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“You should consider a break.” Slade remarked as he watched Alex scramble to collect some sort of documents for Henshaw, unable to hide his concern when Alex fumbled with the documents as if he physically couldn't hold onto them. “Alex—”
“There's no time for a break. I have so much shit to do, and it'll take me at least a decade to catch up to where I need to be. I swear, where did I put that red pen?!” Alex cut in as he tried to focus on the task at hand, letting out a long sigh of frustration when the file slipped from his hand and scattered on the floor. “Shit—”
“Lex.” Slade called out with more than a little force behind the title as he helped Alex pick up the papers off the floor, taking notice of how Alex actually paused to listen to him. “Take a break. See a doctor. With how you're going, you might not even have a decade.”
“A doctor can't fix this, Wilson.” Alex responded with a slight laugh, taking the papers from Slade before moving on. “Just.. Let me find that pen and we can—”
“What do you mean a doctor can't fix this?” Slade responded as he snatched Alex by his wrist and held him in place, forcing eye contact as his voice hardened into something far more serious. “What aren't you telling me?”
Slade was more than a little aware that he had crossed a line with Alex, but Alex didn't falter. In fact he just kind of stood there and stared at Slade. He had changed a lot ever since the invasion, almost as if Waller’s words had stuck a bit too hard. The relationship between Slade and Alex had evolved rapidly, and as much as Alex had changed, Slade cared for him. He had saved him after all, and then there was the other stuff that happened between them, and Slade just needed to know what he was in for. He couldn't just stand there in the dark and watch Alex fall apart right in front of him. He couldn't. He needed to know that he was going to be okay.
“Cancer.” Alex responded in this cold, flat tone, not bothering to sugarcoat it in the slightest as he laid out everything in front of his assassin. “From prolonged exposure to that kryptonian substance we located. As it turns out, it can affect humans too, but just not all at once.”
“Can't you fix that?” Slade questioned with a hint of desperation in his voice, his brow creasing with concern as Alex ripped his hand from his grasp. “I mean you're smart enough to fix anything!”
“Wow.. Wilson.. You really expect a lot from me, don't you?” Alex mused with a roll of the eyes and an irritated laugh, shaking his head as he spoke. “First I'm supposed to stop this alien from taking over the world. Now you want me to find a cure for cancer. What next? Solve world hunger? One problem at a time, Slade!”
“I didn't mean it like that.” Slade responded as he watched Alex head for the door, flinching slightly when the door slammed shut behind Alex. “I just don't want to lose you.”