Tetrad

 

 

 

Superman stepped through the balcony doorway into his bedroom expecting to find his husband sleeping. He was tired, it'd been a long day and all he wanted was to shower and crawl into bed. Lex was sitting up in bed a book lying on the table next to the bed.

"You look exhausted, Clark."

"I am. Want to scrub my back for me?"

Lex threw the covers aside and rose to follow Clark into the bathroom. He stripped out of his sleep pants as he watched the Superman costume being peeled down. There were smudges of dirt that had worked its way through the tights. Lex joined Clark under the warm water, using a scrubby to lather up the strong back.

"God that feels good. I thought you'd be asleep."

"I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"The information on Lily's kindergarten enrollment came in today."

"Really? That's good. She's so excited about school."

"Our baby, Clark."

Clark turned to look at Lex concerned at the tone of his voice. "Lex, we can't keep them babies forever."

"Why not?"

Clark kissed his lover, giving him a hard hug. He felt the twitch of interest in the two dicks that were pressed together; guess he wasn't so tired after all. Lex pulled back and frowned at him.

"That's not going to work."

"What do you mean?"

"Sex. I want to talk about this with you."

"Talk about what?"

"If I have to let Lily grow up then I want another child."

"You'll have to let that one grow up too."

"Then we'll just keep adopting."

"I have another idea."

"What's that."

"Chloe offered to have a child for you."

"For me?"

"Yeah, an actual blood heir to the Luthor name."

"Clark, I wouldn't love a child of my body one iota more than the ones we've adopted."

"I know that, Lex. I just like the idea of a part of you continuing."

"What about you, Clark? Are you sure that your genes won't mix with humans?"

"I'm not actually. I don't know if the AI even knows."

"Let's ask it."

Lex started to leave the shower and Clark groaned. He knew that he'd be doing without sleep and sex until Lex got his answer. Lex was already dry and dressed by the time Clark ran a towel over his head.

"Clark, hurry up, I want us to be back before the kids wake up."

Clark groaned. Lex pitched a pair of boxers at him. Clark caught them and bent to pull them on. He dressed slowly, being deliberately slothful. Lex finally grabbed the front of his jeans and began to button them for him.

He followed Lex out onto the balcony and lifted them up into the air. He needed to hurry if he wanted to have them back for breakfast. Lex made it a point to start his day with his children.

Lex tucked his face into Clark's neck as they flew to the fortress. Touching down, Clark placed Lex on his feet. Lex headed directly for the chamber where they talked to the AI. He was already in conversation when Clark entered.

"So we can blend our DNA?"

"Of course, Lex Luthor. I will give you diagrams for the birthing chamber you must build."

"Birthing chamber?"

"Clark, we can have a child that belongs to us both. Jor-El says that Kryptonians bred with humans in the past. It was a project to help us move along the evolutionary ladder."

"You found out all that so fast?"

"Lex Luthor and I speak quickly to each other. Shall I print out the plans for the birthing chamber?"

"Yes, please do."

"Lex, we need to talk about this more."

"Clark, don't you want to have a child with me?"

"That's not the point. We just need to plan. We need to talk to the children."

"They'll love having a new baby in the house, Clark. Don't you want this? The idea of us blended. He'll have my brains and your brawn, and if we get lucky your black hair and my eyes."

Clark looked at the delight in his husband's eyes and couldn't refuse him. Not that he ever managed to refuse Lex anything.

"We'll need to explain this to the children so that they know it doesn't make them second place in our hearts."

"Agreed." Lex kissed Clark hard and then turned. "Print out the plans, please. We'll be back later to build it. Give Clark a list of materials now."

Clark looked at the display and memorized the list. Then he lifted his husband and flew home. As soon as they were safely back in their bedroom, Lex pushed him down onto the bed. It had been a while since Lex had been so fierce with him. The two men were lying covered with sweat and come when Lex's alarm beeped.

Rising from the bed, Lex kissed Clark softly. "Get some sleep, lover. I'll take care of breakfast duty alone this morning."

Clark gave him a drowsy smile, noting the bruises he'd left on Lex's hips and the big purple hickey on the side of his throat. Clark was curled around Lex's pillow with a small smile on his lips when Lex exited the bathroom a few minutes later.

******

The boys were at the table when Lex entered the kitchen. He smiled at the cook as he poured his coffee. "Where's Lily?"

"She was still asleep when I checked, Daddy. Want me to go get her?"

"Please." Lex smiled as his oldest son rose and jogged from the room. Turning to look at the cook, Lex asked. "What are we having for breakfast?"

