Title: An Innocent Man

Author: Uris

Fandom: Smallville

Pairing: Clark/ Lex

Rating: NC 17

Warning: male pregnancy

Notes: co-authored by Athena

Feedback: Please. uris@fateordestiny.com

Website: http://www.fateordestiny.com

An Innocent Man
By Uris and Athena

Martha made dinner for her two men. She was very happy to have Clark back in her home after his odyssey in Metropolis. Her womb still cried for her missing child. As she sat down to eat, a single tear spoiled her happiness.

"Mom, I need to talk to you after dinner." Clark's voice was very soft.

"Do you want to talk in the loft or your room?"

"The loft." The blush on Clark's face told Martha that he didn't want to discuss whatever it was around Jonathan.

After she did the dishes, she met Clark in the loft and sat on the sofa beside him. She didn't usually come to the loft. It was Clark's private space. Her son's eyes were looking out in the distance. She wanted to cradle him in her arms, but he was no longer three or four.

"I'm cycling," Clark said looking at his lap.

"You're what?"

"I bleed four days a month. I x-rayed myself and I have a womb and ovaries."

Martha looked down at her son's crotch. She didn't mean to look. He was her son after all, but she had to know. From the bulge in his pants, everything appeared to be where it should be. Good, he was still her boy. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You just lost the baby. I was on the road on dad's motorcycle. When my bio-dad said the day had come, I didn't know he meant this."

"Do you need to know anything?"

"I can read, Mom."

Martha brushed her child's hair with her fingers. "Honey, this doesn't mean you can have children with human beings."

"I'm the last of my kind." Clark still looked down. "My dad wants our line to continue. He branded me with the mark of our house."

"Honey, you handled heat vision. You can handle this." Martha knew she stuck her foot in her mouth. She didn't know what to sat that could make this easier. "Do you need to tell me about it?"

"I got it again twenty-eight days after the first time."

"You have it now?"

He nodded.

"We don't have to tell your father until you are ready."

"Or ever." Clark lifted his head up and smiled weakly.

"I hid my pregnancy from your father and it came to a bad end. You will need to share this with him."

"Why did you hide your pregnancy?"

"Because the baby wasn't his. You're not the only one that feels shame."

Clark mumbled, "Mr. Luthor."

His mother nodded. "I feared that he would insist on a paternity test and your father would want to kill him."

"I know it is a horrible thing to say, but it's easier now that you lost the baby."

"All these years, I thought I was the one infertile." Martha held back her tears.

Clark wrapped his arms around her. "Mom, let it out. If you still want a baby, there are options."

"I'm over forty."

"You could go to Metropolis and get a sperm donation. At least, you wouldn't have to worry about the father trying to steal the baby."

"If it isn't Jonathan's, I don't want it."

Clark put a hand on his lower abdomen. "I want Lex's baby."

"Are you sure?"

"I accused him of betraying me when, every time he asked me about understanding the alien language, I lied. He must hate me."

"He loves you."

"Then why did he marry Helen?"

"You ask him."

---

Martha drove to the castle. Since Lex had a returned from the Caribbean alone, he kept to himself no longer venturing to the Talon and having his staff do all his errands. "Mrs. Kent, what a nice surprise. I was just about to call you," Lex said.

"Martha. Can we talk uninterrupted?" she asked.

"We'll talk in the library. Would you like some tea or a bottle of water?"

"Coffee," Martha said. "Black with a teaspoon of sugar."

"We can talk in the kitchen. Since I've returned from my holiday, I've cut staff. I was wondering if you could accompany me to the realtor. The castle no longer feels safe." Lex looked like a boy with as many fears and insecurities as any other of Clark's friends. The castle looked empty and dark like the boogieman hid behind every corner.

"I understand." Martha walked beside Lex down the long corridor of the castle.

"I need a smaller place. I'm afraid if I go to realtor that they laugh at me if I ask for a two or three bedroom house with a downstairs office. This is my father's castle and I can't tell the staff not to let him in." Lex walked beside Martha.

"I would love to help you find a smaller place." Martha put her hand on the young man's arm. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you return from your honeymoon without your bride?"

Lex looked into Martha's eyes. "Not at all, Mrs. Kent. Helen poisoned me on take-off and I woke to the plane crashing. Luckily, it was near an island."

"Lex, I'm terribly sorry."

"I can pick women. My first wife burns me and my second wife leaves me for dead. I'm never letting another woman into my life."

Martha said, "You're young." Lex might be interested in an alien hermaphrodite. Clark was beside himself in shame. He'd seen himself as a human male until Jonathan showed him the pod. Now Clark questioned if he was even male. Clark was seventeen years old and didn't want to cry on his mommy's shoulder. He could open up to a friend. "Do you want to move into the farm until you get a smaller house?"

"Thank you for the offer. What about Jonathan?"

"He sees you as family. That compass should prove it."

"What do you want, Mrs. Kent?"

"Martha," she insisted.

"Martha, you came here with a business proposition." Lex started to make coffee after they arrived in the kitchen.

"I want you to court Clark. Make him feel special in a good way." Martha filled the decanter with bottled water. Coffee was only as good as the water.

"What happened to Clark?" Lex poured the freshly ground coffee into a filter inside the expensive coffee maker.

"Dr. Walden was under your care. You aren't a stupid man." Martha wasn't going to give out Clark's secrets, but reminding Lex of things he already knew wasn't betraying her son's trust. Well, not too much.

Lex gave her his small smile as he turned on the coffee maker. "The day came, I take it."

"Yes, and Clark, being a teenager, made things worse because he didn't come to Jonathan and I. He needs someone his own age. He feels bad about lying to you. This is your one chance." Martha sat on one of the stools in the kitchen. The staff must have eaten here at the high wooden table surrounded by stools.

Lex took a seat beside her. "I don't usually give people second chances. I gave Helen a second chance and you know what happened." Lex crossed his legs in a less than masculine fashion, which showed Martha that he was at ease with her.

"My son isn't Helen." After getting off the high chair, Martha stepped over to the coffee maker and filled the two mugs sitting by it with coffee. Martha put the two cups of coffee on the table and returned to her seat.

Lex handed Martha the sugar bowl. "I'll talk to Clark. I can't promise anymore."

Martha stirred sugar into her coffee. "Thank you."

---

Lex came over to the loft and walked upstairs. "Clark, your mother said you were willing to talk."

"About what?" Clark looked out the window.

"She didn't say. That is up to you. All she said was you're willing to be honest with me."

Clark briefly made eye contact with Lex and said, "You did hit me with your Porsch,." before returning to looking out the window.

"What happened to Walden?"

"He attacked me. The gas tank went on fire. I don't know much more."

Lex put an arm around Clark's shoulders. "That's OK. You don't have to say more. Do you know the language in the caves?"

Clark turned around to look at Lex.

"My wife drugged me and left me on a plane to crash. You lie and you'll never see me, again."

Clark walked past Lex and sat on the sofa. "Yes, I know the language."

Lex sat down beside him. "Do you have the key?"

"No, my father has it."

"I figured as much. I had the key, then my father, then your mother, then you, now your father. That key switches hands more often than a hot potato." Lex was relieved that the younger man was being honest with him.

"What else do you want to know?" asked Clark.

"You shouldn't be ashamed that you know the language. You and I are Smallville mutants. Walden wasn't. Clark, try to be honest with me because you're a lousy lair." Lex gave Clark a small smile.

"I had no business stealing the key like that." Clark blushed.

"I know you were curious about the caves. Clark, what's done is done." Lex brushed the back Clark's wild hair out of his green eyes. "You're very pretty. Would you like to go on a date?"

"My mother put you up to this." Clark blushed again.

"I'm my own man. We could go out for an ice cream -- no pressure."

"Sure. The ice cream parlor on Elm is open until ten."

Clark and Lex stood in the long line at the ice cream parlor. Clark didn’t like being called pretty. Girls were called pretty. What did Mom tell Lex? Clark didn’t see Lex as the type of person to pour salt on a person’s wounds, so Mom couldn’t have told him anything. Still the use of the word "pretty" bothered him. He had spent too much time in the Torch office helping Chloe with her grammar. He was starting to question every word like a newspaper editor. That wasn’t good. Sometimes a cigar was a cigar.

"What happened between you and Lana?" asked Lex.

"I felt responsible for my mother losing the baby and stole my father’s motorcycle. I offered to take Lana with me and she refused," said Clark. "Things haven’t been right since."

"See how much better it feels to be honest." Lex put his hand on Clark’s arm.

"I don’t want face Lana after I left her there crying." Clark couldn’t believe he was talking about Lana again. Then, of course, Lex brought her up.

"Tomorrow, you’ll go to the Talon and apologize to her." Pete and Chloe arrived at the ice cream parlor while Lex and Clark were still in line. "Talk to your friends," said Lex.

"Get me a hot fudge sundae with cookies and cream," said Clark.

Pete tapped Clark’s shoulder. "Are you here with Lana?"

Clark went over to where Chloe was standing. "I haven’t spoken to her since my little escapade," Clark admitted.

"You have to face her," said Pete.

"So Chloe finally agreed to go out with you," said Clark.

"It’s just ice cream," said Chloe.

"Chlo, can I borrow Pete a moment?" Clark asked.

"Sure, talk about girls while I stand in line," Chloe complained. Clark knew the girl she was talking about was Lana. Now that Clark had ruined things with Lana, he hoped he could mend things with Chloe. He would hate to lose them both.

"You have to apologize to Lana," said Pete.

"Lex said the same thing," said Clark.

"How is Lex? He hasn’t spoken to anyone since he returned," Pete said. "Lex is getting as creepy as that castle he lives in. No bride and he never visits the Talon anymore. It's weirding people out."

"People meaning you," said Clark. "I’m here with Lex. He’s been afraid to leave the castle since returning from the Caribbean."

"It’s odd is all I’m saying." Pete walked back to the line.

"I read about his plane going down," said Chloe. "Did they find his wife?"

"Lex doesn’t want to talk about it." Clark didn’t want to give out Lex’s secrets, but he didn’t want to lie either. He just told his mother how bad he felt about lying. "He’s staying with us a few days. He says the castle is too large for a man living alone."

"The place looks spooky," Chloe agreed. "I can’t imagine what he’s going through. Having his wife disappear on their wedding day."

"He’s a survivor." Clark walked over to Lex. "How are you managing?"

"I came here to be with you," said Lex. "Your mother was worried enough about you to drag me away from the castle."

"Do you know why?"

Lex smiled. "She was cryptic. You aren’t part of an alien invasion force?"

"Not that I know of." Clark laughed. His bio father’s messages made him sound like an invasion force of one.

"Since the Martians didn’t land in Smallville, what was Walden talking about?"

"Who knows? He was crazy."

"You survived the download."

"I was at ground zero when the meteorites landed," Clark explained. That wasn’t exactly a lie because he was at ground zero. He was ground zero.

"Then my dad should survive intact."

"Mom really asked you to court me."

"Yes, what did you say to her?"

Clark blushed. "I can’t tell you here. When we’re alone, I’ll tell you. It’s rather embarrassing and unexpected. Mom probably didn’t know where else to turn."

"I’m intrigued." Lex took Clark's hand. "Our turn is next. We can eat in the car if you want to talk privately."

"I tell you and you'll choke on your ice cream." Clark knew he was blushing in shame. He blushed for far less. He didn't even know if he was technically a "he" anymore. "She" would be equally wrong. Did that make him an "it" or a thing?

Lex ordered the ice cream. After they finished eating, Lex and Clark waved good-bye to Chloe and Pete. While Lex was driving Clark home, Lex asked, "What happened that is so upsetting that you finally gave up lying to me?"

"If you promise not to laugh."

"I won't laugh at your misfortune until a suitable amount of time as passed."

Clark's life had taken a fast ride to Weirdville ever since he started floating in his sleep. This was only the last in a latest series of weirdness. The generic "he" would have to do. He/she/it was no way to refer to oneself. "That isn't good enough."

"I won't laugh at your pain. If I find it terribly funny, I'll wait until I'm alone to laugh."

"You wouldn't understand."

"I've drunk, done drugs, partied all night. Nothing you've done could be as horrible as half the things I've done."

Clark chuckled a little, nervous tension. "It isn't something I've done. It's something unexpected that is happening inside my body."

"Then you can tell me." Lex put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "I won't laugh."

"It's nothing really. Fifty percent of the population have it."

Lex laughed. "You're pregnant."

"No. Other than a blowjob from Jessie, I'm still a virgin," Clark said to lighten the mood. His bio dad gave him to the parts so he could get pregnant with world conquerors because Clark refused to do the job himself. Probably Jorel's way of saying, if Clark wants to act like a female and not take on his role as Last Son of Krypton, he should have the parts, a slap on the face from across time and space.

"Oh my God. I'm on the right track." Lex pulled over into an empty field. "You have my full attention. I'm listening."

"I'm not a mutant. I'm an alien. My father left a program in a pod. He wanted me to leave my childhood home and start my adult life." Now that he was talking the words came easy. "I refused and he marked me."

Lex took Clark's large hand in his. "So you destroyed the pod and caused the shockwave that messed up the electrical systems all over Lowell County. Helen's and my plane was delayed because they needed to reboot the system."

"The shockwave overturned my parents' truck, causing my mother to lose the baby. You would have a sister in two months if it weren't for me. It's all my fault." Clark put his other hand on top of Lex's slim elegant hand.

