The thing with Lex Luthor was that he never knew what he wanted, not really. He just always had a vague idea on what it is he should want. He should want success, he should want to live forever, he should hate his father, he should want a nice little wife who will love him for him, not his money – or at least appear to. He should want to rule the world, but he doesn't think that he actually does.
It would be one way to end his misery, his loneliness. Somehow though, it won't happen. Not with some alien flying around the world, protecting it like he owned it. How was Lex supposed to compete with an alien, compete with someone who can fly? The odds just weren't fair.
So he watched and he waited. And he thought that what he wanted was for the pest that is Superman to be eliminated. He thought that he wanted to be the person to do it.
***
He didn't have a lot of extra time. He didn't have the pleasure of working a nine to sixteen-hour workday. His work never left him. But when he did have time, when there weren't any press-meetings or business deals to make. When he decided to let up just a little with his upward climb on the success ladder, his true obsession would come out. It usually happened in the middle of the month or near the end, he did so well early on. His staff would try to stay out his way as much as they could, preferred it if they managed to get through the day without ever seeing him.
No one wanted to see Lex Luthor, oblivious to the world, pouring over his notes, furiously writing down more – or testing out whatever it was he was experimenting with. Everyone was hoping that it was just something new for the company, to make it more efficient, so when Lex Luthor celebrated his success one evening by calling one of his underground contacts, they knew that it had nothing to do with business.
***
Lex Luthor looked up briefly into the sky. The white sky. Whit like the ground, white like the rocks, white like the eyes of the man he was looking at, standing out so well with that ridiculous mask. White like the shirt Lex Luthor is wearing, amazingly matching the color of the snow falling from the sky. But how could it be snowing? It was so warm.
Smiling, just a little, Lex Luthor began to exit most of his people. He didn't want all of them to be at risk if they didn't have to be. They quickly checked over the equipment to see that it as prepared, and didn't have to fake their work when the security system's alarm went off. A mere second later Superman walked in.
"At least you had the decency not to brake through the walls." Lex Luthor stated calmly, straightening and motioning for his people to continue without him.
"I couldn't."
"Oh that's right, lead, I forgot, sorry." He pretended to look contrite for a moment, but a smile soon grew on his face. A fake and empty, hollow one that suddenly made the whole room feel cold.
"I won't let you do this Luthor."
"Do what, exactly, Superman?" As they fell into their routine banter, something inside Lex froze.
"Bomb the city, there are innocent people there."
"There are innocent people everywhere, when will you realize that?"
"Maybe when I don't have to save them from you anymore."
The people began dispersing, revealing an intricate control system running along the round walls.
"I have a proposition for you. Just you and me, all bets off winner takes all, the loser forfeits their life."
"I won't do this."
"Come now, you have a perfectly good opportunity to get rid of you're worst enemy with no one the wiser, in a fair fight-"
"It's never a fair fight with you."
"And you're not even going to think about it? What logic is there in that?"
"You wouldn't stand a chance, the odds aren't fair. I won't sink to your level, Luthor."
"I wouldn't bet on that." Lex Luthor opened a box. Superman widened his eyes.
"I'm not as weak as I used to be Luthor. That won't work against me very well."
"Prolonged exposure has heightened your tolerance, just like I suspected. Ah, well, can't blame me for trying." He threw the green rock to his one remaining worker.
"Why to you always have to stoop to the cheap tricks?"
"Why the outrage Superman? I was just trying to even out the odds."
"I won't fight you."
Lex Luthor smiled. "You won't do a lot of things. Mind if I have a go then?"
His adversary couldn't even respond, Lex Luthor was next to him with speed that most humans would envy. Before Superman knew what happened, he was crouching on the floor, gasping, and one hand barley managing to pull a needle out of his flesh. An alarm sounded after Lex Luthor pressed down a little red button on the control board. He walked back to the injured man, smirking.
"How?" The choked voice spat out.
