A/N: Yeah. So. Apparently I really get off on silly titles. *shrug*
The first time Clark did it, it was an innocent mistake. The power was new to him, and difficult to control. One second, Lex was heading towards the half-full bottle of water left on his desk, throat parched after a half-hour lecture on the history behind his latest purchase -- which was apparently a marble artefact from Ancient Greece, but looked more like something Clark had made with papier mâché when he was in kindergarten -- and the next second...
Clark's gaze just happened to fall to focus on the sway of Lex's hips, and-- bam! Naked Lex butt!
So, yeah, that had freaked Clark out. And left him with the unfortunate task of concealing a spontaneous erection that wasn't all that spontaneous. It certainly prompted him to learn all the ins and outs of his x-ray vision, so that something like that could never happen again.
The only problem was, once Clark learned to exercise perfect control of this power, it presented a hell of a lot of temptation. Practicing on the refrigerator, he discovered he could see through the door to the interior, then through the carton of milk to the contents of that, right through to the wall the refrigerator was backed up against. As with this, he could do the same with people.
From Lex's underwear, to his bare skin, to his bones. Clark could see any of this at any time. ...Theoretically. Because he certainly hadn't tested this. Apart from that first time -- accident! -- he had actually gone out of his way to ensure he didn't get to test this hypothesis.
...Until that one day -- almost a whole year later -- when he had called around the mansion after Lex had just seen his father off. Lex was furious. Not furious in the way a regular person was furious: all red-faced and loud and blustering. Furious in the way Clark had come to realise was not the Luthor way (Lionel's fury tended more towards the cold, threatening kind of icy anger) but a way that was purely Lex. Quiet, controlled and inward facing.
Clark had known he wasn't fine, as he had insisted, and instinctively glanced down at Lex's chest, focusing his vision on his heart, which was, as Clark had suspected, beating at an incredibly fast rate. It was only after that, that...well...his vision sort of...flicked onto a lower setting. Clark was no longer looking at Lex's heart, but the patch of smooth skin that stretched over it.
When Lex had said something else, oblivious to any inappropriate eyeballing that may've been occurring, he brought Clark back down to earth with his heart racing. It had been like an electric shock (Clark assumed, after hearing other people describe what that felt like) or that feeling when you get away with something and know you could do it again and again, and never get caught.
That was when Clark realised that he wasn't going to be able to control this urge to look at Lex. It had only happened twice, but it seemed that was all it took to get him hooked. He was doomed.
So, from then on, Clark stopped resisting. He set up a system. He wasn't stupid -- he knew if he indulged this, it would only get worse. Temperance was the answer. If he looked in moderation, it wouldn't be so bad. Part of Lex's arm, a toe, the bones in a finger. A small piece of Lex at a time.
Today, Clark was grinning as he approached Lex's study. This week he'd been working his way across Lex's chest and today he would reach the left nipple. If the right nipple -- a few days back -- was anything to go by, it should be spectacular.
"Clark," Lex always sounded slightly surprised to see him, despite the fact that Clark had made it routine to drop around every day after school, "It's nice to see you."
"Hey, Lex." Clark shut the doors behind him.
Lex was not sat behind his desk as usual, today. He was already standing, and smiling faintly as Clark approached.
"Actually, I had hoped to see you today." Those words coupled with that smile had Clark's whole being humming in quiet pleasure. "I have some good news. I was speaking to Lana earlier." Lex turned away and Clark watched him head towards his desk, to stand behind it, his palms spread on the glass top. Lex never put his hands on the glass.
"Lana?" It was rather shocking to realise that he hadn't given her much thought at all this past month. "What were you talking about?"
"You." Lex's smile grew and narrowed simultaneously. "I don't know what you've been doing differently lately, Clark, but it's certainly had an effect on the girl."
"I haven't...really been doing anything. At all. I haven't really seen her. I mean, I've had...a lot on my mind lately." Like your nipples. Speaking of which...
"Hm. Apparently the hard-to-get approach really works, then." Lex straightened up, his hands coming up with him, and Clark repressed the urge to put his own hands over the palm prints left on the glass. "I think the time is right, Clark."
"Time? Right? For what?" Clark was growing a little impatient. He couldn't properly focus his vision when he was expected to make conversation.
