“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone type that fast in my life.”

The quiet, intrigued comment instantly stopped Clark’s fingers and he turned to look at the man who’d said it. Clark’s heart pounded as he caught sight of the familiar bald head and incredible blue eyes. “Uh, I’m, I’m just, I get really, ah, focused, sometimes.”

“So I see,” Lex Luthor agreed, stepping closer. He held out his hand and continued, “Lex Luthor.”

Clark stared at the outstretched hand for a long moment, unable to make himself take it for fear of giving himself away.

A slender, almost nonexistent eyebrow rose and Lex observed, “I don’t bite…unless you ask really nicely.”

Eyes widening, Clark stood hastily and took the other man’s hand with, “Sorry. You just, uh, startled me. I mean, I know who you are, Mr. Luthor, I didn’t expect…never mind.”

The hand was soft and warm, and far stronger than Clark had expected. It disconcerted him even further.

Frowning slightly, Lex questioned, “Didn’t expect what? And you are?”

The heat of embarrassment flooded Clark’s face and he answered, “Oh God, I’m sorry, Mr. Luthor, I’m Clark Kent. You can fire me properly now.”

A smile broke over Lex’s face and he replied, “Now why would I want to do that? And you didn’t answer my question. What didn’t you expect?”

“You to, uh, I mean, I’m just a data entry operator. You didn’t need to introduce yourself,” Clark mumbled, staring at the floor.

“Do I intimidate you, Clark?”

Yes, but not for the reasons you think, Clark thought almost desperately. Aloud, he replied, “No, Sir.”

“Then you can stop looking at the carpet. It’s not a very interesting sight.”

Clark hesitantly lifted his eyes and met the curious, but unoffended, blue gaze. It was as if the other was waiting to see what Clark would do next. Unfortunately, finally being face to face with Lex Luthor had driven Clark straight back into Bumpkin #1 and he couldn’t think of a thing to say, except, “If you aren’t going to fire me then I, um, I should get back to work, Mr. Luthor. I have a lot to do tonight.”

The eyebrow rose again, but the smile returned, so Clark didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared about what might happen next..

“All right. I’ll see you around, Clark.”

“Um, okay,” Clark agreed.

It was with a mix of relief and regret that Clark sat back down and listened to the light footsteps head towards the elevator. What had brought him to Lex’s attention? Pure coincidence? Had he seen Clark some day and remembered that day on the riverbank when Clark had saved his life? Sure, Clark had pulled a disappearing act immediately after, but they had exchanged some words before he’d taken off.

Lex Luthor had only been in Smallville for two days after that. Whatever argument he’d had with his father had apparently been resolved, probably thanks to his near death experience. Rumor had it that the older Luthor had recalled his son to Metropolis that very day, but that Lex had stuck around looking for his rescuer.

When Clark had told his father what had happened that day, the older man had gone ballistic and ordered Clark to stay at the farm. He’d also ordered Clark not to go anywhere near Lex Luthor, that the man was nothing but trouble, just like his father. Something that Clark just hadn’t been able to reconcile with the man he’d saved, but he’d taken his father’s word for it and not ventured off the farm until after Lex was gone.

And since then, Clark had been stalking Lex Luthor through the news and the internet, being irresistibly drawn him to the other man, like a moth to a flame. He’d finished high school and moved to Metropolis against his parents’ wishes. They’d wanted him to go to college, but all Clark wanted was to find Lex and…

Well, that was where things got really fuzzy.

On the one hand, Clark knew exactly what he wanted. And that made him just like all those other people who used the young heir to the Luthor fortune. He wanted to be with Lex, in every sense of the word, though of course the money didn’t mean anything to him. He just wanted to be as close to that body and the man inside it as humanly possible.

On the other hand, he was also completely and utterly in love with Lex, which made him different from the people who used Lex. At least, he hoped it did. Clark had been in love before, with Lana, but it wasn’t anything like what he felt for Lex. He had uprooted himself and taken a job at Luthor Corp just for the occasional glimpse that he could get of the other man.

What he really wanted was to be loved in return by Lex, but Clark knew that was impossible. The other man was the VP of Luthor Corp and, despite his father’s shady deals, had somehow risen above that and ran his departments legitimately. There were rumors that he was going to step out of his father’s shadow and start his own company, but those rumors had been around for years.

Lex Luthor was, quite simply, out of Clark’s league and there was nothing he could do about it. The meeting with the object of his love had proved that. Clark sighed as he realized just how big he’d blown it. There was no way possible that Lex would even remember him two hours from now. He’d go on his way, have dinner with some gorgeous woman, or man depending on his mood, and never think of Clark again.