"You were afraid. You mustn't blame yourself."

"I didn't tell my parents. I tried to handle it on my own and made everything worse."

Lex put a finger through Clark's hair. "You're so beautiful. Please, don't cry."

"Women are beautiful. I'm not a woman." Clark was trying to convince himself more than Lex. Clark was the one feeling the menstrual pad being pushed into his bottom due to not shifting his weight on Lex's leather seats. He shifted his weight. It didn't help. They would need to go to a bathroom soon. Thanks to large pockets, Clark didn't have to carry a purse and still? As he told Lex, fifty percent of people menstruate. This was normal; floating and seeing through walls wasn't.

Lex started the car. "We'll talk more about this later."

After Clark got home, he took the clean pad from his pocket and, with his laser vision, disintegrated the used one. He couldn't let his parents find the used sanitary pads in the upstairs bathroom. Mom might have known, but Dad didn't. Clark went to his bedroom and climbed into bed. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," said Clark.

Lex entered the boy's bedroom. "You didn't give me a good night kiss."

Clark sat up in his bed and blushed. "I needed to do something."

"You didn't need to push your antennas back into your head like Uncle Martin," Lex deadpanned.

Clark felt huge and ungainly sitting on the child's bed. "I knew you would laugh."

"It came out." Lex sat on the bed near Clark. "I won't make any more dumb remarks. You were very brave to tell me. That couldn't have been easy." Lex put an arm around Clark's shoulders and looked into the younger man's eyes. "I made a mistake marrying Helen. I've always loved you more than I loved her. Once you tell a lie, it's hard to come clean. I've had an inkling that you were an alien since seeing Cyrus's drawings. Before that all I had was my gut feelings."

"You said you couldn't forgive betrayal."

"You weren't betraying me. You were protecting yourself. Your parents were telling you not to tell anyone. And I was on the top of your father's list. I'll keep your secret safe." Lex tilted his head to kiss Clark on the twin bed. Clark put his hands around Lex as he opened his mouth slightly. Their lips touched then Lex put his hands behind Clark's head. Clark put a hand on Lex's back and another on his scalp as he deepened the kiss. As Clark tasted the ice cream on Lex's breath, Lex broke the kiss.

"See you in the morning." Clark put on a clean tee shirt.

"We'll talk during chores." Lex left the room.

"He loves me," Clark said to his pillow. Pete had stared at him like he grew another head. Lex had known and only wanted Clark to confirm it. Lex didn't care if he was an alien. He would be able to tell Lex everything. Clark no longer needed to be alone with his secrets. That kiss meant Lex was comfortable with truth, one person who accepted him without judgment. Clark put on his sweatpants and climbed into bed for the night.

---

Clark took his mom's baked goods to the Talon after finishing his farm chores. Lana poured his coffee. "Long time; no see," she said.

"I was embarrassed that I ran away. I'm sorry," Clark said.

"Still friends?" Lana asked.

"Sure. We can't be more. Lana, I've thought long and hard and you could never accept me as I am. I wanted to have relationship with you since we were children, but it's not going to happen." Clark drank his coffee.

"I can try harder," Lana said as she set up for the day ahead.

"I'm not comfortable; you're not comfort. It's not going to change," Clark said. Every time Clark tried to be honest with Lana she would cringe or something would happen to ruin the mood. The remark about one of her friends been an alien being too freaky topped the list.

"Are you back with Chloe?" She wiped the counter.

"Lana, it's us. Don't bring a third party into it." Clark smiled. "Besides, Chloe and Pete are hitting it off. Lana, I hope we can still be friends."

"I don't know if I'm that mature." Lana checked her coffee pots.

---

Lex wondered what Clark had that 50 percent of people had. Was that all the time or one time in their life? At least once in their life could be a wart in an embarrassing place or something similar. Teenagers act like no one else has acne when nearly everyone in the school has it. The 50 percent comment meant whatever was troubling Clark wasn't some weird alien thing.

Lex decided not to bring it up unless Clark did. That kiss made up for the strangeness of the rest of the evening. Then again, Lex had heard about Clark kissing Chloe in the Talon. Smiling, Lex started the chores remembering what he did last time he stayed at the Kent Farm. He could get used to kissing Clark.

Martha promised to go to the realtor office later in the day. He needed a place that didn't belong to his father. Martha would see that he found something suitable for the owner of a small factory. Martha finished making pies and muffins for the Talon and local grocery store and had Clark deliver them.

After Lex finished his share of the morning chores, Martha joined him in the kitchen for coffee. "I made a full pot," Lex said.

"Thanks," Martha said. "At nine, we'll head on the Wendy's office."

"I was planning to do this with Helen." Lex poured each of them of mug of coffee.

As Jonathan entered the kitchen, Martha handed him a cup of coffee and he walked back to the living room.

"If I’m with you, they’ll see you're sincere and not trying to buy out the neighborhood," Martha said. "Wendy has been my friend for years; she’ll help you out."

"I’ve been spoiled all my life." Lex sat down at the table. "I need to do for myself."

"You aren’t planning to have servants," Martha said.

"Perhaps, one. Security might be necessary," Lex said. "He can live elsewhere and get paid a normal salary."

"We can get a split level with a downstairs bedroom. Wendy was talking about a ten-year-old house on the market. If that one is sold, I’m sure she’ll have another house around the same size." Martha smiled brightly at Lex.

"Forget the security. An alarm system will work. My security lets every mutant and weirdo into the castle."

"Do you still want a downstairs bedroom?"

"For overnight guests. We’ll see what Wendy has available. I’m a widower. What do I need with seventy-five rooms?" When he came home from his honeymoon alone, people saw him as a widower. Lex didn’t believe Helen was dead, but the papers had said Helen died in the crash.

"Did you and Clark talk?"

"Yes. He feels responsible for you miscarrying."

After he walked through the kitchen door, he put some bread in the toaster and poured himself some coffee. "Good morning, Mom, Lex."

"Is that your second cup this morning or your third or fourth?" his mother asked.

"My second," Clark said. "Lana and I didn’t talk very long."

"Was she busy?" Lex asked.

"Creating work," Clark said.

"It went that well," Lex said.

"I don’t blame her." Clark sat down with his coffee. "I did run off and make an ass out of myself."

"I have to take Lex house hunting." Martha kissed her son's cheek. "We can talk later."

"Sure, Mom," Clark said as he buttered his toast.

Lex put more bread in the toaster and took a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. Remembering to use her first name, "Martha, could you hand me a frying pan?"

"Of course." Martha put a pan on the range. "Lex, you don’t have to cook."

"Never have it said that Lex Luthor doesn’t pull his own weight." Lex melted butter in the pan as he scrambled six eggs.

Jonathan returned to the kitchen as Lex put eggs and toast on a plate. "Thank you, Lex," Jonathan said as he took the plate. He took a seat at the kitchen table.

"I’ll be staying longer than three days. Mrs. Kent is taking me to a realtor’s office this morning. I no longer feel safe at the castle," Lex said.

"He wants a single family home," Martha added.

"Where will his servants live?" Jonathan sneered.

"I’m not planning to have servants," Lex said.

"So you’re going to live like the rest of us," Jonathan said.

Lex plated more eggs and handed them to Martha.

"Thank you." Martha served herself toast and refilled the toaster.

"I’m breaking all ties to my father. The first step is to move off his property. I’m going to have to learn to live within my means," Lex said.

"Lex is quite capable of cleaning his own house, doing his laundry and grocery shopping," Martha said as she started to eat.

"I did my own menial tasks in college." Lex raised an eyebrow at Jonathan before he joined Martha and Jonathan at the table. "My income isn’t as high as you imagine." Lex wasn’t a billionaire in his own right; he was a billionaire’s son.

"I wouldn’t mind having a million," Jonathan said.

"Give the boy a break." Martha sipped her coffee. "This is a large step for him. He had hoped to be putting up roots with his wife, not alone."

"The plane was hitting the water when I awoke. My bride was gone," Lex explained. "I became a widower before my wedding night."

"How do I know you didn’t toss Helen from the plane?" Jonathan said.

Jonathan must have had PMS this morning. Like the day, he said, "Look what the cat dragged in," and a second later he said he be happy to stand up for Lex at his wedding. Jonathan didn’t have PMS; he had mood swings. A tear rolled down Lex’s face.

Martha said, "He hasn’t left his house since he came back. He loved Helen."

"There aren’t any witnesses," said Jonathan.

"The controls were ripped out and the pilot baled and on a small plane there are always parachutes." Either Helen got off the plane before the plane took off or she jumped with the pilot; either way, she was alive and in hiding. Lex wasn’t in the mood to find her; he would stay a widower for now. Although it was possible that she was in plane when it went down, he should have seen her.

"And if she’s alive," Martha asked.

"I filed for divorce on grounds of abandonment. The judge laughed, but processed the order. If she is alive, it’s up to her to contest it," Lex explained. "I suspect that she’s working for my father on his illegal cloning experiments. It serves me better to act like she’s dead."

"We’re supposed to believe this garbage," Jonathan said.

"The jet was found with the instrument panel cut and there were no signs of parachutes -- they were thrown off the plane or used. I suspect that pilot used one and the others were tossed," Lex said. "I’ve spent long enough in the castle moping. I need to get my life back together."

"We’re not arguing over breakfast," Martha said. "Lex and I have to see Wendy."

"I hope he can find a place that's already vacant," Jonathan said.

"Just because you got up on the wrong side of the bed, you don’t need to take it out on our houseguest." Martha cleared the table.

"Have a good day." Jonathan kissed Martha’s cheek.

"I’ll get the dishes," Lex said.

"You made the eggs. Clark can get the dishes." Martha put the last dish in the sink before grabbing her purse.

---

They saw five houses. He narrowed it down to two by the end of the day. He liked a two-story house with a large eat-in kitchen and large dining/living room with a fireplace on the first floor. The finished basement was perfect for an office, complete with separate door.

Lex ended up buying a house out-right that cost less than the individual cost of two of his cars. Lex went to show Clark his new house before the movers arrived. "So what do you think?"

"The lot is small," Clark said.

"Close to an acre," Lex said. "The finished basement makes a perfect office. It even has a half-bath. It has more square feet as your parent’s farm house, if you include the basement and is a bit more modern."

"It needs landscaping," Clark said.

"I’ll hire a landscaper. Stop complaining." Walking on the stone path, past the overgrown shrubs, Lex led Clark toward the stairs to the first floor. Lex would have the lawn totally redone. Stan would know a good landscaper since he had his lawn done after Lionel bought his shares of Lexcorp. Lex allowed all the former stockholders that sold to Lionel to keep their jobs. Ethan had dug up go dirt on them and they probably felt they had no choice. Also the siding and the new sod told Lex that Lionel gave Stan a good price for the shares. Lex was happy that Stan was able to pay off his home and make improvements.

"After the castle, I expected more. This could be Chloe’s house."

"Gabe has a smaller lot," Lex headed up the stairs.

Clark followed. "Your garage only fits two cars."

Lex opened the door with his key. "I have a tarp for the third. I’m selling the Lamborghini; it’s too extravagant for this neighborhood. You can have the Ferrari for when you go to college. I’ll keep it in storage until then."

"You can’t be giving me expensive gifts." Lex showed Clark the foyer and living room/dining room.

"It’s a car and you like it."

"And are you going to pay for my college education, too?"

The recreation room was paneled a horrible shade - chestnut. An oak or a maple would be warmer. Lex knew part of buying a house as ripping out the paneling and redoing all the walls. "No, I’m going to help you find a scholarship."

Clark looked at the hardwood floor and the open space to the fireplace. He glared at the brick wall near the fireplace. "It will look better with furniture." Clark was seeing a particle when Lex saw a wave. The first thing a new homeowner did was paint all the walls and redo the carpeting. Then Clark lived in the same farmhouse all his life and wouldn’t know that.

"I think Lucas’s TV would look nice over there." Lex pointed to the wall without the fireplace. "Most of furniture in the castle belongs to my dad. I’ll instruct the moves to only take what is mine. I don’t want to be accused of stealing."

"Is the pool table yours?"

"It goes in the basement office. After I move my things from the castle, my office will look just the same, except for the stain glass windows." Lex walked with Clark to the kitchen. "Marble counter tops, new gas ranch, stainless steel sink."

"It’s a kitchen."

"I haven’t cooked since college."

"You made my mother eggs three days this week."

"Eggs don’t count. The appliance store is delivering a refrigerator and the washer and dryer in two days."

"Don’t you need to work?" Clark asked.

"I own the plant. If I don’t show up, it’s my loss," explained Lex. "I’ll put in a couple hours in to let Gabe know I’m alive."

"I’m sure the upstairs in just as boring."

"No master suite, just three bedrooms, a linen closet and full bath."

"You were taken," said Clark.

"Clark, you have said nothing nice about this place since we drove up. I like the house. I’m a widower. How many rooms do I need?" Lex didn’t feel like a widower. Everyone said Helen didn’t survive the crash, but Lex doubted that she was even on the plane.

"It will be fine until we have children," Clark said, looking at the parquet flooring.

"You are pregnant," Lex said, remembering their previous conversation.

Clark continued to look at the floor and the moldings. "Someone needs to teach you the facts of life. Kissing doesn’t do it."

"Clark, are you telling me you are able to get pregnant?" Lex didn’t know if he wanted the answer.

"I have the parts." Clark didn’t look up.

