The Memoirs

Clark was not an arrogant person by nature. In fact, he was very light hearted and took things by face value--he was honest and did his parents proud with the way he acted. His only vice was that he was a very, very proud person.

And that pride had him smiling like an idiot in Reynolds office as he looked down at his test results, nearly a week after visiting the Daily Planet. He glanced up at Reynolds and set the papers back down, inclining his head. "So, can I graduate early, then?"

Joseph Reynolds had a very pinched look on his face. Not because he'd been wrong--no, he didn't care about things like that. What he *was* was worried. Worried about the effect this might have on Clark, given that last year, the boy'd been one absence away from failing and repeating a grade, and this year he was graduating early.

The thought occurred to him, as it had over the past few days, that perhaps he had had a bit of help on the tests from the Luthors, but there was no sign of their foul play anywhere around.

As far as he could tell, Clark had gotten this on his own merits. And while he was proud of him... had he mentioned that he was worried?

"Yes, Mr. Kent. This means you have earned an early graduation."

"Excellent. What do I sign?" he leaned forward, ready to do so, as his heart danced. He was very...very proud of himself, and in a way, relieved. This school had too many memories, both good and bad. This *town* had too many memories--he needed to get out, to breathe. Metropolis did that for him, and it was a God send that he had a kind and gracious aushna' who understood.

Joe laid out six sheets of paper, one for each of the courses that Clark was taking. "Here. Sign each of these. They're waivers stating that you've passed the end of course test and are willing to leave the class."

Clark didn't look twice as he signed all of them with a flourish of C and K, dotting each signature at the end before setting the pen down. "For what it's worth, sir, thank you for trusting me."

Joe rapped the six forms together on the edge of the desk and slid them into a folder marked with Clark's name, and then handed him two more. "One's a waiver of graduation, and the other's a statement saying you know what you're doing and you're sure you want to leave school early, and that I've counseled you against it." Which he had. Repeatedly.

Hadn't made one whit of difference.

"You're a good kid, Clark. You've earned trust. I just hope you've made the right decision for yourself."

"There's a lot you don't know, Mr. Reynolds. Lex doesn't run my life--I do. I don't need the Luthors to do anything but love me, and they do that plentifully. I want this for myself--I've never fit right in High School, because I don't think as a child and never have. I know I'll do well, regardless of what anyone has counseled me about."

It was the same thing that Clark had told Joe over and over again, and it really worried him that Clark believed it. "You know that I have a different experience with that family, Clark. And you've made your decision and I know I can't sway you from it. But if you find out you're in over your head, you come to me, and I'll help you out."

Clark reigned in his temper easily, and just nodded curtly and rose to his feet. He shook the mans hand and turned to the door, opening it and closing it behind him calmly and carefully.

As soon as he was outside of the school grounds, he looked over his shoulder before taking off running towards the mansion, papers in arm and anger in his heart. He sped through the road and wet fields still damp from the weekends rain, leaping over fences and cows, staying airborne as long as he dared risk it before he showered gravel into the bushes outside of the back door of the Luthor Mansion as he stopped on a dime and entered. "Lex?"

It was Ms. Bird who answered him, as she shuffled down the hallway, tea tray in hand. "Chu follow me. Herr Lecks is out in de garden vith his roses." She shrugged her shoulder at Clark to follow her, and started back into Lex's office, and towards the little door that lead to Lex's greenhouse.

"Good morning, Mrs. Bird," he said, and set the paperwork down on Lex's desk before he followed the older woman. He took the tea tray from her as well and walked right behind her. "How are you this morning?"

Ms. Bird scolded him as he took the tray. "Chu do not hef to coddle me," she said, thunking him on the arm. "But I am vell, t'ank you. De cold is nearly gone."

Clark didn't even flinch, though he did manage to look a little sheepish as she thwacked him. He followed obediently behind anyway. "I'm glad, you sounded terrible for a while there. My moms soup helped?"

"Ja, it helped a great deal," she said, bustling the door open and pointing to the rustling rosebush at the end of the long row. "He is down dere, and asked for dis tray."

"Thank you," Clark said with a smile and slipped through the door. He heard Ms. Bird close the door behind him, and though the air in the greenhouse was stifling, he dealt with it gracefully as he pretended to knock on the glass. "Knock knock," he said, and looked around a particularly big bush.

