman and Robin."

"Batman and Robin. Whoa." When laid out the way Lex had explained things, it did make sense, but still, trying to reconcile smart-ass Dick Grayson and his lover with the crime fighters was a big thing to get his brain around. "That’s pretty cool. If anyone would understand... about me that is, I bet they would."

Lex frowned slightly. Despite his trust and friendship for the two men, this was Clark’s life at stake, and that was something he took far from lightly. But he also realized that as Clark got older, he was going to need help dealing with his new and growing abilities, and Batman might well be able to provide it. "Do you mean you want to tell them?" he asked cautiously.

"No!" Clark grimaced, embarrassed by his almost frantic tone. "Not now. I mean, you know them, and I trust your judgment, but... not now. Maybe one day, though."

"That’s a relief. If you did want to, I’d support you, and they’re probably about the safest you’re going to find if you’re going to tell someone, but frankly, I prefer not to let others know. The more people who know a secret, the less secure it is." Lex took the soap and started washing Clark in turn.

"Yeah, you, Mom and Dad are enough for now; all the people I love and trust."

Lex stilled momentarily, even now his breath catching when he heard the words. "You have no idea what a relief it is to hear that Bruce and Dick don’t make that list," he teased, trying to hide his reaction.

"Fool," Clark muttered. "Finish washing me so that we can get something to eat." After Lex did just that, Clark pulled him into his arms and kissed him. "And I do love and trust you, always."

"Love you too." Lex hugged him tightly, then stepped back. "But I may pass out from hunger if I don’t get something to eat soon." Carelessly draping his towel over the rack, he padded back out to the bedroom to get dressed.

Opening the closet to get a fresh shirt, he stopped, looking pleased. "I like seeing our clothes together."

Clark grinned, peering over Lex’s shoulder at the clothes. "You’re only saying that because you bought me everything in there, so it won’t corrupt your designer duds."

"My clothes could beat your clothes in any fight," Lex retorted.

"Wrong. Your clothes would hire evil clothes to beat my clothes up in a fight. My clothes would try their hardest and then die a heroic death at the hands of your dastardly leather bad-clothes." As Clark said this, he blithely reached in over Lex’s shoulder to grab a shirt and a pair of chinos to begin getting dressed.

Lex turned to stare at Clark in total disbelief, starting to laugh. "You are totally nuts, you know that, right? Besides, my clothes would rather seduce yours and have their wicked way with the virgin wool."

"Only for you, baby," Clark simpered, batting his eyelashes at Lex. "And your clothes would defile mine? Bastards!"

"Nope, their birth certificates say otherwise." Lex shook his head at the insanity of their conversation. "And they would only defile the clothes that gave them come-hither looks. Preferably out of big, innocent green eyes over pouty lips that beg to be fucked." He smiled sweetly as he selected his own clothes and began to dress.

"My clothes are not sluts," Clark huffed, sitting down on the rumpled bed to pull on his socks and shoes then standing again to slide his belt through the loops in his pants. "They were sweet and innocent until they were thrown in with the likes of yours."

"Oh please, they made sure they were hung next to my poor clothes, tempting them with innocent little swishes. Slutty clothes are the best clothes." Deciding that Bruce would probably have them committed if he heard this conversation, Lex pushed Clark back down onto the edge of the bed and moved closer so he was straddling Clark’s legs. Smiling down into the green eyes, he sank down onto his lap, leaning close to kiss him.

"First my clothes were slutty, and now they’re swishy?" Clark’s voice rose in indignation as he leaned back, avoiding the kiss and glaring at Lex.

Groaning, Lex gave up all claim to sanity. "Well, you know, they seem to get off on rubbing against my leather. Swishy or queenie, you decide." Arms crossed over his chest, he sat on Clark’s lap, eyeing him challengingly with raised eyebrows.

"Maybe they’re just trying to be friendly, and your clothes are misinterpreting what they’re doing." Clark’s expression was just as challenging as Lex’s.

"So your clothes would be happier if mine kept to themselves and left them alone? It can be arranged, you know. There’s plenty of room in the closet. They could have friendly chats from opposite sides." Lex smirked at him.

"Gee, should we hang a blanket between them like in that movie?" Clark snorted, making a face at Lex. "Mine don’t mind being next to yours; they just don’t want to be thought of as sluts."

"I’m sure my clothes will still respect yours in the morning," Lex soothed, wondering if maybe they’d been drugged. Considering this conversation, nothing else made sense. "And mine promise to cut the buttons off any that insult yours."