Clark gently banged his head against the desk a few times, careful not to dent the desk, then got back to work.

* * * *

When Lex had first seen Clark two weeks before, he’d stopped short in shock so fast that his bodyguard had walked right into him. It had been an insanely early hour and he was up only for a meeting that was taking place in China.

The young man had been on the street outside Luthor Corp, talking to a young blond woman and laughing at something she was saying, rather insistently from the wild hand gestures. But Clark had gripped the woman’s shoulders and gently shaken her before pulling her in for a hug. She’d slapped him on the ass, grinning as she’d done so, and then returned the hug.

He hadn’t, of course, known who Clark was that day. He’d simply taken one look at Clark and flashed back to that day five years ago on the riverbank. The warm lips on his, the strong hand pushing against his chest, the return to life and seeing those incredible eyes set in an honest, frightened face.

Clark had disappeared just before the firemen had shown up. He’d made sure that Lex was all right, then made some excuse about having to get back to his parents and disappeared. Lex had waited two days in Smallville, despite his father’s strident demands to return immediately to Metropolis. He’d been positive that the young man would show up for a reward, once he discovered who it was that he’d rescued.

And yet, Clark had never shown up. Against all belief and rationality and logic, the young man, a boy then, had stayed hidden from sight, at least Lex’s. There had been no demand for a reward, not even a subtle one. He’d never heard from Clark again. And even though he’d asked around, being a Luthor automatically made him persona non grata in Smallville and no one had cooperated in the slightest.

It had set Lex’s entire raison d’être on its ass.

Someone had gone out of their way to help him. Someone that he’d been positive he’d hit and hurt with his car. That same someone had done so purely out of the goodness of his heart, with no desire for reward. That, Lex could put up to the heat of the moment, but the fact that Clark hadn’t ever come around afterwards…

Lex hadn’t gone back to Metropolis when he left Smallville. He’d gone to his mother’s grave and sat there, staring at it, for hours. He knew that the man he was turning into wasn’t anything like what she’d wanted. He’d been playing his father’s game too long not to know it. Lex had embraced the darkness, the fast life, the drugs and sex. He’d wanted it all, and he’d wanted it yesterday.

But this one, unselfish act changed all of that.

“Find out who that is and everything about him,” Lex had ordered his bodyguard, pointing at Clark. “Don’t alert anyone about this.”

Thomas had nodded and, two days later, delivered a file that wasn’t even a quarter inch thick. Clark Kent. Father, Jonathan, Mother, Martha. Raised on a fairly successful farm, though successful by whose standards, Lex couldn’t imagine. Adopted through a Luthor Corp agency, which was interesting, but unimportant.

Clark had finished high school two years ago and moved to Metropolis pretty much with nothing but the clothes on his back and an ancient car. He’d gotten a job at Luthor Corp almost immediately, the same job that he still had. So even though Clark knew him, and had to know that Lex would give him whatever job he wanted in thanks for saving his life, Clark was still doing grunt work for shit pay.

Lex’s world was again rocked.

He’d discovered by pulling Clark’s personnel file that the young man never took a day off, never called in sick, and worked late two or three times a week, depending on how heavily the department was slammed with work. Clark was, to all visible signs, a devoted Luthor Corp employee, though why, no one seemed to know.

Clark was well liked by his peers and his supervisor. He had been offered advancement, and turned it down, claiming extreme shyness and inability to function properly at a higher level of responsibility. After the first two promotions offered, there were no more chances. Lex knew that Clark had to be extremely well liked by his supervisor to be given more than one chance, because most people at Luthor Corp didn’t even get that.

Given what Lex had seen tonight, he was sure that Clark had done the right thing. The younger man had barely been able to string a sentence together and, even though he’d said he wasn’t intimidated, Lex had been able to see through that. Clark had practically been terrified of him, though Lex couldn’t understand why. There was no possible way that Clark would be able to work well anywhere but where he was, or at least somewhere else without pressure, that much was obvious.

Was it possible that Clark didn’t know who he’d rescued that day? Lex frowned at the idea and looked out the large window of his office, honestly turning the question over in his mind. No, Lex was in the news too often for that to be the case. It wasn’t as if he’d changed his appearance since then, either.

No, Clark was just genuinely shy and had been far too flustered at Lex’s attention to even speak coherently.

