Lex stared at the blank video screen, alone in the lab with only his thoughts for company. If Clark knew that he was there, as Lex suspected, the younger man wasn't giving his knowledge away. It had been three weeks since the phone call to his parents and Clark had completely withdrawn from everything and everyone. Lex hadn't pushed, instead giving him room to sulk and be homesick all he wanted. Only, Clark wasn't really sulking. He was depressed, which was completely normal considering everything that had happened to him in the last couple of years.

"Oh! Mr. Luthor, sorry. Didn't know anyone was here."

Acknowledging the security guard with a negligent wave of his hand, Lex didn't look away from the monitor. He heard the door close and returned to his brooding. Hell. At least Clark had a reason for his silence and withdrawal. Lex was just sitting there, night after night, like some schoolgirl with a crush.

He winced at the accuracy of the metaphor and sighed, rubbing his eyes. He was getting nothing done and it wouldn't be long before his father knew that he'd lost control of Clark. Not that he'd really had it to begin with, but their tentative friendship had died a swift and sudden death with that one phone call.

"God. I'm such a fucking idiot," he muttered. "Not only am I going to get booted off the project, but I'm going to be a laughing stock because of it. I can see the headlines now. Junior Luthor Fired by Senior Luthor. And it'll make Perry White's decade, too. Fuck. Could my life get any worse?"

"It can always get worse, son."

Groaning to himself, Lex's head dropped forward so that his chin pressed hard into his breastbone for a few seconds. Then he drew up to his feet and faced his father. A wry smile surfaced as he agreed, "It can definitely always get worse. So. What brings you to the lab so late, Dad?"

"Oh I don't know," Lionel replied, looking around as he came further into the room. "Maybe because you fired half of the staff? Or, maybe because you've completely redirected the project without my permission? Or my personal favorite, how about the fact that you've been haunting the lab every night for the last two weeks and yet never once spoken with the boy."

Fuck! He'd thought that his father's camera only showed Clark's room. He should've known better. "It doesn't matter how I get results, as long as I do."

Shrugging, Lionel agreed, "Quite right, Lex. Unfortunately, that's not happening, is it?"

"We have plenty of material to work into the next decade!"

"Yes, but we need more!"

"How much more? What's the point in overburdening Clark with invasive and debilitating tests that serve no purpose, except to jerk off the people who think them up!?"

There was a hard silence as Lionel eyed his son for a long moment, both men going toe-to-toe in their own way. "You get the boy to come out of his shell, Lex, or you're off the project."

"Timetable?"

"End of the week."

Jaw clenched with frustration, Lex gave a tight nod of acknowledgment and Lionel left the lab, confident in his son's obedience. As soon as the door closed behind the older man, Lex grabbed the first thing at hand and threw it at the wall. The beaker shattered with an unsatisfying sound and Lex started prowling the lab, trying to outpace his anger.

"Fucking moron! Of course there's a camera here!" Lex snarled. "Where is your God damned brain, Luthor!?"

"Lex?"

Startled, having actually forgotten Clark's presence, Lex spun towards the monitor to see the young man looking anxiously from it. Running a hand across his bare head, Lex took a breath then forced what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Clark. I'm sorry, did I disturb you?"

"I ah, no. I just heard the crash and wanted to see that everything was okay. Are you okay?" Clark questioned, eyes wide with a mix of fear and anxiety.

But not, Lex realized, fear and anxiety for himself. It's for me. Clark's worried about me.

He would have laughed at the irony if it hadn't been so very bitter.

"I'm fine, Clark," Lex assured him, walking to the monitor and sitting down. "How are you?"

Embarrassed, Clark answered, "I'm okay. And I'm sorry about the, you know, sulking thing. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

Amazing. The boy should be studied for his generosity, if nothing else, Lex thought, a real smile surfacing. "I'll handle my father, Clark, don't worry about him. And you don't ever have to apologize, considering the circumstances."

