Lex sat staring at the campfire, his mind racing and frozen at the same time.

Superpowers were real.

Well, maybe not superpowers. But something supernatural. Maybe alien. Mutation? Magic? Lex supposed it didn't really matter. Whatever it was, it was real, and Clark had it. It was a shift in Lex's view of the whole world. Impossible things were possible.

But as he settled into his new frame of mind, Lex found it didn't really change much about the way Lex thought about Clark himself. Clark was still . . . Clark. He happened to be able to lift several times his own weight and run faster than an Olympic sprinter, but that didn't change who he was. He was still the kid who called for help from his parents whenever Lex was hurt or scared, who fell asleep in Lex's arms in front of the TV, and who trusted Lex to be someone he could look up to.

Lex could hear raised voice from the tent—Jonathan scolding, and Clark crying. Everything in Lex wanted to get up and storm over there and save his little brother, to wrap his arms around him, to fight off Jonathan if he had to. Even if it got him kicked out of their family.

But as he thought about it, he also understood exactly why Martha and Jonathan were so upset. They'd probably drilled secrecy into Clark since he was old enough to talk, and for good reason. Lex could imagine exactly what someone like his father would do with information about a being with those kinds of abilities. Clark had to be protected.

And Martha and Jonathan protected him. Lex had seen firsthand how much they adored him. Even now, as they scolded him, Lex could hear the worried tones in Jonathan's voice, the frantic pitch of Martha's. They were angry because they loved him.

Lex frowned as he continued to listen to their scolding. If they were mad at Clark, that meant they were trying to protect Clark from Lex, too.

They didn't have to worry. Lex would never let anyone hurt Clark. If he went back to his father, he'd never tell him Clark's secrets.

Lex could prove they didn't have to be afraid of him. He could be the best older brother in the world. The best son in the world. He could earn their trust, so they didn't feel like they had to protect Clark from him. Instead, he could help them protect Clark.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The Kents were a second chance, a fresh start. Lex had failed Julian, and he'd failed his real mother and father, but here, he could try again.

And this time, he would not fail.

----------------------------------------

Jonathan took a deep breath as he walked over to sit down next to Lex on the log beside the campfire.

He couldn't believe Clark had been so careless. Well, yes, he could believe it—Clark was six—but he'd shown no warnings that he might do this. He hadn't even talked to his parents. He'd just done exactly what Jonathan had warned him against.

Clark had told the son of Lionel Luthor his secrets.

Jonathan willed himself to calm down, and in the silence, he could hear Lex's breathing starting to slow down as well. Jonathan looked over at the boy, and it struck him that he wasn't seeing the son of Lionel at all. Lex was his own person. And the boy was terrified.

"Lex . . ."

"I wasn't supposed to know about Clark, was I?"

"It's not that. We were going to tell you, but we were going to wait until the adoption was finalized."

Lex looked away.

The boy was silent for a long time. Long enough that Jonathan started to worry. "Lex?"

"You really don't think my father is getting out of prison."

Jonathan let his eyes fall closed. "I'm sorry."

Lex turned to face Jonathan. "I love Clark, you know."

Jonathan nodded, though he didn't feel the boy was old enough to really know what love was.

"He said you were worried people would find out and take him to do experiments on him," Lex said

"We worry about that every day."

"My father . . . he's the kind of person who would do that."

Jonathan knew that must have been nearly impossible for the boy to admit, but it didn't make him feel any better to hear it.

"I'm not my father."

"I know you're not."

"No, you . . ." Lex looked away for a moment before his eyes pierced Jonathan's. "I would never let anything happen to Clark. I'd do anything to protect him. I would die."

So Jonathan had been wrong. Lex did know what love was. "Well, I'm not asking for that, Lex."

"You don't understand." His stare became even more piercing. "My baby brother died. I'm not letting another brother die. I . . . I want to stay with you. To help protect Clark. I'll tell the courts the truth about my father, I'll do whatever I have to do . . ."

Jonathan's heart pounded again. "Thank you." Jonathan slid closer to Lex and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Thank you, my son."

Jonathan couldn't let Clark think what he'd done was okay in general—he needed to talk to his parents before letting people know his secret—but this time, Clark's instincts had been right. That innocent honesty was what their family had needed.