Sorry for the long wait for the update. I am on holidays and there is nowhere for me to get wireless internet with my laptop. It has been a gong show trying to get a RW CD to burn the update onto and then find an internet cafe to upload the chapter. I will be back home on Monday so I may not be able to update again before then.
I promise those of you who are still reading this that my next story I will take the advice of Hope Roy and write a big part of the story prior to posting.. that way the updates will be daily or almost daily.
Thanks again to those of you who are reviewing and haven't given up on me yet:) I appreciate knowing that people are enjoying the story.
Copton
Joshua entered the apartment with the two boys following close behind. He looked around the room in thought for a moment and then turned back towards them. Lex and Clark shifted around to stand with their backs against the counter. Since coming here they had quickly realized it was best not to leave your back exposed, that way you could see anything that was coming at you.
"Lex," Joshua started as he rubbed his chin and took a step towards the boys, "would you mind explaining to me what happened today?"
"I-, what do you mean what happened?"
"You are turning out to be a bit of a disappointment to me. I brought you here because I sensed you had a strong predatory nature. You appeared to be in control of your destiny, you had drive and a strong rebellious nature. You were sexy and confident."
Clark looked at Lex concerned about where this was leading. It seemed whenever Joshua broke out into a long-winded thought process it meant trouble for both of them. Lex in turn watched Joshua carefully trying to anticipate where this was headed.
"The problem is that ever since your friend here arrived you seem to have taken a back seat to him. He motivates your decisions, he keeps you driven, he saved your life today."
The look on Lex's face said it all. He was completely oblivious as to what Clark had done to save him. He was about to ask but Joshua's attention was turned to Clark.
"You have a lot of hidden power that I intend to tap into young man. You could end up being the alfa male in your relationship. If you would like I can transfer that position to you and Lex can become your significant other rather than you his."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Clark answered as he swallowed deeply. He could see where this was heading. Lex would become worthless and Clark knew Joshua would exploit his abilities for his own personal gain.
Joshua crossed the short distance towards him. "I am talking about your speed, your strength, your x-ray and heat vision. You could go far, you could be the owner of his life. In a moment the two of you are going to pick up where you left off before that little blonde annoyance of a girl interrupted you. What you need to decide is what position on the bed you want. Do you want to be submissive or in control, the doer or the doee?"
"Clark?" Lex looked at Clark with hurt eyes. He had no idea what Joshua was talking about but he sensed that Clark did.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Clark answered for the second time.
"You disappoint me." He said quietly almost so quiet that Clark didn't hear him. Joshua followed up his words with a strong slap across Clark's face. "I will get to the bottom of your powers whether you choose to cooperate or not."
He turned his attention to Lex next. "Seems your friend possesses powers he isn't willing to share with you just yet. Don't worry I will entice him to tell us both everything about his powers but in the meantime I believe that my guests will be arriving to view the collection and you two need to get into position."
He grabbed Lex roughly by the arm and with his free hand he grabbed a handful of Clark's hair and pulled them both into the bedroom, dumping them unceremoniously onto the bed. Neither put up a fight knowing it would be useless at any rate.
"Lex, it appears that you have a stay of grace in your dominant position. This is your last chance to prove to me that you deserve to be in control. Fail in this and your friend will be the one in possession of you from now on. Show me that you have the ability to make him yours. Prove to me that you are still the one in control. I will be right there watching with my guests." He waved a finger at the window. "Don't make me have to come back in here."
With those words Joshua turned and left them alone. The door slammed shut with the anger that Joshua's words had failed to portray. His tone had been eerily calm and decisive but most of all final.
"Clark what did he mean you saved me?" Lex finally turned to his friend.
"I don't know what he is talking about." Clark denied.
"You know you're not a very good liar, you never have been. Tell me what he was talking about? Your speed, your heat vision?" Lex voice was annoyed but pleading at the same time.
"I told you before it is just allergies to the red meteor rocks."
"You know what I think. I think it is more than that. I think that you have abilities that you don't want the world to know about so you keep them hidden." Lex's anger rose with the volume of his voice.
"It all makes sense now. All the lies, all the times you saved me. When I hit you with my car. There was no red meteor rock around that day Clark." Lex's voice became even more heated in anger.
