DISCLAIMER: Not mine (except the Arcs!). No money made. Just fun.
PAIRING: Lex x Clark
WARNING: Slash/AU
THANK YOU! Guys, this is the last chapter of Guardian Devil, and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have read and reviewed claps and blows kisses to you all. Any time I hit a snag or work became too much and I had little free time, I was still inspired to write because of all your enthusiasm. I hope you all enjoy this chapter (finally sex happens!). Please let me know what you think. It's my lifeblood!
SEQUEL: It looks like there is interest in a sequel, but I am going to be pursuing other pieces that have been simmering in my brain for almost a year while I wrote this piece before I turn to Guardian Devil 2: The Balance Wars.
Take care, hugs and kisses,
Raythe:)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: PART 1 – THE REBIRTH AND THE RESCUE
At 4:55 a.m., Lex Luthor died.
At 5:05 a.m., Lex Lucien was born.
Lex shot upright in the hospital bed. The sheet that had been pulled up over his face tumbled down onto his lap. He was still strapped down, but that wasn't a problem for him anymore. He tore the straps off the bed as easily as if he were ripping a piece of paper in half. He unwound the ruined bonds from his arms.
He glanced up only once when an orderly entered the room then he went back to freeing himself without a second thought. The ruddy-faced orderly did not look surprised to find Lex alive. He gave no gasp of shock nor did he run to get the doctors to report that a young man had come back from the dead. He was one of Lucien's, and now Lex's, followers. He had been instructed on what to do. So he calmly set a pair of stylish black trousers, a dark purple silk shirt, underwear, shoes, socks and a long black cashmere coat on the foot of Lex's bed. On top of those items he placed a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses. Lex was especially grateful for the last. The light from the fluorescents was hurting his new mercury-colored eyes.
Lex understood that a body indistinguishable from his own would be placed in the bed once he was away. Where the body came from and how it would get there, Lex did not know and part of him shied away from asking too many questions. Lucien was the Fallen, more dark than light, so Lex had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answers. But since his likes or dislikes in this matter wouldn't change anything, he shoved his discomfort to the side.
Lex hopped down from the bed and began to dress. The orderly kept his eyes fastened to the floor. He would not dare to look upon the son of his god unclothed. Not that Lex was even aware of his discretion. Lex's only thoughts were on getting to Clark. While in Lucien's dark embrace for those ten minutes, which seemed far longer to him, he had learned much. One thing he discovered was Clark's location.
As Lex shrugged on the black dress coat, he confirmed, "The way is clear for me to leave?"
He could already feel that the hallways to his destination at the back of the hospital were free of people and would remain so until he was away, but the powers he had been given from his rebirth as Lucien's son were still too new for him to totally trust them yet.
"Yes, master," the orderly intoned.
"Excellent. I shall tell my father how well you did. Thank you."
Lex rushed past the man without a second look, following the route that had been cleared for him. Lucien was waiting for him in a limousine at the back entrance to the hospital. As Lex burst out of the hospital's double doors and slid into the limo beside his father, he couldn't help but smile. He was finally on the road that Destiny had always promised him. Lucien smiled back at him, brushing the side of Lex's face with the back of one cool, pale hand. Lex leaned into the touch.
"My child, are you well?" Lucien asked as he stroked the creamy skin at Lex's temple.
"Father, very well. Better than I ever."
And that was almost an understatement of how good Lex felt. All of his senses were on overdrive. The feeling of the leather seats beneath his bare hands was addictive. The tiny imperfections in the upholstery felt fascinating to his fingertips. His sense of smell was overwhelmed by Lucien's peppery scent, the earthy smell of the limo's interior, even the rich aroma of the bottled liquors in their closed containers. Lex's sight was also hypersensitive. He couldn't stop looking at Lucien because of it. His new eyes could see the fire that made up his father as it reached for him, long licking tendrils of flame. Each fiery caress gave Lex a rush that no drug ever had.
"Good. I know you are anxious to get to your poor angel so we will not delay."
Lex nodded. His jaw clenched with worry for Clark. He didn't have much time to fret as they were at their destination within moments. Lucien had transported them and the vehicle effortlessly instantaneously over ten miles. Lex marveled at the power. Would he be able to such things in the future?
As Lex was opening the door to get out, he looked back at his father. Lucien's red hair seemed to glow like a sunset in the darkened interior of the limo. A shiver went up Lex's spine as he felt the connection he now had to this being. It was like a silver thread between them, a connection that was stronger than flesh and blood, greater than anything but the love he had for Clark. How different it felt from Lionel. His life had been so empty before Lucien and Clark. How had he borne it?
"Are you sure you do not wish me to accompany you?" Lucien asked as one of his long fingered hands covered Lex's on the door frame.
"I'm sure. I … I need to do this by myself." Lex partially shut the door then opened it again and leaned back inside. "I'm not keeping him, you know. I'm taking him to Bruce Wayne."
Lex didn't know why he said this. He didn't know why he was giving Clark up. He couldn't remember the reasoning, just the decision. Almost every part of him was screaming to stop being a fool and claim the boy as his own, as it was meant to be. But one small, but powerful part of him, resisted, and told him that this was the right thing to do. Even the rush of good feeling from his new existence could not extinguish that voice. It was a part of him from the past that simply wouldn't let go.
Lucien gave Lex a small smile. "I know what you intend, Lex."
And Lex had a feeling that Lucien knew everything: his reasoning, his decision, and how it would turn out. He wished he could ask his father about it, but Clark's pull on him was too strong. Clark was suffering. He had to go. With one more nod at Lucien, Lex swung into action.
He strode through the front gates of the facility Lionel Luthor was keeping Clark in. It posed from the outside as a pharmaceuticals lab. The sterile facade hid its true purpose. The receptionist, a trim blonde in a tight black suit, looked up from her computer as he came in. There was no recognition in her eyes despite his baldness, generally distinctive looks and penchant for being in the paper every week.
"Excuse me, sir, but this facility isn't open to the public. If you have an appointment—"
"I don't need an appointment."
Lex felt the cold smile he used for particularly ruthless business deals slide across his face. She paled and her hands stuttered above her keyboard. He knew the moment that she was going to press the panic button for security. He sent a spike of forgetfulness to her and with a dazed look in her too blue eyes she went back to typing as if she had never seen him enter. He breezed past the armed guards the same way after forcing them to open the locked passages for him. Compulsion of humans was easy. And that was the merest of the new abilities he possessed. Lex smiled to himself. Some part of him worried that it was wrong to make people do things like this, but the power would thrum in his veins and drowned the worry out. Also, these were Lionel's minions and he figured their minds were already controlled to some extent.
Lucien was barred from directly interfering with humans in the way that Lex had just behaved. Lex wasn't part of the pact between the Ascendant and the Fallen so he wasn't bound by their rules. Lucien had told him that both Arcs had tried for countless millennia to find those who could ascend with them, but Lex was the first to make it. He gave Lucien the ultimate edge in the Balance Wars unless the Ascendant could find another like him for her side.
Lex stood before the white double-doors that led to Clark's prison. Only these flimsy sheets of metal separated them. There were no people to compel nearby to open the doors so he used another new power. The electronic lock began to smoke and then with a high-pitched whine the electronics fried and the lock disengaged. The doors whooshed open. A scientist in a full bodysuit with its own air supply goggled at him as he entered the inner suite of labs. The scientist then pressed a button on his suit so Lex could hear his voice through the suit's speaker.
