Series: part of the Scent Universe
Pairing: CLex
Rating: PG
Category: romance
Warnings: none
For Everyone who's read and loved the Scent Universe, thanks guys!
Clark alighted on the balcony with a tired sigh and started peeling off his costume straight away. He hated the spandex, but Lex hated it even more. The bald man seemed to have given his costume a significance that it didn't deserve, making it a symbol of everything they had their most spectacular arguments about. Not that, usually, it was a consideration any more; both of them were retired, long retired.
He hoped Lex wouldn't be too annoyed that he'd been dragged out in order to aid the latest generation of the Justice League. It was the third generation in fact, and included several descendants of the originals, including himself and Lex. Unfortunately, Clark's alien biology meant he was still pretty much one of the strongest superheros around and therefore sometimes needed, despite now being in his seventies.
He'd still aged fairly normally, as had Lex, but they were both still strong and vital, if a little wrinkly, and in Lex's case (not that Clark would *ever* say it out loud, even under torture with kryptonite), a little pudgy round the middle.
Entering their bedroom, Clark sighed again at the sight of an empty bed. He knew exactly where his husband was, but he nonetheless scanned the house. As he'd predicted, Lex was down in the basement. With a burst of speed, Clark cleaned up and changed into flannel pyjamas before making his way downstairs. He snuck up behind his husband and slipped his arms round the still mostly slender frame of the smaller man.
To his disappointment, Lex didn't jump, but the happy sigh and his husband leaning back against him more than made up for it.
"Hey," Clark said, "Why aren't you in bed?"
"You know I can't sleep without you," Lex replied, not quite sarcastically.
Clark smiled and buried his face in the soft skin of his lover's neck, inhaling deeply. "I missed you too," he murmured.
Wriggling further back into his arms, Lex made a contented noise, then tipped his head back to smile up at him. "The kids all okay?" he asked.
"The kids are all grown up now, but yes, they're fine," Clark said with a laugh. "Although that didn't stop Jonel bitching about being dragged out."
"If they're all grown up, they could get by without you, Jonny isn't the one who should be bitching," Lex snapped, "They do know you're retired, don't they?"
"Yes dear," Clark sighed.
"If I can retire, you can retire," Lex continued, ignoring him.
"Lex, having a fully equipped lab in the basement that you work in constantly is hardly retiring," Clark pointed out.
"This isn't work, Clark," Lex said sharply, "It's a hobby."
"A hobby that earned you the Nobel Peace Prize?" Clark muttered. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd been woken up by Lex getting up in the middle of the night to work in his lab.
"And I suppose your Pullitzer Prize winning freelance writing isn't work?" Lex asked, turning in his arms to stare at him, eyebrow raised.
Clark flushed and ducked his head. "It's a hobby," he mumbled.
"I thought so," Lex said with a smug smile.
"Okay, okay," Clark conceded. "I don't want to argue, I want you to come to bed." He leaned down and kissed his husband gently. "You know I can't sleep without you either." Lex's smile softened and he nodded. Pulling back, he held out his hand and Clark took it with a grin. Together they walked back up to their bedroom, snuggling up in the same manner they had for the last fifty years or so.