FIC: You Make Me Sick, Chapter 12
Title: You Make Me Sick
Pairing: Clex
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Clark is finally out of the asylum, but his journey back to sanity isn’t over yet. An unlikely savior takes him in and gives him a chance to redeem himself.
Spoilers: Through S6 Labyrinth.
Warnings: Totally AU. Dark and possibly triggering for folks with depression. WIP
Thanks to my faabulous beta! herohunter
Previous Chapters:
One ♥ Two ♥ Three ♥ Four ♥ Five ♥ Six ♥ Seven ♥ Eight ♥ Nine ♥ Ten ♥ Eleven
Part Twelve
Lex felt like a nap in his office might be in order as he wheeled towards the elevator, hoping the bastard thing wouldn't stop on him, like it occasionally did. He knew their department was lucky, to a degree, to have an elevator at all, but why they put the guy in the wheelchair on the fifth floor when their elevator had the habit of faltering so badly, Lex would never know.
At least the technician usually came pretty quickly.
After the elevator came to a screeching halt, Lex drummed his fingers on the side of his chair as he waited for the door to slowly open then rolled out with his satchel containing his teaching materials in his lap. In order do to the wheeling around campus that he was now required to do these days, he'd gotten a pair of fingerless gloves to save his palms. He was beginning to like the freedom of scuttling himself around without help.
He paused for a moment as he saw a dark haired young man sitting cross-legged outside of his office pecking away at a laptop. It only took a moment before his brows rose in surprise and his lips stretched into a lopsided smile.
"Clark," he said softly.
Clark looked up and favored him with a boyish grin. "Hey! I took the bus!" he bragged enthusiastically.
"You did. That's… I hate taking the bus." Lex drew closer to Clark, then started to fish through his bag for his keys. "How did you get a bus schedule?"
"They have one online for the whole system. There's a stop not too far from our apartment," Clark explained, leaning over to give Lex a kiss on the head.
Lex chuckled softly as he unlocked the door and wheeled back so that he could open it. "Welcome to my cell," he said dryly.
"Uh. Wow. This is a really small room." Clark tilted his head back as he carried the laptop and his backpack in with him. "I was expecting something… not so small. Are you being punished?"
"Well, not really. At least this one has a window." Lex approached his desk and set his satchel on it. "Have a seat. This was a nice surprise, Clark. I think you just made my day better."
"Has it not been good?" Clark asked, concern clearly lacing his voice.
Lex turned to face Clark as the younger man arranged the things he was carrying. "Not really that bad. My students were particularly unfocused today, and I dislike having to get impatient with them. How has your day been? Was getting here an adventure?"
"A bus adventure," Clark said, lighting up. "I saw these two older ladies on their way home from the grocery store. One of them had blue hair."
His hands fidgeted as though he wanted to touch Lex. Feeling warmth blossom in his chest, Lex reached out for Clark's hand. "Well, I'm glad to see you."
Clark moved over into Lex's lap, and Lex's arms went around him. Lex had work to do, papers to grade, and some students might come by for his office hours, but he couldn't deny Clark some affection. He seemed to need it.
"What is it?" Lex asked, after petting Clark's back for several minutes.
"My mom came by."
A foreboding chill went up the part of Lex's spine that he could feel. He let his fingers brush over the back of Clark's neck for a few more moments before he spoke again. "What did she want?"
"Me. She was trying to get me to run away to California with her and live with them. And Lucas."
"Lucas? She said that? But… We don't even know where he is." Lex pulled back a little and moved his hand to Clark's cheek. "Tell me exactly what she said."
"Um, she said that… Basically what I said. She wanted me to come live with her and Lucas with my grandfather," Clark answered after a moment.
"Did she qualify that? Did she say: 'After we find Lucas, we'll all go live with grandfather'?" Lex raised his eyebrows. He felt an uncomfortableness in his stomach.
"No. She said what I said she said, and then we argued about it for like ten minutes."
Clark's cheeks were flushed pink, so Lex nodded and petted them gently, giving Clark a kiss. "All right then. Don't worry about it anymore."
Rough fingers moved over the back of Lex's head, and their mouths moved together needfully, as though the separation since that morning had simply been too long.
Hopefully no students would drop by.
***
It was vaguely wet and gray outside when Lex wheeled up to the police station. He wasn't sure if that was ominous or appropriate. He hadn't to his recollection ever been in a police station, and he had the sense somewhere in the back of his mind that by being here he was admitting guilt to some trespass.
He waited for the woman at the front desk to lead him back to Detective Gray's office. The mocha-skinned man was staring at a screen and was tap-tap-tapping a pen against the side of his laptop.
"Ah, Mr. Luthor. Come in." The imposing man rose and walked around his desk to move a chair out of the way for Lex. "I was glad to receive your call, son. "
"Running out of leads?" Lex asked, raising a brow. "Where's your redheaded partner?"
"Out getting coffee and something fried or Chinese." Gray shrugged and returned to his seat behind the desk. "You spoke of a potential lead on the phone. Elaborate."
"I hesitated to come in, Detective Gray. I don't want you to think that this is more of our family quarrel, but-"
"The facts are: the majority of children are abducted by someone they know. And if that is truly why you're here, you wouldn't be the first Luthor to start pointing fingers due to a past family imbroglio instead of the case at hand." Gray folded his hands and leaned forward. "Tell me."
Lex licked his lips and then began to relate everything Clark had told him about his meeting with Martha Luthor.
"And that's all you remember?" Gray asked. One side of his face tensed unconsciously in concentration as he took in the information.
Lex looked up at the detective and shrugged. "I wasn't there, as I said. It just seems strange to me. I think it would be a good idea for you to check out her father's house. I could be wrong. I just don't know why she would phrase things in that way if she didn't know where Luc was, and now she's getting divorced?"
"The stress of losing their child, or so they're telling the media," Gray replied with a tense grimance.
"Trust me, with Luthors there are three truths. The one you tell the media, the one that actually happened, and the one you tell yourself to keep yourself sane."
"That must be what makes this case so intriguing. May we never have another case for your family."
"I don't disagree."
"You know what I find interesting?" Gray asked, then tap-tapped his pen again. "I hear around the grapevine that you're involved in a class action suit against your father for unlawful firing."
"Is that relevant?" Lex rubbed his hand against the wheel of his chair and wet his lips again.
"It would be if you were suggesting that you father had kidnapped Lucas." Gray chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "Legally, you don't have much advantage by fingering Mrs. Luthor."
"My advantage is getting my brother back," Lex replied tersely.
Gray gave a short nod. "Mr. Luthor, we'll give you a call if we have any further questions."
"Do you think this will help?"
"If we can get a warrant to search the grandfather's house. If we can get there before they move the child, if he is indeed there."
Lex nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. Things were still very much up in the air, and he wouldn't let himself relax until he knew that Lucas was safe. "Got it. Well, thank you for your time."
"Thank you for the information. Would it be possible for me to come by one day for Clark's statement? It will be easier for us to get the warrant with a direct witness to what Mrs. Luthor said."
"Of course. I can set up a meeting in the evening, or you can come by during the day to have a word with him. It isn't a problem."
Gray shrugged and looked a bit uncomfortable. "Good. I know he's…"
"Schizophrenic," Lex reminded the man. "He's had it under control for a while now, however. Hardly ever even hears voices."
Gray chuckled and walked over to Lex's side.
"I'm serious," Lex said flatly. "And he doesn't feel compelled to listen, which is even more important. His psychologist agrees with me. He'll be fine."