Clark became uncomfortably aware of the fact that there were people watching this conversation on the other side of the glass. His had spent all of his life protecting his secret, his family and his friends from the dangers associated with others finding out about his abilities. He couldn't stop protecting them now. He couldn't stop protecting Lex.
What if someone stronger or with more influence than Joshua were listening to this conversation. His thoughts shifted to Amir. He remembered the look of hatred and lust he had seen on the other man's face this morning. What if he found out the truth. What would he do to get to him with the added incentive that his powers would bring. Would he kill Lex to get to him? With all those questions looming over him he decided now was not the time to come clean.
"Lex, I told you before, you didn't hit me on that bridge. I don't know what you want me to say. I don't have any secret powers."
Lex's frustration mounted with the situation, the lies, and Clark's inability to trust him. He loomed in front of Clark offering him one last opportunity to come clean. "What happened today then? What happened during the fight? What did you do Clark?"
"Nothing!" Clark shouted back, his fear of Lex's anger apparent as he backed his way up the bed stopping when the headboard hit his back.
"Nothing?" Lex crawled up the bed following him.
"Nothing hey?" Lex repeated. "You know what?" He paused briefly for Clark to shake his head no, "I. Don't. Believe. You." He punctuated his words as he closed the gap between them even more.
"Lex." Clark's voice was a whisper now.
"No more lies Clark. I should be dead right now. I should have died in that fight today. You did something didn't you?"
Clark shook his head again, looking at the glass out of the corner of his eye, "Can we talk about this later? Please."
"No. We're going to talk about this now. Stop lying to me. What did you do?" He shouted.
"Nothing!" He shouted back, eyes watering with conflict. He wanted to shout the truth out to Lex but not like this. Not with everyone watching. "Think about it Lex. If I did have special abilities would we still be here?"
Lex's mannerism seemed to settle as he thought through the question. Clark had a good point. If he did have super speed and super strength why were they still here?
"No." He finally answered as he settled on the bed. "There is a lot you aren't telling me Clark. I know there is." His anger still evident on the surface of his tone.
Joshua's voice interrupted them as it came over the speakers in the room. "Very touching but we are all waiting for you."
Lex and Clark both looked at the window and then back to each other.
"Tell me the truth. For once in this friendship tell me the truth."
Clark looked at his friend with remorse in his eyes for having to lie yet again, "Lex please."
"The truth Clark."
"I don't know what he is talking about." Clark lied yet again and Lex could see it written all over his face.
"Take your pants off."
"What?" Clark was taken off guard by the change in subject and change in his friend's demeanor.
"Do it now Clark." Lex's voice was half a command, half resignation with the fact that Clark wasn't going to tell him anything he wanted to know.
He had always suspected Clark of having abilities, always knew he was being lied to. The truth was right there, right on the cusp of discovering and he was being shut out again. When he looked up from his thoughts Clark had removed his pants and was attempting to be modest by covering himself with the blankets.
Joshua's voice came in again, "Get rid of the covers Lex."
Lex stood up as if in a trance lost in his thoughts and pulled the blankets roughly from the bed.
"Lex, I don't-"
"I don't want to hear it Clark." Lex shot at him. "You know this is going to happen. I know this is going to happen. There is nothing we can do and I don't want to hear it."
Clark shut his mouth and glared at Lex. He hated to admit that he was right and some part of him wanted to hate Lex for it. When he thought about it rationally he knew that it wasn't Lex driving the situation but he needed someone to blame. Lex was here. Lex was the one whose hands were starting to touch him, he seemed like a good target for his hatred right now.
"Fuck you Lex."
Lex didn't reply as he moved away from Clark and pulled off his own pants. He then moved onto the bed so he was sitting over Clark. He reached out and placed his hands on Clark's hips and directed him down further on the bed.
"Fuck you Lex." Clark repeated.
"Be quiet." Lex's tone was hard to read. It sounded hurt, angry, forceful and yet gentle all at the same time. It confused the hell out of Clark who lay back searching Lex's features for some indication of what he was thinking or feeling. He was disturbed by his inability to determine what it was.
