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Amaranthine
Title: Amaranthine
Rating: Chapters 1 and 2 are PG-13 safe. Future parts will be R and NC-17 ratings, so keep that in mind.
**** Amaranthine, Chapter Two **** "I don't suppose," Lex guessed, "that you're going to tell me how you happened to have been in a cave wall in the first place?" "I don't know," Clark answered quietly. "I don't remember." Lex frowned and sighed, but he had to admit to himself that Clark was looking more disoriented than usual. Glancing back over his shoulder, he noticed his father sitting on the floor, calmly watching the two of them with undisguised interest. Lex returned his gaze to Clark. The farm boy seemed to have no idea how he came to be there, but he clearly felt uncomfortable to be standing naked before the two Luthor men. Cursing the strain of decency that led him to do so, he reluctantly removed the hospital blanket from his shoulders and wrapped it around Clark. "Here," he murmured, "You're probably cold." He couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard Lionel snicker. Clark, however, accepted the blanket with mute gratitude. Again Lex was touched by how confused - how lost - Clark seemed to be. Gently, he took Clark's hand and led him to the little section of cave where he and Lionel had been sleeping earlier. The fluorescent lamps weren't exactly cozy, but their light was an improvement over the imperfect shadows near the wall that had apparently imprisoned Clark for however many hours he'd been in there. When Clark was seated comfortably, propped against one wall, Lex settled down beside him. The cave wall curved here, and Lionel was sitting almost across from them in the nook it created. "How do you feel now?" Lex asked Clark softly. "I'm okay," Clark smiled at him, though he sounded uncertain. Lex wrapped an arm around him, as much for his own warmth as for Clark's. It was still cold - or at least, he was. Since neither Clark nor Lionel appeared to feel the cold, perhaps the poison in Lex's system was the real source of the chill. Stifling a yawn, he smiled back at Clark. The boy's eyes drifted from Lex to Lionel, then back to Lex. "Why are you both here?" he wanted to know. As he looked again at Lionel, taking in the orange jumpsuit and shaved head, he added, "What happened?" The elder Luthor answered soberly, "My son attempted suicide earlier this evening." "That's not true," Lex contradicted him. "Dad poisoned me. You poisoned me," he repeated, looking at his father. Clark frowned, his gaze still shifting from one man to the other. Lex removed his arm from Clark's shoulder. Looking directly at the boy, he waited until Clark met his eyes before he tried to explain. "He did poison me," he told Clark. "He knew that the authorities would let him visit me in the hospital if I was dying. It was one of his escape plans - " Lionel gave an exaggerated sigh. "Unfortunately, Clark, my son is occasionally...delusional," he said, with a brief, sad glance at Lex. He turned his gaze again to Clark and explained, "He regretted what had happened earlier. Regretted turning on me, lying to the authorities. He was overwhelmed with guilt. So he...," he paused, his voice breaking slightly as he drew in a shaky breath, "he tried to end his own life." "No," Lex insisted, but his words trailed off. "You know that's not true..." But was it? he wondered. He tried to remember. "It's not the first time," Lionel murmured. Unsettled, Lex whispered again, "You're lying." He wished he could be sure, though. Shivering, he clutched a bit of the hospital gown's flimsy material in his fist. It did nothing to warm his cold fingers, but it calmed him a bit just to do something with his hand. "Lex," the elder Luthor said gently, "it's all right." Turning to Clark, Lionel continued, "I was afraid he would try again once they separated us and brought me back to Metropolis. So I fled with him." "You fled so you wouldn't have to go back to jail," Lex maintained stubbornly. Through his poison-fogged mind came random images of blue-lit stairwells and dark stretches of deserted road. "You kidnapped me from the hospital in case they tried to stop you." "You were in jail," Clark uttered with a vague nod. "That's why...the outfit..." Across from them, Lionel raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You don't remember, Clark? You testified against me at the bail hearing," he reminded him. Lex scowled at his father. "You can see he doesn't remember," he pointed out. "When did this happen?" Clark asked. Unsure, Lex looked at Lionel for the answer. "The bail hearing was earlier today," his father related. "Or more precisely, it was yesterday, since I'm certain that it's well after midnight by now. Quite likely closer to dawn." And at the reminder of the hour, Lex yawned again and let his head drop against Clark's shoulder. "The call came at dinnertime," Lionel went on softly; his eyes, gazing at a spot on the wall somewhere past Clark, seemed to be focused on some distant memory. "They told me that my son had been taken to the hospital..." Clark slid an arm around Lex's . "...they brought me to Smallville Med to see him, but after the doctors declared him out of danger, the authorities were going to bring me back to the city." Returning his gaze to meet Clark's eyes, Lionel earnestly beseeched the younger man. "I was afraid Lex would try again after they released him. I did what I had to do to protect my child." Damn, Lex thought sleepily. "It isn't true," he said again. "I didn't try to kill myself." When Clark didn't speak, Lex lifted his head to meet his eyes. "Tell me you believe me, Clark," he urged him. Clark still said nothing. Lex turned to Lionel. "Tell him the truth. Please," he added softly. "I have," replied his father. Sighing, Lex closed his eyes again. He was too weary to make sense of it now. With another yawn, he let his head fall back into the warmth of Clark's shoulder. **** He may have dozed. A warm hand brushed his cheek, but he didn't open his eyes to see which man had stroked him. "It doesn't matter who I believe," Clark was arguing softly. "We can't stay here. He needs to be somewhere warm. Somewhere he can rest." Without opening his eyes, Lex shifted position, drawing his knees up into his chest for warmth. Clark's arm was still around him, and Lex's head still rested on the boy's shoulder. Lionel's voice was closer than it had been before. "We can't exactly check into a hotel looking like this. And I can't risk bringing him back to the mansion." "There is someplace else we can bring him," Clark suggested, his voice tentative. No response came from the elder Luthor, but Lex was sure his father was waiting expectantly for Clark to continue. "The farm." **** (continues in Chapter Three)
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