Day Fifteen

It was raining. A slow light drizzle fell from the sky, washing the air clean as it dropped, to soak Clark's hair and clothes until he was almost dripping wet. It was time to start over, and it scared him. Amazed by the complex landscape, which literally changed terrain and colors every few feet, he didn't know where to go. Some of the places were familiar while others were not: Clark could see his house, Paris, the Milky Way, Smallville, vast empty fields, Metropolis, the Luthor Mansion, an arctic region, Gotham, a deserted wasteland, a green forest, and a foreign solar system. There were so many other imaginative locations that he almost couldn't comprehend how many there were.

Each was a choice, and Clark knew that which ever way he decided to go the others might disappear, never to be an option for him again. Surrounded by so many choices, Clark made a slow 360 degree turn—afraid to move in any direction. It felt surreal. Finally, one of the more unknown areas, a darker, rougher path called out to him. Making his decision, Clark began to move.

Rolling over, Clark's body hit a slightly yielding resistance on his small bed. In his head, the dream-vision before him began to fade as Clark started to wake up. He didn't want to walk anymore. He didn't like being alone on that unknown path, with its intimidating twists and turns to unfamiliar places. It frightened him.

Moaning and still half asleep, Clark hugged what was next to him like it was a big o'teddy bear. He smiled, feeling so incredibly good. All tingly, warm, and full of positive energy, Clark continued to snuggle and rub his body against his fun new play thing. This was a haven from his last few days of suffering and Clark was loathe to come back to reality just yet, on the likelihood that he'd be falling over and puking his guts out again and again as soon as he got out of bed.

Then, the thing made a noise as Clark inhaled and recognized a very memorable scent. 'Ooooooh nice.' Thinking that this was a different and much better dream, Clark began to kiss and nip at his fantasy Lex's neck. God, how he missed making out with Lex in his dreams. Now, if only this one didn't end with the walls bleeding or something just as horrific, this time, then maybe Clark could turn this into one great wet dream.

"You're finally awake. Thank God." Lex's voice whispered, before taking on a more husky quality, "I'm really glad you're feeling better."

With a loud yelp, Clark jumped off the bed as if it'd been laced with kryptonite and was across the other side of the room faster than a speeding bullet.

Staring at the vision on his bed, he couldn't comprehend the fact that Lex was still in his room now that it was morning. 'Morning? Friday morning? Or, Saturday morning?' And wow, a freshly woken up Lex looked way too adorable, with his cute blinking half closed eyes. It didn't look like Lex had gotten very much sleep last night. 'This had to be real.' Lex, who was lying across Clark's bed, dressed in his now wrinkled light blue shirt and black pants from yesterday, compared with him who was only wearing a blue pair of boxers that perfectly matched Lex's shirt, in his room staring back at him like Clark was insane. 'It's Saturday.' Trying to decide how happy he should be reacting to that significant realization, Clark regrettably grasped the fact that he'd already made a few serious mistakes.

First off, this was real and he'd just blatantly used his super-speed right in front of Lex's face and lying would be seriously stupid, mean, and nasty. Also, from Lex's expression, which appeared slightly wounded, his friend must have taken Clark's mad dash as an apparent rejection of their recent, like 10 seconds ago, close personal touching. From past experiences, Lex tended to like Clark groping and fondling him. Before any celebrations, Clark had to fix those two problems and confirm his suspicions that this was indeed the fabled day of Saturday, before doing anything else.

Clark's observations slowed as his thoughts seemed to go into over-drive as he considered possible reactions- sorting through what the past Fridays had taught him about Lex, and rejecting any that didn't fit that knowledge. He knew that Lex cared about him, and even when he was hurt or angry, Lex responded to Clark's distress by trying to take care of him. He also knew that Lex could always tell when he was lying. Finally, as Lex completed his first blink, Clark came up with a reaction- designed to hit on both points.

"Lex. You stayed with me for the whole night?" Clark asked the obvious, pausing as he tried to remember the details of every pleasantly erotic Friday dream that he'd had up until this morning's wake up call. Waiting a hairs breadth as he felt the blush he'd been hoping for color his skin, he gestured to the covers where he'd been laying moments before and continued in a low murmur, "I- uh- I-I've been…sort of… dreaming about you. And, I thought that this time you were a part of a dream."

'Gotcha.' Lex's eyebrow had risen in an intrigued arch as he asked, "Not a nightmare I take it?"

