Lex honestly didn't remember the last time he'd been this exhausted and bone-weary. He was sure it had happened, perhaps he'd even at one time felt it even worse, but he didn't remember it.
He'd spent an entire damn month trying to set up a merger with a business based in Japan, which meant he had to go to Japan in order to get the agreement and have the appropriate people sign on the appropriate dotted lines. He'd spent countless hours in meetings, looking at presentations from others, showing his own, arguing. He'd spent a good deal of time and money wining and dining these people. And still they'd sat on the fence until the very last minute when they finally came to an agreement and allowed the merger to happen.
An entire month of hardly having any time to himself and almost no sleep (and when he did sleep, he'd dreamed of Clark and woke up disappointed that his husband wasn't there), which meant that there was no reason for Clark to come along or to show up for a quick visit. They'd barely had time for phone calls to check in with each other, but Lex had been adamant that he check in once a day.
He'd said that it was because it was important to know that each other was still alive, you never know when someone might try to assassinate Lex Luthor, but the truth was...he didn't think he could go entire days without hearing his husband's voice at least once. That confident, understanding reassurance that Clark exuded from his tone despite the fact that they were an ocean and thousands of miles apart. And, of course, just the fact that it was the man he loved on the phone while Lex was ducking into the hallway between meetings.
Lex was pretty sure that he had seemed quite a lot like an excited teenager foregoing his books in his locker between classes so that he could chat with his boyfriend on the phone, rather than a man who'd been married to his husband for four years now and was just saying a quick "hello" and "I love you" to said husband.
Clark had had the same reassuring tone when he'd told Lex it was alright that he was going to miss Valentine's Day, that he'd kind of expected that was going to happen since during the middle of the week before none of the Japanese businessmen he was trying to impress seemed inclined to budge just yet. Still, Lex was sure Clark had to have been disappointed.
Lex hadn't been entirely correct, though! He was going to make it back for Valentine's Day...but it was very late and probably, technically, the day after Valentine's Day. But, apparently the way the holiday was celebrated in Japan put the men in a good enough mood to be much more agreeable and finally, finally, they'd all signed the legal documents by early morning and Lex was able to take his private jet home.
But, early morning in Japan wasn't really early morning in the States. In fact, the time zone difference was around 9 hours and the flight home took around 13 hours. So, Lex was getting home at around 4 or 5 in the morning.
Probably just enough time for Clark to be getting up and getting ready to get Connor up and ready for school, and of course Clark's job at the Planet. He'd sent a text message to Clark the moment he was aware he was headed home, and he knew Clark got it because he'd sent a reply. Lex had warned him of the time he'd probably arrive and that it would be best not to wait up due to the early morning he knew Connor and Clark were going to have, just as they did any weekday.
Clark had suspiciously not answered that, opting instead to tell Lex he loved him and was looking forward to getting to spend time with him again. He hadn't the energy (or the heart) to lecture Clark further about the perils of getting absolutely no sleep before a busy day and how Lex would feel responsible (bad) for being the one to cause the misery.
Besides, his husband was an adult and could make decisions for himself. That had been Lex's last thought before having a nice, wistful dream on the flight home about actually getting home on time for Valentine's Day and spending it together as a family and then spending some adult time alone with Clark in their bedroom after Connor went to sleep.
It hadn't lasted long, however. He didn't even get two hours of sleep before Mercy had to wake him so that he could personally deal with a call about a problem at the plant in Smallville, which surprisingly took the rest of the flight to figure out and then solve. Imagine Lex's annoyance when it turned out to be just a simple glitch with a rather simple fix that could have been fixed in five minutes had he thought to look for horses instead of zebras when problems came up.
Basically running on fumes didn't really feel like a good excuse, although he was sure Clark would've told him that made it more than understandable.
Despite all of that, he was definitely glad to be home. He wanted to check on Connor, maybe give him a kiss on the forehead if he thought he could get away with it without waking him, get a hot shower, put on his favorite silk pajamas and crawl into bed next to husband for the hour or so he might get to spend beside him.
