A/N: One more alternate ending. AU where Lionel isn't in prison during this time. Fair warning, this one's whump, not H/C.
Lex woke to the sound of loud rapping on his bedroom door. He didn't remember coming up to bed, but the headache and throbbing in his fingers was enough of a clue, and the day before came crashing down on him: Lana, the piano, the spell, the pain. His tears.
"Come in," Lex said, pushing himself up to a sitting position. Probably one of his servants coming to give him a message—he'd missed work for a day.
The door swung open, and his father stood in the doorway, a slight smirk on his face.
Lex's head fell back. He did not have the energy to deal with this right now. "Who called you?"
"I called the mansion. You missed a meeting."
"And you came all this way to check on me out of the kindness of your heart?"
"We are family."
"Yeah." Lex shifted his weight, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "I'm fine. You can get back to your busy schedule." He braced his hands against the bed to push himself up, but his fingertips brushed against the bed, and he winced.
"I can't say I'm not curious. According to your head of security, the surveillance footage is . . . most fascinating."
"Dad—"
"I never knew you had such a—a propensity for music. You surprise me." His dad's eyes gleamed.
Lex rolled his eyes and went over to the bathroom. He took out a first aid kit, carrying it in his palms as much as possible to avoid putting pressure on his bloodied fingertips, and set it down on the counter by the sink. Getting it open without using his fingers was another trick, but he managed it with his knuckles. He didn't need the full kit, but unfortunately, it was the only place he had band-aids. Normally, he would have called in a servant to help, but his father didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. He managed to get the kit open and take out a box of band-aids, but opening the first little paper packet proved to be just about impossible.
His father came over to stand in the doorway. "Need some help with that?"
"I'm fine." Lex continued to fumble with the packet, finally throwing it down onto the counter. He took his phone out of his pocket and struggled to hit the buttons—he would call in a servant to help, whether his father was watching or not.
"Oh, don't bother summoning your staff. I gave them the rest of the week off."
Lex dropped his phone. "You did what?"
"I told them I'd look after you."
Lex groaned and picked up the band aid packet again. "I don't need your help."
"Do you not? Shouldn't you be disinfecting first?"
Lex didn't even want to think about how much that would sting. "Why do you care?"
"I just figured you'd want to avoid an infection."
"Yeah well. Luthor genes, superior immunity, all that." He finally managed to get the bandaid open, but he immediately dropped it into the sink. "Damn it!"
His father came to stand beside him at the sink and picked up a small bottle of alcohol from the first aid kit. "Come, now. I know you're not afraid."
Lex sighed and held his palm out as his father unscrewed the bottle. It felt vulnerable—it brought him back to a time when he was eleven years old and had mouthed off to a teacher at Excelsior. She'd kept him after class and made him hold his palm out, much like this, only to be slapped by a ruler a half a dozen times.
The burn of the ruler had been overwhelming at the time, but it was nothing to the fire he felt when his father poured the alcohol over his fingers. Lex gritted his teeth to keep from making a sound or pulling his hand back. He silently switched to the other hand, but didn't quite succeed in keeping his gasps back when his hand cramped up in response.
His father picked up a wash cloth and roughly scrubbed away the remaining moisture from the alcohol, then began bandaging each finger far too tightly. "So," he said as he worked, "Lana Lang."
"What about her?"
"She was the last person who was with you before. Well." His father nodded to Lex's fingers.
Lex stiffened his jaw. "It's not her fault."
"No, I imagine not. I suppose she's just one of many victims to the, ah, strangeness that seems to permeate every inch of this town you insist on inhabiting."
Lex shook his head. "You're the one who sent me here."
"To train you. For six months." His father bound one of his fingers particularly tightly. "But you wouldn't leave. Now, about Lana."
"Leave her alone." Those words came out a bit louder than he had intended.
His father's eyebrows raised. "Now, what could be your interest in her? Yes, you run the Talon with her—a questionable investment at best. I'd be careful if I were you, Lex. Spending time around an underaged girl could raise some eyebrows, especially in a small town like—"
"She's not underaged." Those words came out faster than he'd intended.
His father let go of his hand altogether. "Y-you—" He laughed and made a show of covering his mouth a little. "You like her."
Lex's cheeks felt warm. "She's my business partner. Nothing more."
"Oh, I'm sure of that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Last time I checked, Lana had a boyfriend."
"I don't trust him." Lex was sure Jason was bad news, even if Lana couldn't see it.
"She's an honest girl. Good friends. Running a somewhat successful business in a competitive market, so she's not an idiot. If she knows you, she knows what's really in your heart."
"Shut up."
"How long are you going to keep lying to yourself, Lex?"
"Get out."
"Son—"
"Out!"
His father was silent for a long while, but he finally nodded. "Very well," he said. "I expect to see you back at work tomorrow."
Just the thought of returning to work on his laptop hurt his fingers, but Lex only stared at the old man until he left Lex alone in his bedroom, the searing pain in his hands now negligible to what he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He had already lost a day of work. One more wasn't going to kill him. He put away the first aid kid (had to, since his staff had the week off), lay down in bed over the covers, and closed his eyes.