Lex's sensual voice that brought a true blush to Clark's cheeks; and he almost grinned, but quickly turned his face away before his friend could see it. He wasn't done, yet. Remembering the hurt that he'd felt when Lex had rejected his advances a few days ago, Clark let it's echoed pain course through him for several seconds. 'Strange, how much that hurt me, and he may never remember that it even happened.'

Finally, when he heard Lex shift in the bed, Clark answered in his best attempt at a solemn uncertain tone, "No, this time it was something else… kinda one of those weird dreams that's supposed to be your sub-conscious being all symbolic. I think you've been influencing me a lot lately."

"Have I?" Lex appeared bemused.

"Did I …do anything… that-" Clark let himself struggle with the question and with the thought. What would Saturday's Lex want, after seeing Clark so pathetic and sick? Did it turn him off, it hadn't before, but… before he hadn't been as grossly sick as he had last night, and there was the morning breath and need of a shower factor as well. "-that bothered you? If I did, I'm sorry."

"Indeed?" Swinging his legs around to the floor, Lex stood up, seriously asking, "Are you truly sorry that you've bothered me?"

'Shit, I did do something. Something wrong that bothered Lex. But what?' Clark tried to remember exactly what he'd been doing as he first woke up. Oh yeah, he'd been humping something. He'd been happily enjoying grinding his morning erection into the comfy resistance on his bed, when Lex's voice had shockingly jarred him back to reality. 'Oh God.' Lex was the resistance, and Clark could have been unknowingly forcing himself on his friend. "Oh, my God. Lex. I'm sorry. I'm sooo sorry."

Slumping against the wall, Clark sank to the floor, and threw back his head hitting the wall lightly as he did. Of course, it didn't hurt in the slightest. It's funny really how you take so many things in life for granted, and it's true you really get a chance to fully appreciate the things you had only after their gone. To move and breathe again without having the constant feeling of queasiness was bliss. He had his health back, his wonderful indestructible body and still couldn't start off the day without doing something incredibly stupid. 'Damn it. Saturday wasn't supposed to be like this. I've ruined everything.' Clark barely realized that he'd been repetitively hitting the wall with his head, until Lex put his hand between Clark's head and the wall.

"Hey, hey… there. Stop that. Clark. Stop, I was only teasing you … you haven't ruined anything. Shhh. It's okay." Lex's voice was warm and caring as he gently wiped away tears that Clark didn't know were there. Lex smiled, "Here, let me help you back into bed."

"No. Please, sit." Gently cupping his hand on Lex's elbow, Clark pulled Lex down beside him as gently as he could, now comfortably holding Lex hand, Clark said, "I really need to tell you some important stuff. First, though, I need to know, what day is it?"

Lex watching him anxiously while he answered, "Saturday the 29th of May, 2004."

Clark nodded, "Good. I thought so. But, I just needed to hear it to be sure." With that reassurance, his main concern was put to rest, Clark continued, "I know that you're remembering things that feel like they've happened over the last few days for you but on the same day, Friday, and, you may have been wondering whether it's real or not. I've been having that problem myself." Clark grinned. "I'm not sure what you remember, but I have to let you know that all of it is probably something that really happened." Clark stared closely at Lex as he continued to hold Lex's right hand.

Lex peered back at him warily. "Yes, I seem to recall some rather astonishing events. How many days did Friday repeat?"

Clark tried for a happier appearance. This was where he would have to make his quick decision on where his and Lex's relationship was going to go. Did he want them to become closer or stay the same? Both options could easily lead them down a wrong path and into the realm of bitterness. Smiling, Clark replied, "From your point of view, Friday looped at least three times. For me, it was about two weeks."

"How much of those two weeks do you remember?" Lex appeared surprised at the time differences.

"All of it." Clark slumped into Lex, "And you wouldn't believe what happened. Hell, I still don't believe all that's happened. Even though, I was the one who caused all of my own problems, the day repeating just gave me the opportunity to drastically screw up more."

"Try to relax, I doubt you did anything wrong on purpose. What happened, Clark?"

'But, that didn't matter in the end? It was still my fault.' Hugging Lex, Clark was afraid to tell him more, even though he'd done so before so many times. This time was different. This was the real Lex, not like the other Lex hadn't been, but it hadn't felt like those conversations were real before when Clark had known that he'd have to do it all over again. Clark felt like he was in a movie, playing a role and speaking memorized lines, and it wasn't until he saw blood or tears that Clark was brought back to the harsh reality that it was all very much real.

