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Songs in the Key of Longing - Chapter Three
Appalled, Lex gaped at Clark, but he quickly brought his horror under control. He smiled weakly. "Don't be silly, Clark. You're not going to die."
"Lex ... what happened?"
"There was another accident and Alexander happened. Again. Now, shhh. You're going to be all right. I'm not going to let anything else happen to you, I promise."
Scooting as near as he could get, Lex gingerly pulled Clark toward him. Examining his stricken face, Lex pulled down his shirt cuff and wiped away the green fluid, eliciting a hiss of pain from his friend.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lex said quickly, rubbing the shirt cuff on the floor, trying to get rid of the liquid. "Do you know what this stuff is?"
"Meteor rock ... I think it somehow got into my system after the explosion," Clark gasped. "I'm ... I'm allergic to it."
Lex wondered about that, but said only: "We can't lie to each other anymore, Clark. If we're going to survive this, we have to be completely honest, from now on. It might be too little, too late, but we don't have a choice. Not if we want to make it out of here alive."
Clark's face hardened, as more green 'tears' slipped down his cheeks. "I'm telling you, I'm allergic to it," he ground out angrily. With a groan, Clark crawled away from Lex, as far as the chains would let him. He wrapped his arms around himself and closed his eyes tightly. "Just leave me alone. This is all your fault anyway. For someone who is so hopped up on telling the truth, you sure don't practice what you preach."
That hurt. Hurt like a knife in his heart, and Lex tried to swallow past it, finding it difficult. Normally, this is where the Alexander part of him stepped up, hardening him against the pain, making him feel anger instead, but Alexander wasn't there anymore and Lex couldn't hide behind the shield of his worse half anymore.
"I try my best," Lex whispered, his voice wobbly. "I don't always do ... say ... the right thing. I know this. And I'm sorry, sorrier than you know for what's happened. I tried to make it right but I ended up just fucking things up ... again. I'm sorry, Clark. I don't know what else I can say."
"It's not just this. It's ... everything. You refuse to quit searching and examining and fooling around with things that end up destroying lives." Hoarsely. "You can't let anything go, ever. Even at the cost of our friendship."
"Your friendship means more to me than you know." Lex said, but he wondered. How much did his friendship mean to Clark?
Clark's eyes opened. They were bloodshot and watery with a greenish tint, giving Clark a shocky look. The veins along his temple and cheeks stood out, gray and sickly looking. "I'd like to believe that, Lex. I really would."
"Then please, come here and let me help you," Lex said. While there were so many thing he could say ... wanted to say ... in reply to Clark's accusations, he decided his friend's health came first. "Please."
With a shaky sigh, Clark crept closer, until they were sitting side by side. The green 'tears' had stopped flowing, but Clark's complexion remained ashen.
Reaching out, Lex carefully pulled the bucket closer, hoping Alexander had left them some water, instead of some nasty, poisonous substance. He sniffed at it, took a tiny taste and besides being stale, it appeared to be drinkable water. Feeling through his pant's pocket, Lex found the clean cotton handkerchief he kept there out of childhood habit and dipped it in the water.
He reached up to dab Clark's face with it, stopping when his friend pulled back suspiciously. "Come on, Clark. Let's call a truce, at least until we're out of here. Please?"
A noncommittal shrug, but Clark relaxed and let Lex gently wipe away trace remnants of meteor fluid from his cheeks. "I think some of might have gotten embedded in my skin from the explosion," Clark said, wincing as Lex dabbed the cool cloth against his face. "Can you see any?"
Pulling up Clark's chin with his thumb and forefinger, Lex examined Clark's face closely. In the dim light, he could see a faint glimmer of green here and there, spotting his cheeks and forehead, as if a tumbler of glitter had been spilled on him. Nothing overt, but obviously enough to trigger what must have been a violent allergy. "There's some under the top layer of skin ... tiny, tiny pieces, but nothing I can pull out. I think they'll eventually peel off. We shouldn't mess with them. It might cause more harm then good." Lex paused. "It saps your strength, doesn't it?"
