The Truth About Clark And Lex
By: Lexalot

Summary: The beauty of truth is in the eye of the beholder.

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Clark/Lex

Disclaimer: The truth is that legendary pieces of our culture transcend ownership by any one person, or corporation as the case may be.

Spoilers: Pilot, Exile, Phoenix, Delete

Thanks: To lolaperhapslex for the quick beta, and to coffeejunkii and dicks_chick for being my test audience :)

"Sorry, Clark." Lex's voice was calm, casual, calculated. "It appears I have a better offer." His words echoed through the barn.

"Lex?" Clark's eyes widened with shock, and then the flame of betrayal lit in them. "How could you do this to me?"

"It's surprisingly easy." Lex's expression iced over, and there was a chilling edge to his voice. "Especially when the discovery of a lifetime is involved."

Clark's glare darted to the man behind Lex and then back to his friend of so many years who had just turned on him to side with a stranger. All because of Lex's so-called quest for knowledge. For answers. His eyes traveled back to the stranger in question, focusing an anxious eye on the disks he held in his hand. "Lex, please don't do this!"

"All this time, Clark. You kept the truth from me... for how long?" Bitterness. So sharp that it could cut through steel. Skewer the unskewerable.

"Lex, I always wanted to tell you..." He was nearly choking on his words. On his regret.

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it?" Complacency. Mixed with more bitterness. Lex turned to the man standing behind him, who had been watching this whole time. "What do you have for me, Detective?"

The man almost beamed with triumph. "Then we have a deal?"

"Of course." Lex sounded satisfied with himself, eager to embrace the treachery he had negotiated. "Let's see it. Shall we?"

The man hesitated, and then warily handed Lex the disks. "It's all there. Undisputable evidence that your little friend Clark Kent here is Superman."

Lex could not contain his grin. The curl at the corner of his mouth was almost wicked. "And these are the only copies? I wouldn't want someone else sharing my glory, Detective."

"You don't have to worry. That's everything."

The sweet serenity of victory wrapped around Lex. "Perfect." Turning toward Clark, Lex held the disks up in plain view. "Clark." It was his cue.

Clark shot a burst of heat vision at the disks and they melted instantly.

"What the hell are you doing?" The man began to panic, staring at Lex with wild eyes. As the man whirled around, he found Clark suddenly standing right in front of him.

"Good night." Clark slammed his palm into the man's forehead and he fell unconscious to the hay-covered floor.

Lex approached to hover with Clark, staring down at the detective's body.

Clark shook his head in amazement. "I can't believe that works every single time!"

"Me either." Lex shook his head just the same. "Why are people so willing to believe I'd betray you?"

"I don't know." Clark was as puzzled as Lex was on that one.

Lex stared for a few moments longer, and then he looked up at Clark. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

Complete disinterest. "Not really."

"I'm starving." Lex lingered a moment longer, and then headed for the barn door. "I'm ordering out."

"You two seem awfully proud of yourselves," Chloe observed as she walked into the Kent's kitchen through the back door of the house. She laid her bag down on the table and stood in front of Clark where he sat comfortably in his chair, looking quite content. "I take it our friendly neighborhood spy has been put out of business."

"That depends. Are you talking about the detective or Spider-Man?" He grinned up at her as she rolled her eyes at him. "If you mean the detective, then yes. He's got nothing. He's on his way back to Metropolis, and when he wakes up at home in bed, he'll probably think he dreamed the whole thing. I think it's safe to say we won't have to worry about him." Clark glanced over his shoulder at Lex who was on the phone in the far corner of the room. Then, he looked back to Chloe and gave her a bright and sincere smile. "Thanks for warning us about him, Chloe. If it weren't for you, my secret would have gotten out a long time ago. I owe you a lot after everything you've done for me." Her face glowed sweetly. Then that playful grin returned to Clark's lips. "Even if you are a nosy reporter."

She chuckled, grinning back brightly at him. "Are you kidding? I love my job. Where else could I pass up the story of the century about Superman's secret identity and still manage to be the youngest Pulitzer Prize nominee in history."

As Clark laughed, Lex came over to the table and sat down in a chair opposite Clark. Chloe became serious as she turned to Lex in curiosity. "Making the arrangements for our latest Sherlock Holmes?"

