The Memoirs

Lex... needed a drink. That's all there was to it. Not the pansy ass watered-down booze that they'd had at the party, but the genuine article. He'd brought the bottle of Auvignon home with him, and he was just looking for a place to sit down and drink.

Clark was safely ensconced in their bed. Chloe and Whitney, who would now forever be known as "the Bobbles" in Lex's head because of Pete's declaration, were also tucked into bed beside Clark. That had been fun, leveraging a drunk Whitney out of the bathroom and back into bed.

Lex remembered why he'd never nursemaided anyone before.

He walked into his office, picked up one of the ever-present empty glasses, and headed towards the only source of sound on the 2nd floor, which came from the television room.

There was nothing good on at night. You know, it was a bleeding tragedy, as most people *watched* TV this late at night. But Dominic flipped past one wretched reran sitcom after another, and finally stopped on Seinfeld, sighing. It was... two bloody o'clock, and here he was, eating brisquet, which he'd picked up on the way home from Metropolis today. And what a fucking day it had been. Lawyers, bellowing, meetings, more meetings, more meetings. Phone calls to annoying people who didn't want to be bothered on their weekend, and that he could understand. However, Lionel paid the lot of them a handsome sum of money every year to do their job whenever he needed it done, and ohhhh when Dominic got his hands on the little list he'd been compiling of people he was going to fire, they better turn tail and run. Asses.

Regardless, he'd soothed his poor lover all day, with his munched on ass. Dominic winced at the thought, drinking a bit of the champagne he'd poured himself in a tall flute. A bad mistake, yes, and his poor lover had suffered all day for it, unable to sit down anywhere.

Oops?

Dominic sighed, folding his legs Indian style a little tighter, sacked out in a corner of the couch with his back to the corner of it and a pillow in his lap, bowl on top.

"Shouldn't you be in bed at... one-thirty in the morning?" Lex asked, walking into the room with his bottle in one hand and his glass in the other. "I definitely should be."

Dominic looked up... grinned, and moved the blankets and pillows he'd dragged with him. Lionel was so passed out he knew he wouldn't miss him, so he'd camped out here for a while to watch TV. Couldn't sleep, anyway. "Of course I should." He lifted the bottle of champagne. "Want some?"

Lex lifted his own bottle in return. "Came prepared, thanks. You know, if you flip over to TV Land, I'm sure you can find My Favorite Martian." He raised an eyebrow at the nest of blankets and pillows and then shrugged, making himself at home beside Dominic and carefully opening his bottle. "Want a drink of mine?"

"Of course." He tipped his head back and downed the rest of the champagne, swallowing and giving a little sigh as he offered the flute. "What the bloody blazes are you still doing up, lad? Its too late, and we've another long day tomorrow." Lex looked... sleepy, but satisfied, and he raised another brow, grinning at him. "Want some brisquet?"

"I just brought my three drunken bobble heads, as Mr. Ross called them, home from Clark's birthday party." He filled Dominic's flute, and then his own glass. "What in the name of God is brisquet?"

"Ahh, I see you've been as deprived as your father. He just stared at me funny when I bought it." Which brought a smile of happiness to his face. Every time Lionel just stared at him like he was from Mars it only amused him, and he chuckled as he lifted a forkful. "Beef and steak in a Mexican sauce. Usually goes in sandwiches and the like, but I was too lazy to look for any in that monstrous pantry." Behind him, his constantly playing opera switched "Habanera", his favorite song ever, and he immediately brightened, cheerfully eating more.

"It looks like Alpo," was Lex's verdict, and he took a deep drink from his snifter and then hunkered down in the blankets, resting his head on the couch. "Now I just have to worry about getting Dad to acknowledge his birthday happening on Friday, and we'll be set."

Dominic passed over a pillow silently, eyebrow lifting as he watched the young man. "Need any help buying him something?"

"No, I already have it. It's just... getting the stubborn bastard to accept it." Lex sighed. "It's the first present I've bothered to buy for him in years."

"I never knew what day it was." At that Dominic's smile widened, just a little, as he turned his eyes back to the very large TV, where Jay Leno was doing his nightly monologue. "I had a day every year, June sixth, when I'd buy him a gift for his birthday. Of course, I was about six months off I now know, but every year Id buy him something and give it to him on that day. Stubborn mule of a man never wanted to tell anyone when his birthday was, because you know how he loathes attention on himself. Why? The world shall never know. Regardless, this year..." Dominic's grin winked the dimples in his cheeks to life, and his eyes danced with wickedness as he glanced over at his couch mate. "I bought him something he'll be sure to enjoy."

"If it's anything to do with your sex life, I don't want to know." He finished the glass, and poured himself another. "I always knew when it was, but I just never bothered with it before. This time, though... I got him something, only to have the bastard pretend like it's not happening." He raised an eyebrow at Dominic. "You could have gone into the personnel files and found it, you know."

"Of course I could have. But I didn't. Id have rather that he told me, and when he didn't, I took it upon myself regardless." Oh, and he laughed, chuckling at his young step son as he shook his head, drinking some of the cognac that tasted like day old watered down bleach. ...But he was spoiled, so regardless. "Lex, darling, not everything I do with your father pertains to sex, you know. Actually, I bought him a lamp from the antique shop next to my flat. I saw it, and I knew he'd love it. Its a tall, slender lamp in the shape of Zeus. For the study at the new building, you know."

"No, not everything. But with you? I never know." He sipped from the second glass. "He'll actually like that, and I doubt it'll stay in the study for very long. If I know Dad, it'll go on his desk."

Dominic chuckled softly, eating another mouthful of brisquet, and he was quite while he chewed, watching the television for a long moment. "Lex? How are you and Clark doing?"

"We're doing... much better, actually." A soft smile spread across his face. "Aside from the unfortunate projectile vomiting incident tonight." He rolled the squat bottom of the liquor glass between his palms. "I thought for a while there... we weren't going to make it. But we did. We made it. And I think... that we're both the stronger for it."

"Of course you are." Though a little bit of Dominic's heart that had been worried for weeks calmed itself, finally. "You went to a party? Was it the one Shayla has been fluttering over for the past day and a half? Girl would not let me be. Morgan, where are the streamers? and Morgan, we need the cable for the Playstation back! and Where's Dick? He's our drink guy." Dominic rolled his eyes, though his lips quirked in a grin. "For shame, the lot of you."

"Yes, that's the one. It was for Clark's birthday--he and Dad have the same birthday, do you realize that?" Lex chuckled softly. "But yes. She and Pete managed to pull it together on 24 hour notice and Clark... Clark actually had a good time. He got to just... be. Without all the bullshit. There was one time, during the party, that he got upset, but I got him calmed down. Finally... everyone knows, that needs to know. Clark set the record straight. Chloe and Whitney know, Shayla and Pete know, Dick and Bruce, you and Dad."

Dominic's eyes stroked up at that, hard, his gaze boring into Lex's before he could stop it. He caught himself a moment later, nodding and looking away, and he felt brief, hard flutters of terror spring up where the worry for Clark and Lex had been. "Indeed. I'm glad you got him drunk, he needed it. The lad doesn't have much in the way of fun, outside of you, and its good for him to be a seventeen year old boy once in a while." Dominic ate some more of his brisquet, though his belly had gone uncomfortably tight, and he set it to the side, rubbing his hands and mouth on a napkin before drinking more cognac.

"If you're worried about your sister, don't be. She already knew; damned girl hides in the walls like a rat and hears things she shouldn't. Clark figured out she knew the other day, and he's very okay with it. He likes her; he won't let Dad hurt any of them."

Fuckin' Christ. Dominic looked down, into his glass, his eyebrows knitting hard before he pulled the blankets more up, cozying into his pillows and watching the TV for a while. Five minutes passed... ten, of silence, simply the blue light from the television and Julianne Moore talking to Jay about her new movie, before Dominic spoke up. "He's not a bad man, you know."

"Dad? No, he's not. And I applaud him trying to protect Clark. I really do. But threatening my friends isn't the way to do it."

"Your father... is a good person. And he tries to do things right. But sometimes goes about them in the wrong fashion." Dominic said, quietly, looking down at the blanket he and Lex were currently sharing. "He tries. He tries, so much. And in his mind, the only way to protect that of which he loves is to destroy any threat that might take it away. And you, and Clark, are people he cares for. So... Don't take it to heart, Lex."

"I don't, Dom. I know what he's trying to do. And I appreciate it, because for a few days there... I wasn't at all up to deal with it. I know all that, and I'm not angry about it." He sighed as he put the liquor glass down. "I know how Dad is. I'm not taking it to heart." Another deep sigh. "I just need to tell him... to back it down a few notches. Overkill. I trust Bruce and Dick with anything. I trust Chloe and Whitney. I even trust Shayla and Pete, because Clark does."