"They promise?" Clark asked seriously, peering up at Lex from under his bangs. The expression on the other man’s face was priceless, and it finally did him in. Howling in laughter, Clark collapsed back on the bed, his whole body shaking as he tried to get himself under control again.

Shaking his head, Lex let himself fall forward so he was sprawled atop Clark, staring down at him. "I repeat, you’re nuts. And if you ever tell anyone about that conversation, I’ll deny it to my dying breath." Feeling their bodies stir from their proximity, he levered himself to his feet and stepped back. "Come on, maybe food will get rid of our delirium."

Clark waited until he was standing before giving a devilish grin. "What’re you gonna give me to keep me from telling?"

An eyebrow rose. "You already have me. What more do you want?"

"Good point. C’mon, let’s go be good guests and get some dinner, then I’ll show you what I want."

"Clark, would you stand still!" Lex demanded in exasperation, trying to fasten the other man’s tie. "If not, I’ll never get this thing straight, and you can look like a drunken headwaiter all night."

"Sorry." Clark managed to stand still until Lex finished with his tie, then began to fidget again, pacing around the room, his hands in his pants pockets. At Lex’s annoyed sigh, he stopped and darted a look at his lover, pulling his hands out of his pockets but keeping one clenched in a fist.

"I have something for you," he blurted out. "If you think it’s stupid, you don’t have to take it, but..." He held out his hand and uncurled his fingers, revealing his new class ring in his palm.

For a moment Lex could only stare, stunned. "Clark, I... Of course I want it, but that’s your class ring, Clark. Don’t you want to wear it at least till you graduate?" he whispered, reminding himself to think of what Clark should want rather than simply grabbing it as he wanted to.

"No." Clark shook his head firmly before reaching out to take Lex’s hand and place the ring in it. "I got it for you, not me. It should fit, I hope. I checked the size before I ordered it."

"You got your class ring made to fit me?" Lex lifted dazed eyes to meet Clark’s. "I... you... I love you," he whispered the instant before his lips met Clark’s in a tender kiss.

Clark positively beamed. "So I guess this means you like it?" he asked, feeling his cheeks heat with pride and a sense of accomplishment.

"I love it," Lex said, admiring the ring on his finger. "But if I’m wearing yours, I think it’s time you wore mine where it belongs." He ran a finger over the lump under Clark’s shirt. "I want to see it on your finger so everyone can see that you’re mine."

Amazingly enough, Clark flushed even redder. Unable to speak, he nodded and tugged the collar that was a twin to Lex’s, which they’d bought together and neither ever removed, out from under his shirt, unhooking it and sliding the ring off it and onto his right ring finger. It was a tight fit, but he might be able to melt the gold a little bit later and widen it some.

Watching Lex frowned slightly. "We’ll have to get it resized for you. I don’t want to cut your circulation off. But... it looks good there." He smiled helplessly, knowing they were hopelessly sappy about each other but not really caring. "Thank you, love."

Clark chuckled. "Somehow, I don’t think that will happen no matter how tight it is, but... yeah, it does." He looked down at his hand, then at Lex again. "Oh, there’s stuff engraved on the inside of yours too."

Lex slid the ring off his finger to look inside, smiling almost shakily when he saw his initials engraved there along with Clark’s. "What, no heart?" he teased, trying to hide his emotions... until he met the green eyes watching him so closely. "It’s perfect, Clark." He slid the ring back onto his finger, knowing that it, like the leather band around the wrist above it that he’d worn on their first ‘date’ in Metropolis, was never coming off.

"It had to be," Clark answered, swallowing hard. "It’s for you. I got your initials added when I went into Grandville with Mom last week; the stupid ring company wouldn’t do more than one set inside the ring." He leaned in to kiss Lex, but it was interrupted much too soon by someone banging on the door.

"If you two can quit fucking for five minutes, we’re all going downstairs ‘cause people are going to start getting here soon!"

"Screw you, Grayson!" Lex yelled back, then started to laugh when Bruce replied that he’d already taken care of that. Chuckling, he drew Clark to the door and opened it to see both their hosts. Dick and Bruce’s eyes widened when they saw Clark; even fidgeting, he looked fantastic in the formal wear. Lex smiled smugly and placed a possessive hand at the small of his back.

"Again, happy birthday, Bruce," Lex said with a genuine smile for his friend.

"Thank you, Lex. I’m only sorry that Lionel and Victoria accepted my invitation before I knew you were coming," Bruce apologized again.

