The Memoirs

"Do you LOVE me? Oh, do you love me? Do you LOVE me? Oh, do you love me. Do you LOVE me, oh, do you love me, nooow that iiiii can daaaaaaaaancccceeee?! Watch me now! Tell me babaaayy, do you LIKE it like this?! Tell me! Teeeelllll mmeeee! Do you LOVE me?!"

His voice was loud, very bad, and completely, one hundred percent, happy.

He emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel slung low over his hips. Stopped in the door frame, and while striking a pose, gyrating his hips upwards, he sang on top of his lungs into a blue comb.

His wet hair still hung in his eyes.

"Work it, work it out baby!! Work, work! YOU drive me CRAZY! I can mash potato, I can do the twist! So tell me, baby, do you LIKE it like this?!"

Lex stood there, just leaning against the bathroom door. "Clark? Are you... ah. Yes. You're... all right. Might I be so bold to ask as to why you were killing your dog in here? I understand that he can be quite a pain in the ass, but those sounds... truly piteous."

He threw open the bathroom door...caught his lover, cause he knew he was there, and still singing, dipped his lover low, dancing to the internal music going on in his head. He lifted Lex back up and grabbed his arms, doing a dirty little dance with him, cause yeah, so maybe he was a stereotypical gay guy and he'd seen Dirty Dancing nine hundred times and he could mimic Patrick Swayze any day of the week.

Lex just had to laugh. "Clark! You're soaking wet! And you're getting me wet, which is not a phrase I want to hear coming out of my mouth." Then he sighed. "Clark, Clark, wait, wait. Please. You need to adjust your height about half an inch; settled down, right, hips against mine, and there you go."

"You can dance?" He gasped amongst bellowing lyrics, and the song ended in his brain where... he'd committed it to memory, actually, to "De Todo Un Poco". Which, you know. He grabbed his lovers palm in one hand, the other going around his back as he took him into a meringue. Yeah.

His mama had taught him this one.

He twirled his lover quickly, twice, dipped him low, singing all along as he let his lover into his head, where the song was playing. "I’m the human jukebox." He laughed, dancing his lover about the room.

"My mom and Pete’s were in cahoots!" He laughed, still dancing. "Taught us howta dance."

"Now, that I, can dance... dance... dance... watch me now!" Lex glared at his lover as Clark dragged him into the meringue. "I spent years in the clubs; if I didn't know how to dance, I'd be up shit creek. I can also dance in a ballroom, and I pride myself on my waltz. I am proud to say, however, that I cannot and will not Macarena."

Clark was singing along, despite his lack of Spanish skills, and danced his lover right into the closet, where he finally pushed him against the wall beside the door frame and kissed him. Hot, heavy, full of passion and like how things were, the feeling of goodness and sameness filling him as he kissed him passionately.

Lex licked and kissed back, pressing his body against Clark's and sliding his arms around his naked lover's waist. "We're... going to... come out of the closet... together," he panted between kisses, and then ran his fingers through Clark's hair, tugging firmly and keeping their mouths pressed tightly together as he arched his body against Clark's chest.

He couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing against his mouth, kissing him between giggles as he wrapped his arms around his lovers body, tugged him up off the floor in a hug as he kissed him. He tipped his head to reach, still giggling around it as he hugged him tightly.

Lex's hands fell out of Clark's hair as they wound instead around his neck. "You... you are just amazing to me, Clark. And I love you. So much." He slid one hand down to rub the mark on Clark's forearm, the one that matched his own. "I missed this."

The mark was a straight arrow of lust, and when Lex's fingers touched it the laughter stopped and a gasping little grown came out instead. He trembled softly, squeezing him gently as he gazed up into his lovers face. His crinkled with the grin, white teeth flashing as he gently stroked over Lex's back and lowered him to the ground… following so Lex's fingers would stay around his neck. "I love you, Lex."

"I miss your curls," Lex finally admitted, pressing a kiss to his lover's grinning mouth. "I can't anchor as well." He left his hands around Clark's neck, and licked down his jaw, and then brought Clark's hand up to his mouth, licking over the palm before kissing the mark, sucking it and scraping over it with his teeth. "Come on. If I don't stop now, then we're not getting to the lab this afternoon."

Too late. Clarks towel was... a bit tented, and he sighed quietly when Lex licked and nibbled at his arm with a tremor. "Welcome... to my world." But his grin was broad, as he slid his fingers behind Lex's head and tugged him gently close. "Like that. Pull me in… in close." Oh, he trembled, murmuring another kiss against Lex's ear as he spread his palms wide over the long expanse of his loves back.

Lex did. He pulled Clark in tightly against him, clothed body pressed against naked, belt buckle against belly button, groin to groin. Lex's hands brought Clark's wrists together behind him, so they wrapped tightly to his waist, and Lex nestled his head into a welcoming shoulder.

Oh, and it was such a bliss. Clark murmured appreciatively and snuggled Lex close with tender little movements, whispering soft nothings against pale skin and lapping gently at his neck, his collar bones, underneath his jaw. "Lex... gotta go down there. Want to know about…" A wisping sigh. "About me. Later. Later, when there’s lots of time, and you can be inside me. Too long... miss you inside me." He whispered.

Lex nodded against Clark's skin. "I miss being inside you." He rubbed fingertips over Clark's arms. "I miss being deep in you, and I want you. So much." His hand slipped down to stroke the tent in the towel through the soft linen. "Waiting will only make us want it more."

Gasp... and a quiet whimper against all that petal pale skin. Lex's fingers were skilled, so, so skilled in what they did, and he whimpered a second time… a third, arching softly and nodding helplessly. "Want you, miss you taking me, miss you... want to wait, don’t want to, be in me, b…"

Lex raised his fingertips to rub gently over Clark's lips. "Mmmm. We can have a quickie here--and then later, I'll make love to you. Like you deserve." He rubbed his thumb across Clark's chin. "Would you like that?"

He nodded, helplessly, already tugging at the knot at the corner of his hips as his free fingers streaked down over Lex's ass, burying his face in his neck as he lapped and licked at him and moaned in excitement, letting out a breathless little giggle as he let go of the horror of the knot and untucked Lex's shirt to tug up over his head.

Lex batted Clark's hands away. "No... no time to get naked. If I do, this won't be quick." He moved to stand behind Clark, pushing his lover against the wall, fingers unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. "Brace yourself on the wall and spread your legs a little," Lex instructed with a light pop to his lover's ass.

He gasped, bracing himself as his lover instructed and spread his legs, baring himself for his love before tugging the towel still hooked around his waist up a little to bare his ass. Strongly muscled and tense now with want, head hanging forward as he panted. "Hurry, get in, fuck me hard, want your dick in me, want you to shove inside, Lex, please, hurry."

Lex stroked Clark's ass roughly, popping it lightly again. The only lubrication he used was the slick precum that glistened on the head of his cock, and bracing one hand on Clark's shoulder, he used the other to press the head against Clark's opening, and then he shoved inside.

Hot, harsh, tight. Lex moaned gutturally, feeling throbbing muscles twitching around him as he forced his cock into the unstretched passage. A jerk of his hips, and he pulled out, spreading a thin layer of precome inside before slamming back home again.

He gasped, helplessly. The thrust had been clean, tight, and he let out a cry of shocked, pleasured pain as his ass locked around Lex's dick and held him in the second thrust. He moaned, heavily, leaning forward a little more as he squeezed and released, squeezed and released his lovers thick member deep inside. So deep, in his belly, and he moaned heavily as he set his forehead on the wall and offered himself to be fucked. "Yes, yes, hard, h-hard, please!"

The deep moan turned into a growl as Lex's hands slid down to Clark's hips, gripping them tightly and starting to fuck hard. Bodies met with a thud as they slammed together, pelvis against buttocks as Lex's cock buried itself to the balls inside Clark with every pounding stroke. His fingers moved from Clark's hips for just a moment, reaching under him and twisting taut little nipples in his nails as he fucked harder and faster.

"Mine," Lex snarled, nails raking over Clark's back before digging back into his hips and pulling him back into the hard thrust. "Always mine, never going to let you go again." He was starting to sweat as he thrust, and he hooked his arm around Clark's waist, using the weight and momentum of Clark's body to pull him back.

