Human Behaviour

This terrific cover was made by LauraB. Thank you so much, hon!

Human Behaviour

Disclaimer - WB and DC own 'em.

It's Clex. It's definitely an AU. I'd better rate this NC-17 to be on the safe side. This is going to be longer than usual for me, but I don't envision it as being ginormous. I guess we'll see!

Many, many thanks to my smoochie. *smooch*

Feedback would be great :)

Clark's initial impression of Lex could be summed up with one word:

Bald.

Which was rapidly followed by the feeling that he had to get to know him better. Clark wasn't sure why, but there was something intriguing about Lex, something that made Clark keep sneaking looks at him, and it wasn't just the way he looked.

Or not entirely.

Plus, Lex always seemed kind of lonely, and Clark's need to protect people had long since stopped just manifesting itself in his attempts to rescue the residents of Smallville from whatever the latest meteor mutant was. When he saw someone needing help of any kind, he had to intervene.

Steeling himself - it was ridiculous he felt this nervous; he was only trying to make a new friend - Clark's hand tightened on the duffel bag he'd slung over his shoulder, and he started making his way across the quad.

"Hi," he began when he reached the bench, "you're in my psychology class, right?"

Looking up from his book, Lex seemed a little surprised before smiling slightly. "I think so. With Taylor? 10 am tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Clark nodded, relieved that he'd at least been recognised. "I don't suppose you could do me a huge favour and lend me your notes from the last class?" He knew for a fact that Lex kept meticulous notes - he'd watched him working on them in class. "I, uh, kinda got distracted and forgot to make my own." More like deliberately burnt them with his heat vision so he'd force himself to do this, but Lex didn't need to know that.

"I hear that can happen in Taylor's classes," Lex replied with a touch of wry humour. "He's not the most...attention grabbing speaker."

Pleased, Clark grinned. "I love the subject, don't get me wrong. But I tend to enjoy it more when I'm really getting into the material, you know? Not listening to Mr Taylor drone on."

Nodding his understanding, Lex carefully placed a bookmark between the pages he was reading, closed the book, and placed it down on the bench. His own bag was resting on the ground between his feet and as he picked it up and started pulling a folder from it, Clark frowned.

They hadn't even had psych today, and Lex was carrying his notes around with him. Clark supposed he could have just been dedicated; he did always seem incredibly focused in class.

Shifting his stance a little, Clark's gaze moved to the book Lex had been reading. It was about psychology, all right, but it wasn't one of their course textbooks, and it definitely wasn't on the required reading list.

Maybe he was just really fascinated by the subject.

"Here," Lex said, holding out a few sheets of paper that'd been in the folder. "You're lucky. I didn't find that much to make notes of, this time." His lips quirked up slightly, making fun of himself. "Have you done the required reading?"

"Yeah," Clark nodded, taking the paper. "At least I remembered that." Grinning, he glanced down at the unsurprisingly neat handwriting. "Seriously, thank you *so* much. You're like...really cool." Okay, *that* was lame.

"I can't say I've ever been called that before," Lex replied, obviously amused.

Embarrassed though Clark was, he was starting to realise that Lex was in no way the shy guy he'd thought he was. Lex wasn't shy. He was just busy.

Clearing his throat, Clark waved the papers around. "It shouldn't take me long to copy these. Where can I find you later to return them?" So that probably wasn't subtle. But he really wanted to know which dorm Lex was in. He had a suspicion, but...

"You can just give them back to me in class tomorrow," Lex replied easily.

Damn. "Oh. Right, okay-"

"Or, uh..." For the first time since the conversation had started, Lex looked uncertain.

"Yeah?" Clark asked, wondering if he really sounded as hopefully pathetic as he thought he did.

"You could always drop them off when you're done tonight. I'm in Baker. 211."

Trying to hold back a huge grin, Clark hoped he sounded as calm and suave as he was going for. "Sounds good. I have a few things to do," like talk to Chloe and try not to panic, "but I should be able to drop by around...seven?"

"That's fine," Lex said, closing the folder and working it back into his bag. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Right," he replied. "See you then." Right. "Thanks again, Lex."

Dropping the bag to the ground, Lex nodded back at him. "No trouble at all, Clark."

It was only as he walked away that Clark realised they'd never exchanged names.

As it turned out Chloe was behind on her reading and couldn't meet up with him anyway. So, having to forego the Chloe Sullivan pep talk (she was usually good at making him do what he actually wanted to do), Clark set off for Baker Hall with the notes in hand.

Arriving at the dorm building a little before seven, Clark was surprised to see Lex waiting around outside the main door. Was ridiculously pleased, even. It was almost as if Lex had been waiting for him.

Spotting him, Lex lifted his head and stepped further away from the building. "Needed some air," he offered as explanation before nodding back towards the building. "Come on. Let's go see how identical our rooms are."

It was a pretty lame joke, really. Clark could only hope it meant Lex was as nervous as he was.

Feeling a little more confident, Clark followed him into the building and then up a flight of stairs. The building seemed pretty much identical to Clark's dorm, but he supposed that made sense. Most of the dorms had been built around the same time so he figured they'd gone with one design and stuck with it.

When they reached Lex's floor, quite a few of the doors were open. Some students were going in and out of different rooms, or sprawled across their beds studying, or...Clark blushed and pulled his gaze away from the doorway he'd just passed. He was pretty sure *that* sight hadn't been meant for the public.

211 was one of the doors that was closed, and when they reached it Lex unlocked and opened it up. "This is it," he said needlessly, stepping inside and holding the door open for Clark. "Make yourself comfortable."

