Disclaimer: DC Comics and The WB own Smallville. No infringement intended.
Summary: An innocent paint war turns deadly. L/L Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Post-Memoria (S3)
Status: This was originally going to be a series, now it remains a standalone. It will not be completed.
Author's Note: I am not fluent in French but I tried my best to make all French grammatically correct. Apologies if there are errors. Please note, all French translations are in italics in square brackets at the end of the sentence. Thank you to my betas Sue, Kat and Jade.

Blue Skin
by Lissette aka RunLiLiRun

She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her forearm and looked down at the poster on the ground. Setting up had taken a while but she was at last ready to begin. Lana Lang was in Lex Luthor's backyardthe most gorgeous backyard she had ever seen. Lex had acres of impeccable green grass, bushes, gardens and even a maze formed out of hedges. A fountain in the middle spurted out clear water from naked angels. Luthor Lake was about a mile and a half away and the prospect of jumping in to cool off was sounding more enticing by the minute.

The waves of heat could be seen rising up from the asphalt. If she gazed out at the beautiful scenery too long, her vision would start to get blurry. Lana was feeling the effects of the bright sun and not being able to tolerate her heavy hair any longer, she efficiently put it up in a messy ponytail. When getting dressed that morning, she had shimmied into her bikini. Just in case the temptation to take a swim in Lex's outdoor pool became too much, she had packed water, sunscreen, a hat and a towel in her back pack. The white Capri pants, blue tank top and white leather sandals she had originally come to the mansion with, were now in a pile on a seat. The removal of layers left her in a blue bikini top and matching white boy shorts, an outfit she had bought in Europe. Her overseas experiences had not left her the same and among many things, including improving her French, Lana was now someone who wasn't embarrassed to wear a bikini.

She adjusted her white visor and swayed slightly to the beats of Kylie Minogue blasting out in her portable CD player. It was a hot day in June and she intended to take advantage of that by advertising new stock. The brick patio was heating up and beginning to scald her bare feet. On tiptoe, she gathered her materials and jumped to cool grass. Behind her, blank sheets of poster paper were in line to meet her paintbrush. Beautiful gray umbrellas stretched and she could tolerate the heat in the shade. She had gotten a tan in France but over the winter her skin had once again become porcelain white. Hopefully, the afternoon spent here would change that very soon.

Bending down, she opened up a can of blue paint with a pick. She pulled her artist utensils out of her bag and dipping a paintbrush into the paint, she carefully walked to the poster and crouched. First, the background, the landscape and later the words. In-between the can and poster she danced to the music and in spontaneous spurts, sang along to the lyrics.

Inside, Lex was doing business with a client via satellite feed in his office. When the stubborn man stalled for the third time, claiming he had to take an urgent call, Lex dully shifted his gaze from the now blank screen on the wall. He swallowed some bottled water and waited, approaching the stained glass windows. He peeked through a clear panel and down into his backyard. It was a spectacle he had never thought to see. In a blue bikini top and white shorts Lana danced on the lawn, looking relaxed, sweaty and carefree.

If she was listening to music, he wasn't able to hear it. Her upper torso swayed to an invisible rhythm, her arms were raised and slowly swinging in the air. Since coming back from Paris, Lana hadn't been the same troubled and reserved girl she had been when she had left. A year ago, he would have been shocked at her uninhibited display, but nowit was merely a pleasant surprise. The sexy up and down motion her hips did was something he didn't know Lana had in her. She suddenly threw her head back, the visor obscuring his view of her jovial expression, but he was able to catch a tiny smirk make its way across her face. From his air-conditioned view, it was a nice, private sight to behold. The corners of his lips twitched in amusement.

Turning around to see his client's business logo still on the blue screen, Lex lifted a hand to the side of his head and pressed a small button on the device in his ear. It stretched to his mouth, was state of the art and less cumbersome than a phone. The call disconnected; Lex had never liked being put on hold. The man needed to sell his shares and it was his loss if he didn't snatch this opportunity. At any rate, Lex wanted a break; he had been at it since six this morning and watching Lana entertain herself was more enjoyable, if less productive. Taking the ear piece out and setting it gently on the glass desk, Lex left his office.