"Aye. My sister is not a tattler, you know. We used ta beat her up for it when we were younger, until she stopped. She's an honest girl, and would rather slit her own throat than betray a friends trust. And she likes you... the lot of you, but mostly you, Lex. She's a good girl. And Pete, bless the poor boy, he's in love with her, and Clarks best friend. I sincerely doubt any of them would ever betray Clarks secret, in any way." He looked back up at the TV. "I've seen a difference in your father, ever since you and he mended bridges."

"She likes me, she's in love with Pete, but I think she has a crush on Clark. Which... is beyond adorable. Because Clark? Is so clueless it's cute. I also think she and Chloe are discovering girls know girls better than boys do, which is something I'm keeping an eye on because I don't want either of them to get hurt." He looked at Dominic out of the corner of his eye. "What kind of difference, Dom?"

"My Shayla? With Chloe?" Dominic heaved a very, very heavy sigh. "Christ Jesus. I've got to talk to her about that." Another shake of his head, as he listened, and looked up as Lex asked... doing the same thing, out of the corner of his eye, as he watched Julianna. "Little things. Its a lot harder to anger him lately… he isn't as tense, or on edge, as he used to be. He's very much reached a place where he's at peace with himself a little bit more than he was. I think... I think its easier for him to cope with things, knowing that you and he aren't at war any longer."

"No--let it be, Dom. Shay's smarter than she pretends to be, you know. She knows what she's doing, and neither Whitney nor Pete seem to mind; in fact, they both seem to have the typical male reaction to two girls together." He still didn't look at Dominic full on. "That could be the drugs talking, Dom."

"What drugs? Oh, you mean the antidepressants? Darling, this has been going on for about a month now. Its not the medication." Dominic took another long drink from the bottle, and offered it to Lex for a refill. "As for Shayla, I dunna want her making the same mistakes I did. Straight, gay, straight, gay. Its made for a turbulent life."

"I'll take your word for it not being the medication." Lex pulled his knees up. "I feel... different, too. It's... it's kind of nice, not watching all the time for a knife in my back. Yeah... I do still wonder sometimes, because it's not all the way there yet, but I do like knowing he's not out to get me." He took the champagne from Dominic and filled his glass with it before passing it back. "I don't think she has a question about her sexuality, Dom. You've seen her with Pete, right? I think this is more... just an exploration. Something. But I don't think either relationship is in danger."

He was displeased, greatly so, that his baby sister was doing it. And as hypocritical as it sounded, he didn't like it. His Shayla was supposed to marry a good man and have half a billion babies and die an old woman in her bed, not explore with another girl. No. Dammit. And he shifted with it, not saying anything else on the subject. "It was high time the both of you finally made up. There as only so much rivalry you can have, before things get out of hand. I'm glad the both of you are on certain terms now, and its better." A moment, as he thought. "Your son's death hurt him a great deal, Lex."

"I know." Lex's voice was soft. "Once the fog cleared, the only thing that I could think of for him was how much this had to be reminding him of finding Julian." He scooted down, leaning his head against Dominic's shoulder, for just a minute. "It made me feel bad, Dom. But I couldn't do anything to help Dad because I had to take care of Clark."

And Dominic just wrapped his arm around Lex's shoulder, bringing him closer. "Of course it did. And its not that it hurt him for his own sake, Lex. It was you. When we went to go talk to the therapist, all he could talk about... was you. And how much it hurt him for not being able to protect you from such a tragedy. He didn't care about his own pain. It was you, and Clark, who he wished he could have shielded because no one should have to go through it."

Lex just shook his head. "He couldn't have protected me. Nobody could have. No, we shouldn't have had to go through it... but he shouldn't have had to either."

"But it happened. And what we have to do is move on. Remember what was brought to our lives, the lessons we learned form it, and hold it close to our hearts. But dwelling on it destroys you, Lex. I'm a prime example of that. I'm so proud of you, for taking Clark to this party tonight. I believe its just what the both of you needed."

"Yeah, he needed to get drunk, puke all over somebody's car, and pass out against Chloe in the back seat." Lex pinched the bridge of his nose softly. "But yes... he did need to get out and just... be."

"And so did you." Dominic looked down at him, then, tipping his head a little so he could see his face. "Sometimes I forget you're only twenty three."

Lex gave a little snort. "Yeah, I feel like Bruce. Only in my twenties, but already collecting social security."

"Ahh," Dominic gave a laugh. "The lads a bit of a gloom and doom individual. He's sweet for it, though... I just hope he realizes that he doesn't need to save the world trice over to be a good man. He already is."

"He just wants to make sure," is all Lex said. "Bruce... has his moments. If it weren't for him... I'm not sure what kind of person I'd grown up to be. Or if I'd even still be here."

"You would. You're stronger then you believe, baldy." But Dominic smiled it, giving him a hugging squeeze as they watched the TV. He drank down some of the champagne he'd refilled his glass with, and the soft glow of alcohol made him feel...very good.

Lex returned the squeeze, and left his head on Dominic's shoulder. "I'm sorry, you know. For all the shit I've put you through."

"Of course you are. And I feel right bloody pleased that now you get to feel guilty over it." But he was grinning as he said it, propping his feet up on the coffee table under the blanket.

"You're making me feel not sorry," Lex snorted.

"Of course I am. You feel bad because you're surprised I'm a nice chap. Who is now your step father. Do you realize how much fun I have reminding you of that, by the way?"

"I will never, never call you Dad." Lex snorted again, and drank the last of the champagne in his glass. "But, Dad could have picked worse. I mean... I could be calling Victoria Step mom, and that's wrong on so many levels."

"Ewww." He made a face, looking down at him and glaring. "At least you haven't slept with me. With her... eww. That's so wrong, in so many ways." Jay Leno was wrapping it up and Dominic sighed, shaking his head. "Remind me never to watch reruns of this man again, okay? There's only so many Bill Clinton jokes I can take before I heave." He picked up the remote, yawning and offering it to Lex. "You pick a channel, you know them all. They're different then from Metropolis, so you know."

"Not that I hadn't tried in the past," Lex acknowledged softly. "That's one of the ways, even though I'll never admit it again, that I know you're good for Dad. You never let anyone woo you away." He took the remote and flipped through several of Clark's pre-set favorite stations until he ended up on one of the Action movie channels, which was showing anime movies. "There we are. Trust me, they're more than just cartoons."

Dominic... blinked. Sighed. "I'm too old for this." But the compliment had him feeling strangely happy, and he snorted with it. "Lex, I've been in love with your father since I was about 23. I doubt, sincerely, that anyone will ever woo me away without amnesia and blindness somehow being in the equation."

"I couldn't stand you, for a while there. Then I decided I was going to get Dad back by trying to sleep with you, and when that didn't work, I just decided to seriously dislike you. You're... just not easy to dislike, and believe me, I tried." He sighed. "You were always nice to me when Dad wasn't. And that meant a lot to me."

"I don't know how anyone couldn't like you, Lex. You're just as hard to dislike, believe me. When I came to check up on you all those times... it was that. Checking up on you, making sure you hadn't killed anyone or gotten into any trouble. But while you've been here... the game changed, and neither your father or I realized it until you went ballistic and let us know in choice words. You've done well in Smallville, Lex. Very well. And I'm very, very proud of you."

Lex chuckled softly at that. "I had a couple of good teachers. And sometimes, explosions of temper and backbone were the only things that Dad understood."

"Of course they were. Your father, Lex, for as much as I adore him, is a stubborn mule. Sometimes I think that's why we're so good together, because I'm just as stubborn. But... he needs those things sometimes to see. I've had to blow up at him more than once, you know."

"Yeah, I've noticed. I still haven't put the War Room back together again." Gentle smirk. "But... yeah. You're good for him. So I'm okay with it, for what it's worth."

"And that, my dear boy, is the best thing you've ever said." And for it, Dominic gave him another squeezing, one armed hug... before snickering. Wickedly. "Sorry, about that. I had every right of it, you know. I do loathe Jonathan, quite a lot."

"I'm right there with you on loathing the man. He's a bastard and a half, but he's Clark's father, and for his sake, I deal with the man. But he despises me, no matter what I've done, and I have tried." Lex shrugged, and hugged back just a little before straightening up.

Dominic let him go, sighing and shaking his head at his comment. "Indeed, he is. Don't let him get to you, too much. He's a mother fucker, and I'm afraid, he will be a mother fucker until the day he dies."

Hard, hard chuckles there. "He is that. He was fucking Clark's mother today, and we happened to walk in on it."

Dominic's eyes widened, and he turned a little green at the gills. "What? He... what? Lex, mother of Christ, why did you tell me that? I don't want to know about the mans sexual adventures! Mother of God, do you want my brisquet to come back up??"

"Now you know how Clark felt. I at least turned my back; Clark got an eyeful. I told Clark, I had no sympathy for him, as he has no sympathy for me when I walk in on you and Dad going at it."