Oh, my, God. Clarks alien, foreign mind took over, violently, his cry of pleasure turning into a cry of total and utter submission. He pressed his body back, hard into each thrust, letting out sobs of ecstasy as his entire body trembled with goosebumps. Lex was fucking him, fast, hard, and his body was made for this, and it pleased him. Another cry, another, following Lex's unspoken commands as he fucked him as hard as he ever had. "Yours, Oakenepel, always yours!"

Lex growled deeply, pleasured at the outcry from his lover. He was glad his aushna' knew who he belonged to, and he changed the angle of his thrusts, slamming the blunt head of his cock against Clark's prostate in reward. The nails stopped raking over Clark's back, and the hand slipped instead to wrap around Clark's cock, stroking it roughly and unrhythmically.

And then Lex had to go and scrape his lower back.

Clark bucked backwards, twice, racing his fingers under the towel and gripping Lex's own fist around his cock, thrusting once, twice, and exploded. Thick ribbons of it shot from him into their joined palms and he grit his teeth, hard, moaning like an animal in his chest as he orgasmed, still thrusting in Lex's fist as he thrust his orgasm out, head thrown back before it fell forward and he sagged.

Lex had forgotten, in the heat of their passion, about the small nodule there, and his palm pressed down hard on it as he felt Clark coming around him. He growled, wrenching his cock out of the impossibly tight passage and thrust in harshly once more before his seed spilled into Clark's ass. He shuddered as his body rode the orgasm out, hips twitching and rolling gently as his arms wrapped around Clark's torso.

Fuck. Fuck. It shot into him, far, warm, sending all of his insides to delicious quaking as it accepted the friendly, familiar intruder and embraced it. It was such a natural part of being with his lover, feeling his seed inside of him, and the pleasure of it, of this giving of bodies, was intense.

He trembled, pushing back and vising around his lover as one palm found his lovers hands, the other keeping him braced on his wall. "Mmmm."

Lex nodded against his lover's damp back. "oh yeah. Mmmm." He stroked Clark's belly with his clean hand as he used his foot to maneuver the towel up to wipe the come off his other hand. "I needed that; thank you."

"Needed it to." He murmured, sighing softly and squirming into Lex's hips. "Feel your come. S'inside. Deep. Feels.." Breathy moan.

Lex answered the squirm with a easy thrust. "Feels... what, baby?"

"Good." He moaned now, and Christ, yes. Stretched open, deep, his lovers fingers on him, around him, protecting him, his seed deep inside.

Lex bit the back of Clark's neck gently, sucking the tip of his lover's spine. "Come on. Downstairs. Must work."

"Work good." He murmured, and gently pulled himself up and out, Lex leaving him with a soft, hollow little pop that he had to giggle to. He straightened and kept that little bit of his lover inside, which pleased him enormously, and he smiled just tenderly and wiped Lex's damp cock.

"Want help holding that in?" Lex asked softly, rubbing his hand over Clark's arm and kissing his hand.

"What?" Duh, your lover can feel your thoughts. "Oh.." He blushed, his cheeks flaming, and buried his face in Lex's neck.

"Come on then." Lex tugged Clark out of the bathroom closet, sniggering gently in his thoughts at the image of them coming out of the closet together, and pushed him towards the bed. "Face down, on your stomach."

Clark caught the thought and grinned helplessly, pinching his lovers still clothed little butt as they walked, and nodded softly. "Mmkay, aushna'." He followed orders, stretching out on their rumpled comforter and sighing in pleasure at the cool, cozy sheets on his bare, clean chest. "Mmmm."

Lex opened the drawer of their nightstand, and pulled out a squat, purple butt plug and their ever-present lube. He stroked the small purple cock once, squirting lube onto the head and working it over the shaft. Then he rubbed a slick thumb over Clark's ass. "This will be a little cold at first," he cautioned, and then with a swift, firm push, the plug was lodged tightly in Clark's ass. He watched in fascination as his lover's body sucked it in, and he rocked the base to make sure it was firmly gripped.

It was.

Lex slapped Clark on the bare cheek again. "There. Tell me how that feels."

Oh. God.

Clark let out a yelp of pleasure, eyes widening as he tightened around the intruder and gasped into the bedspread, tingles racing up his spine. A part of his lover was going to stay inside of him, and the thought, the thought, was so pleasing that he moaned in pleasure and in happiness, wriggling his hips and grinning.

Lex laughed softly, feeling Clark's pleasure tingling through his own veins. "Come on. Get dressed before I get undressed."

"Okay." He rolled over, beamed in pride that Lex would want to KEEP himself INSIDE of him, and he kissed him soundly before wriggling from the bed spread and straightening. "Feels… oh, feels so good." But he could walk, which was something the egg hadn’t been keen on. He could move around and it felt just fine. He walked into the closet, the purple base barely visible under the round firmness of each cheek, and when he emerged five minutes later, in a blue t-shirt, floppy jeans like he'd worn that morning and flip flops barely peeking out from the denim.

"On forth, my lovely luva."

As Clark was changing, Lex ducked into the bathroom, toweled himself off, and changed into fresh clothes--black slacks, one of Clark's favorite purple sweaters, and casual black shoes. Just the knowledge that Clark wanted to keep him inside kept a smile on his face. "Let's go." He wove his fingers through his lover's and tugged him out the door, and down the steps of the great hallway.

Clark couldn’t get the idiot smile off his face. He was thrilled, thrilled, and couldn’t quite find a reason why. So he just hummed in glee, taking Lex's hand tightly in his own. Their thick fingers laced and stayed, palm to palm, and they walked right on out and down the hall. The carpet was spongy under his flip flopped feet and he was humming again, bopping happily and trembling in glee everything the plug shifted and moved.

In typical Lionel Luthor fashion, Lionel threw the front doors to the mansion open wide. Finally, they were home. Or, as close to home as they could get. Lionel turned, and grinned cockily at his lover. "I don't think I can quite carry you over the threshold yet, but I'm sure that once we get upstairs, I could manage something." Enrique was busy carrying their bags up through the back entrance, where there was an elevator, and he completely ignored the soft patter of footsteps on the stairs, unaware of who it was standing there.

"Yeah, who could resist that? Dominic smirked right back, laptop strap on his arm, and stepped right across the threshold beside him. The house... it smelled like home, and he'd dearly missed the place he'd come to think of as his home. It smelled like freshly baked cookies and pot roast, his mama's he was sure, and the helpless sigh was out of his control.

He was weak for cooking. He was even weaker for his moms cooking. The way to his heart was through his stomach, and that was why he would love Ms Bird, as well as his mother, until the day he died.

Which just made him snicker.

He reached out and laced fingers with Lionel, boots quiet on the wooden floors, and sighed softly. "Aye, my lovely, its good to be home. I missed it. And might I add that if you try and carry me anywhere, I'll take a foot to your ass."

Lionel sighed heavily. "Then I'll have to return my black mask and horse; I'd intended to carry you off tonight but since you'll not allow it... you're stuck with me in this house." He squeezed Dominic's fingers and used them to reel his lover in against him. "But I think you'll be able to survive."

"All I need is you. ...And some milk and cookies, and The Bourne Identity on Pay Per View." Innocently added, as his eyes twinkled up at his love and he kissed his chin, then lips, soundly. "Come on, then. A dip in the pool and milk and cookies."

Lex's good mood suddenly vanished as he and Clark rounded the corner of the stairs and saw his father and Dominic standing there. He stiffened against his lover, body going rigid as his lips twisted into a small sneer.

Clark saw it...felt the change, and followed Lex's eyes, to Dominic and Lionel necking at the front door. They were dressed smartly but comfortably, and seemed... seemed to be totally in love.

And Clark just gazed at his lover, squeezed his hand, and begged him without words not to start anything.

Dominic was still smiling. "'nd then perhaps we can go into town tonight, go to dinner and see a movie. That is," He teased, "If you think you can make it through an hour of Nicole Kidman."

Lex acknowledged his lover's silent plea, and squeezed Clark's hand again in return, lacing their fingers tightly together as they walked off the stairs. "Dad. Dominic. Excuse us, please." It was only for Clark's sake that he didn't make the snide comments that were floating around in his head.

Lionel rolled his eyes and dropped his head down to rest against Dominic's. "Let it go," he pled softly. "I am trying to."

"Aye. 'ullo, Clark, how are you?"

