Crossroads - Chapter 7

by a campbell

Clark Kent/Lex Luthor, PG-13

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The land around Loeb Bridge, river, bank, and woods, didn’t look much different in early spring than it did in fall. Clark leaned on the rail, looking out over nearly bare trees and muddy banks as he waited for Lex, hoping there was no important business that would keep him from being here around four, as his message, left on the Kents’ voice mail, requested.

Clark didn’t like thinking of himself as sentimental, so he circled the thought that Lex had chosen this spot for its significance to their relationship, to everything they’d been to each other, good and ill.

Here by the river, Clark could better call up in memory the sodden, deathly torpor of Lex’s limp body when Clark had dragged him up the bank from the water. The sensation of Lex’s cold, clammy lips under his own warm, desperate mouth, the shock and thrill when the life had come back into him and he’d started up with a jolt and an expression of awe and wonder on his beautiful face.

Sure, Clark could tell himself that it was his father’s story about the spaceship a few days later that worked such a crisis and change in his own mind, heart, and soul, but he knew that was only part of the picture. The day he and Lex had met by accident, his life had changed forever, shown him how it felt to fly, in spirit, for the very first time.

Now, nearly a week since their conversation with his mother, he was still no closer to an answer. Part of him wanted to surrender to Lex and let him plan everything, to trust him as he never had before. Another, voice, sterner and more strident, and sounding suspiciously like Jonathan's, counseled extreme caution. Even if Lex loved him, Clark knew well enough that his desire for knowledge and power eclipsed everything else, and where the chips would fall when--.

He didn’t have a ton of choices right now. Stay at the farm or go with Lex. His mom loved him, but Lex had better means than anyone else to help him through this, money and connections, and whether or not Clark deserved special care and consideration, the baby sure did. He had to do everything he possibly could to see that it would be born, and live. If he had no more practical answers from the past few days’ consideration, he knew that much.

Brakes squealed on the pavement behind him, jarring him from his thoughts. He turned to see Lex exiting a silver Porsche, dark jacket and sweater calling up even more memories of the day long ago when time had stopped and a new life began for both of them.

Lex slammed the door and spread his arms as he approached Clark with a cocksure grin. "Hey. I know it’s not the same car, but it’s the same model. For old time’s sake."

Clark bestowed a brief glance on the gleaming car and smiled. "It’s great, Lex."

"You noticed I stopped short of hitting you this time."

"Thanks. That’s appreciated."

Lex stood before him, looking him up and down with that sleek, assessing gaze that Clark had never failed to find arousing in days past. "Come here." He reached out a hand and beckoned with one slim finger, husky voice deepening as his eyes darkened . And Clark didn’t think at all, just moved into the embrace, letting his arms fold around Lex as their mouths met and surroundings faded into blankness.

Luckily, the bridge was deserted. Clark stepped back first with an anxious glance around, one lingering palm gliding down the side of Lex’s scalp as he released him. "Hi."

With a preoccupied smile, Lex brushed a hand across his own lips. "You don’t look a day over fifteen this afternoon." Which told Clark that Lex must be thinking of that long-ago October afternoon just as he was. He didn’t blush as easily as that fifteen-year-old from days past, but yet he felt warm blood mounting up his jaw and into his cheeks at Lex’s words.

They both turned at the same time to lean elbows on the rail and gaze out over the swift-moving river, still laden with bobbing shards of ice from the spring thaw.

"I was tempted to arrive in a big blue Ford F-250 and hand over the keys. There’d be nothing to stop you from accepting this time."

"I need more than a truck to solve my problems now, Lex."

"I know." Lex shifted and clasped his hands on the railing as he spoke. "I take it you’ve made a decision."

"Not yet." Clark’s tone was clipped.

Lex exhaled on a terse breath. "Normally, I’d say: take what time you need, but we are under a time crunch of sorts."

It was Clark’s turn to shift from one foot to another in discomfort. Nothing like a little pressure.

"Listen to me, Clark. I’ve already located two doctors, one from Russia, the other from Bombay, the best in the world, to be trusted implicitly," Lex went on. "They, and the most sophisticated technology, can be in place by the end of the week. The sooner we can get you safely installed and comfortable and begin study and treatments, the better."

"Sounds like I’ll be a science experiment," Clark commented grimly. "My parents were always afraid that would happen."

"Don’t say that," Lex tone was patient yet strained.

Clark sighed. It was time. "Lex, there’s something we haven’t talked about. You and Lana."

Lex said nothing, just drummed the fingers of one hand on the rail with a "ping"-ing sound. Clark waited, not meeting his eyes.

"There’s no way I can move into the mansion if you’re still with her. Wouldn’t be fair to any of us, to anyone. Especially to her. She’s been through so much."

Clark stole a quick glance. Lex was was thinning his lips with displeasure. He turned abruptly to Clark with that "move in for the kill" expression Clark had seen him use to get foreign business associates to agree to just about anything.

"Lana isn’t what’s important in this equation, Clark."

Clark shook his head, trying to ignore the tremble of warmth that coursed through him at Lex’s words. "How can you say that, Lex? I’ve put her through so much. I can’t hurt her again."

Lex muttered something in exasperation. "We’ll do our best to see that her pain is minimal. But right now, we have to think of what’s best for you. And for our child." He stepped closer and slid an arm around Clark’s jacket-clad shoulder, and Clark tried not to lean into his embrace, but did, anyway.

"We can get you moved in during the week, during one of the day's she’s at Met U. You can have an entire wing to yourself, on the east side, the opposite side of the building from hers. With the mansion’s sophisticated security, you can easily avoid running into her in a hallway, or in the kitchen."

"We’ll have to meet some time." Clark argued, not as stridently as he wished. Lex’s palm and fingers gliding through his hair were reducing him to mush, as always. Still he wondered: Will you be avoiding her, too? And which of us will you be sleeping with? Her? Me? Both of us?

Lex went on. "Yes, but this will buy us some time while you get settled and begin treatments, and I can work on getting her used to the idea. Don’t worry so much about the future, Clark. For now, let’s take it one day at a time."

What a strange thing for Lex to say, Clark thought. Lex, who was more obsessed with visions of the future than anyone else he knew.

"I’ll be a prisoner," Clark commented glumly.

"Hardly. You can enter and exit the building, or run through a room, at lightning speed. You’ve been doing that for ages--don’t even try to tell me you haven’t." Lex elbowed his arm and bestowed an affectionate grin. "You can zip home for a slice of your mom’s pie and a hug whenever the spirit takes you."

Reassuring as Lex’s words were, Clark hesitated, trying briefly to tap into instincts for guidance. He’d read a book from the library recently that said that your instincts, or, more specifically, your intuition, functioned as "angels of the highest order," your best guides in situations of potential danger.

He concentrated, hard. Then reached out and took Lex by both arms, steadying him as he held his gaze with his own.

"I’m just going to ask you once," Clark said, voice steady in the spring wind. "Can I trust you?"

Lex looked away and off, over the winding river to the hills beyond. "Clark, if you don’t know the answer to that by now..."

Clark thinned his lips and bit back a caustic retort. Never a straight answer from Lex. Ever.

Stop it, he admonished himself. For now, at least. Right now, trust is the only option.

He let his face break into a smile as Lex turned back to him for his answer. He hoped desperately that his instincts spoke through him.

"Okay," he said. "I’ll do it. I’ll come."

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