Clark started as an intern at the
Daily Planet during his second year at Metropolis
University. Once he graduated, he was hired on
full-time. He started where everyone
started; the basement. In one years
time he had worked his way up to the illustrious hallows of the sixth floor,
splitting his time between human interest stories and the gossip page. Clark, who was the least likely person to
gossip mindlessly about this socialite or that actor and who they were
currently having an affair with, did not miss the irony of the situation.
When Perry White took over as Editor in Chief of the Planet
during Clark's second year of employment, Clark
declined his offer of being moved to a different beat. If he was going to make his way up, he
explained, it had to be on his own merit.
Perry had laughed and told Clark to let him know
when he came to his senses and decided to use whatever connections he could to
get ahead in the game.
It was during Clark's stint working the
gossip beat that Lex Luthor publicly acknowledged his bisexuality for the first
time since his teenage sexual escapades.
Not that any paper except the Inquisitor had printed those stories;
which had always given Lex something to laugh about as the Luthor's owned the
Inquisitor.
The news was not shocking to Clark. He'd known about Lex's preferences since
shortly before he started at Met U. At the time, he'd thought it was because Lex
was trying to return the honesty Clark had shared with
him. Clark had
figured that Lex letting a potentially vulnerable side of him show would
communicate to him that his honesty was appreciated. It wasn't a wholly incorrect assumption; Clark
just seemed to have missed the point.
Lex spent two years after he and Clark
had come out to each other Clark sharing the secret of
his origins, Lex sharing what he thought was a way to express to Clark
that he was in love with him living an almost monk-like existence. After those first two years, however, he had
started to date. Since Clark's
recent twenty-fifth birthday, Lex's penthouse had practically become a
brothel. There was a different man or
woman every weekend (Lex was, after all, a successful business man with an
equally successful company to run, sometimes two or three in the same night,
but never the same person twice. Clark
hadn't commented, but he had started to pull away and hardly ever headed over
to the penthouse anymore, which seemed to make Lex even more inclined to fuck
anything that moved.
The day Clark's apartment building
blew up was the day Lex stopped fucking around and took matters into his own
hands. He was waiting outside the police
department when Clark emerged, looking drawn and tired
with soot still smudged across one cheek.
Lex gripped the steering wheel tightly, fighting the urge to reach
across and wipe it away as Clark settled in the seat
next to him.
"I know you're alright, Clark,
but are you okay?"
"Yeah, I... No.
There were people inside that I couldn't get to in time."
Lex studied his friend's profile for a moment, then threw
the car in gear and pulled away from the curb, ignoring the sound of a horn
blaring behind him. "We'll be at
the penthouse in a few minutes, Clark. I cleared my schedule for the rest of the
week." The quiet "thank
you" he received was so unlike Clark that Lex had
reached across and grabbed his hand, squeezing reassuringly before he even
realized he'd moved.
The penthouse was dark when they arrived. Lex entered first, flicked on the hall light
and was hanging up his suit jacket when the thump of Clark
's body hitting the floor made him turn, letting the jacket slip from his
fingers. In an instant, he was on his
knees and pulling Clark against his chest while sobs
wracked the younger man's frame.
It was twenty minutes before Clark
calmed enough to speak. "It's my
fault, Lex," he said quietly.
"How?" He
already knew what Clark would say.
"They were targeting me. My series on the remnants of Edge's crime
ring in Suicide Slums angered all the wrong people. I've been getting threats for weeks, and
they've been getting worse as more information comes to light."
This was nothing Lex hadn't already known, of course, but he
didn't think Clark needed to hear that he'd been
watching him just then.
"This isn't your fault, Clark. If you hadn't exposed the story, they would
have slipped up again and someone else would have."
"People died today, Lex," he whispered, dropping
his head into the crook of the other man's neck. "So many people were hurt, their lives
destroyed because of me."
Lex held him silently for a few more minutes. "Come on," he said gently. "You're exhausted. Lie down, and get some sleep."
"No, there's too much to do. Superman would have been expected on the scene
hours ago to help clean up."
"The Justice League will cover for you, Clark. You need to rest, you're running on
empty."
Clark smiled bitterly. "I don't
have an empty, Lex. I don't need sleep
or food. I can go on forever."