Clark was a little shy, and he smiled crookedly at the blond man, nodding a little and swallowing. "Hi, Mr. Senatori."

"How are you doin'? How was the first day of school?"

"Good." He didn’t mention the part about skipping. "Really good. I brought Shayla home... I hope that’s okay."

"Aye, it is." He smiled at the young boy. "Does she seem to be fitting in well, then?"

"Oh, most definitely." Clark nodded a few times and smiled back, ignoring the hostility going on with both Luthor men. "She really liked it, from what I could tell."

Lex watched the interaction with Dominic, arms crossed over his chest. "If you'll excuse us, gentlemen," he butted in rudely. "Clark and I have other plans."

"That seems to be the way of it, doesn’t it?" Dominic shot back, just as rudely, at his step son. "Go on, then, with whatever importance you're to be having."

Lex growled in the back of his throat. "Thank you so much for your permission... father," he said, lacing the title with as much hostility, sarcasm, and ill-humor as he possibly could.

And it hurt. God, dammit, he hated that it did, but it hurt him. Dominic hadn’t been expecting open arms in any situation involving Lex, but his eyes narrowed and he glared, darkly. "Don’t. Alrigh'? You’re a smart lad, and you know when to draw the line. Draw the line here, Lex, and don’t go over it, because family or no family, I won't take your absence of respect."

"You've done nothing to earn it, Dominic. You and my father have left me out of things at every turn, taken every chance to rub my face in the fact that you have left me out of things, and if you're going to treat me with that little respect, then I see no reason why I should give you respect in return."

Oh. He bore down now, letting go of Lionel’s hand before he broke it, and his face darkened. "And why is it, exactly, do you think we leave you out of things, hmm? Not that we did in the particular situation you seemed to be so incensed over, but really, Lex. Why do you think we do? We've had nothing but complete, total unacceptance from you from day one. I thought the last few weeks had brought a change in you, but it seems I was deeply mistaken."

Clark... yeah. Clark winced. They both had points, and he was very much stuck in the middle of things… sort of. Eep?

Lionel felt Clark's pain, in this situation. While he didn't quite sympathize with Lex's points, Lex was his only child, and being in the middle of child and lover was not a place that Lionel enjoyed being. At all. "Clark? Perhaps you'd come with me? We have a few things we need to discuss."

Lex snorted. "You really expect me to accept you and my father when you've done nothing but show how little my acceptance matters to you? You've made fun of me. You've harassed me, you've gone out of your way to deliberately infuriate me, and then you expect me to open my arms and smile and pretend that nothing has occurred, and I am simply not going to do that, Dominic. Not until I get a goddamned good reason to."

Clark nearly jumped over the two feuding men. He stopped himself, just in the nick of time, and kissed Lex's shoulder gently before letting go of his hand and walking around him. "I’m in the other room if you need me, baby." And he swallowed, gazing at Lionel and feeling about this big, following him quietly with a nod.

Heheh! Oh, how fun irritating Lex was. A sport, really. His brow rose, though, and his arms crossed about his chest. "Thank you, Lex. It feels good to know that tiny commentary from the likes of me makes you feel such a way. It makes me feel like you, gasp, like me." He rose the other brow. "Infuriating you is just about as fun as horse racing, I’m afraid. I do it to tease you, not to harm you. Get a thicker skin, man. Think, Lex. Think about the type of family I come from, and the things we say to one another. You were there, when Megan and Riley got into a brawl. You heard the things they said. Its a form of affection, and I’m sorry if it wounds you so."

"You do this to tease me? Being called a bitching old woman, that is teasing. But what you and my father do is so far beyond teasing that it's no longer amusing!" He glared. "Do you want to bring up family? Then consider the family you've married into! You claim to care about my father and I, and yet, you do not give the merest shred of respect that we deserve! God only knows why my father puts up with it, but I'm not going to! I'm not Megan, I'm not Riley, and I'm not any other member of your Godforsaken family! You will not treat me like that!"

His temper spiked, hard, but his voice remained very soft and calm even as his eyes flashed with deadly intent. "I’m not going to feel shamed for anything I do, first of all, Lex. Lets make that clear right now. I’m your fathers assistant, and I’m below the both of you... in our business world. But here, where its you and me and him, I’m a human being, and I’m your equal. So don’t you dare start talking about my having to give you respect. What am I, a dog to grovel at your feet? No, I’m afraid not. I won't treat you like that--in fact, I won't treat you in any fashion, because I’m so sick of your sanctimonious bullshit. You, you claim to be my friend, but you... Christ, and Jesus on a cross." He snarled, glaring darkly.

Lex dropped his hands to his hips. "I thought we were becoming friends again, Dominic! You listened to me when I had doubts about being worthy of Clark; you helped me when I had more hair than my father and I didn't know what to do with it. You... you helped me find Clark when I thought I'd lost him. And I was starting to trust you again. And then... this. Nothing but harassment, nothing but teasing, nothing but... disrespect. And it hurt. It hurt because I had tried to be a good man--and this is what you did to me when I tried."

God, fucking dammit. "Then I’m sorry, to have disappointed you. It was never meant that way."

"Did you ever stop to think how it might feel on the other end of it? Or were you too busy laughing your ass off at me, Dominic? Were you too busy laughing with my father over the stupid little boy who thought he was going to have a father and a family again?" He turned his back to Dominic for a moment until he could glare again without the sheen of tears.

"Aren’t you a bloody idiot." Dominic… just… stared. "A true idiot, as it were. Do you think that low of me, of your father, to laugh at you for such a thing? Where the bloody blazes did you get that?"

Lex didn't turn back around yet. "How about every goddamned time I turned around the two of you had your heads together snickering about something or other. Every goddamned time." He swallowed hard, throat working as he tried to keep reign on his emotions and his temper.

"We weren’t laughing at you over that at all, boy." Dominic couldn’t stop staring. "Lex, we just thought it amusing the way you reacted to the news, as if you hadn’t a clue we would ever take that step." So this was where it came from, and it hurt him, knowing Lex thought so very little of himself. "Do you know the reason your father and I got married without telling anyone? The press. The little fiasco that happened at the meeting could have been a million times worse. No one knows, but your father and I, Megan, who was our witness, and now you. Lex, we didn’t get married in secret to spite you. We got married in secret so your father wouldn’t lose his reputation and career. Lex.." He took a step forward… another. "Your father, and I, we care for you very, very deeply. Can you understand that? Your father adores you, and I love you as my friend....and if you'll take it, as my son. There was nothing bad about our intentions towards you, Lex."

"A goddamned telephone message, Dominic. Which I didn't even fucking get until today," he growled, and then jerked away. "Don't touch me."

"Are you angry your father and I are married now, Lex? Do you think Id...I'd take the place of your mother?"

And at that, Lex did whirl. "Nobody could take her place, Dominic. Nobody. Not even you. Not Martha Kent. And if you even tried, you'd be gone. Because nobody would do that to my mother."

Dominic jumped… his eyes widened. "I wouldn’t try, Lex." He said it softly. "I’m sorry... that we've hurt you this way. But just know we had every good intention at heart."

"You're... sorry. Yeah. You are."

Dominic shrugged a little, and the fight just went...right out of him. "Maybe. I'm going to go find your father."

"That's right. Go and find Dad. Have another little laugh at how stupid I've been."

"Stupid boy. I just hope someday you open your eyes, and get past the wall of complete and utter denseness that seems to be around you."

"Denseness?" Lex glared, and took a few steps forward. "I'm dense? So tell me, oh ye wise man, what, exactly, am I dense about? The fact that you need my help to have a child with my father? The fact that neither of you seemed to give a damn that I wasn't told, wasn't involved, wasn't even aware of your plans this weekend? What, exactly, Dominic?"

"Don’t." Terror, hot and hard in his throat. No. Don’t take my baby away. "Don’t even... try to go there, Lex." His voice shook with it, as he turned to look at him again. "And what of it? Hmm? What if you'd been involved, Lex? Would you have truly given a royal fuck?"

"I'm not. I gave you my word that I'd help you and I will. I'm not like my father; I don't go back on my word." He clenched his hands into fists. "Yes. I would have. I could have made sure that you weren't followed. I could have made sure that those fucking photographs never got taken. I could have held the goddamned conference myself and not dragged either of you back here. I may not like you, Dominic. And I may not like my father right now either. But what neither of you understand is... I want a family, Dominic. I won't ever be part of the Kent family. Not really. As much as I have wanted that, I know now that it's not going to happen no matter what I do or don't do. I want to be a part of my father's family, but every time I try, I keep getting slapped in the face for it."