Of course, just looking at him was enough for Lex. The boy, man now, had filled his dreams and fantasies for five years and finally having him nearby, in person, gave him a shiver that he hadn’t felt since his first kiss. The loose flannel hid the impressive physique that was etched in Lex’s mind, that he knew was still there. The water-logged t-shirt hadn’t left anything to the imagination, that day in Smallville, and it was a sight that would never go away.

Lex had worked hard all this time to be the man who could deserve the respect and even admiration of the boy who’d rescued him. In his mind, Lex had thought that his rescuer was watching him, tracking him in the news to see if Lex had been worthy of bringing him back to life. It was probably just a ridiculous fantasy, like the rest, but it lingered.

The man who worked in his father’s company was still a shy farm-boy, who was doing his best to make a living. Lex would have to proceed very carefully if he didn’t want to scare him off to run straight back to Smallville.

* * * *

Clark heard the rustle of people, but was too involved in a bitch of a claims case to notice that it was drawing nearer. It wasn’t until things were too loud for him not to notice that he looked up. His jaw dropped as he saw a deliveryman rolling a 2004 Ducati towards him, and then stop at his desk.

“Mr. Clark Kent?” the man asked.

Standing, dazed, Clark’s eyes roamed over the beautiful machine not a foot away and stammered, “Uh, Y-yes?”

“Sign here please, this is for you.”

Clark really didn’t think that his jaw could drop any further, but it did. He moved forward and hesitantly put his hands on the seat. It was gorgeous. One of the fastest, most expensive motorcycles in the world, and it was his, if he signed on the dotted line.

Aside from the fact that he’d never be able to afford the insurance and it would get stolen before he could even get the insurance he couldn’t afford, Clark knew that he couldn’t accept it. Lex had recognized him the other night. He’d recognized Clark despite the five years and was trying to reward him for something that didn’t need a reward.

Groaning, Clark shook his head and turned towards the deliveryman with, “I’m sorry, I can’t accept it.”

The man’s jaw dropped and he exclaimed, “Are you kidding?”

“I wish I was,” Clark replied, his hand rubbing the bike possessively, covetously. “You’ll have to take it back.”

Muttering imprecations of stupidity under his breath, which Clark heard as clearly as if they’d been said plainly, the man wrote something on his clipboard and turned the bike around. Clark stared after it wistfully, then groaned and banged his head against the wall.

Someone clapped him on the back sympathetically and he looked over to see Martin looking at him. “That had to hurt, giving it up.”

Clark sighed and agreed, “Excruciating. It was beautiful.”

“So Clark. You didn’t mention you were dating a rich man with excellent taste these days,” Martin teased.

Giving his boss the evil eye, Clark replied, “I’m not. It’s just a…a misunderstanding. One that I need to clear up, unfortunately.”

Martin frowned. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Um, is there any way you can get me an appointment with Lex Luthor?”

This time, it was Martin’s jaw that dropped.

* * * *

A couple of hours later, standing in front of the double doors to Lex’s office, Clark still had no idea what he was going to say. Thanks for the bike, sorry I had to give it back? How lame could he be?

Taking a breath, Clark pushed the doors open and looked hesitantly around the ornate office. It was mild in comparison to the elder Luthor’s Romanesque office, but still pretty wild. Heart thudding heavy in his chest, Clark wiped his damp palms on his pants and looked for Lex, but didn’t see him.

“The bike was over the top, wasn’t it?”

Looking over at the desk, where Lex was kneeling and apparently searching for something, Clark couldn’t answer at first. “Um, no. I mean, it was great. I, I uh, I loved it. I’m s-sorry I had to return. It.”

Really damn lame.

“Can you help me? I seem to have lost, misplaced an important coin.”

Clark crossed over to the desk and asked, “What’s it look like?”

Sitting back on his heels, Lex made a circle with his fingers. “About that big, the face is faded and it’s silver. It’s somewhere in this office, I know that, but I don’t know where.”

Clark nodded and started looking around, methodically moving from end to end of the room as he searched. He found the coin on its side against the wall, easy to miss in the thick carpeting. Crouching down, he picked it up and called, “Found it!”

Standing, he turned to find Lex striding over to him and held the coin out. The fingers were warm against his as the coin was transferred, and Clark bit back a wistful sigh for more contact.

“Thank you,” Lex replied, his eyes roaming the coin before slipping it into his pocket. “It has sentimental value, more than anything else.”

“Those are the irreplaceable things,” Clark agreed, smiling hesitantly.

Lex returned the smile and said, “So the bike was too much. What would you accept?”

Awkward, Clark answered, “N-nothing. Um, I mean, I didn’t d-do it for a, you know, um, reward or anything. Anyone would have saved you, it was the right thing to do.”

