Title: Hurting and Alone
Author: Ras
Spoilers: Major spoilers for X-ray and all previous episodes
Rating: PG-13
Category: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Post-Ep
Summary: Set at the end of X-ray, Clark is more hurt physically and emotionally than he lets anyone see. Can he open up to Lex?
Feedback: Always welcome, e-mail RobinSchatz@msn.com
Clark shut his bedroom door, relieved to be alone for a moment. He completely trusted his parents, but he didn't want even them to see how hurt he was. No reason to give them one more thing to worry about.
The headaches had been increasing in intensity for days, with the pain peaking right before the startling flashes of x-ray vision. The pain was always there in basal amounts, though, and right now it felt as if a vice was tightly squeezing his brain. Clark messaged his temples deeply with his fingers, hoping to loosen some of the tension. He was sure that trying to "focus" his new vision hadn't helped matters any. His bruised brain felt like it was going to explode right out of his skull. More than anything, he wanted to just take an aspirin like a normal person and make the pain go away. But he couldn't chance that. The Kents had never given Clark any kind of medication out of fear of how his body might react to it. No, instead he had to tough out the pain on his own. Of course, until recently, that hadn't been a concern. Clark had never gotten hurt or sick before.
Now, Clark found himself badly beaten for the second time. The meteor rocks weakened him and made him feel dizzy and so very, very sick. As if that weren't bad enough, somehow the rocks also made his body vulnerable to injury. Normally, nothing could hurt him; not fists, or fire, or even speeding cars. But as soon as his alien body was around those iridescent green rocks, he lost all of his supernatural protection. Getting away from the meteor rocks made the sickness go away and his strength return immediately, but his body didn't heal itself from any wounds he received while under their influence. When Greg had knocked him around in that abandoned factory with all the meteor rocks, he had sustained significant injury. It had taken weeks before all of those bruises healed, and they had hurt so very much. Clark wasn't use to physical pain. Trying to hide his physical suffering from his parents for that long had been nearly impossible, but he had somehow managed.
Having to face the same dilemma again so soon after the last time was a devastating thought, but now a reality. Clark's back was killing him; his skin, muscles, and even his bones screamed in agony. Tina had a LOT more strength than he had thought and she had thrown him really hard. Luckily, he hadn't broken anything, but his back hit the ground with such force . . . he was sure he was covered in bruises again. And he had slammed his head; he probably had a concussion. That was just great for his headaches. Out of a morbid curiosity, Clark glanced at the mirror as he removed his shirt while changing for bed. The extent of the bruising shocked even him; his entire back was black and blue. It was impossible to delineate individual bruises; instead, he was completely covered in one large blending pattern of deep hues. A few large cuts added to the grotesqueness. Clark smiled as he muttered, "Yeah, definitely can't let Mom and Dad see this."
As he slid on his pajamas, Clark tried to remind himself that he had been injured while saving Lana's life. That should have made him feel good, and he was happy that Lana was safe, but . . . the image of her and Whitney kissing wouldn't leave his mind. He knew that he wasn't supposed to have seen any of that, but he had, because . . . "You're a freak," Clark reminded himself. Worse than seeing the physical act of them kissing and hugging was the expression on Lana's face. She had been so relieved when Whitney had run up to her. She loved him. And why shouldn't she? So what if he was a jerk that had . . . tortured him for looking at his girl? How delusional had he been to think that the knowledge of the scarecrow incident might have changed her mind about her boyfriend? Tears began to slide down Clark's face as he grieved out of loss for a relationship that never existed.
It wasn't like he could actually be with her himself. Clark knew that. Although he wanted to be with Lana more than anything, he knew he never could. He had the biggest secret in the world to keep, and for that reason he could never be really close to anyone. Sure, he could be friends with people like Chloe, Pete, or Lex, but he could never actually let anyone in to see the real him. A true love relationship was out of the question; the dangers were just too great. So why did it hurt so much to see Lana with Whitney?
Clark was freely crying by the time he climbed under the covers of his bed. "Lana deserves to be with someone that isn't a freak," he whimpered before the sobbing completely closed off his throat. He curled his knees in to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and slowly rocked himself in the fetal position, trying to alleviate some of the soreness in his back. It was so hard to fall asleep with his head throbbing and his back searing with pain, so he allowed himself to continue to weep with his loneliness. Gradually, he cried himself to sleep, hurting and alone.