Clark half-shrugged and said, "You're still on your Dad's shit list, though, right? And it's because of me. You've only tried to do right by me, as much as you're allowed to anyhow, and it isn't fair for me to take my bad temper out on you. You're the one that's going to suffer when I have a tantrum."

"Well, I'd hardly call that a tantrum," Lex replied.

Arching an eyebrow at him, Clark commented, "What would you call it? A three week study in monastic behavior?"

Lex laughed. "Good point."

They smiled at each other for a few seconds, the easy camaraderie again falling between them, then Clark asked, "Did you want to come in? Maybe shoot some pool?"

"If you want to, sure. But it's late, so if you want to get some sleep, we can have a game in the morning," Lex answered.

Clark shook his head. "No, I wasn't sleeping anyways."

Lex got up and walked to the door, typing in the security code and stepping through. Just before the disastrous call to the Kents, Lex had given Clark carte blanche on decorating his room and it was now very much a 17 year old boy's room. There were posters on the wall, mostly of astronomy scenes and sports teams. There were also a lot more books in a new, larger bookshelf along the same wall of the door. Many of them were school texts, since Lex had insisted that he begin his studies again, much to Clark's obvious dismay.

Walking to the pool table, he caught the cue that Clark tossed to him and said, "You break."

Clark moved into position and did so. The balls spun every which way, but none of them fell into a hole.

With a grin, Lex teased, "All that superhuman coordination and you still can't break well."

Snorting, Clark ordered, "Just play."

Lex took his time, hoping to encourage the other man to start talking as he usually did, but Clark was silent while he played. He missed the last ball on purpose and glared at the ball when it just barely missed the hole. Making a face at Clark's grin, Lex stepped back and said, "All yours."

Clark actually sunk a couple of the balls before missing, crowing happily at each one clunking softly into their hole.

Moving back into place, Lex was just about to shoot when Clark asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?" and he scratched instead. He glared at the Clark, who looked back at him innocently, and accused, "You did that on purpose."

Barely hiding a smile, Clark motioned for him to move. "You're the one who got distracted."

Lex stepped away from the table as he answered, "No, Clark. I do not have a boyfriend. Haven't ever had a boyfriend, just to put the record straight, so to speak."

Eyeing him curiously, Clark questioned, "Really?"

"Don't let the bald head fool you," Lex answered with a smirk. "I don't have boyfriends."

Which was true. He didn't have boyfriends like Clark was thinking, he had lovers. About 99% of his lovers were one-night stands, of which about 97% of them, he didn't even know their names.

"Huh," Clark muttered.

Lex grinned at the young man's obvious perplexity and ordered, "Shoot."

"I'm working on it!" Clark protested.

"You're all talk, Kent."

"Bite me."

Lex laughed and leaned against the wall. "So how's the trig coming?"

Groaning, Clark complained, "I'm trying to concentrate, here."

"My apologies," Lex replied, running a finger over his lips, to indicate he was shutting up.

Clark shot, but missed.

With a smirk, Lex moved forward again and took up position. Canting his head towards Clark, he asked, "Any other questions before I shoot?"

"No."

"You're quite sure?"

"Yes."

Still grinning a bit, Lex was just about to shoot when, again, Clark spoke up with, "Would you like a boyfriend?" and he scratched. Head hanging, not moving, Lex muttered, "So much for no more questions."

Straightening up, Lex faced Clark and stated, "No. I do not want a boyfriend. Clear enough?"

Which was also true. A full-time lover or husband who was completely enamored of him and willing to do anything for him, sure, absolutely. But Lex had neither the time nor the inclination for a boyfriend.

Clark grinned and answered, "Crystal."

"Good. Now, what's with the 20 questions?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing."

Clark shrugged. "Well, it's just that you know every single thing about me, and I don't know anything about you. I'm just curious."

Dear God. This was the opening that he'd been looking for. And didn't it just figure that he had his father to thank for it? Mentally banging his head against the wall for the very unwelcome irony, which seemed to be playing a disturbingly large role in his life of late, Lex replied, "There's not much to know really. Spoiled rich kid who gets what he wants. That's pretty much it."