“But not everyone would have remained a mystery. Not everyone would turn down the thanks of a Luthor,” Lex pointed out, heading back to the desk. “Both Luthors, given my father’s gratefulness to have me among the living, despite my thoughts at the time.”

Clark trailed after him and said, “I wanted to make sure you were really okay, but, well, my Dad grounded me. I didn’t leave the farm for a week, except for school. But my friend told me you were fine, and of course, it, ah, it would’ve been in the news if you weren’t.”

Lex stopped short, then turned an incredulous gaze on him and demanded, “You were grounded? For saving my life?”

Flushing, Clark explained, “For putting both our lives at risk in the first place. I shouldn’t have been standing there, daydreaming. It’s my fault that you went over the bridge, so you see, you don’t have to reward me. There’s nothing to reward. If, if anything, I’d think you have a right to be really angry, considering how your car was messed up.”

“It was not your fault, Clark,” Lex stated tightly. “You have no reason to think that, and I certainly can’t imagine where your father got the idea that it was!”

Clark shrugged, his stomach clenching sickly as he realized that the other man was angry with him for some reason. Putting his hands in his pockets, Clark hunched down a little more and said, “I’m, uh, I should go. I just wanted to say, you know, thanks. And well, it’s a little late, but I’m really, really glad that you’re okay.”

“No, Clark, wait. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go off like that,” Lex replied, reaching for him.

Clark automatically stepped back, but didn’t realize that he was too close to the coffee table and tripped over it, falling into the delicate glass furniture. He hit the floor hard and groaned, wondering how on earth he could possibly manage to look like more of a dork. Now he’d gone and broken something that probably cost more than his weekly salary.

“Clark!” Lex exclaimed, rushing over to him.

Clark hesitated, wondering how he could get out of this and explain how he hadn’t been cut.

“Don’t move, you’ll cut yourself,” Lex ordered. The other man stepped between Clark’s legs and leaned over, holding down his hands. “Take my hands, and I’ll lift you straight up.”

“I’m too heavy,” Clark protested.

“Clark, just do it.”

Clark carefully reached up and clasped the hands above him.

“Okay. On three. One, two, three!”

Clark pushed up with his legs as Lex yanked up on his arms. The momentum was enough to lift him up and out of the literal hole that he’d fallen into and straight into Lex’s arms with enough force to send them staggering a few feet. Clark instantly released the hands to grab onto Lex’s waist for balance, while Lex’s hand held his stomach to steady him.

This close to the other man, Clark’s mouth went dry and his tongue went completely useless as he stared into the brilliant, deep blue eyes.

“Mr. Luthor? Is everything all right?”

Stepping back casually, Lex turned towards the secretary. “Everything’s fine. Mr. Kent had a minor accident, but I managed to get him free without injury. Would you send someone in to clean this up, please?”

She nodded and left the office.

Wishing the floor would open and he could just fall through it, Clark apologized miserably, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Luthor. You can dock my pay for the damages.”

That seemed to surprise Lex and he replied, “No, it’s fine. My fault for startling you like I did. Don’t worry about it, I never liked that table anyhow.”

It was a lie to make him feel better, Clark knew, but it had the opposite effect. Lowering his head, Clark said, “Well, I’m sorry. I should, um, I should go. I need to go. I’ll…Good night.”

Clark wasn’t surprised when the other man didn’t call after him. He’d be lucky to still have a job in the morning.

* * * *

Well. So much for not scaring Clark away.

Lex sighed as the door closed after the young man and stared at the wreckage on his rug. He picked up a thumb-sized sliver and pocketed it, not even sure why he did. The plan to get Clark to his office to talk had worked well enough. Lex had known that Clark wouldn’t accept the Ducati, as much as he’d known that it would appeal to the other. The idea had been to get Clark to his office and try and disarm him enough to get a conversation going.

“His father grounded him!?” Lex exclaimed aloud, his mind going back to the conversation. The disbelief was still running through him at the revelation. That Clark had been punished for saving his life had never once occurred to him. He couldn’t help be angry at the thought and suddenly realized that that had been when things had started going downhill.

Lex groaned as the knowledge hit him that Clark had thought him angry at Clark.

“Sir? Are you all right?”

Coming back to attention, Lex nodded at Josie and replied, “Fine, thank you. Just kicking myself.”

She smiled and teased, “Didn’t quite go as expected?”

“Not at all,” Lex sighed. “And now I have no idea what to do.”

“Did you try flowers?”