Gray gave another shrug. Lex left his office moments later, hoping that the police didn't unnerve Clark any more than necessary, but his boy was growing in strength and confidence every day. Lex trusted that Clark would manage. For Luc's sake.
It began to rain on him as he made his way back to the car.
***
"I hate them," Clark groused, looking away from the mirror. "I look like a nerd."
"Aww. But you're my nerd. We match, now." Lex set the mirror in his lap and looked up at Clark, who was pouting adorably. "You need these to see better, Clark. If you don't wear them, your eyes will degrade more, and they'll have to be thicker. Without them, you'll never be able to drive."
"I just don't see myself as a glasses kind of guy," Clark replied. He looked back at Lex with a deep frown.
"We could spring for contact lenses," Lex suggested. He reached over and touched Clark's chin. "I think they make you look older. We should get you a haircut, get rid of those silly bangs and give you a grown-up cut."
"You don't like my hair?" Clark's lip threatened to wobble again.
"I love your hair, and therefore don't want to see it restrained by something an asylum barber did to you," Lex replied cautiously.
"It has been getting long. I think I could probably pull it into a ponytail by now." Clark picked up the mirror himself and looked.
"Or into pigtails on either side of your head," Lex joked.
Clark rolled his eyes.
Lex sighed dramatically. "What I wouldn't give to have a ponytail."
Clark's soft grin was a great reward. "Will you come with me to get it cut?"
"I wouldn't dream of trusting a stranger alone with your hair," Lex vowed, placing his hand over his heart. His head turned as the door opened, and Mercy walked into their apartment. Lex raised his brows. "Hey, stranger."
"Hey." Mercy pushed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "You guys didn't need me, did you? I had my cell on-"
Lex chuckled. "Don't feel guilty for having a life. I don't need you to watch me 24/7."
"Nope. That's what these are for," Clark put it, tapping his black-rimmed glasses with one finger.
"Not bad. Makes you look real smart, Clark," Mercy said, walking over to the sofa and sitting on the arm.
"Something had to, right?" Clark quipped. "Where have you been lately?"
"Oh, you know. Work."
"Come on," Lex objected, narrowing the corners of his eyes. "You're up to something."
"I… Well, I have to tell you sooner or later, right?" Mercy shrugged and looked downward, her skinny body bent over like a bow. "I met someone. And I'm thinking of moving in with her. It's not too far from here, so… if I'm able to be here when you need me, Lex…"
"That's fantastic," Lex said quietly. He felt the skin of his face stretching into an unrepentant grin. "You met someone. I'm…" He shook his head and met Clark's eyes. Clark was grinning as well, and Lex took his hand before looking over at Mercy. "I'm really happy for you. Who is it?"
Mercy mumbled something. She licked her lips and straightened up before repeating herself. "Daize. That crazy… Video girl."
Lex's mouth opened, his eyes widened, and he laughed happily. He saw Daize occasionally here and there-they'd bumped into one another at the market-but she'd never mentioned that she and Mercy were seeing one another.
"Well?" Mercy asked.
"That's awesome," Clark said. He got up and hugged Mercy against her will. There was really no denying Clark when he wanted a hug. He really was quite a big guy.
"Still happy for you, Mercy, and it's fine if you move out. It worked well enough when you had your own place before," Lex pointed out, motioning with his hand. "And you know that Clark and I are going to be moving soon in any case. This will be fine. We'll help you move. Remember last time?"
"Much better to move together," Mercy agreed. She sighed and patted Clark as she stood and walked over. "Well. Boss."
Lex laughed softly.
"Everything has changed. I mean… I don't know. I'm moving out, and that will be like it was before, but everything else is different. I'm glad to have been here to see it happen." She crossed her slender but strong arms and looked down at Lex. "In my profession, I see a lot of people who have just given up."
"I was one of them."
"Yeah. I know." Mercy quirked the side of her mouth. "So you can imagine how that makes me feel to see you doing so well, you know?"
"Yes." Lex swallowed. There was a prickling feeling around his throat and shoulders as he remembered their years together, then harder times when she'd fought to keep him working and mobile. Times when he hardly cared if he couldn't move or if he ever breathed again. She was rough, firm, and sometimes scary, but one of the most loyal friends he'd had over the years. She'd stayed by his side even when his father had stopped paying her, just to make sure that Lex had been given the care he needed. One bitch, he'd always told himself, who was too mean to scare away.
With a lick of his lips, he took her hand and squeezed it. Not a touch that was familiar to them.
"Thank you, Mercy. For everything," Lex said emphatically, meeting her eyes with a firm gaze.
Mercy crouched down to his level. "You were always my favorite. Just so happens, you have a masseuse now who has bigger hands." She wiggled the fingers of her right hand in front of them.
Lex smiled at her for a moment, then Clark said, "Oh, she means me?"
"They make him look smarter," Mercy said, rolling her eyes. She turned her head and gave Clark a teasing smirk.
"Shhh!" Clark put a finger to his lips. "I wanna fool my professors next semester."
***
Strictly speaking, they didn't drink coffee anymore, but since Lex didn't plan on getting fat any time soon-although Clark would have laughed at the thought-they couldn't always go out for ice cream. Sometimes they went to the coffee shop just off of campus. And ordered tea. Clark would order hot chocolate, even though it was summer time.
So Lex would sit there with the tea he had chosen for that day out of the wide, shifting array of teas the café provided, and Clark with his warm cocoa and whipped cream, and Lex would chat about his day. Clark had come by his office increasingly, now that he knew he could do it, and Lex certainly appreciated someone in his life missing him. Lex had started going to a therapist, provided for by the university, who was much less intense than Dr. Yeh, and less experienced, and therefore much much less expensive. Having the young Dr. Talbot as his psychiatrist simply allowed Lex to have a licensed psychologist around to keep an eye on his medications. Though all in all, Lex found that he preferred to talk about most things with Clark, if something was really bothering him.
Maybe that was what people meant when they called someone your 'partner.' It had sounded business-like to Lex, far too impersonal-until he'd become emotionally intimate with someone for the first time.
"So is the trial coming up soon?" Clark asked, licking some whipped cream off the top of his drink.
Lex grinned at Clark, who had gotten a bit on his nose. He motioned for Clark to come closer with his finger, and when he did, Lex licked the bit of white stuff off. "Trials never come up soon. His lawyers are pushing for a quick court date so more evidence cannot be gathered against him. It gets better, though."
"Oh?" Clark put his arm around Lex and started rubbing the rough spot on his back.
Warm tea and a back massage. Surely a man needed nothing more to be happy.
"Hm. Oh, yes. Michelle came by my office today to talk about the case and apparently, while we're essentially suing LuthorCorp, the FBI has taken the opportunity to convince some of these disaffected employees to talk. We may be seeing my father and two other board members on the news pretty soon. They're looking at multiple accounts of fraud and money laundering, not to mention conspiracy with the local mob."
"Are you serious? Your father is running the mob?" Clark's eyes bulged.
Lex pursed his lips derisively. "Don't give him so much credit. My guess is that he's had some favors back and forth with them. He grew up in that area, after all."
"Ahhh, karma works." Clark sighed.
Lex let out a chuckle. "These are things I would like to teach my children, if I were capable of having them."
"You should have them," Clark replied immediately. "Smart genes like yours should be passed on!"
"Clark. AIDS. I can't in good conscience use my sperm, and you can't get pregnant." Lex rolled his shoulders and sipped the fragrant lavender and black tea sweetened by a stick of agave nectar. "We can't even adopt."
"Yeah, I'd imagine… That would be hard."
