Author: Mitch

Title: Inborn

Series: Part 9

Rating: R

Pairing: Clark/Lex

Category: Romance/Angst

Feedback: Thanks to all who have reviewed for all of your kind words! It encourages me more than I can tell you.

**********

Martha heard the tractor shut off outside as she prepared breakfast in the kitchen. Jonathan always liked to get in a few hours of work before he ate on Saturday mornings and Martha was never one for sleeping in, so she didn't mind.

But this particular Saturday morning, she was having a hard time staying focused on breakfast. For once, though, her distraction was a positive one. The night before had been the most romantic 4th of July that she could remember.

Jonathan had taken her to the park to watch the fireworks, but they got there before the sun had even set.

"What are we doing here now?" she had asked. "We're going to be waiting for at least an hour."

"Close your eyes," Jonathan replied.

She did as she was told, and when he told her to open them again, there was a picnic set up in front of her. After the initial surprise, she had to laugh.

"Hotdogs and champagne, Jonathan?"

"But of course. Unless your not adventurous enough."

After which, Martha seated herself and began to eat. The rest of the meal might as well have been a summary of their life together. It was all so happy and uncomplicated. She remembered a time when she was younger and living in Metropolis. The glamour of the high life used to call to her, and it nearly pulled her in. But Jonathan walked into her life, or rather, she walked into his, and everything changed.

The men of Metropolis were polished and smooth. They knew all the rules of etiquette, fashion, and chivalry. They attended the right schools, drove the right cars, and dropped the right names. While all of these qualities were very appealing, Martha found one quality in Jonathan in the first conversation she ever had with him that she hadn't found in Metropolis her whole life.

Kindness.

Not the empty civility pounded into one's head through years of mental conditioning and private schools, but pure, inborn kindness. She knew then, as she knew now that she would love Jonathan forever.

Once they finished their dessert of brownies, frosted in red, white, and blue, the sun had gone down and the fireworks were about to begin. Martha was a little disappointed that they would have to give up their privacy, but still very happy just to be with her husband.

But when the last light of dusk slipped away, it was like they were the only two people on earth. The fireworks started, showering their colors all around, seeming to illustrate the feelings in Martha's heart at that very moment. She felt a slight twinge of worry, though, as she thought about her talk with Lex, and she said a silent prayer that he and Clark would be able to find the kind of happiness together that they deserved.

"Is something burning?"

Martha started at the sound of Jonathan's voice.

"Damn!" She pulled the blackened pancake off the frying pan and tossed it into the garbage.

Jonathan chuckled softly and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms softly around her stomach. "It's okay. It looks like you've made quite a stack already."

He started to nuzzle her ear and she inhaled sharply at the warm breath on her neck.

"Well, I know how hungry Clark gets when he's been working," she whispered.

Jonathan stopped his actions abruptly. "Actually, he hasn't been working. He must have slept right through his alarm."

Martha turned around to face him. "No... I went to check on him earlier and he wasn't in his room. I thought he was with you."

"Well, if he's not with either one of us, where is he?"

She thought for a moment and something came to her. "He must have stayed over at Lex's house."

"Luthor? The two of them haven't spoken for weeks. I thought Clark had finally come to his senses," Jonathan said as he started shoveling pancakes onto a plate.

"Come to his senses? Jonathan, in case you've forgotten, 'Luthor' is the reason you and Clark aren't in prison." Jonathan sighed, giving in. "Besides, Clark has been drawing into himself more and more lately. I think Lex may be able to help him."

"Help him how?" he asked skeptically.

Martha nearly blurted out everything, forgetting for a moment that Jonathan didn't know, then stopped herself. "Uh, Lex has always been so good to him. He knows what it's like to be alone, he understands Clark's feelings."

"Clark is not alone. He has us."

"We're not enough, Jonathan. Don't you see that? There comes a time in a teenage boy's life when he needs to reach out and discover new things. We can't be his everything anymore, he has to be free to find himself."

"And you think he's going to find it with Lex Luthor."

"Part of it, yes."

Jonathan gave his wife a doubtful look, and she let out an exasperated sigh as she turned around and made for the stairs. He put his plate down and caught her by the arm, pulling her back into his embrace.

"Honey, I'm trying," he said calmingly. "It's just that the Luthors change everyone they come in contact with. I don't think this family will ever be the same after all we've been through, especially Clark."