Mercy had already been told that he was not to be woken up by anything business related under any circumstances. If the sky was about to fall and the world was ending, it was her responsibility to get Clark and Connor to the underground bunker, or the escape pod...depending on the method of impending apocalypse. She had rolled her eyes at him, but answered in the affirmative.
However, the moment he opened the door to the penthouse all of that got a little derailed. Or perhaps just delayed? He wasn't sure, it was rather difficult to concentrate when his husband, who was supposed to be sleeping, hugged him the second he got in the door.
"Lex!" the shout wasn't really as loud as it probably would have been had Connor not been sleeping elsewhere in the penthouse. He'd better be sleeping, anyway.
Still, he couldn't help hugging Clark back. He really had missed him a great deal, and he could tell the feeling was mutual.
"Clark, I thought I said-" he stopped speaking mid-sentence when he realized...his husband was completely shirtless and those pajama bottoms he was wearing were loose around his hips. Hard chest, washboard abs, and hip lines leading down into those pants were all fully on mouthwatering display.
"Wow…"
"Lex? You okay?"
"Sorry, I just...you look stunning. What was I complaining about again?"
Lex didn't think anyone could blame him for losing his train of thought entirely at that moment. Unless the person doing the blaming was blind.
Clark blushed and reached up to scratch his thick dark hair in a bashful 'aw shucks' sort of move, "I dunno, you're always complaining about something. I usually tune you out."
Lex rolled his eyes.
"Duly noted. From now on I'll make signs and hold them up for you."
Clark laughed and hugged Lex again, before taking his bags all in one hand and under one arm and using his speed to bring them into the bedroom before returning before Lex had managed to get more than two steps away from the threshold of the now-closed door.
"I hope that Connor is at least asleep."
"Of course he is. It's way passed his bedtime." Clark answered, perplexed and brow furrowing.
"Good." Lex said and finally took a moment to kiss his husband like he'd been wanting to do for a whole month.
The kiss was deep and elicited a moan from both of them, Clark's strong arms wrapping around Lex and pulling him closer and Lex doing the same to Clark. It lasted until they both had to pull back for air, and yet still didn't seem to last long enough.
So they shared another.
And another.
And one more before Lex had to pull away to yawn, hearing his husband's fond laugh in reply.
"Did you get any sleep while you were there?" he asked, and Lex was pretty sure he could detect a note of worry.
"I did, but not much. I'm sorry, Clark, but I really am very tired…" he wanted to reassure his husband that he was entirely fine, fit as a fiddle, and had never been more rested in his life just to stop him from worrying, but he knew how futile that would be. Not least because of that yawn in the middle of what could have turned into a rather pleasant make-out session, but also because Clark could use his alien abilities to find out for himself. And he would, too.
"It's okay. I did make something for you for Valentine's Day, though. I know it's the day after and you probably had Mercy make reservations somewhere extravagant, but...I don't know...I just wanted something between you and me, without anyone else around…"
"I'll have you know that I make all of the extravagant reservations involving us myself," Lex defended.
Clark raised a skeptical eyebrow. He knew Lex too well.
"...I could always rent the entire restaurant, that way the only other people there will be you and I and the staff. Mercy can wait in the limo. Or outside the door."
"Oh my God, Lex, no don't do that. Just...the regular reservation is fine." Clark said, embarrassed at the idea of renting out an entire restaurant just for the two of them.
Lex knew he was embarrassed because of the adorable blush dusting his tanned cheeks.
"Alright, if you're sure…" Lex said, holding back his grin.
"I'm positive! I just...like I said, I made something for us. Connor made something for us, too."
"Oh? And what might these things be?" Lex was tired, but there really was no cure for his curiosity once it was piqued.
"Yeah, so...over here. I know you said I shouldn't do anything, but I got Mom's recipe for chocolate mousse-"
"Your mother's chocolate mousse is to die for…" Lex interrupted, mouth already watering. Just a little.