Lex put his arm around Clark and kissed his cheek. "I wish we had furniture. We need to sit down and talk. What you have inside you that over fifty percent of people have is a womb."

"I just started getting my periods a couple months ago. It took me by surprise. I haven’t told Dad, yet." Clark took Lex’s slender hand. "Since talking to Mom about it, I’m getting more comfortable with the idea."

"More comfortable?" Lex looked up into Clark’s eyes.

"I though I was hemorrhaging at first. What would you think if blood poured down your leg?"

"I was dying." Lex didn’t want to think about it. He had seen enough hospitals when he was nine and younger -- asthma and then the meteorite thing.

"I have both male and female reproductive systems. This doesn’t upset you?"

"No." Lex smirked. He couldn’t begin to imagine all the kinky things he could do in bed with a functional hermaphrodite. The possibilities boggled the mind. Lex liked having sex with both men and women. This was the ultimate two for one deal. Lex only smiled, not wanting virginal Clark, knowing how much of a pervert he was.

"I’m an alien. The spaceship called to me. It seemed to be able to read my mind. It picked images from my head. I think it wants us to have children together."

"Clark, you’re beautiful." Lex touched Clark’s cheeks and let his fingers trace the curve of his face and down his neck I would love to father your children. Lex wanted to knock Clark down and have his way with him on the hardwood floor, but he would have to take things slow. Martha suggested courting; Lex could handle the kissing, dating and make out on the sofa. Lex wanted to find a sofa so his hands could roam over Clark’s body, but the furniture was still at the castle.

"I’m a freak."

Lex recalled people thinking he was on chemo. "I know what it’s like to be a freak."

"I know the boys in school won’t see that I’m different, but I know the hole is there, and it wasn’t there last year. I don’t know if I can act like nothing changed."

Lex knew that boys didn’t check out other boys in locker rooms, but being a teenager was believing you’re the center of the universe. Lex touched his bald head. "Pride in yourself helps. I’ll help you enroll in college. You’ll never have to enter a locker room again, expect as a reporter."

Clark kissed Lex’s cheek. "Thank you."

Lex wrapped his hands around one of Clark’s hands. "Let’s get back to the castle. I need to watch the movers."

Lex arrived around seven at the Kent farm. Clark greeted him at the door; he looked adorable in cut-off shorts and a red tee shirt with yellow trim. "My mother didn’t know if you were still coming," said Clark.

"I forget that you eat dinner early," Lex said. He kissed Clark on the cheek in front of Mr. and Mrs. Kent. "You look beautiful."

Clark took Lex’s hand as they walked to the table. "You shouldn’t call me beautiful."

"Don't you like it?" Lex whispered back.

"I don't think my parents need to know that I'm the kind of man that likes another man to call him beautiful." Clark pulled out Lex's seat for him.

"I'm here to tell your parents that we're dating." Lex sat down at the table. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, thanks for inviting me."

"Have you stocked your refrigerator, yet?" Martha asked.

Lex recalled Martha visiting earlier in the day and he showed her the multiple fruit baskets his employees had given him as housewarming gifts. He had gladly accepted a fern from her. Wendy, his realtor, even came by and gave him a box of chocolates. "Yes. I have more than fruit in my house." Martha didn't mean it was an insult; she probably wanted to know if he would like her help grocery shopping since he no longer had servants to do it for him. "Mrs. Kent, I'm looking to hire a person assistant. I hate using your time without paying you for your inconvenience."

"You're nearly family." Martha handed Lex a plate and silver. The food was on the table family style. "I enjoy helping you."

"I'll have to hire someone to pick up my dry cleaning and you did a good job when you worked for my father." Lex started to eat his dinner.

"Don't you already have someone to do that?" Jonathan sneered.

"My father's staff. I'm breaking all ties to my father. The press gave him quite a beating for stealing the conservatorship of the caves from me. I need to make the press aware that Alexander Luthor is not his father. Mrs. Kent, I would appreciate if you took the job as my personal assistant," Lex said. "I couldn't thank you enough about your assistance in purchasing a house."

"What are your intentions with Clark?" Jonathan asked. He must have been referring to the brief kiss and the handholding.

"We're dating. I'm taking him to the Grandville Art Show this weekend. I would like to take him to the Metropolis Folk Festival in August." Lex smiled at Clark before returning to his food.

"What happened to Lana?" Clark's father asked.

"I left her crying when I left. She doesn't want to speak to me now," Clark said. "Around Lex, I feel good about myself. When I was on a date with Lana, I always have to act like I'm on stage. She sees me as a freak; I can't live that."

"No one wants you to live like that," his father said. "Chloe seems to enjoy your company and she doesn't see you as a freak."

"Chloe is dating Pete," Clark said. "I don't steal my best friend's girl. I like Lex."

"I gave Lex permission to date Clark," Martha said.

"Lex, you just lost Helen. Shouldn't you be mourning your lose? It isn't appropriate for you to be dating anyone," Jonathan stated.

"Especially not your son," said Lex.

"Dad, it isn't your choice," Clark said as he serves himself more food.

"Can we discuss ground rules?" Jonathan asked. "You have to have him back at a respectable hour. You'll do nothing to embarrass my son. This is a small town and most gay couples are discreet like Joe and Henry that run the auto body shop."

"Part of the scenery," Martha said.

"You can trust me to be discreet," Lex said.

"Now, if we could get Clark to behave himself." Jonathan refilled his glass with lemonade. "Lex, would you like some?"

Lex took the pitcher from Jonathan and filled the glass in front of him. "I want Smallville to get use to the idea of Clark and I together," Lex said.

"Does Clark's friends know that you're an item?" Martha asked.

"Not sure," Clark said. "Pete and Chloe have seen us walking together and eating ice cream. I can't imagine Pete's reaction when I tell him that I'm bisexual and decided that I wanted to date Lex."

"Pete has been you friend forever," Martha said.

"He got over the alien thing; he'll get over that I'm dating the enemy," Clark said. "Dad, there's something both Mom and Lex know that I haven't been able to tell you." Clark stopped eating and looked across at his father.

"Son, what is it?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm physically bisexual," Clark said.

Martha smiled. "Like a flower."

Lex touched Clark's hand. "I would like Martha to work for me. I need time to find Clark possible scholarships. It would be better for his career if he could go to college on a journalism scholarship."

"You stopped writing for the Torch," Martha said.

"You might have to make peace with Chloe," his father said.

"She doesn't hate me for dating Lana anymore," Clark said. "I'm sure a few recommendations and a fantastic essay will earn me a scholarship. My SAT scores were perfect."

"What did you get?" Lex asked.

"A perfect score," Clark said, trying his best to sound humble.

"I didn't even do that," Lex admitted. "My father thinks I should have his perfect memory and I don't."

"Lucas?" Jonathan asked.

"He uses it for card sharking. He has no understanding of his gift. If he had been brought up properly, he would have been the son that my father wants," Lex said.

"It's just like your father not to know what he has," Jonathan said.

"When he realized that Lucas was misusing his abilities, it was too late," Lex said.

"He should have been raised as your brother," Martha said.

"He can have Lucas," Lex said. "My father tells me that he's protecting me from other businessmen that will break up my businesses and sell them off, but my father goes out of his way to find way to ruin my businesses. He tried to close down a plant that was turning a profit under my management."

"You shouldn't have turned your back on your father," Martha said.

"I'm tired of the games and trying to earn his respect," Lex said before taking a sip of lemonade. "I don't need to his extravagant castle or a dozen servants. I'm fine cooking my own dinner, washing my own laundry and I'll even pick up my dry cleaning."

"Call your father. You insulted him greatly by not inviting him to the wedding," Martha said in a motherly voice.

"I'm waiting for him to make the first move. I've moved out of the castle. The few servants remaining are on his bank roll," Lex stated. "Helen suggested that I invite him to the wedding to mend fences, but I was so angry at him and I wanted the wedding to be perfect and he seems to enjoy ruining my life."

"I'm sorry that I didn't go," Clark said. "I should have told you about the second message, but I didn't want to upset you guys." Clark poured himself more lemonade and refilled his plate.

"I understand that wanted to deal with yourself," Jonathan said. "I apologized early for blaming you for your mother's miscarriage."

"I was apologizing for missing the wedding, not for the other horrible things I did that day," Clark said.

"Since my bride is missing, it doesn't matter now. The divorce is in the works," Lex said.

"Maybe you should wait until your divorce is final before dating," Jonathan said.

"If she contests, she contests. I'm not putting my life on hold," Lex said. "Clark, do you want to wait?"

"Helen won't contest," Clark said.

---

Lex's king-sized bed looked different in the bright airy room of a modern three-bedroom house -- compared to the dark half-lit room in the castle. The only time he saw Lex's bedroom was after the Palmer boy trashed it. "It's a nice room," said Clark. "Did you call your father?"

"He called me. He asked if I intended to move back into the castle or if he should put the relic on the market," Lex said.

"You told him to sell the horror," Clark said.

"I said that I didn't bloody care what he did with it," Lex said. "So you no longer hate the house."

"I see the potential. There is enough room for two children. If we have more, we can buy a bigger place," Clark said, walking around the room. "It could use some paint and a few pictures, but otherwise it isn't bad."

"I'm glad you approve. I'm thinking about painting the bedroom lilac." Lex removed his shoes and socks while he sat on the edge of the bed. Lex lay on the bed fully clothed. "I'm planning on having bathroom wallpapered. Do you prefer yellow or pink?"

"Are you trying to get a rise out of me?"

"That the general idea." Lex smiled that small smile. "Do you want to break in the bed?" Lex removed his long sleeve tee shirt showing his pale almost hairless chest. The few dirty blond hairs looked like they needed to be tweezed out.

Clark kicked off his shoes and lay on the bed beside Lex. He fingered a few stray hairs near Lex's nipple.

"I shaved them off for Helen." Lex put his hand on Clark's face. "You're so beautiful. Clark, make yourself comfortable."

"I have to be home by ten," Clark said.

"It's the summer."

"I have chores in the morning."

"You can superspeed through them." Lex leaned toward Clark finally their lips met. Lex kissed deeply moving his hand through Clark's hair. "Stay the night."

"Have sex?" Clark looked at Lex's slight redden lips.

"I wouldn't be so crude." Lex pulled off his trousers so he was only wearing a pair of white silk boxers.

"You and me, on the bed." Clark removed his tee shirt. Feeling like an overgrown child, Clark looked at Lex sitting on the bed in a come hither pose. Lex was incredibly sexy. Clark's eyes moved down Lex's slender body past the white boxers that did nothing to cover Lex's erection to the slim pale legs with little freckles and few patches of dark blond hair. Clark's eyes finally rested on Lex's long slender feet. Clark had never seen an elbow or knee before and the sight had to be savored.

"Clark, you set the pace. As much or as little as you want." Lex sat up slightly giving Clark a better view of that magnificent body.

Clark moved closer to Lex so their bodies were barely touching and moved a hand over Lex's back feeling the fine, silky skin. Although Lex was five years older than Clark, his skin felt as soft as a newborn baby's. Clark moved his over hand over Lex's hairless cheek. Clark didn't have facial hair or much in the way of body hair. His people wouldn't have looked like humans; the odds were against it. His body was made to look similar to the native people of Kansas, making the green eyes some kind of glitch or did the traveler come across some of the Spanish conquers, which may have had green eyes. Clark rolled his fingers over Lex's scalp feeling the slightly greasy film of sunscreen. Clark pressed his mouth against Lex's ear and licked below the lobe. "I want you so much," Clark whispered.Clark kissed Lex on the neck and ran his hand along the collarbone. "You're so sexy."
Clark didn't know where to put his hands or his lips. Lex had told him whatever he wanted. This was all new to him. Clark put Lex's hand on the front of his cut-off jeans.

Lex unzipped the younger man's cut-offs and took out Clark's member and held it in his warm hands. "You're a big guy."

"All over," said Clark, enjoying the touch of Lex's hands.

"I can jerk you off then you can jerk me off. We can take this slow."

Clark said, "Suck me."

Lex took off Clark's jeans then shorts. "Faster than Light underwear. We'll see if there is any truth in advertising." Lex waved the Fruit of the Looms around.

Embarrassed that his mother his brought his clothes, Clark snatched the underwear out of Lex's hand and tossed it on the carpet. Lex pushed Clark onto the bed. Clark fell back, remembering play wrestling with Pete. Clark decided to submit since Lex was the more experienced partner. Lex placed his head in Clark's lap and put his hands on Clark's waist and butt. Clark put his hand on Lex's head.

Lex's tongue licked Clark's tip, playing with his foreskin. Lex's hand fingered his scrotum before Lex grabbed his ass with one hand and the other found Clark's vagina. That single finger of Lex's made Clark wet. Lex got up for air. "Feel good?"

"Ooh-ah," said Clark.

Lex put a second finger in Clark's new hole as he continued to use his tongue on Clark's dick. Clark closed his eyes as Lex's whole mouth went around his dick. Was sex supposed to be this overwhelming? Clark feared if he jerked suddenly he could break Lex's jaw. Clark felt if he would explode with pleasure.

Clark moved his hands to Lex's shoulders. "Oh, yes," Clark cried as he bent forward and released his grip on Lex. His hands braced the headboard as he fired. "Wow!"

Lex rested his head on Clark's chest and swallowed. "Good."

"Yes." Clark sat up. "I do you."