Lex shrugged. "So long as they don’t try to savage Clark, all will be well. If they do..."

Bruce nodded understandingly. He wouldn’t expect Lex to worry about being a polite guest under those circumstances. "Shall we go down for a drink before the guests begin arriving?"

"We have soda for those of us who are underage," Dick snickered.

"Is that in age or mentality?" Clark asked sweetly, walking alongside Lex as they followed the other couple to the game room.

"Play nice, children," Bruce said with a long-suffering sigh. "Leave it to you, Lex, to fall for someone even younger than you and Dick. I have rotten karma."

"And mine is wonderful since I have Clark," Lex replied with a smirk.

"Bruce said, karma, not kama sutra, Lex," Dick snickered.

"And he said his was rotten; what does that say about you, Dick?" Clark grinned.

Bruce and Lex shook their heads and headed for the bar, deciding that they needed something stronger than the waiting champagne if they were going to survive a night with the younger men. "Would either of you two like something?" Bruce asked, not about to be hypocritical enough to say that they couldn’t have a drink if they wanted one.

Clark shook his head. "Soda’s fine for me, Bruce. Need to stay alert to fend off the folks who try to grope Lex."

Laughing when he realized that Clark was serious, Bruce offered him several choices, then got him his preference. After pouring himself, Lex and Dick glasses of scotch, he came back out from behind the bar, an arm automatically sliding around Dick’s waist.

"I am glad you came, Lex."

"Me too," Lex admitted, smiling at the other couple. "I’ve missed both of you. We’ll have to get together more often." He grinned wickedly. "You could come visit us in Smallville."

Dick looked horrified at the thought. "Do they even have real houses out there or will we have to sleep in a barn?"

Clark smiled evilly. "You might have to sleep with Bossie, right, Lex?"

"I would pay money to see that," Lex replied dryly. "Don’t worry, Dick, Clark just has a bizarre sense of humor when it comes to cows. But sorry, no ‘real house’... I have a transplanted Scottish castle instead," he replied sweetly. "Think you could live up to that?"

"I’m sure it’ll feel just like home," Dick chuckled.

"Just don’t touch Sheri or Lex will have to shoot you," Clark added.

"Sheri?" Bruce repeated curiously, unable to picture the wholesome Kansas teenager accepting his boyfriend being involved with someone else.

Lex smirked, knowing exactly what the other two men were imagining, and waited a moment before explaining, "My dog. And don’t exaggerate, Clarkbar. You know I’d just toss out anyone who touched Sheri. I only kill the people who touch you."

Dick snickered. "Clarkbar? And Lex with a dog? Bruce, we have to go visit because that’s something I have got to see."

Clark glanced at Lex, eyebrows raised. "Did I just hear someone with a name that is way too easy to take pot-shots at making fun of my nickname?" he asked.

"Don’t be a dick, Dick," Lex responded, while Bruce sighed and shook his head.

"This is going to be a very long night," the older billionaire muttered.

"Bruce, you need to get out more. You sound stiffer than Enrique!" Lex looked disgusted. "Dick, don’t you know you’re supposed to keep him young?"

Dick shrugged. "Hey, a guy can only do so much, you know. He still acts young in the bedroom; that’s all I care about." He winked at Bruce fondly as he said that.

"Thanks so much," Bruce murmured into his scotch.

"I think we need to introduce Dick to my dad, Lexy," Clark murmured.

"God no!" Lex was horrified by the idea. "If you thought he hated me, I don’t even want to imagine his reaction to Dick." He shuddered. "It would not be pretty."

Wondering just who on earth could scare Lex Luthor like that, Dick gave a nervous smile. "That’s okay; I think I’ll pass on that offer."

"Wimps," Clark snickered, sliding an arm around Lex’s waist and hugging him. "Mom would make him behave."

"True, but he’d still glare. And then he’d keep your mother up half the night with his indigestion. Martha doesn’t deserve that," Lex pointed out, only half joking. "If you want entertainment, watch Dick tonight. He and Lionel cordially detest each other." He snickered. "Have you met dear Victoria yet, Dick?"

"The bitch," Clark growled under his breath.

Having caught the muttered comment, Dick nodded. "My sentiments exactly."

"Lex, wasn’t Victoria a... friend... of yours first?" Bruce asked delicately.

"Well, I wouldn’t call her a friend, but yes, I fucked her before Lionel did," Lex replied crudely, still somewhat sensitive on the topic.

Clark growled again, this time loudly enough to make the other couple look at him strangely.

