The explosion could be felt all the way to the parking lot and Lex had been in that building...
The blind panic that rose within Clark made him feel like he was going to throw up for the first time in his life. Superspeeding into the flames, he searched, his pulse pounding in his ears.
“Lex!” he screamed, breathing in smoke but not caring because it couldn’t do anything to him. To Lex on the other hand...
He scanned the building with his x-ray vision and his eyes widened with horror when he caught the lifeless body lying on the floor beneath him.
“Lex!” he said again, before superspeeding down.
The fire had caught on Lex’s clothes and was marring his perfect skin, burning it beyond recognition. It took Clark a millisecond to observe the damage and in the next moment, he had Lex in his arms, super-speeding out of the burning building. As no medical personnel had arrived on the scene yet, Clark continued beyond the parking lot to the lake. It was cold outside and the lake was chilly. Clark stopped just before the water and then slowly walked into the lake, soaking himself and Lex.
Even unconscious, Lex whimpered as the cold water came in contact with his burned body.
“Shh, it’s okay, it’ll be okay,” Clark tried to soothe, the words as much for his own comfort as for Lex’s. He gently pushed the cool water over Lex’s arms and neck, thankful to find that when the sooth came off, the burns weren’t as bad as he’d first thought. The skin was red and irritated but there were, amazingly enough, no really bad burns.
After nearly five minutes in the cold water, Lex started shivering and Clark brought him up to the shore. There, Lex was carefully laid down and Clark peeled off Lex’s burned clothes. He ignored the traitorous thoughts about Lex’s body that entered his mind – Lex was badly injured, for Heavens’ sakes!
“What—?” The word was whispered hoarsely, barely audible except for a boy with super-hearing.
“Shh, it’s okay, Lex,” Harry said softly. “There was— an accident, but you’re safe now. I’m going to take you to the hospital, all right? I need you to stay conscious, though, can you do that?”
“Hurts,” Lex said and to Clark, it felt like someone was twisting a knife in his heart – he’d never heard Lex so vulnerable.
“Yes, I know, and I’m sorry,” he whispered, picking up the half-naked man in his arms, trying to be gentle but wincing when Lex hissed in pain anyway. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, before he started moving. Lex let himself be carried and since Clark would be able to blame Lex’s disorientation later on, he moved at super-speed towards the hospital rather than at human speed.
The next morning, Clark was woken by a doctor at the Smallville hospital.
“Mr. Luthor is awake and can take visitors now,” the doctor told him, “if you’d like to see him.” He gave Clark a look. “Don’t upset him. He inhaled smoke and his lungs took the beating from it.”
“I won’t, sir, thank you,” Clark said, nodding to the doctor. He stood up and wiped away the remains of sleep with the back of his hand. The memories of the day before were clear in his mind and he rushed towards Lex’s room.
The door was closed and Clark knocked before entering.
“Come in,” he heard and he opened the door almost hesitantly, slightly afraid of what he would find.
“Hey,” he said, standing fidgeting in the doorway.
“Hello, Clark,” Lex said, his piercing gaze going straight through Clark’s. There was gauze covering the left side of his face, down his neck and continuing beneath the hospital gown he was wearing.
“How are you feeling?” Clark asked.
“Like hell, but don’t tell anyone I said that. It’d ruin my reputation.” Lex smiled slightly. “And you?”
“What about me? I wasn’t the one who was inside a building that exploded,” Clark said. The tone in Lex’s voice made him nervous.
“No, but you were the one who ran into said building to rescue me,” Lex said, looking at Clark meaningfully. “And there’s not even a scratch on you. How is that?”
Clark frowned. By the way that Lex was speaking, it sounded as though Lex had already figured things out – at least some things. Clark gulped – he had imagined this scenario more than once, but he had never decided on how he would act in case it happened for real. The problem was that he sucked at lying.
“I— I guess I was lucky,” Clark said, the words sounding ridiculous even to his own ears.
“Moving at super-speed, Clark? That’s also just ‘luck’?” Lex was beginning to sound angry and Clark winced. “What did that meteor shower do to you? Mutate you like so many others? What are you? An angel sent here to save me on a regular basis?”
At this, Clark felt a blush rise over his cheeks. “I am most certainly not an angel,” he said, unable to look Lex in the eye.
“Then what are you?” Lex asked, frustrated. “You are something special, that’s for sure. What kind of special?”
Lex was getting paler and paler, Clark suddenly realized, and he moved forward to stand next to the bed rather than at its end. Lex’s breathing was agitated and heavy.
“Calm down,” he said, gently placing a hand on Lex’s arm. “I’ll— I’ll tell you if you calm down. Just— just don’t make yourself worse.”
Lex glared at Clark, but did as Clark told him; his breathing evened out as he calmed. Clark’s hand didn’t leave Lex’s arm and Clark became acutely aware of the warmth coming from Lex’s skin. Lex also seemed aware of it – he looked down and then up at Clark.
“Why did you come for me?” Lex asked suddenly, his voice now quiet.
“I— I couldn’t leave you in there,” Clark said, again avoiding eye contact.
“Why?” Lex persisted. “Why couldn’t you just leave me?”
“Because you’re my friend!” Clark said. “You’re my best friend – I couldn’t let you burn alive— what sort of friend do you take me for?”
“The kind I’ve never had before,” Lex said. He looked down at Clark’s hand. “Are you sure that’s all?”
Clark blushed, remembering the way he’d reacted to Lex’s wet, naked body the night before. Even while unconscious, Lex had been the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
“Yes,” he squeaked, aware that Lex would see right through the lie.
Lex smiled seductively. “Are you really sure?” he asked, lifting his hand to trace patterns with his fingers on Clark’s arm.
Clark looked at Lex uncertainly – especially at the beautiful lips that had always held some sort of fascination for him, since the first time they’d met, when he’d had to give Lex mouth-to-mouth to revive him.
“No,” he said and leaned forward, capturing Lex’s lips in a loving kiss.
When they broke apart, Lex smirked at him and said, “When I wake up again, you are going to tell me your secrets, angel.”
The end.