Snick. Er. "I should say, one of the most mortifying moments of my life. Beat out only by you walking on me trying to alcoholize your fathers ass wound."

"Now that was a sight I could have lived without, seeing my father's ass shining to the world." That memory deserved a deep swill of cognac to wash it down with. "Although, as I told him, as asses go, it's not a bad one. It's just... my father's. So... no appreciation for it. Sorry."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't expect it." Dominic chuckled, shaking his head. "Come on, lad. Off to bed you should be."

"There are already three drunken Bobble heads in my bed; I think I'll sleep on the couch somewhere, because I am not going to get thrown up on because someone can't get out of bed in time to make it to the bathroom."

Oh, Dominic snickered, hard, shaking his head and looking down at him. "Want to sleep in the spare room off our bedroom, Lex? I promise, as tired as Lionel and I, there won't be any hanky panky going on, and you can get some rest."

Lex blanched. "Um. No. Thank you. I'm sure there won't be, but let's not take any unnecessary chances, hmm? The couch in the bedroom will be just fine. Besides, I need to be close to Clark."

Dominic laughed again, shaking his head and sitting up from his slouch. "Homophobe. I'm going to bed. Sleep well, lad...are you coming with us tomorrow to the building? We're going to get more work started....the construction teams start tomorrow on the houses. Got them all bought today, as well as the land, but we're going to have a team come out tomorrow morning of... about a hundred men, or thereabouts, to start getting things from LuthorCorp and bringing them here."

"Homophobe my ass. More like... ParentalSexophobe." He snorted. "No; I won't be out to the building until Monday. I've got to make sure the plant will be ready to open next month, and make sure they've kept the 3rd level open. Once that's done, I'll move the servers into the third level; it's fucking enormous, thanks to whatever Dad was doing in there, and there's at least two stories of storage. I know that because I dangled over the fucking thing. At any rate, if I can get down there safely and check it out, we can use that section of the plant for operations while the rest is moving."

"Alright, then. I'll check on you once or twice as the time goes on, eh? Your father and I are going to go to dinner tomorrow night... perhaps you and Clark will be able to join us." Dominic rose then, stretching and grunting as he scratched his hip through his pajama pants and padded in thick socks to the door. "Night, l--" Yawn. "--ad."

"Goodnight, Dom." Lex turned off the TV and got up. "Need help taking the blankets upstairs?" He stretched at the door, and yawned himself, finally tired.

"Nah. Leave them there. I'm sure at some point, I'll be back." A sigh, a shake of his head, and he disappeared. He walked down the hall, quietly opening his and Lionel's bedroom door, and stepped in, shutting it quietly once more. The night was thick, crickets singing and the moon full, as Dominic's weight dipped the bed. It was a bit warm for a sweater so he pulled his off, dropping it to the ground and staying in his t-shirt as he snuggled under the sheets. He slipped in, under the covers, and immediately turned, wrapping his arm around Lionel's back and snuggling in close. His beautiful lover, his husband, and he lifted the same palm to gently trace over his face in the dark. He couldn't see anything, but he could feel his lover... and it was enough. He reached in, gently kissing his lips, and whispered, "I love you, my beloved man."

Lionel woke just enough to feel Dominic sliding into bed beside him. "Mmm... I love you, Dominic." Sleepy kiss, and he rolled back into position on his side. "Sleep, little cricket," he yawned.

"Go back to sleep, baby." He whispered, stroking his cheek softly as he scooted and shared Lionel's pillow with him, looking at him in the dark. "I'm here. I love you. Go to sleep."

Lionel nodded, and snuggled back into the pillow. "G'night, my husb'nd."

Oh. Dominic's eyes widened...freezing for just a moment. Lionel had never... never called him that, before, and his mouth trembled open... before closing tight, his eyes filling up as a smile graced his face. And when he fell asleep, beside the one person in his world that mattered, his sleep was, for the first time, void of nightmares.

~ * ~ * ~

Clark was, as things go, a good boy. Never drank. Never smoked. Never got high. He went to class, and he came home, and he was... a good boy. That is, he WAS a good boy, until the day he met Lex Luthor. Then somewhere around there, things had started to go horribly wrong. And oh, God, he was glad for it, because Lex had made living so much more fun. Clark had been alive for seventeen years, but until the day he'd met Lex, he'd never lived.

However, when Sunday morning rolled around, and he found himself inexplicably hanging over the toilet, he cursed Lex Luthor from here to Sunday. Chewed him out in his brain even as he wretched, puking up...pretty much everything he'd ever eaten. Ever. It all came out in distasteful splashes, and he just....heaved.

He was never. Getting drunk. Again.

And Lex? Was amused beyond words. Every single thing his beloved aushna' thought about him streamed directly through their link and Lex was hard put not to laugh at Clark's predicament.

The only thing he could offer was a bit of condolence. It gets easier every time you drink; the first one is the worst. Instead, he wandered into the bathroom, despite the vomiting, and crouched behind his lover, rubbing his shoulder and back.

Alright. So. Everything that came up wasn't... coming up anymore, and Clark gasped, laying his cheek on the butt rest... and opening one glassy, blood shot eye, glaring at his lover with venom. "Get. The hell. Away. From. Me."

Lex didn't budge. "And leave you to suffer alone?" The grin was barely hidden.

"Stop. Yelling." Clark whispered hoarsely, closing his eyes again, slumped there atop the toilet. His fingers were holding onto the sides, eyes closed, and he groaned.

"I'm not yelling," Lex said, but lowered his normal speaking voice to a whisper. and it had to be worse on his aushna', with his super hearing exacerbating the problem. Is this better? Lex asked silently through their link as he stroked Clark's hair softly.

"No. Butthead." Clark muttered... eyes flying open, face going a little green, and he leaned over, barfing again, back hunching with it.

Lex stood up just enough to soak a washcloth in cool water, and then crouched down again, flushing the toilet as he pressed the wet towel to his lover's face. I'm sorry it's not any better.

He sighed and pushed his face against the butt rest again, eyes closing as Lex wiped his face. Mmmmmm. Even if he was an asshole, he was an invaluable one, and he looked up at him, sighing softly. "'m hungover."

"Yes, you are." Lex's voice was barely a whisper. "You're terribly hung over."

"How?" Clark wailed… then gave a wince, squeezing his eyes until the ringing in his head stopped. He'd never been hungover in his life… didn’t think he could get hungover. He remembered... he remembered sexiness, hard-ons, girls kissing, and SHOWING HIS ASS TO HIS FRIENDS, for which he gasped in mortification.

Lex kept the wet towel to Clark's head and face. "You ended up drinking about a bottle and a half of vodka, because our dear Pinky has a heavy hand when she mixes."

Groan. Just... groan. And whimper. "Don' speak s'loud." Sniffle, but he didn't think he'd be puking again in the near future, so he lifted his head... wobbled, and his eyelashes fell to half mast, muttering in displeasure as he climbed shakily to his feet... nearly tipped, and grabbed his lover before he could. "Oh. Loud. Oh. Dizzy."

Then use your head, aushna'. Lex stroked Clark's back until they got him on his feet, and then put the towel around the back of his neck. Let's get you back in bed, or at least, back on the couch. You'll be safer there.

Oh, and Clark could FEEL the need for Lex to laugh, and he glared at him, viciously.

Don't look at me like that; I'm not the one who mooned the entire room last night, nor am I the one who almost fell down the steps trying to go home. He put Clark's arm around his waist. I'll bring up some coffee and three glasses of Ms. Bird's hangover cure.

"I don't wanna any h'ng over cure." Clark muttered, grabbing his lover so he wouldn't fall, and walking back into their bedroom. Chloe and Whitney were on his bed, making groany noises, and he snuffed at them in pity, his head... THROBBING.

Trust me, it'll make you feel better. Tomato juice, a raw egg beaten into it for protein, an oyster at the bottom to slide down your throat and soothe the scratchiness, and a sprinkle of parsley for flavor. I can even have her pour it over a slab of raw steak, which always worked for me. Lex guided his lover to the couch.

Clark. Glowered. At. His. Lover. And sat down on the couch, head thumping as he did it. He was sick to his stomach, he had a headache, everything was too loud, and also? He had the worst case of blue balls on the face of the planet. He'd been aroused at least six times yesterday and nothing came from it. Joy. Rapture. OH! He remembered the lap dance, and glowered even more, snuffling as he closed his eyes and lay his head on the back of the couch.

"I could always give you a blow job," Lex breathed into his lover's ear. "I don't think you're up to anything else right now."

"Du'wanna blow job." Clark muttered, opening one eye and closing it again. Okay, yes he did, but he was positive he'd barf again, and barfing? Not as fun as Clark had thought.

"I think that's a first." Lex kissed Clark on the cheek, slightly avoiding his lover's mouth. "Coffee. Tomato juice. Mouthwash. Shower. Then kiss."

"Mrr." Clark muttered, letting go of his lover to stretch out on the couch.