"That's not the Luthors, Jonathan. That's life. Things happen, people change." She backed away from him so that she could see his face. "Happiness goes away, but it's never gone for good. Yes, we've been through a lot, but why does the final result have to be negative? What's wrong with defending the ones you love? What's wrong with doing whatever you have to do to maintain everything you've worked so hard for? So we're not the picture perfect family we once were. We're still together. We still love each other. Isn't that worth all the secrets and lies and--"

"Wait a minute, what do you mean secrets and lies? We're not talking about Lex Luthor anymore, are we?"

Martha felt her face getting hot. "I-I just mean Clark's gifts. We've had to hide them from everyone and--"

"So what, you think Lex can help him with that too? Sure, why don't we go tell the son of a snake disguised as a billionaire that our son is an alien with super powers? Let's see how he deals with that one."

The look on Martha's face quickly melted the conviction of Jonathan's statement.

"Oh, Martha, no."

"He had to know, Jonathan. He was hiding Clark from the law, I couldn't keep something that vital from him."

"And soon we'll be hiding Clark from *him*. Lex will have him dissected into labeled jars before we can--"

"Don't you think that if Lex were going to do something like that, he would have done it by now? He has known the truth since the beginning. He would never do anything to hurt Clark. Lex needs him."

Jonathan made a face at that, clearly uncomfortable with the sound of it. After a short pause, he turned around and headed for the door. "I'm not hungry anymore," he mumbled as the screen slammed shut behind him.

Martha stood in the kitchen, speechless. It wasn't until she heard the tractor start up again, that she collapsed into a chair, resting her head on the table.

So many lies.

She had thought she could handle it. But she was starting to forget who knew what, and she was slipping up more and more all the time.

She made a promise to herself that she would never let it happen again. The happiness she and Jonathan had shared the night before really would go away forever if he knew everything that she knew.

No. She had to hold it together.

**********

Clark awoke with a familiar ache in his stomach. Warm arms were draped around him and hot breath tickled his neck. The same warm arms and hot breath he felt every morning when his dreams carried over to reality for just a few seconds. But the ache in his stomach, the sadness, always woke him up, reminding him that Lex wasn't really there. Really his.

But this particular morning, as he shed the last lovely layers of sleep, he realized that the arms and breath were still there. He slowly turned his head to see Lex lying next to him, his mouth slightly opened and curved in an involuntary grin.

Clark broke out into a smile of his own as he remembered the night before. He almost woke Lex up just to exclaim how happy he was that all of this was real, but he stopped himself. There was something so pure about Lex in this state, so untouched.

He gently laid his head down on the pillow right next to Lex's face so he could feel the breath in his ear. It seemed like such a silly thing to do, but he did it anyway. He fought shivering at the sensation and took a deep breath with the pleasure of it.

For you, Lex had said. Only for you.

Everything Lex had, everything he did, was all for Clark. His love was for Clark, his heart, his home, the breath in his lungs, the very breath that Clark was enjoying so much, was for him alone and he suddenly felt less silly for taking advantage of it.

Again, he thought of waking Lex. His feelings were very close to spilling over and he felt like he had to express it somehow. But another thought came to him, something much sweeter.

Planting a soft kiss on his lover's forehead, he silently got up from the bed and pulled on a pair of Lex's sweat pants. They were too short, but he didn't mind.

After one last smile at his sleeping angel, he walked into the hallway in the direction of the stairs with one purpose in mind. Breakfast. He was sure Lex lived off of catered food, and he wanted to make something special for him. Growing up on a farm had taught him more than just baling hay, after all.

As he got to the bottom of the stairs and headed in the direction of the kitchen, he jumped as he heard a pot clinking inside. He nearly dismissed it as a servant, but remembered Lex calling the servants the night before and telling them he needed some privacy for the next day or so. But who could it be?

An image of the night before flashed into Clark's mind. He recalled standing out on the balcony with Lex, the desperation so great that it affected him even now, but that wasn't what his brain was trying to tell him. He thought harder and was surprised at a small pang in his head. He almost felt like the night of passionate love-making had left him hung over. Not a bad analogy, he thought.