"Clark left a note asking for pancakes. I'm also planning scrambled eggs and the usual pound of bacon."

Lex smiled at her. He turned as Jason came back into the kitchen with Lily sitting on his hip. Lex held out his arms and she leaned over to him. She put her head against Lex's shoulder and yawned.

Lex and the boys discussed their plans for the day until the platters began to cover the table. Lily climbed from her father's lap to get into her own chair. They had almost finished when Clark ambled into the room, still rubbing his eyes. He bent to kiss his husband's cheek before pulling out a chair.

"I thought you were going to sleep in a little."

"I was but I guess the smell of Emma's pancakes was more than my body could take. I hope you guys saved me some."

He pulled out his chair and sat. Emma leaned over him immediately to fill his coffee mug. Lex might have been jealous of her attention to Clark if he hadn't learned long ago that she looked at Clark much as Martha Kent did, the look given a beloved child.

"Now that you're here maybe we should tell the kids what we're planning."

While Lex never expected the things from his children that Lionel had from him, he still didn't talk down to them. They were always told the reasons behind any order or rule he gave them.

Jason looked up and assessed his fathers. He was the sharper of the two boys. Phillip was average in most things; Jason was a protective big brother to both his siblings. What he saw on his super father's face made him a little nervous. His attention shifted to his human dad as Lex began to speak.

"We've decided to add to the family."

"You're going to adopt another baby?"

"Not exactly. The baby will be part of us."

Phillip was old enough to understand quite well the differences between 'real' kids and 'adopted' kids. His school was made up of mostly rich children, aside from the promising ones there on the Superman scholarship fund. He'd heard often that he wasn't really a Luthor.

Phillip's voice trembled as he asked. "Will we have to go live somewhere else when you have real kids?"

Lex was up like a shot and over to kneel by Phillip's chair. "No! You won't ever have to live anywhere else. At least not until you want to one day." He pulled his son into a hug.

Clark looked at the doubt in Jason's eyes. "We aren't looking to replace you guys. That could never happen. We couldn't love you more even if you were physically our children. We have room in our hearts for you and others."

Jason looked into Clark's eyes, "Others? More than one?"

"Maybe, but not right away. See there's this thing called 'empty nest' syndrome, it hit your Daddy real hard yesterday."

"Clark!"

"What does that mean?" Jason asked.

"It means that Daddy got the information on Lily starting school and he felt like you were all growing up too fast. He's afraid of being alone with me again."

Lily slid from her chair and hugged her Daddy from behind. "Don't worry, Daddy. I won't leave you, ever."

Lex turned enough to pull her into the hug with Phillip. Jason nodded at Clark, understanding the things not said. He'd gone into the office a few times with his father. Lex was an entirely different man in the business world than he was in his home with his family.

Jason had realized that Lex had to show a different face to the world. He could not let them see the loving man who shared Clark's bed at night and played childish games with his children in the evenings. Not that the world would believe a Luthor could be a good husband and father.

Jason rose from his chair and moved over to share the hug. "Are we getting a sister or a brother?"

"Do you have a preference?"

"Well, I have one of each right now. Although, a brother might be fun because I could teach him things, but sisters are sweet and never steal your favorite toys."

"This sister didn't, doesn't mean another sister wouldn't."

Lex grinned at the shocked look on Jason's face. Despite knowing how different his grandmother was from his Aunt Chloe, it hadn't occurred to him that the differences might start early in life. Before Jason could respond the butler came in to tell them that the car was ready to take the boys to soccer practice.

Soon Clark and Lex were alone, the boys gone, Lily off in her room with her play date. Clark continued with his breakfast. "That didn't go too badly."

"You think they understand? I don't want them to worry."

"You do quite enough of that for all of us, Lex."

"Shut up and eat. We have work to do."

Clark smiled as he dug into the fresh stack of pancakes that miraculously appeared in front of him. Lex rose and left the room but was soon back. "I cleared my schedule for the day, aren't you finished yet?"

"Just a minute, dear."

"Cheeky, Alien."

******

Clark didn't really need Lex to help him build the incubator, but he knew Lex needed to be involved in the process from start to finish. The actual work took several hours, but finally it was ready. Clark took a step back and then grinned at Lex.

"Now for the fun part of the process."

Lex no longer gasped when his husband used super speed to get them naked and on a bed. The next hour was spent quite pleasurably. Neither man wanted it to be a quick, clinical experience.

Clark was kissed thoroughly, Lex's hands moved lovingly over the body of his husband. Clark's were gentle on him as well. They built the fire slowly, using their knowledge of each other. When the moment of release came they grinned at each other as the sperm streams joined to fill the container that Clark held in place.

