Lex felt like an interloper as he stood silently in the dark and watched Bruce through the glass. So that's how it is, he thought, his head nodding almost imperceptibly as he watched the man in the other room fall to pieces. He started to turn away, but memories held him in place.
He remembered waking up to find Clark leaning over him, dripping wet and haloed by the sun at his back; expression a mixture of fear, relief, and eventually confusion. He remembered a multitude of shy and teasing looks shared between friends, he remembered the laughter of Saturday afternoons over games of pool or impromptu history lessons.
Lex let his thoughts drift to the days when the secrets and lies began to taint the innocence of friendship. He could still feel the sharp ache in his chest at knowing that his best friend, his first true friend in more years than he cared to consider, was lying to him. It had cut him almost as deeply as the look on Clark's face had when he had seen the room.
Witnessing the man in the other room shatter made him think about what it felt like when he had lost Clark to Lana. The bitterness that curled in his stomach and sat there like a rock until the day he had Lana in his grasp. But Clark's pain hadn't been enough to rid him of that feeling. No, it had only made the sensation of sinking into the depths of the dark places in his mind even stronger.
When Lex hit rock bottom, Lana had pulled him back from the darkness. For the sake of his wife, Lex cleaned up his business and set aside his anger, and he and Clark had formed an almost-friendship again. Until Superman had appeared on the scene.
Lex had known instantly who he was. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Only someone who had witnessed enough of Clark's unexplainable feats in Smallville. Clark had started to pull away from him, and eventually they spoke only once in a while and saw each other even less. He understood why, now. Clark had found someone. Between his life as a reporter and his duties as Superman, Clark had managed to find someone to love, and in doing so had erased any chance that he might let Lex love him one day.
"Are you coming home soon, Lex?" Lana asked softly, watching him from the doorway. She did not enter the room, and for that he was glad.
He looked at her and smiled. He did love her very much, and he tried to be a better man for her; he was content with her. Lana had given him the life he suspected he was always supposed to want.
Moving forward, he pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "Let's go."
o o o o o
Sometime before dawn, Bruce woke with a start. He wasn't sure what had woken him until he felt the hand grasped in his own twitch. Clark's eyes were still closed, but even in the dim light of the room Bruce could see his eyes moving rapidly beneath his lids. Another twitch of the fingers resting against his own, and suddenly Clark's eyes flew open.
Bruce immediately tightened his grip on Clark and reached up with his free hand to brush sweat-soaked hair off of Clark's forehead. Dazed eyes flicked in his direction and Bruce smiled.
"Hey," he said, his voice sounding impossibly loud in the stillness of the room. "You're at Cadmus. I'll call someone; see if that can be taken out yet, okay?" He gestured at the respirator, and Clark squeezed his hand in response. Bruce leaned forward and pressed his lips against the other man's forehead before standing and moving over to the phone by the door.
As dawn crept over Metropolis, Clark was breathing on his own, the temperature had been turned down just a few degrees, his room had cleared of any medical staff, and Martha and Chloe were sitting by his side. On the other side of the glass Bruce, Lex, Lana, Lois, Oliver, and Jimmy had gathered.
Oliver and Bruce were deep in hushed conversation when Lois broke in. "So, Wayne, are you the new rich best friend or the fellow super hero? Off the record, of course. We're all dying to know."
"Lois, I don't think that's-"
Bruce raised a hand. "It's fine, Oliver. Ms. Lane can ask what she likes. It doesn't mean she'll be getting an answer, however. My relationship with Clark is none of her business."
"And by relationship, you mean?" she prompted.
"I mean precisely what I said. Clark and I have known each other for a few years now. Beyond that, it's of no concern to you."
Oliver did his best not to laugh at Lois's miffed expression as his phone rang. Lois was gearing up to take a strip off the other when he interrupted. "Bruce? We have to go."
Lois actually looked indignant now. "Where?"
Oliver kissed her quickly on the cheek and shrugged apologetically as he followed Bruce out of the room.
"Since when are they all buddy-buddy?" Lois asked the room at large.
o o o o o
"A.C. and Bart have Harley's location pinned down by the docks. Edge has been spotted in the area once already, so we're moving in. If we capture her, we can force Joker out into the open and use him to find Edge."
"He'll retaliate publicly before he gives up his location. Both of them."
"We're ready for that."
"Are you prepared for the fact that Edge might just cut and run?"
"We'll find him."
"You seem confident," Bruce said as they pulled up outside Oliver's building.