The finality with which Clark spoke
sent a chill racing up Lex's spine.
"Sleep, now." He tugged
Clark to his feet, ignoring his protests. He led him down the hallway to the guest room
he always stayed in while at the penthouse overnight. Walking in, Lex was struck with the thought
that Clark hadn't spent the night in more than a year.
"It hasn't changed at all in here." Clark's voice urged
him into action, and he moved to the bed and pulled the covers back.
"There are pajamas in the drawer and fresh towels in
the bathroom. You should take a shower,
it'll help relax you." He turned
and nearly stumbled as he walked back towards Clark. He looked like living death. There were bags under his eyes and his face
was pale. His whole countenance gave
evidence of a bone-deep weariness.
Lex left to make coffee as Clark
shuffled in the direction of the bathroom.
When he returned, the shower wasn't yet running.
"Clark?" he called, moving
towards the partially open door. Clark
stood with his forehead pressed against the stall door, still fully clothed. "Maybe skip the shower and go right to
sleep?"
Clark nodded and turned. He sat on the edge of the bed, limbs pliant
as he let Lex strip him to his boxers.
He moved sluggishly when Lex steered him to the head of the bed. Lex smiled slightly and brushed an errant
lock of hair from above Clark's eye and then pulled the
covers over him. Lex resisted the urge
to lean down and kiss him with every fibre of his being.
"Thank you."
"See you in the morning, Clark."
***
"I think you should move in here."
"Here?"
"As in this building.
I own it, Clark, it's safe. And I keep the two floors below me
empty. You could move in on the next
floor down and not have to worry about anyone downstairs noticing your coming
and going at all hours."
"I can't afford something like this, Lex."
Lex arched an eyebrow.
"Who said you had to?"
"I can't just live here at your expense, Lex. I wouldn't feel right about it."
"Then move in with me.
At least until your building becomes inhabitable again."
Clark opened his mouth to protest and shut it again a
moment later. "Okay. Thanks, Lex.
I really appreciate it."
"It's no problem, Clark." He stood and clapped Clark
on the back before retreating to his office to get very drunk and contemplate
just what he had gotten himself into.
***
They had been living together for three months when Lex
decided something had to change or he would lose his mind entirely. Clark had recently
noticed the sudden full-stop with regards to his social life, and all he'd said
was he'd be happy to make himself scarce if Lex had a date.
He stewed and plotted for two months before deciding on a
course of action. It wasn't one he was
proud of, but it seemed to be the only thing he could do. He had to make Clark
dependant on him. Which meant getting
him fired. And then blacklisted from all
the other publications in Metropolis.
It took Lex another month to work up the nerve to actually
pick up the phone and summon Perry White to his office for a meeting. Perry, of course, laughed in his face. Until Lex reminded him that he could have
Perry writing the obits for a small-town weekly with just a couple phone calls.
"How the hell do you expect me to fire him,
Luthor? Clark
excels at his job; he's on the way to becoming one of my best reporters. You two have been friends for years. What I can't understand is why you'd want to
destroy his career."
"That's none of your business, Mr. White."
"The hell it isn't!
It's my paper you're trying to screw around with, and"
"I'd be careful how you finish that
sentence." Anyone who'd ever been
on Lex Luthor's bad side knew that tone of voice meant stop now or face total
annihilation. "See that it's done
by the end of the day. Good-bye, Mr.
White."
Perry stood as Lex went back to the files stacked on his
desk. He paused in the doorway and
almost said something before snapping his mouth closed again and storming
towards the elevators.
An hour later, Mercy appeared to inform him that Clark
was on his way up to the penthouse. Lex
tidied his files and packed his laptop away, slinging the strap of its case
over his shoulder. Staff members who
encountered him on his way to the elevator took immediate note of the small
smile playing at his lips and the slight bounce to his normally rigid steps. In less than two hours, the gossip mills had
started to churn and the main speculation seemed to be that perhaps their boss
had recently gotten laid.
***
When Lex entered the penthouse, he acted surprised to find Clark
home in the middle of the day.
"Lex, I wasn't expecting you back for hours."
"I decided to work from home this afternoon. Is everything alright?" Clark remained
silent. "Clark?"
"I got fired."
