Furious Angels
            by Nymph Du Pave
 

            CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:  Believe Me, Please

            “Shit!” hissed Clark.  “How the fuck-“

            Lex, on his back, struggled to get up.  It was no use.  Sparks shot through his head like a dagger through the tender meat of his brain.  He had to catch his breath and wait for the pain to subside.

            My back is a fucking nightmare.

            He looked up, hoping to see Clark pulling away and instead watched in shock as he realized the farmboy was trying to get away but couldn’t.

            Lex looked down and got a rush of guilt for thinking his situation worse.

            Shit!

            Clark’s feet were already frozen to the ground up to his ankles.  Shawn’s hands and forearms, visible from the still rolled-up jersey, were a bright shade of blue and paling fast.

            He's returning to normal fast, which means-

            Which meant Clark was freezing and would be completely solidified in mere minutes.

            Of course 'mere minutes' gave Lex his opening.  He struggled against his screaming hands, back, and legs, forcing himself up when his body thought it couldn’t take anymore.  For Clark he could take anything.

            Shawn’s free hand ducked down into the dirt and clutched at something.  A second later Lex was ducking a hand-full of pebbles, dirt and grass.

            He moved forward catching more dirt in his face and a good sized rock hit his right check, scraping it before bouncing off.  The dirt sprinkled in his mouth and eyes.  He blinked, watery eyes pushing enough out for him to see the pipe.

            He reached for it, almost grasping the twisted and bent, sharp edge when he realized the fact that it was metal presented a bit of a problem.

            Metal's a damn good conductor, Lex, he thought.

            ---Whitney's truck; Clark lying dead next to it---

            Clark gasped at the same time an idea came to Lex.  He met Shawn's glare and grinned.  His conscious would have no problem ridding the world of Shawn fucking Kelvin.  Aiming for the pipe, he kicked and kicked hard, sending the pipe all the way through.  He thought he heard something crunch, break and fall to the ground.

            Behind Shawn fell a lump that Lex thought might have been bloody, frozen intestines.

            "Oh, God!" coughed Clark.

            Lex stuck his left hand out, balancing on Clark's arm, and kicked again, sending the pipe through Shawn and clanking to the ground next to the frozen organs.

            Lex watched the football player.  There was a hole through his stomach.  Empty and clearly defined.  The boy looked at it, back to Lex then fell forward, motionless.  Soundless.

            Lifeless.

            That blood must have been his reserve, Lex thought.  The warmest part on his body, storing what little blood was left over.  Must have been what was keeping him alive.

            Alive.  Like Clark.

            "Clark?"  He turned to see the farmboy smiling sheepishly at him, still frozen to the ground.  He blushed as Lex's eyes found his.  Lex couldn't have been happier to see color in his lover's cheeks.

            "Last time I feel pity for a psychotic cutthroat walking glacier."

            Lex smile and gestured towards Clark's incarcerated feet.  "You need some help there?"

            Clark shrugged.  "Maybe.  I don't feel as…  As strong when I'm cold."

            Lex nodded and moved to pick up the pipe.  He knew that what Clark had just said... those words…  They were as much of an admission as he would be getting right now.

            ---When I hand over my soul, Lex, I wantt it to be on both of our terms.---

            I know, I know.

            He couldn't ask just how strong Clark was. It was against his promise, wasn't it?

            "I normally don't get cold."

            ---I want it to be just right---

            "I mean, ever."

            ---when I give you everything I am.---

            Lex sighed.  This waiting thing was going to be even tougher than he thought.

            He held out the pipe for Clark, but the boy shook his head.  "You've got a better angle on it."

            "Yes, but I might hit too hard and hurt you."

            "You won't," Clark stated simply.

            Lex shook his head.  "I know you trust me, but-"

            "This isn't about trust, Lex," Clark said softly, refusing to look away.  "This is about my tolerance for pain.  My threshold and durability."

            Lex frowned, not quite comprehending.

            Clark sighed, finally looking away.  "You can't hurt me, Lex."

            "Shawn-"

            "Shawn was physically messed up.  Strength increased."

            ---Being tossed into a tree.---

            Strength increased.  Now there's an understatement.

            "And your not aiming for my crotch."

            Lex smirked.  "So super-boy does have a weakness."

            Clark gave him a mysterious half-smile that Lex couldn't decipher for the life of him.  "You can't hurt me."

            ---Porsche going sixty and accelerating; boy being rammed into; going down into the water.---

            "I'll say."  He lifted his arm back and swung, hitting the tip of the ice adhering Clark to the ground.  He winced as he hit shoe.

            "Sorry, sor-"

            Clark shook his head and waved at Lex absently.  "Don't be."  He took his recently-freed foot and tapped at his still frozen one.  The ice shattered into pieces all around.

            I'm not even…  His foot's that strong?  Why didn't he-

            Lex decided he was going to let it slip past him.  He could be patient.  Oh, yeah.  Patience was his favorite fucking virtue.  Yep.

            Right after you got passed the impatience.

            Clark smiled at him softly, warming Lex's heart and chasing away the annoyance.  "It's nice not to have to pretend around you."

            This was going to exasperate him, he just knew it.  You won't tell me, but you don't have a problem showing me?

           "Yeah," he muttered.  "It's great."

            Clark stepped over to him, a little shaky on his feet, and placed his hands lightly on Lex's hips.  "Thanks for saving my life.  More than once."

            Lex shifted, a little uncomfortable with the deep gratitude in Clark's eyes.  When was the last time he'd done something the deserved that?

            Never.

           "Uh, yeah.  No problem.  Just trying to catch up, you know?"

            Clark bent down to nuzzle his neck.

            Lex shut his eyes tight.

            "If I promised you the world, Lex," Clark breathed against his neck.  "Would you believe I could get it to you?"

            He swallowed and tried to think.  His free hand roamed up Clark's chest, hating the cold it felt there.  His right still held the pipe, gripping it tightly.

            The world?

           "If you know where to get it, I can hook you up with a bitter, old millionaire in desperate search of the thing."

            "Lex."

           He sighed.  "I don't know, Clark.  UPS?"

            "Fed-Ex."

            He smiled.  "Over-priced."

            Clark found his ear and dipped his tongue in the crevices.

            Second time tonight.  Must have an ear fetish.

           The tingles from Clark's exploration sent shivers down his spine and he trembled against Clark.

            Or I must.

           Clark's grip on his waist got tighter and his tongue moved around to lick the bottom of Lex's head, right above the neck.

            "Jesus!" he hissed.  "That feels incredible."

            "The world, Lex?"

            "Anything," he whispered.  "I'll believe anything you tell me till my dying day."

            "Can I do the same?"

            This was it.  Clark was asking if he could trust Lex and if Lex could trust him enough to tell him the truth about everything.

            There was no question.  "As long as you're my friend, Clark, I'll have nothing to hide from you."

            "There won't ever be a day between us that I won't consider you my best friend," Clark breathed.  He kissed Lex on the cheek, lips brushing softly against the cut from the rock.  "And lover."

            "Clark, I-"

            There was a snap behind them.  A twig most likely.

            "GOD-DAMIT!!"  Lex shouted.  He spun around and, without thinking, began bashing Shawn's body.
 
 
 
 
 
 

            TBC Tomorrow...