"It's funny to me that they'll screen the hell out of adoptive parents, but foster homes are a mess and anybody can have a child if their reproductive organs are in good working order. Even if they're not, they can find a way."
"I didn't know you wanted kids. You'd be good with them, though."
"I wouldn't. I have no patience. And I'm an alcoholic."
"You're patient with me." Clark kissed the back of Lex's head, and then his temple. "And an alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in… over three months. Or was it two? Helen's funeral, right? Unless you've been sneaking."
"No. I have a vested interest in my health, these days." Lex smiled softly and looked up at Clark. "How are you always so positive and sunny?"
"I absorb the sunlight. It gives me my super powers," Clark said. Then he grinned and shook Lex's shoulders. "I'm not always positive. There are times when I'm upset and scared. I was pretty upset, not too long ago…"
"That was a rough situation. Even people without a mental illness have trouble in retail."
"I think retail could give people a mental illness." Clark pulled Lex into his lap, ignoring the bored baristas who were watching them with a smile.
"So, the sunlight, huh? You should write that one down."
Clark chuckled and gave Lex a warm, chocolatey kiss.
***
Things went down a lot faster than Lex had expected.
"Mmph mrrffle," Lex muttered reaching out for what he thought was probably the alarm clock. Clark sat up first and reached over him to pick up the cell phone. Lex opened an eye and watched Clark frowning blindly at the screen for a moment before answering it.
"Hello… Gray?"
Lex sat up.
Clark seemed to rapidly awaken. He put his glasses on, then leapt out of the bed and headed for the closet. Lex had never used it, since he couldn't reach, so Clark had it all to himself, and Lex took the dresser.
"What is it?" Lex asked curiously. His heart seemed to jerk as his mind started to run down the worst of possibilities. He looked at the clock. 3:20am. At 3:20am, it could be anything. It could be the tiny, abused little body…
Clark held up a finger, then looked at Lex and practically lit up like a Christmas tree. "They found him!"
At Clark's tone, Lex bowed over and let tears of relief roll down his cheeks. Clark came back to the bed, throwing his jeans on the dresser as he hugged Lex tightly. A moment later, Clark gave Lex the phone.
"Mr. Luthor?"
"Detective Gray? You found him? How is he?" Lex asked in a successive rapid-fire.
"You were right; he was at the grandfather's, and he didn't seem to know that he was supposed to be missing. They've been treating him well. It's too early to speculate what will happen to Mrs. Luthor and her father, but they will likely both be facing criminal charges for child abduction."
Lex frowned and pressed his lips together. Clark pressed his lips to the bump on the back of his head.
"So he'll be going back to my father tonight?" Lex asked.
"No. Mrs. Luthor claimed in her statement that she believed her husband would physically abuse Lucas, so we've contacted DHS to find a temporary family for him. With his father's impending criminal charges…" Gray trailed off, seeming unwilling to say more.
Lex could put the pieces together, however. Child abduction would have a sentence. His father was also likely going to be going to jail, unless he could weasel his way out from under the FBI. "Can I get the number of the person in charge of Lucas' case? Oh, could we see him before they take him away?"
"We'll be holding him here until DHS gets here. I'll give you the information for his case worker, just in case they arrive in the next few minutes. In these cases they normally want to put the child with a family member..." Gray paused. "You may want to get a lawyer yourself."
"We haven't done anything wrong-" Lex replied stiffly.
"I don’t expect the court, who hasn't interacted with you in the way our officers have, to fully understand your situation. However, it is illegal to discriminate against you because of medical reasons. Get a good lawyer. Don't back down."
Lex nodded, feeling a bit dumbstruck. But his brother was alive, and safe, and that was all that mattered.
When he'd gotten off the phone, Clark looked at him curiously. "Are we going out?"
"We should get going. DHS is coming and I want to see him. Luc may have to spend some time in foster care. Did Gray talk to you about our parents?"
Clark nodded. "Can't they just give Luc to you?"
"We'll see. Gray urged me to get legal counsel… So I'll do what I can. Get dressed."
They were both dressed and headed to the police station in fifteen minutes, after having called a cab, which Lex figured would be faster than getting Mercy across town from Daize's apartment in the middle of the night.
When they lead Lex and Clark back to see Lucas, the little boy was sleeping steadily on a bench with a pillow and a teddy bear. Lex put his hand to his mouth and felt his breath stolen from him. Clark pushed Lex forward so he could reach his brother.
Slowly and tenderly, Lex's fingers moved over Lucas' soft, sleeping face. He was now as much an orphan as Clark had been, as Lex had been himself between his mother's death and his father's neglect. Lucas needed them, not some group of strangers who didn't know or understand him. Lex Luthor didn't pray, but inside he did pray that Lucas wouldn’t be out of their care for long.
Lucas' lids fluttered a little, and he giggled softly at Lex's touch. "Lex!"
"Hey, Luc. It's me. And Clark, too. Gosh, we missed you," Lex told him seriously.
"I was just at Grandpa's house," Lucas said, leaning up to hug his brother as tightly as he was able. "I'm sorry Mommy didn't tell anyone where she took me."
"Me too, buddy. Me too," Lex said honestly.
"Can I come home with you?" the boy pleaded.
Clark crouched down on Lucas' other side and gave him a sad smile. "Not yet. The police and other people want to make sure that it's safe for you first. It might be a little while before we can take you with us."
Lucas sniffed and clung to Lex. "The police man said that I couldn't see Mommy either."
"Well, Luc…" Lex sighed and looked at Clark, who had reached over to pet the boy's hair. "Probably not for a little while."
"Because she didn't tell anybody I was at Grandpa's? Was that bad?"
Lex paused, then pulled back a little to look Luc in the eyes. "Your mother told the police that you were missing, and I know that she told herself that she wanted to protect you from our father-"
"Why… would I need t'be protected from Daddy?" Lucas blinked up at him in confusion.
Lex pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "Well, Luc, when I was a little boy, he wasn't a very good Daddy to me. So she thought he might not be very good to you, and she told everyone you were missing so she could slip away with custody of you when she left him. But they caught her, so she's in trouble right now."
It broke Lex's heart to see Lucas cry, but he didn’t know of any other way but the truth.
"But we're still here, Luc," Clark promised. "We'll come visit you, and then later you can come home with us, okay?"
Lex looked up at Clark uncertainly, because he didn't know if that was going to happen, but Clark wrapped his huge arms around them, and they held one another until the social worker came. She was a heavy-set older woman, who looked over the two of them curiously before she took Lucas from them. He began crying anew.
Clark moved to put his arms around Lex's shoulders, and he kissed his bump as they both watched his brother being taken away.
***
"I want to stay positive. It's my sunny disposition," Clark said stubbornly. His hand moved to Lex's thigh.
"Let's be real here. You're my dependant with schizophrenia. I've got HIV, and your father has had heart trouble in recent years. Between the three of us, we're not a ringing endorsement of stability and permanence." Lex kept his tone as gentle as possible, because he knew that sometimes even the thought that, like any other human on Earth, Lex would die someday, caused Clark great distress.
Clark's hand just tightened on Lex's thigh. "But we're family. Isn't family best?"
"They're going to have issues with putting him with two gay guys with AIDS," Lex insisted.
"I don't have AIDS," Clark said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure as far as DHS is concerned: If I have it, you have it."
"I don't care; I just don't think they should be able to keep your brother away from you."
"Maybe our lawyer can convince them. Character witnesses and all that." Lex tilted his head as he scanned the row of houses down Mulberry Lane, out the window of the van they had borrowed from Mercy. "The Griggs' house should be here somewhere. Do you see a 'birdhouse mailbox'?"