"You can't be in here! My god man, this is a sterile environment!"
Lex recognized the voice as belonging to Dr. Starsend, but the doctor did not recognize him just as the receptionist had not. Lucien had explained that no one would realize who Lex had been unless he wanted them to. Lex had no desire to reveal anything to Dr. Starsend especially after he caught a glimpse of what the man had been doing to Clark.
The boy lay flat on his back on a slab of green-coated metal. A thin layer of meteorite had been applied to the slab so that Clark's skin could be breached. A long incision had been made in Clark's abdomen and was held open by clamps. Lex could see Clark's organs glistening in his abdominal cavity. The boy's eyes were wide and unfocused with agony. Black veins laced his naked body that was no longer a deep gold, but a sickly yellow. A green liquid, probably more liquefied meteor rock, was dripping into those blackened veins. Clark was unaware of his presence. He could tell the boy was hiding somewhere in his mind to escape the torture he was undergoing. No anesthetic or painkillers were being given. Clark must have felt every cut, every nick, every touch of his internal organs by the scientists.
Rage like a river rushed through Lex. He didn't even realize that he had sent some of the fire within him towards Dr. Starsend until he heard the screaming and saw the man running around the lab. Dr. Starsend had become a human torch. Lex then saw the other two scientists watching him and Dr. Starsend in horror.
One of them dropped the tray of bloody instruments she was carrying and tried to run out of the lab, but no mere human, especially one in a bulky suit, could get away from Lex. She, too, burst into livid blue flame and fell to the ground, flopping around like a fish out of water, as the inescapable blue fire ate at her flesh inside and outside at the same time.
The third scientist had pushed himself into a corner of the lab as far as he could get from Lex. But he received no mercy. They had hurt Clark. They had hurt his angel. They would pay. The scientist's bones and flesh were pulverized with one thought. The bloody mess that had been a man until recently slid down to the floor. There was a trickle of fear within Lex beneath all the anger. The scientists' deaths had given him a rush. He had felt their lives flow into him. 'What have I become?' But one more look at Clark's suffering and the feeling flew away.
"Clark!" Lex smoothed the boy's damp raven locks back from his forehead. The green eyes looked up unseeing at him. Bloody froth flew from the boy's nearly white lips. Lex stifled the agonized wail he wanted to make. "Angel, you're safe now. I promise. It's all over."
He disengaged the boy from the poison drip, removed the clamps that were keeping the incision open and ripped off all the restraints. He took off the coat he wore and carefully covered Clark's body with it. He lifted Clark off the table with ease, careful of his still open wound. He knew the wound would close once the boy was away from the table. His full recovery would occur once the poison had worked its way out of his system. That would take longer, perhaps as long as a few days. Lex knew that Bruce, Dick and Alfred would take good care of him. He'd make sure of that. He would be able to implant in their minds how to take care of the boy and he would watch unseen every moment. He kissed Clark's forehead and began to carry the boy gently out of the lab.
They passed the receptionist that typed away without acknowledging them at all even when Clark whimpered and squirmed in his arms. A quick glance under the coat showed that the incision had healed shut, but Clark was sweating continuously as the poison was being expelled from his body. The process was obviously painful and Clark thrashed a bit as green-tinged sweat left him. Lex spoke soft words to him of comfort and love. Wide, unfocused eyes sought out his face.
"L-l-l-lex?" The boy's voice was so soft, so tentative, so full of hope.
Lex was about to tell him yes, that it was him, but the words froze in his throat. Did the boy know it was really him even though he hadn't revealed himself or was it just hopeful thinking on Clark's part? 'Better he think I'm dead and gone. He can mourn me, go on with his life, and I can watch out for him. But why am I doing this? Why must I let him go at all?' Again that small, insistent voice inside of him told him he must let Clark go. He hated the voice. Hated it, but he was going to follow it.
"Hush now, Clark. You're going to be all right. I'm going to take you somewhere safe."
"P-p-please don't let t-t-them hurt me anymore. C-c-can't do this. Can't! Need Lex! Please!"
Clark whimpered and cried out in pain. Lex tightened his embrace on the boy. 'How could they have done this to you? Those bastards. No mercy. Never.' And he knew exactly what he was going to do. This lab was an abomination. It should not exist any longer. And those that worked in it should be destroyed alongside it.
When the lab's front doors shut behind them, Lex sent a wave of fire back towards the building. It would incinerate everything … and everyone. The resounding explosions as fire hit something highly flammable inside made highly satisfactory thumping noises behind them. The ground shook beneath his feet. He could feel the roar of heat at his back. He knew Clark would be horrified that he'd killed the potentially innocent along with the guilty, but in Lex's mind every single one of those people was guilty.
As he walked towards the limo with Clark in his arms, he looked up to see that Lucien had exited the vehicle and was standing by the open door, his eyes pained. Lex was still trembling with a rage that he could hardly control. He said, "They cut him open, Father! They were torturing him!"
"Yes, I know, Lex. But you took care of it," Lucien's voice was low and soothed some of Lex's tortured nerves. "You punished them for what they did."
Lex nodded, but suddenly tears came and he didn't know why they were there. Part of him was satisfied with what he'd done in a deep, cold way yet another part, the part that wanted him to let Clark go, felt ill. Lucien brushed the tears away.
"They served Lionel and he serves the Ascendant. They had to be destroyed."
"I know." But Lex also knew that it wasn't so simple, even though Lucien could make it seem so. Right then though all Lex wanted to do was care for Clark and forget moral consequences of what he'd done.
Lucien helped Lex tenderly place Clark lengthwise on one of the seats. Lucien offered his coat as a pillow. Lex expected his father to try to talk him out of taking Clark to Bruce's, but Lucien only smiled sadly at him. Lucien did not move them instantaneously to Wayne Manor as he had from the hospital to the lab. Instead the driver actually drove them from Metropolis to Gotham. It gave Lex three hours to run his fingers through Clark's hair, memorize his face, brush the full lips with his own, murmur love words into Clark's ears while the boy was only semi-conscious. The time wasn't long enough.
"We're here, Lex," Lucien's voice was soft.
Lex looked up and saw the familiar spires of the Manor. He petted Clark's head, which lay so still in his lap. Some of the boy's golden color had come back, but he was completely unconscious as the damage the poison had done was being repaired.
One tear trailed down Lex's cheek. "I … I don't know if I can do this, Father. I don't think I can give him up."
"You don't have to, Lex. He's yours. Meant to be yours," Lucien answered, but not with any heat.
"But I have to. Only I don't know why!" He thumped one hand useless against the seat cushion. "Won't you tell me why? I'm sure you know why I made this decision."
Lucien simply squeezed his shoulder in response. Finally, Lex knew it was time to let Clark go. Just as carefully as he had placed the boy in the limo, he took him out. Lex carried the unconscious boy up to the front doors of the Manor. He rested his forehead against Clark's, breathing in the still-sweet scent of his angel.
"I'll love you forever, Clark. Always. Only. I promise."