"Everything my mother makes is to die for," Clark said with a grin and a chuckle, as he went over to the fridge and opened it, taking out two small bowls of the dessert covered in plastic wrap and finding a couple of spoons before removing the plastic and handing one of the bowls to Lex along with a spoon.
"That's very true," Lex agreed, accepting the treat and not wasting a lot of time dipping the spoon into the chocolate and giving it a taste, unable to stop himself from giving a moan and closing his eyes as he savored the deliciousness.
"Mmm...God, Clark...this is so good I'm thinking of proposing."
"We're already married, Lex," Clark's chuckle was rich, just like the wonderful dessert he'd made for them.
"I know. How do you feel about a second ceremony?"
"Happy Valentine's Day, Lex." Clark said instead, grinning and shaking his head. His husband really was too cute sometimes.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Clark," Lex replied with a soft tone as he looked over at his husband of four years, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it on the actual day."
"Don't be sorry, Lex. It was out of your hands."
"What good is having all this money and success if I can't drop everything and make a special day like this?"
"Lex...stop. You're being way too hard on yourself. You make every single one of Connor's important school events and every birthday he has, and my birthday, too. My mom's birthday, even! Our anniversary. Lex, this is the first holiday you've missed in quite a while. I think you're allowed one or two unforeseen holiday passes every few years." Clark said, reaching out to rub Lex's arm over his shirt sleeve before leaning in for another kiss, this one not as deep or as long.
"Alright...but I'm still taking you to that expensive restaurant in the evening."
"But not reserving the entire restaurant…"
"So, you said Connor made something?" Lex asked, changing the subject abruptly. He wasn't going to reserve the entire restaurant but he liked making Clark flustered. So adorable.
"Lex! Come on…"
"Okay, I promise. I won't reserve the entire restaurant. Just half of it."
"Lex…"
"The back half."
"Lex!"
"Clark, I'm just teasing you," Lex laughed as he watched his husband sigh with relief and then give Lex a glare that had no heat in it.
Lex grinned, completely unrepentant.
"So. Connor made something?" Lex prompted again.
"Oh! Right. Here, it's so cute," Clark gushed, grinning as he put his bowl and spoon down and went to the living room to take something from the coffee table, a folded piece of construction paper, and holding it out to Lex.
He set his own bowl and spoon down and took the paper from Clark, carefully unfolding it. Inside was a picture drawn in crayon of the three of them, holding hands at what looked like the park. There was also another bit of construction paper, also folded, in the shape of a heart. When opened it read, "I love my dadies! Happy Valentimes Day."
"Clark...this is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Did you put him up to this?"
"Nope." Clark grinned, proud of their little boy.
"Did the school?"
"Nope, he came up with this all by himself."
"Our talented, thoughtful little ball of sunshine," Lex couldn't help but smile as he looked everything over again. These would go on the fridge, of course, now that they had both seen them. It wasn't something that had ever been done in Lex's household when he was growing up, but it had always been done in Clark's and...honestly, Lex didn't think his childhood was a good choice to use as a model for anything other than what not to do or how to screw your kid up.
"Aw, Lex…" Clark was moved by the soft, fond look on his husband's face.
"But, this spelling...what are we paying this school so much money for?" Lex wasn't really serious, but he was still in a playful mood despite being so tired.
"Lex, he's in preschool. The fact that he was only one letter off on two words, and one of them a big word like that that he doesn't hear or see every day, is pretty awesome."
"Well, if you say so. But, when I was in preschool-"
"No, stop. You do not remember your preschool days. Stop lying or I'm taking your mousse away."
"Well, that's not playing fair at all…"
"I've got a little bit of a rogue in me, too, you know…" he said, reaching up to run a hand through his hair as if to strike a pose. Awkwardly.
"...Oh, Clark, please. No. I can't...don't make me laugh anymore or I'll get all giddy and punch drunk, I'm way too tired for that." Lex couldn't help his grin, though. But, in all fairness he didn't try too hard, either.
"Aw, okay." Clark said and kissed him again. "Go ahead and finish your mousse and I'll get you a bath ready."