The sheets were suddenly tossed aside, and rumpled, wide eyed, very naked girl ran past all of them into the bathroom, the door slamming shut... and puke sounds coming from it a moment later.

"Ew." Clark declared.

"I'll make it a whole pot of coffee." Lex pushed himself up, and peeked at Whitney, who was still passed out on the bed. "Two up, one to go." He peeked in the bathroom at Chloe. "Chloe? Honey? Can I get you a wet towel?"

The toilet flushed... and when the door opened, a red eyed, proud, naked female stood before him. She tossed back her hair, hmmphed, and walked past him, back into the bedroom. Even if she was about to die, she would never show him, plopping on the couch, crossing her legs, and looking at him demurely. "I'm fine."

Lex just raised an eyebrow. "Right. Fine. I'm going to get coffee. You can die while I'm gone."

"You do that." Said calmly though raspily, coughing sweetly and nodding.

Lex leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Be careful, and I'll be back soon."

As soon as Lex had left the room, Chloe let herself die. She fell over on top of Clark, listening to him oomph as she plastered herself to his chest and closed her eyes. Oh. God. She was positive she was now dead, because there was no way she could feel this bad and still be alive. There just... Wasn't. She felt so bad so much at this moment that all she could do was sit there… and whimper.

And Lex just snickered, having felt the thud on Clark's chest through their link and he just howled as he went down the stairs.

He was still giggling when he went into the kitchen, and found a large rolling tea tray all ready for him, including a little placard with his name on it. God Bless Ms. Bird. There were three large glasses of hangover cure, a large urn of coffee, four coffee cups, cream, milk, and sugar. Whistling to himself, Lex pushed the coffee tray into the dumbwaiter, pressed the button, and rode back up his floor.

And that's where she was when Lex returned. Half passed out on Clarks chest, their legs tangled, half dead. She didn't think she could move, even if he was naked, and they were mushed together. Nothing was happening. She was hung over, and she knew she was going to stay that way, and DAMMIT.

Lex was still whistling Chopin as he pushed the tea tray through the door. "Rise and shine, my drunken little Bobble heads. I come bearing coffee and cure!"

She muttered, heavily, eyes still closed and she shifted on Clark's chest, laying so she was facing away from him.

Clark was now in pain, filthy, and horny. And the worst of it was, he couldn't do anything about ANY of those things. Which, in the long term, was probably good, but right now? Depressing as hell. He whimpered, pushing...shoving Chloe off his chest, and she landed with a thud on her back, and a yelp.

Lex handed one of the glasses of tomato juice to Clark, and the other to Chloe. "Drink it down, don't stop, and don't throw it back up."

"Can't do any." Clark muttered, sitting up on one elbow and chugging it down. ....It was probably the worst shit he'd ever drunk in his life, and he groaned, swallowing it all down without a word, laying back down, turning on his side, and shoving the room his back and butt as he snuggled into the couch.

Chloe did it too, only she gagged, eyes wide before she kept right on going, swallowing it down until there wasn't anymore left... and kicking him. "Fuck you, f'r no' being drunk too."

Lex let her kick him. "Sorry, baby. I piss stronger than what Dick brought. Dissolute youth means in my old age? I can hold my liquor." He stroked her hair back softly. "Come on. You want me to help you in the shower? I'll get Clark next."

Whimper. Nod. She felt like shit, and too few memories of what happened, and she looked up at him as she climbed shakily to her feet. "Did I 'mbarrass you?"

"Not at all. You and Shayla actually put on a show that nearly turned Clark straight." Lex bent and scooped Chloe up in his arms for all of the ten steps back into the bathroom. "And, just so you know, you're lucky I like you. Otherwise, I'd left you in there to rot." Instead of the shower he sat her down in the sunken tub, and started the water running. "Do you want bubbles or no?"

"Murpmh." Chloe muttered quietly, laying her head back against the tile... then glancing up, and offering a crooked, rye grin. "'m bein' a bitch, but thank you."

"You're hung over. You're allowed to be a bitch." Lex added bubbles to the water anyway, sweet-smelling stuff that smelled like daises, and then dropped a washcloth into the warm water. "Soon as we get you cleaned out, we'll get those teeth brushed, cause I bet you've got enough fuzz to carpet the Vatican in your mouth."

"Mmmm. My tongue is furry." She nodded, holding her breath and sinking under the water before pushing back up, blowing out a sputtering breath and pushing the hair and water from her eyes as she sighed. "Are Clark and Whitney okay?"

"Clark's about two steps away from dead." A smirk. "Whitney is still dead to the world." He soaped the cloth up with the same daisy-smelling soap he'd dumped into the water, and started scrubbing her arms.

"You dun have to wash me," Chloe lushed, but she beamed anyway, holding her arm out to her ashimel as she giggled softly... groaned at the headache, but sighed and watched him. "I remember, last night. Wanting you, Lex. I didn't... do anything... dumb?"

"I don't think you're quite able to handle the intricacies of a washcloth just yet." Lex continued scrubbing. "No, you didn't do anything dumb."

"I wanted to." She promised, nodding seriously. "Wanted to, a lot. But didn't. Cause I'm a nice girl, like that. Does it count that I still want to?"

"Yes. It still counts." He finished her arm, moved up her shoulder and over her neck before turning her in the tub and starting on her back. "It counts that you wanted to. And you're supposed to want to, at least with Clark and I. That's the way it works."

"Really? Why? I don't get it." A small huff, as she turned and offered the long line of pale skin to him. "Why am I attracted to you? Why is okay for the four of us to have sex? I dunno about you, but in my world group sex? Not good."

"Chloe? Think about what you just said." Lex smirked softly. "This isn't quite your world anymore. In case you haven't noticed... Clark's not like us. When it comes to him, all bets are off."

"Heard that." Muttered from the doorway, where Clarks bulky, slender frame filled it. He walked forward, holding onto the wall as he went, and stepped in behind Chloe in the big, but not THAT big tub, snuggling down with her, on his side. His back was to the wall of the bathtub, his body molding her side, his hand on her breast, and he lay his cheek on her shoulder, closing his eyes and sighing.

Chloe's eyes were wide as she looked at her bathmate, blinkblinking at him... then up at Lex, and her lips spread into a grin. "I'm glad, Lex."

"Come on in, Clark." Lex watched as his lover climbed in the tub behind Chloe. "I'm glad too." He kissed her forehead, and then leaned over to kiss Clark's. "You guys are gonna be the death of me."

The doors to the bathroom were slammed open by a human freight train and Whitney barely made it to the toilet before he upchucked. His fingers were tight on the porcelain, and his hair fell down over his eyes as he emptied out everything in his body and sagged against the cool tile.

As soon as his body was finished purging, Whitney just curled up on the bathroom floor.

Clark opened one eye, staring as his ashimel heaved into the bowl behind Lex. A wince with every shuddered yack, and he winced, nodding, looking at Chloe and whispering, "He tossed his cookies."

"Technicolor yawn." Chloe sighed, wincing too.,

"Fuck. Off. And. Die. While you're at it? Let me die in peace, quiet, and coolness." Whitney didn't even open his eyes to glare, just curled fetally around the base of the toilet, hugging it.

Lex snickered. "Clark? Keep scrubbing. I'm going to get Whit's juice, and then bring everyone coffee."

"Upchucking."

"Blowing chunks."

"Yacking."

"Doing the porcelain polka."

"That's a good one."

"Thank you."

Whitney raised his head up and puked again.

Lex turned a disapproving glare on the tub. "Children, behave."

Clark winced as Whitney puked, pushing Chloe's shoulder towards him. "Go help him."

She was fine and comfortable, tyvm. "You."

"No, you."

"No, *you*."

"He's your stupid boyfriend."

"He's your stupid boyfriend too!"

Clark glared at her. Deeply. Disapproving glare. "Besides the point."

"If you think the glare works anymore, Kent, than your worse off then Whitney is." Chloe glared back, as she sighed and lifted herself from the tub. A little shaky... but better, as she climbed out, trailing water with her as she ducked to her poor lover, pushing his hair from his eyes and wincing as he heaved. "Baby, you kay?"

Christ. Lex went over to the toilet, and pulled on Whitney's shoulder. "Tub, Whitney. Now. Move." He flushed it, wrinkling his nose at the smell, and slung one of Whitney's arms around his shoulders. "Up."

"Do I fucking well look okay?" Whitney grumbled, swearing as he got to his feet. One hand braced on Chloe's shoulder, and the other on Lex as he stood up straight. And promptly closed his eyes as the room started to whirl.

"Clark, move your fat ass." Chloe muttered, watching him as he sloshed and made room. Whitney was... pretty much dead weight, and Chloe bit her lip, trying not to laugh at him as she helped him get into the tub. Bubbles sloshed, water splashed, but she got him to a seat where she'd been, wincing at his pasty skin.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo. Ashimel. And Clark purred.

