Clark couldn't take his eyes off Lex. His friend was pacing about the room, talking animatedly, hands moving, lips curled with his usual cynicism. His left hand kept straying from the conversation to rub over the smooth, pale pearl of his head in a gesture that would seem like nerves if it wasn't so much a part of him. Coral -- that's the color his lips were, that mysterious color that he'd only seen in his mother's makeup kit.

"Clark, are you listening to me?" Lex had stopped right in front of him and was staring quizzically.

Clark tried desperately to recall the last few minutes of Lex's speech, but all he could think about was the small scar marring the smooth line of his friend's upper lip. Wondering how it would feel against his own mouth. How it would taste.

"Are you in there? Clark!" Lex waved his hand in front of Clark's face, and he suddenly snapped out of the daydream -- one he'd been having all too often lately. He uneasily wondered if Lex could tell what was distracting him. A flush of embarrassment spread over his cheeks as he realized that if his friend chanced to look down, Clark's dirty little secret would be out.

"Sorry, I... I was thinking. What were you saying?" Clark smiled faintly, hoping Lex would just let it drop.

"Really. What's so fascinating that it can distract you from my excellent advice?"

Darn, no such luck. Lex had a maddening perceptiveness when it came to Clark, and he wasn't afraid to use it. He pushed and pushed until he got what he wanted. "It's too bad you don't want a... a pig farmer from Smallville." Oh, shit. Had he said that out loud? He looked up, hoping the older man had continued his pacing, moved back out of earshot.

He looked up straight into those pearl-grey eyes. They were darker than usual, stormy and intent as he reached one hand up to cup Clark's chin. "You're not a pig farmer, Clark. And how do you know what I want?"

"Lex, I... I didn't..." Great, how was he going to get himself out of this one? Lex would never forgive him. Lex would kick him out of the house. Lex would try to run him through with a sword. Lex would... Lex was kissing him?

Clark leaned into the expert kiss, trying not to feel awkward and inadequate. Thoughtlessly, he slipped his tongue out to taste that small scar that had been drawing his eyes earlier. He was startled when Lex responded by moaning softly and practically melting into him.

Clark stiffened, suddenly unsure, and Lex pulled back. "Is... is something wrong?" Clark had never seen his eyes so open, his expression so earnest. Clark's uncertainty flowed out of him, leaving him grinning as his affection for the man in front of him broke through his nervousness and inexperience.

"Nothing. Not a single thing," Clark replied, his hands finally coming up to cup Lex's head; he ran his fingers reverently across the lustrous skin stretched over delicate, fragile bone. Not a single bit of stubble or hair, just flawless gloss and a subtle pattern of bumps that would be a phrenologist's wet dream. That made him Clark's wet dream, literally. He explored the texture with his fingers, drinking in the sight, before moving in to kiss the lips that had haunted his nights since the first time he'd touched them.

This time, there was no taint of river water, no chill of death. Just hot, sweet kisses and the feel of Lex molding his body to Clark's again, hands wrapping around his waist and holding on for dear life. They kissed and kissed until Clark couldn't remember where he ended and Lex began -- pulled back, then, to just look again. Quietly re-memorizing the features that had grown as familiar as his own.

"God, Lex. You're so beautiful. All pearls and coral, like some exotic... mmm..." Eloquence was overrated, who needed the terrible poetry he'd been writing in his head when he had these lips to kiss. Tongue flicking again and again over the rough little scar, obsessed with the only imperfection marring the man in his arms. Finally, in his arms.

"Mmm... I never knew you were such a poet," Lex murmured, coming down off toes Clark hadn't realized he was on to lick and nibble. Lex's lips running down the lines of his jaw, throat, small swatch of exposed collarbone -- all the skin he could get his mouth on, hands running up and down the boy's back and sides. Frustrated moans escaped from his throat as he was thwarted, encountering clothes everywhere he sought flesh.

"Clark... how -- how far are you willing to take this?" Lex rubbed against him suggestively, then stepped back, arms wide. "I'm not really exotic. I'm definitely not perfect. But I'm yours, if you'll have me."

"Oh, yeah. I... I've had dreams, Lex." The kind of dreams that left sticky sheets, the kind of dreams that Lana had never starred in, despite the obsession that had bordered on stalking. The kind of dreams that made him ache for the reality.

"And here I thought you'd play hard to get!" Lex grinned and grabbed Clark by the hand, leading him upstairs. They stopped frequently to neck, long kisses and the maze of hallways making the trip seem endless. Clark was dizzy with the rush of hormones and anticipation by the time he saw Lex's huge bed, everything he'd ever imagined it would be and more. An ocean on which to drift, and most of it would probably be wasted this first time. Lex had seemed like he'd been trying to get as close as possible for two people still clothed and standing in a hallway, as if he could crawl down Clark's throat through sheer force of will and make them into one person. They'd be a single island of need stranded in the center of a sea of bedding.