He placed one last kiss on Clark's velvety lips then rang the bell. When Alfred opened the door, Lex wasn't crying any more. He felt dead inside. The servant's eyes only widened slightly at the sight of one young man holding a partially naked, 6'4" equally young man on the Manor's doorstep.
"Alfred, who is at the door—oh, my God!" Bruce was suddenly standing beside his manservant. He gave a small, strangled gasp.
Lex's voice was so cold, as frigid as he felt inside, as he said to his old friends, "This is Clark Kent. Lex Luthor is … is … dead. I was told you agreed to care for the boy if something happened to him. Lionel Luthor is bound to look for him. He mustn't get him. At any cost."
Bruce's face had hardened with each word. Some part of Lex was amazed that they really didn't recognize him and call him on the lie that he wasn't dead. But they clearly viewed him as a stranger even though he looked no different from before on the outside except for his eyes. Lex was shocked at the expression of savage pain that passed over Bruce's face when he was told that Lex was dead. Alfred gave a murmured exclamation of horror and squeezed his master's shoulder.
"Did Lionel Luthor do it?" Bruce asked through clenched teeth.
"Do what?" Lex asked softly.
"Kill his son! Damnit, did he kill his son?"
The raw pain in Bruce's voice broke through some of the ice shell that Lex was building around himself and he had to swallow several times before answering.
"Yes. But you'll never be able to prove it."
Darkness filled Bruce's gaze. "You don't need proof for true justice to be handed out."
Lionel Luthor had evidently just earned the Batman as his mortal enemy. Lex almost could have smiled. Bruce tenderly took Clark from Lex's arms. It was a near thing for a moment. Clark had made a muffled cry of pain as he was taken from Lex and Lex had almost grabbed the boy back. But he suppressed the urge at the last moment. He bit his lip viciously.
Just as Bruce was moving to bring Clark into the Manor, Lex imprinted the care for his young friend in Bruce's and Alfred's minds and the knowledge of Clark's alien origins and powers. They would protect the boy now. He knew it. Clark was in the best possible hands.
"Won't you come in, young sir? I am sure Master Bruce will wish to speak more to you and thank you for bringing young Master Clark here," Alfred said gently, gesturing for Lex to follow Bruce into the Manor.
"No, thank you." Lex turned and began walking down the drive toward the limo. Each step was like knifing himself in the stomach. He was leaving Clark. He was leaving. 'It's the right thing. I know it. Oh, God, I can't stand this!'
At that moment, he heard footsteps behind him and a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned, half-hoping for a moment that Clark was awake and was the one trying to stop him from leaving, but it was Bruce. The older man brushed his hands through the dark locks of hair that had fallen on his forehead before he spoke.
"Tell me who you are," he ordered.
Lex wanted to laugh at the imperialistic way Bruce asked for the information, but corpses didn't laugh or smile, and that's all he was without Clark.
"I'm …"
"Tell me … please. Clark will want to speak to you once he's well. About what happened to Lex and … and everything. It'll kill him not to know. Believe me on that."
Lex stared at Bruce, his only friend for so many years, without speaking. Bruce looked handsome in his dark, sharp way. 'Will Clark fall in love with him? No, Bruce is with Dick.' Lex clamped down on the jealousy that threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn't bear to speak to Bruce, couldn't bear the thought that Clark was only fifty feet from him and all he need do was open his mouth and reveal who he truly was. What could have been worth this pain that he decided to give up Clark? If only he could remember, but the knowledge simply wasn't there. He couldn't imagine anything so important that he'd give up the boy. He had to get away or he would renege on whatever promise he'd made to himself.
"Please tell me who you are," Bruce's voice was gentler. He actually reached out with one hand to touch Lex as if to comfort a frightened animal.
Lex stepped back and Bruce froze.
"I'm … no one. And soon you won't even remember I was ever here."
"Wait!"
But Lex turned on his heels and compelled the Dark Knight to forget him and go back into the house. Then Lex ran to the limo and Lucien. He yearned for the Fallen. Only in Lucien's darkness would he be able to survive Clark's loss.
PART 2 – THE FUTILITY OF FIGHTING DESTINY
Clark's POV
6 months later …
I survived three funerals in one week: Martha's, Jonathan's and then … Lex's. I remember Chloe standing by my side with Bruce and Dick on the other at his funeral. I even remember seeing Lionel Luthor drop a rose on top of Lex's casket, appropriate fatherly tears in his eyes. He almost looked like he cared, but I knew he only mourned the fact that Lex was forever out of his reach, out of his control. The urge to incinerate him with my heat vision where he stood was great, but too many innocent bystanders were there who might get hurt. I don't remember much else after that. According to Alfred, I didn't speak, didn't even move, for about a month afterward.
Bruce went to the Castle to retrieve the ship in order to get some kind of help for me. It was unclear how he knew about my alien origins or the ship, but he did. He was led unerringly to the Room, but the ship was gone. At first, he thought that Lionel had taken it, but a few days after he had searched the Castle, a large crate was delivered to the Manor. Inside were the ship and the key. No return address. No indication who had sent it. Bruce used the key and spoke to the A.I. about me. According to the A.I., I should be dead. I was mated to Lex and since my mate had died, I should have followed, but for some reason I still lived.
That wasn't the only thing that should have happened but didn't.
Despite all Chloe had seen, what I had seen, and Bruce's clout, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman, Lionel Luthor walked free. He wasn't even questioned in the deaths of the Kents or Lex. What he had done to me had to be kept secret or what I was would be revealed. But still, the role he had played in the deaths of three people should have been enough to convict him. Only it wasn't.
In the case of the Kents, they were officially listed as murdered by a person or persons unknown. Lex was said to be one of the many fatalities caused by medical malpractice. Lionel was even rumored to be suing the doctors that were responsible for his son's death, but I knew that was unlikely. I was sure they had acted on Lionel's orders and were on Lionel's payroll. But the public didn't know that. Lionel was actually seen as a sympathetic figure. It was as if Lionel was untouchable, invincible. And maybe he was. After all, he had the Ascendant on his side.
He made no overt moves to try and get me back either by challenging the legal papers Lex signed turning over my guardianship to Bruce in the event of his death or through other less savory ways, but Bruce was still wary that he would in the future. My heart broke again when I saw the papers Lex had prepared on the day we were separated. He knew there was a possibility he wouldn't make it and in true Lexian fashion he had made sure I would be taken care of.
Dominic's body was found floating in the Metropolis waste reclamation canal a few weeks after Lex's funeral. He was so decomposed that the authorities couldn't tell how he'd died. So whether Lionel had him killed or in remorse he killed himself is unclear. I tend to think that Lionel did it. Dominic was too much of a coward to have taken his own life.
Then there was the Arc of Fallen Light. Lucien had completely disappeared. Though I tried to reach him, using my powers with an abandon that would have made Lex pull out his hair if he'd had any, the Arc of Fallen Light was like a ghost in sunlight or smoke in the wind … just gone. He was even unavailable to meet with Bruce. But there were signs that Lucien wasn't inactive. His company was voracious, eating up other companies, ripping them apart and discarding what was unnecessary. It was growing bigger and stronger. It's already great influence was spreading. There were even rumors that A/L was behind the toppling of several regimes. But I felt no joy at this news, even if it meant that the Ascendant was being given a run for her money for the fate of Earth.