Taking the weight of the door from Lex, Clark stepped in after him and then let the door click shut. "Thanks." Looking around, he saw that their rooms really were similar. Like Clark - although unlike a majority of students - Lex had a room to himself. Clark's was a necessity due to the rare but still occasional bout of sleep flying, and though he didn't know Lex's reason it did seem to fit what he knew of the guy so far.

There were books. A *lot* of books. All of them about psychology, the human mind or the brain itself. Moving closer to better examine the contents of the various bookshelves that'd been crammed into the small room, Clark shook his head in wonder and then looked back over his shoulder. "Something tells me you're taking a lot of psych courses." He was careful to keep his tone teasing - he didn't want to come across like he was making some kind of judgement about it.

"People fascinate me," Lex admitted, sitting on the edge of his neatly-made bed with his hands clasped together, apparently not minding at all. "I like to know what makes them tick. Why they do the things they do. Why they are the way they are."

Clark could understand that to at least some degree. He'd taken psychology purely because he was an alien, and though he felt human he was hoping pscyhology would at least teach him something about *being* human.

Realising, then, exactly what Lex had said, Clark frowned and turned his whole body around to face him. "You said 'they'."

"Sorry?" Lex asked, looking up from where he'd been picking at his jeans.

"You said you wanted to know about 'them'. Not 'us', or 'we'." He smiled gently. "You're human too, Lex."

Grinning - and wow, that was really nice - Lex nodded in almost absent agreement. "Some days it doesn't feel like it."

"I can understand that," Clark retorted with a smile, definitely meaning it, before turning back to look at the shelves again. Eventually spying something crammed between the books, Clark's curiousity got the better of him. Placing the borrowed notes on top of a stack of books, he carefully pried the object free...and his eyes went wide. "Oh my God, Warrior Angel?!"

He'd never even heard Lex move, but suddenly he was standing behind him. "You like Warrior Angel?"

"I *love* it," Clark declared, grinning broadly as he spun around, holding up the comic. "Totally my brother's fault - he got me into it when we first met, and that was it. I was hooked."

Obviously confused, Lex frowned at him. "When you first met...?"

"Ryan's adopted," Clark explained. "He's a great kid. Man, he'd love this." Glancing down at the comic, he smiled again. "You're gonna have to meet him some day. He always feels reassured when he finds another like-minded geek."

Lex narrowed his eyes. "That would imply that I'm a geek."

"Yup," Clark replied, feeling way more comfortable than he would have expected. "It would."

Faking an annoyed look, Lex snatched the comic out of Clark's hand. "People who call me a geek don't get to touch my comic books."

Catching the humour in Lex's face, Clark laughed and followed him as he headed back towards the bed. Pausing near the bedside table, Clark jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Resting on the table was a lamp, an alarm clock, a book (no surprise there), and a picture of a red haired woman. She reminded him a lot of Mom. "Is that your Mom? She's really pretty."

Sitting on the bed again, Lex looked towards the photo. "Yeah. That's my favourite picture of her."

He wasn't really smiling *or* frowning, but Lex's tone was so full of obvious fondness that Clark suddenly had a horrible feeling. "Oh God, I'm sorry. Is she...?"

Definitely wearing a clear expression now, Lex pulled his gaze away from the picture to smile up at him. "Relax, Clark. She's alive."

"Oh." Oh, good. "Glad to hear it. So, how long have you been reading Warrior Angel?" The change in topic might have been a bit obvious, but when Lex indicated for Clark to sit down next to him on the bed and they started sharing their own personal comic book histories, neither of them seemed to mind.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Jerking in surprise, Clark looked up to see Lex standing over him. "Hi! No, not at all. Help yourself." He had, in fact, been wondering if he should go and sit next to Lex whenever he saw him walk by, but they'd been in the semester long enough by now that people had unofficially laid claim to specific seats, and they tended to sit in the same place every class. Clark hadn't wanted to tread on anyone's toes, but if Lex wasn't going to care than neither was he. "How're you?"

"Good," Lex replied, slipping into the seat next to Clark's and pulling his folder out of his bag. "Had a dream about Warrior Angel last night." He glanced towards Clark and the grin was positively *wicked*. "I blame you, of course. How about you?"

"No exciting dreams to report," Clark sighed dramatically, pleased at the smile it brought out of Lex, "but they had my favourite cereal at breakfast this morning. That's definitely something worth celebrating."

"Practically makes the whole college experience worthwhile," Lex agreed, nodding sagely as he located a pen and turned to a fresh sheet of paper in the folder.

Last night had gone well. *Really* well. So well that, after leaving Lex's room, Clark had grinned the entire way back to his own room. And when he'd eventually gotten changed for bed. And when he actually lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. And yeah, he had kinda been forced to admit to himself that it wasn't just friendship he wanted from Lex. Clark didn't typically grin like a maniac everytime he thought of someone he considered just a friend.

The big dilemma, of course, was that he had no idea if Lex liked guys, or liked him. He'd barely seen Lex interacting with anyone at all other than Professor Taylor, but that did actually give him some hope. Lex didn't seem to go seeking anyone out and yet here he was, deliberately sitting next to him. It could have simply been friendship - which would still be great - but Clark was just going to have to wait and see.

The suspense was killing him. In a *really* good way.

Professor Taylor called for everyone's attention, then, and class began. Lex was instantly hunched over his folder, ready to make notes. He seemed so absolutely dedicated, which was no doubt great for his grade average and pretty much adorable to Clark. Shifting in his seat, Clark made a point to focus on the professor and make his own notes.