Solid wood, dark and foreboding, four posters and heavy velvet curtains to shut out any unwelcome sunlight. Black comforter neatly made, purple-and-black pillows scattered artfully over the surface. Purple sheets, probably of something expensive like Egyptian cotton, exposed where some bizarrely efficient servant had turned down the bed for them. It looked like something out of a very exclusive showroom, or a porn film. His mounting hysteria bubbled over at the thought, and he sniggered helplessly while Lex looked from him to the bed, puzzled.

"It looks... like a set... from a porno," Clark gasped out, doubling over in laughter as Lex's face went from puzzled to amused to slightly indignant, which only served to encourage Clark's giggle fit.

"It does not. Besides, you're about to be the star of some hot man-on-man action, so quit your giggling if you still want to get laid." Lex started snickering at his own words, some of the pent-up energy releasing as laughter. When they'd caught their breath, their renewed desire was less urgent, less edgy. There was time, now, to enjoy one another.

They started again with kisses. Slow, sensuous kissing, tasting, tongues sliding over one another, over pearly teeth and soft lips. Moving to kiss up the line of a jaw, down a tender throat. Tasting behind an ear, the soft fold of an eyelid, along a smooth collarbone. Clothing pulled away, aside, off, and each newly exposed section of flesh worshiped with tongue and teeth. Fingers roaming, hands discovering hard muscles and crinkled nipples, eliciting soft moans and muffled cries.

Soon they were naked, the tasteful pillows scattered, sheets shoved to the foot of the bed. They rolled on the bed, cocks colliding, bodies slick with sweat. Lex pinned Clark, whispering sweet nothings as he slid down the younger man's body, intent on his goal. He dove first for Clark's balls, burying his nose to inhale his scent, sucking and tonguing them.

Clark's hands bunched into fists, sheets held like a lifeline. His body arched into a taut bow when Lex started lapping at the head of his cock like a cat, his head thrashing as Lex took him to the root. He held himself back, not wanting to thrust. He didn't want to risk hurting the man that was giving him such pleasure. If he'd only known, he wouldn't have waited all these months. He would have kissed him again at the riverside, never stopped kissing him.

Lex worked to bring Clark off, lips, tongue and throat taking him to the edge. He looked up, holding his lover's eyes as he intensified his efforts. He was rewarded seconds later as the tension in Clark's body peaked, then fell. Clark lay shuddering, eyes glazed as Lex crawled back up to kiss him, the bitter/salt taste of come still lingering on his lips. They held one another close, bodies quieting down before resuming their sensual explorations.

"Wow... Lex, that was..." Joy lit up Clark's face, eyes shining like water in the moonlight.

"That's just the beginning. Now that I've taken the edge off for you, one of us is going to get fucked." Lex was grinning now, a sensual smile that finally showed the full promise all those little half-smirks had only hinted at. "Got a preference?"

Clark leaned back, looking at Lex with an appraising glance he usually reserved for produce. "Well, I think you know a lot more about this than I do, so why don't you go first?" He put his arms behind his head, and pulled a knee up.

Lex grinned at him, "I guess if I'm going to bother deflowering the local pig farmer, I might as well go all out." He slid on top, and Clark gasped. He had cooled off in the few minutes they'd been apart, and Lex was like fire licking against his sensitized skin. He groaned softly, arms automatically going to surround his lover.

Muscle over bone, silk to velvet as they kissed and slid and moaned, heat building between them and just... holding there, waxing and waning but never too far. Lex broke away long enough to retrieve supplies from the nightstand, then sat on his lover and spit-slicked a finger anyway, sucking it in and out of his mouth just to watch the boy twitch.

Clark spread his legs, blushing as Lex's eyes filled with heat, head going back as that one wet finger circled his virgin opening. Moaning, eyes closed, as Lex pushed gently inward, using soft pleasure to coax the muscle into loosening. There would be time enough later for hard and fast, now he moved infuriatingly slowly, waiting until Clark thrust back, waiting until those incoherent moans became pleas for more.

He one-handedly got the condom and lube taken care of, muttering blessings to squeeze bottles and plastic packaging as he eased the finger out, positioning his cock at the virgin opening. "I'm going to fuck you, now, Clark."

"Yessssssss..." came the groaning reply, drawn out into a hiss of pleasure as the head of Lex's cock rubbed at Clark's loosening pucker, asking for entry, then sliding right on in. Lex thrust slowly but steadily until he was completely inside, leaning in to claim a kiss.

No more words, just thrusting and moaning, biting and licking, hands scrabbling over flesh and sheets for something to anchor them, something to hold onto as they drifted through pleasure and out the other side, arching backs and a splatter of white pearls across Clark's chest. Lex was moaning his name, whispering words of sweet and mindless devotion as they curled up together, tissues and tongues enough to clean them both, enough for sleep.

Unknown time later, and Lex had already woken up, was just watching Clark sleep, face thoughtful, curled around his lover. Clark awoke to Lex's unreadable grey eyes, his soft, warm snuggles. One kiss, sticky and sweet, and a genuine, unadulterated smile that modulated itself as thoughts passed through those eyes. Moving from joy to sensuality, humour to that little cynical smirk. Clark wondered what brought it on, was going to ask, but Lex beat him to it.

"Pearls, Clark?"