"Why don't I sit up and you can kneel in front of me? That way you will have easy access." Lex turned his face to look up at Clark. "You don't have to reciprocate if you don't want to."

"Can I just touch it?"

"Sure, Clark."

"It's long and thin like you." Clark touched it with one hand.

"I'm glad you approve." Lex put his hand over Clark's. "Pump it up and down." Lex helped Clark jerk him off until Lex came on their hands.

"Can I taste it?"

"Sure." Lex sat up and covered himself partially with the sheet.

"Don't cover yourself up. You're beautiful." Clark brought his hand to his mouth. "Salty." Clark hurried into his clothes. "I have to head home. I'll spend the night another time. My father wants me home by ten."

Lex picked up the watch on the nightstand. "We could enjoy a few more minutes."

"I have chores in the morning. I promised Dad that I'd be home by ten and it's past ten," Clark said.

"You're at the Talon till closing many nights," Lex complained.

"You aren't Lana," Clark explained as he hurried into his clothes.

"I'm glad of that." Lex planted a kiss on Clark's hand.

"I'll stay longer next time."

"As long as there is a next time." Lex put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "A kiss before you go."

Clark sat back on the bed and tilted his head slightly to kiss Lex full on the lips. Lex's lips were soft like Lana's or Chloe's lips. Lex's lips parted and Clark could taste his own flavor on Lex's tongue. Clark released the kiss remembering that Lex needed to breath although he wanted to kiss Lex forever.

"Wow," said Lex. "I have to thank Chloe for giving you kissing lessons."

Clark blushed. "She doesn't remember."

"I'm teasing." Lex put his clothes back on. "How are we going to proceed?"

"What?" Clark had no idea what Lex was talking about.

"In letting Smallville know that we're a couple."

"We can go places together. The art show and folk festival are great ideas. You can pay for my food and drinks at the Talon. Is it alright if I tell Chloe that we're dating?"

"Sure. Tell anyone you want. I want people to know that you're mine."

Clark met Chloe at the local church carnival while waiting in line for the Tilt-a-Whirl. "Isn't Pete here?" Clark noticed that the church grounds were crowded this Fourth of July. He usually saw the fireworks with his parents. They claimed the noise bothered them. More likely, they wanted some Clark-free time.

"Getting a corndog," said Chloe. "Lana?"

"She isn't speaking to me. She thinks I'm a freak like Tina and Bugboy."

"Are you?" Chloe had her Wall-of Weird look.

"Worse. Then, again you would probably tell Lionel Luthor all about it," Clark said. The whole school was buzzing about Lionel Luthor visiting the Torch office. What business did a man like Mr. Luthor have with a teenage girl?

"I was angry."

"I'm happy to see you and Pete together; you make a great couple." Clark motioned for them to move up as the line moved. He only went to a couple rides. Who needed rides when they could outrun a speeding bullet? He was here because it was a normal teenage activity. Lana had come here with Nell and Dean. Every time Clark looked in her direction Lana would turn away, and Lex wasn't the carnival type. Clark wondered why he bothered going this year.

"I'm sorry that Lana dumped you. We're next."

Clark gave the man operating the ride eight tickets.

"You don't have to do that." Chloe sat down in the next available carriage.

Clark sat beside her. "When Pete gets back with his corndog, you're his." Clark pulled the bar down. It wasn't like he was going to use his tickets for anything else and it was better than handing them to a stranger.

"What happened to us?"

"I wanted Lana because I couldn't have her and learned that she doesn't want me." Clark put an arm around Chloe as the ride started. Actually, Lana still wanted him, but since Clark was bulletproof, he would be hickey-proof. One failed hickey and his relationship with Lana would be over. "Chloe, are we still friends?"

"Sure." Chloe rested her head on Clark's shoulder.

"Lana wants me to be this imaginary Clark Kent that only lives in her mind. I would like my job back at the Torch. I'm sorry about putting Lana ahead of my deadlines." Clark snuggled against Chloe.

Chloe held onto Clark as the ride continued to spin them. After the ride was over Clark helped her onto solid ground, Chloe said, "I need your assignments on time. Even high school papers have deadlines."

"Deadlines, understood," repeated Clark.

Pete walked over to Clark. "Get your hands off my girl."

"I was a bit dizzy after the ride," said Chloe. "He was helping me. I belong to me, Pete Ross."

Pete gave Chloe a soda. "Where's Lana?"

"We're no longer dating." Clark felt like renting a sign.

"It seems Lana's fantasy world doesn't include the real Clark," said Chloe.

"Chloe is going to take me back at the Torch," said Clark.

"As long as he turns in his assignments on time. One mistake and you're out, Kent." Chloe gave Clark a wink then sipped her soda.

"Chloe is mine. You lost your chance," Pete said.

"Pete, I belong to no one. I'm a wild free woman." Chloe tossed her head back shaking her short blonde hair. "I got a man for each shoulder. Lana, eat your heart out."

Lex, wearing a baseball cap with the visor turned back, lilac tee shirt and faded blue jean with a gold chain belt around his waist, arrived at the church parking lot an hour before fireworks were scheduled to start and walked over to Clark who was sitting on a blanket sharing a bucket of chicken with Pete and Chloe.

"Are you having a good time?" Lex asked as he sat on the blanket. He looked so sexy in jeans. Lex usually needed to present a professional appearance. Clark didn't see him dress down very often. Did Lex know that he looked flaming? Or did he dress that way to piss off the nuns?

"Do you want a thigh?" asked Pete.

"I had dinner before I left," Lex said.

"He tries to eat healthy," Clark said. "The fruit in the castle wasn't only for show."

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away and I want to stay far away from doctors," Lex said.

Chloe laughed. "That's why you married one."

"A mistake. You all heard my sad story. The plane was sabotaged; somebody wanted me dead," Lex said. Clark could tell by the look on Lex's face that he had repeated it once too often.

"That is what they say. It's strange that Dr. Bryce's body wasn't found," Pete said.

"That's because she wasn't on the plane. I'm suing for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. If she wants a piece of the Luthor pie, she's going to need to come forward soon," Lex said.

"She could be dead," Chloe said.

"I didn't see her on the plane before it went down. My drink was doctored," Lex said. "My father and her were passing notes the day of the wedding. She worked for my father all along; the only possibility is she's alive and working for him under an assumed name."

"Why would she try to kill you?" Pete asked.

"I'll see you guys in a few." Chloe picked up the empty bucket and put it in the garbage. She continued to walk away probably to use the woman's bathroom, which had a line that nearly wrapped around the church.

Lex whispered to Pete. "She had a vial of Clark's blood. At the time, I thought it was Martha's blood and returned it to her. She wouldn't have tried to kill me if she was saving a sample of Martha's blood but a sample of alien blood is a different story."

"You told him," Pete asked.

"Yes. I felt bad about lying to him. He didn't look at me like I grew a second head," Clark said, looking down at Pete.

"Man, it was a lot to absorb," Pete said.

"I knew. I liked getting the confirmation. Part of me wants to find Helen and stop her from using Clark's blood to make copies and part of me feels that it's a waste of time and money," Lex said.

"Cloning is illegal," Pete said.

"And they could be anywhere in the world. I only want my divorce," Lex said. "Revenge eats at a person. I have to move forward and Clark is helping me do that."

"I don't understand," Pete said.

"Lex and I are dating." Clark took Lex's hand in his. "Lana said that she would be freaked out if one of her friends hypothetically was an alien. When I told Lex that I was an alien, he kissed me."

"Clark, are you out of your mind trusting him?" Pete asked.

"You haven't betrayed me," Clark said. "Lex isn't his father. He's willing to forget about the past and move on. He cares about me."

Pete got up from the blanket that they were sitting on. "See you around. Dating Lex is like going over to the Dark Side." Pete walked away.

Clark saw Lana helping Dean and Nell spread out a blanket to sit on for the fireworks. Making brief eye contact with Clark, Lana then stared at Clark and Lex holding hands. As if she saw nothing, she returned to talking to her aunt.

Clark walked over to Lana; he hated the silence between them. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you. Please, don't tell me that you're dating him for his money," Lana said.

"You know me better than that. Lana, I like his company. Why does there have to be complicated reason?" Clark walked away from Dean and Nell's blanket. He didn't want Lana's aunt to see them arguing.

Lana followed him. "In other words, he's good in bed. He wears jeans and a baseball cap and thinks he's incognito."

Clark tried not to smile to himself. Yes, Lex was good in bed, but that wasn't Lana's business. "If he wanted to be incognito, he would have worn a wig."

"I hope you two are happy together," Lana sneered.

Clark returned to the blanket. Lex had lied down and kicked off his shoes. "Lex, it's over between Lana and I. I was a fool." Clark lied beside Lex on the blanket allowing his long legs to extend out over the grass.

"Call your folks and tell them that you're spending the night with me. They know that we're courting."

"Courting?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I thought we were on the same page." Lex put his hand on Clark's arm and looked into his eyes.

"We are." Clark closed the space between them and kissed him.

Chloe arrived back at the blanket and waited for Lex and Clark to stop kissing. "Guys, where is Pete?"

"He left when I told him that I was dating Lex," Clark said.

"He accused Clark of sleeping with the enemy," Lex said.

"That is a little more than I needed to know. Enjoy the fireworks," Chloe said before waving good-bye.

Clark, seeing an amateur fireworks canister go off in direction of a small child, ran between the boy and the fireworks. He blocked the explosion with his hand then he set the spent canister on the grass. He supersped back to Lex and Chloe. The boy didn't even know his life, an arm or an eye was saved. The packaging said to be used by people over eighteen. What kind of adult lets a child play with firecrackers? Clark returned to cuddling Lex.

"See you around," Clark said to Chloe as if he never rescued the boy. He saved a boy's eye or (if he bought his hand up to save his eye) his hand. No thank you. Clark just being Clark. Did Chloe even notice that he left her sight to rescue a child?

"I need to say hello to Lana," said Chloe. "We'll talk."

Clark didn't get sweaty doing farm work, but he want to be clean for his date with Lex. They were going to the art show; a time to be seen in public as Lex's companion. Lex wanted paintings from local artists for his new house. Clark would be driving the Chevy truck since none of Lex's car had the trunk space for six or more paintings.

Clark didn't want to be late. The only thing that would keep him from his date was a crazed mutant. After rinsing the soap off, Clark put one hand on his cock and with the other hand, he slid his fingers into his pussy. Both hands went to his cock as he thought about Lex fucking him.

He rinsed his hands before turning off the shower and dressed in cut-offs and a tee shirt. He put leather Payless sandals on his feet and hoped he didn't look too hick for Lex's taste.

Lex had on a short sleeve mauve dress shirt. Did he just buy a few short sleeve ones because Clark insisted that he could put sunscreen on his arms and show a little skin? Lex had off-white painter pants with a matching belt. He still wore his Italian leather dress shoes; Clark would need to show him that expensive athletic shoes went with casual clothes.

"I have my checkbook," Lex said, meeting Clark at the door. Lex would never tolerate his date honking the horn for him. "Let's get some color on these bare walls." After a brief peck on the lips, Lex followed Clark to the truck and climbed into the cab. "Not a Monet or a Picasso on my walls that should really piss off Dad."

"Laura Monet was my eighth grade art teacher. She might be selling her work." Clark started the truck.

"I'll be sure to buy some."

"Do you think your dad will be visiting us?" Clark hadn't move in, but he did spend two nights last week at Lex's house. His father didn't make as much of a fuss as he imagined. His father knew that they were doing more than playing pool and watching the high definition TV. Music did sound better on Lex's sound system than on the portable CD player that Clark had in his room. As Clark hit the highway, he thought about the CD player in the Porsche; it sounded so much better than the two-speaker system in the Chevy truck.

"He can't hide in his Metropolis penthouse forever."

"It was his Lear jet that went down."

"Clark, that thought has crossed my mind. We'll never prove that my dad had anything to do with the crash."

"Do you think that your father knew that you would most likely survive the crash and set up Helen so he could blackmail her into working for him?" Clark asked.

"I wouldn't put anything past my father," Lex said. "That sounds just warped enough. My father just shot Lucas to save my life; I can't believe he would have me killed. However, to convince Helen to poison me and crash a plane with me on it would be possible if my father truly believed that I would survive it. The only problem is that the pilot didn't leave me a parachute, not that it would have helped because when I woke up the plane was hitting the water."

"The pilot could have broken his part of the agreement afraid that you would recognize him and turn him in. He panicked and tried to kill you."

"Knowing my father, the pilot died under mysterious circumstances. My dad doesn't care for loose ends."

"Maybe, it was your father's intent to kill you." Clark wanted to change the subject. This talk of the crash was getting morbid, but Lex needed to get this stuff out of his system and Lex might recommend others to see therapists, but he didn't like to go to one himself. It was a half hour drive to Grandville and if they thoroughly wore out the subject they wouldn't need to bring it up again.

"Perhaps, he made a clone of me and wanted to dispose of the original. He claims that I'm too emotional like my mother," Lex said. "Either way, I don't want to be alone with the man or his employees for a very long time."

"Is that why you left the castle?"

"I was worried that his staff would poison me in my sleep. However, there is a certain amount of pride connected with buying your own home. I had painters in all week and the house is starting to feel like mine. Next week, they tear up the bathroom and put in all new fixtures."

Clark realized that a house was a work in progress. It would be a showpiece in two to three months. No rooms were painted lilac or any other shade of purple. Lex had said that to get Clark's attention. "No purple."