A pair of rather large pruning shears rose from the large bush, and waved jauntily in the air. "Down here," Lex called out, then pulled the shears back down to continue snipping.

Clark peered down the steps and set the tray down on the small table beside it. He walked down the few steps, took the sheers from his lovers hands, and pulled him into a tango, holding his lovers damp, sticky gloves as he waltzed them across the floor. "You would not believe what I got today," he sing-songed, turning to dip his lover low just so that glorious leg would rise up onto his hip.

Lex's leg did indeed rise to wrap around Clark's hip and hold himself up. "If it has fur and four legs, take it back."

"That's no way to talk about the school system," Clark hummed into the warm shell of his ear as he lifted him back up and danced his lover down the other side of the hallway, brushing rose blooms and leaves.

Lex kept his unprotected head leaned onto Clark's shoulder so the thorns from the rosebushes didn't scratch him, but otherwise didn't protest being danced around. "The school sys--you got the test results back."

"You're looking at Smallville's newest graduate," Clark sang out loud, twirling his lover before thumping them back together and dipping again. ..Just because he could. Just because Lex looked like sin, and his heart swelled with love as he looked down at Lex's sweaty face and dirty gloves and smile.

Lex couldn't help the smile that turned into a wild grin. "You got it? That fucking asshole actually let you have the early graduation?"

"Yes, and yes," Clark beamed, and let out a hoot as he lifted Lex up by the waist, twirling him and squeezing him tightly. "I'm done! Finished! No more cafeteria food, weird looks, angst!"

Lex let out a very, very undignified whoop, and then coughed lightly as he hugged Clark back. "That is quite possibly the best news we've heard all day. I did get a call back from Mr. Carson, the owner of the studio we looked at, and he said that both the studio we looked at and the one above it are open for rent."

"Excellent," Clark beamed, and he kissed Lex firmly on the mouth before letting him go to smile at him. "Now we just have to bring it up to Chloe and Whitney." He grinned again. "When you're finished here, let me know and we can go out to celebrate if you don't have plans."

Lex indicated the bucket of clippings at the end of the row of bushes he'd been working on. "I only need to take clippings of two more, this one, and my mother's, and I'll be finished, but they can wait until tomorrow evening. Just let me make sure there's enough water in the bucket so the cuttings don't dry out."

"Okay," Clark said, and leaned over to gently kiss Lex's cheek. "I'll be upstairs waiting. Take your time, babe. Your dad's upstairs, right?"

"Um... yeah, I think so. I think he's up there with Rory," Lex said, straightening his back and pulling off his gloves.

"I'll be up there, then. Come find me when you're ready." He beamed at Lex once more and tangoed his way up the steps, doing a dramatic twirl, throwing head and shoulders back before disappearing through the door.

He was still humming to himself as he kicked his shoes off and danced through the house with an invisible partner, kicking his feet up all the way up the steps. That is, when he wasn't going all Dirty Dancing on the banister.

He made it up the steps without incident, though, and he heard a voice singing a lullaby from down the hall in the library--Dominic's voice. And not a lullaby, not at all. Dominic was singing about the poor life of Peggy Gordon to his daughter, in Gaelic.

For her part, Aurora was staring at him in wonder, and Clark knocked lightly on the edge of the door as he shifted nervously. "Hi--oh, hey, Lionel," Clark said, looking off to the left at the huge bookshelves where Lionel was engrossed. "Lionel, Dominic."

"Aurora," Dominic offered as he raised the baby the smallest bit, amused, and smiled at Clark. "Good morning, Clark."

"Good morning, Clark," Lionel said automatically, looking at the spines of the two books he held in his hands, and then down on the table where a third one sat. "Tell me, young man. What were your favored bedtime stories? Dominic has threatened me with bodily harm if I tell Aurora one of those bloody Greek God stories, if I may quote him."

"Greek stories?" Clark made a face. "Don't you think Aurora is a little too young to hear men getting dismembered in the Trojan war?" He walked over and plunked into the love seat beside the couch where Dominic was perched feeding the baby. "I didn't really understand English until I was about five, but my mom used to read me the Berenstein Bears. I had the whole collection."

"Plebian literature," Lionel sniffed. "We have Scherazade's 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights, Grimm's Faerie Tales, and The Collected Works of Hans Christian Anderson."