"For making your move, of course. She's ready, Clark. The way she was talking about you... You should ask her out. She'll say yes."
Clark guessed that an exasperated "Will you just shut up about Lana for one second?!" might go a long way to blowing his cover, so he just shrugged noncommittally and hoped Lex would be quiet for a minute or two so Clark could do what he came here for.
Instead, Lex launched into one of his long-winded analogies, comparing Clark and Lana to various lovers from history. That was okay, though, because Lex could keep going for hours if he really got into it, and wouldn't expect Clark to do anything but stand there and listen.
Clark let his eyes wander over Lex's black shirt, loving that he didn't even need his powers to see the peak of his nipples as they rubbed up against the fabric. Resting on the slight point of the right one, Clark switched into x-ray vision and suddenly the view was a hundred times more erotic.
That milky skin, complimented by a perfectly round bud of dark, puckered flesh that shifted with every inhalation and exhalation of soft breath. Clark could build a temple for it. And gladly kneel and worship it for the rest of his days. Worship it with his fingers and his tongue and his teeth, and...
Clark had started wearing these long, baggy jumpers and pants every time he visited Lex for a reason.
"Are you even listening to me, Clark?"
Lex sounded slightly annoyed, which meant he was highly pissed off, and Clark snapped out of his trance, but not before catching a glimpse of...something. Something odd.
"Huh? Lex? I'm listening. Go on."
Lex was probably frowning in irritation right then, but Clark wouldn't know. His eyes were fixed doggedly at chest-level, and right then he didn't have the presence of mind to drag them upwards. However, Lex conceded after only a few moments, and continued his lecture from where he'd left off.
His words were nothing but a distant buzzing in Clark's peripheral hearing. Everything was nothing but a faraway blur in Clark's world. Because...wow.
Lex was wearing something under his immaculately smooth shirt, and it wasn't anything Clark could ever have expected. It was a white shirt, under which Lex's nipples peaked even more noticeably.
Across the front of it was a large cartoon trophy cup, over which three bold words imposed: 'World Class Ass'
When Lex turned away to pace, as he often did when administering a lecture, Clark saw the arrow on the back of the shirt, pointing down...
World class, indeed.
Clark swallowed thickly and promptly began choking on his own saliva. Lex was immediately by his side, patting his back, rubbing his neck, and asking what was wrong.
"Clark?" Lex, although obviously knowing that this was just a little coughing fit, looked as concerned as if Clark's life were in jeopardy. He always did that. It was like the early days, when Clark used to come to him acting as if Lana's lack of interest in him spelled out the end of the world, and Lex would tackle the problem as if it were a matter of great significance, rather than just a high school kid's moaning. "Are you okay?"
Clark had a much better question to turn back on him: Just why the hell are you wearing a novelty tee bragging about the quality of your ass? Horny teenager, here! Have a little compassion!
"Alright there, Clark?" Lex asked once the sputtering had died down.
"Yeah, fine. Great." Clark made a point of keeping his eyes fixed on the desktop, where the white palm-marks were still visible.
Suddenly Lex's pants were ringing and Clark fought with himself, determined not to look back at him. He just...he couldn't see that tee shirt. He couldn't. It was...what was that about, anyway? Since when did-- Why would-- How was--
Lex removed the phone from his pocket and answered it with an eye roll.
"Dad."
Clark waited while Lex listened for almost three minutes while his father spoke to him.
"Dad, you're going to have to hang on a moment." He turned to Clark, and Clark liked that he was the reason Lex dismissed Lionel like that. "This might take a while. Perhaps you'd better go."
Clark nodded and Lex let his free hand rest on his shoulder for a long moment, before turning his attention back to the phone conversation. But not before saying: "I'll see you tomorrow, Clark."
When Clark got home, he went straight up to the loft and sat down heavily. After a moment, he began to laugh. He laughed until he was curled up into a quivering ball, his breath short and loud, his cheeks wet. He didn't stop until his mother called him down for dinner, and even then he couldn't stifle the occasional giggle through a mouthful of meatloaf.
Lex wearing a novelty tee shirt. That was freaky, even compared to the other abnormalities Smallville had to offer. Lex's 'World Class Ass'. It just didn't get any weirder than that.
