Fic for Africa. Or at least Egypt.
There's a bit of a log jam at this end of the Nile, too many boats trying to get past at once. In the interests of progress, and because people on shore are revolting against the dearth, I'm going to do something I've never done before and start posting in pieces.
First felucca through the cataract:
Parallel
Lex/Clark, futurefic, mostly R rated. A paean for Denial. "All the ways it could have gone wrong, and one way it didn't."
I should probably note here that a) I began this story quite a while ago, and b) TVNZ are a bunch of bastards, who deliberately withhold popular shows from suffering audiences. Which is a roundabout way of saying that you'll find no mention of Helen, murdered grandparents, stifled babies, etc, here. Any resemblance to the Shattered/Asylum arc is also completely coincidental, and in no way inspired by those episodes.
Clark's standing in the kitchen at his parents' place when he hears. He's itching to get back to Metropolis, to get out of the house, away from his mother's concern and his father's suspicion. It's been a tense four days, full of strained silences and nervous, aborted gestures. They'd known he was lying from the moment he arrived, known that Lex wasn't dealing with a last minute emergency, something important, something noone else could handle. There isn't really any such thing - Lexcorp is so efficient, so powerful now, that any one of Lex's handpicked senior managers could run it single-handed. A major difference between the Luthors, Senior and Junior, that Lex is not afraid to delegate, not afraid to employ the best and brightest, and to let them do the jobs they're paid so handsomely for. Jonathan and Martha know that, Lex sat in this very kitchen, at the table they are sitting at now, and said so, around a mouthful of Martha's waffles. They also know that there's been nothing important enough to make Lex miss Christmas at home in six years.
But then, Jonathan and Martha had known he wasn't at a conference over Thanksgiving, either, and all the protestations in the world that they don't *have* Thanksgiving in Australasia had fallen on deaf ears. They hadn't actually believed Clark Fourth of July weekend, either, when he'd said that Lex had a charity function to attend, but at least that time they'd just concluded that Lex and Clark were fighting, and Clark didn't want them to know. But now they do know, they deserve to know, and Clark knows it. What he doesn't know is how to tell them. How to tell Jonathan that he was right all along, not about Lex loving him, never about that, but that yes, Lex's demons have finally proved stronger than Clark's angels? How to tell Martha that her second son is an alcoholic and a drug addict, violent and temperamental, and probably wasted out of his mind as they speak, alone in the apartment they used to share.
Clark's a writer, words are his craft, but he doesn't know how to tell his parents what it was like, to come home and find Lex unconscious and twitching on the bathroom floor. How he'd been so scared that he hadn't called the paramedics, just bundled Lex up in a blanket and taken him straight to Metropolis General. How he'd been so ignorant, so naive, so *fucking* out of the loop, that he'd said no when the doctors in the emergency room asked him if Lex had a problem. How when the tox screens came back positive, he'd just felt so damn *embarrassed* for not knowing that he denied it all, insisted it was a lab error; how it wasn't really till he went home and x-rayed the entire apartment, found all the shit that Lex kept hidden from him, that he'd finally believed.
His parents want to talk, but he doesn't know what to say. In the end, his father sighs, gets up, and goes into the living room. His mother follows, and a second later he hears the television click on. Jonathan's flicking through the channels, pressing the buttons too hard, the clicks clearly audible to Clark's super hearing, between snatches of inane late night programming. Mostly infomercials, but the tail end of a bunch of films that have played every Christmas for as long as Clark can remember.
"... and if you're not completely satisfied, just..."
"Snakes, why'd it have to be snakes?"
"... our revolutionary new design..."
"Use the force, Luke."
"... owner and CEO of Lexcorp, and only son of..."
"But wait, there's..."
Super speed has him in the room before Jonathan's finished flicking back.
"And repeating tonight's top story, police were called to a disturbance at the Metropolis home of Lionel Luthor, founder of Luthorcorp, the largest agrichemical company in North America. Details are sketchy at this time, and Mr Luthor has declined to comment, but neighbours claim that Alexander Luthor, 32, was removed from the scene in handcuffs, after being forcibly restrained. Alexander Luthor, known as Lex, a major shareholder and former vice president of Luthorcorp, as well as owner and CEO of Lexcorp, a rapidly growing industrial and scientific research company, is the only son of Lionel Luthor, but the two are known to have been at odds recently, esp..."
