It's been 10 days since I woke up in a silo with Clark and a silver pod that was painting me with some kind of warm light. That was rather surprising since I'd given up when I awoke to find myself trapped in a cold hospital room surrounded by machines and faced with a smiling father. Dad really knows how to chastise a body.

And a hurting body was all I was at that point. So I gave up and closed my eyes, not really expecting to open them again.

Well, that will teach me to underestimate a teenage alien on a guilt trip.

That's not really fair to Clark. Right now, he's playing a video game with such an intent expression on his beautiful face and the unit is beginning to smoke. I'm going to have to work on a more rugged model. He tells me that I'm the first one that he's told about his secret of his own free will. I understand his parents lying to him until I hit him with my car. I do, really. But lies hurt and Clark has been hurt enough.

I just hope that I don't hurt him even worse than his parents did. God knows, I have the ability to crush his soft heart even though it's housed in an almost indestructible body.

"Oops," he calmly puts out the small fire that has just melted the control unit then glances my way. His little guilty look makes my heart ache.

How many times has he been told to be more careful? How many admonitions to watch his strength-speed-otherness? Well, no more.

"Do you know how sexy that is, Clark?" I put a note of huskiness in my voice, never hard around my lover. "I think there's a fire over here that needs your attention." I stretch a little, letting the blanket that he insists on covering me with fall to expose my chest. He's got a nipple fixation that would wring milk from a sterile male.

He's by my side in a blink, his tongue bathing each nipple with dedicated fervor. In between licks, he's telling me how beautiful I am. Alien eyes must see differently than human ones because nobody but him finds me so desirable. Everyone else sees the freak or the money. Threading my fingers through his silky hair, I sigh with contentment.

****

Forty-five days since I returned to Kansas and the world has changed so completely that I'm having a hard time coming to grips with parts of my life. Not the Clark-parts, those are what keep me going. Plan E was activated the moment Clark brought me to the castle and I could get to a phone. Bruce had been waiting for me to either die so he could destroy Lionel or live so we could do it together.

It started small. The best avalanches always do.

At twenty-five days, I let GQ interview me about my life-changing accident. Bruce bought the shit-factory from me.

On the thirtieth day, I gave a linguistic translator that I invented last year to the United Nations to help improve communication between the nations of the world. Bruce switched one of his subsidiaries over to producing the throat models and gave away more than he sold.

On day forty, I came out to Rolling Stone and held hands with Clark while Arthur Jones asked questions about life, death and love. We told him truthfully that we'd not consummated our relationship because we were waiting for Clark's 18th birthday. I made sure that I mentioned the enlightened Supreme Court decision outlawing the anti-sodomy laws. Bruce finished acquiring 25% of LuthorCorp.

And today, day 45, Bruce and I gave an interview to Fortune about our 51% hostile takeover of my father's businesses. Lionel never had gotten the hang of true diversification. Clark was invaluable in setting up the chain of command because you can't lie to him. His abilities can tell at a glance when the heart and adrenal glands change to protect a lie.

I rather enjoyed honing that new skill of his. If he could detect when icy Bruce was lying, the rest of the world didn't stand a chance. Of course, it means that I can't lie to him worth a damn. But I was enjoying not having to lie to anyone. Clark had been a bit hesitant at first but I'd pointed out how nice it would be once he became a reporter to know when someone he was interviewing wasn't telling the truth.

He thought about it for a bit then smiled that long, slow grin that makes me want to trip him onto the nearest flat surface. So I did. We must have kissed for hours until Bruce's call put an end to our impromptu make-out session. Business before pleasure was a motto that I was seriously contemplating getting rid of.

But if my business life was fraught with peril and some set-backs, my personal life was going so smoothly that I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Martha seemed to support us whole-heartedly while Jonathan bit his tongue a lot. None of us wanted to upset her now that she was seven months pregnant. I'd brought in a specialist to monitor her and the baby.

Clark really wanted a little sister. And I wanted him to have everything he wanted.

****

At the sixty-one day mark, I had an attack of the oh-my-god-I'm-in-a-relationship-shakes. Helen was my longest affair at 60 days and look how that had turned out. So, Clark and me staying a couple for just over two months, ranked up there with Chloe's Wall of Weird. But when I looked at him, all I could see was the beautiful soul who thought I was the greatest thing since silicon lubricant.

