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Gall
by afrai

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Lex loses things. Small things, when he's little, crayons and pets and well-beloved toys. Bigger things when he grows up: cars and friends and mothers.

And his heart, once. He doesn't realise it's happened until Clark gives it back to him, and it hurts as if Clark really had torn his beating heart from his chest and then tried to stuff it in again, clumsy-handed.

Lex gets older, loses his father, loses his scruples; loses days, months, years. One day he looks into the face of his enemy, and knows that he has lost everything. His life has slipped away under his feet, and he doesn't even know how it happened.

"Clark," he says, choked, and Clark averts his face and flies away.

Hurt's another thing Lex is good at.

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