"Recently. Hmmph." Jonathan snorts inelegantly, then turns to look at Clark. "Son, wha...?" Breaks off at Martha's frantic shushing.
"...a long history of drug abuse and psychological problems, according to one employee at the Luthor residence, housekeeper Mrs Frida Richards, who also had this to say -
'He's a maniac that boy, I've always said so, and now look, attacking his poor father like that...'"
"Attacking?" Martha gasps, reaches for her son.
"Turn it off. Just turn it off."
"Clark..."
"Just turn it off, Dad! Please!"
"We have to talk about this Clark."
"I know. I know. Just give me a minute, please." Hysterical laughter is bubbling up as Clark walks out the door and onto the porch. At least now he doesn't have to worry about what to say. Though there'll be a lot more people asking - the phone in the kitchen is already ringing, and he can hear the shrill jangle of his cell from upstairs. His mother answers, but barely gets a word out before Jonathan grabs the phone out of her hand. "We have nothing to say," he yells, "nothing! Don't any of you goddamned vultures ring here again." The phone slams down, with enough force that Clark imagines it won't be ringing at all, anytime soon. That brings a smile to his face, however small, and as he walks back inside, he knows that he's been wrong to wait so long. He's borne it alone for five months, when he hasn't had to. Finding the right words doesn't matter; he can always count on his parents.
*****
Lex can always count on Lionel. He gets the best attorney money can buy, and is processed and out of jail by morning. Shepherded out a back entrance, past the waiting media, and right into the arms of a security detail and a team of men and women easily recognisable as doctors, despite the absence of white coats. "Lex my boy," one beams, "It's so good to see you."
"No!" Lex panics for the first time since being arrested. "I'm not going with you. Please." He turns back toward the police officer who'd accompanied him out, but the door is already shutting behind him.
"I'm glad you remember me," the doctor says, "I hope you're not going to let old grudges stand in the way of my helping you."
Lex tries to back away, but one of Lionel's goons is right behind him, holds him while the doctor pulls out a syringe. It sparks a wild string of memories - a sad, lonely woman in Smallville years ago, nurses with IVs when he was just a boy, wild nights in the clubs before he'd been thrown out of MU and sent to rehab the first time, the countless ERs throughout Kansas he's been in and out of since. But none of it evokes the sense of terror he's feeling now, not till the doctor - Gregory, isn't it? - grabs his arm, and it all comes flooding back.
*****
Clark heads back to Metropolis first thing in the morning. He hasn't seen Lex in weeks, not since he OD'd the second time, but he has to find out if he's okay. Whatever the state of their relationship, he loves Lex, and the more time they spend apart, the more he realises that he always will, no matter what. He's been staying with Jimmy since he moved out of the apartment, though Lois has a spare room and Jimmy only has a foldout couch. Lex is convinced he's having an affair with Lois though, so it would be too cruel. Lois is the last person he'd ever have an affair with, even if it were remotely possible he could bring himself to cheat, and he feels more sure of this than ever when she ambushes him outside Jimmy's door.
"Where the hell have you been, Kent?" she rasps, not pausing to remove the cigarette from her mouth.
He sighs, and fumbles with the shoddy lock. "With my parents, Lois, it's Christmas, remember."
"Yesterday was Christmas. Today's a news day like any other. And as the biggest story of the year is unfolding, my partner, as usual, is nowhere to be seen."
"Biggest story? Lois, for God's sake." He shoves past her and tosses his bag in the corner, heads for the tiny closet that serves as Jimmy's study to grab his briefcase. He knows her too well to think her above exploiting his personal relationships for a story, but this is ridiculous. "This is ridiculous. So he had a fight with his dad. It's not the first time."
"It's the first time he's ever tried to kill him," Lois says smugly.
That brings him up short. "What?"
