Query and Question

[serafina20]

Jessica, did you get COTW 42 that I sent to you the other day? Because I remember we were having e-mail problems with the last one and I haven't heard from you (although, holidays make commmnication dodgy I guess)

More reporter!Lex. Previous parts are here:

Part 1

Part 2

And

"He flew into my life as mysteriously as he flew out of it," Lex said, watching his words appear on the screen in front of him. "Who was he, this mysterious savior? How did he know there was trouble on top of the Corinthian Hotel? Does he have any ulterior motive in the rescue, or some dealings with Lois Lane or Lane Enterprises? Or even, perhaps, the terrorists themselves? They claimed they wanted to make an example out of Lois Lane, as she is the enemy of the Free People, and they wanted to bring her to justice. Have they finally gotten smart and realized the best way to negotiate is to make your enemy your friend? Or did this man, this Superman, as Ms. Lane calls him, simply know that someone needed him and acted out of pure altruism?

"My readers know that I am a cynical man. You also know that, at the time of my rescue, I was in shock and weak from the loss of blood. So you will perhaps forgive me when I say I hope that this man is exactly what he appears: a true hero."

Lex saved his article and then read it over. God. He sounded like a love sick child. This wasn't the hard hitting journalistic piece that his readers--that Perry--expected from him. This was ... a love letter.

He sighed and went to erase what he'd written when he heard someone in the hall. He glanced up and saw an enormous bouquet of lilies and tulips coming through the door.

"Delivery for Mr. Luthor," the flowers said in Clark's voice.

Lex smiled and pulled the headset down off his head. Voice activated technology was a blessing, but he didn't exactly want his entire conversation with Clark recorded on computer. He saved his article--love letter--and shut off the microphone. "Clark, with the amount of time you spend here, I'm surprised you've managed to get an article in the Planet at all, much less three."

Clark's smiling eyes emerged from behind the flowers. "I'm a fast writer." He handed Lex the bouquet. "I know they're not as nice as your other arrangements, but I didn't want to come empty handed."

"Clark, you're going to go broke if you keep spending money on me. I'm fine. I've got my computer, a television, and all the morphine I need." He smiled and then gave himself another dose; his arm was aching fiercely. "How did you know I like lilies?"

"Because when you were asleep the other day, you kept talking about taking some to your mother." He licked his lips and took the bouquet back. "I hope you don't mind, but I took some out to her grave, too. Since, you know, you couldn't get out there yesterday."

Lex felt his ears turn warm and he glanced out the window. There were flower arrangements from fans and friends on the ledge, but he was still able to gaze out at the buildings. "Thank you, Clark. You're a good friend," he said softly.

"I try." The bed dipped as Clark sat on it. He took Lex's uninjured hand in his. "How do you feel?"

"Better. A lot better than even yesterday." He looked back at Clark. "But then, yesterday was also my the anniversary of Mom's death, so I was also a lot more depressed. But, today is good. I actually got some work done."

Clark clucked his tongue and looked disapprovingly at the computer. "You need to rest."

"I need to finish the article. You already had to write about the hostage situation and my rescue. And my near death experience. Now it's my turn. I told you, no one ..."

"Tells your stories except for you, I know," Clark finished for him. He leaned forward and took the headset and laptop away. "But you still need to rest. You've worked, and now rest." Lex opened his mouth to protest, but Clark gently covered it with his hand. "I'm serious. Besides, the more you rest, the sooner you get out of here and back to work."

Lex wrinkled his nose. He pulled Clark's hand away from his mouth and asked, "Did Perry take the chemical waste story from us?"

"No, he didn't. He wants me to keep working on it until you're better. I've been doing some digging on my own, but I'm going to have to pull your contacts, if you have any."

"Of course. I'm only too happy to help." He sighed and leaned back. "I'm sorry about this. Some mentor, huh?"

"Some partner," Clark corrected. "And I have no complaints."

Lex smiled, eyes closed. "I'm going to have to ask you a few questions later, by the way. About the rescue. There's a lot that has to go into this article, and I need to make sure my head is clear enough to interview the man who saved my life."

Clark's fingers seemed to freeze in his. He cleared his throat. "You managed to track down the guy who saved you? I thought he flew off into the unknown."

"What? I .... Oh, you mean Superman."

Clark choked. "What?" He sound as if he were vainly trying not to laugh.

It *was* a ridiculous name. Unfortunately, Lex couldn't come up with anything better. "It's Lois' name for him," he said dismissively. He raised his head. "When I get an interview with him, I'll ask for a real name, don't worry. The name's only in my head because every time Lois has visited, the only thing out of her mouth is 'Superman' this and 'Superman' that." He smiled sheepishly. "I think it's a silly name and Lois has read way to much Nietchze."

"Yeah. God, I can't imagine *anyone* calling themselves Superman. Talk about ego." He hesitated and then asked, "How, uh, did you find him?"

"I haven't. I made a few calls this morning, trying to see if anyone knew anything, but I'm not exactly all here." He tapped his head.

