scifichick774
20th April 2003, 01:18
Title: No Words
Author: scifichick774
Rating: PG
Category: Angst/Romance
Spoilers: Immediately following ‘Fever’.
Summary: Lex notices Chloe’s new car – and a few other things.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: If you feel like it.
Archival: Sure – just let me know where.
Author’s Note: Response to Peggy’s challenges of the story behind the red Volkswagen beetle and the perfect first kiss. Oh, and for the sake of this short story, Helen took the research job and moved away – as it should have happened on the show.
~*~*~*~*~
Lex pulled his car to a stop in front of The Talon. It didn’t look busy, but then, few businesses were at six o’clock in the morning on a Saturday. The only other cars he noticed were a late model Ford truck and a red Volkswagen convertible Beetle. He knew the truck belonged to the father of one of Lana’s waitresses; although for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the girl’s name. He didn’t know who the Beetle belonged to though. He mentally shrugged and headed into the building. The waitress spotted him and gave him a friendly smile from behind the counter.
“What can I get for you, Mr. Luthor?”
“Just a cup of coffee,” he said and glanced down at her name tag, “Rachel.” The girl stared blankly at him. “Black,” he clarified. Understanding passed over her face and she nodded.
“Popular drink this morning,” she commented as she turned her back on him to go get his drink. Lex quickly swept the place with his eyes, but couldn’t see anyone else in the building. Rachel set the cup of coffee in front of him and he looked at her quizzically.
“Popular drink?” He repeated and motioned toward the seemingly empty establishment with his head. Rachel smiled.
“Well, you and Chloe Sullivan are the only ones who have been in, and she’s already on her second cup,” she explained. Lex furrowed his brow and the girl in front of him barely resisted rolling her eyes. “She’s upstairs. Kinda seemed like she wanted to be alone, so I told her it would be okay.” Lex gave her a curt nod, picked up his mug, and started to walk toward the staircase; ignoring what Rachel had said about Chloe wanting to be alone.
Lex saw her sitting on the floor against the wall with her coffee cup to her side and a notebook and pen in her lap. He moved toward her, the wooden floorboards squeaking beneath his feet, but she didn’t look up. He heard her sniffle and the closer he got, the more apparent the tear tracks were on her face.
“I’d ask if this seat was taken, but there doesn’t appear to be one,” Lex quipped, trying to lighten her mood. Chloe glanced up at him, but her eyes quickly fell back to what she was writing. She stopped and turned the notebook over on the floor so he couldn’t read what she had written. Chloe grabbed her cup of coffee and lifted it to her lips like it was a much needed drug. Lex frowned at her reaction. At the very least, he had expected to get a forced smile out of his joke. “Is there something that I’ve done to upset you, Miss Sullivan?” She looked at him again.
“I thought you were going to sit down,” she replied. One corner of Lex’s mouth barely lifted as he looked at the not quite clean wooden floor. It was apparent that he would need to sacrifice the expensive pair of slacks he was wearing in order to get her to talk to him. Or at least have one of his servants make a trip to the dry cleaners later. He pulled up a pant leg slightly as he lowered himself to the ground, and then he took a sip of the steaming beverage in his cup.
“New car?” He asked. Chloe finally focused her full attention on him with his question and he grinned at her. “I noticed it when I drove up. It’s nice.” He tilted his head and his grin grew into a small smirk. “Not really my style, but I wouldn’t mind taking it for a drive.”
“How did you know it was mine?”
“Pardon?” He took another drink. He was used to getting up early, but if Chloe already had one and a half cups of coffee in her, then she was going to be a more formidable opponent than he was used to at that time in the day.
“How did you know the new car was mine?”
“Rachel’s dad works for me; I recognized his truck out front. And the only other car on the street ---” he trailed off when she nodded. “So, what prompted you to get a new car? Clark told me that you were in love with that old beat up Falcon of yours.” Chloe tried to hide her pain with the mention of Clark’s name, but didn’t do very well. Lex winced a little when he saw the expression flicker over her face. “What did he do this time?” Lex asked sympathetically. Chloe looked down at the cup that she held with both hands.
“Nothing,” she said quietly.
“You need to learn to lie better,” Lex retorted casually. Chloe’s lips curled into a grin.
“And I suppose you could teach me,” she said, her voice taking on a mirth-like quality. Lex returned her grin and nodded at her.
“I could, but then you’d know if I wasn’t telling the truth during an interview,” he said. That earned him a chuckle.
“You don’t even need to lie during interviews, you just refuse to answer anything,” she pointed out. Lex gave a look of mock pensiveness.