"No. Who has a birdhouse for a mailbox?"
"What kind of minion are you, if you can't find me a house? Oh, wait. I just missed it." Lex sighed and looked for a place to turn around. Clark chuckled in the background and moved his hand up to rub Lex's shoulders.
Moments later, they were pulling into the Griggs' driveway and then heading to the front door. It wasn't a Luthor-sized manse, but the house was nice. Their family was well off, and that in itself was a fairly reassuring. At least Lucas would be fed and clothed. Lex had dark visions of Luc's foster family keeping the poor boy in the basement, chained to the wall.
"Ugh," Lex commented when they reached the stairs up to the porch. "My nemesis, we meet again."
"Hang on." Clark leaned over and lifted his chair up.
"Clark…"
"I got it," Clark insisted, carrying Lex in his chair up the five white, painted steps. He set Lex down on the blue porch and looked up. "Hey there."
Lex turned his head as well and raised his brows. There was a man standing behind the screen door staring at them. Lex cleared his throat. "Mr. Griggs? I'm Lex Luthor. We're here because you said we could visit with Lucas?"
"Ah, they didn't tell me you were… Come in."
The man opened the door for the two of them, and Clark simply took the back of Lex's chair to push him inside. The Griggs' home was nicely tidy, with a large cream-colored couch in the middle of the den in front of a flat screen television. A wide-hipped woman with her hair swept up came down the stairs, looking at them curiously.
"You're Lucas' brothers?" she asked, walking up to Mr. Griggs and putting her hand on his arm. "You can call us Casey and Mary."
"I'm Lucas' brother. This is Clark," Lex clarified. Somehow he felt as though their complex relationship would not be understood by these people. He hardly understood it himself.
Clark leaned over to Casey, offering his hand and a big grin. "Hey, Mr. Griggs."
"And you're Lex's friend?" Mary asked politely.
"I'm his boyfriend," Clark asserted.
Lex scratched the back of his head at the uncomfortable silence and avoided their gaze. Clark's hand touched his shoulder, and Lex rubbed it gently.
"Well, um, your brother was down for a nap. I don't know if he's awake yet," Casey said, looking at his wife.
"We can wait, if he isn't ready for a visit," Lex said firmly. "I haven't seen my brother since the night they got him back, and then it was only for a few minutes. I'd really like to spend some time with him."
"Why don't I put on some coffee?" Mary suggested, and headed into the kitchen without waiting for an answer.
"Let's have a seat," Casey said, walking over to the sofa.
Clark and Lex exchanged a glance and moved together toward the armchair so they could sit close together. Clark inched forward and took Lex's hand, lifting his chin defiantly at Casey.
Oh, Clark. His little would-be hero.
"So what is it you do, Lex?" Casey asked, looking between them.
"I teach freshman science courses at Met U. Next semester I'm getting an upper division course, but primarily I've taught intro courses so far. They're in need of good adjuncts, almost always, in order to keep class sizes at the level they promise, so there's some security to the position," Lex explained. "The pay isn't fantastic, but there are perks to be had at the department, such as insurance and potentially living in the campus apartments."
"Sounds like you've got a nice little set up," Casey said, bobbing his head. " I'm a partner in a mortgage brokerage, myself. And what do you do, Clark?"
"I don't do anything," Clark said with a shrug.
"Oh, shut up. You do." Lex shook his head.
"Well, I did, but I quit," Clark replied.
"He's a student," Lex informed Casey. "Well, he will be come next semester. He tried working at a video store, but he didn't like it, and it's just as well; he should focus on his studies, anyway."
"Good on ya, Clark," Casey said, bobbing his head. "Always got to keep learning, that's what I say. If you stop, then you're just waiting to die."
Lex raised a brow and touched the back of his neck. "I suppose so."
Mary came back in with a tray of coffee and cream. "What do you take, Lex?"
"Oh, black is fine," Lex said, not wanting to say that they didn't really drink coffee anymore.
"Are you sure? What about you, Clark?"
"Oh, no thanks. I've had so much coffee today. I don't want to drive Lex crazy tonight," Clark replied, squeezing Lex's hand. Lex chuckled and gave him a look. Clark stuck the tip of his tongue out at Lex.
Pressing his lips together to keep from laughing, Lex took his coffee cup in his hand, and turned his head back to the Griggs. "So have you been volunteering as foster parents for long?"
"Oh, we got involved about six years ago," Mary replied, "after our oldest Sarah's friend lost her mother." She lowered her voice. "Suicide."
"You have children of your own, then?" Lex asked, moving his thumb back and forth over the rim of his mug anxiously.
"Sarah and Joey," Mary said proudly. "They both made the honor roll this time!"
"That's great. I used to get on the honor roll when I went to school," Clark said. "It's uh… Been a while."
"Well, that's all right. I had a couple of high school buddies who took a few years off before college," Casey put in. "Oh, high school was a lot simpler."
"Not for me," Clark replied. "I only went a few months."
Lex looked up at Clark, who had bitten his lip, probably realizing that he might not want to talk about time spent in a mental institution with the people who might have the ability to keep Lucas from them.
"Why's that, Clark? You dropped out?" Mary set down her coffee cup. "Did you finish, Lex?"
"You could say I finished," Lex replied wryly. Seeing the opportunity to shift the conversation away from Clark, he began detailing his early graduation from Excelsior to his various degrees. He stopped only when he heard a soft gasp at the top of the stairs.
"Lex!" Lucas squealed just before starting to descend the stairs with little hops.
"Oh, be careful, Lucas," Mary urged. She stood and hurried up to his side.
"I can do it," Lucas insisted.
"Hey, Luc!" Lex opened up his arms, and in spite of Mary's hesitation, Lucas came flying at him, the way he always did, and crawled up in Lex's lap. Lex felt himself trembling a little as he held his little brother to his chest. "I missed you, Luc," he whispered.
"I missed you too!" Lucas replied, returning Lex's hug with all he was worth.
"Just had to come by and see you. Check this pad out," Lex told him. He ran his fingers through Lucas' dark hair, straightening it a little. The Griggs weren't keeping his curls from getting tangled.
"Can I go home with you now?" The boy clearly sensed that something else was going on, and he sat back on his heels, touching Lex's face lightly.
"Oh, no!" Mary interceded quickly. She covered with a very fake laugh. "No, the social worker decided that it would be best for you to stay here, remember sweetie?"
Lucas looked up at them doubtfully. Lex pursed his lips. "It has to be this way right now, Luc, but we're going to try to convince them what a nice place we'll have for you. Did I tell you we're moving to a bigger apartment? The ones near the campus where the other professors stay. You can have your own room, like back at home."
"Yeah? I got t'share with their kids here."
"Well, sharing isn't too bad. I share with Clark," Lex pointed out.
Lucas covered his mouth and giggled. "Does Clark snore?"
"Nah, I don't think he does. He mumbles."
Lucas giggled again. Clark crouched beside them and smiled brightly. "Missed ya too, big guy," he said, mussing Lucas' hair.
As Lex and Clark crowded around Lucas once again under the Griggs' strict and jealous glares, Lex knew for certain that he was laying the gauntlet down. This was his brother. This was his family. These were the people who crowded around him and made this miserable, brief, tortured existence worth the breath and pills that it took to sustain it. This sack of flesh and bones was nothing but a walking corpse, if Lex did not have his family around him to support, and to support him in return.
And he wouldn't let any force in the world keep them apart.
Cry havoc, Lex thought to himself, pressing a kiss to his little brother's forehead, and let slip the dogs of war.
Until then, he would give the Griggs sweet smiles of compliance; for tomorrow, he would be meeting with a lawyer.
