Disclaimer: In no shape or form do I own the rights to Smallville or the characters.

A Breath of Fresh Air: Chapter Four

Straight after his conversation with Chloe, Clark quickly headed to Lex's. Chloe was right. He did deserve to know the truth. If he kept his feelings hidden, just like he had done with Lana, someone was bound to get hurt again. Still, he couldn't quite quell the overwhelming feelings of dread as he stood outside the mansion. He knew that he had to tell him no matter what, but at the same time…What if Lex rejected him? What if he decided he was no longer comfortable around the boy after his confession and broke off their friendship? He knew that Lex cherished their friendship, but there was a limit that someone could handle, right? If one silly little confession ruined what they had then maybe it was for the best that he just kept quiet…

But even if he did remain quiet, keeping his feelings to himself, wouldn't there still be awkwardness? Every time he saw him from now, no longer would he see his best friend, but the person he loved. To keep something like that hidden was more painful than it was worth. He knew that. He had gone through the same thing with Lana. And in the end, did he really want to go through that again?

"I think Lex deserves to know the truth."

Chloe's words echoed through his mind. After all the lies he had told the man starting from the very day that they met, he knew that Lex deserved to hear some form of truth from him. He couldn't keep running from them; running from the ones he cared about the most in fear that they would reject him.

He took a deep breath and opened the door; free to come in when he chose. He made his way to Lex's office at an incredibly slow pace, almost as if his super-speed was in reverse. He knocked on the door, a bit harder than he had intended. He found that when he was nervous he couldn't control his strength quite as well, and at the moment his stomach was doing summersaults.

"Come in!" Lex yelled. Clark noted that he sounded frustrated, and quickly began to panic, worrying he had chosen a bad time to confront him.

"Hey." he greeted weakly as he came in.

"Clark!" Lex swiftly got up, any previous hints of annoyance in his voice gone.

Clark noticed the large amount of papers covering Lex's desk. It was odd to see his desk so messy considering he was usually a complete neat freak. He figured that he must be busy and instantly feared that he really had picked a bad time to visit.

"Um, is everything okay? You seem busy. I could always come back later?"

"Yeah, Kent, 'cause you're so not saying this so you have an excuse to get out of this situation."

"I am a bit busy at the moment, but it's nothing that I can't handle. Please come in. Have a seat." Clark couldn't help but smile; typical Lex. Even when he was swamped with work, he still made time for him.

The raven haired boy sat down on one of the couches, Lex taking a seat across from him on the other.

"Clark-"

"Lex-" They began at the same time.

"Oh, um, do you mind if I go first?" Clark asked nervously.

"Sure. Be my guest." replied the other man.

"Look, I just uh, really wanted to apologise for the other day. I was way out of line. I had no reason to snap at you the way I did. I'm, um…" he stopped and sighed. "I'm sorry, Lex. I really am. I acted like a total jerk."

The other man, smiled softly. "It's fine Clark. I understand."

"Lex?"

"I was a teenager myself once. Actually not that long ago..." He always found that he had to remind himself of this; sometimes feeling so much older than he really was. "I used to snap and get angry at everyone around me when I was your age, so believe me Clark when I say you're far, far tamer than I ever was. I don't doubt that you getting mad at me was fates way of letting me know how it felt when I used to do it to people."

"But, still, Lex, I'm-"

"You don't have to say anymore about it. My guess would be that you were just upset with the way your study-date ended."

"Huh?"

"Clark, I know how it feels to be around someone you care about so much and feel that you can't tell them. But by keeping it inside, you're just hurting yourself."

"I, uh, know, but…"

"Lana deserves to know how you feel, Clark."

"What? Uh, Lex have you been talking to Chloe?" asked the younger man, confused.

Lex meanwhile stared back with an equally confused expression. "No, I, um, haven't."

Clark felt his cheeks heat up. "Oh, okay." What was it with today and people telling him to be honest and come clean with his feelings?

"Clark, I know it must be hard but-"

"Uh, Lex! The other day when I yelled, it… well it didn't actually have anything to do with Lana. It was…um…well…"

"Someone else?" Nervously, he nodded.

Lex's lips curved into an amused smile. "So who is the lucky girl?"

"What?" he questioned, not following.

"I'm assuming that the reason that you left Lana the other night is because you realised you have feelings for somebody else, am I right?"