Lucien had abandoned Lex. He hadn't come when Lex called. He hadn't come when Lionel had his minions inject Lex with meteor rock during one of Lionel's experiments to 'fix' his son. Bruce told me gently, so so gently, that discrete inquiries at the hospital where Lex died showed that he had passed away about 5:00 a.m., well before I was rescued, so my memories of Lex coming to save me from the lab where I was being tortured were not memories at all, but just wishful thinking. But still, logic be damned, I believed he had done it. Somehow. Some way. But as much as I strained my superhearing, I never caught even one hint of Lex's heartbeat.
The mystery of who rescued me and how I ended up at the Manor made accepting Bruce's explanations more difficult. Neither Bruce nor Alfred could remember how I was brought to them. The cameras that recorded the comings and goings of people to the Manor went strangely black during the time period surrounding my arrival. The coat that was wrapped around me when I was brought to the Manor seemed to hold a faint scent of cinnamon and vanilla: Lex's scent. I slept with it wrapped around me.
So I lived at the Manor, went to school with Dick at Gotham Prep and trained with Batman and Robin the rest of the time, learning to hone my powers and fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. I talked to Chloe on the phone about once a week. She was going to visit us for the summer. I thought she had a crush on Dick. I had to break it to her that he was taken, only I couldn't tell her by who. Watching Dick and Bruce together made my heart feel full and ache at the same time. I had as great a love as that. Perhaps even greater.
Bruce finally convinced me to go out to dinner in Gotham with him and Dick. We were going to the type of fancy restaurant that Lex would have brought me to in the past. Lex would have guided me to a table with his hand on the small of my back and would have explained the menu to me in detail so that I could make an 'informed' decision on what I put in my mouth. He always teased me at my ability to eat just about anything. I felt the familiar burn of tears behind my eyes as we sat down at the table. Maybe coming here was a mistake.
"Hey, you okay?" Dick asked, his hand on my forearm, gently squeezing.
Dick's blue eyes, the color of robin's eggs appropriately, missed nothing. And he'd decided I was his to protect despite the fact that I was twice his size. My smile at him was a little wobbly, but I forced it to come out. I wouldn't ruin their evening.
"We don't have to stay, Clark. We can go somewhere else if this is too much," Bruce said equally kindly, his dark eyes studying me closely.
"No, I'm fine."
Just then as I opened my menu, the already dim lighting in the restaurant went even lower. No one could read their menus without some kind of super sight. When the lights didn't go back up right away, Bruce flagged down our waiter.
"What's going on with the lights?" He asked.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne. I will bring you more candles."
"Why not turn up the lights? Is something wrong with the electricity?" Dick asked.
"No, sir, Mr. Lucien's eyes are very sensitive to light and—"
I was suddenly standing. "Arsay de'fale Lucien?"
"No, sir, that gentleman's son. Though both father and son are present at dinner tonight."
I grasped the waiter by the lapels and lifted him a few inches off the floor. "Where are they sitting?"
"Clark, don't!" Dick cried.
I felt Bruce's strong hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.
"Corner table," the waiter wheezed.
I gently placed him back on the ground and smoothed out his tuxedo. "Thank you. Sorry about the … the lifting you off the floor thing."
I took off in the direction the waiter had pointed out to me, using just a touch of super speed to surge away from Bruce and Dick. I didn't want them to interfere with what I was going to do. Lucien had found another young man to be his son. That's why he had abandoned Lex to die! He had chosen someone else and just left Lex to Lionel's tender mercies. That bastard! He wasn't going to get away from me. He would pay for what he'd done. Just at that moment, I saw the bright wash of red hair. Lucien's mercury-colored eyes rose from his menu to meet my gaze. I stumbled when he smiled, a rich warm smile of welcome.
Then I saw his son.
Lex.
His back was to me, but I knew it was him. And my belief was confirmed when he turned his head to the side to speak to Lucien. I drank in the sight of him: the bare skull, covered in the softest alabaster skin, the masculine curve of his jaw, the pink full lips that were turned downwards at the corners, evidently displeased with something. My eyes slipped into x-ray vision and I saw he was made of the same blue fire as Lucien though there was still evidence of a skeleton and what looked like blood in his veins. He had no heartbeat, but the fire within him pulsed at the same rhythm his heart used to. My own heart took up the beat. I couldn't breathe for looking at him.
"Father, have them turn up the lights. The other diners can't see. I'll just wear my sunglasses."
"The staff is bringing them candles, Lex. I want you to be comfortable."
"I know and I'm thankful for it. I just don't want to inflict this on everyone."
"But your comfort and your happiness are what is important to me. Not theirs." Lucien's eyes flared with fire as he added, "You have the right to be happy, Lex."
"Please … not this discussion again. I am happy. As happy as I can be without … him." Lex's expressive lips pressed tight together as he fought back some strong emotion.
Lucien reached over and covered one of Lex's hands that was resting on the table. When he removed the hand, a piece of purple ribbon was lying on top of Lex's hand.
"Father, why are you giving me this?" Lex's voice sounded so raw and wounded.
"You've fought so bravely, Lex. But fighting destiny is futile."
Lex went rigid in his seat as if he sensed that I was there. He saw that Lucien's gaze was now focused past his shoulder. He slowly turned in his seat. His eyes lifted from my feet following the length of my body until he met my gaze. I saw him swallow convulsively. There was such longing in his eyes that it cleared away any doubts I had that he still loved me.
Lucien's voice washed over both of us, "I told you that the only thing that was not certain in the futures was whether you were my son or not. The rest was destiny. Clark's place by your side is destiny, my beloved child."
Lex gasped and I saw one tear run down his face. I was suddenly able to move again. Lex stood up from his chair just as I reached him. I brushed the tear away and he shivered at the touch, but then he grabbed my hand and held it against his cheek. His body was like a living flame against me. Only it was a cold fire. I wanted to warm him.
"Clark … do you know who I am?"
"How could I not? You're my heart, Lex."
I heard Dick give a breathy exclamation as Lex and I kissed in the middle of the restaurant then all sound was gone except for the pulse of Lex's fire and the in tandem beating of my heart. Lex's arms were suddenly wound around my neck. He was fisting them in my hair. A moan escaped my lips as he took charge of the kiss and devoured me. My hands were running along his back, pressing him to me. I wanted him so close. I wanted him inside of me. I felt him begin to warm in my arms. The kiss would have gone on forever since it appeared that neither of us needed to breathe anymore, but I heard Bruce's distinctive throat-clearing. Lex and I broke the kiss, but the rest of our bodies remained melded together.
"Clark, who is this person you're kissing?" Bruce asked, one dark eyebrow lifted.
Confusion swirled through me. "It's Lex!"
Pain fluttered across Bruce's face. "No, Clark … you know it can't be."
Dick also looked so sorry for me. He gripped Bruce's arm.
My mouth opened and closed. "But it is! Why can't you see—"
Lex's slim fingers were suddenly covering my mouth. "Let me take care of this, Clark." Lex stared at Bruce and then at Dick, his silvery eyes seemed to glow for a moment. "It really is me, Bruce. I used to be Lex Luthor. Now I'm Lex Lucien."