“Good point.” He watched her take another drink of her coffee. “Why are you up here?” He asked her seriously. Her eyes darted over to him.
“I wanted to be alone,” she said pointedly.
“Is that a hint?” He asked with a smile. Chloe shook her head lightly in frustration.
“What do you want Lex?” She watched a look of surprise move over him. “What?”
“You called me by my first name,” he said. Chloe rolled her eyes.
“You’re a master of avoiding questions.”
“You want me to tell you why I’m here, sitting on the floor,” he made a face, “interrupting your ‘alone time’?” Chloe nodded.
“That would be nice,” she said.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“Why do I not like the sound of that?” She asked, only half-kidding.
“You answer the two questions that I asked – *honestly* - and I will tell you why I’m here,” he said. Chloe creased her brows together, but released them when she remembered what he had asked her.
“The car,” she said. Lex nodded. “I let Pete borrow my baby ---” Lex smiled at her calling her term of endearment for her car.
“The Falcon,” he interrupted. Chloe nodded.
“He and Clark got in some sort of accident with it,” she paused and rolled her eyes again. “I swear those two are the worst with cars. I’m amazed that neither one of them has killed themselves yet. And, they’re never getting near my new one,” she stated vehemently.
“I’m surprised that insurance picked up the tab if someone else was driving,” Lex said. Chloe shrugged.
“Fully covered car and driver,” she explained. “My dad said he didn’t want to take any chances with me going off on my little *adventures*.” Lex smiled, but chose not to tease her about it.
“Better safe than sorry,” he said.
“Whatever,” she grumbled.
“And my second question?” Lex caught her eyes with his own and Chloe sighed.
“I’d tell you to ask him, but he’s so oblivious that he doesn’t even know.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yes.”
“But you still haven’t told me what he did,” Lex pointed out. Chloe set her now empty cup down on the floor and started to rise to her feet, picking up her notebook and pen in one hand and her cup in the other as she did so. Lex sighed and stood up as well, placing his cup on the banister. He caught her arm as she started to leave and Chloe turned around to look at him with sad eyes.
“Can you just drop it?” She asked in a choked voice. Lex could see the tears welling up in her eyes again and he inwardly cursed his best friend for hurting her, even if was unintentional. “Please?” Lex frowned and kept his hand on Chloe’s arm.
“I know we’re not that close, but if you ever need to talk to someone ---”
“Okay,” Chloe interrupted and nodded. “Thanks.’
“I mean it Chloe.” Lex’s words seemed so heartfelt and Chloe relaxed her body. Lex let go of her arm and she set her cup on the railing next to his.
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” she said honestly. Chloe rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before reaching for her mug again. Lex was taken aback by the feeling of her soft lips on his skin. It was like a spark of electricity had jolted through him with the simple and chaste gesture. He placed his hand on her wrist before she could grab the empty coffee mug. She looked at the contact and then looked questioningly at him. Lex took a step closer to her and slowly leaned his head down toward hers. Chloe’s eyes grew wide, but when she felt his warm lips against hers, her eyes closed as the heat seemed to radiate through her body. Her pen and notebook dropped to the ground and her hands climbed up his chest.
They finally pulled apart when they were in desperate need of air and Chloe looked at Lex with surprise. Partly because she couldn’t believe that he had kissed her, and partly because she had never felt that way when she had kissed anyone before. Neither of them said a word, but only because there were no words to describe the unexpected feelings that were coursing through both of them. Lex and Chloe’s heads turned toward the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Rachel smiled at them and motioned to the pot of coffee in her hand.
“Just came to see if either of you needed a refill,” she said almost chipperly. She smiled to herself when she noticed how close they were standing to each other. ‘This is an interesting development,’ she thought to herself. Chloe and Lex looked at each other and then Chloe shook her head.
“I don’t really think I need a third cup of coffee today, but thanks anyway,” she said. Rachel nodded and looked at Lex, who held up his hand.
“No, thank you,” he said. Rachel smiled at them and walked back down the stairs. Lex put his hand on the small of Chloe’s back and grinned down at her.
“So, you were going to let me take your car for a drive?” He asked. Chloe started laughing.
“No way! You’re not getting near my car. You’re worse than Clark and Pete are,” she said. Lex started rubbing small circles on her back and leaned closer to her.
“Why don’t you just let me buy you breakfast then?” He asked. Chloe arched an eyebrow and Lex grinned. “I’ll come up with a whole list of questions that have nothing to do with Clark,” he offered hopefully. Chloe smiled.
“That sounds good,” she said gratefully. Chloe leaned down and picked up her notebook and pen. She stood back up and Lex started moving her toward the staircase.
“Good.” A smirk crossed Lex’s lips. “We’ll take your car.”