Clark aligned the cue ball with the six on Lex's pool table with ease, quickly sinking his shot.
"You've trapped yourself now," Lex commented with a smile. "You've got to plan further ahead than that, Clark."
Clark grinned, too. He had planned on missing the shot on purpose to give Lex a chance to play. He did need to occasionally miss shots to give the appearance of normality. Clark was just enjoying Lex's company and being out of the house. The game was keeping his thoughts away from last night's events, but he wasn't really concerned about winning. However, sinking the ball sounded like a lot more fun after that comment. "We'll see," Clark flashed Lex another pearly white smile before awkwardly reaching across the table to set up what was going to be an amazing shot.
"Clark . . ."
"Oh no, don't think you can distract me from . . ."
"No, Clark, your back . . ." Lex voiced his concern.
Clark's eyes bulged in terror as he realized that he had let his gray t- shirt ride up his back as he reached across the table. He bolted straight up in a panic, and quickly pulled down his shirt to adequately cover the area. "It's nothing, Lex."
"It doesn't look like nothing, Clark. It looks like hell. What happened?"
"I . . . I got a little hurt in the fight with Tina yesterday. Really, it's nothing."
"Can I see?" Lex asked.
Clark could think of little more embarrassing than letting Lex examine his abused back, but . . . he didn't exactly know how to say no to Lex. And there wouldn't be any signs of his superpowers. If anything, letting Lex see his back in this condition would make him appear more human. In the end, he simply shrugged. Lex could see it if he really wanted to.
Lex approached Clark slowly, not wanting to frighten him. He gingerly rolled up the t-shirt, revealing a mass of bruises and cuts. Clark's muscles twitched slightly under the critical gaze, but Lex decided to completely remove the shirt to get a better view. He lightly placed his hand on the black and blue back, eliciting a shutter of pain from his young friend. At least the back didn't feel warm to his touch. "Did you let the paramedics examine this, Clark?"
Clark shook his head.
Once again Lex found himself suggesting medical attention to Clark. "I'll call my personal doctor in to see you."
"No," Clark said firmly. He forced himself to hide the panic in his voice. He couldn't let a doctor examine him; if a doctor found out about his unique physiology then . . . He COULDN'T let that happen. "I . . . I don't want anyone to know about this . . ."
"He's discreet, Clark. From experience, no one will know."
"Please, Lex, I'm fine," Clark begged. "Please, Lex???"
Lex nodded. Although he was sure he could rely upon his smooth charisma to convince anyone to do anything, he didn't like seeing Clark in such a panic. Besides, he could understand wanting to hide something. He noticed that Clark relaxed a little as soon as the idea of seeing a doctor was dropped; however, it was pretty obvious that Clark was only pretending to study the alignment of the pool balls again. "So, she worth it?"
"Hmm?" Clark asked, lost in his own thoughts.
"Lana. Is she worth taking all of that," Lex gestured to Clark's back with his eyes.
"Yes," Clark said without hesitation. Saving Lana's life was worth any amount of pain.
"So, why aren't you with her today?"
"I'm sure she's with Whitney." Clark sighed.
"Ahh, the jock who's the proverbial thorn in your side."
"Yeah."
"I saw that you gave her the necklace back. What did she say?"
"I didn't exactly. I just left it for her to find. As a matter of fact, I wish that you hadn't said anything to her about . . . about the whole scarecrow thing."
"Why?" Lex asked, his tone a little acidic.
"Because, it was the single most humiliating moment of my life! It's embarrassing for her to know anything about . . . that . . . I wish that no one knew about it, and . . ."
"You have to learn to use what you are given, Clark. I gave you the perfect plan to win Lana. She was as good as yours. Why didn't you go through with it?" His question was biting, filled with anger. The sudden change in his tone almost frightened Clark.
"I don't want to manipulate her like that," Clark tried to explain. "Do you know what I mean?"
"No," Lex replied truthfully.
Clark sighed. He hadn't realized that this would be so difficult to explain. "I want her to love me for who I am, and . . . she doesn't."
"But giving her the necklace would have just opened her eyes to what a jerk her boyfriend is. It would have given her the opportunity to fall in love with the real you."
"You really think that she would?"