Bruce and Dick shook their heads as if to clear them of cobwebs. When Bruce looked up at Lex again, he gave a cry of surprise and happiness.
"Lex! You're alive! And … and it was you! You brought Clark to the Manor that day. But you're dead! I saw the body … checked the blood even … but you're here and …"
It appeared even the Batman wasn't completely immune to shock. Dick was suddenly supporting the Dark Knight. He helped Bruce sit on a chair at Lucien's table so he didn't sink to the floor. Dick rubbed Bruce's back. Finally, when some color had come back into Bruce's pale cheeks, he looked up at Lex.
"Why? How? What's going on?"
Lex looked over at Lucien for a long moment. I knew they were communicating though we could not hear them. Lex's expression lightened and he stood up straighter as if a weight lifted from his shoulders.
Lex turned back to Bruce and said, "I'm helping to fight a war for the fate of Earth. One that Clark may have told you something about. I'd like you to join our side."
"I think I'd like to hear more about that," Bruce said, squaring his shoulders.
"Here is not exactly the best place to discuss it."
"Do you want to go back to the Manor?"
"We have a place slightly closer."
PART 3 – THE CHOSEN FUTURE
Lex's POV
The five of them walked just a block away to Lex's new penthouse. If Lex could have remembered, he would have realized it was the same penthouse he had seen in the futures Lucien showed him. They settled into the entertainment room. Bruce and Dick on one couch and Clark and Lex on another, facing each other. Lucien stood by the fireplace, present and watchful, but not interfering. A fire crackled behind him, casting a warm glow on the group.
Lex found he was unable to let go of Clark for even a moment. Even now as they sat on the couch, their sides were pressed up against each other and they were holding hands. Lex wanted to touch and stare and just drink Clark's presence in. In the six months since he had left the boy in Bruce's care, he had restricted himself to watching Clark for an hour a day except for the time right after his funeral then he had spent nearly 24 hours a day by Clark's side, unseen and unfelt, but there just as he promised Clark.
Clark's catatonia had almost broken him. So many times he had hovered outside the window to the boy's room at the Manor, desperately wanting to reveal himself. He would speak soft words to the boy while Clark slept until he had no voice left. Finally, when the boy was free of the terrible motionlessness and starting to live again, Lex found himself dipping into a deep depression, spending more and more time in either Lucien's dark embrace or, when he wasn't in that black place, destroying the minions of the Ascendant in an icy rage. In a particularly vicious battle, the Ascendant had taunted him, calling him the Ice Prince. But there was no trace of ice about him now. He felt like he could melt into the boy beside him and be happy.
Enrique came into the room, taking drink orders. Clark nearly jumped to his feet when he saw the familiar servant. Only the fact that he didn't want to leave Lex's side kept him from running and embracing the older man.
"Enrique!"
"Young Master Kent, how are you, sir?"
"Great! I mean great now. We looked for you after … after … well, we looked for you and you were with Lex all the time. I'm so glad! I thought something bad might have happened to you," Clark ended softly and Lex squeezed the hand he held tightly.
"I'm sorry if you were worried. I had hoped that Master Lex would contact you … sooner rather than later." The servant gave Lex a kindly though stern gaze.
"Yes, Lex, why did you abandon Clark?" Bruce's voice was hard as he asked the question.
"Bruce!" Clark's eyes were wounded by the Dark Knight's tone.
"No, Clark, he has the right to ask that. You have the right to an answer. Only …" Lex faltered then hung his head slightly. How could he explain leaving Clark when he didn't understand it himself? Clark's dark head turned and Lex felt the boy's bright eyes on him.
"You don't know why you left me with Bruce, do you?" Clark asked.
Lex shook his head. "Clark, I … I can't explain. I only know that I made the decision based on whatever I had seen in the futures. I just can't remember why that was! It nearly killed me to –"
"It could have killed Clark. Literally," Bruce cut in.
Dick tried to distract Bruce by rubbing the back of the older man's neck, but Bruce wasn't having any of it. He clearly wanted an explanation. Lex could see he was in full protective mode of Clark right now and he understood why though his own hackles began to rise. Clark was waving frantically for Bruce to stop speaking.
"What do you mean Clark could have died?" Lex asked.
"Bruce, stop!" Clark said miserably.
"According to the A.I., Clark's people mate for life and that's a literal thing, Lex. Once one mate dies so does the other. Or at least the Kryptonian mate does."
"Then it was more than just depression that made you like you were after the funereal." Lex froze on the couch. "Mates …" Slowly his gaze swung over to Clark. The boy shifted miserably under it. "That's what the A.I. was talking about when you interrupted it."
Clark held Lex's hand against his heart. "I didn't know I would die when you did. I … I only knew that I felt … biologically driven to do certain things. I didn't want to worry you."
"Clark … oh, god, how could you not have said anything? I would never have left you, not for a minute, not for--"
"Anything, I know. Not even for the good, valid reason that you did."
"But I don't know what my reasoning was! I don't know that it was good or valid or anything, only that I felt compelled to follow through with the end decision. And now, knowing this, I could … I feel such a fool … so …" Lex slammed his free hand against his thigh.
Clark stopped Lex's self-castigation by cupping his cheek. "Influence who you can and then have backup."
Lex looked at him in confusion.
Clark was smiling in that knowing, older way that made Lex feel so young sometimes, as he said, "That's what you said that last night in the Castle before we faced Jonathan. I've had a lot of time to think on it. And I believe I know what decision you made that night and why."
"How can you know?"
"Because I know you," Clark answered simply, but with such faith that Lex felt warmth cascade through him. "You were going to join Lucien, but not take me with you, because I was going to be your backup in case you were unable to convince him to save Earth. You believed my powers, once I was trained by Bruce, might be enough to challenge the Arcs."
Lex's eyes were drawn to Lucien's and it was as if a dark part of his mind was lit up again. Clark was right. Lex remembered.
Lucien broke in quietly, "You are quite correct, Clark. Lex also believed you would find another more worthy than him."
Clark thumped Lex lightly on the shoulder. "How could you believe that there is anyone more worthy than you? You're … God, Lex, don't you know how amazing you are? I'm the lucky one."
Lex couldn't speak, his throat too clogged with unfamiliar emotions. He just clutched Clark's hands.
"Are you satisfied with Lex's reasoning now, Bruce?" Lucien asked coolly and even the Dark Knight shifted uneasily under the silvery gaze.
Looking slightly chastened, Bruce said, "Yes, I should have known that Lex would have a good reason. It's just … Clark was … it was so hard on him. I spoke more harshly than I should have. I'm sorry, my friend," Bruce said extending a hand to Lex.
Lex clasped it warmly back. "Don't be. I'm glad you're protective of Clark. That's why I chose you. It's what I hoped for." Lex wondered though if his duplicity hurt his father. He turned slowly to Lucien. "Father, are you angry with me for … my determination to have a backup?"
Lucien shook his head. "It's part of the reason you're so valuable, Lex. Always thinking, always planning ahead, always having a plan b. It's part of who you are. I wouldn't change you."
Lex smirked as he said, "And the fact that you knew it wouldn't work …"
Lucien laughed softly. "Well, there is that. I understood why you were doing it. You didn't know me then. You wanted my protection, but you didn't love me. Now … that's all different."