The End
Author: scifichick774
Rating: PG
Category: Angst/Romance
Spoilers: Immediately following ‘Fever’.
Summary: Lex notices Chloe’s new car – and a few other things.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: If you feel like it.
Archival: Sure – just let me know where.
Author’s Note: Response to Peggy’s challenges of the story behind the red Volkswagen beetle and the perfect first kiss. Oh, and for the sake of this short story, Helen took the research job and moved away – as it should have happened on the show.
~*~*~*~*~
Lex pulled his car to a stop in front of The Talon. It didn’t look busy, but then, few businesses were at six o’clock in the morning on a Saturday. The only other cars he noticed were a late model Ford truck and a red Volkswagen convertible Beetle. He knew the truck belonged to the father of one of Lana’s waitresses; although for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the girl’s name. He didn’t know who the Beetle belonged to though. He mentally shrugged and headed into the building. The waitress spotted him and gave him a friendly smile from behind the counter.
“What can I get for you, Mr. Luthor?”
“Just a cup of coffee,” he said and glanced down at her name tag, “Rachel.” The girl stared blankly at him. “Black,” he clarified. Understanding passed over her face and she nodded.
“Popular drink this morning,” she commented as she turned her back on him to go get his drink. Lex quickly swept the place with his eyes, but couldn’t see anyone else in the building. Rachel set the cup of coffee in front of him and he looked at her quizzically.
“Popular drink?” He repeated and motioned toward the seemingly empty establishment with his head. Rachel smiled.
“Well, you and Chloe Sullivan are the only ones who have been in, and she’s already on her second cup,” she explained. Lex furrowed his brow and the girl in front of him barely resisted rolling her eyes. “She’s upstairs. Kinda seemed like she wanted to be alone, so I told her it would be okay.” Lex gave her a curt nod, picked up his mug, and started to walk toward the staircase; ignoring what Rachel had said about Chloe wanting to be alone.
Lex saw her sitting on the floor against the wall with her coffee cup to her side and a notebook and pen in her lap. He moved toward her, the wooden floorboards squeaking beneath his feet, but she didn’t look up. He heard her sniffle and the closer he got, the more apparent the tear tracks were on her face.
“I’d ask if this seat was taken, but there doesn’t appear to be one,” Lex quipped, trying to lighten her mood. Chloe glanced up at him, but her eyes quickly fell back to what she was writing. She stopped and turned the notebook over on the floor so he couldn’t read what she had written. Chloe grabbed her cup of coffee and lifted it to her lips like it was a much needed drug. Lex frowned at her reaction. At the very least, he had expected to get a forced smile out of his joke. “Is there something that I’ve done to upset you, Miss Sullivan?” She looked at him again.
“I thought you were going to sit down,” she replied. One corner of Lex’s mouth barely lifted as he looked at the not quite clean wooden floor. It was apparent that he would need to sacrifice the expensive pair of slacks he was wearing in order to get her to talk to him. Or at least have one of his servants make a trip to the dry cleaners later. He pulled up a pant leg slightly as he lowered himself to the ground, and then he took a sip of the steaming beverage in his cup.
“New car?” He asked. Chloe finally focused her full attention on him with his question and he grinned at her. “I noticed it when I drove up. It’s nice.” He tilted his head and his grin grew into a small smirk. “Not really my style, but I wouldn’t mind taking it for a drive.”
“How did you know it was mine?”
“Pardon?” He took another drink. He was used to getting up early, but if Chloe already had one and a half cups of coffee in her, then she was going to be a more formidable opponent than he was used to at that time in the day.
“How did you know the new car was mine?”
“Rachel’s dad works for me; I recognized his truck out front. And the only other car on the street ---” he trailed off when she nodded. “So, what prompted you to get a new car? Clark told me that you were in love with that old beat up Falcon of yours.” Chloe tried to hide her pain with the mention of Clark’s name, but didn’t do very well. Lex winced a little when he saw the expression flicker over her face. “What did he do this time?” Lex asked sympathetically. Chloe looked down at the cup that she held with both hands.
“Nothing,” she said quietly.
“You need to learn to lie better,” Lex retorted casually. Chloe’s lips curled into a grin.
“And I suppose you could teach me,” she said, her voice taking on a mirth-like quality. Lex returned her grin and nodded at her.
“I could, but then you’d know if I wasn’t telling the truth during an interview,” he said. That earned him a chuckle.
“You don’t even need to lie during interviews, you just refuse to answer anything,” she pointed out. Lex gave a look of mock pensiveness.
“Good point.” He watched her take another drink of her coffee. “Why are you up here?” He asked her seriously. Her eyes darted over to him.