*****
"Good afternoon, Clark. I've been on the phone to my business contacts in France all day. Thank god you're here to break up the monotony."
"Don't worry, Lex." Clark, hands on hips, did his best impression of a corny comic book superhero. "I'm here to save you from an afternoon of dullness and boredom."
"My hero." Lex smirked, leaning back in his chair and threading his fingers together behind his head.
Clark couldn't help -- no matter how many times he'd told himself he wouldn't -- but check to see if Lex was still wearing the tee shirt. Well, Lex was certainly wearing a tee shirt underneath his suit, but...
Hey. Wait.
"What's with the suit?"
Lex shrugged easily.
"I wanted to look nice for you, Clark."
Clark's breath caught in his throat.
"Really?"
"Joking, Clark. Joking." Lex laughed breezily, apparently oblivious to the disappointment and hurt that settled over Clark's face. "Helen and I are going to Metropolis this evening."
"Oh." Clark didn't even care how obvious his lack of enthusiasm was. "That's your fourth date, isn't it? Getting serious, huh?"
"I've never really dated anyone before." Lex said, a hint of teenage boyishness in his voice.
Sure. Clark knew he must look like he'd been sucking a lemon.
Lex fucked the women he wanted. He let the Metropolis socialites hang off his arm for the sake in public appearances. But he didn't date. Until now. Stupid Helen. Introducing Lex to the world of seeing people as more than objects for revenge and release. Stealing Clark's job. Bitch.
"Still, can't be that serious. I mean, you've known her, what, three whole weeks now, and no marriage proposal?"
Clark knew that joke had been in very poor taste, but perhaps the reminder of Desiree would go some way to quelling Lex's infuriating optimism for this relationship. Lex just shrugged again, smiling, although his eyes were slightly harder and less open than before.
"There's still time." His voice was still as cheerful as before -- no hard edge. But dark sharpness in his smile.
Clark swallowed and adopted Lex's method of merely shrugging to convey his apathy. Except, in Clark's case, it wasn't genuine.
Lex glanced -- very quickly and subtly -- at his watch and Clark felt the hurt as a palpable thing. A solid lump inside his stomach, melting, seeping into his body to stay. Because Lex was never even the slightest bit rude unless he meant you to notice.
"I guess I better go." Clark took a step backwards, towards the doors.
"You don't have to go yet." Lex said, sounding almost as if he truly wanted him to stay.
Liar, Clark thought, heading out into the hallway.
'Be the answer to my prayers: Get down on your knees.' Lex's tee shirt had lewdly requested. Clark had been a hair's breadth away from obliging, but he suspected that the message was meant more for the good doctor than for him.
*****
There was a golden rule that Clark followed, and that was that there was, on no account, any crotch ogling. Ever. Well, the regular type of crotch ogling was fine -- no normal teenager could stop themselves from checking out the object of their desire's package. But Clark's...unfair advantages in that area were not acceptable. The rest of Lex was fair game. But not that. Clark wasn't a pervert, after all.
However, this...this didn't count. Clark hadn't meant to look! His eyes had been heading for that expanse of skin that lead across to the armpit, but... How was he supposed to miss something that...that...impossible to miss!
Of course, it would be purple. Clark would've rolled his eyes if his mind hadn't melted into a puddle of useless goo that was going to start dripping out of his ears at any moment.
"Clark? Do you have something on your mind?"
Lex? Why are you wearing a thong?
"Lex? Why did you want to see me?"
A white smile that almost had fangs, and Lex pushed himself up from his position leaning against his desk to walk -- stalk -- over to Clark.
"I haven't seen a lot of you recently." He said. Casually. Not really. "What's the matter? Are you avoiding me?"
You noticed?
"I saw you a couple of days ago."
"It's been four."
"You counted. That's sweet."
That was uncalled for and un-Clark-like, and the wounded expression that morphed into a mask of impassivity that it caused had him instantly contrite.
"Sorry."
"So am I." Lex's smile was a lot less aggressive now that the initial hostility was out of the way. "I feel like we left things in a bad place last time we saw each other. That was probably my fault. So, I apologise."
"No, it...it wasn't you. It's me, I--"
I don't like you blowing me off for that woman.
I've been slightly off-kilter ever since I realised you like to wear novelty clothing items.