"A bath? I thought I'd just take a shower." Lex said, relinquishing the drawing and homemade valentine to his husband who brought them over to the fridge to put up on the door with magnets made to look like fruit.
Growing up, Lex had only seen those on television. Refrigerator magnets were unnecessary and constituted clutter, making things look messy when they should look elegant and expensive, according to Lionel. Or something along those lines. When Connor came along, Clark and Lex had picked out an array of magnets. Fruit-shaped magnets, number shapes, alphabet shapes, teddy bear shapes, rabbit shapes.
They were sort of cluttery, he supposed, but they made the place look nice. Like people who loved each other lived here and their child was allowed to feel comfortable in his own home. To Lex, that was perfect.
"Are you sure? Because you look so tense…" Clark said, looking at Lex with worry again.
"You will not believe the month I had and the flight back…" Lex sighed.
"I'm drawing you a bath," Clark decided, walking away to presumably go do that without giving Lex a chance to say anything else.
He smiled lovingly in the direction his husband had gone for a moment, before he took up his bowl of mousse again and finished the last few spoonfuls.
Well, Clark had said to finish it and far be it from Lex to ignore a direct order...when it came to something so delicious. Looking over at his husband's abandoned bowl he noticed it was already empty.
"Okay, you ready?" Clark asked after a few moments when he came back, watching Lex bring both bowls to the sink along with the spoons.
"Absolutely," Lex replied, smiling as he followed Clark quietly down the hallway so as not to disturb Connor asleep in his own room, into the master bedroom and then to the adjoining full bathroom.
"A bubble bath?" he asked, noting the excess bubbles in the bathwater and the flowery fragrance filling the room.
"Yep. Get undressed and get in." Clark said, starting to slide off his own pajama bottoms, taking his underwear down with them and getting into the tub to wait for Lex.
"I thought this was supposed to be my bath?" Lex asked, though his tone was playful and he had eyed his husband's well-chiseled form until half of it disappeared into the water and bubbles.
"Clothes off. Get in the tub." Clark's tone was playful, grinning up at Lex and watching as Lex removed his clothes.
It did feel good to be out of his travel-wear. He got into the bath with his husband, settling between Clark's legs with his back to Clark's chest, allowing him to take Lex's weight as he relaxed and exhaled heavily and with relief as he let his husband's strong arms encircle him and the hot water soothe his achingly exhausted body, while the fragrance - lavender, maybe? - and the steam soothed his mind.
"Bubble bath. Best idea ever." Lex practically moaned.
Clark chuckled in his ear and kissed the shell of it. "Glad you agree, honey."
Lex smiled, liking the terms of endearment his husband was no stranger to using.
After a few moments, Lex felt Clark begin to slide a washcloth over his tired body, washing away Japan and the plane ride, and it wasn't long at all before Lex began to doze off while Clark's soothing hands and the washcloth gently caressed their way down the contours of his arms, over his chest, down and along his torso to his hips and his thighs. Despite the intimate nature of their position and the touches themselves, nothing felt sexual. It could easily become that, if they chose, but right now Lex was content to bask in the much-needed comfort of his husband's careful touch.
It was so nice and Clark allowed him to just drift on the edge of unconsciousness for so long that he wasn't sure how much time had passed by the time Clark was softly whispering to him that they should get out of the water and go to bed.
The water was still warm, but definitely not hot like it had been at first. Lex took a deep inhale and shifted to sit up, rubbing at his eyes a little.
"Right. Sorry, did I fall asleep?" Lex's tone was groggy even to his own ears.
"A little bit. It's fine. Come on, let's dry off and go to bed." Clark's voice was a softly fond murmur that Lex couldn't help smiling at.
Lex sat forward a little further to give Clark room to get up and step out of the tub onto the bath mat, enjoying the view of his husband drying himself off. Mmm. Half asleep or not, Lex would never not appreciate Clark's assets.
"Lech." Clark teased, grinning at his husband, a faint blush forming at his cheeks.
