sv fic post: East of the Sun part 50
Title: East of the Sun
Author: roxy
Pairings/Characters: Lex/Clark
Rating:R
Word Count:1742
Summary: Lex learns about trust and love from an unlikely source.
Notes/Warnings: AU, so very AU
Fair warning, dear readers-the mistakes here are all my own. Thanks to danceswithgary for her encouragement and of course, the lovely cover!
Bruce pushed through the hole Clark had smashed through. "Hey, I found Jules but he's locked in. See if you can-shit!" He threw himself at Clark, wrapped his hands around Clark's fist and tried to hold him back--Clark considered throwing him through the wall too, for trying to stop him. He looked down into Wade's eyes and saw too little fear and he *wanted* Wade to be so afraid, he wanted him to pee himself in fear. For what he'd done to Lex, for what he planned to do, he deserved to *burn*….
"Do it," Wade croaked. "You think I'm scared to die? Fuck you--" Clark felt his lip lift, and a deep growl vibrated inside him but Wade just grinned and spit, thick and wet against his chest. "You'd be doing me a favor, you bastard." There, nearly hidden in those flat black eyes, something was begging, something basic and human crying out--
Clark shook his head. He didn’t want to see it, didn't want to answer it-he wanted to crush it out, so he backed away, backed away until he was standing over Lex, then kneeling next to him and Lex threw an arm around him. Bruce took his place over Wade. Wade pulled his collar open, exposing ugly red-purple bruises painting his neck. His voice was harsh and thick with pain when he spoke. "Well, well, look who it is--the whore. Did you tell Killer over there what you did to his sweetheart? How I made you fuck him too? Paid you pretty good for that-"
Plaster chips and lathe flew as Bruce shot into the wall next to Wade's head. "Shut up. Shut your mouth or I'll kill you right now."
Wade chuckled. "You're not getting it-threatenin' to kill me ain't going to work. Hey, you'll be going to hell with me, anyway. The goons left are gonna fight over every square inch of what Edge had and what they can't split up, they'll shit all over. And I'm betting all his boys will go up in flames."
"You'll die too and that's fine with me…"
Wade exhaled, grinned. He said, "You act like I'm the one who fucked your life up. I was just along for the ride when they iced your old lady, that was Morgan's call-and he was the one turned you out, made you like it-" Wade slid along the wall with the force of the first blow-the second one splashed blood over the exposed plaster, and Bruce drew his fist back for another strike. Clark jerked, almost coming to his knees. He should stop Bruce…he glanced at Lex, his lips were blue and he was shivering, pale…he had one hand clutched over his side and Clark could see cracked ribs…he needed to end this but he couldn’t leave Lex….
Bruce slammed the butt of his gun into Wade's cheek-he laid him out on the rug, cheek split wide open and bleeding. A foot to the ribs lifted him, rolled him to the side and Wade grunted, laughed…Bruce snarled, "You evil bastard, you don’t know how much I *want* to kill you--for what you've done-for--for all the *evil* you've made in the world. But I'm not your judge."
Wade stared at him wide eyed, seemed surprised he was going to live. "Come on, Bruce. Give me one good break in this fucking lousy world. Please."
Bruce shook his head. "Too much to pay for, Wade…too much to pay for. You want me to give you more of a break than you gave Chauncey--"
Clark glanced at Lex, mouthed 'who'? Lex shook his head. "Later, later-go make sure Wade doesn't manage to talk Bruce into killing him."
"Why? That rattlesnake doesn't deserve-he was going to *kill* you!"
"Because…you heard Bruce. Wade's got too much to pay for. And I don't want him getting off that easy. After what he did…I want payback." He looked up at Clark and said, "and I don’t think Bruce deserves to be a murderer along with…" he shook his head. "Go stop him."
Lex had barely finished speaking before he was at Bruce's side, hand over his, gently but steadily forcing the gun away from Wade. "You're all done here Bruce. You did good. I'm proud of you. Go on and take Lex and Jules home; I'll take Wade to the cops. Let them deal the justice, the way it should be."
"Met cops are dirty-he'll never get real justice-"
"We'll watch, Beebs, we'll make sure it happens… come on, Beebs, please listen to Clark," Lex broke in.
Clark watched Bruce relax, muscle by muscle, until he dropped him arm to holster his gun. He stopped, looked at it like a man might look at a snake, and shoved it at Clark. Clark nodded and tucked it in his waistband. "Okay."
