Title: Feed A Cold

Author: danceswithgary (danceswithgary@yahoo.com)

Pairing: Clark/Lex

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Spoilers:  None

Word Count: 1130

Archive: Fine, just let me know

Summary:  What was the old wives' tale again? Feed a fever, starve a cold...or something like that.

Superman hadn't seen Lex Luthor in days due to severe global weather patterns that had kept him busy with floods, mudslides and hurricanes. If he hadn't been sure that Luthor hadn't had enough time and resources to build a new climate control machine since he'd destroyed the last one, he would have been suspicious about the timing and the low profile.

"Have you heard anything about Luthor lately? Any new projects announced?" Sliding into his desk chair, Clark tried to keep his questions casual and not alert Lois to his concern. "It seems like he's been out of the public eye for a while."

Lois snorted and dismissed Clark's concerns. "It's only been a week, Smallville, six short days since the last Luthor story, and you're already getting antsy. Pretty ballsy coming from a guy who just came back to work after.... How many days were you out sick?" She got up and headed for the coffee pot, still mocking her partner. "We should consider it a blessing. Every day that Luthor is quiet, is another day of relaxation for Superman."

Ducking his head in chagrin, Clark began checking his email. There was one from Chloe, one from his mom, and over four thousand pieces of spam sitting in his Junk Mail folder. He wondered when he'd become so unpopular that all he ever received was offers to increase his attributes by inches and opportunities to meet the gay single of his dreams. He sighed and prepared to write back to his mom and assure her that he was fine, that he'd be home for a visit soon, and that he hadn't met anyone nice since the last time she'd asked.

. . .

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Luthor isn't available. May I take a message, Mr. Kent?" 

"No, thanks. I'll try again later. Do you know when he might be free?"

"I really can't say, sir. He hasn't been in the office for a few days. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Thank you, but no. Goodbye."

Disconnecting from the call, Clark absently frowned at his cell phone. Lex had never refused a call from him before and he never took any days off.

Something was definitely wrong.

. . .

Hovering outside the penthouse under the cover of darkness, Clark watched as Lex ambled through his lonely penthouse. Clark had convinced himself that using his x-ray vision to check on Lex wasn't violating his privacy unless he used his super hearing, too. It had been a night of revelations starting with the fact that Lex apparently owned flannel pajamas and liked orange sherbet. Those discoveries had been fairly innocuous, and sort of sweet, in a way.  What was bothering Clark the most about what he was observing was Lex's reddened eyes and nose, which left Clark with the distinct impression that Lex had been crying.

Clark sighed and reflected that Luthor wasn't always the nicest man in the world, and tended to make Superman's life unpleasant at best, but Lex didn't deserve to be that unhappy.

When Lex poured a large measure of a sickly green liquid into a tumbler and then drank it with a shudder, Clark knew he had to act. There was no possible way that he was going to allow Lex to commit suicide by drinking some sort of Kryptonite-based poison.

Crashing through the balcony doors, expecting to be attacked by a sophisticated Kryptonite defense system, Clark swept through the penthouse. He never slowed down, just scooped Lex up in his arms and raced back out before Lex could say a word. Wrapping his passenger securely in his cape, he tucked Lex's head under his chin and flew north as fast as he could without injuring a fragile human body.

. . .

"I need you to scan Lex immediately and neutralize the poison!" Clark paced back and forth in front of the healing matrix where Lex had been placed on arrival at the Fortress. "Make sure any damage is repaired."

The flat tones of the AI were oddly reassuring. "Easily done, Kal-El. The damage was minimal and he may exit the matrix now."

Gingerly opening the chamber, Clark looked inside to see a puzzled Lex looking up at him. "How do you feel, Lex?"

Sitting up and wrapping his terrycloth robe more securely around himself, Lex peered around the immediate vicinity and then shrugged. "Fine. Why am I here, Superman? What did I do now?"

Helping Lex out, Clark noticed that Lex's face no longer showed any signs of weeping. Unsure of how to begin, Clark decided to try to bring the subject up subtly. "I was worried about you. I hadn't seen you in days and you looked so sad and why did you drink that poison? Nothing could be that bad, Lex. All you had to do was call me."

Lex blinked in amazement at Clark's babbling explanation. "Why would I call you? I'm perfectly capable of treating a cold by myself, Superman."

"A cold?"

"Poison?"

"There was no toxin detected, Kal-El, although I was able to flush a rhinovirus from his system."

Listening to the disembodied voice, Lex frowned. "You brought me to your top secret Fortress to cure my stuffy nose?"

Clark winced. "Yes?" Hanging his head sheepishly, he mumbled, "It looked like poison, Kryptonite-based. I was worried. Besides, you never get sick."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Lex nodded. "You're right, I don't, normally. I've been working in the lab on a cold vaccine. I was accidentally exposed to the latest batch, which was incubated in a Kryptonite medium that I developed. It got past my normal immunity."

Clark's head came up and his eyes narrowed. "So it was Kryptonite in that liquid. Why would you drink that, Lex? You know what it can do to people! I was so afraid I'd lost you!" He was almost vibrating in his distress.

Stepping closer, Lex reached out to grasp Clark's shaking hands. "Liquid...cold medicine. That was ordinary cold medicine I was taking." He smiled fondly at his former friend. "I never guessed you still cared that much, Clark."

Squeezing Lex's hands gently, Clark nodded slowly. "I always have, Lex. I never stopped. I..." His fumbling confession was interrupted by a soft kiss. "Wow."

Pulling Clark closer, Lex applied himself diligently to making sure that 'wow' would be all Clark would be able to say for the next hour or so. He was successful for the most part, until Clark pushed him away abruptly.

"Wait, Lex. I...atchoo!" Fortunately, for Lex, Clark had been able to turn his head at the last minute.

Lex wondered how the AI was able to convey such a perfect imitation of exasperated patience in a simple monotone.

"Get in the matrix, Kal-El."

fin

***

Notes: hils wasn't feeling well and declared: My cold medicine is Kryptonite Green in colour and tastes about as pleasant. LOL. You'd think with all the modern technological advances they'd be able to make medicine taste nice. I know it's to stop kiddies drinking a whole bottle by accident but still...ick!  Thus are bunnies born.

Standard Disclaimer:  I do not own any of the characters herein. The characters of Lex Luthor and Clark Kent as well as any supporting characters are the property of their creators and DC Comics. Gough/Millar Inc and the WB Network TV own Smallville. Any deviations (or deviant behavior) from the originals, however, is mine.

Feedback is both welcome and appreciated.

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