"I said it's the first time your boyfriend has ever tried to kill his father." Ignoring his shocked surprise, she steamrolls right on, displaying exactly the kind of tact she's famous for. "First time he's been arrested for it, anyway. God only knows what happens at the Luthor house when noone's looking. Wanna tell me why he finally snapped? What the last straw was? I mean I know the basics, lifetime of neglect, vicious rivalry, treated his mother badly, blah blah blah, but that's old news. What's suddenly changed?"
"Get out." His voice is colder than he's ever heard it, and if she says one more word, he honestly might throttle her.
She sees the line she's crossed, and tries to backtrack. "I didn't mean it Clark, I mean..." Searching frantically for the right words. Well join the club, Lois. "I mean, we should put his side of the story, he obviously had a reason... and Lionel does treat him badly, you're always saying so."
"Just leave Lois. And if one word of anything I've ever told you in confidence finds its way onto the front page..."
The fear in her eyes as she backs toward the door is unmistakeable. "It won't Clark, I swear." There's a crack in her voice, and he's never heard that before either. It frightens him that he doesn't care. "I really am sorry."
The door shuts behind her.
*****
When Lex wakes up he's in five point restraints, strapped to a bed in a white room with no windows. His father is sitting in the only chair. "Dad?" His voice is raspy, his mouth and throat dry, from the shot he presumes.
"Ah, Lex." Lionel smiles, a wolfish grin that doesn't reach his eyes. "Awake at last. I was beginning to fear Dr Gregory had given you too much."
"Gr-gregory?" Lex is afraid, and he's too tired and too weak to even think about hiding it. "You promised I'd never have to come back here, you promised me, you said if I..."
"That was before you tried to kill me, Lex."
"K-kill you? I didn't, I wouldn't. Dad please, what's going on? Dad please, I want to go home, where's Clark, why isn't he here? Dad?"
Lionel leans over the bed, and as his coat billows behind him he looks like an eagle, swooping in to peck out Lex's eyes. Lex flinches, but Lionel only kisses him on the forehead. "Goodbye Lex. Try to get some more sleep, I think you need it. Dr Gregory will take good care of you. I'll come again, if I have time."
chapter 2
First felucca through the cataract:
Parallel
Lex/Clark, futurefic, mostly R rated. A paean for Denial. "All the ways it could have gone wrong, and one way it didn't."
I should probably note here that a) I began this story quite a while ago, and b) TVNZ are a bunch of bastards, who deliberately withhold popular shows from suffering audiences. Which is a roundabout way of saying that you'll find no mention of Helen, murdered grandparents, stifled babies, etc, here. Any resemblance to the Shattered/Asylum arc is also completely coincidental, and in no way inspired by those episodes.
Clark's standing in the kitchen at his parents' place when he hears. He's itching to get back to Metropolis, to get out of the house, away from his mother's concern and his father's suspicion. It's been a tense four days, full of strained silences and nervous, aborted gestures. They'd known he was lying from the moment he arrived, known that Lex wasn't dealing with a last minute emergency, something important, something noone else could handle. There isn't really any such thing - Lexcorp is so efficient, so powerful now, that any one of Lex's handpicked senior managers could run it single-handed. A major difference between the Luthors, Senior and Junior, that Lex is not afraid to delegate, not afraid to employ the best and brightest, and to let them do the jobs they're paid so handsomely for. Jonathan and Martha know that, Lex sat in this very kitchen, at the table they are sitting at now, and said so, around a mouthful of Martha's waffles. They also know that there's been nothing important enough to make Lex miss Christmas at home in six years.
But then, Jonathan and Martha had known he wasn't at a conference over Thanksgiving, either, and all the protestations in the world that they don't *have* Thanksgiving in Australasia had fallen on deaf ears. They hadn't actually believed Clark Fourth of July weekend, either, when he'd said that Lex had a charity function to attend, but at least that time they'd just concluded that Lex and Clark were fighting, and Clark didn't want them to know. But now they do know, they deserve to know, and Clark knows it. What he doesn't know is how to tell them. How to tell Jonathan that he was right all along, not about Lex loving him, never about that, but that yes, Lex's demons have finally proved stronger than Clark's angels? How to tell Martha that her second son is an alcoholic and a drug addict, violent and temperamental, and probably wasted out of his mind as they speak, alone in the apartment they used to share.