Clark blinked, then set his mouth into a hard line. "Yes. It does. I won't be able to do anything until it falls off or if it falls off. How did you know about my strength? Have a brand new investigation going on?"
"No," Lex replied quietly. "Kal told me about it."
Mouth dropping open, Clark stared at Lex. The questions shot out like bullets. "Kal? You met Kal? When? Where? How ..."
"He came out of the experiment along with Alexander. They seem to have ... joined forces."
"Oh, God," Clark groaned. "Oh, God. Lex, if those two get together ..."
Lex nodded. "This world is in a lot of trouble. I know. That's why we have to work together and get out of here. Once you get your strength back ..."
"But Lex," Clark said, his voice edging toward hysteria. "I don't know if I'll have any strength left if Kal is no longer part of me. I ... I'm different, Lex. If he left me here alive, then there's a good chance I'll never get my strength back and he knows it."
Now there was a terrible thought. Lex considered it closely, even though he didn't want to. "Not necessarily. He doesn't seem like the sharpest pencil in the cup. He might just not care if you get loose. Maybe he doesn't consider you a threat, even at full strength."
"Did you destroy all the black Kryptonite?" Clark asked tiredly. "We're going to need some."
"Kryptonite? What's ..."
Angrily, Clark turned on Lex. "Kryptonite! The stuff that the meteors are made of, from the planet I came from with the meteor shower, okay? Is there any of it left? Yes or no?"
"I don't know!" Lex snapped back. His head was spinning and it wasn't the most pleasant feeling. "Maybe if you'd come clean with me about all this, oh, I don't know, four years ago, we could have a contained inventory of every piece, but as of right now, I have no idea what's been left and what's been destroyed."
"Great," Clark grumbled. "Just .. great."
Breathing hard through his nostrils, Lex tried to contain his own temper. "Another planet, huh? That's one theory I wouldn't have bought in a million years."
"You shouldn't be formulating theories about your friends anyway," Clark said stiffly. "You should just accept what they tell you."
"Yes, I should just blindly accept every piece of bullshit that gets thrown my way," Lex hissed. "That's an incredibly smart way to live one's life."
"Is your way any better? Look around, Lex. See what's happened? What will keep happening if you don't stop this stuff?"
"I like the truth!" Lex cried. "I want to know why things are the way they are. I have to know and it's unfair of you to expect me to be some idiot who never questions anything. Things happen to me, more things than to anyone else and I want to know why ... and how. I'm sorry you can't accept this part of me."
"And I'm sorry you can't accept my need to keep some parts of my life private," Clark said quietly. "I guess you and I were never meant to be friends."
Ouch. Just ... ouch, Lex thought, his throat tightening. "Please don't say that." Thickly, as tears, hot, choking ones threatened to spill. "We ... are meant to be friends. Always."
Blowing out a deep breath, Clark just shrugged. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the filthy cellar wall. "I don't want to argue anymore. Okay?"
"Right," Lex replied, taking some deep breaths of his own, calming down the pounding of his heart. At least he didn't humiliate himself by crying. Damn you, Alexander. Where are you when I need you, you hardhearted bastard? "Are you hungry? They left us some food."
"No."
"Thirsty?"
"No."
Silence followed, long moments of it. Finally ... "So, you're an alien, huh?"
"Yeah."
"That's ... pretty cool."
Surprisingly, Clark snickered. "I guess. Not everyone sees it that way."
"I suppose I can understand that. But I think it's amazing. I think you're pretty amazing, but I thought that before I found this out. Just so you know."
A thin smile. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Tentatively, Lex reached out and touched Clark's hand. "We're friends, right?"
He didn't know what to expect, but when Clark's fingers curled around his and gave them a comforting squeeze, Lex felt a sudden burst of hope ... and strength.
Even if Clark didn't regain his powers, Lex would figure out a way to save them both. Alexander and Kal had their dark bond, maybe, but the bond he and Clark had was stronger.
It had to be. And the coming days would prove it true.
tbc ...
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