A/N: This idea came to me at the same time all of my other ideas come to me- 4.00am. So during my bout of insomnia, I decided to type up this 'Clex' oneshot based on 6x11. I'm warning you all now that you might find some errors (it's hard to get a beta around this time of night/morning), but hopefully they're not so horrible that you stop reading this. By the way, I've treated each season as if it were a year. So Clark and Lex will have known each other for 6 years before this.

For all of the 'Alienated Villain, Isolated Hero' followers who are reading this thinking, 'she has time to do a Clex oneshot and not update her Clex fic', I will get around to it. I've been invested in university, my original story and my Harry Potter/Supernatural crossover fic. There's only so much a person can do at a time, so I'm begging for your patience and I hope you enjoy this oneshot as retribution.


Jealous Minds Think Alike

Lex had the room made for this exact purpose. For when Clark Kent stuck his beak into business that wasn't his. The plan had worked, because now he had captured him. He watched the man writhe on the floor of the meteor-rock and lead infused room. Lex observed how the younger man fell to his knees the moment he opened the door to the room and thought back to how he came to know of his affliction.

During the duo's earlier years, something had caught the attention of the young Luthor. It began when Lex gave Clark a necklace crafted from meteor-rock, which had belonged to his then teen-crush, Lana Lang. The reaction was…unusual to say the least. Clark flinched at the mere sight of the chain, as if it possessed teeth or something. That was the first time Lex noticed Clark's aversion to all things meteor-rock. Since then, time after time when meteor-rock was present, Clark turned a nasty shade of green, as if the product made him ill.

This gave Lex the incentive to build a room which was laced with the special green rock, with the intent to trap his slippery friend. In all of his 33.1 locations there was a room just like the one Clark was in now. He knew it was only a matter of time before Clark walked right into one of his traps. Green Arrow and his merry band were not Lex's priority as of now. The only way they might have had any importance was if they revealed why Clark was with them at the 33.1 location in the first place.

Nevertheless, Lex didn't need their input anymore. He was even thinking of letting them walk right out of the door. They were not important. For Lex already had his prize, a way to confirm all of his theories, a way to end his obsession. He had Clark Kent.

He made his way towards to the room he was holding Clark in, ready to interrogate his prey. Lex couldn't help but smile at this thought. Clark may have possessed beyond amazing abilities, yet he was the one lying in an isolated room, whilst Lex was the one who had all the power.

He opened the door slowly, as if he expected something to change within the minutes he had last saw the man on his monitor, but nothing did. Clark was still thrashing on the floor, groaning in pain.

"Hello Clark. I was wondering when I would find you in one these rooms." Lex said smugly. "It's a wonder that I never thought of this before. I mean I've always noticed your aversion to meteor-rock when we were friends. But I guess I was still giving you the benefit of the doubt, you did save my life after all."

Clark whimpered in response. Lex knew he wouldn't last long in the room, he had to make his interrogation short.

"Not in the talking mood, Clark? Or are you still resisting telling me your secret?"

"Lex…let me go." Clark whispered.

"Let you go? It's funny you should say that." Lex chuckled darkly at Clark and knelt beside his prisoner.

He held the collar of his ex-best friend's jacket and leaned in close.

"How can I let you go after what you've done to me?" His voice broke at the end of his sentence. "How do you expect me to let go when I've dedicated these last six years to you?" Lex asked incredulously.

Even with the pain he felt, Clark managed to look at Lex questioningly. He was confused as to why he meant so much to him. When he asked him to let him go, he was referring to his presence in the kryptonite-laden room, not himself.

"You don't even know, do you?" He accused the younger man.

Clark shook his head.

This motion infuriated Lex as he punched Clark in his jaw, smirking as he saw the blood pour from his mouth.

"Every move I've made since that incident on the bridge was so I could get some sort of reaction out of you." Lex explained carefully. "Time after time I tried to prove my worth to you, and you still questioned my intentions. I tried to show you that I was not my father, that I was someone you could trust, but you never confided in me."

Clark tried to sit upright before attempting to reply.

"W-well I think you can see why I didn't, Lex. Look what you're…" He coughed out.

Lex cut him off.

"This is a direct result of your actions, Clark. How could you be so blind? I cared for you so much and look what you did in return. So I did the only thing I could do. I tried to hurt you, like you hurt me. I took what you loved most."

Clark's eyes shone with realisation.