That was really the extent of their interaction in class. Occasionally they'd glance over and smile at each other, but Lex was way too into his work for anything else no matter how boring they'd both agreed Professor Taylor was. Clark got called on to answer a question once, and thankfully got it right, but it wasn't until class ended that Lex said anything.

"You actually study," he teased.

"Yeah," Clark snorted, following Lex up the steps that led out of the room, "thanks to you."

"Oh, that's right," Lex said, obviously faking realising something. "The notes you needed to borrow from me." Waiting until they were out in the corridor, Lex stepped to one side and turned to face him. "The notes I could have sworn I saw you making in the previous class."

Clark went bright red. There was absolutely no way to ignore the knowing look on Lex's face, or the fact that when he hadn't been looking at Lex, Lex had apparently been looking at him. Which shouldn't have been possible given Lex's obsession with the class. "Guess you must be mistaken." He really hadn't gotten much better at lying.

"Hmm," Lex replied, "I guess so." Smirking, he brushed by Clark and continued along the corridor.

Jogging a few paces to catch up with him, Clark cleared his throat. "So...you have any classes now?"

"Nothing until this afternoon."

Excellent. "You wanna go grab a coffee?"

He didn't pause walking, but Lex did glance down at the bag he was carrying in his left hand. Apparently reaching a decision, he looked back up Clark. "Sure. I could probably stand to study a little less for once. I think I inherited my Dad's severe workaholism."

Pleased as Clark was, he screwed his face up. "Is that even a word?"

Lex met his gaze. "Do you want to go for coffee?"

"Sure."

"Then it's a word."

Clark could go with that.

There was a coffee place just off campus that a lot of the students went to and by the time they arrived it was already packed. Clark had just spied a couple about to leave a table when he saw Whitney at another table, waving at him, obviously indicating that he had free seats. Great. He'd known the guy forever, and as much as he just wanted to be alone with Lex right now, ignoring Whitney would probably be something that'd come back and bite him in the ass.

Plus, you know. Not very nice.

Plastering a smile on his face, Clark led the way to the table. "Hey, Whitney."

The two friends Whitney was with were apparently just leaving, as they briefly said hello to Clark and then vacated the chairs. Clark had a vague recollection of meeting them before but had no idea what their names were, and then he was sitting down and nodding towards Lex to take the other chair.

"Hey, Clark," Whitney smiled. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good; just had psych." Deciding introductions were in order, Clark continued. "This is my friend, Lex. Lex? Whitney Fordman."

Apparently recognising the name, Lex's expression loosened. "Whitney Fordman? 'Star' Quarterback?"

Whitney was used to that by now, and he never really seemed to mind the attention. But then Clark knew for a fact that Whitney's Dad was an ass, so he probably appreciated it. "Yeah. I swear, that's gonna be my epitaph." It was probably true. Whitney was just as popular at college as he had been in high school - sports were big business everywhere.

"Clark," Lex began, leaning back in his chair, "you didn't tell me you had friends in high places."

Recognising the gently mocking tone in Lex's voice, Clark turned to face him. "Oh, you know. I try to get by on my own merits." And...yeah. Clark could see how it'd seem strange that a guy like Whitney would even sit with a kid from Nowheresville, USA, but Whitney was a genuinely decent guy. The fact that Clark had saved his life more than once probably helped, too. "Okay, what do you want to drink?"

"I'll get them," Lex said, standing up and placing a hand on Clark's shoulder. "What do you want?"

There were *so* many answers to that question, but Clark managed to blurt out a coffee-related one. After checking if Whitney wanted anything, Lex headed off to order and Clark turned back to face Whitney.

Who was grinning.

Clark frowned. "Everything all right?"

"Fine, fine," Whitney answered, sipping at what was left of his drink. "You spoken to Chloe lately?"

"Not for a couple of days."

"You should," he said mysteriously, seeming really pleased about something.

What the heck did that mean? "Why?"

Refusing to elaborate, Whitney ignored any more questions and turned the conversation towards football. Clark couldn't blame him - football was practically his whole life. When Lex returned with the drinks a few minutes later, they'd just begun reminiscing about Smallville.

"Man, do you remember Coach Arnold?" Whitney asked as Clark blew gently at his coffee. "He was a psycho. He was a great coach, had worked there forever but, you know," he lifted his eyebrows and leered towards Lex, "nutty as a fruit cake."

Seeming uncomfortable, Lex shifted in his chair, but before Clark had a chance to ask him if everything was all right, he spoke. "So, how long have you two known each other?"

"Must be going on..." Whitney looked at Clark. "...what? Fifteen years?"

"Sounds about right," Clark agreed, before speaking to Lex. "We went all through school together."

"Is that right?" Lex asked, sipping carefully at his latte. There was something almost suspicious about his tone, and he kept looking between the two of them and...oh.

"How's Lana?" Clark suddenly asked as possible damage control, hoping that Whitney was please going to mention that Lana was his girlfriend so there was therefore no chance of anything happening between him and Clark.

Whitney's whole face softened - Lana was the part of his life that wasn't football. "I got another letter the other day. She's good...says it's kinda scary, which I think I can understand, but she is enjoying it. I think it'll be good for her, you know?" He sounded like he'd been spending a lot of time convincing himself of that.

"I'm sure it will be," Clark assured him, forgetting all about Lex for a while. "You guys are still gonna meet up in Spring break, right?"

"Yeah," Whitney smiled. "Trying to figure out if I should go to Paris, or she should come back here."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Yeah." He grinned down at his empty coffee cup, before looking back up sharply. "Well, I better go. Football waits for no man." Picking his sports bag up from the floor, he hooked the handle over his shoulder and stood up. "See you around, Clark. Nice meeting you, Lex."