"If she had any appreciation for what's beautiful in the world, she would." Lex felt himself drawn closer to Clark but forced himself to break away from the moment. He picked up a pool stick, forcibly struck the cue ball, and bounced it over the eight ball in the way. The desired ball hit the pocket with ease. "You always need to take advantage of your position, Clark."
Suddenly, Clark grimaced, grabbed his head, and doubled over in pain. "Not now," he moaned.
"Clark?" Lex asked in concern.
"It's nothing," Clark groaned.
"You use that phrase a lot," Lex commented as he placed his hand gingerly on Clark's shoulder.
"It's just a headache," Clark explained.
"It's just a concussion," Lex corrected. Another shudder of pain flashed across Clark. Lex braced Clark's body, honestly expecting him to fall over. "All right Clark, that's it. You're going to let someone take care of you," Lex commanded.
"No, I . . ."
"At least lay down in one of my guest bedrooms, just for a little bit. You shouldn't sleep for an extended amount of time with a concussion anyway. Sleep for a few hours and I'll come check on you. I can tell you haven't slept much." Lex noticed that Clark looked like he was about to cry, and he was shaking his head. "What is it?"
"It's just . . ." Clark cut himself off, afraid to admit the truth to anyone. He was afraid that Lex would just scold him more if he told the truth about his feelings.
"It's okay, Clark. You can tell me," Lex reassured him.
"Every time I close my eyes I see Lana and Whitney together. They're so happy together, and then they laugh at me. All I can think about is how alone I am."
"You're not alone, Clark," Lex comforted him. "I'll sit with you . . ."
"You don't have to do that." Clark winced a little as the throbbing in his head flared again.
"No, I want to, Clark. Come on, we'll put an ice pack on your back, and I'll sit with you until you fall asleep. Trust me enough to take care of you."
Clark nodded. It was actually a bit of a relief to turn his care over to Lex.
"Upstairs, first door on the left," Lex directed. "I'll grab some ice and be up in a minute."
Clark nodded and headed up the stairs. About half way up, a wave of dizziness peaked. He tried to continue up the stairs, but he was so disoriented, he didn't even know which way was up anymore. The room began to spin, and he felt himself falling. Clark tried to catch himself; his fingers reached just inches from the railing. But it was too late. Clark plummeted down the stairs, landing in a heap on the floor.
"Jesus, Clark!" Lex rushed to Clark's side.
The x-ray vision finally broke through revealing Lex's skeleton to Clark. He cracked a smile, "I'm fine."
"Always," Lex replied.
To Lex's surprise, Clark was actually able to stand up fairly quickly.
"First door on the left?" Clark asked before starting up the stairs again.
"Wait!" Lex demanded. "I think maybe this time I should help you up the stairs, just in case."
Clark permitted Lex to put his arms around him for support and help him up the stairs. Not that he needed the help now. The x-ray vision had broken through, and Clark knew that the debilitating headaches wouldn't be back for a while at least. Still, it wouldn't hurt to let Lex think that the fall had hurt him more than it had, and Clark didn't really mind Lex's arms around him. It felt good to be held, to be touched, even if it was just to stop him from falling over.
Lex helped Clark walk all the way to the bed and even turned back the covers before releasing Clark from his arms of support. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back with the ice." Lex headed out the door, but was stopped by Clark's voice.
Barely audible, Clark whispered, "Please don't leave me, Lex."
Lex turned to Clark in surprise, unsure if he had even actually heard that. Clark looked so fragile and abandoned. It shattered through even Lex's defenses. "Okay, Clark," he whispered softly. "I'll stay." Lex sat lightly on the edge of the bed. He busied himself with covering up Clark's trembling body. "Don't want you getting cold," he added. Lex noticed that Clark's lip was quivering. Clark was on the verge of tears. "It's okay, Clark. I'm here. I'm right here," Lex soothed. He ran his fingers gingerly through Clark's thick hair. "You're not alone," he reminded. That brought a sob out of Clark, but he quickly stifled it. "It's okay. Let it out. It's okay to cry in front me. Go ahead and cry, Clark."
That was all that it took. Within a second, Clark was sobbing. Lex did his part by continuing to pet Clark's head and shoulders, but that wasn't enough for Clark. He wanted to be held, to feel Lex's strong arms around him. Clark inched his way up the bed, until he could rest his head in Lex's lap. This was the comfort that he sought. Clark allowed himself to fall asleep while sobbing into Lex.