After she had finished the background and landscape on all four poster sheets, Lana stood back and admired her work. She nodded in satisfaction. Now for the fun stuff! Dipping her palm into the paint, she made an imprint on each poster with either hand. She then made a fist and pressed down. Taking a finger she put little toes around the imprint, creating a cute little foot. Liking the way it looked, she stamped a neat pattern of miniature feet from one bottom corner to the other. Now all she needed to do was put her own footprints to finish off. Putting one foot into the paint, she wet the bottom wet and squealed at how cool the liquid was. Trying not to drop paint anywhere, Lana hopped to the nearest poster to make her first impression. It was a little smudgyshe had put too much pressure.

Lana suddenly realized that one foot wasn't going to be enough if she wanted to make a trail. The message she wanted to relay was for customers of all ages to come running to the Talon. Advertising smoothies, slushies, ice cream and cold cappuccinos at the Talon was supposed to lure old customers back and bring new ones in and the one legged trail would ruin the effect she was going for. She gave a murmur of annoyance, wondering how she was supposed to do this without splattering paint everywhere. It was times like this where it would be great if her silent partner played a more active role in creative advertising schemes. But besides offering suggestions here and there and signing official bank documents, Lex didn't really get down and dirty.

"Besoin d'aide?" [Want help?] A voice called close by. Startled at the intrusion, she spun weirdly on one foot to face the stranger. The stranger could only be Lex, with arms folded on his abdomen and feet crossed at the ankle, he leaned casually against the frame of the French sliding doors. Lana's stomach muscles rippled as she puffed air out in relief. His eyes twinkled at more than just her dilemma.

Well speak of the devil, she thought wryly. "That would be great," she said, smiling. He walked towards her and stopped a few feet away, tucking his hands in his pockets. "But you might want to change."

Lex rocked back on his heels and looked down at his attire. He wouldn't last more than a few minutes in the current weather. His gaze lifted to her. The appreciative once over was meant to reach her face, but half way up he caught sight of her left leg. The surgeon had done an excellent job. The three scars didnt protrude and they werent puckered. They were smooth and faded white, not all that noticeable against her tanned skin. One scar on her upper thigh was as long as his index finger and the two others on the side disappeared under the hem of her shorts. It was difficult to believe more than a year and half ago the limb, as well as her femur, had snapped under the hooves of a spooked horse.

She shifted. He noticed and blinked, smoothing over his rude staring with a smile. "I'll be back with refreshments," he excused himself and went inside.

She stood still for a few moments. In the beginning, she had been self-conscious of showing her scars, especially on the beaches of Italy, but she soon realized that most people could care less to the what, let alone the how and why of those scars were there. Lana could handle strangers eyeing her leg but Lex? A sigh escaped her lips. Her back muscles were sore from the bending. Deciding to take a break, she hopped to a table and once reaching a chair, sprawled on it. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself in a tub filled with cold water. She might have dozed off for a few minutes because the next instant she felt a pack of ice hit her neck.

Lana cringed and muttered a thanks. Her eyes slowly opened.

Lex sat in a chair across the table in a light cotton t-shirt and light track pants. He was wearing a color she hadn't seen him wear often, if ever; deep blue looked great on Lex. His hand stretched out and placed a glass of lemonade before her, his black shades reflecting a ray of sun. The liquid slid coolly down her throat and she smiled her thanks, adjusting the pack with her shoulders. They sat in companionable silence as they finished their drinks.

Having Lex sit and enjoy the weather with her was a rare occurrence. He had plans on expanding his business and that had him traveling across the country and sometimes internationally in negotiations with foreign investors. Here she was cooking like an egg left on a sidewalk while he looked fresh, cool and she was wearing less than he was! Now that she thought it, she couldn't help but notice his scrutiny. Distracting herself, Lana stood up and hopped back to work.

He set his half empty glass down, stood up and slowly approached the posters. They are exact replicas of the Talon. "Ceux la ont l'air fantastique, " he praised. [These look fantastic.] She had learned quite a bit in art school.

"Merci beaucoup," she responded, pleased at his compliment.

"You just need to finish the footprints, then?"

"Yep," Lana rolled her shoulders. "Commençons." [Let's start.] Without waiting for a verbal affirmative, Lana took a cloth and laid it out on the patio. She stepped on it and then carefully dipped her foot into the can of paint, repainting the heel. Signaling for him to come closer, she made sure she wasn't dripping before speaking. "You'll have to carry me," she said.

