After his parents tell him where he really came from, Clark studies his soulmark and wonders, why would someone born on another planet have a human name written in English on his finger? But no one has a satisfactory explanation of why anyone has the name of their soulmate on their finger. Some believe a higher power puts it there, while others poo poo that idea and try to explain it with science. But no one can really say how—or why—it works, only that it does.
Clark often sits in the loft, his Fortress of Solitude as his father—adoptive, but the only father he's ever known—calls it, and stares at the deep red letters wrapped around the ring finger of his right hand. Alexander is not an incredibly uncommon name, but he hasn't yet met anyone with that name. Most people in Smallville name their children sturdy down to earth names like Jeremy and Peter; they don't tend to name them after ancient Greek conquerors.
When he meets Lex Luthor, the name doesn't click for him at first. Not until Lex is eyeing Alexander the Great's breastplate like he wishes he could find an excuse to wear it, and talking about his admiration for someone who ruled the world before he was thirty. Realization hits Clark hard, and he actually stops breathing for several seconds. Lex is short for Alexander. Lana is saying something about how Lex still has a few years to catch up, but Clark isn't hearing anything through the roaring in his ears. Lex can't be his soulmate.
No. Clark shakes his head, forcing himself to breathe normally again. If Lex had Clark's name on his finger, he would have said something. It's not like Clark is any more common a name than Alexander. Maybe even less common.
When Lex first enters the Kawatche caves, he is first struck by the sheer weight of the history found there. But then, his eyes widen when he catches sight of the markings—writing, really—on the walls. Moving slowly as if afraid to disturb them, he walks toward the symbols, hand outstretched and steady though it seems he should be shaking, stopping just before his fingertips touch the wall. He has no idea what language it is, or what it says, but the letters are as familiar to him as his own skin.
He tears the silver ring from his finger and holds his right hand up before the wall; he is alone down here, so there is no need to worry that his naked finger might offend anyone's delicate sensibilities. The symbols of his soulmark match the ones on the wall exactly. It is not just the same letters—it is the same word… or name.
He slowly lifts his other hand and gently traces the letters on the wall, his heart pounding in a way it never has before. He long ago concluded that the markings on his ring finger were a cosmic joke, a meaningless scribble. He spent years searching for the language with no success. And here it is, in a cave beneath Smallville. He nearly laughs.
The caves frightened Clark at first, especially when the light burst from the wall and downloaded all that knowledge directly into his brain. But now, he finds himself returning to them often, searching for more information about himself and his people.
He doesn't expect to find Lex staring at the story of Naman and Sageeth. Lex has a hand up, tracing the Kryptonian letters—the letters that spell out Clark's birth name—below the pictograph of Naman as if willing them to speak to him. And, oh. He's not wearing his ring. Clark quickly averts his eyes, a blush rising to his cheeks. One of the earliest things his parents taught him, after 'don't let anyone know about your abilities' was that seeing someone's soulmark without their permission is an invasion of privacy. Only your soulmate, once found, should ever see your naked finger.
Wanting to simply slip away, Clark takes a step back… and stumbles over a rock, creating a loud clatter that bounces off the cave walls, echoing and sending the blood rushing to his face. So much for being sneaky. Biting his lip, he freezes in place, keeping his eyes on the ground so as not to accidentally see Lex's soulmark.
"Clark?" Lex's voice accompanies the sound of expensive leather shoes spinning around on the stone underfoot. "What are you doing here?"
Clark risks a quick glance up, but Lex has not replaced his ring. Blushing even harder, he drops his gaze again. "I was… um… I'm working on a term paper."
"Term paper." Lex's voice is flat, not quite disbelieving, but not simply accepting Clark's excuse as truth either. The expensive shoes take a few steps closer. "I don't suppose you've found anything in your research on what language this is or what it means."
Startled, Clark looks up again. Lex is studying him with the same intensity he was using on the wall a minute ago. "Um." Clark's eyes are drawn against his will to Lex's bared soulmark, now close enough to make out, and he cannot choke back the gasp that escapes his lips.
Lex follows Clark's gaze and curses himself for forgetting to replace his ring. No one walks around with their soulmark bared to the world, especially in Smallville, and Clark—raised by the salt of the earth Kents—would find it even more shocking. Quickly sliding his ring back into place, Lex says, "I'm sorry, Clark. I didn't mean to offend you."