"I expect business contacts to come to my home and I want my house to look a certain way. I'm planning to have a housekeeper come twice a week after the renovations are completed."

Clark liked the colors that Lex picked; they were lighter and less austere then the colors in the castles. "I would love to see your decorators plans for the kitchen and bathrooms."

"Tomorrow."

"My dad is impressed by you living in middle-class home without servants. It shows you have character." Clark looked at the open highway surrounded by cornfields.

"I need character. I'm not half as beautiful as you."

"I beg to differ."

Lex had an incredibly beautiful face. Clark was offended when Chloe said that a man with Lex's money could afford a wig. However, wearing that baseball cap had bought more attention to soft curves of Lex's face and his smooth complexion. After being called a freak since age nine, Lex couldn't see how beautiful he was.

Lex put a hand on Clark's naked knee. "You continue to dress in cut-offs and little else; I'll be forced to rip your clothes off."

Clark kept an eye on the country road. There appeared to be no traffic in either direction for miles. "After the art show, you may rip my clothes off and have your evil way with me."

Lex kept his hand on Clark's knee. "You talk dirty for a virgin."

"Who's a virgin? I fucked you twice last night alone, and I'm getting quite proficient at sucking cock."

"It comes from learning from the best. Your female parts haven't been broken in."

Clark cooed, "Break me in." They couldn't do more than talk dirty on the open road. After they got to the art show, Clark introduced Lex to his eighth grade art teacher, Miss Monet.

"Lex, how do you know Clark?" she asked.

Lex put an arm around Clark. They didn't need to act straight in front of a lesbian artist. "He pulled me from the river and saved my life."

"He would have done the same for me," said Clark.

"Modest, too," said Lex.

"You, Pete and Greg were inseparable," said Miss Monet. "Do you still keep in touch?"

"Greg died, but Pete and I are still best friends."

"Sorry to hear about Greg," said his old teacher.

"I like the picture of the windmill," said Lex.

"It's nice." Clark recalled sitting on windmill in Chandlers Field with Lana.

"I think it would look good in the kitchen," said Lex. "Clark, what do you think?"

"The kitchen has too much daylight," said Clark. "The picture would fade."

"Clark always has to be contrary," said Lex.

Miss Monet smiled. "He was always a good student."

"He's only contrary with me," said Lex. "I just bought a house and he likes nothing in it."

Clark stuck out his tongue. "I do not."

"Almost nothing," said Lex.

"Clark, aren't you still in high school? Are you entering your junior or senior year?" asked Miss Monet.

"Junior," said Clark.

Lex paid for the painting. "I'll put in under the tarp in the truck. The sky looks like rain. You can catch up."

Clark watched Lex walk off with the painting. Rain? The sky was clear. "What made you leave Smallville?" Clark asked.

"I wanted to spend more hours painting. My friend manages a gallery in Grandville. I only teach art a few days a week. I like working with the younger kids. Middle-schoolers are too set in their ways to experiment."

"Peer pressure," said Clark.

"Greg drew these wonderful pictures of insects, very detailed," said Miss Monet. "It's always a shame when someone dies so young. He could have worked for some nature magazine."

"Yes, Miss Monet." Clark didn't want to talk about Bugboy.

"Greg didn't fall to peer pressure. He had his own unique style. Your friend, Lex, wasn't in my class. I try to remember all my students."

"No, he moved to Smallville two years ago."

Chloe came over, rescuing Clark from talking about Bugboy. Clark smiled at Chloe. "Hi, Chloe. I was talking Miss Monet, our old art teacher."

"Eighth grade," said Chloe.

"I teach elementary school now," said the artist.

Chloe took Clark by the hand. "Bye. We'll talk more later." They walked a few feet from the booths.

"Thank you." Clark sighed. "I don't know how long I could smile and said that Bugboy was a gifted artist and not mention he killed his mother and tried to kill Lana."

"I think he wanted to mate with Lana," corrected Chloe.

"Whatever it was, it was creepy," Clark said.

Chloe shuddered. "Greg was creepy."

Lex came over and took Clark's hand. "You have a nice talk with Miss Monet."

"Don't you ever do that to me, again," said Clark.

"Do what?" Lex smiled.

Chloe said, "Bugboy" and shivered, again. "Clark, you have a good influence on Lex --no long coats in the middle of summer."

----

Clark drove the truck to a field where they could lay out a blanket under the shade of a tree. Clark sat on the blanket beside Lex and wrapped his arms around him. "You shouldn't hide under layers of clothes," Clark said. "You have a great body."

"I still see that slender boy that other boys beat up." Lex leaned into Clark's arms.

"It's not easy being different. My parents taught me to hide my differences. I grew up without birthday parties." Clark liked feeling Lex's soft skin against his. His parents had told him time and time again to be gentle. He cuddled Lex like he was told to cuddle a kitten.

"I hid in the closet during parties. You didn't miss anything."

"Our children won't have to hide during parties."

Lex turned to face Clark. "Children? My wife is missing and presumed dead. I'm not ready for commitment."

"I see my unborn children when I look into your eyes."

"And you felt this way when Lana was in your arms."

"No." Clark looked into Lex's gray blue eyes. "There were too many secrets between us."

"I told Helen how I felt about you and she still wanted to marry me. I should have ran for the hills then."

"You broke free of your father's influence."

"Too little, too late."

"It's never too late to redeem yourself."

"I'm lying under a tree with an intersex alien." Lex slid off his shoes.

Clark smiled. "What were we doing with Lana and Helen? You told me we had a future together and I couldn't see the forest from the trees."

"After all the life lessons my father tried to instill in me, I couldn't see that Helen was too forgiving. I let my pride get in the way of my judgment. I wanted Helen to be my life preserver. I learned I can only save myself." Lex licked around Clark's ear and caressed his hair and forehead.

"From what?"

"Becoming my father."

Clark couldn't believe he was watching the sun set with Lex in his arms. "You would never become him." Clark kissed Lex enjoying the moment then undid the top button of Lex's shirt. "You must be hot." Clark could see the beads of sweat on Lex's skin.

Lex removed his shirt and undershirt before returning to resting against Clark's chest. "I'm yours."

"You have beautiful skin." Clark knew it was a stupid thing to say, but even in a heat wave Lex was always covered up. Lex was probably embarrassed about his lack of body hair. All Clark wanted was Lex's seed inside him. It was like a voice in his head wanted him to get pregnant as soon as possible. The pod must have downloaded its program into him when it marked him with the symbol of his ancestors. The burn had long healed, but the program remained telling him that he needed to have Lex's children. It said that their children would lead the world. He wanted to shut it off, but then the desire to get pregnant was so strong.

Lex touched Clark's hair breaking Clark from his trance. "You're so pretty."

"Men aren't pretty." Clark's hands went over Lex's naked chest.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Lex's voice took an effeminate twang.

"You're beautiful," Clark admitted.

"My father would tease me as a child that I was too pretty to be a boy. I hated my red hair." Lex snuggled into Clark; his muscles may have been like steel, but his body gave like a human's when held gently. "Clark, you aren't a man."

"Does that bother you?"

"It bothers you more than it bothers me. Sweetheart, you need to be comfortable with your own body."

"A man, who wears a windbreaker in 90 degree heat, is going to tell me to be comfortable with my body." Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, not that Clark would say such a cliché out-loud.

"I wore a short-sleeve shirt today," Lex retorted.

"With a tee shirt underneath."

"What would you have me wear?"

"Nothing." Clark decided to be honest. Lex had no idea how beautiful he was.

"In public?"

"A tee shirt and Bermuda shorts if you're courageous."

"And show everyone my skinny legs."

Clark kissed Lex full on the lips as Clark's fingers undid the hook and eye on Lex's slacks. Reaching to unzip Lex's pants, Clark kissed his neck. "You're so sexy."

"Clark, don't tease me," Lex cooed. "If you take it out of my pants, you better make it worth my while."

Clark sat up to take off his cut-offs then his tee shirt and finally his underpants. "All done." He was out of his clothes in less than a minute and he didn't need to superspeed. No belts or hooks and eyes to slow him down. Clark wrapped his arms around Lex and kissed Lex, again. Lex's naked chest was now touching his, blessed skin-to-skin contact. Clark put Lex's hands on his butt cheeks. "I'm yours."

"I don't have a condom."

"I don't care." Clark kissed Lex, again. Lex tasted like popcorn salt and summer fairs. Jorel's voice in Clark's head demanded that he have children. Lex would give him intelligent and caring world conquers. Their children would be strong and just. He felt like he was part of the movie "Species" and his progeny were going to replace humankind, but at the same time, he needed to yield to temptation. Lex and he would have beautiful children together. Lex would forgo the condom and give into temptation.

Lex planted kisses on Clark's chest. "Tell me what you want."

"You naked," Clark whispered, unhooking Lex's belt, "and inside me."

"I want that, too." Lex kissed Clark's belly. "Roll on your stomach."

Clark spread out on the blanket.

"You're breathtaking." Lex planted kisses down Clark's back as he put lube on himself and Clark's ass. Lex pressed his weight against Clark's back and started to hump Clark between the legs. Clark felt Lex's penis penetrate his vagina. Jorel would have his first grandchild. Clark moaned lightly as Lex penetrated him deeper. He knew that he would become pregnant as listened to Lex's screams of pleasure.

"Wow." Clark rolled over and kissed Lex's nose.

Lex rested his head on Clark's chest as his breathing returned to normal.

Clark hurried into his clothes. "We need to return my parent's truck."

Lex put on his clothes. "They have the Ferrari."

"They can't carry farm supplies in a Ferrari."

"We'll return it tonight." Lex pulled Clark back into his arms. "I love you so much."

Clark kissed Lex's forehead. He knew Lex and he were going to become parents. Everything felt right with the world. Clark had sealed his fate; he would spend the rest of his life raising world conquers and loving the beautiful man in his arms.

Martha noticed the EPT test in the bathroom trashcan. The indicator changed color indicating a positive. Clark's bedroom door was open and he was laying in bed reading, What to Expect When Expecting. "Are you okay?" Martha asked.

"Fine," Clark said.

"Strange choice in reading material," his mother said.

Clark closed the book and hid it under his pillow. "Mom, I'm not ready to talk about this."

"We discussed condoms."

"I wanted to get pregnant. The pod uploaded the program into my mind. It didn't care that I'm heading into my junior year. It was time. I didn't feel like I had a choice," Clark said.

"You always have a choice."

"Mom, I want a baby more than anything. I can feel that deep inside. Ever since I told the pod that I wouldn't conquer the world, I have this strong urge to get pregnant. My children will have my powers. I don't know if I'm the world salvation or its doom. I couldn't help myself." Clark buried his head in his pillow.

"Lex should have insisted on using a raincoat. I thought that boy was smarter." Martha took the only chair in the room.

"I hate asking you this, but do you have the stuff for the baby?"

"Your father never throws anything away."

"What am I going to tell Dad?"

"Did you tell Lex?" Martha stood up, walked to the edge of the bed and put her hand through her child's hair.

"Not yet. I can't tell him that it was an accident. I begged him for sex and couldn't stop thinking about the child that we were creating. I feel so awful."

"That baby is what is important."

"Jorel wants me to be mother to a race of gods."

"Fight him."

Clark pulled the pillow around his head causing the pillow to burst. "I can't," he mumbled as feathers scattered all over the room. "Mom, I'm afraid."

"I'm here if you need me." Martha kissed her hand than put the hand on his face. "Tell Lex that he's going to be a dad." Martha left the bedroom.

---

Clark called Lex and told him that he'd be over to talk. Less than a minute later, Lex's doorbell rang. He would never get use to Clark's superspeed. Lex opened the office door for Clark. Clark looked at the rose tinted paneling and the paintings of wildflowers on the walls. "I'm working at home today," explained Lex.

"I have some good news to share." Clark gave a half smile. "At least, I hope it's good news."

"Out with it." Lex sat back down at his computer.

"We're expecting a baby."

"You're pregnant?"

Clark nodded.

Lex hit the key to save the program he was using then he walked over to Clark and put a hand on Clark's belly. "Wow." Then, he lifted up Clark's shirt and kissed his belly button. "Hello in there. I'm your father." A pregnant Clark was preferable over a pregnant Helen or a pregnant Desiree. At least, if he had gotten Desiree pregnant, he would have gotten the baby since prisons and babies don't mix. A pregnant Clark wasn't that bad and Lex did want to be a father.

"She can't hear you."

Lex hugged Clark. "I'm going to be a father."

"In about eight and a half months." Clark set up the rack and broke it. No balls went in.

Lex took his turn. "What are you going to do about school? Now you do have a reason to avoid the boys’ locker room."

"You can have Toby write me an excuse."

"Let's talk to your mother about homeschooling. An alien pregnancy has too many unknown variables."

"We can talk to them tonight."

"I have to meet with my stockholders. I'll join you afterwards." Lex kissed Clark's cheek.

"I haven't seen you this happy since you married Desiree."

"I told myself that I wouldn't let my emotions rule me. I was all stoic and reasonable about Helen." Lex's wife was still missing and presumed dead. Helen was probably working for Luthorcorp under a new identity. The silence bothered him, but he didn't break ties by contacting people. Having a private investigator look into his father's actions would bring attention to himself.

"I'm glad that you're happy."

"I know how much you want a baby, but you still have to finish school." Lex sunk several balls during his turn.