...And sexy underwear, apparently.
"I know that, since I began my relationship with Helen, we haven't been spending as much time together." Clark didn't like the sound of that 'relationship'. "I'm truly sorry if I've made you feel like you come second in my life. Believe me, it's not like that at all."
Second?
He was as high up as second?
Wait. He was higher than second?
"Uh, Lex. I..." What could he say to that?
Clark looked down at his feet, as he always did when he felt the blush coming on. But...that wasn't his feet. That was Lex's--
Stop looking at his underwear, you pervert!
Oh, man...It really didn't conceal a thing, did it? Holy crap, the cock fairy had been generous to Lex. ...But not the hair fairy. Damn. Bald there too?
Oh, no. Please.
Clark had never been so hyper-aware of the blood pumping around his body. Down into his cock, steadily filling it.
Stop it. Stop it.
Stupid penises and their independent minds.
Down, boy! Please! Uh...Kryptonite. Danny DeVito. Mucking out the barn-- Cow crap! Cow crap! Oh, come on! Cow crap is gross! Go down, already!
"What do you say we go get a coffee, hey Clark?"
"Uh, what?"
"Coffee. Talon. Want?"
Want? Ohh, want very, very much... If only you knew about the want...
"Um..."
"Of course, coffee isn't necessary to enjoy yourself. The Talon boasts many other...attractions."
"Guh..."
"The lovely Lana Lang? The name ring any bells?" He was smirking in that sarcastic way of his and all Clark could think was that the Temple of Lex's Nipples could use a neighbouring chapel for that unbelievably sexy pink scar that stretched white as Lex's lips twisted.
"Ah..."
"Come on, Clark." Lex laughed and clapped him on the back. "Let's go."
"Right." Clark managed to croak out an answer, but Lex was out of earshot by then. "Coming."
Attempting to adjust himself in hope of making his excitement less apparent to everyone and their grandmother, but only managing to make himself grow just that little bit bigger in response to the attention, Clark followed on.
He couldn't believe that Lex was going out in public in a thong.
Then again, he was going out in public with a boner.
What a couple of perverts.
*****
Clark was tired. Sick and tired.
Eight days. Eight f'ing days of this insanity.
Clark was tired of tee shirts with sad-looking puppy dogs on them, proclaiming 'I need a hug'. Tired of red fishnet tights safely concealed beneath perfectly pressed black trousers.
The one day he'd thought he was getting a reprieve from this punishment that some god somewhere obviously felt he deserved, and it turned out to be the worst of all. Lex had looked so normal. A quick scan. Nothing. Bare skin beneath a white dress shirt. Bare skin beneath a pair of immaculate pants. Except for a pair of normal, white briefs.
And then Lex had turned around.
That-- that--
That woman had marked him!
Five small bruises in near perfect O-shapes. Clark thought they'd been taking things slow!
Jealousy and desire and regret and embarrassment and guilt was boiling somewhere deep inside him, and he didn't know how to make the furious bubbling stop.
"Seen Helen lately?" Clark had been shocked by steadiness of his voice.
A shrug and a smirk, and Clark had wanted to throttle him.
Today would...not be the same. Clark refused to be baited by this.
He strolled into Lex's study, as he always did, and smiled when he was greeted with a cheerful "Hello." Smiled at the wall.
Lex told Clark how he had just outwitted his father in one of his little games and how he was feeling pretty damn good this afternoon.
Clark told the floor that he was glad to hear that.
"Clark? Are you--"
He was so sick of that question. The fact that people had to keep asking him should've been an answer in itself.
"I'm fine."
"Are you--" Lex tried to move in front of Clark's face, and suddenly the laptop lying out on the desk was very interesting, "--Sure?"
"Uh huh."
"Clark." Lex chuckled as he moved backwards, attempting to get in Clark's eye line, but it was a rather tight sound. Easily breakable. More intrigued than amused. More bemused than tolerant. "What's going on?"
"Nothing."
Eyes on the door. Eyes on the door.
Technically, Clark could just not use his x-ray vision. But if this past week had taught him anything, it was that Lex's new...habits were like a train wreck. Or an episode of Jerry Springer. Horrific, but you couldn't not look. You'd hate yourself for it, but it didn't change a damn thing.