Lex let his laptop and suit jacket slide to the floor,
performing the perfect imitation of concerned friend as he moved to sit beside Clark
on the couch. He was genuinely
concerned, of course. He best friend and
potential love of his life had gotten fired, after all. The fact that he had engineered the event was
hardly important. "What do you mean
you got fired?"
"Budget cuts.
Perry said they had to trim some staff to get through a rough financial
period, that he had no control over who was let go. He said my excessive absences were an issue,
a deciding factor in my termination."
"Clark, I'm so sorry."
"Perry told me that if it had been up to him, it would
never have happened. That I was one of
the best reporters on his team and he didn't want to see me go; but he had no choice."
"Do you want me to step in?"
"What? No, Lex,
you don't need to do that. I think I'll
use this as a chance to take some time off.
Get centered. Find an apartment,
since my building was condemned. I can't
stay here forever, after all. Do you
think you could..." his voice trailed off.
"Anything you need, Clark."
"Do you think you could help me look? For a place to live?"
"Of course. You
know you can stay here as long as it takes to get back to work."
"I know. I've
got some savings and the payout from the insurance company. I'll be alright financially for a
while."
***
After his thirty-third rejection for an apartment and the
fortieth "we've hired someone else but will keep your resume on file"
letter, Clark was ready to snap.
"You know, Clark," Lex began one Saturday over
their traditional lunch at Clark's favourite diner. "I have a couple positions opening up in
two weeks in my PR department. Copy
writing, press releases, speeches for public engagements; with the possibility
to advance. I'd be happy to give your
resume to my head of HR."
"And persuade the poor person that not hiring me would
be detrimental to his career?"
Lex laughed. "I
will say nothing of the sort, Clark. I
promise."
He had Mercy do it instead.
Two weeks later found Clark starting
his first day at LexCorp. He had the
official tour and meet-and-greet with HR and his new department, followed by an
orientation lunch with his new boss and the two other people who had been hired
at the same time. By the end of the
day, Clark felt like a huge weight had been lifted from
his shoulders. It wasn't reporting the
news, but it was still writing. He could
deal with that.
Once a week, Lex would clear his schedule and the two would
head up to the penthouse for lunch. As
time went on, Clark found himself looking forward to these
lunches. He and Lex didn't see much of
each other anymore, and he found he missed his friend more and more.
Shortly before his twenty-sixth birthday, Clark
caught himself watching Lex closely, taking note of the way his scar moved when
he smiled, the sound of his laugh, the way his pants stretched across his ass
and crotch when he slipped his hands into his pockets. It was with that last observation that Clark
had a moment of clarity. He thought back
over the last year. They spent almost
all their free time together, even what little of it they had lately. Clark would rearrange
his schedule to suit Lex's. He couldn't
even estimate the number of times they had ended up sprawled across the couch
watching a movie and debating its merits.
Their customary lunches and the fact that they both made the effort to
be home to have dinner together. The way
Clark had realized how closely he was suddenly paying
attention to everything about Lex.
"Shit," Clark whispered to
his reflection in the bathroom mirror one morning. "I'm in love with him."
***
Clark's twenty-sixth birthday party
was an event not to be missed. Friends
from the Planet, from LexCorp, and from Smallville were all crammed into the
diner he and Lex went to every week and which Lex had booked for the night just
for Clark's celebrations.
If the LexCorp employees thought it odd that their boss was
attending an employee's birthday party, they didn't say anything. At least not anywhere near Lex or Clark.
In fact, Clark would have been
clueless to their gossip if one week later he hadn't been avoiding a co-worker
who had been flirting shamelessly with him since her drunken admission at the
party to having a crush on him. Before
heading to the break room, Clark extended his hearing
and flipped to x-ray vision. What he
heard caused him to stop in his tracks.
"So have you heard the latest rumour about Lex Luthor's
love life?" He could see Clare, the
department receptionist standing next to the water cooler with Maria from
Finance.
Maria pushed her hair back behind one ear and folded her
hands across her pregnant belly.
"Not yet, spill it!"
"Well, you know Clark Kent,
right?" Clare said, leaning in and
letting her long hair fall forward as if to hide their conversation from other
staff members scattered about the room.
"Sure, tall guy with a smile that could blind
you."