"I can't help it if you're an Adonis, Clark." Lex defended, standing up as well and stepping onto the bath mat to let his husband dry him off with an offered clean, fluffy towel.
"Lex, I am so not that." Clark's blush was positively flaming now and Lex could only grin wider.
"Well, alright. I agree. You really are far more beautiful than the sculptures and paintings." Lex amended.
"Lex, oh my God," Clark literally whined that time and Lex wondered if it was possible for him to develop yet another superpower, like spontaneous combustion.
Just as he was contemplating how he might feel about something like that actually becoming a reality, and how that would work at home or how they'd keep that a secret in the middle of a sprawling, busy city until Clark could get a handle on it he was being presented with his favorite silk pajamas and being urged to get dressed.
It was then that Lex realized Clark had already gotten dressed while he was contemplating the idea of a flammable new superpower. It was also then that Lex realized he really must be a lot more tired than he thought.
He changed into his pajamas, moaning at the comfort and relief of the familiarity of his favorite pair of pajamas. Lex very firmly pushed aside the idea that it was childish to have clothes of any sort that were so comforting that you moaned when you put them on after being without them for too long.
"You're so cute," Clark commented and now it was Lex's turn to blush. Just a little bit. And be ushered toward the bedroom.
"Wait, I want to check on Connor."
"He's okay…" Clark assured.
"I know he is. But, I want to check anyway. I haven't seen him for a month…"
Clark's expression softened and he nodded, "Sure. Try not to wake him."
"Of course," Lex assured and made his way out of the room and down the hall two doors to very gently and carefully open Connor's bedroom door and look in with the bit of light that washed in from behind him.
There was their little son, asleep on his bed with the dinosaur comforter and matching sheets and pillowcases. He was positioned on his stomach and one foot was dangling off the bed, his eyes closed and breathing deep.
Lex couldn't help the smile that came over his face, fond and loving. He went over to gently tuck Connor's foot back onto the mattress and beneath his blanket and then lean down to press a feather-light kiss to his forehead just beneath the dark, thick locks of hair he got from Clark.
Slowly, Lex stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door again behind himself, although he left it barely cracked just in case Connor woke up in the middle of the night.
Heading back to the bedroom, he knew he still had that smile on his face because of the way Clark's look softened when he saw Lex return. He didn't bother to try to wipe it off of his face as he turned to shut the door, but didn't lock it so that if there was a problem Connor would be able to get in. He didn't anticipate they'd be doing anything tonight that would require a locked door, anyway.
"Come on, I just turned down the bed," Clark informed, although Lex had already noticed that.
"Ugh...you have no idea how wonderful it is to be in this bed again. No offense, Clark, but I might need to divorce you and marry the mattress instead." Lex moaned as he got into bed on his own side, the one nearest the door, and reveled in the softness of the satin sheets and blankets, the down pillows and satin pillowcases.
"So much for that second proposal already, huh?" Clark teased as he got into bed with Lex.
"Well, bigamy is illegal and I didn't think you'd approve of an extramarital affair…"
"I think you're delirious. Come on, this bed is huge, get into the middle," Clark said, and Lex felt the bed shifting as his husband reached for something on one of the nightstands.
"The middle? What for?" Lex asked, but he wasn't going to complain. He liked the middle of the bed and they usually drifted there together at some point during the night anyway.
"More room." Clark replied, and suddenly his husband's interest in something at the nightstand caused Lex to be suspicious.
"I didn't lock the door…" he warned.
"Not for that. I'm gonna give you a massage. You're somehow still tense," Lex could hear the eyeroll in Clark's tone.
Soft laughter escaped him as he moved to the center of the bed as Clark had requested, resting on his stomach, hands beneath a pillow and head resting upon it. Oh God, this was beyond comfortable. He was pretty sure that once he dropped off he'd sleep for a million years.
He'd miss Connor's whole childhood if he did that.
Maybe Clark was right about that delirious accusation…
And that was when he felt Clark's warm hands on him, smoothing over his shoulders and down his back, slow and firm, before moving back up to his shoulders and neck and paying very specific attention. God, Clark's fingers were like magic and Lex moaned without shame.