Lex shook his head. "I was ordering a pizza."

"Pizza?" Her eyes widened and then the bubbly sarcasm rose up in her. "How high society."

"I used to be high society," Lex smirked and gestured across the wooden tabletop to Clark, "but he dumbed me down."

"You're in pretty good spirits," Chloe said, still standing at Clark's side and focused on Lex. "So the plan went off without a hitch?"

There was a gleam in Clark's eye as he answered. "No problems whatsoever."

Then, Lex chimed in while squinting at Clark. "Yeah, Clark's getting to be an exceptional liar."

Chloe glanced down at Clark with mock calculation. "You noticed that too, huh?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Clark responded with mock offense, glancing back and forth between them.

Lex ignored his presence completely. "Recently, he's made some convincing assertions that I didn't hit him with my car. Even though we both know what really happened, he's denied he was even there for the accident." A shrewd smile played on Lex's lips as his stare drifted to Clark again.

"What accident? There was never any accident." Clark's voice was steady enough to put lie detectors to shame. "You're having delusions again, Lex."

"Delusions?" It was impossible for Lex to contain his amusement. "Since that was all in my imagination, let me ask you something, Clark. If there was no accident, then how could I have been investigating you for something that never happened?"

Clark froze, his eyes widening, confusion turning over in his brain. He pointed at Lex as if wanting to protest, and then he opened his mouth, but nothing coherent came. He simply stuttered, fumbling for words, tripping over the total lack for them.

"No one say anything!" Lex demanded, victory and power in his voice. "Mark this day, because I just got off the hook for something that's been held over my head for six years now. I want to enjoy this moment."

Silence filled the kitchen, and Lex sat back, looking very satisfied with himself.

In a single breath, Clark disturbed Lex's peace, like a rock cast into calm water. "As if you wouldn't have found some other reason to investigate me."

Lex sighed, his bubble having been surreptitiously burst. "And the moment's gone."

Clark's lips spread into a wide and blindingly bright smile. His whole face lit up as he gazed at Lex while Lex was gazing back.

The quiet stretched, and as Chloe glanced at each of them, she shook her head. "Why don't you two just get a room already and get it over with!" Both of their heads turned towards her, both of them still looking ridiculously happy as she vented her frustration. "Do you know how long I've had to watch you two give each other those looks? It's like waiting for paint to dry. Except this is taking longer! It's no secret that you guys are gay, and it's totally obvious that you're attracted to one another."

"We know." Lex nodded simply. "We're trying to keep people in suspense so we can build up hype."

"And we're not gay," Clark added. "We're bisexual."

"That's not the point," Chloe retorted, dismissing Clark as he corrected her. "The point is that you two need to shag or screw or something."

Clark raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh out loud at Chloe's modest and not at all awkwardly put suggestion. "Well, it would have to be 'or something' because what 'screwing' implies just isn't an option. I'm not into penetration at all!"

It was Lex's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Exactly how did you come to realize that, Clark?"

Clark shot a coy smirk at Lex, meeting his inquisitive stare. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Chloe's eyes were open almost as wide as her mouth, her jaw drooping as she tried to decide if she was more intrigued or bothered by this shift in the conversation. "Okay, being a reporter, I never thought I'd say this, but that was way too much information!" She snatched up her purse and grinned at them, a rosy flush coloring her cheeks. "On that note, I think I'd better get out of here. I'm meeting my Dad for dinner. I just stopped by to make sure everything was okay. And it sure looks like it is, so I'm going now."

They waved and said goodbye to her and then they were left alone once again. Both of them sat motionless across the table from one another. Clark's smile softened to become warm, and Lex's grin broadened to become bright.

"Do you remember the first time you kissed me?" Lex ran his fingers back through Clark's hair as Clark kissed a tender trail down his chest.

"Of course." Clark spoke into Lex's flesh as it was bathed in moonlight that streamed in from the window. "I came to tell you that I had to give back the truck you gave me for saving your life."

"And then you came back and said you wanted to thank me." Lex laughed to himself.

Clark laughed too, his breaths breaking on the silky skin beneath him. "I thought you were going to faint after I kissed you. You were in complete shock."

"Not like I was when you dropped the first clue on me before yoou left." Lex looked down atClark, watching Clark's lips graze his abdomen. "You told me to look at the roof of the Porsche. You dangled your secret in front of me like bait."