"I’m sorry, Lex." There was nothing left to say. "We never intended for your feelings to get hurt. But you're...you've got such a skewed perspective on what we feel for you. What I feel for you. Perhaps its the life you've led, and the number of times this very thing has happened. But I say this to you now, as family. I will always, always be here to help you, and protect you, and care for you, even if you can't stand the sight of me. I would like very much to have you as family. And I’m sorry we left you out. We just thought it wiser not to let anybody know."

Lex's laugh was bitter. "Skewed.... skewed perspective? You can say that after everything my father's done to me and put me through? Not the least of which was exiling me here so he no longer had to deal with me? I excelled here to spite him, Dominic. I did amazing things because he'd be forced to take an interest, and what does he do? Half the time he can't be troubled and he sends you." Another bitter, choked-off sound. "And this is skewed how, exactly?"

"You weren’t in my shoes, Lex. You didn’t see what went on behind the show, you didn’t see the man behind that crotchety bastard. You didn’t see him, night after night, day after day, sink further and further into himself until the person you thought you knew was gone, under a layer hard as stone and a depression so thick that everyone, everyone, knew about it. You didn’t see the drawers of medications, and you weren’t aware of the therapist he signed on without anyone knowing but me. Those things you didn’t see, Lex. Those things are what makes your perspective skewed. He never, never wanted to hurt you, of that I know. He loved you, and he wanted the best for you. And he loves you now, if you can get your head out of your bloody ass and see it."

Depression? Medication? Therapy? What? "My father has never been depressed a day in his life."

"Oh really? Are you certain of that?"

And with that, Lex suddenly deflated. No, he wasn't at all certain. Seems that yet again, someone else knew his father better than he did. "No. I'm not. The bastard doesn't tell me anything, apparently."

"He doesn’t tell anyone anything, Lex. He didn’t tell me, and I only knew because it got to the point where he was without care and asked me to make his appointments for him." Dominic tipped his head and furrowed his brow. "Not a word to him. If he knows I told you he'll never forgive me."

Lex just nodded. "I won't tell him." He sat heavily down on the stairs. He'd been a complete idiot. He'd thought Lionel had finally wanted something to do with him--only to find out that he didn't even know the man his father had become. At all. "I was a fool," he said softly aloud. "I was a fool to think I'd ever know him. Fool to think he'd ever let me in."

Dominic approached quietly... sat on the step beside Lex, though he left space between them. "You're not. At all. I’m married to him, and there are many things I don’t know about him. For that matter, I’ve been his right hand man for fifteen years, and there’s things I don’t know." He looked at the stair beneath them. "It began about six months after your mother died. He didn’t come in to work for a few days... and when he finally did, he was very... aloof. Quiet, reserved. He drank a great deal, for a long time… and when the drinking finally began to impede upon his work performance, he started seeing the therapist. Its why he sent you away... he didn’t want his only son seeing him self destruct."

"Of course not," Lex said bitterly. "Wouldn't want the world to know you're human. Doesn't do for a Luthor to be anything less than perfect."

"Wouldn’t you know it, as you're exactly like that."

Lex glared. "I am very much less than perfect, Dominic. My father makes sure that I know that."

"To teach you humility. So you'll never take the path he did, and deal with the pain." Dominic leaned over a little more, rose his knees, and lay his cheek on them as he looked at his young friend. "It was, very much, when our physical relationship began." Dominic paused for a moment, to make sure Lex wouldn’t die or anything, knowing his dad gasp, had sex. "It... we had done things, before. We've had... a bit of a thing going for years, now, and it wasn’t until we both admitted it that we got here. Anyway, he took me, very hard, one evening. And the evening after that. And the evening after that. I was the portal for his tension, and his pain, and I took it. Because I loved him."

A moment. "And you see, your father taught you well. Because for what I can see, you've not taken your emotions out on young Mr. Kent yet."

Lex shook his head. "No. I wouldn't do that to Clark. He knows what I'm thinking and feeling anyway; I wouldn't take it out on him, even though I know he'd let me. I won't hurt him."

"See?"

"See what?"

A soft sigh. "Do you see why your father taught you what he did... and why he did?"

"No, I don't."

"Lex, hate me. Hate me all you want to--go on the highest tower on the highest peak of the highest hill and bellow out your hatred of me. But don’t hate your father. He loves you, he loves you so very much. You’re his son. You come from his body--you are his child, and he adores you."

"I have hated my father since I was thirteen," Lex pointed out.

"Head. Out. Of. Your. Ass."

"Head. Not. In. My. Ass."

"You mean to tell me that you're going to continue hating him?"

"That seems to be what he wants. I thought otherwise, for a time. But I seem to have been mistaken."

Dominic slapped a palm to his forehead, which was a bit difficult with his head laying down. So he lifted it, and brought his palm down his face, rubbing his mouth before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Jesus," A glance up. "Why didn’t you give me an easy lot in life? Mmm?"

"If you're expecting an answer from the great deity, don't. I've learned to stop asking."

"Its how you perceive him, I think. He's saved me life more times then I can count."

"And he's done nothing but make mine miserable," Lex countered.

"Has he, now? I see an accomplished young man with a sound head on his shoulders, a giving spirit, a mate who adores him, a house as grand as this, a business that’s flourishing despite his headstrong ways, and a driving spirit that will never die. How is that miserable? You haven’t much of a family, but I think that’s going to change. You have people who care."

"I've never had a father who cares about me. I was sent away, time and time again, to whatever boarding school or institution that would take me off his hands. I was made quite aware, time and time again, that I was a disappointment to my father because I'd lost my hair, because I'd done whatever I'd done that week, or because I wouldn't fire people who worked for me. No matter what I've done in this town, my father's reputation and my last name have been thrown up in my face as reasons why I'm considered to be the spawn of Satan in the eyes of Smallville."

"You know, Lex…" He tipped his head and set his cheek on his knees again. "I was raped when I was your age. It haunts me, and it comes up, and it hurts me all the time. But I don’t let it get me down. It happened to me...but its not who I am. I don’t let it be who I am. My father died, when I was ten years old. I didn’t have one, at all--didn’t have anyone to give me that emotion, disappointment, or love, or pride or sadness. But I don’t let it get me down, either... I’ve a mother who loves me, even if she wasn’t always around. But it never got me down, either. Because I wouldn’t let it." He didn’t dare reach out, but he wanted to. Desperately. "No matter what I’ve done in Metropolis, people still see the boy from the Irish backwoods, and I’m thought of, at times, as an idiot in the eyes of Metropolis. But I don’t let it get me down. Lex...you lack something that every human being needs--faith. Have faith. Work for what you believe in, make do with your lot in life and work up from there. Because if not, you'll always dwell on the bad, on the horrid, and you'll never see gems in front of you until its too late and they've passed you by. Work on your dream, and fuck whatever happened to you. Don’t let it get you down, don’t let it hurt you. I didn’t, and look at where I am. I’ve a husband who adores me and a step son who hisses and snarls at me in the most amusing of manners. My family. I have a family, now."

"You had your mother. You had brothers and sisters, and I'm sure friends. I didn't. I did things that I'm not proud of; I did things I regret. It wasn't until I met Bruce Wayne that I even knew what friendship was and it definitely did NOT prepare me for the other friendships I've attempted to have. Every time I've worked for what I believed in, it was taken away from me. I have three unfinished undergraduate degrees, and one unfinished doctorate at three different colleges. Do you know why they're unfinished? Because my father jerked me out of the programs before I could finish because none of them were appropriate for the Luthor heir. I tried to save jobs here in this town; what did my father do but sick you on me first, you and your little adding machines, and then came down himself and fenced with me for the cuts. He won, of course, demanding that I fire my workers. I refused, and I was told it was my one chance to defy him. And I've not been allowed to since without paying for it. He called me back to Metropolis, and I refused to go. He shut down my plant and bought my workers' mortgages. I bought the plant, I saved their homes, and he sends you again with your little beans and your adding machines, and I sent you back to him in the trunk of his car. Believe me, Dominic, I've been well taught what I can and cannot work for and believe in."