Looking into Lex's deep blue eyes full of trust, Clark decided to tell Lex what he felt were the last two weeks most important points, even if they revealed things about him that made Clark seem less human, "After it became apparent that I was re-living the same day, I tried to research what was going on, but after a few days of finding out nothing, I wanted to have a break. So, I asked you to take me to Metropolis so I could have some fun and enjoy your company. And- and you were murdered. Your- Lionel shot you. I left the room because you and your dad were fighting about me. I should have stayed and saved you. But, I didn't… I failed you when you needed me, and I'm so sorry. And, you wouldn't have even been in Metropolis if it weren't for me."

Lex hugged him closer, "Clark, whatever happened, I'm sure you tried your best. But, it's okay, I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"The next day, I totally freaked out. I… destroyed Smallville High School. Everyone was screaming and they all hated me. I wanted to die. You helped me so much. I can never thank you enough." Clark kissed the side of Lex's cheek. "I found out about that room you have in the mansion that's dedicated to, well mostly, me. I was upset, but I'm okay with it now. I still think it's too dangerous for me, Lex. Pleas, I would like for you to get rid of that stuff. Lionel knows about it. He was the one who'd told me that it was there." Clark shuddered, "Whatever you want from me you can have. I trust you and I'm not afraid anymore."

Lex stared back at Clark with a bit of fear mixed in with absolute awe. 'Maybe, it was Lex's time to wonder whether he was dreaming or not?' Clark had just handed him everything he ever wanted from Clark, and it was so much more than Lex could ever have hoped for.

Clark grinned purely happy again. This was right. It was time to tell Lex the rest: "I got to discover things about myself I never knew existed. I fell out and in love. I found out about my own immortality when I ran into someone who was stronger than me, and lost. I actually died. And, all I wanted was you. I didn't know for certain, but I'm sure you were there when that happened. Do you remember it?"

Lex shook his head "no", denying the possibility that Clark could have died. Looking deeply invested with the answer, Lex asked in a tight voice, "Who did that to you?" As he spoke, the venom in his friend's eyes was directed at whatever unknown foe had killed Clark.

"She- she's in Metropolis, I think something may have happened to her last night." Clark frowned, how could he have forgotten about Elizabeth? Was she still alive? "Elizabeth showed both of us our futures. We were enemies. You were trying to kill me." Clark felt sad again as he saw in his head the older Lex's vengeful stance on a high up roof-top somewhere yelling at him. Lex had been wearing a kryptonite ring, so Clark couldn't get close to him. He'd been holding a weapon at Clark and then Lex said something… it was, Clark spoke the strange words as he remembered them, "Quod incepimus conficiemus. What does that mean?"

"What we have begun we shall finish." Lex tried to pull away from Clark's embrace, "Clark, I think we should get off the floor. Your parents need to know that you're alright. They were extremely worried about you last night. We all were."

'No, Lex you're trying to run away, again, and distance yourself from what I'm saying.' Clark held him gently but insistently as he tried to stand. 'Absolutely not, I'm not finished with you yet.' As Clark's bare chest rubbed against Lex's shirt, Clark replied passionately, "I believe we can change our futures. I believe I've already have changed mine. I've chosen to be with you, no matter what. I think we can be great together like you always wanted us to be."

The fear was still in Lex's eyes as he inquired, "Do you even know what you are saying?"

"Yes." Clark stubbornly refused to let Lex go, "I haven't finished telling you everything yet. The day after I died, I decided that I couldn't go through that again. I needed to enjoy life, because I was afraid that the next time I saw Elizabeth I would stay dead. I had to find a way to defeat her, because everyone I love needed me to do that for them. But, it still scared me, and having one good day -just for me- didn't seem like it was too much to hope for."

The blood drained from Lex's face making him even paler, and he murmured, "You thought you would die? I didn't know."

Clark smiled reassuringly as he nodded. "It's okay, things got off to a rocky start, but they worked out alright for us. I wanted to have a happy day. Be wild and carefree, for a change, while still being me. I conned Pete and Chloe into helping me pull some harmless school pranks, but things went very wrong and a bunch of people got terribly hurt. That was so stupid and selfish of me to not think about how my actions could affect everyone." Clark sighed, "I decided not to let it bother me and I needed to see you so much. I wanted to be with you. So, I thought it would be nice to get you a gift-"

With an evil smirk, Lex cut Clark off, "Some gift, who in their right mind would buy me a regular T-shirt? Everyone knows that I don't wear T-shirts. Too blue collar. Then again we stalkers need to stick together. Maybe I should buy it for you, and have you wear it."