Whitney heard. "Don't even think about it, Kent. Touch me and die."

Too late. His palm had rested on Whitney's shoulder but moved down now, stroking over hard pecs and harder abs. Ooooo, and he liked that, ducking in to mouth at his ear.

"Horny." Chloe sighed, climbing back to her feet and looking up at Lex. "Pounding headache, check. But I think... I'm sober. Ish. I can help."

Whitney just laid his head back on Clark's shoulder, mouthing gently at the closest body part, which happened to be a chin. "That feels... nice." He bit at Clark's skin, then wrinkled his nose at the smell. "We're going to smell like fucking flowers."

Lex pointed to the tub. "Get in. You can all soak until you've had coffee. If you wanna help, scrub 'em off. Cold water's on the right if you need to hose 'em down until I get coffee and aspirin in all of you."

Clark heard him... his mind told him so, but he was muuuch too interested in the taste he was having right now, at the edge of Whitney's jaw. He gave it to Lex through their link, smiling against smooth skin as he lapped and licked, fingers stroking down a warm belly and not thinking of how bold his touch was, wrapping around a limp cock he was sure wouldn't be limp much longer, and began to stroke.

Lex murmured appreciatively in the back of his throat as he walked into the other room to bring back juice and coffee. He didn't bother pouring it out yet, just bringing the tray into the room and leaving it sitting in the doorway as he dug out aspirin and just watched.

Whitney arched his throat, eyes closed as he kept lapping at Clark's throat, growling softly in pleasure as Clark's warm, wet hand wrapped around his cock and started stroking. Definite showing of interest there, and he raised his body and nestled it closer to Clark's.

Ohhh yes. He thumbed the tip of Whitney's cock, stroking his fingers over it, up and down, as Chloe got in the tub at their feet. The water level lifted but Clark didn't care, just letting him stroke half underwater and half above. His tongue tickled the lobe of Whitney's ear, stroking around and around... catching it with his teeth, scraping it with said teeth and letting go to move down. He licked and lapped at each line on his neck, murmuring his pleasure against Whitney's Adams apple, and ducked down to wrap his mouth around a tense little nipple and suck.

And know, full well, that ashikana and Oakenepel were watching. Which pleased him, beyond words.

Lex just leaned against the doorway, watching as Clark stroked Whitney's cock and body into wakeful awareness, watching as Chloe situated herself in the tub with them.

He could feel the rough scrape of Whitney's nipple against his tongue as Clark sucked it, and his tongue worked lightly at the top of his mouth as his arms crossed over his chest.

Clark muttered around it, stroking Whitney harder, stronger... and attached his mind, as easy as a breeze, to Chloe. And for the first time in her life, made her feel like what it was to have a cock. His leg was touching hers and that's all the contact he needed, looking up at her as he stroked Whitney's cock, hardening in his hand, and smiled at her.

Jesus Christ! Holy, JESUS CHRIST! And she let it out as a gasping wail, throwing her head back as she opened her thighs even more. Oh, God, it was amazing, strange but good, different than her own, and she whimpered, shivering as her palms found her breasts, squeezing and pinching them hard.

Lex didn't move, just stood there, watching the three in the tub. He felt his cock hardening and rising, but didn't make a move to touch it, yet.

Whitney turned onto his side so he could slide his arm around Clark, pushing himself further into the stroking hand and letting the warm water buffet his body as he thrust.

"Ashimel." Clark murmured, drawing Whitney in tenderly into his embrace. He let go of him and instead replaced hand with cock, so that the both of theirs were lying next to one another's. Clark felt so horrid but this... it was worth it, as he arched and began to slowly thrust against his friend, fingers reaching out behind him towards Lex.

"Oh, GOD!" Chloe cried, arching her hips up as she pinched her nipples, rolling them in her palms as her eyes rolled. It was so good, like her clit was rubbing against something else, only different, and she let out a harsh wail of pleasure, shivering as she arched, moving so that she straddled Whitney's leg, and began to rub herself against him.

"Small... small space." Clark whispered, kissing Whitney's face and neck tenderly as he looked up at his lover. "Want. Bed?"

Whitney just murmured helplessly, rubbing his cock against Clark's as he nibbled at Clark's skin. Just being close to Clark like this made him feel better and he raised up, arching and rocking against his lover.

Hard moan pulled from his throat as he felt Chloe rubbing against him, and one hand reached out and sought her, stretching his arm enough to rub her clit with the heel of his hand as he ground against Clark.

Lex gave his lover a small smile. "Bed would be good; get everyone out and cleaned up, teeth brushed and everything, and I'll get things ready in the bedroom."

Clark knew... with the circumstances, it was probably bad, but he let out a quiet whoop, eyes dancing as he looked at his two lovers. "Alright. Yeah. Wanna come make out?"

Dusky, groaning moan, but Chloe giggled too, nodding as she rose up and grabbed the nearest towel. Her knees were shaking, and she grabbed Lex's hand, tightly, as she stepped on the tile and walked over to the sink. Hair washed, her body washed, she just needed... aha! Toothbrush, tucked into a small pouch labeled "Whitney and Chloe", and she took out her own pink one, and toothpaste.

Lex squeezed her hand tightly, kissing the back of it before leaving her leaning against the counter. He kissed the back of her neck, then glared at his lover. "No. Peeking."

Whitney nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. Making out... sounds really good." He slowly pulled himself to his feet.

She giggled up at Lex, eyes dancing as she filled her mouth with toothpaste, scrubbing away.

Clark snorted, then winced in pain, then snorted again, climbing up too after giving he, and Whitney, a super speeded washing, cleaning their bodies and hair... and arousing Whitney even more with caresses all over his body. He stepped out of the tub...almost slipped before he stepped on the towel, and helped Whitney as well, giving him a towel to dry off.

Whitney grabbed the towel, scrubbing himself dry and rubbing it briskly through his hair as he squeezed into the countertop between Clark and Chloe. He propped himself up on the cold marble, hissing softly as warm skin touched cold hard surface, and squirted paste onto his toothbrush. It was gaggingly sweet and minty and he glared at Clark. "Minty fresh kisses?" he snorted around a mouthful of paste and brush head.

Clark looked up and his smile had a thousand surprised words, beaming at him before glancing at the door where Lex had just slipped through, grinning at Whitney and nodding. "We like minty. Minty is good. It makes blow jobs better, too....feel kind of burny, but not." He innocently got his own toothbrush, red, blue, and clear white, and squeezed his own out, promptly scrubbing his teeth down.

Chloe was still... very much connected to Whitney, and she was purring with each of his movements, pleased beyond expression.

Whitney just growled and reached down, stroking his cock and raking his nails lightly over his balls before cupping them and rubbing them together. "Prove it," Whitney challenged, spitting out the mouthful of paste into the sink and then rinsing his mouth out with water. He dropped his balls then, and steadied himself on the counter as he pushed the tea tray out of the way and headed into the bedroom.

Chloe let out a high pitched squeal when her lover grabbed himself, her back arching as she gasped, toothbrush clattering to the counter as she squeezed her eyes tight. She had a stripe of white still dripping down the corner of her mouth and she didn't care because Whitney was... and she felt it, and she let out another squeal, rubbing herself fast and hard against the edge of the Formica.

"Gonna prove it. Gonna drive you nuts." Clark said, as he cupped Chloe's rapidly moving hips and gently stilled her, smiling into her hair after he'd rinsed. "Like?"

"Love." She groaned, hard, trembling and shaking as she threw her head back.

Whitney caught the reaction, and stroked himself again as he stood in the threshold. The bed was already turned down, sheets and blankets folded at the bottom of the bed. Lube, condoms, cuffs, ropes, and dildos lay in the middle of the bed, but Lex was nowhere to be seen. Whitney just jacked himself harder at the sight of the ropes and the vibrators.

She was going to die. Just curl up, fall over, and die. She let out a harsh, loud squeal, Clarks hands guiding her hips, and with every thrust of her hips, Whitney stroked himself. Oh, GOD it felt GOOD, and she sobbed even harder, squirming her hips up and down as Clark trembled behind her. Instantly, instantly she knew something was wrong and she turned, looking at him in the eyes as his chin quivered. "Clark?"

He just shook his head, swallowing hard and hugging her, tightly. He wanted this, needed to have this, but he was deathly afraid. He gripped her hands tightly and squeezed, hard, swallowing as hard as he could, calling out for his aushna to help him get into this. To want this. His heart yearned for it, but his body… "Lex? Lex?"

Lex cursed softly as he squirmed into the tight leather. "Clark!!" He jerked the corset and skirt combo down with a vicious jerk, and smacked his lips together to fix the light smudge to his lipstick. He hated disappearing from the room entirely, back in his closet in the old bedroom, but he didn't have what he needed in their room.