Dominic rubbed his hand over his face again, slid from the stairs, and stretched his poor sore bones a minute. He could speak… but he didn’t. He just...he looked into the distance a minute, then again to Lex. "Then there isn’t really much of anything left to say, Lex."

"No. There isn't. As much as I want it... it's never going to happen."

"When you say it can't happen, in life, it usually doesn’t. Its the way you look at things, Lex. Its the way you approach situations. But I can't explain all of it you. I could tell you till I’m blue in the face, and it wouldn’t work."

"All right, Dominic. Let's pretend I believe this. Let's just look at what all we've done lately, hmm? We were making headway. I had my father, for a very brief instant. We worked together, he took my opinions into consideration, and I was beginning to trust him. And then suddenly... one day, it's back to the way things used to be."

"What, you mean the conference?"

"No. It was happening long before that."

"What exactly happened to make you think your father didn’t care, Lex?"

"I think being left out of the loop of your wedding was a hint. Another hint was, I found out about the merger deal from you instead of him. Yet another was his accusing me of making light with my mother's memory. Choose one."

"Have you not been listening for the past bloody hour, Lex? The man is emotionally scarred. Your mother's death nearly killed him. He loves you so much he can barely look at you sometimes. Did you know I’m jealous of it sometimes? When he talks about you, he gets this light in his eyes that only you can make. He is so goddamn proud of you, and you just don’t see it. And that’s it! I am not talking about this with you any more. Its bloody well time you learn to talk to him yourself--I refuse to be the middle man any longer. Either you sit down and talk to him, or I’m stealing Clark and we're moving to Argentina."

"You lay a hand on Clark and you'll lose it."

Lex's eyes darkened to near-black as he said that, and his hands balled into tight fists at his side.

Uht oh. Dominic’s eyes widened, and he was horrified to say that a pang of fear hit his heart.

"He's not yours. He belongs to me, and you will not take him away, Dominic. I'll kill you before I let you touch him."

"I won’t. I won't take him, alright?" Dominic frowned at him. "Idiot. He's sixteen, I’m to be 36 in a few hours. What the devil would I want with a sixteen year old boy?" A roll of his eyes.

Lex's eyes quieted then. "Do not disparage him."

"Duh."

Lex's hand shot out and wrapped around Dominic's throat, tightly enough to make it difficult for him to breathe. "I mean it. You will not talk about him that way."

His eyes widened again. Fear, primal, gut wrenching fear, about the last time he'd been in a hold like this, and not so much Lex. He was a wiry thing, but Dominic could take him. And take him he did. He pulled his fist back and let it fly, fast, knocking his young step son right in the mouth… then doing it again, for good measure.

Lex's grip was loosened on Dominic's throat and he shoved him back against the wall, spitting blood out of his mouth where he'd bitten his tongue and his lip had busted against his teeth. Hard, gun-metal gray eyes glared out of Lex's face as he stalked towards Dominic.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" Dominic rubbed his neck, glaring at Lex deeply.

"You can say anything you want to about me. I don't care." Lex's voice was quietly menacing. "But you will not threaten Clark. You'll not talk about him like he's worthless. You will not."

Oh, and also, the thunk against the wall? Not nice. He glared again, straightening up, and rolled a shoulder under his thin t-shirt.

"When did I ever say any of those things? I saw I was going to take him with me to Argentina, not bloody well fuck him over a table, Lex." He just. Stared. "What is your problem?"

"You implied that he wasn't good enough for you. He's better than you'll ever be." Lex glared. "He's not going anywhere with you. At all."

"He isn’t a good partner for me, Lex, he's sixteen." Dominic just stared. He couldn’t do anything but stare. "You ever touch me like that again, Lex, and I swear to you on your fathers head that I'll pound you in. Are we clear?"

"Then don't ever talk about Clark like that again, and I won't have to defend his honor."

"Alright." He reached forward, snagged Lex's ear in a death pinch he'd learned from his mum, and dragged him down the hall to the room Lionel and Clark had disappeared off to.

Lex bared his teeth and snarled like an animal, snapping at Dominic as he was dragged along. "Let me go or I will call Clark."

"Oh, I’ve wet my knickers in fear." Dominic ignored the teeth, dragging him right along until he threw open the door, and tossed Lex in. He followed right behind, and would have spoken immediately if the men hadn’t been in the middle of their own fight.

Lex's blood was boiling, and he nearly bellowed out to Clark in his own language, but kept a tight lid on the rolling rage.

Lionel's left hand was tucked against the back of his hip, balancing himself as he moved swiftly back and forth, torso whipping side to side as he lunged forward, blocking each thrust of Clark's saber as it came at him.

~ * ~ * ~

Lionel turned on his heel and led Clark down the hallway, and into the empty room that had been converted into a gymnasium. "Tell me, young man, has Lex taught you the fine art of fencing?" Lionel examined the selection of swords leaning on a nearby rack.

Oh, crap. Lionel was going to skewer him, instead. Meep. Maybe he should have stayed with Lex. Racing back into the lions den didn’t seem to be the wisest course of action though, and he swallowed and stepped up closer to the older man. "Uh...no. I got jealous o-of Heike, and never...he never did."

"Then it's high time you learned." Lionel let the foil drop back onto the rack, and motioned towards one of the lockers. "My gear is in the third locker. Get dressed."

"I..." He grinned, crookedly, and shyly. "Mr. Luthor, I can’t get hurt."

Lionel turned and gazed at Clark full on. "Young man... it's not about getting hurt. Whether or not you can get hurt, that isn't the point. The point is, if you wish people to believe you are normal, you must act it. At all times. Therefore, when you're told to put on protective gear, you do it."

Uht oh. Only his dad did the protective thing, so Clark hopped to go get it done. He went to the stylish rows of lockers, opening up the third and pulling the gear out. ...Not that he knew what went where, but he'd tug it on. And he did precisely that, starting to pull on the white, padded materiel.

Lionel shook his head. "Clark. Clark. Stop. Please. There is a method to these things. You dress in fencing gear just as you would anything else. Shirt, pants, boots, mask, gloves."

"..Oh." A swallow. "I... em. I get dressed a little differently. But… okay." Lionel had used his name. They were getting a foot up. He pulled the white pants on, pulled the suspenders up over his shoulders as the baggy jeans were tucked away… and felt… like... an idiot. He hastily got the shirt on, tugging the suspenders off, getting the shirt on, then leaning down to get the boots.

"No. Come here." Lionel shook his head. "You'll have to learn this sometime. The suspenders go on under the shirt, you had that right the first time. Pants get tucked into the boots. Hasn't Lex ever shown you how to do this much, at least?" He roughly straightened the collar on Clark's shirt. "Here. The Velcro closes over your throat, so you don't get stabbed in the trachea."

Clark nodded, then shook his head, eyes wide as Lionel helped him get dressed. Oh boy. He swallowed, again, in terror and nerves, and kept his back straight as Lionel helped. "N… no, sir, he hasn’t. Never. We... we don’t usually get this far."

Lionel held his hand up. "Please. That's more than I needed to know about my son."

He was terrified. Mortally. The man in front of him was shorter then he was... Clark had him by 40 years and about a hundred pounds. But he was still... yeah. There was something about Lionel Luthor that scared the hell out of him.

His shirt was now on correctly, his suspenders and boots and everything, and the face plate sitting on his newly chopped hair, waiting to be brought down.

Clark closed the locker and swallowed, heavily, looking at the man and then down, shyly.

Lionel's fencing gear sat easily on his body as though he'd been born in it. He wore it as a second skin, and flexed his fingers in his gloves. "All right. First things bloody last. Do you even know how to hold a foil, boy?"

"No. I mean... I’ve seen Lex hold it, so I’m kinda sure--...no."

Lionel sighed. "If Lex fired Heike, then I will re-hire her for the both of you." He held out his hand. "All right. The handle of the foil is very easy to grasp; it's a straight line. The pommel slides over your fist, so that when you hold it, your hand is protected. Point it straight out, and turn the handle in your hand until you find a comfortable grip."

"Okay." Clark did as he was told, holding the foil outwards and turning the handle until he felt he had a good grip on it... and he wouldn’t break it. He shifted in his truly fashionably corrupt pants, keeping an absent ear on what was going on with his lover but paying strict attention to Lionel’s orders. "Okay... I got it."