Pairing: Clex
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Clark is finally out of the asylum, but his journey back to sanity isn’t over yet. An unlikely savior takes him in and gives him a chance to redeem himself.
Spoilers: Through S6 Labyrinth.
Warnings: Totally AU. Dark and possibly triggering for folks with depression. WIP
Thanks to my faabulous beta! herohunter
Previous Chapters:
One ♥ Two ♥ Three ♥ Four ♥ Five ♥ Six ♥ Seven ♥ Eight ♥ Nine ♥ Ten ♥ Eleven
Part Twelve
Lex felt like a nap in his office might be in order as he wheeled towards the elevator, hoping the bastard thing wouldn't stop on him, like it occasionally did. He knew their department was lucky, to a degree, to have an elevator at all, but why they put the guy in the wheelchair on the fifth floor when their elevator had the habit of faltering so badly, Lex would never know.
At least the technician usually came pretty quickly.
After the elevator came to a screeching halt, Lex drummed his fingers on the side of his chair as he waited for the door to slowly open then rolled out with his satchel containing his teaching materials in his lap. In order do to the wheeling around campus that he was now required to do these days, he'd gotten a pair of fingerless gloves to save his palms. He was beginning to like the freedom of scuttling himself around without help.
He paused for a moment as he saw a dark haired young man sitting cross-legged outside of his office pecking away at a laptop. It only took a moment before his brows rose in surprise and his lips stretched into a lopsided smile.
"Clark," he said softly.
Clark looked up and favored him with a boyish grin. "Hey! I took the bus!" he bragged enthusiastically.
"You did. That's… I hate taking the bus." Lex drew closer to Clark, then started to fish through his bag for his keys. "How did you get a bus schedule?"
"They have one online for the whole system. There's a stop not too far from our apartment," Clark explained, leaning over to give Lex a kiss on the head.
Lex chuckled softly as he unlocked the door and wheeled back so that he could open it. "Welcome to my cell," he said dryly.
"Uh. Wow. This is a really small room." Clark tilted his head back as he carried the laptop and his backpack in with him. "I was expecting something… not so small. Are you being punished?"
"Well, not really. At least this one has a window." Lex approached his desk and set his satchel on it. "Have a seat. This was a nice surprise, Clark. I think you just made my day better."
"Has it not been good?" Clark asked, concern clearly lacing his voice.
Lex turned to face Clark as the younger man arranged the things he was carrying. "Not really that bad. My students were particularly unfocused today, and I dislike having to get impatient with them. How has your day been? Was getting here an adventure?"
"A bus adventure," Clark said, lighting up. "I saw these two older ladies on their way home from the grocery store. One of them had blue hair."
His hands fidgeted as though he wanted to touch Lex. Feeling warmth blossom in his chest, Lex reached out for Clark's hand. "Well, I'm glad to see you."
Clark moved over into Lex's lap, and Lex's arms went around him. Lex had work to do, papers to grade, and some students might come by for his office hours, but he couldn't deny Clark some affection. He seemed to need it.
"What is it?" Lex asked, after petting Clark's back for several minutes.
"My mom came by."
A foreboding chill went up the part of Lex's spine that he could feel. He let his fingers brush over the back of Clark's neck for a few more moments before he spoke again. "What did she want?"
"Me. She was trying to get me to run away to California with her and live with them. And Lucas."
"Lucas? She said that? But… We don't even know where he is." Lex pulled back a little and moved his hand to Clark's cheek. "Tell me exactly what she said."
"Um, she said that… Basically what I said. She wanted me to come live with her and Lucas with my grandfather," Clark answered after a moment.
"Did she qualify that? Did she say: 'After we find Lucas, we'll all go live with grandfather'?" Lex raised his eyebrows. He felt an uncomfortableness in his stomach.
"No. She said what I said she said, and then we argued about it for like ten minutes."
Clark's cheeks were flushed pink, so Lex nodded and petted them gently, giving Clark a kiss. "All right then. Don't worry about it anymore."
Rough fingers moved over the back of Lex's head, and their mouths moved together needfully, as though the separation since that morning had simply been too long.
Hopefully no students would drop by.
***
It was vaguely wet and gray outside when Lex wheeled up to the police station. He wasn't sure if that was ominous or appropriate. He hadn't to his recollection ever been in a police station, and he had the sense somewhere in the back of his mind that by being here he was admitting guilt to some trespass.
He waited for the woman at the front desk to lead him back to Detective Gray's office. The mocha-skinned man was staring at a screen and was tap-tap-tapping a pen against the side of his laptop.
"Ah, Mr. Luthor. Come in." The imposing man rose and walked around his desk to move a chair out of the way for Lex. "I was glad to receive your call, son. "
"Running out of leads?" Lex asked, raising a brow. "Where's your redheaded partner?"
"Out getting coffee and something fried or Chinese." Gray shrugged and returned to his seat behind the desk. "You spoke of a potential lead on the phone. Elaborate."
"I hesitated to come in, Detective Gray. I don't want you to think that this is more of our family quarrel, but-"
"The facts are: the majority of children are abducted by someone they know. And if that is truly why you're here, you wouldn't be the first Luthor to start pointing fingers due to a past family imbroglio instead of the case at hand." Gray folded his hands and leaned forward. "Tell me."
Lex licked his lips and then began to relate everything Clark had told him about his meeting with Martha Luthor.
"And that's all you remember?" Gray asked. One side of his face tensed unconsciously in concentration as he took in the information.
Lex looked up at the detective and shrugged. "I wasn't there, as I said. It just seems strange to me. I think it would be a good idea for you to check out her father's house. I could be wrong. I just don't know why she would phrase things in that way if she didn't know where Luc was, and now she's getting divorced?"
"The stress of losing their child, or so they're telling the media," Gray replied with a tense grimance.
"Trust me, with Luthors there are three truths. The one you tell the media, the one that actually happened, and the one you tell yourself to keep yourself sane."
"That must be what makes this case so intriguing. May we never have another case for your family."
"I don't disagree."
"You know what I find interesting?" Gray asked, then tap-tapped his pen again. "I hear around the grapevine that you're involved in a class action suit against your father for unlawful firing."
"Is that relevant?" Lex rubbed his hand against the wheel of his chair and wet his lips again.
"It would be if you were suggesting that you father had kidnapped Lucas." Gray chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "Legally, you don't have much advantage by fingering Mrs. Luthor."
"My advantage is getting my brother back," Lex replied tersely.
Gray gave a short nod. "Mr. Luthor, we'll give you a call if we have any further questions."
"Do you think this will help?"
"If we can get a warrant to search the grandfather's house. If we can get there before they move the child, if he is indeed there."
Lex nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. Things were still very much up in the air, and he wouldn't let himself relax until he knew that Lucas was safe. "Got it. Well, thank you for your time."
"Thank you for the information. Would it be possible for me to come by one day for Clark's statement? It will be easier for us to get the warrant with a direct witness to what Mrs. Luthor said."
"Of course. I can set up a meeting in the evening, or you can come by during the day to have a word with him. It isn't a problem."
Gray shrugged and looked a bit uncomfortable. "Good. I know he's…"
"Schizophrenic," Lex reminded the man. "He's had it under control for a while now, however. Hardly ever even hears voices."
Gray chuckled and walked over to Lex's side.
"I'm serious," Lex said flatly. "And he doesn't feel compelled to listen, which is even more important. His psychologist agrees with me. He'll be fine."
Gray gave another shrug. Lex left his office moments later, hoping that the police didn't unnerve Clark any more than necessary, but his boy was growing in strength and confidence every day. Lex trusted that Clark would manage. For Luc's sake.