"I dunno. I always found the Little Mermaid kind of creepy. All those nursery rhymes. You know they've got roots in really twisted stuff, right?" Clark made a face. "Nah, Berenstein Bears is where it's at. I'm almost twenty years old, but those stories have stuck with me for a long time."

"Yes, I'm quite aware," Lionel said with a sigh. "I vividly remember in my youth being read the story of Cinderella and how one of the elder sisters chopped off her toes to fit her foot into the glass slipper."

"Gruesome. If you're going to show her those fairy tales, let her watch the Disney versions. At least those have talking and singing animals."

"Which are nearly as bad. Are you *aware* how badly they butchered The Hunchback of Notre Dame?"

"Nope. I stopped watching cartoons about the age of fourteen," Clark admitted, wincing at him and shrugging his shoulders. "But Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are nice. And of course the Lion King, Unca Mufasa."

Lionel gave Clark a very evil, withering glare over the rim of his glasses.

Dominic was snickering from his spot on the couch as he opened the tiny bundle of blankets to raise the even tinier baby to his knee. He sat her up on his thigh, his whole palm against her chest and tummy to keep her right where she should be. He put a burp rag in front of her and began to gently pat and rub her back.

Clark smiled innocently, though his eyes were riveted on the baby on Dominic's thigh.

Aurora's lips smacked a few times before she obliged her father and let out a small, lady-like baby belch, and spit up just a little mouthful of milk with it, drooling it down her chin as she gurgled up at him.

Lionel grimaced and tossed all three books to the side, and reached up one shelf, pulling down a copy of Black Beauty. He tossed it aside as well, and growled softly at the unsuitability of all the children's books that lined the shelves of the room.

Dominic looked up to see Clark watching in that fascinated way he had that tugged at his heart strings. He cleaned Aurora's mouth and chin gently, setting the rag to the side and after making sure she was still dry, wrapped her back in the blankets--though he refused to put on the god awful hat her father insisted on, and after a moments try, climbed to his feet. "Would you take her for a moment, Clark? Nature calls."

"Sure," Clark said almost immediately, and took the baby from Dominic's arms. She was...tiny, much tinier than John was. She wouldn't be the big, firm stock her shen'shen would be but she was going to be beautiful nonetheless--thin and willowy like her parents. He smiled down at her, tracing his fingertip across her curled fingers, and marveled at how tiny her finger nails were, her palm, her teeny wrist. "Oh, aren't you pretty?" he cooed.

This was a new person. Aurora's little eyes blinked up, and her mouth made a little o as she blew a couple of spitbubbles up at the new person. When his fingertip went across her fingers, she did what she always did.

Grabbed that sucker and brought it to her mouth for sucking on.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Lionel finally pulled down the book he wanted. "Aha. D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. For children." He waved the hardback around, and glared at the doorway his husband had just departed from. "Heathen man. Thinks I won't impart culture to my little princess." He stepped down the few stairs that had led up to the second level, and smiled when he saw Aurora chewing wetly on Clark's finger. "Aaaah. She likes you. And she doesn't cry. Clark, would you like a high-paying job of babysitting?"

"Culture?" Clark echoed without having heard a word Lionel had said. Rather than the urgent need to cry he usually felt around infants, now he felt...well, bitter sweet in a way. She wasn't Mar-El… she looked nothing like him, or was like him. She was just a sweet, beautiful gift from heaven, and Clark smiled broadly as she licked on his finger and suckled like a pacifier as her tiny gums chewed on it.

Aurora yawned around the finger in her mouth as she kept chewing on it, giving little smacks of her lips as she squirmed, and kicked her feet.

And then gave a sharp cry as the distinct aroma of a wet diaper started to emerge.

Lionel's nose wrinkled as he caught the scent. "Come here, little girl," he said, moving across the room. "Smells like we need to take a little trip to the restroom for a diaper change."

Clark almost--*almost*--wanted to growl at Lionel. He didn't, because he was her father. But if Lionel had been anyone else? Growling would have ensued. As if was, he was reluctant to give her up as Lionel picked her up, and watched her carefully.

Lionel didn't miss it. "Clark, would you like to change her?" he asked softly.

He shook his head, eyes wide. "Don't know how. You can. I... should go, Lex is almost done, and we're... going to... something. I'll... yeah." he got up to his feet and opened the library door again.