Author: Ras
Spoilers: Major spoilers for X-ray and all previous episodes
Rating: PG-13
Category: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Post-Ep
Summary: Set at the end of X-ray, Clark is more hurt physically and emotionally than he lets anyone see. Can he open up to Lex?
Feedback: Always welcome, e-mail RobinSchatz@msn.com
Clark shut his bedroom door, relieved to be alone for a moment. He completely trusted his parents, but he didn't want even them to see how hurt he was. No reason to give them one more thing to worry about.
The headaches had been increasing in intensity for days, with the pain peaking right before the startling flashes of x-ray vision. The pain was always there in basal amounts, though, and right now it felt as if a vice was tightly squeezing his brain. Clark messaged his temples deeply with his fingers, hoping to loosen some of the tension. He was sure that trying to "focus" his new vision hadn't helped matters any. His bruised brain felt like it was going to explode right out of his skull. More than anything, he wanted to just take an aspirin like a normal person and make the pain go away. But he couldn't chance that. The Kents had never given Clark any kind of medication out of fear of how his body might react to it. No, instead he had to tough out the pain on his own. Of course, until recently, that hadn't been a concern. Clark had never gotten hurt or sick before.
Now, Clark found himself badly beaten for the second time. The meteor rocks weakened him and made him feel dizzy and so very, very sick. As if that weren't bad enough, somehow the rocks also made his body vulnerable to injury. Normally, nothing could hurt him; not fists, or fire, or even speeding cars. But as soon as his alien body was around those iridescent green rocks, he lost all of his supernatural protection. Getting away from the meteor rocks made the sickness go away and his strength return immediately, but his body didn't heal itself from any wounds he received while under their influence. When Greg had knocked him around in that abandoned factory with all the meteor rocks, he had sustained significant injury. It had taken weeks before all of those bruises healed, and they had hurt so very much. Clark wasn't use to physical pain. Trying to hide his physical suffering from his parents for that long had been nearly impossible, but he had somehow managed.
Having to face the same dilemma again so soon after the last time was a devastating thought, but now a reality. Clark's back was killing him; his skin, muscles, and even his bones screamed in agony. Tina had a LOT more strength than he had thought and she had thrown him really hard. Luckily, he hadn't broken anything, but his back hit the ground with such force . . . he was sure he was covered in bruises again. And he had slammed his head; he probably had a concussion. That was just great for his headaches. Out of a morbid curiosity, Clark glanced at the mirror as he removed his shirt while changing for bed. The extent of the bruising shocked even him; his entire back was black and blue. It was impossible to delineate individual bruises; instead, he was completely covered in one large blending pattern of deep hues. A few large cuts added to the grotesqueness. Clark smiled as he muttered, "Yeah, definitely can't let Mom and Dad see this."
As he slid on his pajamas, Clark tried to remind himself that he had been injured while saving Lana's life. That should have made him feel good, and he was happy that Lana was safe, but . . . the image of her and Whitney kissing wouldn't leave his mind. He knew that he wasn't supposed to have seen any of that, but he had, because . . . "You're a freak," Clark reminded himself. Worse than seeing the physical act of them kissing and hugging was the expression on Lana's face. She had been so relieved when Whitney had run up to her. She loved him. And why shouldn't she? So what if he was a jerk that had . . . tortured him for looking at his girl? How delusional had he been to think that the knowledge of the scarecrow incident might have changed her mind about her boyfriend? Tears began to slide down Clark's face as he grieved out of loss for a relationship that never existed.
It wasn't like he could actually be with her himself. Clark knew that. Although he wanted to be with Lana more than anything, he knew he never could. He had the biggest secret in the world to keep, and for that reason he could never be really close to anyone. Sure, he could be friends with people like Chloe, Pete, or Lex, but he could never actually let anyone in to see the real him. A true love relationship was out of the question; the dangers were just too great. So why did it hurt so much to see Lana with Whitney?
Clark was freely crying by the time he climbed under the covers of his bed. "Lana deserves to be with someone that isn't a freak," he whimpered before the sobbing completely closed off his throat. He curled his knees in to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and slowly rocked himself in the fetal position, trying to alleviate some of the soreness in his back. It was so hard to fall asleep with his head throbbing and his back searing with pain, so he allowed himself to continue to weep with his loneliness. Gradually, he cried himself to sleep, hurting and alone.