Leaning down, he wrapped his arms around her waist, either hand spreading across the flesh on her sides and lifted. There was a saying that someone may look slender but they were actually heavy to lift. In Lana's case, this was not true; she was small boned and she weighed as light as she looked. Above and behind her, his eyes followed the drop of sweat that trickled down the center of her small and perfectly round breasts.

Her unpainted left foot momentarily stepped on his sandal, the metal buckle hot to the touch, before dipping foot into the can. The body heat each were emitting combined together and both of their temperatures skyrocketed. Her back pressed against his chest, she used that angle to balance herself without putting too much strain on him. "Ok, promenade," she ordered.

If it were anyone but her he would have ignored them. "Walk where?" he asked, moving his head aside to avoid getting a mouth full of hair.

"To the right." He followed her directions until he had her positioned directly where she wanted in the air and slowly placed her down on the poster. Settling her feet on the floor, she carefully moved forward, feeling Lex's warm arm slide away as she continued her trek across the poster. About half way, she looked behind her and Lana grinned broadly at her creation, clapping her blue hands in front of her.

Her jubilant nature was contagious and his business problems slowly evaporated into the heated air. They did the rest of the posters and when finished, Lana asked him if she could see it from afar. Sure, he said. With some clever maneuvering and a minute of heavy breathing, Lex managed to slide her around onto his back without having to let her go. They walked a distance to get a clear view of the giant posters.

As he moved she felt his muscles stretch and bunch and she had to control the urge to giggle at the picture they must make. After all, it wasn't every day that Lex Luthor gave her a piggyback ride. Three posters would hang in town, one beside the renovated movie theater and the other near the high school. The third would be on highway six and the last would be directly on The Talon windows.

"Looks exactly the way I wanted it to," Lana said in satisfaction, her head bopping next to his. She heard him hum in approval and he walked them back to the patio. "Want to try?" she asked as she slithered off his back onto the towel. "You can give the Luthor stamp of approval. Literally." She chuckled at her own joke.

He smiled lightly. His kindergarten years had not consisted of finger painting. "It's great the way it is."

"What, never felt paint squish between your toes before?" she teased him, swiveling her fingers in front of his face. "It's kinda neat." And she glanced down at her feet and wiggled her toes for emphasis.

He restrained a face at the sound the latter noise produced. Scrubbing blue paint off his skin later on tonight did not appeal to him. There was so much of it on her he reasoned she'd be blue for days. He didn't love the Talon that much. "I'll take your word for it," he said.

"You sure?" Lana enticed. She leaned closer to his face, fingers swaying a mere inch away to see if he would back off. He didn't.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied.

A crazy idea suddenly hit her. "Okay," she gave up with a nonchalant shrug and made to back off. But she unexpectedly grabbed his hands. He looked down at their intertwined fingers then glanced back up at her. She lifted her shoulders and made her eyes go wide. "Oops," she responded, oozing fake innocence.

Her smirk confirmed his suspicion that she wasn't the slightest bit remorseful, the way she smothered more paint into his hands emphasized this. Lex eyed her and she wondered if she went too far as Lex slowly untangled his hands from hers. He stepped back and crouched to the towel at her feet. Thinking he was going to wipe his hands on the towel, she started to apologize when she saw him dip his palms into the can of paint next to her. Lana was so surprised her mouth dropped and she forgot what she was going to say.

He leaned forward and put his hand prints at the bottom of the nearest poster paper in a v-shape, just under her upside down v-shaped prints. Standing up, carelessly dripping paint onto the patio, he turned to her and shrugged. "That's all it needed."

Lana could only grin at his laid-back attitude. Revenge, however, came to nip her in the butt when Lex trailed a finger over her cheek, leaving a blue streak of paint. Her grin froze. "Oops," was what he said.

Lana narrowed her eyes. She hadn't seen that coming. She licked her lips and smiled. "No problem. Honest mistake right?" And she waved her hand around in front of her as she talked. "I mean, you really didn't do it on purpose," and on the last word she planted a hand on his forearm, staining his skin blue. They stared at each other.

He slowly raised an eyebrow and spoke quietly, "Tu vas le regretter, Lana Lang," he informed her. [You'll regret that.]

"Oh really?" she asked, not taking his threat seriously.

"Uh hmmm," he purred and suddenly flipped his forearm so that their grips were reversedhis hand now clamped on her arm. Quickly bending, he picked up the can of paint and straightened.