"Well, the getting what you want part, I believe. But spoiled rich kid? No, that I have trouble swallowing," Clark replied.

Lex watched as Clark proceeded to sink ball after ball with incredible precision. There was no wasted movement, no extraneous flair; sometimes Clark barely moved in order to perform the shot. When he was finished and the black ball had been sunk, Clark met Lex's eyes and said, "Most people hide what and who they really are. Everyone has hidden depths."

Lips twisting wryly, Lex agreed, "Very true."

"I want to know you, Lex. I want to know everything about you, the real you. In return, I'll let you know everything about me. I'll give you my full cooperation."

Which, obviously, they hadn't been getting, despite all appearances to the contrary. Clark's innocent manner had suckered them all into believing that he had no means of duplicity. Or at least no will to use them. Nice to know that he'd been perceptive enough to at least suspect that they were being led down a merry path.

Lex was sharply reminded of a chameleon, the creature blending in with its surroundings. In Smallville had demanded a quiet, awkward farmer's son and that was exactly what Clark had presented to the town and his friends. Here in the lab, they'd demanded an alien with secrets to be revealed and that was what they'd gotten. Only, Clark had been far better at keeping his secrets, than they'd been at plumbing them.

Putting the cue down, Clark walked to him and put his hand on Lex's arm as he said softly, "That's my price. I'll tell and show you everything, but you have to do the same."

Which was the most frightening thing that Lex had faced since his mother's death. Exposing himself to anyone had been avoided at all costs since his father's rejection all those years ago. The wide, green-blue eyes were merciless as they stared back at him. Lex felt very much like he was at the edge of a cliff where the bottom was so far down, it couldn't even be seen. Unsteadily, he answered, "I, I have to think about it."

Clark nodded, as though expecting the answer, and stepped back. There was no trace of humor or irony when he answered, "I'll be here when you decide."

* * * *

He still couldn't believe that he'd done it. He'd actually dared Lex and the other man had backed down. Not that he expected it to last, because Clark was positive that Lex would take the offer. He was too invested in finding out how Clark ticked, not to take it. There were too many things about him that Lex's insatiable curiosity wanted to know, never mind the whole 'showing up Lionel' thing that would be irresistible.

The last few weeks had been a way of testing Lex and how far he was willing to go to keep his promise. Clark had deliberately antagonized the other man with his silence and lack of cooperation, but Lex had taken it in stride and given him the space that he'd demanded. It was during that time that Clark realized just how much he'd grown to rely on the other man, and yet still knew nothing about him.

This was going to be where he lived the rest of his life unless and until someone set him free. There was no getting around that fact. If he tried to escape, he would die from that green poison. But that didn't mean he was helpless. He had what they wanted. He had answers and he had cooperation. He had some power, even if it was only to make a demand to make his life just a tiny bit better.

Which had gotten him to thinking about what he wanted. Clark knew, just from his short acquaintance with Lex that the other man would give him anything he wanted except his freedom. He knew that money was no object to Lex. But what he really wanted, money couldn't buy. And maybe blackmail wasn't the best way to start a relationship, but Clark had no intention of spending his life alone.

Clark knew that the other man had been lying about not having boyfriends. Well, shaving the truth anyhow. Maybe Lex didn't do more than one-nighters, which would sure fit with Lex's personality, but he was definitely into guys. Clark couldn't even really say how he was so sure, but he was.

There was a lot to the enigmatic man studying him that others couldn't see, that Lex wouldn't let them see. Clark wanted to get as far into Lex as the other man wanted to get into him. It helped, a lot, that Lex was drop-dead gorgeous and already cared about him. He'd proven that by sitting outside Clark's room for the last couple of weeks.

It made sense to bind Lex to him in every way he possibly could. Not only did it help ensure his safety, as much as possible, but it would see to his comfort, too. Only, those weren't the reasons that he was doing this. Sometimes, Lex looked like the loneliest person Clark had ever seen, and never more than when he was surrounded by the scientists and watching them go about their work. It was like some kind of bubble of pain surrounded the young man and Clark wanted to break it down.

