Departure

He'd followed Lex down from his bedroom in nothing but his jeans, his bare feet cold against the hot boards on the porch and then soothed by the coolness of the dirt. Lex said nothing to him, immaculately dressed as always, and Clark wrapped his arms around his chest as the wind blew his hair into his eyes. He'd promised not to say a word, but it was ripping his heart out to watch Lex leave.

Lex slammed the door to the Ferrari and raised a dust cloud as he tore out of the driveway, and Clark just... watched. He didn't run after him, he didn't call out after him, just watched until the dust cloud was out of sight, and then collapsed like a deflated balloon, there in the dirt in front of the house.

Lex was gone.

But he would be back. He'd promised.

Lex prayed as he walked to the car that Clark would keep his promise. He knew that if his lover said a single word, made a single sound, that he would stay. He would break down and stay and consequences be damned.

But Clark was strong; probably stronger than Lex himself could have been, he reflected. The day was eerily silent; not even the normal sounds of birds singing or animals around the Kent Farm broke the heavy weight that seemed to muffle both their spirits.

He had to go. But he'd be back.

Closing the car door was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and not looking in the rearview mirror was right up there. Finally, at the top of the driveway, Lex couldn't stop himself. A look in the mirror revealed a solitary, forlorn figure of a boy, standing statue-still with his arms wrapped around himself. Lex understood the gesture; felt like he needed to do the same thing himself to hold in the pain.

Flooring the Ferrari was his solution, spinning dust and throwing up a cloud in his wake as he tried to outrun the sight of Clark... alone.

Clark couldn't seem to pull himself up from the ground in front of the porch. He lacked... not energy but perhaps motivation. There was no reason for him to move; Lex wasn't around any more and his parents were gone for the week. There was actually no reason in the world for him to move from this spot.

Only he couldn't stand the barren desolation of the dusty ground and hard plank digging into his back.

He never should have promised Lex. Never should have agreed to stay quiet. Should have begged Lex not to leave, to put off the trip for another few days.

Regret was bitter on his tongue as he ran. Past the barn, past the cornfields, past the castle even and stopped by the road that would, if he followed it, lead into Metropolis.

Lex had made him promise that, too, though. Promise not to follow.

He hated promises; hated that he had to keep them. Hated Lex, in a way, for asking impossible things and asking for promises that hurt them both to keep.

He swore then, never to make another promise.

His father's office. As personal as his father was impersonal, the office seemed to have a great deal of personal touches in the heavy walnut and oak furniture that dominated the room. A case in the corner held Lionel's awards and accomplishments, and Lex wanted to take one of the plaques from the wall and smash this place to bits.

He'd told Clark not to follow; now he regretted that decision. He wanted Clark by his side, needed him there to drive away his father's darkness. But this, this was something that Clark should never and could never know.

Balance of power that shifted back and forth, threats and promises that created uneasy truces and ended a relationship of almost fifteen years. A locked office door, a cleared desk and a waiting smile from his father as Lex approached him.

Pounding bodies, pooling sweat, muffled cries and hidden marks that would fade in a day or two.

More threats, offers of power, and a final promise of utter destruction.

A scalding hot shower when he got back to his Metropolis penthouse, a change of clothes and a pyre for the ones he'd been wearing as they fueled the fire in the fireplace.

A yearning to call his lover fought down. Frantic masturbation to remembered cries and stolen moments, a shout of Clark's name as his seed spilled over his fist.

This is why he'd made Clark promise not to come. Family business was too dirty to be aired with anyone else around.

This is why he needed Clark with him. Clark's strength was the only thing that made it possible for him to break away.

The two days Lex had expected to be gone had turned into five. Clark's parents were due home the day after tomorrow; Lex had finally broken down and called Clark last night and said to expect him today. Clark had dragged himself out of bed at dawn, sitting on the porch in jeans and an open flannel shirt, scanning the distance for the Ferrari's arrival.

At noon, he was rewarded. Lex tore into the driveway and before he could get the door open, Clark was by the car door and dragging him out. The flannel shirt was discarded and Lex buried himself in the golden warmth of his lover. His arms pulled Clark close, and Clark wrapped himself around Lex, arms and legs twisting and twining until Lex was safely caged in his embrace. His hands and eyes roamed Lex's body, mentally cataloging the bites and bruises and flinches that his lover tried to hide.

Lex had never felt safer, and Clark had never been as happy.

"Never make me promise to let you be hurt again."

"I won't. I promise you."

~ FIN ~