What the hell? Was Lex some kind of a mind reader? First his mom, then Chloe, now Lex? If he was that readable and obvious, it truly was astonishing that no one had figured out that he had super-powers by now.

"You'd be right…"

"Clark, if you don't want to tell me who it is, you don't have to. I understand." the man encouraged. However, Clark could faintly detect the disappointment in his voice.

"No, I do! It…It's just complicated."

"Well, Clark, love is a complicated thing."

"You're telling me." the younger man thought inwardly.

"Rarely can we choose who we have feelings for and fall in love with."

"Yeah…"

"It wouldn't be Chloe by chance?"

"What? No it's not her... I mean I do love Chloe; she's my friend after all. I just don't feel that way about her." For some reason he felt a pang guilt tugging at his heart.

"Who is it, then?" Lex's curiosity was piped now. Whoever it was that Clark had feelings for, they must have made quite an impression for him to be this nervous about. An older woman, perhaps? He could see how that might be complicated. Especially if it turned out she was one of his teachers.

The raven haired boy began to brace himself. It was now or never. And despite hoe scared he was, he refused to choose 'never'. "It-It's you, Lex…"

Clark had never seen Lex looking quite as shocked as he did at that moment. Inevitably, the panic meter in his brain went into overdrive. "I, uh, I'm sorry. I know it must be weird, and I understand if you don't want to be friends but I can try-" Oh God, he was babbling, and when he got like this, he usually made things ten times worse. There was no way he could explain himself properly now. "Lex, I-" He stopped and stared at Lex who had his hand covering his mouth as if trying to conceal something. Shock?
"I-"

"You really are adorable when you get all flustered and panicked, Clark."

What? Lex, he was laughing? And what? Adorable? He blushed, never thinking that he would hear those words come from Lex's mouth…

"I, uh, um-" His stammering was quickly ceased as Lex bent over and pressed his lips against his. It was a soft kiss; sweet and gentle. "You don't know how long I've been wanting to do that." spoke the older man as he slowly pulled away.

"Lex…" Clark had to resist the urge to touch his lips. For some reason he had imagined Lex's kisses to be hard and passionate, but he wasn't disappointed; not at all.

"Does this mean?" he asked, trying his hardest not to sound too hopeful.

The older man placed his hand on the boy's face, gazing intently into his eyes. "Yes, Clark. It does." he replied, tenderly stroking the boy's cheek with his thumb. "I just never imagined that you would feel the same way."

"To be honest neither did I. I mean I never thought about." He began, unable conceal the huge smile that arose on his face upon hearing Lex's answer. "That night when I was with Lana, I realised something. That all a long it wasn't Lana who I wanted to be with, but with you. Since the very first day that I met you, you've always been there for me. Starting from when you untied me from that cross in that corn field."

"Well, you've done the exact same thing for me. Whenever I'm in trouble and on the verge of death you always miraculously appear just in time and save me, I can't count how many times now. Heck, the first moment we spoke was just after you saved my life. If it wasn't for you, I would be dead right now." Lex was smiling just as much as Clark, and in all honesty it was the brightest smile he had ever seen on the man. And the fact he was the cause of it filled him with joy.

"I love you Clark, more than anyone else. When I'm with you, this world, it doesn't seem quite as nearly as bad. You breathe life into it, helping the people you do. And you breathe life into me."

"Lex…"

"To be completely honest with you, Clark, I don't know where I would be without you…" he whispered in his ear softly.

Clark felt his heart swell, and couldn't help but wrap his arms around the other man, embracing him tightly. "Thank you…"

Lex loved him. Lex needed him. It was the first time he had ever been told that he was needed; that for once he wasn't causing problems for other people; that he was making someone happy, making Lex happy.

"I'm so glad I met you." he muttered so quietly, that he was not even sure if Lex had heard him.

That fateful accident on that seemingly normal day… Who could have foretold that it would have had such a profound impact on his dull and ordinary life from discovering his own indestructibility, where he really came from to meeting that bald, charismatic billionaire who hit him with his Porsche - the same man who he held in a tight embrace at this exact moment.

Fate was often cruel, unyielding even. But for the first time in his life, Clark wasn't cursing fate as it was that very thing that had brought him and Lex together. Instead for the first time, he embraced it, and for the first time he felt truly happy.

The End

Authors Notes: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. I might write a sequel at some point. Any advice on how I could improve and constructive criticism are always welcome.