Out of the Coat Closet
Chapter One
Lex Luther was surrounded by
people, but he had never felt more alone.
It was
his birthday party, and he should have been enjoying it. But the 20-somethings
laughing, dancing, and drinking around him were exactly the kind of people he
dd not feel like being around- rich, important, and utterly apathetic.
Far too
like myself, Lex thought with an self-important smirk.
The
party had been his father’s idea- and the guest list, too, had been Lionel’s.
It was really more of a schmooze fest than a birthday party, and Lex didn’t
really want to be diplomatic at the moment. His mind kept wandering, away from
all the pretty and scantily-clad girls giggling and clinging in his general
vicinity, to a certain dark-haired farmboy who epitomized everything these people
were not.
Maybe
that was why he liked Clark so much. He had grown up around fakes and
brownosers- people too concerned with their own image and power to care about
anything else. And he had been so close to reaching that point himself- when
Clark had swooped in and changed everything.
Lex
glanced with mock indifference at his watch. 2:00 a.m. The party was bound to
last far into the morning, he thought with a grimace.
He
reasoned he had stayed long enough to satisfy making an appearance; besides, if
he had to be with these people much longer, it would be back to the coat closet
for him...
Detaching
himself from some sniveling girl whose name he couldn’t even remotely remember,
he began inching slowly towards the door.
Ten
minutes later, he was in his car, speeding wildly along an old dirt road. He
knew where he wanted to go- but he wasn’t sure if the boy scout would be in bed
yet.
The
image of Clark in bed brought a small smirk to his lips. He quickly stifled it,
trying instead to turn his mind to where he was going. The turns he had been
making had been automatic, and now that he looked around him, it was obvious
where he was heading.
He was
going to the Kent farm.
Lex
slowed as he neared the farm, stopping the car far away enough that the house
and barn were just barely visible for what they were. It was nearly 2:30. If
Clark’s parents found him out here... well, it definitely wouldn’t help
Jonathan Kent’s opinon of him.
But
honestly, Lex didn’t care what Clark’s parents thought. The only person he
cared about was Clark.
A light
flickered on in the loft of the barn. Clark, Lex thought hopefully. So he was
up.
As
quietly as he could, Lex slipped out of his car and started toward the barn. If
Clark was up, he reasoned, he might as well go up and say hello...
“Lex!” a
voice hissed above him.
Lex
glanced up, where Clark stood waving down at him, a charmingly innocent smile
plastered across his face.
“Come on
up,” he whispered again.
Lex
nodded, creeping around to the barn doors and inside, then continuing up the
stairs to the loft. Clark waited at the top.
“What
are you doing here so late?” Clark asked as Lex reached the top. “Or should I
say early?”
Lex
laughed lightly. “I was just escaping my birthday party,” he explained. “And my
car seemed oddly drawn to your farm.”
“Birthday?”
Clark’s brow knotted in consternation. “I didn’t know it was your birthday. I
don’t have...”
“Clark,
it’s all right,” Lex cut in with another small laugh. “Besides, it hasn’t
really been my birthday for...” he glanced at his watch, “Two and a half hours.
I’d really just like to block the entire experience out of my mind.”
Seeing
no chairs, Les balanced carefully on the edge of the bed set up there for
Clark. He smiled as he felt the obviously homemade quilt beneath his fingers,
and traced a finger over the design distractedly.
Clark
sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on Lex’s free one. “Are you...”
“I’m
fine,” Lex interrupted again. “Really, Clark. I’m used to having birthdays...”
His mind
finished for him. Hiding in the coat closet.
“I don’t
really have good birthdays,” he said aloud. “It’s not quite the holiday for me
it is for most people. Just... business as usual.”
“Lex...”
Lex
shook his head, a forced smirk plastered on his lips. “Clark, really. It’s
nothing new. I stopped caring years ago.”
Clark
frowned in annoyance, but said no more about it. It was obvious what he was
thinking- Poor Lex... how sad... Lex turned slightly in annoyance; pity always
made him uncomfortable.
It
wasn’t until several seconds later that he realized Clark’s hand was still
laid, comfortingly, on his own.
Clark
realized the fact at about the same time, and pulled his hand away, blushing
wildly.
“Clark,”
Lex said softly. “I...”
Lex
Luther didn’t blush. And he didn’t get flustered. But, surprisingly, his mind
was blank of anything appropiate to say.
Actions
speak louder than words, he reminded himself firmly. He reached out, gently
taking Clark’s hand within his own, and then leaned in to kiss him.
Although
Clark’s innocent eyes widened slightly at the movement, he didn’t try to move,
and he certainly didn’t protest. Instead, he closed his eyes as Lex’s lips
brushed his; first lightly, and then more firmly, with a certain edge of
demand.
Clark
leaned into Lex, allowing the older man to tangle his elegant hands in the
thick, dark hair that hung around Clark’s face. Lex broke away with a soft
smile- a far cry from his usual insolent smirk- and pulled his hand out of his
hair and along Clark’s strong jawbone before pulling away, a suddenly
embarassed look flicking across his features. “Clark...” he pleaded. “If you
don’t want...”
“Shh,”
Clark said with a slight smile, laying one finger on the man’s lips before
leaning into another kiss.
This
time the kiss deepened quickly, and it was Clark’s tongue that pushed its way
past Lex’s teeth, exploring lightly the
cavern of his mouth. Clark, one strong arms wrapped around the smaller man’s
waist, pulled Lex against his broad chest protectively. Lex arched into him,
moving his finger in small circles in the hollow of Clark’s cheek.
God,
this felt so right, as if everything in the world had simply been waiting for
this moment, holding its breath until this very kiss... Lex’s lips curved into
a smile against Clark’s. What a sickenly sentimental thought.
He loved
it.
Gently,
Lex urged Clark backwards until he was lying on the bed, Lex lying on top, lips
straying from Clark’s and down along his throat. Clark’s eyes closed softly, a
faint smile playing about his mouth.
“Fuck,”
Lex breathed.
Clark’s
eyes flew open, shocked at what he believed to be the implication behind the
words. ‘Lex!” he exclaimed.
It was a
few seconds before he realized Lex had stopped his attentions and was staring
beyoond him, muscles clenched and frozen.
Clark
shifted to look in the same direction, toward the stairs leading up to the
loft. And echoed Lex’s sentiment.
Johnathan
Kent stood there, frozen in utter shock.
