katleept

Title: "His Savior"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: PG
Summary: He was ready to die, but there was one thing pulling him back . . .
Warnings: Slash
Word Count: 1,520
Date Written: 3 April, 2011
Challenge/Prompt: For the Old-School-Clex LJ comm
Disclaimer: Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, all other characters mentioned within, who belongs to himself, and Smallville are © & TM DC comics and any other rightful owners, none of whom are the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

He felt himself sinking deeper into the dankest darkness he had known yet, and part of him knew that this would be the end. His mother would have grieved, his scattering thoughts reflected, had she still been looking over him not so much because her son was dying but rather because he was leaving behind a meaningless life. She had always tried to teach him to impact the world for the better, but his father had beat him at every turn.

He had not saved the world; he had not even saved one life, including his own. He had, instead, left a blazing trail of reminders of how rich and cruel the Luthors were with a speckling of memories of grandeur in the minds of some of the people he had known, some men and women alike whom he had taken to his bed and, for a short term, shared just a pinch of his inherited legend and far more memories of people who had every right to hate him. Most hated him already, at the mere sight of his face and the sound of his last name, but there had been those who had every right to justifiably hate him for himself. Their faces flittered in and out of his aching mind now as the darkness pulled him further down.

This was one struggle that Lex Luthor was not going to win, but then, when had he ever won anything that truly mattered in his long yet short life? He had lost his mother and brother. His father continued to control him, despite his best efforts to break free from Lionel Luthor and his namesake. The whole world used him to one degree or another: the media as one of their favorite preys, the would-be rich cozying up to him in hopes that he would drop a little money into their pathetic lives, and most of the rest of the world used him only as another magnet of hate.

Only one person had ever loved him in his entire life, and she was long gone from him. He was ready to join her, if she'd still have him. If his mother would welcome him again with open, loving arms, the only shelter in his whole, miserable existence that he had ever known, Lex was ready to fly, run, walk, or even crawl into those arms. He was ready, he admitted though he'd secretly known the truth for years, to die.

But something was pulling him back, he realized as he felt a great strength pull against him. He hovered in the darkness, caught between life and death, grief and hope. What force would bother to try to pull him out of the darkness? Not that they could, whoever or whatever they were. His whole world, his entire life since his mother's death, was naught but darkness, and that was the Luthor legacy: to crush every one and everything in sight in want of greater power and strength and yet to never possess what truly mattered. Love, family, and even friendship could never be theirs. They were alone in the world, being used and using in turn only to benefit a life that Lex had found wasn't even worth living.

The force crashed against his spiritual shore again, and Lex felt himself floating upwards. Part of him wanted to claw at the darkness until he caught hold of fistfuls of the shadows and forced himself down to a permanent place in the pitch blackness, but another part was curious. Who would bother to try to pull him out of the darkness? What brave or foolish soul would offer a moment's tryst of trust and caring on his pitiful soul?

For a moment, his memories flashed back to the face of the boy who'd been running at his car. If any one had been around to see it, they'd be after saving that boy, cursing and hating him more for nearly killing him. Nearly killing him? His cracked lips would have twisted into a wry grin at the thought had he been able. He had not nearly killed him; he had killed him. No one could have survived that impact.

So there was the truth: he'd never once saved a life like his mother had begged him to do. Instead, he had taken one. He was every bit as evil and vile as his father had always told him he was, every bit as wicked as his father himself was and as he'd tried to paint Lex to be in his like all the years of his short life. His mind must be playing a trick on him for no one could be trying to pull him back from the brink of death; no one could ever care about him enough to weep one tear at his demise, let alone fight against the darkness.

And yet there was that force again, pulling him higher up. In the conscious world, Lex's eyes fluttered, and a blinding, golden light shot through his blue pupils. Some one was there. Some one was there, battering on his chest, muttering under his breath, and praying. Praying that he would live.

Who would bother? Lex thought in confusion. No one cared about him. No one but his mother ever had, and no one would. He let himself float upward, his curiosity about this person growing. He could hear his words sinking into his subconscious now, and though he could not make them out, he liked the sound of the pleading voice. It was strong and yet gentle, full of hope and love, misery and doubt. Whoever was praying sounded as scared and confused as he himself had been secretly for years.

Then the darkness lifted, and for just one scant second, Lex could see clearly. There was a golden light surrounding the boy, and for a moment, he thought perhaps he was an Angel. His short, jet black hair was plastered against his face, and Lex grew still again as he realized he was staring up into the face of the boy he'd almost killed. It was a miracle he had lived, but there was a greater miracle by far taking place here. Some one cared about him!

He didn't even know the boy's name, had never seen him before this night, and yet, for the first time since his mother's death, Lex felt something good and warm stirring within his heart and soul. This handsome, young man was giving his all to save him when no one else would have even looked twice at his dying form. He was praying that he would live. He cared about him, and that knowledge, that caring, lifted the darkness from Lex.

Though he hurt terribly, he smiled, forcing the weight of tears welling inside him back down. He was cared for, and at long last, he felt something he'd never thought he'd feel again. He felt hope. He had almost died tonight, but death would have to wait.

He had to get to know this young man better. He had to touch the silken strands plastered against his forehead and taste the salt of the tears falling down his cheeks. He had to have him; he had to know him. He had to care for him as he cared for him when there was no right nor reason for him to do so. He had to learn more about who and what he was, and Lex knew, in that moment caught in time, that if ever he could love any one again, it would be this man, his savior.

He coughed, but even when the boy left him, he knew he'd return to shine his light again into his dark life. His savior had done more than save his life. He had saved his whole world and had given him hope, and Lex knew, he thought, laying back and smiling, that this was only the beginning. His world would be beautiful as long as his mysterious, handsome savior was there to light it up, and Lex had every intention of keeping him there forever no matter the cost.

"Thank you," he tried to whisper, but his mouth would not yet form words. He let the darkness take him again, but this time, he knew it wouldn't last. He'd come again, and so would his rescuer. For the first time in his whole, miserable life, Lex felt whole, and he had no doubt that the handsome, sweet stranger would return for he was his destiny, found at long last.

Together, they would be unbeatable! Together, they would find the love and light he'd sought his entire life! Together, they would live, love, and outshine any light on Earth or in the heavens! It was only a matter of time, and for the man he'd just seen, even eternity would be worth waiting, but that eternity, Lex now knew, would be spent wonderfully together. He floated in the darkness, enraptured in escalating, pure happiness and waiting patiently for his destiny with the young stranger, his sweet, handsome savior, to be fulfilled.

The End