"No, no." Clark shakes his head, his eyes coming back to meet Lex's, and there is no hint of disgust or censure there. Only surprise, and something like… hope? "I just… I–" Clark breaks off and lifts his own hand between them, tugging his ring off.
What—? The half-formed question vanishes from Lex's mind as he focuses on the name on Clark's finger. For a blinding moment, pure joy fills his entire being, but then he comes back to reality with a jolt. "Clark, no. I don't think you saw it clearly. Mine isn't Clark."
But Clark is smiling his radiant smile that always makes Lex want to bask in his light. "I know, Lex. I think I told you before that I'm adopted?"
"Yes…" Lex frowns. "Are you telling me you were born a Kawatche and this is your birth name?" He can't help the note of disbelief that colours his voice. He often suspects Clark is lying to him, but this is a bit much.
"Not exactly." Clark reaches out, his fingertips almost touching the soulmark on Lex's finger, and Lex suppresses a shiver at the contact. "It's not Kawatche."
"Really." Lex keeps his voice flat, hiding the riot of emotion within. "What language is it then?"
"Kryptonian." Clark's voice is soft, almost sheepish, as he pronounces a word that means nothing to Lex.
"Kryptonian." Clark tries not to read too much into the utter flatness of Lex's tone, hoping that Lex can forgive him for lying to him since they met. They're soulmates—they have to forgive each other… right? Lex raises his hand between them, the dark red letters standing out sharply against his pale skin. His voice is tightly controlled. "I spent years trying to figure this out. I traveled the world, studying ancient and obscure languages and alphabets. I found nothing."
"Yeah. It's, um…" Clark stops and swallows hard before continuing. "It's not a human language."
Lex's face is carefully blank, but his eyes burn with impatience and anger. "Clark," he says slowly and quietly, "if this is a joke you will regret it."
Clark closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, then meets Lex's gaze. "I was born on the planet Krypton… my parents sent me here as a baby just before the planet was destroyed. Jonathan and Martha Kent are the only family I've ever known, and Clark Kent is the only name I've ever known… but Jor-El and Lara named me Kal-El." He gently takes Lex's hand in his and traces the letters with a fingertip—he can't help smiling when a tremor runs through Lex's body, though he can feel the heat of a blush rising to his cheeks again. "This is my name. Kal-El."
Disbelief wars with desperate hope in the stormy depths of Lex's eyes. "You'll forgive me," he says tightly, his voice rough, "if I ask for proof. You have, after all, just admitted that you constantly lie to me."
Clark nods. He's just glad Lex is still here—angry, yes, but still listening. Maybe someday Lex might even trust him again. Turning, Clark focuses on the floor. It is easier than usual to call up the heat behind his eyes, with Lex—his soulmate!—standing so close, and he remembers the first time, and what he was thinking about then, and he blushes. But Lex is his soulmate—he's allowed to be attracted to him. He holds the red hot beams in one spot on the cave floor for a few seconds, then blinks a few times to clear his vision.
Lex takes a step forward, nearly stumbling on weak knees as he bends to examine the floor. A small circle of stone and dust is melted into slag—clearly having been exposed to incredible heat. He raises his head to face Clark, who is watching him with some trepidation. Slowly, Lex straightens, and lifts a hand and just barely touches the soft skin next to Clark's eye with a fingertip. "Why doesn't it burn you?"
"Nothing burns me." Clark swallows, and Lex watches the muscles of his throat move, wondering how different they are from his own. "Nothing hurts me. Except the meteor rocks."
"The meteor rocks?" Lex lifts his hand away from Clark's face and looks into eyes that have always seemed so very human… except for the first time they met when he thought for a moment—only a moment!—that they were the eyes of an angel.
"Just being near them makes me weak and ill." Clark's shoulders lift slightly as if to say it's not a big deal, but his eyes tell a different story, and suddenly Lex wants to find every piece of meteor rock and wipe it all out of existence. His soulmate is better than he could have ever dreamed of, back before he lost all hope. Yes, Clark lied to him, lied again and again, but this is not the type of secret you tell easily. He does wish that Clark trusted him as he trusted Clark, but that will come. They have the rest of their lives.