But something had been wrong with that moment on the balcony. Not Lex or what they were doing. Something else… a feeling. It was so vague that he knew only he would have been able to pick up on it with his alien intuition. It wasn't super sight or hearing, because he knew he hadn't seen or heard anything. It was just something he knew.

What the hell is it?!

Another small clatter resounded from the kitchen and it came back to him in an instant. Somebody was watching them! He didn't know how he knew or who it was, but the idea was so strong in his mind that he knew it was right. Someone had been outside, below the balcony, watching Clark and Lex together. The feeling had been with him the whole time, but he was too emotional to notice.

But now that it was coming back to him, he realized the feeling had never really left. The foreboding had stayed, distantly tugging at his mind all night. Not surprising since whoever it was had obviously entered the house, and was now up to God knew what in the kitchen.

His possessive instincts immediately took over. He wasn't the least bit afraid for himself. But the thought that someone had broken into Lex's home, probably intending to put him in some kind of danger, infuriated him. Without another thought, he stormed into the kitchen, ready to put his fist through anyone who would dare to hurt his Lex.

But he stopped right inside the door. Across the room, standing in front of a large metallic stove, was a woman flipping bacon in a frying pan.

"Can I help you?" Clark asked firmly.

Her shoulders raised slightly as if startled and she turned around. Her face lit up when she saw Clark.

"Oh, sweetie," she said as she crossed the room and took Clark into a hug. He hugged back loosely, not sure what else to do, and finally pulled away.

"Who are you?"

She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "Clark, don't you remember me?"

He studied her a little longer, knowing that something about her was very familiar, but not sure what.

"Seattle, Clark."

His eyes widened and he gasped as the pieces came together. "Kate?!"

"Yes!"

Clark let out a shocked laugh and hugged her again, this time picking her up off of her feet and holding her tightly against him. She laughed too as she rubbed circles over his back, her maternal feelings towards Clark obvious.

He finally put her down and held her affectionately by the shoulders. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell Lex you were coming?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise. I figured you two would want to be left alone, so I let myself in instead of disturbing you. You... did want to be alone didn't you?"

Clark looked at the floor, embarrassed. "Well... yeah."

"I thought so. It warms my heart to see you together, to see how much you love each other, how good you are to each other."

"Well, I wasn't always good to him," Clark said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"Kate, I've been so horrible. After everything that happened, after... Phelan, I didn't know what to do. Losing such a large chunk of my life filled me with so much anger, and I blamed it all on Lex. I have been treating him like shit for the last month. I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to swear."

"It's nothing I haven't heard before, Clark," Kate said with a smile. "So does that mean last night was..."

"Yeah. I guess you could call it a reunion. But wait a minute, what am I thinking? I'm sure you want to talk to Lex yourself. I'll go get him--"

"Clark, wait." She placed a hand on his arm. "I actually came here to talk to you."

He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What about?"

"I... Clark, I think you better sit down."

Clark took her by the hand and led her into the dining room where they seated themselves at the table. "Kate, is something wrong?"

She looked at the floor as if trying to find a gentle way to put it. Finding nothing, she decided to just blurt it out. "I know, Clark. I know that you're not from... around here."

"How? Did Lex--"

"No, no. Lex didn't say anything and I never asked. My job was just to take care of you. It's really none of my business, and if you don't want to talk about it, I'll understand. But something happened and I think you have a right to know about it. Or to remember it, I should say."

"Okay, now I'm really confused."

Kate squeezed his hand on the table and then went back into the kitchen. She returned with her purse which she set on the table as she sat back down. Out of the purse she pulled a mini tape recorder with a cassette inside.

"What's that?" Clark asked nervously.

She pushed the play button and Clark heard what sounded like chaotic banging, objects being thrown around a room, glass breaking. But as he listened more closely, he heard a voice. A screaming male voice, furious and animal.

"Kate, who is that?"

Kate turned up the volume in response and Clark realized that the man wasn't just screaming incoherently. He was speaking what sounded like actual words, though not in English.

"Stokt hith fotr!!! Tetch Paik! Tetch Paik vekpr aukol!"

Impulsively, Clark grabbed the player from Kate and held it to his ear as beads of sweat broke out across his forehead.

"Tetch Paik krost aukol! Jrumst nkolut cautist!"

He looked at Kate again, his eyes filling with tears. "Who is that?!" he screamed, fearing he already knew the answer.