Clark gasped, astounded at how not angry Lex looked. Lex's idle threat was so flamboyantly flirtatious Lex should have been wearing purple not blue. Bright purple, Bright Electric Purple. Clark gleefully rolled his eyes, wanting to either kiss or slap his friend's smirk off his face. His friend appeared way too smug, and no longer so upset which should have been a good thing, but-

Lex kissed him. It wasn't too deep or overly sexual, maybe because of the morning breath problems. It was just perfect. Wrapping his arms around Lex's neck, Clark moaned not wanting to pull away, ever.

"Clark, is that you? Oh!" The door next to them opened to reveal one shocked mom. Putting her hand to her mouth as Lex tried to desperately pull away from Clark for the third time, his mom said, "I heard voices, and wanted to see it you were feeling better. I- I…" Composing herself, his mom asked, "Do you feel like eating anything, Clark?"

"I'm starving. I'm sure Lex's hungry as well." Clark grinned widely, comfortably holding Lex's now still form like they'd been boyfriends forever.

"Well, I'll go start breakfast, and I'll tell your father that you're feeling much better." She smiled, still looking a bit confused as she turned to go back downstairs.

"You're evil."

"That's why you love me. Me and my evil ways. You know I'm gonna absolutely corrupt you one of these days." Clark snuggled further into Lex's body.

Sighing, Lex ran his fingers through Clark's hair. "Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore."

Lex loved his Latin a little too much. Licking at Lex's ear, Clark purred, "Lex, what does that mean?"

"The translation is: I hope that the memory of our friendship will be everlasting."

"Oh. I like it." Clark gave a super-grin at such a sweet comment about them. In his warped way, Lex was saying that he wanted to be with Clark forever.

"And you smell, bad." Lex didn't even flinch as Clark gave him a sight punch. On a much more serious note, Lex knit his brow as he said, "Clark, I thought you were dying last night. You nearly gave me a heart attack. The number of times you were sick last night and the amount of sweating you did. By all rights, you should be too dehydrated to move without discomfort. No one gets better that fast."

"Well, you know that I'm not just anyone. I'm Clark Kent, I'm too magical to stay sick or die. And, since I stink, I'm going to go have a shower." Finally, getting off his bedroom floor, Clark chuckled at how intensely Lex was staring at the erection that was trying it's hardest to tear a hole through Clark's thin blue boxers as Clark moved toward the bathroom. Calling over his shoulder, Clark asked, "Lex, how much do you remember about the day that I got you that T-shirt?"

A sweeping hand across his ass and a hot mouth next to Clark's ear answered, "Enough. I'm going to go help Martha with breakfast. I hope you have a really fun shower by yourself. I know how much you like them cold." Then his friend's presence behind him was gone, and Clark turned to see Lex walking down the hall towards the stairs. 'Big huge tease. Lex knows exactly what I'm going to have to do in the shower now, all by myself.' Grumbling, Clark went to do some serious scrubbing, because he really did reek, and some hard and fast self-loving.

After a very lengthy shower, Clark brushed his teeth, drank three large glassfuls of water, got dressed, did the hokey-pokey and turned himself around in front of the bathroom mirror, before finally going downstairs to the wonderful smell of food. Lots and lots of glorious food. And, sitting at the table talking amongst themselves were his mom and dad and Lex. 'Cool. Scary, but cool.'

The phone rang, and since Clark was the only one not sitting, he answered it with a cheerful, "Hello?"

"Clark! God, how are you doing?" Chloe's concerned voice asked.

"Oh, I'm great. I'll meet you later to chat if you want. I have a lot of chores to do, so most of today I'll be pretty busy. But, I'm glad you called." Clark stomach complained at having to wait an extra minute for its vital food.

Chloe spoke in an insane rush, "My mission for today is to get the inside scoop on Friday's looping-time-flux thing. Wow, that's got to be one of the biggest stories yet. Smallville's weirdness is going Global! Later then, Pete and I were concerned about you and it's good to know that you're okay."

Hanging up the phone, Clark's smile brightened. He was actually looking forward to taking with Pete and Chloe about everything that had happened to him- but later. Maybe he might even visit Lana to tell her goodbye. Goodbye in both the physical and emotional sense. His friends shouldn't be lost or put to the side entirely in his excitement to spend every waking moment with Lex. But, the idea of having sex with Lex in every room of his mansion was a very inviting one. Maybe, he'd see his other friend's tomorrow, they'd understand.