He paused before slipping out. "Read her Little Women."

"Clark, wait," Lionel called out after him. "If you'd like to learn, I can show you how, so that you can do it the next time," he said. "Lex can wait."

Clark shifted from one foot to the other. "I..." Shouldn't. Couldn't. Babies were in danger around him. "Okay."

"Good." Lionel lifted Aurora up carefully against his shoulder. "We're just going across the hall; there's been a specially-painted room set up for her changing and bathing." Lionel used his elbow to flick on the light, showing the forest painted on the walls, with colorful little birds peeking out of the leaves here and there. "Look under the table, and hand me one of the clean diapers."

Clark nodded and cleared his throat as he opened the little cabinet doors and saw the mountain of pampers and diaper wipes, and set them beside the babies hip as Lionel set her down on the changing table. "She's so little. How do you do it and not hurt her?"

"Experience," Lionel said. "You learn as you go along how tightly or how loosely to close the sides, you learn when to--" Lionel paused as he closed the diaper back over Aurora's lower body, and caught the stream of urine that would have otherwise soaked his pants leg and shoes. "--catch the little accidents. But the key, Clark, is to always be very gentle at first. If you do something that Aurora doesn't like, she'll let you know."

Clark laughed out loud when Aurora let lose the pee, eyes dancing as he looked from her face to Lionel's. "Dominic told me she tries to get you every time you change her. It's from the air, though--the cold air makes her want to pee."

"Yes, yes, she does, and I am becoming quite adept at avoiding an extra shower," he said dryly, pulling off the used diaper and pulling one of the baby wipes out of the plastic canister and cleaning her quickly, before she could have another accident.

Clark watched him change her, learning from seeing, and keeping her fingers occupied by letting her chew on his thumb. "You're good at this, Lionel."

"I had two children, Clark," Lionel said softly. "I've had quite a bit of practice."

"True," Clark answered, and squeezed the man's shoulder with his free hand. "Hey listen, now that I've got you alone for a second. What kind of tuxedo do I need to get for the Benefit? Lex keeps trying to put me in cummerbund and the whole thing. I'm wondering if he just thinks I look sexy in it."

Lionel's hands didn't stop working, gently drying Aurora's bottom off, lightly powdering, and diapering. "You need the entire package, Clark. Bow tie, cummerbund, cufflinks, and a proper tuxedo, not a dinner jacket."

Clark slapped his forehead, and peeked between his fingers as Aurora gave him a gummy smile around his thumb. "Yeah, *you* think this is funny. Have you ever seen a six and a half foot man in a penguin suit?"

Aurora just gurgled happily, swinging her chubby fists around and grinning up at the person making faces at her.

"It is not all that bad, Clark," Lionel said, closing the little yellow jumper around the diaper, then gently tickling her belly as he picked her back up, kissed her forehead, and cradled her gently in his arms as he offered her to Clark.

Clark sighed and paused only briefly before taking the baby in his arms. He cradled the tiny bundle close, making a face at all the satin and lace she was surrounded in, but knew better than to say such a thin to Lionel. "What will you be auctioning?"

"Some of Lillian's dresses," Lionel said. "Dominic brought them to my attention, and as they're doing nothing but gathering dust in one of the unused wings, I thought that they might do better to be auctioned off to benefit the cause bearing her name."

"Oh, wow. I didn't even know you guys still had those." He carefully didn't mention the fact that he'd seen other, much more incriminating stuff in the attic. At that, his eyes twinkled and he looked upward. "How are you and Dominic, Lionel?"

"There's... quite a lot of things stowed in this house, Clark," Lionel said softly, opening the door and holding it so that Clark could precede him out. "The attic, I believe, is full of them, in fact." Then he smiled at Clark. "Dominic and I are doing quite well, thank you." Then the smile sobered, just a little. "How are you and my son? I'm glad to see that you've come out of your funk."

"Yeah...Sorry about that," Clark said, and if his hands weren't filled with tiny baby he would have rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I just had... I don't really know. Everything in my life has changed so much, and then suddenly it came to a stand still. I wasn't happy at all. Now I am, though."

"No, Clark," Lionel said, following him out and back to the nursery. "We all have times in our lives that we're not happy with how it is. You dealt with it far better than I did, when it was my time," Lionel mused softly. "I was just worried about you."