"You understand now, don't you? Do you actually think I care about her? As a friend, maybe, but nothing more. She was a tool to get to you." Lex's hesitated for a second. "She was the only way to get to you, the only thing you seemed to care about."

"How could you do that to Lana, Lex?" He croaked out.

Lex was sickened. Even now, with his own life at risk, the only thing Clark cared about was her. Why her? He retaliated by hitting him for a second time. He couldn't understand why she was so important to Clark. Why he cared so much about her. Why her and not me.

He punched his face once again.

"Why couldn't you see what was in front of you, Clark?!" Lex shouted desperately.

Clark, in all his haziness was able to see something in Lex's eyes that he'd never seen before. Love. In that moment everything clicked into place. He saw the desperation on the other man's face. He now recognised the adoration and anger on his face too, like he was torn. Suddenly Clark felt very guilty for his actions and incredibly dense for not noticing before.

"I'm sorry, Lex." He muttered foolishly to the young Luthor.

Lex looked at him disbelievingly. He couldn't believe the nerve of the younger man. To think that an apology would make up for the way he ruined his life. No, now Lex was out for retribution, for blood and the truth, because love was not an option.

"I'm sorry?" Lex mimicked as he paced around the Kryptonian like a predatory animal. "No Clark, I'm sorry that's it's come to this."

He pulled out a pocket knife from his coat and came to a halt.

"Now, I'm going to make you tell me your secret, one way or another. It's the least you can do for me Clark- after all, you broke my heart, right?" He crouched down beside Clark with the knife in his hand. "You can tell me right now, or I could start slicing until you do."

Clark remained silent.

Lex smiled at him before taking the knife to his cheek.

"I will do it, Clark. You know how far I can go."

He continued to remain silent, fearing that once he told Lex the truth, there was no going back.

"Fine. Let's begin, shall we?" He breathed in Clark's ear.

Lex moved the blade across Clark's face, slicing the perfect skin. Clark moaned in surprise. If it had been any other situation, he would've revelled in hearing such a noise from the young Kent, but this was not ideal.

"Tell me, or this will become much worse Clark." Lex threatened.

Clark stared defiantly into Lex's eyes. He couldn't tell him, maybe before, but not now. Not when he's seen the monster that Lex has become.

Lex began to take off his prisoner's jacket and unbutton his shirt. He wasn't going to kill Clark- he could never do that, but he could torture him until he wished for death.

He grabbed Clark by his hair and held the blade at his throat, making a shallow cut. Lex couldn't help but think how striking Clark looked when he was helpless and at his mercy, it was something he had only experienced in his dreams.

He moved closer to the other man's throat.

"L-Lex, w-what are you doing?" Clark stuttered.

Lex had a feeling that Clark's impediment was not an effect of the meteor-rock, but due to the close proximity. Deciding to make him squirm even more, Lex licked the dripping blood off of his prey's neck. Clark shuddered underneath his touch and tried to move away. Lex only grinned at this, knowing that Clark couldn't move anywhere due to his decrease in energy.

He knew he had to release him soon, before he really did end up killing him.

"I don't want to kill you, Clark. You of all people should know that by..."

"Then let me go Lex. If you do l-love me, then get me out of here." Clark interrupted.

Lex knew that he could let Clark go before anything dire happened, but he didn't know what would happen afterwards. If Clark was the man he thought he was, then he could disappear from Lex forever with ease. He needed some insurance that Clark wouldn't run away from this confrontation.

"I do love you Clark- so much. And I never wanted to do this to you, but how else would I get you to tell me? If I release you now, you will disappear from my life forever without me knowing the truth. That can't happen, so if I do release you, I'm gonna need some insurance first. Or you can just tell me now and save us both the bother of working out how to get around this." Lex stated.

Clark was stuck between a wall and a hard place. He had nothing to assure Lex that he wouldn't run away once he was released, but he couldn't even entertain the thought of telling him his secret. But he could feel himself slipping away, he knew he couldn't waste any more time on his decision. He had to tell Lex now, before it was too late.

"I'll tell you" he said too quietly for Lex to hear. He tried again. "I'll tell you everything."

Lex was shocked to say the least. He didn't think that it would be this easy to finally get the truth out of Clark, yet here he was, ready to reveal all. He felt like a child on Christmas Day.

"I'm an alien from a planet named Krypton." Clark paused for a moment to allow Lex to absorb the information. "My parents sent me here to protect me, to save me before my planet was destroyed. The meteor-rocks are fragments from my planet, they're called Kryptonite. Different colours affect me in different ways. The green one is the only thing that can kill me." He explained.