"Then how..."

"I was talking about you, Clark." He squeezed Clark's hand. "You saved my life. You brought me back from the dead. Yes, Superman may have saved me from plummeting to my doom, and I will find him and will write about him and will publicly thank him. But you're the one who brought me back from death itself. I died, Clark. I was gone, out of my body, flying through space, and you breathed for me and brought me back."

Clark ran his knuckles down Lex's face. "You weren't dead. You just stopped breathing."

Lex shook his head and caught Clark's hand on his face. "It doesn't matter. You saved me."

God, Clark was so beautiful. Why did he hide it? Why the glasses and the ugly clothes and the shaggy, unkempt hair? Why did he hunch his shoulders and make himself fade into the background, when he could do this? Reduce Lex to a puddle, make his stomach twist, and nerves stand on end.

Shit, he had a crush on Clark. A fucking crush on a cub reporter, a kid. On his partner. How fucking predictable?

Apparently, he was going to break his rule, because Clark suddenly licked his lips and whispered, "Lex."

Without any permission from Lex, his eyes fluttered shut and he licked his lips too. He could feel Clark getting closer, feel the air compress, feel the electricity start to crack when ....

"Lex?"

He and Clark jerked away from each other. Lex felt as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Lois," he said breathlessly. "Hi."

Lois was standing in the door, gazing at him and Clark with a wicked smile on her face. "Sorry if I'm interrupting."

"Not at all," Clark mumbled, rising quickly from the bed. He crossed the room and pulled a chair to the foot.

"Uh-huh." She came into the room with the liquid glide she'd spent years perfecting. As usual, she was dressed to kill, black pants showing off her perfect curves, and red shirt making her pale skin seemed almost luminescent.

She crossed the room to him and kissed him gently on the lips. "How are you today?"

"Good. I feel better than yesterday."

"Good. Are you going to sue, by any chance?"

"What would be the use? You're already paying my medical expenses aren't you?"

She smirked and set her large purse on the bed. "I suppose. Yes." She sat next to his head and slipped her arm around Lex's shoulders. "So. Have either of you found anything out about Superman?"

"No," Clark said. "I'm sorry."

"I haven't either." Lex sighed. "I want to, though. I mean, a man who can fly. And I'm not insane, because other people saw him. God," he continued, getting warmed up, "this is the biggest news story of the century. "'Superman ...'"

"'Friend or Foe?'" she finished for him.

Lex frowned. "What?"

Lois arched her eyebrow at his befuddlement and smiled. "My poor, sweet Lex, stuck in a hospital room with no access to the Daily Planet archives. Didn't Clark do any digging?"

"I don't think so, he's been working on other stories."

Clark's cheeks flushed and he shook his head. "Uh, no, I haven't. I was, uh, working on Lex's story. I didn't mention Superman too much."

"Well, there's your mistake, silly. People care about Lex, of course, and about me too. Oh, thank you for the gracious mention about me. I appreciate the fact that you were objective, even though I'm sure Lex must have fed you horror stories about me."

"Not at all," Clark said, and he smiled. Well, it sort of looked like a smile. It also looked a little like he was baring his teeth, eyes on Lois' arm that was resting comfortably around Lex's shoulders.

She smiled back. "The thing is, Clark, Lex and I are important, but the flying man must be given his due. Not only did he fly, but he was hit by multiple bullets and it didn't stop him at all. And he twisted the terrorists weapons so they couldn't fire. He's strong, he can fly, and apparently invulnerable. There's your story."

"Uh, right."

"It's my story, Clark," Lex said reassuringly. "It's okay if you didn't cover it. I'm the one who's going to write the article on him, interview him, and introduce him to the world."

Lois smiled. "I think you're already too late." She pulled a sheaf of papers from her purse and handed them to Lex.

They were articles she'd printed out were from about ten years ago. Each article detailed crimes committed by an unknown person with miraculous powers. He'd been shot several times, but had only left behind a bullet ridden ski mask. No blood. No body. He moved faster than anyone could see. He'd been in several fights and never flinched, no matter how nasty the other side fought. He was reported to be invulnerable. And then, as mysteriously as he had arrived, he disappeared.

"You think Superman is the same person," Lex said, handing the articles to Clark.

"I do."

"Why?"

Clark took the articles and looked through them. There was something about his attitude, though, that caught Lex's eye. He seemed ... sad. Resigned. His eyes scanned the pages as if he knew what was there.

"I don't know. Call it woman's intuition," Lois was saying as Lex watched Clark. "What are the odds there is more than one invulnerable person in Metropolis? I have no proof, just a feeling."

"Yeah, me too," Lex said softly. His eyes were still on Clark, who had finished reading the papers and was not gazing anywhere but Lex. "Sometimes, I really think you should have been a reporter, Lois."

She laughed. "Right. I like my job as the most powerful woman in the world, Lex. However, you could do me a favor." She sat on the bed next to him and put her arm around his shoulder. "I want to meet him."

"Who?" he asked distractedly. His head was beginning to feel fuzzy.