"Thanks," Clark smiled, and nudged him with his shoulder. "I'm glad you guys are okay. You and Dominic have had a rough way of things for a while, but it makes me feel better that...that you both realize how important you are to one another. And lets stay *away* from hospitals from now on, okay?"

Lionel warmed inside at the gentle nudge of Clark's shoulder. "You quite have my agreement, Clark. If we never see the inside of the hospital again, it shall be too soon."

He paused, and waited for a few beats for a catastrophe to happen.

Thankfully, it didn't.

Clark laughed out loud at Lionel's wary glance up and down the hall. "Dominic, you alive?" he called.

Dominic's head popped out of the library door. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your husband is paranoid. We had to make sure everything is still where it should be."

Dominic rolled his eyes and disappeared behind the door.

"IT'S HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!!!"

The shriek was ear-splitting, and so was the quite loud crash near the front door, and the hard thump of something hitting the floor that shouldn't echoed through the rest of the house.

Dominic popped his head out again, this time with his cane. "What the hell?" he said.

Yes, well. For his part, Clark carefully handed over Aurora to Lionel, making sure she was firmly in his arms, before turning and taking the steps two at a time. "Shayla?!"

Shayla was *twirling* like a dervish in the downstairs foyer, spinning in tight little circles as she whooped loudly in victory. "IT'S HEREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" she screamed again, grinning maniacally.

Aurora gave an unhappy scream, and started to sob, and Lionel quickly glared down the staircase and then disappeared into the library. "Do something with that banshee of a sister of yours, because if Clark doesn't shut her up, I might remove her vocal chords," he said, rubbing his crying daughter's back.

"Shayla!" Clark yelled over her shriek, as he came to a stop beside her. "Shut up already! You're making Aurora cry! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Shayla threw her arms around Clark and squealed. "IT'S HERE! THE FIRST PIECES!!!! THEY'RE MADE, THEY'RE HERE!!!" She kicked at the heavy box in the floor, which had been the thud that had echoed so loudly. "They're here, along with the molds!!!!"

"What are??"

"JEWELRY!!!!!!!"

"Jewl..." His eyes went wide and he yelled, "The stuff you made?!"

"YES!!!!" she said, still hanging off his neck and bringing her legs up to wrap around his waist. "The stuff I made!"

Dominic heard his sister screaming. He saw Clark hugging her. He was wincing, with a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue to get her to be *quiet*.

That was, until his step son fit his mouth over Dominic's little sister and kissed her.

He blacked out. He was sure he did. Because when he came back to himself, his hand was *throbbing*, Clark was holding his cheek with wide eyes, and Shayla looked close to tears.

Oh. Oh, that's right.

"GET YOUR BLOODY HANDS OFF MY SISTER!" He roared.

Shayla gave a happy squeal that was cut off by Clark's kiss, and she returned it as quickly and eagerly as she could.

At least, she did until a big wood-and-metal cane wedged in between them, and pried her off. She oofed softly as she hit the ground, and then her jaw dropped when Morgan punched Clark.

Hard.

"MORGAN SENATORI!" she shrieked, shoving her way between Clark and Morgan. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Dominic was seething, nostrils flared, and he saw *red*. "He kissed you. HE. KISSED. YOU. He does NOT kiss my baby sister," Dominic snarled, and used his cane to push Clark back a step.

Clark raised his hands. He wasn't angry--stunned, surely, but even then, he understood. Didn't like it. But understood. "It's okay, Dominic. She's part of our sha'nauch now."

"THE HELL SHE IS!"

"The hell I'm not!" she said hotly, yanking Morgan's cane out of his hand. "And if you poke him one more time, so help me, Morgan, brother or not, I'm takin' it upside your fuckin' head!" Shayla snarled back at her brother, just as angry and stubborn as he was.

"You...you are not having relations with HIM! He and LEX are… and you..." Dominic sputtered, face turning an alarming shade of red. "YOU ARE NOT!"

"Yes I am!" Shayla said, tossing the cane back down on the floor. "And too bad if you don't like it!"

"Dominic… would I ever purposely hurt Shayla?" Clark asked, and at Dominic's furious glare, held his hands up again. "She's more Chloe and Whitney's sha'nauch than mine. We chose her to be another mother to John. That's all."