"Well, Lex went to his birthday party last weekend and
seemed pretty chummy with him. And I
found out from Natasha in HR that Clark's address is a LexCorp
Tower one!"
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"According to Miche, the latest consensus is that Lex
and Clark are shacking up! She saw them having lunch together two
weekends ago! Think about it,
sweets. Lex had a serious playboy
reputation until almost exactly one year ago.
I was talking to Becky and Rachel a while back, and they said that there
hasn't been a single story about Lex's flavour of the day in months."
Maria quirked an eyebrow, skeptical. "And all that makes you think that Lex
Luthor, CEO of a fortune 500 company, is dating Clark
Kent, former Daily Planet reporter.
Reporter being the key word there."
"Come on, Maria!
All the signs are there! Lex has
been in a great mood for months now, even during that little incident with Wayne
Enterprises trying to buy Cadmus out from under his nose."
"And?"
"Okay, okay. You
didn't hear this from me, alright?"
Maria nodded. "According to
Allie's assistant, Kristi," Clare dropped her voice to a whisper. "Mercy Graves paid Allie a visit and
let her know in no uncertain terms that Clark was to be
hired with no questions asked!" She
giggled again.
Clark had been rooted to the spot up
until now, but this last statement spurred him into action. Since starting at LexCorp, he had always accessed
Lex's office through the private elevator in the penthouse. After all, he didn't want anyone to be
suspicious of him heading up to the Executive floor with no apparent valid
reason to be doing so. Today he decided
he didn't care. He stormed towards the
elevators and punched the button for the correct floor a little harder than was
necessary. At least it was stainless
steel and didn't seem any worse for wear.
By the time the elevator carried him upwards, he had calmed
down enough to step sedately off the elevator and walk down the hall towards
Lex's office. Upon arriving, he walked
past Karen, Lex's assistant, and threw open the double mahogany doors to find
his friend studying his computer screen intently. Karen followed close on his heels,
apologizing to Lex for his unannounced arrival.
Lex looked up at the intrusion and smiled. "It's fine, Karen. Clark, what can I do
for you?"
Now that he was face-to-face with Lex a man he admittedly
had feelings for Clark wasn't sure what to say. His anger at Lex's influence over obtaining
his job was forgotten. He dropped his
eyes and lowered his head, shuffling forward.
"Lex, I... I overheard something just now. Gossip.
About you. And me. Um, about us."
"Us?" Lex
could feel his heart speeding up.
Clark glanced up quickly from under
his lashes. "Yeah. People are saying that you've been in a
really good mood lately. And uh, they
think that it's because..."
"Go on, Clark." Lex stood and came around the desk to stand
in front of his friend, striving to look outwardly calm.
"They think it's because you are I are together. Dating, I mean," he said in a rush. Clark brought his
eyes up to meet Lex's finally.
"But, that's crazy, isn't it?
I mean, why would you be with me when you could have anyone?"
Lex moved a step closer, putting his hands on Clark's
shoulders. "Why would I bother with
just anyone," he said, squeezing gently.
"When the one person I want is standing right in front of me?"
Clark's green eyes went wide and hopeful. "You mean that?" he whispered, his
voice dropping an octave.
Lex leaned in and kissed him gently, briefly. "I mean it," he whispered back,
letting his free hand slide up to tangle in Clark's dark
hair. "I've been in love with you
for eleven years, Clark."
"Why didn't you..."
"Say something?"
Lex laughed, pulling Clark into a tight
embrace. "I did, you idiot, eight
years ago."
Clark's arms circled Lex's waist in
turn. "You mean, when you told me
you were bisexual? Lex, I'm not a mind
reader!"
Lex laughed again.
"Did you really think the biggest truth I could give you in return
was that I was into guys, too? No,
doofus, I was trying to tell you that I was in love with you."
Clark pulled back and peered into
Lex's eyes. "I guess we have a lot
of time to make up for."
Lex kissed him again, fiercely this time. "Damn right," he murmured against Clark's
lips as he walked them back to collapse on his sleek, black leather couch.
Mercy poked her head in the door then. "I'll have Karen clear your
afternoon."
Lex pulled back just enough to issue one final order. "Better make it the rest of the
week."
"Hey, Lex?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think I've ever heard you say doofus
before."
"And I can promise you never will again. Now stop talking and kiss me some more."
-end-