Disclaimer - WB and DC own them, yadda yadda.

Clex! A 'Blank' episode addition, so spoilers for that ep. Gotta be an AU, too, sadly. Many thanks to my smoochie. *smooch*

Feedback would be faaaaaaabulous.

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Lois had told him to follow his gut, and his gut told him that he was riding in an unbelievably cool car.

He didn't know how it was cool, exactly, just that he did. The same way he knew how to read and write but had no idea what kind of people his parents were.

Mr Luthor - *Lex* - was driving, occasionally smiling at Clark with a fondness he'd have to be an Oscar winning actor to fake.

And he apparently knew what the Oscars were, but not what his favourite sport was? God, amnesia was *weird*.

"So how long have we known each other?" Clark surprised himself by asking, but realised he really wanted to know. "You mentioned something about a bridge..."

Lex's smile deepened as he glanced at Clark again before focusing back on the road. "Three years, eight months, and twenty one days."

Clark gawked. "You remember it that specifically?"

"I hit you with my car at sixty miles an hour," Lex explained, regarding him wryly, "and we both ended up in the river. You saved my life. That's not the kind of thing I tend to forget."

Wait, Lex had *hit* him? Did that mean Lex knew, too? And apparently Clark was invulnerable as well as being freakishly strong. He wished Chloe was still here.

"Oh," he said, stupidly, figuring it was probably best not to say too much until he knew more.

Clark's confusion grew to curiousity as Lex was waved through a security checkpoint. They were out in the middle of nowhere - why would they need security? "Uh, where are we?" Clark asked, looking around.

"At our destination," Lex announced, slowing the car to a halt and turning off the engine. Opening his door he stepped out, walking towards the trunk.

Following suit, Clark soon found a large flashlight being thrust into his hands. "What's this for?"

Obviously amused, Lex pulled his own flashlight out of the trunk and slammed the door shut. "This is called a flashlight, Clark," he began, holding it up for Clark to study. "You see, when it's dark you can't really see anything, so you need something to light up-"

"I know what a flashlight is, doofus," Clark interrupted, before realising he'd just called a billionaire 'doofus'. Not that Lex seemed to mind. "Um, but it's the middle of the day. Where are we going that we need these?"

"This way," Lex said mysteriously - which was really kind of annoying - and then brushed by Clark as he headed towards...a big pile of rocks.

A big pile of rocks made out of particularly big rocks.

But as they moved closer, Clark could see that not all of the rocks were resting against each other.

"This is one of several entrances," Lex announced, stepping through the gap into...a cave?

Okay, Smallville had just become officially more interesting.

It was a pretty steep incline for the first few feet, but then the walking got easier. The ground was still sloping down but not as sharply, and Clark followed Lex's example by switching on his flashlight.

Light bounced off the cave walls as Clark moved the flashlight around, looking for anything that might be familiar. Lex seemed to think this would jog his memory, so he'd obviously been here before - maybe a lot. Although why anyone would spend so much of their free time in a *cave* was anyone's guess.

Swinging the flashlight around again, the beam caught the back of Lex's head, drawing Clark's attention. He'd noticed when they'd 'first' met, of course, but the light really highlighted it.

Lex sure was bald.

Clark wondered if it was a personal choice or something else.

Finally the ground stopped sloping, and the walls opened up wider. Mouth opening in awe, Clark stepped into the broader space, eyes running over all the diagrams and pictures on the walls. They meant something, he was sure of it, but he didn't know what. And he'd seen this before, some of it, in the barn. He really had been here before, and if he was drawing pictures did that mean he was studying it? Trying to understand it?

And maybe he had been, because according to what Lex was saying now they'd been working together, trying to decipher the walls.

"What do these diagrams mean?" he asked, lifting the flashlight higher to study another one.

"I know this is going to sound crazy," Lex began, "but we think they're about you."

About him? He was different, sure, but why would anyone devote a *cave* to him and...that. There. He definitely recognised that from the drawing. "There should be a door here."

"A door?"

"Yeah, it's in the drawing in the loft."

Coming to stand next to him, Lex spoke firmly. "I haven't seen the door in action yet, I'm afraid."

Staring at the wall where the door should be, something finally sunk in to Clark's brain. We think they're about you. That was the second time Lex had hinted - more than hinted - that he knew Clark was different.

Clark still didn't get, not really, why he hid his secret so much. Despite taking it so well herself, Chloe had indicated that out of his friends no one else knew. But she hadn't said for sure and Lois *had* told him to follow his gut...

Clark didn't want to lie. He didn't want that to be who he was. And yeah, maybe his secret could be dangerous, but Lex was a billionaire. He'd be good at covering things up. He'd be...useful.

But that really wasn't why Clark wanted Lex to know.

He wasn't sure he even knew *why* he wanted Lex to know.

Following his gut had convinced him to go with Lex, to leave the girl who apparently knew everything about him, to step into a dark cave and stare at a wall and keep thinking about the fact that Lex was really, really bald.

"Do I know?" Clark asked quietly as he kept looking at the wall, his mouth making the decision before his brain could. "That you know about me?"

The pause was heavy before Lex responded. "You've never actually told me," Lex said, an answer that made Clark suddenly close his eyes. Stupid, rushing ahead like that, when he'd barely known Lex for fifteen minutes...

"But I'm sure you suspect that I know," Lex continued. "We always...dance around the subject. And I understand, Clark," Lex said firmly. "I can imagine how worried your parents are for you, how many times they've told you never to tell anyone, no matter how close they are. It used to frustrate me," he said wryly, obviously smiling at himself although Clark still wasn't looking. "I like to know things. I like to know everything. But I...stopped pushing."

Swallowing heavily, Clark opened his eyes and turned towards his 'friend'. "What changed?"

Lex smiled. "I realised I'd rather have the man instead of his secrets."

Relief rushed out of Clark in a heavy breath, his deep frown levelling off. "So we're...close?"

"Very close," Lex nodded seriously. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

Clark's insides tightened at the fervour in Lex's voice. He couldn't decide if the sheer conviction was really, really disturbing, or really, really hot.

And apparently Clark was gay.

He wondered if Lex *or* Chloe knew that one.

"Cool," Clark replied, because what else could he say? And fun though this had been, he really had to try and find out exactly why he had amnesia and focus a little Lex...*less* on his sexuality at the moment. "Umm, thanks for showing me this. I should probably go meet Chloe now, though."

"Of course," Lex said simply. "I'll give you that ride I promised."

This was not helping Clark think non-gay thoughts. "Right. Thanks."

Lex led them out the same way they'd come in, the journey made in not quite comfortable silence until the ground started to slope upwards. Losing his footing, Lex stumbled and Clark instinctively moved to help him.

He wasn't entirely sure how his plan to grab Lex's arm to help steady him changed to being pressed up against Lex from behind with his arms wrapped around him, but there he was.

"Thanks," Lex whispered. Or possibly panted.

Clark liked that panting idea. And so did his mouth, because it had a mind of its own again as it moved forward to nuzzle against Lex's neck and why was Clark fighting this again?

"What are you..." Lex continued, though he wasn't freaking out or threatening to hit him, "doing?"

Lex wasn't freaking out, or threatening to hit him, or stiffening up - at least, not in a bad way - and Clark had something else in his head, a single word that he recognised, that *meant* something.

"Following my gut," he murmured, letting the flashlight fall to the ground.

*Segeth*.

~FINIS