"Hope you disinfected your dick afterward," Dick mumbled, remembering the time the woman had gone after Bruce.

"As you can no doubt tell," Bruce put in dryly, "Richard has indeed met Ms. Hardwick-Luthor and was not overly impressed. I think finding her naked in my bed when we made it back to our room may have had a contributing factor."

"My sympathies, man," Clark said, taking a sip of his cola.

"Not that it wasn’t a pretty sight, just a very unwanted one," Dick clarified.

"Yes, she is very beautiful," Lex agreed, stroking Clark’s back when the teenager growled again. "Unfortunately the pretty package hides pure corrosive acid. This is going to be a very interesting evening," he sighed. "And no tossing either of them out a window, Clark," he warned emphatically.

"Please, no. I’d hate to have to spend the night bailing you out," Bruce added.

Recovering a bit and calming as Lex rubbed his back, Clark sighed. "You’re taking the fun out of the whole evening, you know?"

"You’re a very unusual young man," Bruce observed, watching the two of them together. He’d never seen Lex touch anyone so much, never seen him allow anyone to touch him without an uncomfortable glance or a freezing glare, yet Clark clearly could do whatever he wanted, and Lex enjoyed it. He smiled slowly, the expression widening when he met Lex’s knowing gaze, and he toasted the younger man.

Clark managed a smile at that. "Lex tells me that all the time, he just uses different words."

"Yes, well, Bruce saves his adjectives for Dick. You’ll just have to make do with mine," Lex said, sliding a possessive arm around his waist as Alfred ushered in the first of the guests.

Clark swallowed visibly before relaxing when he saw that the people coming into the room didn’t include Lionel and Victoria. Watching as Bruce and Dick interacted easily with their guests, he wondered if he’d ever be able to do that with Lex’s friends and business associates.

"Stop worry, relax, and enjoy the party," Lex murmured, leaning into Clark’s side. "You’ll be fine. The worst that’ll happen is that I’ll have to flatten someone for propositioning you."

"Or the opposite," Clark answered, giving a small grin and following Lex when Bruce waved them over to make introductions.

Clark glanced up at the mantle clock, trying not to appear bored, but in fact exactly that. Lex had been corralled by some business associate of his and was stuck across the room, chatting away. Bruce and Dick had vanished a short while before, and given the looks they’d been sharing, Clark had a good idea what they were doing. To get his mind off his impatience, Clark scanned the walls around him using his x-ray vision. Seeing a conduit, he followed it, frowning slightly when it widened and opened into a large cavern filled with...

Oh my God! Lex was going to shit when he told him what was down there! Grinning now, he looked away from the wall and found himself face to face with Lionel Luthor.

"Well, well, if it’s not my son’s jailbait. I see you’re getting him to spend more on you now. I wouldn’t get too used to this if I were you, Mr. Kent. It’s not actually possible to make a silk purse out a sow’s ear."

Clark squared his shoulders, reminding himself that if he could face down meteor-rock mutants, he could face down Lionel. "Then it’s a good thing that, unlike the people closest to you, I don’t want him just for his money, isn’t it?"

Lionel snorted, but before he could say anything, Lex materialized at Clark’s side, one arm sliding around his lover’s waist. "Clark, I thought you knew better than to dirty yourself with the trash," he scolded, ignoring Lionel utterly.

"Don’t have him trained yet, Lex?" Lionel smirked. "Not a good thing, son. Has history taught you nothing about letting your concubines run free?"

Clark bristled at the sound of the older man calling Lex son, as he’d given up that right the year before when he’d had all of Lex’s cars trashed in retaliation for his son’s defiance.

Lex gave Lionel an icy smile. "People don’t require training. And people who really love you don’t need to be controlled or blackmailed to stay with you... but you wouldn’t know that, of course."

Lionel shook his head sympathetically. "So young and so much to learn."

"He knows more than you ever will," Clark snarled, ready to grab the elder Luthor and toss him out of the room.

"Why, darling, you didn’t tell me Alexander and his little friend would be here," Victoria purred, appearing at Lionel’s side, taking his arm as she sipped her champagne.

"I didn’t think Wayne was inviting the also-rans," Lionel replied, patting her hand.

"Actually, I invited a few business acquaintances," Bruce said, joining the group with a hard look at Lionel that put him firmly in that category, "as well as my personal friends.

"Lex, Clark," he continued, now totally ignoring the elder Luthor, "Dick and I would like you to join us in the study for a moment for a private toast."