Clark's a writer, words are his craft, but he doesn't know how to tell his parents what it was like, to come home and find Lex unconscious and twitching on the bathroom floor. How he'd been so scared that he hadn't called the paramedics, just bundled Lex up in a blanket and taken him straight to Metropolis General. How he'd been so ignorant, so naive, so *fucking* out of the loop, that he'd said no when the doctors in the emergency room asked him if Lex had a problem. How when the tox screens came back positive, he'd just felt so damn *embarrassed* for not knowing that he denied it all, insisted it was a lab error; how it wasn't really till he went home and x-rayed the entire apartment, found all the shit that Lex kept hidden from him, that he'd finally believed.
His parents want to talk, but he doesn't know what to say. In the end, his father sighs, gets up, and goes into the living room. His mother follows, and a second later he hears the television click on. Jonathan's flicking through the channels, pressing the buttons too hard, the clicks clearly audible to Clark's super hearing, between snatches of inane late night programming. Mostly infomercials, but the tail end of a bunch of films that have played every Christmas for as long as Clark can remember.
"... and if you're not completely satisfied, just..."
"Snakes, why'd it have to be snakes?"
"... our revolutionary new design..."
"Use the force, Luke."
"... owner and CEO of Lexcorp, and only son of..."
"But wait, there's..."
Super speed has him in the room before Jonathan's finished flicking back.
"And repeating tonight's top story, police were called to a disturbance at the Metropolis home of Lionel Luthor, founder of Luthorcorp, the largest agrichemical company in North America. Details are sketchy at this time, and Mr Luthor has declined to comment, but neighbours claim that Alexander Luthor, 32, was removed from the scene in handcuffs, after being forcibly restrained. Alexander Luthor, known as Lex, a major shareholder and former vice president of Luthorcorp, as well as owner and CEO of Lexcorp, a rapidly growing industrial and scientific research company, is the only son of Lionel Luthor, but the two are known to have been at odds recently, esp..."
"Recently. Hmmph." Jonathan snorts inelegantly, then turns to look at Clark. "Son, wha...?" Breaks off at Martha's frantic shushing.
"...a long history of drug abuse and psychological problems, according to one employee at the Luthor residence, housekeeper Mrs Frida Richards, who also had this to say -
'He's a maniac that boy, I've always said so, and now look, attacking his poor father like that...'"
"Attacking?" Martha gasps, reaches for her son.
"Turn it off. Just turn it off."
"Clark..."
"Just turn it off, Dad! Please!"
"We have to talk about this Clark."
"I know. I know. Just give me a minute, please." Hysterical laughter is bubbling up as Clark walks out the door and onto the porch. At least now he doesn't have to worry about what to say. Though there'll be a lot more people asking - the phone in the kitchen is already ringing, and he can hear the shrill jangle of his cell from upstairs. His mother answers, but barely gets a word out before Jonathan grabs the phone out of her hand. "We have nothing to say," he yells, "nothing! Don't any of you goddamned vultures ring here again." The phone slams down, with enough force that Clark imagines it won't be ringing at all, anytime soon. That brings a smile to his face, however small, and as he walks back inside, he knows that he's been wrong to wait so long. He's borne it alone for five months, when he hasn't had to. Finding the right words doesn't matter; he can always count on his parents.
*****
Lex can always count on Lionel. He gets the best attorney money can buy, and is processed and out of jail by morning. Shepherded out a back entrance, past the waiting media, and right into the arms of a security detail and a team of men and women easily recognisable as doctors, despite the absence of white coats. "Lex my boy," one beams, "It's so good to see you."
"No!" Lex panics for the first time since being arrested. "I'm not going with you. Please." He turns back toward the police officer who'd accompanied him out, but the door is already shutting behind him.
"I'm glad you remember me," the doctor says, "I hope you're not going to let old grudges stand in the way of my helping you."