Lex smiled as he felt the bond between them strengthen. He sent a mental thank you to Lucien and was given a wave of warmth in return. The Fallen was more complicated than he'd ever imagined and far more dangerous than he had comprehended. Lex was just beginning to understand that influencing Lucien was almost impossible. He did what he wanted. If he wanted to please Lex, he did, but if he had to do something that would not please Lex … well, he did that. But keeping Lex happy appeared to be a priority for him, so Lex used that as best he could.
Enrique cleared his throat after a moment, and asked, "I have a feeling none of you got to have dinner before coming back here. I imagine that the young men are hungry …"
Dick and Clark looked at each other with matching grins and said simultaneously, "Pizza!"
Lex mock groaned. "Order them with extra cheese and sausage, Enrique. Clark can't survive without those on his pizza."
"Neither of them can survive without pizza period. Between Clark and Dick, every other number on the Manor's speed dial is a pizza joint," Bruce added.
Laughter came easily at that point and then conversation began to flow about the Balance Wars, the Ascendant's machinations, and the actions Lex and Lucien had taken to counter her and gain the upper hand. Lucien added only a few words here and there, his eyes were riveted mostly on his son. Clark noted the attention and Lex whispered that they would talk long in private later. The pizza came and Lex mostly fed Clark off his own plate. The boy's dazed and joyous expression at Lex's every touch and glance as he nibbled pizza from Lex's fingers was making both of them achingly hard. Their twin conditions and preoccupations with each other did not go unnoticed.
"I think we should go home, Bruce, and give those two a chance to catch up," Dick said with an impish smile on his face.
Lex hastily pulled back from Clark's neck where he had found himself taking in great draughts of Clark's scent. He stood quickly, drawing his suit coat closed so that his erection wasn't as apparent.
"I take it that Clark will be staying—"
"With me," Lex said firmly and gripped Clark's arm as the boy stood beside him. Realizing his need to claim the boy was making him unduly aggressive, he softened his expression. "But I'm sure he might want to …"
"The Manor will always be his home and he still needs to train," Bruce said.
Lex nodded. Bruce extended his hand to Lucien. The Fallen clasped it. Lex felt a momentary jealousy that Lucien had even considered Bruce as a potential son. Lex was Lucien's son, which was exactly how it should be. That was that. He felt a wave of amusement from his father and gave a rueful smile back.
"Good to see you, Lucien."
"Same here."
Dick clapped Clark on the back and, with a glance towards Lex, said in a loud stage whisper, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
To no one's surprise Clark went scarlet.
"Now we definitely need to be going," Bruce said as he drew Dick away and towards the door. "We need to talk more about what roles Batman and Robin will play in the Balance Wars," Bruce said to Lex as he shrugged into his coat.
"Tomorrow," Lex agreed.
With a saucy wink, Dick said, "Or maybe the next day. I think you might be busy tomorrow."
"Dick, quit it!" Clark wailed turning a deeper scarlet.
Bruce bopped the back of Dick's head affectionately. Lex just smirked.
"You keep going, Dick, and you won't be busy at all this weekend," Bruce said wryly.
"What? You can't mean it," Dick said, slinging an arm around his guardian and lover. "Bruce, don't tease me!"
"Who says I'm teasing?"
Dick opened his mouth and closed it like a fish a few times.
While Dick was still goggling at the Dark Knight, Bruce said, "Goodnight everyone. Talk to you … soon."
The door shut, but not before the three still inside heard Dick's voice, "You aren't really serious about denying me the pleasure of being busy all weekend?"
"We'll see how you behave, Dick, and maybe then you'll get a reward."
Bruce's laughter was the last thing they heard before the voices faded off in the distance. Lex and Clark turned to Lucien. The Fallen smiled indulgently at Lex.
"I must take my leave of you two as well. I sense my sister is causing trouble in the East."
Lex tilted his head to the side, sensing only now what his father already had, the movement of the Ascendant and her influence spreading like slow poison. Only the warmth of Clark by his side stopped him from wanting to hunt her down and stop whatever plan she had going immediately.
Lucien appeared to read his intent and said, "Do not even think of her tonight, Lex. Reconnect with Clark. There is the rest of eternity to deal with the Ascendant."
"Thank you, Father."
Lucien came over and framed Lex's face with his hands. He pressed a soft kiss to Lex's forehead that continued to burn long after his lips were gone. Then the Fallen stepped back and disappeared, traveling in his mysterious way that Lex still could not duplicate.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Clark." Lex turned towards the boy. "And I know that I have much amends to make. If I ever can."
"I do have questions, but you don't need to apologize. Right now though I … I just need you," Clark said softly.
"I need you, too," Lex said, his body having drifted closer to Clark's as he spoke.
He only had to lean forward an inch to claim the boy's sweet mouth. Clark still tasted like farm fruit, peaches and apples and sunshine even though he had lived six months in Gotham. Clark made warm, needy noises as the kiss continued. Lex mapped the broad muscular back with his hands as his tongue flickered in and out of Clark's mouth. He caught and sucked on the boy's tongue then rasped it lightly with his teeth.
"Clark … missed you so much … was so cold … didn't know how I was going to go on without you. Didn't want to hurt you. Never want to hurt you. Forgive me … forgive me."
Clark pressed his head into Lex's neck. He placed a necklace of kisses against the soft skin of Lex's throat. Lex arched his head back to give Clark more access.
"Never stopped believing you were out there, Lex. Knew it. Felt it. Couldn't be otherwise. Had to be you that saved me … had to. Nothing to forgive."
Clark's hands fastened onto Lex's slim hips. He pulled the older man tight against him. Their erections were like twin bars of steel between them. Lex began salivating as he remembered the taste of Clark's seed in his mouth. He could have that and so much more again. He yearned to prepare the boy with his tongue before he sank into Clark's welcoming tight, heat. He would claim the boy tonight. It was meant to be.
"I think I'm way overdue on a promise I made to you, aren't I, angel?" Lex breathed into Clark's ear before licking the outer shell. "I need to deflower my virgin lover."
Clark trembled against him. "Please, Lex, please make me yours. I need you inside me so bad."
A whole body shudder ran through Lex at those words. "Come with me."
Lex grasped Clark's hand and led him to his bedroom, which would from now on be their bedroom. The room took up the length of the building. Three of the walls were solid glass, leaving an uninterrupted view of the cityscape. Dark and forbidding Gotham was spread out before them. Clark couldn't help the gasp that escaped him at the view.
"It's so beautiful … and a little scary, too," Clark said.
"I feel the same way. There have been some nights where I've just sat here and looked out. Those nights I would always … think of you. The Manor is directly out there, give or take 20 miles."
Lex pointed unerringly towards the Manor. He used to feel Clark's presence there, now he knew where to point out of practice. Lex's eyes left the cityscape to focus on Clark. The gold and red lights from the buildings and street lights shone on the boy's face, making the burnished color of Clark's skin glow softly. Clark's green eyes sparked and flashed as they turned towards him.
"You look so beautiful, Lex, like an alabaster statue in a niche. Are you real? Is this real?"