Lex frowned and checked to see if the other woman was joking, but she wasn’t. “Flowers?”

“It’s a traditional form of wooing,” she confirmed with a smile.

“For women.”

“For anyone. It really is the thought behind it that counts. You don’t have to get him roses, just something that you think he’ll appreciate. Something that shows you have an interest in him. Not that the bike wasn’t nice, but I bet he couldn’t afford the insurance.”

Lex snorted at the statement, then realized that she was right. On what Clark was paid, even if he’d put aside money for a rainy day, the young man wouldn’t have been able to afford the insurance. He groaned again and Josie laughed.

“Keep it simple,” she suggested, before leaving.

Keep it simple. Sure. He could do that.

* * * *

“And you turned it down!?” Chloe exclaimed, reaching over the diner table to whack Clark on the back of the head.

Clark barely ducked, exclaiming, “Hey!”

“Clark, you know how much those things are worth? You could’ve sold it and had a lot of money to give to your parents! Or to use for night school. Both, probably,” Chloe pointed out.

Something that he honestly hadn’t ever considered. Trust Chloe to instantly go for the money of the matter. He sighed. “It doesn’t matter. And anyhow, I tripped and fell into his table and broke it to pieces. He’s sure as hell never going to want anything to do with me again.”

She winced.

“Yeah,” Clark agreed. “So I’ll show up for work tomorrow, but if I have a job, I’ll be pretty surprised.”

“He wouldn’t fire you, Clark, he’s not like his father, after all,” Chloe assured him. “Lionel Luthor is going to go down hard one of these days, but unlike some of his shadowy VPs, Lex Luthor has nothing to worry about and everyone knows it. He’s as clean as a whistle.”

Clark knew that she was right, but it didn’t help the embarrassment. He groaned and put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe that I tripped over my own feet.”

Laughing, Chloe reminded, “You did the same thing with Lana for years. If you even got within five feet of her, you’d fall down.”

“Yeah, but that was different. She had…” Clark trailed off, unable to talk about the necklace. “I was, you know, a lot younger then.”

Still grinning broadly, Chloe agreed, “Yes. And now that you’re older and wiser, you can get within two feet of someone you’re obsessed with before falling over your own feet. It’s an improvement, at least.”

“I am not obsessed.”

“Uh huh. Right.”

“Chloe, can we please change the subject?” Clark begged plaintively.

Eyes rolling, Chloe said, “Sure. How about my news that I finally got in at the Daily Planet!”

“That’s awesome!” Clark exclaimed, reaching across the table to grip her arm. “I’m so happy for you!”

Chloe smirked and said, “You are talking to one of the youngest Metro news reporters on staff at the Planet.”

Smiling broadly, Clark informed her, “This deserves me treating you to dessert.”

She snickered and said, “If you treated me to the entire meal, I’d have to check for fever.”

Embarrassed at the words, even though Chloe wasn’t deliberately trying to hurt him, Clark’s eyes lowered and he picked up his napkin.

“Oh Clark, I’m sorry. My mouth just gets away from me, you know that,” Chloe apologized. “I know you’re on a really tight budget, what with sending every spare penny back to your folks for the farm. What you need, is a better paying job! You’re too good for what you’re doing there.”

Shaking his head, Clark said, “It’s too late now. I mean, I’ve been at this job for two years and that’s all someone else will see. That I couldn’t get ahead.”

“Give me a few weeks on the job at the Planet and let me see what shakes loose,” Chloe promised. “I can vouch for you personally, so Perry will have to take a second look at you.”

He managed a smile, even though he knew that there was no way anything would happen. He wasn’t cut out for that kind of career, unfortunately. He just didn’t want to take chances that his secret would be discovered. He couldn’t take chances, because his parents relied on him. He didn’t make a lot, but it helped the farm enough to keep them floating after the last two years’ drought.

“In any case, Pete’s coming into town this week, so you want to hang out with us?” Chloe continued brightly.

Clark hesitated, wanting to say yes, but not sure if he should. Pete had never quite been able to forgive him for not telling him that Clark was an alien. He’d kept Clark’s secret, but they weren’t friends anymore, they were now both friends of Chloe who sometimes hung out when she wanted them both around. Finally, he shook his head and answered, “I don’t think so, Chlo. But thanks. Tell Pete I said hi.”

She sighed. “I wish you two would bury whatever hatchet is between you. I hate having my best friend and my boyfriend at odds like this.”

“It’s up to him, Chloe,” Clark replied. “He knows where I am.”

“Stubborn, idiotic, men!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hands.