He whimpered, trying to breath as he set his head down on Chloe's shoulder. He was hyperventilating, and he knew it. Lex had gone, somewhere, and his mind scattered, reaching out violently… finding him, and begging him to come back. He couldn't take being away from him so far away, not yet, please come back and hold me, I need your help, please.

Chloe didn't... she didn't know what to do, so she stroked his face, his hair, gently soothing her friend as he lowered his head onto her shoulder. He was so much bigger than her but in that moment, seemed so young and small, and she closed her eyes, holding him closely to herself as she kissed his cheeks, his hair, holding him tenderly as his heart raced against her chest. "Shh… see, baby, we're here. Its okay, we're going to be together soon. Shh, I'm here."

Lex swore softly again, and shoved the panel to his closet open and he pelted across the room to throw open the bedroom door. "Clark!" He yelled it at the top of his voice, and his nylon-covered feet skidded on the hardwood floor as he went across two hallways, then shot down the third and almost lost his footing entirely as he flung open their bedroom door. "Clark, dammit. I'm sorry. Sssh. Come here." He wrapped his arms around Clark, pulling him away from Chloe without thinking and squeezing him tightly. "I'm here, baby. I'd never leave you again, I swear it." He stroked Clark's hair, peppered warm kisses to his cheeks.

Clark grasped him, hard, burying his face in Lex's shoulder as he fought to breathe, squeezing to him as tightly as he could. He hugged his lover, fingers digging into Lex's back as he held him, not seeing or feeling anything else but Lex, HERE, with him. Good, very good, his lover, sweet and wonderful and he kissed the skin where he was pressed against, shuddering as his mind sobbed. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I knew you were close. I'm sorry. Don't leave me anymore. Don't go. Not yet. Don't leave me.

No, my love... don't be sorry. I wanted to surprise you; I didn't mean to shut you out. Lex held Clark tightly to him, rocking his lover against him. "I'm here," he said softly, between kisses as he held Clark tightly. I won't leave you, aushna'. Never again.

They stood there, for another few minutes, until Clark's heartbeat was back down close to relatively normal, his breath not whooshing and hiccupping. He was calmed down, muscles relaxing inside of his lovers embrace, and he swallowed, letting go just a little as he looked into his lovers face. Guilt, shame, want, fear, pleasure. All of it, in his eyes, as he gazed at his eyes, cupping his cheeks and kissing him softly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You... I didn't… you were suddenly gone, and I... I freaked. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's okay to panic." He stroked Clark's cheeks with his thumbs. "It is still new; it is all still new. It was just yesterday, Clark. Remember that. It was only just yesterday that we rebuilt things. You do not need to fear, but if you do it is all right. You need time to regain your faith in the bond."

He sucked in a trembling breath, nodding and closing his eyes as he set his forehead on Lex's own, closing his eyes and taking soft breaths as he calmed himself down. Making sure his lover was still there, stroking over his shoulders and hips, back and--

--...Leather. Lots... and lots... of leather. Clark's eyes flickered up to his lover, in shock as he looked down...and his eyes widened, huge, in his head. Oh. My. God. His mouth was trembling open as he groaned, gasping as his hands almost stroked down... almost. He was shocked, gazing down before flickering upwards. And groaning.

"I told you I was going to surprise you." Lex brought Clark's hands back to his chest, sliding them over the leather ties of the corset, and then the flares of the leather skirt. The lipstick shimmered in the sunlight, and he gave his beloved a small smile. "Surprised?"

He nodded, eyes going heavy lidded with pleasure, and his tongue slipped out, licking his dry slips and swallowing. Oh, God. As long as his lover was close he was okay, and right now was… definitely okay. He kept his fingers with his lovers, holding on for reassurance and love, and murmured in pleasure, thumb stroking over the lump under the skirt. "Oh... oh, yes."

Chloe's mouth was hanging open by the hinge. She'd just watched Clark freak out, but that was natural. However... Lex standing half naked but for a dress? Yeah, that wasn't natural.

So why was it so sexy?!

She purred in pleasure, gazing up at Whitney and smiling, as she mmmed softly.

Lex's fingers stayed tightly twined through Clark's, and he thrust up gently into the thumb that rubbed over him. Hey, baby... would you like to dance? Lex sent through their link, and slid one nylon-clad leg up Clark's thigh.

Whitney... just staring. Had no idea what his reaction was supposed to be but Lex in a skirt was just... okay, yes. He reached out and grabbed Chloe by the shoulder and dragged her over. "He's... okay, I'm not going through hangover dementia, right? Lex *is* standing there, humping Clark in a little leather skirt?"

Chloe's lips spread into an enormous grin, her eyes wide and blue as she watched the two standing there, licking her lower lip with a giggle. "I... uh... uh huh. Yeah."

Clark nodded, softly, his eyes falling to half mast as he leaned over, pressing his face into his lovers neck. He wanted Lex, so much, to hold and make love to and lick and kiss and he held him, gently, stroking his palm up and down his back and hugging him close. Wanted to give pleasure, and hug him, as themselves, not... not this. Okay, the this was sexy, and he wanted to be teased like this, but when he finally slipped inside... he wanted Lex. He wanted Lex, not someone who wasn't Lex. He never wanted anyone but Lex ever again. Only Whitney and Chloe, and they were a special occasion. He loved him, so deeply, so much, and everything inside of him poured into his love. Every single thing that he loved about his lover, going into him. His little half smiles, his kisses, the way he made Clark feel like a prince. The way he'd sneeze, or sigh, or roll his eyes, or blink a few times in his sardonic shock. He loved this man, loved him as much as he ever had, and his pride in his aushna. Pride, because this was his man, pride, because they would grow up to be men together, proud because he could face anything in his life with his lover by his side. Pride, in everything, and he kissed him, softly, as he shared every single one of those thoughts.

Lex wrapped his arms tightly around his aushna' and kissed him deeply, unable to help the puffing up that his lover's thoughts brought to him. He nibbled at Clark's lower lip as his hands dragged gently over Clark's chest, then went to the ties on the corset. "Take it off then," Lex whispered softly. "It was only for you, my aushna'. If you do not like it, then I will not do it." He nuzzled the strong throat he loved, sucked lightly at the heart that beat under his lover's skin.

Lex just let himself float in Clark's arms, kissing and licking, anchoring himself to his lover's body with his feelings and letting everything else in his mind drift away until there was only Clark.

Whitney looked down at his girlfriend, and bit her shoulder lightly. "Why is it that I find Lex in a skirt, being worshipped by Clark, totally arousing?"

"Not yet." Clark murmured, lips quirking just a little in wickedness as he gazed at him, his fingertips moving over Lex's chest, where the fake breasts were pressed into the cups. And in a single touch, he made them real. Like that night at the club, only this time he didn't stop at his lovers breasts, eyes watching his as he anchored the mental changes into his lover, lips spreading as his cheeks colored just a little. "Do you like that?"

"Because its really, truly, outrageously sexy?" Chloe asked, glancing up at Whitney, moaning, and watching Clark and Lex as she felt Whitney's cock rub her ass, and whatever it was that Clark had done to her made her feel like whatever was between her thighs was rubbing something and muh.

Lex moaned softly as the breasts became real, nipples rubbing against the stiff leather. He brought Clark's fingers up to them, sliding his hands inside the leather so that Clark could--and hopefully would--get the message to touch. "Please," he whispered softly, spreading his legs and straddling one of Clark's as he rocked against the strong, hairy thigh.

Whitney rocked against Chloe, pressing up so that his cock slid between her cheeks, rubbing along the split between them with each of his strokes.

Clark beamed, joyously, his fingers stroking under leather to stroke against what he knew Lex felt there. Soft folds, heat and moisture, and he linked tighter with his lover so he could touch what his lover wanted, and could feel. He stroked over the wet folds that were only a vivid figment of his lovers imagination, stroking until he could slip in and flicker his thumb against the little nub of nerves as he rocked his body into Lex's. He brought his mouth down, lapping at the hard peaks as he buried his face down between them, lapping and stroking, seducing his lover gently as his thumb moved in slow circles, free palm bracing his lovers back.

She squealed, on top of her lungs, squirming up and thrusting as she watched Clark and Lex in front of them. Oh YES.

Lex whimpered as he felt Clark's fingers entering what he should not have, pushing down against them as they teased and rubbed, rocking down on them and rising up, his skirt covering their motions as he wiggled and squirmed until he felt Clark's fingers hit just the right spot and he cried out hoarsely. All new sensations, all new, and he didn't know what he was going to do. Just... he had to keep doing it.

Whitney reached around, sliding his fingers into Chloe's mouth, thrusting them gently against her tongue. "Get them wet, baby," he whispered softly. "Gonna fuck you..."

The deep channel his fingers were inside of in his lovers mind was slick with heat and wetness, tight... incredibly tight. Clark stroked gently, his thumb rubbing circles all along the little nub of nerves, tickling them gently as he began to thrust and move very gently with each stroke of his fingers, arching and lowering.

