lex & clark; fencing
SUMMARY: Clark can't sleep and goes for a walk only to find Lex, who he hasn't spoken to since he's arrived on the island.
A thin whistling noise and heavy, yet controlled breathing were the only sounds to break the early morning sunshine as Lex practiced his forms on the beach. It had become a ritual ever since the fencing foils and gear had appeared next the hut, right beside Anatoly's vodka. It was comforting, to have something familiar from home, even if they weren't his foils and didn't involve bitter divorce and revenge. He'd been at it for a while, evident by the sweat on his head and staining the back of his t-shirt. His bare feet gripped the sand as he started again after a moments pause to take a deep breath, eyes half closed as he concentrated.
Clark couldn't sleep. He'd mostly tossed and turned for a large part of the night, so by the time the sun began to rise, Clark was wearing a pair of flip flops, flannel pajama bottoms, and a blue muscle shirt. It had taken him a really long time to find something decent from the Box of Doom, but eventually, he did. At least he didn't look completely ridiculous now. With the sun now up, Clark could feel his skin humming to life. He closed his eyes as he basked in the sun and eventually opened them again. There was nothing, at the moment, so he had no fear of stepping on anyone, or bumping into them.
Eventually, he heard the familiar slice of air and turned in that direction. He smiled softly as he watched Lex battle an unseen opponent. It had been...a good long while since he'd spoken to Lex and there were still some unresolved angry feelings he felt, but he had missed the friendship they once had. No doubt, by now, Lex probably wanted nothing to do with him after Clark's self-imposed exile. With all the conflicting feelings, it was a wonder he could even think straight.
"Hey," he said finally. He wore that soft farm boy smile that wasn't quite apologetic, but it wasn't indignant, either.
The last time Lex had heard that voice, it had been with scorn and revulsion. Of course, to be fair, it had been Connor and not Clark, but the similarities were enough that Lex stopped short mid thrust and looked up, startled. But he quickly took in the differences and breathed a small sigh to see that this was Clark. Of course, that only brought up a whole new set of concerns but those he could deal with.
Lex stood up straight and rolled his shoulders as he regarded Clark. The boy looked good. He had been right the first time he'd seen Clark on the island, walking with that other boy. The island agreed with the farm boy. Though of course he wondered why Clark now decided to find him, after months of ignoring the fact Lex existed. Not that Lex minded now, as his thoughts strayed back to the hut, where a curly head was bent over a chess board, waiting for his return.
"My, isn't this a surprise." He said with a polite smile, that had a bit of Luthor smirk hiding behind it. He wasn't about to make this easy on his former friend. "The elusive Clark Kent."
Clark tried not to smile because, well, it wasn't exactly appropriate. But with so much time with an unfamiliar place and unfamiliar people, it was nice to be with someone who knew him. HIM and not... Anyway, he cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and (because the wind was a bitch) quickly brushed some hair out of his eyes. "You're doing that thing." He tried to meet Lex's gaze. "That thing you do when you're mad at me and want me to work for the not-so-formal tone." Among other things.
"I reserve that tone for people I consider friends. Are we friends Clark?" Lex asked in the same tone as he looked him up and down, pointedly. "Because, while I'm not the world's expert on friendships, friends usually don't disappear for months on end." Oh yes. Clark was going to have to work for it. And it would not be easy. Lex didn't take kindly to been ignored.
Clark struggled with an answer. "I don't know," he said slowly. His brows furrowed. "I'd like to say yes," he began, "but the things you've done to me the last couple of years..." He paused. "Or...will do..." He let out a frustrated sigh. "This island is frustrating. Pulling people from different timelines. It makes it hard to think straight."
He risked a glance at him. "Did you ever stop and think that I stopped because you meant too much? Knowing what I know and seeing you every day?" That was...part of it. "Not all of it was you, though." Just so that they were clear.
Lex's gaze hardened and his body language became even more closed off as Clark spoke. "Perhaps you should talk to your cousin and his friends. You sound more like them, quite ready to cast me in the role of the villain before I even have a chance." His voice was sharp and biting as he turned away from Clark to reach down for a towel, wiping the sweat from his scalp as he replaced a water bottle in the sand with his foil.
Then he laughed, just as dry as he turned to Clark as he took a drink. "I'm afraid you've confused me Clark. What in the world are you talking about?"
Clark tilted his head. "Cousin?" What the hell was he talking about? Oh. Wait. "I don't really know him." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Lex, I'm not blaming you for...things I don't know you've done." His look was hard. "You've done these things. I've seen them with my eyes. They've been done to me." Another pause. "You hurt me."