Clark aligned the cue ball with the six on Lex's pool table with ease, quickly sinking his shot.
"You've trapped yourself now," Lex commented with a smile. "You've got to plan further ahead than that, Clark."
Clark grinned, too. He had planned on missing the shot on purpose to give Lex a chance to play. He did need to occasionally miss shots to give the appearance of normality. Clark was just enjoying Lex's company and being out of the house. The game was keeping his thoughts away from last night's events, but he wasn't really concerned about winning. However, sinking the ball sounded like a lot more fun after that comment. "We'll see," Clark flashed Lex another pearly white smile before awkwardly reaching across the table to set up what was going to be an amazing shot.
"Clark . . ."
"Oh no, don't think you can distract me from . . ."
"No, Clark, your back . . ." Lex voiced his concern.
Clark's eyes bulged in terror as he realized that he had let his gray t- shirt ride up his back as he reached across the table. He bolted straight up in a panic, and quickly pulled down his shirt to adequately cover the area. "It's nothing, Lex."
"It doesn't look like nothing, Clark. It looks like hell. What happened?"
"I . . . I got a little hurt in the fight with Tina yesterday. Really, it's nothing."
"Can I see?" Lex asked.
Clark could think of little more embarrassing than letting Lex examine his abused back, but . . . he didn't exactly know how to say no to Lex. And there wouldn't be any signs of his superpowers. If anything, letting Lex see his back in this condition would make him appear more human. In the end, he simply shrugged. Lex could see it if he really wanted to.
Lex approached Clark slowly, not wanting to frighten him. He gingerly rolled up the t-shirt, revealing a mass of bruises and cuts. Clark's muscles twitched slightly under the critical gaze, but Lex decided to completely remove the shirt to get a better view. He lightly placed his hand on the black and blue back, eliciting a shutter of pain from his young friend. At least the back didn't feel warm to his touch. "Did you let the paramedics examine this, Clark?"
Clark shook his head.
Once again Lex found himself suggesting medical attention to Clark. "I'll call my personal doctor in to see you."
"No," Clark said firmly. He forced himself to hide the panic in his voice. He couldn't let a doctor examine him; if a doctor found out about his unique physiology then . . . He COULDN'T let that happen. "I . . . I don't want anyone to know about this . . ."
"He's discreet, Clark. From experience, no one will know."
"Please, Lex, I'm fine," Clark begged. "Please, Lex???"
Lex nodded. Although he was sure he could rely upon his smooth charisma to convince anyone to do anything, he didn't like seeing Clark in such a panic. Besides, he could understand wanting to hide something. He noticed that Clark relaxed a little as soon as the idea of seeing a doctor was dropped; however, it was pretty obvious that Clark was only pretending to study the alignment of the pool balls again. "So, she worth it?"
"Hmm?" Clark asked, lost in his own thoughts.
"Lana. Is she worth taking all of that," Lex gestured to Clark's back with his eyes.
"Yes," Clark said without hesitation. Saving Lana's life was worth any amount of pain.
"So, why aren't you with her today?"
"I'm sure she's with Whitney." Clark sighed.
"Ahh, the jock who's the proverbial thorn in your side."
"Yeah."
"I saw that you gave her the necklace back. What did she say?"
"I didn't exactly. I just left it for her to find. As a matter of fact, I wish that you hadn't said anything to her about . . . about the whole scarecrow thing."
"Why?" Lex asked, his tone a little acidic.
"Because, it was the single most humiliating moment of my life! It's embarrassing for her to know anything about . . . that . . . I wish that no one knew about it, and . . ."
"You have to learn to use what you are given, Clark. I gave you the perfect plan to win Lana. She was as good as yours. Why didn't you go through with it?" His question was biting, filled with anger. The sudden change in his tone almost frightened Clark.
"I don't want to manipulate her like that," Clark tried to explain. "Do you know what I mean?"
"No," Lex replied truthfully.
Clark sighed. He hadn't realized that this would be so difficult to explain. "I want her to love me for who I am, and . . . she doesn't."
"But giving her the necklace would have just opened her eyes to what a jerk her boyfriend is. It would have given her the opportunity to fall in love with the real you."
"You really think that she would?"
