Another fic idea! I haven't been able to make this one work, so tossing it out here to the masses.

In Pheromone, My Lovely, when Nigel questions Lex about his behavior, he responds by saying this in a clipped, almost route sounding tone:

Those are the words of someone who truly *knows* what alcoholism is. The phrasing of this one has always stood out to me. It's a great little hint of color in his background that I don't think the show addresses much more than that-- which is beautiful and subtle on its own. But I'd love to see a fic that would explore it more. Is it a problem Lex once dealt with himself? Is it more a reference to his father? Even just a short little introspective piece into the reference would be great. Probably a bit of a downer, but I'd enjoy it.

Ooooh, I never thought about that! Could be interesting.

Isn't drinking (well, with his dog) when he's doing that monologue at the end of... I want to say Smart Kids? Liar, Liar, Lex. Or would he not count that as alone. Actually, now that I think about it, don't we see him drinking alone on several occasions?

Sounds like he follows his rules about as well as Lois follows hers...

Joy,
Lynn

A lapse back into drinking too much actually could explain how his plans start going badly after years/decades of success.