Twist Upside-down

by

Kelsey

Disclaimer: SV and Superman belong to so many people I'm not going to list them all here, okay? Just be assured they don't belong to me.

Author's Note: Sap alert! And longer chapter, too! Plus, I know nothing about law, really, so please don't complain about it being unrealistic.

Author's Note 2: As you probably have noticed by now, I've decided that this definitely goes AU after 'Insurgence.' So, no parallel to canon after that.

Summary: When a deadly illness befalls Lex, Clark will stand at his side. But what will the effect be upon their relationship with each other and the rest of their loved ones? Clex.

Rating: Will change as we go. This chapter: PG

Chapter Six - Reality

"Lex!" Lionel Luthor entered the room with every bit as much presence as Clark remembered before the man was blind, though at a slower pace. "I've heard some unfortunate rumors."

Lex smiled humorlessly, aware that his father couldn't see him. "Oh?"

"Yes. I heard you were sick." The way Lionel pronounced the last word was like it was a curse or an abomination. "Luthors don't get sick, Lex."

Lex shrugged. "Apparently this one does. Maybe it has something to do with you driving Mom to drink when she was pregnant with me."

Lionel raised an eyebrow over his dark sunglasses. "Or maybe it has to do with that unfortunate incident in which you lost your hair."

"Possibly. It could just be I got bad genes from you." Lex didn't bother disguising his distaste for his father.

"Well, however it happened, I want you up and out of here and I want you to work through this without a hospital."

Clark glared, almost ready to interrupt, but since Lionel didn't know he was there yet and Lex was sending him little 'keep quiet' looks, he held his tongue.

"I could do that." Clark glanced over at Lex in shock. "But then you wouldn't have an heir pretty quickly, Dad."

Lionel's brow furrowed slightly, but he showed no other sign of emotion. "It's that serious?" He asked without inflection.

Lex was getting pissed, and Clark could tell. He put a calming hand on Lex's forearm silently, hoping it would bring down the younger Luthor's rage. Lex didn't dare shrug him off because it would have alerted his father to Clark's presence, but he glared at the teenager. "I've got cancer, as I'm sure you found out by now, Dad. Did you think it was really something that could be dealt with at home?"

Lionel shrugged. "When you have money-"

"You have options," Lex finished. "Yes, I know. And I will consider going home after the first round of treatment."

"Lex!" Clark couldn't keep quiet anymore.

Lionel swiveled his head swiftly, the eyebrow going up once more. "Mr. Kent? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"I heard Lex was in the hospital and I came to visit," Clark lied smoothly, something that Lex had always wondered about. Sometimes, Clark could lie with the best of them, fooling even experienced liars like Lex, and sometimes he blushed and stammered and looked down and even a blind man could figure out that he wasn't telling the truth.

"Ah. And why then, were you protesting Lex's plan to return home after his first round of treatments are complete?"

"I said maybe," Lex interrupted, not very happy with either of his visitors at that moment.

Lionel ignored him. "Well, Mr. Kent?"

"Leukemia is serious! He needs to stay where someone can keep an eye on him all the time, and monitor his treatment. It's important, so that he'll get better!"

"And just why is it that you care so much?" Lionel sounded genuinely curious.

Clark was livid, and Lex could see his father back up as Clark advanced on him, even without sight to figure it out. The cloud of anger around his lover was palpable, Lionel didn't need to see to feel it. "I'm his friend. And I don't want to see him die. If you had a heart, you'd care, too."

Lionel, as typical of him, smiled. "Oh. So I don't care if Lex gets better?"

"Not as much as you care about your company and your image!"

Lex had known this from the time that his mother died, when her comforting presence had no longer been able to shield him from the raw truth of how his father felt about him. Still, every time Lionel didn't deny it, it hurt just as badly as the first, and a little something died inside of him.

"Clark," he interrupted. "It's okay."

Clark turned his head to look at Lex, but didn't move. "No, it's not!"

"No," he conceded, "It really isn't. But yelling at Lionel isn't going to help." He thought he saw the tiniest flinch from his father at being referred to by his first name instead of 'Dad', but he figured he'd imagined it. Lionel really didn't have a heart, and he didn't care how Lex felt about him, that had been made clear dozens of times since his mother's death.

Turning to his father, who had a little smirk on his face at Clark being reprimanded, he continued. "Leave."

"Are you speaking to me?" Lionel asked archly.

"Well, Clark is certainly welcome here, and there's no one else in the room, so yes. You."

Lionel considered this for a moment, trying to gauge how serious his son was, and then nodded. "Very well. Don't let this get out of hand, Lex."

Lex didn't answer, just watched as his father left. Then he turned to glare at Clark. "Why did you do that?"

"I couldn't watch him say things like that to you anymore, Lex! I can't believe you could!"

Lex sighed, thought about staying angry, and then decided it wasn't worth it and beckoned Clark closer. "I'm used to it. And it didn't help, you know."

Clark looked a little sheepish. "I know. I'm sorry."

Lex reached out and petted Clark's hair gently before resting his hand on his lover's cheek. "It's okay." Suddenly seeming to get an idea, he took his hand from Clark's head and started digging for his cell phone.