Oliver grinned in response. "We protect our own, Bruce, you know that. Come on, sooner we get our gear, the sooner we can get on with it."
Victor Stone was pacing the length of the clock face in Oliver's apartment when the two men arrived. "Finally," he said, looking up. "Let's go."
o o o o o
The gunfire came as a surprise.
Bart's initial sweep of the dockside warehouse had revealed it to be empty with the exception of Harley and a couple of Edge's men. The shots fired in their direction had started within minutes of Oliver, Victor, and Bruce arriving.
"I thought you said the place was clear!" Oliver's voice was deeper, almost distorted while in costume. They were crouched behind a dilapidated building. Half the walls had come down, and the destruction provided them with a suitable cover of brick and mortar.
"It was! Whoever's shooting at us wasn't there ten minutes ago." Bart grimaced as a bullet took a chunk out of what remained of the brick wall about five feet above their heads.
"Aquaman, you had the best vantage point; did you see anyone come in from the water before you moved?"
"No one."
"They probably got in through an underground passage; the sewer system, maybe." Bruce's voice deepened to a near-growl when he was in Batman mode. It was something Clark teased him about when in the presence of the Justice League and begged him to use when they were in bed together.
Oliver didn't flinch as a bullet ricocheted off the building just two feet from his shoulder, but he did throw a weary glance at the bullet's origin. "They obviously know we're here, so what do you say we move this party underground?"
"Sure do miss that x-ray vision," Bart muttered.
"Impulse, can you find the entrance they used?"
"Sure can, Bats." Even through the mask, Bruce's glare was hard to miss. "Alright, alright, I won't call you Bats anymore." Bart rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath as he took off. "Supes got to lose the Boy Scout tag, but I'm still stuck with Impulse. Don't know why Bats gets so upset when I call him that – it's not like I complain about my name!"
"Try turning your communicator off when you do that, Impulse." Oliver's voice came through the device, amused.
"Yeah, yeah. Hey guys? I think I found something. Hang on." Bart zipped into the tunnel he'd discovered, pushing aside the conveniently placed debris partially hiding the entrance. He was back out a second later. "This is definitely it. Head two blocks south, take the alley next to the old distillery on the corner of High and Burton to the end, then make a left behind the building and keep going until it looks like you hit a dead end."
Bart was pacing in front of a now-cleared tunnel entrance when the others arrived a few minutes later. "What took you so long?" he grinned.
"How'd you find this?" Victor looked impressed.
"No challenge is too great for Impulse, amigo." Victor cocked an eyebrow at him. "Ok, it was luck. The alley was just a little too clean for this part of town, so I headed down and wound up finding this."
"Not luck; skill." Bruce interjected. "You noticed the alley's physical condition. What's inside?"
"Two guards at the end of the tunnel, blocking the entrance. I could see others inside. I couldn't get past the guards without them noticing."
"Right," Oliver was all-business now. "Let's move. Silent running from here on out, boys. We're walking into an ambush, and I doubt Edge and the Joker are very far away. Harley Quinn is coming with us, and Joker isn't going to like it."
"She's bait," Bruce agreed. "If we can turn the tables, we can take Edge and the Joker down. For good." He let the implication hang in the air as he headed into the tunnel.
o o o o o
Taking out the two guards blocking the entrance was easy enough. A simple tranquilizer dart had them tumbling soundlessly to the ground as Bart rushed forward to help break the sound of their fall.
Facing the dozen men waiting in the warehouse proper was another story altogether. Even with Bart there to disarm half of them before the first could get off a shot, and Oliver's bow and arrow taking down two more, the remaining four men had opened fire with a fierce determination to hit anything they could. By the time the last man had been disarmed and incapacitated, sirens could be heard approaching in the distance, Victor was cursing quietly as thick oil leaked from a hole in his shoulder, and A.C. was bleeding from a graze on his left bicep.
The sound of slow, dull clapping above their heads drew their attention. From their scattered points across the warehouse, the men turned and looked up. Morgan Edge stood on a second storey platform, looking down at the battered group of super heroes below him. "I'm impressed. I was certain that with the loss of Superman, you would have fallen in defeat. It appears I underestimated the Justice League; a mistake I won't make a second time."
"There won't be a second time, Edge," Bruce growled, starting forward.
"Ah, ah, ah," Edge warned. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Batman. Not unless you want to wind up as dead as your comrade. It's a shame, really. The media is right when they spout that sentimental garbage about how the world needs Superman and others like him. It would almost have been worth letting him live to see him flounder in the aftermath of revealing his alternate identity."