"It's you, Clark," she said quietly, her voice almost drowned in the racket on the tape.

"No. No it's--"

"Tetch PAIK!!!"

"No!!!" Clark smashed the recorder in his hand and the tape spilled out onto the floor. The sudden silence left a ringing in his ears, jarring him. He took a few moments to catch his breath and sat down again. "Where did you get that tape?"

"I made it when we were in Seattle."

"You couldn't have. The rock... I mean, I was so weak the whole time I was there. That couldn't have been me."

"You weren't in the house the whole time, Clark."

Clark thought back to the day he discovered the meteor rock under the bed. He had been so blissfully ignorant in the moments just before, and within the next hour, had been bombarded by hideous, violent memories of what had happened, along with a few parts of the story he hadn't even known. Or wanted to.

Now, he wiped the sweat off his brow and felt his breathing accelerate at the thought of that happening again. Was it possible that something had happened in Seattle that he was unaware of? He didn't think of that time often, and when he did, he didn't remember time in terms of a line like it usually seems to be. Everything was just... still. Like the past, present, and future of his experience in Seattle had all happened at once. Not unlike a dream, how everything seems to occur in one moment, and only later does one put the events in some kind of logical order.

And yet... something in the tape wouldn't leave him alone. Something in the sound of his own enraged voice, in the power of those words, was absolutely pulling at him.

"Tell me, Kate," he whispered. "I have to know."

She took his hands in hers and began. "You got away. I'm not sure how you found the strength, but you did. I came to check on you one night and you were just gone. I was so panicked I didn't know what to do, so I called Lex. But he was in the middle of something with his father and I couldn't get through to him. So I went out to look for you."

"How did you know where to look?"

"I didn't. I was just desperately wandering at first. But eventually, I ended up at a used bookstore surrounded by cop cars so I went to see what was going on. The windows were all smashed in and the manager on duty was raving to the officers about some man dressed in his pajamas screaming in another language and destroying his store."

Clark's eyebrows bunched together as he tried to remember. Kate continued.

"After that I just kind of followed the path of destruction until I found you."

"Where?"

"The Space Needle."

If Clark hadn't been so overwhelmed, he would have laughed out loud at the drama of it all.

"The gift shop at the bottom floor looked like a hurricane had gone through it, and since you weren't there, I figured you must be at the top. I took the elevator up and when I got there, everybody in the restaurant was pressed up against the windows, like they were trying to see something. So I found my way to the observation deck and you were there, standing on the railing, screaming."

"In that... language?" Clark swallowed.

"Yes. To this day, I'm not sure how I got you down. But eventually we got back to the house and that's when you started throwing things around. I made the tape because I knew Lex would want to know about it."

"But he doesn't know. He would have told me."

"No, he doesn't. It was months before he was able to get in touch and see how you were doing, and by then you had been calm for so long, I just didn't mention it."

Clark braced himself, ready for the memory to come flooding back at any moment, for the mind-numbing pulses to shoot through his head, shedding their vicious light. But they didn't. The only thing that came to him was a sense of increasing panic.

"I... I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"No, I don't think so."

He propped his head up with his hands and took a deep breath. "What does it mean?" he whispered. "What's happening to me?"

He started wishing he had awakened Lex earlier. Lex, his love, was upstairs asleep and Clark needed him here. This new revelation was frightening and upsetting and he craved the comfort and the feeling of safety only Lex could offer.

The sound of his own voice on that tape continued to ring in his ears. It could easily have been another person. The language brought a different tone to his voice, cold and menacing. It was filled with an anger more fierce than anything he ever remembered feeling, even for Phelan. And worst of all, the voice on the tape wasn't just angry. It was soulless. He didn't know how such a quality could be audibly palpable, but it was. The anger wasn't just blind rage. It was calculated and vengeful and utterly terrifying.

"There's one more thing, Clark. Something I have to ask you."

Clark looked at Kate.

"Back at the house, just as I was coming back into the room with the tape recorder, you had found a kitchen knife. You were carving something into the wall, and I wanted to know if you can remember why... if you can remember what it means to you."

"What did I carve?"

Without a word, Kate rose to her feet. Her white blouse was tucked into her pants and she slowly started to take it out. Clark stood up as well, unsure of what she intended to do. She turned around so her back was to him, and lifted her shirt.