"You too," Lex replied, and then Whitney was making his way out of the shop. A few moments later, Lex was sipping at his drink again. "Seems like a nice guy."

"He is," Clark insisted. "He used to be...not quite so nice. But his dad had a heart attack a few years ago, and I think it put some stuff into perspective for him, you know?" He sighed briefly. "Anyway, how's your coffee?"

Conversation went from class, to Professor Taylor impressions, to favourite TV shows. Lex apparently hadn't watched all that much for the last few years, so Clark made a mental list of things he *had* to show him eventually. More than once Clark said, "Seriously, Lex, you don't know what you're missing," until Lex finally got him to admit that he was something of a geek, too.

They drank countless cups of coffee (it didn't affect Clark all that much, and Lex seemed just as impervious), shared something that might have been a sandwich when they got hungry, and almost before Clark knew it Lex was pulling up his sleeve to look at his watch.

"I have to head off, I'm afraid. My next class is in a few minutes."

Surprised to realise it was nearly 1:30, Clark grabbed his bag and stood up. "Yeah, I should go, too. Have someplace I should be." Someplace he *should* have been half an hour ago. He really was going to have to keep better track of time while he was around Lex.

Slowly meandering back to campus together, they talked the whole way. More than once Clark laughed at something Lex had said and, disappointingly, it didn't take them long at all to reach the building Lex's class was in.

"Well," Lex said, "this is my stop."

Nodding, Clark pointed to a building on the other side of the quad with the finger from the hand that was holding his bag over his shoulder. "I'm over there." Lowering the finger, he bounced momentarily on the balls of his feet. "I guess I'll see you later." He was seriously fighting the urge to do something ridiculously girly, like kiss Lex on the cheek (that had to be girly. Definitely didn't seem very masculine.)

"Right," Lex smiled tightly, almost...awkwardly? That could be good. "See you later. Oh, and Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"It's a real word. Workaholism is a real word."

Clark blinked. "Oh."

There was a brief moment where absolutely *nothing* happened, but Clark could have sworn something was *about* to...and then they were walking away from each other, in opposite directions across the quad.

Clark couldn't remember the last time *anything* had made him sweat like that.

Clark was woken up the next morning by a phone call from his parents. He didn't specifically tell them about Lex - there was really nothing to tell, anyway - but he did mention that he was making a new friend.

"That's great, son," Dad said, and then over-compensated with enthusiasm the way he always had since Clark'd come out to them. "Are they gay, too?"

Still feeling groggy, Clark closed his eyes and wished he was still asleep. He was pretty sure Lex had been in his dream, and wondered how Dad'd react if he shared that particular piece of information. "No idea, Dad." Yawning, he made an attempt at changing subjects. "How's the farm?"

As Dad went on about home, Clark threw back the covers and forced himself to get up and gather everything he needed for his usual morning trip to the shower room. "That's great, Dad," he said, having no idea what'd just been said. Mom came onto the phone then, and her enthusiasm for just about everything helped him wake up a little more.

"And," she eventually announced, "I think Ryan has a girlfriend."

Bending over to pick up a towel, Clark froze. "No way! That's great."

"Well, we'll see," Mom chuckled. "He's never really been in this position before, so I guess we'll have to wait and see if he's able to deal with being that close to someone."

Clark knew she didn't mean physically, or at least not exclusively. Ryan had gotten really good at learning to block random thoughts from people, but sometimes strong emotions were still difficult for him to handle. "Maybe he just needs experience with dealing with that kind of stuff," he replied, grabbing the towel and straightening up. "Just like everything else."

"That's what we're hoping," Mom sighed.

"I'm sure it'll work out," he assured her. He knew how worried she was that neither of her sons would ever have a 'normal' life. "After all, look how I turned out." Waiting for expected laugh at his cheekiness, he continued. "But this is great! I have something to tease the little dork about next time I talk to him."

"Yes, Clark," Mom said wryly, "that's exactly why I told you. What? Oh..." Obviously talking to Dad off the phone, she came back a moment later. "We have to go, honey. Deliveries to make. Cows to check."

"Sure," Clark grinned, "I have to go shower anyway. Love to you, Dad and dork."

"You too, honey. Bye!"

"Bye." Hanging up the phone, he headed off to the shower.

He went through his morning abulations with his usual speed - he tended not to linger, if he could help it - and then he was drying off and getting changed into today's clothes, which really weren't all that different from yesterday's clothes. He was definitely gonna have to do some laundry soon.

Combing his hair into some semblance of order, he checked which books he had in his bag and then left the building. He didn't have a class 'til eleven, but he could grab a bite to eat and then study in the library for a few hours. For some reason it was always easier there, and he-

Lex was sitting on the bench again, reading.

*Or* Clark could walk over to Lex, and see if he wanted to do anything.

Yeah. That sounded good.

Lex had to be cold, sitting outside reading this early without a hat on, but if he was he didn't show it, calmly turning a page as Clark walked closer. Before Clark could call out a greeting and draw his attention, someone else was yelling.

"Clark!"

And there was Chloe.

Frustrated though he was, Clark couldn't help but smile as he turned towards the familiar voice and was tackled by a spikey-haired blonde lump (he was pretty sure Chloe wouldn't appreciate that description). Laughing, Clark hugged her back. "You okay?" They usually hugged, especially when they hadn't seen each other for a while, but it was never this enthusiastic.

Pulling away, she grinned up at him broadly. "Just missed seeing you. Sooo..." Turning him back towards the path, she slipped his arm through hers. "Where're you headed?"