"Clark." Much less amused this time. "Stop playing this silly game and look at me. Look at me."
Clark looked. The x-ray vision kicked in before his eyes even reached Lex.
Oh, great.
Another tee shirt. What would this one say?
...Oh...crap...
Clark stared. Mouth-open, eyes-goggling, tongue-lolling stared.
'Gotcha Clark.'
Written in felt-tip marker. Not a novelty tee. A personally modified one.
After what could've been a minute but what could also have been fifteen, Clark dragged his eyes upwards to Lex's face. Lex's stern, expectant face.
That bubbling deep inside started again, and this time the new ingredient of betrayal added a little spice to the recipe.
"Hm." Lex was assessing. Evaluating. "This was definitely one of my better plans."
"What the hell, Lex?" It was too late to pretend. He'd already given himself away. There was no way out of this one, except by the direct route. "How-- how could you-- Why?"
"It was for my peace of mind, Clark." Lex sounded cool and on-edge. Dangerous. "Your heated denial that there was anything different about you, coupled with my father's accusations of my delusion and paranoia, had me beginning to doubt my own sanity."
Anger. Clark could taste it on his tongue. It didn't quite manage to cover the guilt.
"Besides, I don't think you can play the betrayal card here, Clark. Your behaviour over the past few months has breached whole new levels of violation of privacy. Eight days to crack, though. I'll admit, I'm impressed. I wasn't exactly running out of ideas, but I'm glad it never came to the nipple clamps."
It flooded Clark's mouth like a burst of shame. If remorse were melted down into a liquid, it would taste exactly like that.
"I-- I'm sorry, Lex." What else could he say?
"For what?"
Clark realised that Lex was enjoying this. It was a sharp, pained kind of enjoyment, but Lex seemed determined to retain the feeling.
"Everything."
"For lying to me?"
"Yes."
"For making me feel like my best fucking friend believed I wasn't worthy of him?"
Oh, god...
"Yes, Lex. I'm so sorry. I don't--"
"For all those sleepless nights wondering if I really was going crazy?"
"Yes." Clark wasn't going to cry, but he couldn't stop his shoulders shaking nonetheless.
"Thank you, Clark." Lex sounded appeased. That was surprising. There had to be something else coming. Lex didn't forgive liars.
But Lex's broken glass smile was gone. His blue eyes were open and there was nothing in them but receding hurt and a lot of emptiness.
"And I'm sorry for the other stuff, too!" Clark ploughed on while he was still allowed to be in Lex's presence. "I'm sorry I...looked at you. I...I couldn't help it."
That was no excuse, but Lex nodded as if there were no better explanation.
"Well, I'm sure if I had x-ray vision, I would've done nothing different."
It was a shock, to hear someone other than himself or his parents refer to one of his powers by name. It was an equally big shock, to replay that sentence in his mind and realise what it could mean. Was that an admission of Lex's attraction to him? Or was Lex still playing games?
"So...do you...are you going to...do you want me to..." Because the sudden silence was driving Clark crazy.
"That's alright, Clark." Lex put his hand on Clark's shoulder and squeezed. "It's been an...emotional confrontation for both of us. Perhaps you should go home." Another squeeze of that hand and Clark couldn't believe that Lex was reacting this way. "I'll see you around."
"I thought-- Don't you want to ask me about--"
Clark was so confused. And surprisingly disappointed. Lex had cracked his way inside, just like he'd always wanted, just like Clark always knew he would, and now he was backing off? He only knew the tiniest part of it. There was so much more to show him.
Clark wanted Lex to know everything, now there was no reason not to tell him. Now that half the story was already told. He wanted to come clean. He wanted to be clean.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Clark. You don't need to tell me about anything if you're uncomfortable with it."
Didn't Lex want him to be honest? Wasn't that what this whole bizarre experiment had been about? Goddamn it, didn't Lex care enough to want to know? Didn't Lex want to see how much better Clark was than that boring human girlfriend of his?
"Besides, it was rather fun getting the truth out of you in this way." Lex was suddenly right up close to Clark's face, their bodies pressed together. Clark's mouth was open and when Lex spoke, his breath gusted right into it. His eyes were burning. His hand was wandering downwards. "And I have some highly interesting theories to pursue concerning your heat vision."