Where The Boys Are

by EscapeToCity


Please read and review if you can.


WHERE THE BOYS ARE

Author: EscapeToCity

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. They are the property of AOL Time Warner, DC Comics, Millar/Gough & Tollin/Robbins.

Note: I'm on Spring Break so I let Lex & Clark take a trip to the 'Venice of America.'


Clark couldn't believe how beautiful this place was. Palms everywhere, water so blue, flowers that he'd only seen in National Geographic. Hibiscus and birds of paradise and orange blossoms and coral vines. He just kept looking out the window, mesmerized by it all.

Lex was wearing a Tommy Bahama shirt Clark had bought for him at Christmas. It was thin, woven of fine cotton...perfect considering how warm it was.

"Clark?"

Lex was driving with one hand and smoothing Clark's hair with the other.

Clark was wearing cut-off jeans. Very cut-off. And Doc Martens. He hoped he didn't look like trade.

"You alright?"

"Fine. Awesome. This place is amazing. Thanks so much for bringing me."

Lex chuckled...it never failed to amaze him how simple things like travel and beauty made Clark so happy. He'd been these kinds of places his entire life, even in the womb, and until meeting Clark they had never done anything for him.

"You're welcome. You should thank your parents. And yes, Fort Lauderdale is certainly one of the most attractive cities in the country."

Clark wasn't really sure why his parents had let him come with Lex. His Mom seemed to have an inkling that something was up...he didn't really want to think about his mother and sex and Lex all in the same moment....

"Yeah, um...that's an understatement. This place makes Smallville look like the Mojave Desert."

"Clark....Smallville has its charms, as well...certain farms, certain moonlit paths, certain people I know..."

Clark nodded, smiling. He felt lucky-- no-- he felt blessed. Lex seemed relaxed for the first time in months and that was victory in of itself.

Lex was so glad LuthorCorp. had opened a financial back office down here. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to get away from Smallville, from his father. Business was booming and Lionel had Lex running in circles trying to acquire or crush every competitor.

"We really needed this time away, didn't we?" Clark's face took on an air of concern.

"Yeah...things at home have been, well...tense..."

That was an understatement. Between Lana constantly coming on to Clark and Lex's work and Pete's accident....tense, well...that was putting it lightly.

But none of that mattered now as Lex drove down Atlantic Boulevard, coconut palms swaying to the right and that gorgeous water shimmering in the unbelievable April heat. The sand was narrower than Clark would have thought it would be...but there was a great little promenade running alongside the beach with a whitewashed wall....

"The wall...it's lit up neon colors at night and they change..."

Smallville certainly didn't have walls that changed colors. Smallville was buried in four inches of snow. Smallville was home and school and crazy powers and murky truths and too many uncertainties...

Lex noticed Clark's faraway glance...
"How are you doing, Mr. Kent?"

"This is the first Easter I won't have spent with my parents. I hope they are alright."

"They are, Clark. Promise. You're seventeen now. Parents expect their kids to start drifting away."

"I'm not sure I want to drift. Away from anything. You, them..."

"It'll be alright, Clark. Promise, O.K.? Everything can be handled so long as we face it together. You know how they say 'sharing divides grief and multiplies joy'?"

"Yeah...you're right, Lex."

And he was right. Nothing mattered except that Clark and Lex were together for three unbroken days and Clark's shirt was off, an added treat.

Clark looked out and saw endless rows of tiled mansions and gardens and little canals, threading through the city like strands of pearl. People milled about the streets...old and young, every color, many biking and jogging. Everything about the place gave off the air of fitness and regained youth. Of vitality.

"So where is this place we are staying?" Clark looked so eager that Lex just wanted to eat him alive, right there in the car.

"The Palms. Big twin towers up ahead. Look there."

Clark looked and saw two gigantic rose-colored skyscrapers. He couldn't believe his eyes. Perched on the edge of the Strip, the buildings looked as if they had been carved from cotton candy, then drizzled in icing and laced with flowers.

"Wow, Lex...man, you sure know how to live."

Lex snickered just a little...thinking to himself...'I know how to live now, Clark...only because you're with me. Before you, I was dead.'

"Every moment I spend with you I learn how to live better."

"Aw, Lex. Don't say things like that. It sounds so cheesy." Clark stuck his tongue out at him and Lex returned the favor.

