"Where are all the servants?"

"I sent them all away."

Clark glared, "Why? So you can get alcohol poisoning and die because no one's here to help you?"

Lex blinked, vaguely confused, "But Clark, you're here."

Clark sighed and turned to put away the scotch glass. "You do realize that tomorrow you're gonna be pissed that I saw you like this. If you even remember any of this."

When Lex didn't reply Clark whirled around and saw he was gone.

"Lex?"

Clark focused his super hearing and found Lex stumbling along the hallway, trying to dial a number on his phone.

"Lana? Lana I need to tell you something… You borrowed my stuff without asking, I don't like people who just take my stuff... Clark never takes my stuff without asking… Lana? Lana!"

Clark quickly took the phone from Lex and hung up. "You better be glad that was her answering machine and it hadn't gone to voicemail yet…" Clark paused then asked, "Where is Lana anyway?"

"I sent her to Amsterdam. So she can look at the pretty paintings… Pretty, pretty paintings…"

Clark shook his head and decided not to comment. "C'mon Lex, lets get you to bed."

Lex froze and gave Clark a wide eyed look. "Clark… Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

Clark choked and quickly stuttered out, "No! To sleep Lex." He paused and added, just in case it wasn't clear, "You. Alone. Uhh, without me there."

"Oh…" Lex looked disappointed but Clark figured he'd get over it. He wrapped an arm around Lex, and practically dragged Lex to his room. Leading him to the bath room first, Clark leaned him against the sink and told him to brush his teeth while Clark got his pajamas. Using his x-ray vision, Clark quickly located the drawer and pulled out a pair of dark purple, silk pajamas. He went back to the bathroom and found Lex sitting on the floor, staring morosely at the wall.

"Lex? Did you brush your teeth?" Lex jerked and stared at Clark in shock, "What's wrong Lex?"

"I thought you left…"

"And leave you here alone?"

"But…" The cold water from the sink had brought some sobriety to Lex and with it, the memories of their broken friendship, "You hate me… I investigated you, broke your trust in me, hurt your family, and stole your Lana. Why… Why are you here?"

Clark didn't know how to explain it. These past few months had completely disintegrated their friendship and replace it with cruel words and harsh accusations; they could barely stand being in a room together without fighting. And when Lex called him tonight and started yelling at him through the phone, Clark had been prepared for another round of screams across the room, of Lex throwing a glass full of scotch at him, of Clark retaliating by throwing Lex against the wall. But when he got here he found Lex in his office, sitting on the floor drunk, looking so terribly vulnerable that Clark just couldn't leave him there. It was like all that anger and hate had vanished and all that was left was a hurt Lex and Clark trying to save him.

Instead of replying, Clark just extended his hand to help Lex up. Lex glanced between his hand and his eyes, and after a long pause he finally took it. Clark helped him to his bed and began to undress Lex and put him in his pajamas. Lex just lay there, limp and broken, not saying anything while Clark dressed him and began to tuck him in bed. When Clark turned to leave however, a pale hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Clark, can you please stay with me? Just… Just till I sleep at least… I don't… I don't wanna be alone… Please?"

Clark had never heard Lex sound so tiny and so utterly sad and it shook him to the core. He was helpless to resist, he would to anything to never hear Lex sound so upset. And so he slid in beside Lex and wrapped an arm around him, while Lex rested his head on his chest.

"Tell me a story Clark. Please?"

"Okay… Um… Once upon a time there was a prince who was exiled from his kingdom. The king felt that his son needed to prove that he could be a great ruler and so he sent the prince to a tiny little village and told him to start his empire there."

"I don't like this king, he sounds mean."

"Yes, he's very mean. The prince was so furious at his banishment, he decided to calm himself by taking a ride on his fastest stallion to the woods nearby. So caught up with his own problems-"

"He sounds like a selfish brat."

"Well he is a selfish brat, now let me finish the story."

"Hrmph"

"As I was saying, the prince was so caught up with his problems he didn't notice the rattlesnake that spooked his horse and caused the prince to fall in the river. A local boy happened to be there and-"

"No."

"What?"

"The boy didn't just happen to see it, he got trampled by the horse."

"But if the boy got trampled he couldn't save the prince, the boy would be dead."

"But this is a special boy, he's immune to horse stomping."

Clark paused while Lex attempted to glare at him. Considering Lex was still snuggling with him, it wasn't very effective.

"Okay, this boy did get hit by the horse." Lex gave Clark such a happy smile that Clark's heart skipped. He took a deep breath and continued, "Then the boy dove in the river after the prince and saved him."

"And then they became friends."

"Best friends."

"Then the boy kept lying to the prince and broke his heart."

"Lex…"

"The prince did everything he could to get the boy to trust him but nothing he ever did was good enough, and the boy kept lying so much that the prince couldn't take it anymore because he loved the boy, loved him with all his heart and it hurt and-"

"And the boy saw the pain he was putting the prince through. And he also loved the prince, and the thought of losing him hurt the boy so much he decided to tell the prince the truth."

Lex tensed, but refused to look up at Clark again. Clark knew that this was usually the time when he would make up some excuse and run away but… Clark was tired of running, tired of hiding and pretending, and he missed Lex so much it hurt worse than kryptonite ever could.

"The boy was actually a prince from a kingdom far, far away. It was a beautiful kingdom, with colors you could never even dream of. And it was next to a dormant volcano that the people called the 'Red Giant'. One day the ground started to rumble and the King realized the Red Giant was awaking. He tried to evacuate his people, but they didn't want to leave the only home they've ever known. The King knew he couldn't just abandon his people but he wanted his son to survive. So he sent his son away to another kingdom so the boy could be safe."

Lex was staring at Clark with wide eyes and an expression that was part hope, part amazement, and there was something in his blue-grey eyes that Clark thought was so beautiful he wished he could see it everyday. Clearing his throat, Clark continued.

"The boy was found by a farmer and his wife, and they were the most loving family the boy could ever hope for. They didn't care that he was from another kingdom, he was their son and that was all that mattered."

"How did the prince take it?"

"Hm?"

"How did the prince react when the boy told him everything?"

Clark had to stop and swallow against the sudden lump in his throat. His eyes burned with unshed tears and he had to blink rapidly to stop them from falling.

"He… uh.. Well he… He loved the boy and accepted him and promised to protect him forever."

"And then they lived happily ever after?"

"Yea Lex, they lived happily ever after."

Lex blinked and gave Clark a sleepy smile, "I like the ending." Burrowing down beneath the covers, Lex's breathing finally evened out and he slept. Clark lay there for a while longer, cherishing that moment of peace before carefully detangling himself and slipping out of the bed.

He looked down at Lex and knelt by his bed, pressing a long kiss to Lex's forehead.

"I'll always love you Lex."

Clark wondered if Lex would remember anything the next morning or if would be lost in a haze of alcohol.

He didn't know which one to hope for.