He sighed. "I don't even know." Clark took a few steps forward. "It's just confusing when you're around sometimes. I want to.." What? "I want it to be like it was." He paused. "I miss you for whatever that's worth."
Shaking his head, Lex could only laugh again. "Again, with the tales of things I've done to hurt people that I've never done. I thought being blamed for my father's crimes was enough, but ones in my future? This is going beyond ridiculous." His features softened minutely for a moment. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Clark...but I'm not that person. I haven't done those things."
He paused for a moment. "And if you going to continue to blame me for them, perhaps we should just leaves things the way they are. I can deal with it from them...but I will not from you." The last was as far as Lex would admit to the fact that he missed Clark too in this situation.
"Why not me?" He stared at it. "Because it might actually mean something that you're capable of hurting me?"
"If you think I'm capable of such a think then this conversation is over." Lex bent down to pick up his foil and made the moves to walk away, towel draped around his neck.
"Lex," Clark said with a sigh. "Please. I'm trying to be honest with you." He ran his hands through his hair, letting both hands rest on the back of his neck as he tried to follow him.
Lex stopped and turned back to him. "Clark Kent. Honest. That's a first." He said bitingly before he paused and took a deep breath. His body relaxed slightly but his jaw remained tight. "Fine. How would you like to handle this Clark?"
"It's not like you've been completely forthright with me, Lex," he replied. Mostly that whole 'investigating' him thing coming to mind. He sighed and shook his head. "Do you want me to leave you alone? I'll go back to leaving you alone. You won't ever have to see me again. I'll respect that."
Lex's thought were along the same lines, but the investigating was all he'd ever done. Nothing like what he'd been accused of since coming to the island, so he felt he could be forgiven for that. He gave a small exasperated sigh. "What do you want Clark?"
"An answer," he said, brows raised, waiting for Lex to actually answer his question instead of trying to draw attention away with more questions.
"Repeat the question for me Clark. And I know it's not if I want you to leave me alone."
Now it was Clark's turn to be confused. "What?" His brow furrowed. What was Lex talking about?
With an exasperated sigh that should be familiar to Clark, Lex gave him a considering look. "You accuse me of wanting to hurt you. Ask what you want so we can see if this friendship can be saved."
"I never accused you of WANTING to hurt me," Clark corrected. "I'm telling you that you hurt me." Those are two very different things.
Lex licked his lips as he considered this. "When Clark? When did I hurt you? Give me specifics and remember; I was supposed to die in a plane crash when I arrived here. Everything that happened afterward was not me."
"It is, though," he said softly. "Maybe we're..." He paused. "Maybe you and I aren't the people that THEY talk about, but..." His brow furrowed. "You're my Lex." Pause. "From my world. And you do things. Things you don't even realize." He stops visbly pained. "Things that make me question and I really want to go back to before. When it was you and me and laughing and being okay."
"We can't be okay if this is going to hang between us. We had secrets hanging between us in Smallville, Clark, and from what your telling me, it proved to be disastrous. Would you like history to repeat itself here?" Lex sighed and for the first time dropped his guard. Not as much as he usually did around Clark, but enough to show Clark this was just Lex...not Lex Luthor. "I'd like things to go back to the way there were before too Clark. I'm just trying to wonder how."
"So, maybe..." He let out a very labored sigh because he was so tired of angst and drama. "So, maybe I try and remember you haven't done those things yet," he said quietly, "that you're still my L-" Pause. "My friend, Lex. And you..." He watches him careful. "Trust that I'm not trying to hurt you." About the secrets, he meant, but he couldn't quite bring himself to say it.
This was not the ideal situation. Lex wanted to push, push for the secrets that had kept them apart. Get it all out in the open when he had the chance.
But he couldn't do it. Clark was offering a chance at his friendship again and it was beyond Lex to say no. He'd missed his best friend damnit. "Alright."
"Okay," he said quietly with a small smile. "Good." He cleared his throat. Now what? He let his hands fall to his side, no reason to be guarded at this point, and then tilted his head. "You never did teach me how to do that." He pointed toward the foil.
A weight felt lifted off Lex's shoulders, a small one, but it's absence was still noted. It wasn't ideal...but it would work. He looked down at the foil then back up at Clark. "No better time then the present. Meet me here tomorrow, if your serious and I will."
"Okay," he said. "I'll..." He took a deep breath, a relieved one, and smiled. "Cool. I'll be here."