Clark moved so that he was inches away from Lex, his hands hovered above Lex's shoulders as if he were afraid to actually touch the older man for fear his hands would pass straight through him. Lex heard the pain in his angel's voice and closed his eyes tightly. He'd hurt Clark so badly, ironically trying to do the right thing.
"I'm real, Clark. We're here together."
"Forever?"
"Yes, I promise I will never leave you again. Don't be afraid to touch me Clark. I'm not going to disappear on you."
Clark's hands fell gently onto his shoulders. They still shook slightly. Huge green eyes focused and pinned Lex to the spot.
"I love you, Lex."
"I love you, too. Always."
"Always."
Without more words they began to peel away the clothes that separated their skin. Shoes and socks were toed off, suit jackets were shrugged away, shirts unbuttoned and slipped down bare arms, and pants puddled at their feet. Their physical connection that night would help heal the emotional wounds they'd suffered being apart.
Lex's hands framed Clark's waist. He traced the boy's hipbones and watched as the muscles in Clark's belly rippled with each light touch. His hands slid back until he held one of Clark's ass cheeks in each hand. They were firm and yet soft. He imagined what it would feel like when he was hilt deep in his lover and how it would be when his own skin would slap up against those perfect cheeks with every inward thrust.
Their cocks brushed against each other, eliciting a low moan from each of them. The scent of male arousal surrounded them. Lex leaned down and sucked on one of Clark's petal-soft nipples. The coffee-colored nub hardened in his mouth. The boy jerked against him, his head falling back, his mouth opening in a gasp of pleasure. Lex performed the same maneuver on the other tasty bit of flesh. His fingers trailed their way between Clark's ass cheeks then slid down to his puckered opening.
"Lex … oh! Lex … you're touching me … so good … so so … OH!"
Lex felt a small splash of precum hit his belly and start trickling down his skin. Lex knew he was going to have to mount Clark soon. Both of them were too on edge for any more teasing.
"Get on your hands and knees on the bed, Clark. Present yourself to me," Lex instructed.
The boy walked backwards, his eyes never leaving Lex, until the backs of his calves hit the bed. He quickly turned and positioned his body as Lex had instructed, his ass high in the air, his head resting on his hands. The muscles in the long legs trembled as Lex stalked over to the foot of the bed just behind Clark's bottom. The boy looked over his shoulder at Lex.
"Is this right, Lex?"
"Exactly. So beautiful, Clark. Can't believe you're all mine."
Lex stroked one finger between Clark's cheeks and the boy whined. His cock curved up even more wantonly to his belly, drops of cum rained from the tip. Lex ran his other hand along the boy's spine, resting his palm over the small of Clark's back where he began to rub the golden skin in gentle circular motions.
"You're going to be so tight, angel. Not only because you're a virgin. Untouched. Unplumbed. But also because you don't know what to expect and your muscles will be tense. So I have to take my time and prepare you properly," Lex said in his darkest voice.
"Lex … I don't know if I can last … last much longer."
"Don't worry about that. Let yourself cum during the preparation. I promise that you'll cum again with my cock inside of you."
The boy jerked at his words. Lex got on the bed on his knees behind Clark. His thumbs pulled the boy's cheeks apart and the pink pucker was revealed to him. It looked so terribly small. His only cock throbbed at the sight. He gripped the base and squeezed. Though the rebirth had given him greater control over his body, having Clark before him like this, so loving, so pliant, so submissive to whatever he wanted to do was sending him over the edge. He leaned down and softly blew against the pucker.
"Lex!"
Clark came violently with just that breath. His whole body thrust forwards as semen exploded from him. Lex extended one hand to catch some of the fluid, bringing it up to his mouth to lick it off like cookie batter off a beater.
"So good, Clark."
Clark was shaking so badly that Lex had to hold the boy's hips up so that he would not collapse entirely. Lex rested his head against the small of Clark's back, experiencing the shudders of his young lover's body beneath his. He ran his hands up and down Clark's spine to steady him. Love words flowed from his lips. Everything he had held back for six months.
"Oh, god, Lex … love you … love you … I still need … I need … you … inside … oh, please … so empty … oh!"
"I promise to give you everything you need. Everything you want. All for you, Clark."
Lex's pink tongue slipped out and traced the soft flesh around Clark's opening, which silenced the boy's ability to talk coherently altogether. He pushed his tongue inside and pulled it out quickly, fucking Clark with his tongue like he would later do with his cock. Clark's body began to shake again under his hands and Lex petted the boy's flanks as he continued to taste and lick and nibble at Clark's opening. The taste of his lover's interior exploded in his mouth. It was musky and earthy, but somehow still sweet. He reached forward and stroke's Clark's already hardening dick. The boy thrust into his hand.
"I'm going to start stretching you with my fingers now, Clark. Then I'm going to enter you with my cock. I'm going to fill you with my cum. I'm going to cum so deep inside of you, Clark, and do it every day so you're never without something of me inside you."
"Yes, Lex, yes … please!"
Lex thought he was going to have to use lotion for their first time together instead of lube as he had been celibate since he left his angel and did not intend to indulge in sex with anyone else. Sometimes he could still feel Lionel's hands on him and the thought of anyone other than Clark so intimate with him left Lex cold and shaky. But Lex's fears of being unprepared were set aside as he sensed Lucien's prior presence by his night table. Sure enough, inside his father had left plenty of supplies of lube and massage oils. Lex had to suppress the laughter that threatened to bubble up in him. It was just like Lucien to make sure he had whatever he needed, whatever he wanted. And yes, sometimes that frightened him that Lucien knew so much about him. But he would not think of that now.
Lex popped open the top of the tube and squeezed a generous amount into one palm. He let his fire warm the lube slightly then began to massage Clark's opening. Using one heavily lubed finger he pressed into Clark until his knuckle was flush with the pucker. The boy groaned and shook. He continued to work Clark's virgin opening until he could easily slide three fingers in and out of it. Clark was gasping and thrusting back onto his fingers at the end and he knew that neither of them could take much more.
"I want to see you, Lex. I want to see you when you're in me."
Lex understood that need. He helped Clark turn onto his back.
"This is a harder position for the first time—"
"Please! Can't hurt me, remember?"
"Whatever you wish, angel."
Lex brushed a few dark locks of Clark's hair off the boy's forehead. Clark kissed his palm. Then Lex gently pushed back Clark's legs until they rested against the boy's chest. Clark held them there. His slick opening was visible to Lex's eyes. His cock trembled with eagerness to be inside.
"I feel so … so open like this. Open for you, Lex."
"Don't be afraid. You're safe with me. I love you."
"Not afraid. This is how it should be. Love you, too."
Lex slicked himself with lube quickly, almost hissing as his palm touched his hardened flesh. He felt Clark's eyes on his hands. He positioned himself at Clark's hole.
"This is us together, Clark. This is me inside of you."
He slowly pushed inside. The boy's eyes widened and his mouth opened in an 'o' of pleasure. Sweat glistened on Clark's skin. Clark's cock was up high and tight against his belly. Cum formed a milky trail along his stomach where it brushed back and forth as the boy trembled beneath him.
Lex shook as the heat and tightness made him feel like his cock was a sword and he was sheathing it in a scabbard made just for that blade. The boy's interior muscles pulsed around his cock, massaging it, sucking it deeper inside. Finally, he felt his balls resting against Clark's ass cheeks.