Noticing Lex’s growing anger, Clark stepped in quickly. "We’d love to, thank you." He gave Lionel and Victoria a withering glance.

Not giving Lionel a chance to speak, Bruce nodded coolly and guided the two younger men away. "God, your family gives new meaning to dysfunctional, Lex."

"Those two are not my family," Lex snarled.

Clark ran a soothing hand down Lex’s arm even as he pulled him in for a hug. "They’re dead meat if they talk to you again, that’s what they are."

"Whoa, no blood-spilling on Bruce’s birthday, okay?" Dick said quickly.

"It’s more likely to be pure corrosive acid that spills from either of those two," Lex snapped, then took a deep breath. "Sorry, I shouldn’t be taking it out on you."

Bruce put a hand on Lex’s shoulder briefly, almost surprised when the younger didn’t shrug it away uncomfortably. "It’s all right, Lex, we understand. So let’s drink to us and Dick and Clark, who keep us from turning into men like Lionel." He raised his glass.

"Like it’s such a chore," Dick grinned, winking at Clark and raising his glass, hoping to ease the mood.

"Staying away would be the chore," Clark murmured, lifting his glass as well and kissing Lex on the temple.

"And we wouldn’t let you anyway," Lex replied, relaxing against Clark as he sipped the champagne. "Happy birthday, Bruce. Perhaps I can return the favor for mine. What do you think, Clarkbar, shall we throw a party for my birthday this year?"

"Sounds great to me," Clark grinned. "I’d like to see Dick try to hold his own against Chloe."

Lex snickered. "We’ll have to sell tickets. That much sarcasm in one room might be illegal. But it’ll be entertaining."

"Sounds like something not to be missed," Bruce replied, intrigued by the reference to someone else who seemed to be Lex’s friend. "Count us in."

"Maybe we should bring a camcorder," Dick chuckled, snaking an arm around Bruce’s waist.

"Don’t worry, Chloe will take enough pictures to make it unnecessary."

"She’s a budding reporter," Lex explained. "But I wouldn’t worry, she seems to think that all her candid shots should be of Clark and me. I’ve lost count of how many new memory cards I’ve had to buy her. I keep a stock in my desk now."

"You saying that she’ll think you and Clark are more photogenic than Dick and I?" Bruce asked wryly.

Clark bit his lip and shot a glance at Lex. "She’s just had more practice taking pictures of me is all," he said quickly.

"I don’t think Bruce’s ego was actually hurt," Lex said with amusement. "And I’m pretty sure that the opportunity to take pictures of another billionaire and his boy toy..." He ducked Dick’s blow, laughing. "That she’ll jump at it. And try to interview you."

"I can hardly wait," Bruce said dryly.

Clark had to chuckle. "Watch it; she has a way of prying everyone’s darkest secrets from them." He started to say more but quickly shut his mouth before he spilled more than he wanted to at the moment.

"Ooo, Bruce, she might find out about your feather fetish," Dick laughed.

"Again, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Her dark talent owes more to Clark’s total inability to keep a secret from her than anything else." He glanced up at Clark’s noise of protest. "Are you going to deny it?"

"No," Clark sighed, ducking his head. "But I haven’t told her everything."

"Leaving out the part about the dungeon Lex has at his place?" Dick asked.

"No, he told her about that," Lex replied, shooting a laughing glance at his lover. "As far as I can tell, all Chloe has to do is bat her baby blues at him, and he crumples like wet meringue."

"Oh, like you’re any better with Sheri!"

"My dog doesn’t put pictures of us on the front page!" Lex retorted.

"She did that one time..."

"Mrs. Ames shouldn’t have left the pie so conveniently at dog level... especially not with that ribbon flapping in the breeze to call attention to it. And it was just once. Unlike Chloe."

"God, you two sound like a married couple," Bruce groaned.

"Who would ever have thought..." Dick laughed, making kissy faces at the other two.

"Seems just how the two of you act," Clark said innocently.

Bruce glanced at Dick and simply smiled. "Well, I suppose we’ve hidden away in here as long as we can. Dick and I need to rejoin the party, but you’re welcome to stay here if you like."

Lex hesitated, looking at Clark. "You want to go back out or stay here, love?"

Clark took a deep breath. "Let’s go back out. Hiding isn’t going to help, and it’ll just make Lionel smug."

"Just promise me you won’t get into a catfight with Victoria," Lex teased, hugging him as they all moved toward the door.

"You take all the fun out of everything," Clark sighed, causing the three older men to laugh as they headed back to the party.

END

  since 02-03-07

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