Author's Note: This story takes place waaaaaay in the future. Just how I think it should be, when all is said and done.
Disclaimer: Smallville and all related characters do not, and never will, belong to me.
The End
"It was never about me not trusting you," Clark said quietly.
Lex looked at him.
"Not in the beginning, anyway."
"Then why?" Lex asked.
Clark shrugged. "I was 15, and I'd had it drilled into me since before I could talk not to tell my secret. It had nothing to do with a lack of trust in you."
"At least not in the beginning?" Lex repeated mockingly.
"You kept secrets too, Lex," Clark said evenly. "Lied about your activities one too many times. I tried to trust you. I wanted to."
Lex turned away. "Not enough," he said. "You didn't want to trust me enough. You turned your back on me, Clark. You turned your back and I suffocated in darkness."
"I know," Clark murmured.
Lex raised his eyebrows, surprised. An acknowledgement was more than he'd expected.
Clark smiled sadly. "Where you were going I couldn't follow."
Lex closed his eyes. Took a breath.
So many years… so much fighting…
Now, at the end, it all seemed… less important.
"I've missed you, Clark."
Clark smiled and, oh boy, Lex hadn't seen a genuine Clark Kent smile in far too long.
"I've missed you too, Lex."
So many years…
"What now?"
"Now we rest," Clark said simply. "We've earned that."
Lex shook his head. "I don't think I've earned anything good, Clark."
Clark's eyes were soft. "We each played our part. We balanced each other. We became the enemies the world needed us to be. Now we're finished. The secrets and lies have no place, anymore. They're not necessary here. Now we can just be Clark and Lex."
"Like we started out? Like we tried to be?" Lex asked, the question far more desperate than he would have liked and, God, he wanted what Clark was offering. Wanted it so much.
"Like we should have been all along." Clark answered. "The stuff of legend, Lex, remember?"
Clark smiled again. One of those beaming smiles that once upon a time Lex used to bask in, the kind he'd always instinctively trusted.
The stuff of legend.
At long last Lex smiled.
finished.
A/N: Not really sure about the ending but... what else is there to say? Thoughts? Opinions? I'd love to know!