Bruce grinned darkly. "He's not dead, Edge. You failed. Give up now and I might let you live."
If the news of Superman's survival rocked him, Edge only let it show by a silent, nervous shift of his weight. "Don't be ridiculous, Batman. We both know you can't let me live. Not when I know Kal's secret. You should be aware that in the event of my injury or death, that information will be released to the public."
Edge twitched when Bruce laughed. "You think that's going to stop me from taking you down? You should talk to your pal, the Joker. Ask him how well I take to threats. Where is your friend, by the way? The sirens are getting closer now. It wouldn't take much to make sure you're ready for them, all tied up with a bow and everything."
Pulling his expression into a mask of indifference, Edge shrugged. "Until we meet again, gentlemen." And then he was gone. Bart raced after him only to return a moment later shaking his head.
"He's gone. Into thin air. But," he grinned. "Harley and her two bodyguards are still in the building."
"Let's go." Bruce was off and running after Bart.
Harley was making her way back to the tunnel when Bruce took out the guard trailing furthest behind her. The noise drew the attention of the second man, and it wasn't long before he was crumpled on the ground next to his associate.
"Harley." Bruce advanced on her, reaching out to grab an arm when she tried to turn and run. "There's no point to that. You're coming with us."
"Joker won't like this, Batman. He'll come for me."
"I'm counting on it."
o o o o o
It was dark and quiet when Clark woke next. There was no clock in the room, and the building was quiet around him. He vaguely remembered waking before to find Bruce asleep beside him. It had been dark and quiet then, but a different kind of dark. Pre-dawn, his body had told him; it was late now.
He sighed quietly and winced at the small twinge of pain in his chest. The slight shift of fabric across the room let him know he wasn't alone. "Who's there?"
"It's Lex. How do you feel?"
Clark paused a moment, evaluating his body. He felt slow and sluggish; still weighted down by sleep. But the pain he'd felt before had retreated to a faint reminder only when he shifted the wrong way or breathed too deeply.
"Clark? You with me still?" Lex approached the bed, shoes tapping against the tiled floor.
"Yeah, sorry. I feel alright, actually. A bit sore, but..."
"But not like you took a chest full of kryptonite a few days ago?""Right. How many days is a few?"
"It's coming up on midnight, so almost four days to the hour."
"And Edge? The Joker?"
"Still out there; your friends are working on it. They captured Harley Quinn this morning. The last update I received said she hadn't give up any information yet. That was an hour ago." Lex shifted to sit in the chair beside Clark.
"Joker will retaliate."
"I know. I've been assured the Justice League is prepared for that eventuality."
A small laugh followed by a grunt escaped Clark. "You sound convinced," he said at the same time Lex warned him to take it easy. It took Clark a moment to realize that Lex's hand now grasped his own.
"Without you among their ranks, my faith in the Justice League is greatly diminished." His voice was hushed, and his fingers stroked against the back of Clark's hand once before he let go and settled back into his seat.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Lex." He didn't know what else to say. Lex's words, his gesture, had been impossibly soft. Clark hadn't witnessed anything other than polite friendship from him since the day Lana had brought the two of them together again.
Lex debated about saying anything at all for a minute. The silence between them was comfortable for the first time in a long time. In the end, he cut right to the point. "How long have you and Bruce been together?"
Clark's eyes drifted up to look directly at Lex, startled. He opened his mouth to answer.
"Don't," Lex interjected.
"Don't what?"
"Lie to me. This isn't something you need to hide from me, Clark. It's not worth adding another lie to an already impressive litany of them."
He was silent a moment. "Almost two years."
"No one else knows, do they?"
"It's safer that way."
"You can't hide forever, Clark. If you love each other," he paused to draw in a deep breath. "If you love each other, you can't hide in the shadows for the rest of your lives. Is this forever, Clark?" He almost didn't want to know the answer.
"It is. For me, at least." Clark didn't meet the eyes he knew was fixed intently on him. He let his mind drift, and a smile tugged at his lips as he remembered the first time he and Bruce had spent a night together. Bruce had looked confused when he'd woken up in a tangle of limbs the next morning. But then he'd smiled, and Clark had known Bruce understood something had changed for the better in his life.
o o o o o
Bruce stood just outside of Clark's room, alone in the dimly-lit hallway. The sound of Lex's voice had stopped him from entering, and the conversation itself had frozen him in place. Forever.
The word turned around in his mind, filled him with a desperate desire to stride inside and pull Clark to him, to tell him that it was forever for him, too. The thought didn't scare him. He knew that two years ago it would have sent him looking for the next pretty man or woman to occupy his time until once again things got too serious and he moved on once more.