Forcing a grin, Clark teased, “And you love us.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled, but there was a sparkle in her eyes as she said it.

* * * *

Lex frowned and glanced over at Thomas. “I thought from the file you brought me that the Kent farm was prosperous.”

“It was, Sir. There’s been a drought the last two years and they’ve had to mortgage pretty heavily. One more year like that, without assistance, and they’ll go under. Apparently, young Mr. Kent has been assisting his parents by sending most of his finances to them.”

“I bet that went over well with his father,” Lex muttered, knowing how his own father would react to a hand-out from him.

Thomas shrugged. “Both Kents seem to be on excellent terms, Mr. Luthor.”

Sitting back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at the file, Lex dismissed, “Thanks, Thomas.”

The bodyguard nodded and left the office.

It had been about a week since Clark’s visit to his office and Lex was giving the younger man space so that he wouldn’t think that Lex was stalking him.

Even though he was.

Half-smiling at the thought, Lex pondered the mystery of Clark Kent. There was no reason for him to be working at Luthor Corp. His intelligence was off the charts and he had a real talent for writing, according to his high school teachers. He hadn’t seemed particularly shy in school, though a little more so than most, sticking with his own small circle, as most kids did. They’d all expected him to become a reporter for the Planet after going to college, but instead, he’d started working right away.

He had the whimsical thought that Clark had taken a job at Luthor Corp to be close to him, but dismissed it right away. Considering Clark’s reaction to him, it was highly unlikely, no matter how appealing.

How could he take some of the pressure off of Clark financially, when Lex knew without being told that no Kent would accept a hand-out from outside the family? And how could he get close to Clark without the other man being so…afraid? He didn’t like to use that word in conjunction with someone he was romantically interested in, but it applied. For whatever reason, Clark was afraid of him.

Shaking the matter from his head, Lex stood and put his files in a briefcase, getting ready for a meeting across town with some potential investors for LexCorp, the company that he’d been putting together as slowly as possible, so as not to attract attention from his father. Lionel would be pissed when he found out, so Lex was holding that off for as long as possible.

It didn’t take long to get downstairs, though he was waylaid there by a number of reporters asking about his father’s latest scandal. He waded through the crowd with a lot of, “No comments!” and “Go ask him yourself!” and even with Thomas’ help, it took a few minutes to get out of the crowd to the car waiting at the curb. They turned from him the moment his father did actually arrive outside the building, on his way out for the night.

“Lex! Lex, get down!”

Lex had barely recognized Clark’s voice shouting at him when he heard a gunshot and a second later, had been knocked to the ground. With the wind knocked out of him, Lex’s vision darkened and he struggled to breathe. It was gone a few moments later and gentle hands turned him over, Clark’s anxious face the only thing swimming in his vision.

“Are you all right? Oh God, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Clark exclaimed, running his hands over Lex’s chest.

Before he could answer, security guards grabbed Clark and threw him to the pavement. Clark’s frantic gaze met his and Lex finally drew in a complete breath. A second later he roared, “Let him go! You morons! He’s the one that saved me!”

The guards hesitated, but Lex crawled over to Clark, glaring at them with enough force to make even the hardest among them blanch. Something he’d learned from his father. Clark groaned as he sat up and it was Lex’s turn to grip Clark and ask, “Are you all right?”

Running a shaking hand through his hair, Clark nodded, green eyes stormy and scared.

All of it had only taken a couple of minutes and now Lex saw both his father and the reporters descending in a mob. He heard Clark’s whimper of distress and instantly moved into action. Standing, he stood between Clark and the cameras, hiding him from sight, and tugged him to his feet, shoving him at the car with, “Get in!”

Clark opened the door and jumped inside. Lex was right behind him, shutting the door just as the cameras arrived. Panting with reaction to how close he’d come to getting killed, Lex looked over at Clark to find him huddled in the corner seat. Pushing his own emotions down to deal with later, if at all, Lex approached him cautiously, hands up in the open, as he said, “Clark? Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”

Swallowing heavily, Clark met his gaze and shook his head, arms over his chest. “No, no, I’m, I’m fine. Um, he didn’t get you, did he?”

Lex smiled broadly, thinking that it was typical of Clark to ignore his own distress to make sure that Lex was safe. Slowly reaching out, he rested his hand on Clark’s shoulder and answered, “You saved me. Again. I don’t think your father can ground you for this one.”

That prompted a soft smile from Clark and Lex knew that he’d kill to see it again.

“No, I uh, I guess not,” Clark agreed, looking away.