In the small of her back, right between her hips and above her tailbone, was a large pink scar in the shape of an eye. The Eye of Exile, the same unholy symbol on Lex's stomach, glared up at Clark and he felt the ground rising toward him as his vision went black.

**********

Darkness and warmth and strong arms, and Clark slowly opened his eyes to find his Lex looking down at him. It was just a dream, he thought.

But he soon realized that it wasn't as he felt the cold floor of the dining room beneath him and saw Kate's face next to Lex's so full of concern.

Lex held Clark's chin gently, wordlessly asking if he was ready to stand up. Clark nodded and Lex slowly helped him to his feet. The three of them moved back to the table, and just as Clark was about to sit, the symbol flashed back into his mind.

"Lex, no!" Clark threw his arms around his lover as the fear rose up in his heart again, threatening to knock him unconscious a second time.

"Ssh, Clark. It's okay," Lex soothed as he rubbed Clark's back.

"No, it's not," Clark sobbed as the helplessness of seeing Lex broken and bruised came back to him. "Your dad... Kate..."

Lex's voice remained soft. "I know, baby, I know. We need to talk, okay? Can you take a deep breath for me?"

Clark did as he was told, and as his lungs filled with air, he felt the constriction of cloth around his stomach. He looked down and saw that he was wearing a T-shirt of Lex's. Lex must have slipped it on him before he regained consciousness.

This warmed Clark's heart to no end. He knew that the gesture didn't come from any selfish claim that Lex had on Clark's body, and the need to cover it from prying eyes. It came from Lex's need to make Clark feel comfortable and loved. And dignified.

He threw himself into Lex's arms again, abruptly enough to make him gasp, and Kate stifled a laugh. Then, blushing at the scene he was making, Clark lowered himself to a chair. He pulled out the chair next to him for Lex, never once letting go of Lex's hand.

After a few moments of silence, the seriousness of the situation returned and Clark spoke up. "Lex, talk to me. You've seen the mark on Kate's back, haven't you?" It wasn't a question.

Lex nodded.

"I think it's time you told me what you did to make your father so mad at you," Clark stated. "And then tell me what Kate did, because I have this nagging feeling that they're related."

Lex gestured as if to protest, but Clark stopped him before he got the chance.

"Please, Lex. It's not just about you anymore." He slipped his hand up the front of Lex's T-shirt and lightly touched the bandages that still covered his stomach. "This... thing has something to do with me, and I have to know everything if I'm ever going to figure it out."

Lex put his hand on top of Clark's, and began to talk as Kate sat down across the table from them. "I'm guessing you haven't heard of Matéo Hernandez."

At the mention of the name, Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. Clark merely shook his head.

"Doesn't surprise me," Lex continued. "He's a big shot in the underworld of Metropolis and my father's right hand man."

He told Clark the story of Miriam, how she was an undercover detective dating both Lionel and Matéo, and how Lex had ultimately exposed her.

"So Matéo was in your debt," Clark said, catching on.

"Exactly. But I never thought I would take him up on it. It's not that he would tell my father about it. To Matéo, a debt is a debt, and he would have done anything for me in return without telling a soul. But still, my father has ways of finding things out, and as you can see, he isn't too happy about other people taking advantage of his operatives without his knowledge of it."

"So why did you do it, Lex? What could have possibly been that import-- Oh, no..."

Lex nodded. "Getting your father off his charges wasn't so hard. Phelan had framed him, and the evidence he staged was far from conclusive. Your case was a little more difficult."

"Because I actually committed murder," Clark said, resting his arms on the table.

"No, Clark, because you protected your family and did the rest of the world a favor by dropping that son of a bitch." Lex took a deep breath to curve the anger. "The point is, I couldn't get you acquitted without going through a few shady channels, and Matéo was the only one I could think of who had that kind of power."

"So you risked your life?" Clark asked, standing up. "You called in a favor, knowing that as a result you would be beaten and carved, just because I'm a spoiled brat who couldn't wait a couple more days to come home?! Why, Lex? Why do you put yourself through all this?"

"Because I love you!" Lex rose to meet him.

Clark inhaled as the tears started to fill his eyes. "You should have moved on a long time ago. Everything that I love turns to shit. Just ask my parents."

"Clark, don't do this," Lex said as he held Clark's face in his hands. "Your love is true and pure and I would spend three eternities in Hell if it meant your happiness."