"You're inside me, Lex. You're all the way inside me," Clark moaned.
"Yes. Oh … yes! Inside … finally inside. Are you okay, beloved?"
"Better than that. Perfect."
"I'm going to move now."
"Yes, please, do it!"
Lex slid back out then pushed back in again until they began to get a rhythm. Clark met each of his thrusts, raising his hips to catch Lex as he plunged inside. Clark's prostate was hit with every pass inside of Lex's cock. The slap of skin against skin was mingled with their frantic cries. Lex felt his orgasm building in his lower belly. Heat was growing inside him, the fire within him roaring to impossible heights. He felt Clark bear down on his dick with the last inward thrust as the boy began to cum beneath him with a shout. Lex drove as deeply inside Clark as he could. His semen flooded his angel's interior at the same time fire flowed out of him in long ribbons and charged inside Clark's body along with his cum. At first Lex was terrified that he had hurt his invulnerable lover until he saw the look of bliss on Clark's face as the fire harmlessly skated along his flesh and into his bowels. It even left the bedding untouched, not burning anything at all.
"The fire is you, Lex. Finally … finally … together … fully."
The wonder in Clark's voice was too much and Lex let himself go entirely. He fell into Clark's arms, his cock still deeply embedded inside the boy's body, as the fire wrapped around their bodies like vines. How long they lay together like that, Lex didn't know. But finally he slipped from Clark's passage and the boy's legs tangled together with his. Lex rested his head on Clark's muscled chest just under the boy's chin, listening to Clark's heartbeat. Clark's hands ran up and down Lex's spine comfortingly.
"Is it always like that?" Clark asked softly.
"No, believe me that I've never experienced anything so … amazing. But I think that with you it will always be that way."
Lex reached up and cupped Clark's cheek. The boy nuzzled his fingers, kissing each of the pads.
"Thank you, Clark."
"For what?"
"For loving me … for giving yourself to me … everything."
Clark tilted his head down and kissed the top of Lex's head, letting his lips rest against the soft skin for a long time.
"You don't need to thank me. You're worth everything I am … could be. Your love back is more than enough," Clark said.
Lex tightened his hold on Clark's body. He would never let the boy go. Never.
Clark's voice was tinged with humor as he said, "And I thought I was the only one that had to worry about fire exiting my body during climax. Guess you have that problem now, too."
Lex thumped his chest lightly. "I didn't know it would do that."
"It was amazing. I could feel you in the fire. You are the fire, Lex."
"You aren't … afraid of me, are you, Clark?"
"No. Never. Are you afraid of my powers, Lex?"
"No. Of course not. I … I'm just so changed from before."
"Not really. I mean, yes, you're different in physical ways. But you're my Lex. That hasn't changed one bit."
Lex snuggled closer to Clark. When Lex's cell phone rang, both of them groaned then laughed.
"I thought I turned it on vibrate. Well, they'll leave a message."
But the phone continued to ring unabated.
"Lex?"
Clark had felt him tense. Something wasn't right. Lex met his lover's wide-eyed look.
"I think I have to get this, Clark. Forgive me."
Clark nodded and helped Lex up. With the echoes of the orgasm still thrumming through Lex's body, he walked shakily over to his pants where his cell phone was. He picked it up and glanced at the screen to see who it was that was calling. The small screen showed: Lionel Luthor.
Lex almost threw the damn thing across the room, but against his will he flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. He had not heard from Lionel since he had died and was reborn. Lucien did not know if the Ascendant had told the elder Luthor about his rebirth as Lucien's child.
"Hello, Lex … my son … my beautiful boy," Lionel's voice rolled over the line like hot honey.
"I'm afraid you've got a wrong number," Lex said through suddenly numb lips. He tried to push the thought towards the elder man, but it was like pushing against a steel wall.
"Cut that out, Lex. Your little mind manipulation doesn't work on me."
Lex shut his eyes, counted to ten, then said with as much disdain as he could, "What do you want, Lionel?"
Clark shot upright in bed as Lex spoke Lionel's name. Lex could see anger course through his angel's body. The full lips formed a thin line and Clark's hands clenched at his sides. He was up out of the bed and at Lex's side in less than a second. His arms wrapped around Lex's waist, holding the older man tight against him. Lex was grateful for the anchor. Somehow talking to Lionel now felt worse than ever.
"Why, son, is that any way to greet your father?"
"You're not my father." Lex heard the plastic of the cell phone squeak as he clutched it too hard. "Not any more. You killed your son six months ago."
"Nonsense, Lex. No matter what you or the Fallen wish to tell yourselves. You are my son. And you always will be."
"You're wrong, Lionel. Always for you will be a short twenty more years when your mortal life expectancy runs out. You'll be dust soon and I'll go on. You won't even be a memory for me."
"That would have been true before I ascended."
"What?" Lex felt his chest seize and he heard Clark gasp behind him.
"It seems there's something in Luthor blood, Lex. Something that let's us above all others ascend."
"That can't be …" Lex's mind was flailing. 'Lionel … immortal … dogging my every step for the rest of eternity? No no no no no no!'
"I have a proposition for you, Lex."
"I don't care to hear anything you have to say."
"Now, now, don't be hasty, son of mine."
"I'm not being hasty, Lionel. I just don't think you have anything worthwhile to impart. You're just a puppet of the Ascendant after all."
Lionel's laughter was rich, but it sounded like nails going over a chalkboard to Lex's ears.
"Oh, Lex, you always do make me laugh." A few more chuckles, and Lionel said, his voice deadly serious, "We're both puppets … for now. That's what my proposition is about, Lex. We have the powers that the Arcs do. We are gods. Just like them. So why waste our powers helping these two squabbling siblings fight for some esoteric balance when we can just take over everything for ourselves."
"That's madness," Lex's voice sounded so small. He clutched Clark with his free hand.
"Let's learn what we can from them, Lex, then … when we need them no longer … put them out of the way and rule the universe together … as father and son."
"I can already have all that with Lucien. You're offering me nothing I don't already have within my grasp," Lex answered him.
"Oh, Lex, come now. We both know that Lucien is only a poor substitute for me. It's my love, devotion, and praise you seek. He can never fill my place inside of you … physically, mentally or spiritually. I'm your father. Forever, Lex."
"No!"
"Blood tells, my beloved son. I'll be in touch soon."
Lex threw the cell phone across the room. It shattered and electronic components flew through the air and skated across the hardwood floor. Lex's chest was heaving, sweat had broken out across his upper lip, and his skin felt like it was covered with insects. Lex sank down to his knees on the floor. Clark followed him down. Lex gave out a hysterical laugh.
"I'll never be free of him, Clark. He'll never let me go."
The boy rubbed his shoulders. "Lex, we'll defeat him and the Ascendant. I know we will."
Just for a moment, in his mind's eye, Lex saw a brilliant blade before him and a white throat, but then it was gone. The image both frightened and thrilled him. It did, however, allow him to let go of the full-blown panic that had sprung upon him. He turned and curled against Clark's chest. They kissed softly for a few moments.
"As long as you're with me, Clark, I can face anything."
"I'm with you, Lex. I'm with you forever."
Lex chuckled without mirth. "Let the Balance War for Earth begin."
The End … For Now