"You're not going to break it. Pull it in. Hold it tightly, keep your arm straight out, and imagine that there is a box around you, the width of your arm. I suppose it's too much to hope that you know how to dance?"

"I do." At that, yeah, he grinned a little, remembering his and Lex's meringue upstairs. "I know how to dance. There’s a box around me?"

"Yes. The same as your personal dance space. That's the space that you are defending; you're trying to keep me from slipping past your defenses to touch your torso inside your box. A red win is a touch to the heart; those are rare, and I have less than twenty of those in the forty years I've been fencing. Most of your wins will be white wins, and those are three touches--touches, as they're called--from the waist up. A touch to the face is a forfeiture."

"So..." Clark shifted. "Everything from the neck down...is...game? And what about stuff underneath your waist? What then? Like... like your leg?"

"No. Your only target is between the neck and the waist. Anything lower is out of bounds, because that's hobbling. That's the history of the game, when it was not just sport, but a way for two men to settle their differences."

"By stabbing one another with sharp implements?" Clark muttered something in his head about foolish humans, but his brows rose. "Why?" He shifted, getting his little make believe box ready, and backed up from Lionel a foot or two.

"Well, yes. It most times came down to a question of honor, and there were many duels fought to the death on the fencing stripe. This, Clark, is a gentleman's sport."

Oh. He understood honor. He was best friends with honor. He could get why they fought now. He'd fight anyone to the death for hurting his honor, or his mate's honor. Had been sorely tempted to, with Bruce, and Clark nodded at the older man, shifting and mimicking the older Luthor with a nod. "Oh. I get that."

"Somehow, I thought that you might." Lionel positioned himself. "There are two things that the sport of fencing requires; speed and balance. I will show you the intricacies of the different sword thrusts and plays later." He straightened. "To begin, you leave your face mask raised, and salute your opponent thus." He raised the saber to his face, so that the thin metal bisected his face. "Meet your opponent's eyes over your weapons, then drop your blade and lower your mask."

"Okay." He did it, and had he been human, would have sliced his nose off. He blinked... picked the metal up a little, and did it again, then dropped it to his side and pulled the mask down. "Okay, I’m with you." He muffled, straightening his back.

Lionel returned the salute, dropped his sword and mask, and assumed the first position. Left hand tucked to his hip, right hand gripping the sword in a simple thrust. "Usually, both competitors will begin at the same time, but since this is your first time, I shall allow you the first thrust."

"Okay." Holy crap, how did he do it? He mimicked Lionel’s position, setting his left hand tucked to his hip just like he did, swallowed, and thrust forward. Not close enough to hit, cause he had no idea what the hell he was doing, and nearly toppled over with the force of the movement.

Lionel shook his head. "Boy... watch." Lionel moved in the first thrust, a clean simple motion of sword thrusting forward as his weight followed behind it, feet moving along the stripe without stumbling. "There. Smooth. Like you're waltzing, almost. Smooth, easy motions."

So glad he had the mask on. HE would have died if Lionel had seen his blush. So he just watched, nodding and flinching out of the way by natural instinct. He mimicked the movement, bringing the sword forward as he kept his feet planted apart and his weight on his forward foot. Oh! Oh! It worked! "Like that?"

"Yes! Exactly like that! You are a very quick study."

Beam. Pure. Beam. "I learn fast. What next? Do we keep doing that?"

"We do. Each step is going to build on that simple thrust, and they will be building in complexity as your lessons continue. For now, though, we'll stick with the basics." He tossed his hair back behind the face mask. "Begin."

So Clark did. His brain was filing away each and every single one of Lionel’s movements, and he was countering them as he moved. He concentrated, forgetting everything.. .the world, even his lover, as he moved. Each movement was like a dance step... a paret, a dance in itself, only with sharp implements. He blocked Lionel’s thrusts, twice, and tapped the tip of his blade against his chest, right below his collar bone, and backed up.

Oh, shit.

"I...are you okay?"

Lionel glared at the young man through his mask, not realizing the gesture would be lost. "If you are going to apologize for taking the first point, do not. That is the nature of the game, and the objective as well."

Okay. He wasn’t used to hitting people and being congratulated on it. He blinked... rose his saber again, and spoke his mind. "Usually when I poke people, they don’t like it... I just hadta make sure." Swallow. "Mr. Luthor?"

Lionel raised his mask for a moment, and let his glare shine through. "My dear boy... you are not poking people, you are fencing. The very nature of the game means that your sword will invariably be touching another person's body. That is the point." He lowered his mask as the boy swallowed. "I do believe I've told you to call me Lionel."

"I know." Another swallow, and he took on the position again. "I’m... I wanted to apologize. To you. I know it won't help, but for what its worth, I’m sorry."

"Then if you know, do it." He raised his own saber and thrust at Clark. "You know, Clark, there are few things that an apology simply cannot fix. This is one of those things. However, in your defense, you did nothing wrong. Therefore, you have nothing to apologize for. My feelings, or at times, lack thereof, are not your concern."

"But they are, sir." Clark ducked the thrust, countered with one of his own, and they began to move across the mat again. "You're my aus... you're Lex's dad. And having your blessing in his and my relationship is very...it matters. It matters a lot. I’m very sorry I hurt you... I didn’t think."

Lionel shook his head as he blocked Clark's push forward. "My son will do what he pleases, Clark. With or without my consent, he's aptly proven that. Lillian... Lillian was very dear to me, and it was quite a shock to have you voice something so casually that is such a deep part of my soul. I won't apologize for my reaction, and neither should you. But I do hope you'll understand it."

"I do. I understand that." Yeah. His eyes were filled with tears, because something inside hurt at having so willingly forsaken his aushna's father without thought to his emotions. "I’m still sorry. There was no need for it. For what its worth, your wife was so, so beautiful. Lex loved her a lot."

Lionel paused for a moment, his saber still. "So did I, Clark... so did I."

"I know. That’s why... that’s why he wanted to share it. Through me, you could see her again." Clark swallowed, hard. "It just...he didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, the right away. And I’m sorry."

"It's quite all right, Clark." Lionel pulled himself back together, and his saber started moving again. "It was nice to see her again, especially through Lex's eyes." He swallowed thickly, forcing down the lump in his throat. "I do apologize for the things that I said to you. They were uncalled for, and caused by my anger and my upset."

"Its okay." Clark said quickly. "Its really, really okay. I know why you said it the moment you did." He continued to. "If you... you ever want to, I can show her to you again. And stuff."

Lionel shook his head slowly. "No, Clark. I appreciate the offer, perhaps more than you realize, but I have too many good things in my future to dwell on the past."

A nod. Another nod. "Lex told me you got married. Congratulations, sir." A thrust forward, blocking Lionel’s own movement and tapping his chest with the tip of his blade again.

Lionel was utterly shocked. "He... admitted to it?"

"Well, yeah." He nodded again. "I mean, he told me while he was all angry and stuff. I think he was mad cause he didn’t get to go, though." Clark dropped his sword so he wouldn’t take advantage of the still shock he could feel coming in waves. "He heard your message, and you didn’t hear this from me, but I think he got even angrier."

Lionel shook his head. "Nothing that I do will ever satisfy him," he finally said. "I know he disapproves... and yet, I still try to tell him what is going on, and he is angry with me because I tell him. I am beginning to believe it was futile of me to ever attempt to reconcile with him."

"I dunno about that." Clark set the saber tip down by his feet. "Lex is kind of a complicated guy, you know. He gets worried about stuff... he wants your approval. There's bad blood and stuff between the both of you, but he still wants to be your son." Clark shrugged. "I don’t like getting in the middle of stuff, but that’s what I think, anyway."

Lionel made a strangled noise deep in his throat. "My son has never wanted my approval for a single thing he's done in his life. Granted, I've never given him reason to believe he'd receive it, but Lex is not the child he used to be. I am not sure who he is any longer, and I am also not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing."

"You know... I think Mr. Senatori would agree with me." Clark tipped his head. "Talk to him. You know? Pull him down into a big comfy chair, get lots of booze, and talk. Cause you'll never know unless you do."

"His name is Dominic, and I don't think he'd have a problem with you calling him that," Lionel said, and he had to smile. "Clark... I would not trust myself and Lex alone in a room together. One of us would end up killing the other."