"If she had any appreciation for what's beautiful in the world, she would." Lex felt himself drawn closer to Clark but forced himself to break away from the moment. He picked up a pool stick, forcibly struck the cue ball, and bounced it over the eight ball in the way. The desired ball hit the pocket with ease. "You always need to take advantage of your position, Clark."
Suddenly, Clark grimaced, grabbed his head, and doubled over in pain. "Not now," he moaned.
"Clark?" Lex asked in concern.
"It's nothing," Clark groaned.
"You use that phrase a lot," Lex commented as he placed his hand gingerly on Clark's shoulder.
"It's just a headache," Clark explained.
"It's just a concussion," Lex corrected. Another shudder of pain flashed across Clark. Lex braced Clark's body, honestly expecting him to fall over. "All right Clark, that's it. You're going to let someone take care of you," Lex commanded.
"No, I . . ."
"At least lay down in one of my guest bedrooms, just for a little bit. You shouldn't sleep for an extended amount of time with a concussion anyway. Sleep for a few hours and I'll come check on you. I can tell you haven't slept much." Lex noticed that Clark looked like he was about to cry, and he was shaking his head. "What is it?"
"It's just . . ." Clark cut himself off, afraid to admit the truth to anyone. He was afraid that Lex would just scold him more if he told the truth about his feelings.
"It's okay, Clark. You can tell me," Lex reassured him.
"Every time I close my eyes I see Lana and Whitney together. They're so happy together, and then they laugh at me. All I can think about is how alone I am."
"You're not alone, Clark," Lex comforted him. "I'll sit with you . . ."
"You don't have to do that." Clark winced a little as the throbbing in his head flared again.
"No, I want to, Clark. Come on, we'll put an ice pack on your back, and I'll sit with you until you fall asleep. Trust me enough to take care of you."
Clark nodded. It was actually a bit of a relief to turn his care over to Lex.
"Upstairs, first door on the left," Lex directed. "I'll grab some ice and be up in a minute."
Clark nodded and headed up the stairs. About half way up, a wave of dizziness peaked. He tried to continue up the stairs, but he was so disoriented, he didn't even know which way was up anymore. The room began to spin, and he felt himself falling. Clark tried to catch himself; his fingers reached just inches from the railing. But it was too late. Clark plummeted down the stairs, landing in a heap on the floor.
"Jesus, Clark!" Lex rushed to Clark's side.
The x-ray vision finally broke through revealing Lex's skeleton to Clark. He cracked a smile, "I'm fine."
"Always," Lex replied.
To Lex's surprise, Clark was actually able to stand up fairly quickly.
"First door on the left?" Clark asked before starting up the stairs again.
"Wait!" Lex demanded. "I think maybe this time I should help you up the stairs, just in case."
Clark permitted Lex to put his arms around him for support and help him up the stairs. Not that he needed the help now. The x-ray vision had broken through, and Clark knew that the debilitating headaches wouldn't be back for a while at least. Still, it wouldn't hurt to let Lex think that the fall had hurt him more than it had, and Clark didn't really mind Lex's arms around him. It felt good to be held, to be touched, even if it was just to stop him from falling over.
Lex helped Clark walk all the way to the bed and even turned back the covers before releasing Clark from his arms of support. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back with the ice." Lex headed out the door, but was stopped by Clark's voice.
Barely audible, Clark whispered, "Please don't leave me, Lex."
Lex turned to Clark in surprise, unsure if he had even actually heard that. Clark looked so fragile and abandoned. It shattered through even Lex's defenses. "Okay, Clark," he whispered softly. "I'll stay." Lex sat lightly on the edge of the bed. He busied himself with covering up Clark's trembling body. "Don't want you getting cold," he added. Lex noticed that Clark's lip was quivering. Clark was on the verge of tears. "It's okay, Clark. I'm here. I'm right here," Lex soothed. He ran his fingers gingerly through Clark's thick hair. "You're not alone," he reminded. That brought a sob out of Clark, but he quickly stifled it. "It's okay. Let it out. It's okay to cry in front me. Go ahead and cry, Clark."
That was all that it took. Within a second, Clark was sobbing. Lex did his part by continuing to pet Clark's head and shoulders, but that wasn't enough for Clark. He wanted to be held, to feel Lex's strong arms around him. Clark inched his way up the bed, until he could rest his head in Lex's lap. This was the comfort that he sought. Clark allowed himself to fall asleep while sobbing into Lex.