Crawling up the length of Lex's body, Clark met Lex's eyes. "I knew right away that you were a sucker for the mysterious type, and I knew you wouldn't be able to resist a riddle like me." Clark stopped, hovering directly over Lex, gazing straight into him.

Lex's voice became laden with a heavy mixture of wistfulness and desire. "I resisted you as much as I could. And the more I resisted, the harder I fell for you." Lex breathed in a heady breath of nostalgia. "I didn't know whether to be scared or grateful when you came to me saying we could have a relationship with no strings attached... You stuck it out through Victoria and Desiree and even Helen." Lex snickered to himself. "I had to be the victim of black widows twice before you changed your open dating policies." He paused, eyeing Clark with a dream-like wonder. Then his adoring gaze was touched by puzzlement. "How did you put up with all the women in my life? Whenever I saw you with Lana or some other girl who had their eye on you, the jealousy drove me crazy."

This admission brought a slick smile to Clark's face with a vengeance. "I know." He nipped at Lex's bottom lip. "I never really cared about you being with them though because I knew you'd never leave me. We both knew I'd still be with you long after they were gone." Clark's cunning reflected in his eyes as he seductively flaunted his natural beauty. "Besides, I was always prettier than they were."

Lex shook his head at Clark's self-assured attitude, but the amusement in his eyes said that he was in complete agreement. "I think you've been preparing for having a dual identity your entire life, because you have a massive ego and no one seems to know about it." The puzzlement returned to Lex's face, and he regarded Clark for a moment with silent scrutiny, searching the younger man's features. "I don't think anyone's ever seen the real you." Lex gave Clark a sideways glare. "Well, your secret is safe with me... For now, anyway," Lex teased.

The only reply Clark had for Lex was a deep kiss that made Lex feel like there was a current of life spreading through him, piercing the darkest and deadest of places and filling them with heat. Lex's arms wrapped around Clark and he knew that emotion didn't get any more genuine than this. This was what it was all about. Through so many trials and tests and even staged troubles, it had always been this good.

A female voice called out from the dark half of the room. "What did they say?"

Chloe walked up to the dresser, dropping her purse and jacket onto it as she walked over to the bed. "They haven't even told me they're together yet."

"This is taking forever." There was annoyance in the disembodied voice.

"Don't worry." Chloe spoke smoothly and softly. "Any day now they'll confide in me that they're together. And when they do..." Chloe crawled onto the bed, a sly spark in her eyes. "We offer to be their cover." Her eyes adjusted better to the darkness and the sleek feminine shape before her became more visible. "All of our lives get a little more interesting, particularly in the public eye." Chloe was sure the flesh she spied was clad in no more than a bra and panties, and it made her eyes flutter in anticipation. "It's not like they haven't had empty romances just for show before."

"And if they don't like this idea of ours?" Skepticism and cynicism sunk into the words.

"They'll like it." Chloe's voice was coated with honey-sweet reassurance. "We need a cover and so do they." Her smirk came with a leer that she aimed into the shadows. "Everybody wins."

"Good." Her figure finally emerged from obscurity. "Because I'm getting really tired of this cousins ruse."

Chloe slipped her arms around Lois. "I know." She sighed deeply as Lois pulled her close. "Our cover's come too close to being blown too many times. This cousins story isn't going to work much longer..." Chloe leaned into Lois' caress, and then she pulled back to gaze into her eyes with confidence. "But once we know the truth about Clark and Lex and they know the truth about us, we'll have a mutually beneficial partnership and our biggest problem will be who gets to pretend to date who."

"You're brilliant." The corner of Lois' lip curled up and she kissed Chloe deeply. Lois knocked her back into the pillows, and then leaned down to claim her ruby-stained lips again. Lois broke the kiss and laid down next to her lover. "Oh, and Chloe?"

"Yeah?" Chloe asked, sounding lost in blissful thought.

Lois half-smirked fiendishly. "Dibs on Superman."

Chloe shot her a competitive glare. "Only if I get Clark."

Lois raised an eyebrow and matched Chloe's enthusiasm for the competitive edge. "Then I get a torrid on-again off-again love affair with Lex."

Chloe grinned. "Deal."