I had one drink before setting it aside. Alcohol wasn't as much fun as it used to be. The pod did something odd to my taste buds and it wouldn't tell me what it did. Jor-El was a very interesting alien or at least the part of him inside the pod was interesting. He now resided in the top attic with a sky light that bathed him in constant solar rays - unless it was raining.

In Kansas that was only an occasional hazard. I made a mental note to work on the weather machine I was experimenting with. That joined a couple of other notes that I took out once in a while to gloat over, like giving Clark his truck and paying for the insurance while watching Jonathan grit his teeth and bear it. Someday we'd probably come to a meeting of minds. I was thinking that about twenty years should just do it.

Smiling I turned and walked slowly over to the balcony that I'd added to the façade of the castle outside our bedroom window. Clark thought it was a romantic gesture on my part and I let him think that. The truth - I loved sunlight and every morning I'd sit out there with my face tilted to the sun and a cup of white leaf tea cradled in my hands.

That was the perfect way to start the day when Clark couldn't stay over. Luckily, he was almost through with school and those days were numbered. I seemed to be counting a lot lately, I thought superstitiously. But there were more good things than bad to enumerate and I took full advantage of that fact. Finishing my water, I headed back inside to check on an experiment with the red meteor rocks.

I never wanted to have Clark surprised by them ever again.

****

Day 75 was interesting to say the least.

Jonathan Kent and I got shit-faced together over our fears.

He's worried about Martha and the baby and all the changes that are coming.

I'm just worried about loving Clark.

Well, there's a couple more things that worry me; Lionel's need for revenge, Lucas' need to supplant me, the harassment that Clark was getting at school, the SEC investigating Bruce and me, finding a place to put the pod where it will be safe . . . Okay, there's quite a bit I'm worried about, which is why Jonathan and I ended up sitting out on the front porch with a quart of good scotch and a meandering conversation that didn't make sense to either of us.

We'd been out there for about two hours when we noticed Martha and Clark standing in front of us, hands on hips and little frowns on their faces. Smiling at them, I had an inkling that maybe I was in trouble.

"You take care of yours, Clark. I'll take care of mine." Martha imperiously beckoned Jonathan up from the step and the big man all but fell off the porch at her feet.

"Lex, let's go home." Clark lifted me up and cuddled me to his chest.

"Love you, Clark." I loved it when he cuddled me so I rewarded him with a kiss on his chin. His head was moving funny.

"I love you too, Lex." He snickered. "Can you handle Dad, Mom or should I carry him in, too?"

"Nonshence, I can walk." Jonathan swayed a little, blinking like an owl at us. "Why are you holding Lex, Clark? I think he's drunk, Martha."

"Takes one to know one, sweetheart," she said sweetly. "Clark is taking Lex home and we're going into the house for some coffee."

"Okay," Jonathan smiled and hugged her close before letting her help him up the steps.

Clark watched to be sure neither of them fell then he rushed us back to the castle. My head was spinning but that was more the speed than the liquor. He carried me in and took me right upstairs to the attic. Jor-El tsk-tsked over my condition but the golden light felt so good that I didn't really mind. He lectured me on drinking and taking care of myself better.

Funny, but he sounded just like my nanny. Clark was snickering behind me and Jor-El turned his attentions on him without even a break in his admonishing. He hadn't been exercising his flying abilities enough and my lover contritely promised to take care of that later. Once sure that we were both all right, Jor-El turned himself off and we went downstairs to watch a movie.

There is nothing better than watching the original 1950's version of 'The Thing' while curled up in Clark's lap with a big bowl of popcorn. We play spot-the-special-effects and mistakes with kisses for rewards. His mouth was made for kissing and I took full advantage of that every time I could.

****

Day 85 was weird. Bruce flew in for a conference with his ward, Dick Grayson. While we talked business, Clark and Dick left for the race track. It had just been completed and they wanted to try out the Jag, I'd bought the week before. Funny but knowing that they were out there racing made my concentration falter at least three times. After dragging it back once more, I noticed something even odder.

Bruce was distracted, too. I played back our conversation and spreadsheet hunt, only to find the same memories of tension across the table that I'd felt. Slowly a smile began to spread across my face. Bruce looked up and frowned.

"So, Bruce, have you told him yet that you'd like to strip off his rubber suit and play hide-the-bat-cock?" I said cheerily and watched his face go blank. The poor man was totally oblivious to the signals Dick was giving off. I wasn't so wrapped up in my own love life that I couldn't still see what was going on in front of me.