Clark dragged a quiet, compliant Wade upright. He was silent even when Clark roughly pulled his mangled hand behind his back and tied his wrists together. Clark figured he'd knock him out, and drop him off at MPD headquarters, with a note detailing why this particular prisoner deserved special care. Before they left the room, Wade looked back at Lex. "I wish you felt a little bit of what I feel for you. You wouldn’t do this to me if you did."
Clark grimaced and knocked the man unconscious. "Sorry…"
Lex shook his head, "Go on. Get rid of him."
@@@@@@
It was still dark but wouldn't be for long, the sun was promising to rise in the distance, and he could just see the path ahead of them and the edge of the wall that circled the property. The pre-dawn air was so still, so quiet the gravel crunching underfoot sounded loud as gun shot and he could see Julian flinch from time to time. Bruce put a little distance between himself and Lex and his brother, giving them a bit of privacy, and a chance for Lex to sooth the boy-he was whispering encouragement, praising Jules for being so strong, so brave…out of the corner of his eye he could see Lex wrap the blanket Jules had draped around him a little tighter.
They moved towards what had once been stables but was now a garage large enough to house a fleet of cars. The doors hung open; the staff having abandoned ship the minute Clark and Bruce had broken through security...Bruce figured that was sensible. He took a set of car keys from his pocket and held them out to Lex who took them, carefully not touching him.
"Thanks." He turned and unlocked the sedan door so that Jules could climb in. The boy was snow-pale, and his unruly red hair seemed even redder and Bruce had the oddest feeling, a deep regret he hadn't known Lex when he had hair that color…he shook himself. Through the car's window, Jules' face was a white smear in the dark interior of the car. He huddled on the passenger seat, bent and shivering.
Lex turned to him with a cold smile, the smile that reminded Bruce of the one he reserved for…tricks and squares. "Thank you, for Jules' sake." He stopped, looked up at the graying sky... "You know, I don’t know what made you help Clark but I'm glad of it. If he owes you anything, *I'll* pay it." He laughed bitterly. "You really fooled me. I thought that tramp act you used to pull with me was just that, an act. Guess not if you let Wade pay you to do what you did to me…" His voice rose, cracked, "I couldn’t do anything to *defend* myself and you-you--"
Jules leaned out of the window. "Lex… what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Jules. I'm just saying good-bye to Bruce." Jules sank back onto the seat, and Lex's voice dropped but still shook as he spoke. "I thought you were a friend but all you've ever been is a whore. Don't come near me again."
Lex turned his back on him and Bruce clenched his hands tight.
It hurt too much to move, or breathe, so Bruce just watched the car drive through the gate and back towards Metropolis. A minute, he'd take a minute and pull himself together…he'd been through worse than this, damn it, much worse than this….
He was still standing on the path when Clark landed next to him. "I heard. I understand. You didn't have much of a choice, not really. You did what you had to do to protect him-and yourself. But if I were you, I'd heed what Lex said. Don't try to contact him. I'd have to stop you." He sounded regretful.
Bruce sucked in a shaky breath, and said, "I'm not an idiot. I don’t plan to bother him again." He turned away, and Clark reached out, stopped him.
"Bruce…it won’t be forever. He'll think about what happened and why and he'll see that none of you had a choice. And then…maybe we can be friends again."
Bruce looked at Clark. "Would you want that?"
Clark nodded. "Yes, I would. Very much. Give him time…I know he'll come to understand, some day."
Bruce nodded and held his hand out. "I won’t forget you."
Clark took it in both of his. "I won’t forget you either. For all you did for both of us," Clark said, with no trace of irony, and Bruce winced. Sure. Some day…some day all would be forgiven. He felt Clark leave him, hurrying on his way towards Lex. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Lex anymore. He thought about what he'd said to Clark up there on the roof, about being jealous of Lex-against all odds, Lex had found love, had found freedom to be himself, to just--*be*.
Well, all right…it was time for a change, wasn't it? He walked trough the gate, headed for the road. The way back wasn't going to be anymore pleasant than the trip here had been, and sure was going to be a fucking lot longer, he thought wryly. Hell, it didn't even make sense to go back to Metropolis now…Burma would be nice this time of year…maybe Nepal. An ocean between himself and Metropolis-that ought to give him time to figure out just who he was…or could be.
part 51
TBC
Author: roxy
Pairings/Characters: Lex/Clark
Rating:R
Word Count:1742
Summary: Lex learns about trust and love from an unlikely source.