"Just relax." Lex prompted as he separated Clark's legs and shifted so he was knelt between them. They had been here before and part of Clark kept listening for the door to open and Chloe to come in and rescue them. Sadness filled him the thought of Chloe.
"Trust me Clark. At least with this." Lex spoke as he slowly inserted a finger into Clark's hole. Clark cringed in part with the uncomfortable intrusion and in part at the words obviously spoken to be spiteful.
Joshua's voice interrupted again, "Some intimacy would be nice. Some kissing, fondling all that touchy, feely stuff. Let's go."
Lex sighed with annoyance and leaned down to lay beside Clark. His one finger still worked inside Clark as he moved his lips to Clark's ear. He hoped that from this angle it would look like he was nibbling Clark's ear. Instead of nibbling the ear he whispered into it, "Have you ever trusted me Clark?"
Clark turned so they were face to face and whispered back, "I do trust you. We just can't talk about it now with everyone listening. Please Lex."
Lex responded to the words with a kiss that was intended to appease Joshua and his visitors. Clark kissed back briefly out of surprise and habit. Before he realized he was kissing back Lex pulled away and began kissing down his neck and chest.
Clark shifted uncomfortably as Lex inserted a second finger. He felt the increase in pressure as the two fingers moved inside him brushing up against his prostate gland. Suddenly he felt Lex's tongue on his penis and he surged his hips forward in surprise.
Lex's other hand reached up and pushed his hips down forcefully holding him in place on the bed as Lex worked the penis with his mouth. He moved his tongue up and down the shaft to the rhythm that his fingers had taken on.
He inserted the third finger and stopped sucking Clark's erection when he heard the younger boy cry out briefly with pain. Slowly he began to work the fingers and his mouth again.
It wasn't long before Lex heard the distinct hitch in Clark's breathing that he had heard during acts like this in the past. He moved his mouth out of the way and watched Clark's expression as the younger man came on his stomach.
Clark was mortified. He felt violated and it was made all that much more worse by the fact that there were people on the other side of the window watching it all. He turned his face away from the glass as he moaned softly with the intensity of the orgasm.
Lex moved away momentarily and Clark felt the fingers leave his body. He was relieved for a second until he felt the head of Lex's penis starting to take their place.
"Breath Clark." Lex's voice was soft and Clark realized that he had in fact been holding his breath.
He let out a breath that sounded to his ears like the start of a cry. His eyes remained tightly shut and he tried to cover most of his face with his forearm. He felt Lex's hands on his hips as they urged him to rise into a better position.
The pain was sharp at first and felt like tiny tears but it eventually became more of a discomfort from pressure. He felt Lex slide further and further in and knew that he couldn't look at his friend while this was happening. He tried to distance himself from the reality of the situation as much as he could. He didn't want to associate this torture with Lex. He already felt what he knew was misplaced anger and hatred towards Lex. He didn't need to see Lex thrusting into him over and over becuae he knew it would not help settle those feelings.
It only took a few moments for the electricity of another orgasm to hit him. He was even more embarrassed at having come a second time during this session than he had been with the first. Lex came at the same time and fell onto the bed next to Clark. Lex remained inside him for a moment before Clark felt him roll off the bed and heard his feet padding into the bathroom.
Clark felt oddly alone and he was surprised given the circumstances that he didn't like it. He called out for Lex and heard a bit of unexpected panic in his voice.
"I'm here Clark." Lex reassured him as he returned with a warm cloth and placed it lightly on Clark's stomach.
Clark took the cloth and wiped himself clean. Finally when he was done he turned to face Lex for the first time since they had started. He saw what he expected to see in his own eyes, remorse, concern, sadness and he was relieved to find it there.
He knew simply from looking into Lex's eyes that he had never wanted for any of this to happen. He saw the raw concern that Lex had for him and he felt sick with himself for having directed his anger and fear at Lex.
"You okay?" Lex finally asked gently as he took the cloth back from Clark and tossed it to the corner of the room.
"I don't hate you." Clark offered feebly.
"I didn't think you did."
"I'm sorry for saying that I did."
"Clark why won't you just tell me the truth?" Lex reverted back to the original question.
"I will but now isn't the right time." Clark nodded his head slightly at the glass. He slowly attempted sitting up and found that it hurt to sit straight.