"You fucking brat....but it's true, Clark. It's true."

The next thing Clark knew they were surrounded by pink granite and water was pouring from multiple fountains all around the car. Royal palms and eucalypts graced the driveway and Clark swore he saw a Toucan Sam bird hanging out on a tree.

Lex pulled the car into the porte cochere, coming to a soft stop in front of a giant marble statue; a valet quickly arrived to fetch the car. Lex took a shirt out of the trunk and handed it to Clark who gave him a look of confusion.

"Put your shirt on, Clark...don't want the old ladies to faint."

"Do I have to?"

"Hey...if I had my way you could walk around like that 24/7, but this joint has a dress code so play with me for a few minutes."

"O.K."

Lex handed some kind of card to the attendant who gave him a professional, tight bow, handed him a stack of letters and newspapers and began working...Clark didn't get it...

"What is he doing with our stuff?"

Lex laughed, placing the stack of papers in his briefcase..."He's going to take it up the condo and put it away for us."

"Oh...O.K."...Lex noticed Clark looked suspiciously at the way the man handled their bags.

Lex leaned in close and gave Clark a quick lick to the ear...."It will be fine, Clark...this is his job and he's paid quite well for it...our things will be fine."

Clark shrugged...."They don't do this at the Smallville Motel 6."

"They don't even have a Coke machine at the Motel 6, Clark. You're not in Smallville anymore, kiddo."

Up the elevator they went and Lex was holding Clark's hand and Clark continued to be enchanted by the magnificence of The Palms; marble and gold and mosaics and fine art-- not prints like the ones his Mom had on the living room walls-- real art... In the hallway, Lex caugh him staring at a certain painting in particular....

"It's a Boticelli, Clark."

"Like the ones you showed me in the book? Damn...are you serious?"

"My father bought it specifically for this hallway. He liked the idea of a nude cherub dancing about the sky...he thought it was fitting considering this is the fortieth floor, the highest."

For just a second, Clark felt an old fear return.... "Thank goodness I'm not afraid of heights anymore." He squeezed Lex's hand tightly and Lex squeezed back.

The room was simple yet well-appointed. They didn't need to take a tour just yet...there was a very big bed...It had been hours. Clark was still a teenager. Lex was in complete and total love. No need for pretense. There was the usual, slow but steady movement and passion, with just the slightest hint of lust tinged with need. Clark was getting more comfortable with lovemaking as their relationship progressed but Lex still gave him all the room he needed.

This time, Clark took Lex because Lex needed so badly to feel connected. Clark was always soft and light and controlled and it was like bathing in warm sands and they both smiled at one another and kissed until their tongues were bruised. Clark came silently like always, but with his mouth at Lex's ear, chanting his mantra...

"I am always with you, always with you, always...."

Afterwards they showered together and Lex made Clark put on a ridiculous canary yellow speedo.

"You look like a tall glass of--"

"Don't say it, Lex. Don't you dare!"

They watched some Cartoon Network and nibbled at some stone crab Lex had brought up.

"These are great, Lex. Are you kidding me that the crab doesn't die...I mean, you were kidding right?"

"Well, usually the crab just grows new legs, kiddo. So it's the most humane form of crabbing I can think of. Not to mention they taste great with butter and cum."

"Gross, Lex! Stop!"

"Never, babe. Never."

Their planned departure for the beach got stalled by another round of deep looks and mutual servicing and hugging and reassuring but finally they decided to go downstairs.

"After some beach time, we'll go to the Elbo Room."

"The Elbo Room? What kind of a name is that?"

"A great name for a great beachside dive. You'll love it, Clark. I promise. You'll love everything."

Clark and Lex lay together under an ancient coconut palm, its fronds heavy with fruit. The sun was behind them now, and the breeze was strong and Lex was asleep. Clark thought to himself how none of this seemed real, how it all seemed so impossible. The sky was pink gold, the Atlantic rolled in front of him and it soothed his fears of going home to face a building storm. Not far off shore, a boat drifted lazily in the Gulf Stream and seagulls danced above it, waiting for the catch.

Clark stroked Lex's face gently and listened to the birds laugh.

He watched the boat grow smaller and smaller in the fading light.

END of
'Where The Boys Are'



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