Notes/Warnings: AU, so very AU
Fair warning, dear readers-the mistakes here are all my own. Thanks to danceswithgary for her encouragement and of course, the lovely cover!
Bruce pushed through the hole Clark had smashed through. "Hey, I found Jules but he's locked in. See if you can-shit!" He threw himself at Clark, wrapped his hands around Clark's fist and tried to hold him back--Clark considered throwing him through the wall too, for trying to stop him. He looked down into Wade's eyes and saw too little fear and he *wanted* Wade to be so afraid, he wanted him to pee himself in fear. For what he'd done to Lex, for what he planned to do, he deserved to *burn*….
"Do it," Wade croaked. "You think I'm scared to die? Fuck you--" Clark felt his lip lift, and a deep growl vibrated inside him but Wade just grinned and spit, thick and wet against his chest. "You'd be doing me a favor, you bastard." There, nearly hidden in those flat black eyes, something was begging, something basic and human crying out--
Clark shook his head. He didn’t want to see it, didn't want to answer it-he wanted to crush it out, so he backed away, backed away until he was standing over Lex, then kneeling next to him and Lex threw an arm around him. Bruce took his place over Wade. Wade pulled his collar open, exposing ugly red-purple bruises painting his neck. His voice was harsh and thick with pain when he spoke. "Well, well, look who it is--the whore. Did you tell Killer over there what you did to his sweetheart? How I made you fuck him too? Paid you pretty good for that-"
Plaster chips and lathe flew as Bruce shot into the wall next to Wade's head. "Shut up. Shut your mouth or I'll kill you right now."
Wade chuckled. "You're not getting it-threatenin' to kill me ain't going to work. Hey, you'll be going to hell with me, anyway. The goons left are gonna fight over every square inch of what Edge had and what they can't split up, they'll shit all over. And I'm betting all his boys will go up in flames."
"You'll die too and that's fine with me…"
Wade exhaled, grinned. He said, "You act like I'm the one who fucked your life up. I was just along for the ride when they iced your old lady, that was Morgan's call-and he was the one turned you out, made you like it-" Wade slid along the wall with the force of the first blow-the second one splashed blood over the exposed plaster, and Bruce drew his fist back for another strike. Clark jerked, almost coming to his knees. He should stop Bruce…he glanced at Lex, his lips were blue and he was shivering, pale…he had one hand clutched over his side and Clark could see cracked ribs…he needed to end this but he couldn’t leave Lex….
Bruce slammed the butt of his gun into Wade's cheek-he laid him out on the rug, cheek split wide open and bleeding. A foot to the ribs lifted him, rolled him to the side and Wade grunted, laughed…Bruce snarled, "You evil bastard, you don’t know how much I *want* to kill you--for what you've done-for--for all the *evil* you've made in the world. But I'm not your judge."
Wade stared at him wide eyed, seemed surprised he was going to live. "Come on, Bruce. Give me one good break in this fucking lousy world. Please."
Bruce shook his head. "Too much to pay for, Wade…too much to pay for. You want me to give you more of a break than you gave Chauncey--"
Clark glanced at Lex, mouthed 'who'? Lex shook his head. "Later, later-go make sure Wade doesn't manage to talk Bruce into killing him."
"Why? That rattlesnake doesn't deserve-he was going to *kill* you!"
"Because…you heard Bruce. Wade's got too much to pay for. And I don't want him getting off that easy. After what he did…I want payback." He looked up at Clark and said, "and I don’t think Bruce deserves to be a murderer along with…" he shook his head. "Go stop him."
Lex had barely finished speaking before he was at Bruce's side, hand over his, gently but steadily forcing the gun away from Wade. "You're all done here Bruce. You did good. I'm proud of you. Go on and take Lex and Jules home; I'll take Wade to the cops. Let them deal the justice, the way it should be."
"Met cops are dirty-he'll never get real justice-"
"We'll watch, Beebs, we'll make sure it happens… come on, Beebs, please listen to Clark," Lex broke in.
Clark watched Bruce relax, muscle by muscle, until he dropped him arm to holster his gun. He stopped, looked at it like a man might look at a snake, and shoved it at Clark. Clark nodded and tucked it in his waistband. "Okay."