"We'll get a nanny. I can continue my education. My mother could watch her part of the time." Clark managed to sink a ball.

"I could hire a live-in nanny and work only four or five hours a day. The child won't be deprived of love and affection." Lex pushed the rest of the balls into the holes thus ending the game.

"I'll let you get ready for your meeting," Clark said.

Lex kissed his cheek again. "I'll see you tonight."

Clark hugged Lex. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I have some reports to look over before the meeting." Lex didn't want to let go of Clark, but work called.

---

Lex didn't arrive until Martha was serving coffee and dessert. Clark took Lex's hand. "Dad, Lex and I have some news to share."

"You're getting married," Jonathan stated.

"Not yet," Clark said. How was he going to tell his father that his seventeen-year-old son was going to have a baby? Clark decided the direct approach was best. "We're expecting a baby."

"You're seventeen years old," said his father.

"I can be homeschooled. I received a perfect score on my SAT's. I can apply for journalism scholarships with Lex's and Chloe's help. Many teenagers manage school and a baby and they don't have superpowers," Clark explained. He didn't know if he was going to finish school. All he knew at this moment that he wanted this baby and he knew he wanted more.

"We can help," Martha said.

"This isn't the child we lost," said Jonathan. "You can't replace our dead child."

"I was looking forward to have a baby in the house. Now, I'll have a grandchild. Clark and Lex will manage. They are young, but so are a lot of first-time parents." Martha handed Lex a cup of coffee. "The important thing is Clark doesn't have to go through this alone."

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that our son is pregnant?" asked Jonathan.

"Hello, I'm Clark Kent, the boy who can fly and burn things with his eyes; at least, other people get pregnant," said Clark. "I'm used to not normal."

"So that is what happened to the Talon." Lex put down his coffee.

"It was an accident," Clark said. "I have it under control for the most part."

Lex looked at Clark's belly. "We won't have to worry about our little firestarter setting the nursery on fire."

"No. I got that ability last year. When Desiree told you I helped put out the fire in the classroom, she didn't mention that I started it. That was the first time that it happened," Clark explained as he started his third piece of cake.

"Clark didn't become invulnerable until after puberty," said Martha. "Clark was an easy child to raise."

"Always willing to help out and do the right thing," Jonathan smiled in Lex's direction. "Lex, do you want some?" Jonathan said, as he took the last piece of cake.

"No, thanks. I don't care for sweets. Do you have any fruit?"

"I have kiwis and apples in the kitchen," Martha said. "Help yourself."

Lex returned with an apple. "I was an obedient child myself. I didn't become a troublemaker until after my mother died and my world crumbled around me."

"You needed love and he sent you away," Martha said. "Any child would lash out after the dead of a parent."

"He did the best he could. I lost my mother and brother, but he lost his wife and son. Neither of us handled our grief well," Lex admitted.

"Caring for a baby is a full-time job," Jonathan said.

"I have the money for a nanny and I can work less hours," Lex said. "Martha can visit anytime and help out. Clark will still go to college as planned."

"We can get a place near the school," Clark said.

"The details can be decided later," Jonathan said. "Lex, how do intent to claim paternity for the child?"

"I would like to marry Clark," Lex admitted. "I want my name on the birth certificate as father."

"I want my baby." Clark didn't like that he was being left out of the conversation. He was younger than Lex, but that didn't mean that he didn't have an opinion. "This is Smallville. No one will think I’m an alien simply because I’m pregnant. Since people may make nasty comments about green rocks, I won’t shout it from the rooftops, but I’m not hiding in my loft either."

Lex put a hand on Clark's face. "I can have Toby document that you're intersex. People older than you have changed their documentation. You'll be female on your paperwork, then we can get married," Lex said.

"Helen could reappear," Jonathan said. "They never did find a body."

"I’m not wearing a wedding dress," Clark said. "People will probably write meteor mutant on the barn door, but I’m not acting like a girl."

"Jeans and a tee shirt are androgynous," Martha said, gathered the dishes.

"He's not wearing a tee shirt to our wedding," Lex said.

"We haven't decided to get married, yet," Clark said, putting the pile of plates to the kitchen.

"Call me old fashioned, but a couple usually gets married before deciding to have children," Jonathan said.

"A number of our friends did it the other way around," Martha said.

Clark picked up the cups to take them to the kitchen. "I'll see Toby so I can have maternal rights." Clark was an alien. He didn’t know if his body would be affected by pregnancy the way a human being’s would. He could have the baby and the next day he could have no marks showing that he was ever pregnant. Clark hated that he had to leave himself open to slurs and shunning, but he needed witnesses. "I don't need to be married to have a baby."

With Luthor money, if Clark didn’t take safeguards, he could possibly never see his child, again. If something could happen to Lex, then Lionel Luthor could seize the baby. That was less likely to happen if Clark was listed as mother on the birth certificate. Clark had seen The Net. If Clark hid his pregnancy, Lionel would be able to claim Clark had nothing to do with the child. However, if all of Smallville knew Clark was the child’s mother, Lionel’s money would have less power.

Toby finished the exam of Clark and threw out the gloves. "You appear to be a healthy pregnant person. I can write you a note to show vital statistics. You've been told about safe sex."

"Lex was aiming for the other hole and missed," Clark said.

"He should have been using a condom." Toby started to writing on his prescription pad. "But knowing Lex's health, I'm not surprised that he went without."

"I don't need a talk on safe sex. My mother already gave me the lecture."

"You're lucky germs don't care for Lex or I would be seeing you for something a more serious than pregnancy."

"Lex is looking forward to having a baby. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already interviewing nannies," Clark said. "I've never seen him so happy."

"Do you have any concerns?" Toby asked.

"I don't have to start dressing as a woman." Clark got dressed.

"As the pregnancy advances, you might find maternity clothes more comfortable. There are ladies that wear sweats during the whole pregnancy and never buy maternity clothes," Toby handed Clark the piece of paper. "You have time to decide that."

"I'm changing my identity. After I turn in this paperwork, I'll be a woman the rest of my life," Clark said.

"Isn't that what you want?" Toby made eye contact with Clark.

"Yes and no. I want to marry Lex and have his children. What if I can't pass?" Clark asked.

"Take it one day at a time. One of your parents need to go with you," Toby said.

"Thank you." Clark put the piece of paper in his pocket.

"I could recommend a therapist," Toby said.

"For a pregnant male alien." Clark would have laughed if it didn't hurt so much.

"Just talking helps."

"The worst part of all this is that I can't stop thinking about the baby and I truly want to be a good mother, parent, whatever." Clark tried to laugh. "Mother, the child is growing inside me."

---

Clark put an overnight bag in the Ferrari at six o'clock in the morning. His father was already in the passenger seat. "Son, we need to talk," Jonathan said.

"I don't need a lecture," Clark said. "After I turn in this paperwork, I'll be your daughter. No lecture you can give me can make me feel any worse than I feel right now."

"This doesn't change who you are." Jonathan looked at Clark. "We're ready to go. We can grab donuts on the highway."

Clark turned on the ignition of the sports car. "It's a lot to digest."

"You should have been more careful," Jonathan said.

"This voice in my head wanted me to get pregnant," Clark said. "I shouldn't have listened. When Lex was over me, I should have pulled away. Every other time, we used a condom, but, I know, it takes only once." Clark pulled onto the road.

"The car is a bit flashy for a farm," Jonathan said.

His father didn't want to talk about his upcoming grandchild or Clark's change in identity so he talked about something safe. "Mom and I will go to the dealership and exchange it for something less pretentious. He doesn't have the garage space." Clark could talk about the car until his father was ready to talk about why they were going to Topeka.

"I understand that you have a lot on your mind," his father said.

"I don't want to talk about the car."

"People think rich when they see that kind of vehicle."

"I trade it in tomorrow. Mom and you could use another vehicle," Clark said.

"It's your car."

"A Windstar for the baby. I'd like when you call me 'son'." Clark smiled. "You didn't decide to come with me to talk about cars. We have to go to Topeka to get this done."

"Son, that is a lot of hours on the road. Maybe we should get a hotel," Jonathan said.

"The Ferrari is pretty fast and it's still very early," Clark said.

"At your age,you get caught speeding and the cops will suspend your license."

"I'll go near the speed limit. Think of this way, after this my insurance rates will go down." Clark added a little levity to the situation.

"You get rid of the Ferrari and the insurance rates will go down," his father corrected.

After nearly an hour on the road, Jonathan finally started to talk about the situation. "Are you and Lex going to get married?"

"He hasn't asked."

"If he asks," Jonathan said.

"I love him. Dad, he's the first person outside of you and Mom that I feel really comfortable with. I can be honest with him. Lana wanted to live in a fantasy world. When I couldn't tell Lana how I destroyed the storm cellar, I knew it would never work between us," Clark said. "He's a good catch. He has a good job; he's respected in the community. He's all a girl could want or, in this case, an alien that disappointed a program in a space pod." Clark wondered if in a few months would he see himself as herself. "Will this paperwork change the way people see me?" He didn't care about that. What he wanted to know if this would change the way he saw himself.

"That is up to you."

"I'll be a woman legally." Clark was trying to wrap his mind around it. "This isn't some joke, Dad. This is for the rest of my life."

"You don't have to hurry to change your driver's license," Jonathan said.

"You could use the break in the insurance. I want to hold onto the old one a bit longer. I'm frightened. Lex and I want a baby so much, but I'm not sure if I'm ready."

"That shows that you're thinking. I'll let you in on a secret; there is never a good time to have a baby."

"What about you and Mom?"

"Mom and I would have been in our sixties when the child was setting off for college. Parents make adjustments for their children."

"I want to be a good mother." There was a surreal quality about it. He couldn't believe he was saying that. It was like his mind wasn't his own, then again a computer had downloaded into his mind twice so perhaps, his thoughts weren't all his own. The same Clark that just made up his mind about going into journalism was a pregnant teenager. He couldn't tell his father his fears because he couldn't voice them to himself.

"I'm sure you will be."

---

Clark filled out the form and then Jonathan signed it. The woman behind the counter asked, "Would you like a name change while you are here?"

"No," said Clark. "I was given my mother's maiden name as a first name. It would be an insult to change it."

The woman looked at Jonathan. "When she starts college, she'll need to fill out forms. Having a middle initial would save her time."

Jonathan looked at Clark. "You pick a middle name."

"Ryan after Ryan James," said Clark.

"Good choice," said Jonathan.

The lady handed back the form.

Clark filled in the middle name. He handed back the form.

The lady nodded and said, "You can come back in a couple of hours to pick up your new birth certificate."

"Thank you," Jonathan said. "Let's get some lunch."

Clark walked down to the hall. "Dad, we could drive home tonight."

"Sure. All this has me spooked, too." Jonathan looked ahead at the elevator door.

"Hearing myself by referred to as 'she' will take some getting used to." Clark wanted to go back three months to not knowing who he was. Why did that pod have to download into his head? If he could have the birth in a hospital, people would have to say he was the mother, but since he was an alien that wasn't possible. He would have a private doctor and hopefully a friend or two witness the birth. He needed official records since he wouldn't have a hospital staff to confirm the birth. Toby had told him that getting the birth certificate changed was more a matter of protecting one's ass than necessity.

"You'll adjust. Mom needed to remind herself to use her married name for several weeks." Jonathan must have realized how petty that sounded and continued, "you got through x-ray vision and heat vision; you can get through this. Clark, God never dishes out more than we can handle."

"Tell that to people that have had nervous breakdowns or committed suicide." Clark wasn't at his breaking point, but he felt close. It was like his mind couldn't handle anymore and was slowing down. The office buildings in Topeka weren’t as new as Metropolis or as tall. It seemed more at home on the prairie than the skyscrapers of Metropolis.

"What are you thinking about?" his father asked.

Clark waited to talk until they were inside the Ferrari. "I could have walked into the UN and taken over the world, but instead I'm going to be the second Mrs. Luthor. Life has a way of laughing at you."

"Third," Jonathan corrected.

"Second. The first marriage was annulled." Clark tried to smile. "Hundreds of women would probably like to take my place and marry a millionaire. I told him once that I could be worth more than him." Clark's voice didn't get much above a whisper as he started the car. "If I wanted to, I could rob banks, steal precious gems and no one could stop me. I could conquer the fucking planet and have world leaders do my bidding, but I rather live in a small house in a small town with a no one."

"Clark, what did the program say to you?"

"That I had to leave you and Mom and start my mission of world conquest -- whatever that means. I refused and it marked me and read my thoughts. I could hear its voice in my head when I was on the road. It told me to obey and I said no."

"You're very brave."

"I couldn't face you with this when you and Mom lost the baby. I blamed myself for the baby dying since I didn't come to you for help and tried to stop the program myself by destroying the pod."

"You shouldn't have runaway."

"You blamed me. I couldn't face what happened. Dad, what would you do if you were I? Should I conquer the world, try to save people one at a time, or should I just become a housewife?"

"It's up to you."

"I want to meet people. I want more than to live in Smallville all my life."

"Get your education. The world is still open to you."

"It feels like I closed all these doors because I wanted to get pregnant for those lousy five minutes before having sex."

"You're going to college next fall like you and Lex have planned. God gave parents nine months to have a baby so they have the time to mentally prepare."

"I want to do the right thing."

"You need time to accept what has happened."

---

They got the news birth certificate for Clark Ryan Kent -- female. The clerk told Jonathan that he would need to take it to Miss Kent's school. While they were on the road home, Clark asked, "What did Toby write on the prescription pad?"