"Well," damn, she was going to walk them right by Lex. And if he couldn't ignore Whitney yesterday, he really couldn't ignore Lex right now. Especially as he saw Lex look up briefly from his book, only to look back down again. Crap. "Well, I was thinking of getting something to eat."

"Food sounds like a *very* good plan," Chloe nodded heavily. "I've heard it's actually essential to survival."

"I've heard that too," he answered in the same tone, just as they reached the bench. Ah, well. Here it went. He just had to make his voice work... "Hey, Lex." There it was.

Looking up at them, Lex nodded tightly but didn't smile at all. "Clark."

Knowing that if he didn't do it, Chloe would, Clark introduced them. "Chloe, this is Lex. He's in my psych class. Lex, this is Chloe. She's another old friend from Smallville."

"Hey," she objected, "not so much of the old." Thrusting her free hand out towards Lex, she gave him no choice but to lower his book and shake her hand. "Chloe Sullivan. Nice to meet you. Choice or tragedy?"

Letting go of her hand, Lex frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"Your hair, or lack thereof. Choice or tragedy?"

There were occasions where Clark was horrified to be Chloe's friend. This was definitely one of them. "Chloe!" God, she could be so embarrassing sometimes. "I can't believe you'd-"

"It's all right, Clark," Lex interrupted the rant. "At least she's straightforward. And as for my lack of hair..." He really *looked* at Chloe. "I suppose you'd have to call it a tragedy."

Chloe didn't appear embarrassed, or sympathetic. She didn't look away, either. "Are you good friends with Clark?"

Lex glanced towards him, briefly, before looking back, obviously having no idea what that had to do with anything. "I think we're getting there."

Apparently pleased, Chloe nodded. "You should tell him what happened, some day."

Clark was standing right *there*, and feeling pretty miffed. "Look-"

"We're just on our way to eat something," Chloe cut him off. "You're welcome to join us if you'd like."

Seeming as if he was seriously considering it, Lex eventually shook his head. "Thanks for the invite, but I'm behind on the reading I wanted to do anyway. Have a good day."

"Sure. You too."

Clark didn't even get a chance to say goodbye because she was steering him along the path again, away from Lex. Gritting his teeth, he waited until they were definitely out of earshot before starting. "What the hell?!"

Looking completely shocked - that *had* to be an act - Chloe gawked at him. "What the hell what?"

"What the hell was that?" Clark continued. "I see Whitney yesterday and he tells me I *have* to talk to you, and then when I do see you you're all over my new friend and embarrassing the life out of me! What is *up* with you?"

Releasing his arm, Chloe took a step back and smirked at him. "That was a pretty severe reaction, Clark. Something you'd like to tell me?"

Oh, man. "Chloe..."

Relenting, she grinned. "Look, I talked to Whitney last night - he told me about you being in the coffee shop yesterday with Lex. Being all...cosy. *That*'s why he told you to come see me. He thought I'd want to know about this, and he was right. As for today, I was just...scoping out the territory." She had a shark's grin, and Clark absently wondered how many freshmen she'd killed. "Have to make sure he's good enough for my Clark."

It was kind of sweet...in a completely twisted Chloe kind of way. And Whitney had thought he and Lex were 'cosy'? "Lex is just a friend. I don't even know if he's gay." And yeah, even he had to admit he sounded pretty damn depressed by the prospect.

She snorted. "He's gay."

"You don't know tha-"

"Oh, he's *gay*, Clark," taking his arm again, she grinned up at him. "I have a gay guy for a best friend. Trust me on this."

Sighing, he let her tug them along. "How is it you figure this stuff out and I don't?"

"Genius," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Pure genius."

It was a very good thing the cold didn't affect him, Clark decided. He also decided that standing outside Lex's dorm building for over an hour didn't constitute stalking, simply waiting with intent.

Or he'd possibly had too much time waiting around in the cold, trying to rationalise what he was doing.

But he did need to talk to Lex. And he did know - thanks to x-ray vision - that Lex wasn't anywhere in the building. He had no idea what the rest of Lex's college schedule was, so waiting outside his dorm seemed a pretty good place to run into him eventually.

Finally, just as dusk was starting to set in, Clark looked up to see Lex approaching from the path. His eyes widened briefly when he recognised Clark, but then his expression blanked out. There was no other term for it. It was just - gone.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, pausing when Clark stepped towards him.

Disturbed to realise there wasn't a single thread of warmth in Lex's voice, Clark swallowed heavily. He'd been worried that Lex might have been annoyed by Chloe's behaviour this morning, but he hadn't expected anything nearly this severe. "I need to talk to you."

Lex had a bag over his shoulder and a folder held in both hands. "About what?"

"Chloe." That was interesting. For a second, Lex's blank expression has almost been...not-blank. "If she did or said anything that offended you this morning, I'm really sorry. I know she can be..." What was a good description? "...like a force of nature, sometimes. But hey," he forced a laugh, "you should meet her cousin."

Of course, Lex had never met Lois, so the joke fell completely flat.

"Um," Clark continued, and this was *hard* because Lex wasn't giving him anything to work with, "but I meant what I said. She can take some getting used to, but she's a really good person. And...we're becoming friends, right? Me and you?" Finally, there was some kind of vague acknowledgment on Lex's face. "I wanna be friends, Lex, and I don't want anything to stand in the way of that."

And...wow. That could *not* sound anymore like a come on if he *tried*. And he seriously hadn't been trying.