There was a single, sharp rap on the window and Lex knew that it was his father. He glanced at Clark and knew the other man was in no way possible prepared to deal with his father. Pushing the intercom button, Lex said, “Penthouse, please.”

“Yes, Mr. Luthor,” the driver agreed.

The engine started and they were underway before Clark could do more than protest, “No! I mean, I ah, you don’t have to, um, can I just go home?”

Lex settled back in the seat and said, “I doubt that you want your neighbors seeing you come home in this, right?”

Flushing, Clark mumbled, “You’re probably right.”

Lex cursed his too-ready mouth and apologized, “I didn’t mean that like it sounded, Clark. I just meant that I know you value your privacy.”

Obviously confused, Clark asked, “How do you know that? Or where I live, come to think of it.”

Caught. Damn it.

“I was curious, so I looked at your personnel file. I’m sorry, Clark, it was wrong of me, but I just wanted to know more about you. You can file a complaint, if you like.”

Frowning intensely, Clark stared at the floor and asked, “You were curious about me?”

“Yes,” Lex answered, hoping that this might be the ice-breaker he’d needed.

“Why?”

Lex hesitated, then decided that honest was, for the moment at least, the best policy. “Because I want to get to know you better. I think that we could be very good friends, maybe more. And because you changed my life.”

That got Clark’s attention. He looked over at Lex and repeated, “Changed your life?”

Nodding, Lex explained, “When you saved my life, I was well on the same path as my father. A bad, ugly one with nothing of substance in it. It made me take a long, hard look at myself when you didn’t come for a reward. The fact that someone would do something like that and never ask for anything in return…it was a foreign concept to me. I went to my mother’s grave for the first time in years and, well, I decided to change my life from that day forward.”

“But I explained that to you. My father grounded me,” Clark said, confusion showing in his green eyes.

Lex smiled and replied, “True, but I didn’t know that at the time. And really, if you’d been allowed to come see me, would you have accepted a financial reward?”

Clark looked away. “I don’t know. I don’t think I would, but I was a kid, so I might have.”

“I doubt it,” Lex said confidently. “I think you might have been a little overwhelmed at first, but once reality set in, you’d have returned whatever I gave you. I wonder, sometimes, how my life would be different if you’d stuck around that day.”

“Me too.”

The words were barely there, but Lex heard them. And he heard the wistfulness in them. It set his heart to beating faster, but he quelled the excitement inside and asked, “What do you want to do about this?”

“What? About what?”

Almost gentle, Lex said, “Someone was bound to have seen you rescue me. And even if they didn’t, the guards know who you are and what you look like. It won’t be long before reporters are swarming all over you.”

Dismay skittered over Clark’s face and he exclaimed, “But that’s not fair! I didn’t even do anything!”

Lex’s first thought was, Is he for real!? No one can be this good!

Then he realized, looking at the panicked, almost trapped, expression, that Clark meant exactly what he said. That he really didn’t think he’d done anything extraordinary and shock of a different kind set in. Clark wasn’t a do-gooder and he wasn’t a man with a hero complex, he was an honest-to-God hero, who thought that putting his life on the line for a near-stranger was the norm.

Shaking the thoughts away, seeing that Clark was working himself into a nervous wreck, Lex assured him hastily, “I’ll make sure that none of the guards talks to anyone about who you are, if they haven’t already. Give me a few minutes.”

Clark nodded, but it was clear that he didn’t believe Lex as he sat back in the corner.

Pulling out his cell which was, thankfully, undamaged, Lex dialed his Chief of Security.

“Mr. Luthor! Thank God you’re all right! You shouldn’t have left the scene like that!” Mike exclaimed.

“Mike, I need you to make sure that none of the guards gives a description of my rescuer to anyone. Not even the cops,” Lex stated, his voice brooking tolerance of nothing except complete compliance.

Mike paused, then said, “That’s going to be very difficult. Everyone’s clamoring for a piece already.”

“Make it worth their while, but I don’t want anyone telling anything to those reporters, to the cops, and especially not to my father. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Mr. Luthor. I’ll call you when it’s taken care of.”

“Good. Thanks, Mike.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, Mr. Luthor. Thank whoever your guardian angel is for me.”

Lex smiled. “I will. Thanks, Mike.”

“You’re going to bribe them for me,” Clark whispered, looking sick.