Superman went off to patrol, leaving Lex to his mad scientist ways, with Jor-El to instruct him. When he returned, Lex was asleep on the bed and the new incubator was humming near the AI. Lifting Lex, he carried him home to their own bed.

Over the next few months, Lex insisted that they go and check on the baby every day. He would sit next to it, singing or talking. Clark would watch with his 'my husband is slightly loony but isn't he cute' look on his face.

Clark was on patrol when the AI summoned him with the news that the baby was finished. Flying home, he grabbed up a sleeping Lex and flew toward the fortress. Lex woke in mid-flight and began cursing.

"Goddamn, Clark, what are you doing?"

"I assumed you'd want to get our daughter out of the incubator right away. She's safe but she's mature and ready to face the world."

"Fuck, hurry!"

Clark chuckled and increased his speed. They could hear her as soon as they touched down near the machine. "She's demanding, definitely a Luthor."

"Watch it, farm boy, or you'll be sleeping on the sofa."

Clark just grinned at him; he knew an idle threat when he heard one. Lex was already releasing the seals and popping open the lid. Clark picked up the towel they had laid out the day before, opening it; he held it ready as Lex began to clear away the gelatinous material that had supported her as she grew.

Placing her carefully on the towel, Lex went to get a wet cloth to clean her more thoroughly. Her cries had almost stopped as she looked around at the world. Lex had insisted that she look like her alien dad, the same hair and eyes. She would be quite the heartbreaker one day.

Once she was clean and dressed, Lex cuddled her close. "She is so beautiful, Clark."

"Yes, she is. Nest no longer empty."

"Stop being a smart ass. Take us home."

Clark lifted his husband as Lex covered her completely. The trip home was more leisurely than the trip there. He didn't want to chance frightening his new daughter. Back at the penthouse Lex settled on the bed with her as Clark changed clothes.

The two men bracketed her on the bed watching her sleep, big hands touching small fists or caressing a soft cheek, sometimes holding a tiny foot.

"What are we going to name her?"

"Martha?"

"Mom doesn't like her name that much. She's always loved her grandmother's name, Josette."

"I like that, Clark. It has a nice ring to it."

The two men dozed, until the alarm began to beep. Josette made it known that she did not like that noise. Lex cuddled her as Clark stopped the offending noise. Her cries had attracted the other children.

Clark smiled as Lily scrambled onto the bed. Phillip crawled up to sit on Clark's chest, Jason sat next to Lex and Lily sat between her father's close enough for Josette's feet to kick her as she squirmed.

"Daddy she's tiny."

"So were you, baby, when we brought you home, just ask your brothers."

"She's got black hair." Phillip announced.

"Like her Dad's."

Jason asked the important question as he reached over to touch her small hand. "What's her name?"

"Josette."

Jason smiled as she latched onto his finger. "Hello, Josette. I'm your brother Jason. I'll help take care of you and keep you safe, always."

Lex looked at his eldest with pride. Phillip caressed the black curls; Lily held a tiny foot and Clark beamed at his family. Lex once more thanked whatever higher power had seen fit to gift him, first with Clark and then with their wonderful children.

All of Lionel and Jonathan's dire predictions had been so much hot air. Lex and Clark were building a life anyone could be proud to have. Clark grabbed Phillip and jumped from the bed.

"Who wants breakfast?"

A chorus of "we do" answered him. He threw a laughing Phillip over his shoulder and lifted Lily up under his arm. Lex laughed as Clark ran from the room with them. Turning to look at Jason, Lex asked. "Why don't you carry your sister into the kitchen? I need to call your grandmother so she'll be ready when your Dad goes to get her."

Jason pulled his finger from her small hand and stood. Lex placed Josette in his arms. Lex knew from the look on Jason's face that some day he'd be a great father. "Daddy, can I feed her when she gets hungry?"

"I think that's a good idea. She likes you already, I can tell."

"Daddy, I'll help the younger kids understand that we aren't being replaced."

"I'm real glad you understand that. All of you are precious to us."

Jason nodded and then looked down at his sister. He bent his head and kissed her cheek, before leaving the room with her. Lex stood for a long minute before he could get his emotions in control. His voice was steady as he spoke with Martha.

Lex entered the kitchen to find his family eating. He raised his camera and got in several shots before they even realized he was there. Kissing his husband, he sat to eat his own breakfast before calling the office to rearrange his day.

No doubt about it, it was shaping into one of the best days in the Kent-Luthor household.

The end.

09/04/04

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