Clark dragged a quiet, compliant Wade upright. He was silent even when Clark roughly pulled his mangled hand behind his back and tied his wrists together. Clark figured he'd knock him out, and drop him off at MPD headquarters, with a note detailing why this particular prisoner deserved special care. Before they left the room, Wade looked back at Lex. "I wish you felt a little bit of what I feel for you. You wouldn’t do this to me if you did."
Clark grimaced and knocked the man unconscious. "Sorry…"
Lex shook his head, "Go on. Get rid of him."
@@@@@@
It was still dark but wouldn't be for long, the sun was promising to rise in the distance, and he could just see the path ahead of them and the edge of the wall that circled the property. The pre-dawn air was so still, so quiet the gravel crunching underfoot sounded loud as gun shot and he could see Julian flinch from time to time. Bruce put a little distance between himself and Lex and his brother, giving them a bit of privacy, and a chance for Lex to sooth the boy-he was whispering encouragement, praising Jules for being so strong, so brave…out of the corner of his eye he could see Lex wrap the blanket Jules had draped around him a little tighter.
They moved towards what had once been stables but was now a garage large enough to house a fleet of cars. The doors hung open; the staff having abandoned ship the minute Clark and Bruce had broken through security...Bruce figured that was sensible. He took a set of car keys from his pocket and held them out to Lex who took them, carefully not touching him.
"Thanks." He turned and unlocked the sedan door so that Jules could climb in. The boy was snow-pale, and his unruly red hair seemed even redder and Bruce had the oddest feeling, a deep regret he hadn't known Lex when he had hair that color…he shook himself. Through the car's window, Jules' face was a white smear in the dark interior of the car. He huddled on the passenger seat, bent and shivering.
Lex turned to him with a cold smile, the smile that reminded Bruce of the one he reserved for…tricks and squares. "Thank you, for Jules' sake." He stopped, looked up at the graying sky... "You know, I don’t know what made you help Clark but I'm glad of it. If he owes you anything, *I'll* pay it." He laughed bitterly. "You really fooled me. I thought that tramp act you used to pull with me was just that, an act. Guess not if you let Wade pay you to do what you did to me…" His voice rose, cracked, "I couldn’t do anything to *defend* myself and you-you--"
Jules leaned out of the window. "Lex… what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Jules. I'm just saying good-bye to Bruce." Jules sank back onto the seat, and Lex's voice dropped but still shook as he spoke. "I thought you were a friend but all you've ever been is a whore. Don't come near me again."
Lex turned his back on him and Bruce clenched his hands tight.
It hurt too much to move, or breathe, so Bruce just watched the car drive through the gate and back towards Metropolis. A minute, he'd take a minute and pull himself together…he'd been through worse than this, damn it, much worse than this….
He was still standing on the path when Clark landed next to him. "I heard. I understand. You didn't have much of a choice, not really. You did what you had to do to protect him-and yourself. But if I were you, I'd heed what Lex said. Don't try to contact him. I'd have to stop you." He sounded regretful.
Bruce sucked in a shaky breath, and said, "I'm not an idiot. I don’t plan to bother him again." He turned away, and Clark reached out, stopped him.
"Bruce…it won’t be forever. He'll think about what happened and why and he'll see that none of you had a choice. And then…maybe we can be friends again."
Bruce looked at Clark. "Would you want that?"
Clark nodded. "Yes, I would. Very much. Give him time…I know he'll come to understand, some day."
Bruce nodded and held his hand out. "I won’t forget you."
Clark took it in both of his. "I won’t forget you either. For all you did for both of us," Clark said, with no trace of irony, and Bruce winced. Sure. Some day…some day all would be forgiven. He felt Clark leave him, hurrying on his way towards Lex. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Lex anymore. He thought about what he'd said to Clark up there on the roof, about being jealous of Lex-against all odds, Lex had found love, had found freedom to be himself, to just--*be*.
Well, all right…it was time for a change, wasn't it? He walked trough the gate, headed for the road. The way back wasn't going to be anymore pleasant than the trip here had been, and sure was going to be a fucking lot longer, he thought wryly. Hell, it didn't even make sense to go back to Metropolis now…Burma would be nice this time of year…maybe Nepal. An ocean between himself and Metropolis-that ought to give him time to figure out just who he was…or could be.
part 51
TBC