Lex just studied him for a long time - a time where Clark was seriously begin to wonder if he should go back to his own dorm and never come out again - but eventually a slow smile shifted onto his face. "Come on," he said softly, moving to step by Clark with obvious invitation.

But Clark couldn't just let it go. As Lex stepped by him, Clark half-turned and grabbed his arm, looking into surprised blue eyes when he spoke. "Can you not do that again?"

"Do what?" Lex asked, not pulling away.

"Be the jerky guy who's treating me like crap when I haven't done anything wrong. Or, if there is a reason you're angry with me, tell me what it is and I'll try to fix it."

Guilt flashed across Lex's face - he definitely wasn't hiding his feelings right now. "Of course." He turned his head away, and Clark released him. "Sorry. I'll try not to do that again."

The walk into the building, up the stairs, into Lex's room - all of it was done in silence, until the door clicked shut behind them and Lex put his folder down, shrugged his jacket off and let it fall onto the bed.

"So, how long have you known Chloe?" he began conversationally, keeping his back to Clark as he dumped his bag onto the bed and started pulling things from it.

Clark stayed where he was - standing in the middle of the room with his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his jeans. "A while, though nowhere near as long as Whitney. Her dad moved them out to Smallville from Metropolis when we were in 8th grade, so since about thirteen." Remembering one of his first encounters with her away from school, he grinned. "She was the first person who ever kissed me. Said we had to get it out of the way."

Lex's voice was amused. "She sounds like a handful."

"She can be," Clark agreed, "but no one's perfect."

Picking up his jacket and hooking it over the back of the computer chair, Lex began piling the books he'd taken from his bag onto the bedside table. "And how long have you two been a couple?"

Clark coughed. Checked he hadn't just been transported into an alternate universe and that he *had* just heard what he thought he'd heard. "I'm not dating Chloe!"

Lex froze, mid-book move. "You're not?"

"No!" Okay, so he may have been a little too enthusiastic about getting his point across. "I'm really not."

"Oh. I..." Finally turning around, Lex was still holding onto a book. "I could have sworn there was something there."

"I guess that makes sense," Clark conceded. "We tried the dating thing a couple of years ago, but, uh," he laughed nervously, "as it turns out, she was the one who helped me realise I'm..." Lex's head lifted up, a silent question. "...a big flaming gay." Lex blinked. Clark grinned too much. "Her words, not mine."

Just like everything else, coming out to Lex wasn't what he expected it to be.

"You're gay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Clark breathed, his whole body tense. "Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," Lex smiled gently, and Clark's breath whooshed out in a big rush.

"Good," thank God. "That's...good."

"I have to admit," Lex said, moving to put the book on top of the others, and drag his bag from the bed onto the floor. "I was wondering if you were. But then I saw you with Chloe, and..."

Something flicked in Clark's head. Something that might have been his Happy Button. Lex had seen him and Chloe together, had thought that he and Chloe were *together*. He hadn't been particularly friendly when meeting Chloe, and he'd almost been downright horrible outside the building a few minutes ago and...Clark *beamed*, because nothing else made sense. "Lex?"

"Clark?"

"Were you jealous?"

Lips twitching up slightly, Lex was facing him again. "Possibly."

Clark was pretty sure that, long after he left Lex's room, his grin would still be there. "You don't need to be."

"Clark," Lex began, sloooowly walking towards him, "how would you feel if I kissed you right now?"

Brain. Overloading. Words. Needed. "I'm thinking I'd feel great. Of course the only way to know for sure is to get you to kiss me." He deserved some kind of award for talking just then, surely.

"I suppose that's true," Lex agreed easily, barely a foot away now. "Purely in the interests of science."

"Right," Clark nodded, heart rate going through the roof, "purely in the interests of-"

Mouth. On his.

Eyes, closing. Warm and hard and hands and skin, and there was a door against his back that hadn't been there a moment ago. *Lex*...

Lex, who was pulling away.

Clark snapped his eyes open. "Come back here," he complained softly, not embarrassed because Lex wanted him, Lex wanted *him* and he really wanted to do some more of that kissing thing.

Blinking slowly, Lex smiled gently. "Make me." He looked...nervous, but he was still saying that, and was this some kind of test? Clark was mostly terrified but Lex was being so brave and Clark really *really* wanted to do some more of that kissing thing. So his hands found themselves moving up and carefully cupping Lex's shoulders and pushing him backwards. His gaze fell to the exposed skin at Lex's neck, smooth and perfect; Clark's nostrils flared and he bent his head to inhale, then awkwardly licked at the skin even as they kept stumbling.

Lex made a *really* interesting noise just before they hit the bookcase, and then Clark had to pull away from the licking to make sure Lex was okay. He was sure he'd still been gentle, but he hadn't exactly been in this situation before. "You okay?" he murmured, turning Lex around before he even had time to respond, hands gently running over Lex's skull. A brief use of his x-ray vision confirmed no sign of injury whatsoever.

Relieved, Clark took the opportunity to caress the little bump Lex had at the back of his head; it'd always kinda intrigued him and...huh. Lex's hands had come up to grip at a shelf, and when Clark's fingers had rubbed over the bump, they'd tightened.

Clark rubbed again. The hands tightened again.

Sometimes it took him a while to realise something, but no one could ever accuse Clark of not taking advantage of it later. Leaning in closer, he licked his tongue over the bump.

"*Fuck*," Lex gasped, and if he'd been Clark that shelf would have been in pieces by now.

Liking this new development way too much, Clark was just considering how sucking would go down - so to speak - when Lex spun around and just kind of...*attacked*.

Clark's mind had to process too many things at once, too many things he wasn't used to. Hand on his ass. Tongue in his mouth. Really, really hot bald guy. Groping *him*.