"I was never going to bomb anything, Superman, the anonymous tip you received was actually from one of my people, and lacked even a little truth. Although, it didn't take much for you to believe it, obviously." He gingerly picked up the syringe from the floor, holding it eye level. "As for this, it's a needle, made of very thin kryptonite, formed into a little, sharp tube. The contents of the syringe, which is now running through your system is highly refined kryptonite. It was an excruciatingly long process to liquefy it, but I was satisfied with the end result. As for the alarm, it was warning everyone that it was set to self-destruct. It'll take the whole cave along with it."
Superman was having trouble processing Lex Luthors explanation. "What?"
The smirk widened, showed teeth. He threw the syringe to the side. "You've been set up Superman."
"Sir, we have thirty minutes."
"Very well, I'm done here. Goodbye, Superman."
"Goodbye, Lex."
Lex Luthor froze in mid-stride. Something in the voice sounded strange, inappropriate, and hauntingly, achingly familiar. His chest tightening for no reason, he turned slowly around.
Superman had managed to get on his feet, standing doubled over and facing at Lex Luthor, clutching his body to him. Lex Luthor honestly studied the figure, and for the first time he didn't censor his thought. Now, he realized that the person, the alien was familiar. That the eyes were the same ones that he had gazed into, long ago. Now he knew why the blood veins turning green and nearly breaking the skin looked so familiar.
"Clark," No air in his lungs to supply the name with his voice, it came out softer than a breathe of air. But the alien starring right back at him could hear it anyway. He reached a hand to the tiny mask outlining his eyes.
"Sir, we need to,"
Lex Luthor didn't turn around. "Go."
"Sir, if you don't come with me..."
"Get out of here. Now!"
As the hurried footsteps got farther and farther away, Superman removed his mask with a shaking hand.
"Clark?"
"Lex." Clark choked out, falling to the ground, his back against the cave wall.
"No," Then Lex was by his side, fingers down Clark's throat, forcing him to vomit until he was just coughing. Mouth, pressed against his arm where it was sore from the needle, trying to suck out the kryptonite as though it was venom from a snake-bite. When the liquid came in to contact with his mouth he nearly couldn't stand the overpowering, bitter taste to it. Fingers down Clark's throat again, nothing came up. He placed his mouth over Clarks, hitting his chest slightly, sucking more of the fluid and spitting it out to the side. A repeating alarm started to sound, echoing in the cave.
A large hand landed lightly on Lex's arm. "Stop...too late."
"No, god, Clark I-I'm so sorry...I didn't know it was you. I didn't know." Lex leaned over Clark, his head hovering above Clark's. A puddle of green liquid was by them on the floor. Lex had removed just enough of it from Clark for his physical appearance to go back to how it always looked.
Clark's eyes widened. "You...never knew?"
"No, if I did I wouldn't have...I could have never." The hand tightened slightly on his arm, and he was surprised to find Clark smiling slightly. Then his forehead creased and he closed his eyes. "Clark?"
"So loud, why is it so loud."
"God," Lex hurriedly stood, rushing over to the control system, the alarm stopped.
"Lex?" Clark coughed. Lex hurried over, his hand over Clark's. "When...is...it set... to go off?"
"7:45."
"What...time...now?"
"It's," Lex's throat closed. "7:20" Clark whispered something. Lex leaned closer to hear.
"Can...still...make...it."
"What?"
"Leave now...you...can still make it."
"No, Clark, I'm not going to leave you!"
"Hurry...go."
"No, this is my fault and I won't desert you."
"Go...Lex."
"I won't leave you here to die alone!"
Lex's head fell into Clark's lap, tears pouring out of his eyes, his sobs echoing back and forth mournfully.
"If you stay any longer... you'll die too." Clark's hand rubbed weakly back and forth over Lex's scalp, trying to calm him.
"I know." Lex said shakily through the tears. Then Clark was crying too, silently, arms wrapped around Lex.
"You don't have to do this." Clark whispered slowly.