"I know." Another nod. "But it would be fun, growth death. ...Well, you know what I mean. Talk is good. If I let all the bad stuff I thought about my dad sit there, without trying to talk to him about it, I'd have run away when I was ten. But we talk, about everything, you know? Its kind of embarrassing sometimes...most times, but you know."

A deep, contemplative sigh. "Out of all the differences in my life and your father's... the only thing that I truly envy of his is the relationship that he has with you."

"That’s cause he won't leave me alone." This time, Clark grumbled. "He wants me to tell him about everything, which I do, cause I love him. But that’s how we keep it open....we talk, even when we don’t want to."

"Perhaps I should borrow your father's shotgun for this talk, because I have a feeling that is the only way I shall ever get anything out of my son."

"And I think, Mr. Luthor, you'd be very surprised."

"Lionel." A pause. "Unless you'd like for me to start referring to you as the Young Mr. Kent."

"Okay, Mr. Luthor." He grinned, at that. "Okay. Its ingrained, but I'll try."

Lionel picked up his saber again. "All right. Back to our exercise. If you'd like, we can continue these lessons three times a week, three hours an afternoon or evening, provided that fits in your schedule." He tucked his left hand back, and watched as Clark assumed the same position. "Good, Clark. Good. Remember, you want to touch the heart for a win, and anywhere on the chest area for a point."

~ * ~ * ~

"Got it, sir--...Mr. --Lionel." A cough, and he straightened, getting back in the position before every single hair on his body rose. He stopped, looking around... then gazed at the door for a moment before it exploded open. Dominic entered, dragging Lex by the ear, which in every other situation would have been really, really funny if Lex didn’t look completely furious, and Dominic didn’t match the emotion. He growled, very, very softly as Dominic let him go, still glaring, and Clark took a step forward. "Aushna'?"

"--oody hell, stupid boy, you ever do that again and I'll beat your ass in. Are we clear?" Dominic snarled, then glanced at the two men in fencing gear, and growled all over again.

Lex shook his head. "I am fine... for the moment." But he snarled at Dominic for good measure as he moved across the room to stand in front of Clark. "Touch me again and you'll regret it."

Lionel quickly raised his face mask and glared all around. "What in the nine circles of Hell is going on here?"

Clark very, very gently touched Lex's shoulder, and through it, through the touch and their link, made sure that nothing but his lover's pride was hurt. He gently kissed the abused ear, setting the saber to the side, and glanced over Lex's shoulder at Dominic...and the red finger marks around his neck. "Aushna', what happened?"

"Holiest of hell, your son tried to kill me. Tried. Failed. He does it again and I’m going to... to... do something unfavorable!" Dominic snarled, glaring darkly at Lex, then at Lionel. "I’m done with the bloody lot of you. I’m going upstairs." He threw his arms up, and stalked out.

"He threatened to take you away. Said that you were not good enough for him. Insulted you, your honor, your liskarem. I wouldn't let him get away with that, and I did what I had to to make him cease."

"He... he what?" Lionel watched as Dominic stormed out, then threw his mask and saber to the bench and grabbed Lex's shoulder, turning him around. "What in the hell have you done now, you ungrateful little bastard?"

Clarks eyes darkened...then turned blood hot with fury, as he wrenched Lex right back from Lionel’s furious hand. "You will not speak to him in such a way, Mr. Luthor. He is my aushna'... he is only a bastard because you have made him so. Don’t you ever again tell my lover he is ungrateful, or small in your eyes." Then again, to Lex. "Calm yourself, beloved. Tell me what has happened."

Lionel's eyes flared back at Clark. "I will speak to my son any way I please, especially when I find out he has been threatening my mate." He let Clark wrench Lex away, but he kept his eyes trained on Lex. "And I want a fucking answer, Lex. What have you done now?"

"He threatened to take you. To Argentina, if I didn't do his way and listen to him. When I told him not to insult you he wouldn't listen; I defended you." Lex felt rage prickling under his skin, both his own and Lex's.

A moment. Clark... blinked at his lover. "Mr. Senatori threatened to run away with me to Argentina, beloved, and you're angry?" Clark blinked again... and his eyes flashed in apology to Lionel before he turned and grasped Lex tightly in the circle of his arms. "Baby... I am not going anywhere. You are my mate... you are the one I love. No one can take me where I don’t wish to go. Beloved...I don’t think he was serious. I’m so glad you defended me, but you can calm down now. I’m not going anywhere, I promise."

Lex's arms wrapped firmly around Clark, inhaling his scent and kissing his lover's throat. "I don't care if he was serious or not; nobody is going to threaten to take you away from me." He didn't let go of his lover either.

"Lex, I am going to ask you one more time, what did you do to Dominic. And if I don't get an answer, I will do what I should have done years ago and turn you over my knee until you talk."

"Mr. L--... Lionel..." Clark looked up over Lex's shoulder. "Lex is a human... the instincts I have given him, they’re so new, they don’t make sense. Don’t be angry at him... its my fault. He was protecting my honor, because aushna's protect honor. That is what they're for. Don’t be angry, sir, he didn’t mean it the way it came off as. He's just learning, please don’t be mad."

"I think you're right, Clark. My son and I need to have a little chat."

Clark swallowed, hard, giving his lover another hard squeeze before letting go, and whispering in his mother language. Talk to him, my love. Don’t let more bad blood come between you. Speak to him… clear the air. If not for yourself, for me.

Lex rubbed his cheek against Clark's arm. I have nothing to say to him but for your sake, I will try.

"I love you, Lex." Clark murmured, just enough for Lionel to hear, and after pressing a kiss to his forehead, he took his leave. "Mr. Lionel? Thank you, for the fencing lessons... and I’m sorry I snapped a moment ago. And I'll take you up on your offer... I would like very much to take fencing lessons, if the offer still stands."

"Of course the offer still stands," Lionel said sharply. "I quite understand the snapping, and I'm sorry to ask you to leave, but I think that my son and I have a few things to discuss." He glared. "We will call you if the need arises."

"I'll only come running if I smell blood." He tried for the smile joke, grinned crookedly, and kissed Lex's lips softly once more before leaving.

Lionel watched as Clark left, and then turned cold eyes on his son. "This is the last time I'll ask you this, Lex. What did you do to Dominic?"

Lex just glared at his father. Burning, seething hatred sparked from flint gray eyes, and he straightened his back out of habit, staring his father right back down. "I protected my aushna'. Dominic was going to take him away, and I defended his honor."

"You put your hands on him again, and Clark won't be able to protect you, Lex." He ripped the Velcro collar of his shirt open. "I'll tolerate your bullshit for only so long before I do something about it, and you'll not lay hands on him."

"Don’t threaten me." The screaming need for vengeance was slowly starting to slide from his body, and in return he got a pool of anger in his gut. It clenched, tightly, and the glare turned into his classic smirk. "Don’t threaten me, Dad."

"Then stop acting like a fool." He pulled the white shirt off and smoothed his turtleneck down, pulling down his suspenders and tucking it back into the waistband of his slacks. "Clark seems to be better behaved than you are about this."

"Clark’s father didn’t go get married in Venice and didn’t tell anyone, let alone his son." Lex snapped back, walking over to the small table in front of the window. It held fresh ice, liquors and juices, and a large bowl of fresh green apples. Lex very calmly opened the stopper to the cognac, filling a small glass halfway, and added a splash of orange juice and ice before bringing it to his lips.

"And Clark is not a complete and total ass to his father's spouse, either," Lionel countered. "Clark doesn't go out of his way to make hurtful comments and remarks to his father's spouse."

Lex didn’t comment. Not yet. Just took another long swallow from the glass, as his control shivered on the breaking point. Calm, Lex. Don’t start screaming, not yet, not in front of this man. He was furious, rage making his elbows and knees shake... and he was sure he hadn’t been this angry in a long time. "And Clark's father treats him with respect, and gets it in return."

"And that comes down to the whole crux of the matter, right there. You're pouting because you think you've been disrespected in your life." Lionel stalked over to the table and jerked Lex around to look at him. "You have never done anything to show that you are worthy of my respect, Lex, and yet, I've tried to give it to you at every turn. But you consistently throw it back in my face that you don't need me, don't want me around, and generally make it clear that I'm an imposition on your life. And yet you turn into a sulky child when you get the very treatment that you've been angling for."

