In the Air

He pulled the bow across the string slowly. Dust from the rosin billowed up into the air, settling across the glossy varnish of the wood. He could smell the sharp, woodsy tang of it in the air as he bent his wrist, pushing the hair back across the bridge.

The sound was clear, and low. Warm. Smooth.

He lost himself in the notes, and smiled as the tips of his fingers were pressed in. The metal strings dug into his flesh as his fingers wavered back and forth in a fast motion, drawing out a sultry vibrato.

The soft, silky rosewood was firm and comforting beneath the side of his chin, his jaw, and he could feel shoulder rest digging into his chest. He could smell the polish and the wood beneath it.

The sounds of the Adagio were surrounding him, and he was at ease with it.

"Wow."

Whirling around, the neck of the violin firm in his palm, he looked appraisingly at Clark Kent's wide, green eyes. Smiling softly, he removed the shoulder rest and cloth and slid the violin into a deep purple velvet bag. Laying the instrument carefully in it's case, he slid careful, callused fingers to the screw, and twisted it counter-clockwise, releasing the buttery-colored hairs from their taut containment. Once loosened, he tapped the bow lightly in his open hand, sending up a flurry of powdered rosin into the rays of light shining through the colored glass.

Shaking his head in the space of Clark's silence, he slid the bow into the case and shut it carefully, snapping the locks closed.

"I didn't know you played."

Lex nodded. "I don't often share that with people." His eyes slid up and saw the flush that darkened Clark's face to a raw pink.

"I'm sorry, Lex. I didn't mean-"

"I would've told you, Clark." Lex murmured softly, "The topic never presented itself, that's all."

Clark's face brightened, the blush settling across his face, and down his neck. The smile was brilliant, and Lex felt nearly blinded in it's presence.

"It sounds really beautiful. I mean...you sounded really...beautiful. What was it?"

"Samuel Barber. He composed a piece, an 'Adagio'. It's quite lovely, isn't it?" Lex smiled and laid his hand over the closed lid of the case. "I find it soothing."

Clark moved to stand beside Lex and looked down at his hand. "I don't know a lot about music, but I thought it sounded really sad. What do you think about when you play?"

Lex looked across the room, out the window. "Different things. Songs are unique. Each one can represent something individually significant to the person who listens to it. For me, the 'Adagio' reminds me of the way I felt when I was soaring over the bridge, the day we met. Flying over Smallville. I think of a lot of things when I play it, hear it."

"Hmm." Clark moved away, to stand at the window, his arms crossed over his body.

Lex followed, his hand catching for a moment on the thick fabric that covered the case. "What is it? What are you thinking about?"

"There's so much we don't know about one another." Clark's voice was low, soft and sad. The light was caught across his face, a bold red shadow darkening the grassy green of his eyes. Lex's breath caught in his chest, just looking at the profile of the younger man, and the husky noise of his breath caught Clark's attention.

Clark turned to look at Lex, the light filtering through the strands of his dark hair, and Lex reached out to touch. Drew his fingers into the thickness, and started to pull back.

"It's okay," Clark murmured, "I don't mind."

Lex tilted his head to the side, a frown marring the softness of his face. "My hands. They're all sticky, from the rosin."

Clark's feet pulled him forward, and his chest leaned in. Close. "I really don't mind."

His hands closed in Clark's hair. Moved through, his fingers playing in the silky curls. The hair was warm, warmer close to his scalp, and Lex's fingers dug in farther. Scratched gently.

"You have the softest hair I've ever felt. It's almost inhuman." He whispered.

Pain flitted across Clark's beautiful face, and his fingers moved with Clark's head as he turned away. He moved in, craving the closeness, and closed his dangling arm around Clark's waist.

"Don't do that. Don't pull away." Lex said quietly. "I know you can feel this. Between us. It's in the air. Lingering, like the music."

"No." Clark said, reaching up to close his hand over the roaming fingers sliding through his hair, "Music fades away, Lex. I've tried to stop listening to this. I've tried to understand it. I can't seem to do either."

"Maybe we don't need to understand." Lex replied, twining his fingers through the silky softness with Clark's hand. "I've wanted you like this for a long time, Clark."

"Like this?"

Lex clasped their joined hands across the back of Clark's neck and drew him down. "Like this." His lips pressed against Clark's. So soft, softer than he'd imagined. A million times, he'd imagined this.

His tongue darted out to taste, and the flavor of those lips seared the tip of his tongue. He felt Clark's hand disentangling from his, and he arched up, sealing himself against Clark's body. Moved between his legs, and pushed him back against the colored glass.

Clark's hand moved down over his shoulder, to settle on his arm.

He watched green eyes flare, sparks of black and gold erupting within them, as Clark's mouth closed over his upper lip. Clark sucked his lip into his mouth, biting down gently, and Lex moaned, opening his mouth wide.

Their tongue met, crashed together, and slid across each other in a frenzied dance. Tasting, stroking, gliding. Clark lifted his head, his mouth slipping away with a moist smack, and his breath panted out across Lex's face in soft, heated cinnamon bursts.

Lex's mouth delved into Clark's throat. The skin was hot, and prickled with the day's growth Clark had yet to shave. Lex's tongue moved across it, and he felt the roughness against his mouth. He very nearly cried at the sweetness of it.

Clark's fingers closed over his hand, and brought it up to his face. He watched at Clark's full lips pressed against his wrist...saw Clark's nostril flare as he inhaled.

"I'll never smell this again without thinking about this." Clark whispered, seemingly to himself. "I'll always see you standing there, and hear that music. Hear it and feel the sound of it crying out. I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life, Lex."

Lex tilted his head back, to look into shining eyes that he knew as well as he knew his own. Knew better, perhaps.

"It is a sad song, isn't it?"

Nodding, Clark shifted down to brush his mouth against Lex's. Closed his eyes. "I'd like to help you find a happier song."

A light opened behind Lex's eyes, brightening them with a burst of silvery-blue. "I think you could, Clark." He sighed against Clark's chest as he laid his face against it. Breathed in the welcome scents of apples and grass and Ivory soap and Clark. "I think you're the only one who could."

Clark's chin slid down over Lex's scalp, and Lex moved in, his face sliding into the curve of Clark's neck.

Smiling softly, Clark wound his arms tighter around Lex and held him close. "I'll find it for you, Lex. I won't stop until I find it."

Lex felt the wetness slide down his lashes and pool against the silky skin of Clark's throat. "I love you." He mouthed silently against golden skin.

Like the music, he felt the answer, and held on tightly to Clark, knowing he'd found his song on the day he'd driven off the bridge. For the first time, he heard the melody, and felt warm.