Her eyes went wide, flashed to Lex, then the can and back to Lex. "You wouldn't!"

Lex chuckled and his answer was clear when he raised the can higher. Lana tried to pull away. His grip tightened but his slippery hand couldn't hold on to her and she scrambled off. The new angle allowed him to notice something he hadn't before. The white shorts were practically see-through and he clearly traced the outline of blue bikini. This both surprised and intrigued him for he never would have suspected.

Tip toeing was no longer on her mind as Lana's soles slapped onto the patio to get to the lawn. Lex stalked forward. She turned around to face him and held her hands out in supplication, shaking her head. "No, no, Lex, you don't want to do this."

He took a deep breath and looked around, evidently enjoying the weather. "It's times like these when I have a new appreciation for my baldness." Dipping his hand into the can, he pulled it out and swept his arm around in a wide arc. He watched her cringe as flicks of paint landed in her hair. He grinned, anticipating sweet victory.

Washing paint out of her hair tonight was going to be a real pain. Very slowly, she started backing away. "Lex." It was a warning, the name dragged out.

"Blue's a good color on you, Lana."

"Not on this bikini, please not on this one," she begged. It wasn't the color she was worried aboutthe blue even matched her topit was the material that had her concerned. It could stain. "I had a hard time finding the perfect size and style and-" she had now gone in a big circle and the patio was once more at her back.

"I can import one to your specifications," he assured her.

She didn't know if he was joking or not, he certainly could afford to do that but she was becoming desperate. Lana was coming very close to saying she'd do anything as long as he didn't pour paint over her, but knowing Lex he would probably come up with something completely eccentric like clean his entry hall with a tooth brush. "I'm-I'm allergic to paint!" Right, good one Lang, because you haven't spent the last two hours playing with it.

"Uh huh," he replied unconvincingly.

"Don't you dare ruin these posters," she threatened, shaking her finger at him.

"It's you" he pointed a blue finger at her, "I want to paint."

An exasperated sigh left her lips and she raised her arms up in defeat. "Fine! I give up!"

He grinned victoriously then watched Lana high tail it out of there. Lex laughed and gave chase. Glancing over her shoulder she checked to see if he would come after her and was surprised to see he was only a few feet away. She ran harder. When she made it past the expansive lawn, Lana knew her destination was less than a hundred meters away. She dashed to it with speeds a marathon runner would be impressed by. Gracefulness dammed, she didn't stop running as she jumped off the dock, her arms and legs pumping in mid air. She took a deep breath before landing with a splash in the lake. The unusually cold water almost made her shoot up to the surface, but she forced herself to swim. Her limbs wouldn't warm up if she remained stagnant.

Barely coming to a stop in time, he swayed on the edge of the dock and watched her frog swim underwater to place distance between them. Lex grinned and yelled, "You have to come up sometime, Lana!

Fifteen seconds later she popped up ten feet from the dock and he flicked paint on her once more. Pulling off her wet visor, she hurled it at him. It whizzed by his head before it landed a few meters back and she splashed him with water, getting him almost as wet as she was.

While he was distracted, she quickly dunked and scrubbed the blue paint off. The next time she came up she took a deep breath, she waved goodbye to Lex and dropped below, easily descending. Swimming towards bottom, she looked up to see a shadow loom far above. When she re-surfaced, she knew for the sake of winning this paint war, Lex wouldn't hesitate to pour the entire can of blue paint over her head. So she was determined to stay under for as long as she could. Grabbing fists full of seaweed to remain at the sandy bed and she endured the freezing water and prepared to wait him out. Maybe she would even give him a good scare.

He set the can on the wooden planks and plopped down, patiently expecting Lana to resurface. Half a minute later he slid off his sandals and stretched his arms, which were slightly sore from lifting and carrying Lana around. She might have looked light, she might have been light, but after fifteen minutes of hauling her to and fro, she got heavy. More time passed and he picked up the can of paint again and stood, knowing Lana would be coming up soon.

Her lungs were about to burst and she couldn't hold out any longer. Preparing to shoot up to the surface, she rose a foot and was suddenly yanked back down. Glancing at her calves, she couldn't make out the seaweed that had tangled up around them and she tried again to rise. Fifteen seconds later without much success and she began to panic, as flashes of being submerged in two previous drowning came up haunt her. The last of her air bubbled out through her nose and she tried swimming up and kicking as hard as she could. The seaweed only seemed to tighten its hold around her and sand rose from the disturbance, obscuring vision.