"Don't be absurd, Lex." He raised an elegant eyebrow and prepared to admonish me.

Not today, I decided. "He's practically throwing himself at your feet and you're ignoring him. Let me give you a word of advice? Don't short him just because he's a teenager. He grew up the day his family died and right now, you're denying him the love that he feels for you and that you feel for him."

"It's hero worship with a bit of hormones thrown in." Bruce's face was going to freeze like that if he wasn't careful.

"Bull-shit, Bruce." I leaned across the table. "You may be judge and jury some days but you're just as fallible as the rest of us. I thought you respected him."

"I do," the little wrinkle between his eyes gave him away. "But he's . . . he's so young."

"Yes, he is but he's also intelligent, caring and athletic enough to put you in an early grave." I winked at him and decided to let it go for now. Bruce wouldn't be able to dismiss my remarks and maybe they'd come back to him at the appropriate time. "Now, about the cost projections from the Jersey plant . . ."

****

Day 90 dawned bright and clear. Clark was now 18 and we'd spent the night boffing like bunnies. The party last night had been an interesting mix of youth and maturity. Dick had flown in alone to help celebrate and the frantic phone call from Bruce had told me that the immovable object was finally meeting the irresistible force. Every time I thought of it I had to smile.

I was doing a lot of smiling these days.

Martha had planned the party and we did the work. She'd grown enormous and had developed a craving for Greek olives. I shipped in a truck load and it seemed like she was going through a can a day. The baby was due shortly and we all watched her like hawks. Clark's old friends, some of the community who hadn't shunned us and workers from the shit factory made up the guest list.

Everybody had a good time and when Clark blew out his candles, we all cheered. People started leaving at 10:30 while the staff started the cleanup. I got Dick aside and told him about the phone call. His smile could only be described as the cat who ate the canary. He bummed a ride with Gabe to the airstrip where he'd parked the jet and headed home to a happy reunion.

At least I hoped it would be a happy one. Martha and Jonathan were the last to leave and they both hugged Clark. To my surprise, they hugged me, too. Jonathan whispered 'be careful' to me and Martha told me to take care of Clark. That was easy, I told them both. "I love him."

Before we all broke down in tears, they left and Clark walked me up the stairs to our room. It wasn't the same room that I'd grown up in. Over the last few months, working together, we'd created a new space out of the old. It had the big bed that I liked, the dresser with 30 drawers that Clark had fallen in love with on one of our trips to Metropolis and new gel-filled glass windows that were twice the size of the originals and let in light but kept out peering eyes.

The patent on that invention would keep us in lubricant for the rest of our lives, no matter how insatiable we were. Still, I liked being able to look out at the stars from our bed and so did Clark. But right now, I was watching him sleep in sunlight that flooded the bed with golden rays and painted his skin. He's so beautiful and he is mine, I whispered silently.

We'd done it all the night before and I clenched my cheeks to remind myself of the ache of possession. He'd enjoyed making love to me that way but he'd come totally unglued when I surged inside of him. One of these days, I was going to ask Jor-El if Kryptonians had more than one prostate gland because Clark had acted like each thrust had hit a new one.

We'd literally floated above the bed when he came and I was clinging for dear life when he realized what he'd done. The landing was bumpy and he babbled an apology until I pulled from him and turned him into my arms to kiss him. Once he was calmer, I informed him that I *liked* flying with him and it had felt better than anything in my whole life.

He'd sniffed a little and said 'really?' We kissed for a long time before hitting the shower, where he begged me to come back inside of him again. Smiling, I'd given in and took him long and slow and hard. He'd come without me even touching his cock. I loved knowing that I could do that to him.

"You're watching me again." His husky voice brought me back to the here and now.

"I like watching you glow in the sun." I told him truthfully. "Are you feeling all right? I was kind of rough at 2 a.m."

His grin rivaled the sun. "I liked it. I really, really want to be a slutty bottom like Chad."

I chuckled and slid on top of him so I could kiss him again. Feasting on him is pure ambrosia and today was no different. "I like you that way, too. But I'm going to want you to return the favor before all my boring board meetings. I like that little ache that I have this morning."

"Did I hurt you?" He went from contented to serious in a heart beat.

"Never, Clark, you could never hurt me," I soothed kisses over his cheeks and the corners of his mouth. "It's just a little ache that reminds me I'm loved by a beautiful man."