Just when Lex had thought nothing else could surprise him today, Clark dropped a bomb on him. Of all of the explanations he had come up with, 'alien from another planet' was not one of them. It explained a lot though. All of the times he had been miraculously saved or when his plans were thwarted, Clark was responsible. He looked at the man he had known for years expecting himself to see something different, but all that was there was the same blue-eyed boy he'd always known. Nothing had changed, he was still Clark.

He dropped the pocket knife and slumped to the floor in realisation. He was a fool. All this time he was looking for answers and he never realised that none of it mattered in the end. Clark would always be the same person he'd met all those years ago. He had wasted years on trying to figure out the truth, only to come to the same conclusion. He still loved him, alien or not.

Lex shuffled closer to Clark and held his face in his hands. "I'm sorry." He muttered. "I'm such an idiot."

He looked over at the other man and kissed him. Lex didn't think that he would get another chance to show Clark how he felt. It was the only way he could think of to show him that he was okay with his secret.

Clark was flabbergasted to say the least. He expected anger or disgust. An apology teamed with a kiss was not at the top of his list. Too weak to fend off Lex's lips, or to respond to his advances, Clark laid there unresponsive. He noted that the kiss was one of acceptance. All this time, Lex was willing to accept him and all he did was push him away. He was guilt-ridden for thinking the worst of him.

Clark's eyes began to feel heavy, he knew he had very little time left and so he tugged on Lex's sleeve to grab his attention.

Noticing Clark's depleting life, Lex dragged him out of the Kryptonite room with no hesitation. He had no intention of having a dead alien on his hands.

After getting the body out, he swiftly sealed the door and waited expectantly.

The effects were instantaneous. Clark's wounds healed in a matter of seconds and the life seeped into him again. Lex let out the breath he was holding and offered his hand to the man lying on the floor.

Clark took it and got back on his feet. He didn't know where to go from here. He had just found out that Lex had been harbouring feelings for him and in return, Lex had found out his secret.

"Clark." Lex moved to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but stopped half way. "I was an idiot to let this come between what we had, because now I realise that none of it matters."

His eyebrows rose at this. Clark couldn't understand how Lex no longer cared about his secret after all of the time he spent investigating it. He was sceptical to say the least.

"It doesn't matter anymore because you're still the same Clark Kent I fell in love with. Nothing's changed. And I understand now that my love for you should outweigh my jealousy in regards to your feelings for Lana. You deserve to be happy, Clark. With her."

Knowing the youngest Luthor like he did, Clark could always tell when Lex was lying. He had meant every word he said to him, and that hurt Clark more than anything. Unrequited love was something which resonated with Clark due to his predicament with Lana and the chaotic friendship he shared with Chloe. Hurting Chloe was bad enough, she was able to move past it and not let it affect their relationship. But now was Lex standing in front of him, announcing his feelings with an unwavering confidence. He didn't know how he could let him down as easily.

"Lex, I…"

"It's okay. Be with her, God knows she's been thinking about leaving me since the start of our relationship." Lex smiled sadly.

"I can't do that to you Lex; it's not fair to flaunt our relationship in front of you like that."

"Don't worry, Clark. I'll be long gone before then. There's no need for me to stay in Smallville anymore now. I only stayed because of you." He said truthfully.

"I can't allow you to do that for me." Clark replied.

It was not fair on Lex to move away just for Clark. It wasn't his fault.

"Then what do you propose then? For me to stick around and watch you parade around together? Get married? Have children?! I can't do that Clark, call me selfish- but I can't." Lex shouted. "Let me go. Please, just let me go."

His voice faltered as he tried to hold back tears. He needed to leave, surely Clark could understand that? He decided not to wait for his reply and pushed past him towards the exit of the facility. However, before he could reach it, Clark super-sped between him and the door.

"Let me go, Clark." Lex sighed.

"I will. Just let me say something first."

Curious to learn what Clark had to say, he waited for him to begin his explanation.

"I just wanted you to know that you do mean a lot to me. And that I do love you. Not like that though, but as my friend." He hugged Lex tightly. "I just wanted you to know that before you leave."

Lex relished in the embrace for as long as he could. It was, after all the last time he would see Clark Kent, let alone hug him.

They broke apart and stared at each other in silent understanding.

"Thank you, Clark. Thank you for loving me when no one else could."

With those words, Lex brushed past him and left through the exit.

"You deserve love, Lex." Clark whispered to the empty corridor.