Lex tries to back away, but one of Lionel's goons is right behind him, holds him while the doctor pulls out a syringe. It sparks a wild string of memories - a sad, lonely woman in Smallville years ago, nurses with IVs when he was just a boy, wild nights in the clubs before he'd been thrown out of MU and sent to rehab the first time, the countless ERs throughout Kansas he's been in and out of since. But none of it evokes the sense of terror he's feeling now, not till the doctor - Gregory, isn't it? - grabs his arm, and it all comes flooding back.
*****
Clark heads back to Metropolis first thing in the morning. He hasn't seen Lex in weeks, not since he OD'd the second time, but he has to find out if he's okay. Whatever the state of their relationship, he loves Lex, and the more time they spend apart, the more he realises that he always will, no matter what. He's been staying with Jimmy since he moved out of the apartment, though Lois has a spare room and Jimmy only has a foldout couch. Lex is convinced he's having an affair with Lois though, so it would be too cruel. Lois is the last person he'd ever have an affair with, even if it were remotely possible he could bring himself to cheat, and he feels more sure of this than ever when she ambushes him outside Jimmy's door.
"Where the hell have you been, Kent?" she rasps, not pausing to remove the cigarette from her mouth.
He sighs, and fumbles with the shoddy lock. "With my parents, Lois, it's Christmas, remember."
"Yesterday was Christmas. Today's a news day like any other. And as the biggest story of the year is unfolding, my partner, as usual, is nowhere to be seen."
"Biggest story? Lois, for God's sake." He shoves past her and tosses his bag in the corner, heads for the tiny closet that serves as Jimmy's study to grab his briefcase. He knows her too well to think her above exploiting his personal relationships for a story, but this is ridiculous. "This is ridiculous. So he had a fight with his dad. It's not the first time."
"It's the first time he's ever tried to kill him," Lois says smugly.
That brings him up short. "What?"
"I said it's the first time your boyfriend has ever tried to kill his father." Ignoring his shocked surprise, she steamrolls right on, displaying exactly the kind of tact she's famous for. "First time he's been arrested for it, anyway. God only knows what happens at the Luthor house when noone's looking. Wanna tell me why he finally snapped? What the last straw was? I mean I know the basics, lifetime of neglect, vicious rivalry, treated his mother badly, blah blah blah, but that's old news. What's suddenly changed?"
"Get out." His voice is colder than he's ever heard it, and if she says one more word, he honestly might throttle her.
She sees the line she's crossed, and tries to backtrack. "I didn't mean it Clark, I mean..." Searching frantically for the right words. Well join the club, Lois. "I mean, we should put his side of the story, he obviously had a reason... and Lionel does treat him badly, you're always saying so."
"Just leave Lois. And if one word of anything I've ever told you in confidence finds its way onto the front page..."
The fear in her eyes as she backs toward the door is unmistakeable. "It won't Clark, I swear." There's a crack in her voice, and he's never heard that before either. It frightens him that he doesn't care. "I really am sorry."
The door shuts behind her.
*****
When Lex wakes up he's in five point restraints, strapped to a bed in a white room with no windows. His father is sitting in the only chair. "Dad?" His voice is raspy, his mouth and throat dry, from the shot he presumes.
"Ah, Lex." Lionel smiles, a wolfish grin that doesn't reach his eyes. "Awake at last. I was beginning to fear Dr Gregory had given you too much."
"Gr-gregory?" Lex is afraid, and he's too tired and too weak to even think about hiding it. "You promised I'd never have to come back here, you promised me, you said if I..."
"That was before you tried to kill me, Lex."
"K-kill you? I didn't, I wouldn't. Dad please, what's going on? Dad please, I want to go home, where's Clark, why isn't he here? Dad?"
Lionel leans over the bed, and as his coat billows behind him he looks like an eagle, swooping in to peck out Lex's eyes. Lex flinches, but Lionel only kisses him on the forehead. "Goodbye Lex. Try to get some more sleep, I think you need it. Dr Gregory will take good care of you. I'll come again, if I have time."
chapter 2