“Clark…” Lex paused, then shifted closer to the other man again. “Look. If you want to protect your privacy, yes, I’ll have to make sure that the people involved have reason enough not to get tempted. And that would take money for some, though others will do it just because I ask. I know it makes you uncomfortable, but that’s what I need to do to protect you. And it’s not illegal, by the way, because you haven’t done anything wrong. You’ve done a very good deed by saving my life, at least I think so, and there’s no reason that they should know about you, if you don’t want them to.”

But Clark was plainly unconvinced. He sighed and said, “I don’t want you to go out of your way for me, Mr. Luthor. It’s not right for you to spend money like that on me.”

Wondering where Clark had gotten his inferiority complex, Lex again gripped his shoulder and stated firmly, “You’re worth it, Clark. You are. I barely know you, but I know that you’re very special.”

A blush suffused Clark’s face and Lex grinned to himself. Score one for flattery.

Clark was back to stammering as he asked, “You said, um, you said you wanted to maybe be, be, um, more than friends?”

So he had caught that, Lex had thought it had gone right over Clark’s head. “If you want to, yes. I think you’re gorgeous and sweet and that’s a rare combination.”

Lex wasn’t sure that Clark could get any redder after that compliment, and his internal grin got bigger.

Ducking his head, Clark muttered, “I’m not.”

“You are,” Lex countered. “But Clark, you have to know that if we do start seeing each other, life as you know it will be over. You’ll be in the limelight, with me. Those reporters that you’re so eager to avoid will be hounding your every step. They’ll dig into every aspect of your life, past and present, and even if we break up, you’ll always be a source for news.”

“Break up? We haven’t even started yet,” Clark protested, wounded.

Lex assured him, “I’m just giving you the harshest picture, Clark. I think…I think if we get together…well, you seem like a forever kind of guy, and trust doesn’t come lightly with me, either.”

Finally, the barest hint of a smile crossed Clark’s face and he replied, “I know. And um, I am, yeah. I’ve only had one relationship in my life and it still hurts sometimes when I think about it not working out.”

Cupping Clark’s face, Lex slid closer until their knees were touching. Clark’s eyes were about as wide as they could get and Lex wanted this more than he’d wanted anything in a very long time. He leaned in and gently put his lips to Clark’s, kissing him softly. Clark made a pleased noise and Lex deepened the kiss, licking over Clark’s mouth and pushing his tongue inside when it opened.

The kiss was slow and leisurely, a ‘getting-to-know-you’ kiss, and one of the best Lex had ever had. Clark kissed wholeheartedly, no big surprise there, and while it wasn’t polished or even very skilled, Lex could feel how much right it felt. When Clark pulled back, he protested, “We’re just getting started.”

Clark smiled, though there was a worried tint to his expression that put Lex back on guard.

“I just, I’d like this, a lot, but can we, um, wait until I get another job? I don’t want anyone thinking that I’ll be getting favoritism because I’m dating the boss’ son,” Clark teased, though the tone was only half-joking. “And you should know something about me. A few something’s, before you decide that you really want to get to know me.”

Lex nodded and sat back a little, giving Clark some space. “Okay. Shoot.”

Clark flinched.

Nearly smacking himself for his choice of words, Lex amended, “I mean, go ahead.”

“I moved to Metropolis because of you.”

No words could have surprised Lex more. “Excuse me?”

Nodding, Clark said in a rush, “I’ve been watching you, well, not watching, watching, but reading about you, ever since that day. I always just felt, like, like something was missing in my life and maybe it was you, that we were supposed to meet that day and be friends. Or, or more. So I’ve probably read every article about you in print and online. Never anything personal, though, I didn’t, you know, want to be a stalker or anything. Just…I just wanted to make sure you were still okay. That you were doing okay, you know?”

It was clear from the plaintive ending that Clark expected to be tossed out on his ear after his confession, but a thrill ran through Lex. “Is that everything?”

“Um, no. But, well, about you, yes, that’s everything. But…”

“But what?”

“I can’t tell you the rest just now. I promise, it’s got nothing to do with you, it’s about me. I mean, physically about me.”

Alarmed, Lex demanded, “Are you sick?”

“Oh no! No, I’m fine. Just…no, I’m fine,” Clark finished.

Eyeing the other, Lex thought about it for a long moment, then shrugged. If Clark didn’t trust him enough yet, that would come in time. As long as he wasn’t sick, Lex wasn’t sure he could survive losing someone else he loved to sickness, then they could work around everything else. Smiling, Lex said, “I can wait. As long as you aren’t sick, then I’m not worried.”

Hopeful, Clark asked, “Really?”

“Really.”

The brilliant smile on Clark’s face was enough reward for his patience. And when Clark trusted him, there wouldn’t be any secrets between them.