~ * ~

Lionel sighed. "We've been over this. Since part of the assets we're moving from Metropolis are LexCorp properties, we need Lex's signature on these forms, giving us permission to consolidate, temporarily, his assets with ours, and allow us to move them together without filing two relocation writs." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Dominic sighed back, his hip leaning against Lionel's desk. He was tired, and he was cranky, and he was hungry, and he'd only had ONE cup of coffee and was EXPECTED TO FUNCTION. Yes, well. At least when he was working at LuthorCorp he had until 8 to pull himself together. At the moment, however, he was glowering at his lover from the mirror, where he was finishing getting dressed. A well pressed green polo shirt, black slacks and dress shoes, and his three quarters jacket. It would warm up before the day was through, but he looked immaculate regardless, as he pushed his wallet into his back pocket and getting his watch, looping it on and snapping it closed. "Yes, I understand that. But why do we need them right now?"

"Because if we don't have this paperwork filed before we file the relocation writs, we'll be locked in Metropolis for at least three to five years as they disentangle LexCorp, LuthorCorp and Wayne Enterprises so they can see which properties were legally covered by the writ we filed. In the meantime, we'd have nowhere to stable our properties and we'd be forced back into the Metropolis tower with it's twenty year lease," Lionel explained patiently.

Dominic gave him a glare, grabbing him by the jacket lapels, hauling him in, and giving him a fierce, hard kiss. Tongue stabbing in, hard, kissing the hell out of his lover before he let go, and arched a brow at him. "Its 6:50 in the morning. The sun has just barely come up. Please, do not make me think, okay?"

Lionel returned the kiss eagerly, then growled when Dominic glared. "You... are always expected to think, little cricket. Because, you are not a stupid man." Lionel rose with a slight wince. Despite the fact Toby had told him not to move... well, he was not an invalid yet. "Come on. We need to get the signature now, and have our notary finalize it this afternoon for formal filing first thing in the morning, and the relocation writs will file first thing Tuesday morning."

"No, I am not a stupid man. What I am is a man that watched Jay Leno until two in the morning, talked to Lex, and ate a tub of brisquet that is sitting like a brick in my belly." Dominic said, though it was spoken cheerfully as he got his check book, slipping it into his coat, as well as his phone and palm pilot. "Come on, darling, its off to the races. And be careful of your bum today, aye?" Though he looked back, and winced at his lover.

"You spoke to Lex? And you came out unharmed? Shall miracles ne'er cease?" he asked dryly, sliding the adjunct forms into his briefcase and then glaring at his lover. "I am being quite careful, Dominic. I can't help but be careful of it."

Oh. Wince. He grimaced at his lover, grabbing the strap of his laptop as the bottom of the coat brushed the ground when he bent to get it, straightening, wincing at his lover, and reaching up to give each cheek a kiss before he scooted out their bedroom door, the strap comfortably across his chest as he picked up the briefcase waiting by the door, bracing it against the wall, going inside for the correct forms Lionel wanted that his lover had slipped in there the night before, and motioned. "They're in their bedroom. Lex said he was--" Nursing a hangover? "--going to have Chloe and Whitney sleep over to keep he and Clark company."

"Mmm. Come on, then. It's past time to wake them up. After all, if we have to suffer, so do they." Lionel led the way across the hall and down two doors, throwing open the doors without knocking, as was his way.

And blinked. Lex was currently riding Clark's thigh, from what brief look Lionel got, and Whitney was feeding his fingers to the young girl... Chloe, as he thrust against her.

Lionel shrugged, and turned around to his lover. "Lex is already awake, Jiminy."

"What?" Dominic stepped in a moment later, looked over Lionel's shoulder...and bellowed. On top. Of his fucking. Lungs.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

"Sex, appears to be," Lionel said blandly.

Clark jumped a mile, his concentration broken and breaking all of the carefully constructed feelings he'd made for Chloe and Lex, eyes wide as saucers as he looked over Lex's shoulder... and blushed. Crimson. He was red as a tomato, groaning as he hid his face in Lex's shoulder.

"AH!" Chloe cried, grasping the sheet from the bed and dragging it up over her chest, hiding herself and Whitney as she pressed into his chest.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Dominic thundered again. Christ, fucking Christ, what was Lex THINKING?! He wasn't READY for this yet, not ready FOR ANY SEX, and they were about to have a FOURSOME?! Had he lost his MIND?!

Whitney was startled as Chloe bit down on his fingers, but as soon as he realized what was going on, he dragged her by the waist into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut, collapsing against the counter and leaning over. "Christ, I think I'm going to be sick again," he whimpered.

Lex felt the shattering in his lover's thoughts and jumped in shock, sliding off Clark's lap and standing in front of him. His cock jutted out, slick and shiny under the skirt and he glared at Dominic as he shielded his aushna'. "What are you doing here?" Lex all but snarled.

"Watching you destroy your life, you bloody bleeding ASS!" Dominic bellowed, pushing Lionel to the side just a little and grabbing the closest blanket off the floor, tossing it at Lex to HIDE HIS PUP TENT. "What the bloody hell do you think you're DOING? You almost lost Clark but yesterday, you ass! You canna do THIS! Are you INSANE? Have you lost all semblance of BLOODY THOUGHT?!"

Clark hid behind his lover, cause, yeah. He knew. He knew exactly what Dominic was saying, because even as he'd been touching his lover, he'd known he couldn't do this. But it had made his lover happy, and that's all he wanted, but he hid behind him, swallowing and wincing.

Lex caught the blanket and tossed it to Clark, turning to wrap it around his aushna' and protect him from prying eyes. "What I do with my aushna' is none of your concern, Dom. You are nauch but you will not tell me what to do with my aushna'."

"Yes I fucking well will, god dammit." Dominic snarled, glaring at the both of them. "You lost your child four days ago. You can barely FUNCTION on your own let alone have sex with Chloe and Whitney, who I understand are your special friends, Lex, but god, dammit, THINK boy. Use the amazing brain God gave you and THINK. You cannot engage in kinky foursome sex. You cannot. Not right now, and not for a long time. Do you understand what would happen to your relationship with Clark? Do you? You cannot rebuild on sex, Lex! God, DAMNIT!"

Lionel's voice was mild. "Listen to him, Lex. Believe it or not, Dominic knows what he's talking about and it would do you a lot of good to listen to him." He stepped into the room, picked up another blanket, and physically wrapped it around Lex himself before pushing him down on the bed beside Clark. "There, Dominic. I'm sorry. Please, continue."

"Its quite alright." Dominic was walking the room, glaring at the both of them as he walked back and forth, one palm going to the back to his head to rub. "Lex, you and Clark have gone through trauma. Huge, life altering, trauma. You're trying to get back but you cannot. You can't, do you understand me? Not like this, not through sex like this, not through sex with two children who don't know any better. You know better. You are the adult in this situation. Think like one. You have to realize, you cannot do this with Clark. Not now." Dominic turned his sharp eyes to Clark. "And you. You should know better than this, Clark. You know Lex just like I do, and you know he cannot help himself when it comes to you. You know this is wrong, I can see it in your eyes. Don't give Lex what you know is unhealthy, boy." A hard, heaved sigh, and Dominic crouched down in front of both of them, hands clasping as he looked at them. "Consider my words, boys. You both have a lot of repairing to do. You're on the right road. But if you take this route, it will end in disaster. No long, meaningful relationship relies on sex."

Lex turned around and looked at Clark. "You didn't... you didn't want to do this?" He ran his fingers over Clark's forehead, pushing his hair back into place where it had fallen down.

Clark swallowed hard, watching his lover for a long moment before shaking his head a few times, swallowing hard and setting his forehead on his lovers face. "I was scared."

Lex blinked. "Scared? Why?" He stroked Clark's face. "He's right; I'd give you anything, you just had to ask. If you didn't want this, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because... because I'd give you anything you wanted." Clark whispered, softly and sheepishly as his thumb stroked over Lex's face, and he blushed.

"Bloomin' hell." Dominic sighed, climbing to his feet and rubbing a hand over his face, sighing at his lover with old eyes.

"Reminds me of another Luthor I know, who'd give his lover anything," Lionel reminded softly. "I can't say it's always right, but I can't condemn him for it."

Soft, pained chuckle. "I only--I thought you needed this. So I was willing to give you anything you wanted and needed. Anything... to make you whole again, baby." He pressed his forehead tighter against Clark's.

"And a cricket, who loves his husband so much." Dominic whispered, gazing up at him and stroking a palm over his cheek as he turned to watch them.

"Me too, Lex. Me too. I'm sorry. I should have been... been honest." Clark murmured, gazing at his lover quietly as he kissed his cheek, his nose, his throat, and brought his arms around him, hugging him tightly to him. "I love you, Lex. I love you, with all my heart."