It began to rain on him as he made his way back to the car.
***
"I hate them," Clark groused, looking away from the mirror. "I look like a nerd."
"Aww. But you're my nerd. We match, now." Lex set the mirror in his lap and looked up at Clark, who was pouting adorably. "You need these to see better, Clark. If you don't wear them, your eyes will degrade more, and they'll have to be thicker. Without them, you'll never be able to drive."
"I just don't see myself as a glasses kind of guy," Clark replied. He looked back at Lex with a deep frown.
"We could spring for contact lenses," Lex suggested. He reached over and touched Clark's chin. "I think they make you look older. We should get you a haircut, get rid of those silly bangs and give you a grown-up cut."
"You don't like my hair?" Clark's lip threatened to wobble again.
"I love your hair, and therefore don't want to see it restrained by something an asylum barber did to you," Lex replied cautiously.
"It has been getting long. I think I could probably pull it into a ponytail by now." Clark picked up the mirror himself and looked.
"Or into pigtails on either side of your head," Lex joked.
Clark rolled his eyes.
Lex sighed dramatically. "What I wouldn't give to have a ponytail."
Clark's soft grin was a great reward. "Will you come with me to get it cut?"
"I wouldn't dream of trusting a stranger alone with your hair," Lex vowed, placing his hand over his heart. His head turned as the door opened, and Mercy walked into their apartment. Lex raised his brows. "Hey, stranger."
"Hey." Mercy pushed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "You guys didn't need me, did you? I had my cell on-"
Lex chuckled. "Don't feel guilty for having a life. I don't need you to watch me 24/7."
"Nope. That's what these are for," Clark put it, tapping his black-rimmed glasses with one finger.
"Not bad. Makes you look real smart, Clark," Mercy said, walking over to the sofa and sitting on the arm.
"Something had to, right?" Clark quipped. "Where have you been lately?"
"Oh, you know. Work."
"Come on," Lex objected, narrowing the corners of his eyes. "You're up to something."
"I… Well, I have to tell you sooner or later, right?" Mercy shrugged and looked downward, her skinny body bent over like a bow. "I met someone. And I'm thinking of moving in with her. It's not too far from here, so… if I'm able to be here when you need me, Lex…"
"That's fantastic," Lex said quietly. He felt the skin of his face stretching into an unrepentant grin. "You met someone. I'm…" He shook his head and met Clark's eyes. Clark was grinning as well, and Lex took his hand before looking over at Mercy. "I'm really happy for you. Who is it?"
Mercy mumbled something. She licked her lips and straightened up before repeating herself. "Daize. That crazy… Video girl."
Lex's mouth opened, his eyes widened, and he laughed happily. He saw Daize occasionally here and there-they'd bumped into one another at the market-but she'd never mentioned that she and Mercy were seeing one another.
"Well?" Mercy asked.
"That's awesome," Clark said. He got up and hugged Mercy against her will. There was really no denying Clark when he wanted a hug. He really was quite a big guy.
"Still happy for you, Mercy, and it's fine if you move out. It worked well enough when you had your own place before," Lex pointed out, motioning with his hand. "And you know that Clark and I are going to be moving soon in any case. This will be fine. We'll help you move. Remember last time?"
"Much better to move together," Mercy agreed. She sighed and patted Clark as she stood and walked over. "Well. Boss."
Lex laughed softly.
"Everything has changed. I mean… I don't know. I'm moving out, and that will be like it was before, but everything else is different. I'm glad to have been here to see it happen." She crossed her slender but strong arms and looked down at Lex. "In my profession, I see a lot of people who have just given up."
"I was one of them."
"Yeah. I know." Mercy quirked the side of her mouth. "So you can imagine how that makes me feel to see you doing so well, you know?"
"Yes." Lex swallowed. There was a prickling feeling around his throat and shoulders as he remembered their years together, then harder times when she'd fought to keep him working and mobile. Times when he hardly cared if he couldn't move or if he ever breathed again. She was rough, firm, and sometimes scary, but one of the most loyal friends he'd had over the years. She'd stayed by his side even when his father had stopped paying her, just to make sure that Lex had been given the care he needed. One bitch, he'd always told himself, who was too mean to scare away.
With a lick of his lips, he took her hand and squeezed it. Not a touch that was familiar to them.
"Thank you, Mercy. For everything," Lex said emphatically, meeting her eyes with a firm gaze.
Mercy crouched down to his level. "You were always my favorite. Just so happens, you have a masseuse now who has bigger hands." She wiggled the fingers of her right hand in front of them.
Lex smiled at her for a moment, then Clark said, "Oh, she means me?"
"They make him look smarter," Mercy said, rolling her eyes. She turned her head and gave Clark a teasing smirk.
"Shhh!" Clark put a finger to his lips. "I wanna fool my professors next semester."
***
Strictly speaking, they didn't drink coffee anymore, but since Lex didn't plan on getting fat any time soon-although Clark would have laughed at the thought-they couldn't always go out for ice cream. Sometimes they went to the coffee shop just off of campus. And ordered tea. Clark would order hot chocolate, even though it was summer time.
So Lex would sit there with the tea he had chosen for that day out of the wide, shifting array of teas the café provided, and Clark with his warm cocoa and whipped cream, and Lex would chat about his day. Clark had come by his office increasingly, now that he knew he could do it, and Lex certainly appreciated someone in his life missing him. Lex had started going to a therapist, provided for by the university, who was much less intense than Dr. Yeh, and less experienced, and therefore much much less expensive. Having the young Dr. Talbot as his psychiatrist simply allowed Lex to have a licensed psychologist around to keep an eye on his medications. Though all in all, Lex found that he preferred to talk about most things with Clark, if something was really bothering him.
Maybe that was what people meant when they called someone your 'partner.' It had sounded business-like to Lex, far too impersonal-until he'd become emotionally intimate with someone for the first time.
"So is the trial coming up soon?" Clark asked, licking some whipped cream off the top of his drink.
Lex grinned at Clark, who had gotten a bit on his nose. He motioned for Clark to come closer with his finger, and when he did, Lex licked the bit of white stuff off. "Trials never come up soon. His lawyers are pushing for a quick court date so more evidence cannot be gathered against him. It gets better, though."
"Oh?" Clark put his arm around Lex and started rubbing the rough spot on his back.
Warm tea and a back massage. Surely a man needed nothing more to be happy.
"Hm. Oh, yes. Michelle came by my office today to talk about the case and apparently, while we're essentially suing LuthorCorp, the FBI has taken the opportunity to convince some of these disaffected employees to talk. We may be seeing my father and two other board members on the news pretty soon. They're looking at multiple accounts of fraud and money laundering, not to mention conspiracy with the local mob."
"Are you serious? Your father is running the mob?" Clark's eyes bulged.
Lex pursed his lips derisively. "Don't give him so much credit. My guess is that he's had some favors back and forth with them. He grew up in that area, after all."
"Ahhh, karma works." Clark sighed.
Lex let out a chuckle. "These are things I would like to teach my children, if I were capable of having them."
"You should have them," Clark replied immediately. "Smart genes like yours should be passed on!"
"Clark. AIDS. I can't in good conscience use my sperm, and you can't get pregnant." Lex rolled his shoulders and sipped the fragrant lavender and black tea sweetened by a stick of agave nectar. "We can't even adopt."
"Yeah, I'd imagine… That would be hard."
"It's funny to me that they'll screen the hell out of adoptive parents, but foster homes are a mess and anybody can have a child if their reproductive organs are in good working order. Even if they're not, they can find a way."