Lex return his smile with a small one of his own. "Alright. I'll see you then."
A thin whistling noise and heavy, yet controlled breathing were the only sounds to break the early morning sunshine as Lex practiced his forms on the beach. It had become a ritual ever since the fencing foils and gear had appeared next the hut, right beside Anatoly's vodka. It was comforting, to have something familiar from home, even if they weren't his foils and didn't involve bitter divorce and revenge. He'd been at it for a while, evident by the sweat on his head and staining the back of his t-shirt. His bare feet gripped the sand as he started again after a moments pause to take a deep breath, eyes half closed as he concentrated.
Clark couldn't sleep. He'd mostly tossed and turned for a large part of the night, so by the time the sun began to rise, Clark was wearing a pair of flip flops, flannel pajama bottoms, and a blue muscle shirt. It had taken him a really long time to find something decent from the Box of Doom, but eventually, he did. At least he didn't look completely ridiculous now. With the sun now up, Clark could feel his skin humming to life. He closed his eyes as he basked in the sun and eventually opened them again. There was nothing, at the moment, so he had no fear of stepping on anyone, or bumping into them.
Eventually, he heard the familiar slice of air and turned in that direction. He smiled softly as he watched Lex battle an unseen opponent. It had been...a good long while since he'd spoken to Lex and there were still some unresolved angry feelings he felt, but he had missed the friendship they once had. No doubt, by now, Lex probably wanted nothing to do with him after Clark's self-imposed exile. With all the conflicting feelings, it was a wonder he could even think straight.
"Hey," he said finally. He wore that soft farm boy smile that wasn't quite apologetic, but it wasn't indignant, either.
The last time Lex had heard that voice, it had been with scorn and revulsion. Of course, to be fair, it had been Connor and not Clark, but the similarities were enough that Lex stopped short mid thrust and looked up, startled. But he quickly took in the differences and breathed a small sigh to see that this was Clark. Of course, that only brought up a whole new set of concerns but those he could deal with.
Lex stood up straight and rolled his shoulders as he regarded Clark. The boy looked good. He had been right the first time he'd seen Clark on the island, walking with that other boy. The island agreed with the farm boy. Though of course he wondered why Clark now decided to find him, after months of ignoring the fact Lex existed. Not that Lex minded now, as his thoughts strayed back to the hut, where a curly head was bent over a chess board, waiting for his return.
"My, isn't this a surprise." He said with a polite smile, that had a bit of Luthor smirk hiding behind it. He wasn't about to make this easy on his former friend. "The elusive Clark Kent."
Clark tried not to smile because, well, it wasn't exactly appropriate. But with so much time with an unfamiliar place and unfamiliar people, it was nice to be with someone who knew him. HIM and not... Anyway, he cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and (because the wind was a bitch) quickly brushed some hair out of his eyes. "You're doing that thing." He tried to meet Lex's gaze. "That thing you do when you're mad at me and want me to work for the not-so-formal tone." Among other things.
"I reserve that tone for people I consider friends. Are we friends Clark?" Lex asked in the same tone as he looked him up and down, pointedly. "Because, while I'm not the world's expert on friendships, friends usually don't disappear for months on end." Oh yes. Clark was going to have to work for it. And it would not be easy. Lex didn't take kindly to been ignored.
Clark struggled with an answer. "I don't know," he said slowly. His brows furrowed. "I'd like to say yes," he began, "but the things you've done to me the last couple of years..." He paused. "Or...will do..." He let out a frustrated sigh. "This island is frustrating. Pulling people from different timelines. It makes it hard to think straight."
He risked a glance at him. "Did you ever stop and think that I stopped because you meant too much? Knowing what I know and seeing you every day?" That was...part of it. "Not all of it was you, though." Just so that they were clear.
Lex's gaze hardened and his body language became even more closed off as Clark spoke. "Perhaps you should talk to your cousin and his friends. You sound more like them, quite ready to cast me in the role of the villain before I even have a chance." His voice was sharp and biting as he turned away from Clark to reach down for a towel, wiping the sweat from his scalp as he replaced a water bottle in the sand with his foil.
Then he laughed, just as dry as he turned to Clark as he took a drink. "I'm afraid you've confused me Clark. What in the world are you talking about?"
Clark tilted his head. "Cousin?" What the hell was he talking about? Oh. Wait. "I don't really know him." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Lex, I'm not blaming you for...things I don't know you've done." His look was hard. "You've done these things. I've seen them with my eyes. They've been done to me." Another pause. "You hurt me."