Dominic was still glaring furiously, but some of his anger was leaking out as he looked from one to another. Didn't stop him from jabbing a finger at his sister, though. "I'm going to kill you."

"Bite. Me." Shayla said huffily. "You're sounding *just* like Graham, and it sucks." She turned around and wrapped her arms around Clark's waist. "Fuck off, Morgan. You don't *realize* how lucky I am to be a part of this."

"I'm sounding like Graham because I don't want you to--" end up like Chloe. "--ruin your life! You could get hurt, Shayla, and I won't have it!" he snapped, and glared at his step son.

Clark made a low warning sound down at Shayla to quiet her, and inclined his head to Dominic. "I understand, Dominic. But we won't hurt her, I swear to you."

Shayla completely ignored Clark's warning sound. "I'm not going to get hurt! How dare you think that Clark's going to ruin my life!! He and Lex helped me get my GED certificate, Lex is bankrolling my business for me, hell, they've taken care of *you* more times than they have taken care of me, and you should be fucking well ashamed of yourself, Morgan Dominic Senatori!"

Dominic glared at her furiously. "I'm not going to be ashamed of taking care of my own sister! You could have at least said something, Shayla, damn you!"

"Since when do *I* have to run my life's choices by *you?*" Shayla's hands went to her hips, and she glared at her brother.

"You don't. I just wish you would," Dominic snarled at her. "I know I've been sick for a long time, but dammit Shayla, I'm to be taking care of you. *Come* to me, *talk* to me. Don't..." he waved a hand at Clark. "Drop it in my bloody lap like this!"

"Take *care* of me? I'm *not* a snot-nosed little kid anymore!" she yelled. "I've been through therapy, I'm still going, in fact, I've been going to the dietician, I've been weeding out the things in my life that don't work for me, and you know what? I've done it *all by myself.* I don't *need* taking care of, and what I do need, Clark and Lex and Chloe and Whitney have been helping me with," she said defiantly.

Clark winced at the pain that lanced through Dominic's eyes, and took Shayla's shoulders. He turned her towards Lex's office, where his lover was standing in the doorway, placed the box from the floor in her arms, and gave her a nudge towards Lex. "Shayla? Go. Go sit with Lex."

Shayla glared mutinously at Clark, and staggered as he dropped the huge box in her arms. "If he hits you again, I'm hitting *him* back because I know you won't," she muttered, half pushing, half dragging, half carrying the box over to Lex's office.

Lex sighed and helped Shayla pick up the box, and carry it into his office. "Sit," he said, pushing her down on the leather sofa and handing her a pair of scissors. "Open the box, count everything, and I'll be back." He closed the door behind him, locked the door for good measure, and figured that he could intercept her in the passageways before she burst out on them. His hands eased into his pockets as he walked across the room, and came to stand beside Clark. "Anything I should know about?"

Clark smiled a little at his lover, shook his head, and looked down at the furious Dominic. "No, we're okay. You all right, Dominic?" He reached down for the mans cane, and took his elbow warmly.

"No, I'm not *bloody* all right," Dominic snapped, snatching his cane but letting Clark lead him to the chair by the door. His knees were weak. "I hate that I know nothing about my sisters life, I hate that I couldn't help her, and right at the moment, I hate you."

"Understandable. Want a drink?" At the glare, he smiled again. "I'll take that as a no."

"Mmm," Lex said, leaning against the doorframe on the other side, out of the reach of Dominic's cane. "I'm gathering he found out that Shayla's joined our family?"

"The hard way," Clark murmured.

"I've officially aged a hundred years. I'm turning into Lionel." Dominic muttered from where he'd dropped his face into his hands. He scraped his fingers back through his hair and looked up a the two of them. "You've already violated her, haven't you?" A pause. "Don't tell me. Never mind. I don't want to know." He stood up shakily, leaning on his cane.

"Which end?" Lex asked innocently, batting his lashes.

Dominic turned, and the blood rushed back to his face in fury.

And Clark slipped right between them. "Ignore him, Dominic. Come on, lets get you upstairs," he said, and took Dominic's elbow again, glaring over his shoulder at Lex before leading him up the steps.

"We haven't done anything to her mouth," Lex yelled. "Yet," he added unhelpfully, ducking the glare from his lover as he proceeded back to the office.

Clark had to catch Dominic around the waist before he launched himself at Lex, and dragged him into the other room.

 

-fin-

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