"I didn't know you wanted kids. You'd be good with them, though."
"I wouldn't. I have no patience. And I'm an alcoholic."
"You're patient with me." Clark kissed the back of Lex's head, and then his temple. "And an alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in… over three months. Or was it two? Helen's funeral, right? Unless you've been sneaking."
"No. I have a vested interest in my health, these days." Lex smiled softly and looked up at Clark. "How are you always so positive and sunny?"
"I absorb the sunlight. It gives me my super powers," Clark said. Then he grinned and shook Lex's shoulders. "I'm not always positive. There are times when I'm upset and scared. I was pretty upset, not too long ago…"
"That was a rough situation. Even people without a mental illness have trouble in retail."
"I think retail could give people a mental illness." Clark pulled Lex into his lap, ignoring the bored baristas who were watching them with a smile.
"So, the sunlight, huh? You should write that one down."
Clark chuckled and gave Lex a warm, chocolatey kiss.
***
Things went down a lot faster than Lex had expected.
"Mmph mrrffle," Lex muttered reaching out for what he thought was probably the alarm clock. Clark sat up first and reached over him to pick up the cell phone. Lex opened an eye and watched Clark frowning blindly at the screen for a moment before answering it.
"Hello… Gray?"
Lex sat up.
Clark seemed to rapidly awaken. He put his glasses on, then leapt out of the bed and headed for the closet. Lex had never used it, since he couldn't reach, so Clark had it all to himself, and Lex took the dresser.
"What is it?" Lex asked curiously. His heart seemed to jerk as his mind started to run down the worst of possibilities. He looked at the clock. 3:20am. At 3:20am, it could be anything. It could be the tiny, abused little body…
Clark held up a finger, then looked at Lex and practically lit up like a Christmas tree. "They found him!"
At Clark's tone, Lex bowed over and let tears of relief roll down his cheeks. Clark came back to the bed, throwing his jeans on the dresser as he hugged Lex tightly. A moment later, Clark gave Lex the phone.
"Mr. Luthor?"
"Detective Gray? You found him? How is he?" Lex asked in a successive rapid-fire.
"You were right; he was at the grandfather's, and he didn't seem to know that he was supposed to be missing. They've been treating him well. It's too early to speculate what will happen to Mrs. Luthor and her father, but they will likely both be facing criminal charges for child abduction."
Lex frowned and pressed his lips together. Clark pressed his lips to the bump on the back of his head.
"So he'll be going back to my father tonight?" Lex asked.
"No. Mrs. Luthor claimed in her statement that she believed her husband would physically abuse Lucas, so we've contacted DHS to find a temporary family for him. With his father's impending criminal charges…" Gray trailed off, seeming unwilling to say more.
Lex could put the pieces together, however. Child abduction would have a sentence. His father was also likely going to be going to jail, unless he could weasel his way out from under the FBI. "Can I get the number of the person in charge of Lucas' case? Oh, could we see him before they take him away?"
"We'll be holding him here until DHS gets here. I'll give you the information for his case worker, just in case they arrive in the next few minutes. In these cases they normally want to put the child with a family member..." Gray paused. "You may want to get a lawyer yourself."
"We haven't done anything wrong-" Lex replied stiffly.
"I don’t expect the court, who hasn't interacted with you in the way our officers have, to fully understand your situation. However, it is illegal to discriminate against you because of medical reasons. Get a good lawyer. Don't back down."
Lex nodded, feeling a bit dumbstruck. But his brother was alive, and safe, and that was all that mattered.
When he'd gotten off the phone, Clark looked at him curiously. "Are we going out?"
"We should get going. DHS is coming and I want to see him. Luc may have to spend some time in foster care. Did Gray talk to you about our parents?"
Clark nodded. "Can't they just give Luc to you?"
"We'll see. Gray urged me to get legal counsel… So I'll do what I can. Get dressed."
They were both dressed and headed to the police station in fifteen minutes, after having called a cab, which Lex figured would be faster than getting Mercy across town from Daize's apartment in the middle of the night.
When they lead Lex and Clark back to see Lucas, the little boy was sleeping steadily on a bench with a pillow and a teddy bear. Lex put his hand to his mouth and felt his breath stolen from him. Clark pushed Lex forward so he could reach his brother.
Slowly and tenderly, Lex's fingers moved over Lucas' soft, sleeping face. He was now as much an orphan as Clark had been, as Lex had been himself between his mother's death and his father's neglect. Lucas needed them, not some group of strangers who didn't know or understand him. Lex Luthor didn't pray, but inside he did pray that Lucas wouldn’t be out of their care for long.
Lucas' lids fluttered a little, and he giggled softly at Lex's touch. "Lex!"
"Hey, Luc. It's me. And Clark, too. Gosh, we missed you," Lex told him seriously.
"I was just at Grandpa's house," Lucas said, leaning up to hug his brother as tightly as he was able. "I'm sorry Mommy didn't tell anyone where she took me."
"Me too, buddy. Me too," Lex said honestly.
"Can I come home with you?" the boy pleaded.
Clark crouched down on Lucas' other side and gave him a sad smile. "Not yet. The police and other people want to make sure that it's safe for you first. It might be a little while before we can take you with us."
Lucas sniffed and clung to Lex. "The police man said that I couldn't see Mommy either."
"Well, Luc…" Lex sighed and looked at Clark, who had reached over to pet the boy's hair. "Probably not for a little while."
"Because she didn't tell anybody I was at Grandpa's? Was that bad?"
Lex paused, then pulled back a little to look Luc in the eyes. "Your mother told the police that you were missing, and I know that she told herself that she wanted to protect you from our father-"
"Why… would I need t'be protected from Daddy?" Lucas blinked up at him in confusion.
Lex pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "Well, Luc, when I was a little boy, he wasn't a very good Daddy to me. So she thought he might not be very good to you, and she told everyone you were missing so she could slip away with custody of you when she left him. But they caught her, so she's in trouble right now."
It broke Lex's heart to see Lucas cry, but he didn’t know of any other way but the truth.
"But we're still here, Luc," Clark promised. "We'll come visit you, and then later you can come home with us, okay?"
Lex looked up at Clark uncertainly, because he didn't know if that was going to happen, but Clark wrapped his huge arms around them, and they held one another until the social worker came. She was a heavy-set older woman, who looked over the two of them curiously before she took Lucas from them. He began crying anew.
Clark moved to put his arms around Lex's shoulders, and he kissed his bump as they both watched his brother being taken away.
***
"I want to stay positive. It's my sunny disposition," Clark said stubbornly. His hand moved to Lex's thigh.
"Let's be real here. You're my dependant with schizophrenia. I've got HIV, and your father has had heart trouble in recent years. Between the three of us, we're not a ringing endorsement of stability and permanence." Lex kept his tone as gentle as possible, because he knew that sometimes even the thought that, like any other human on Earth, Lex would die someday, caused Clark great distress.
Clark's hand just tightened on Lex's thigh. "But we're family. Isn't family best?"
"They're going to have issues with putting him with two gay guys with AIDS," Lex insisted.
"I don't have AIDS," Clark said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure as far as DHS is concerned: If I have it, you have it."
"I don't care; I just don't think they should be able to keep your brother away from you."
"Maybe our lawyer can convince them. Character witnesses and all that." Lex tilted his head as he scanned the row of houses down Mulberry Lane, out the window of the van they had borrowed from Mercy. "The Griggs' house should be here somewhere. Do you see a 'birdhouse mailbox'?"
"No. Who has a birdhouse for a mailbox?"