"I do love you, Lex, more and more every day. I don't have that ache." He pouted and I smiled my business-shark smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be glad to give it to you over and over." I moved down between his legs, scattering kisses over his broad chest and biting his nipples. He loves that and I was thinking of a pair of nipple clamps for him. His cock was rising nicely and I settled in to taste more of him.

His dark head was thrashing back and forth on the pillow and I admired him while sucking on him with dedicated fervor. My own cock was feeling a little neglected when he burst upon my tongue and I drank down his alien seed. He'd ruined me in so many ways for the things I'd thought I wanted. No one tastes as sweet as him, which was a good thing since I had become a one-man lover.

"Lex, in me, please," he pleaded, bringing up his legs to his chest. The wanton sprawl is a good look for him but I'd have to tell him that later because I was too busy pushing into him.

He's virgin tight and so hot that it took every ounce of willpower I had not to come right away. We'd discovered that he didn't need any lubricant because he had some kind of alien gland that exuded a slippery lube that worked just fine. Once I was fully in him, I leaned down to kiss him. He opened to me everywhere and while my tongue was sliding into his mouth, my cock was busy sliding in and out of his sheath.

This time was going to be fast because the way he was squeezing around me was seriously milking my cock. And it was now, I thrust in one last time and released deep inside of him while he spurted between our stomachs. Thank God for limber alien lovers I thought to myself. I'd always been a good multi-tasker but when making love to Clark, I had a one track mind.

Basking in the sun, we dozed a bit before leaving our bed for the shower. Dry-Clark is a delight for all my senses but Wet-Clark is addictive. I was already planning on building an Olympic sized pool just beyond the kitchen gardens. With the new glass I'd invented, we could build glass walls and roof around it so we could swim naked and still be safe from the paparazzi.

I liked that idea a lot. We almost ran out of hot water by the time we were through and I made a mental note to put in a bigger one or maybe just invest in a five hundred gallon vat. That thought made me smile and Clark kissed me before teasing my thoughts out. He liked the idea of the pool and asked me when I thought it could be done. I told him about two weeks since my building contractor had just finished his last job for me.

The factory in Jersey had needed a daycare center and secure park so we'd built one for them. I liked the idea of kids having a safe place to play in the urban jungle that was their home. Clark hadn't heard about that project before and he hugged me close after I'd explained it.

He called me his teddy-bear and I tried to act affronted but he saw right through me. He promised to thank me properly after breakfast and I shivered in need. I was going to need a big breakfast to keep up with him. Luckily, Anna had cooked enough for twenty, which meant we had barely enough to fuel us. Then with a single hot look, we retreated back to our bed for the day.

****

100 days today, I mused and tapped the calendar on my desk. I loved Clark, he loved me, his parents were supportive and I'd finally banished my father from my life. The first two would never change, I hoped the second two would stay true also. I was waiting for Clark to come home from the hospital. Martha delivered a beautiful baby girl at 5 a.m. this morning and we'd spent the night with her and Jonathan, giving them our support and love.

Ruth Lillian Kent had a nice ring to it. I sighed and pushed back my chair to go to bed. Clark had wanted to stay a little longer and I had a conference call to Japan to take so we'd separated with a soft kiss and a promise to see each other soon. Walking slowly up the stairs, I hesitated at our bedroom door before continuing up to the attic to tell Jor-El about the new arrival.

He smiled at my news. "Lex, will you be giving Clark children some day?"

My eyes widened and I chuckled. "I don't know about Krypton but Earth males don't give birth. We can always adopt if we feel the need to raise a family. We haven't talked about it before. Thanks for reminding me. I'll make sure that he knows it would be all right if he wants them."

Jor-El nodded. "There are differences between our two species but not in the important things. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, maybe a little sleepy," I yawned. "Sorry, it was a long night."

A soft pink glow washed over me and I felt all my muscles go nice and loose. "Then I would say a nap was in order. Good morning, Lex."

Chuckling again, I watched him blink out before going downstairs to bed.

I would have that 'family' discussion with Clark after he'd changed a few diapers for his new sister. If he still wanted children then we'd see about finding a surrogate for us. I wanted Clark to have every single thing he wanted and needed. Slipping under the covers, I decided to start a new 100 day count tomorrow.

Who knew what it would bring?

************************
The end of Brief Candle