Disclaimers: I don't own any of these characters, they are the property of DC Comics and various other corporations. No harm intended.

Warnings: This story contains an m/m relationship. Y'know, slash/yaoi/gay, etc. If that's not your cuppa, please skip.

An Evening in the Life of a Modern Couple

"Hi, honey, I'm home," Lex Luthor called as he strolled into the penthouse. Dropping his briefcase on a nearby sofa, he shrugged out of his jacket and waited for the customary caustic response. None was forthcoming. "Clark?"

Frowning slightly, he walked into the bedroom. As far as he knew, there were no world crises that should be taking his lover away at the moment. There had been a tanker spill somewhere near Greenland, but that had been at least a couple of hours earlier.

Oh, shower. That explained it. Clark always took extra-long showers after he'd been mired in oil and salt water sludge. His nose appreciated it, but that also meant Clark wouldn't even want to look at another glass of water right now. So much for hot tubbing tonight. A soft sigh trailed off as he heard the shower stop, then he brightened. Steamy, shower-fresh Clark. Perfectly acceptable back up plan. He was grinning widely when a flesh-colored blur streaked out of the bathroom and down the hall to the hidden closets.

Before he could get offended, the blur was back, a soft kiss pressed to his lips, then Clark was gone again.

He was starting to get the idea that his plans for the evening might have to be radically revised. "Clark?"

"Hi, Lex," his lover said, returning to the bedroom at a slightly more normal speed to grab his red belt. "Henri left dinner in the oven. A couple of faxes came through from Switzerland, I think it's about the new exchange, and Greenspan called, he wanted to talk about next week's Fed meeting."

Lex took all that in without a blink, focused on the most important thing. "You're off?"

Small, apologetic smile. "Shouldn't be too long."

"Terrorists?"

"Justice League meeting."

"Skip it, I haven't seen you all day," except on the news, he amended mentally, coming over and sliding his arms up the steely, albeit spandex-clad muscles of his lover.

Another smiled apology and brief sigh at the caress. "Can't. We're picking the U.N. liaison tonight. If I miss the meeting, I'll get stuck with it again."

"Would that really be so bad?" Lex let his hands fall to their natural level, which by some beautiful coincidence that sometimes made him believe in a god, was just at butt height on Clark. He cupped, of course. "It's been a couple of years since you had to do it. And it's not as if you can't just fly over there."

Dark look and pointed removal of the hands. Grr.

"They all say that. 'Why don't you do it, Kal? It'll be so easy, you can just fly there anytime.' I do have a real job, you know, on top of patrolling. I can't just drop everything whenever one of the delegates wants a photo op. And they all want a photo op, all the damn time." Darker look, blue eyes furtively glancing his way before a touch of color appeared on those sculpted cheeks. "And… that woman is Secretary General."

"Madame Porvinsky? I thought you approved of her."

Deeper color on the face now. "Her policies, yes. But she--she …"

Lex waited for it.

"She…" Full on blush, as lovely now as it had been at 15, and voice dropped near a whisper. "She wants to look under the cape, Lex! She even--there are always fans going in her office."

"Fans?"

"So that it--flutters. Up."

Lex couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. It was either that or order someone to kill the woman, but on balance, laughing seemed like a more appropriate proportional response.

Clark was as red as his cape now, "It's not funny, Lex! She--she asked about the zippers once, and--and, god, she's older than my MOM!"

"And apparently a woman of exceptional vigor. And taste," Lex said around what he would deny to the last breath were giggles. Luthors did not giggle.

Pure outrage in the face turned to his and unless Lex stopped, ahem, laughing right now, there would be no starting anything later. "I-" pause for hastily gulped breath, "I'm sorry. I…" Stony glare (thankfully sans heat vision) clearly told him that this was not enough. Ok, time to regroup and do what he did best: Plot. "So." Small cough, clear throat, stifle any remaining gig-chuckles. "What's your strategy?"

A hint of confusion broke up the glaring. "What do you mean?"

"How are you going to convince the rest of the super-scouts not to saddle you with this?"

"I--Diana and I talked about it a little. She said she wouldn't vote for me if I promised not to vote for her."

"Why doesn't she want it? She's in Boston, New York's not that far away, and she can fly or take her own private jet."

"It's because she is in Boston--she's already saddled with the Joint Chiefs, and usually NATO, too."

"So are you both going to vote for the same person? Bruce maybe?"

"The U.N. folks don't like Bruce. Well, they like Bruce just fine, they get… uncomfortable around Batman. Which is too bad, because I think he might actually like the job and since they don't like him, they wouldn't drag him over there every five minutes."

"I guess that leaves Dick out, too. How about Green Lantern? He can fly."

"Too far from Coastal City. You know what a homebody he is, we had to practically kidnap him for last year's New Year's Eve party." Clark caught sight of the alarm clock. "Crap, I'm gonna be late. I'll see you later."

"What, no good-bye kiss?" Lex called out to the whoosh exiting the bedroom. Sigh. "The passion is gone."

An instant later and the blur was back, and he was being kissed well into his next life. "Never." A flash of a sweet, loving grin and Clark was gone, leaving Lex to cool his, well, everything until Clark got back.

~~~~~~~~

After a couple of cold showers and a dreadfully long and boring phone call to Alan Greenspan, Lex had finally managed to stand down enough to nap. As always, however, he really couldn't sleep until Clark was back in their home and in their bed, where he belonged.

His internal radar went off as the a soft whoosh sent a mild wind current through the penthouse. A moment later he was blinking sleep out of his eyes as a gentle, warm hand cupped his jaw and velvet lips rained kisses over his face. "Now this is what I call a welcome home," he smiled, threading his fingers through the silky hair.

Low laughter. "Better late than never, right?"

A glance at the nightstand told him it was much later than he had expected. He raised an enquiring eyebrow.

Clark shrugged. "There was a fire, and a couple of muggings. Nobody hurt, though."

"Thanks to you."

Another shrug and a hiding of eyes behind impossibly thick lashes. Still modest to a fault. Lex knew he was grinning the 'he's just so adorable' grin that made him look like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. At least there was no one but Clark to witness it this time.

He snuggled into a chest now mercifully free of spandex (aerodynamic, yes, tasteful, no), reveling in the warmth that Clark exuded. His own personal furnace. Who was in a much better mood than when he left. "I'm betting you're not the JLA U.N. liaison."

"And you'd be right," Clark murmured, nuzzling into his neck.

"Who got-" low moan as Clark hit *that* spot, "-stuck with it?"

"Aquaman." A snicker. "He's already panicking about his fins."

That surprised a snort of laughter from Lex, and he licked Clark's shoulder in appreciation. Looking up, he caught his alien lover's smiling gaze, knew they'd be lucky to get even two hours of sleep before he had to show up at LuthorCorp for a meeting with the EU Chancellor and the guys from the toy division, and Clark had to report to the Daily Planet, possibly after stopping a meglomaniac or two. "Do you ever think our lives are just a little too… weird?"

"All the time, Lex, all the time."

"Would you change it?" A slightly more serious edge to the question than he really planned.

"Never."