"What kind of minion are you, if you can't find me a house? Oh, wait. I just missed it." Lex sighed and looked for a place to turn around. Clark chuckled in the background and moved his hand up to rub Lex's shoulders.
Moments later, they were pulling into the Griggs' driveway and then heading to the front door. It wasn't a Luthor-sized manse, but the house was nice. Their family was well off, and that in itself was a fairly reassuring. At least Lucas would be fed and clothed. Lex had dark visions of Luc's foster family keeping the poor boy in the basement, chained to the wall.
"Ugh," Lex commented when they reached the stairs up to the porch. "My nemesis, we meet again."
"Hang on." Clark leaned over and lifted his chair up.
"Clark…"
"I got it," Clark insisted, carrying Lex in his chair up the five white, painted steps. He set Lex down on the blue porch and looked up. "Hey there."
Lex turned his head as well and raised his brows. There was a man standing behind the screen door staring at them. Lex cleared his throat. "Mr. Griggs? I'm Lex Luthor. We're here because you said we could visit with Lucas?"
"Ah, they didn't tell me you were… Come in."
The man opened the door for the two of them, and Clark simply took the back of Lex's chair to push him inside. The Griggs' home was nicely tidy, with a large cream-colored couch in the middle of the den in front of a flat screen television. A wide-hipped woman with her hair swept up came down the stairs, looking at them curiously.
"You're Lucas' brothers?" she asked, walking up to Mr. Griggs and putting her hand on his arm. "You can call us Casey and Mary."
"I'm Lucas' brother. This is Clark," Lex clarified. Somehow he felt as though their complex relationship would not be understood by these people. He hardly understood it himself.
Clark leaned over to Casey, offering his hand and a big grin. "Hey, Mr. Griggs."
"And you're Lex's friend?" Mary asked politely.
"I'm his boyfriend," Clark asserted.
Lex scratched the back of his head at the uncomfortable silence and avoided their gaze. Clark's hand touched his shoulder, and Lex rubbed it gently.
"Well, um, your brother was down for a nap. I don't know if he's awake yet," Casey said, looking at his wife.
"We can wait, if he isn't ready for a visit," Lex said firmly. "I haven't seen my brother since the night they got him back, and then it was only for a few minutes. I'd really like to spend some time with him."
"Why don't I put on some coffee?" Mary suggested, and headed into the kitchen without waiting for an answer.
"Let's have a seat," Casey said, walking over to the sofa.
Clark and Lex exchanged a glance and moved together toward the armchair so they could sit close together. Clark inched forward and took Lex's hand, lifting his chin defiantly at Casey.
Oh, Clark. His little would-be hero.
"So what is it you do, Lex?" Casey asked, looking between them.
"I teach freshman science courses at Met U. Next semester I'm getting an upper division course, but primarily I've taught intro courses so far. They're in need of good adjuncts, almost always, in order to keep class sizes at the level they promise, so there's some security to the position," Lex explained. "The pay isn't fantastic, but there are perks to be had at the department, such as insurance and potentially living in the campus apartments."
"Sounds like you've got a nice little set up," Casey said, bobbing his head. " I'm a partner in a mortgage brokerage, myself. And what do you do, Clark?"
"I don't do anything," Clark said with a shrug.
"Oh, shut up. You do." Lex shook his head.
"Well, I did, but I quit," Clark replied.
"He's a student," Lex informed Casey. "Well, he will be come next semester. He tried working at a video store, but he didn't like it, and it's just as well; he should focus on his studies, anyway."
"Good on ya, Clark," Casey said, bobbing his head. "Always got to keep learning, that's what I say. If you stop, then you're just waiting to die."
Lex raised a brow and touched the back of his neck. "I suppose so."
Mary came back in with a tray of coffee and cream. "What do you take, Lex?"
"Oh, black is fine," Lex said, not wanting to say that they didn't really drink coffee anymore.
"Are you sure? What about you, Clark?"
"Oh, no thanks. I've had so much coffee today. I don't want to drive Lex crazy tonight," Clark replied, squeezing Lex's hand. Lex chuckled and gave him a look. Clark stuck the tip of his tongue out at Lex.
Pressing his lips together to keep from laughing, Lex took his coffee cup in his hand, and turned his head back to the Griggs. "So have you been volunteering as foster parents for long?"
"Oh, we got involved about six years ago," Mary replied, "after our oldest Sarah's friend lost her mother." She lowered her voice. "Suicide."
"You have children of your own, then?" Lex asked, moving his thumb back and forth over the rim of his mug anxiously.
"Sarah and Joey," Mary said proudly. "They both made the honor roll this time!"
"That's great. I used to get on the honor roll when I went to school," Clark said. "It's uh… Been a while."
"Well, that's all right. I had a couple of high school buddies who took a few years off before college," Casey put in. "Oh, high school was a lot simpler."
"Not for me," Clark replied. "I only went a few months."
Lex looked up at Clark, who had bitten his lip, probably realizing that he might not want to talk about time spent in a mental institution with the people who might have the ability to keep Lucas from them.
"Why's that, Clark? You dropped out?" Mary set down her coffee cup. "Did you finish, Lex?"
"You could say I finished," Lex replied wryly. Seeing the opportunity to shift the conversation away from Clark, he began detailing his early graduation from Excelsior to his various degrees. He stopped only when he heard a soft gasp at the top of the stairs.
"Lex!" Lucas squealed just before starting to descend the stairs with little hops.
"Oh, be careful, Lucas," Mary urged. She stood and hurried up to his side.
"I can do it," Lucas insisted.
"Hey, Luc!" Lex opened up his arms, and in spite of Mary's hesitation, Lucas came flying at him, the way he always did, and crawled up in Lex's lap. Lex felt himself trembling a little as he held his little brother to his chest. "I missed you, Luc," he whispered.
"I missed you too!" Lucas replied, returning Lex's hug with all he was worth.
"Just had to come by and see you. Check this pad out," Lex told him. He ran his fingers through Lucas' dark hair, straightening it a little. The Griggs weren't keeping his curls from getting tangled.
"Can I go home with you now?" The boy clearly sensed that something else was going on, and he sat back on his heels, touching Lex's face lightly.
"Oh, no!" Mary interceded quickly. She covered with a very fake laugh. "No, the social worker decided that it would be best for you to stay here, remember sweetie?"
Lucas looked up at them doubtfully. Lex pursed his lips. "It has to be this way right now, Luc, but we're going to try to convince them what a nice place we'll have for you. Did I tell you we're moving to a bigger apartment? The ones near the campus where the other professors stay. You can have your own room, like back at home."
"Yeah? I got t'share with their kids here."
"Well, sharing isn't too bad. I share with Clark," Lex pointed out.
Lucas covered his mouth and giggled. "Does Clark snore?"
"Nah, I don't think he does. He mumbles."
Lucas giggled again. Clark crouched beside them and smiled brightly. "Missed ya too, big guy," he said, mussing Lucas' hair.
As Lex and Clark crowded around Lucas once again under the Griggs' strict and jealous glares, Lex knew for certain that he was laying the gauntlet down. This was his brother. This was his family. These were the people who crowded around him and made this miserable, brief, tortured existence worth the breath and pills that it took to sustain it. This sack of flesh and bones was nothing but a walking corpse, if Lex did not have his family around him to support, and to support him in return.
And he wouldn't let any force in the world keep them apart.
Cry havoc, Lex thought to himself, pressing a kiss to his little brother's forehead, and let slip the dogs of war.
Until then, he would give the Griggs sweet smiles of compliance; for tomorrow, he would be meeting with a lawyer.