He sighed. "I don't even know." Clark took a few steps forward. "It's just confusing when you're around sometimes. I want to.." What? "I want it to be like it was." He paused. "I miss you for whatever that's worth."
Shaking his head, Lex could only laugh again. "Again, with the tales of things I've done to hurt people that I've never done. I thought being blamed for my father's crimes was enough, but ones in my future? This is going beyond ridiculous." His features softened minutely for a moment. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Clark...but I'm not that person. I haven't done those things."
He paused for a moment. "And if you going to continue to blame me for them, perhaps we should just leaves things the way they are. I can deal with it from them...but I will not from you." The last was as far as Lex would admit to the fact that he missed Clark too in this situation.
"Why not me?" He stared at it. "Because it might actually mean something that you're capable of hurting me?"
"If you think I'm capable of such a think then this conversation is over." Lex bent down to pick up his foil and made the moves to walk away, towel draped around his neck.
"Lex," Clark said with a sigh. "Please. I'm trying to be honest with you." He ran his hands through his hair, letting both hands rest on the back of his neck as he tried to follow him.
Lex stopped and turned back to him. "Clark Kent. Honest. That's a first." He said bitingly before he paused and took a deep breath. His body relaxed slightly but his jaw remained tight. "Fine. How would you like to handle this Clark?"
"It's not like you've been completely forthright with me, Lex," he replied. Mostly that whole 'investigating' him thing coming to mind. He sighed and shook his head. "Do you want me to leave you alone? I'll go back to leaving you alone. You won't ever have to see me again. I'll respect that."
Lex's thought were along the same lines, but the investigating was all he'd ever done. Nothing like what he'd been accused of since coming to the island, so he felt he could be forgiven for that. He gave a small exasperated sigh. "What do you want Clark?"
"An answer," he said, brows raised, waiting for Lex to actually answer his question instead of trying to draw attention away with more questions.
"Repeat the question for me Clark. And I know it's not if I want you to leave me alone."
Now it was Clark's turn to be confused. "What?" His brow furrowed. What was Lex talking about?
With an exasperated sigh that should be familiar to Clark, Lex gave him a considering look. "You accuse me of wanting to hurt you. Ask what you want so we can see if this friendship can be saved."
"I never accused you of WANTING to hurt me," Clark corrected. "I'm telling you that you hurt me." Those are two very different things.
Lex licked his lips as he considered this. "When Clark? When did I hurt you? Give me specifics and remember; I was supposed to die in a plane crash when I arrived here. Everything that happened afterward was not me."
"It is, though," he said softly. "Maybe we're..." He paused. "Maybe you and I aren't the people that THEY talk about, but..." His brow furrowed. "You're my Lex." Pause. "From my world. And you do things. Things you don't even realize." He stops visbly pained. "Things that make me question and I really want to go back to before. When it was you and me and laughing and being okay."
"We can't be okay if this is going to hang between us. We had secrets hanging between us in Smallville, Clark, and from what your telling me, it proved to be disastrous. Would you like history to repeat itself here?" Lex sighed and for the first time dropped his guard. Not as much as he usually did around Clark, but enough to show Clark this was just Lex...not Lex Luthor. "I'd like things to go back to the way there were before too Clark. I'm just trying to wonder how."
"So, maybe..." He let out a very labored sigh because he was so tired of angst and drama. "So, maybe I try and remember you haven't done those things yet," he said quietly, "that you're still my L-" Pause. "My friend, Lex. And you..." He watches him careful. "Trust that I'm not trying to hurt you." About the secrets, he meant, but he couldn't quite bring himself to say it.
This was not the ideal situation. Lex wanted to push, push for the secrets that had kept them apart. Get it all out in the open when he had the chance.
But he couldn't do it. Clark was offering a chance at his friendship again and it was beyond Lex to say no. He'd missed his best friend damnit. "Alright."
"Okay," he said quietly with a small smile. "Good." He cleared his throat. Now what? He let his hands fall to his side, no reason to be guarded at this point, and then tilted his head. "You never did teach me how to do that." He pointed toward the foil.
A weight felt lifted off Lex's shoulders, a small one, but it's absence was still noted. It wasn't ideal...but it would work. He looked down at the foil then back up at Clark. "No better time then the present. Meet me here tomorrow, if your serious and I will."
"Okay," he said. "I'll..." He took a deep breath, a relieved one, and smiled. "Cool. I'll be here."
Lex return his smile with a small one of his own. "Alright. I'll see you then."