Lex lifted his head up. His face was red, his eyes bloodshot, a tear in his lip where he must have been biting it. "Yes I do. God, this isn't fair. This isn't what was supposed to happen. I'm so sorry, Clark, so sorry." More tears fell.
"I'm...not." He slowly eased Lex's head back down, stroking the back of his neck. "All these year...I had thought that you...hated me.... that you...wanted to kill me." He took a deep breath. "Now...that I'm dying though...I can't hold this against you. I'm not upset Lex...because you're here with me. I...never wanted to live...forever. And if I could only die...if someone killed me... I'm glad that it was you.... But I don't want you to die here too."
"I'm not leaving. We may not have been very close, or even talked for a long time now, but I could never live with myself knowing that I-that I killed you, then left you here to die alone." He choked on his last words.
"It's ok Lex." Clark rubbed his back. There was a smile in Clark's voice. "Looks like...you won't do some...things either."
"I love you Clark."
"I've...always...loved you...Lex...I just...didn't know."
"What are we suppose to do now Clark? What am I suppose to do?"
"Hold me...because I'm scared... and neither of us will... be here much longer... and because we were never...really friends... but we weren't really enemies... because we're more than all that...and I've missed you."
Lex and Clark entangled themselves in each other. Saying nothing because they knew that the last eight years had all been one horrible mistake after the other, without ever realizing it. Because Lex had thought that he wanted to kill Superman, had thought that it would make his life easier. Now he just ended up killing himself.
"You know, I always had this fantasy-"
"Fantasy...you?" Clark made a choking sound that would have been a laugh.
"Yes, I had a fantasy. About us. I would dream that I would do something really terrible, and you would show up outside my limo, straight from the Daily Planet, and you would hug me, say it was ok, that you know that I didn't want to hurt anyone, that you didn't really hate me."
"I...don't."
Lex hugged him tightly. "But the truth is that I have meant to hurt people, that I have done really terrible things, you know that. And now, I can't help but think that I was doing them, just so that you would hear something about me, just so that you couldn't forget."
Lex looked at Clark, who had tears in his eyes but was refusing to shed them. "I had a fantasy too." Lex cupped his face with his only free hand, the other was tangled with Clarks. "I...always dreamed...that one day...you and me would...be alone...and we would kiss each other."
It was so simply and so sweet that Lex gave out a laugh mixed with a sob, smiling sincerely at the man he had always loved.
Clark leaned in to whisper in his ear. "We're...alone now." Then he turned his head and his lips were on Lex's. They kissed, when they parted, Clark was smiling a smile that matched Lex's. "What...time?" Clark asked breathlessly.
Lex looked down at his watched, the numbers blurry as his eyes teared up again. "7:35."
"Do you...believe...in an afterlife?"
"I don't know Clark. But I believe that we will be together?"
"How...sure?"
"Because, this isn't enough, it isn't fair. You deserve better than this."
Clark kissed Lex again, which said more than his words ever could. They pulled their heads away and moved even closer to one another. Clark was barely breathing, his lips were ashen, his fingertips blue.
"Won't be long now." Whether Lex was talking about the kryptonite taking effect or the cave blowing up didn't matter.
"Time?"
"7:38."
"Not...long...enough."
They hugged each other closer, Clark kissed Lex's head, Lex ran his hand through Clark's hair. Neither wanted to think about all the things they would never be able to do now that they had the chance, only they had no chance from the beginning.
"Love...Lex."
"I love you Clark."
Clark didn't have to ask Lex what time it was to know now. The air changed, and he and Lex had no more tears, they sat and waited their fate.
When the bomb went off, rocks flew everywhere. Lex tried to shield Clark's from the fragments with his body, but didn't succeed. All he could think as the cave crumbled around them was that this was the first time he had ever seen Clark bleed. Clark's last thought was that it was strange, how of all times, this was the time that he felt truly happy, and that Lex looked almost as happy as he felt.
Both would be convinced that they died in the other one's living arms.