Sighing deeply, Clark's hand moved slowly down his body as he thought about Lex. He ignored the camera that he knew was taping, pushed the knowledge to the back of his mind so that he could just concentrate on the physical. He didn't know anything about what two guys did together, or even what a guy and a girl did together, aside from what he'd seen in the movies he and Pete had snuck into. Well, that and the boasting that went down in the locker room at the high school.

But he could imagine Lex doing to him what Clark like to do to himself. That was easy enough. Imagine Lex's hand wrapped around his cock, like this. Pulling at him, slow and easy at first, but then tightening and going harder and faster. Imagine Lex kissing him like he wanted to possess Clark, not just his secrets or powers.

Imagine Lex...imagine Lex sucking him, his mouth around Clark's cock as it pushed all the way down Lex's mouth and throat.

Groaning as heat surged through his body and tightened his balls, Clark spilled over his hand as he came harder than he ever had.

* * * *

It was again late at night when Lex finally returned to the lab after Clark's quid pro quo demand. He'd had a few things to do before knowing that it was safe to proceed. There was no way that his father was going to listen in if he was going to wind up baring his soul to Clark. Though nervous about it still, Lex was terrified for his father to find out anything that he would tell the younger man. The chance for incredible amounts of pain was just far, far too great for Lex to risk.

He moved to the monitor and turned it on. "Clark?"

Clark looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at the monitor. He tossed the book on the bed and sat up with, "Lex! Hi!"

The smile automatically prompted one of his own and Lex moved to the door, punching in the security code to open it. He held out the bag in his hand and offered, "I bring copious amounts of junk food."

Clark's eyes widened and he snatched the bag from Lex's hand, bringing it back to the bed and up-ending it. He moaned in pleasure and exclaimed, "Doritos! Coke! Chocolate chip cookies! And, hey, what's this?"

Lex flushed a little when Clark looked at him curiously, holding a small box. "I bought some of your mother's cookies for you."

Jaw dropping, Clark didn't speak for a few seconds, then recovered and asked, "How'd you do that?"

"She's got a little side business going," Lex explained. "I think she did it to help defray the costs of looking for you to start, but it took off pretty quickly. I was thinking about investing in it, if it's okay with you. A little bit of compensation for all of this."

Smiling wistfully, Clark said, "I doubt she'll let you, but you can try."

"Here, hand one over," Lex asked, sitting beside Clark. He obligingly held one out and Lex took it, taking a bite and finding it unexpectedly good. It was a lemon cookie, not too tart and not too sweet. "This is really good!"

"She's a great baker," Clark agreed, taking one, then putting the box away.

"You're not going to have more than that?"

"I want to make them last."

Gentle, Lex touched Clark's thigh and said, "I'll get you more, Clark. You can eat them all tonight if you want and I'll have another box here in the morning."

A brilliant smile lit Clark's face at that, and he happily opened the box again.

It took a few seconds for Lex to recover, but he managed it as quickly as he could. Clearing his throat, Lex said, "I have to go out of town the next couple of days on business, but I thought when I got back that we could, ah, get to know each other better."

"Sounds good to me," Clark agreed easily, placing no apparent importance on the concession.

Lex arched an eyebrow at him and watched as Clark grinned through the cookie he'd just shoved into his mouth. Dry, he demanded, "You're going to make me work for this, aren't you?"

Instead of answering, Clark picked up a coke and took a long drink. When he was done, he sighed happily and exclaimed, "Sugar rush!"

Laughing, Lex shook his head indulgently. "Asked and answered. All right. I'll leave you to your sugar high and see you in a couple of days."

"You're leaving?" Clark asked, disappointed.

Lex nodded and got to his feet, explaining, "I have a lot to get done before my flight leaves in the morning. I put it all off so I could make this a Lionel-free zone from 11pm to 2am."