Clark's eyes snapped up, as if he suddenly realized Lex was looking at him. He flushed slightly, but met Lex's gaze.

"Very funny, my love. Superman. I want to meet him." She sighed. "I don't know who he is, I don't know where he came from of if we can trust him. I just know ..." She sighed again and laid her head back on the pillows. "I just know he's something special."

"Uh-huh." Oh, God, Lois in lust. It was almost funny. He hadn't seen her this love struck since they'd been fourteen and both desperately in love with Brad Pitt. "What do you expect me to do?"

She lifted her head. "Write an article on him. Mention that you want to interview him, and then, when he sets it up, tell him that I want to meet him too. And then, if he doesn't contact you for the interview, bring up this." She took the papers from Clark.

"Wait," Clark said, startled. "You're going to threaten him?"

"Not threaten him, Clark," Lois said. "Use a little persuasion. Sometimes you need to sully a name before you can sanctify it. And Lex won't as long as Superman cooperates. And then, after, he'd better stay interesting, or Lex--or someone--will be forced to bring this information to light."

Really, Lois would have made a fantastic reporter. She was smart, clever, and realistic. As was Lex, normally, but somehow, at this moment, the idea of trying to implicate Superman in dirty dealings and petty robbery made him sick.

Clark, it seemed, was the same. His normally healthy flush had paled until he looked almost sickly. He was also eyeing Lois as if she were some exotic and extremely poisonous type of snake.

"Lois," Lex said after a moment, "I'm really tired."

"Oh, of course you are. Poor baby. I can't believe you got hurt because of me." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "Don't paint me a whore in your article, please," she whispered into his mouth.

Lex's eyes slid shut and he shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. But if I find out those terrorists were there because of anything you or your company did, well ... all's fair, my dear."

She laughed and kissed him again. "Of course. Now, I have to go. I brought you a book to help get through this." Lois produced a copy of *Fire from Heaven*. "I know how much you love Alexander the Great."

"Thank you." He held the book out for Clark to take. Clark took it without a word and set it on the nightstand next to his bouquet of flowers.

"Think about what I said. And take care." She bent over, brushed their lips together, and then left.

Clark turned to watch her go. "She's something, isn't she?"

"Yes," Lex agreed. "Definitely something. Clark?"

"Yes?" He rose from his chair and sat on the bed again. From the look in his eyes, he clearly was ready to resume whatever had been going on between them before Lois had interrupted. He took Lex's hand in his and ran his knuckles over his jaw.

Lex swallowed and tried to push away the slow arousal that was sliding through his body. He was in the hospital, drugged, and suddenly very tired. Plus, he was in pursuit of a story, and that always, *always* came first.

So he swallowed again, licked his lips and asked, "Do you know Superman?"

Clark froze, eyes going wide.

"Because your reaction to Lois' news makes me think that you do." He squeezed Clark's hand. "You weren't surprised. You were ... resigned. Sad. But not resigned. You know who did those crimes."

"Yes," Clark whispered.

"Is it the same man?"

Clark closed his eyes. "I believe so."

Lex's heart leaped. "Will he be a danger to me? To the city?"

"No!" His eyes flew open again, color suffusing his cheeks. "No. I swear, he's of no danger to anyone. He .... He told me he wants to make amends for the crimes he committed in his past. He'll tell you the same, and then spend every day proving it."

"Then you'll get me my interview with him?" His heart was beating so fast that, for a moment, Lex wondered if Lois was the only one with a crush. And what it meant if he had a crush on both Clark Kent and this Superman.

Clark closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, he released Lex's hand and pulled away. Rising from the bed, he smiled almost sadly and said, "Yes. I'll get you an interview with him. As soon as your out of the hospital."

"Thank you."

"Anything."

TBC ...

Comments

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

I love this. I love how Lois is still Lois, and Lex is still Lex. I love how one of the differences between Reporter!Lex and Reporter!Lois is that Lex sees through the glasses, etc., from the first moment, he's never taken in by the Dorky!Clark persona.

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you feel Lois is still Lois, since I'm terrified for producing soemthing that's really *not* Lois. I have so little exposure to her and, while she's technically the "bad guy", I don't want to be completely untrue to the character.

Thanks for the feedback!

[tamalinn.livejournal.com]

man, i want to smack lois upside the head. i'm loving this, btw.

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sparktastic.livejournal.com]

Um.

OMG.

*loves*

This so so so rocks.

Can't wait for more.

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

Thank you! More to come today, I hope.

[garryowen.livejournal.com]

Hee. They are so touchy-feely with each other. I love it. It gives me the tingles. This part has such a nice twist--referring back to the old articles. Good stuff. You're such a plotster! And I can't wait for more.

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

Of course they're touchy-feely. If you were hanging aroud with someone who was as pretty as either of them, could you keep your hands off? { g }

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

Ouch, poor Clark. And Lex is in Lurrrrve. Heh.

[lady-alys.livejournal.com]

I got it! Will probably read this weekend.