Footsteps at the end of the hall drew his attention and he turned to see Lana approaching. He moved a few feet from the door to meet her with a finger pressed to his lips. He placed a hand on her shoulder and drew her a little further away.
"It's late," he said in a hushed tone.
"I know. Lex is still here, I came to take him home."
"He's talking to Clark. I think we should give them a minute."
Lana looked mildly shocked. "Talking of their own free will? I'm impressed. I think you've been a good influence on him, Bruce."
He chuckled, low and brief. "More like the other way around." He understood that this was something new as well; before he would have been brisk and aloof with this woman. Not anymore.
"You're good for each other," she amended. Almost as an afterthought, she went on. "Lex feels guilty."
"Why?"
"He hasn't come right out and said it – and he won't, either – but I think he feels it's his fault for failing to realize Morgan Edge had gotten away. He's changed his face before. If he isn't caught soon, what's stopping him from doing it again? He knows who Clark is. He's tried to kill Lex before. Edge is too dangerous to be left to run loose."
Bruce watched her closely. There were unshed tears shining in her eyes. "He'll be caught. As will Joker. I promise you that."
"Keep them safe."
"I will." He took her arm and led her back to Clark's room. Bruce stopped with his hand on the door as Lex's voice reached them.
o o o o o
"I love Lana. I've done everything I can to be a better man for her. But a part of me won't let you go. A part of me still loves you, Clark."
"Lex, we were never—"
"I know. I loved you though. For a long time. When I lost you to Lana..."
"Are you sure you want to go down this road?"
"Lana is everything I've ever thought I was supposed to want in my life, Clark. But she isn't you. I don't know. Maybe I can't get you out of my head because I never had you. I want what I can't have. I took her from you because I couldn't have you. We were too far down the path of hate for me to ever consider it an option anymore. And then we were friends again."
"Lex."
"Please don't interrupt. I don't know if I'll be able to start again. Our friendship is a shadow. It's an imitation of what it was when we were younger. The part of me that wants you, loves you, screams in frustration every time we're in a room together."
Clark had barely registered Lex's lips against his own before they were already withdrawing.
"Tell me, Clark. Honestly. Is there a chance, no matter how remote? Just give me the truth. Just this once."
"I love Bruce. I'm sorry, Lex. I stopped loving you that way a long time ago."
"Okay. This is the last time I'll say anything. I... I promise."
Clark understood the magnitude of a promise from Lex. "It would have only hurt us more. Back then. We weren't ready for it. And now, now it's just not meant to be. We are where we're supposed to be.
"You love Lana. I know how it feels to love her and let her go, Lex. To still love her while having to watch her be happy with someone else; with you. I pushed her away because I couldn't tell her the truth about myself, not because I didn't love her anymore. Watching her marry you was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do because the one thing I wanted most in the world was to pull her away, hold her, to have her for myself. Don't do that to yourself, to her.
"Things change. It took a long time, but I moved past that. Bruce came into my life, and I realized that he was what I'd been waiting for. He's my future, Lex. Lana is yours."
"I feel like something is missing. Something is always missing. Something outside of my relationship with Lana. I'm always reaching for it, and I can't seem to ever grasp it and hold on."
"I'm not that something, Lex."
Silence for a moment, then an almost silent whisper. "I know." He cleared his throat. "What next, Clark?"
"Next? You go home with your wife, and tomorrow we find a way to take down the bad guys. Lana's waiting for you in the hall."
Lex stiffened slightly, and then his shoulders dropped. "It's nice to not be considered one of the bad guys this time."
Clark smiled and reached to brush his finger tips across the back of the hand Lex rested on the bed. "It's nice to be on the same side again. Go home and sleep. You look exhausted. Send Bruce in on your way out, would you?"
A nod followed by a quiet good night, and Lex was gone.
o o o o o
"You alright?" Bruce whispered to her.
She smiled. "It's nothing I didn't already know by now. I'm glad he's finally stopped carrying the secret on his own. I figured out why Clark left a long time ago. Lex doesn't think so, but if you know how to read him, he wears his emotions on the outside."
Bruce nodded silently.
Lex exited the room a moment later and smiled tiredly at them. He slid his hands up to the back of Lana's neck and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes, and sighing gently.
"Ready to go home?" she asked.
"Yes." He pulled back and turned. "Bruce? He asked for you."
Bruce nodded and entered Clark's room, shutting the door behind him.