Clark's eyes widened. "You did? But, how?"

"Ever see the movie Speed?"

"Yeah."

"You know in the end where they make a recording and substitute it?"

"Sure."

Lex shrugged. "That's what I did. I taped you the night before last and set things up."

Freezing, Clark demanded, "You recorded me!?"

"I had to, Clark. I'm sure you don't want Lionel knowing what we talk about any more than I do," Lex soothed. "There was no other way. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you, but you had to act normal or it would've been no good."

Anger and embarrassment flushed Clark's face and he questioned, "So you ah, you saw me…you know…?"

Oh! Right. Lex hastily assured him, "I cut that part out, Clark. Personally. And I was the only one who dealt with the footage."

Relief skittered across Clark's face and he sighed deeply. "Good."

"Not that you've got anything to be ashamed of," Lex teased.

Clark groaned, apparently mortified, and flopped back on his bed amidst the junk food and pulled the pillow over his face.

Lex chuckled and said, "I'm going to go. If you're over the embarrassment factor in three days, we can have a good bull session when I get back."

Pushing aside the pillow, Clark leaned up on his elbows. "Thanks, Lex. For everything."

With an awkward shrug, hating it when Clark thanked him for any reason, Lex answered, "No trouble at all, Clark. I'll see you in a few days."

Clark got to his feet and walked over to him. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Always do, Clark," Lex replied, smiling briefly.

He hesitated, seeing something in Clark's face that he hadn't before, though he wasn't sure what, then left the room. As the door closed, Clark's eyes remained on Lex's. After the door closed, he pressed his hand to it and whispered, "Bye Clark. Take care of yourself."

* * * *

New York sucked.

Mostly because all of Lex's thoughts centered around Clark, even though several times he determined to concentrate on the business at hand. LexCorp was important to him and not something that he cared to put aside, or do badly with. Fortunately, Clark called him each night and they talked for a few hours. Lex complained about the stupidity of the people he was meeting with, and Clark complained about the stupidity of television. Lex bitched about the idiocy of the current tax laws, and Clark bitched about trig. They were great conversations and always brought Lex back to an even keel.

On the night before he was scheduled to return to Metropolis, with one more meeting in the morning before he did, Lex waited in vain for a call from Clark. When midnight came and went with no word, Lex broke down and called Clark. The phone rang and rang, but even before he hung up, Lex was grabbing his coat and heading for the door of his hotel room.

Once he hung up from Clark's number, he called Tara, but there was no answer there either. Fear and dread in equal parts settled at the base of his spine and he ordered the limo driver, "La Guardia, now."

* * * *

By the time he arrived in Metropolis, Lex had worked himself into a state of near-panic, though no one would know it to look at him. It was after three in the morning, he was exhausted, hungry, and ready to fly off the handle. He jogged from the limo to LuthorCorp, ignoring the hail from the security guard as he rushed to the elevator that would bring him down to the lab. It was the longest elevator ride of his life.

Once off, he ran to the lab flat out, skidding to a halt at the door and impatiently typing in the security code. He ran straight to the door and typed in the security code there as well. When the door slid open to reveal Clark sleeping soundly in his bed, Lex stopped short, heart pounding and chest heaving from the unfounded fears that had been gripping him for hours now.

Clark stirred on the bed and Lex drifted closer, slowly bringing his breathing under control as he did. In the near darkness, lying innocently and sleeping peacefully, Clark was the most beautiful thing Lex had ever seen. He crouched down and brushed his knuckles over the air above Clark's cheek, freezing when Clark sighed deeply in his sleep and murmured, "Lex."

Backing away from the bed, Lex retreated from the room and shut the door. Standing in the middle of the deserted lab, Lex knew that he was well and truly fucked. He understood that this had been a test of his father's and that he'd failed. Lionel had interfered with his phone to see what Lex would do. It had shown them both exactly how much Lex cared for Clark, and that was something that Lionel would use to his advantage every chance he got.

Running a shaky hand over his head, Lex wearily left the lab.