Lionel pulled Dominic to him, then gently turned him around to see the results of his handiwork with a soft smile.

Lex wrapped his arms around Clark, just as tightly, pulling himself as tight to Clark as he could get. "I love you, Clark. Ssssh... it's okay. We'll learn for next time. You'll tell me, I'll tell you, we'll tell each other if we don't want something, and it'll be okay." He rocked against his lover, soothing himself with the motion and tight cling of his arms. "We'll make it, baby. Together."

"I know we'll make it." Clark whispered, his chin dimpling as he felt tears leap up in his throat, his heart aching as he held tightly. "I love you. I love you, I'm sorry. We will learn... its so new again. I love you. I love you, AJ. We'll make it, we will."

Good deed of the week, check. Dominic sighed, softly, and because he didn't want to mess up their little moment anymore, thrust the papers out. "Here, Lex. Sign these on a hard surface other than your cock, alright? And Christ, open the window. This room smells like vomit and something I don't want to name." Shudder.

Lex just melted. "That's... that's the first time you've called me AJ since... since..." He couldn't say it, instead, just swallowed hard. "I never thought I'd miss it, but I did." He pulled away from Clark for just a minute, leaning over to the bedside table and scribbling his signature on the bottom of the pages Dominic had handed him, then sat back up and passed them back, wrapping his arms around Clark's waist again. "I love you."

Lionel wordlessly walked over to the windows on Lex's side of the bed, raised it high, then did the same on Clark's side, sending a rush of cool, fresh-smelling air into the room.

"There, we are." Dominic smiled at them, sighing as they snuggled under the blankets, and grabbed his lovers arm, tugging him towards the door again. "Dinner tonight, boyo's. We're going down to the Italian restaurant, if I don't kill your father today, so be ready by seven, aye?" Dominic hooked his arm through Lionel's and tucked the papers away, leaving them to their own devices. And grinning.

"Of course," Lex called after them, still clinging to Clark. He rubbed his cheek against his lover's, not even caring as his father and Dominic left.

"Do be careful, Lex," Lionel called out as Dominic dragged him out of the room. "And we will see you at dinner!"

Clark watched them go, with a smile, his eyes meeting Lex's as he beamed at him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "I love you."

"I love you, Clark." He gave his own smile in return, stroking his fingertips over Clark's cheek. "I missed you calling me AJ. I thought I hated it, but I missed it, so much." He hugged tightly. "I missed it because it meant you still weren't okay. But if you can call me AJ again then we're getting there."

Yeah, they were. Which just made Clark smile bigger, hugging his lover tightly to his chest... over his cheeks, his face, palm stroking as he touched him, and his chin gave a tremble as he wrapped his arms around him. "I want...lets go eat breakfast? And...and maybe play video games and stuff?"

"We have to talk to Chloe and Whitney first. Make sure they can get home all right. Then... breakfast of anything you want. Video games, movies... we even have to go to Pete's and pick up your presents."

"Yeah. Kay." Clark smiled at him, cupping his cheeks and kissing him, softly. Nose, cheeks, chin, forehead. Rubbing their foreheads gently together made the sparks go off, blue lightening all over the place. His eyes sparked with it, shining with unshed tears and the pure comfort of having him there, and through the sparks, through the touches, shared more emotions than he had with his lover since he'd met him. It was a peek, into his true heart, into his soul, where his thoughts and emotions came together. He'd brought Lex to this place when they fought, to heal them. But for the first time, he let his lover share one of the biggest things that made them so different.

His thoughts, unlike a human beings, was scattered. A humans had boxes and shelves and order in their heads... Clarks was organized chaos. Instead of connecting thoughts with patterns, his connected with emotions. He felt emotions from everything... rocks, trees, birds, people. He felt their inner being just by looking at them, and that's what kept his thoughts organized. Their level of feeling. The most mundane things felt, and that's why he'd never hurt anything in his life. He could read things down right to the molecular level, and the intelligence sometimes even scared him. But he shared it, with his lover, because he needed to feel him in this way, a way he'd never felt before.

And the deepest emotion, the strongest connection, the one thing that had the most connected to them in every way... was Lex.

Lex was overwhelmed by the sheer force of his lover's thoughts. Not in a frightened way, but awed at the sheer chaos inside his aushna's head and how much of it there was.

How much of it was him.

Lex's mind felt like a library, with everyone and everything that he came in contact with having it's own, distinctly ordered system. The largest room by far belonged to Clark, and Lex threw the doors open wide and let his lover see everything.

The fear he had, of one day hurting his love. The happiness, joy, elation, sadness, everything he'd ever felt for Clark was in that room, and Lex opened it for his aushna'.

Oh, and Clark dove in, pleasured beyond imagining, and getting to look through it. He was alien but his heart was human, and he adored pouring through organized things, simply because his mind was organized so differently. He looked and gazed at every emotion, laughing at some... tears slipping from his eyes at others, and he shared everything of his own, teaching his lover as he showed him, how to look at it. With Lex, the memories were organized by what he felt in each one. Sadness, anger, joy, pleasure. it was all carefully organized into neat places, and connected to the oddest of things. One memory, that they both shared, of the first time Clark had brought Lex into his mouth. Clark remembered what he felt, what his lover felt... what was around him. The brand of lube... the color of the sheets, the softness under his hands. The taste of his lover, the feeling of him, of taking him in, of reading what he liked and didn't. And Clark was smiling, as he looked up finally, his eyes dancing at Lex's as he reached up, and wiped away his lovers tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I belong to you. Like you belong to me. There is happiness in our lives. The people we were when I met you aren't the people we are now. I'm so happy. Daphstemlin'aq, Aushna."

"Daphstemlin'aq, my Aushna'." Lex hadn't realized he was crying until Clark's fingers wiped away the tears. "You've made me a better person since I met you; I am who I am because of you." He breathed in deeply, surprised when his shoulders shook and he sobbed once, lowly. "I wouldn't be without you, at all."

"Yes, you would. You'd just be a jackass." Clark whispered, smiling into his lips as he kissed him once, twice, three times gently. "Think Whit and Chloe are fucking?"

"No... if you hadn't saved me, I wouldn't be." He returned the soft kisses, and then looked back towards the bathroom. "I don't--haven't thought. Probably."

"Whit?" Clark raised his voice. "Chlooee!"

Making. Out. Like. Dogs. She was groping, and kissing, and licking, and she froze, deer in headlights, wincing and letting go of her lover to peek out the door. "Hi?"

"You can come out now; they're gone," Lex called, burrowing in closer on Clark's lap, leaning his head on his aushna's shoulder.

Dammit. She pulled the blanket up around her a little and winced, tucking her blond locks behind her hair. Hee. Yeah. Erm. "Hi?" She sidled out, Whitney close and hidden under the blanket too, glancing around to make sure the old men were gone... and whispered, "I'm mortified."

"What's beyond mortified?" Whitney collapsed onto the sofa and pulled Chloe with him. "Lex... not to knock your hospitality, but... doesn't anybody knock?"

Lex paused for a good thirty seconds. "No."

Clark grinned and shook his head, where he was snuggled behind Lex. "Nope."

Heaved. Sigh. "Well, guys? I think...Whitney and I are gonna go home. Cause... I know you guys are all... yeah. And Whitney and I... are... yeah. So... I love you both to bits and pieces, and we're gonna go home."

"You're going to need a ride; pick up the phone and have Enrique run you home. But oh, Chloe... in case you didn't remember from last night's escapades, you need to talk to Bruce about the modeling he has lined up for you, if you're interested."

"I remembered." She said shyly, smiling at him as she looked up at Whitney, untangling herself from the sheet as she reached for her clothes. They stunk but that was okay, tugging her sweater on over her breasts as she squirmed into her panties. "I am interested. Very interested. It could be great college money, you know?"

"Chloe... wait. Stop. Please. Change clothes. God knows I have enough, and they should fit you."

"I'm just going home." She rolled her eyes at him.

"In those clothes? So your father can smell exactly what you were doing last night and this morning?" Lex crooked an eyebrow from the safety of Clark's lap.

"Oh." Wince. "Point taken. Yeah, give me some clothes, Lex. Nothing too racy, okay? I'm still sort of in hot water. Plus, Dad refuses to believe I'm having sex, or have a life outside of school and home." Another heaved sigh, as she glanced at Whitney.

Lex nodded to the closet. "Help yourself. Everything's organized, and color coded, so you should be able to find something to fit. Whit... Clark's clothes should fit you."

"S'okay," Whit shrugged. "Mom'll be at the store; nobody'll be home. I'm good."

The closet was big, and full of clothes, so Chloe cheerfully walked in... and a moment later, let out a vibrating scream.

"ARRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cleo dashed out, Chloe's pink bra on her head, followed by her two brothers, who were all carrying shoe-like prizes. YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!

SHOES! And the yellow lady had LIKED it! HAHAHAHHA!

-fin-

go on to the next part