How long could the average person hold their breath? Lex wondered. He had only managed up to a minute and fifty seconds while training in water polo in college and that was after hours of practice.

"Lana!" he called out across the water. "Allez monte maintenant," he commanded, slightly irritated, no longer finding this amusing. [Come up now.] There was still no sign of her and his fear immediately became turned to concern. He whipped off his sunglasses and squinted at the spot Lana had disappeared under. Leaning forward with his hands on his knees, he stared down at the dark watery depths and continued his vigilance.

It was happening so quickly she could only react. Pressure in her chest built up at an alarming rate and in her fright she opened her mouth. Lake water gushed down her throat. The sensation felt completely wrong and she tried spitting it back out but couldn't and started to choke instead. The cold now felt like liquid fire. Lex no help me, were her last thoughts. A numbness and darkness enveloped her, releasing Lana of any pain.

If this was her idea of a joke, it wasn't funny. A glance at his watch marked two minutes and he went from worried to scared. That was when he saw it. In the darkness of the water a white blur began to appear. It swayed a little and was too big to be a rock.

Lex straightened. He dropped the can in shock and didnt notice it roll over the edge and plop into the water. He swore fiercely, took two steps and instantly dived into the lake. It was freezing and it took him a few moments to regain his senses. The second he did, he opened his eyes and looked around for the white he saw before.

There, about four feet to his left. Swimming down, an eerie white face started to materialize as the sand in the water began to settle. The blob began to take shape into slim limbs. Black hair drifted around her head and light from above shone straight through the water and onto her skin, illuminating her body. Emerald eyes were glazed and staring up unseeing, and seaweed was wrapped around her legs. Lana looked like a waxed doll. Fear shot straight through him. Quickly swimming forward, he had to pull and disentangle the slimy strings for a good twenty seconds before he could get her free.

Lex put his arms under her armpits and swam up hard. Lana bumped into him with every movement and his wet clothes weighed him down slightly and billowed out. Air was becoming an issue but he held his own and at last broke the surface gasping. He lifted Lanas head above water and paddled backwards toward the dock. She was motionless, a dead weight in his embrace and it was a struggle to stay afloat. Lifting her onto the dock took some effort and by the time he managed to do so and climbed onto it himself, he was breathing hard from the exertion.

Crawling to her side, he shifted so he was on his knees and moved wet strands away from her face. Raising her chin, he opened her slack jaw, stuck two fingers down her throat and moved her tongue aside, clearing her wind pipe. Taking a deep breath, he leaned down and opened his mouth so that his lips encompassed her cold, purple ones. His life breath blew inside her and puffed out her cheeks, but her chest did not rise. That meant her lungs were completely filled with water. He sat up and put his hands one on top of the other over her diaphragm and performed CPR. Ten pushes and three breaths. Once, twice, three times.

Come on, Lana. Only a trickle of water came out of her mouth. Fourfive times. No water came out. Breathe, dammit! Six, seven, eight

He stopped and dropped his head to her chest. His ear could not pick up a sound. He remained where he was and lifted a finger to her nose. No air could be felt coming through. His fingers trailed down to her neck and felt for a pulse. One could not be found.

No, he moaned in disbelief. This isn't possible! Lex picked her up and held her close, his lips pressing against the area in her neck where a pulse should have been. He shuddered. She was so cold, her skin wet and clammy.

"Lana" he whispered desperately.

Lex didnt hear it right away above the pounding of his own heartbeat, but a faint pulse traveled up his lips. Ignoring the despair rising in him, he listened and closed his eyes in concentrate. Rejecting reality, he honestly thought he heard the slow rush of blood run through her blue veins and in amazement, he dropped her, the sound of bones hit wood. Lana wasnt breathing, she didn't have a heart beat but to Lex, she was still alive, if barely. Determination and hope kicked in as he picked her up. Her weight was heavier than before, but he paid no mind. I will not let you die, he thought fiercely and he ran to the mansion like a pack of war hounds were after him.

My blue skin is soaked to the pore.
This color seeps into me, makes a bruise and leaves me warm.
In a dark pool you will never know,
I drown to the vision of blue,
The blue of my love for you.
(poem by Lissette)

- May 3rd, 2004