"Intersex--female," explained Jonathan. "He put a female symbol near the word, female. You'll never look like a woman."

"Dad, I'm getting breasts. Mom says I have that glow that other pregnant women have. You can 't be pregnant and not feel feminine."

Clark showed his mother the birth certificate when they got home. "I added Ryan as a middle name."

Martha hugged Clark. "I think Ryan would have like that."

"I'm going to the Talon." Clark said.

"Tomorrow. You need to get your rest."

Clark looked at his watch. "Lana is probably closing up now. It's late. Mom, I promised Dad in the morning that we would take the Ferrari and trade it in for a minivan."

"Sure. The Ferrari is useless on a farm. A minivan would be great. We'll get one with a hitch for a trailer. Clark, get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mom." Clark kissed her cheek before walking up to his room. He wondered if he would be able to spend the night with Lex tomorrow. His own bed seemed so small and lonely.

Clark and Martha took the Ferrari with the title that was signed to Clark to a Ford dealership. Clark explained that he needed a family car and couldn't afford the insurance on a sports car. The dealer agreed to take the Ferrari as a payment on a family vehicle. Clark picked out a Windstar with built-in car seats.

"Got a girl pregnant?" the salesman asked.

"I'm pregnant," Clark said without embarrassment. He wasn’t human. According to Swann, he was a species of one. The likelihood that people resembled human beings was infinitesimal. Then there was the kryptonite itself that was a powerful mutagen. Either way, he wasn’t human and human rules never fit him.

"Right. Next, you'll be trying to convince me that aliens had landed." The man smiled at the boy. "I don't sell used luxury cars but I know a dealer that does. I can give you list for three-year-old Ferrari. I only have to put the make and model into the computer or you can wait for the price I get from the dealer."

"It needs detailing," Clark said.

"All cars are cleaned before being put back on the lot," the salesman said. "It doesn't have many miles. I should be able to get you a good deal. Expect to get a check not a bill for the difference."

"My friend had five vehicles. His new place has only space to park two so he sold one and gave me one," Clark said.

"And he wants you to sell it," the saleman said.

"He brought the cars with his father's money."

The Grandville Ford salesman looked at Clark. "Your friend wouldn't be Lex Luthor. It was in the local paper that he returned from the dead after someone sabotaged his father's jet. The pilot and Mrs. Luthor were never found."

"I have my own theories about that. Lex claims that his wife left the plane before it took off from the ground. I think the pilot panicked and didn't follow Mr. Luthor's orders and tried to kill Lex. I suspect Mr. Luthor paid the pilot a few million in diamonds for the job and he's living like a king on an island and will never be found again."

"His son's theory?" the dealer asked.

"His father had his flunkies kill the pilot so they wouldn't need to pay him."

"The son is probably right. Either way, the pilot will never be found," the salesman said. "It must be nice to have a friend give you a car."

Clark shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll wait to see what you get from the other dealer," Martha said.

"You can bring home the vehicle you want and after I contact my friend, I'll mail you a check for the difference," the car dealer said.

"That sounds great," Martha said.

"Mom, I'll make an appointment to get a hitch attached," Clark said.

"I'll throw that in. I'm call you with the time and place," the man said.

"Thank you," Martha said.

"You're more than welcome." The salesman gave Clark the keys.

---

Chloe joined Clark in the Talon. "How are things going?"

"Good. My father and I went to Topeka yesterday and today I traded in the Ferrari for a minivan. I don't know if I should give Lex the difference or keep it," Clark said.

"Keep the difference," said Chloe. "Lex won't take the money."

"I'll buy Lex something with the money. My mom says that we need a vehicle with a hitch and once you pull out the seats, it has covered storage space for her deliveries," Clark said.

"Weren't you suppose to take the Ferrari to college?" Chloe asked.

"I'll take the Windstar to college."

Chloe giggled. "A van with the logo Martha's muffins on the side won't attract chicks."

"I decided not to be selfish."

"The real reason is that your father was afraid someone would take the Ferrari for a joyride and vandalize the farm."

"Chloe, you have me. It's a shame the Torch doesn't do summer issues," Clark said.

"I started working at the Smallville Ledger, July 7th. Car sales might interest high school students -- it won't make the local paper. By the way, what were you doing in Topeka?"

"Getting my birth certificate changed. I'm seventeen and the clerk talked to my father like I was invisible."

"Bureaucrats are like that. A day under eighteen and you don't exist. You can get a copy of your birth certificate in the mail."

"My father needed to give them some paperwork and they never get that stuff right."

"The adoption?" Chloe's face lit up.

"No. I gave myself a middle name. I'm Clark Ryan Kent."

"Ryan would have like that. He saw you as a big brother. You didn't go all that way to honor Ryan." Chloe was looking for details.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Chloe sipped her coffee. "I've seen it all."

"Don't you have to go back to work," Clark said.

"Lunch break." Chloe smiled at him. "Spill it."

"I changed my birth certificate because I'm pregnant." Lana was at the working the Talon by herself and Clark had yet to get a coffee. He suspected that coffee wouldn't affect the fetus. Toby didn't have an opinion on the subject and since Clark was an alien the research on humans didn't apply. When Lana finally took his order, he decided to get real coffee, not decaf.

Lana poured the coffee and went to the next table to refill their cups.

Chloe said, "You're kidding."

"I want my child to know I'm her mother." Clark drank his coffee. "Mom thinks I should cut back on the coffee to one or two cups a day. My doctor doesn't think the caffeine will harm the fetus."

"Why take the chance?" Chloe asked. Before Clark could reply, Chloe continued. "You don't want to be the new Mrs. Luthor. The first one is in jail and the second is missing. Lex is cursed."

"You don't believe that."

Chloe finished her coffee. "He doesn't have good luck with wives. You're better off staying his mistress."

Clark drank some more of his coffee. He would get decaf the rest of the day. It wouldn't hurt to drink only one or two cups of coffee a day. "Lex likes being married."

"He should have learned after being burned the first time."

"Chloe, puns are beneath you, especially ones that bad."

"Did Lex ask you to marry him?"

"He dances around the subject like saying things like when we are married, but he hasn't asked."

"Maybe he wants you to ask him." Chloe looked at her watch. "I'm going to be late getting back."

"I can't ask him."

"A man can have a baby, especially in Smallville. You changed your birth certificate because two men can't get married in Kansas. Are you sure you want your child to raised a Luthor?"

Clark drank his coffee. "We'll talk later. Get back to work."

Chloe waved as she left the table. "I'll see you around."

"Sure, Chloe." Clark felt like Chloe's girl friend. He wanted to talk to her about sex, marriage, pregnancy and other female stuff. He could talk to his mother about these things, but Chloe wasn't as prudish. Toby was right; he needed to talk about what he was feeling. Chloe had only half a story and he didn't want to know what her mind filled in as the other half. He would need to find the time to finish his story.

---

That evening, Clark called Chloe that evening. "Can I come over tonight and we can talk about girl things and watch a movie?" Clark asked.

"You're serious," Chloe said.

"Can you see me talking about boys and menstruation with my mother?" Clark asked.

"Sure. My father will hover over us. Last week, he caught Pete and I making out on the sofa," Chloe said. "He's going to check up every ten minutes to make sure we aren't kissing. My father still thinks I'm eleven."

"In a few weeks, the whole town will know that I'm pregnant," Clark said.

"I'll do my best to keep it out of the Smallville Ledger," Chloe said.

"Thanks. Expect me at eight. Do you have a DVD or should I stop on the way at a rental place?"

"Pick out a rental," Chloe suggested.

Clark picked up "Practical Magic" at the rental place. Chloe probably had a copy, but he didn't have a cell phone and he didn't want to bother the store manager to use his phone. Clark ran to Chloe's house. He would make an excuse that his mother dropped him off before going on an errand herself.

Chloe hugged Clark at the door. "I don't know what to say to you."

"I don't know if I'm a man or a woman. I'm getting breasts and my hips are starting to fill out. My skin's texture is even changing." Clark still had his arms around Chloe. She felt so soft and cuddly in his arms. It wasn't like holding Lex. He didn't feel aroused just comforted.

"Clark, slow down."

Clark released Chloe and followed Chloe to the sofa. "I picked out this one."

Chloe put it into her DVD player. "I have this movie, but I wouldn't mind watching it again."

Clark sat down on the sofa. Chloe had put a tray with soda and junk food on the coffee table. She got him two boxes of snack cakes. "You didn't have to bother."

"I couldn't remember if you prefer Twinkies or Ring Dings, so I got both," Chloe said.

"I'm not imagining all this." Clark felt his emotions were beyond his control. He must have been getting an alien strength flood of female hormones to his body. He didn't know how close his body chemistry was to human but he must have had DNA and a similar number of chromosomes. He wondered if his body did the equivalent of DNA splicing when he conceived his child. Perhaps, his body took genetic information from Lex's sperm and incorporated it into the egg so there was no need for a one-to-one correspondence. The details didn't matter. His body did what it did and it would do it again.

"Relax." Chloe put a hand on his arm.

"Your father will enter the room and yell for us to sit at the opposite sides of the sofa." Clark leaned into the sofa. His head had nothing to support it.

"You can sit in the overstuffed chair," Chloe offered.

"Thanks." Clark moved to the chair that was tall enough to give his head support.

"Before Pete and I added sex to our relationship, I went to the gynecologist. You aren't stupid. You wanted to get pregnant."

"When I was lying there wet between the legs with a hard-on, I didn't want Lex to go to a drug store to get a condom. Lex is so handsome with his shirt off."

"Hard-on."

"After the first time, we have only had vaginal intercourse. We have foreplay, but the main course is the same. I miss fucking Lex."

"Men are that way." Chloe blushed.

"I like vanilla sex, but I'm a hermaphrodite and there are these opportunities for exploration that we're missing."

Chloe climbed onto the arm of the large chair. "Men aren't interested in exploration; they want to satisfy their erection." Chloe didn't want to shout about intimate subjects across the room.

Clark put his hand on her thigh. He didn't mean it as a come on. She was warm and soft and sitting beside him. "I have an erection, too." His father probably wanted him to get girls pregnant too or, otherwise, he wouldn't still have the parts. He wouldn't have to be careful about not spreading his seed because he was only interested in Lex. However, Chloe's legs lying over his lap was very arousing.

"Since you have multiple orgasms, you're wired more like a woman."

Clark blushed. "At this moment, I feel like a man. Chloe, you're a very attractive young woman."

"I'll get on the sofa." Chloe fondled his hair a moment.

"I can keep my clothes on." Clark said. So what if he was aroused? Being a teenager meant being aroused. He wasn’t going to set fire to the place. Was heat part of the mating process on Krypton? There was so much he didn’t know. He had the heat vision under control, but he had so many unanswered questions.

As Lana came into the room, Chloe darted back to the sofa like she didn't want to be caught sitting on Clark's lap caressing his hair. "What movie are you watching?" Lana asked.

"Practical Magic," Clark said.

"Cool. Can I join you?" Lana said. She looked so tired from her shift at the Talon.

"My father left some leftovers in the refrigerator," Chloe said.

"Thanks," Lana said. "I eat enough junk at the Talon." Lana went into the kitchen.

Lana joined them a few minutes.

"I'll restart the movie," Chloe said.

"I've seen it before," Lana said.

"We're talking about men," Chloe said.

Lana sat on the opposite side of the sofa as Chloe. "You finally noticed Pete. Clark, what guy did you notice?"

"Lex and I are having a baby in about eight months." Clark put a hand on the hard spot that must have been his growing womb.

"He's kidding," said Lana.

Gabe Sullivan walked into the room, looked around the room and left without saying a word.

After her father had departed the room, Chloe said, "She's not."

"After Tina stalking me, I don't need this stuff," said Lana.

"Everything isn't about you," said Chloe. "Be happy for Clark and Lex."

"Clark and Lex are both men," said Lana.

Clark took the copy of the birth certificate out of his pocket and handed it to Lana. He planned to show it to Chloe. "I'm legally Miss Kent."

Lana handed it back to Clark. "Is this what you couldn't tell me?"

"Not exactly. Although I did worry me that you'd notice I have more parts than Whitney."

"I had sex with Tina," admitted Lana. "I only thought it was Whitney."

"Ooooh," said Chloe.

"Tina gave lesbians a bad name," said Clark.

"Fruitcakes come in all sexual preferences," said Chloe.

Clark felt more comfortable about his body than he had since he realized blood was pouring down his leg. Talking to Chloe was the best thing, he could have done.

"The three of us should try to be friends," Chloe said.

"We tried that before," Lana said. "You became insanely jealous."

"You promised me that you wouldn't date Clark," Chloe said.

"You aren't jealous of Lex," Clark said.

"Some, but he never promised me that he wouldn't date you. Lana and you have too much history. When Lana had you, I remembered dancing with you and our one date. I promised that we would only be friends, but I couldn't handle it. I thought I loved you. I was about to give Lionel Luthor your secrets, but I knew I couldn't trust him."

"What did Lionel Luthor want?" Lana asked.

"My sixteen year old virginal body," Chloe said. "He's lucky he didn't get the end of my father's shot gun."

"Mr. Sullivan doesn't have a shot gun," Clark said.

"He would have brought one for the occasion," Chloe said. "Mr. Luthor is an attractive man, but he's older than my father. Trust me. I'm not that desperate."