Not having had much experience with French kissing, Clark's tongue was kind of useless but Lex didn't seem to mind. Focusing a lot on trying to learn how to kiss back, Clark had a feeling he wasn't enjoying it as much as he was supposed to but in-between breaks for air, Lex's tongue was tasting, teaching, and at some point everything fell into place.

Kissing with tongue *good*.

It was like dancing, Clark thought stupidly, just before Lex started pushing them away from the bookcase. Trying not to separate, they stumbled around the room. The back of Clark's leg hit something - table, his mind filled in helpfully - and he barely managed to fake an "Ow," around Lex's mouth when his legs hit something that didn't move as easily, and they fell onto it with an undignified thump.

Sprawled across the bed, gasping for breath, Clark first blinked at the ceiling and then at Lex's head which was resting about chest level. Grinning, he shifted. "Lex?" Clark's mouth felt tender, used, but in so completely a good way.

"Mmm?" Lex hadn't moved, his whole body almost over Clark's, the fingers from his left hand gently rubbing at Clark's side. Which was really, really nice.

"I don't think we should audition for a porn movie anytime soon."

The fingers froze. Lex's laughter, when it came, was the best thing Clark had ever heard. Pulling away until they were side-by-side, Lex propped his head up on his hand. "Do you have any idea how perfect *you* are?"

Now was a really stupid time to get embarrassed, especially after all the kissing and groping. "Come on, Lex. No one is."

Maybe conceding Clark's point, Lex shrugged slightly. "You're close to it."

Not sure what to say to that, Clark's eyes fell to Lex's mouth. It looked swollen, darker. He'd done that. *Him*. He felt...primal. Needed to make Lex *his*. "Can I kiss you again?"

"Clark," Lex drawled, smiling widely, "you can kiss me absolutely anytime you want to."

Pulling Lex closer, Clark planned to take advantage of that promise at every single opportunity.

Judging from the looks he'd been getting, grinning like an idiot in the shower hadn't been a great idea, but Clark didn't care. Life was perfect. He was doing well in college, he was loved by his friends and family, and he'd made out with a hot guy last night for so many hours that his mouth still felt it now.

Running his fingers carefully over his mouth, he was surprised at how almost tender it felt. It didn't many any sense, physiologically speaking. He was invulnerable, right? Technically none of his skin should ever feel less than perfect.

Clark *loved* feeling less than perfect. It made him a little more like everyone else.

Leaving his room, he wondered - not for the first time - when he'd see Lex today. They hadn't made any specific plans to meet up. They'd started to, but then saying goodbye last night had taken about half an hour and they'd gotten seriously distracted (another reason Clark was grinning so much that his teeth were probably going to start aching soon).

As it turned out, he shouldn't have worried. The moment he stepped out of the building his eyes zeroed in on a specific bench, and there Lex was, reading another book.

Waiting for him.

Clark knew, now.

He wondered how long, how many times Lex had been waiting for him.

Maybe feeling the scrutiny - or maybe it was just good timing - Lex looked up and smiled when he saw Clark watching. Matching the smile and holding Lex's gaze the entire way, Clark crossed the quad towards him.

Stopping by the bench, Clark suddenly had no idea what to do next. Were they supposed to kiss? They hadn't talked about being out at college at all last night, and he had to jam his hands into his jacket pockets to stop himself from reaching out to touch Lex. "Hey."

"Hey," Lex replied, still smiling.

"Whatcha doing?" Clark asked, rocking on his feet.

"Reading," came the response, accompanied by an arched eyebrow and a brief lift of the book in question.

"Ah," Clark nodded, still rocking and feeling only slightly embarrassed. "That would explain the book."

"I suppose it would," Lex agreed. Still smiling. "I have class in a few minutes."

Good mood dipping slightly, Clark nonetheless decided that any Lex time was good Lex time. "I can walk with you, if you want."

"All right." Picking up his bag to put the book away, Lex snuck a look at Clark out of the corner of his eye and...flushed. There was a definite flush on his cheeks.

Pretending not to notice, Clark also had to pretend not to notice his not particularly sudden urge to push Lex back on the bench and kiss him senseless. Not only was Lex hot, but he was unbelievably *cute* sometimes.

When the book was away they started walking along the path, keeping a good few inches between them. Clark had never had this before, this overwhelming urge to reach out and just *hold* someone. He was nervous and jumpy but wanted to do *everything*. Was this how other people felt? Was this how Chloe had felt about him? If so, she was even more fantastic than he'd ever realised.

Apparently they weren't going into any of the main buildings because Lex was leading them around the corner of one of them, heading off to where the smaller buildings were locate-

And then there was a hand on his chest, stone against his back, and a mouth all but devouring his own.

He may have heard their bags thunk to the ground; he may have worried for a split second about any breakable contents, but then his hands were pulling Lex closer, gripping his body tighter, and he was sure that Lex's beautifully hot mouth could convince him to do anything.

"All I want," Lex broke away, breathlessly mouthing Clark's neck between words, "is to take you back to my room and do this forever."

Clark was so down with that plan. Really, he didn't need to finish college. He didn't need to get a job, either. All he needed was Lex's mouth, Lex's body, and a locked room with a comfortable bed and that was a really bad thing to think because now he had to walk around campus with a hard on.

"Let's do that," Clark agreed, nudging Lex's head back up so they could kiss again. God, they'd gotten good at this last night, and he was groaning into that hot, hot mouth as Lex's hand worked itself between's Clark's butt and the building, pushing them closer together.

