Lights, Chapter 5

Clark/Lex
Season 3, sometime after "Phoenix"
Rating: Adult. If you're under eighteen, please go elsewhere now.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the CW and DC Comics, not to me.
Read Chapter 4 here.
Read the story from the beginning here.

"Is that what you're wearing?"

Clark glanced down at his clothes. He wore his Sunday best-- khakis, a white dress shirt, decent if slightly scuffed shoes, and a red tie. "Um, is this okay? Because all my other options are flannel."

"You look great," Lex said. "Except, well, the tie. It's... well, it's..."

Clark pulled up the tie and squinted at it, wondering if it had already gotten frayed or stained somehow. "Mom just bought it at the Granville Target."

Lex winced. "That would be the problem," he muttered.

"You don't like my tie?"

"It's just..." Lex paused, clearly hunting around for a tactful way to say butt ugly, and then sighed. "How about I loan you one?"

"Lex, I can't borrow one of your ties. I might spill soup on it."

"Don't worry about it." Lex was already headed for the bedroom. Against his will, Clark remembered the really huge bed, with its purple coverlet, and a weird feeling swept through him. He tried to ignore it.

A moment later Lex reemerged, a purple tie in his hand. "Here," he said, handing it to Clark. "Try this."

"Um..." Clark tried not to recoil as if Lex were offering him a live snake. "It's purple."

"What are you suggesting, Clark, that real men don't wear purple?"

Since Lex wore purple all the time, Clark wasn't about to say that, no matter his own personal opinions on the subject. "It's just that... well, I like blue and red. Purple's just not my color."

"But it's mine," Lex said, very softly. "And I want you to wear it."

Clark lifted his head and looked at Lex. There was an oddly possessive note in the other man's voice. It sounded almost like Lex wanted to mark him. To show the world that they were... friends.

Clark hesitated, then reached out a hand and took the tie.

*****

"I can't believe you ordered macaroni and cheese."

Clark blinked at Lex. "What's wrong with mac and cheese? It's awesome."

"Clark. This is a five star restaurant."

Clark shrugged a shoulder. The purple tie had so far managed to avoid having any stray food spilled on it. He'd noticed Lex gazing at it more than once, which brought back memories of Lex staring at his chest... which led to still other memories best avoided right now. He tried really hard to focus on his food. "You said to order whatever I wanted. And what I wanted was macaroni and cheese."

Lex stared at him for a moment longer, then started to laugh.

"Next time," he said with an affectionate shake of his head, "I'll just take you to Golden Corral."

*****

Clark leaned back in the Porsche, feeling full and happy. He'd eaten a huge plate of macaroni and cheese, grilled chicken, a salad, approximately two thousand and ten pieces of very fancy bread, and a large dessert with a lot of chocolate. He was now officially a very happy boy.

Okay, so maybe he hadn't picked the classiest stuff on the menu... but he'd picked the best stuff on the menu.

"Now what?" Lex asked.

"Mmmm." Clark closed his eyes and spoke in a low, contented drawl. "I think we should just go to bed."

There was a very long and profound silence from the other side of the car. Clark waited for a response for a while, then slowly realized what he'd said, and how he'd said it. His eyelids flew open, and he looked at Lex in chagrined embarrassment, giving serious thought to opening the window and diving out headfirst. His cheeks flushed a brilliant scarlet once again, but he hoped Lex couldn't see it in the dark car.

The Porsche pulled into the parking garage for Lex's building, and Lex deftly meneuvered it into a parking space, then turned toward Clark.

"Okay," he said, very softly. "Let's go to bed."

Read Chapter 6 here.