"I’ve never done anything to show you I’m worthy?" Not yet, Lex, don’t do it, not here. And yet, to his horror, tears filled his throat and shined over his eyes, and he wrenched away from his father violently, taking three steps back and slamming the glass hard against the table. "I don’t need you, Dad. I’ve never needed you, no, of course not. I didn’t need you when you put me as far away on the planet as you could, I didn’t need you when people hurt me, I didn’t need you for anything. No, I had a great time self-destructing, Dad, thanks." Lex turned from him again and without though, retreated further into the room.

"No, Lex. You didn't need me. You made that perfectly clear. Whenever I tried to talk to you about your outrageous behavior, you merely shoved money back in my face and told me you could afford to do what you wished." His throat closed tightly at the mention of self destruction, and shoved the old knife of pain back deeply down again.

"It was you who never needed me. Ever. You pushed me away every time I tried to get close. You pushed me away, you still push me away. Every time, Dad. You sent me away, as far as you could. Were you really that ashamed of me? Was it because you couldn’t stand looking at me?" His fingers unconsciously ran across the back of his head, and he kept his eyes averted. "Did you hate me that much?" He looked away, turned around to keep his back to him. "I’m sorry, I couldn’t be the son you wanted. You just got me, and it wasn’t enough."

"You little idiot," Lionel growled. "I sent you away because I couldn't stand you looking at me with your mother's eyes filled with hate."

"I hated you because you didn’t care!" Lex turned back to snarl it. "You didn’t care if mothers death killed me, you ignored me! You told me not to cry at her funeral! I was thirteen fucking years old, and you pushed your ugly little bald son away. And now, now. You got married, and you didn’t even find it fit to tell me in person. Invite me to your wedding. I thought things were better between us, Dad. I was badly mistaken."

"I told you not to cry because I couldn't," Lionel said quietly. "I could not cry, and if I'd seen your tears, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself." That's all he replied.

"Why?" He shot back. He was so close to losing it, and all that was keeping him in check was his anger. "Why? You couldn’t cry in front of your son? Did you think I'd think of you less of a man? You were my Dad. And up till then, I thought you loved me."

"Because, Lex... I promised your mother that I wouldn't. I laid my head on her stomach and I promised her that when the time came, I would be the strong man she had loved for fifteen years and not fall apart."

That was it. Metaphorically, symbolically. It all... it just... he couldn’t stop himself from doing it, as hard as he swallowed, as tightly as he clenched his jaw.

Tears tumbled down his cheeks in twin steady streams, until his eyesight was blurry. He kept himself ram rod straight, and cried in front of the man he told himself he never would cry in front of again. And he'd kept that promise, for almost fourteen years... but some times, and he knew this from his lover... it was okay to show what you felt. It was okay to let people see how deeply they'd cut. "You're lying."

"No, Lex. I'm not. I lie about a great many things, to you, myself, and the world, but the one thing that I will not lie about in any shape or form is your mother, and you should know that." His own jaw was clenched in a hard line almost the mirror of his son's.

He couldn’t stay. He had to get out of there. Now. Now. He glanced around, looking for a means of escape, and the only way out was to pass his father and go out the door behind him. He couldn’t. He couldn’t take the cowards way out, knowing his father had seen it. "Why did you make me leave?"

He wouldn’t hurt Dominic’s confidence, as much as he hated him at the moment. But if his father didn’t tell him, he was kicking them both out.

"Because it hurt me, Lex. I told you; you have your mother's eyes. Seeing eyes that once looked on me with such love now looking on me with coldness and hate... no. I was weak, I couldn't bear it, and I had to send you away before I broke my promise to your mother."

"I have to go." Now, now, now, now. He brushed past his father and started for the door, keeping his back straight.

"Don't."

You hate me. You can't look at me. Christ, I hate you. "I have to."

"Lex. I do not hate you." Lionel swallowed down the choking ball in his throat. "I've never hated you. You're my son."

Shit. "You're not proud of me. You don’t think I deserve your respect. You can barely look at me. What does that say about our relationship?"

"When I said I couldn't look at your tears, Lex, did you not believe me?" Lionel blinked once. "I love you, Lex. I always have. And everything I've done, I've done to show you that. Done to bring you back to me. And every time... you've thrown it back in my face, and shown me in every way that you don't want the relationship with me." He blinked again, swallowing hard and keeping his jaw locked.

"You don’t love me. A f... father who loves his son would help him work through losing his mother and his brother. A father w-won’t send him away to sleep with strangers in schools all over Europe. If you loved me, you would have asked me to come be a part of your wedding. But not even that. I’m not important enough to you."

Lionel sighed. "I couldn't even help myself, Lex." He kept staring at the wall. "How was I supposed to help you? I had lost my pillar of strength; the woman I loved with all my heart. How was I supposed to help you when I could barely function myself?" He swallowed hard. "I would have asked you if I'd thought for a second you would have been willing."

"But that’s just it--you didn’t even ask. Do you really think of me as that much of a bastard? I would have said no, but you could have at least asked. But you didn’t. You went to Venice, and got married, and I found out about it from Phil the Fat Bastard at the news conference."

"I didn't think you'd care," Lionel said, still staring at the wall. "I didn't imagine that it would have mattered to you."

"I do care. I care about you, and I care about Dominic. Alright? I do, and then you had to go pull a stupid thing like this."

"Lex..." Lionel's voice caught, just a little. "I'm sorry. I--called you. I left you a message, and you didn't return it. I thought then... you didn't care."

"Clark and I were having problems this weekend. That’s why I didn’t check it." And dammit, he'd never admit it to the old codger but the little hitch in his words broke him. Yet, still, he was too proud. "You're my Dad. I'll always care."

"I'm sorry--I didn't know you were having problems. Bruce said, you'd gone out with Clark that Friday evening; I didn't think you'd be having problems after that. I just--I assumed you didn't care."

He looked down at the floor, old pain flashing underneath the new. "I should go."

Lionel opened his mouth to speak but couldn't. He'd asked once already; he couldn't ask again. Wouldn't. "Do... what you feel is best, Lex."

And Lex took Clarks words from just a few days ago, and spoke them. "You’re going to let me leave?"

"I've already asked you not to go, son. There's nothing else I can do."

Christ, and it was the bastard he knew. He took a step forward... another. Didn’t really know what to do… what could he do?

So he stuck his hand out, swallowed gruffly, and waited for it to be accepted.

Lionel took the hand in his, squeezed it, then used it to pull Lex forward into a hard, crushing hug.

It hadn’t been expected. His father wasn’t a hugging man, but Lex suddenly found himself in the tight embrace of the man he'd hated so long... had been hurt by for so long. He wrapped his arms tightly around him, and was almost shocked at how much smaller Lionel was. Or how much bigger he'd become. He hugged his dad tightly, burying his face in Lionel’s shoulder and hair, and hugged him as tightly as Lionel would let him.

"Ssssh..." Lionel found himself saying, though whether it was to himself or Lex wasn't clear. His arms were tight around Lex, resting his cheek against Lex's head, and he didn't complain about the tightness of Lex's arms. "Sssh."

"I...I c-can’t.." Horrified to hear the whimper, but somehow, Lex felt that maybe… maybe he wouldn’t be ridiculed for it, and maybe his dad wouldn’t look at him in disgust for it.

And if he did, he'd just kick his ass until he stopped.

For now, he found himself weeping bitter tears, holding on tightly to his dad and letting himself be soothed for the first time in a very, very long time by the man who had hurt him for so very long.

"It's all right, son." Lionel's hands started moving in small, soothing circles over Lex's back. "It's all right. We'll find a way."

He held on for a few more moments until his pride made him let go, and he swallowed and rubbed his cheeks clean discreetly with the heel of his palm. "Sorry...about that."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Lionel reluctantly let go of his son.

"Okay." And he pulled him back, hugging him all over again, tightly, until he could get himself back under control. Fuck. Clark was going to be so proud... and Lex was going to have to scrape himself out, and start all over again. "Now. Now, from now on." He said gruffly. "From now on, things are different."

"Yes. Yes, they are." He ran his hands lightly over Lex's cheeks before hugging him again. "They're going to be better."

"I..." He swallowed, hard, and spoke so softly that he was almost terrified Lionel hadn’t heard him. "I love you."

Lionel held his son even tighter at that, and silent moisture slid down his face and down the smooth dome of his son's head. "I love you, Lex."

-fin-

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