“I wanted to be alone,” she said pointedly.
“Is that a hint?” He asked with a smile. Chloe shook her head lightly in frustration.
“What do you want Lex?” She watched a look of surprise move over him. “What?”
“You called me by my first name,” he said. Chloe rolled her eyes.
“You’re a master of avoiding questions.”
“You want me to tell you why I’m here, sitting on the floor,” he made a face, “interrupting your ‘alone time’?” Chloe nodded.
“That would be nice,” she said.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“Why do I not like the sound of that?” She asked, only half-kidding.
“You answer the two questions that I asked – *honestly* - and I will tell you why I’m here,” he said. Chloe creased her brows together, but released them when she remembered what he had asked her.
“The car,” she said. Lex nodded. “I let Pete borrow my baby ---” Lex smiled at her calling her term of endearment for her car.
“The Falcon,” he interrupted. Chloe nodded.
“He and Clark got in some sort of accident with it,” she paused and rolled her eyes again. “I swear those two are the worst with cars. I’m amazed that neither one of them has killed themselves yet. And, they’re never getting near my new one,” she stated vehemently.
“I’m surprised that insurance picked up the tab if someone else was driving,” Lex said. Chloe shrugged.
“Fully covered car and driver,” she explained. “My dad said he didn’t want to take any chances with me going off on my little *adventures*.” Lex smiled, but chose not to tease her about it.
“Better safe than sorry,” he said.
“Whatever,” she grumbled.
“And my second question?” Lex caught her eyes with his own and Chloe sighed.
“I’d tell you to ask him, but he’s so oblivious that he doesn’t even know.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yes.”
“But you still haven’t told me what he did,” Lex pointed out. Chloe set her now empty cup down on the floor and started to rise to her feet, picking up her notebook and pen in one hand and her cup in the other as she did so. Lex sighed and stood up as well, placing his cup on the banister. He caught her arm as she started to leave and Chloe turned around to look at him with sad eyes.
“Can you just drop it?” She asked in a choked voice. Lex could see the tears welling up in her eyes again and he inwardly cursed his best friend for hurting her, even if was unintentional. “Please?” Lex frowned and kept his hand on Chloe’s arm.
“I know we’re not that close, but if you ever need to talk to someone ---”
“Okay,” Chloe interrupted and nodded. “Thanks.’
“I mean it Chloe.” Lex’s words seemed so heartfelt and Chloe relaxed her body. Lex let go of her arm and she set her cup on the railing next to his.
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” she said honestly. Chloe rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before reaching for her mug again. Lex was taken aback by the feeling of her soft lips on his skin. It was like a spark of electricity had jolted through him with the simple and chaste gesture. He placed his hand on her wrist before she could grab the empty coffee mug. She looked at the contact and then looked questioningly at him. Lex took a step closer to her and slowly leaned his head down toward hers. Chloe’s eyes grew wide, but when she felt his warm lips against hers, her eyes closed as the heat seemed to radiate through her body. Her pen and notebook dropped to the ground and her hands climbed up his chest.
They finally pulled apart when they were in desperate need of air and Chloe looked at Lex with surprise. Partly because she couldn’t believe that he had kissed her, and partly because she had never felt that way when she had kissed anyone before. Neither of them said a word, but only because there were no words to describe the unexpected feelings that were coursing through both of them. Lex and Chloe’s heads turned toward the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Rachel smiled at them and motioned to the pot of coffee in her hand.
“Just came to see if either of you needed a refill,” she said almost chipperly. She smiled to herself when she noticed how close they were standing to each other. ‘This is an interesting development,’ she thought to herself. Chloe and Lex looked at each other and then Chloe shook her head.
“I don’t really think I need a third cup of coffee today, but thanks anyway,” she said. Rachel nodded and looked at Lex, who held up his hand.
“No, thank you,” he said. Rachel smiled at them and walked back down the stairs. Lex put his hand on the small of Chloe’s back and grinned down at her.
“So, you were going to let me take your car for a drive?” He asked. Chloe started laughing.
“No way! You’re not getting near my car. You’re worse than Clark and Pete are,” she said. Lex started rubbing small circles on her back and leaned closer to her.
“Why don’t you just let me buy you breakfast then?” He asked. Chloe arched an eyebrow and Lex grinned. “I’ll come up with a whole list of questions that have nothing to do with Clark,” he offered hopefully. Chloe smiled.
“That sounds good,” she said gratefully. Chloe leaned down and picked up her notebook and pen. She stood back up and Lex started moving her toward the staircase.
“Good.” A smirk crossed Lex’s lips. “We’ll take your car.”
The End