"Feels good, then?"
"God yesss…" he mumbled into his pillow.
The scent from the oil Clark was using was one Lex couldn't quite place, although admittedly he wasn't too concerned with it right now and wasn't trying to figure it out. He did think he might smell an undertone of lavender again, though, which made sense if Clark had used a bath oil that had lavender in it.
"Divine…" Lex was pretty sure he sounded obscene, if not slurred, while he spoke but he couldn't make himself care about dignity right now.
He heard the rich sound of his husband's soft laugh above him, where he just realized Clark was straddled and sitting on his ass.
If he weren't so tired and if he weren't about to literally melt into the mattress, he would definitely be considering foregoing the rest of the massage and turning around to flip them over, maybe consider locking that door after all.
But, he was so very tired and he was definitely going to melt into the mattress at any moment. God, what was Clark doing to his shoulder blades?
Was it possible to experience an orgasm simply from the relief of relaxing after a month of tension and knots building up in your muscles? Because Lex was pretty sure he could cum from this. He was already a little bit hard.
Except that he was also more than a little bit tired, and that lavender and some of those other scents were playing with his mind and making him even more tired, which...he really hadn't thought was possible until this moment.
Not to mention that all of that tension being soothed away was also doing more than its fair share of making him sleepy. He couldn't even keep his eyes open at this point.
"Oh! God...that's...yeah…" Lex breathed out when Clark did something to the middle of his back, close to the left side and elicited a shudder from him. He would definitely need to keep that little trick in mind for the next time he bottomed for Clark.
But, that wouldn't be tonight because he was already feeling the fuzziness from his tired brain hit maximum fuzz and it wasn't long before he was drifting into unconsciousness and then into actual sleep.
Clark continued his massaging, even going for Lex's arms and hands, until he was positive that a meteor could crash through the living room and not wake Lex up, before he carefully got up to wash his hands and put away the oil and clean up the bathroom from their bath.
The dishes in the sink could wait a few hours. Technically, they had housekeeping who could do these things for them, but Clark had never felt easy with the idea of leaving things for housekeeping staff to do that he could easily do himself just because they were on the payroll. To him, it was just one step removed from the inconsiderate rudeness of a kid throwing trash on the ground in front of a janitor just because it was "their job" to clean it up.
Clark had always thought it served those kids right when they inevitably got into trouble for that sort of behavior, and he and Lex had agreed as soon as they knew Connor was on the way that they would not raise their child to be a spoiled brat or to take other people for granted simply because they were there or paid to do things for him.
Once finished with the clean-up, which honestly didn't take that long with his powers anyway, Clark went back over to the bed and got in again.
"Happy Valentine's Day, honey…" Clark whispered to his sleeping husband, kissing softly at his temple and then his cheek, before moving to cuddle up beside him and pull the blankets over them.
He hadn't mentioned it to Lex, but he had actually taken the day off tomorrow and he intended to keep Connor home from school tomorrow so that they could have a family day. Lex had been gone for an entire month and he hadn't had much time to call home. Brief texts and phone calls, hardly enough time to say hi to Clark and Connor, and no real time for video chats like he usually did if he had to be away from home for business.
Connor had really missed Lex a lot while he was gone and while he was used to Lex having to make long business trips, this was the longest since Connor had been born and he'd never been so close to radio silent for one. He hadn't mentioned it, but there were nights when Connor had sat up crying asking when Daddy was coming home. A family day was needed and it was going to be had.
Besides, Clark had really missed Lex, too. He understood work happened and sometimes it was hectic and he didn't fault Lex at all for going, but that didn't mean he didn't feel his husband's absence acutely and wasn't disappointed at the short phone calls and text messages. He was glad Lex was back and wanted to make the most of it. They all seemed to need it. Even Lex, he was willing to bet.
Smiling, Clark turned off the lamp and snuggled back in, closing his eyes with his head resting on Lex's chest, taking in his husband's presence and scent.