And then the hand stopped pushing. And then he was pulling back, but only slightly. Still holding onto Clark, Lex kissed him softly; on the mouth, on the nose, on his closed eyelids, obviously trying to calm them down. "I really have to go to class," Lex whispered.

Frustrated, feeling Lex pulling away from him, Clark reached out and grabbed onto his arms. "Come with me." Naturally, it was only after he spoke that he realised how it could've been taken. Still, he didn't look away.

"Come with you where?" Lex asked calmly.

He had to do *something*. He wanted to show Lex off to the people who mattered the most. "I'm going home tonight for the weekend. To see my family." He licked his lips, hoping. "Come with me."

Obviously startled, Lex's eyes widened. "That's...fast, Clark."

"I know." He really did.

"I mean this only started yester-"

"I *know*." Closing his eyes, Clark calmed himself. "I just really want you to be there. I don't..." Opening his eyes, he looked at Lex. "I don't want to have to go without seeing you until Sunday night." Which was...kind of a lie, but also the truth. Nearly two days without Lex sounded hellish right now.

"Clark," he sighed, "I don't-"

"It's okay if it's too fast," Clark said, not actually agreeing with the sentiment. "You can say if it's too fast. I just thought you should know how I felt. You know. Being truthful."

Taking in the words, probably having no idea how *hopeful* Clark was, Lex looked away. "I...it's just...I've never done this. That." He glanced back. "Met the parents. Especially not my *boyfriend's*, or whatever the hell you are." The ending tone was definitely teasing.

He was so pleased and distracted by the word 'boyfriend', that it took Clark a while to realise the possible implications of what'd just been said. "Lex?" Sharp, but almost scared blue eyes looked back at him, and Clark thought he understood now. "Am I the first guy you've been with?"

Lex's face tightened. Relaxed. He exhaled heavily. "Yes."

"Oh." Kind of surprising, but some things made sense now. "Well, you're my first, too." At the very least Lex had kissed the hell out of *someone*, because he knew what he was doing with his mouth. But Clark was his first guy ever, apparently, and that...oh yeah, that was good. Clark felt all primal again, until he felt a finger prodding him in the stomach.

"Hey," Lex grinned, "if your chest puffs out any further it'll probably explode."

Clark ignored him, but did his own share of grinning. "So did I like, make you gay or something?"

Barking out a surprised laugh, Lex then rolled his eyes. "I liked guys before you, Mr Ego. I'd just never been with one."

"Darn," Clark mock-complained, and it seemed like a good time to kiss Lex again, so he did. Sighing, he eventually drew back. "So, what do you think?"

Expression serious again, Lex was obviously giving it a lot of thought. "I'll have work to do."

"So will I," Clark told him. "They're really good about giving me space to study when I visit."

"I don't like getting behind on my other reading," Lex confessed. "It's important to me."

Clark nodded. "I'm pretty strong. I'm sure I could carry-"

"I have a car."

Well. That made things easier, because Clark hadn't exactly figured out how they'd be getting to Smallville yet without revealing the whole superspeed issue and...wait. "Is that a yes?"

Lex's mouth lifted on one side. "I guess it must be."

Squealing like a little girl was out of the question, so Clark kissed him again. "We'll have a *great* time, I promise. My parents are so cool, and hey, you'll get to meet another Warrior Angel fan."

"Clark," Lex said fondly, pulling back, "I've already agreed. You don't have to keep selling me on the idea. As long as your family'll be okay with me visiting, I'll be okay with visiting."

"Trust me, they'll love you," Clark insisted, leaning in to press a quick kiss against the side of Lex's forehead. "You should get to class. You done by four today?"

"Yeah."

"Good," he said. "Meet you at the bench at four? Then we can get our stuff and go."

Nodding his agreement, Lex drew Clark in for another kiss before insisting that he had to go the rest of the way to class by himself. Clark couldn't really disagree; if Clark'd gone with him, they probably never would have made it.

Enjoying the view as Lex walked away, Clark eventually stooped down to pick his bag up. He got some interesting looks as he walked away, and realised that though there hadn't been anyone around when Lex had first pushed him against the building, there definitely was now. So much for not making it public.

Not caring, Clark dug his cell phone out of his bag and called the first number in the memory. "Hi, Mom. It's me." He took a deep breath. "If it's okay I'm gonna come home to visit this weekend and, uh...I'm bringing a friend with me."

"You're taking him home to meet your parents *already*?"

Chloe had known the moment she'd seen him that he'd 'gotten some' last night. He wasn't quite sure how much 'gotten some' covered, but he couldn't really deny it. Definitely didn't want to, either.

They hadn't been able to talk much yet, but throughout their journalism class she'd kept sending him happy little grins. He was *so* happy she was happy for him. He hadn't had that many doubts, but being gay and actually being in a relationship with another guy were kind of different things.

But here they were now, spread across her bed as Chloe absently flicked through a textbook she hadn't looked down at once.

"I know it's kinda fast..." And it was, but that still wasn't stopping him.

"Superspeed," she smiled and wrinkled her nose.

He rolled his eyes. "Hey, you never know. This could be normal for me. I mean I've never really dated anyone before and..." She gave him The Look. Crap. "...apart from you," he continued. She still kept staring. "And you were the best girlfriend *ever*." More skunk-eye. "I just happened to be gay."

Cracking, she laughed and whacked him with the book. "You are so easy. As I'm sure Lex will attest."

Not even bothering to avoid the book, he stuck his tongue out at her. "You know, I'm trying to have a serious conversation about what relationships are like for my people, but if you really want to resort to violence..."

She whacked him again. Sometimes