Lex reached out and helped him up as he saw Clark wince with discomfort.
"How did you do this all those nights at the clubs?" Clark finally asked as he settled into a sitting position.
"Sometime you surprise yourself with how far you'll go when you have to." Lex shook his head at the memory of that life that seemed so far away.
"Did you ever not have to?"
"You know Clark for someone who isn't overly ambitious to share his secrets you sure ask a lot of questions." Lex's tone hinting that Clark had hit a nerve.
"Sorry." Clark responded lamely.
Lex ran his hands over his eyes rubbing them slightly. "Clark that life was a life time ago. As you can see from our surroundings my father made it very difficult for me to exist in a world without some sacrifices."
"I don't buy that Lex. People always have a choice."
"Do they Clark?" Lex's steel eyes turned on him, "Explain what we just did then." He paused waiting for a response that didn't come.
"Not everything is cut and dry, black and white. Just because your parents raised you in the all American way of life doesn't give you the right to judge the decisions of others. If everyone had a choice then I can guarantee that I wouldn't choose to be here."
Lex finished his words and stormed off to the bathroom slamming the door and locking it behind himself. Inside he sunk to the floor and pressed his back against the wall. He rested his chin on his fists and his elbows on his knees as he thought about the events of the day.
"Lex!" Clark gently knocked on the door above his head, "Lex please open the door."
"Go away Clark!"
"I need you to open the door. I don't want to be out here alone. Please I want to talk about this."
"Didn't we just discuss that life isn't always about getting what you want Clark?" Lex shouted through the door.
"Please Lex." Clark repeated.
Lex sighed loudly and rationalized that Clark was technically his ward, his responsibility and he needed to put the younger boys feelings before his own.
He slowly rose to his feet and opened the door letting Clark in.
"I didn't mean to imply that you wanted to do what we just did." Clark offered.
Lex sighed again remember just how young Clark really was. "I know you didn't."
"I'm bleeding." Clark couldn't look Lex in the eye as he spoke.
"That's normal Clark. A little bit of blood is normal. You'll be okay."
"Will I?" Clark looked up his words obviously pertaining to more than just his concern over the blood.
"I promise you will be." Lex crossed the bathroom floor and hugged his friend.
"I'm sick of fighting."
"Me to Clark, me to."
He heard Clark sniffle and let him go. Lex turned to the sink and grabbed some Kleenex and passed it to him.
"What now?"
"I don't know." Lex answered honestly. "But I do know that you'll be okay. I promise Clark. I know it's hard and you feel dirty and ashamed and confused and betrayed by your body but I promise you it will get better."
"How did you do it? How did you bounce back every time?"
"I never had good friends or a good family Clark all I had was myself. I did what I had to do to survive in my father's world. There are still times when I look in the mirror and have to convince myself that I am worth more than that. One day I decided I had had enough. I looked at my life, looked at the drugs and the drinking that I was using to deaden my senses. I decided that I was going to dish out to my father all the grief he had put me through and I was going to make his life as difficult as possible. Flaunt what he had made me into per say. I thought that if I could embarrass him socially and build up my business on the side I could eventually stand up to him. I could take over everything and leave him with nothing, watch him beg for his money and power."
"I never knew it was that bad."
Lex laughed at the naivety of his friend. "Look around you Clark. It doesn't get worse than this. This is how much my father hates me. This is the length he went to in order to get rid of his only mistake in life. The only good thing my father ever did was exile me to Smallville allowing me to meet you."
Clark smiled slightly as he listened without interrupting.
"Guess it doesn't pay off to be my friend. Maybe that's why so many people avoided it for so long."
"I don't regret being your friend."
"Thanks Clark."
"Tired?" Lex asked after seeing Clark yawn and wipe his eyes.
"Exhausted."
There was silence for a moment before they both turned and headed back to the bedroom. They were both emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted. They lay on the bed careful not to touch each other as they thought over the events of the day.
"Want to tell me what Joshua was talking about?" Lex tried again.
"Drop it for now Lex. I told you already-"
"Okay, okay. I just thought I'd give it a try." Lex interrupted with a somewhat mocking tone.
"Go to sleep." Clark ordered.
"You okay?"
"I think I will have to be." Clark considered the question briefly before answering.