"He offered you a column with the Planet," Lana said.

"Not at that price. I'm not a whore." Chloe opened the box of Ring Dings and took out a package. "Clark, eat them. I brought them for you. Preservatives and chocolate are good for babies."

Clark took the package from her and unwrapped the cakes.

"Pregnancy is one time in your life you get to pig out and not feel guilty about it," Lana said.

"I never feel guilty about eating massive qualities of food." Clark lied. When he would eat an appetizer, a large meal and dessert and Lex would play with the food on his plate, he felt like a total pig, but Lex would smile and say that he liked watching Clark eat. He was 6'3" with muscles. He needed to consume a lot of calories. "Lex says that he likes to cook for me."

"Lex cooks?" Lana said.

"He brought a couple cookbooks. It's a new experience for him," Clark said.

"He'll bore of it," Lana said.

"He has a home office and prefers to eat his own cooking. He doesn't really care to wear business suits and travel," Clark said. "He's more of a homebody than you expect."

"Is his cooking any good?" Chloe asked.

"I'll suggest that we invite you and your father over for a dinner party," Clark said.

After the folk festival in a park outside the city, Lex and Clark went to a downtown bar with two other couples that they met while listening to music. Lex looked so happy and relaxed drinking a beer and singing off key.

"We should head back," Clark said as they walked to the car. "You have work tomorrow."

"Thanks to T-Mobile," Lex said, "I work out of any wired bookstore or coffee shop. Are you in a hurry to get home? Would you like to drive to Porsche?"

"I sold the Ferrari," Clark said.

"It was yours to do what you please," Lex said as they got to the car. "We have to move the car to hotel parking lot." The Porsche was in a lot used by people paying for monthly parking spaces and could be towed in the morning.

"I'll drive the couple of blocks. That was a very expensive gift to give someone." Clark kissed Lex on the sidewalk. Metropolis at night was almost as bright as day.

"You aren't just someone. You're giving me a baby. I love you," Lex said. "I should have moved out of the castle long ago. I feel as free as I did as when I was in college."

"Except you don't get drunk every night," Clark teased.

"I didn't get drunk every night. It's just when I tied one over I really tied one over." Lex handed Clark the keys. "I get into enough trouble driving sober."

"And parking sober?" Clark remembered when Lex ruined his golf clubs breaking a meter maid's headlights.

"I ruined a good set of golf clubs. I never lose my temper like that."

Clark thought back when Lex trashed his office because his father planted bugs. "We had a great time this weekend. Just shows you that you don't need to dress up and spend lots of money to have a good time." Lex had worn tee shirts and jeans all weekend and he actually wore sneakers.

"I did things like this when I was in college. Clark, you make me so happy."

"I'm just a farm boy." Clark opened the car doors and adjusted the seat for his height.

"From another planet." Lex sat in the passenger seat. "We can get a room at the Marriott."

"Smallville is all I know. I want to see the world."

"We shall."

Clark pulled into the hotel parking lot. He got the ticket that Lex would pay later that week. He felt guilty for Lex always spending money on him. Lex would smile when Clark complained. "Do you want to put it in your wallet?" Clark asked.

Lex put the parking ticket in his wallet. "I'm not upset that you sold the car. I just thought you would want it for college."

"It's a chick magnet and I needed a family car." Clark looked at his still flat belly.

---

Lex took Clark to a top-of- the-jewelry store in Metropolis. Clark had dressed nice thinking they were going to a museum. "You pick out a band and setting you want and the jeweler will measure you."

"There are no prices," said Clark.

Lex took Clark's hand. "Pick what you want."

Clark looked at the rings in the display cases. He pointed to a platinum ring with a jade stone. "That would look good on my finger."

Lex said to the jeweler, "I need her hand measured."

The jeweler needed to use one of the largest bands on his measuring rings to fit Clark. He wrote down the size. "Who will be picking it up?"

"Lex Luthor." Lex put an arm around Clark. "Sweetheart, point to the ring you want."

Clark said, "The jade one is nice."

"I can have it ready in two days," said the jeweler.

"I'll get you a second ring when we get married," Lex said.

Clark blushed. "We don't have to get married for the baby's sake."

The jeweler gave them a nasty look.

"Clark, I love you," said Lex, touching his hand.

"I need to be told sometimes." Clark touched Lex's cheek.

Lex gave the jeweler a deposit the led Clark out of the store. "You're so beautiful. Pregnancy suits you. Do you still want to go to the museum?"

"I need to call my parents. We told them the weekend and it's now Monday morning. They'll think I ran away again," Clark teased.

"I can’t get you in trouble. I’ve been there, done that." Lex handed Clark the cell phone. Clark had so much fun at the outdoor concert that he forgot to call his parents. Lex walked beside Clark silently as he assured his parents that he was fine and he would be home Wednesday night. After Clark hanged up, Lex suggested, "We could try to find tickets to a show tonight."

Clark handed Lex's phone back. "I rather go back to the hotel room. Why do we always have vaginal intercourse?"

Lex scratched his head. "I thought you liked it."

"I do. It's just that I want to fuck you for a change," Clark whispered directly into Lex's ear.

"We need some lube. My ass is yours." Lex put a hand on Clark's behind. "If you want something different in the bedroom, just ask."

"I was talking to Chloe and she says I need to be more direct in the bedroom."

"Would you like a late breakfast before we head to the museum?" Lex asked.

"Why don't you want to talk about sex?" Clark looked into Lex's eyes.

"We'll talk about it in bedroom."

"We don't talk about it. I bet Victoria told you what she wanted. We've been having sex for over a month." Clark took Lex's hand. The ring meant that they would be engaged in two days. Lex really wanted to marry him; it wasn't words that he said. Then, again, he married Desiree over chemically induced lust and Helen because he thought she would give him security. Lex didn't take marriage as seriously as he should. Perhaps, his father's favorite platitude would serve him: The third time is a charm.

"Victoria told me what she wanted and how to do it. I was twenty-one and she was over thirty."

Clark recalled that she slept with his father before breaking off the relationship with Lex. She decided that she preferred someone with experience. Although Lex claimed that he slept with her for business reasons, he was hurt by her betrayal. "I didn't mean to bring up old news." Clark was sorry for mentioning Lex's past love.

"She enjoyed teaching me about pleasing a lady. She thought she was sophisticated and worldly. She was the first woman that I slept with. She taught me a lot; I don't regret the experience." Lex didn't want to show that it still hurt.

"Lex, you're too hard on yourself."

"I was fooling myself when I thought Helen could actually love me." Lex put his hands on his hips. "Helen insisted on seeing what was behind my locked door. She didn't want me having secrets when she had ones of her own."

Clark remembered the story about the pirate that locked up his wives in his secret room. "You didn't put dead bodies behind the locked door."

Lex smiled. "I should have, but I didn't have time to bribe a gravedigger. I think the picture of you the size of the wall was effective. Helen was speechless."

"Helen married you after that." Clark tried to act nonchalant. He picked up his pace slightly remembering that Lex couldn't supersped. Sometimes, it was tempting to put Lex in his arms and supersped to their next location, but the one time that he did that it infuriated Lex. He insisted that walking was a pleasure to be savored.

"That was before we became engaged. When I proposed to her, she laughed about my infatuation for you," Lex said.

Clark stopped walking and made eye contact with Lex. "Laughed?"

"She asked if I was thinking about you the evening I proposed."

"Were you?"

Lex chuckled as he took Clark's hand in his. "No. I saw her a force in my life for good. You had turned your back on me lying about the cave. I wanted to love her and be a man worthy of the love of woman as virtuous as I saw Helen. Now, I know I was in love with a mirage. What I have with you is real. Clark, Helen deceived me. I saw her as a saint thinking she had forgiven my betrayal. How could I be so foolish when you loved me all along?"

"You wanted to believe that the unmarked blood was my mother's. You wanted her to be the saint that you painted in your mind." Clark kissed Lex on the street. After the stares at the concert, he didn't mind giving Lex public affection. Lex, in casual clothes, screamed queer. "After your father's lessons, you still wanted to see the good in people. That is admirable." Clark's hand lingered on Lex's face. "In the park, we saw that your belief was right. People are basically good." There were a few cops patrolling the area but with a crowd in the thousands; five or six cops were uselessly.

"We'll free to marry in five months." Lex stepped away from Clark.

"I want to wait until after my eighteenth birthday." Clark took Lex's hand in his. "Did you marry Helen to prove to your father that you were straight?"

"No."

Clark squeezed Lex's hand very lightly. "You married a woman who knew you were in love with me."

"I was honest with her and hoped she was honest with me. It seemed enough at the time."

Clark stepped into a drug store and purchased Astroglide. "I'm going to fuck you all night."

"I wouldn't be able to enjoy the museum."

"We could spend the day in the hotel."

"The museum could wait until tomorrow."

"You had issues with your father when you moved to Smallville." Clark was starting to understand why Lex liked leisurely strolls. Lex admitted that Victoria was the first woman that he dated and to the best of his knowledge Lex didn't date any men in Smallville before going out with him, not that he was sure he counted as a man. Lex dressed in less than masculine colors and moved like a woman when he was relaxed.

"My father sent me to Smallville because there are no gay bars within a hundred miles." Lex smiled at Clark.

"Gays meet at the same bars as straight people." Clark laughed.

"It's not the same. The bars in town aren't pick-up joints and the Wild Coyote was disturbingly hetero. My father wanted me away from the drugs and parties and when I cleaned up my act, he cut me down. He has to make the first move." Lex took a few steps before he continued to talk. "If he continues to treat me as a business adversary, I'll continue to ignore him. I don't need his lessons."

"He loves you."

"I know that but he needs to treat me as an adult. I proved to him that I could run his business and turn a profit. I negotiated a buy out, not bad for a boy of twenty-one. I'm not as incompetent as he imagines me to be. He tells me that other businessmen would steal LexCorp from me, but they aren't interested in a small fertilizer plant." Lex slowed down his speech and his pace. "It's like he has to put me in my place. I'm tired of the games."

"You don't need to fight with him."

"I don't want to fight him. I just want my father to accept me as I am and for us to act like two adults. Why can't he be proud of how far I've come?"

"He wants you to be better."

"I can't play the game by his rules." Lex took a deep breath.

"Let's enjoy the day and talk about more pleasant subjects."

"My father and old girl friends are off limits."

"Agreed."

---

Lex and Clark returned to the jeweler; the same jeweler was minding the store. Lex paid the balance and took the ring from the box. "Clark Ryan Kent, will you marry me?" Lex got on one knee.

"Sure after I turn eighteen," Clark said.

Lex put the ring on Clark's finger. Clark wrapped his arms around Lex and kissed him deeply.

"Gentlemen, you can't shock the jeweler," said the man behind the counter.

"I'm expecting," Clark said, giving it the college try.

The jeweler rolled his eyes. "The next thing you'll be telling me that you're Smallville mutants."

Lex smiled. "We both are. We met close to ground zero or so our parents tell us."

"I was three," Clark admitted. "Lex was unconscious. I smiled at him and touched his bald head."

"And you remember that?" the man asked.

"No. My mother told me," Clark said. "My father saved Lex's life. We remet twelve years later. He was unconscious the second time, too."

Lex wrapped his arms around Clark. "That only proves that you're my hero."

"It proves you need rescuing," Clark teased back.

"Good luck," the jeweler said. "Think of us when you're in the market for wedding bands."

Martha wondered why Clark didn't come down for breakfast. She could see him missing his chores but not breakfast. She knew it must be hard on him being out of school. It reminded her of all the parties Clark didn't attend, that he never was in Little League. She hated she had isolated him out of fear. Now he was isolating himself. She wanted to kiss it and make it all better.

Finally, she knocked on Clark's door. "Clark, the day is wasting away."

Clark was sitting on the bed in his tee shirt and Fruit of the Looms. "I don't fit into my jeans."

"You put on a pair of sweats and I'll take you to Fordmans for more sweats," said Martha.

"I'm huge." Clark put a hand on his growing belly.

"You're going to get a lot bigger before this is over. After school, you can visit your friends at the Talon. You put on some sweats. What you need is fresh air and sunshine."

"I've always been a freak. I was 6'3" in eighth grade. Most of the kids in my class were barely over 5 feet. This just gives new meaning to the word freaky."

"You're not alone. There is a teenage mother group at the community health center. It might feel good to talk other girls in your condition." Martha put her hand through his hair.

"I’m not a girl. I’m an alien creature, a bug-eyed monster like in an old movie. I only look human."

"Clark, your father and I raised you. You’re human where it counts."

"I mention I'm engaged to Lex Luthor and they'll all hate me."

"So don't tell them." Martha smiled at him. "You're still friends with Chloe and Lana."

"Chloe and I are as close as we were before the Spring Fling tornado. Lana and I are barely on speaking terms, but we've never been close," Clark said. "Lex will be back from Metropolis in a couple days and I'll feel better."

"You can live with him if you want. I'll talk to Dad," Martha said.

"No. Lex is busy during the week. We agreed that I would only sleep over on the weekends. I'll have the rest of my life to spend with him." Clark smiled. Lex would be home from his trip sometime Thursday and would probably make him dinner Friday. "He'll spend Friday cooking for me."

"I can send you a care package."

"I need to learn how to cook."

"When we get from get back from shopping, you can help me with dinner?"

"Sure."

---

Lex was busy acquiring a new business and