"Lex?"

"There's someone I need to call, right away."

Clark didn't question, just reached behind him on the bed and pulled out the phone.

"Thanks."

Lex punched numbers into the phone and Clark sat back in his plastic chair, curious but not about to ask. The run-in with Lionel had been unpleasant enough, he didn't want to pry into Lex's personal business. But that didn't mean he was going to offer to leave. If Lex wanted him to, he'd tell him.

As it turned out, the call was short and Clark couldn't decipher anything from Lex's side of the conversation. He merely asked someone to meet him at the hospital immediately and bring some papers of some kind.

When he hung up the phone, Clark's curiosity could wait no longer. "What was that about?" He asked.

Lex smiled. "You'll see."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have someone coming to see you right now? It's getting late and you need to rest."

"This is important."

"So important it couldn't wait ten hours for tomorrow morning?"

"Yes." Lex was determined and also clearly planning not to give another inch, so Clark dropped it. Lex, when sure of what he wanted, was a force to be reckoned with, and Clark didn't want to stress out his ill lover additionally, either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About forty-five minutes later, an almost-bald man carrying a briefcase rapped quickly on the door and entered. Lex smiled, and greeted him pleasantly. "Mason. Good to see you."

Mason looked serious. "Are you sure this is a good time to be doing this, Mr. Luthor?"

"What better time? I mean, now is when it might actually get used, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Lex shook his head and rolled his eyes again. "Lex. Not Mr. Luthor, or sir. Just Lex."

"Thank you."

Reaching over, Lex put his hand and the attention of Mason on Clark. "This is Clark Kent. I want him to be my trustee."

Mason's eyes appraised him quickly. "Is Mr. Kent old enough?" He asked, and Clark just knew he was sitting there with an incredibly confused expression plastered on his face. He had absolutely no idea what this was about, though, so he figured he was allowed.

"He's sixteen. Can you work with that?"

Mason shook his head. "I can try. You'll need a back-up, though, if your father decides to challenge it and wins."

"Certainly."

"Alright, then. I guess you know the drill."

Lex took the paper and looked it over. He'd done this once before, but the trustee he'd assigned was his father, since at the time, there had been no one else who would have taken the position. "It looks good, Mason. I need witnesses, right?"

The man nodded. Lex reached over and rung the bell by the side of his bed, then waited for a moment. In the door, two nurses appeared, and Lex smiled, turning on the charm full-blast. "Hello, ladies. I'm changing my living will, and I need two witnesses. Could I possibly convince you to help out?"

The nurses looked at each other for a moment, and then turned back to Lex and nodded. "Great," he told them. "Just watch and listen for a minute, and then sign something that says you heard Mr. Kendellman here explain it all to me, alright?" Again, they nodded, and then leaned back against the wall, watching and waiting.

Mason, who apparently was also Mr. Kendallman, took the paper from Lex and wrote his name on the top. "And the name of your first choice trustee, last name first and spelled out?" He asked.

"Kent, Clark. K-E-N-T, C-L-A-R-K."

Mr. Kendallman wrote it out, and nodded to Lex, then showed him the paper. "Is this correct?"

Lex nodded, and they lawyer continued. "Please name your second choice trustee in the same manner."

"Kent, Martha. K-E-N-T, M-A-R-T-H-A."

Clark raised his eyebrow in surprise. His mother? Then he remembered exactly how people treated Lex in Smallville, and all of a sudden, he wasn't so surprised. He and his mother had really been the only two people to treat Lex like a real person since he'd moved in, even if she'd been a little more reluctant than he.

"Okay, Mr. Luthor. Please sign here."

Lex took the pen and quickly signed the paper. Then he handed the clipboard and pen to the nurses, who, one at a time, glanced down the piece of paper and signed below Lex's name.

"Thank you, all," Lex told Mr. Kendallman and the nurses, graciously dismissing them. "I appreciate your help."

Once they'd left the room, Clark turned to his lover, confusion shining in his eyes. "What was that about, Lex?" He asked, not upset but wanting to know what was going on.

"That, was about not letting my father ruin my life if this comes down to it."

"Lex, I don't speak cryptic. Can you explain in English?"

Lex sighed. "It's a living will. Should I ever be judged incompetent to make decisions, medical or otherwise, for myself, the power to do so usually goes to the closest family. But, because I signed that will, that power now goes to you. However, Lionel may fight that, so I chose to put your mother as second choice. Hopefully, that will mean that he won't complain, because either way, he can't win."

"Lex, you're not going to need it."

Lex smiled ruefully. "I've learned a lot under my father's tutelage, mostly things I wish I hadn't learned. But I did learn to always be prepared for anything, and I don't want him having that kind of control. I know you. I know you'll do the best thing for everyone, and if you can, what I would want. My father may only do the best thing for him."

"It won't come down to that will, Lex."

Clark was apparently bound and determined to live in what Lex considered a fantasy world, so he sighed, and nodded. "Okay."

They were silent for a few long moments, and then Lex nodded towards the backpack on the floor. "Did you get your homework done?" He asked.