The tears started to fall and Lex caught them, wiping them away. Kate put her hand over her chest, but said nothing as Lex guided Clark back to his seat. She pulled some tissue from her purse and handed it to Clark, who simply stared at it as if not knowing what it was for. Lex took it from Clark's hands and tenderly wiped his eyes for him.

When Clark felt like he had calmed down enough to keep going, he turned to Kate. "What about you? How did you cross Lionel?"

Kate turned her eyes to Lex, then back to Clark. "I was... Miriam."

Clark's eyes widened and he turned to Lex for confirmation. Lex simply nodded his head.

"But I thought Miriam..." He trailed off.

"Was killed?" Kate finished. "That would make sense. It's a miracle that I'm still alive."

Clark waited for her to continue and she looked at Lex imploringly. "It's okay," he said. "I want Clark to know."

"I was a friend of Lex's mother's," Kate said. "There's nothing she wouldn't have done for me and she proved that on more than one occasion. So my involvement with Lionel was a favor to her. I was granting her last wish."

Clark took Lex's hand, the fear in his eyes instantly replaced by empathy, and Lex fought the urge to kiss him.

"Lionel never approved of Lillian's influence on Lex, he thought she would make him too soft and emotional. When she died, she left Lex several estates around the country that Lionel never knew about. Decorating was one of her outlets. When things with Lionel got too intense for her, she would fly off to visit one of her houses, and continue her work on them. That's why they were such a precious gift to Lex. Each one is like..."

"Like a small piece of Mom," Lex finished quietly. Clark squeezed his hand as Kate continued.

"But she knew that if Lionel ever found out about them, he would do everything he could to destroy them, and she made me promise I would never let that happen."

"Didn't she have a lawyer?" Clark asked. "Lionel can't touch them if they legally belong to someone else."

"That's what I said," Kate replied. "That's when Lillian told me about Matéo. She didn't know much about him, only that he worked very closely with Lionel, and if anyone had the power to do it, it would be him. So once I got involved, sure enough, they were already in the process of taking legal ownership of each estate, one by one."

Clark turned to Lex. "And you had no idea?"

"Not a clue," Lex said.

"But if you told Matéo Kate was dating your father too, how did she get away?"

"I recognized Lex," Kate said, "from his father's parties. I knew I was in trouble the second we were introduced. Going to get drinks was just an excuse to get out of the club and run like hell. The next day, I called Lex to tell him who I was and what his father was trying to do. He believed me once he saw the legal papers and then he helped me by faking up a police identity to make Matéo and Lionel think I was a detective."

"Is that when you started working for Lex?"

"Not quite. The day I was supposed to leave town to start working on getting all of the properties back... Lionel tracked me down at a motel in Metropolis."

"You mean his men," Clark whispered, frightened.

"Actually, it was Lionel. He said I was just as conniving as Lillian and that he wanted to do the honors himself."

Clark grimaced at the image.

"After that, he ordered Matéo to take care of her," Lex said. "He didn't want the actual killing on his hands. That's when I planted the police identity on the internet where I knew Matéo could find it, and when he called me, I told him that I had taken care of her myself."

"And he believed you?" Clark asked.

"Apparently. I haven't heard a word about it since."

"Well... you have all the properties back don't you? I mean, Lionel can't just take..."

"It's okay, Clark. Everything was resolved a long time ago. The house in Seattle was the last one I had to get back and now it's mine again."

Clark sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, then. That clears up some of it. But how do you explain my carving that symbol into the wall? Or that language I was speaking?"

"I can't. I guess we'll just figure it out as we go along," Lex responded, playing with Clark's hair. The younger boy smiled goofily and rested his head on Lex's shoulder.

Kate stood up. "All I know is that I have several plates of bacon and eggs in the kitchen getting cold. Why don't you two come in for breakfast?"

Clark growled playfully into Lex's neck, his mood changing as quickly as the subject had. Lex suppressed a giggle and gave Kate a pleading look.

"Would you be terribly offended if we went back to bed for a little while?"

Kate chuckled out loud. "All the more food for me."

Lex and Clark started up the stairs, Clark barely able to keep his hands to himself.

"Oh, and boys?"

The two turned around to face Kate.

"Take your time," she said with a wink.

They both laughed and continued up the stairs.