Clark shook his head. "No. It's okay though. It's late. You should go to sleep, get some rest."

"Lie down with me?"

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

Lex shrugged, trying to feign indifference. "You don't have to. But I'm pretty sure that all the medical personnel are already aware that we're a couple."

Clark blushed a little as he thought of how they'd behaved earlier in the day, despite their close proximity to the doctors and nurses. "Yeah, I guess so. Sure." He kicked off his shoes and climbed carefully onto the bed, laying down next to Lex. The billionaire then scooted as close as he could to Clark and nestled his head firmly on his lover's chest.

"Alright?" He asked.

Clark sighed happily. "Better than alright. Get some sleep, okay?"

Lex nodded as best as he could, which really amounted to him wiggling his head on Clark's chest and getting the t-shirt bunched beneath his head. "Okay."

Clark laughed lightly, straightened out his shirt and petted Lex's head quickly before taking a deep breath and lying back to go to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nearly seven o'clock when Clark woke, despite both the strange bed and having grown up on a farm. He was pretty sure that the reason he awoke so early every morning at home, alarm or not, was because of the farm noises, and this pretty much proved as much.

Sleeping had always been something Clark was good at. Hours and hours of it, in whatever bed, couch or occasionally even floor he was offered. Apparently, that didn't change just because he was in a hospital, or waking up from actual slumber with his boyfriend for the first time. There was sleeping together, and there was actual sleeping together, complete with snoring, and Clark had always regretted that they'd never had time for the latter.

Lex was already awake on the other side of the bed, his laptop propped up on pillows, typing hurriedly. "'Morning," he greeted Clark, looking up just enough to flash him a quick smile full of anxiety.

Clark yawned, rolled over and wrapped his arms around Lex's chest. "'Morning," He returned. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Lex shook his head. "Not really. I fell asleep with you, but then I woke up. I needed to get this done anyway."

Clark thought about protesting, telling Lex that his body needed sleep to heal, but Lex already knew that, and if the anxiety he was letting show, which in itself was a rare occurrence, was anything to go by, his lover hadn't had any real say in whether he slept the night before or not.

"Okay. Promise you'll sleep later, if you're tired, though? The whatever-it-is you're doing can wait."

Lex looked up from the keyboard for a split second. "Yeah. Okay." He spoke distractedly, and Clark knew he wasn't entirely aware of what was coming out of his mouth.

From anyone else, he figured, it would have been an insult, but coming from Lex, it was a compliment. It meant he felt comfortable enough to leave his guard down and not pay attention to every little word he said or action he made in Clark's presence. Clark had seen Lex work business partners, and he knew that his lover's attention was usually razor-sharp and super-focused, being mindful every single second of everything he said, always careful not to put a foot wrong.

"Do we get breakfast in this joint?" Clark asked, hoping to draw Lex out a little, and sure enough, the billionaire looked predictably up and smiled slightly.

"Do you ever eat enough to not be hungry for a full eight hours or so?" He asked.

Clark shook his head. "Nope. But it's been eight hours and five minutes, anyway, so no matter what you say, it's time to eat."

Lex smiled a little, and nodded to the bell. "Go ahead. You're Lex Luthor's boyfriend, they'll get you anything you want."

Clark caught the slightly bitter tone in his lover's voice, and stopped his hand just short of the bell. "Lex?"

"Huh?"

"Do... do you mind... that people are going to know about us, now?" He hated to think about it, but it was all too possible he was Lex's dirty little secret. A billionaire heir to one of the largest corporations in America, and a farmboy whose total net worth was something like fifteen dollars. The news of their relationship wasn't exactly going to be gobbled up enthusiastically by the general public.

"What? No!" Lex actually closed his laptop, and met Clark's eyes. "No. I promise, I'm not ashamed of us. I'm just... worried. Your parents, my father... He already suspects, but he doesn't know for sure. Your friends. Your life is about to change dramatically, and probably not for the better, Clark."

"I know."

Lex cracked a smile without any amusement. "See, that is what makes me think you can handle it. All mature and calm and ready to face the world, and sometimes I forget how young you are."

"Does age really only have to do with years, Lex?"

Lex shook his head. "Not only. But it does, it really does. I'm not at all the same person now I was six years ago."

Clark smiled, and took Lex's hand. "And in six years, I won't be the same as I am now. But neither will you. Time changes us all, and we can help change each other, now."

"See, that's what I'm worried about." Lex laughed, bitterly.

Clark's face hardened with anger for the people who had made Lex think himself so worthless. "Look at me." He grabbed Lex's chin gently, and tilted his head until he could meet his lover's eyes straight-on. "You are a good person. You may not always know what the best thing to do is, but that isn't what defines good and evil. You want to do the right thing, and that's what makes you a good person."

Lex didn't respond, and Clark knew there was nothing else he could say to make him understand. Lex would have to mull the words over on his own, make sense of them in his own time. For now, Clark just took his lover's hand and squeezed it, then rang the bell for the nurses. "It's time to eat," he explained with a smile.

"Okay."

[Prologue] [Sleepy] [Scared] [Bloody] [Stay] [Appetite] [Reality]